IS Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Ye Zhuo was going to seclude himself, Li Yuan thought.

He had gained many insights along the way, and his realm had improved, all of which needed to be solidified in tranquility.

So, he watched Ye Zhuo still with his eyes closed. He reached out to touch the corner of his eye, but Ye Zhuo used his sword sheath to brush his hand away and turned to walk into the inner hall.

The hem of his robe was lifted by the cold wind from the mountain peak, brushing against him, then drifting away as if in a trance. The Yulan Magnolia flowers fell in a flurry. Li Yuan raised his head to look at the departing figure, unable to articulate what he was thinking.

It wasn’t until Ye Zhuo’s figure disappeared into the inner hall, hidden among the flowers and trees, that a hesitant thought arose in his heart.

What was Ye Zhuo saying just now?

Ye Zhuo didn’t want to say anything; he needed to seclude himself.

The Reverse Scale Sword was placed on the desk. The setting sun had dipped below the horizon, and the inner chamber was shrouded in a hazy dimness. Spiritual candles were lit in response, illuminating the room once more. The black jade dragon scales were reflected by the candlelight, refracting subtle glimmers of light.

Ye Zhuo closed his eyes directly to cultivate.

He would thoroughly stabilize his Tribulation Transcending Realm, and beyond that was the Grand Ascension Human Immortal Realm. His path in the human world was nearing its end. However, the mysteries between realms were not yet clear to him.

Others cultivated only one kind of Grand Ascension, but he had two ends in his heart—should he cultivate two kinds of Grand Ascension? This path was one he had chosen himself, and all falsehoods and obstacles could only be eliminated from his own heart.

If his heart was unsettled, he would let it return to purity.

He was going to the Immortal Realm.

Perhaps the Immortal Realm had a rich and dense aura of immortal spirit, allowing Yun Xiangxi’s cultivation to advance a thousand miles a day, far surpassing the human world. Perhaps time flowed differently between the human and immortal realms, with one year in the human world equaling ten years in the Immortal Realm.

Perhaps that Immortal Realm was even more precarious than the human world.

In the Immortal Realm, there would be a longer lifespan, a higher realm, and more intense conflicts.

It would be like cultivating from the Qi Refining stage to the Human Immortal stage again, but in the upper realm. This path was steeper, with more people dying along the way, but the rewards were also greater.

Always wanting more after getting one thing, there was no end. This was the path to immortality, a path of no return.

He would go there and find Yun Xiangxi.

The Buddhist prayer beads were removed from his wrist, and he held one of them in his hand, a flame burning quietly within.

Suddenly, someone pressed against his forehead.

“Ye Zhuo.”

“?”

Li Yuan said, “Where is your heart unsettled?”

Ye Zhuo: “I remember closing the door.”

Li Yuan laughed.

As soon as he laughed, he couldn’t help but lean down and embrace Ye Zhuo completely. At first, it was just a playful hug, but when he touched this person, he wanted to get closer. He tightened his grip, pressing Ye Zhuo against his chest.

Ye Zhuo could hear his heartbeat.

He wanted to break free, but Li Yuan hugged him even tighter, leaning in so close that he could hear his breathing.

“Ye Zhuo.” He heard Dragon Li Yuan ask him again in his ear, “Where is your heart unsettled? Tell me.”

His fingers pressed against Ye Zhuo’s chest, over his heart: “Is it unsettled here?”

The Reverse Scale Sword hummed on the desk, reflecting Ye Zhuo’s desire to draw his sword and kill someone.

When did Dragon Li Yuan become so frivolous?

Li Yuan called him again: “Ye Zhuo.”

Ye Zhuo broke free directly, glaring at Li Yuan: “What does it have to do with you?”

This dragon was just like its horns, always trying to create complications!

Li Yuan looked at the angry expression on this person’s face, his eyes slightly red. It had been a while since Ye Zhuo had lost his temper with him.

“It has nothing to do with me?” He reached out to hold Ye Zhuo’s fingers, including the Buddhist beads in his palm, and said, “It’s still unknown what kind of Emotionless Path you’re cultivating. I’m afraid you’ll forget again if I’m not in front of you. You’ll forget the things you promised.”

