Chapter 46 This time, my junior brother is truly dead; the previous deaths were just a delaying tactic…
Fu Ming initially took Xiao Huaiyuan's words as a joke. This kid had previously said he would lock him up on the sect leader's peak to prevent him from going out to die, but in the end, he couldn't stop him even once.
But he had to admit that things had really changed in the last few days; as his junior brother grew older, his skills had also improved significantly.
"Senior brother is clearly still conscious, why doesn't he answer me?"
Xiao Huaiyuan knew he had difficulty speaking, so he directly transmitted a message to him through divine sense.
Fu Ming was puzzled. He was already in such a state of utter devastation, with not a single piece of flesh on his body intact. How did Xiao Huaiyuan know that he was still conscious? Could it be that he had installed a surveillance device on him?
Hiss, wait a minute, if Xiao Huaiyuan had already discovered his identity, wouldn't he have had plenty of time to cast all sorts of forbidden spells on him?
Some tracking techniques are directly connected to the soul, requiring only the birth date and time and the person's essence blood. Xiao Huaiyuan definitely knows the birth date and time, and the essence blood is easy to obtain, since he has fainted in front of Xiao Huaiyuan countless times!
Seeing that feigning death wouldn't work, Fu Ming forced himself to remain calm and asked, "How did you know...?"
"Senior brother, do you want to ask me how I recognized your identity, or how I found you? Let's talk about it when we get back."
Xiao Huaiyuan held Fu Ming's limp "corpse" in his arms. With each step, Fu Ming's forehead and nose rubbed uncontrollably against his shoulder, causing bright red bloodstains to bloom on his pure white collar.
The familiar, pure metal-elemental spiritual energy enveloped Fu Ming's entire body, but he didn't feel as at ease as usual. In modern parlance, this kind of embrace would be called a princess carry; in male-oriented fiction, this is usually a privilege reserved for the female lead.
But isn't he the male lead? Where exactly is the problem?
This reveals Fu Ming's lack of knowledge. Before his transmigration, he spent many years on X.cn, but he was unaware that on the other side of the vast online world, there was an evil software called Green River, which offered a much richer and more colorful definition of the male protagonist.
In Fu Ming's blood-smeared, blurry, and narrow vision, he could only see Xiao Huaiyuan's bobbing Adam's apple and his faint smile.
Seeing his miserable appearance, Xiao Huaiyuan was actually excited. Who knows what this homosexual Xiao Huaiyuan would do to him when he got back?
“Sigh, junior brother, you came so quickly, but it’s no use. I don’t really want to go back. Even if you forcibly take me back, I can still leave with my hands and feet.”
Fu Ming patiently and earnestly persuaded Xiao Huaiyuan to turn back from his wrong path.
"Forced love is never sweet. In truth, if you, junior brother, are fond of men, there are countless handsome young men among both righteous and demonic cultivators. I suspect there are quite a few like-minded among them. With your appearance and talent, junior brother, there must be people eagerly coming to your door..."
You can have your eye on anyone, but don't get your eye on his ass!
"So, what you said about loving me so deeply was just to coax me, Senior Brother?" Xiao Huaiyuan spoke very softly, his tone quite amusing.
Fu Ming felt two knuckles covered with calluses stirring in his mouth, and then he tasted the bitter taste of medicinal herbs under his tongue, followed by a warm current flowing through his entire body.
Is this how you should administer medicine?
But he had no strength to resist at the moment. He could only reflexively push away with his tongue, but it was ineffective. Instead, he was captured by Xiao Huaiyuan and forcibly suppressed.
Xiao Huaiyuan kept walking and kneading for a long time until someone behind him suddenly asked a question, breaking the silence of the deep forest valley.
"Xiao Huaiyuan, is your disciple still alive?" The rough and tired voice, with a slight northern accent, was undoubtedly that of Xu Yan, the peak master of Wanjian Peak.
"He can live." Xiao Huaiyuan spoke sparingly, his jaw taut into a sharp line.
The people of Tianyan Sect assumed he was heartbroken, but no one could have imagined that he was busy venting some filthy words in Fuming's divine consciousness.
