Xue Mingyuan and Xue Chenjing were born from chaos, their flesh and form shaped from chaos energy. They could communicate with all chaos energy in the world - in essence, they were chaos itself, and chaos was them.
The world's only Chaos Pool, which gave birth to them, existed only in that final battleground of gods and demons, the place where deities and demons met their end - the Return to Void.
However, the Return to Void was the boundary between the realms of gods and demons. Now that these realms no longer existed, with Heaven's Gate sealed and the Demon Path cut off, how could anyone possibly reach that place?
Intense lightning continued to wash over their souls, striking them so forcefully that their spirits trembled uncontrollably. For the moment, neither had the strength to continue their battle against each other.
Xue Chenjing's eyes rolled back as soul-piercing lightning coursed through him. Looking down, he could see electric arcs snaking through his spirit body like serpents, carrying terrifying lightning energy from the tips of his hair to his heels, spreading through every inch of his soul.
The ugly electric arcs nearly tore apart his three hun and seven po souls, causing him to weep from the pain.
Still bound by his parents' will, Xue Chenjing couldn't break free. He could only grit his teeth and shout, "Go see what's happening!"
Xue Mingyuan didn't need prompting; he wasn't faring much better than Xue Chenjing, though he was simply better at enduring pain. He closed his eyes and sent his consciousness upstream against the electrical current, attempting to return to their birthplace.
When he saw that familiar face above the rippling Chaos Pool, Xue Mingyuan was stunned.
It was Yu Yi.
Yu Yi sat atop a golden dragon formed of lightning, leaning forward curiously to peer down. The dragon's tail dipped into the Chaos Pool, sending electric arcs cascading down from its tail, causing water to splash up from the pool.
This pool's presence in such a place was strange indeed.
Especially since the pool was surrounded by the ashes and bones left from the great battle between gods and demons. While fierce winds carried bone dust swirling through the sky, this pool at the center of the battlefield remained pristine and clear, without a speck of dust.
It was as if even the fierce winds of the battlefield curved around it.
As Yu Yi gazed at the clear surface, an unbidden image came to her mind. Back at Cloud Mountain, when Xue Chenjing had laid out that demon-summoning array, it had been just as pristinely clear and pure when it took form.
No wonder the pool felt familiar to her.
Could it have something to do with him?
This thought made Yu Yi linger a moment longer.
Xue Mingyuan watched her through the splashing water. He could see her, but she couldn't see him.
He had thought he would never see her again, yet here he was, granted one more glimpse of her through such means.
Xue Mingyuan heard his own heartbeat quicken as his gaze lingered lovingly on her face. How had she found that place?
Others might not know, but Xue Mingyuan knew well that with the immortal realm's collapse and destruction, the path of ascension had long been severed. No one in this world could ascend anymore.
The legend of that powerful cultivator ascending outside Liang Province left no specific records - no names, no exact dates. It was merely a story embellished and distorted through retellings over time.
It had become like a beautiful myth passed down through the ages, inspiring people to seek the path of immortality.
If one had to match it to a cultivator who had undergone tribulation there, Xue Mingyuan remembered that the cultivator had actually failed to ascend. Therefore, any talk of opening Heaven's Gate was pure nonsense.
The only reason Xue Mingyuan hadn't stopped Yu Yi from going there was that the lightning field would indeed help temper her spiritual roots.
But Xue Mingyuan never imagined that such nonsense, after being told and retold for so long, could somehow become reality and truly open Heaven's Gate. It showed the incredible power of human belief.
The moment he saw Yu Yi, his instinct was to hide her presence from his brother. He admitted this instinctive action came purely from his own selfish desires.
Unfortunately, Xue Chenjing still discovered her.
"Yi'er, is that Yi'er!" Xue Chenjing forcefully pulled at the threads of will, breaking several of them.
Though temporarily unable to move freely like Xue Mingyuan to check the Chaos Pool, even as the electric current tortured him nearly to death, he still sensed a familiar presence in that lonely light.
Although the electric arcs now coursing through his soul were hundreds or thousands of times stronger than those that had once struck his projected feet, he still caught traces of that former energy within this mighty lightning.
Though faint, it was undeniably there.
The pain in Xue Chenjing's soul suddenly diminished, replaced by an intoxicating tremor that spread throughout his being. The electric arcs flowing around his body no longer seemed so frightening - they were magnificent and lovely, like golden dragons.
"Master, master, master..." He curled up, trembling uncontrollably, as if trying to embrace the lightning coursing over him, to grab her, to pull her to his side through the electric arcs, to hold her, kiss her, possess her.
Every moment locked in his heart sea, unable to touch her, had been unbearably long torture. Now all that torment transformed into a desperate thirst to hold her again.
Xue Chenjing's will was incredibly powerful in this moment, instantly breaking several threads, catching Xue Mingyuan by surprise. He had no time to stop it as he watched the Chaos Pool waters boil from Xue Chenjing's will, splashing water extending into slender tentacles that spread like fingers reaching for Yu Yi.
At the Return to Void, above the Chaos Pool.
Yu Yi stared in surprise at the suddenly surging water and immediately tried to pull away, but it was too late.
