Yun Cuo told Xue Huai that this cave is called Chenxin Cave, which is a rare sealing place in the entire Demon Realm. Others say that this is the place where Xingtian is buried, where there is a strong aura of suppression and killing. All spells are strongly suppressed here, making it the most suitable place for calming the breath and making breakthroughs in cultivation.
But also for this reason, countless people have gone crazy here, from ancient times to the present, with demons rampant, making it even more sinister. Yun Cuo did indeed lose his aura this time. If Xue Huai hadn’t barged in, he might have died here.
Xue Huai didn’t ask him why his cultivation had gone astray. What he didn’t tell Yun Cuo was that he himself almost lost his consciousness as well, because Yun Cuo’s illusion center happened to be related to the events in his previous life, which almost led him astray.
He thought for a moment and quickly understood that Baifeng Xueyuan was Yun Cuo’s hometown in the Demon Realm. That year, when the Demon Realm rebelled and accused Yun Cuo of his identity, he was sent out to calm things down. Yun Cuo had a certain obsession with this place. Xunxian Pavilion, on the other hand, was the place that Yun Cuo had visited the most since he came to Xianzhou.
The dual identities of immortal and demon have always been a sin that Yun Cuo cannot avoid. This should be Yun Cuo’s inner demon.
The portrait of a woman smoking a flower cigarette he saw before entering also confirmed this.
That woman from the Demon Realm loved the current emperor deeply, she even gave up her identity as a demon princess for love. She took Yun Cuo to Xianzhou and raised him on her own, hoping that he would one day be recognized by his father.
However, immortals and demons have their own unique paths, and Yun Cuo has the roots of both immortal and demon. With the demon’s eyes, it is very difficult to find freedom and peace in this land. She raised him harshly and felt disappointed by his hostile and gloomy nature, often scolding him. In the end, she contracted a habit of taking potions and died silently on a snowy night.
At that time, Yun Cuo was already ten years old, and he still couldn’t fully integrate into the Immortal Realm, yet he also could never return to the Demon Realm. He could only wander on the edge of the two realms like a forgotten ghost.
At the age of eleven, the emperor remembered that he had a son and began to ask various immortals to look after him and intentionally train him. Yun Cuo was henceforth given the title of “Young Immortal Lord,” but he still failed to integrate into this complex Immortal Realm; instead, he became lonelier and quieter everyday.
He never wanted money from people on his father’s side of the family, and everything his mother left him was enough to feed and clothe him. The deep gate of the mansion was closed day after day, as if it were about to decay like this.
At the age of thirteen, the emperor went on a tour of the Nine Immortal Continent, and the golden imperial chariot driven by ninety-nine phoenixes was as eye-catching as the sun, soaring above the Nine Heavens. Yun Cuo stood indifferently at a distance, standing with his arms folded, and in that moment, a quiet, burning desire arose in his heart.
He also wanted to get into that position.
He doesn’t want that person to give it to him, he wants to take it back himself.
That may be a longing deeper than hatred. Xue Huai has been with him for so many years, and the only feeling he has is that, Yun Cuo seems to have desires that are hard to fulfil. Even if he engages in military warfare, he will have to cross the seventeen Immortal Continents, Demons, and Ghosts to hold everything in his hand. He would again seem as if he were a child who had gotten tired of playing with his toys, unable to get excited.
In a world that was not beautiful, Xue Huai couldn’t figure out why he was so determined to control it.
To Yun Cuo, this is a dim and hard-to-see world.
Just like how the Demon Realm is to Xue Huai, he couldn’t see clearly, so there was nowhere to put his foot.
It was already very dark.
The blood-colored mist was still spreading, becoming increasingly thick as the night deepened.
Xue Huai now, not to mention stepping out of the cave, as long as he leaves the center of this illusion created by Yun Cuo, immediately he will feel like entering a complete darkness, unable to even find his direction.
He wrapped himself in Yun Cuo’s robe—which Yun Cuo voluntarily surrendered under his beating, and asked, “Shall we go down after dawn?”
He didn’t tell him how he found him, he only told him that the silly cat was the one leading the way.
Yun Cuo said, “It’s better to go down early. You were trapped by the evil spirits last time, and your qi is weak. The longer you stay here, the more dangerous you will be.”
Xue Huai hesitated a bit and said, “But I can’t see the path of the Demon Realm clearly.”
Yun Cuo said in a warm voice, “I’ll carry you down, Xue Huai.”
Xue Huai：“……”
Although reason told him that this was indeed the best choice, he still felt strange.
He felt that he was probably crazy too. The person in front of him forcibly hugged him twice, scared him two or three times, and almost stripped off his clothes this time, and yet he still had to believe this person’s words.
