CH 40

Trapped beneath Yun Yuan, Ji Ning couldn’t move an inch as a large hand pinched the young demon’s chin. His beautiful face flushed, and his mouth fell open, unable to speak. He tried to avoid Yun Yuan’s gaze, but when he lowered his eyes, his vision filled with Yun Yuan’s slender fingers.

This was a very similar situation to a few years ago, except the roles had completely reversed. 

Yun Yuan stretched out his hand and pulled at the knot of the boy’s inner robe, revealing a large area of milky skin. The fragrance of the boy’s body was intoxicating. Yun Yuan’s eyes darkened as he lowered his head to kiss the boy’s lips.

“Don’t…no!”

Finally remembering that his cultivation was higher than Yun Yuan’s, the demon used a burst of qi to push Yun Yuan off him.

He wiped his lips angrily, a shy blush covering his face as he glared at Yun Yuan with watery eyes. “Please show some self respect Daoist Yun, I am no longer interested in you.” 

“The young master is not interested in me, but I admire the young master with all my heart and want to have a good relationship with you.”

Yun Yuan got up from the floor and tidied up his robe, giving the youth on the bed a slight smile. His relaxed expression coupled with his loose hair made his originally cold appearance come alive.

“If you won’t see me today, I will come to you every day. If you won’t see me this year, I will come to you every year.”

“Now that you’ve provoked me, I won’t let you get rid of me again.”

After saying this, he turned and walked out of the courtyard’s gate. You Rouwu, who was still guarding the entrance, stood up to greet him. Seeing that his dark hair was loose, she inadvertently showed a look of surprise but before she could speak, the handsome demon cultivator from before had returned again.

“I’m still not satisfied.”

Mu Xin walked up to You Rouwu and said sourly, “Can’t you find out who it is that Junior brother longs for? If you let me know, I will definitely-”

“It’s me.” 

Yun Yuan floated past them. Both of the cultivators were stunned at first and You Rouwu asked doubtfully, “What do you mean by that Daoist Yun?”

“The person in the young master’s heart is me.” Yun Yuan glanced at Mu Xin and said coldly, “Don’t pester him in the future, he already has me.”

“…”

The two Qingzong sect disciples couldn’t help but lose their composure, their faces dropping in shock as they blankly watched Yun Yuan walk away. After a long time, Mu Xin finally responded, his face pale. His lips twitched, before he opened his mouth with an earth-shattering roar. 

“Yun Yuan, I’ll kill you!!”

The Dao and demon competition was a lot of fun for everyone involved. Although when it began, its purpose was to allow each sect the right to compete for ownership of the newly opened spiritual worlds, as the competition developed, these noble thoughts were long forgotten. Instead, everyone’s attention was focused on the battle between the Qingzong sect and the Jingxu Palace.

To be more precise, it was the battle between the disciples of Qingzong sect and Yun Yuan. After that day, the disciples of Qingzong seemed to have gone crazy, as they did everything in their power to target Yun Yuan within the great competition.

However, Yun Yuan’s title of genius was not an exaggeration at all. On the contrary, he was even better than the rumours. The disciples of Qingzong weren’t even in the same realm as him. Although, one by one, they went up against him, they all failed miserably. 

The Qingzong disciples had tried to discuss various schemes to pull on him, but they were under the watchful eyes of Jingxu palace and didn’t dare make trouble, so they could only watch Yun Yuan come out on top in every competition. They were so angry their hearts hurt, but they were helpless to do anything.

He was just one person…

Just a single person…

He was obviously nothing special, even if he was better looking, and stronger, and the direct disciple of the Tianhe palace master, and a young genius with a bright future…but he was far from qualified to gain the admiration of their young master and show off in front of them! 

The disciples of Qingzong ground their teeth with hatred, but none of them thought that Yun Yuan was lying. Rather, they wished it had been a lie, but by watching the young master’s reactions, they knew that wasn’t possible.

Yun Yuan insisted on going to see the youth every day. If he didn’t see him, he wouldn’t go back, and if he did see him, he didn’t want to leave. Only when the teen ran to his father, the sect leader, would Yun Yuan return to his residence.

