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Chapter 49: Not Wearing Any Clothes!

Spring departed and autumn arrived, the seasons of cold and heat taking turns.

One particular spiritual spring belonging to the Chu family had, of late, become a frequent topic of conversation among the Chu family.

Three years ago, the young family head had invited a pair of honored guests here to borrow the spiritual spring for cultivation. The Chu family, wealthy across an entire prefecture, possessed countless spiritual springs—this alone was nothing unusual.

What truly stirred everyone's eager discussion was that the human cultivator had gone into closed-door cultivation for three years, and his demonic dao companion had actually stayed by his side without leaving for even a moment across all three years, never once stepping outside the cave of seclusion—such deep, abiding affection was truly something to be envied.

The family head's wife had given orders that unrelated persons were not to disturb the honored guests. Even so, Chu family disciples would still occasionally make their way there, drawn by reputation—blocked by the barrier surrounding the spiritual spring and unable to enter, they would simply wander around the outer edge instead, calling it 'borrowing a little luck in love'.

Gradually, that spiritual spring had quietly become something of a sacred site for romance among the younger generation of Chu disciples, with pairs of young sweethearts often going there together to linger and admire the scenery nearby.

The siblings Chu Shan and Chu Shui often snuck over there too. Unlike the others, they weren't stopped by the outer barrier and could enter the spiritual spring grounds, gazing from a distance—

Occasionally, they would catch sight of a snow-white demonic beast keeping watch at the mouth of the stone cave, digging away alone at the edge of the mountain, decorating the little den where he and his human were temporarily staying.

Within the clean, orderly stone cave, the Demon Emperor was in an especially good mood today.

He could sense that over these past few months, his human's condition had undergone an earth-shaking transformation, the aura around him climbing steadily higher and higher—it seemed only a few final steps remained before his spiritual roots were completely reforged.

The Self-Slaying Technique—severing the self, reborn through nirvana—was, by its very nature, a long process of rebirth. Three years had passed in the blink of an eye, and his human's progress could already be called astonishingly swift, covering a thousand li in a single day.

Cang Shun happily nuzzled his fur against the still, silently meditating Chen Moqing, then made his way over to the sword furnace.

A long sword of jade-green stained with gold hung suspended above the furnace, straight and upright as green bamboo standing in snow, its edge honed sharp by three uninterrupted years of tempering.

Cang Shun raised a paw, and a drop of heart's blood sank into the long sword, its keen blade rippling with a layer of cold, jade-and-gold light, growing steady and solid.

Forging a sword this astonishing would ordinarily have required far more time than this, but the countless rare treasures of heaven and earth poured into it had more than made up for what time lacked, and the Demon Emperor's three years of heart's blood had granted this sword the radiance of the Dao even before its forging was complete.

Cang Shun crossed back to Chen Moqing's side in two steps, wandering leisurely around him.

Almost done.

Perhaps it was the will of the Dao itself—the day the sword would finish forging fell almost exactly when his human's seclusion would end. It was plain to see: they were a match made by heaven.

Days of arduous cultivation passed, the flow of time unnoticed.

Within the spiritual sea, Chen Moqing's divine sense, covered in wounds, finally could no longer hold on and shattered into ten thousand fragments—then slowly gathered back together, visibly to the naked eye, piece by piece knitting into one.

This process had already repeated itself countless tens of thousands of times, day after day of relentless tempering, blood streaming freely, grinding out a blood-stained road toward the Great Dao.

The long crimson steps lay beneath his feet. Chen Moqing raised his head and, with great weight, took the final step forward.

Severing the self, returning through nirvana!

——The Self-Slaying Technique, ten cycles to perfection!

The spiritual sea surged and boiled, whipping up terrifying waves, the golden sea once more roaring like an ocean, filling every inch of his spiritual core.

After entering Deity Transformation before, his spiritual sea had only shimmered with a thin layer of golden light on its surface—but now, the entire spiritual sea had turned into brilliant gold, like molten liquid gold flowing and churning, and within its swirling tides brimmed an overwhelming aura of the Dao.

From this point on, his cultivation would advance as though aided by the will of heaven itself, sprinting directly along the great road of heaven and earth—a single day covering not just a thousand but tens of millions of li. The four strands of sword qi left behind by Yu Bai had also, through this repeated process of shattering and reforming, already been ground away completely, no longer even requiring the aid of the Withered Wood Spring Revival Decree.

In the very place where the nine spiritual roots had once been severed, a brand-new golden branch broke through the spiritual sea, bathed in golden light, growing steadily upward, like a sharp sword pointed directly at the heavens above.

Chen Moqing settled quietly atop the spiritual sea, gazing downward.

