Chapter 306 A Love Tribulation That's Hard to Overcome (Part 2)
"Little Immortal Lord, where are you going in such a hurry?" A celestial being dressed in blue robes suddenly blocked their path.
However, he was Kongxuan Shangxian from the Siming Palace.
He actually got involved in this matter.
The brief moment he was blocked was enough for Tiaoxu and Changning to catch up. With both his paths blocked, Yaoyan gripped his sword tightly and pushed the small, filthy creature that had poked its head out back into his clothes.
“Little Immortal Lord, this Demon Forest is dangerous. Even your father had to bring people with him when he came. Changning needed me and Immortal Lord Kongxuan to protect him. You are all alone. Isn’t that a bit presumptuous?” Tiaoxu said with a smile.
Although Yao Yan was exceptionally talented, he was still young. Even if Hong Chen taught him well, he would still be no match for two immortals who were hundreds of thousands of years old. Tiao Xu looked at him as if he were an ignorant child: "Little Immortal Lord, what did you hear just now?"
Changning looked at him nervously upon hearing this.
Yao Yan knew he couldn't escape this calamity today, but he had already thought of a way to deal with it. He calmly said, "You want to put this Chaos Core into the lower realm."
Tiaoxu and Kongxuan exchanged a glance and said, "Little Immortal Lord, you must have misheard. I was just warning Changning not to approach the Chaos Core casually."
Yao Yan looked at Chang Ning.
Changning's face was pale. He said, "That's right. Yaoyan, you should hurry back to the Nine Heavens. If they knew that you came to the Demon Forest alone, the High God Lingyin and Prince Yaoshuo would probably be worried. Immortal Venerable Hongchen might punish you again."
He invoked Yao Yan's powerful backer, trying to remind Tiao Xu that if Yao Yan died here, it would be difficult to explain to the Nine Heavens.
Yao Yan clearly thought the same thing, but he was even more fearless and charged directly at Kong Xuan with his sword.
Kong Xuan hadn't expected him to actually make a move. He dodged to the side, but was still slashed on the face by the sword energy. Immediately afterward, a wave of foul energy hit his face. Before he could react, the foul energy disappeared, but it had corroded half of his face. The foul energy was turbid and penetrated deep into his bone marrow, making it impossible to remove the scar no matter what kind of immortal power he used. He was immediately enraged and decided to kill Yao Yan.
"If he were killed, would those people in the Nine Heavens let it go?" Tiaoxu stopped him.
Kong Xuan stared at the direction Yao Yan had fled, his face turning sinister: "This kid is extremely cunning. If we don't get rid of him, he might cause trouble later."
“I have a way.” Tiao Xu’s eyes darkened. “He escaped into the sealed land, which is like walking into a trap.”
With the little creature in his arms, Yao Yan felt the increasingly cold temperature and polluted air around him and subconsciously slowed his pace.
"Wasn't I amazing?" the little creature asked excitedly. "I threw all that filth in his face."
"Hmm." Yao Yan looked at the turbid air swirling around him like a spider web. This black air seemed to be tangible, hovering in the forest like a ferocious beast. Although he remained calm, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"Don't pinch me." The little creature pushed his fingers away and complained, "You're pinching me so hard."
Yao Yan looked down at it, somewhat displeased.
"Then... squeeze gently." The little imp sighed, lying on his tiger's mouth. "Give me another piece of immortal spirit."
He curiously squeezed its round little hands and asked, "Can you grab things?"
"Of course." A dozen long, thin tentacles extended from the little filthy creature's round hand and wrapped around his fingers. "Much stronger than you."
The cold, sticky sensation made him frown: "Let go."
"Okay." The little creature retracted its tentacles, nestled in his palm, and looked around. "Where is this place?"
“It must be the sealing array for the Chaos Core,” Yao Yan said. “I’ve thought of a way to stop Tiao Xu.”
"What method?" the little filth asked. "Can I help?"
