Chapter 25 Part 1: It was very convenient to hit you.
The peaks of Zhouxu Mountain were treacherous, and the mountain paths were quite winding.
The power of the feather jade on his body was not enough to disperse the resentful demons, but because of the protection of the feather jade, it was also very difficult for the resentful demons to enter his body.
Yan Jingyu stood in the wind and snow, watching the three people slowly coming up from below.
Just as Liao Chen would trigger the restriction if he used a spatial art in the Cloud Sea, they also did not dare to use teleportation casually in the Demonic Domain. But they left no tracks in the snow, and they also had Chaos Spirit Talismans on them. Logically speaking, it would be impossible for them to be discovered even if they really fought with the Asura clan.
Unfortunately, they were using talismans from a hundred years ago, and they were dealing with Liao Chen, who knew Yan Jingyu to the extreme. Sometimes Yan Jingyu even suspected how much time Liao Chen had spent staring at him back then, how he seemed to know everything so clearly…
Thinking of Liao Chen, his heart felt stuffy again.
“What, you can’t bring yourself to do it?”
“What else? Could you bear to kill your own friends?”
“You’re still treating them as friends.” Liao Chen’s tone was filled with anger. “They have already betrayed you!”
“I don’t think that’s a betrayal.” Yan Jingyu said, “They just don’t want to add to their sorrow…”
“So they can hurt you? Make you so sad?!”
“Do you care about me that much?”
“I just think you’re living a wretched life!”
“Ha…” Yan Jingyu couldn’t help but want to laugh. “So I should just kill them to make you happy?”
“…” Liao Chen stared at the Heaven-Scrutinizing Mirror, his breathing suppressed for a long time, before he slowly said, “I told you, you have no choice, unless you want to die in front of Qin Zhongyou.”
Yan Jingyu did not speak.
Liao Chen had once again forced him into a dilemma. He did not blame him, because Liao Chen was his enemy. It was right for him to want him to suffer. He only hated his own incompetence, his inability to escape.
When he knew he only had a few years left to live, he began to cherish every day. But he had not expected that, falling into Liao Chen’s hands, the other would force him into a desperate situation time and time again, making him feel that death was also a kind of relief.
“You helped him that day. Qin Zhongyou has probably already confirmed your identity. What do you think will happen if he knows you died at my hands again, right in front of him?”
…Maybe he shouldn’t have killed Liao Chen.
This was the retribution for Liao Chen ‘helping’ him break through back then!
Back then, every time Liao Chen wanted to kill him, he would inadvertently help him break through, and he would be so angry he would almost vomit blood. Now, every time he wanted to kill Liao Chen, he would also force himself into a dilemma… Hmm?
Every time?
He didn’t know if it was because the wick of his lamp had been engraved by Liao Chen’s divine power, but he felt that his sealed memories seemed to be loosening slightly.
In his memory, he should have only killed Liao Chen on the day Qin Zhongyou pursued them… That day, while waiting for Jiuyi Mountain to return to the world, he seemed to have said that he entered the barrier because he wanted to kill him… But after waking up, his back was sore and his legs were weak. There wasn’t a single scratch on his body, yet it felt as if he had been completely hollowed out by something.
Yan Jingyu once again tried to explore those memories. This time, he vaguely saw chaotic crimson feathers in his spiritual platform, large patches of climbing flowers, a slender finger, spiritual fruits placed in front of him one by one, and also…
The memory fragments flashed by, and Yan Jingyu let out a hiss.
“Yan Qi.” Liao Chen spoke again. “This Lord has already informed An Long through Yin Shi. If you can’t solve them, we’ll have to let the Asura clan come.”
Yan Jingyu pursed his lips tightly.
Liao Chen was now in a seriously injured state, and Qin Zhongyou’s injuries were surely not much better. Qin Zhongyou didn’t like to manage things, and Zeng Huacai couldn’t manage things. Now, among the three of them, the one making the decisions must be Ling Dannan…
He quickly calculated all the possibilities in his mind.
