Chapter 40

The Dream of the Primal Chaos Banner

After that, my brother frequently returned to the Immortal Realm, while Yinze stayed with me and lived in Su Zhao for two months. During these two months, we were inseparable day and night: I took him to taste the delicacies of Su Zhao, and he particularly loved the stir-fried fluffy tail meat and Xuanqiu aged wine, a taste that was quite contrary to his appearance. We went to the library together, and he bought all the collections of the “Five Great Talents of Su Zhao” and finished reading them all in a day. He was very interested in Su Zhao’s ice sculpting, and he even taught himself to make many ice sculptures, half of which were of me.

Besides that, I was learning from him. He taught me a lot about governing a country, advising me that the people are the foundation of a country, and virtue is more important than wealth. When there was a drought, I had to make it rain. It was strange for the aloof Yinze Divine Lord to say something like “the people are the foundation of a country,” but it also made perfect sense. After all, he was a divine lord.

After being with him, I read fewer books, and he would force me to read a book with him. They were all ancient books from the Immortal Realm, although interesting, they were very obscure and slow to read. Knowing that he read quickly, I was very anxious and tried to find something else to do, but he pinched my cheek and explained it to me word by word.

His handwriting was beautiful, and he taught me by hand, allowing me to experience what it meant to see dragons and snakes writhing and thunderbolts coiling.

Being with him, even if he didn’t actively teach me, I could still “steal” a lot of things, such as before he went to bed, he always liked to use magic to turn a block of ice in his boots, making them full, so that when he got up the next day, his shoes would be as good as new. He always looked elegant and proper, and it was inseparable from such daily habits.

In short, the longer I was with Yinze, the more I could feel the benefits of being with him. It was not only happiness, but I also often felt that I was rapidly becoming a mature and outstanding person.

By the way, we also participated in the pearl gathering day and a group hunt together.

Hunting in Su Zhao was fun. Riding on flying birds or beasts, we shot small water bags into the forest. When the water bags got close to the beasts, we used water-controlling spells to turn them into ice, piercing the beasts’ vital points and giving them a quick death. At night, we often sat by the Luo River, admiring the moon, and strolled along the well-connected city roads.

At such times, there were always couples on the streets, and we were just one of the most ordinary couples. One night, we even met my second sister and Kong Shu who had disguised themselves and gone out. The two sisters smiled at each other and then teased each other.

Of course, the older generation was wiser. No matter how much I said, my second sister blocked me with a sentence, “When are you two going to get married?” She left comfortably, leaving me to face Yinze awkwardly.

“Don’t take my second sister’s words seriously,” I scratched my head. “I, I won’t marry you.”

Yinze said, “Why not?”

“As long as you’re with me, I’m satisfied. Whether we get married or not doesn’t matter. This is all for your own good.”

“You say it’s for my own good, but I don’t see how it’s for my own good. If we don’t get married, then what about having children? What if the children call out for their father and mother, but their parents aren’t a couple?”

“Of course, we can’t have children then.”

He laughed instead of being angry, “I treat you so well, yet you’re not even willing to bear me a child, you’re really a good Wei’er.”

I waved my hands repeatedly, “No, no. Of course I’m willing, it’s just that, I don’t live very long, and if you marry me, after a happy hundred years, you’ll be a widower for a thousand years. If you have a child, and the child is half-spirit... it’s really not worth it. A mother’s bloodline is also very important, right?”

The moon shone impartially, illuminating thousands of miles, and in the sky, the people of Su Zhao danced to the moon, their shadows intertwining with the fallen flowers on the ground.

After a long while, Yinze slowly said, “It’s because you think you won’t live long, so you don’t want to leave any trace in my life, is that right?”

“Well... I just don’t want you to miss me and feel sad when you see things that remind you of me in the future.”

“Do you think I haven’t thought about these problems? Before you returned to Su Zhao, in the White Emperor Mountain, I asked you some questions, I wonder if you still remember.”

