ATAVID CH75

The 89th year of Xiping…

The 90th year of Xiping…

One year passed, then two. Jiang Qunyu never returned.

Wei Xun often sat alone in the Jade Capital Tower, remaining there for the entire day.

One year, the apricot blossoms bloomed in abundance. With a single breath of wind, they drifted down to blanket the ground. The warm sunlight poured through the dense foliage, scattering a mosaic of broken gold across the earth.

Sometimes, Wei Xun would close his eyes to rest, and occasionally, he would slip into bizarre, vivid dreams.

In those dreams, the youth’s face was obscured by a layer of white silk, making it impossible to see clearly. Wei Xun had lied to him, claiming he had climbed onto the bed himself, which filled Jiang Qunyu with a touch of guilt. Consequently, Jiang Qunyu would pluck a branch of apricot blossoms every day, placing it into the porcelain vase at the head of the bed.

He was a bit foolish; whatever Wei Xun said, Jiang Qunyu believed completely. As a result, that porcelain vase was eventually packed to the brim with branches of apricot blossoms.

Outside the Jade Capital Tower, a sudden cold wind swept in from nowhere. It blew through the window, lightly brushing past Wei Xun’s eyelashes and leaving behind a trace of chill.

He slowly opened his eyes. His gaze instinctively drifted to the white porcelain vase sitting on the desk by the window. The vase was completely empty, devoid of even a lingering hint of fragrance. He could no longer find the slightest trace left behind by Jiang Qunyu.

So much time had passed that even Wei Xun was becoming dazed.

Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder if those past years spent together day and night—the days of fighting over the bed, snatching food, and bickering; the moments of blocking swords and experiencing soul-dispersion—had been nothing more than a realistic, grand dream from beginning to end.

Yet every night, when the chilling cold seeped into his bones within the bed curtains, he would hold the lifeless, freezing body in his arms. In doing so, the dark thoughts and panic he deliberately rejected and loathed would fade significantly.

He could only hold Jiang Qunyu tighter, burying his face in the youth’s neck in a manner that bordered on addiction. Only in this way could the inexplicable palpitations and emptiness sprawling in his heart be temporarily alleviated.

How could it be a dream?

He and Jiang Qunyu had clearly accompanied each other for nearly a century.

In the 93rd year of Xiping, Wei Xun still hadn’t managed to wait out Jiang Qunyu’s return.

Xie Chuan, who had recently been reading various cultivation storybooks, counted on his fingers and asked, “Master, you are a hundred years old this year. In the cultivation world, does that count as reaching adulthood?”

Time in the cultivation world was vast, often measured in thousands or tens of thousands of years. Unlike the mortal realm where a man was capped at twenty, the cultivation world traditionally used one hundred years as the boundary to signify truly growing up.

Wei Xun froze slightly. He didn’t speak for a long time, merely staring blankly at the somewhat faded sword tassel on the Shihun sword.

It was winter yet again.

Finely fragmented snow drifted across the sky, occasionally landing on Wei Xun’s long eyelashes. Lowering his eyes, Wei Xun extended his hand to catch a snowflake, curling his lips into a self-mocking smile.

We agreed to grow up together.

Liar.

In the 96th year of Xiping, Taixu passed away.

The elder who had once witnessed the bloody snow of Cloud Palace City and known of Jiang Qunyu’s existence had finally returned to the dust. From then on, there was one less person in the world who could remember Jiang Qunyu.

The 97th year of Xiping marked the tenth year since Jiang Qunyu’s departure.

Wei Xun sat by the window of the Jade Capital Tower, staring day after day at the apricot tree that withered and flourished, yet his memories were gradually growing blurred. He could no longer fully recall how Jiang Qunyu’s eyes curled into a smile when he occupied this body, nor could he remember the lighthearted cadence of his voice.

Even in his dreams, he rarely saw Jiang Qunyu anymore.

Xie Chuan realized his master’s condition was growing increasingly volatile. Wei Xun wasn’t even restraining his demonic energy; on the contrary, it seemed he was intentionally letting it run wild.

Amidst Xie Chuan’s daily terror and anxiety, Wei Xun eventually collapsed.

