It Seems... the Baby Is Coming
“What is it, little dragon? Say something.” Bai Qiuyue walked over to Ji Chaoyun and lifted his chin. “Venerable has taken an interest in the bloodline of the child in your belly and wishes to cooperate with you. You should be happy.”
Ji Chaoyun felt the restraint on his tongue loosen as Bai Qiuyue released his control over him.
Ji Chaoyun asked, “How does he intend to control this child?”
Bai Qiuyue’s expression turned somewhat unsightly. He straightened and slowly said, “Among Venerable’s demonic arts is a technique for splitting the soul. Back then, he used this very technique to place part of his soul inside me, thus creating the person I am today. Now that he wants me to take you to the Demon Realm, I fear he intends to do the same thing again.”
Ji Chaoyun raised his eyes to look at him and said softly, “You cannot possibly be willing.”
“Of course I’m not.” Bai Qiuyue smiled, but his tone instantly turned cold. “Not only am I unwilling, but I also wish I could kill you right now and end the life of that little cub in your belly!”
Ji Chaoyun asked, “Then why haven’t you done it?”
Bai Qiuyue’s gaze darkened. He seemed to use every ounce of strength in his body to suppress the killing intent in his eyes before saying quietly, “I won’t kill you. At least, not now.”
“If I killed you now, Venerable would certainly be furious with me. I won’t do that.” He lowered himself onto one knee and held Ji Chaoyun by the shoulders. “Didn’t I tell you already? I thought of an excellent solution. One that will allow Venerable to get what he wants while still leaving room to turn things around.”
Ji Chaoyun’s eyelashes trembled slightly as unease suddenly rose within him. “What are you planning to do?”
Another sound came from outside the cave, and Bai Qiuyue turned his head toward it.
He waited quietly for a moment but sensed no one outside. Bai Qiuyue withdrew his gaze, then seemed to remember something and said softly, “Oh, right. Do you know why I imprisoned the people of the Immortal Realm here?”
“...” Ji Chaoyun did not answer. The unease in his heart grew stronger.
“Do you still remember Linhai Village? Back then, the Dragon King’s Third Prince and the Demon Realm’s Protector plotted to open a passage to the Demon Realm from Linhai Village.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
Bai Qiuyue ignored him and continued, “Do you remember how they planned to do it? The three artifacts left behind by Feng Xiao, the refined souls of ninety-nine living people, and the Heavenly Fox Clan’s Glass Pearl as a catalyst. With those, the barrier could be opened.”
Ji Chaoyun froze.
Before he could even react, a chill rose from his spine and rushed straight to the back of his head.
“You... You intend to...”
“Actually, I knew long ago that the Glass Pearl was not the true key to the seal. That entire scheme back then was merely intended to lure you into Mount Sumeru so you would retrieve the true artifact.” Bai Qiuyue said, “The formation failed then because the three keys were not all present. This time, however, things are different.”
The corner of Bai Qiuyue’s lips curved upward as he said softly, “The Scarlet Feather Sword, the Spirit Tiger, and Feng Xiao himself. All three are now here in Qingqiu.”
“You can’t!” Ji Chaoyun shouted.
The cave they were in suddenly began to shake violently.
It was not only the cave. The entire island began to quake fiercely. Transparent walls of light rose from the surrounding sea, scattering the Heavenly Fox clansmen who had yet to escape, the Immortal Realm allied forces who had come to rescue them, and the dragon forces standing guard in the waters.
The walls of light rapidly climbed higher and joined together above the island. They sealed tightly into a transparent dome, trapping all of Qingqiu and everyone who had not escaped within it.
Ji Chaoyun demanded, “What did you do?!”
“This is a secret defensive art used by Qingqiu when faced with foreign enemies. Only successive clan leaders are permitted to learn it. Once this secret art is activated, not even a god can escape.” Bai Qiuyue explained, “Take a guess. Do you think there are enough living people in Qingqiu now to make up those ninety-nine refined souls?”
