Chapter 24: You killed me once for him, you must also kill him once for me!
As Qin Zhongyou walked out of Yaoguang Valley, Zeng Huacai and Ling Dannan were already leaning against the stone wall, having waited for a long time.
Their six eyes met. Qin Zhongyou’s expression was grave.
Ling Dannan had already smiled. “See, what did I tell you? He definitely couldn’t hold it in.”
Zeng Huacai also said, “The way he mentioned that person the other day, I knew he was definitely thinking about this.”
“Actually, after hearing his description, I also feel that that person might be Jingyu.”
“That’s right.” Zeng Huacai stood up straight. “Since we all feel this way, it seems this trip is unavoidable?”
Qin Zhongyou’s eyes flickered. After a long moment, he said, “You want to go to the Demonic Domain with me?”
“Yes, and no,” Ling Dannan’s expression became slightly serious. “I understand your thoughts, and I also support you in verifying his identity. But I have a plan, and you must listen.”
As old friends of many years, Qin Zhongyou did not hesitate. “Go on.”
“We need to cooperate with the Asura clan to kill Liao Chen.”
Qin Zhongyou was silent for a while. “Back then, Jingyu killed An Long’s older brother. How can you be sure that he won’t harm Jingyu after killing Liao Chen?”
“I will sign a blood contract with him.” Ling Dannan seemed to have had a plan for a long time. “We will tell him about Liao Chen’s serious injury and agree to kill Liao Chen with him. The condition is that he gives that person to us… Whether that person is Jingyu or not, this is an opportunity for us. By killing Liao Chen, so many people from the Yan Clan can finally rest in peace.”
“You guys…”
“You’re not the only one who cares about the Yan Clan.” Ling Dannan gazed at him. “We have also been waiting for a chance for revenge.”
Snow began to fall again in the Demon Palace.
Yan Jingyu crawled around in a pile of jars, panting as he put the spoiled medicine in one pile, the low-grade spiritual medicine in another, and then the high-grade ones in another… When he was too tired to move, he found that the spoiled ones were far more numerous than the high-grade and low-grade ones combined, not to mention the pills he could use, which was like finding a needle in a haystack.
He really couldn’t rummage anymore. He lay down on the soft bed made of bottles and jars and saw the area he hadn’t rummaged through on the other side. His vision suddenly went black.
…I might as well not eat this medicine.
This bed was truly special. A slight movement would produce a clinking and clattering sound of collision and friction. It wasn’t particularly pleasant, but it was exceptionally novel.
Yan Jingyu rested for a while, then turned over and lay on his stomach, looking at Liao Chen.
After a while, he said, “What you said just now, law-grade artifact… what does that mean?”
In his memory, the highest-grade artifact in the cultivation world was holy-grade. Even in Hutian, he had never heard the term “law-grade.” But when Liao Chen said those words, he vaguely felt as if he had pushed aside layers of mist and seen a higher, more distant place…
“That is an artifact that can only be controlled after possessing an immortal quality. It is bound to the laws. But to say that the Heavenly Mandate Eyes are an artifact, it’s better to say that the laws have been personified through your eyes. The reason you can cultivate so quickly is because the Heavenly Dao has chosen you.” Liao Chen looked at him. “You were born with an immortal quality. You are a child of the laws.”
“Then…”
“Your Heavenly Mandate Eyes should be able to see through everything.” Liao Chen’s tone was calm. “As you…”
His lips were still moving, but Yan Jingyu could no longer hear a single word. He subconsciously moved closer to the other. Liao Chen noticed his movement and stopped talking.
Yan Jingyu said, “Just now, I suddenly couldn’t hear.”
He couldn’t hear, and he couldn’t even read his lips.
“Because you have lost the Heavenly Mandate Eyes for too long, your immortal quality is also disappearing.” Liao Chen said, “Actually, it’s already very surprising that you can hear these things. The cultivation world’s knowledge of the highest-grade artifacts only stops at the holy-grade, because the rules have hidden the relevant authority. The words I told you just now, it’s not that you can’t hear them, it’s just that your status is not high enough, and you are being blocked by the rules.”
