That Ancient God Had Already Perished Three Hundred Years Ago
It was already around noon the following day when Ji Chaoyun slowly woke.
It took him a while to recognize where he was. He rubbed his still aching temples and climbed out of bed.
He had spent a full two or three days inside that prison cell, and the energy he had lost was not so easily recovered. Ji Chaoyun rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his room. The sunlight outside was bright, bathing the courtyard in warmth.
Ji Chaoyun, however, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A tall, unfamiliar man stood with his back to him, leaning against the stone bridge as he bent down to tease the fish. Hearing the door open, the man turned around and smiled at Ji Chaoyun.
He was strikingly handsome, his tall figure standing gracefully in white robes like jade, yet Ji Chaoyun was certain he had never seen this person before.
He asked in confusion, “You are...”
The man’s eyes moved mischievously. In just a few steps, he arrived in front of Ji Chaoyun. “You don’t recognize me?”
His voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Ji Chaoyun had only just awakened and was still groggy. For a moment, he could not remember where he had heard it before.
Seeing the hesitation on his face, the man pressed closer again, instantly forcing Ji Chaoyun back until he had nowhere left to retreat. The distance between them was deliberately too close. Without thinking, Ji Chaoyun swung a fist at him, only for the man to catch his wrist and pin it against the door.
A smile lingered in the man’s eyes as he said softly, “Little dragon, you’ve forgotten me already? How heartbreaking.”
Ji Chaoyun struggled but could not break free. He said coldly, “Clan Leader Bai, please conduct yourself with propriety.”
The man’s smile deepened, and he released Ji Chaoyun’s hand. “My apologies. I was only teasing you.”
Before Ji Chaoyun could respond, a voice came from the courtyard entrance. “What are you two doing?”
Both turned at the same time.
Feng Qi strode into the courtyard and pulled Ji Chaoyun behind him in one motion.
“Bai Qiuyue, what nonsense are you up to?”
“Why so nervous? It isn’t as though I’m going to eat your little dragon.”
Bai Qiuyue casually took half a step back and spoke at an unhurried pace.
Just like the Heavenly Fox Clan in the storybooks, who could bewitch all living beings, Bai Qiuyue was exceptionally handsome in human form. His bearing, however, was gentle and reserved, which tempered the few traces of soft, alluring charm that unconsciously showed in the movement of his brows and eyes.
Feng Qi narrowed his eyes at him and said warily, “Who knows what you’re thinking? Stay away from him.”
Bai Qiuyue shrugged and said nothing more.
Feng Qi continued, “I agreed before to let you stay until your cultivation recovered. Now that the traitor within the academy has been found and you’ve recovered your human form, shouldn’t you leave my Wenqu Peak?”
His words were hardly polite, but Bai Qiuyue did not take offense.
“I was waiting here precisely to bid you farewell.”
“When you set the trap for Yaoguang last night, disciples were sent to search the Inspection Hall, but the artifact stolen from the Heavenly Fox Clan still wasn’t found. That demon may have moved it beforehand.”
Bai Qiuyue said, “I will request permission from Tianshu to leave the academy and continue searching for the missing artifact.”
“That would be for the best. Then you should set out as soon as possible.”
“...”
Bai Qiuyue fell silent for a moment.
“Feng Qi, would you be willing to come with me?”
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. “Why should I go with you?”
“Your cultivation is above mine. With your assistance, things would go much more smoothly for us this time. Besides...” Bai Qiuyue paused, then continued persuading him.
“The Phoenix Clan is also one of the clans entrusted with guarding the seal-key, and Divine Lord Feng Xiao is an ancestor of the Phoenix Clan. You...”
“That isn’t quite right.”
Feng Qi leisurely interrupted him. “First, the Heavenly Fox Clan losing its artifact is your problem. It has nothing to do with me. Second, as you said, the Phoenix Clan also has an artifact to protect. The Demon Realm also currently believes that artifact is on Ji Chaoyun, so naturally I need to stay here and protect him. How could I spare the attention to help you?”
Bai Qiuyue was rendered speechless by his reasoning. He shook his head and ultimately said nothing further, bidding the two farewell before leaving.
Once he was gone, Feng Qi pulled Ji Chaoyun into the pavilion and sat him down. He said irritably, “Stay away from that fox from now on.”
“?”
Ji Chaoyun picked up a cup from the table and poured himself some tea. Puzzled, he asked, “Isn’t he your friend?”
“It’s precisely because he’s my friend that I know him well enough.” Feng Qi’s expression seemed evasive, and only after a moment’s hesitation did he admit the truth. “Don’t you know what cultivation method the fox clans are best at?”
“...What?”
“Spiritual cultivation.”
“Cough, cough, cough...”
