“When the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Once Tailing Pavilion is finished, it will give the Demon Lords a taste of sweetness, allowing them to conquer them one by one,” Lu Xiaochan said coldly.
The Sky-Piercing Spell grazed the primordial spirit of Demon Lord Luli, causing Luli to go berserk. Black evil energy rolled, about to uproot Tailing Pavilion.
Lu Xiaochan held his breath.
Fear, obsession, and greed were all food for evil spirits. He couldn’t have any of these emotions or delusions.
He heard the sound of a drop of water falling in his ears, and the sound of water veins flowing through the spirit plants and immortal herbs in the entire Tailing Pavilion converged into a sea.
Water vapor slowly rose, forming dewdrops one by one, then connecting into sheets, rotating and lingering, becoming more and more turbulent. A Tailing Sky-Piercing Spell climbed along the evil energy poured down by Luli, counterattacking upwards!
Luli had just blocked Kunwu’s Sky-Piercing Spell, but didn’t expect another great spell to break through the shackles of evil energy, rushing straight towards him.
In an instant, all the evil spirits that had poured into Tailing Pavilion retreated, chasing after that Tailing Sky-Piercing Spell. They emitted shrill sounds as they were refined by the great spell.
The power of the great spell weakened, and Luli narrowly avoided it, but this evil cloud immediately became lighter.
Kunwu exhaled, turned his face and saw Lu Xiaochan sitting cross-legged in front of the table, his hands still in the spell-casting posture.
“You brat, with such good enlightenment, why don’t you use it on the righteous path!”
But Lu Xiaochan knew that he could cast such a great medical spell because of his good luck!
Even a single drop of water in Tailing Pavilion had been in contact with various spirit herbs, and had been imbued with the spiritual energy of countless medical cultivators over thousands of years, different from ordinary water.
What he borrowed was the water in Tailing Pavilion, but in reality, it was the spiritual energy that had lingered in the pavilion for thousands of years!
Lu Xiaochan turned his face. “Old liar! I think I hear the sound of reinforcements! It’s the sound of bells, Jiang Wuchao has come!”
From the south, dozens of immortal sect disciples came riding their swords, led by Jiang Wuchao.
The roar of crashing waves came rolling in. Jiang Wuchao, along with his fellow disciples, drew their swords. The sword formation continuously refined this evil cloud.
Kunwu sighed. “Zhiwu Mountain Villa indeed has face! It’s a pity that Ling Nianwu has been in seclusion for three hundred years and hasn’t properly guided his disciples! Although their sword master Jiang Wuchao has some skills, it’s still not enough to fight against a Demon Lord!”
“Old liar, don’t be too greedy! It’s already good that someone has come to save us! Otherwise, this world is so cold! Can you handle it alone?”
Taking advantage of the moment when Jiang Wuchao’s sword formation split open the evil cloud, Kunwu once again sent a Tailing Sky-Piercing Spell to the Demon Lord.
The evil energy around the Demon Lord surged and gushed out. Jiang Wuchao’s sword formation was destroyed, and he was instead hit by the Demon Lord, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Kunwu’s Sky-Piercing Spell was also suppressed by the Demon Lord’s evil energy, but Luli never expected that another great spell would emerge from Kunwu’s Sky-Piercing Spell, which was the Purification Spell cast by Lu Xiaochan.
The destructive power of the Purification Spell was less than the Sky-Piercing Spell, so Luli couldn’t detect it, but when this Purification Spell had already come to his face, even though Luli could neutralize it with his evil cultivation, he was still shaken to his elixir core.
Kunwu exhaled. “Knowing that our Tailing Pavilion is a hard bone to chew, Luli should retreat now, right?”
“What good thing are you thinking of! Old liar! He will definitely feel that it’s better to finish what he started. If he doesn’t take down Tailing Pavilion this time, when all sides come to the rescue, he won’t have another chance!”
Just as Lu Xiaochan finished speaking, Luli retracted all the evil clouds, and the sky cleared up. Everyone thought the Demon Lord was about to retreat. Before they could adjust their inner breaths, a black thunderbolt struck down. Everyone couldn’t react in time. Tailing Pavilion’s Purification Spell broke, and everything seemed to freeze in time.
Ziqiao and others who rushed over to protect Kunwu were entangled by black evil energy, maintaining their charging posture. Even the spells about to form at their fingertips were frozen.
Qingyao was about to cast a spell without a word, but Lu Xiaochan pulled him behind him.