“I will naturally remember what I promised.”

“You’re not exactly someone who keeps their word.” Li Yuan said.

Ye Zhuo ignored him and simply took his hand back.

“Ye Zhuo,” Li Yuan said, “don’t be afraid.”

“If you’re afraid, tell me.” He said, “I’ll be here with you.”

As he spoke, he leaned towards Ye Zhuo again. Ye Zhuo lowered his eyes. In fact, he felt that many things had become excessive. He wanted to say that a single meeting was not worth a thousand gold promises. Moreover, life, death, victory, and defeat were all unknown. He wanted to shut Dragon Li Yuan out and throw him into the cold pool to reflect.

But Li Yuan didn’t give him a chance to push him away.

Because he just lightly, like a dragonfly skimming the water, kissed Ye Zhuo’s forehead and then separated.

“You want to seclude yourself, is that it?” Li Yuan released him, but still stayed by his side, “I will always be in Green Mountains.”

Ye Zhuo didn’t speak, reaching out to clasp Li Yuan’s right hand—taking the string of Buddhist beads back into his own hand.

…This person was really stingy.

Then he would seclude himself. Li Yuan also accompanied him in cultivation. The beams and pillars of the inner chamber of Misty Green Peak had his space. When Ye Zhuo wasn’t so focused, he would wrap himself around this person, nuzzling him with his dragon horns.

Sometimes he would go outside to take a look. He would play a game of chess with Wei Sheng Xian, exchange some alchemy techniques with Brother Deer. That Deer cub ate everything, which wasn’t good. Sometimes he would sit down and discuss the Dao with Sect Leader Shen, and occasionally he would remember to visit Little Su in the guest room to inquire about his injuries, discussing the few swords that Second Palace Master Ye had used to sever the boundary barrier and kill Yu Que.

Actually, it didn’t matter if he didn’t visit. Little Su’s master was always there, and Feng Jiang only needed to concoct some medicine from time to time, and everything would be fine.

Little Su returned everything he could to the Upper Purity Mountain, but his master was cunning. On the surface, he had abandoned his Life-Bound Sword, but in reality, his Tribulation Transcending cultivation and his money bag were still there. Micro-Snow Palace always welcomed guests like this who came to recuperate and brought their family master.

That little ghost Shen Xin Ge wasn’t around. He had heard that he was determined to grow taller quickly and had been taken to some mountain by Sect Leader Lin to ask for medicine.

Actually, looking at his bone structure and clear spirit, growing taller was just as uncertain as Little Su. In the human world, he could be considered an excellent immortal ruler, like a Yulan Magnolia tree, but he was still lacking in the Dragon Realm. His reincarnation was not good, so there was nothing that could be done.

Over the course of two or three months, the situation in the Immortal Dao changed rapidly, like flowing clouds in the sky.

The Pill Cauldron Sect and the Hongmeng Sect each had disciples relocate to Green Mountains. These were two of the top-ranked sects in the Immortal Dao. Just in terms of products, one sold medicine and the other sold talismans, both of which were indispensable in the Immortal Dao. The Upper Purity Mountain was furious, announcing to the Immortal Dao sects that they would be irreconcilable with these three sects from now on, and would kill them on sight.

The affiliation of the Red Dust Sword Sect was needless to say. The Red Dust Sword Immortal already had his own guest room in the Micro-Snow Palace.

The remaining first-class sects had also reached the time to express their stance. However, at this juncture, the Grand Mountain Sect, which had the deepest foundation, unexpectedly announced its closure and self-defense, no longer interfering in the affairs of the Jianghu.

This closure was not an ordinary matter. It had to be said that this was the precedent set by the Illusion Sword Manor back when the Immortal Dao world was dark and turbulent, and the spearhead was pointed directly at the Illusion Sword Manor.

The so-called closure and self-defense meant that the disciples of the four seas only returned and did not leave. They would no longer ask about Jianghu affairs, and the mountain-protecting formation would be fully lit day and night. Anyone who stepped in would be regarded as an intruder and killed without mercy.

The Illusion Sword Manor had naturally been closed for many years. Later, the Lian family of the West Sea Heavenly Pond also closed their sect. Their spiritual veins were related to their bloodline, and no one actually coveted them, so this move was inexplicable.

