Chapter 95 Blood Curtain
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Pei Jing arrived at the top of Zhuihun Mountain, standing in front of the Tower of Spiritual Refinement. The tower, eighteen floors high, dominated the surroundings. Red ribbons adorned the corners of the blue eaves, swaying in the mountain breeze. The windows and doors were dark, and the stone pillars showed signs of age, giving off a melancholic atmosphere.
Pei Jing paused in the middle of wielding his sword.
In front of the Tower of Spiritual Refinement, a powerful force surged from beneath the ground. It felt damp and cold, as if emanating from a deep abyss or an endless sea.
“The Tower of Spiritual Refinement, such a bold name. There must be secrets inside.”
He put his sword away, furrowing his brow as he looked up at the towering structure before him.
He looked up, but there seemed to be no end in sight.
“I will eventually turn this place upside down.”
Pei Jing whispered softly, laughed lightly, and averted his gaze.
The immediate task was to find the true form of the Goddess of Yingzhou, known as the Transient Jade Lotus.
He woke up the grumpy chubby green worm by flicking its antennae. “Hurry up. Lead me to that lake.”
The worm reluctantly opened its eyes, curled its antennae, and slowly moved its body. It rolled off Pei Jing’s finger, landing on a nearby leaf still wet with dew. The worm and the leaf stuck together, floating in the air, following its sense of smell as it moved. It was slower than a snail.
Pei Jing wasn’t in a rush. He walked alongside it on Zhuihun Mountain, cutting through the wild grass and dense trees with his sword.
Eventually, they ventured through the winding forest and arrived at a lake. The lake was pitch black, as if swallowed by the night, and the wind couldn’t disturb its calm surface. It resembled a mirror that failed to reflect any shadows.
“Is this the place?”
Pei Jing took a step forward, his shoe crushing a dry leaf, creating a crisp, cracking sound.
And with that single sound.
Right beside the entire lake!
In an instant, a dark purple formation appeared!
Pei Jing had expected this. Gripping his sword, he readied himself for a battle. However, the chubby green worm moved forward, standing at the edge of the formation, causing the murderous intent that had filled the air to dissipate. Not only did it dissipate, but the formation also started spinning on its own, changing directions, and sending a flurry of fallen leaves into the air.
Simultaneously, a vortex appeared in the pitch-black center of the lake.
“You’re proving to be quite useful.”
Pei Jing followed the worm forward.
The chubby green worm left the leaf and crawled onto the surface of the lake, which had a gelatinous texture.
Pei Jing stopped and stayed close behind.
The worm entered the vortex.
As he stepped onto it, his body began to sink. The process was incredibly slow, with the blackness gradually engulfing the surroundings, absorbing light bit by bit.
The black water rose past his waist, his shoulders, his eyebrows, and even reached the top of his head.
Finally, he felt himself in a different world, surrounded by complete darkness. The translucent green worm emitted a soft, bluish light, guiding him forward.
Pei Jing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his senses were stripped away in this place. Even his voice dissipated into the void. If it weren’t for the worm leading the way, he might have been trapped there.
Is this where the Transient Jade Lotus resides?
Wait a moment.
Pei Jing’s body tensed, his eyes gradually turning cold.
As the Goddess of Yingzhou had mentioned, during the battle of the gods thousands of years ago, she sealed herself at the entrance of the Demon Realm.
She separated from her true form and awakened within that lotus pond, which means her true form should still be in its original place.
So… is this actually the path to the Demon Realm?
In an instant, Pei Jing’s expression became serious.
At the end of the darkness, there was pure whiteness.
He had expected that passing through would reveal a scene of carnage, mountains of corpses, and a desolate hell. However, as he took the first step forward, the first thing he encountered was the pleasant and crisp sound of pearl curtains colliding.
The light gradually dimmed, and the scene before Pei Jing’s eyes became clear.
