Chapter 74 Part 2

He spent a full day and night and finally found Pei Ji in a half-collapsed secret chamber—covered in blood, unconscious.

Pei Ji’s condition was extremely dire at the time: his vital energy surged chaotically, his exposed skin covered in gashes like those from wind blades or thin paper cuts, blood dripping everywhere, a horrific sight.

Xie Linlang was greatly alarmed. He immediately lit his furnace to refine pills, using his own spiritual power as a guide. While soothing Pei Ji’s rioting meridians and spiritual power, he applied various healing ointments to Pei Ji.

The two were fellow sect brothers to begin with, both in the prime of youthful vigor. Add to that the fusion of spiritual powers during treatment and the clear perception of each other’s worries, concerns, and deep bond during divine soul collisions… By the time Pei Ji barely regained mobility, their relationship could never return to what it had been.

That was the beginning of everything.

Xie Linlang remembered it clearly. At the time, his cheeks burned, and he didn’t dare look at Pei Ji’s face. He only heard his senior brother’s voice hoarse, as if to change the subject or draw his gaze. With a flip of his wrist, Pei Ji produced a damaged little cauldron.

The three-legged little cauldron was overall black, its surface mottled with rust, faintly emitting a bit of crimson light.

At the cauldron’s rim were Divine Birds poised as if about to take flight, three Divine Birds linked in a circle, profound and full of ancient charm.

When Pei Ji indicated that Xie Linlang should place the Jade Light in the Flames inside it, the entire little cauldron suddenly turned crimson. Meanwhile, the three Divine Birds at the rim slowly rotated, red flowing light on their wings moving like water, as if the three Divine Birds were dancing gracefully around the flame in the cauldron—profound and beautiful.

Pei Ji held the cauldron and looked at Xie Linlang, saying softly, “Look, the fire has entered the cauldron.”

As he spoke, his fingers gently stroked the Plume Feather of a Divine Bird at the little cauldron’s rim.

Xie Linlang’s mind shook violently at the time, a strange shiver running through his entire body. For a dazed moment, he had the illusion that he had fallen into Pei Ji’s palm, being caressed by Pei Ji.

Afterward, that Mysterious Bird Cauldron became one of Pei Ji’s magic artifacts. Whenever Xie Linlang needed to use the Jade Light in the Flames to refine special pills, he would borrow the Divine Bird Cauldron from Pei Ji.

Pei Ji was delighted whenever Xie Linlang came to him and would take the opportunity to help Xie Linlang process materials. The two researched pills together in the Pill Room, and even the fragrance of pills rising from the Pill Furnace back then was sickeningly sweet.

The honey-like sweetness of those days now felt like gut-wrenching poison upon reflection. As Xie Linlang thought of that strange dream, of himself riding the Mysterious Bird in an attempt to enter the Underworld, his eyes inevitably grew wet, tears streaming down.

It turned out the dream had foretold everything. Heaven had warned him in advance that the one he loved would go early to the Underworld to drink Meng Po Soup, leaving him blocked in the mortal world, separated from Pei Ji by life and death.

Xie Linlang had not recalled this in many years, but in this assessment, he saw the Jade Light in the Flames once more.

Since the Jade Light in the Flames had always been stored in Pei Ji’s Divine Bird Cauldron, after Pei Ji’s fall, Xie Linlang could no longer use this Hetero Fire for pill refining. And the Divine Bird Cauldron had vanished along with Pei Ji.

Over a hundred years had passed since then, and he never imagined he would one day see this Hetero Fire in his own inheritance trial.

Xie Linlang’s fingers clenched tightly, his nails digging a red mark into his palm.

It was after Pei Ji’s fall that his martial uncle Shen Wei, in order to cheer him up and help him better store high-quality materials, had traded with Tianling Sect for this immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm.

In theory, no matter how familiar the Mustard Seed Realm was with him, it shouldn’t have been able to simulate a Hetero Fire like the Jade Light in the Flames.

So the question was: who had placed a Hetero Fire like the Jade Light in the Flames into the Mustard Seed Realm?

Xie Linlang slightly lowered his gaze, a conjecture surfacing in his mind. His pitch-black eyes turned exceptionally profound and icy.

He recalled Red Senior Sister’s slender jade hand tightly grasping Shen Wei, and for a moment, he wished time could flow backward, letting him return to last night and block Red Senior Sister’s strike.

What exactly had his good martial uncle done?

Unfortunately, everything had been thoroughly extinguished by Red Senior Sister’s decisive killing.

Meanwhile, Xie Linlang did not know that the sight of him easily collecting the Jade Light in the Flames had been witnessed by Pei Jiye.

Pei Jiye fell into another state entirely.

The world seemed to gradually recede into the distance. Whether it was Tianling Sect Master Wei Jingying’s probing or the Xuanming Sect cultivators’ questions, even the meaningful gazes from the Heavenly Charm Sect female cultivator—all became nothingness.

He focused entirely on the black-clad youth’s figure on the crystal screen, as if watching a distant, unattainable dream.

Only he and Xie Linlang knew how to collect the Jade Light in the Flames. Only he and Xie Linlang knew that once the Three Divine Birds connected head to tail, they would release a pleasing phoenix cry. Only he and Xie Linlang knew that the Jade Light in the Flames had to be fed spiritual power and other Pill Fires in a nine-to-one ratio to burn endlessly; otherwise, it would certainly dissipate into nothingness.

Pei Jiye had countless times speculated on Xie Yu’s origins before.

He had given himself many excuses and sent people to investigate Xie Yu’s background. Whether it was Li Pinghu’s endorsement or Xie Yu’s age, everything seemed reasonable, without any flaws.

Then why did his gaze still involuntarily fall on Xie Yu?

It turned out his spiritual senses had long recognized the person he deeply loved, and his eyes had automatically traced the features and countenance of the one in his heart.

The person he loved had already arrived by his side.

At this thought, Pei Ji could no longer hold back. He abruptly stood up, intending to use the backdoor key to the Mustard Seed Realm and rush inside to embrace the one he longed for with all his heart.