Knowing it in one’s heart was one thing, but having the poisoner confess so openly and candidly was entirely another.
Pei Zizhuo, who had originally intended to seize the moral high ground and launch a verbal assault, gritted his teeth and swallowed back the curses on the tip of his tongue, convinced that he would choke to death on fury because of this man sooner or later.
After a moment of silence, he ground his molars and demanded, “Why did you not say so earlier?”
“I, I did not expect you to swallow it so readily,” Shen Shu added with some embarrassment, “However, this medicinal pill is indeed a fine remedy for mending immortal bones. It is only that there will be some adverse reactions after taking it, and nothing more.”
Pei Zizhuo let out a faint scoff, unsure of how much to believe. He did not plan to get to the root of the matter, or rather, had no interest in pressing further. The medicine had already been administered, and he had already swallowed it. No amount of explanation could change the outcome.
He closed his eyes, lying flat on his back upon the couch with one leg crossed over the other. Looking completely like a haughty lord, he exuded an aura of aloof detachment.
The lands of the Divine Continent were nearing late autumn, and the air had grown chilly. Whenever a fresh breeze blew, it still carried a biting chill.
Ordinary cultivators had robust constitutions, so such slight cold was nothing to fear. Pei Zizhuo, however, was heavily wounded, and his physical state was no different from that of a mortal.
The chilly wind fluttered the white robe on his body, blowing the fabric at his chest wide open nearly down to his waist. Seeing this, Shen Shu could not help but remind him, “The quilt on the couch is new. Do you want to cover yourself with it?”
Lord Pei cast a glance at him, lazily hooked a corner of the quilt with his foot, and draped it over his waist.
Shen Shu was left completely speechless by the perfunctory gesture. He could not comprehend why Pei Zizhuo seemed to have become an entirely different person, speaking and acting with such icy indifference. Where had he gone wrong?
Unable to figure out the reason, yet unwilling to let Pei Zizhuo freeze, he rose and shut the window tightly.
The restrictions outside the doors and windows activated instantly, blocking out the howling wind and the rustling clamor of withered wood sweeping across the ground outside.
Inside the room, one lay waiting for death while the other sat in boredom. The atmosphere was exceptionally tranquil, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Remembering that he had yet to locate Danxiao’s cave abode, Shen Shu sat cross-legged by the window. He closed his eyes and allowed his spiritual consciousness to wander outward, leaving behind only an empty shell meditating within the small building.
The identities recorded in the White Bamboo Slips of Destiny all belonged to renowned figures across the Divine Continent. Since he had to impersonate Danxiao the Free Wanderer, he could not afford to slip up and had to find Danxiao’s cave abode.
His divine sense traversed the mountains like a beam of red light, searching meticulously along every blade of grass and tree, fearful of missing even a single patch of soil.
By the time the sun dipped below the western mountains, Shen Shu, having combed through more than half the peak, felt increasingly that something was amiss. By all rights, any place where a cultivator resided for a long time should be a blessed haven with lush vegetation, abundant waters, and teeming spiritual energy. Furthermore, looking around, places far superior to Mount Lebai were everywhere. Why had Danxiao chosen to put down roots here?
Could it be that he possessed a unique method of cultivation and did not care about spiritual energy in the slightest?
Shen Shu furrowed his brow, resting his finger against his lips as he surveyed the ground beneath him. On the parched, yellowish earth, several pale pebbles were embedded in the soil, arranged in a neat and orderly line that looked completely out of place with their surroundings.
Shen Shu bent down to pick them up, weighing them in his palm, only to discover that they were not stones at all, but the seeds of immortal herbs.
He clicked his tongue in surprise and waved his sleeve to sweep away the loose soil, instantly shocked. Upon this land lay vast expanses of white herb seeds, layered densely and stretching without end. Could Mount Lebai have been a lush oasis not long ago?
In an instant, understanding dawned on him. He pulled out the Myriad Affairs Ribbon and smashed it fiercely against a fissure on the surface!
Slabs of earth were overturned, kicking up clouds of yellow dust. After digging several feet deep and clearing away the soil, a jet-black stone slab carved all over with talismans was revealed.
It was actually the Extreme Yin Bipolar Fate-Reversing Talisman, capable of inverting yin and yang, turning abundance into depletion.
It turned out that all the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy Mount Lebai had accumulated over the years had been drained underground by this talisman. That was why not a single blade of grass grew on the surface, and neither birds nor beasts could be found. Judging from the vast expanse of barren land on the surface, one could infer the immense scale of this underground palace.
Shen Shu’s expression turned solemn. This array severely damaged one’s hidden merit. He did not know how stubborn Danxiao’s destiny was to dare use such a method to build an underground palace. Was he not afraid of heavenly thunder striking down to obliterate his three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls?
