Late at night, Bai Shen wanted to hold Mu Nanxiao and sleep together, but Mu Nanxiao wanted to cultivate and paid him no attention, so he could only give up.
One lay on the bed, the other sat cross-legged in cultivation.
Neither of them was asleep.
Mu Nanxiao listened to his breathing, his mood calm.
But Bai Shen was not a quiet person. Knowing that Mu Nanxiao had not fully entered a meditative state, he lay on the bed and spoke up from time to time.
“The Immortal Venerable invited This Venerable One to share a bed this very day, yet now he cultivates on his own, casting This Venerable One from his thoughts.”
“Tomorrow, should This Venerable One meet the Immortal Venerable’s Cultivation Partner, the Immortal Venerable had best draw clear boundaries with him soon, otherwise This Venerable One fears he will not be able to resist doing something excessive.”
“If the Immortal Venerable enters a Soul-binding Covenant with This Venerable One, This Venerable One will surely hold the grandest covenant ceremony in the Three Realms, letting everyone know that the Immortal Venerable and This Venerable One are Cultivation Partners. Then those petty creatures who covet the Immortal Venerable’s beauty will retreat in the face of difficulty.”
Bai Shen talked on alone, imagining the beautiful days of living together with Mu Nanxiao in the future.
Mu Nanxiao couldn’t help opening his eyes to glance at him, then closed them again and continued cultivating but he had heard every word Bai Shen said.
Their Soul-binding Covenant back then had been just like this. Bai Shen, true to his promise, held a grand banquet, and they became Cultivation Partners before many great powers of the Three Realms, it was a celebrated tale at the time.
Now Bai Shen, having lost his memory, wanted to enter a covenant with him again…
Fine. As long as he was happy.
Mu Nanxiao had completely given up on correcting the amnesiac Bai Shen. After losing his memory, this man acted without restraint, doing whatever he pleased, and it was impossible to talk sense into him.
The best way to get along with him now was simply to ignore him, then go along with everything he said.
“The Immortal Venerable is so beautiful, no matter when I look, I want to gather the Immortal Venerable into my arms and kiss him thoroughly.” Bai Shen spoke such explicit words.
Mu Nanxiao’s thoughts stirred, and he opened his eyes to ask: “When you left This Venerable One’s sleeping chamber, were you thinking of something? Was it like what you say now wanting to lock This Venerable One away so that only you could see him?”
Bai Shen replied as if it were only natural: “Is that not allowed? Those who stay by the Immortal Venerable’s side, those who harbor improper thoughts toward the Immortal Venerable. This Venerable One wants to cut them down by his own hand.”
These thoughts matched the evil intentions transmitted by the spiritual fetus earlier. They were not some malicious desire to make Mu Nanxiao fall into cultivation deviation, but rather extracted from Bai Shen’s heart, conveyed through the spiritual fetus as an expression of Bai Shen’s emotions.
In the end, though they had been bound for over two thousand years, this was the first time Mu Nanxiao had seen through Bai Shen’s thoughts and even then, only because the spiritual fetus told him. For a moment, his feelings were complicated.
Sharing a bed for over two thousand years, yet not knowing what the person beside him was thinking, not even knowing his true nature.
Could he really be called Bai Shen’s Cultivation Partner?
“Is the Immortal Venerable frightened? It’s too late to run now.” Bai Shen sat up.
He reached out to stroke Mu Nanxiao’s hair, winding it between his fingers, then gathered it up and took out a golden hairpin to fasten it: “Red and gold both suit the Immortal Venerable.”
“It’s time for bed, why dress up like this?” Mu Nanxiao asked.
“This Venerable One pleases himself,” Bai Shen replied, making mischief at his side.
Mu Nanxiao’s hair seemed to be a most amusing toy, undone and wound again by Bai Shen, one moment crowned with a hairpiece, the next twisted up with a hairpin, then bound with a cord, styled into all manner of different shapes.
