Chapter 30 Part 1

As the Little Evil Spirit vanished, Yu Xingzhou felt the missing part within his body gradually becoming whole again.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, his heart felt a little empty.

Jing Chi wrapped an arm around the young man’s shoulders. He lowered his gaze slightly and comforted him in a soft voice. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay by your side.”

Yu Xingzhou looked up. The concern in Jing Chi’s eyes eased his heart somewhat.

He knew that the other part of himself hadn’t truly disappeared. It would forever remain at his side.

Once Jing Chi saw that the young man had steadied his emotions, the corners of his lips curved up. He asked in all seriousness, “So, Student Yu, will you leave this place with me now?”

In the young man’s eyes, Jing Chi seemed to shimmer with starlight, drawing him in irresistibly. Without thinking, he replied, “I will.”

Hearing Yu Xingzhou’s answer, Jing Chi reached out and gently patted his head. Then he pulled the Soul-Storing Casket from his backpack. “I’ll perform the ritual in a moment. Just relax. This will store your Soul Body, and then I can take you away from here.”

The young man listened obediently to Jing Chi’s words without a trace of fear that he might be deceiving him.

Seeing how compliant Yu Xingzhou was, Jing Chi couldn’t resist pinching his soft cheek. With genuine curiosity, he asked, “What if this were an artifact meant to destroy you? You wouldn’t even suspect me?”

Yu Xingzhou’s face scrunched up at once. He swatted Jing Chi’s hand away, clearly displeased. He said nothing, merely fixing Jing Chi with wide eyes full of reproach, as if to say his guess was utterly outrageous.

Jing Chi gave an embarrassed smile before teasing him with mock seriousness. “Mm, our Xingxing is so adorable. How could I ever bear to hurt you? Isn’t that right, Student Yu?”

As he spoke, he winked at Yu Xingzhou.

Though Yu Xingzhou had grown accustomed to Jing Chi’s sudden outbursts, he still felt a flush of shyness whenever Jing Chi called him cute.

In the past, he might have simply blushed and left it at that. But now, having fused with the Little Evil Spirit, Yu Xingzhou was ready to flirt right back.

He cleared his throat lightly, then hooked a fingertip under Jing Chi’s chin. He studied him intently for a moment before stammering, “You’re… um, pretty good-looking yourself.”

Jing Chi didn’t feel teased in the slightest. If anything, he found the young man even more entertaining like this.

Blushing under Jing Chi’s amused gaze, Yu Xingzhou grew flustered and annoyed. He urged, “I don’t want to stay here any longer. Let’s go.”

“Alright, alright. Whatever you say.” Jing Chi replied with a playful squint.

Jing Chi then instructed Yu Xingzhou to stand about two meters away.

He cradled the casket in his left hand and bit the tip of his right index finger. With his blood, he drew a line along the casket’s seam, chanting under his breath all the while: “Heaven and earth are natural, Huanglang Taiyuan. Foul qi dissipates, divine soul returns to its place…”

The blood seeped slowly into the casket, spreading along the line.

As Jing Chi intoned the words, a faint glow bloomed over the casket. It rose into midair and slowly opened.

Yu Xingzhou felt an inexorable pull on his body, drawing him toward it bit by bit.

The soul-storing process could not be interrupted, lest the Soul Body become incomplete. That was why Jing Chi had chosen such a remote spot.

But he never imagined that Jing Shao and Nan Musheng—the very people he’d told to leave—would return.

Jing Shao and the others had first searched the school, combing through the entire campus without finding a trace of Jing Chi or Yu Xingzhou.

Nan Musheng refused to give up. For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he didn’t want Yu Xingzhou to keep existing in this world. It was as if their very presences were magnetically repellant.

“Is there any way to track them down?”

As it happened, Jing Shao had a method. Locating people was a fundamental skill for any Celestial Master, though he hesitated for a moment.

After all, he hadn’t forgotten what Jing Chi had told him.

Nan Musheng narrowed his eyes, his mind turning. He rephrased his plea. “Look, they’ve both vanished. What if Yu Xingzhou has kidnapped Jing Chi? Aren’t you worried about your brother’s safety?”

Stung by Nan Musheng’s words, Jing Shao finally produced an object resembling a compass. It didn’t point north but instead guided the user to a specific person.

“That direction.”

Jing Shao pointed beyond the campus borders. Following its lead, they soon spotted a location where faint light glimmered. Nan Musheng, as an ordinary person, couldn’t see it, but Jing Shao could.

“Spiritual Energy is fluctuating there.” Jing Shao bolted toward it.

The ritual was nearly complete when Jing Chi spotted Jing Shao and Nan Musheng approaching from no great distance.

A sense of foreboding welled up inside him.

His hands never faltered. Seizing a brief pause, he shouted toward Jing Shao:

“Don’t come any closer.”

Jing Shao always obeyed Jing Chi, so he halted immediately. Nan Musheng, however, tried to press forward, only to be yanked back by Jing Shao.

Ordinary people who came into contact with something like this would either die or end up gravely injured.

“Don’t go over there. Your body can’t take it,” Jing Shao explained.

Nan Musheng stared at the bizarre scene unfolding before him: a casket hovering in midair.

“What are they doing?” he asked Jing Shao, who stood at his side.

