ffsc_59

Chapter 59: Jealousy

The earth trembled violently as the volcano erupted, crimson swallowing the sky whole, molten lava surging downward, drowning countless li of ground beneath it.

The little snow-white beast nestled atop the young man's head, every strand of its fur radiating a moonlit-frost glow, holding up a frost-pale barrier that shielded them from the raging fire.

With the fluffy demon emperor perched atop his head, Chen Moqing leapt down from the smoke-choked mouth of the volcano.

Not far off, Ning Lili had curled herself entirely beneath a cloak that shimmered with cold, icy-blue light, listening to the mysterious turtle A' Bai urging her on: "Hurry and keep up with them! You have to stay inside a treasure, the magma here is more than enough to melt a Nascent Soul cultivator's body!"

Heart pounding with fright, Ning Lili hurried after them. The thick black smoke swallowed her vision in an instant, but thankfully, amid the darkness, she could still make out the faintly glowing frost-white barrier up ahead—it wasn't moving quickly, so she caught up at once, staying close behind.

Unlike the roiling turmoil at the volcano's mouth, the base of the volcano was eerily still and silent, only the dark red, gold-tinged magma flowing quietly, something glinting and shimmering just beneath its calm surface.

Chen Moqing waited a moment where he stood, idly flicking the fluffy tail hanging down by his cheek. Before long, Ning Lili came rushing down, her whole body scorched red, and flung the black-gold mysterious turtle forward with a yelp, "Go!"

The turtle tumbled through the air several times, its little bean-like green eyes widening, shooting Ning Lili a look that seemed thoroughly exasperated, before diving through the scalding magma and clamping its jaws around a cluster of red grass growing between the volcanic rocks.

Fire-Departing Grass, capable of neutralizing any cold or ice-based poison in the world.

The turtle paddled its four legs, swimming back to Ning Lili's side, and spat the cluster of grass into her hand without a word.

"A' Bai, I'm so moved!" Ning Lili said, her voice trembling with excitement. "Should we grab a bit more?"

"It's scorching, let's go," A' Bai said. "Fire-Departing Grass has fierce fire properties, a leaf no bigger than a fingernail is more than enough to save your master."

Ning Lili wiped at her flushed, red face; the heat from the magma was so intense that her tears evaporated the moment they fell.

She turned to gesture something toward the young cultivator beside her, only to see a faint light flash between his brows as a heavy, ancient cauldron slammed down onto the surface of the dark red, gold-flecked sea of magma, sending it churning and roiling.

Within her spiritual sea, the mysterious turtle A' Bai's voice suddenly shot up in pitch: "An eighth-grade treasure?!"

"He actually has an eighth-grade treasure?! And he brought it out right in front of you!"

Ning Lili let out an "Ah," sending back a voice transmission: "Is there some kind of problem?"

The mysterious turtle A' Bai stared at her with its bean-like eyes.

Ning Lili: "...Haha, he's not planning to silence me by killing me, is he? Haha."

The mysterious turtle A' Bai clamped its jaws onto her sleeve, "Better to leave first, just in case!"

Ning Lili shot upward at once, not daring to look back, terrified some falling chunk of magma might smash her to bits, when she heard the turtle in her hands cry out in alarm: "He's using that eighth-grade cauldron to collect the earth's core magma!"

"What a waste! What an absolute waste of a treasure! No matter how good core magma is, it's at most high-grade fifth rank—at best it could kill some second-rate Deity Transformation cultivator, but that's an eighth-grade cauldron he's using, not some broken pot for boiling soup! What a waste!"

The turtle shrieked over and over, thrashing its head and tail, and Ning Lili gave the shell a hard smack. "Hey, mind your own business about other people's things!"

"......"

A crack opened in the tightly sealed lid of the eighth-grade Zhenxu Cauldron, and the dark red, gold-flecked core magma surged upward, rising like countless fire serpents into the air, drawn steadily and endlessly into the ancient cauldron.

Since they'd already come this far, might as well fill the cauldron before leaving.

Chen Moqing calmly lifted the little snow-white beast down from atop his head, gently kneading its soft, fluffy fur as he waited patiently.

The sea of magma churned without end, yet the ancient cauldron showed no sign of filling—before long, the entire expanse of magma sank down by a third, revealing a gem at the heart of the fire sea, radiating a blazing red glow.

Chen Moqing reached out a hand, and the gem, vivid as fresh blood, rose into the air, drifting into his fingers, turning slowly to catch the light in a dazzling sheen.

Condensed Flame Crystal, one of the finest materials for fire-type treasures. A single piece like this, put up at an outside auction, could easily fetch a price of several million spirit stones.

Still, even the finest condensed flame crystal couldn't compare to the crimson, flowing fire in his Mimi's eyes.

Chen Moqing casually set the several-million-spirit-stone gem atop the little snow-white beast's head, the brilliant gem sinking down into a nest of soft fur.

"Here, go play with it."

Cang Shun shook his head quickly, and a glittering gem fell down, which he caught in his paws.