“At this point, what the hell use is casting a spell!”
A black shadow appeared in front of them.
Lu Xiaochan couldn’t make out the shape or outline of this Demon Lord, but with each step forward, he made people feel a boiling killing intent, as if their blood and bones were like a chaotic battlefield.
This was the Demon Lord Luli, who fed on killing intent.
His hand reached out towards Lu Xiaochan, and a sound like a blade cutting through skin rang out.
“Immortal Lord, there is a sacred object of my Demon Capital in your elixir core. I hope you will return it.”
Lu Xiaochan didn’t raise his hand to cover his elixir core, but coldly looked at the other party, his right hand tightly gripping the Chan Yan rib.
“If you have the ability, come and take it yourself.”
Kunwu stood in front of Lu Xiaochan. “Luli, you look down on our Tailing Pavilion like this. It seems that if we don’t fight to the death with you today, our Tailing Pavilion will have no face left.”
“Then today I’ll take the entire Tailing Pavilion!”
After saying this, Luli suddenly appeared in front of Kunwu. His hand penetrated through the great spell Kunwu had cast, directly reaching for his chest.
Jiang Wuchao rushed over, his flying sword shot out, the Spiritual Roar Sword Formation charging towards Luli’s back, but was shaken off.
At this time, floating ice fragments slowly fell, unknowingly covering the ground with a layer of ice and snow. A chill from an unknown source drew the entire Tailing Pavilion into a harsh winter.
Lu Xiaochan instinctively hugged himself, and a sword formation instantly condensed, pressing towards Luli with an overwhelming force.
Every breath and breeze was drawn into the sword formation.
The sword formation surged and lingered until even the rushing clouds in the sky were borrowed downwards like a torrent, as if containing all the phenomena of the atmosphere, swallowing Luli in an instant.
Luli struggled constantly, and the sword formation grew tighter and tighter. He suddenly scattered, turning into countless streams of evil energy, fleeing in all directions.
Kunwu lowered his head, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
A little more, and Luli would have reached into his inner palace.
Lu Xiaochan suddenly stood up, shouting loudly. “Shu Wuxi! Shu Wuxi, are you back? Shu Wuxi!”
He kept shaking the Immortal-Locking Ribbon, and in the distance, a figure slowly condensed like a phantom, becoming clearer and clearer.
Spiritual energy like a glassy silver sea outlined that person’s cold and solitary figure.
Lu Xiaochan’s heart was like thousands of horses galloping. He ran over like a joyful moth rushing towards a flame.
“Shu Wuxi…” Kunwu looked incredulously in the direction Lu Xiaochan was running, then raised his hand, looking at the thin layer of frost on his fingertips, “He… really… put on the bone-clinging cold garment?”
Lu Xiaochan had long forgotten about the so-called suffering of karmic fire burning the body. Looking at Shu Wuxi, his eyes seemed to have countless stars escaping from the abyss and rushing towards the sky. Shu Wuxi stood there, showing a dazed expression as if in a dream.
But Kunwu was terrified. “My goodness! Don’t let him get burned again!”
He flew over, immediately blocking Lu Xiaochan’s way.
Lu Xiaochan unexpectedly bumped into Kunwu’s back, rubbed his nose, extremely dissatisfied. “What are you doing?”
Kunwu pressed down the restless Lu Xiaochan, looking at Shu Wuxi with a serious face. “Are you sure?”
Shu Wuxi looked into Kunwu’s eyes, unusually silent.
For a moment, it was so quiet that Lu Xiaochan wondered if time had stopped.
He sighed. “You’re not sure, but I am!”
Kunwu turned his head, frowning and asked. “What are you sure about?”
“I’m sure I want to touch Brother Wuxi,” Lu Xiaochan answered as if he truly didn’t remember the pain of the karmic fire burning his body.
“You…”
Kunwu wished he could give this reckless little thing a good beating.
“Senior Brother, I know you care for me, so why not let me have what I want most? Otherwise, if a thought becomes an obsession, even if I’m not burned to death, evil spirits might take advantage of it.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Kunwu asked again.
“Mm.” Lu Xiaochan nodded.
Kunwu sighed and took out the medicine that Lu Xiaochan had taken when his body was burned before.
“Take it. Otherwise… I’m afraid I won’t be able to save you in time.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Lu Xiaochan had always seemed reluctant to take medicine before, but this time he was quite prompt, as if it wasn’t medicine but candy.
