Although he hated to admit it, Xue Chenjing had to face the reality that he was trapped. This time, he couldn't find a way out. He was forced to endure wave after wave of attacks from righteous cultivators, until he was completely exhausted and killed.
The night enveloped the Human Thought Boundary once more. Xue Chenjing took advantage of the darkness to hide in the shadows of a collapsed pavilion, catching a brief moment to catch his breath. Through the broken beams and wooden debris, he could clearly see the intact hall. Within this realm of thought, only that one room remained intact, glowing with soft candlelight that spilled through the windows.
"I'm sorry, Yu Yi, it seems I can't get out," Xue Chenjing murmured, his face expressionless as he stared at the distant light. Tears uncontrollably rolled down his cheeks and fell onto the crimson skull in his arms.
The shattered remnants of the Bone Demon's soul had been completely obliterated, leaving only this damaged skull. The tears that fell on it couldn't bring it back to life. The skull slowly cracked and crumbled in his hands, turning into fragments and then ash.
Xue Chenjing's fingers trembled as he let the ash of the Bone Demon scatter onto his clothes. His heart fire was absent, and all he had to rely on were these demons. They were intertwined, surviving together in this world. As more demons were destroyed, he grew weaker.
The shadows of demons he had nurtured in his heart were dwindling. Yu Yi was the one who could most directly feel the changes in him.
"Where are you? Just give me a general direction. If you can't break out from the inside, I can help you from the outside," Yu Yi urged anxiously.
Before entering the Human Thought Boundary, Xue Chenjing had already been ambushed multiple times. These people had meticulously planned to corner him, forcing him into a desperate situation. Outside this boundary, there must be heavy guards.
Even if he knew where he was, he wouldn't dare to involve Yu Yi. She was just a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could she withstand the hostility of the entire cultivation world?
If he died, there was still a chance to be reborn, but if something happened to her, he would never find her again.
"It's just dying once more. Nothing big," Xue Chenjing heard the approaching footsteps of the cultivators outside. His consciousness touched the person in his heart, gently rubbing against her soul, cupping her face and kissing her.
Yu Yi felt his thoughts and turned her head to avoid his approaching lips, annoyed. "Tell me where you are!"
"I don't know," Xue Chenjing pinched her chin, forcing her face back to him. His thumb brushed over her soft lips, pushing into her mouth. He lowered his head and captured her lips, his tongue as nimble as a snake, slipping into her mouth.
Xue Chenjing kissed her with all his strength, the numbness spreading between their souls. His breath surged like a tidal wave, sweeping over her, marking every inch of her soul with his essence.
Yu Yi's eyes widened, feeling as if she had been swept into the deep sea, surrounded by water that carried Xue Chenjing's aura, forcefully invading her soul.
Their consciousness intertwined, deeper than ever before. He had intended to push her away, yet couldn't bear to let go. Yu Yi could feel his despair and reluctance, mixed with intense desire.
Xue Chenjing opened his heart to her completely, memories like stars flooding into her mind. Yu Yi saw fragments of his past, lifetimes of accumulated memories, like dense snowflakes falling, each containing a frozen moment of his life.
She saw a fragment from the Autumn Moon Festival, where they walked back holding lanterns, the memory brighter under the light of the lanterns.
"Yu Yi," Xue Chenjing whispered her name, the intense emotions flooding into her, making her lose herself with him.
Only then did she realize how dangerous it was to have her consciousness trapped in someone else's heart. This was his world, his domain, and he could do anything he wanted to her.
Their previous interactions had been restrained by Xue Chenjing.
Yu Yi was enveloped and invaded by his presence, her soul trembling, her mind blank, crying uncontrollably, barely able to maintain her thoughts.
In the midst of her disorientation, she heard his intermittent sobs, "Yu Yi, remember me well, don't forget me. I'll come back for you."
Those words drifted into her scattered consciousness, and then she felt a gentle push, beginning to pull away from the deep sea, the aura around her soul peeling off.
"No, don't... Xue Chenjing, I won't remember you, you bastard!"
Xue Chenjing caught her falling tears, holding them in his palm. "It's okay if you don't remember. I'll remember you." At this moment, he was grateful that his memories would awaken in each lifetime.
His consciousness suddenly returned to his body, and Yu Yi trembled violently, unable to hold herself upright. She bit her lip to suppress the moans that threatened to escape, her breathing rapid and uneven in the carriage.
Her senior brother, the Crane, poked his head out from under his wing, tilting it curiously to look at her.
Yu Yi turned her flushed face away, reaching out to pull the curtain, hiding herself in the narrow soft bed. She curled up, her fingers gripping the fur rug beneath her, the knuckles turning white, tears streaming from her trembling lashes, sliding into her hairline.
Xue Chenjing, damn you, Xue Chenjing!
Yu Yi stared blankly at the flickering light of the pearls on the carriage ceiling, her body still trembling from the extreme pleasure he had given her, yet her heart felt hollow and exposed, a new kind of torture.
