The islands in the sea were all small, scattered archipelagos with lush vegetation and a profusion of vibrant flowers that made each island unique in color, like a palette of spilled paint embedded in the azure waters.
Yu Yi peered through the window, gazing at the islands below, and after a moment of concentration, she wondered aloud, "Are these just ordinary islands?"
She had expected Xue Chenjing's lair, even if not a blessed land, to at least be a hidden spiritual place with a seal. To her surprise, it turned out to be just a group of ordinary islands.
Xue Chenjing shook his head. "The outer islands are ordinary, but there are a few Spirit Islands in the center. Sacred lands attract the attention of the immortal sects, so I sealed the Spirit Eyes on those islands within the land. Only mundane, lifeless places would be overlooked by them."
He added, fearing Yu Yi might find them too plain, "There are over a hundred islands here, large and small, with many fruit trees. You can find whatever you want to eat, and there are many beautiful seabirds. Flowers bloom year-round, so it's not entirely ordinary."
Xue Chenjing had marked each island, using the outer islands as anchor points and connecting them underwater with Spirit Lines, setting up dozens of overlapping Magic Arrays, forming a barrier that enclosed the central Spirit Islands, hiding them deep within the scattered archipelago.
This cluster of islands was in the far seas, where ordinary fishermen could not reach, and immortal sects would not be interested in a lifeless place. Even if someone occasionally stumbled upon it, they would find it difficult to survive under the unpredictable Magic Arrays.
It was like a hidden pearl in the vast sea, discovered by Xue Chenjing.
These arrangements were not made by his current self but by his previous incarnations, who had gradually set them up. Thanks to his past selves, his current life after leaving the Xue family was not as arduous as it could have been.
This habit continued, like Xue Chenjing, who would bury treasures and spirit stones he obtained during his time hiding in the immortal sects, for his future self.
He had never brought anyone here, not even Xue Mingyuan.
The nine-headed bird lowered its wings, carrying the chariot as it dove into the center of the archipelago, a blue expanse of water. After crossing the barrier, the three invisible Spirit Islands gradually emerged from the sea.
The three Spirit Islands stood in a triangular formation, each with different terrain. One was full of giant rocks, steep as peaks, with a waterfall like a galaxy hanging in the center. Another had only one spiritual tree, making it look like the island itself was the tree.
Xue Chenjing led her out of the carriage, standing at the front, pointing to the tree and saying, "Its roots underwater connect these Spirit Islands."
The nine-headed bird drove through the branches of the tree, its wings stirring up a gale that made the tree's canopy rustle loudly, yet the chariot remained steady, gliding into the tree island.
Crane Senior Brother, afraid of the nine-headed bird, didn't dare come out of the door and squeezed through the window instead, flying away from the chariot and joyfully darting into the dense canopy.
Among the intertwined branches, there were some wooden houses, some empty, some filled with miscellaneous items.
The highest wooden house was the largest, with tables, beds, and furniture complete for daily living. Outside the house, there was even a hanging hammock.
"I occasionally come back and rest there," Xue Chenjing said, turning back to look at her with intense eyes, like a peacock displaying its feathers to its mate, showing off the nest he had built.
If he had known there would be a day like this, he should have built these houses more beautifully. At least planted some flowers in front of them.
Damn it, why did this tree only grow leaves and not flowers? It's not pretty at all.
Yu Yi looked around curiously. The tree was enormous, much bigger than the Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree, with most of its body submerged in the sea. From above, only the vast shadow in the water could be seen.
The trunk above the water was dark black, giving a stony texture, but its lush green leaves showed that the tree was thriving.
The houses built among the branches really looked like small bird nests, not very refined, but enough to shelter from wind and rain.
"Did you build all of these yourself?"
Seeing no disdain in her eyes, only wonder, Xue Chenjing's heart settled slightly. He raised his chin proudly, "Yes, I did!"
His previous incarnations, of course, were also him.
The nine-headed bird flew into a spacious platform, the chariot landing smoothly. It folded its cloud-like wings, and its nine heads turned back, lined up obediently, staring at Xue Chenjing with eager eyes.
Standing together with Xue Chenjing, Yu Yi was momentarily unnerved by the nine large bird heads, their sharp beaks right in front of her.
She now understood how Xue Chenjing and his demonic creatures interacted and asked, "Are they asking for your blood?"
Xue Chenjing grunted in annoyance. He had just lost half his blood and hadn't fully recovered. He didn't want to reward his hardworking charioteer. But he had to, not wanting Yu Yi to think he mistreated his mount.
With such large bird heads, and nine of them, how much blood would it take? Yu Yi worried, "Is there nothing else you can feed them?"
Reminded by her, Xue Chenjing tried hard but finally sighed in regret, "I can't cry right now."
He was full of joy, how could he cry?
Yu Yi: "???" So tears would work too?
