Chapter 42: The Wind And Moon Cross The Rivers And Seas (Part 4)
“There’s a faint energy fluctuation here, subtle enough to be easily overlooked without careful inspection,” Yan Yi said. “I sensed something strange this morning.”
Bai Chunsheng looked up at the gray, hardened stone walls again. As soon as Yan Yi finished speaking, the walls began to tremble rhythmically. Moments later, fine dust drifted down, avoiding both of them, settling on the ground.
A deep, mysterious hole appeared at the top, exuding an unfathomable eeriness despite being above them.
Bai Chunsheng felt a strange unease. Clearly, some illusionary spell had been cast to conceal it. If Yan Yi could detect it, how could he not? That earlier sense of danger resurfaced, and Bai Chunsheng bit his lip, hesitation written all over his face.
Noticing his expression, Yan Yi remarked, “What are you afraid of?”
Yan Yi chuckled, “You’re not even afraid of me, so what could possibly scare you?”
Bai Chunsheng stiffened and retorted, “Which eye of yours sees me afraid?”
“Maybe it’s you who’s scared, trying to project that fear onto me,” Bai Chunsheng countered confidently. “Just follow me closely, you coward!”
With that, Bai Chunsheng marched into the hole, deliberately clasping his hands behind his back, feigning a calm and composed demeanor.
Of course, this confidence didn’t last long. Bai Chunsheng took out his magical artifact from his storage bag. This artifact was his old companion, a string of prayer beads. Each bead was engraved with a vivid depiction of Buddha’s face, and from different angles, one could seemingly see the Buddha’s full range of emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, desire, and all the passions of the heart.
This string of beads was a high-quality defensive artifact, said to be a unique treasure of Wuwei Temple. When Bai Chunsheng held it in his hand, he felt a surge of confidence.
He straightened his back.
The cave appeared to be long, but it was very narrow, just wide enough for one adult man to pass through at a time.
After walking for a while, Bai Chunsheng noticed that Yan Yi, trailing behind him, was like a breeze with no shadow, but this breeze didn’t feel quite like Yan Yi—it was more like the wind drifting back and forth in the cave.
After a moment of silence, the suffocating feeling, like someone tightening a noose around his neck, surged again. This sensation was vaguely familiar to Bai Chunsheng, but he couldn’t recall where he had experienced it before.
He felt that something was off, but didn’t want to reveal his fear to Yan Yi.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Yan Yi, are you there?”
“I’m here,” Yan Yi replied.
After walking a few dozen steps, Bai Chunsheng asked again, “Are you there?”
Yan Yi: “I’m here.”
Bai Chunsheng felt a bit embarrassed and thought to himself that if only Yan Yi would shamelessly offer to hold his hand, he would allow it for a while.
After thinking for a moment, he came up with a brilliant excuse.
With a bold face, Bai Chunsheng asked, “Are you scared? If so, why don’t I hold your hand?”
He then lifted his sleeve and extended his white, jade-like hand behind him.
Yan Yi: “…”
What was there to be afraid of in this insignificant world?
Yan Yi didn’t think for long and soon understood Bai Chunsheng.
—This little thing was probably just acting cute.
Sigh, no helping it.
Yan Yi thought to himself, satisfied.
Unaware of Yan Yi’s thoughts, Bai Chunsheng grasped Yan Yi’s hand, and that strange, unsettling sensation, which seemed trivial yet uncomfortable, dissipated significantly.
They walked for a long time, and the path, which had been ascending, took a turn and began to slope downward.
The direction changed, leading them to a completely new path.
At the end of the cave, a faint red glow appeared, and the smell of sulfur became more pronounced. The passage widened enough to allow both of them to pass side by side, so Yan Yi walked beside Bai Chunsheng.
Bai Chunsheng spent the entire journey wondering why he had been feeling this way.
As they neared the end, something seemed to click in Bai Chunsheng’s mind. He suddenly stopped, his face showing a hint of confusion. “…A dragon?”
“A dragon?”
Bai Chunsheng looked at Yan Yi, who appeared indifferent and seemingly unaware of anything. “You didn’t feel it?”
Yan Yi raised an eyebrow. “What would I be afraid of?”
Dragons, described as one of the highest beings in the cultivation world, have always been regarded with reverence, and this fact has never been questioned. Most pure-blooded dragons, as soon as they hatch, possess the cultivation strength close to the Nascent Soul stage. As they age, their bloodline becomes purer, and in tandem with that, their strength grows exponentially.
Pure dragons are rare, but dragons are known for their love of joy, and their offspring are spread throughout the cultivation world. Many cultivators, after cultivating to the point where they can inspect their meridians, realize that their ancestors were somehow connected to the dragon lineage.
What makes them most terrifying is that old dragons do not suffer the decline in power that humans face with aging. Instead, they only grow stronger. It is as if they are a firework that, rather than fading away, becomes its most powerful at the very end of its life.
Bai Chunsheng surveyed the dark tunnel ahead, uncertain of what it might be, but the unease he felt told him that this could be the lair of an ancient dragon nearing the end of its life.
These old dragons, nearing the end of their lifespans, unconsciously release pressure around them. Their still-intact dragon bones can even subtly affect non-dragon cultivators across different realms.
However, these effects are usually faint and subtle at most.
Bai Chunsheng gave Yan Yi a strange look, recalling that Yan Yi not only had amnesia but also seemed to have a broken mind. He wondered if this was why Yan Yi couldn’t sense these subtle changes in the atmosphere. “It’s nothing,” Bai Chunsheng said.
Bai Chunsheng: “I suspect the precious Fire Spirit Stone that Su Xiaojing holds is not really a Fire Spirit Stone.”
“It should be a bloodline crystal,” he added. The cultivation technique Su Xiaojing used was from the dragon clan’s fire element, which led to the Fire Spirit Stone being mistaken for something else.
Bloodline crystals are also rare spiritual items that could help Bai Chunsheng recover, and if used properly, could even give him some slight improvement. However, the conditions to create a bloodline crystal were extremely strict. First, the spiritual beast creating it must have cultivation above the Nascent Soul stage. Then, the beast must willingly extract its bloodline to form the crystal.
The first requirement was not too difficult, but the second was challenging. After all, the creature must be willing. When a being faces death and must sacrifice itself for future generations, it often harbors some resentment. If even a trace of this resentment enters the process, the attempt could fail.
Once Bai Chunsheng realized this, the unease vanished, and he felt no fear at all.
He quickly withdrew his hand, subtly wiping it on his clothing at his waist, then shook his head and asked in a playful manner, “You’re not scared now, are you?” He winked mischievously, his eyelids thin and his eyes lively. The dim light cast on Bai Chunsheng’s face made him appear as though he were glowing.
Yan Yi, who had witnessed everything: “……”
Wasn’t he just acting coy and wanting to hold hands a moment ago?
Now, he didn’t want it anymore.
Human greed only grows, and it seemed that demons were no different.
It seemed that holding hands was no longer enough for Bai Chunsheng, who loved him deeply. He was now asking for more.
Could it be…
Yan Yi understood.
Bai Chunsheng was asking for a kiss.
The two were very close, and Yan Yi turned his head slightly.
Embarrassed, he gently planted a “chu” near Bai Chunsheng’s ear.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
