Chapter 35: Brother~

Jiang Chen hadn’t told Zhao Lixuan that, in the Sunset Glow Ramparts, he had also glimpsed fleeting visions of Immortal Lord Li Xuan’s childhood.

In those hazy scenes, Zhao Lixuan often appeared as a dazed little dumpling, gently held by the hand at his elder brother Lan Ze Immortal Lord’s side.

Zhao Lixuan had always said that his brother doted on him endlessly.

From what Jiang Chen had seen, it was only natural—unlike the refined and austere demeanor he would grow into, the young Zhao Lixuan sported an exaggeratedly chubby, puffy steamed bun face that made anyone who saw it itch to give those cheeks a pinch.

With a face like that, who wouldn’t feel a surge of affection?

Even if he climbed roofs and caused absolute mayhem, stirring up endless trouble, the moment you tried to scold him and met those aggrieved, misty eyes and stubbornly puffed cheeks, any anger would instantly evaporate.

But beyond the little brother’s overwhelming cuteness, there was another reason for Lan Ze Immortal Lord’s excessive indulgence: their parents, Immortal Lord Qingci and Wanyin Immortal Fairy, had both ascended under heavenly tribulation when their youngest son, Li Xuan, had just turned one.

The Immortal Realm had its own laws of operation. Once one reached the Transformation Realm, where power exceeded the limits this world could contain, the heavenly dao’s rules would summon them, forcibly ascending them to a higher realm.

This was precisely why forming dao companions was so prevalent in the Immortal Realm. Beyond matters of the heart, many did it out of practical consideration—

After all, per the Immortal Realm’s laws, when one partner’s cultivation neared overflow and forced ascension loomed, without a Marriage Contract binding them, the Immortal Lord had to ascend immediately, with no chance to stay.

But with a Marriage Contract in place, it granted a grace period of several years, allowing the immortal to transfer their overflowing immortal essence to their dao companion during that time, helping them achieve completion before ascending together to the higher realm.

This way, they avoided the pain of separation and could support each other in the new world.

Back then, Wanyin Immortal Fairy had possessed superior talent to Immortal Lord Qingci and had reached ascension early. The seven or eight years she lingered in the Unstained Immortal Realm were all spent waiting for her husband to complete his cultivation.

By then, their son Zhao Lanze had grown into a steady, reliable adult capable of shouldering great responsibility. Plus, they had already secured the vast estate of Fu Xi Palace for him. They felt that leaving their eldest son alone wasn’t entirely irresponsible.

Yet, in the final year before ascension, the couple unexpectedly conceived Zhao Lixuan.

The child was born, but they couldn’t take him with them.

The thought of a one-year-old losing his parents right after birth was simply heartbreaking.

Zhao Lanze could only comfort them gently: “Father, Mother, don’t sigh like this. Perfect ascension is a blessing. Go without worry—I’ll take good care of little brother.”

Only then, seeing their eldest son—so refined and scholarly, praised by all for his reliability—did their hearts ease somewhat.

Before departing, they still couldn’t help but earnestly instruct him: “Lan Ze, Li Xuan’s talent isn’t clear yet at this age.

“Not every child is blessed with exceptional heavenly talent like you. If in the future… his aptitude proves ordinary, don’t be too harsh in raising him. Your father and mother only wish for you brothers to live safely and joyfully this lifetime—content with wealth and leisure, free from worries.”

Zhao Lanze gazed at the tiny swaddled infant, offering a warm smile as he solemnly replied: “Father, Mother, rest assured. I understand.”

…

After their parents ascended, the young Lan Ze Immortal Lord became both father and mother, raising his swaddled baby brother single-handedly.

That same year, he picked up his first homeless orphan: Lu Ziyuan, now the immortal leader of Liao Yuan Court.

Then came Xia Yunjie, Yin Canshang, Yu Rumu, one after another…

There were unusually many displaced children those years, and it wasn’t without reason.

The year after Immortal Lord Qingci and Wanyin Immortal Fairy’s ascension, the Mortal Realm hit the end of a dynasty: natural disasters raged, wars erupted everywhere, and corpses littered the fields from famine. The Three Realms’ fortunes were linked, so the Mortal Realm’s collapse crashed into the Unstained Immortal Realm like a breached dam.

Spiritual energy circulation fell into chaos. Many ancient powerhouses suddenly sensed ascension opportunities, beams of guiding light rising one after another.

