“Although your blow struck Master, fortunately, Master’s jade token blocked it in time. Even so, his heart meridian was damaged, and he fell into a coma due to heavy injuries,” Tang Ci stated truthfully.
Not dead. Shen Changchuan is not dead.
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Youbai actually felt a wave of relief.
He knew it. Shen Changchuan was not that easy to kill.
Jiang Youbai twitched the corner of his mouth, swallowing the word “pity” that had reached his lips. He reined in his smile and said, “I am going down the mountain.”
Tang Ci looked at him and shook his head. “Until Master wakes up, you can go nowhere.”
Jiang Youbai frowned. Enduring the pain within his body, he pressed his lips together and said, “I cannot wait for him to wake up. I am going down the mountain.”
It hurts so much. The demonic power within him felt as though it were about to explode once again. With Shen Changchuan unconscious, the demonic energy that had been sealed inside him was released, and the suppressed fiendish aura was awakened once more. He had not yet managed to learn how to balance and control these multiple forces.
Pain washed through his body. Disregarding Tang Ci’s obstruction, he stood up and began walking outward. Behind him, the demon-binding rope stirred. Tang Ci re-applied the demon-binding rope around Jiang Youbai and reinforced it with spiritual power. “I said, until Master wakes up, you are not allowed to go anywhere.”
After locking Jiang Youbai back up, Tang Ci left the Precept Hall, presumably to find someone to handle the matter regarding Yu Ting and the others.
Jiang Youbai’s demonic power was temporarily suppressed, but the fiendish aura still rampaged wildly inside his body. Without Shen Changchuan playing the zither to calm it down for him, for a moment he only felt his entire body go limp, as if he had been tossed into a wok of boiling oil, burning so intensely he felt like he would explode.
His hands tightly gripped the chain of the demon-binding rope, forcing down the immense agony. The pain on his face faded away like a receding tide, and he raised his gaze toward the doorway.
The person who arrived was none other than Mu Jiyuan. Following behind Tang Ci, he stepped into the room and furrowed his brows before Jiang Youbai, looking as though he felt a measure of distress. “I know Brother Jiang certainly did not mean to kill Master. There must be some misunderstanding in all of this. Once Master wakes up and the misunderstanding is cleared, it will be fine.”
Jiang Youbai looked at him for a long moment, then let out a low laugh. “It is just the two of us left again. What are you still putting on an act for?”
Mu Jiyuan’s expression paused, and he looked at Jiang Youbai with incomprehension. “What are you talking about? I genuinely want to help you, Senior Brother.”
Jiang Youbai raised his eyes and suddenly said, “If you truly want to help me, why do you not help me escape from the Qingjing Sect?”
Mu Jiyuan shook his head vigorously. “No, that will not do. If Master wakes up and discovers you are gone.”
Jiang Youbai cajoled him step by step. “Shen Changchuan will not blame you. Besides, once I am gone, the position of personal disciple might just fall to you. With your ability, winning Shen Changchuan’s favor at that time should be a breeze.”
Mu Jiyuan seemed to have genuinely taken his words to heart. After hesitating for quite a while, he asked, “After you leave, will you not come back?”
Jiang Youbai sneered. “I never wanted to come to the Qingjing Sect in the first place. Once I can leave, naturally I will never return.”
Let everything unfold according to what I originally wanted. From here on, across vast mountains and distant rivers, he would have nothing more to do with the Qingjing Sect, and nothing more to do with Shen Changchuan.
In the end, Mu Jiyuan was persuaded by Jiang Youbai. Enduring the pain racking his body, Jiang Youbai followed Mu Jiyuan all the way, dodging the guards.
However, very quickly, Jiang Youbai sensed that something was amiss. Although the path Mu Jiyuan was leading him down had few guards, there were quite a few sect disciples about, which only heightened the risk of his exposure.
He followed closely behind Mu Jiyuan, looking at the other’s back with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.