Xue Chenjing had no choice but to cut his palm, a stream of blood flying into the air above the bird heads. "Divide it yourselves," he said, then took Yu Yi's hand and flew off the chariot, stepping on a hanging vine bridge, heading towards a wooden house on another branch.
The bird heads, previously lined up obediently, were caught off guard by Xue Chenjing's action and scrambled to catch the blood droplets.
The nine heads, originally of the same body, fought fiercely for the blood, pecking each other and screaming in anger.
The gale stirred up by the bird's wings made the hanging vine bridge shake violently. Xue Chenjing slipped and nearly fell. Fortunately, Yu Yi reacted quickly, supporting his waist and pulling him into her embrace, using wind control to leap onto the wooden house's balcony.
Crane Senior Brother, startled by the nine-headed bird's cries, flew back, hiding behind Yu Yi and quietly cawing. He said the nine-headed bird was ruthless, even cursing itself so harshly.
The nine-headed bird fought each other, finally exhausting themselves and collapsing to the ground with a thud. The nine heads chose different directions to face, trying to avoid each other's sight.
The culprit, feeling resentful that they had diverted Yu Yi's attention, said, "Don't look, what's so good about that ugly bird? If you keep looking, Crane Senior Brother will be unhappy."
The red-crowned crane, equally engrossed, looked up, "Caw?" Why would it be unhappy? It's so interesting.
Yu Yi smiled inwardly, finally turning her gaze back to him, looking at his complexion, "Did you lose more blood just now? Are you alright?"
Xue Chenjing smiled brightly, "It's fine, just a bit of blood, nothing serious." He took Yu Yi's hand and led her around the house, where the branches were wide open and bright, with a view of another island.
That island was more normal, with gentle terrain and lush vegetation, seabirds circling around it in flocks. The three Spirit Islands enclosed an inner sea, with a crescent-shaped bay beach on the inner side.
Turning her gaze to the left, she could see the waterfall hanging on another island, the sunset's afterglow spreading across the sea and sky, creating a breathtaking view.
This wooden house had two floors; the lower floor was the usual living space, probably where he practiced. There was a table diagonally placed in the center, with reed mats on the ground, piles of books, scrolls, crumpled discarded talismans, and arrays, looking very messy.
Xue Chenjing led her in, trying to kick the paper balls under the table and into the cabinet gaps to hide them.
He kicked aside a crumpled paper ball, and Crane Senior Brother hopped over to pick it up and play with it. When he kicked another one, Crane Senior Brother immediately dropped the one in its mouth and ran to pick up the new one.
What a dumb bird! Xue Chenjing rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Yu Yi took the paper ball from Crane Senior Brother's mouth and unfolded it to take a look. Unfortunately, the talisman paper had been dampened, and the ink of the Magic Array had blurred, making it impossible to tell what it was.
"Did you draw this?"
Xue Chenjing immediately distanced himself, "The paper's all damp, it wasn't me. It could have been from the previous life before last. He was particularly messy."
"Do you remember every life you've lived?" Yu Yi turned to look at him. She knew Xue Chenjing had been reincarnated many times but wasn't clear about how he had been reborn.
Xue Chenjing lowered his eyes, "I remember them vaguely. When I grow to a certain age, whether I want to or not, the memories come back." Even though he couldn't control his body and could only exist as a demonic entity attached to Xue Mingyuan, his memories still revived along with Xue Mingyuan's.
Yu Yi thought of the Reincarnation Lotus in the depths of the Ghost City, the lotus that formed the fetal essence had grown from his tailbone.
After reincarnation, people could gradually recover the memories of their previous lives, and even their talents were similar to those of their past lives. So, was he also reincarnating life after life like this?
Yu Yi had previously resisted Xue Chenjing's approach, always suppressing her curiosity about him, not wanting to actively understand him. Even if she was forced to receive some fragmented information about him, she didn't want to delve into it and connect those fragmented pieces.
But now, standing in such a messy room, full of his past traces, she suddenly wanted to know about his past, to fill in the gaps between those fragmented pieces of information.
"Can you tell me about it? Starting from that green pond on the battlefield between gods and demons, I want to know what your name was in your previous life, and the one before that, every life."
Xue Chenjing lifted his eyes, feeling a sudden rush of panic in his heart.
He knew very well that his past was not something to be proud of, and revealing it would only make people want to flee. But Yu Yi was different from others. From the very first meeting, she knew his true nature, understood how despicable and shameless he was.
A faint, uncontrollable expectation surfaced in his heart, hoping that even if she knew everything, she would still like him.
Xue Chenjing's heartbeat surged violently, both looking forward to and dreading confessing to her, and he asked in his heart, "System, I want to know her current affection level."
This time, the system took a moment to respond, "Responding to the host, the current affection level of the target is eighty-five percent."
Xue Chenjing's lips curved slightly. The system's answer was like a soothing pill, having reached the affection level of "deep and unwavering," she shouldn't be so easily scared away, right?
"Alright." He took Yu Yi's hand, "But, A Yi, I don't have a name in every life."