There’s no way I could forget what he said. At that time, he said that some things I found difficult were a thousand times more difficult for others. After all, when people die, they have no more worries, but it’s the living who suffer... Thinking about it, I suddenly looked up and asked, “Were you referring to my short lifespan back then?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Yinze...” My brows were almost twisted into a knot.

“From then on, I made up my mind. So, even if you could only live for two days, I would still marry you.” He said it calmly, but his tone was exceptionally firm and不容反驳 (不容反驳: not allowing for any rebuttal).

My heart ached. I took a step forward and hugged him tightly around the waist. He hugged me back, but his grip was very light, as if I would disappear at any moment. “Don’t say things like that again, okay?”

He sounded tired and cautious, and my words must have upset him. I wiped all my snot and tears on his clothes, whimpering like a child who had done something wrong. “Yinze, I’m sorry, I just like you too much, and I don’t know what to do, how to make you happier, how to owe you less, I really don’t know...”

“As long as things stay like this, it’s fine.” He stroked my hair, soothingly. “I know you can’t leave Su Zhao, and you can’t go back to the Upper Realm with me now. But, when we get married and have children with your second sister, we can leave Su Zhao to them. By then, you will be my wife too, and you can come back to the divine realm with me. Maybe then, all problems will be solved.”

I was overjoyed and grabbed his clothes, looking up at him expectantly. “Really? When can we get married? Next year, or the year after?”

“Do you want to be pregnant when you get married?”

“Wait! Wait!” I said nervously. “Married while pregnant? Why?”

“With our current frequency of... intimacy, if you’re not pregnant by then, then I’m not a man.”

I wailed, “It doesn’t happen that fast, I’m not ready at all...”

Yinze kissed my lips softly and said, “Our child will surely be adorable.”

I was dazed for a moment, then shook my head. “That’s not the point!”

“Then why not, are you still unwilling?”

“Of course I’m willing! You’re so good to me.”

“Then that settles it.” Yinze smiled faintly and whispered in my ear, “Knowing your preference, I’ll reward you accordingly.”

Then, he took my hand and put a cold object on my thumb. Looking down, it was the jade ring he had always worn on his right hand. Although he had never said anything, I knew it was something very important to him. I was lost in thought for a long time before looking up at him again.

At this moment, the silent night unfolded like a painting, depicting a scene of the moon: a round moon hanging above the spring trees, a black bird flying through the courtyard, withered flowers like red clothes, lightly draped over the shoulders of passersby. In the center of the painting was the man of my dreams.

I stroked the ring, brushed the petals off his shoulder, and leaned against his chest with a burning face.

At this moment, even blinking felt like a lot of effort, all my strength was drained by sweetness, leaving only enough breath to breathe.

It was true, from the moment I fell in love with Yinze, I had always been afraid that my short lifespan would be the biggest obstacle between us. From the moment we fell in love, I worried that he would be lonely one day because he lost me. But fate played a big joke on us.

Because of these worries, they never came true.

We had originally planned to return to the Immortal Realm to get married in half a month, but three uninvited guests came three days later: Kai Xuanjun, along with Huang Dao Xianjun and Ru Yueweng, came to attack Su Zhao for the second time. Coincidentally, my brother also returned to Su Zhao on this day, and without Yinze even needing to make a move, I assisted my brother and defeated these three scoundrels.

These three people were really vicious. They had already caused our family to be destroyed the last time, and they dared to come again. Kai Xuanjun was a hypocrite. He was the most provocative when he entered Su Zhao, and he was the first to run away when he realized something was wrong.

Unfortunately, Huang Dao Xianjun was still a bit difficult to deal with. While we were busy fighting him, we couldn’t catch Kai Xuanjun. However, seeing my brother’s Zi Xu sword flying in the air, piercing those two men and making them kneel on the ground, I felt extremely relieved. In the end, we captured Huang Dao Xianjun and Ru Yueweng and tied him up in front of my second sister.