For example, to break with Qin Zhongyou and tell him that he had already become Liao Chen’s lackey. But if it were Qin Zhongyou who had truly fallen into the demonic path today, as long as he was still Qin Zhongyou, Yan Jingyu would only feel heartbroken for him. He would feel that the other must have some kind of unspeakable reason for doing so…
And Qin Zhongyou, back then, when Qin Rui failed his immortal ascension, his father had fallen into demonic deviation because of it and suffered a backlash from his spiritual energy, and soon passed away.
Back then, the elders of the Treasure Pavilion had all come out at the same time, demanding that he hand over his mother’s Heavenly Soul. It was his father, Yan Tingxuan, who had stood up and protected him under his wing, thus preserving the Heavenly Soul.
He cultivated the path of heartlessness and was indifferent to most things, only wanting to continue his mother’s legacy and become an immortal through forgetfulness. In the past, if he encountered any problems, Yan Jingyu would have to coax him for a long time before he was willing to show even a trace of emotion.
…But later, because the Yan family was annihilated, he fell into demonic deviation.
For Qin Zhongyou, only by telling him that the real Yan Jingyu was long dead, and that all of this was a trap set by Liao Chen to lure him in, would he possibly be able to let go completely.
“Did you really inform the Asura clan?”
“Do you think I would show mercy?”
“Can you give me something?”
“No wonder the people of the Demonic Domain always want to leave this place.” After waving his hand and dispersing another resentful demon, Zeng Huacai let out a light sigh. “This wind and snow in the polar night, where is it a place for people to stay?”
“They are not people.” Ling Dannan interjected, “They are either of the demonic path or beasts. It’s just right for them to stay here, so they don’t go out and harm the world.”
Qin Zhongyou, as always, did not join the discussion. He only spoke when he saw the thorn-like mountain peaks ahead. “Ahead is Zhouxu Mountain.”
In the wind and snow of the polar night, most of the demonic beasts were holed up in their lairs. Around them were only rampant resentful demons. The three of them were all great powers with profound magic, so they were not afraid of these things, but they still felt a little disgusted.
Resentful demons were formed from evil thoughts and were inexhaustible. Even after being dispersed, they would re-condense into form.
Just then, Qin Zhongyou’s footsteps suddenly paused.
Ling Dannan followed his gaze and saw that a person was standing on the side of the winding mountain path’s cliff at some point. He was dressed in moon-white clothes, but wrapped in a black fur cloak. The cloak was a bit too large, hanging all the way to the ground, with some length dragging behind.
His profile was as bright as the moon, his nose straight and slightly upturned, the curve of his lips soft, gentle and flawless, as beautiful as jade.
Ling Dannan’s pupils slightly dilated. Zeng Huacai’s expression was dazed. They both unconsciously stopped their steps, until Qin Zhongyou pushed aside his hood, took a step, and ran towards the other with a hurried expression.
They forgot to continue to walk lightly and instantly left one clear footprint after another in the snow. Amidst the rustling sound, Liao Chen sat on the white jade bed, lost in thought.
Yan Jingyu turned around, his expression calm, his eyes clear, as if they could contain mountains, rivers, and the sea.
He looked at Qin Zhongyou’s crimson eyes, his heart filled with a little melancholy and helplessness. He could only smile slightly. Qin Zhongyou also smiled at once. He stopped in front of Yan Jingyu, his eyes staring at him without blinking. His smile gathered and then fell, gathered and then fell again. Finally, he choked, “I’m sorry, A-Yu…”
Yan Jingyu was stunned in place. He had not expected Qin Zhongyou’s first words to him to be this. This apology just blurted out, filled with deep regret and self-blame, as if it had been stuck in his throat for thousands of days and nights.
“I should have stayed in the Yan estate back then. I should have waited with you for Uncle Yan to return from his immortal ascension. I should have thought of it. If he failed his immortal ascension, the thunder-element Heavenly Soul would surely attract countless people to fight for it. If I could have been with you…”
“It’s all in the past.” Yan Jingyu’s voice was gentle.