Inside the Human Thought Boundary, Xue Chenjing was no better, if not worse.
Yu Yi, his Yu Yi, was simply too delicious. Xue Chenjing leaned back against the collapsing wall, gazing up at the dark sky of the boundary, where a few stars twinkled and the moon shone brightly.
A ray of moonlight filtered through the cracks in the broken wood, landing on his wet lashes. His dark pupils absorbed the moonlight yet remained hazy, the excruciatingly intoxicating pleasure on his half-hidden face.
Xue Chenjing clenched his teeth, his chest rising and falling with suppressed breaths, indulging in his own pleasure amidst the increasingly pressing danger.
"Quick! Search this area, force him out!"
The footsteps of the righteous cultivators approached, and soon, lotus petals flew in, hovering in the air. The light from the petals covered the moonlight, illuminating the ruins and piercing into Xue Chenjing's eyes.
He squinted, the lingering pleasure still on his face, his pale skin reflecting a faint red under the light. The last shadows of demons dispersed from him, engaging in another battle with the approaching cultivators.
Xue Chenjing stepped out from his hiding place, not knowing where to go. He gazed at the distant warm light, like a moth drawn to the flame, walking toward the only candle in the darkness.
In his heart, the carefully constructed mountain temple imprisoning Xue Mingyuan was collapsing. The altar, the heavy gate carved with the inscription of the Tai Sui deity, and the narrow passageway were all slowly disappearing.
This meant he was about to lose control of the other person.
However, he would never give up his body, even if it meant death. Xue Mingyuan could use their body for sacrifice, and so could he.
Lady Lotus descended gracefully, landing in front of the hall, blocking his path. The lotus petals hovering in the air surrounded Xue Chenjing.
She stood on a lotus petal, looking down at him condescendingly, as if he were a fish on the chopping block. "It seems you've reached your limit, willingly walking out to die."
Xue Chenjing's gaze shifted from the candlelight in the hall to Lady Lotus. He asked calmly, "If Xue Mingyuan were standing in front of you, would you kill him too?"
Lady Lotus's expression didn't change, her eyes filled with disgust. "I've already given him a chance."
Hearing this, Xue Chenjing laughed, delighted. "Hahaha, that's great. So even he can be abandoned."
He raised his hand, grabbing a tentacle that emerged from the void. The tip of the tentacle was covered in snake scales, shining with a sharp light. He plunged it into his chest, piercing through his heart.
Blood dripped profusely, and Lady Lotus looked in astonishment at the formation that lit up beneath his feet. She leaped down from the petals, flicked her sleeve, and five lotus petals shot toward Xue Chenjing at lightning speed, aiming to suppress his formation.
The lotus petals enveloped Xue Chenjing, trembling as they closed in. Lady Lotus clasped her hands in a seal, pushing the five elements' spiritual energy within the lotus petals to its utmost limit.
Within the Five Elements Array, Xue Chenjing's blood continued to flow, activating a summoning array.
The system, seeing the progress bar on its task tree suddenly start to regress, jolted awake from its state of idleness. It watched helplessly as the favorability meter dropped, grid by grid, from ninety-seven percent.
Ninety-seven percent, ninety-six, ninety-five, ninety-three, ninety...
The system screamed, "Host, what are you doing?!"
Xue Chenjing felt it had been a long time since he'd heard the system's screeching. Hearing it now, he even felt a bit pleased. With all the demons around him gone, having the system as a companion wasn't bad at all.
He spoke unusually gently, "What's wrong? Did you finally wake up from your slumber?"
"Never mind me! Stop now. Didn't I tell you? Your Heart Flame hasn't returned yet. Summoning the Nine-Tailed Fox—you won't be able to control it. Your consciousness will be devoured clean! Are you summoning it with your life?"
The drop in favorability and the regression of the task meant that Xue Chenjing's consciousness was already being devoured by the Nine-Tailed Fox. Not just him, even Xue Mingyuan's consciousness couldn't escape.
The system scrambled frantically across its task tree. What was going on? It had just closed itself off for a little while, and how had things escalated to this point?
Xue Chenjing laughed nonchalantly, "Everyone dying together, isn't that great?"
The system urged, "What about the heroine? Don't you want her anymore?"
Outside the Human Thought Boundary, above the clouds, a magnificently ornate carriage in rapid motion suddenly shuddered. The Nine-Headed Bird let out a mournful cry, its colorful feathers scattering in all directions. Its solid form began to dissipate, retreating into the engravings of the Imperial House Carriage.
Sounds of clattering echoed from all corners of the carriage. With the tremor, it disassembled as swiftly as it had been assembled, scattering into fragmented wooden boards, railings, and axles.
Yu Yi fell from the sky, her eyes wide as she watched the disintegrating carriage in midair, completely forgetting how to form the incantation to stabilize her descent.
The Nine-Headed Bird had vanished. Did that mean Xue Chenjing was truly dead, perished within that Human Thought Boundary?
This shouldn't be happening. Even if you were to die, you should die by my sword.