Beneath his feet stretched a pathway made of ice crystals, wide enough for three people to walk side by side. It had an icy blue color, emanating coldness, and was smooth and reflective. When he looked down, he could vaguely see his own reflection.
The path ahead forked into three directions, and then those branches split again and again, forming a complex network when seen at a glance.
On the blue icy path, there hung a beaded curtain made of blood-red beads, cascading down from the top of the rocky wall. It was both beautiful and horrifying.
And the icy path lay upon the molten rock, dark red like a slumbering beast. The wind here blew, causing the beaded curtains to sway and produce crisp tinkling sounds.
It also stirred the molten rock, causing it to overflow the edges, and the scorching heat burned the soles of their feet.
As the green worm reached this place, its entire body became serious. Its antennae stood upright, its chubby body partially raised, exuding an eerie sense of solemnity. It continued forward, leaving a trail of faint white liquid on the icy path.
The closer they got to the end of the beaded curtain, the denser it became, even obstructing their vision. The blood-red tear-shaped beads were chillingly cold.
Pei Jing used his hand to push through, and as the droplets rolled over his wrist, it felt like real tears, scorching his skin with worldly pain.
The wind chimed, creating a pleasant and crisp sound.
However, behind him, there were people with a thousand faces cursing, wailing, and screaming.
Pei Jing’s face remained expressionless, but his gaze gradually grew colder.
The chubby green worm encountered another formation. Being a creature born from the essence of life, closely connected with the Transient Jade Lotus, it naturally possessed a method to break through. However, it seemed somewhat difficult this time. It curled itself into a circle, remaining in a stalemate for a long while.
Pei Jing grew somewhat impatient waiting behind it.
Nearby, there were strands of pearl chains descending from the celestial walls, too many to count, overlapping and obstructing his surroundings. It was a blood-soaked haze.
Pei Jing felt a sense of unease about the curtain, but what piqued his curiosity even more now was the molten rock beneath his feet.
Did he reach the center of the earth?
It couldn’t be such a great depth.
Dark red, golden, black—various vivid and scorching liquids, intertwining and eroding each other.
As Pei Jing slightly bent down, he felt the heat roasting the tips of his hair.
“Where did this molten rock come from… Wasn’t the Demon Realm already destroyed? And the Master said there were faint signs of the Demon Clan’s revival. Could it be that now, the Demon Realm has been rebuilt?”
Doubt arose in his mind as he half squatted down.
Suddenly!
The seemingly calm and waveless molten rock contorted into a human face. Bang! The scalding lava transformed into a hand, reaching out to drag him down.
Pei Jing remained unfazed, chuckling. “You really can’t hold your temper, Little Brother.”
With a flick of his wrist, the Cloud Slayer Sword emitted a purple glow, and from top to bottom, it aimed to sever that hand.
However, he was hindered.
The three thousand beaded curtains tinkled crisply as someone’s robes softly brushed against the ground, rustling like falling snow.
Pei Jing froze as his hand, suspended in mid-air, was tightly grasped, rendering him immobile.
However, the molten rock that attempted to attack him seemed to have glimpsed something particularly terrifying. The human face blurred and let out a wailing sound before recoiling.
Pei Jing heard the cold and mocking voice of that person. “You really can’t hold your temper.”
Although it was clearly a sarcastic tone, in this moment, amidst the overwhelming joy, tenderness filled Pei Jing’s heart. He abruptly turned around, and sure enough, it was the person he longed for day and night.
“Chu Junyu!”
Pei Jing beamed, his youthful eyes sparkling.
However, Chu Junyu’s expression was not too pleasant as he taunted, “You swung that sword out, exposing your presence. Now, get ready to be buried beneath the molten rock.”
Pei Jing hadn’t seen him in so long, and he wished he could carefully capture every detail of Chu Junyu’s features.
He didn’t feel like explaining his intentions from earlier, not wanting to burden his wife.