For a moment, Yan Jingyu didn’t know what else to ask.
With Liao Chen’s words… even if he didn’t say it directly, Yan Jingyu knew that with his current state, he was not worthy of inquiring about these things.
“If you can ascend to immortality, you can bypass the authority and obtain this memory.” Liao Chen spoke again, calling out, “Yan Qi.”
He said, “The laws have not given up on you.”
It was as if a pebble had fallen into a silent abyss. There was no sound, but it gently stirred the darkness.
The bottles and jars had unknowingly formed the shape of a nest. Yan Jingyu sat inside, his left, right, and back all tightly wrapped by various bottles. Because the units were extremely small, they gently rose and fell with the fluctuations of spiritual energy, like the giant mouth of a beast, or like a breathing harbor.
In the silence, Liao Chen suddenly turned his head. “Hmm?”
The Heaven-Scrutinizing Mirror appeared from the void. Yan Jingyu turned his head to look and found that it was still snowing heavily outside. The snow clusters were kneaded into fine pieces by the wind, becoming chaotic in the wind. He couldn’t recognize which part of the Demonic Domain this was, nor was he sure what Liao Chen was looking at.
The Heaven-Scrutinizing Mirror was enlarged. Only then did he discover that something seemed to be moving in the wind and snow. There were no tracks on the snow, nor any shadows, but the wind and snow in the air seemed to be blocked by something, unable to penetrate those objects. If you didn’t look carefully, you would hardly notice.
Not until a distorted mist with a human-like face appeared did a wisp of spiritual energy suddenly shatter it. Yan Jingyu’s breath caught, and he suddenly realized something.
Liao Chen also curved his lips. “Chaos Spirit Talisman. Yan Qi, this is your handiwork.”
Yan Jingyu was wary. He couldn’t help but tense his muscles and saw his eyes filled with gloom.
“Back then, it was with the Chaos Spirit Talisman that you managed to escape Chi Yuan’s sight and successfully infiltrate the Demon Palace to destroy the Heaven-Devouring Cauldron.” Liao Chen said softly, “Now, your friends are also delusional enough to try and escape this Lord’s gaze with it…”
The Heaven-Scrutinizing Mirror suddenly rippled. The three previously invisible figures instantly revealed their clear outlines. Two men and a woman, all wearing the common hooded cloaks of the Demonic Domain. The lower half of their faces were covered by the veils raised inside the hoods, but the exposed eyes were enough for Yan Jingyu to recognize their appearance.
“Unfortunately, this Lord has already improved the shadow-recording pearls everywhere after obtaining the authority. The Chaos Spirit Talisman is useless here.”
Yan Jingyu said subconsciously, “I don’t know what they’re here for…”
The Heaven-Scrutinizing Mirror zoomed out again. Liao Chen said, “This is Zhouxu Mountain.”
Jagged and sharp black rocks appeared before his eyes. The irregular stone pillars that rose up were cold and ferocious. The snow clusters couldn’t even stand on the overly sharp rocks and only brushed past them diagonally, accumulating at the foot of the rocks.
Zhouxu Mountain… was the habitat of the Asura clan.
“In the dead of winter, during the polar night, the resentful demons are rampant. What do you think they want to do by looking for the Asura clan?”
Demonic energy was already overflowing from his body, his killing intent tangible. Yan Jingyu’s mind raced, his expression calm. “The Asuras are the only race in the entire Demonic Domain that can coexist with the resentful demons. They are androgynous, warlike and bloodthirsty, and like to engage in bloody worship. They are a tribal society…”
In Liao Chen’s cold gaze, Yan Jingyu stopped reciting and said obediently, “They want to join forces with the Asura clan to take your life while you’re sick. But this really has nothing to do with me. You saw that they wanted to kill me last time. After that, I was brought here to heal with you. It’s impossible for me to have contacted them…”
Liao Chen seemed a little surprised. “Oh?”