Ji Chaoyun choked on his mouthful of tea. Remembering the secret manual Feng Qi had shown him that day, he said decisively, “I’ll definitely stay far away from him.”
“That’s more like it.”
Ji Chaoyun asked, “Speaking of which, what exactly happened yesterday? Did Immortal Venerable Tianshu suspect Immortal Venerable Yaoguang from the beginning?”
“That’s right.” At the mention of this matter, Feng Qi’s expression darkened again. “I just came back from Uncle’s place. there have indeed been many suspicious points surrounding this matter that we still haven’t investigated clearly. They’re still looking into it now.
The truth is, though, when the Fox Clan’s incident happened, he had already begun to suspect there was something wrong within the academy. Like Bai Qiuyue, he wasn’t certain whether the demon was actually inside the academy. It wasn’t until we came out of the illusion a few days ago that I told him about my suspicions regarding Yaoguang.”
“...At the time, we couldn’t produce any evidence, and he didn’t make any judgment either, so we could only investigate on our own. Who would have thought that two days ago, that demon finally couldn’t hold back any longer.”
“When you were suspected of killing Li Hao, Tianshu decided to turn the situation against him and use you to lure that demon into revealing himself.”
At the mention of Li Hao, a shadow crossed Ji Chaoyun’s eyes. “Still, wasn’t the price for this far too great? Senior Brother Li was innocent...”
Feng Qi immediately frowned and asked tentatively, “Since when did you and Li Hao become so close? You’re actually this worried about him?”
Ji Chaoyun shook his head. “He died because of me. If it weren’t for me...”
“Who said he died?”
Ji Chaoyun froze.
“I only found out afterward that Li Hao hadn’t actually breathed his last that day. From the moment Immortal Venerable Tianshu appeared at the class halls, he was already pretending,” Feng Qi said. “As expected of the most prestigious senior of the Phoenix Clan today. He fooled all of us.”
“But he was clearly stabbed twice. How could...”
Feng Qi said, “The exact reason is still unclear. However, neither of those two strikes hit a vital point.”
Ji Chaoyun fell into thought.
“Could it have been... Immortal Venerable Yaoguang?”
“That is my guess as well.” Feng Qi said, “Immortal Venerable Yaoguang was under that demon’s control and unable to control his own words or actions, but he is, after all, one of the Immortal Venerables who preside over Hongmeng Academy, and Li Hao is one of his trusted disciples. I suspect that when the demon tried to kill Li Hao, Immortal Venerable Yaoguang secretly intervened and caused the sword’s edge to veer half an inch off course.”
Ji Chaoyun breathed a sigh of relief, then asked. “Then where is Senior Brother Li now? Has he awakened?”
“No.” An almost imperceptible change passed through Feng Qi’s eyes, revealing a hint of concealed displeasure. “Ji Chaoyun, I’m the one who’s been running around everywhere for you these past few days. Why are you always thinking about other men?”
“...”
Ji Chaoyun was silent for a moment before saying, “Thank you.”
“Is just saying thank you enough?”
“What else do you want? I can repay you.”
“Forget it. Save it for later.” Feng Qi turned his head to look at Ji Chaoyun’s profile and said with a smile, “You already owe me so many times. One more won’t make much difference. Once I decide what I want, you can slowly repay me.”
Ji Chaoyun raised his head and met his gaze. He suddenly went still.
Feng Qi had been raised in luxury within the Phoenix Clan since childhood, spoiled and cherished by everyone around him. That was how he had grown into this arrogant, frivolous young master who seemed to take nothing seriously. In this regard, he could not have been more different from the Feng Xiao Ji Chaoyun had known.
Yet whenever Feng Qi set aside that unruly manner and looked seriously at someone, a torrent of sincere and scorching emotion would spill from his eyes, enough to make a person feel as though they might drown within them.
It was exactly the same as the way Feng Xiao had looked at him back then.
Ji Chaoyun was somewhat dazed. He looked deeply into those eyes and, for a moment, could no longer even distinguish who the person sitting beside him truly was.
“What are you looking at?” Feng Qi asked softly.
Ji Chaoyun snapped back to his senses. Only then did he realize that he had been staring at Feng Qi for quite some time. He turned his head away awkwardly and said, “S-sorry.”
Feng Qi smiled, unconcerned.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. It’s just... if you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to start thinking you might like me a little.”
Ji Chaoyun’s entire body stiffened.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered what Li Hao had said to him during that night patrol.
Feng Qi’s attitude toward him... was it truly nothing more than that of an ordinary friend?
Ji Chaoyun’s throat felt somewhat dry. He lowered his head, not daring to look at the other man’s expression, and asked in a low, hoarse voice. “Feng Qi, we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Feng Qi did not answer.
The atmosphere in the pavilion suddenly grew heavy. Even Ji Chaoyun’s breathing unconsciously slowed, and he could almost hear the abnormal beating of his own heart.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before Feng Qi finally let out a soft laugh.