Now, the Grand Mountain Sect was fine, but it acted like a turtle, shrinking its head. The Wandering Immortal Valley, which was on good terms with it, followed suit and announced its closure the next day.

Even stranger things happened. This was what a Jack-of-all-trades who was a guest at the Micro-Snow Palace vividly told them: The Upper Purity Mountain’s own Sword Sect had also closed.

It was said that when the news came out, the old immortals of the Dao Sect were furious and confronted the Sword Sect Master. The Sword Sect Master actually threw a tantrum in the Sword Sect’s main hall, claiming that his Sword Sect had only produced one immortal seedling like Su Yizhen in hundreds of years. From childhood to adulthood, the entire sect had raised him like the apple of their eye. The predecessors in the sword tomb, going back dozens of generations, had taught him in heaven. Now, what had your Dao Sect turned him into? You owe me an explanation! A lifetime of hard work had gone down the drain, and a group of Supreme Elders felt deeply ashamed of their ancestors and were crying and kowtowing in the sword tomb. As for him, he was now losing control of his Dao heart and was about to go mad. This sect had to be closed.

In addition, some small sects that had no hope of ascension for many years, and had long suffered from the exhaustion of spiritual energy, now heard the news and came to rely on Green Mountains. These matters were presided over by Palace Master Wei Sheng, who helped them settle down in Green Mountains, truly sharing the spiritual veins. Now the news was spreading quickly, and in a few days, more large and small sects would come to depend on them, all entrenched in the southwest.

A thousand miles of Green Mountains was considered vast, but if there wasn’t enough space, they could expand outwards. The mourning mountains and the embracing green valley were not bad, especially since there were some delicious products there.

Li Yuan had seen all of this and continued to return to Ye Zhuo’s side to cultivate. He had also planted lotus seeds, using the clear and bone-chilling spiritual water collected from the cold pool and carved a small lotus altar out of the mountain rocks deep in Misty Green Peak, which was now placed under the window. Li Yuan would look at them every day, as if they were about to take root and sprout. He would find time to take these three lotus seeds out to bask in the sun.

Sometimes Wei Sheng Xian would come to Misty Green Peak as a guest.

“The aura here is cold and desolate, which is alarming to this Palace Master. I have come to visit.” Wei Sheng Xian settled down and then stared intently at Li Yuan, “Brother Li Yuan’s cultivation is also advancing a thousand miles a day.”

“You flatter me,” Li Yuan said with a smile, “Second Palace Master Ye is cultivating his supreme Dharma, how dare I lag behind.”

“Brother Li Yuan’s heart is like a vast sea, and if he cultivates with a quiet mind, there will indeed be a different world.” Wei Sheng Xian praised.

What, did everyone think that he didn’t usually cultivate attentively? What was the reason for this? Li Yuan retorted without batting an eye: “It is surprising that Brother Wei Sheng didn’t reach the Human Immortal stage first this time.”

Wei Sheng Xian drifted away.

Li Yuan went back to look at Ye Zhuo again. What exactly was this person cultivating? Even he was alarmed by the aura on his body, and Wei Sheng Xian had to come and check.

But the person was just staying here quietly, as clear as crystal. Li Yuan nuzzled him, and was flicked on his dragon horns a few times, so he didn’t delve too deeply. Sometimes he would see bright red lines like flames and lotuses appearing on Ye Zhuo’s body, just like the day the Heart Beast senior gave him the Five Elements Flames.

Ye Zhuo had said that this was a cultivation technique he had practiced. The lines were eerie and beautiful, and Li Yuan remembered them clearly.

He guarded Ye Zhuo day after day like this. Since he was secluding himself, this person would definitely cultivate his sword techniques, Buddhist teachings, and all other dharmas until they were completely solidified, and only when he could no longer advance would he leave seclusion. Since this was the case, he couldn’t fall behind either.

When Ye Zhuo came out of seclusion, a thin layer of snow had fallen on the mountain.

Li Yuan left a note on the desk. When he stepped on the thin snow and walked to the bank of the cold pool, he saw Li Yuan’s back.