At that time, he had little experience and had never seen the wickedness of human nature. He was willing to reveal his entire plan to a small, filthy creature, even though it was not very smart but was very good at flattery.
"Wow, that sounds amazing! We're sure we can beat Tiaoxu to a pulp!" the little filth exclaimed excitedly.
“The chances of us beating him are slim, but we can keep a backup plan. I suspect he might seal my memories. I’d like to ask you for a favor.” He grabbed the little filth and held it in front of his eyes, poking its soft forehead.
"What help do you need?" The little filthy creature was very happy, because it seemed that he had finally made a good friend.
“I’ve written this down on a jade slip and buried it here. When we get back, remember to come to Yaoyan Immortal Palace to find me.” He thought this wouldn’t be difficult for the little filthy creature, since it had trespassed on his immortal palace several times. “Then remind me to come here and dig out the jade slip.”
“Okay.” The little filth nodded. “That sounds simple.”
Yao Yan took it to a secluded place and hid the jade slip, saying to it, "You must remember this."
The little creature sniffed hard and said, "Why don't you bury a piece of spirit here? That way I'm sure I can find it."
"...You really didn't want to eat it yourself?" Yao Yan poked it, causing it to tumble over.
The little filthy creature, lying on the ground, wasn't annoyed at all, and chuckled.
In the end, Yao Yan still buried a small piece of immortal spirit here. The little filthy creature plucked a tentacle and buried it next to him, asking, "You must never forget me."
"It's hard to say," Yao Yan said.
The little creature was a little sad: "I finally managed to become friends with you; you're my first friend."
"You are also my first impure friend," the little immortal said reservedly.
So the little filth became happy again.
Changning found him before Tiaoxu, and frowned, saying, "You can go now, I won't tell Master."
“I cannot leave. If you place the Chaos Core in the lower realm, the spiritual energy there will be unstable and the fortune will be lost. Any movement in one realm will also affect the upper realm. In the long run, both the upper and lower realms will fall into chaos.” He said calmly, “Changning, he is just using you.”
Tiao Xu sealed off all the surrounding void, so there was no hope of him sending a message at this point; he could only try to buy as much time as possible.
Changning frowned and said, "Stop talking. He's my master. He can't possibly harm me."
Yao Yan paused for a moment: "That's not necessarily true."
Changning said somewhat angrily, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Yao Yan immediately attacked him. Chang Ning was no match for him, but Tiao Xu and Kong Xuan arrived quickly, and he soon fell into a disadvantageous position, suffering serious injuries and being tied up.
"Overestimating yourself." Tiao Xu glanced down at him condescendingly.
"Master, what should we do with him?" Changning asked nervously.
"No rush, let's break the seal on the Chaos Core first." Tiaoxu stopped Kongxuan, who was about to attack Yaoyan. "Let's get down to business first."
Kong Xuan covered his disfigured half of his face and glared fiercely at Yao Yan.
Tiaoxu glanced at Changning, who took out the jade flute left by his father, cut his palm, and the blood merged with the jade flute and disappeared into the seal. Tiaoxu then summoned a Soul-Suppressing Nail, which enveloped the group, and urged, "Hurry up, this Soul-Suppressing Nail can only temporarily resist the chaotic energy for a few hours."
Yao Yan was casually tossed in a corner. He looked at the Soul-Suppressing Nail in Tiao Xu's hand, his mind racing. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a small filth hiding in a crevice and gestured to it.
This little thing is so weak that nobody pays any attention to it.
The little creature crawled over, revealing its sharp, fine teeth, and quietly bit off the bindings on his wrist. In the process, it broke a tooth in the process, and lay on his knee, tears welling up in its eyes from the pain. It opened its mouth wide and pulled his hand to show him.
He glanced at Tiaoxu and the others in the distance, who were too preoccupied to pay attention to what was happening here, reached out his finger to touch its broken tooth, and then gave it some immortal energy to repair it.
The little filth touched the perfectly intact teeth in surprise before being stuffed back into the gap.
