Chapter 46: The best result.
Yan Jingyu sat up in bed in the middle of the night.
His dark hair flowed down his bare back. He held the quilt, his expression dazed.
…No, is this reasonable?!
A hand wrapped around his waist. Yan Jingyu immediately lay back down. The other directly pulled him into his arms, his breath stacking on the small tuft of long hair at the top of his head. Yan Jingyu looked at the top of the bed with a complicated expression for a while, then turned his face to look at the other. They were too close. A turn of the head and their faces would be face to face. He retreated a little and pushed the other away.
Liao Chen opened one eye drowsily and held him in his arms again. Yan Jingyu pushed him again. “It’s about enough, isn’t it? It’s not like you can’t suppress your demonic nature every moment.”
Liao Chen reacted for a while, his voice hoarse. “How can you turn your face and not recognize people…”
“Get down.” Yan Jingyu said, “Go back to your side and cultivate.”
“At least after tonight.”
“Liao Qi Mei, can you not act as if there is some ambiguous relationship between us? I am willing to make concessions for your demonic nature because no matter what, you have done a lot for me. But that doesn’t mean I will always indulge this behavior of yours. Hurry up, get lost.”
Liao Chen had to open both his eyes. “Yan Jingyu, am I being too good to you? If it weren’t for the fact that your soul-lamp’s energy is getting less and less, and you can’t even last a month, I could have killed you in one night.”
“I’m the one who’s being too good to you, right?” Yan Jingyu said, “If I didn’t cooperate with you in the slightest, you, the dignified Demon Lord, would be a despicable rapist!”
Liao Chen frowned. “So what if I rape you? What can you do to me?”
“…” Yan Jingyu said, “How did your face get thicker and thicker?”
“This is called ‘he who touches pitch shall be defiled’.” Liao Chen suddenly kissed him. Yan Jingyu, caught off guard, said, “You…”
“What about me?” Liao Chen said, “If you talk any more, I’ll take it as you asking for a kiss.”
“…” Yan Jingyu was so angry he laughed. “Is it that hard to admit you like me?”
Liao Chen kissed him on the lips.
“…If you really have the guts to admit it, I’ll respect you as a hero.”
Liao Chen kissed him on the lips again.
“If you dare to touch me again, try me!”
Liao Chen directly pressed the back of his head and kissed him firmly for nearly half an incense stick’s time.
Yan Jingyu’s mind was a blank. He leaned against his chest, panting. After he was clear-headed again, he didn’t cause any more trouble.
Liao Chen let out a laugh and held him in his arms with satisfaction.
It was quiet between the bed curtains. The two of them leaned against each other quietly, until the other suddenly tightened his arms again. Yan Jingyu moved uncomfortably and heard him speak in his ear, his voice low. “Are you afraid?”
He had never spoken to Liao Chen so closely before. His expression was stunned for a moment, his tone strange. “What?”
“The soul-lamp.” Liao Chen’s chin rested on his forehead. Yan Jingyu couldn’t see his expression, only hearing him say, “Are you afraid?”
Yan Jingyu was extremely awkward. He always felt that this kind of question shouldn’t be discussed with him, and Liao Chen shouldn’t be discussing this kind of question with him either. He lowered his eyelashes and said stiffly, “What, are you afraid?”
“Afraid that you’ll die.”
“You care about me that much?” Yan Jingyu raised an eyebrow. He was suddenly bitten on the forehead. He let out a hiss. Before he could push the other away, Liao Chen had already let go and licked the mark on his forehead that had been scraped by his teeth. “Can you die if you don’t provoke me?”
“Wasn’t it you who provoked me first?” Yan Jingyu said, “First you asked me if I was afraid, then you said you were afraid I would die. Do you dare to say you weren’t provoking me?!”
“…” Liao Chen was quiet for a while and closed his mouth silently.
It was quiet between the bed curtains. He didn’t speak, so of course, Yan Jingyu couldn’t go and look for trouble. He soon closed his eyes, and just as he was about to fall asleep in a daze, he was held by the other again.