This matter couldn’t be blamed on Qin Zhongyou. Back then, when his father was attempting immortal ascension, it was the time when the once-in-a-thousand-years Great Desolate Secret Realm opened. Everyone wanted to find an opportunity. Qin Zhongyou had also thought of staying with Yan Jingyu, but Yan Jingyu had confidently told him that with him there, there would be absolutely no problem.
At that time, although he couldn’t see his father’s fate with his Heavenly Mandate Eyes, he had used a Heavenly Mandate art to calculate a top-tier auspicious sign.
In the end, it was he who was too confident in his Heavenly Mandate art, thinking he had already seen through the Heavenly Dao.
“In my heart, this matter has never passed…”
“Let’s talk about something happy.” Yan Jingyu interrupted him. Qin Zhongyou was quiet for a moment. “I, I got the Tianyi Sword… You said this sword was as firm as gold and stone, as heavy as Mount Cang. You said my sword intent was powerful and suited for a heavy sword. I got it. I am now… the Tianyi Sword Master…”
Yan Jingyu gazed at his face. One hundred and thirty-three years. It was not just him who had changed, but also Qin Zhongyou, who had grown up with him.
This was the first time in so many years that Yan Jingyu had seen him so close, heard him. His stubborn eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of life, his dark hair also tinged with frost. His expression unabashedly revealed countless emotions, complex and deep-rooted, yet it seemed difficult to express even a ten-thousandth of what was in his heart.
Of course, he knew that Qin Zhongyou had gotten the Tianyi Sword. When his physical body was finally recast and his eyes were still unusable, he had fumbled his way out of the jade coffin and asked in a hoarse voice, “Are there any other survivors of the Yan Clan…”
“Only you.”
“Has Qin Zhongyou returned from the Great Desolate?”
“He got the Tianyi Sword.”
He had constantly tried to cultivate in the jade coffin, and when he failed time and time again, the only thing that could comfort him was that Qin Zhongyou had broken through another realm, how well Qin Zhongyou had merged with the Tianyi Sword, how much power Qin Zhongyou had unleashed with the Tianyi Sword, and how the world praised the Tianyi Sword Master.
That person had always only told him the good things, never about Qin Zhongyou falling into demonic deviation and his hair turning white overnight. He had tried day and night to draw in spiritual energy, but was stuck at the door time and time again, unable to enter. When he was finally completely disheartened and decided to leave, he only learned of those things from the rumors of the world, and from Liao Chen’s mouth.
“I’ve also been good.” Qin Zhongyou said softly, “You said Dan Nan was the most opinionated. I discuss everything with her, but sometimes I also make her angry. Huacai is still the same, always trying to smooth things over whenever something happens…”
Ling Dannan pursed her lips and was also looking at Yan Jingyu. Zeng Huacai raised his hand and rubbed the corner of his eye.
“I… we all miss you.” Qin Zhongyou said, “A-Yu, we, all thought you…”
Ling Dannan seemed to have just come back to her senses. Her red eyes cleared slightly. “How did you end up here? Did Liao Chen discover our plan?!”
Yan Jingyu did not hide it. He said, “He can see everything.”
Ling Dannan’s pupils contracted. She abruptly looked around, warily looking at Yan Jingyu. “So, he deliberately let you out?”
Yan Jingyu lowered his eyes. Qin Zhongyou had already said, “It doesn’t matter. We’ll talk about it when we get back.”
“Let’s not talk about whether to take him back or not.” Ling Dannan said, “He clearly has no cultivation, yet I can’t see through him…”
“It doesn’t matter.” Qin Zhongyou spoke again and took Yan Jingyu’s hand. “He will tell us what he is willing to tell us.”
Yan Jingyu glanced at him. The hand behind his back deliberately moved a little. Ling Dannan’s gaze suddenly sharpened. “What’s in your hand?!”
“No…”
