Chapter 47: Let me carry you one more time.
Snow began to fall again in the Demon Palace. The snowflakes were fine and dense, already covering the ground with a layer of white frost.
On the way from the Lingxi Hall back to the Suixing Hall, Liao Chen was always very calm.
Wen Renying flew beside him, looking at the sleeping Yan Jingyu in his arms. “Little dog thief, don’t be impulsive. You should wake Little A-Yu up first and discuss things with him.”
“Wake him up for what?” Liao Chen said coldly, “To tell him he only has eight months to live? And then celebrate everyone’s success with him?!”
“Little A-Yu doesn’t care about these things…”
“He doesn’t care.” Liao Chen said, “How do you know he doesn’t care? If one can live, who would want to die?”
“…” Wen Renying looked at his trembling eyelids and his crimson eyes. Although he quickly calmed down, he still saw the other’s collapse in that instant.
…Aren’t you two arch-nemesis? he thought, then let out a slow sigh. “But if you go back, you will shake cause and effect. He won’t remember everything you’ve done for him…”
“If he doesn’t remember, then he doesn’t remember.” Liao Chen said coldly, “I only ever wanted to fight him at our peak. As long as he can ascend to immortality, what does it matter if he doesn’t remember me?”
“By reversing time and space, you will surely be punished by heaven. You are only a Demon God, and this one hundred and thirty-three years involves the cause and effect of too many people. You simply cannot bear it… You might have your soul scattered and annihilated, and everything you have now. You are already a Demon God. If you go back, everything you have will have to start over. Maybe you will die in the next hundred years. Even so, you must go back?”
“I will not die.”
“What if?”
“There is no what if.” His tone was determined. “I will not die.”
“When the Heaven-Slaying Divine Tribulation comes down, one strike can make you fall from your realm, and two strikes can take away your authority. Even if you are a phoenix demon, even if you have the Vermilion Bird’s divinity…”
“Then let it come.”
He turned through the long corridor and entered the back hall, which was full of life. He gently placed Yan Jingyu on the bed. Wen Renying anxiously circled him. Liao Chen summoned the blood beast to guard the head of the bed, then glanced at Yan Jingyu again and suddenly raised his hand to tap his glabella.
Wen Renying said quickly, “The Curse of Mutual Destruction! You, do you want him to live, or do you want him to die!”
“If I live, he lives. If I die, he dies.” Liao Chen directly imprinted the divine curse into Yan Jingyu’s spiritual platform. “If I can’t withstand the heavenly punishment, wouldn’t it be boring for him to live alone?”
“You, you… you’re crazy!”
Liao Chen sneered, stood up, and pulled the bed curtains. The silk curtains slowly fell. Yan Jingyu was still sleeping peacefully inside.
Before the bed curtains were completely closed, Liao Chen had already turned around without looking back. A rotating flame appeared in the space behind him. It grew brighter and sharper, turning into a fire blade that shredded space, shredded time and space. Endless streams of light and broken shadows poured out, and were once again shredded to pieces, spinning and flying in all directions.
Wen Renying suddenly dived back into the Qiankun Pouch, leaving only a sentence: “…Live well!”
As soon as he entered the Qiankun Pouch, he saw one after another holy-grade artifact brush past him. Wen Renying’s eyes widened subconsciously. “Chaos Hidden Space Banner, Star Illusion Glazed Lamp, Void Spirit Hidden Cloak…”
They were all artifacts for hiding one’s figure. He was not hot-headed and preparing to die, but had truly made full preparations.
Wen Renying stopped and murmured, “As expected of the heir to the legacy of several generations of Demon Lords. It seems your chances of survival are really high…”
The Hidden Space Banner was tucked into his waist, the hood of the Spirit Hidden Cloak covered his head and face, and the Star Illusion Glazed Lamp turned into a stream of light, spinning around him to protect him. Liao Chen plunged into the time-space tunnel, at the same time activating the Hidden Escape Art, and warily held his breath, ready to deal with the prying of the rules at any time.
Of course, he knew that his return to the past this time would anger the rules. But he had many holy-grade artifacts in his hands. As long as he was careful and was not discovered by the Time Patrol Guards, he would not be detected by the rules.
Time turned into afterimages and passed by him. One year, two years, three years… He continued to move forward, the Hidden Escape Art always circulating around his body, never daring to be careless for a moment.
He had experienced too many life-and-death situations, and each time he had borne it alone. He knew the preciousness of life better than anyone else.