Mu Nanxiao did not resist. He remained seated where he was, though he could no longer continue cultivating.
Bai Shen’s palm was large, carrying a slightly higher temperature. His fingers threaded through the hair, and whenever they brushed against the scalp, they brought warmth; when they left, there was a hint of reluctance in the motion.
If only that large hand could stroke his head a few times, it would surely be very pleasant.
He was momentarily dazed, then immediately cast the thought aside.
He was an Immortal Venerable, how could he ever beg someone to pat his head?
Bai Shen, too, had grown tired of playing. He let down Mu Nanxiao’s hair, stroked his head a few times, and mussed the smooth white strands.
Having his wish suddenly granted, Mu Nanxiao’s body jolted, and he immediately slapped the hand away: “What is this? This Venerable One is no young child, how dare you treat This Venerable One so?”
The roots of his ears quietly flushed red, yet his face remained so solemn, and those eyes darted evasively.
Bai Shen understood Mu Nanxiao’s thoughts at once.
“This was This Venerable One’s oversight. Might the Immortal Venerable indulge our selfish desire?”
“Of… of course.” Mu Nanxiao said.
That hand stroked his head a few more times, then slowly slid downward, while the other hand wrapped around him, pulling him into an embrace in a single motion.
Compared to ordinary people, one of them had an Ice Spiritual Root and the other a fire spiritual root, one blazing hot enough to scorch, the other icy cold and devoid of feeling.
Now, colliding together, the ice melted and took on warmth. The raging fire dissipated, no longer so scalding.
They embraced like this for the whole night.
Mu Nanxiao closed his eyes, not cultivating, secretly drawing Bai Shen’s Spiritual Power into his body to nourish the spiritual fetus.
In just one month, the spiritual fetus had not yet shown itself, at least his abdomen remained flat, revealing no trace of the fetus within.
Having received Bai Shen’s Spiritual Power, the spiritual fetus was clearly delighted, sending waves of happy emotion to Mu Nanxiao without cease.
While the two had the chance to be together, he might as well borrow some of Bai Shen’s Spiritual Power.
If something happened in the future that hindered their steps and kept them from meeting, wouldn’t the spiritual fetus cry?
As dawn broke, the first ray of sunlight streaming through the window brought the Primordial Purple Qi. The whole room glowed with the warm yellow of sunlight and the nobility of purple qi, momentarily resembling a fairyland.
The two opened their eyes at the same time.
Mu Nanxiao took a large tub from his Storage Ring and manifested ice with his Spiritual Power, which fell into the tub.
Bai Shen walked over as well, channeling Spiritual Power into the wooden tub to melt and heat the ice. In mere moments, a layer of steam rose from the bath.
“Such matters could simply be arranged by having disciples attend to them, why trouble the Immortal Venerable to do it himself? With a Cultivation Base such as yours, you long ago transcended the mortal world, your body without blemish. Let alone bathing and eating, even sleep is merely a way to pass the time for you,” Bai Shen said. “Had I known the Immortal Venerable had such hobbies, This Venerable One would have dug out a hot spring within the Hehuan Sect, so the Immortal Venerable could linger here often.”
Mu Nanxiao removed his clothes without avoiding Bai Shen.
His body still bore the marks Bai Shen had left the day before; he had not erased them with Spiritual Power.
Such a beautiful sight Bai Shen naturally would not miss it.
His white hair was soaked by the hot water, floating on the surface and veiling the scenery.
Bai Shen clicked his tongue in regret, his gaze utterly unrestrained, as if he were one step short of devouring the man whole.
When Mu Nanxiao finished bathing and stepped his long legs out of the tub, the water droplets on his body instantly froze into beads of ice, falling to the ground.
Seeing this, Bai Shen quickly reached out to stroke his dripping hair, using his fire-attribute Spiritual Power to dry it. In just a moment, the water droplets on the white strands had evaporated.