But the disciples of Qingzong sect weren’t blind. They knew that Yun Yuan hadn’t been cultivating that long and that his realm wasn’t as good as the young master’s. If the young master really didn’t care for Yun Yuan, he could easily beat him up. There was no need for him to be so embarrassed.

What’s more, it was obvious that the young master was happy. Every time Yun Yuan arrived he would grasp the boy’s hand, or greet him with a hug and although Ji Ning looked annoyed, he couldn’t hide the shy flush that would warm his face. After Yun Yuan left, he would stand at the door, watching him go, and wouldn’t move for a long time. 

Over time, the disciples of Qingzong sect almost ground their teeth flat, but they knew they couldn’t really kill Yun Yuan, so they gradually grew numb from hatred. They just hoped that one day the sect master himself would personally get rid of that bastard with a thousand knives.

As for the other sects, they were extremely amused by the situation. It wasn’t that they had never seen Daoist disciples and demon cultivators entangled before, just that in the past, it was always the demon cultivators attacking. This was the first time they had seen the roles reversed.

Everyone was curious about how the Qingzong sect and Jingxu palace would deal with the matter, but what was surprising was that the attitudes of the sect master and the three palace masters were very ambiguous. They neither encouraged nor stopped them and seemed content to let their relationship develop naturally.

But as the sect’s competition was close to ending, Ji Ning fled from Jingxu palace, as if declaring he wanted to end his entanglement with Yun Yuan. 

His cultivation realm was much higher than Yun Yuan’s, if he chose to hide his whereabouts, Yun Yuan would never be able to find him.

The disciples of Qingzong sect celebrated this, and ran to tell each other the good news, but the scene that occurred next almost made their eyes drop out of their heads. The sect master actually handed a token containing an aura of Ji Ning’s qi to Yun Yuan.

“Go and bring him back.”

Ktf rfma wjrafg rqbxf ab Tec Tejc wfjclcuoeiis. 

“Frlcu atlr, cb wjaafg ktfgf tf tlvfr, sbe klii yf jyif ab olcv tlw.”

Ktf wbecajlc atf Hlcuhbcu rfma kjr yelia bc kjr mbnfgfv lc wbcrafgr jcv rqlglar, yea Tec Tejc tegglfv qjra atfw, erlcu atf abxfc ab rfjgmt obg Al Rlcu.

At the time, Ji Ning was visiting a cultivator friend. Sensing that Yun Yuan was coming, the hand that held his wine glass shook, as if a little scared.

His friend was a beautiful cultivator sorceress and knew that Yun Yuan was chasing after Ji Ning. Seeing his reaction, a light flashed in her eyes and she asked him with a smile. 

“Good brother, if you don’t want to see that kid from Jingxu palace, should elder sister kill him for you?”

“No!”

In a panic, the youth moved to stop his friend but froze when he saw her playful smile. She was obviously teasing him.

Seeing this, the demon snorted coldly and turned his face to the side. His friend stopped making fun of him and offered some real advice. 

“Why don’t you use me as a shield? I can help you get rid of Yun Yuan and tell him to give up, how about that?”

“Would it work?” The boy expressed his doubts.

“Trust your sister.” His friend patted her chest, “Sister promises she’ll make him go home crying.”

“Please, dear brother, please let your sister go, she really can’t beat that Yun Yuan…” 

Unexpectedly, it was Ji Ning’s friend who ended up wanting to cry when she saw the stream of light chasing after them through the sky.

Who would have known that Yun Yuan’s cultivation had advanced so quickly? He had accomplished centuries worth of cultivation in just a few short years. Yun Yuan, who hadn’t even been close to her cultivation level, had now surpassed her. He was not only a genius of Jingxu palace, but in the whole history of cultivation, there couldn’t have been another person like him.

If she fought with the boy again, it was uncertain whether her little life could be saved. Besides, she could tell that when they chased and fled, it was all for their perverted flirting, why would she want to get in the way of that?

Thinking about these things, the friend couldn’t stand it any longer and ran for her life in a hurry. When the stream of light landed, only Ji Ning was left. 

“Yun…”

The youth opened his mouth to speak but was blocked by Yun Yuan’s kiss. Over the years, Yun Yuan had become so proficient at kissing that it would be difficult to say which one of them was from Qingzong sect.