If I can save him, I’ll save him. If I can’t, I’ll retreat—!
He had already done his best. If Yan Qi had to die, then it was the Heavenly Dao that didn’t want him to live.
He made the worst-case scenario in his heart and accelerated even more, rushing out.
The speed of the flow of time and space gradually slowed down. Liao Chen stopped his steps bit by bit and saw the white banners and yellow paper flying in Yaoguang Valley, saw the discussion in the tavern about the annihilation of the Yan Clan, saw Qin Zhongyou kneeling in the Yan family’s ancestral hall, and also Ling Dannan and Zeng Huacai, who were covering their faces and crying…
He turned his face away and accelerated again.
When he stopped again, he saw the crowd fighting in Yaoguang Valley. He saw Du Qiyun use up the last of her cultivation to activate her husband’s Heavenly Soul, and a crack was torn open in the sky. He saw her hiss at Yan Jingyu, who was holding a sword and fighting desperately, “Father and mother will protect you one last time. Go!!!”
He saw a huge amount of spiritual energy roll up Yan Jingyu. He saw him struggling to grab his mother. He saw the tears rolling down his eyes. He heard him crying and shouting, “Mother—”
He continued forward and saw on the celestial walkway Yan Jingyu, dressed in a new and crisp brocade robe with silver dark patterns and plain colors. On his hair was a silver and jade crown and hairpin. On the hairpin was also the small Immortal Lord feather ribbon that was most popular in Hutian City in those years. He was ethereal and also proud and beautiful, smiling as he spoke to Qin Zhongyou, “I’ve already checked. The Tianyi Sword is as firm as gold and stone, and as heavy as Mount Cang. It’s the most suitable for you. This time, with the reopening of the Great Desolate Secret Realm, it’s the best opportunity for you to seize the sword. You must get it no matter what!”
“But your injuries haven’t healed yet…”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already used a Heavenly Mandate art to calculate that father will succeed in his immortal ascension. Besides, there’s still mother and a group of older brothers and sisters at home. It’s not like you’re the only one.”
He saw him standing on the celestial walkway, bidding farewell to his three friends, waving his hand vigorously, not forgetting to make a request, “Don’t forget to help me collect some gilded grass threads. When I come back, I’ll have mother help me make beautiful clothes!”
“We’re going to risk our lives!” Ling Dannan said in annoyance, “All you know is beautiful!”
“Don’t forget, don’t forget!”
In the end, it was Zeng Huacai who let out a laugh, put his hands to his lips, and said, “I know, I know. And also Qixia grass, and Shuanghua cotton. I’ve remembered them all!”
Liao Chen stopped in front of him, gazing at the Yan Jingyu before him. The Yan Jingyu of that year had red lips and white teeth, as if carved from jade. His life was really too good. Even though he was already twenty, he looked as if he were only in his teens, so tender that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of him.
Yan Jingyu did not stay on the celestial walkway for long. He soon flew down, his figure as graceful as a startled swan. When he landed, he was very light. Occasionally, a passing noble family would see his skills and laugh and curse, “Are your injuries healed yet! You’re showing off again!”
Yan Jingyu laughed out loud. “How could that little demon lord possibly hurt me? I was healed long ago!”
“Little demon lord?” someone said. “Between you and Liao Chen, who is older?”
“Of course I’m older!” Yan Jingyu landed on a small boat in the river, his face not red, his breath not panting. “My birthday is on the tenth of the eighth month, and his is on the eighth of the tenth month.”
“…” Full of nonsense.
Liao Chen glared at him.
He always stayed by Yan Jingyu’s side. He knew very well that as long as he reached out his hand into his time, he would immediately be detected by the rules.
He could hide in the tunnel, but as long as he went out, he would surely trigger the rules.
Liao Chen pursed his lips, took Wen Renying out of the Qiankun Pouch, and said in a low voice, “Is there any way to send him a message and let him stop Yan Tingxuan from attempting immortal ascension?”
The reason why the Yan Clan had been tragically annihilated back then was, in the end, because Yan Tingxuan had failed his immortal ascension. If he hadn’t attempted immortal ascension, then the Yan Clan would not have been in possession of a treasure that brought them trouble, and the Yan family would always be a top-tier noble family in Hutian. Yan Tingxuan was a supreme being, and he would always be a young master.