On the surface, it seemed a grand event for the Immortal Realm, but the aftermath was profound.

Those abruptly ascended Immortal Lords were often sect pillars or family mainstays. Their departures sparked fierce power struggles: former allies turned enemies, inherited treasures looted by kin. Countless disciples, followers, and unprotected children were left adrift like rootless duckweed, scattered to the winds.

The Unstained Immortal Realm’s fortunes boomed then plummeted in an instant. Meanwhile, the Mortal Realm, after great chaos, achieved great order anew.

Dynasties cycled, new emperors rose to usher in prosperity, and the Three Realms’ fortunes balanced in ebbs and flows—decline followed by renewal, cycling eternally through millennia.

Lan Ze Immortal Lord was a kind man.

Yet also a conflicted one.

Having a fragile young brother in need of tender care made him unable to bear any child suffering in the world. So he gathered orphan fledglings under his wings, raising them with utmost care.

He treated them exceedingly well—clothing, food, shelter, techniques, scriptures—all identical to what he gave his brother Zhao Lixuan, never favoring one over another.

Yet he blamed himself inwardly: all his love and attention should have been his baby brother’s alone. Raising and teaching these orphans consumed too much time and energy; overseeing their studies and training left less companionship for his brother.

In guilt, Zhao Lanze indulged his young brother even more unconditionally.

Fortunately, the children he rescued mostly grew virtuous under his nurturing guidance, like spring rain turning earth fertile.

They all knew Li Xuan was the apple of their master’s eye, so they followed suit, surrounding Zhao Lixuan like the moon held by stars, doting on him alongside Lan Ze Immortal Lord.

Thus, Zhao Lixuan’s childhood passed in that cluster of brothers and sisters’ starry adoration—running wild amid Fu Xi Palace’s pavilions, towers, immortal herbs, and spiritual trees, utterly carefree.

Later, another half-grown child arrived at Fu Xi Palace.

Shen Fengyan was ten when Lan Ze Immortal Lord brought him back. At first, he was just another pitiable soul with a tragic background—neither the first nor the last Lan Ze Immortal Lord rescued.

If he differed from the others, it was his superior talent and stubbornly aloof nature. He shunned company like a wounded cub bristling with spines, warily licking its wounds while guarding against the world.

He looked truly pitiful, so Lan Ze Immortal Lord paid him extra attention.

Thus came the warm little wind lamp hung under the corridor for the boy who woke screaming at night.

The hibiscus cakes and pine nut candies “casually” brought back from the market.

The soft cotton wrap Lan Ze Immortal Lord fitted over his sword hilt after Shen Fengyan practiced until his palms blistered and bled.

During the Flower Morning Festival’s lantern release, when Shen Fengyan’s lotus lantern sank mere steps away, Lan Ze Immortal Lord gave him his own, letting him relight it and wish anew.

…

Jiang Chen had always heard people say Li Xuan resembled the young Lan Ze Immortal Lord.

At first, he thought it wasn’t true at all.

Their auras differed, their expressions, even their smiles—and the shared outlines in their features were few and faint.

Even if Zhao Lixuan twenty years later strove to emulate his brother’s past self, deep down he remained that utterly unique Li Xuan, resembling no one.

Until this moment.

Until, in the illusion, Jiang Chen witnessed Lan Ze Immortal Lord’s every gesture toward Shen Fengyan.

He saw Lan Ze Immortal Lord notice Shen Fengyan staring into the little wind lamp, and soon the once-desolate corridors of Maple Vine Courtyard brimmed with dazzling, radiant lanterns of every style, bright enough to dazzle the eyes.

He saw how, after sweets proved effective, Shen Fengyan’s desk perpetually overflowed with exotic confections scoured from across the lands, Lan Ze Immortal Lord’s eyes sparkling in anticipation of his reaction.

He saw Lan Ze Immortal Lord procure fluffy spiritual pets for company, scour for warming jade and medicines for his frail health, buy piles of fine clothes without a word.

…A sharp, piercing pain seized Jiang Chen without warning.

If there was resemblance,

They both knew exactly how to love.

Born like inexhaustible blazing suns, infused with a lavish, abundant brightness—a warmth that instinctively sought to illuminate every hopeless shadow nearby.