“Today is my birthday again.”

When both of them were breathless, Yun Yuan finally let go of the boy. Lowering his head and hugging him into his arms, he murmured, “Where is my Qiyue?” 

“I said before, I threw that sword away.” The boy panted, his face flushed, “It was useless, why would I keep it?”

“That’s my sword, how can you throw it away as you please?”

“You didn’t want it at the time,” Ji Ning glanced at him, “How can it be considered yours?”

“Since it was given to me, it’s mine, and I will definitely treasure it in the future.” 

Yun Yuan caressed the boy’s cheek and coaxed him in a low voice, “I know you have kept it all this time, be good and give it to me. Let’s go back and hold a joining ceremony to become Dao partners and never leave my side again, okay?”

“…”

The young man lowered his head and was silent for a while, then he slowly said, “Then I have a condition.”

“Say it.” Yun Yuan was overjoyed when he heard Ji Ning’s temper softening. 

Ji Ning looked up at him and said, “If you can enter the realm of spirit transformation before me, I will give you Qiyue as a gift.”

Both Ji Ning and Yun Yuan were currently at Nascent soul consummation, and were only one step away from spirit transformation stage, but that step was as difficult as ascending to the sky. It was impossible to say how many cultivators had been smashed into the dirt and died with hatred in their hearts trying to ascend. No one would dare say they could definitely achieve the realm of spirit transformation.

But Yun Yuan didn’t hesitate to agree to Ji Ning’s demand, nodding casually, “Okay.”

“You say this…” The teenager squinted his eyes in dissatisfaction, “It seems that you’re certain you will enter the spirit transformation realm before me?” 

Yun Yuan smiled, “I just really want to become your cultivation partner.”

The boy’s face turned red, speechless. Yun Yuan took his hand and said, “It would be dangerous to try and break through to the next cultivation level outside the sect. Would you let me take you back to Qingzong sect?”

Ji Ning nodded and the two returned to Qingzong sect. Seeing their young master finally come back, Qingzong sect was overjoyed, but when they saw the unsightly Yun Yuan next to him, their hearts dropped. This meant that wretched kid’s scheme had worked.

“I’ll come find you once I’ve entered the realm of spirit transformation.” 

Yun Yuan touched the top of the boy’s hair and left the Qingzong sect. In the years that followed, because he was in closed door cultivation, Yun Yuan didn’t ask for Qiyue on his birthday but instead attached a part of his spiritual consciousness to the sword and used it to send messages.

Every time they saw the sword flying across the Qingzong sect the disciples ground their teeth, but Yun Yuan’s cultivation had advanced so far they couldn’t beat him. All they could do was hate him silently.

It was Yun Yuan’s birthday again but he had not sent Ji Ning a message. Instead, the Jingxu palace had come to visit the Qingzong sect. There were rumours that Yun Yuan had broken through to spirit transformation and that in the future a grand ceremony would be held that everyone from Qingzong sect was invited to watch.

There had always been a gap between righteous cultivators and demons. If a single person knew that someone from the other side was advancing, the cultivator would be at risk during such a vulnerable time, never mind inviting the entire sect to watch! 

But after so many years, the relationship between Jingxu palace and Qingzong sect had become so relaxed that even receiving this invitation seemed only natural. The sect master accepted the invite with a smile and asked his only child, “Would you like to attend with me?”

“…If father wants me to, I’ll go with you.”

Ji Ning bowed his head and responded like this but in fact, he really wanted to go. This was the last step needed to complete his mission in this world.

The cultivation world was special, as the conditions for judging whether the protagonist had fallen in love with him were different to theother worlds. In this world, he had to integrate his existence into Yun Yuan’s Dao path in order for his mission to be counted as a success. 

Therefore, the critical moment for him would be when Yun Yuan cultivated to the realm of spirit transformation and reawakened his memories of his previous life. He had to grasp onto that chance.

Jingxu palace held Yun Yuan’s spirit transformation ceremony. In addition to their own disciples, there was also the sect master and the young master of the Qingzong sect attending.

The other sects were not surprised by this. After more than a hundred years, everyone in the cultivation world was aware that the newly promoted master Yun Yuan was in love with Ji Ning, the young master of the Qingzong sect. It would be more of a surprise if Ji Ning didn’t come.