He immediately summoned the Red Lotus True Fire to hover over the pitch-black stone slab. Scorched by the tongues of flame, the aggressive talisman tore away from the stone, swirling with ink as it attempted to flee.
Yet the Red Lotus True Fire darted like a swimming serpent, swiftly pursuing and coiling around the talisman. The black ink struggled desperately within the crimson blaze, contorting its shape longer and shorter, but it was still scorched until it crackled and emitted dark smoke. In less than half a moment, it was completely consumed by the true fire.
At that exact moment, Mount Lebai seemed to have had its meridians unblocked. The mountain shuddered violently, boulders rolled down, withered trees were uprooted, and the cracks on the black stone slab grew wider and wider until, with a loud snap, it split completely in two.
Sensing danger, the Myriad Affairs Ribbon in Shen Shu’s hand wrapped around him and swept him away at top speed.
In the blink of an eye, a plume of sinister baleful aura erupted from the spot where he had just stood. A tornado-like dense fog surged straight into the clouds, like a trapped beast suppressed for ages that had finally broken free into the open sky.
Shen Shu’s pupils contracted. That baleful energy was actually the Chaos Qi of the Four Ancient Fiends!
He forcefully broke free from the Myriad Affairs Ribbon, riding the breeze to give chase. Yet this ancient baleful energy was exceptionally vicious and foul. Wrapped in poisonous fumes and resentment, the thick fog made his head spin and his eyes ache, his limbs sore and itchy. Most of his immortal power was suppressed, and his entire body felt painfully swollen, as though bitten by tens of thousands of ants.
Shen Shu bit his lower lip and forced himself to muster his strength to pursue it further, but his footing gave way, and he found himself unable to summon his immortal energy.
He had descended to the mortal realm in haste and carried no protective magical artifacts. Having already inhaled a significant amount of the baleful energy and fallen victim to it, charging ahead blindly would only lead to disastrous defeat.
Yet Chaos was the head of the Four Ancient Fiends. How could he let it escape so easily?
Shen Shu brought his hands together before his chest in an invocation, offering a drop of his heart’s blood onto the Red Lotus True Fire.
The crimson lotus instantly flashed with red radiance. Three golden lotus seeds rose abruptly, and with a point of his finger toward the heavens, they flew as if guided by sight, hurtling directly after Chaos.
One’s heart’s blood was formed from the true soul. Drawing upon even a single drop inflicted excruciating agony and damaged one’s cultivation.
Cold sweat beaded on Shen Shu’s forehead. His face was deathly pale, flecks of blood stained the corner of his mouth, and he clutched his chest as he barely managed to touch down safely.
Though his chest ached, he had no time to tend to it. He drew a voice transmission talisman and said, “Chaos has emerged from Mount Lebai. I have dispatched true fire in pursuit. Come assist immediately!”
The paper talisman sped toward the Heavenly Realm in an instant, rushing to Star Lord Siming.
Shen Shu sat cross-legged on the ground and circulated his internal true qi through a minor cosmic orbit. Only when he focused his senses and felt the three wisps of true fire lock onto the tail of Chaos did he exhale a breath of turbid air.
When he opened his eyes again, midnight had passed. Dark clouds veiled the moon across the vast night. Star Lord Siming had sent a reply stating that personnel had been dispatched to capture and slay Chaos, telling him not to worry.
Star Lord Siming governed heavenly fate and destiny, and would never allow Chaos to run amok, so Shen Shu felt at ease. However, what puzzled him was why the baleful energy of an ancient fiend would appear within Danxiao’s underground palace.
Shen Shu recalled the Myriad Affairs Ribbon and walked with his hands behind his back toward the opening in the stone slab. Just as he prepared to descend into the underground palace to investigate, his hands and feet grew stiff, and a sudden chill washed over his body.
This was the synesthetic connection to the physical vessel he had left behind in the small building.
Only then did he suddenly remember that Pei Zizhuo, who was in the small building, must have suffered the outbreak of the cold poison by now!
A bone-piercing chill spread from his dantian throughout his entire body. Pei Zizhuo wrapped himself in the quilt, curling tightly into a ball.
When the cold poison first flared up, he could still suppress it with spiritual power. However, the toxicity was far too potent, and in less than half a moment, it sealed off his golden core.
The moment his spiritual power was locked away, his entire body felt encased in ice and snow. In a flash, his eyelashes were coated in thick white frost, his blood was on the verge of congealing, and he seemed about to turn into an ice sculpture.
The temperature in the room plummeted accordingly, and even the windowsill frosted over. Yet Shen Shu, sitting beside the window, remained unmoving with his eyes closed, completely undisturbed, looking as though he had entered permanent meditation.
When Pei Zizhuo swallowed the Primordial Yin Pill, he already knew that Danxiao would wait for the poison to take effect and then take advantage of his vulnerability.