If you asked Yan Jingyu if he was afraid, the answer would of course be yes. But he wasn’t afraid of death. He was afraid that someone didn’t want him to die.
He felt more and more that the relationship between him and Liao Chen was too strange, so strange that he was unwilling to think deeply about what kind of strange change had happened between them.
In the following time, Liao Chen was visibly restless. He would squeeze beside Yan Jingyu from time to time, watching him busy himself. Even when he wasn’t with Yan Jingyu, he would secretly stare at him.
The Purple Flame Fruit and the Exquisite Ginseng were not difficult to refine into pills. Yan Jingyu, relying on the fact that he had randomly looked at other people’s fates back then, had mastered many techniques. He was also happy to share with others, and the immortal physicians also liked to talk with him about everything under the sun.
When this fruit and this ginseng were refined into pills, summer had already quietly passed, and the autumn frost had fallen all over the ground. Yan Jingyu learned from the immortal physicians that his soul-lamp could hardly last until the end of the year.
Liao Chen chased after him and pestered him for a while, then ran out to ruin some spiritual medicines again. He piled up a bunch of messy things in the Lingxi Hall, and he didn’t know where he had heard about them. Yan Jingyu sat in the Lingxi Hall and sorted the herbs he had collected, and found that all of them, when refined, could increase one’s lifespan. Unfortunately, what he was lacking was not lifespan at all.
It started to snow again in the Demon Palace in September. Liao Chen returned through the snow. A lot of things had been added to the Suixing Hall.
They were all bought by Yan Jingyu from the newly built city in the Demonic Domain. What charcoal stoves, incense, futons, small tables, chairs, and benches. The originally clean and spacious Suixing Hall had a bit more useless worldly atmosphere because of him.
The reason it was said to be useless was because Liao Chen could directly place a restriction in the Suixing Hall, and there were also countless things in the artifacts that could keep warm in winter. Yan Jingyu’s meddling had made the hall messy everywhere.
He liked to lie by the window and admire the snow, and also the red plums in the courtyard. So he placed a small couch by the window, with a small table and a pillow on it, and also a set of beautiful wine-warming utensils.
He also liked to read by the charcoal stove, so he also placed a soft cushion next to the charcoal stove, so that he could find a new resting place just by moving his noble body. And by the charcoal stove, there was also a small table and a set of wine-warming utensils.
He didn’t even spare the front hall. He called it “admiring the plums in the back hall, admiring the snow in the front hall.” Although Liao Chen felt that couldn’t you just admire the plums and snow together in the back hall? But Yan Jingyu just felt that it was different, saying that you could see a wider view from the front hall… In short, he was very particular.
From time to time, he would also run to his cultivation oasis for a walk, saying that he wanted to feel the breath of nature and enhance the spirituality of life.
Liao Chen only felt that he was a lot of trouble.
When he walked in, Yan Jingyu suddenly pointed at him. “Wait, go back.”
Liao Chen followed his instructions, one action at a time, baffled. “What are you doing?”
“Go step on some snow.”
“…” Liao Chen went down and stepped on some snow, then came back up. He heard him say again, “Stomp your feet outside the door.”
He gently waved his hand and directly cleaned all the snow off his body. “This Lord is not a mortal.”
“You don’t understand. This is what makes it lively.” Yan Jingyu looked at his clean black boots with regret. “Although cultivation is convenient, it always feels like something is missing.”
“You’ve been out recently?”
“No.” Yan Jingyu said, “Mo Dong and Mo Xia helped me buy them. Yu Qiuye said you wouldn’t let me go out.”
Liao Chen curved his lips. “I won’t let you…”
“This isn’t being obedient. This is following the local customs and abiding by the rules.” Yan Jingyu leaned half against the window, poured him some tea with a purple clay pot, and then poured himself some wine with a jade pot. “You’ve been so busy for the past half a year. Do you feel you’ve gained anything?”
“All the herbs in the Lingxi Hall are this Lord’s gains.” Liao Chen came to sit opposite him, took a sip of tea, and said, “You’ve put that useless lotus dew in again?”
