Chapter 20
Coffin?
Haowei raised his gaze, his eyes showing surprise.
“The sorcerer said that the Golden Jade Immortal Box was originally used to hold the essence pill of the deceased celestial beings. Later, it somehow ended up in the world of cultivation and was taken by the Xuan Ling Sect. When the first Sect Master of the Xuan Ling Sect passed away, he told his disciples that the Golden Jade Immortal Box contained the Vermilion Jade Pearl, which could protect and nurture the disciples’ cultivation, ensuring the eternal glory of the Xuan Ling Sect.”
“Vermilion Jade Pearl…” Haowei pronounced each word slowly. The Vermilion Jade Pearl was just an ordinary pearl that could gather the essence of heaven and earth, assimilating the essence of the sun and moon. If Jiuying wanted to advance their cultivation using the Vermilion Jade Pearl, it would be faster to figure out how to unseal its remaining eight heads.
“Wu Dao, please look up ancient texts again to see if there are any records of Jiuying and Bian Rang.”
Haowei had a feeling that the relationship between Jiuying and Bian Rang might not be as simple as the scant mentions in the ancient books.
Although Jiuying were one of the three ancient demon races, for the Son of Heaven, Bian Rang, their cultivation level was nothing more than a drop in the ocean. So, how did Jiuying manage to kill Bian Rang?
It might have been a swift, fatal sword strike, causing his soul to scatter.
“Understood.” Yu Wudao bowed to accept the order and then glanced past Haowei as if trying to assess the person in the hot spring.
Haowei, noticing this, instinctively blocked Yu Wudao’s line of sight.
Yu Wudao looked puzzled, and Haowei, with a stern expression, explained, “Don’t look. He has a piercing gaze.”
“…” Yu Wudao.
“Wu Dao, have you discovered his true form?” Haowei changed the subject.
“I’m still investigating. After I took a drop of his blood last time, I sensed the aura of a phoenix in his bloodline, so I suspect he might be an ancestor of the phoenix.”
“An ancestor of the phoenix…” Haowei mused slowly, lost in thought. Then he added, “Continue your investigation, and also, ahem… look into his history of having three wives.”
As he mentioned this, Haowei’s eyes flickered slightly, but luckily, Yu Wudao was still looking down, not noticing the anomaly.
“Of course.” Yu Wudao accepted the order and hesitated for a moment before asking, “Your Majesty, aren’t you going to help the Demon Lord break the formation? With your current cultivation, breaking the Extreme Sound Eight Trigrams Formation is child’s play.”
Haowei heard this and narrowed his long eyes, saying coldly, “He doesn’t need it.”
Previously, when he had transformed into a small white dragon, hiding in Si Lan’s arms, he had noticed that when Si Lan was under control and facing Jiuyings’ intimidation and Quze’s betrayal, his heartbeat remained normal. It wasn’t as rapid as it had been last night during the nightmares.
He was curious, wondering how long this calm Demon Lord could maintain his composure and what skills he had for a counterattack in dire situations.
Yu Wudao couldn’t help but feel that Haowei had become somewhat childish. In the past, even when Haowei’s physical form had turned small, his demeanor had remained mature. Yet now, in just a few days, it seemed like all the childishness within Haowei had surfaced.
It was the same face, but he appeared to be a different person.
What had this Demon Lord done?
Yu Wudao was curious but kept a calm expression, acknowledged the order, and then disappeared within the Six-Pointed Star Formation.
Haowei turned around, and through the thin soundproof barrier, he looked at the peacefully sleeping Si Lan.
A few strands of black hair clung to Si Lan’s cheeks, and water droplets slowly trickled down, caressing his fair skin. His long, dense eyelashes glistened in the mist.
His breathing was shallow, and the water’s surface moved gently. The mist enveloped him like a dream, making him appear like an exquisite sculpture of a deity.