His entire body was terrifyingly hot to the touch, yet his face was as pale as paper. The ghost markings that had long since faded surged once more like black vines, spreading crazily along the side of his face in a hideous and frightening display.

Scared out of his wits, Xie Chuan slung his blade over his back and captured the most famous witch doctor in the Demon Realm overnight, sprinting all the way back to the Jade Capital Tower.

The witch doctor’s legs trembled violently. How could he dare step into this forbidden zone? The moment they reached the tower’s entrance, he fell to his knees, refusing to rise no matter what. It wasn’t until Xie Chuan dragged him into the room and he saw the unconscious, weakly breathing Wei Xun on the bed that his medical ethics finally overrode his fear. His expression turned solemn and grave as he quickly stepped forward, grabbing Wei Xun’s wrist to focus on diagnosing his pulse.

“What happened to Master?” Xie Chuan asked, his voice shaking with anxiety as he looked at Wei Xun’s pale face.

The witch doctor remained silent for a long time. When he finally stood up, his brow was furrowed tightly. “Has His Reverence encountered any distressing matters recently?”

Xie Chuan blinked in confusion and shook his head. “No, His Reverence rarely steps out of the Jade Capital Tower.”

Only on very rare occasions would he go out.

Sometimes, he would bring back mortal pastries for Xie Chuan. They were delicious and bore a beautiful name: Qiongye Cakes. It was a flavor Xie Chuan had never tasted before. Every time his master brought them back, he would place them on the table without taking a single bite himself.

Other times, he would bring back a few small silver bells that rang with a crisp, pleasant sound. His master would hang the silver bells upon the window lattices of the warm pavilion. Whenever the wind blew, they would chime softly, filling the entire tower with clear melodies. Meanwhile, he would sit by the window all day long, accompanied by the ringing bells, completely silent.

Hearing this, the witch doctor’s brow furrowed even tighter, finding the situation deeply peculiar. After a moment of deliberation, he finally voiced his suspicions: “His Reverence possesses profound cultivation and should be able to easily suppress the demonic energy within his body. Yet right now, the demonic energy is surging violently without any restraint. On the contrary, it looks as though…”

He paused, choosing his words carefully as his voice grew heavier: “His Reverence is deliberately nurturing a inner demon.”

Xie Chuan instantly fell silent, unable to utter another word. Inexplicably, he thought of the youth his master had hidden away inside the Jade Capital Tower.

Seeing the change in his expression, the witch doctor didn’t press further. He merely let out a heavy sigh, his tone tactful yet earnest: “Although His Reverence is a high-level demon, an inner demon is an inherent danger to the soul. Intentionally nurturing it like this will only allow his sanity to be consumed by obsession, gradually depleting his soul. If this continues long-term, let alone any hope of cultivation, I fear even his life will be compromised.”

Xie Chuan asked, “Is there any cure?”

“Alas,” the witch doctor shook his head, “inner demons are born from the heart, formed by obsession. Outsiders have no way to intervene. The one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it; only if His Reverence lets go of his obsession can it be thoroughly eradicated. No one else can help.”

Following that incident, Wei Xun fell into a prolonged coma.

It was during this time that Xie Chuan recalled that over the past many years, whenever Wei Xun was injured, he never allowed Xie Chuan to stay long in the Jade Capital Tower. Instead, he would have Xie Chuan leave him there and depart immediately.

Looking back now, perhaps it was that youth who had been taking care of his master.

But this time, Xie Chuan didn’t dare casually leave Wei Xun alone in the tower. He had a faint premonition that the youth who always took care of his master would likely never wake up again.

Xie Chuan didn’t know how to look after someone. He would simply check on the tower from time to time, testing Wei Xun’s breath to see if he was still alive, and then chatter a bit about the recent happenings in Cloud Palace City.

Finally, he would always say, “Master, when will you wake up?”

Wei Xun actually heard him; he simply didn’t want to open his eyes.

An inner demon, an inner demon…

Didn’t Jiang Qunyu say at the very beginning that he was his inner demon?

He recalled that when he first met Jiang Qunyu, the youth had appeared out of nowhere within his spiritual sea on a certain day of a certain year. Therefore, he thought that if he retreated to the very beginning—back to when everything started—perhaps… he could see him again.