“What ‘oh’?” Yan Jingyu said. “Hurry up and think of a way to stop them. Otherwise, what will happen if you die?”
His anxiety was not faked at all, but Liao Chen was still a little suspicious. “You don’t want me to die?”
“I originally wanted to, but didn’t you save me?” Yan Jingyu said, as if it were a matter of course. “And we are now grasshoppers on the same rope. I killed An Long’s older brother back then and have an irreconcilable feud with the Asura clan. If these guys really join forces with them, I will definitely be killed too.”
“…” Liao Chen hesitated slightly. “Are you afraid of death?”
“Who would want to die if they can live?” Yan Jingyu said without thinking. Liao Chen was quiet for a moment. Yan Jingyu added, “You just said that the laws haven’t given up on me. Doesn’t that mean you hope I won’t give up on myself either?”
Liao Chen’s lips moved slightly, and a smile gradually spread in his eyes. “You actually listened to all of it…”
“Stop with the nonsense.” Yan Jingyu said, “You have the authority of the Demonic Domain. Can’t you just expel them?”
“You’re afraid I’ll kill them, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Yan Jingyu did not deny it. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“Including me?”
“Of course, including you.” Yan Jingyu said, “Although you have a foul mouth, a bad temper, are moody, and always think of fattening me up to kill me, you saved my life, bought me clothes, and even when you were almost killed by me, you only wanted to give me a cup of silent poison… And you always encourage me, you’re even willing to tell me about the laws… you even soften up when I cry…”
“Bullshit.” Liao Chen interrupted him. Yan Jingyu couldn’t help but laugh. “But actually, your mouth is foul because you’re too embarrassed to admit it. You’re moody because you’re always afraid of being hurt by others. You have a bad temper because you feel wronged… am I right?”
“…” Liao Chen’s brow twitched, his gaze cold. Yan Jingyu smiled again.
He had been the empathetic one in his small group since he was a child. As long as someone he cared about had emotions, he could notice it immediately and could quickly understand what the other person was thinking.
Having been forced to stay with Liao Chen during this time, he had also figured out his temper more or less. Although he was cold, this just meant that he was a little at a loss in his heart.
He knew that the crisis had been temporarily resolved, so he tentatively lifted his leg to get off the bed of jars. Just as he landed on the cloud bed, he suddenly saw Liao Chen reveal a smile.
“…” Yan Jingyu’s heart sank. He saw him raise his hand, and a curved, sharp knife appeared in his palm. “Since this Lord has been so good to you, I believe you won’t mind helping me with something.”
Yan Jingyu’s face was wary. “What is it?”
“Haven’t you always wanted to draw a line with Qin Zhongyou?” Liao Chen was at ease. “Use this knife to kill him.”
Yan Jingyu’s expression was dazed, and he said in astonishment, “Me?”
He pointed at his own nose. “To kill Qin Zhongyou?!”
He started to think that Liao Chen’s brain was sick again. Not to mention that it was impossible for him to attack Qin Zhongyou, the other was the Tianyi Sword Master, at the Great Perfection of the Taiqing Realm, a great power of the immortal sects who was about to ascend to immortality! Not to mention that he was just a waste, even if he could really draw in spiritual energy, he would be no match for Qin Zhongyou at all!
“What, you’re not willing?”
“Of course I’m not.”
Liao Chen stared at him coldly. Yan Jingyu pursed his lips. “No, I mean, I think I’ll die at his hands.”
“With a face like yours, he won’t be willing to kill you.”
“…” Yan Jingyu said, “Do you think I’ll have a chance to get close to him? Even if I have a chance to get close to him, do you think I can draw a knife under his divine sense? Even if I can draw a knife, do you really think I can send this thing into his body?”
Liao Chen took out the jade pendant again. This time, Yan Jingyu clearly felt the change on the jade pendant. Wisps of spiritual light were scattered on it, heading in his direction.