He walked up to Shu Wuxi, who had been silent all along, and looked at him.
He was truly beautiful. Every line outlined by his spiritual energy made Lu Xiaochan feel it was just right – like a waterfall plunging from the heavens, like fleeting fireworks, like moonlight falling on the sea turning into jewel fragments, like all the beautiful things he could imagine.
Lu Xiaochan reached out his finger, about to touch the tip of Shu Wuxi’s nose, but Shu Wuxi took half a step back.
His finger missed. This was the first time Lu Xiaochan had seen Shu Wuxi retreat.
He was a person who didn’t know what fear was, but at this moment, he was afraid.
Lu Xiaochan smiled though. He knew there wouldn’t be a second person in this world who cared about him like Shu Wuxi did.
“Brother Wuxi, look, Chang Yan rib is gone!” Lu Xiaochan pointed at the spirit vine and said loudly.
“What?” Shu Wuxi turned his face.
In just an instant, Lu Xiaochan crashed into his embrace, arms encircling his waist.
Shu Wuxi’s entire skeleton trembled, his breath stopped. Lu Xiaochan’s ear was pressed against his chest. His heartbeat suspended, and at the moment when Lu Xiaochan’s hand gently patted his back, it finally started beating again.
“I’m fine! Not hot at all!”
Standing behind Lu Xiaochan, Kunwu exhaled, almost cursing at Lu Xiaochan, but when he saw Shu Wuxi slowly turning his face, he couldn’t say another word.
Shu Wuxi lowered his head. On his face that had never shown any expression before was a winding tear track.
Kunwu sighed, thinking to himself: He gave you the seven emotions and six desires. If you get him… your wish fulfilled, you won’t need to fall into possession.
“Fine, fine… do as you please.”
Kunwu waved his hand and turned to leave.
Lu Xiaochan heard the sound of blood flowing, like a rushing river, like flying horses galloping towards the sky. Just like waking up suddenly from a slumber of thousands of years, realizing everything wasn’t just a dream, Shu Wuxi hugged Lu Xiaochan tightly.
His embrace grew tighter and tighter. Lu Xiaochan could hear his extremely suppressed breathing. He held him as if he wanted to crush him and fuse him into his bones and blood. Each of his breaths was heavy, as if each inhalation and exhalation were shuttling through madness.
His fingers were entwined in Lu Xiaochan’s hair, his fingertips feeling Xiaochan’s hair with utmost attachment, soft and carrying a faint medicinal fragrance. He lowered his head to rest on Xiaochan’s crown, as if wanting to completely envelop Lu Xiaochan with his own body, airtight, where no one could see, no one could touch.
“Brother Wuxi… where did you go? You’re so cold!” Lu Xiaochan’s palm pressed against Shu Wuxi’s back. He had just reached the stage of entering the power, and following the method Kunwu taught him, he channeled his true energy into Shu Wuxi’s back, wanting to warm him up.
“Am I freezing you?”
The next moment, Shu Wuxi’s true energy circulated throughout his body, warming him up.
“No, I’m afraid you’ll get cold,” Lu Xiaochan replied.
Lu Xiaochan’s heart was also beating fast. He discovered he was very greedy.
When he couldn’t see Shu Wuxi, he wanted to see him. When he saw him, he wanted to touch him. When he touched him, he wanted to be held by him forever.
“If it were me… I probably couldn’t become a god even after cultivating for thousands or tens of thousands of years…” Lu Xiaochan closed his eyes, greedily inhaling Shu Wuxi’s scent, feeling his tight embrace.
“What…” Shu Wuxi asked.
But Lu Xiaochan didn’t answer him. It was enough that he knew the answer himself.
Brother Wuxi, I think I… also have an obsession with you, don’t I?
Shu Wuxi was still holding him, showing no intention of letting go.
“Do you know, when you weren’t here, people from the Demon Capital came to cause trouble? I thought I was going to die!” Lu Xiaochan just couldn’t stay quiet. Now that Shu Wuxi was back, he had countless things he wanted to tell him.
“I know.”
“The three sword auras you left for me protected me.” Lu Xiaochan gently moved his head, his nose nuzzling in Shu Wuxi’s embrace.
“Mm. From now on, I will never leave your side again.”
Shu Wuxi softly responded, his embrace suddenly tightening again. His breath swept over Lu Xiaochan’s crown, stirring a strand of his hair.