“Does the Immortal Venerable know where Medicine King Valley is located?” Bai Shen asked, his voice a bit hoarse.
Mu Nanxiao thought for a while before replying, “I know roughly where it is.”
After more than two thousand years, many things had long been forgotten. Even he only knew that Medicine King Valley had closed its gates, and only that its general location was in the Tide Forest to the west not its exact whereabouts.
The Tide Forest was vast and sparsely populated, stretching as boundless as the ocean, and the Ferocious Beasts within were extremely dangerous hence its name.
Searching for Medicine King Valley in the Tide Forest was like fishing a needle out of the sea.
“So we’re traveling like this?” Bai Shen asked with a smile.
Mu Nanxiao said, “You and I have long occupied high positions and have had few opportunities to travel. Why not leave all those tedious matters to the disciples and immortal attendants this time? Let’s just treat this trip to Medicine King Valley as a leisurely journey.”
Bai Shen naturally agreed: “Whatever the Immortal Venerable says.”
Bai Shen gave instructions to a few of his disciples, and Mu Nanxiao sent word to the immortal attendants on the mountain. The two then left the Hehuan Sect, left the Demon Abyss, and headed west.
If this trip could last half a year or a year, until the spiritual fetus was born, all the better.
Mu Nanxiao thought to himself that the spiritual fetus’s growth depended on Bai Shen’s Spiritual Power. If the two were separated, he didn’t know what method he’d use to steal some of Bai Shen’s Spiritual Power.
For now, he simply invited Bai Shen to spar every so often, taking the chance to steal a little to nourish the spiritual fetus.
“Does the Immortal Venerable have something on his mind? You’ve been frowning the whole way, it’s not nearly as handsome,” Bai Shen spoke up.
Mu Nanxiao was startled and quickly reached up to touch his brow, finding it not furrowed at all. Only then did he reply, “There is something on my mind. I don’t know whether I’ll find the person I wish to see at Medicine King Valley.”
“Who is this person?”
“You’ll know when we arrive.”
If Bai Shen knew that this trip to Medicine King Valley was to treat his brain, he certainly wouldn’t go.
But given his current temperament, even if he found out, he would only storm off in anger, declaring, “How dare you presume to speak of This Venerable One so.”
How could he make an overly stubborn Cultivation Partner understand that his mind was broken?
The Immortal Venerable had worried so much lately that his hair had turned quite a bit whiter. Being with a Cultivation Partner like this had its novelty, but over time, he still missed the one who had his memories.
They traveled west day and night, their swords nearly worn down a layer, before they finally caught sight of the Tide Forest.
Viewed from high above, the Tide Forest was a stretch of green, its vibrant appearance delightful. But up close, one could feel the sense of danger emanating from within.
Beside the Tide Forest sat a small border town.
The Tide Forest was dangerous, but it held many opportunities. Many people rested in this town, and merchants sold rare treasures there and traded with hunters from the Tide Forest.
Though called a border town, it was actually quite prosperous.
The two disguised themselves slightly. Mu Nanxiao used a Glamour Spell to turn his head of white hair black, completing his disguise.
Bai Shen imitated him, changing his red pupils into black eyes.
Thus, the two appeared to be nothing more than a pair of very handsome men traveling through the area.
The Immortal Venerable’s white hair and the Demon Venerable’s red eyes had long since become features sung of throughout the Three Realms.
Now that they were in disguise, apart from those who had their faces carved into their memories, no one in this remote place would likely recognize them.
“Let’s find somewhere to rest first,” Mu Nanxiao said.
The small town’s streets were bustling with people coming and going, and vendors called out their wares along the roadside.
His expression was cold and aloof, not sparing a single glance to either side. Pedestrians passing by automatically parted to make way for him—this was nothing more than a simple Glamour Spell.
Bai Shen, on the other hand, took great interest in the little trinkets along the street. Barely into town, he stopped at a small vendor’s stall, eyeing the bones laid out on the oilcloth with great fascination.