Yun Cuo didn’t say much, he came over and squatted down in front of him, urging, “Let’s go, your body can’t hold on.”
Xue Huai had to climb onto his back.
Yun Cuo’s back is very solid. It is said that those from the Demon Clan grow faster than those from the Immortal Realm. Perhaps this is why his physique is not like that of a young man but rather similar to that of an adult. He is sturdy, tough, and with a sharp and handsome aura.
He carried Xue Huai on his back, while the little gray cat was laying on Xue Huai’s shoulder. Two men and one cat slowly walked down what Xue Huai thought was a patch of darkness.
His silver-white hair shone so brightly in this dark world, as if it were shimmering.
Xue Huai reached out to stroked his hair and asked, “Why is your hair white?”
Yun Cuo keeps walking, afraid that he would slip down, so he tightened the arm that was holding his legs and replied, “I am a half-demon, Xue Huai. White hair and red eyes are the characteristics of people in the Demon Realm. Isn’t it unattractive?”
Xue Huai said, “It’s okay, that’s not what I’m asking. You’re only half-demon, so logically speaking, you should have black hair. How could you trigger a demonic bloodline backlash so quickly?”
A guess took shape in his mind, and Xue Huai asked softly, “Have you…been possessed?”
He had been wanting to ask this question for a long time.
He is currently a Yindan cultivator, and he is unable to use any spells in this forbidden land. At best, he can only gather his spiritual roots and barely break a hole in the cave, while Yun Cuo can cast illusions inside and engage in mind-viewing cultivation that consumes a lot of mental energy.
This requires Jindan cultivation or above, which is unfathomable.
In this life, Yun Cuo is only seventeen years old, and apart from becoming a demon, there is no reason to explain this matter.
Yun Cuo’s voice paused for a moment before saying, “Yes.”
He quickly added, “I only cultivated up to the first level and didn’t continue. At that time, I accidentally became a demon, and there’s no way to break it. You… you don’t have to be afraid.”
Xue Huai was curious and asked, “Accidentally? Becoming a demon could be an accident too?”
“En, someone who was very important to me left back then.” Yun Cuo said indifferently. “Let’s not talk about it now.”
Xue Huai then quieted down.
The two continued down the path. Xue Huai couldn’t see much, and his sense of direction was also lost. He only vaguely felt that they were always going downwards, and he didn’t know if they had finished walking out of that dangerous ladder or not.
The weightlessness was too strong, and the dark and cold atmosphere seemed to constantly remind him to repeat what had happened on the day of his death. Xue Huai buried himself in Yun Cuo’s back without a word, and his body was stiffening.
“Xue Huai?”
Yun Cuo also noticed something was wrong. He stopped and gently touched Xue Huai’s fingertips, realizing that his hands were covered in cold sweat.
Xue Huai reluctantly said, “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I’m a bit uncomfortable…the environment was both cold and dark.”
Yun Cuo didn’t say anything, and he walked with him on his back for a while. Later, as if he had reached a flatter area, he set Xue Huai down.
Xue Huai asked, “We have arrived?”
Yun Cuo said, “Not yet.” After he finished speaking, he went forward and grabbed Xue Huai’s back. He took advantage of the situation and lifted him horizontally, pressing him firmly in his arms. He whispered, “Don’t move, on your back, you’ve got a wide opened door behind you, a few ghosts have just followed you all the way. How long have you not rested well and injured your roots like this?”
At first, Xue Huai wanted to struggle, but he was stunned after hearing Yun Cuo’s words. He tried to open his eyes wide, hoping to see something in the darkness; unfortunately, his wish was not fulfilled.
Last time, he was immersed in the environment of Lycoris Radiata flowers and was haunted by a nightmare. When he came to find Yun Cuo this time, he could also catch a glimpse of many shadows crouching in the darkness with his spiritual vision, as if they wanted to take away his body.
He thought about it and realized why.
It was probably because he hadn’t been reborn long ago, his soul had just returned to his body, and his root element was certainly not stable, so he would be targeted by these things. He never considered this matter at all; in the future, he needs to find a doctor to prescribe some soul-calming medicine.
He whispered, “I will pay attention to rest.”
Yun Cuo said, “I have some medicine over there. I used to take the rest of it to calm my soul after I became a demon, but it can still be used. I’ll give it to you when we go out.”
Xue Huai replied：“……En.”