To our great surprise, as soon as he was brought in, Huang Dao Xianjun glanced at Yinze, immediately bit something in his mouth, rolled his eyes, and spat out blood, dying. Only Ru Yue Weng was trembling like an old wrinkled rat.

My second sister and I were both extremely hateful towards Ru Yueweng’s vicious old face, and she slapped the back of her chair heavily, angrily saying, “Shameless villain! You killed my parents and dared to invade Su Zhao again! I will kill you today!”

“Your Majesty, hold on, I have something to ask him.” Yinze walked out and looked down at him, the water streak seal on both sides of his cheekbones appeared and then quickly faded, “Tell me, who sent you here?”

Ru Yueweng also suddenly realized the current situation and wanted to commit suicide, but he heard Yinze say, “Huang Dao Xianjun, I wonder how he will be written in the history books of the Immortal Realm in the future. But he definitely won’t have a whole corpse. Wei’er, feed it to Xuanyue later.”

I disagreed, “Xuanyue doesn’t eat dirty things. Feed it to the dogs, the dogs in Su Zhao love to eat hearts and lungs. I’m just afraid this old guy doesn’t have these things.”

Ru Yueweng’s legs trembled and he knelt directly on the ground, “Yin... no, ancestor, please spare me, let me keep my whole body. I was just following Kai Xuanjun’s instigation, and I regret it now...”

“Don’t waste my time. Who sent you?”

I obediently wrote the two words in her palm. My second sister pondered for a long time, then her face turned pale. “Oh my god!!”

“Shh... He doesn’t want it to be widely known.”

My second sister covered her chest and gasped, “Are you joking? Are you crazy? You’re going to marry the Cangying God? He, he, he... he’s the belief of our Su Zhao! It’s just too...”

Before my second sister could recover from her shock, Yinze returned after interrogating Ru Yue翁, and using his magic, he threw the man at my feet. “Wei’er, kill him, but he answered my questions honestly, so don’t feed him to the dogs.”

Of course, I wouldn’t easily kill a living being. I left it to my second sister to decide. My second sister had Yinze strip him of his immortal body, revoke his immortal status, and turned him into an ordinary old man, throwing him into the prison of Su Zhao to await his death.

Just as we were lamenting the escape of one person, we heard the guards report that Kai Xuanjun had escaped to the Luo River and was captured by a group of people. The people had a long-standing grudge against him and beat him to death with sticks. Later, they carried Kai Xuanjun’s corpse into the hall. His face was swollen like a pig’s head, covered in saliva and rotten vegetables, and only his outline could be barely discerned.

We searched his body and found the Primal Chaos Banner and the Slaughter Immortal Sword. Yinze said, “Strange, these two things belong to Zi Xiu, how did they end up in his hands?”

I asked, “Zi Xiu? Who is Zi Xiu?”

Fu Chen said, “He’s the Demon Lord.”

“The Demon Lord? Impossible, Kai Xuanjun is so weak, how could he defeat the Demon Lord?”

Yinze hooked his finger, and another small bell flew out of Kai Xuanjun’s pocket. He examined the bell for a while, then looked at the two innate spiritual treasures and said, “I see. Kai Xuanjun is Zi Xiu’s man. This bell is his artifact for communicating with Zi Xiu, the Slaughter Immortal Sword can summon poisonous dragons and is used to protect the Primal Chaos Banner, and inside this banner is what Zi Xiu wants him to guard.”

I realized, “So that’s how it is. All these years, I thought Kai Xuanjun was just a despicable villain who was greedy for wealth and honor. I never thought he would be a spy for the demon world.”

Fu Chen said, “We’ll know what his purpose is if we go inside and take a look.”

We entered the interior of the Primal Chaos Banner again, and the scene was no different from the last time. I said, “Is this the demon world?”

Yinze said, “It may not be the demon world, but it must have been built by the demons. Let’s go in and take a look.”