So pretty.

The demon emperor's eyes curved into crescents.

His human had given it to him.

No one else had one. Only he did.

The volcanic eruption on Extreme Flame Island lasted no more than a quarter hour before falling still once again.

Ning Lili, who had stayed high in the air the whole while, slowly descended, stepping onto ground still scorching hot, and saw a tall, slender figure in black robes emerging from the crimson glow, his loosely drifting robes not touched by a speck of ash or magma.

Chen Moqing sat quietly on the ground, silver light flickering now and then across his dark eyes.

The soul fruit of the Immortal Soul Sea had already been ripened by the core magma and swallowed whole. But to fully digest the fruit's power, he still needed the aid of Extreme Flame Island's scorching fire-element energy.

He glanced at the little snow-white beast beside him; without needing to say a word, the demon emperor stepped forward at once, blazing lightning bursting forth to raise a barrier, sealing off the area.

Then the little snow-white beast bounced around him, hopping up onto his knee, lifting its little head high.

【No need to worry】

Chen Moqing smiled, reaching out to rub that soft little head, then closed his eyes, his divine sense sinking into his spiritual sea.

The silver sea poured down from the sky, crashing into his spiritual sea, surging and roaring as if to swallow his divine sense whole.

Chen Moqing neither retreated nor evaded, his divine sense colliding directly with that surging, vast tide of soul power.

Not far off, Ning Lili watched the young cultivator begin cultivating right there, the little jet-black bird chick beside him bouncing around him, fur ruffling wildly.

She thought about it for a moment, then crouched down on the ground too, shaking out a bag of sunflower seeds from her sleeve, cracking them open slowly.

The disturbance on Extreme Flame Island had already been noticed by several talents nearby—the force of the eruption earlier had been so alarming that two Nascent Soul cultivators who'd tried to approach had died on the spot, and the rest didn't dare make a move after that.

By the time the volcano fell silent, those talents finally moved in quickly, and finding only two cultivators on the island—a man and a woman, each with a demonic pet, seemingly nothing special—took them at a glance for easy prey.

"This spot's ours now!" the one at the lead called out loudly. "Get out, or don't blame us for what happens next!"

He exchanged a glance with the companions beside him, already having worked out their plan—the instant those two stepped outside the barrier, they'd strike them down on the spot!

Beneath the barrier, Ning Lili said nothing, watching as the lively little bird chick kept hopping around the young man, bouncing up onto the hem of his robe, turning its little head to glance idly up at the sky.

Bang!

Bodies rained down like falling debris, crashing against the barrier before being instantly teleported out of the secret realm.

"......"

Ning Lili's eyes flew wide open, watching as that round, adorable, palm-sized little bird chick shook out its feathers, lowered its head to peck at the corner of the young man's robe—the very picture of sweet, clingy innocence.

As if nothing at all had just happened.

More talents passed by afterward, intending to make a move against them—only to drop dead the moment they drew close, gone in an instant.

Ning Lili went from shock to numbness, until at last she simply grew used to watching that little bird chick, which kept acting sweet and clingy toward the young man beside it one moment and killing without even lifting a wing the next, and started gesturing pointedly at the mysterious turtle beside her.

"A' Bai, look at that!"

The mysterious turtle A' Bai: "......"

It refused to look, simply closing its bean-like eyes.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a full day had gone by.

Ning Lili let out a long yawn, coming out of her meditative trance. The tall, slender figure not far off still sat as still and upright as bamboo, though the lively little bird chick was nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes darted around, searching all about without finding it, and when her gaze returned to that tall figure, it paused.

At the young cultivator's knee, the hem of his black robe had gathered slightly, and there, nestled beneath the soft fabric, was a round little bird chick, eyes narrowed in comfort, seemingly dozing off.

So it had been clinging to him this whole time.

Ning Lili smiled, suddenly struck by how much this human-and-beast pair resembled that other pair from ten years ago.

"Careful."

The mysterious turtle A' Bai's voice rang out in her spiritual sea.

"About twenty-some people are headed this way. The one leading them is at the peak of Nascent Soul."

——Sure enough, in the distant sky, a dark mass of figures came flying in, stopping above the barrier. The one at the front laughed. "Well, well, a couple more stragglers who slipped through the net."

Ning Lili turned her head, watching as the little bird chick lazily wriggled out from beneath the young man's robe, feathers thoroughly mussed, still nuzzling reluctantly against him before pulling away, radiating an air of irritation at having its good nap disturbed.

Ning Lili immediately decided she didn't want to think about how those people were going to die, closing her eyes out of practiced habit—the next instant, the sharp crack of a whip rang out across the sky.

"Bullying the few with the many, what kind of skill is that." Amid the fading echo of the whip crack, a clear, resonant female voice rose up. "Who here dares face me one on one?"

"...It's Fairy Qiu!"

"Our apologies, Fairy! We'll leave at once!"

The group, so composed and at ease just moments before, fled as if for their lives, leaving only a single figure in the sky—a tall female cultivator in yellow robes, a long whip in hand.