“Brother Wuxi, I… when I was alone wandering the streets, I imagined the scene of dim lights. I once got lost alone in the Xuyu Forest outside the formation, in the desolate wilderness. It took me a long time to find my way back,” Lu Xiaochan said softly in Shu Wuxi’s arms.
His breath, along with his voice, seemed to be enclosed in Shu Wuxi’s embrace as well.
“From now on, you won’t wander alone, nor will you get lost.”
“Whether it’s day or night, if I see your figure, I’ll be full of joy. If I don’t see your figure, I’ll imagine one, put it there myself.” Lu Xiaochan looked up, squinting his eyes with a smile.
Lu Xiaochan heard the sound of teeth clenching tightly. This time, he really was about to have his bones crushed by Shu Wuxi, and he had to use his last bit of strength to pat Shu Wuxi’s back with a muffled groan.
“I… I’m running out of breath… Brother Wuxi, be gentler…”
Only then did Shu Wuxi slightly loosen his embrace.
At this moment, a cough came. Kunwu was standing not far away, helplessly spreading his hands. “How are you two still so reluctant to part? You’ve been hugging for over an hour! Can we talk about serious matters?”
Lu Xiaochan, always thick-skinned, directly replied. “Senior Brother, you’re just jealous. No one treats you as well as Brother Wuxi treats me!”
Kunwu quickly retreated. “No! No! No! Only you can withstand his goodness! If he were to treat me that well, I’d surely die young!”
Lu Xiaochan burst into laughter.
At this time, the disciples of Zhiwu Mountain Villa also came before Kunwu and bowed to him.
“Medical Sage, Zhiwu Mountain Villa arrived late. We hope the Medical Sage will forgive us,” Jiang Wuchao still maintained his formal manner.
“No need for formalities! What fault do you have! If it weren’t for you holding back Demon Lord Luli today, our Tailing Pavilion wouldn’t have lasted until reinforcements arrived!”
“Originally, the Nanli Sword Master Miao Chenyuan also sent Ye Linshuang to come. But when passing through Water Mirror Abyss, we were ambushed by Demon Lord Wangcha! Sword Master Ye stayed at Water Mirror Abyss to protect us from the ambush…”
Demon Lord Wangcha fed on obsessions, while Demon Lord Luli, who besieged Tailing Pavilion, fed on killing intent. These two great Demon Lords were the left and right arms of the Evil God Chaos.
Kunwu closed his eyes and sighed. “I was wondering why the various immortal sects didn’t come to our aid when they saw the Tailing Pavilion besieged by a Demon Lord… I guess they were all intercepted halfway by demon hordes!”
“With Sword Master Ye’s cultivation, he should be able to contend with Demon Lord Wangcha, but this junior still must go investigate.”
After saying this, Jiang Wuchao turned around and bowed his head towards Shu Wuxi’s direction. The junior brothers he brought didn’t know Shu Wuxi’s identity, but seeing Jiang Wuchao’s respectful attitude, they also bowed their heads in greeting.
Shu Wuxi neither nodded nor raised his hand to let them rise, completely ignoring them as if they were invisible.
Lu Xiaochan’s head poked out from his embrace and called out. “Thank you, Sword Master Jiang!”
Jiang Wuchao smiled and then left with his disciples.
After flying out of the range of Tailing Pavilion, the junior brother behind him couldn’t help but ask, “Senior brother, who exactly were you bowing to just now? What is his identity? With just one sword formation, he forced back Demon Lord Luli!”
The other disciples were also very curious. “It seems his cultivation is even above that of Sword Master Ye Linshuang of the Nanli Jingtian!”
Jiang Wuchao looked back and asked meaningfully. “Do you know what it means to borrow the power of myriad phenomena?”
“Myriad phenomena?”
“It means he can borrow the power of all things in the world. Who else could have cultivation above his?”
In Tailing Pavilion, the medical cultivators who could still stand up began to clean up the mess.
Kunwu patted Shu Wuxi on the back. “Let’s go, a lot has happened in the past few days while you were away. Let this senior brother tell you about it first.”
However, Shu Wuxi didn’t let go of Lu Xiaochan, he just lowered his head and said, “You’ve never said so many nice things to me before.”
Lu Xiaochan laughed out loud. “I’m not like you. Brother Wuxi, you speak so little, even just an ‘mm’ from you sounds nice to me.”
Kunwu covered his ears. “Too much of a good thing! That’s enough! Can you resolve the important matters first, then hug until the end of time if you want?”