Yun Cuo said, “Xue Huai, you are smart. Remember the prescription: five pieces of Qilin Armor, two coins of Ruyi Grass, two coins of Kong Qing, one coin of Di Hun Hua, one coin of Bian An Hua, one piece of Bai Lian Guo, and one piece of Zhen Hun Teng. Cook for two hours until the soup dries, take it orally and apply it externally, do you understand?”
Xue Huai asked softly, “It is really the leftover you ate after becoming a demon, and not specially bought for me, right?”
He lay peacefully in his arms, clinging to his shoulders, his usual cold and rebellious demeanor restrained, unbelievably well-behaved and obedient.
He was very gentle like this, a side that no one else had ever seen before. He wondered when he had learned it.
It could make a person’s heart skip a beat, just like when he smiles, the lights flicker on and off, swaying with a flurry of light and shadow, just like his gaze.
Yun Cuo: “It’s not.”
Unexpectedly, he spoke the truth: “I bought the medicine for you. I bought it last time, but I didn’t have time to give it to you.”
Xue Huai stared into his eyes. “Yun… Little Brother Yun, how old are you?”
Yun Cuo was a bit annoyed, as if caught off guard: “Don’t call me that.”
He’d forgotten the last time he’d jokingly called him “Xue Huai Ge.”
Calling Gege or Didi like this wasn’t as awkward as before. Xue Huai noticed the unknown side of this man and asked relentlessly, “How old are you, ah? That’s how kids pursue their sweethearts.”
Yun Cuo pursed his lips and remained silent, his gaze fixed on him.
Seeing Xue Huai keep silent, he urged him again, “How am I? You say, Xue Huai.”
Xue Huai said, “Just like Young Master Zhu, when you have anything, you send it over, it is fresh for a while, mistake novelty for love, wait until the novelty wears off. Maybe you don’t think so now, but in the future, it will make sense. Your Xue Gege never tells lies.”
After all is said and done, it’s still just for him to give up.
Xue Huai and a lazy cat are the same, lying in his arms, swaying its paws when it’s idle, and insisting on scratching his heart.
Yun Cuo’s face darkened, and he said, “Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s talk about it when we go down the mountain.”
Xue Huai noticed that he seemed to be really getting angry and knew that this matter needed to be stopped. He let out a “En” and asked, “Are you tired? Have we stepped out of the Heart Sinking Cliff yet? Tell me when we’re out, I could make myself smaller, so you could put me in your pouch or your sleeve.”
Yun Cuo said, “It’s still early. Don’t talk, be careful not to attract other things.”
Xue Huai still asked：“Really not tired?”
He looked at Yun Cuo’s expression and suspected that the other person wanted to reach out and cover his mouth with his hand, so he remained honest.
He had searched all the way here, drilling through the forest and climbing the ladder, and he had no strength left when he smashed through the cave wall alone. The Demon Realm’s yin aura had also damaged his roots and bones. Xue Huai was already tired by this time, and drowsiness came in like a tidal wave.
Yun Cuo held him in his arms firmly. At first, Xue Huai stared at the Pixiu embroidered on Yun Cuo’s clothes, thinking that it resembled the gluttonous ghost eating garbage in his own room. Slowly, his eyelids couldn’t hold up anymore, and he unconsciously fell asleep.
Yun Cuo’s footsteps became lighter, and his movements also became smoother. He looked at the person in his arms seriously, as if holding a treasure that could not be touched. Fearing that he might be broken.
When he woke up again, Xue Huai realized that his surroundings were still dark, but he could see the moon, and there was a faint silver glow in front of him.
Yun Cuo lit a fire beside him, and when he saw him wake up, he turned his head and asked, “Are you awake?”
He reached over, and Xue Huai instinctively tried to dodge, but he grabbed his wrist.
Yun Cuo whispered, “Come here, I’ll give you some magic. You’re sick.”
With such a grip, Xue Huai realized that his body temperature had dropped to a terrifyingly low level—the warmth coming from Yun Cuo’s palm made him feel a bit hot, and he instinctively flinched.
The exhaustion that surged up from before still lingers.
This is the wasteland outside Xianzhou, not the canyon entrance where Xue Huai first arrived. Yun Cuo said he also forgot where the direction was and only saw Xue Huai’s face becoming paler and paler in his arms. He quickly started a fire and wanted to transmit some life force to him; just then, Xue Huai woke up.
He felt as if he had lost all his strength, and his brain was also throbbing with pain. Yun Cuo boiled a bowl of snow water and fed it to him slowly. He then helped him lie down against the tree, reaching out and transmitting his vital qi to him.
Xue Huai’s spiritual root belongs to the water element, and he is the most skilled in summoning yin qi. Yun Cuo belongs to the earth, and his breath is broad and warm, precisely restraining the yin breath in his bloodline. After a while, Xue Huai’s face gradually improved, but his voice remained hoarse: “I don’t know how many times I have thanked you already, Young Master Yun.”