Then, unexpectedly and brutally, he severed the Soul-Suppressing Nail that was blocking the chaotic energy in the Void. Dragging his heavily injured body, he took the opportunity to divide the Soul-Suppressing Nail into eighty-one pieces and nail them into the chaotic core, forcibly sealing the chaotic core inside. However, he was almost pierced through the heart by Xuan Kong's sword in the process.
He looked down at the longsword that had pierced his chest, loosened his grip, and the seal could no longer hold. The chaotic core fell uncontrollably into the lower realm.
His movements were stealthy, and Tiaoxu did not notice his tricks. He sneered, "Little Immortal Lord, why are you doing this? With your current strength, killing you would be as easy as turning your hand."
"Do you dare?" He chuckled as well.
Tiao Xu's smile slowly faded: "If I can't kill you now, I might not be able to in the future."
He gestured for Kong Xuan to draw his sword, preparing to forcibly seal Yao Yan's memories, but a small filthy creature suddenly darted out and blocked their way. Tiao Xu frowned and swept the filthy creature away with a flick of his sleeve.
The little filth slammed against the wall, fell into the broken seal, suddenly convulsed, let out a scream, and then fell silent.
Yao Yan subconsciously wanted to reach out, but his memories after entering the Demon Forest began to fade. Suddenly, fragmented images surfaced in his mind, and he vaguely saw many people—he saw Hong Chen's soul dissipate at the Divine Gate, he saw Ling Yin being swallowed by chaos, he saw the immortals fall, he saw Yao Shuo leading his generals to seal the Heavenly Gate and annihilate the Immortal Realm. At the end of the sky, the Divine Gate opened wide, and a young man in red stepped out of chaos, reached out, crushed his heart, and smiled brightly.
He had never seen this person in the upper realm.
Yao Yan's pupils trembled, but as his memories were sealed, he gradually lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
"Leave him here...he will find his way..."
Silence gradually descended around him; he could only hear his own breathing. Something was calling out to him from his face, but he couldn't make it out clearly.
The little creature was corroded by the chaotic energy within the seal, and its body was no longer formed. It gnawed at the black stone next to it several times before it felt that it had regained its strength. Seeing that Yao Yan was being burned by the chaotic energy, it used its body to forcefully press against his face, trying to push him away from this place.
Yao Yan wanted to see who it was, but no matter what he did, he couldn't open his eyes. He could only smell a faint floral fragrance.
When he woke up again, he was already in the Yaoyan Immortal Palace in the Ninth Heaven.
Faced with Ling Yin and Yao Shuo's worried inquiries, he only shook his head blankly. He didn't remember anything in the Demon Forest, nor did he know why he was so badly injured. The only thing that impressed him was more like a premonition—he saw the destruction of the Upper Realm.
“We found you under the Seven Killing Tree at the edge of the Demon Forest,” Ling Yin said. “The seal on the Chaos Core in the Demon Forest has loosened, and the Chaos Core has been lost. You were burned by the Chaos Qi, and your amnesia may be related to this. There is no need to worry too much. Leave this matter to me and your father.”
Yao Shuo said, "This spirit cloud was transformed from your childhood fairy spirit. It's perfect for healing. You're not allowed to go anywhere during this time."
The little immortal was confined to his quarters and lost a part of his memory. He could only sit in the spiritual clouds every day to heal his wounds. In his spare time, he would ponder the premonition he had seen. His days were dull and boring.
Until a little fairy dressed in blue slipped in and silently ate most of the spiritual cloud he had used to heal his wounds, almost causing him to go into a state of demonic possession.
His immortal power surged back, and he spat out a mouthful of foul blood, collapsing to the ground and losing consciousness.
The little fairy, unafraid of death, poked his shoulder: "Little Immortal Lord, I've come to find you, I—"
Unfortunately, he didn't hear it.
The little fairy, with tears in her eyes, said, "I am your good friend."
Yao Yan twitched his eyelids and heard a voice in his ear say, "We played together in the Demon Forest before. You told me to come find you and take you to find the jade tablet. I dragged you home, and when I woke up, you were gone."