The golden branch shot upward at tremendous speed, soon reaching the height of a man, trembling and rustling as a second branch burst forth—

Then, a third! A fourth!

The branches kept spreading upward, from a single lonely sapling at the start growing into a lush, flourishing tree, until it spread open into a canopy of brilliant golden radiance.

The twelve sword path spiritual roots wove together into a dazzling golden tree, growing atop the spiritual sea, towering so high it blotted out the sun, showering down a rain of golden light.

This was the foremost sword cultivator of the younger generation across the nine thousand prefectures—the Great Dao of sword intent, brilliant enough to illuminate all of heaven and earth!

Chen Moqing smiled softly.

"It's been a long time."

The sword path spiritual roots of years past had all returned fully to his spiritual sea, and his mastery of talismans and formations remained intact as well—from here on, his cultivation path stretched out before him boundless as sky and sea, every road leading to the Great Dao!

The earth trembled, and the desert whipped up a raging, howling wind.

Cang Shun stepped out of the stone cave, bright light burning in his eyes, fixed on one person.

That tall, slender figure stood suspended high in the sky, black hair streaming, crimson robes snapping in the wind, standing utterly unmoved even as sand and dust swept across the heavens—like a jade-green bamboo stalk bathed in blood.

The aura of the Great Dao came surging down from the heavens above, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converging into one place, brilliant golden light breaking through the clouds and pouring down across the vast sky, coalescing into a flawless golden body for the young cultivator ascending ever higher!

He slowly opened his eyes, now glowing with radiant golden light, looking down over these mountains and rivers, this mortal realm below, and raised a slender finger slightly: "Come."

The sound of a sword rang out first, resounding through heaven and earth, a single blade bursting forth through stone, like a meteor's blazing tail streaking across the night sky, burning bright between Chen Moqing's fingers.

He grasped the hilt, and the sword's fiercely radiating light gathered itself in that instant, the jade-green, gold-veined long sword humming faintly, bowing docilely into his palm—the spirit sword had recognized its master in an instant!

Chen Moqing raised the sword and swept it out with a casual motion.

The jade-and-gold sword light split open the vast expanse of yellow sand, a single stroke sweeping across a hundred li of land, tearing apart even the air itself wherever it passed, leaving behind a scorching jade-gold sword scar, like an ever-burning flame of jade-green moonlight and gold.

The fierce wind slowly stilled, the desert fell silent, heaven and earth fell speechless, as though in this very moment, the Great Dao of the world itself bore witness to the foremost sword path prodigy of the nine thousand prefectures—today, ascending the path of the sword once more!

"A fine sword," Chen Moqing said, lowering his eyes and smiling at Cang Shun, "What shall we name it?"

Cang Shun gazed deeply into those eyes he hadn't seen in three years, and said softly, "You name it."

Chen Moqing's fingertip traced slowly along the thin, jade-and-gold-tinged blade edge, and said, "How about… Mimi?"

Cang Shun: "?"

Cang Shun: "No way! That's mine!"

He began yowling loudly.

Chen Moqing let out a soft laugh and said, "Ran Cang."

The color of jade-green, and Cang Shun's name.

His second sword was named Ran Cang.

Cang Shun: "……"

He even named the sword after me.

So… does that mean he might agree to be my dao companion too?

The thought surfaced gently, like the first sprig of a vibrant young sapling quietly pushing up through rich, fertile soil.

The next moment, Cang Shun's eyes narrowed slightly.

His heart stirred with that strange sensation again—different from the fleeting stabs of pain before, this time he felt it clearly, a fierce ache radiating from his chest, as though thorns had pierced straight through it, a blade driven into his heart.

Cang Shun said nothing at all. The Demon Emperor who had once pinned down the Demon Abyss with his own body merely furrowed his brow slightly at this searing pain.

But Chen Moqing sensed something was wrong, appearing before him in a single step: "What's the matter?"

The words had barely left his mouth when his face was smothered in fluffy white fur.

——A great ball of fur pressed itself into his arms, the massive demonic beast tackling the young human straight down into the cave, pressing down heavily on top of him, every strand of fur filling his embrace radiating an unmistakable air of "pet me."

Chen Moqing struggled to lift his face up out of the fur, blinking in mild surprise.

How was it that the moment he opened his eyes, the once smooth, well-groomed little white sugar cake had turned into a disheveled, long-furred white sugar cake.

He ran his fingers through the fine, snow-white fur and asked, "How long was I in seclusion?"

The fluffy Demon Emperor lay unmoving on top of him, his voice muffled: "Three years."

Chen Moqing: "……"

So this Demon Emperor had kept watch over him for three whole years.

The disheveled fluff nuzzled and pressed against Chen Moqing from every direction—apparently deciding he was simply too large for this person to be able to reach all of his fur, and so without the slightest hesitation, he transformed into a small snow-white beast instead.