Before his death in his past life, those ferocious beasts had suddenly gone berserk, collectively breaking through the barrier of the Precept Hall and surging out. That could not have been a mere coincidence. He suddenly thought of the time before when Mu Jiyuan had let the fierce beasts escape, wanting to muddy the waters and make people mistakenly think he was the one who released them. And later, on the cliffside, when Mu Jiyuan saw him in his human-demonic beast form, he had not shown a shred of shock. Then there was just now, as everyone else was stunned upon seeing his human-demonic beast appearance, whereas Mu Jiyuan alone acted as though he had known all along that he was not human.
When so many coincidences were piled together, it could only mean it was premeditated.
He just did not know what on earth Mu Jiyuan’s purpose was in going to such extreme lengths to let everyone in the Qingjing Sect know his identity as a human-demonic beast.
Could it really be just for the sake of Shen Changchuan?
“Junior Brother, why are you here? Eldest Senior Brother was just looking for you a moment ago. Senior Brother Jiang, a human-demonic beast?”
A disciple emerged from around a corner, coming face-to-face with Jiang Youbai and Mu Jiyuan. He stared at Jiang Youbai in astonishment, his gaze shifting from Jiang Youbai’s face down to the snow-white feathers trailing behind him. Those feathers, as though draped in a layer of frost and snow, swayed behind him like pristine white gauze, making Jiang Youbai appear transcendent, holy, and elegant.
He stood frozen and dazed for a long time. By the time Mu Jiyuan had already pulled Jiang Youbai away to flee swiftly, the disciple finally snapped out of it, hurriedly sending a voice transmission to Tang Ci before spreading the news of Jiang Youbai’s human-demonic beast identity far and wide.
Jiang Youbai glanced at Mu Jiyuan, who was clutching his sleeve. The other person only stopped running once he was completely out of breath. Right before them was the mountain gate; the path down the mountain was right in front of their eyes. Mu Jiyuan said to Jiang Youbai, “Senior Brother, hurry and leave. Eldest Senior Brother will be chasing after us soon. I can stall him for a little while, but you must remember what you promised me. Do not ever come back.”
Jiang Youbai looked at him with profound meaning and said softly, “If I can leave, I certainly will never return.”
With that, he strode out toward the mountain gate. Behind him, Mu Jiyuan’s gaze locked firmly onto his figure, heavy enough to feel tangible.
Before he could step past the mountain gate, a surge of spiritual energy swept across from the sky above, and a figure flashed before Jiang Youbai. The next second, Jiang Youbai was sent flying backward.
“I said it before, you can go nowhere.”
Struck down to the ground, Jiang Youbai coughed up a mouthful of dark blood. The vivid crimson stained his lips a bewitching shade, the blood and the snow contrasting brilliantly like red plum blossoms covered in fallen snow atop branches.
Tang Ci looked at his own palm in disbelief. He clearly had not used that much spiritual power. It should not have been enough to make someone cough up blood.
“Xiaobai.” A trace of panic flashed across the depths of Tang Ci’s eyes.
Mu Jiyuan quickly intercepted the path in front of Jiang Youbai. “Eldest Senior Brother, please spare Senior Brother Jiang! He did not mean to hurt Master. He did not intend to hurt anyone!”
The news had spread with extreme speed. By this time, quite a few disciples had rushed over to the mountain gate, and a clamor erupted upon hearing those words.
“What? The Sect Master is injured?”
“What happened? Senior Brother Jiang hurt the Sect Master? How is that possible? Senior Brother Jiang does not have high spiritual power, and he only arrived at the Qingjing Sect a few days ago.”
“Did you not see that he is a demonic beast?”
“So it is true. Senior Brother Jiang really is a human-demonic beast.”
“Good heavens. Are those tails? They are far too gorgeous.”
“Is this what a human-demonic beast looks like? I thought they would look like some deformed monster with three heads and six arms. This is way too pretty.”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would the Fiend Lord engage in dual cultivation with a human-demonic beast and keep him tucked away like a precious treasure?”
“The Fiend Lord did not seem to treat him like much of a treasure.”