Once the ceremony began, Yun Yuan, who had just entered the realm of spirit transformation, appeared, glowing with qi. He looked ethereal, a soft breeze blowing the hem of his white robe, seeming as if his figure would disappear from the world in the next second. 

The people present couldn’t help but feel a little strange. They had never experienced such a feeling in the presence of a spirit transformation level cultivator. Instead, it was as if they were witnessing a cultivator who was close to entering the void. Before they could think about it too much, the energy in Yun Yuan’s body disappeared and he returned to normal.

Only Ji Ning knew that this was because Yun Yuan had recovered his memories of being a Mahayana cultivator in his previous life, which meant he could immediately advance to this state.

The ceremony was a success. Once it finished, the Jingxu palace invited Ji Ning to privately meet Yun Yuan. The others inside Tianhe palace had already left, leaving only the two of them.

“Congratulations on entering the realm of spirit transformation.” 

Ji Ning looked at Yun Yuan with a mixture of joy and shyness. He took out the spiritual sword Qiyue from his space ring and handed it to Yun Yuan.

“Now this sword…I will return it to you.”

The candles inside the hall were dimly lit, while the bright moonlight shone through the windows. As it was not a full moon the sword did not glow, but to Yun Yuan, the boy’s hands were even more eye catching beneath the moonlight.

Yun Yuan stood in front of him but did not immediately take the sword, watching the boy silently. 

After he entered the spirit transformation realm, he recovered his memories of his previous life. In his last life, he was the head of Tianhe palace and his cultivation had reached the peak of great ascension. He was only one step away from the calamity period, but when he calculated the future using the heaven’s secrets, he knew that he would fail to traverse the calamity because his Dao heart wasn’t perfect.

He had understood that it was because the Dao he had chosen was defective, so he reincarnated and sealed his own memories, hoping that after he came back, he could follow a different Dao to make up for the past.

In fact, some time before the ceremony, he had successfully broken through his bottleneck, but he did not ascend to spirit transformation immediately as he continued to examine himself and his relationship with Ji Ning.

Restoring the memories of his past life had split him into two different people, the him from this life, and the other him from his previous life. 

In this life, he belonged to his heart, which was filled with warmth for his loved one. In his previous life, he had only sought tranquillity and longevity. He was both harsh and ruthless. Although he held no hatred, he allowed nothing to leave a trace in his heart.

In his previous life, he was close to transcending the calamity when he realised the path he had chosen didn’t suit him, so he had to begin again to give himself another chance. He couldn’t follow the path he had before.

Then what was the way of his life?

“Do you still want it? If not, I’ll really throw it away this time.” 

The youth's clear voice echoed through the hall. His beautiful eyes looked at Yun Yuan with a hint of anger but also unease, as if he was afraid Yun Yuan would reject him once more.

Looking into his eyes, Yun Yuan’s heart softened. Without thinking, he gently took the spiritual sword from the boy’s hands and pulled him close to his chest.

Originally, his current life had been identical to his previous as he single mindedly pursued the Dao path. However, after meeting Ji Ning everything turned upside down.

All his struggles had been to stay close to the boy and the love in his heart had even made him surpass the cultivation speed of his previous life. He smoothly entered the realm of spirit transformation without encountering any setbacks in order to get back the spiritual sword that the youth had given him. 

Maybe he already had his answer. His Dao path should be in harmony with his soul. True tranquillity did not rely on celibacy to obtain the Dao. He was not a ruthless person, he was meant to have love in his heart and now he had found his own love.

Ji Ning was his love, his Dao path.

With this realisation, Yun Yuan’s past and present lives finally merged into one, completing his Dao heart.

He held the boy in his arms and kissed his forehead with a small smile, asking him. 

“Are you finally willing to accept me?”

The boy lowered his head and said nothing, but he nestled closer into his arms. Overjoyed, Yun Yuan hugged Ji Ning even tighter, pressing kisses to his cheeks and lips.

“We can become Dao companions and stay together forever.”

The next day, Ji Ning disappeared. 

He left no traces. Yun Yuan and the two sects searched across the world for him. Both the sect master and the palace masters calculated heavenly secrets to find his whereabouts but they only knew that he wasn’t dead. There was no other information.