The little fairy was speaking incoherently, leaving Yao Yan completely bewildered.
"I thought of a way for a long time before I learned to become human." He raised his hand, and his arm turned into countless tiny black tentacles, some of which even emerged from his eyes and mouth. He said dejectedly, "It's just that sometimes it doesn't turn out very well."
The sight was truly terrifying. Then a scream came from the doorway. A passing fairy maiden saw the monster in front of her and fainted from fright.
The screams quickly attracted the palace guards.
He struggled to open his eyes and saw the small, dark, filthy creature amidst the chaos. His memories were in disarray; when he closed his eyes, all he could see were scenes of the annihilation of the upper realm and the tragic deaths of countless people in the lower realm.
"I'm sorry, Little Immortal Lord... I was just too hungry, that's why I ate your spirit cloud... Please, don't kill me." The little filthy creature that had transformed into its original form trembled and grabbed his sleeve.
He was somewhat uneasy, looking at the little filth in front of him, yet he seemed to see a young man in red clothes, pitifully clutching his sleeve with teary eyes, who then crushed his heart in front of the gate of divinity and smiled brightly at him... He subconsciously shook off the little filth.
It was taken away by someone.
Before long, his men came to ask for his instructions.
Yao Yan's memories were in complete disarray, but he could still deduce some things from those prophetic signs. The opening of the divine gate and the outpouring of chaos, followed by the annihilation of the immortal realm, were probably related to the lost chaotic core.
He had a deep connection with this little filthy creature before, so could he be going to die at its hands?
This is really ridiculous.
The people below said a lot of things, meaning they wanted to throw this audacious filth down to the mortal realm. He nodded absentmindedly, and they left in response.
But then he remembered hearing that little filthy thing say something about a jade pendant when he was unconscious.
After much deliberation, he got up, transformed his form, disguised himself as a low-level immortal, and found the place where the filth was imprisoned.
The creature was too small and was locked in a narrow, dark box. It cried out in terror and kept banging against the box walls. Seeing this, he simply opened the box door.
The little creature that had been violently bumping into something earlier suddenly quieted down, trembling as it looked outside. Only when it saw a red sleeve did it tentatively peek out.
Yao Yan looked down at it. The little creature had some injuries and was trembling violently. It looked up at him warily: "Who are you? I am Yao Yan's good friend. If you throw me down to the mortal realm, I will let him eat you."
In its eyes, eating people is the most powerful form of intimidation.
“Yaoyan doesn’t eat people.” He sent some immortal energy to heal its wounds. “I’m here to take you away.”
He intended to use a handkerchief to pick it up, but somehow he used his hand instead. The soft, cool touch made him frown slightly, yet it felt somewhat familiar.
The little creature sniffed hard and said, "You smell a lot like the Little Immortal."
"I served the young immortal lord's clothes at Yaoyan Immortal Palace, so perhaps I've picked up some incense." He lied without batting an eye.
"Did the Little Immortal Lord send you to take me to see him?" The little thing in her hand visibly became happy.
“No, he’s very busy and doesn’t have time to see you,” he said. “Last time you said there was a jade tablet in the Demon Forest, he heard that and ordered me to go with you to get it.”
"No, I promised to take him alone." The little filth objected.
"Enough with the nonsense," he threatened. "If you don't go, I'll throw you down to the mortal realm and you'll never come back."
The little creature was startled and quietly curled up in his palm, motionless. Yao Yan poked it, and the little creature sobbed, "Don't leave me down there, I'll take you there."
Yao Yan raised an eyebrow, realizing he had gone a bit too far, and said, "Yao Yan never said he was going to throw you down. Those people were just trying to scare you."
"Really?" The little filth secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmm." He poked it again.
It reached out and covered the spot he had poked, saying fiercely, "Don't poke my butt."
"..." Yao Yan grabbed it and gave it a nasty squeeze. "Okay."