“If Senior Brother Jiang is willing to dual cultivate with me, I will definitely treat him like a priceless treasure!”
“In your dreams! With your virtue, are you worthy of Senior Brother Jiang?”
“He is just a demonic beast.”
“Note this: he is a human-demonic beast. There are only two such creatures in the entire Three Realms. Are you the only good-for-nothing in the entire Three Realms?”
“That hurts.”
Jiang Youbai lay on the ground, slowly raising his gaze to look at Tang Ci. That person’s expression was icy cold, the indifference in the depths of his eyes identical to how it had been by the cliffside back then. He let out a cold laugh, his body breaking through the crowd like a stream of light as he fled toward another direction.
The place closest to the mountain gate was Cloud Cliff. Jiang Youbai ran to the edge of the precipice and stood there in a daze.
This exact scene felt as though it were playing out before his very eyes. In his past life, he had likewise been driven to a desperate impasse, running to Cloud Cliff only to be cornered by all the disciples of the Qingjing Sect joining forces to set up a Spirit-Sealing Array, trapping him within it and ultimately resulting in him tumbling down the cliff to be smashed to pieces.
He had not expected that the ending could not be changed, and that it would even be brought forward by so much.
Facing the wind, he smiled. The pain in his body seemed to fade away somewhat, presumably because knowing he was about to die made those agonies irrelevant.
“Xiaobai, what are you trying to do?” Tang Ci’s voice sounded from behind.
Arriving at Cloud Cliff and witnessing this scene before him, a tremendous sense of shock swept over Tang Ci.
Cloud Cliff was wreathed in thick banks of clouds and mist. The white vapor, ethereal and dreamlike, made Cloud Cliff resemble the Ninth Heavens, which was how it got its name.
Yet previously, he had only known this place for its sublime scenery. He had never realized it could be so heart-wrenchingly unforgettable.
That humanoid beast in white clothes and white feathers stood at the very summit of the cliff. A brisk wind stirred his robes like drifting clouds swaying softly, and those snow-white feathers resembled the surrounding mist, lifting the figure aloft as if he might drift away toward the Ninth Heavens at any second.
Jiang Youbai turned back to look at him. In that moment, seeing that face through his cold, aloof immortal-like demeanor, one could not tell whether he was an immortal or a fiend.
“What else could I possibly do?” Jiang Youbai’s tone was very light, carried on the wind to Tang Ci’s ears.
Tang Ci furrowed his brows slightly. For some reason, a bad premonition gnawed persistently at his heart. “If that is the case, come back with me.”
Jiang Youbai tilted his head, looking somewhat perplexed. “Go back? To the Precept Hall? I never wanted to come to the Qingjing Sect in the first place. It was Shen Changchuan who forced me to come. Now, even if Shen Changchuan wakes up, he will not keep me here anymore, will he?”
Tang Ci shook his head, continuing to persuade him, “Wait until Master wakes up, and we will discuss everything then.”
Jiang Youbai gave a dry laugh. Tang Ci’s personality was actually quite good. He was simply far too bound by rules. “But I do not want to stay in the Precept Hall. Let me go, Senior Brother.”
With an air of weary languor, Tang Ci assumed he merely disliked the Qingjing Sect, yet still persisted, “What if I refuse?”
Jiang Youbai let out a soft sigh and took a step backward. He had already been standing right on the edge of the cliff. With this retreat, he was even closer to the drop. Just one more step backward, and he would plummet down.
Tang Ci watched with his heart in his throat. “Xiaobai, come back with me. Whatever you have to say can wait until Master wakes up. Step away from the edge first.”
Jiang Youbai flashed a smile at him, though his mind was weighing entirely different matters.
He had lived a second life and had constantly fought to change his original ending. How could he willingly let himself die a second time in this exact place? It was just that right now, his demonic power and fiendish aura were clashing and warring within his body, making it uncertain whether he could break through so many people’s blockades. But since he could not escape, he might as well probe the Son of Heaven’s Mandate once more.