Immortal ascension, as long as Yan Jingyu alone ascended to immortality, that would be fine. He didn’t believe that with Yan Jingyu’s aptitude, he could still fail his immortal ascension.
“You, so you were planning this all along…” Wen Renying, while letting out a sigh of relief, thought for a moment and shook his head. “You are now in the time-space tunnel. If you want to talk to him, you must go out. Whether it’s sound transmission or delivering a message, you will definitely not be able to avoid the rules.”
“There must be another way.” Liao Chen began to rummage through his Qiankun Pouch. Wen Renying’s mood gradually became strange. “So, you actually never intended to go against the rules?”
“What good would it do me to go against the rules?”
“…Then you said just now, ‘ah, if you have the guts, let them come’—”
Under his sinister gaze, Wen Renying covered his mouth. Liao Chen said coldly, “This Lord has thought it over. My original intention was to kill him. He can die, but I cannot. I still bear the hope of reviving the phoenix clan.”
“…Really?”
“Of course it’s false.” Liao Chen continued to rummage through his Qiankun Pouch. He suddenly took out a piece of energy crystal. It was one of the ones he had shown Yan Jingyu when he was teasing him about making him into a Wufang Stone. He held it in his hand, looking at the strolling Yan Jingyu on the street, pursed his lips, and was just about to throw it out when Wen Renying said quickly, “You’re not going to carve words on it?”
“If I carve words, the rules will know it’s man-made.” Liao Chen said, “The Time Patrol Guards will search the entire tunnel and find me.”
“Then what are you planning to do?”
Liao Chen looked at the tender Yan Jingyu, was quiet for a while, and said, “Before, when I was hunting him, we were accidentally swept into a snowfield maze together. At that time, in order to cooperate and get out of the maze, we set a secret signal. We would shatter an energy stone and arrange it on the ground in the shape of a turtle, which meant that there was an illusion demon ahead and we needed to avoid disaster. If it was in the shape of a pig’s tail, it meant that the illusion demon’s defense was low and we could attack.”
“Why… not be simpler, and use a square or a triangle instead?”
“It was originally like that. Who told him to suddenly have a whim and draw a turtle to curse me? Of course, I had to curse him back.”
Wen Renying covered his mouth and laughed. Liao Chen also seemed to think that the two of them back then were very childish. He glanced at the young man with his eyes shifting, handsome and unrestrained, and said, “He is so smart and perceptive. As long as I send this stone out and let it flow into the shape of a turtle in front of him, he will naturally know that there will be a disaster ahead.”
Wen Renying gave him a certain look. “Then let’s try.”
He could see that the reason Liao Chen was willing to talk to him so much was, in the end, because he had no confidence.
Although he looked like a little boy, he had lived for tens of thousands of years after all. How could he not understand the little dog thief’s thoughts? Since he had already come here, it was always right to encourage him.
Liao Chen was quiet for a while and finally made a move to mark the energy stone, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and quickly threw it out.
The next instant, a chaotic figure holding a double axe suddenly appeared in the time-space tunnel. Liao Chen squatted motionlessly inside, watching as the energy stone was blocked by something the moment it was about to go out and landed in the tunnel of overlapping broken shadows.
He and the little boy stared at the other, listening to the huffing and shouting of the chaotic figure walking back and forth in their ears. Then, it took away the energy stone and gradually disappeared.
Liao Chen’s face was very cold.
After a long while, Wen Renying finally said, “…Around him, the rules, have restricted him.”
“As expected.” Liao Chen’s gaze went upwards, his eyes deep and serene.
“Who… dares to provoke the rules?!”
In the tunnel, a large amount of pressure suddenly poured in. One after another, pairs of eyes opened in the distorted, flowing time and space. Wen Renying said, “It’s not just one rule… little dog thief, you’re in trouble.”
“Come out!” another voice said, it was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman. “Who is it! Who dares to linger in time and space, come out—!”
A ball of thunder light fell into the tunnel, rolling with vast divine might, as if it were going to annihilate all living beings in the entire tunnel.
Wen Renying plunged back into the Qiankun Pouch. Liao Chen, on the other hand, did not hesitate to use his spiritual energy to try and rush out. His body slammed heavily against the rule power of the tunnel. The Glazed Lamp immediately shattered. Knowing that there was no hope of hiding, he immediately put away the Hidden Space Banner and the Spirit Hidden Cloak on his body and directly punched and exploded the rolling ball of thunder light.