Dragon Li Yuan was sitting on a stone trestle by the water, with a round plate beside him, as if he was watching the snow, but on closer inspection, he was reading a book in the snow.

Hearing his footsteps, Li Yuan turned his head.

Ye Zhuo thought that his first words would be to ask about his insights. But when this dragon turned his head, he frowned and looked him up and down, blurting out: “Aren’t you cold?”

“Why would I be cold?”

Li Yuan: “You look cold.”

Ye Zhuo: “I’m not cold.”

Li Yuan wanted him to come over and touched the fabric of his clothes.

He wasn’t cold. With a stable Tribulation Transcending peak realm, even in the far north snowfield, he wouldn’t feel anything. It was just that he looked thin.

A simple, unadorned red robe, with even his hair casually loose. Those things were embellishments on him, but now that he had no external decorations, there was a unique sense of loneliness and beauty. Li Yuan stared at him without blinking.

…He just felt a little like draping some clothes over him.

He looked at Ye Zhuo, and Ye Zhuo also looked at his realm.

This dragon had also reached the Tribulation Transcending peak at some point.

It should be so.

Ye Zhuo himself cultivated a mind without external things, requiring life and death tempering. Li Yuan cultivated all rivers returning to the sea. He had seen the disturbances of the world, which was also cultivation. He liked to run around, and there was also this reason.

Li Yuan threw the book aside and pushed the lotus-growing altar for him to see.

Ye Zhuo moved his gaze away from the book and saw three lotus seeds lying in the pot. If it was lotus seed soup, it would be too watery, but maybe it wasn’t.

“Sect Leader Lin gave these three immortal lotuses, saying they were from the West Sea. Look, they’re about to sprout.” Li Yuan said, “But I don’t know what color they will bloom into. Sect Leader Lin couldn’t tell either.”

“It’s best if they’re red lotuses.” Li Yuan muttered to himself, “Snow-colored is also good.”

After a while, he said again: “Black is also fine, maybe they’re just these three colors.”

Three clusters of lotuses in three colors, didn’t this dragon think it would be an eyesore? Ye Zhuo didn’t comment, letting them bloom into whatever they wanted, it wouldn’t matter if they were cooked.

Scattered snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and a year in the human world passed like a white horse flashing past a crack.

“It’s been another year in your human world.” Li Yuan stood up, side by side with him, and said, “It will snow after today. They said they want to celebrate the mortal New Year’s Eve together. Do you want to go?”

“Too many people,” Ye Zhuo said, “I don’t want to.”

“There are many.” Li Yuan said, “Recently, there’s also an interesting sect that has settled down in Green Mountains, called the Zhenli Sect. Have you heard of it before?”

“I’ve heard of it.” Ye Zhuo thought slowly, “It’s a sect of the Strange Path. So it’s still around.”

“It is said that they made a grand wish a hundred years ago, determined to create an unprecedented thunder-fire heavy weapon. So before the Upper Purity Mountain could even make up their minds about them, they accidentally blew up their own mutated thunder spiritual vein.” Li Yuan said.

“After blowing it up, they felt they had no face to stand in the Strange Path, and slipped into the mortal world to do business in firearms. Now, hearing the news of the Micro-Snow Palace, they came to join the sect as a whole, saying that they would set off their unique fireworks in Green Mountains on New Year’s Eve, inviting all the sects to watch. We won’t go when the time comes, but we can watch from our own mountain.”

“…Aren’t they afraid of blowing up Green Mountains too?”

“Brother Wei Sheng said that it’s not yet known whether it was really ‘accidental’ back then. After they settled down, they asked other Strange Path sects if there were any survivors, and a few people from the One Sword Dao came out and gladly recognized each other. In short, everything is fine.”

It couldn’t be said that everything was fine.

Ye Zhuo said, “Li Yuan.”

Li Yuan looked at him.

“I have something to say to you.” Ye Zhuo said.

“I promised you before that I would tell you when I had decided to go to the Immortal Realm. Now I have decided.” Ye Zhuo said, “I will go to the Immortal Realm when I reach the Human Immortal Realm. Maybe it will be next year’s Ascension Ceremony, when the gates of heaven open.”

“Okay.” Li Yuan said, “Then have you figured out how you’re going?”