"Senior brother, do you know how sensitive you are?"
"I clearly like it, but I always run away from it."
"Is it that you truly cannot accept men, or is it that you are simply unwilling to admit it?"
That's enough.
That's enough.
Fu Ming didn't want to hear it at all.
He could no longer contain himself and said, "No matter what, you can't do such a disgusting thing in front of everyone."
It's one thing to force-feed medicine by grabbing his tongue, but don't think he doesn't know that Xiao Huaiyuan just pinched his buttocks, and more than once.
"If you can't even stand this, how will you hold the covenant ceremony in the sect in the future? Will you have to wear a red veil to cover your face?" Xiao Huaiyuan actually knew how to joke, although the joke didn't amuse anyone and wasn't very pleasant to hear.
He covets her body, and isn't he about to get it? What is there to worry about?
An untimely surge of sympathy welled up in Fu Ming's heart again. Although he was angry, he still couldn't bear to see his own child sad. Now that he couldn't hit him or scold him, he was too lazy to waste his breath on him.
That loneliness vanished in an instant, and Xiao Huaiyuan, taking advantage of the situation, recounted in detail what happened at the Ghost Market that day, saying how passionately he took the initiative to kiss him, how beautiful he looked in his scarlet gauze dress, and how his emotional state could make all the beauties in the world pale in comparison.
Who taught him all this? Luckily, Fu Ming's clone was still unconscious, otherwise his face would probably be as red as a shrimp cooked in boiling water.
In the end, it was a pigeon that saved Fu Ming from his predicament.
Under the blue sky, a carrier pigeon flapped its wings and landed swiftly on the shoulder of Li Xiang, who looked the most honest and reliable. A bamboo tube was tied to its leg. Li Xiang, focused on logistics, removed the bamboo tube and, sure enough, found a note inside for sending messages.
"Senior Brother Xiao, news has come from the Sunflower Palace and the Myriad Dharma Sect that there is unrest within the secret realm, and some rogue cultivators are hunting down disciples from various sects who are participating in the competition."
"It seems they are still targeting individuals based on the Heavenly Ranking. Five of the top ten have already been harassed."
It's worth mentioning here that many independent cultivators don't work alone, but rather have their own circles or associations. These can be organized by region (like hometown associations) or by cultivation style (like sword cultivators, magic cultivators, or medicine cultivators), and it's not unusual for them to travel in groups.
Independent cultivators have limited cultivation resources and are not bound by sects, so they naturally have to find ways to make money. Back then, Fu Ming, who possessed a rare treasure, was hunted down for many days. He was initially discovered and ambushed by several independent cultivators who were following him.
Even when dealing with serious matters, Xiao Huaiyuan remained serious and reliable. He asked, "The Rihua Palace and Wanfamen sects should have also sent people in, with Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators protecting them. Why would they come to ask for help from insignificant rogue cultivators?"
Li Xiang flipped the note over to the back. It seemed the writer hadn't initially anticipated having to explain this, as the handwriting was messy and illegible.
"Yes, they also said that no one has died yet and they can still hold on. But for some reason, the cultivation of this group of rogue cultivators is extremely strong. There are quite a few Nascent Soul cultivators, and even some Deity Transformation cultivators."
Fu Ming, who was listening in, also pondered along with him, using this as an opportunity to get rid of the color waste in his brain.
Something's not right. There are only a handful of Nascent Soul stage cultivators in major sects, and no one has ever heard of a rogue cultivator who has passed the Nascent Soul stage. Where did this person come from?
He had beaten up quite a few rogue cultivators, but in the past ten years he had not seen a Nascent Soul cultivator with the potential to break through. Could it be that someone had some kind of fortuitous encounter and suddenly made rapid progress?
As the leading sect in the Immortal Alliance, Tianyan Sect should naturally offer its full support when its allies are in trouble.
“Alright, let’s head over there now.” Xiao Huaiyuan still remembered the locations of the disciples from each sect before they arrived, so he led the Tianyan Sect members down the river and finally arrived at a dry well covered with moss.
There was no water or yellow soil in the well, just a dark, empty hole. Xiao Huaiyuan, carrying Fu Ming, was the first to jump into the well, and the others followed suit.