The mysterious turtle A' Bai studied her for a moment, then said unhurriedly, "Qiushui Sect. Their Grand Elder is at the peak of Mahayana, a weapons cultivator."

Ning Lili let out a "Wow." "Who's stronger, her or that Immortal Venerable Yu Bai?"

"Hard to say."

Cang Shun glanced up at the sky, uninterested, and looked away again, settling back down on his human's leg, rolling over slowly once.

A slender hand came to rest atop his head, fingertips brushing gently against a tuft of soft fur.

Cang Shun immediately lifted his head, meeting those smiling, ink-black eyes, and without a word rose to his feet, darting forward in a quick pounce.

Chen Moqing raised an arm, catching the little fluffball as it clung and pounced into his embrace, rubbing against his chest again and again, and said with a smile, "Sorry for the wait."

"Meow!"

【Not long at all】

Cang Shun buried his face against Chen Moqing's chest, breathing in his pleasant scent again and again, thinking to himself—it had barely even been a day.

That hand, carrying its faint fragrance, hooked around his tail, then flicked at his ear, gently stroking down his spine, all at exactly the pressure he liked.

His slender tail swished back and forth quickly. The little snow-white beast lowered his head on the sly and gave a light nip to the pale fingertip before him, carefully catching it between his teeth.

Chen Moqing's fingers paused, then withdrew swiftly, quickly ruffling the fur atop the demon emperor's head into disarray.

The little snow-white beast, its head now a puffed-up mess, sat perfectly still, round beast-eyes wide, gazing up at him with an innocent, well-behaved look.

Chen Moqing said nothing, and reached out again.

The little snow-white beast lowered its head.

Chen Moqing withdrew his hand. "Don't move."

【Oh】

An obedient little sound rang out by his ear. The little snow-white beast sat on his arm, tail still swishing away merrily, head tilted up to look at him.

Chen Moqing slowly reached his finger over, pressing it against Cang Shun's chest. A small silver array flickered briefly before sinking into the demon emperor's heart.

"A refined version of the array," he said. "More stable than before, and it'll last longer this time."

A familiar warmth bloomed once more in his chest, spreading out through every meridian in his body. Cang Shun's eyes narrowed slightly, pressing his jaw between those slender fingers, nuzzling against them slowly, twice.

He liked this.

Maybe red would suit their bonding ceremony well too? Not that it mattered, his human looked good in anything.

Chen Moqing rose to his feet, holding the demon emperor, who stared at him unblinking.

The barrier dispersed. The woman in yellow robes stood in midair, one hand on her hip, watching as the young cultivator approached her, cradling his little bird chick like some cherished treasure.

"My thanks for what happened earlier, fellow Daoist."

"It was nothing." The yellow-robed cultivator waved a hand. "Meeting you here counts as fate too, I suppose. Actually, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

Before Chen Moqing could respond, Cang Shun had already wrapped himself protectively around his hand, eyes lifted warily toward the woman.

The yellow-robed cultivator looked at the two of them, the corner of her mouth curling up. "Back at the entrance to the secret realm, I took quite a liking to that little bird chick of yours. I wonder if you'd be willing—"

Before she could finish, she saw the young cultivator before her smile faintly. "No."

Just the one word.

The yellow-robed cultivator raised an eyebrow. "What if I offered a high-grade treasure, and let you name your price in spirit stones?"

"If you don't leave now," Chen Moqing said, his smile unchanged, "I'll have to act."

Cang Shun immediately turned his head, staring at him without blinking.

Down on the ground, Ning Lili was mildly surprised, thinking to herself that this man had seemed rather even-tempered, how could he suddenly...

Hearing this, the yellow-robed cultivator merely smiled again and said nothing more.

Chen Moqing turned and walked forward, cradling the little snow-white beast. After a few steps, he lowered his head.

Cang Shun was looking right back at him too, gripping his hand tightly, eyes unblinking.

Human and beast held each other's gaze quietly for a moment, and then Cang Shun heard a light, unruffled voice sound within his spiritual sea: "Your Majesty the Demon Emperor really is quite popular."

Cang Shun rubbed against his fingers, thinking to himself, where was there anything like that.

A couple seconds later, he paused faintly, then quickly lifted his head again.

The young cultivator, his gaze calm, stared straight ahead, expression unchanged, no longer looking at him.

Cang Shun sprang up onto his shoulder in a flash, reaching out to touch his face, then lowered his head, gently pressing his forehead against him.

【You...】 The demon emperor's voice was small, muttering the words while stealing a glance at his human's composed brow and eyes. 【Are you... jealous?】

Chen Moqing turned his head, his gaze settling back on him.

"Yes."

Cang Shun: "!"

The little snow-white beast instantly straightened its spine, tucking its two little paws in, sitting up perfectly upright and proper.

So what should he do about that?

The utterly inexperienced demon emperor sat on his human's shoulder, watching him earnestly, thinking it over with great seriousness.

Previous | TOC | Next