“This can clear away heat.” Yan Jingyu said, “It cleanses your mind, soothes your restlessness. It’s a good thing.”
“…” Liao Chen sat opposite and looked at him. The jade cup was delicate, but far less delicate than his fingers. In the past, they would say a person was like jade, but Liao Chen suddenly felt that in the future, if someone were to describe jade, the highest-grade jade should be based on the skin of Immortal Lord Dufang. The corners of his lips unconsciously curved. Thinking of something, his eyes darkened again. “This Lord came back this time because the immortal physicians said that they can reignite your soul-lamp for you in the next two days.”
Yan Jingyu nodded indifferently. Perhaps because the weather was turning cold, his interest had also waned a little. He hadn’t been running around everywhere and had been spending most of his time in the hall reading for the past two days.
“Yan Jingyu…” Liao Chen spoke. He had only called him by his full name, Yan Qi, before. Now, he would occasionally call him by his courtesy name. Yan Jingyu nodded. “Hmm?”
“Let’s go to the Lantern Festival.”
He looked up at Yan Jingyu, a little brightness in his eyes. Yan Jingyu subconsciously looked outside, then calculated the current time. For a moment, he was not sure if he was crazy or if he himself was crazy. “The Lantern Festival?”
“Yes, go to Lingyun City for the Lantern Festival.” Liao Chen said, “My Li Fire can already try to burn through time and space. We’ll make a pact with ourselves. If you are well, we will go to Lingyun City for the Lantern Festival. This way, we can go directly to four months later. If we can see ourselves, then the soul-lamp must have been repaired.”
Yan Jingyu reacted for a moment, then slammed the table. “Nonsense! Even if you have this authority, you cannot casually shake cause and effect. You will be punished by heaven for this! Have you forgotten the Heaven-Slaying Divine Tribulation last time?”
Liao Chen’s eyes darkened. “I just want to know if they succeeded or not.”
“Won’t we know in the next two days?” After Yan Jingyu finished speaking, he added, “You’re not afraid of heavenly punishment, but I am. Even if you want to play, you’re not allowed to play with my affairs. Do you hear me?!”
“…It’s not your affair, so there’s nothing to spy on.”
Liao Chen said “oh” and was visibly restless again.
He suddenly walked down, then came behind Yan Jingyu and sat down next to him.
Yan Jingyu: “…What are you doing?”
Liao Chen paused for a moment, then reached out and hugged his waist. Yan Jingyu raised his hand to pat him, but was directly pulled into his arms.
Liao Chen’s chin rested on his shoulder, which made Yan Jingyu unconsciously curl up his body slightly. He frowned. He felt Liao Chen quietly hold him for a long time. When he felt that his shoulders were so stiff they were about to get sore, he finally heard him say, “I want to do it.”
“…”
This was definitely not right.
Yan Jingyu told himself in his heart a hundred times, this was definitely not right.
…But thinking of the piles of herbs in the Lingxi Hall, he suddenly felt that this was all there was to it.
Two days later, in the Lingxi Hall, an immortal physician gently held up a pill. The pill was half deep purple and half moon-white, forming the shape of a yin-yang plate. A pure power silently surged, which was the fuel for the soul-lamp refined from the Purple Flame Fruit and the Exquisite Ginseng.
“The soul-fire is the origin power of a person.” The immortal physicians sent the pill into Yan Jingyu’s spiritual platform. “Even if the physical body falls, as long as the soul-fire is not extinguished, the three souls and six spirits will still be complete. One can enter the sea of consciousness to re-cultivate and wait to be reincarnated.”
“When the soul-fire is extinguished, the lamp wick turns to dust and melts into the micro. The micro is the true return to the ruins.”
“We have spent many days extracting this origin power from this fruit and this ginseng. We only need to inject it into the soul-lamp. If it can melt, then it can extend his life.”
The mist above the spiritual platform was pushed aside layer by layer. The pill spun and came to the top of the soul-lamp, which was on the verge of extinguishing.