This little filth must have swallowed too much of his immortal energy, because it wasn't sticky in his hand and there was no filth residue. By the time they reached the depths of the Demon Forest, this filth had been kneaded until it was dizzy and dazed, and it lay sprawled out on his palm, exposing its belly.
“Right here.” It jumped down and sniffed around, finally stopping at a secluded corner. “Right here.”
Before Yao Yan could stop it, it had already started digging with its hands and feet, and soon buried itself in the soil. When Yao Yan dug it and the jade pendant out of the hole, it had turned into a lump of black mud.
He had no choice but to use his divine power to cleanse the filth, and then examined the jade tablet to make sure it was safe before opening it.
All the memories from my time in the Demon Forest came flooding back.
He looked at the little filth in front of him and couldn't connect it with the red-clad youth in the prophecy, especially since it had risked its life to save him twice.
"You absolutely must hand me over to Immortal Lord Yaoyan, or he'll forget about me." The little creature perched on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "My home is on the Seven Killings Tree. Please take me back."
Yao Yan pinched it off his shoulder: "You've got guts, daring to ask me to take you back."
“Aren’t you the one who washes the clothes for the Little Immortal Lord?” the little filth said. “You listen to the Little Immortal Lord. I’m his friend, so you have to listen to me too.”
Yao Yan twitched the corner of his mouth: "He doesn't learn anything else, but he's mastered all the bad habits of the Nine Heavens."
The little imp said, "Everyone else does it this way, so why is it considered a bad habit when I learn it? When they threw me into the fairy pond to fish and stole the umbrella that the little fairy lord gave me, they didn't say it was bad. Last time, the luminous pearl I used to sleep was also stolen by a fairy maid. She said the little fairy lord ordered her to take it back, and I didn't say anything."
Yao Yan frowned slightly. He hadn't let any fairy maiden take away the luminous pearl; he was afraid that this fool had been tricked.
No wonder, he believed him when he said he was Yao Yan's man, and foolishly brought him here to dig for the jade tablet.
"Don't listen to others anymore, they'll all lie to you." He pinched the little clay in his hand. "You can only listen to me."
"You won't lie to me, will you?" the little filth asked.
“…No.” Yao Yan thought to himself, pretending to be someone else doesn’t count.
“No, I have to listen to Little Immortal Lord,” the little filthy creature said. “He is my best friend.”
“He didn’t consider you a good friend,” Yao Yan said maliciously. “He even locked you up.”
The little creature didn't speak and seemed a bit sad; perhaps its tiny brain simply couldn't handle so many problems.
Yao Yan stopped it under the Seven Killings Tree, raised his hand and placed it back on the branch, saying, "I will come to find you again in a few days. Do not believe anything anyone else tells you, understand?"
The little creature nodded blankly: "Remember to tell the little immortal to come find me when he remembers."
Yao Yan nodded perfunctorily and left.
The jade tablet was corroded by the chaotic energy, and some parts were unclear. He was unsure which world the Chaos Core had been placed in—after all, he and Changning had traveled through countless small worlds, and he had to find a way to determine it. He also did not intend to tell Ling Yin and Yao Shuo that his father and mother had sent people to look for the Chaos Core, and it seemed that they had already found it on Tiao Xu, but they strictly forbade him from participating in this matter. If they found out, he would be confined to his quarters again.
As an immortal, he couldn't approach the sealed ruins of the Chaos Core, and he wasn't comfortable entrusting it to the demons. After much thought, he remembered the little filthy creature on the Seven Kill Tree. It was inconspicuous and unafraid of the Chaos Qi, making it perfect for exploring the Demon Forest.
To avoid being seen by Tiaoxu and the others, he had to hide his identity and continue to appear as that little fairy.
He watched as the little creature opened the box, then jumped up in surprise: "It's my luminous pearl!"
Actually, these were two newly collected pearls by Yao Yan, which he had specially made into earrings. But obviously, this silly thing didn't realize it at all, probably thinking that all the luminous pearls like these belonged to him.
"The box has turned back. Did Little Immortal Lord make it for me again?" the little imp asked him with bright, sparkling eyes.