Jing Shao observed the situation. It didn’t look like an exorcism. If anything, it resembled a capture. When his gaze fell on the casket, his suspicions were confirmed.

He had no idea why Jing Chi was going to such lengths to collect this evil spirit, but he trusted that his brother had good reasons for it.

“Let’s not get involved. My brother’s just collecting the soul body. There’s no danger. We should leave.”

Nan Musheng clutched Jing Shao’s arm tightly, his voice laced with anxiety. “What do you mean by ‘collecting’?”

It was the man he cared for, after all, so Jing Shao explained patiently. “It means taking him away. Why he wants to do that, though, I have no clue.”

Without a second thought, Nan Musheng blurted out, “He can’t be taken away! Why take him? He’ll hurt even more people.”

His eyes pleaded with Jing Shao. “Help me kill him, will you? Otherwise, he’ll come after me. And someone as vicious as him doesn’t deserve to be set free.”

Jing Shao was caught off guard by Nan Musheng’s words. He glanced at Jing Chi, then back at the man beside him.

Nan Musheng’s face was ashen, his eyes wide with terror, his whole demeanor radiating fear. It was enough to make Jing Shao half believe him.

Sensing Jing Shao’s hesitation, Nan Musheng pressed on. “He’s already died once. One more time won’t matter. You’d actually be granting him release. Jing Chi would understand.”

Something about Nan Musheng’s words rang false to Jing Shao, but with the situation so dire, he had no time to dwell on it. Jing Chi was nearly finished over there.

Jing Shao raised his peachwood sword, spiritual energy swirling along its blade.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to strike.

Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Jing Chi quickened his pace. There was no opportunity to speak with Jing Shao; all he could do was signal with a look.

As Jing Shao wavered, he felt a sudden shove from behind. The peachwood sword slipped from his grasp and hurtled straight toward Yu Xingzhou.

In stunned disbelief, he turned to Nan Musheng. The young man’s lips had curled into a satisfied smile, and for a moment, Jing Shao felt like he was seeing a stranger.

It all happened in the blink of an eye—far too fast to react.

Just as the sword closed in, Jing Chi completed the final step. Without hesitation, he threw himself in its path, shielding Yu Xingzhou with his body.

He knew an injury to Yu Xingzhou would damage his soul body. A wounded soul might never regain human form again, and Jing Chi refused to let him face that risk.

The sword was peachwood, but empowered by spiritual energy, it pierced Jing Chi all the same.

With a sickening squelch, the blade sank into his flesh.

Blood seeped from the corner of Jing Chi’s mouth. Exhausted from his earlier exertion of spiritual power, he dropped to one knee.

Yu Xingzhou, not yet fully sealed within the casket, witnessed it all. His eyes blazed red, his resentment exploding as he fixed a savage glare on Jing Shao and Nan Musheng.

They were so close—just one final step. Jing Chi forced himself upright. He wiped the blood from his lips and soothed the young man.

“I’m okay, Xingxing. Be good and go inside. When you come out next, I’ll be right here waiting.”

His voice trembled with weakness, but the tenderness in his eyes never wavered.

Yu Xingzhou’s eyes burned crimson. He stared at Jing Chi’s wound, desperate to refuse, but he knew everything his protector had done was for his sake. He couldn’t let it all be for nothing. Gritting his teeth, he nodded.

For the first time, Yu Xingzhou hated someone with every fiber of his being.

His dark, venomous gaze locked onto Nan Musheng, sending the man stumbling back a step in terror.

It was over.

That single thought dominated Nan Musheng’s mind.

He had offended Jing Chi, and worse, he had shattered whatever image he’d held in Jing Shao’s eyes.

Yet he hadn’t achieved his goal.

And his punishment was only beginning.

Yu Xingzhou would never forgive the one responsible. In his final instant before vanishing into the casket, a wisp of black mist trailed from him toward Nan Musheng.

Jing Shao would have noticed under normal circumstances, but right now, his every thought was fixed on Jing Chi.

With Yu Xingzhou’s disappearance, the casket returned to Jing Chi’s hand. Finally, he could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, the entire Illusion Realm vanished, restoring the land to its original appearance.

Jing Shao was utterly dumbfounded. He had never imagined that he himself would end up harming his cousin. Staggering to Jing Chi’s side, he helped the man up, his voice trembling.

“Bro, are you okay?”

He first cast a spell to seal Jing Chi’s profusely bleeding wound.

Jing Chi glanced at his fool of a younger brother, who had been so easily manipulated, then looked toward Nan Musheng standing behind him. Compared to that man, Jing Shao was at least somewhat trustworthy.

He forced himself to remain conscious, knowing he had to make things clear. Otherwise, Yu Xingzhou would never be safe.

Grabbing Jing Shao’s hand, he spoke in a halting voice.

“This casket… while I’m out… you have to protect it. Don’t… let it leave my side. Got it?”

“I got it, Bro.” Jing Shao’s voice cracked with sobs. Jing Chi’s pallid face was terrifying to behold.

In truth, the injury alone wouldn’t have made Jing Chi lose consciousness so quickly. The real culprit was the massive amount of spiritual energy he had expended to save Yu Xingzhou.

Having entrusted the casket to Jing Shao, he finally closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. Yet his fingers remained clenched tightly around it.

Jing Shao fumbled for his phone in a panic and dialed 911.