Ji Chaoyun raised his head and saw that the usual frivolous amusement had returned to Feng Qi’s eyes.
“What else would we be? Don’t tell me that after everything I’ve done, I’m still not qualified to be your friend.”
Ji Chaoyun breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, “Of course not. We... we’ve been friends for a long time already.”
Feng Qi rubbed his hair. “Good. If you leave now, you can still make it to the morning lesson. There are only a little over ten days left until the seasonal examination. You worked so hard to earn a Grade A last time. Don’t fall short at the final step this time.”
“Mm.”
With that, the matter came to an end.
The academy’s higher-ups did not disclose that Immortal Yaoguang had been possessed by a demon, and everyone involved kept their mouths sealed on the matter. Although occasional rumors circulated within the academy, there was no way to verify them, and before long, the matter came to nothing.
Immortal Yaoguang’s immortal body had been damaged by the possession. The day after the truth was uncovered, Immortal Tianshu had him escorted back to his immortal residence to recuperate.
As for Li Hao, the Alchemy Hall used its finest medicine to treat him, and within a few days, he had completely recovered. After surviving such a great calamity, not only did Li Hao suffer no lingering fear whatsoever, he instead decided that he and Ji Chaoyun had forged a bond through life and death, and his appetite for gossip only grew stronger.
Remembering that he had nearly caused this man’s death, Ji Chaoyun could hardly bring himself to scold him. However, from that day onward, he never again allowed Feng Qi to escort him to the Inspection Hall.
Half a month passed quickly. At last, Ji Chaoyun welcomed his second quarterly examination since entering the academy.
As usual, the examination day began with a written test on Daoist scriptures inside the classrooms. Once the written examination concluded, everyone proceeded to the Sword Practice Grounds to await the martial examination.
The martial examination tested the disciples by having them face enemies within an illusion. The disciples would enter the illusion through the Illusory Clarity Mirror. To pass the examination, they had to defeat the yao and demons manifested within the illusion according to the visions in each person’s heart and successfully break free of the illusion.
Their ranking in the martial examination would be determined by the order in which they broke free.
Ji Chaoyun arrived at the Sword Practice Grounds together with the Yellow-rank disciples.
His gaze instinctively swept around the area, searching for someone, but he could not find that familiar figure.
“Chaoyun, what are you looking for?” Ye Chenxing asked.
“...Nothing.”
Ji Chaoyun withdrew his gaze and shook his head.
These past few days, Ji Chaoyun had no idea what Feng Qi had been busy with. Feng Qi was nowhere to be seen all day. Ji Chaoyun himself was busy with his studies, leaving early and returning late. Although the two lived under the same roof, they had already gone several days without seeing each other.
Even today, during Ji Chaoyun’s examination, Feng Qi had not appeared.
A strange trace of disappointment surfaced in Ji Chaoyun’s heart, but he soon had no time to think about it.
Not long afterward, Immortal Kaiyang, who was responsible for supervising the examination, arrived and cast a spell to activate the Illusory Clarity Mirror. The disciples entered the illusion.
The martial examination began.
Once again, it was that forest where no light of day could penetrate. Ji Chaoyun looked up. The dense canopy concealed the heavens and blotted out the sun, making it impossible to discern the path ahead.
Rustling sounds came from all around him, as though something hidden in the darkness was watching.
Ji Chaoyun steadied himself, summoned his sword, and set off at a run toward the depths of the dark forest. His longsword left its sheath, and in an instant, a sweep of clear, luminous sword-light flared through the woods.
☁
Only after everyone had entered the illusion one after another did Feng Qi leap down from the branch of an ancient pine beside the Sword Practice Grounds and disappear silently into the woods.
He did not return directly to the disciple peaks. Instead, he went to the Hall of Inquiry, where Immortal Tianshu resided.
Previously, when Tianshu and Kaiyang had used Ji Chaoyun as bait to lure out the demon, Feng Qi had lost his temper with them more than once. Now, Tianshu’s head ached whenever he saw Feng Qi. Unfortunately, this was someone he could neither hit nor scold, so he could only endure it.
He allowed Feng Qi inside and excused him from paying his respects, then asked helplessly, “Today is the quarterly examination. Instead of accompanying Ji Chaoyun at the Sword Practice Grounds, what are you doing here looking for me?”
Feng Qi’s eyes flickered, and he said with a smile. “It’s only an examination. Why would he need me to stay with him?”
“...”
Tianshu had watched Feng Qi grow up and knew him quite well. The moment he heard that tone, he sensed something was amiss. Afraid that this little ancestor would take his temper out on him again, he asked with a trembling heart, “Did the two of you quarrel?”