With a clear objective, giving the opposite side not even a moment to react, Jiang Youbai flashed forward and arrived right in front of Mu Jiyuan. The feather in his hand flashed with a chilling glint, thrusting straight toward Mu Jiyuan’s heart.
Yet no matter how fast his speed, Mu Jiyuan stood right at Tang Ci’s side. Dodging a step backward, Mu Jiyuan evaded Jiang Youbai’s sudden strike. “Eldest Senior Brother, save me!”
Jiang Youbai froze. Memories surged forward like a tidal wave. The next instant, Tang Ci had already thrust himself between him and Mu Jiyuan. Jiang Youbai’s gaze turned icy, and the feather in his hand smoothly pivoted to lunge toward Tang Ci’s chest.
Tang Ci had to protect Mu Jiyuan behind him. In the blink of an eye, it was too late to dodge Jiang Youbai’s feather. He could only watch helplessly as that cold, sword-like beam of light closed in on his heart.
Another flash of golden light exploded before everyone’s eyes, swallowing up all lines of sight. Although Jiang Youbai could not see it, he heard a crisp ding sound. The feather in his hand met an obstruction, unable to advance a single inch further.
He was all too familiar with that sound. It was the sound of his feather colliding with the jade token.
The jade token had blocked the front of Tang Ci’s chest, and its master’s formidable spiritual power hurled Jiang Youbai backward.
As he was thrown out into mid-air, Jiang Youbai’s pupils constricted.
Behind him lay the bottomless abyss of the mountain cliff!
Even if the process differed, was the final outcome destined to remain unchanged?
Was he going to be pushed off the cliff once again?
The weightlessness of a sheer fall washed over him, yet this time, he only experienced it for a fleeting second before he was caught in a slightly chilling embrace. The crisp, clean fragrance of pear blossoms enveloped him, and in that instant, it felt like gaining a new lease on life.
Someone had swooped down from the firmament, robes fluttering like falling flower petals, as if the moon from the mountains had fallen down just for him, scooping him safely into his arms.
Even so, Jiang Youbai remained intensely tense, his muscles locked so rigidly that he forgot about the pain in his body, until he landed back on solid ground, his feet pressing against the earth, and finally snapped back to his senses.
The surrounding people had cleared out at some point, likely dismissed by a word from Shen Changchuan, though Jiang Youbai had been too spaced out to notice.
When he finally regained his focus, he met Shen Changchuan’s gaze. That cold, detached look overlapped completely with the one from his past life. It was the exact same setting, the exact same scene.
The pain within his body flared up at that moment. Jiang Youbai’s expression shifted, and he instantly put distance between himself and Shen Changchuan. His voice was somewhat hoarse when he spoke, yet he still managed to hook his lips into a smile, though the expression was ice-cold. “Is Master preparing to carve out my demonic pill and cast me down this bottomless cliff?”
Perhaps even Jiang Youbai himself did not realize it, but the agony wracking his body had driven him to utter nonsense. Just the second before, Shen Changchuan had actually saved him.
Shen Changchuan’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at the youth before him. Clearly, the other person was smiling, yet that smile was exceptionally strained. His eyes seemed unable to focus properly, appearing somewhat hazy, and the rims of his eyes were faintly red, whether from the torment or the recent shock was unclear. At this moment, Jiang Youbai looked precisely like a startled rabbit, clearly trembling violently all over, yet stubbornly putting up a front so no one would notice his flaws.
Recalling the scalding temperature in his arms just moments ago, Shen Changchuan spoke with calm detachment, “Xiaobai, you are in heat.”
Jiang Youbai blinked, dazed. “So what?”
His demonic pill had matured, plunging him into heat, precisely the time when he was at his weakest, and precisely the prime opportunity to crush his demonic pill.
Shen Changchuan: “I will help you.”
In the depths of his mind, Jiang Youbai muttered, “As expected.” He let out a dry sneer. “Very well.”
Jiang Youbai: “Wait, you. What did you say?”