Liao Chen stared at it intently, his breathing almost non-existent. The pill was suspended above the soul-lamp, still spinning without a sound, with no sign of merging at all.
The immortal physicians were sweating profusely. Even Yu Qiuye, who was standing guard at the side, couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
This situation lasted for a whole day before the pill finally slowly melted and a wisp dripped into the soul-lamp.
The soul-lamp immediately burst into a slight flame as if it had been startled. The crowd held their breath, still not daring to move their gaze.
“The melting of the origin power is extremely difficult. We will do our best. Demon Lord, please stand guard at the side and do not make any sound. If anyone uses force improperly, it is very likely that all our efforts will be in vain.”
“At that time, even a Daluo Golden Immortal will find it difficult to extend his life for another day.”
The sky turned from day to night, and then brightened again. Only then did a second drop of fuel soak into the soul-lamp.
Yu Qiuye really couldn’t take it anymore. He quietly retreated, ran to the academy to drink some water. Mo Xia also quickly rushed up. “How is it?”
“Fortunately, I left the path of medicine long ago. This matter of refining the soul-lamp fuel is really not something a human can do.”
“The reason why a person can become a person is because of countless reorganizations of consciousness in the ruins, which then gives birth to the initial origin power… If he hadn’t injured his soul-lamp, everything would have been fine. But he just had to have his soul-lamp damaged.” Li Xiao shook her head. “In the past six months, the Demon Lord has spent a great deal of effort to find medicine for him. But in this world, what can be purer than the origin power?”
“That’s right.” Yu Qiuye said, “The fact that those thousands of blessings entered his soul-lamp was already a great opportunity, but he didn’t grasp it properly… Now, that small bit of origin power, which is only the size of two fingers, how long can it extend his life for? Even if it is truly successful, I’m afraid it will be an empty joy.”
“How on earth did he damage his soul-lamp?”
“How would I know?” Yu Qiuye said, “I’m afraid he was young and arrogant back then. He was also one who had never suffered a setback. He just thought that by betting on the ruins, he could break the boat and re-enter the Dao… he’s simply a madman.”
“Who would have thought that a person like him would fail the gamble.”
The snow in September was intermittent. In the night sky, there were stars again. In the Lingxi Hall, Liao Chen, who had been standing guard for more than ten days, finally saw the last drop of power from the pill merge into the faint soul-lamp.
The immortal physicians collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat. There was a puddle of water around each of them. Liao Chen still did not dare to relax. “How is it?”
The immortal physicians panted for a long time before they showed a look of relief. “It was a success.”
Liao Chen was overjoyed. He abruptly took two steps forward, sat in front of Yan Jingyu, and at the same time, sent his divine sense to his soul-lamp again. “Now there is only eight months of energy… this soul-fire, will it regenerate next?”
Only the tired panting of the immortal physicians could be heard in his ear. He turned his face to look at the crowd and said, as if to confirm, “It will regenerate, right?”
The crowd was quiet for a while, not even having the strength to look at each other.
“This is already the best result.”
Liao Chen said, “What do you mean, the best result?”
“These two pills do indeed have the effect of increasing the origin power, but they themselves do not exist to light the soul-lamp. To be able to reignite it for eight months now is already a miracle among miracles.”
“That’s right. We were already prepared for at most three months.”
The immortal physicians agreed one after another. Liao Chen glanced at Yan Jingyu again, then suddenly waved his hand. The spiritual medicines concentrated on the medicine rack all came to the side of the spiritual bed. He turned his hand and took out the Kun’s core, directly extracting the power from it and injecting it into Yan Jingyu’s body.
The immortal physicians had gradually stood up. “These things can only increase the lifespan of ordinary people. Unless his soul-fire is as usual, otherwise, even if you use them all on him, it will be a useless effort. It would be better to leave them for…”
All the spiritual medicines came to the top of Yan Jingyu’s body.
The true fire instantly enveloped everything. The blazing flames made a whooshing sound, illuminating the entire Lingxi Hall.