He took a step back and looked at the one after another spying eyes in the sky.
“It’s the little demon god…”
“The one who swallowed the Vermilion Bird’s divinity? His Li Fire can already burn through time and space?”
“What is he doing here?”
“Stopping here, is it to save Yan Jingyu?”
“Aren’t they arch-nemesis? Did I remember wrongly?”
“I don’t know…”
“Cut the crap, drive him back!”
The rewinding time and space were suddenly forced to flow again. Liao Chen’s figure was instantly pulled towards the future. His pupils slightly dilated. He forcefully used his authority to stabilize time and space, and at the same time, he used his spiritual energy again to rush out.
“Don’t be ungrateful!”
The powerful rule power began to contend with him. Liao Chen was suddenly pulled back for a few months. The sky rumbled with thunder, and a slender figure fell from the sky, being crushed to pieces in the thunder.
That was Yan Tingxuan, who was in the process of ascending to immortality.
When Liao Chen rushed out for the third time, time had once again gone back. Du Qiyun held the Heavenly Soul, her expression dazed. Yan Jingyu and a group of senior brothers and sisters knelt beside her, their eyes crimson.
Yaoguang Valley was deathly silent.
He clenched his fist and finally couldn’t help but say, “Why?! A law-grade artifact can only be broken by another law. Why did his Heavenly Mandate Eyes fail?! Between you, who on earth wants him to die?!”
“How did he know we want Yan Jingyu to die?”
A confused voice came to his ears. Liao Chen’s face suddenly turned pale.
He slowly looked up, looked at the eyes in the sky, and said slowly, “You… all want him to die?”
“Of course!” A pair of eyes slightly enlarged, and the void was distorted, as if someone had taken a step towards him. “The rules do not need a heavenly mandate. Yan Jingyu cannot ascend to immortality.”
“…So that’s how it is.” Behind him, time once again moved forward at high speed. He was forced to run towards his own time. “Because the Heavenly Mandate Eyes were personified in him… you can’t accept that after he ascends to immortality, he will be in charge of fate.”
“No one should be in charge of fate!”
“The one chosen by fate has violated the rules themselves!”
“We have crushed countless children of fate. Yan Jingyu is just one of them.”
“No need to waste words with him—”
“He has the Vermilion Bird’s divinity on him. In the future, he will be in charge of the fire element’s authority. We will have to interact more.”
“Little demon god, we will spare your life today. Go back to your own time and don’t ask about this matter—”
“After you have completely merged with the divinity, you will understand why we must have him die.”
The Suixing Hall was as it had always been. Yan Jingyu was still sleeping peacefully in his tent, his breathing light.
Something in the air was suddenly silently twisting. A vortex of broken shadows took shape bit by bit, at high speed, and a black shadow suddenly popped out from inside.
Liao Chen was suddenly pushed out by the rule power and fell by Yan Jingyu’s bed, kneeling on one knee, his long hair in disarray, his breathing restrained.
He lowered his head, his five fingers pressing forcefully on the ground. Wen Renying poked his head out of the Qiankun Pouch and looked at his tense and suppressed face with caution. “Little dog thief…”
Liao Chen breathed lightly. The fingers supporting him on the ground gradually tightened, his lips pressed tightly, and his jaw was even tensed from the force.
“You, you should, still…”
“So that’s how it is.” Liao Chen’s voice was low. His fingers beside him were clenched into a fist, his voice hoarse. “It was the rules that restricted him. It was the rules that did not allow him to ascend to immortality. It was the rules…”
He looked up, looked ahead, his eyes deep. “…that ruined him…”
The rotating fire blade appeared again. This time, its movements were hurried and sharp, almost instantly burning through the entire time and space—
In the tunnel, the rule’s eye, which was just about to leave, suddenly stared at the entrance.
Two rays of light, one crimson and black, one silver and gold, came from afar.
“What is that?”
“The demonic sword ‘Lian Feng’… and also…”
“Du Fang…?!”
The stream of light surged at high speed. The two swords thrust forward at the same time. The sword lights merged, condensed, and twisted, gradually forming a huge storm, which twisted the stream of light on the four walls of time and space and scattered them in all directions.
One after another, pairs of eyes gradually accumulated anger. “A mere little demon god dares to defy the rules?!”
Liao Chen’s figure suddenly appeared, speeding forward in the channel created by the impact of the two swords.