Initially, he was filled with enthusiasm and had so many questions to ask. However, as he recalled Chu Junyu’s actions of rejecting him outside the barrier that day, his excitement quickly diminished.
He was still a bit annoyed. This jerk didn’t tell him anything.
So, Pei Jing suppressed his overwhelming joy, hmphed, and feigned aloofness. “Look at how you’ve been avoiding me, shutting yourself away. It’s useless. I casually entered this lake, and here I am, seeing you again. Fate cannot be hindered in the slightest. We are destined to be together…”
No, what did he say?!
His intention was to express anger.
Damn it. Pei Jing regretted it deeply.
Chu Junyu’s understanding of him far exceeded Pei Jing’s imagination. A faint smile curved his lips, and his blood-red eyes darkened slightly. “You really can connect everything to fate.”
Pei Jing couldn’t care less about feeling embarrassed. He was even happier. “Isn’t it fate? So, you purposely sought me out? I waited for so long, and you finally admit it… mmph…”
Chu Junyu extended a finger and pressed it against Pei Jing’s incessantly chattering mouth. There was no expression on the young man’s gloomy and pale face as he coldly said, “Pei Yuzhi, can you be normal?”
Pei Jing raised his hand and held Chu Junyu’s wrist, his eyes filled with unparalleled clarity and tenderness.
Chu Junyu’s finger paused slightly, and his eyes narrowed.
Pei Jing said, “This is normal. I like you. How many times do I have to say it? I don’t have much experience in love, but from observing others, it seems like this is how people pursue someone. If a man values his pride too much, his wife will leave him.”
Chu Junyu lowered his gaze, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “If you care so much about your pride, why don’t you spend some money to buy yourself a husband’s pride? Madam, where is your husband? Calling him Qiao Qiao seems quite intimate.”
His last sentence, starting with “Madam,” carried a hint of frivolity. His eyes, as pure as blood jade, shimmered with radiance. When he lightly chuckled, he seemed like a ghostly figure from another world, but his words were filled with a chilling aura.
When Pei Jing disliked someone, he found them suspicious in every aspect. For example, during their first encounter in the forest of red leaves, he thought Chu Junyu was a pervert with distorted values, trying to corrupt him.
Now, as he looked into Chu Junyu’s silver hair and blood-colored eyes, his heart couldn’t help but soften.
Even his voice involuntarily became gentle.
“That was a special case! Is it because you don’t like me calling him Qiao Qiao? It feels too intimate, like a term of endearment between lovers. Alright, I won’t call him that anymore, is that better, Chu Chu?”
Chu Chu…
It was undeniably a ridiculously amusing nickname. But when it was spoken from the youth’s deliberately softened voice, it felt like a gentle breeze passing through verdant mountains in early spring.
Chu Junyu withdrew his hand, silently glancing at Pei Jing before turning to walk ahead.
Not again!
Pei Jing was taken aback, holding his sword as he approached. “Chu Chu sounds quite pleasant, don’t you think? I don’t recommend you calling me A’Pei either.” Ahem, it would be best if you call me hubby. Although in the cultivation world, ‘husband’ seems to be the more common term?
“Or perhaps, what would you like me to call you?”
Chu Junyu forcefully tore down the bead curtains blocking his path.
The beads clattered and fell all the way, rolling onto the smooth ground.
His gaze froze, suddenly remembering that Pei Jing could even stumble on the Green Bridge. Here, it was likely he would fall into the magma.
Chu Junyu halted his steps.
At the same time, his eyes glanced towards the end, where the green worm curled up, breaking the formation.
A sense of indifference filled his heart. Relying solely on this worm, it would probably take three days and three nights.
Seeing him stop, Pei Jing also relaxed. He noticed the beads that had rolled to his feet and felt relieved. Falling here wouldn’t be fun.
“So, tell me. What do you want me to call you?”
Chu Junyu felt an emotion stirring within him, one that he couldn’t quite grasp.
“How about calling me…”
He smiled mysteriously, “……Big Brother.”
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