With Yinze and my brother this time, I wasn’t as scared as last time. We passed through one door after another and walked deeper and deeper. Finally, our vision suddenly opened up, and in front of us appeared a void palace. The entire palace was deep purple, covering hundreds of acres. There were tall buildings in the northeast and vermilion tiles in the southwest, with carved beams and painted rafters, and a wild profusion of plants. However, looking around, in the vast square, there was only one beast.

The beast had long, dark green fur, crimson eyes, the shape of a tiger, a dragon’s beard and tail, and its tail twisted like a snake, exuding a chilling yin energy.

Fu Chen said, “Why is there a Taowu here?”

“Taowu...” Yinze murmured, “This is indeed Zi Xiu’s territory. Only he loves to raise Taowu in the demon world.”

Taowu, along with Taotie, Hun Dun, and Qiong Qi, were the four ancient evil beasts. Placed here, it must be to defend against foreign enemies. Logically speaking, we were not far from it, and it was sitting directly opposite us, but it did not react at all. I remembered the mad woman I met here last time, and she passed right through me. Could it be that the situation was the same this time?

I told them about this, and after thinking for a while, Yinze said, “It seems that everything we see here is an illusion. Let’s go in and take a look.”

Then, we entered the huge palace in front of us. There were no guards or servants in the palace, only palace maids. Like the Taowu, they couldn’t see us at all, wearing dark green dresses, they walked in file in the dark palace, holding golden pearls, jade hairpins, silk and satin. It seemed that a woman lived in this palace.

We followed the direction of their line and finally found a bedroom, but before we went in, we heard a scream from inside, “Ahhh! Give it back to me! Give it back to me! Give me my child back!!”

Immediately, a woman with disheveled hair rushed out, trying to escape the palace, but was surrounded by another powerful flame and forcibly pulled back into the bedroom. Going in, we found another figure inside.

It was a man wearing a black robe and a dragon crown, with a pale complexion and beautiful, deep purple eyes.

He pressed the woman hard on the bed, without any mercy, but his voice was gentle as if he was coaxing a child, “Be good now. Lie here and rest, and I’ll come see you often.”

The woman didn’t appreciate it, as if the man in front of her was a venomous snake or beast, she trembled violently and pushed him away, “Let me go! Let me go! I don’t want to see you!”

Yinze said, “Zi Xiu, it really is him. Then...” His gaze shifted to the woman struggling on the bed.

“This person is Zi Xiu?” My brother was originally curious, but when he saw the woman on the bed, he exclaimed, “...Mother?”

Yinze walked closer and said in astonishment, “Shang Yan.”

This woman was Shang Yan? Wasn’t she dead? How could she be here? Could it be that everything in front of them was just a past illusion? Or perhaps she was never dead at all. But last time, she clearly looked elegant and refined, but now she looked like a mad monster. What happened in between...

I saw my brother pounce forward and shouted, “Demon! Let go of my mother!”

Of course, no spell could work on these illusions, and the sword my brother swung passed straight through Zi Xiu’s chest. Yinze said, “It’s useless.”

Zi Xiu pressed Shang Yan’s wrists, and her black hair flowed down like a stream, falling on her. “Yan Yan, have you had enough? Be good and rest.”

Shang Yan seemed to be possessed, her eyes were still blood-red, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Give it back to me, give me Tian Heng back... I can’t live without him...” The rest of her words were lost in Zi Xiu’s kiss.

Fu Chen knelt beside the bed, unable to save his mother, he could only clench his fists and his eyes were red, “Master, what is going on? Is this my mother’s memory? Didn’t you say she died of illness? Why is she in the hands of the Demon Lord, and why is she being defiled...”

Shang Yan’s tears streamed down her face like a river, soaking the golden pillow. Zi Xiu, who had done such a heartless thing, acted more tender than anyone else. He carefully kissed Shang Yan, wiping away her tears. Seeing this, I noticed Yinze frowning and looking away, unable to bear watching any longer.

I knew that Shang Yan was already dead, and I also knew that Yinze had once loved her, but I only now realized that I was a selfish and despicable person. Even his momentary remembrance of her, his brief distraction, filled me with a sense of bitterness and resentment.