“Rumble—”
A purple thunder light swiftly struck at him. Liao Chen twisted his waist to dodge, at the same time waving his hand to summon a protective artifact. He only cared about rushing forward, his gaze fixed on Yan Jingyu, who was drinking with his father, who was about to ascend to immortality.
Yan Jingyu had a smile on his lips and clinked cups with his father. From his expression, it seemed as if he were asking for something in a soft and gentle voice.
“Crazy, crazy!”
“The laws of the Heavenly Dao are mutually contradictory and also mutually dependent. Only the heavenly mandate is independent of all other laws. All authority must make way for it. Liao Chen, by saving him, you are harming yourself!!”
“Don’t you want to become a Vermilion Bird god?!”
Liao Chen’s gaze was fixed. Another heavenly thunder struck him fiercely. He couldn’t dodge in time, and the protective artifact on his body immediately shattered. He didn’t even glance at it, but directly summoned a second artifact and continued forward.
‘Lian Feng’ and ‘Du Fang’ rolled with vast astral energy and struck at those eyes. Before they could quickly get away, Liao Chen had once again come before the time-space barrier. He stared at the Yan Jingyu outside and suddenly used all his strength to slam against the outside.
Yan Jingyu, who was talking with his father, suddenly turned his head. The next instant, a startling thunder struck fiercely at Liao Chen.
Liao Chen flashed, was forced to retreat for a period of time, and once again saw Yan Tingxuan’s figure ascending to immortality. Before he could slam against the time-space barrier again, another divine tribulation struck beside him. Liao Chen quickly added an artifact to himself. Wen Renying hid in the Qiankun Pouch, speeding around, placing all the protective artifacts in a line in the Qiankun Pouch, his whole body trembling.
He had not expected that Liao Chen had already been driven out, and the rules had already let him go, yet he still dared to come again!
What on earth was the relationship between him and Yan Jingyu? Was he going to die for Yan Jingyu?! Didn’t he say just now that those who went against the rules were fools? How did he suddenly change!
His mind was in a mess. He only kept placing the protective artifacts in a line, trembling. “Little dog thief, you must hold on, hold on…”
Liao Chen retreated in time for the third time and saw Yan Jingyu holding his father’s memorial tablet, his head lowered, his tears falling.
He gritted his teeth, and blood gradually spilled from the corners of his lips.
…I will help you.
If everyone wants you to die, then I will insist on letting you live.
If the rules do not allow you to ascend to immortality, then I will do my best to help you.
Only I can kill you. No one else can do anything to you—
‘Lian Feng’ and ‘Du Fang’ combined again, constantly twisting the afterimages in time and space. The majestic sword intent surged towards those eyes. The crimson that symbolized endless hostility, and the silver splendor that had once carried endless blessings, twisted the entire time and space until it trembled slightly.
The rule’s eye became more and more angry. Liao Chen retreated in time and time again, hearing their angry voices: “Ant-like being!!!”
“A mayfly trying to shake a tree!!!”
“Stubbornly unrepentant!!!”
Liao Chen slammed against the barrier without a word. He constantly dodged the divine tribulations, constantly trying to retreat. If one time point didn’t work, then the next time point. If the next time point didn’t work, then the next next time point!
And as the time points continued to retreat, his breathing also became heavier and heavier.
He once again saw the imposter who had disguised himself as him and fought with Yan Jingyu. He saw Yan Jingyu tear off his hood, his expression first stunned, then suddenly his face darkened. “You are not Liao Chen—”
He once again saw him in white clothes stained with blood, fighting with a group of black-clothed people disguised as the demonic race. He saw him being knocked down because his core was damaged. He saw him angrily and forcefully kicking away the person on top of him. He saw him, even though he was seriously injured, still trying his best to save his fellow sect members. He saw his mother activate the Heavenly Soul again, and the sky was torn apart by the thunder tribulation…
He kept retreating, but the anger in his heart grew deeper and deeper.
Why, why, why do I have to retreat again and again? Clearly, I came to save everything. Clearly, I came to remind him to avoid disaster. Clearly, I wanted to stop Yan Tingxuan from ascending to immortality. Clearly, I wanted him to be as wanton and lively as before, the moon surrounded by stars…
But what am I doing now?
I am actually retreating continuously under the suppression of the rules. I am actually watching those things happen again and again in front of me.
I have grasped the authority of the Vermilion Bird, and this is all I can do?