“You planned all of this. You intend to open the Demon Realm’s seal here in Qingqiu?”
“That’s right. Otherwise, after you secretly contacted the dragon clan several times while on this island, why would I have turned a blind eye and done nothing to stop you?”
“Madman... Your own clansmen are still on this island!”
“Clansmen? I could even kill my own parents. Why would I care about my clansmen?” Bai Qiuyue said, “Little dragon, you are simply too softhearted. Those who wish to accomplish great things cannot be so hesitant and fearful.”
“...Those who accomplish great things would never be as treacherous and full of schemes as you.”
Ji Chaoyun’s entire body stiffened. With great effort, he turned his head toward the cave entrance.
A thin crack suddenly appeared in the barrier Bai Qiuyue had placed over the entrance.
The crack widened continuously, spreading rapidly in all directions like a spiderweb. At last, there came a sharp shattering sound, and the barrier collapsed.
Amid the settling dust, Feng Qi entered with several divine soldiers.
“Feng Qi...”
Ji Chaoyun stared at him blankly. The fear, unease, and suffering of the past several days seemed to disappear at that very moment. He summoned the power within his body and tried to break free from Bai Qiuyue’s restraint, but in the next instant, a hand clamped tightly around his throat.
“Nobody come any closer!” Bai Qiuyue restrained Ji Chaoyun with his right hand and rapidly retreated several steps.
Feng Qi’s gaze fixed firmly upon Ji Chaoyun’s neck. He raised a hand, signaling for the divine soldiers to withdraw first.
The soldiers left the cave one after another. Feng Qi said coldly, “Bai Qiuyue, if you dare hurt him, I swear I will make you and the entire Demon Realm pay with your lives.”
“Don’t worry. I never intended to kill him.” Bai Qiuyue turned his head toward Ji Chaoyun. “There is still one final question I haven’t answered for you. You asked me what I intended to do to you, didn’t you?”
He leaned closer and whispered beside Ji Chaoyun’s ear, “You may not know this, but besides being my other half, Yan Huaqing is also my master. He taught me many demonic arts, including... the soul-splitting technique.”
Ji Chaoyun’s eyes widened abruptly.
As Bai Qiuyue finished speaking, a faint glow of spiritual power gathered in his palm.
Ji Chaoyun felt that power enter his body and travel downward along his spiritual meridians until it reached... the place in his abdomen where spiritual energy gathered.
No...
Don’t...
Ji Chaoyun’s vision blurred. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he desperately resisted that stream of spiritual power.
But it was useless. The child, deprived of spiritual nourishment for so long, finally sensed a supply of spiritual power from outside and began frantically absorbing it!
“Stop!” Feng Qi shouted.
Bai Qiuyue tightened his fingers around Ji Chaoyun’s throat until the bones in his neck gave a faint creak under the pressure.
Feng Qi stopped dead in his tracks.
The child successfully connected with Bai Qiuyue’s spiritual power, and the flow grew faster. A powerful vortex of spiritual energy formed within the cave, its pressure making it almost impossible to breathe.
Bai Qiuyue paid Feng Qi no heed. Enduring the agony of his soul being torn apart, he turned toward Ji Chaoyun and whispered, “Don’t cry. Once this child possesses part of my soul, he will be able to cultivate demonic arts. He will become the first child in this world capable of mastering the cultivation arts of immortals, demons, and gods alike. Venerable and I will teach him well. He will help us unite the Three Realms and become someone who stands beneath only one, yet above countless others...”
There was a soft sound of flesh being pierced.
A slender sword blade emerged from Bai Qiuyue’s chest.
The flow of spiritual power stopped instantly.
Bai Qiuyue lowered his head to look at the blade protruding from his chest, then turned to look behind him.
Feng Qi stood there holding the sword, his expression terrifyingly dark.
At the same moment, the Feng Qi standing before Bai Qiuyue dissolved into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.
“You... You actually...” Bai Qiuyue opened his mouth, and hot blood spilled from his lips.