Haowei’s gaze lowered slowly to Si Lan’s neck, and he saw the bite marks he had left there the last time.
The central area of the bite mark had scabbed and formed a scar, while the surrounding skin held faint traces of purplish bloodstains, creating an exclusive seal.
Haowei’s throat moved, and, as though guided by some unseen force, he leaned closer to Si Lan. The temperature of the hot spring had softened the surrounding air, enhancing the richness of Si Lan’s scent.
He breathed in Si Lan’s fragrance deeply. Strangely, he had never found anything about Si Lan’s scent off-putting.
His nostrils were filled with the scent of Si Lan, and strangely, he felt an inexplicable closeness to it. He was drawn to it.
Haowei’s lips lightly pressed against Si Lan’s neck, his gaze unwavering, focusing on Si Lan’s profile. When his teeth made contact with the delicate skin, he could even feel the flow of Si Lan’s blood.
He gently bit down, and at that moment, a blinding light suddenly emanated from where his teeth met Si Lan’s skin, adhering his teeth firmly to Si Lan’s neck!
He instinctively tried to pull away but found that instead of separating, his teeth were stuck due to the slippery edge of the pool. In his struggle, he tumbled into the warm spring.
At this moment, a pair of hands supported his body, lifting him out of the water.
Startled, he raised his eyes and, from below, saw Si Lan open his long eyelashes. In the mist, his deep black eyes were clear and captivating. His small, shapely nose and translucent skin made him look like an exquisitely beautiful deity.
Haowei glanced at Si Lan’s neck, and he saw that the bite marks from the previous time were still visible.
The bite mark had scabbed and scarred in the middle, while the edges had a faint purplish tint, with traces of dried blood.
Haowei’s heart suddenly raced, and his expression remained fierce.
Si Lan, seeing this, softened his tone and asked gently, “Why did you drink my blood?”
Haowei paid no attention to Si Lan and reached to place his hand on Si Lan’s chest, intending to break the enchantment forcefully.
However, Si Lan’s gentle voice, combined with his touch, began to work on Haowei’s irritation. He hesitated, then swallowed hard, muffled by his teeth. He spoke unclearly, sounding somewhat cute in his frustration.
Si Lan watched this and softened even further. He lowered his voice and asked, “Are you a mosquito spirit?”
Haowei didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his head away, his voice cold, “Put on your clothes quickly.”
Si Lan looked down and said, “Oh, we’re both boys. Why are you shy?”
“…” Little White Dragon.
A thousand-year-old boy?
A boy who kissed his forehead the first time they met and said he wanted to make a pact with him?
Si Lan, while getting dressed, asked, “Little White Dragon, what’s your name?”
Haowei hesitated and revealed the fake name he had used during his mortal trials, “Chóng Yǐng.”
Si Lan nodded and said, “Chóng Yǐng, a few days ago, I heard someone cursing me in my consciousness. Was that you?”
Haowei replied calmly, “No.”
Si Lan didn’t press further. He always felt a sense of guilt towards the little White Dragon. After all, he had nearly drowned him in wine back then.
Fortunately, he didn’t open the bottle, or his crime would have been much more significant.
“If I had known you could transform into a human form, I wouldn’t have taken you with me. Now you’re stuck with me in this place,” Si Lan remarked while continuing to dress.
Haowei heard this and his expression softened, “I could have escaped on my own, but you held me in your arms.”
Si Lan paused in his actions, realizing that when Haowei had been afraid, he had held the little White Dragon even closer.
“Cough, don’t worry; we can survive for three days… Oh, wait, two days. A day has already passed, and time is passing quickly.”
Haowei’s expression remained neutral.
Once Si Lan finished dressing, he patted Haowei’s head. He was about to comfort him but noticed that Haowei’s two dragon horns had disappeared. So, he knelt down and remarked, “It’s interesting; your two horns can retract and extend freely. When do your dragon horns come out?”