But another force was questioning him. What else can you do? Under the power of the divine tribulation, what else can you do? The smartest thing to do now is to withdraw from the tunnel. Aren’t you very clear that you are no match for them? Liao Chen, where has your past habit of cherishing your life gone?
Isn’t the path of cultivation like this? You were trapped in the jade for so many years back then, and you trapped yourself for so many years. Didn’t you know long ago? In the face of absolute power, you just have to endure. Just endure! What are you doing now? Aren’t they right?
Ant-like being, a mayfly trying to shake a tree, stubbornly unrepentant…
What are you being stubbornly unrepentant about?!
Is Yan Jingyu worth you taking such a risk?
Is he worth you going against the rules?!
For the sake of fighting him, is it really worth risking your life—?
Liao Chen, run—!!!
Two forces were constantly fighting in his heart, but his body was constantly retreating in time. He stared at the Yan Jingyu outside, feeling the protective artifacts in his Qiankun Pouch shattering one by one…
“The Heaven-Slaying Divine Tribulation, one strike can make you fall from your realm, and two strikes can take away your authority…”
I have to run.
I have to run, Liao Chen—
What are you doing!!
He kept slamming against the barrier. At this moment, he knew very well that he was once again being dominated by his demonic nature.
His instincts were driving him to react like this. He didn’t want Yan Jingyu to die. The smiling, gentle, cunning, proud, arrogant, wronged, and helpless face flashed through his mind again and again… and also that time after he subdued the blood beast, when he verbally abused the other, when he was drunk, his voice was hoarse. “Who can I blame…”
When he learned that his Heavenly Mandate Eyes had been blocked, he had already realized that someone had used a law-grade artifact. But he had never imagined that all the rules wanted him to die, all of them…
Because once he ascended to the immortal stage, he would be the master of fate. Fate was above the thirty-six rules and was one of the laws most closely connected to the Heavenly Dao.
Those people were afraid of him…
Thirty-six rules, Liao Chen, what do you have to contend with them? What do you have to save Yan Jingyu? Are you going to die here…
You were trapped in the jade for so many years. Are you going to die for Yan Jingyu?!
He suddenly retreated again. This is the last time. I’ll risk it for him one last time. When the last artifact shatters, I’ll retreat, and I’ll retreat forever!!!
Yan Jingyu is not worth it, not worth it…
He looked up at the outside.
The tearing thunder tribulation sent him out. He fell twistedly on the side of an unknown cliff, wretchedly vomiting a mouthful of blood.
He was seriously injured. Even at the Endless Sea, he had never shown such a desperate expression.
He watched him struggle to get up, watched him gaze at the crack in the sky, his hand outstretched helplessly…
“Fate should not exist!!!”
In his ears, the thunder still rumbled, accompanied by the angry voices of those people. “The path of fate violates the authority of cause and effect!!!”
“The path of fate violates the authority of order!!!”
“If the Lord of Fate is established, then all the rules will be changed!!!”
“He will kick everyone off the rules!!!”
The last artifact shattered with a sound.
Liao Chen suddenly retreated again—
…I can’t help you, Yan Qi. I can’t help you.
He suddenly stopped.
A person wearing a hood and a mask came to his side. From their figure, they were either a young man or a woman. Yan Jingyu’s expression was dazed. He was seriously injured. At that time, he did not know what the person approaching him at this moment represented.
His eyes were half-open in a daze. His face was covered in blood. He reached out his hand and murmured, “Save, save me…”
The masked person reached out his hand to him. His fingers were white and slender. As they gradually extended towards him, they slowly retracted all but the index and middle fingers. Liao Chen saw a red mole on the side of his middle finger, near the ring finger.
—”The one who gouged out my Heavenly Mandate Eyes poured bone-dissolving water on me.”
—”He was wearing a mask. I couldn’t tell.”
—”But I know that between the middle and ring fingers of his right hand, there is a mole, a red one, on the side of the middle finger…”
“Ruan Qingwan…” Liao Chen’s whole body suddenly bristled, his pupils contracted, and double pupils appeared. “Ruan Qingwan—!!!”
“Pfft—!”
Blood spurted out. A thunder tribulation struck him heavily. He fell into the light and shadow, caught off guard, and spat out a mouthful of blood, but it was as if he could not feel the pain in his lungs. He was still staring at the Yan Jingyu outside.
That pair of fingers, in his dazed expression, suddenly pierced through his eyes.
His miserable cry could not be heard clearly in the roar of the thunder tribulation.