However, he remained within his spiritual sea for a very long time, crushing one inner demon after another as their voices attempted to beguile him:

“Do you want to see him? I can allow you to see him.”

“He doesn’t want you anymore. Ten years have passed; have you still not seen through it?”

Amidst the thousands of clamoring voices, he finally caught a familiar cadence.

Jiang Qunyu was leaning against the chessboard table, one hand supporting his temple while the fingertips of his other hand fiddled with a white jade chess piece. He suddenly pointed toward the horizon and called out softly, “Wei Xun, look quickly, what is that?”

Wei Xun turned his head exactly as the youth wished.

Thinking that Wei Xun hadn’t noticed, the youth stealthily picked a few black pieces from Wei Xun’s container and dropped them into his own basket. He then averted his gaze guiltily, murmuring in a small voice, “Ah… looks like I saw wrong.”

The corners of Wei Xun’s lips curved into an extremely faint smile.

But those inner demons were ultimately not Jiang Qunyu. He was like an outsider, quietly watching the scenes of their past days together, allowing himself to drown in them. Eventually, even watching in this manner grew tedious.

He wanted to hold Jiang Qunyu while he slept.

Thus, he woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, all the clamor around him fell into dead silence. Walking barefoot across the floor, his eyes were listlessly lowered as the surging ghost markings across his skin rapidly receded.

Wei Xun pushed open the door, casually casting a cleansing spell to change into a clean set of robes before lying down on the bed, pulling his deity tightly into his embrace.

He whispered his prayers to his deity. He hoped, he begged, that his deity would not be too stingy—at least, before he managed to find his way back, enter his dreams just once more.

He truly missed him terribly.

In the 99th year of Xiping, Shen Peiqiu reorganized the Immortal Alliance.

The following year, the era name was changed, officially designating it as the first year of Changning. That same year, Wei Xun vanished without a trace.

Xie Chuan searched inside and outside the Jade Capital Tower for several rounds before finally discovering a letter left behind by his master on the desk. The letter merely instructed him to dutifully guard the Jade Capital Tower, promising that he would return before long.

Xie Chuan knew that the youth was hidden inside the Jade Capital Tower. Although he had never seen the youth’s true appearance, his heart inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity, giving rise to an indescribable fondness and closeness. As a result, the person who usually loved to travel around searching for beautiful, unique stones no longer had the heart for it. He spent his days guarding the Jade Capital Tower, counting the days of his master’s departure one by one.

In truth, the durations of Wei Xun’s departures were never excessively long—sometimes as short as a month, at most two. He seemed to be searching for something of vital importance, though Xie Chuan had no idea what it actually was.

Whenever he returned, he would head straight into that bedroom and confine himself within, as if constructing a sanctuary that belonged solely to him. Only inside that room could he find a shred of peace.

In the 98th year of Changning, for reasons unknown, a massive fire erupted within the Jade Capital Tower out of nowhere.

The fire raged with absolute ferocity. Eerie blue tongues of flame curled violently, licking along the towering eaves bit by bit and devouring the beautifully carved beams. Even the light of the sky was stained a bleak, cold hue by the unnatural blue fire.

Using every ounce of his strength, White Tiger carried the already unconscious Xie Chuan out from the burning tower. The moment his feet touched the ground, he caught sight of a stumbling figure approaching from the distance.

It was Wei Xun.

He was dressed in green robes, returning from some unknown place. His legs were densely covered in tiny, intricate wounds, and bright red blood thoroughly soaked his long gown, dripping down the hem onto the ground to bloom into one striking blood-flower after another. He must have only just arrived; staring at the sky-high blue flames before him, his face was deathly pale.

Seeing him in this state, an indescribable sense of unease and peculiarity welled up within White Tiger’s heart. He wondered if there was something else left inside the Jade Capital Tower. But he had checked; this was a heavenly fire, and furthermore, only Xie Chuan had been inside.

“His Reverence…” White Tiger opened his lips, but before his words could completely fall, the green-robed figure before him moved. Without a shred of hesitation, Wei Xun stepped straight into the sapphire heavenly fire that was turning everything to ash.

