Chapter 109 – This Tragic Cultivation Genius – “You Huang removed his mask” (06/06)
Xie Chenyang’s expression remained unchanged; even his eyes, usually so alluring and full of emotion, showed no sign of shifting.
But Yun Xuefeng knew it wasn’t him. The one currently inhabiting Qi Xiangyang’s body was You Huang.
You Huang walked up to the man. “May we speak?”
The man was so startled that the wine flask in his hand fell to the ground. “So you truly have an interest in me, do you…? Um, this young master… Aaaah! Let me go! I’m afraid of heights!”
Yun Xuefeng watched as You Huang hoisted the man and flew into the loft they’d just come from, his eyes darkening.
Everyone else fell silent, those who knew each other exchanging glances. In front of Yun Xuefeng, they didn’t even dare to use secret voice transmission.
Their thoughts revolved around the same questions: Isn’t this demon cultivator being a bit too bold? Just a moment ago he was holding hands with Yun Xuefeng, and now he’s hitting on someone else right in front of him? Isn’t Yun Xuefeng being too lenient with this demonic cultivator? He watched them get cozy, yet didn’t make a move?
Yun Xuefeng gazed toward the attic, his expression somber, yet he remained completely still.
Up in the loft.
Tucked away within his mind, Xie Chenyang watched with great interest. They’d known each other for so long, and he’d always felt their father-son bond was deep, but in truth, he knew very little about You Huang, not even what he looked like, aside from his name.
You Huang watched Huo Yuanyi, who was still clutching the table and leaning forward, looking thoroughly shaken. “May I examine whether you are a Primordial Spirit?”
Once the aftereffects of his fear of heights had passed, Huo Yuanyi propped his chin up with one hand and tilted his head back, letting out a soft snort. “Trying to trick me into dual cultivation? I, Huo Yuanyi, am not that stupid!”
You Huang: “Just a quick look.”
Xie Chenyang: “……” So… So we really are father and son!
You Huang must be planning to take this opportunity to exchange spiritual energy as well!
But this wasn’t their original world. Could it be… that Huo Yuanyi was just like Xie Chenyang?
Huo Yuanyi reached into his sleeve and pulled out a folding fan. He opened it and gave it a light shake. His narrow eyes held a touch of roguish charm. “I’ve told you before, you’re not my type. However, if you go and shout that Yun Xuefeng is an idiot, perhaps I might reconsider.” He let out a soft sigh, leaned forward, and grabbed Huo Yuanyi’shand. “Would you rather cooperate and avoid suffering, or experience the agony of a soul search?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re just a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, while I’m at the… the… the…” Huo Yuanyi was so shaken by the sudden burst of aura that his voice trailed off. He clutched his fan tightly. “How could you possibly…?”
How could a Nascent Soul-stage demonic cultivator possibly unleash an aura powerful enough to suppress him?!
Huo Yuanyi raised his fan. “I’ll cooperate.”
You Huang: “……” That’s more like it.
Xie Chenyang said timidly, “If he truly refuses, would you really dig deep into his soul?”
You Huang: [No.]
I knew it—his dad is so gentle.
You Huang closed his eyes and sent his divine sense into Huo Yuanyi’s spiritual core.
Xie Chenyang had no idea what they’d discussed through their spiritual sense; he waited quietly for a long time before You Huang withdrew his spiritual sense.
“How was it, Dad?”
You Huang gave a soft hum and walked toward the exit.
“Wait,” Huo Yuanyi said, propping a hand on the table. The languid, debonair look in his eyes vanished as he stared intently at You Huang’s retreating figure. “Who are you? ”
You Huang didn’t answer; instead, he leaped forward, returning Xie Chenyang control of his body.
Before Xie Chenyang could react, Yun Xuefeng had already darted over and wrapped his arms around him.
Huo Yuanyi also jumped down and demanded, “Who are you, exactly? No… not you. Where is he?”
Xie Chenyang was startled.
He felt that You Huang’s impersonation of him was quite convincing. Besides, hadn’t Huo Yuanyi only just met him? Had he already distinguished between him and You Huang that quickly?