Seeing Yinze silent and Zi Xiu still kissing Shang Yan tenderly, my brother trembled with anger, stood up, and strode towards the door. “I’m going to kill Zi Xiu!”

Yinze said, “You can’t kill him.”

My brother stopped and gripped his sword hilt tightly. “A gentleman can wait ten years for revenge. I’m not his match now, but one day I will defeat him.”

“I’m not saying you can’t kill him, but you shouldn’t. Anyone can kill him, but not you.”

“Why?”

“He is your father.”

Upon hearing this, my brother and I were both shocked. As if unable to bear this fact, my brother swayed and his lips were dry. “Impossible. I’m an immortal, he’s a demon, how can he be my father?”

Yinze said, “You are half-demon and half-god. From birth, your demonic and divine energies have been sealed by Shang Yan.”

It turned out that after sealing my brother’s demonic and divine energies, my brother looked no different from an ordinary immortal. With a newborn child, Zhaohua Ji, all the gods thought she had an affair with a mortal. Therefore, she lived in the immortal realm with my brother incognito, and people thought she was ashamed to be seen and there were rumors that she had committed suicide in shame. But no one knew the real reason was that the child’s father was the Demon Lord Zi Xiu.

Since ancient times, if a child of a god and a demon did not fall into the demonic path and remained in the divine realm, they would be cursed by heaven and would have no chance of survival. Zhaohua Ji did this just to save my brother’s life. However, due to excessive grief, her health deteriorated and she was often bedridden. Anticipating her imminent death, she abandoned my brother to a Taoist family in the mortal realm.

Sixty years ago, Shang Yan came to Su Zhao alone and spent the last years of her life there. When she passed away, Yinze never came near Su Zhao again.

In recent years, as my brother grew older and his power increased, the seal could no longer suppress his demonic energy, which is why I saw him go mad twice. Yinze took him to the divine realm, just wanting to use more power in the upper realm to seal his demonic energy.

Upon learning the truth about my brother’s origins, both he and I were a bit overwhelmed. But what really surprised us was the next thing Zi Xiu said, “Don’t cry. Tian Heng is in the immortal realm now, and he is already an immortal. He will be fine. Don’t worry.”

The three of us looked at each other in astonishment.

Yinze turned back to look at Shang Yan again, his eyes filled with a hint of joy. “I understand now, this place is a parallel illusion of the other world. This other world is actually the entrance to the demon realm, and its true location is where Su Zhao used to be. Chen Zhi, your mother is still alive.”

“In other words... sixty years ago, my mother came to Su Zhao and didn’t die, but was imprisoned by Zi... my father in the demon realm entrance near Su Zhao?”

“Yes. Shang Yan loved Su Zhao very much, and Zi Xiu was unwilling to destroy it, but he was also afraid that others would come in and discover her, so he asked Kai Xuanjun to guard Su Zhao. However, when Kai Xuanjun arrived in Su Zhao, he wanted to take over Su Zhao for himself, so he told Huang Dao Xianjun and Ru Yue翁 that there were water demons living here, who were controlled by the demon world, and he showed them the evidence of the demon realm entrance. Therefore, there was the disaster that happened to Wei’er when she was young.”

I said indignantly, “Kai Xuanjun is so despicable!”

Yinze said, “Later, when Huang Dao Xianjun saw your father Wei using the Water Transformation Technique, he realized that Su Zhao was built by me, so he said that even if he couldn’t find the entrance to the demon realm, as long as he captured a member of the Su Zhao clan, he could go back and prove to the Heavenly Emperor that I was secretly cultivating my own forces, and one day he would find Su Zhao.”

Thinking about it, I remembered that before Su Zhao was moved, I did hear Huang Dao Xianjun say, “I’ve discovered something interesting,” and it turned out he was referring to this.

I worried, “But they weren’t targeting the demon realm, why did they involve you?”