A splash of water hit her ankle, instantly transforming into a supple tentacle that bound her foot. Then an enormous force struck, violently dragging her under the water.
The force was so powerful she had no chance to resist. When Yu Yi was pulled underwater, no water entered her nose or mouth - instead, she found herself in another space entirely.
A figure brushed past her, and Yu Yi's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Xue Mingyuan rushing toward her, reaching out to grab her.
Yu Yi immediately extended her hand toward him, but in the next moment, she heard a faint call reaching her ears, "Master, master, come to me, please come to me!"
Because of this voice, Yu Yi's outstretched hand hesitated and withdrew as she was pulled rapidly downward.
Xue Mingyuan saw with perfect clarity Yu Yi's curling fingers. He could have grabbed her firmly, but because of her withdrawal, his fingertips merely brushed past hers, unable to hold on.
In every past life, when faced with choices between them, Xue Mingyuan had always been the one chosen. This was the first time Yu Yi had chosen his brother instead, and now he understood the pain of being the one not chosen.
Xue Mingyuan truly felt the dense pain and loss in his heart at this moment. Unable to control himself, he desperately chased after her, reaching out forcefully to grab her, crying out, "Yi'er!"
Overlapping shadows suddenly surged up between them, blocking Xue Mingyuan momentarily, like the boundary between two warring states, definitively separating the distance between them.
Yu Yi was pulled into the depths, landing in a place crisscrossed with threads. She turned and met a pair of somewhat fearful eyes.
This was their first meeting since sharing that dream. Xue Chenjing had pulled her consciousness into his heart sea purely by instinct and intense longing, but when she truly appeared before him, uncontrollable fear and anxiety rose from the depths of his heart.
He feared seeing that look of disgust in her eyes again, like in the Sinking Flower Sea.
Fortunately, she showed no such expression.
Yu Yi blinked as she examined him. Xue Chenjing still wore the red clothes from that day, sitting at the center of the intersecting threads, which were entangled around his limbs and neck, binding his soul tightly.
"How did you..." Yu Yi asked, tentatively touching one of the suspended threads. The will within the thread immediately appeared in her mind.
"May my son Mingyuan be free from illness and harm, awaiting his return."
She paused, then reached for another thread.
"May my son Mingyuan find a kindred spirit to accompany him, so his long nights won't be lonely, awaiting his return."
Yu Yi touched every thread around him, seeing the will contained in each one. The parents' thoughts, their care, their intense wishes for return - all were given to another person.
After experiencing that realm of human thoughts, Yu Yi naturally understood what this meant. No wonder Xue Chenjing, who had previously maintained strong control over the body, couldn't emerge—his parents' mental power had created such a cage for him.
Xue Chenjing sat in the cage, looking up at her like an abandoned dog, carefully calling out, "Master."
At this moment, her heart truly softened, unable to refuse him. Yu Yi reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Xue Chenjing's eyes suddenly brightened. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forcefully into his embrace, holding her tight. His arms intertwined behind her back, almost wanting to press her into his soul. He whispered joyfully in her ear, "Yi'er, Yi'er, Yi'er, I've missed you so much."
No longer the pitiful "Master."
Yu Yi was caught off guard by his embrace, especially since this was a direct contact of consciousness, more intimate and immediate than a physical embrace. She could feel the overwhelming longing, desire, and intense want to possess her surging from Xue Chenjing's soul.
The sensation was incredibly intense, like huge waves crashing into her consciousness, making her heart tremble and her whole being shiver.
In her moment of daze, Xue Chenjing buried his head and kissed her lips, just as he had wanted to, eagerly kissing her, letting his essence seep into her soul. It was as if he wanted to brand his mark on her very spirit.
Xue Mingyuan was blocked behind the overlapping demon shadows. The return of the demon to his heart sea meant the control of this body had changed hands. Xue Chenjing clearly had the ability to break free from their parents' mental restraints at that moment.
Yet he still sat pitifully and helplessly among the mental threads, letting them entangle him.
So this was why.
His brother was indeed skilled at playing the pitiful one.
Through the layers of demon shadows, Xue Mingyuan gazed at the two people embracing tightly at the other end. Whether intentionally or lost in the moment, Xue Chenjing hadn't cut off their shared sensations. Through his brother's lips, Xue Mingyuan could taste a hint of sweetness.
But in the next moment, Xue Chenjing suddenly looked up, his eyes cold as he gazed at him. Those eyes, still wet with tears, curved slightly as he showed him a victorious smile.
The shared sensation broke off. Xue Mingyuan was once again pressed by the demon shadows into the mountain temple in his heart sea, becoming blind and deaf, no longer able to sense what would happen outside.
Standing in the deep passage, he raised his hand and lightly touched his lips.
Though his connection with Xue Chenjing had clearly been severed, and he had separated from that body that made his heart race, that bitter emotion still lingered in his heart, stirring up feelings he hadn't even noticed in his own depths, breeding an endless longing in his heart.
He had lost her. It seemed he had lost her again.
Xue Mingyuan slid to the ground, buried his face in his hands, and laughed self-mockingly, not knowing why he would have such an absurd thought—when had he ever possessed her?