“I haven’t been able to help you more than a few times. You won the snow-waved paper yourself, you hit the bats yourself, that Bai… it was your knife that hit him first, but I owe you one life instead.” Yun Cuo whispered, his final voice almost imperceptible, “I owe you… two lives.”
He asked him, “Are you still feeling unwell? Can you move? I’ll take you to the medical center.” There was an obvious sense of anxiety in his voice.
In less than three hours, Xue Huai was too weak to even speak. He just nodded and then let himself fall into a deep sleep again.
In his sleep, he vaguely knew that he had been sent to the warm medical center. The old doctor gave him pulse-taking, acupuncture, and moxibustion, and finally said, “Why did you bring him so late? The soul is unstable, and the yin aura is invading, if it’s any later, he will be taken over! Young man, how did you take care of your Daoist partner? Such a beautiful doll has become so sick, you……”
He didn’t hear the remaining words clearly and only remembered that Yun Cup admitted his mistake. He said four words in total: “It’s my fault.”
His voice was low, like a little wolf hanging its ears and tail in the rain.
Xue Huai stayed in the clinic for seven or eight days, mostly sleeping and recuperating.
Most of the medicines for calming the soul also had a tranquilizing effect, so he slept continuously. By the time he could get off the ground and walk around, Yun Cuo had already disappeared.
The old doctor said, “You mean that young man? He hasn’t been around since he notified your family.”
Xue Huai didn’t ask anymore.
Yun Cuo, this person has greatly exceeded his expectations. In this new life, something had gotten out of his control.
He doesn’t know why he would leave, just as he doesn’t know why he would come.
Xue He was so happy that he went crazy—eight percent was because Yun Cuo was fine, while the remaining two percent was because Xue Huai doesn’t find him troublesome.
Xue Huai was taken home from the medical center by Xue Zong and recuperated meditatively for a period of time. Only when he felt like it was about time did he start going out to walk and exercise.
He plans to wait until he’s well enough to go to Yun Cuo to give him a sincere thank you and then tell him about his upcoming trip to a very far place for cultivation and learning.
He somehow had a feeling that Yun Cuo in this life was not as paranoid and stubborn as in his previous life, and he spoke better too. The young man’s admiration caught him off guard, and Yun Cuo fell in love with him by accident.
But he also believes that the accident can be solved, it will be over in a while, just like everyone who has pursued him before.
However, before he could go to visit, Yun Cuo took the initiative to come to the Xue family.
This time is different from before. Yun Cuo came to find Xue Zong first, but bumped into Xue Huai before entering the house. Xue Huai had just returned from the Shenhua Terrace when he saw Yun Cuo standing in the courtyard, and there were no shadows of anyone else inside.
Yun Cuo smiled and looked at him. “Are you feeling well?”
Xue Huai nodded and replied, “I’m alright, thank you very much. Are you here to check the inventory list?”
Yun Cuo just looked at him and answered off-topic, “I’ve figured it out. Last time, I told you to give us some time, Xue Huai. This time, I’m here to talk to you about this matter.”
Xue Huai snapped.
He didn’t expect Yun Cuo to bring up the old issues. He thought he already knew what he meant.
It’s already been a month. He thought that the last time he went to the Demon Realm to get him out, the two of them had talked and even agreed not to meet each other again. He didn’t expect Yun Cuo to send him to the medical center and continue to evaporate. So, you are still thinking about it?
Yun Cuo asked, “Am I very aggressive and sometimes make you scared?”
His eyes carried a hint of imperceptible nervousness, but his face remained calm and composed.
Xue Huai thought for a moment and said, “Not really. You are different from…what I thought of you.”
Perhaps in my previous life, it was like this—the Lord of the Nine Continents, the Lord of the Cultivation Realm—who doesn’t fear? He’s always been a tyrant, temperamental, capricious, and as ruthless as he could be.
But this life is different.
Yun Cuo said, “What do you think I’m like?”
Xue Huai looked up at him, a little unsure of how to describe it, and finally said with uncertainty, “I think… you were probably the kind of person who would come to propose marriage immediately and tie someone up for a lifetime when you found out you liked them. But now… you are very gentle and respect my thoughts, and I am very grateful for that. However, I still feel that we are not suitable, and you are also still young. When you get older, you will meet the person you truly like.”
“But you’re not wrong.”
Yun Cuo stared at him quietly for a while before saying, “I’m here to propose marriage to you. I want to tie you to my side for the rest of my life.”