“No. What are you thinking, Uncle?” Feng Qi said indifferently, “I merely came to ask you how the investigation into the three seal-keys is progressing.”
“Oh, that.” Tianshu visibly relaxed. “The Heavenly Fox Clan is currently searching throughout the Immortal Realm for the escaped demon, but they have not found any trace of him. As for the artifact belonging to the Phoenix Clan... Are you absolutely certain it isn’t the object Ji Chaoyun carries?”
“I’m certain.”
Tianshu hesitated. “But I’ve already exchanged messages with your elder brother. The Phoenix Clan truly doesn’t have...”
“Uncle, there’s actually something I’ve never understood,” Feng Qi interrupted.
“Feng Xiao never left the artifact within the Phoenix Clan, which is why you concluded that the object should be in Ji Chaoyun’s possession. Is that right?”
“That’s right.”
“How many people were told this conclusion?”
Tianshu’s expression paused. He thought for a moment before slowly answering, “Not many know of it. Only the clan leaders of the Phoenix Clan and Heavenly Fox Clan, as well as several highly respected elders within the Phoenix Clan. Feng Qi, surely you don’t suspect the Phoenix Clan?”
Feng Qi neither confirmed nor denied it.
Tianshu looked deeply at him and said seriously, “Divine Lord Feng Xiao is an ancestor of our clan. Without him, there would be no Fengming Valley as it is today. The Phoenix Clan, of all people, could never betray him.”
“...Understood, Uncle.” Feng Qi looked away, saying flatly. “I also hope this matter has nothing to do with the Phoenix Clan. Otherwise, it will only become even more complicated.”
The Hall of Inquiry fell silent for a time.
Eventually, Tianshu said, “By the way, you mentioned before that you wanted to descend to the mortal realm for training together with Ji Chaoyun. I discussed it with several of the other Immortal Venerables, and we’ve agreed to let you go.”
Feng Qi paused in surprise. “But I—”
Tianshu ignored him and continued, “Training in the mortal realm is a good thing. I’ll issue each of you a Merit Ledger. As with disciples who have gone to the mortal realm for training in the past, if you accumulate one thousand merit points within three months, it will count as passing the quarterly examination. If you accumulate three thousand points, you’ll receive a Grade A.”
“But...”
“What is there to object to?” Tianshu interrupted gently, wearing an expression of complete understanding.
“Young people inevitably have little disagreements while spending time together. Whatever misunderstanding there may be, you only need to talk it through. While training in the mortal realm, the two of you will have to go everywhere together and won’t be able to separate. This is an opportunity. Make good use of it.”
“...”
Feng Qi had nothing else to say. He could only respond reluctantly, “Yes, Uncle.”
Tianshu appeared extremely satisfied and smiled as he nodded.
“If there’s nothing else, head back for now. Once the second round of the quarterly examination is over, the two of you can set off for the mortal realm.”
Feng Qi did not leave immediately, his expression became somewhat hesitant. “There is one more thing I want to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“Back then, did Feng Xiao... truly return to the Divine Realm together with the divine soldiers?”
Tianshu’s smile stiffened on his face. “...Why do you ask?”
“It just seems strange,” Feng Qi said. “I feel that... Feng Xiao doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would abandon Ji Chaoyun and leave on his own.”
Before meeting Feng Xiao, Feng Qi had not truly believed in the depth of Feng Xiao’s feelings for Ji Chaoyun. How could an ancient heavenly god who had lived in this world for tens of millions of years possess such deep affection and devotion?
Yet after their brief meeting inside the illusion, Feng Qi had sensed certain similarities within that man.
It was precisely those similarities that made him believe that, unless Feng Xiao had a reason beyond his control, he would never have left Ji Chaoyun alone in the mortal realm for so many years.
Tianshu looked at him with a complicated expression. After a moment, he softly asked, “Is this the reason you and Ji Chaoyun have been at odds?”
Feng Qi looked away, flustered. “We’re not...”
Tianshu shook his head and sighed. “Ah, young people.”
“It really wasn’t because of this!” The tips of Feng Qi’s ears reddened slightly.
“If Uncle doesn’t want to tell me, then forget it. This disciple will take his leave.”
“Wait.” Tianshu stopped him. He considered his words for a long time before finally saying, “Now that matters have come this far, there’s no harm in telling you. Divine Lord Feng Xiao truly did not return to the Divine Realm.”
“Then where did he...”
“He didn’t return to the Divine Realm. Instead, he remained here forever.”
Tianshu’s voice was quiet.
“The seal on the Demon Realm was created at the cost of Divine Lord Feng Xiao’s life.”
“That ancient god... Had already perished three hundred years ago.”
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
Tianshu: That’s right, your love rival is dead. Relax and go chase your wife.
Feng Qi: Great!
Feng Xiao: ...Oh.
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