The jade pendant flew towards his body, not a single wisp of spiritual light left for Liao Chen. It was like a tired bird returning to its nest. All the spiritual light showed a pouncing shape. When it hung steadily at his waist, the spiritual light even rubbed against him coquettishly, as if content.
Yan Jingyu was a little hesitant. “I feel that since we came out of Jiuyi Mountain, it seems to have misunderstood something…”
“Come here.”
Liao Chen’s voice interrupted him. Yan Jingyu had no choice but to move towards him. Liao Chen’s voice was calm. “This Lord will place a mark on the wick of your soul-lamp. This way, you can use it as an external spiritual sea and obtain spiritual energy.”
Every time I feel that he’s a pretty good person, he suddenly starts something!
Yan Jingyu reflexively wanted to get away, but was clamped by his waist. Liao Chen’s palm pressed him towards himself irresistibly. “Afraid?”
“…If my soul-lamp is branded by you, won’t my life be in your hands in the future?”
“But you can obtain spiritual energy.”
“Spiritual energy is precious, but freedom is more valuable.”
“Waste.” Liao Chen clamped his waist with one hand and pressed the back of his head with the other, forcefully pressing his forehead against his own, and said in a low voice, “It’s just a mark. If you feel uncomfortable, you can remove it later… Do you think your life is in your own hands now?”
Yan Jingyu pressed his hands on his shoulders, trying hard to move his forehead away. “It will hurt…”
“If you don’t have spiritual energy, how can you do things for this Lord?”
“Then don’t let me go!”
“You killed me once for Qin Zhongyou, you must also kill him once for me!”
“Why should I kill him for you!!!”
Liao Chen’s eyes turned cold. He pressed him against himself, and his powerful primordial spirit pierced into his spiritual platform like a sharp awl.
“Mmm…” Yan Jingyu closed his eyes, still constantly trying to move his forehead away. The feeling of his spiritual platform being invaded was too unbearable. He said in a hoarse voice, “Liao Chen, I am your mortal enemy…”
“We have long been mortal enemies.” Liao Chen said, word by word, “Yan Qi, you have no choice.”
The primordial spirit passed through the heavy barriers of the spiritual platform and finally found the lamp engraved with the runes of life. The flame was weak, on the verge of extinguishing. The wick was already dry and withered, like a dehydrated fava bean, wrinkled and shriveled.
The crimson and black demonic energy pierced through the soul-fire, like a demon spying on the candlelight.
Yan Jingyu’s face was pale. He seemed a little uneasy, disturbed by the demonic energy. The soul-lamp also shrank slightly, as if trying to escape the malicious entanglement.
Liao Chen’s eyes darkened slightly.
The ferocious demonic energy began to shrink inch by inch. The soul-lamp expanded inch by inch as the other shrank. When the demonic energy completely disappeared, the soul-lamp also returned to its original state.
The pure divine power, crimson and translucent, approached the shriveled wick bit by bit, engraving itself on it, strand by strand.
Yan Jingyu suddenly went limp in his arms, his body curled up, his lips tightly pursed. Not until Liao Chen’s primordial spirit had completely withdrawn did he tremble and glare at the other.
The corners of his eyes were scarlet, and his clear eyes were covered with a layer of water.
Liao Chen’s fingers lifted, then were restrainedly withdrawn. He lifted his hand and threw him out.
Before Yan Jingyu’s figure was swallowed by the crack, he suddenly waved his hand, and a wisp of spiritual energy shot straight at him, hitting him right in the face.
Liao Chen was caught off guard and was hit so hard that his head turned to the side. He then glared at him fiercely.
Yan Jingyu had already turned and plunged into the crack, instantly appearing in the wind and snow of Zhouxu Mountain.
He fell into the snow with a thud, smashing a large, deep pit.
After he climbed up, he didn’t look back, but ran a long way before turning to look at the gloomy-faced Liao Chen in the crack.
His expression was stubborn, his resentment silent.
Before he could get angry, he turned again, clumsily controlling the external spiritual energy, and clumsily climbed up the cliff of Zhouxu Mountain.