Now that more than two thousand years had passed, it had been hundreds of years since he had entered the transcending tribulations stage and he had finally met Ji Ning again.

Two thousand years of pain and longing had long covered Yun Yuan’s Dao heart with a layer of dust.

But he couldn’t let go. 

If he gave up on Ji Ning, it would be equivalent to giving up his Dao path and dying again.

When asked by Yun Yuan why he abandoned him, Ji Ning looked down at the wine glass on the table, silent for a while, before responding.

“As I said just now, I want to go back to my own world.”

“Is your original world so important to you?” 

“It’s very important.” Ji Ning nodded slowly, “Like your pursuit of the Dao path, my only wish is to see my family again. For that, I’m willing to do anything.”

“Even so.” Yun Yuan said, “You are now begging me to release the cursed formation for the sake of another man. Will this also help you return to your own world?”

Ji Ning was speechless for a while, unable to answer. Yun Yuan smiled, his eyes dark, “You are so sincere to others…aren’t you afraid that I’ll kill him?”

Without waiting for Ji Ning to answer, he lowered his head and poured himself a drink. He spoke coldly, “You say you’re willing to stay here with me for a hundred years, but that’s not good enough. What I want is your life.” 

The next moment, Ji Ning’s consciousness was pushed out of Qiyue once again. Ji Ning stood in front of Qiyue for a while, then abruptly sighed. He wanted to return to Ying Qianqiu to merge together the two splinters of his consciousness, when he suddenly sensed that there was something wrong with his original body.

He transferred his consciousness to where his original body was. Yun Dao, Qin Ruwang, and himself were making their way over to the boundless sea, which was said to be a safe area.

They had been travelling for a few days, but the boundless sea was still a distance away. In order to avoid people’s eyes and ears, they had taken an ordinary carriage. They were only halfway there, when suddenly they could hear the sound of waves and the smell of salt coming from the carriage window.

Ji Ning suddenly found that he was alone inside the carriage. Spreading out his qi, he concluded that the carriage was indeed empty. His expression flickered, he had no idea what was going on. 

Ta-ta…Ta…

The carriage gradually came to a stop. A cold, wet sea breeze blew the carriage curtain open, revealing the sea view.

Ji Ning remained in the carriage for a long time, but there were no movements from outside, so he could only go out to look himself. The moment his feet touched the floor, the sand and gravel beneath his feet changed to the wooden panels of a boat. The boat swayed gently to the rhythm of the ocean, lanterns swaying from the motion.

Looking around, he was in the middle of a vast sea that glittered with the faint reflections of moonlight. Lonely and cold, the scenery made people feel isolated and alone. 

Ji Ning could faintly hear the sound of music. It was slowly approaching, the sound gradually drowning out the lull of the water.

It was the sound of a flute. The fluttering notes coming to life under the glow of the moonlight. It sounded quiet and peaceful, and unmistakably familiar, giving Ji Ning a nostalgic feeling. A small boat soon became visible, drifting towards Ji Ning, a figure slowly appearing from the darkness.

A young man in a pale blue robe removed the flute from his lips. The music stopped as he looked up at Ji Ning.

Lit by the moonlight, his long dark hair was blown back by the sea breeze. His handsome face revealed a barely visible melancholic expression in his eyes, but the moment he saw Ji Ning, it changed to delight. He stretched out his hand towards Ji Ning and said. 

“Little fox, do you still remember me?”

Ahahaha everyone thought Ningning lost his virginity at the end of the last chapter (ᵔ́∀ᵔ̀) no, he’s guarding his chastity with his life!!

I am stunned that Yun Yuan can waltz in nearly halfway through the novel and steal my heart away so easily – it might be because I love cultivation romance but ‘Ji Ning was his Dao path’ ahhhh, he’s so cute he’s going to kill me!!!

Mu Xin *confused*: “Who could Junior brother be so in love with?” 

Yun Yuan *rollerblading past in sunglasses*: “It’s me bitch”

I think I’ll make a note at this time that I will always try to release two chapters a week, but they might possibly not always be on Wednesday/Saturday because I can get, uh, distracted ₍ ᐢ • ▿ • ᐢ ₎