“Ru Yue翁 confessed to me earlier, he and Huang Dao Xianjun were under the orders of another god in the Water Domain. He is also a water god, and he has always looked down on me, always wanting to overthrow me.”

I worried, “Then are you in danger?”

“It’s fine. He has disliked me for thousands of years. But Chen Zhi, since your mother is still alive, we must go and rescue her.”

“Yes, we must save her!” my brother urged. “Master, you must help me.”

“Alright.”

They strode towards the door, and I quickly followed. However, I heard Shang Yan let out a soft sob. The three of us stopped and turned back. The redness in Shang Yan’s eyes had faded.

Having regained her composure, she was full of tears, and she didn’t want to look at Zi Xiu. She said weakly, “Zi Xiu, how long do you intend to torture me like this?”

“You are my wife, and you are unwilling to live with me, unwilling to be husband and wife, and raise children together. You even say that being with me every day is torture. Yan Yan, you are so heartless, you have hurt me so much.”

“Enough, we have already broken up.” Shang Yan had calmed down a lot, but her tone was desperate and lifeless. “Now I only regret that I let down Yinze. If I had another chance, I would choose him.”

“I can’t believe it. I just built a moon-viewing city for you, and you missed me so much. If you like, I’ll build ten more moon-viewing cities for you.”

Shang Yan sneered, “We have been together day and night, and our feelings are the truest. How can you, a heartless demon, understand?”

Zi Xiu paused for a moment, his purple irises narrowed slightly, but then he smiled slightly. “It doesn’t matter. It’s too late to regret now. I am your enemy and Yinze’s. Things that I have used, no matter how beautiful, he will not be interested in.”

Seeing that Shang Yan remained indifferent, he pinched her chin, smiling, but it was a dangerous smile. “Shang Yan, I’ve never been so patient with any woman. You’d better not be so stubborn. If I hear the name of another man from your mouth again...”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but merely squinted his eyes and shook her chin before turning and leaving.

After being with Yinze, I felt fear for the first time. Just because of Shang Yan’s words, “If I had another chance, I would definitely choose him.” Without any clear evidence, I didn’t know what their past was like, and Yinze didn’t leave a single word of comment. He just patted my brother on the shoulder and urged him to leave and save Shang Yan.

Actually, I really understand wanting to save my brother’s mother. But why did it have to be like this...

From beginning to end, Yinze hadn’t looked at me once. It was as if he had forgotten that there was someone else here. They just walked out like that.

I stood there woodenly, about to leave, but then I saw Shang Yan sitting up from the bed and grooming herself in front of the mirror.

The candlelight flickered, and the shadows were hazy. Shang Yan remained expressionless, cold as ice, but more charming than an ordinary girl smiling amidst ten miles of peach blossoms. The only other time I had seen Shang Yan was in an illusion. I only remembered that she had a breathtaking beauty, but I had forgotten what she looked like.

Finally, I understood the deep meaning of Qingwu Divine Maiden’s words when she first saw me. From the moment I met Qingwu Divine Maiden, she had praised my beauty and treated me very kindly. At that time, I was puzzled. There should be no shortage of beautiful people in the divine realm, so why did she single me out? Thinking about it carefully, she was a smart person, and she was just trying to please Yinze.

The beauty in the mirror, her hair adorned with a simple hairpin. The distance between me and Shang Yan was still as vast as heaven and earth.

If we had to say that we had something in common, perhaps it was the six or seven points of similarity in our facial features. If there was anything else connecting me to Shang Yan, it was that Yinze had mentioned that Shang Yan had died sixty years ago, and I was also exactly sixty years old.

I had always thought that Yinze Divine Lord was heartless, but I didn’t know that he was far more sentimental than I was.

I had only lived for sixty years, but his deep affection lasted far longer than sixty years.

He didn’t even need to say a word. In recent days, every time he looked at me with affection, every night when we were entwined in each other’s arms, and that confession in the rain that burned my breath, the charming smile under the peach blossoms that day, all told me how deep his feelings were.

Compared to that, my love and hate of the past ten years were simply insignificant.