Ye Zhuo didn’t answer his question.

He said, “But the Immortal Realm is not a good place, you don’t have to go.”

Li Yuan stared straight into his eyes.

Li Yuan: “Say that again.”

Ye Zhuo frowned and said, “I don’t want you to go to the Immortal Realm with me.”

In the next moment, Li Yuan reached out and dragged him in front of him, pulling him backwards, and the two of them fell into the cold pool together.

In the snow, the water in the cold pool was at its most bone-chilling.

Li Yuan went to bite at the corners of his lips in the water, and finally came out of the water, pressing this person against the bank of the cold pool.

The cold air radiated out, clearing his mind. The person should also wake up.

“Ye Zhuo.” Li Yuan pressed down on him from above, “Say that again.”

Ye Zhuo: “You’re not going to the Immortal Realm.”

–Couldn’t this person be reasonable? Even though he had a premonition, Li Yuan was still so angry that his heart ached faintly. Looking at the person’s determined and unapologetic appearance, he was even more infuriated.

“Ye Zhuo,” he said through gritted teeth, “just continue to be such a scoundrel.”

“When you’ve reached the end of your scoundrelism, you’ll know that no one can listen to you like this. Ye Zhuo, it’s only because I am me, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

Ye Zhuo: “Then where would I be?”

Li Yuan’s chest rose and fell violently. He grasped Ye Zhuo’s shoulders and tightened his fingers, saying angrily, “You would have been in the Abyss Sea long ago!”

Ye Zhuo’s shoulders were in pain from his grip, and he frowned slightly.

Li Yuan: “Give me a reason. What, am I hindering your cultivation? Or am I disturbing your state of mind? I don’t believe it. Take out the beads in your hand and tell me which seventeen kinds of fearlessness these are!”

He spat out the words in his heart in one breath, and saw Ye Zhuo frowning, turning his head away, not wanting to talk to him. His heart twisted suddenly, and he didn’t want to see him like this. Had he spoken too harshly? He had never been so fierce to Ye Zhuo before. Li Yuan leaned down and cupped his cheeks, fine and dense pain spreading like cracks in his heart, as if only being close to Ye Zhuo could alleviate it a little. He went to kiss him: “I’m sorry. Ye Zhuo, I shouldn’t have spoken like that. But what you said was too infuriating.”

“Actually, you had already decided to leave me in the human world, right? Every time I mentioned the Immortal Realm, you wouldn’t answer. I knew it long ago.”

“But you don’t hate me at all.” He hugged Ye Zhuo, watching the edges of his clothes and hair spread out in the water like ripples. Ye Zhuo didn’t push him away; in fact, Ye Zhuo rarely pushed him away. Ye Zhuo’s hair hung down wetly, and he threaded his fingers through it, holding the person against his chest.

He seemed to have liked the aura on Ye Zhuo’s body since a long time ago.

He also liked holding Ye Zhuo like this, wanting him to always be by his side.

Sect Leader Lin said that there was a heavenly Dao resonance between him and Ye Zhuo’s physiques, which could complement each other. Then Ye Zhuo should have liked his aura a long time ago, and should also like being close to him.

When heaven and earth first opened, all things were chaotic, and the first black dragon and the first red lotus like this should have been together all year round.

Since they had met, how could they be separated?

“Ye Zhuo,” Li Yuan said, “what exactly are you thinking? Tell me.”

Ye Zhuo grabbed the fabric of his chest and propped himself up. Li Yuan went along with him, wanting him to find a posture he wanted. Finally, Ye Zhuo looked at him quietly.

“I forgot.” Ye Zhuo said.

“?”

“Say that again.”

Dragon Li Yuan was just being unreasonable.

Ye Zhuo originally knew what he wanted to say, but just now this dragon was so fierce that even his vertical pupils were exposed, and he couldn’t remember.

He said, “I forgot.”

Li Yuan really felt that he was going to swallow the person in the next moment and tie him back to the East Sea!

But Ye Zhuo frowned in distress and leaned closer to him.

In the faint lotus water aura, this person leaned down and tentatively, slowly touched his lips. Li Yuan stiffened in place.

“I really forgot.” Ye Zhuo said, “Let me think about it first.”