Could it be that, just as he suspected, You Huang and Huo Yuanyi had known each other for a long time?
You Huang: [The surveillance team is still watching. Although they’re only glancing over, I can’t reveal my true form openly. You should take him with you.]
“Who is he?”
You Huang: [Your mother.]
Huo Yuanyi narrowed his eyes. “Speak.”
“Mom… Ahem, Huo Yuanyi, is it? Come with us to the Wuji Sect.”
“Alright.”
Even if Xie Chenyang hadn’t invited him, Huo Yuanyi would have followed.
He needed to figure out why his spiritual essence showed no resistance to this person. Not only that, but when he tried to resist, his spiritual essence had instinctively entwined itself with You Huang’s spiritual awareness before he could act. The collision during that entanglement made his heart race, as if he longed to merge with it.
How strange.
He, Huo Yuanyi, had lived a carefree and debonair life for years, drifting through the world like a flower among the grass, never letting a single leaf touch him. He shouldn’t have any emotional debts to settle.
That man was strange; he must get to the bottom of it!
And so, on the return journey from the Wuji Sect, they were accompanied by Huo Yuanyi.
The Sect Master and the other disciples stood where they were, watching Yun Xuefeng and the other two fly toward their peak, gazing after them for a long time.
One of the disciples couldn’t help but say, “That demonic cultivator is just too formidable…”
“You’re right. Even with a Grand Elder, he… he still set his sights on someone else and even brought them back!”
“Demonic cultivators are truly terrifying.”
The Sect Master cleared his throat lightly. “Dismissed. Return to your respective peaks. What are you all gathered here for?”
“Yes, Sect Master!”
Yun Xuefeng cast a restriction outside the cave residence and led Xie Chenyang inside.
Huo Yuanyi, though barred from entering, showed no sign of anger. With a casual wave of his hand, a magical artifact landed on the ground, conjuring a small pavilion out of thin air. He stepped inside, warmed some wine, and began to reflect on the events of his life.
“Let me think… Have I unwittingly incurred any karmic debts of affection…”
Inside the cave residence.
Yun Xuefeng pushed Xie Chenyang down onto the bed, pressed his forehead against his, and effortlessly sent his spiritual sense into the other’s mind.
He examined Xie Chenyang thoroughly before withdrawing. “There are no abnormalities in your body or soul. Who was that other person?”
Xie Chenyang reached out to pull him into his embrace, kissing his lips with a slight gasp. “Let’s not talk about that for now. Let’s cultivate.”
“Who… was it?”
“It was my father!”
“You—”
“It really is my father. Be good, let’s cultivate first.”
Outside the cave residence.
Upon receiving word that the surveillance team had departed, You Huang appeared outside the cave residence and walked towards the small building.
Such magical artifacts typically possessed protective mechanisms. You Huang entered with ease.
Huo Yuanyi had already fallen asleep in his chair, clutching a wine flask. You Huang stepped forward and took it from his hand.
Huo Yuanyi woke up. “It’s you.”
You Huang set the flask down. “Why is your divine soul damaged?”
“I was born this way.” Huo Yuanyi relaxed his body and shifted to lean back against his chair. “So, who exactly are you?”
You Huang stared at him in silence.
“First ,you used someone else’s body to meet me.” Huo Yuanyi’s voice grew a few degrees deeper. “And now is this your true form? Yet you still wear a mask… Is it because you’re so ugly you’re afraid I’ll be repulsed?
You Huang removed his mask. Huo Yuanyi’s breath caught; he stared intently at the other’s face, then suddenly seeming to realize something, he clutched his collar, gasping for air, his expression one of agony.
You Huang placed a hand on his forehead. “Don’t think.”
“Huff…”
“Don’t think about anything.”
By the time Huo Yuanyi had recovered, he had already leaned forward and embraced You Huang, his head pressed against his stomach.
He quickly pulled back, gripping the chair’s armrests with both hands. “Who exactly are you? My memories have been intact since childhood. I could never forget someone as beautiful as you.”