Liao Chen was fully focused on refining the herbs, looking at his face, which was illuminated by the firelight, sometimes bright, sometimes dark.
The immortal physicians shook their heads. “There is nothing in this world that can repair the soul-lamp. We said so from the beginning… You insisted on trying, and we have all done our best.”
Liao Chen silently continued to extract the power from the spiritual herbs and beast cores. Not until Yan Jingyu slowly opened his eyes did he knock him out with a wisp of spiritual energy before he could get up.
Liao Chen spoke. “These medicines are not enough. I will go find more. As long as you tell me what else can continue to increase the soul-lamp.”
“There is nothing more.” The crowd shook their heads. “We said, this is already the best result.”
“He still has to ascend to immortality…” Liao Chen said, “Eight months, how can it be…”
“You have already spent half a year finding medicine for him, but you only got eight months in return… It would be better to let yourself go, and also let the Immortal Lord go.”
Liao Chen shook his head. “There must be another way.”
The Vast Expanse Book suddenly floated out of the Qiankun Pouch. Wen Renying opened his eyes warily from the unfolded jade slip and heard Liao Chen say, “There must be more records in here. You go in and look.”
“This book… the Immortal Lord has already shown it to us.” The immortal physicians sighed. “Looking at the past and present, even before the fall of the gods, there was absolutely nothing that could be used as the origin power.”
“That’s right. The power of the soul-lamp all comes from the countless reorganizations of consciousness in the ruins. Those who can be reincarnated are all chosen by fate… so, people must cherish their lives.”
The spiritual medicines above the spiritual bed were drained one by one. All the spiritual energy was sent into Yan Jingyu’s body.
Liao Chen, not believing in evil, continued to refine those spiritual medicines. The immortal physicians, on the other hand, began to pack up their own things.
The sky brightened and then darkened again. When it was bright again, all the spiritual medicines had been completely used up.
He immediately went to examine Yan Jingyu’s soul-lamp again. Above the wick was still only a faint wisp of cold flame, almost no different from when he had brought him back from the Zuoqiu family that day.
“This is impossible…” Liao Chen’s breathing was suppressed and gradually became ragged. “He is the one chosen by fate, he is a child of the laws. If there is only one medicine in this world that can save him, then that medicine will surely exert its strongest effect on him. He is not an ordinary person! How can it only be eight months!”
“Eight months has already proven that he is the one chosen by fate!” an immortal physician said. “If this medicine were used on others, I’m afraid it wouldn’t even have a tenth of its effect!”
Liao Chen’s expression was dazed, his eyes red. He said slowly, “You’re lying… there must be another way. I said, unless I can find a way to completely cure him, I won’t go to the Lantern Festival with him. But we went… there must be another way, there must be!”
Yan Jingyu was still sleeping soundly, his eyes closed.
He clenched his fingers, as if possessed, and madly racked his brains. “There must be, there must be…”
A muffled thunder sounded in the sky. In an instant, rain and snow poured down. The immortal physicians looked at the man sitting by the bed with an ugly face, the endless demonic energy surging around him. He slowly turned his face. In his usually dark pupils, another pair of red pupils appeared. The double pupils overlapped, strange and sinister. “You, you must have another way, right?”
The immortal physicians’ hearts pounded wildly. Liao Chen slowly stood up from the bed, his hand outstretched. Everyone immediately felt their necks being grabbed. Wen Renying quickly dived into the Vast Expanse Book.
The immortal physicians said in a panic, “You said that after this matter was successful, you would let us go home!!”
“Successful…?” Liao Chen let out a laugh. “I have searched the world, I have brought back so many spiritual medicines, and you tell me he can only live for eight months… you still have the face to talk to me about success?”
“You, how can you be so unreasonable?!” Someone looked at Yan Jingyu. “You wake the Immortal Lord up and let him testify for us. Eight months, that was the limit he told us at that time! He himself knew about this matter long ago. Didn’t he tell you?”