“His Reverence!”

Behind him, the cries of the gathered demons rose one after another. This was heavenly fire—a divine punishment brought down by the Heavenly Dao that could burn immortals and destroy demons alike. Nothing was spared. Even though His Reverence possessed a profound cultivation at the Body Integration Realm, charging in rashly would likely result in his soul dispersing with no hope of return.

Wei Xun heard them. Countless anxious shouts clamored around him, the chaotic cries pressing against his ears until his eardrums ached.

Yet he couldn’t process any of it. His heart beat so rapidly it felt close to rupturing. As the heavenly fire scorched his body and waves of heat rolled over him, an icy chill radiated from the very marrow of his bones, making his entire body shudder. He exhausted nearly all the remaining strength in his body to stumble his way to the top floor of the Jade Capital Tower.

But the fire was simply too vast.

Most of the structural beams had already collapsed, and the room where he had hidden his entire life’s devotion was burned beyond recognition. The charred wood and swirling ash left no trace of its former appearance.

Within the inferno, Wei Xun lowered his eyes, suddenly not knowing what to say or what to resent. At this very instant, all his obsessions vanished like smoke, leaving behind only a deathly, hollow void. He seemed completely incapable of feeling the searing pain of the blue flames licking his flesh; he merely watched the ashes drift down from above, looking exactly like the apricot blossoms that used to flutter outside the Jade Capital Tower.

Wei Xun collapsed, lightly curling his body into a ball as he attempted to find even a lingering thread of Jiang Qunyu’s aura.

But there was nothing left.

The physical form he had carefully reforged for Jiang Qunyu piece by piece was entirely incinerated by this heavenly fire—a century after losing Jiang Qunyu, and after spending a long hundred years kneeling before the Hall of Longevity to light lamps for him.

He had nothing left.

Wei Xun’s consciousness grew simultaneously lucid and chaotic. After waiting for ten years, twenty years, thirty years… a hundred years… a hundred and ten years, Wei Xun finally realized that perhaps Jiang Qunyu would truly never return.

In his daze, Wei Xun unexpectedly recalled past events from many years ago.

Back then, they had just emerged from the Illusion of the Yellow Springs. Whenever he spoke, Jiang Qunyu would become exceptionally tense, always appearing afraid that Wei Xun might say things he didn’t care to hear, just like in the illusion. At that time, a trace of irritation had been hidden within Wei Xun’s heart; Jiang Qunyu clearly understood his unspoken feelings, yet every time Wei Xun was about to bring up the topic, Jiang Qunyu would subtly steer the conversation away. Or, he would simply feign ignorance and transform into a ball of black mist, curling up on the rafters to hide from him, refusing to acknowledge him.

It was precisely because of this that Wei Xun had believed Jiang Qunyu likely didn’t like him.

Even shortly after they arrived in the Demon Realm, Jiang Qunyu refused to sleep in the same bed with him. Wei Xun hadn’t wanted that at all; he wanted to hold Jiang Qunyu, to sleep alongside him, and to watch him rouse every morning with messy hair, grumbling about why Wei Xun woke so early and ruined his sleep. But Jiang Qunyu had been unyielding, and in the end, Wei Xun could only compromise.

During that period, he spent his days running about in a frantic rush—first exhausting his efforts to locate the Chaos Stone, and without a moment’s rest, immediately setting off to find the Nine Heavens Celestial Lotus. More than a decade slipped past in the blink of an eye, and the opportunities for him to meet with Jiang Qunyu were rare. He stubbornly believed that keeping Jiang Qunyu in Cloud Palace City, far away from the conflicts surrounding him, would keep him safe—that it was the best way to protect him.

Yet matters in the world rarely go according to one’s wishes; Jiang Qunyu had vanished once more.

From then on, he forgot all the memories within the Illusion of the Yellow Springs, and forgot the gentle kisses that had fallen upon his lips time and again. He was always forgetting him. Yet, he never again rejected sharing a bed with him.

Reflecting upon it now, he found it somewhat laughable. When Jiang Qunyu hadn’t wanted to share a bed with him, perhaps it was out of awkwardness or shyness… or perhaps, he had liked him.