Lu Xiaochan quickly agreed. “Yes, yes! The people from the Demon Capital said they want to take my elixir core! Brother Wuxi, hurry and discuss with my senior brother what we should do!”
Only then did Shu Wuxi release Lu Xiaochan, but he turned to hold his hand instead.
It wasn’t just Shu Wuxi who was insatiable. Even if it was just holding hands, Lu Xiaochan couldn’t help but gently rub Shu Wuxi’s finger gaps with his own fingers. He wanted to feel his skin, his bones.
Feeling Lu Xiaochan’s fingers moving, Shu Wuxi thought he wanted to break free, so he held on even tighter, almost crushing Lu Xiaochan’s fingers.
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” Lu Xiaochan’s nose and eyes scrunched up together. He stroked Shu Wuxi’s hand with his other hand, “I just wanted to touch you like this! Can you not crush my fingers, please?”
Shu Wuxi stopped in his tracks and hugged Lu Xiaochan again.
Lu Xiaochan’s eyes were full of laughter. Being held by Shu Wuxi like this, he wouldn’t tire of it even until the end of time.
Kunwu couldn’t bear it anymore. “You’re tied together by the Immortal-Locking Ribbon, whether you hold hands or hug, you’re still together! That’s enough!”
Shu Wuxi ignored Kunwu’s displeasure and walked towards the quiet room holding Lu Xiaochan’s hand.
Lu Xiaochan lowered his head, looking at Shu Wuxi’s hand.
So this is what it feels like to be held by Brother Wuxi.
The strength of his fingers, the feeling of his knuckles curling around his own fingers, all became more delicate.
On the way to Tailing Pavilion, Lu Xiaochan had imagined countless times what it would be like to be held by his hand. Now that he was being held, Lu Xiaochan felt for the first time that this must truly be what it meant to “die without regrets”.
Bah, bah, bah, what’s all this talk about dying!
Better to live shamelessly than die a good death. He wanted to cling shamelessly to Shu Wuxi’s side, eating and drinking well, being taken care of by him.
Arriving at the table, Kunwu sat cross-legged, while Lu Xiaochan and Shu Wuxi sat side by side opposite him.
Even under the table, Shu Wuxi was still holding Lu Xiaochan’s hand.
Veins throbbed on Kunwu’s forehead as he thought, Shu Wuxi, are you really not giving me any face at all?
But then he thought again, it took over 1,300 years to get to this moment of mutual touch, so it was only human nature to be a bit greedy.
It was a pity that Shu Wuxi probably wouldn’t be able to sever his emotional ties in this lifetime and become a god.
“After you left, first Demon Lord Luli sent one of his evil spirits to infiltrate our Tailing Pavilion, trying to steal Xiaochan’s elixir core. Fortunately, you left three sword intents that protected Xiaochan’s life.”
Kunwu carefully observed Shu Wuxi’s expression, seeing his brows furrow slightly for once, and thought, damn it, you’re finally taking what I’m saying seriously!
But Shu Wuxi’s answer nearly made Kunwu spit blood.
“It seems the cultivation of your Tailing Pavilion disciples is getting worse and worse. If an evil spirit infiltrated, it definitely wasn’t possessing you, but one of your disciples.”
Kunwu: “…”
Xiaochan tilted his head. The spiritual energy around Kunwu tightened a bit, it seemed he was angry. Having received a lot of care from Kunwu at Tailing Pavilion, he quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Well… Later Luli came in person! He brought an army of evil spirits! You saw it later, didn’t you?”
Only then did Shu Wuxi give an “Mm” in response.
Kunwu hurriedly got to the point. “Shu Wuxi, besides us protecting Xiaochan, we also need to let Xiaochan learn how to protect himself. I originally wanted to continue teaching Xiaochan the medical way, but on second thought, while the medical way is the easiest choice for cultivating immortality and becoming a sage, to deal with evil spirits and demons, it’s better to cultivate the sword.”
“I will teach him well,” Shu Wuxi replied.
“Chang Yan rib… chose Xiaochan. Since that’s the case, we need to find a way to forge it into an immortal sword.”
Lu Xiaochan immediately turned his head and pointed at the Chang Yao rib on the couch. “Yes, yes, yes! That’s it! Are you going to forge a sword for me?”
“Mm.” Shu Wuxi nodded.
“Since the great primordial times, only Yehua Yuanzun has forged immortal swords from the bones of spirit beasts. He’s been unheard of for nearly 8,000 years, I’m afraid he has perished.”