But it was indeed a fragment of memory that had just surfaced in his mind, triggering that agonizing pain in his soul. He must have seen clearly at the time, yet now he couldn’t recall it.
You Huang leaned down to embrace him, whispering, “Would you be willing to let me examine your memories?”
Huo Yuanyi: “……”
“All of them, including your past lives, and the lives before those…”
His tone was casual, yet Huo Yuanyi sensed a hint of tears in his voice.
His voice cracked. “All right.”
Even someone at the Ascension Stage like Yun Xuefeng wouldn’t dare claim they could easily probe through a person’s past lives, would they?
Yet this man before him…
“Ugh.”
You Huang was a being of the Immortal Realm; probing the lifetimes of someone from a Minor Thousand World was not difficult. The difficulty laid in the fact that the person he sought to examine must have come from the same world as him.
And what he wished to trace back to was that very world.
“No, I can’t! I mustn’t! Huang’er is still waiting for me. There must be a way. I can’t be taken back…”
You Huang had just traced back to Huo Yuanyi’s memories of the Celestial Realm. He’d only managed to catch the most intense moment—a single instant—when he saw a pair of eyes as cold as ice. The next moment, he was flung out.
Before You Huang could make sense of it, Huo Yuanyi let out a muffled groan.
“Huo… Yuanyi!”
Huo Yuanyi clutched his hand tightly and managed to say with great difficulty, “I… Ugh… You…”
You Huang watched as Huo Yuanyi’s expression shifted from confusion to pain, mingled with longing and love. Before You Huang could reach out to heal him, Huo Yuanyi collapsed. “Sir…?”
Huo Yuanyi stopped breathing; only an empty shell remained, his soul gone.
As their cultivation session ended, Xie Chenyang hugged Yun Xuefeng and reassured him. “I wasn’t lying—it really is my father.”
Yun Xuefeng: “Your father… Why is he inside you? Why can’t I sense him?”
“His cultivation is higher than yours.” Xie Chenyang chuckled. “Alright, don’t ask anymore. I’ll take you to meet him someday.”
Yun Xuefeng: “…Mm.”
If his cultivation was higher, then he must be someone who had already ascended. Perhaps it was a fragment of his spirit left behind before he ascended?
Xie Chenyang was just playfully chatting with his lover when he heard You Huang’s voice, “Yangyang, let’s leave this world.”
[Didn’t you just run into someone you knew? Dad, what happened? You sound…]
“It’s complicated; hard to explain. He’s gone—perhaps he’s returned to the Immortal Realm. I have to go find him.”
[The Immortal Realm? Oh, okay.]
Xie Chenyang grabbed Yun Xuefeng’s hand. “Xue, I’m going to self-destruct.”
Yun Xuefeng: “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“True, self-destruction isn’t exactly graceful. Xue, will you die with me?”
“……What nonsense are you spewing?”
Xie Chenyang scratched his head. “It’s hard to explain, but… let’s die together?”
Yun Xuefeng stared intently at Xie Chenyang. “Qi Xiangyang, don’t joke with me like that.”
“I’m not Qi Xiangyang, and you’re not Yun Xuefeng.”
As soon as Xie Chenyang spoke those words, a muffled clap of thunder rang out in the sky, as if it was a warning.
“This isn’t our world. We should go back.”
The moment he finished speaking, their souls felt a force of rejection.
You Huang: […This… Never mind.]
He could protect Xie Chenyang anyway. If they had to die, so be it—but they wouldn’t violate the conditions set by the Dao of this world.
Feeling himself being rejected by the world, Yun Xuefeng clutched his hand tightly. “Is what you said true?”
Boom!
“Mm.” Xie Chenyang clasped his hand in return, looked up, and snorted lightly. “What’s wrong with me telling the truth before I leave? Is it really necessary to drive us away like this? We’re going to die anyway, and it won’t affect this world! How inflexible!”
The Dao of Heaven said nothing, simply flinging them out of this world.
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