The person pressed down on his forehead and forcefully dug into his eyes.
“Bang—!”
Liao Chen suddenly slammed against the barrier with all his might. The barrier did not move a bit. At the same time, another startling thunder struck him, knocking him heavily in front of the barrier.
Wen Renying stood in the Qiankun Pouch, looking at the already used-up protective artifacts, his expression terrified. “Little dog thief…”
“Don’t, don’t…”
Liao Chen’s whole body was numb. He watched him push away weakly, watched the blood from his eyes slide down his temples, watched the other, after getting one, mercilessly reach for the other.
“Don’t—!!!!”
Liao Chen slammed against the barrier like a madman. He roared, “Don’t… pfft—!”
The startling thunder struck him, knocking him down in front of the barrier. The rules behind him seemed to be saying something again, but Liao Chen stood up with incomparable determination. He stared as that pair of fingers pierced his eyes again, his eyes crimson, the pulse on the side of his neck constantly throbbing, the pinions appearing and disappearing—
“Ruan Qingwan, I will tear you to pieces… tear you to pieces!!!!!”
The ferocious pinions pierced his neck. He used all his strength to strike the barrier. The barrier cracked.
“He’s demonized…”
“Aren’t beasts just like this?”
“The phoenix clan is the hardest to kill!”
The roaring thunder struck at him, but Liao Chen did not care, only focusing on staring outside. He knew very well that for every moment he delayed breaking the barrier, Yan Jingyu would suffer another moment of pain. If, if he had chosen to break the barrier when Yan Jingyu was talking with his father, then Yan Jingyu would not have had to endure all of this.
It’s his fault…
It’s his fault for retreating again and again, which is why all the scenes have replayed…
He fell to the ground, then climbed up again, slamming against the barrier again and again.
He saw him trembling as he raised his hand, wanting to cover his own eyes, but not daring to really touch them because of the intense pain. He trembled helplessly, his whole body trying its best to curl up.
He saw Ruan Qingwan stand up straight, looking down at Yan Jingyu on the ground from above, as if she were enjoying a good show.
He saw her take out a new medicine bottle…
Bone-dissolving water, it’s bone-dissolving water…
Liao Chen’s expression twisted. He was struck down, and his vision suddenly went black. After losing his protective artifacts, to forcibly resist the heavenly tribulation with his physical body, he was also at the end of his rope.
This heavenly tribulation directly tore his soul apart. He first felt his soul being split in two, then into four pieces, and then eight pieces… each piece pulling in a different direction.
He forced himself to stand up. He tried his best to slam against the barrier. The cracks on the barrier grew larger and more distinct.
Ruan Qingwan suddenly looked up at the sky. Although he couldn’t see her face, he could see her panic and confusion from her body language.
“I will kill you—”
Liao Chen stared at her. “If this Lord gets out, I will definitely make you have a terrible death.”
He didn’t know if it was because his will was too strong, but Ruan Qingwan quickly poured the bone-dissolving water on Yan Jingyu’s body. A sizzling, corrosive sound came from his body. The sound of the heavenly thunder in his ears was too loud. He couldn’t hear if Yan Jingyu was crying.
Good, I can’t hear…
His eyes were red. He knelt before the barrier, letting the heavenly thunder strike him again and again, pouring all his divine power into his fist. “Yan Jingyu…”
“I’ve come to save you again.”
Amidst the roaring thunder, he finally shattered the barrier of the rules and instantly came to his time and space.
The roar of the rules came from behind. “You think you can save him like this?!”
“Naive!!”
“With us here, you can forget about touching him!”
Above the cliff, the afterimage of time and space appeared. One of them was lying on the ground, as if he had lost all strength to struggle. One was lying in the air, clearly just an afterimage, yet still trying his best to reach out his hand.
In time and space, the thunder rumbled.
But Yan Jingyu couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t know that someone had crossed one hundred and thirty-three years to try and turn him back into the high-spirited young immortal lord. He also didn’t know that someone was bearing the divine tribulations of the thirty-six rules for him, trying his best to reach out a saving hand to him. He knew even less that that person was his lifelong enemy.
Because he couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything, couldn’t feel anything…
“—Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!!”
Several divine tribulations struck down madly. ‘Lian Feng’ suddenly rushed over, blocked Liao Chen, and was directly struck out, smashing heavily beside Yan Jingyu.