Either Danxiao would coerce him into submission using the antidote, or torture him with sinister methods.
However, the moment Danxiao made a move against him, Pei Zizhuo would hesitate no longer. He would use every possible means to repay him in full, a tooth for a tooth, a debt paid in blood.
Yet Pei Zizhuo waited and waited. During that time, he shook the quilt and kicked his feet, making quite a commotion. In the end, he exhausted himself thoroughly, but failed to awaken Danxiao, who was resting with his eyes closed.
Could Danxiao’s true intention be to give him the cold shoulder and ignore him?
Pei Zizhuo was so cold that his limbs stiffened. Shivering violently, he forced out, “You, hand over the antidote.”
Danxiao remained still, like a stone Buddha.
Pei Zizhuo fixed his gaze on him, sensing something was faintly off. While it was not unusual for cultivators in meditation to sit in one place for days and nights, how could he lack even the rise and fall of breathing?
Just as doubts multiplied in Pei Zizhuo’s mind, Danxiao suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at him. His hazy gaze gradually sharpened, and upon seeing Pei Zizhuo clearly, it held a touch of guilt.
Pei Zizhuo thought his mind had grown delirious from the freezing cold. Yet Danxiao strode swiftly toward the couch and gently rested a burning hand against his face, dispelling the white frost as he said, “I am sorry, I will relieve the toxicity for you right now.”
With that said, Danxiao untied his sash and shed his outer robe. Possessing a taut, slender waist and a faintly flushed complexion, clad only in thin undergarments, he leaned down and pressed close to him.
There were many ways to alleviate cold poison. However, since the Primordial Yin Pill had been refined in Lord Lao’s immortal furnace, this pill naturally carried divine power. Although it caused the cold poison to flare up, it cured broken bones both fundamentally and symptomatically, carrying a sense that whether thunder or gentle rain, all was a blessing from heaven.
Each time the cold poison erupted, Pei Zizhuo’s immortal bones would adjust and align slightly. Therefore, Shen Shu dared not recklessly employ immortal energy to counter it, fearing that trying to be too clever would backfire. He could only attempt to soothe the toxicity using his own body warmth.
Shen Shu possessed a pure fire spiritual root, reinforced by the Red Lotus True Fire within him. With just a slight circulation of immortal energy, his entire body became as warm as a furnace, his skin flushed pink from the heat.
Seeing the other person exposed like this, Pei Zizhuo’s pupils contracted. He struggled to pull back, as if facing the abyss of the underworld, where a single touch would doom him beyond redemption.
Yet his frozen body moved sluggishly, and in the next moment, he was wrapped in a warm embrace. In an instant, the frost across his body melted, and every place that was touched gradually warmed. His chilled limbs craved the warmth before him, so much that he nearly opened his arms to hold the man close.
Danxiao had finally made his move. He could not show weakness!
Pei Zizhuo gritted his teeth, keeping his mind clear and refusing to lower his guard. As long as that man dared cross the line by even a single step, he would strike.
In the next second, the quilt over him was suddenly lifted. A scorching body slipped deftly into his embrace, pressing chest to chest against him and making him shudder from the searing heat.
Alarm bells rang wildly in Pei Zizhuo’s mind. He abruptly raised his palm, but because his golden core was sealed, the speed at which the cold frost condensed into a blade slowed drastically.
Just as the icy blade was about to form, Shen Shu suddenly reached out and aligned their palms, intertwining their fingers. The scalding heat from his fingertips instantly shattered the frost.
Not only that, but Shen Shu leaned his entire body over Pei Zizhuo, resting his forehead against Pei Zizhuo’s neck, breathing warmly onto his chest, their waists and abdomens pressed together, their legs intimately entwined, presenting a scene of tender intimacy.
Pei Zizhuo’s head buzzed. His nose seemed to catch the fragrance of snow lotus, which involuntarily reminded him of the very first time they had met.
Bathed in white light, that person had looked ethereal and untainted by the mundane world, with spirited, beautiful eyes, resembling an immortal banished to the mortal realm.
It was also the first time Shen Shu had ever been in such close physical contact with anyone. A bright blush covered his face, and he felt somewhat self-conscious.
Yet on second thought, he was saving a life, and both of them were men. What was there to be embarrassed about?
Feeling Pei Zizhuo stiffen all over as if deeply uncomfortable, he lifted his flushed face, revealing a slender neck glowing with a faint pink hue. Looking into Pei Zizhuo’s eyes with clear resolve, he encouraged, “Do not be afraid. Hold on to me, and you will get through this soon.”
Pei Zizhuo’s gaze darkened and his breath hitched sharply. As though possessed by a ghost, he gathered that blazing warmth into his arms.
He thought that he must have drunk some bewildering potion to find the scent of snow lotus on Danxiao so utterly intoxicating.