Then, gazing at Shen Fengyan in the illusion…

Every day under Lan Ze Immortal Lord’s care felt like an unbelievable dream he dared not crave, yet he clenched his jaw in tension—like a plant in a damp corner, withering unseen without light, yet fearing incineration if the sun blazed too fiercely.

In the end, he could only hoard that stolen warmth in the deepest recesses of his heart, then spend his days doubting, anxious, unwilling to fully trust, terrified of inevitable loss.

Thus, Shen Fengyan cultivated with manic fervor, striving to excel in everything.

Thus, he subconsciously, almost self-destructively, shoved away his sun time and again—clumsy provocations, petty schemes, dark tricks to prove it all false, to confirm he’d be discarded someday.

Even he didn’t understand why.

Why could his senior brothers and sisters accept kindness so readily, chirp “Thank you, Master” or “Master’s the best,” basking peacefully in Fu Xi Palace’s serene years?

Why couldn’t he alone?

Countless nights, he loathed himself in the dark, clumsily mimicking his siblings’ cheer.

But within days, the heavy, gloomy shell dragged him back.

As if he were born to huddle in narrow cracks. Even with the moon hanging low, within reach, he knew not how to receive its glow—denied true salvation.

Jiang Chen watched that youth and saw another version of himself in this world.

Later…

Lan Ze Immortal Lord finally learned of Shen Fengyan’s hidden background, one that could unleash storms of blood. He resolutely entrusted Fu Xi Palace and the young Li Xuan to Lu Ziyuan and the others, then set off alone to escort Shen Fengyan on the long road to the Four Directions Divine Temples—gathering the Heavenly Seals to rescue his lost blood kin.

Those years, they traversed crimson sand seas, poisonous marshes, braving countless perils together.

At the journey’s start, Lan Ze Immortal Lord acted from a master’s duty and pity. But enduring so much side by side, sustaining each other through hardship, that initial care quietly warped into something deeper, more tangled.

Lan Ze Immortal Lord developed feelings for the youth he’d raised himself—feelings beyond the norm.

But he never spoke.

As master to disciple, how could such taboo sentiments be voiced?

Whenever his gaze drifted toward the boy, it withdrew before contact. Those hidden affections were buried in the darkest depths.

He planned only to see Shen Fengyan reunited with his kin, everything resolved—then quietly withdraw, return to his long-vacant home, and fulfill his duties as brother to the one awaiting him.

But.

Those deeply buried feelings were keenly sensed by Shen Fengyan all the same.

That stormy, thunderous night, the moment truth dawned, a bizarre relief washed through him—see? Finally proven.

Proven that his master’s kindness wasn’t selfless, that the tender warmth came with a price tag.

The blade hovering over his heart finally fell, revealing the “ulterior motives” he’d long foreseen, laid bare.

No one was kind to him for nothing; all had designs.

He flew into a rage, stormed out of Fu Xi Palace without looking back. He fled to the farthest reaches—after the Unstained Immortal Realm split in two, to Drunk Moon City in the Demon Bright—vanishing from sight forever.

Lan Ze Immortal Lord hadn’t even confessed, yet in his eyes, it was unforgivable sin.

But where was the crime?

In reuniting him with kin? In years of devoted care? Shen Fengyan couldn’t say. He could only lie sleepless night after night in Perching Maple Vine Pavilion, listening to the empty chime of wind bells under the eaves, stubbornly refusing to admit his own darkness.

By then, all the Unstained Immortal Realm knew of the master-disciple rift between Shen Fengyan and Lan Ze Immortal Lord—whispers everywhere, yet no one grasped the truth.

“Clearly, they were all heroes who gathered the Heavenly Seals from the four directions and thwarted the State Preceptor’s world-ending scheme… such monumental achievements…”

“It must be that Shen Fengyan failed to claim the Immortal Emperor’s throne, so he blamed Lan Ze for not helping him.”

“Great kindness often breeds great grudges—it’s been that way since ancient times.”

But they only dared to gossip behind his back.

Shen Fengyan was, after all, the War God who commanded awe across the Three Realms, infamous for his foul temper. No one dared to confront him to his face.

Even the senior brothers and sisters of Fu Xi Palace were utterly baffled. Yu Rumu had tried to persuade him several times, while Lu Ziyuan had stormed in directly, sword in hand and radiating menace: “Shen Fengyan! What the hell have you been throwing tantrums about since you were a kid? Don’t you know how Master has treated you? Don’t you know how we’ve treated you?”