He dropped down onto Chen Moqing's lap, then clung stickily to his arm, mewling loudly.

Chen Moqing raised a hand and scooped up this soft, limp ball of fur, his palm sinking completely into the snow-white fluff, stroking gently, again and again.

Then he heard a low, rumbling purr rising from beneath the snow-white creature's belly.

The corner of Chen Moqing's mouth curved up slightly as he ruffled those round, soft beast ears: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

【It wasn't that long】

the Demon Emperor mumbled quietly.

Three years—merely a thousand-odd days during which this person hadn't spoken to him, hadn't looked at him, hadn't touched him at all.

The snow-white little beast pressed itself against the young human's palm again, curling into a small, tight ball, seemingly wanting to burrow himself completely into his hand.

Chen Moqing gathered up this little ball of fluff, lowering his head on his own accord, pressing his warm cheek against the fine, tousled fur, nuzzling it gently.

Cang Shun: "……"

The snow-white little beast froze completely, not moving an inch.

He lay stunned in Chen Moqing's palm for a good while, as the young man patiently smoothed down every strand of his fur.

And so the disheveled little ball of fluff turned back into a beautifully sleek, smooth ball of fur, still dazed, as Chen Moqing gave him a few light pokes.

The snow-white little beast finally seemed to come back to himself, shaking out his fur, quickly clinging to the young human's hand, burying his little head into his palm and nuzzling back and forth.

It rubbed off a whole pile of fur.

Chen Moqing lowered his eyes, looking at the fur that had somehow accumulated all over him, and without a word of complaint, gathered every last bit of it up, planning to use it later for crafting talismans.

While he worked at this, the snow-white little beast clinging to the hem of his robe stared up with wide, round eyes, watching without blinking as he swept up every last stray strand of his fur.

He stood up, tail held high, chest puffed out proudly, and pranced around him in circles several times, paws raised.

Then he burrowed his head back into his arms, rolling around, letting out small mewling sounds.

"Come," Chen Moqing said, standing up. "Let's go celebrate your birthday."

The Demon Emperor's paw froze mid-motion.

【What?】

"Isn't your birthday next month?" Chen Moqing said with a smile, taking hold of that furry paw and giving it a little shake. "You've missed a few before this. I'll make it up to you today."

Cang Shun: "……"

I'd even forgotten myself.

He, he still remembered.

…So when would they hold the dao companion ceremony, declaring it before the whole world?

——The thought flashed through his mind in an instant, and Cang Shun's chest suddenly seized with sharp pain again, as though thorns had driven all the way into his heart.

This time, his expression didn't change in the slightest.

The snow-white little beast lowered his head without a word, burying it straight into the young human's chest.

Sniffing here, sniffing there, soft and pliant, like a little rice ball that had lost its filling.

Chen Moqing lowered his eyes. For some reason, he had a faint sense that this Demon Emperor was hiding something from him.

Had something happened during these past three years?

Chen Moqing lifted the snow-white little beast up, studying him silently for a moment without a word.

Suspended in midair, the little ball of fluff stayed perfectly still, looking thoroughly well-behaved, blinking at him.

Chen Moqing found nothing amiss, and after a quiet moment, gently lowered his hand, letting the little ball of fluff settle down onto his lap.

He casually undid his sash as he spoke.

Cang Shun: "?"

The snow-white little beast leapt straight off the young human's lap, fur puffing up slightly, eyes going wide.

"I'm changing my clothes," Chen Moqing said, reaching out to scratch the little snow-white beast under the chin. "What's wrong?"

Cang Shun said nothing, seemingly lost in thought about something, and sat down silently right where he was.

By the time Chen Moqing had undone his outer robe, left wearing only his inner garment, and casually set the outer robe aside, he noticed the little ball of fluff beside him had quietly scampered off.

He'd burrowed straight into the discarded outer robe, curling up into a small ball inside it, only a slender tail peeking out.

Chen Moqing let out a soft laugh, reaching out to poke that tail.

The slender tail whipped back inside in an instant, and beneath the outer robe, the little rounded lump scrambled hastily further inward.

After a moment, the young human's light, even voice rang out in the cave: "All done."

The outer robe stirred slightly, the little rounded lump shifting toward the edge of the fabric, and a fuzzy little head poked its way out from inside.

Utterly unguarded, he found himself looking straight at the young human, still dressed in nothing but his inner garment, black hair loose and falling free.

"!"

The little ball of fluff shot straight back inside.

The lump beneath the outer robe scrambled about in place, back and forth, back and forth.

Mewling loudly.

Chen Moqing tried to hold it in, and failed.

He laughed softly.

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