Yan Jingyu suddenly tilted his head. He felt as if there was something, and subconsciously wanted to reach out to touch it.
His consciousness could no longer feel pain. His body was like it had been injected with thousands of pounds of anesthetic. But he didn’t dare to make a sound, only instinctively reached out his hand. His fingers, burned by the bone-dissolving water, scraped across the ground. The fine stone fragments entered his wounds, and he didn’t feel any pain at all.
His soul-lamp had been dug out, making him lose all his sensory abilities.
He was as if he had been hidden by something, or as if he had been locked in a boundless prison.
“Yan Jingyu… can’t you hear me…”
He couldn’t answer, because he really couldn’t hear.
A teardrop fell on his face. His expression was dazed and absent-minded. Liao Chen said in a hoarse voice, “Has your sense of touch also disappeared…”
He also couldn’t answer. He became quiet again, cowering, because he didn’t know if his intuition was good or bad. He felt that there seemed to be something beside him, but he didn’t know if the thing beside him was here to save him or to harm him.
He didn’t dare to make a sound.
He didn’t know if he was under the sun or hiding under something. The lack of various senses made him feel extremely insecure. His heart was filled with fear, but in Liao Chen’s eyes, there was only a daze.
“What do we do? According to the heavenly punishment, he has traveled through one hundred and thirty-three years. We can at most attract one hundred and thirty-three divine tribulations. If we can’t kill him…”
“The Vermilion Bird, is it really that hard to kill?!”
“I don’t believe he won’t die—!”
“Rumble—” Several divine tribulations gathered together. Wen Renying shrank in the Qiankun Pouch, trembling. “Not good. They are accumulating divine tribulations. They want to kill you. Even if you are a Vermilion Bird, you won’t be able to withstand the power of this explosion…”
“Yan Jingyu…” Liao Chen’s figure and time and space overlapped in the afterimage. He once again desperately reached out his hand. The movement pulled at the wounds on his body. His face was in pain, and the veins on his forehead bulged from the exertion. “Give me your hand, I beg you, give it to me…”
Hundreds of thunder tribulations were brewing in time and space, accumulating bit by bit, becoming thicker and larger, gradually becoming as terrifying as a small mountain, the divine might pressing down.
Just the terrifying pressure was already making the skin all over Liao Chen’s body rapidly liquefy.
He pursed his lips tightly and only spoke again. “Yan Jingyu, give me your hand, give it to me…”
His dark hair flew up under the pressure of the thunder light, tangling on his cheeks. Liao Chen still reached out his hand forward, his expression becoming more and more painful.
The thunder light on top was constantly condensing, rotating, from purple-white to deep purple, and gradually, only a silver snake could be seen rapidly flowing within it.
His skin began to rapidly swell with one after another blood blister, as if hot lava were surging below, gurgling, burning one after another hole in his clothes.
“Yan Jingyu…” Liao Chen called out to him almost desperately, his voice hoarse. “Yan Jingyu, look at me. I’ve come to save you, Yan Jingyu…”
The purple thunder condensed to the size of a water bucket. The silver snake inside gradually became as thick as an arm. Wen Renying held his head in the Qiankun Pouch.
“Yan Jingyu—!!!”
Yan Jingyu suddenly looked up.
The purple thunder came crashing down. Liao Chen’s body, under its rapid approach, exploded with one after another flower of blood.
Yan Jingyu suddenly reached out his hand into the void.
“Smack—”
Their palms touched. That one hand was clearly covered in bones and spots, severely corroded.
He also had no strength to curl his fingers and firmly hold the other intact hand.
He was just half-bent, his hand barely making contact.
But Liao Chen’s figure, the moment it came into contact with him, suddenly turned from illusory to real. The purple thunder behind him exploded with a dazzling white light, like the midday golden crow burning, but the afterimage of time and space was fading, disappearing, completely gone.
Liao Chen held his hand, his movements very light as he covered his palm with a layer of spiritual energy, holding him gently, as if through a thin veil of spiritual energy.
Yan Jingyu faced upwards, as if he were looking at him, and also as if he were looking at other places through him.
The person below was already covered in wounds, and the person above was also covered in wounds.
One had no perception, one was in excruciating pain.
“Yan Jingyu…” Liao Chen spoke, his movements gentle as he fell from the sky, always separated by a layer of spiritual energy, supporting his body, his voice as gentle as if he were talking in a dream. “Let me carry you one more time.”