“Acting so ungrateful now—has your conscience been eaten by a dog? I’m gonna beat you to death today…”

Others couldn’t understand.

Only someone who had grown up in the shadows just like him could comprehend the paranoia and fear in every step he took.

It was an unease rooted deep in his bones—the more he cherished something, the more it felt like he could only breathe easy once it shattered. But that wasn’t an excuse. It was just that they were both rotten and foolish—he and Shen Fengyan alike.

Jiang Chen watched it all like this, watching that man who was so eerily similar.

He watched as Shen Fengyan hadn’t even had time to realize it too late before he received the news of Lan Ze Immortal Lord’s self-sacrifice.

In that instant, Shen Fengyan’s world collapsed in a flash.

But it was already too late.

No matter how he raged, no matter the soul-crushing despair he endured, Lan Ze Immortal Lord hadn’t even left him half a word.

“…”

So, compared to that man.

Compared to that man, Jiang Chen ought to feel immeasurably grateful.

He had made mistakes too, but at least the person he loved was still alive and well. Even if that person no longer loved him, even if he had no right to disturb him anymore—at least, when the longing became unbearable, he could still catch a distant glimpse; at least, on those sleepless nights of tossing and turning, he could piece together his recent life from scattered words of others.

This was already the greatest mercy fate had shown him.

So.

So, half a month later, after another bloodbath amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood finally ended, taking advantage of the army’s rest period, he still dragged his body full of wounds and quietly arrived beneath the city guarded by the Eastern Route Army.

But this time, he didn’t let Zhao Lixuan know.

In the misty fine rain, as Immortal Emperor Shen Fengyu patrolled the city walls, he spotted that figure standing below the ramparts at a glance.

The man held a plain oil-paper umbrella in one hand, carefully shielding a food box with the other. His luxurious robes still shimmered with radiant splendor in the rain, yet he exuded an indescribable air of desolation.

Shen Fengyu narrowed his eyes.

He still remembered all too well how, back in the Mortal Realm, this man had shattered Lixuan’s heart. As Immortal Emperor, he couldn’t afford to be rude to a war comrade of great merit, but the disgust in his heart lingered.

He walked down from the walls at a leisurely pace, forcing a polite smile: “Looking for Lixuan?”

The man under the umbrella lifted his face, rain-soaked strands of hair clinging to his pale cheeks. He neither admitted nor denied it, only saying softly, “Today is his birthday.”

“Oh?” Shen Fengyu couldn’t help but lace his tone with mockery. “Didn’t expect Jiang Immortal Lord to remember that.”

“Could you… trouble yourself with this? It’s specially made—moon gui cakes.”

In the Unstained Immortal Realm, the birthday custom was to eat moon gui cakes. He had gone out of his way to find the savory kind Zhao Lixuan favored.

“No need to mention me. Just say… you bought them.”

“As if I’d forget Lixuan’s birthday,” Shen Fengyu raised a brow. “He’s at the birthday banquet right now, stuffed with all sorts of delicacies. Probably full to bursting already.”

He paused deliberately, eyes narrowing: “Or why not deliver them yourself? See if he’ll spare you a glance.”

Jiang Chen’s pale lips pressed into a thin line; silence stretched in the rain.

“Lixuan had a bit to drink tonight, you know how he gets when drunk—he loves clinging to people. Hey, so it’s extra lively tonight. Plenty of Immortal Lords clamoring to get close to him. You wouldn’t be missed. So come on, join us?” He dragged out the last words on purpose.

Jiang Chen lowered his gaze, rain dripping from the umbrella’s edge. He recalled that Moon Hunt victory banquet night, when a drunk Zhao Lixuan had clung to Yu Rumu without letting go, all intimate affection.

Shen Fengyu was quite satisfied. At least this man had some self-awareness and didn’t actually have the gall to follow.

It’s on you for not coming.

He turned and left, the rain picking up. By the time he finished his patrol of the defenses, that umbrella-holding figure still stood rooted in place, like a statue soaked through by the downpour.

Shen Fengyu watched from the shadows for a long while, until the city lights dimmed one by one and all grew silent. Only then did that lonely silhouette finally pick up his moon gui cakes and depart in quiet solitude, vanishing into the heavy rainy night.