For some reason, the red blush that had faded from Haowei’s ears earlier began to creep back, and he replied coldly, “When I’m angry.”
Si Lan raised an eyebrow, finding this quite fascinating. Were they like the furry creatures of the Long Hair Clan who puffed up when angry? Did the scaled ones raise their ears when they were upset? Perhaps, in the future, he could determine if Haowei was angry based on his horns.
Si Lan thought this was amusing and couldn’t help but gaze at Haowei with a hint of curiosity.
Haowei noticed Si Lan’s gaze, and his eyebrows furrowed.
Si Lan didn’t think much about it, opened a storage pouch, and found only a wild fruit inside. He handed it to Haowei and said, “Let’s fill our stomachs for now.”
Haowei didn’t take the fruit and cautiously inquired, “Now that you’ve lost your cultivation, what’s your plan?”
Si Lan nonchalantly replied, “I’ll study the Eight Trigrams Array first.”
The Extremely Sound Eight Trigrams Array had eight directions and a central point, each sealing one of Jiuyings’ nine heads. The seal in the central position had somehow loosened, allowing one of Jiuyings’ heads to awaken.
This head was conveniently buried in a location where Lou Yu was in seclusion, so it had set its sights on him.
Jiuyings had used various tactics, beginning with dream manipulation to make Lou Yu attempt suicide, then using Lou Yu’s flesh to cultivate the Teng-Ying flower and reforge his spine with Yun Lan. Finally, they involved Quze to deceive Si Lan into breaking his own cultivation.
The planning was intricate and step-by-step.
Inside the Extremely Sound Eight Trigrams Array, there were over ten thousand illusory scenarios. Accidentally triggering a mechanism could lead to random teleportation to another illusion.
Originally, Jiuying had set up this formation to permanently imprison themselves, but they hadn’t expected it to be used against them after many years.
Si Lan used a small stone to draw a Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams pattern on the ground. When he aligned the black dot in the pattern with the Hexagram of Li, the illusion in front of them suddenly changed, and they found themselves in a large hall.
The spacious hall had nothing but a half-carved dragon on the ceiling. It appeared unfinished, and Jiuying might have sculpted it themselves.
“What was Jiuying trying to restore before?”
While Si Lan was thinking, he heard Hao Wei say, “This is the Jiyang Hall in the Nine Heavens Yuqing Palace. It was where Bian Rang once lived.”
Si Lan smacked his lips and said to himself, “Wasn’t Bian Rang killed by Jiuying himself? What is Jiuying’s intention in restoring Bian Rang’s former residence now?”
Hao Wei shook his head.
There was not much information in this hall. Si Lan turned the Eight Trigrams formation to the next place. What he then saw, was a thatched house.
This thatched house was very simple. There was only a table and two chairs in the main room, and there was nothing in the inner room except a bed.
Si Lan walked to the middle of the main room curiously and saw the words carved crookedly on the table. After careful identification, he found that they were three words: Chong, Ying, and Qi.
Si Lan asked Hao Wei, “Isn’t this your name? How come it is here?”
Hao Wei stepped forward and looked at the crooked words, and was startled.
Chongying… Could this be the place where he had been when he experienced tribulations in the human world? Could it be that this Eight Trigrams Formation can also weave the illusion of the people who enter the formation and live in the past?
Si Lan went to the bedroom to check the situation, and couldn’t help but exclaimed, “Chongying, is this you?”
Hao Wei walked over and saw Si Lan holding a puppet in his hand. The puppet was carved very finely, so fine that the eyelashes could be seen clearly.
Si Lan leaned down and aligned the puppet with Hao Wei’s face, looking back and forth, “The more I look at it, the more it looks like you.”
Hao Wei looked at the puppet and said nothing.
It’s not like him, but that’s what he looks like when he grows up.
“There’s another puppet on the bed.” Si Lan picked up the puppet on the bed in surprise, “The face of this puppet…”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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