Then they arrived at Yuanqiao, where the Wanfamen sect was located.
Fu Ming asked, "You seem to be very familiar with the terrain of the secret realm."
The space of the Immortal Island cannot be predicted by common sense. Crossing the end point will return you to the starting point, walking from a low place will suddenly lead you to a high place, and entering a small path will lead you to another island. These are all common occurrences, but Xiao Huaiyuan is very familiar with them.
Xiao Huaiyuan replied, "Back then, my senior brother was missing for more than half a month. I searched almost all the islands. I naturally became familiar with them after walking around so much."
He didn't know if it was because he had been poisoned by Xiao Huaiyuan's words for too long, but he always felt that Xiao Huaiyuan's words contained a hidden meaning of blaming him, sounding like a resentful woman in her boudoir complaining that her husband was never home.
"You're really amazing." Fu Ming was genuinely just being perfunctory.
To be honest, Xiao Huaiyuan's talent and temperament have always been outstanding, but he has intentionally or unintentionally been overshadowed by Fu Ming's brilliance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to take charge so quickly after Fu Ming left and even become the sect leader. Although he is only the acting sect leader, everyone with discerning eyes knows that the word "acting" is just a smokescreen.
Perhaps he had been praised enough, Xiao Huaiyuan added, "And the Immortal Alliance has a water mirror magic treasure that can reflect the movements of the participating disciples."
Fu Ming sensed something was wrong.
"Therefore, I also saw the scene of my senior brother taking off his upper garment after being injured and applying medicinal powder to his shoulder. His breathing was truly touching..."
"Shut up!"
It's a pity this was a telepathic transmission, otherwise Fu Ming really wanted to cover his junior brother's mouth. How come he never noticed his excessive desires before? He should have given him some medicine to temporarily reduce his impotence and cool down his temper.
Fortunately, Xiao Huaiyuan quickly put on the facade of a virtuous gentleman again.
In the darkness of Yuanqiao, a golden light descended like thunder, transforming into a curtain of light that blocked the attackers. Upon seeing reinforcements arrive, the attackers, dressed in various styles, immediately shifted their focus to other areas.
"Many thanks Master Xiao for saving us." The white-bearded old Taoist priest at the head of the group bowed to him.
Xiao Huaiyuan said with his hands behind his back, "No need for thanks. There's something wrong with the secret realm. We should open the passage as soon as possible and get our disciples out."
What followed unfolded exactly as Xiao Huaiyuan had predicted.
Although the secret realm was isolated from the outside world, it still had a basic alternation of day and night. However, after they had been traveling around for a long time, the sky above the five immortal islands remained dark and the sun and moon never rose again.
The darkness always makes people uneasy. People gathered around the boundary marker, waiting for the passage back to the outside world. In the past, the competition would start as soon as the time came, but this time it was delayed.
"Why is this happening...?"
"I haven't finished merging yet. You need to gather your divine soul into the Immortal Palace first before you can take over the secret realm and open the passage."
The Celestial Palace is centered around the Luban Lock, and the Celestial Palace is the control core of the entire secret realm.
The instructions of the remnant soul of the True Immortal coincided with Fu Ming's wish. After working for several days, Fu Ming was finally able to fully integrate his divine soul with the Immortal Palace, and he was also able to recall the part of the soul that Xiao Huaiyuan had forcibly restrained.
A beam of light refracting a rainbow suddenly rose up and shot straight up to the dome.
The young disciples cheered with joy, but the atmosphere in the Tianyan Sect was somber.
Jiang Jie murmured, "Did I see wrong? How could Junior Brother Ming's name disappear from the boundary marker?"
Only those who die are removed from the Heavenly Ranking.
It was at the very moment the passage opened that Fu Ming, in Xiao Huaiyuan's arms, tilted his head to the side, his faintest breath disappearing completely, yet a satisfied smile remained on his face, as if he were simply having a sweet dream in his sleep.
Junior brother, what happened before was just stalling for time; this time, he's truly dead!
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Author's Note: I'll be in the blacklist within about two chapters. [Okay]
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