In other words, from the 26th year of Xiping to the 46th year of Xiping—a full twenty years—they had actually been briefly in love. It was just that one was plagued by gains and losses, not daring to confirm, while the other was consumed by evasion, refusing to be honest. Neither of them had ever seen clearly.

And during those twenty years when they should have clarified everything and accompanied each other day and night, he had spent his time constantly traveling, rarely staying in the Jade Capital Tower to accompany him. Jiang Qunyu was a lonely soul existing outside the five realms; his sole connection to this world was Wei Xun himself, yet he had been confined to the Jade Capital Tower by him, until ultimately, he hadn’t even wanted to live anymore.

Wei Xun curled up blankly within the sapphire heavenly fire. The searing heat brutally scorched his flesh, sending waves of tearing pain through him, but in the next instant, the wounds healed at an exceptional pace. The cycle repeated itself over and over, torturing him without end.

After an unknown amount of time, he slowly propped up his body, allowing the drifting sparks to land on his green robes, burning countless small holes into the fabric and searing his skin, though he remained entirely oblivious to it. He suddenly let out a low, soft laugh.

…He actually wanted to die, yet he couldn’t even manage that?

Why?

But he missed Jiang Qunyu so much.

Wei Xun stepped across the curling flames one stride at a time. His flesh was scorched black by the heavenly fire, only to sprout new skin in an instant. The repeated agony caused his entire body to shudder, yet his footsteps never wavered. The sinister ghost markings spread rapidly down his neck like ink-black vines, instantly covering half of his body, exuding a maddened, deathly silence.

The support beams beside the bed curtains had long since collapsed onto the floor, burning with a roaring fire that completely blocked his path. Acting as if he knew no pain, Wei Xun reached out to move the burning beams away bit by bit. His fingertips were instantly scorched until the flesh was ruined, exposing the stark white bones beneath, but within a mere breath, they were recovered with new flesh.

This repeated an unknown number of times. Finally, the entire Jade Capital Tower collapsed with a resounding crash amidst the cascading heavenly fire.

Wei Xun fell from the ruined walls and shattered structures, his green robes whipping loudly against the wild winds and blazing heat. The fierce wind howled past his ears, tearing away all sounds and leaving behind only a dead, roaring silence. The ash danced wildly across the sky, drifting down like the endless winter snow of the Demon Realm—pale and bleak.

Wei Xun blinked his eyes slowly, his gaze entirely devoid of ripples as he let his body plummet rapidly toward the ground. Yet a string of unanswerable questions surged within his heart, wrapping tightly around his soul until it ached:

Why did Jiang Qunyu come to his side in the form of an inner demon?

Why did he break through to a new realm every time Jiang Qunyu died?

Why was it that just as Jiang Qunyu was about to fall for him, he would forget, stubbornly believing that the person he loved was that Spirit Deer?

Why was it that right now, he couldn’t even achieve the release of death?

With a heavy thud, Wei Xun crashed violently onto the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.

He was still alive. He could clearly perceive the demonic energy inside his body surging even more violently, rampaging through his meridians.

He suddenly felt like laughing.

He recalled many years ago, back when Wei Lan was still instructing him in swordplay, his father had told him that the Heavenly Demon lineage was unborn, undying, and unextinguishable.

So, had Jiang Qunyu’s arrival from the very beginning been solely to forge him into a true Heavenly Demon? Now that his mastery over the sword had reached completion and his Heavenly Demon aspect had manifested, Jiang Qunyu would never return.

Wei Xun didn’t move. He simply lay face-up on the scorched earth, staring blankly at the gray, overcast sky. The world around him was entirely desolate.

But on what basis?

They wanted him to become a Heavenly Demon, so he had to become one? They wanted Jiang Qunyu to go back, so Jiang Qunyu had to go back?

On what grounds?

Jiang Qunyu… Jiang Qunyu…

Even if I must become a malicious ghost, even if I must plunge into the Avici Hell.

I will find you. I will make you stay with me forever.

In the winter of the 98th year of Changning, the Demon Realm changed masters.

From then on, the Demon Venerable, Wei Guanguan, no longer existed in this world.