Chapter 294 A Love Tribulation That's Hard to Overcome (Seventeen)

Yao Yan thought that this matter would be over and that it would be concluded.

It wasn't until he found the little filthy creature, covered with a handkerchief and sleeping soundly, in the box containing the luminous pearl earrings that he discovered it.

The lively banquet was bustling with people. The young immortals and fairies were dancing on lotus flowers in the celestial pond, while Ziguang played the zither and Changning played the flute. Several of his classmates from the Sixth Heaven were also playing music. The older immortals were clinking glasses and chatting happily, creating a lively scene.

He made the box himself, and to match the occasion, he carved the petals of the Seven Killings Flower on it. The tassels of the two luminous pearl earrings were also decorated with the petals of the Seven Killings Flower, making them bright and eye-catching. The tiny filth, no bigger than a palm, was sleeping soundly with the tassels as a pillow and a luminous pearl in its arms. The soft silk brocade underneath it was covered with its silk-like tentacles.

Perhaps startled by the sudden brightening of the environment, the little filth shuddered and clung tightly to the box, even wrapping around Yao Yan's fingers on the edge of the box.

Yao Yan used all his self-control to prevent himself from throwing the box away.

"Let go," Yao Yan said in a low voice.

The little creature finally came to its senses, but didn't loosen the ghostly markings wrapped around his hand. It whispered, "Little Immortal Lord, where is this?"

Yao Yan said coldly, "Why were you hiding in the box? How did you get in?"

The little creature paused for a moment, then said, "I've learned my lesson this time. To prevent my home from being cut down in the future, I've put one of my tentacles in every flower on the tree. That way, I can sleep in any flower I want, and if one is cut down, I can instantly teleport to another one."

Then he found the most comfortable stamen among all the flowers and fell asleep.

When Yao Yan was refining the Seven Killings Flower, he did not notice the extremely thin tentacle, which led the little filth to think that it was also a flower on the Seven Killings Tree and thus came to sleep inside.

So strictly speaking, this filth didn't know it was a gift he had prepared for his mother; on the contrary, it was he who had once chopped down its home...

"Yaoyan, what are you looking at?" Ziguang came over from the side.

Yao Yan grabbed the box and said, "It's nothing."

Zi Guang gave him a puzzled look: "We're about to present the gifts. What gift are you planning to give to the High God?"

"You'll find out then." Yao Yan stood up, ignoring the ghostly markings binding his fingers, and quietly slipped out of the side door of the Immortal Palace with the box, intending to return to his own Immortal Palace to exchange it for a new gift.

As a result, they bumped into Changning, who was also rushing out.

"Why did you come out?" Changning asked him, rubbing her head.

Yao Yan picked up the box from the ground and said, "I have something to do back at the palace. What are you doing out here?"

"I came out for some fresh air." Changning smiled. "By the way, why didn't Immortal Venerable Hongchen come today? My master is still looking for him."

“Master is preparing to go into seclusion,” Yao Yan said.

"I see." Changning nodded, picked up the flute from the ground, and smiled. "You should go now."

Yao Yan continued forward with the box, then suddenly stopped. Just now, he had smelled a very faint, murky odor on Chang Ning.

"You're hurting me." The little creature struggled to push open the box and poked its head out, looking at him expectantly. "You've wrecked my home again. Can you give me three pieces of immortal spirit this time?"

Yao Yan was somewhat surprised: "Not only did you destroy my luminous pearl, but you also dare to ask for my immortal spirit?"

The little filth looked down at the cool, round ball and mustered its courage to say, "It's not ruined, it's actually quite pretty. You cut my flower first."

This filth wasn't so stupid after all.

"Forget about Immortal Spirit." Yao Yan shook off its sticky ghost patterns and drew water to wash his hands several times. "If it were anyone else, you would have been killed by a sword long ago."

"Why do you want to change to someone else?" the little creature asked, puzzled. "I don't want to change to someone else. I like you."

"..." Yao Yan thought to himself that he had praised it too early. "You can leave now. I won't hold it against you."

He placed the box on the ground, gesturing for it to leave.

The little imp asked, "If you won't give me the fairy spirit, can you give me the box instead?"

"Take it." Yao Yan didn't want to touch the box anymore.

The little creature carried the box on its head. Although it hadn't gotten the fairy spirit, it liked its new little nest very much. Besides, it hadn't fully digested the fairy spirit from last time, so it happily carried the box away, hugging the wall.

But it didn't recognize the palace, and the air was very mixed today, so it couldn't find its way home for a while.

It circled along the wall, nearly getting eaten by a spirit rat. Enraged, it bit off the rat's head. Then, a mud spirit outside the palace wall tried to snatch the small box, so it fought with the mud spirit, chewed it up, and swallowed it whole, its mouth full of mud. Along the way, it ate several spirit beasts that tried to bully it, even chewing up the collars around their necks. It spat out a few tough bones, and as soon as it turned a corner, it smelled the fragrant scent of the little immortal.

If only it could become powerful enough to devour the Little Immortal Lord someday.

It hid the box inside its body, peeked out, and saw that the little immortal was standing behind the wall, with two other immortals talking in the distance. Driven by instinct, it moved closer, but then remembered that the little immortal didn't like to be touched, so it obediently stayed at his feet and stretched out a thin tentacle to wrap around his fiery red sleeve.