Cold killing intent filled Feng Qi’s eyes. “I told you. If you dared hurt him, I would not spare you.”
Feng Qi was about to take Ji Chaoyun from him when Bai Qiuyue somehow found another burst of strength. He violently shoved Feng Qi away and, still restraining Ji Chaoyun, hurried out of the cave.
Heavy forces had already surrounded the entrance. Bai Qiuyue stopped and turned back toward Feng Qi as he emerged from the cave.
Feng Qi said, “Release him, and I can spare your life.”
“Spare my life? Is there still any path left for me to live?” Blood continued pouring from Bai Qiuyue’s chest, quickly staining the front of his robes red. “No... There is indeed one path left...”
Bai Qiuyue restrained Ji Chaoyun with his maimed arm while reaching into his robes with his remaining hand and taking out the Glass Pearl. He smiled. “In that case, let us all go to the Demon Realm together. Venerable will certainly slaughter every last one of you!”
He hurled the Glass Pearl into the air. It transformed into a streak of red light and entered the glowing dome overhead.
...But nothing happened.
Bai Qiuyue looked up in astonishment. The dome remained perfectly still, its faint spiritual glow reflecting the star-filled night sky beyond.
“Impossible. This is impossible!”
Feng Qi said, “I recognized the formation within this place as soon as we entered the island. It resembles the one from Linhai Village, so I sent a squad of divine soldiers ahead of time to destroy the formation. Bai Qiuyue, you lost.”
“How is that possible? How could I...” Bai Qiuyue suddenly stopped speaking as he realized the spiritual power within his body was rapidly draining away.
He lowered his head in shock.
After being wounded, he had stopped the soul-splitting technique, but he had not had time to sever the spiritual connection between himself and Ji Chaoyun.
He was about to shove Ji Chaoyun away when the latter abruptly seized his wrist.
Ji Chaoyun raised his head. A trace of golden light appeared within his calm, icy eyes.
That was not his spiritual power.
An extraordinarily powerful spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from Ji Chaoyun’s body. Even Feng Qi could not help taking half a step back, the force making his chest ache dully.
“This is—”
Ji Chaoyun stared coldly at Bai Qiuyue, his fingers nearly digging into the man’s wrist. Bai Qiuyue was pinned in place by that gaze. The divine pressure rendered him unable to make a sound, leaving him helpless as the spiritual power throughout his body was rapidly absorbed by the other.
When the final trace of spiritual power had been drained away, Ji Chaoyun finally released him.
Bai Qiuyue’s body slowly collapsed to the ground.
At some point, his hair had come loose. His body was covered in blood and filth, leaving him in a completely wretched state.
Bai Qiuyue lay on his back and gazed up at the heavens, his eyes gradually losing focus.
“Venerable... I still... I still haven’t gone to the Demon Realm... I haven’t seen you yet...”
“I really wanted to see you...”
Bai Qiuyue closed his eyes. His body transformed into a nine-tailed white fox and finally went still.
Ji Chaoyun stepped over the white fox’s body and walked toward Feng Qi.
Feng Qi stared fixedly at him. “You are...”
Ji Chaoyun did not answer. He walked up to Feng Qi, but his body suddenly went limp, and he nearly fell to the ground.
Feng Qi hurriedly caught him.
Ji Chaoyun opened his eyes, his expression somewhat dazed. “Just now... What happened to me just now?”
Feng Qi said softly, “It’s nothing. As long as you’re all right. I’ll explain everything slowly when we return. We—”
“Ngh...”
Ji Chaoyun’s brows drew tightly together. A deep pain quickly spread from his lower abdomen, and a layer of moisture instantly clouded his eyes.
“Chaoyun, what’s wrong...”
Perhaps because the child had just absorbed its fill of spiritual power, Ji Chaoyun could feel the spiritual energy within his abdomen stirring more vigorously than ever before.
His face turned pale, and even his voice began to tremble.
“I think... the baby is coming.”
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
I want the little one to hurry up and come out, so there should be another update tonight =w=
Red packets for the first thirty comments~
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