Liao Chen suddenly became fierce. One after another, deep purple demonic flames drilled into their bodies. The immortal physicians cried out miserably. “It’s true! We have already done our best! This is already the best result! You ask the Immortal Lord, you ask the Immortal Lord!!!”
Liao Chen’s teeth trembled slightly. He said, word by word, “It’s not up to him. How long I want him to live, he has to live that long. He has no right to bargain with me, and neither do you.”
“We have no other way, we really have no other way!!”
“There is nothing in this world that can repair the soul-lamp! That is a soul-lamp! If the soul-lamp is destroyed, how can it possibly be repaired! Unless you let him go to the sea of consciousness, go to the sea of consciousness… to re-cultivate as a human!”
“If he goes to the sea of consciousness, he will be completely returned to the ruins.” Liao Chen gritted his teeth again, suppressing the trembling of his whole body. “Do you take me for a fool?!”
The demonic flames suddenly blazed up. Amidst a chorus of miserable cries, Liao Chen’s voice was still incomparably clear. “Think carefully. If you can’t think of anything, this Lord will let you live in purgatory forever, unable to live, unable to die.”
Yan Jingyu on the bed was still sleeping soundly, his breathing calm.
In the academy, Li Xiao carefully withdrew her divine sense and said in a low voice, “It’s the best result… and also the worst result. Yu Qiuye, you, why don’t you hide for a while.”
Before Yu Qiuye could react, he suddenly saw the space beside him being burned through by a raging fire. He reflexively wanted to run, but was instantly entangled by a wisp of demonic energy and dragged in.
As soon as he entered, he saw a group of people suspended in the air, rolling back and forth in the deep purple demonic flames. Everyone was in extreme pain.
Before his brain could start working again, he was also thrown into the demonic flames. His blood suddenly boiled. He cried out miserably, “Demon Lord, Demon Lord, I didn’t do anything. This matter has nothing to do with me!!!”
“Since you practice the path of medicine, you should save lives.” Liao Chen said coldly, “If you can’t save them, then you should be punished. This Lord is acting on behalf of the Heavenly Dao to awaken your conscience.”
Yu Qiuye cursed him in his heart. He rolled around, but still felt pain everywhere. Not only was the outside of his skin hurting, but the inside of his skin, in his blood vessels, and in the cracks of his bones, were all being burned by the demonic flames, causing him unbearable pain.
He suddenly kicked the person beside him and cursed in pain, “Aren’t you from the Suwen Medical Valley? How can you be so useless!!”
“You’re also from the Suwen Medical Valley!!” The immortal physician also struggled and kicked him back, saying in great pain, “He wants a way to completely repair the soul-lamp. Who can have a way to completely repair the soul-lamp?! Unless he can go back to the past and prevent the Immortal Lord from consuming his soul-lamp to cast his body with wood… otherwise, who can repair a destroyed soul-lamp?!”
Liao Chen’s gaze slowly turned over. Yu Qiuye suddenly had a flash of inspiration and struggled to climb out of the demonic flames. “Demon Lord, Demon Lord, I know! You can go back to one hundred and thirty-three years ago and prevent the Immortal Lord from burning his spirit to drive the wood. As long as the soul-lamp is not extinguished, there is still room for maneuver!!!”
The immortal physicians also seemed to be enlightened at this moment. That’s right, Liao Chen just wants a solution from them. As long as they give a solution, whether he can do it or not is Liao Chen’s own business.
They came over one after another and said, “Yes, yes, as long as you prevent him from using the evil art of burning his spirit to drive the wood, there will definitely be a turn for the better!!”
“As long as you go back to the past, you will have a chance to prevent the soul-lamp from being destroyed. In this way, not only can the Immortal Lord live for a hundred years, but he can also successfully ascend to immortality and return to his peak!!”
“The Demon Lord’s divine power is boundless. He will definitely have a way to save the Immortal Lord!”
“Hurry up and set off!”
Amidst the chorus of agreement from the immortal physicians, the demonic flames finally slowly disappeared.
Liao Chen’s eyes, silently, lit up.