Yao Yan was listening intently to Chang Ning and Tiao Xu's conversation and did not notice the subtle movement on his sleeve.

Tiaoxu had his back to him, so his expression was obscured. Changning looked rather grim. He lowered his voice and said, "Master, Yaoyan said that Immortal Venerable Hongchen is preparing for seclusion... We must... Demon Forest..."

"Yaoyan's father is revered and his mother is noble, and his master is currently the number one person in the Immortal Realm. Even the Heavenly Dao favors him... How can you compare to him..." Tiaoxu's voice was cold and stern, "This is our only... Don't forget your father and mother... who perished... They entrusted you to me... the Demon Forest..."

Tiaoxu's magical power was so great that Yaoyan could only hear bits and pieces of information. He kept hearing the words "Demon Forest." Although he wanted to take advantage of Hongchen's seclusion to train in the Demon Forest, he had to make thorough preparations. He just didn't know why Tiaoxu would mention the Demon Forest to Changning.

Changning's father and mother were once the rulers of the Immortal Realm, governing the Sixteenth Heaven. However, they died unexpectedly while quelling the rebellion in the Nine Provinces. At that time, he had not yet been born, and Changning was only a few hundred years old. People in the Immortal Realm rarely mentioned this matter, and they did not know much about it.

Changning is of decent talent, but he is mild-mannered and not good at competing. Yaoyan has been instructed by his parents to take good care of him since he was a child. Now that Changning, Ziguang and Fengji are his friends, he shouldn't be eavesdropping.

But the faint aura of turbidity emanating from Changning really bothered him.

After Tiaoxu finished speaking with Changning, he left. Changning stood there for a long time, clutching her flute, before finally composing herself and entering the celestial palace where the banquet was being held.

Changning probably didn't want to go to the Demon Forest, but Tiaoxu disagreed with him. He didn't know much about Immortal Tiaoxu, only that he and Changning's father, Chenhao, were close friends, and that his own father, Yaoshuo, trusted him completely. They had once risked their lives together to quell the rebellion in the Nine Provinces...

Although Yao Shuo was young, he was very shrewd and arrogant, so he decided to go into the Demon Forest ahead of time to see what Tiao Xu wanted Chang Ning to do.

As he was thinking, his sleeve was suddenly tugged gently.

He looked down and was caught off guard to see that persistent little filth again.

Wei Feng looked up at him: "Little Immortal Lord, were you eavesdropping?"

“No.” Yao Yan looked at it expressionlessly. “Don’t follow me anymore.”

"I'm lost." The filth hung its head dejectedly and tugged at his sleeve. "Little Immortal, could you please help me out?"

"No." Yao Yan rejected it ruthlessly, grabbed his collar and flung it to the ground. He had no time for this filth and turned to leave.

The little creature looked at the red robe he took off, its body suddenly swelled up and hid the robe inside its belly, then hurriedly followed behind him.

The little clump of mud behind him wouldn't leave, and Yao Yan grew impatient: "If you keep following me, I'll kill you."

The little creature hesitated and stopped at the corner of the wall, hiding itself behind a weed, and whispered, "Don't kill me, please... I... I won't follow you anymore."

Yao Yan gave it a cold look, then turned and continued walking forward.

The little creature huddled among the weeds at the base of the wall, smelling the delicious, ethereal scent of the red robe, the soft, warm handkerchief, and the exquisite box. It reached out its tentacles and poked the earrings made of luminous pearls. The tassels formed from the Seven Killing Flowers were also red, vibrant and warm.

The little fairy refused to take it home and even wanted to kill it.

Clutching its acquired possessions, it tearfully lamented that when it grew up, it would devour all the immortal spirits on the little immortal lord, leaving not a single bite.

As it was grieving, a pair of black boots suddenly stopped in front of it.

"Just this once." Yao Yan frowned and looked down at it.

The little creature raised its head in surprise: "Little Immortal Lord!"

"Don't touch me." Yao Yan turned and walked forward.

The filth happily followed behind him, greedily sniffing the fragrant scent on his body, but obediently refrained from touching his clothes.

The little immortal changed into a red outer robe again.

He really loves red, it's the same color as his home.

The celestial clouds flowed erratically, and the palace path paved with jade was long and winding. In the distance, the Golden Snow Waterfall roared. A warm breeze blew by, and the crystal forest jingled softly. The light gently shone on the back of the young man in front, tinting the brilliant red with specks of gold, making it clean and bright.

The little creature looked up at him and decided that from today onwards, it would also start to like red.

The little immortal led the little imp through the long palace path, past the roaring waterfall, through the dazzling glass forest, through the magnificent heavenly gate, and across the suspended bridge, finally stopping at the edge of the swamp at the very edge of the demon forest.

Looking into the distance, the Seven Killing Trees tower into the clouds, blocking out the sun; the River of Forgetfulness rushes eastward relentlessly; the endless swamps exude a pervasive miasma; and the terrifying Demon Forest, like a lurking beast, appears and disappears in the mist.

A gust of wind blew by, and fiery red petals fell from the sky.

"Go back, and don't come to Shangchongtian so casually in the future." Yaoyan looked down at it.

The little filth nodded and said, "Okay."

Then she happily ran home.

When it reached the tree and turned around, all that remained were petals scattered everywhere and specks of golden light; the little fairy had vanished.