“I made the box.” He was a little unhappy.
"You're amazing too," the little creature genuinely praised him.
Yao Yan stood under the tree and stretched out a hand towards it. The little filthy creature readily jumped into his palm.
He told the other party his conditions, and then the two of them sat under the tree, whispering and muttering to each other. Inexplicably, he became the filthy creature's cheap master.
He wasn't really happy about it. After all, he had a high opinion of himself and felt that if he were to take on a disciple, he would have to be one in ten thousand in terms of talent and comprehension. But this little filthy thing had nothing to offer; all it did was eat, sleep, and cry. It was useless.
He planned to use it and then throw it away, at most finding a good place for it.
But he didn't expect that this little filth not only brought out a small piece of the remaining chaotic core, but also led him to a new discovery.
"Master, I secretly took a bite." It sat on the branch, rubbing its belly somewhat embarrassedly. "I was so hungry. I ate all the spirits that Little Immortal Lord gave me. I was afraid I would faint from hunger on the way back and not be able to see you."
"..." Yao Yan looked at it with a speechless expression. "Did you only take one bite?"
The little creature lowered its head in shame and said, "Actually, it took several bites."
Yao Yan picked it up: "Do you feel any discomfort anywhere? Does your bone hurt?"
The little creature shook its head blankly: "No, but this stuff is more filling than immortal spirits. If Little Immortal Lord stops giving me immortal spirits, I'll eat Chaos Cores. Anyway, there are still quite a few left. Now that I have red wings, I'm not afraid of being struck by lightning anymore, so I can eat my fill."
"This thing shouldn't be eaten casually." He couldn't resist pinching its round belly.
The little creature comfortably spread its belly and said, "But after eating, my stomach won't hurt anymore, it feels very comfortable. Also, on my way back, there was a horned monster that wanted to eat me, but I ate it and all its friends. Those big monsters were so scared when they saw me that they ran away everywhere. Master, when will you teach me to practice swordsmanship?"
"You haven't performed the apprenticeship ceremony yet, so don't call me master," Yao Yan said.
The little creature sat up abruptly, looking at him with disappointment: "But—"
"No buts. And you're not allowed to eat any more remnants of Chaos Cores." He pinched the small filth, his gaze suddenly pausing. "You said you ate the remnants of Chaos Cores, and those monsters were so scared they ran away when they saw you?"
The little creature nodded: "I accidentally took off my wings, so the lightning can't strike me anymore."
Yao Yan's expression suddenly became somewhat serious.
He brought the little filth into the Demon Forest and, through various methods, finally confirmed his suspicions.
"What is a container for the Chaos Core?" the little filth asked him.
"It means that if you swallow the Chaos Core, not only will you not be harmed by the chaotic energy, but you can even control its power and prevent it from leaking outwards," Yao Yan explained to it. He then recalled the red-clad youth who had emerged from the chaos and killed him in the premonition, and a plan began to take shape in his mind—
If the gates of the gods were to open wide in the future, and chaos were to engulf the immortal realm in annihilation, would it be possible to seize this sliver of hope if the chaos were to be completely destroyed before the Heavenly Dao could arrive?
He looked at the small, filthy creature lying belly-up in his palm, his gaze darkening.
The immediate solution to destroying the ready-made container of chaos is right before our eyes.
More and more lightning tribulations gathered above his head, but the Heavenly Dao subtly revealed itself in his heart, dispelling the lightning tribulations and silently echoing his thoughts.
The little creature plucked a petal, covered its belly with it, curled itself up into a ball, and fell asleep peacefully in his palm.
But why should a mere, ignorant creature bear the weight of life and death for the entire immortal realm? It has never committed any evil deeds other than eating and sleeping. Yet, compared to the fate of the entire immortal realm, it seems so insignificant.
The Seven Killing Flowers were in full bloom, and the young immortal lord, who had glimpsed the heavy fate of the entire immortal realm, stood under the tree and fell into a long silence.
He stood there for three hundred years.
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