Chapter 92 Just a Pawn 11
Ren Yi was indeed very familiar with the Emperor's Palace of the Eighth Level, after all, he had lived here for so long when he was using a secondary account.
Unlike the environment of the Ninth Realm, which changes with the power of immortals, the Emperor's Palace is a magnificent palace built of treasures from the immortal realm. Even after tens of thousands of years and even though the people on the throne of the Emperor have changed, it still stands quietly here without any change. As a result, Ren Yi felt a little nostalgic when he walked inside.
Even so, Ren Yi was certain that he wasn't to the point of losing control of his facial expressions. He didn't do anything out of line from beginning to end, and followed closely behind Xuan Wei the whole time... So, how did Xuan Wei figure that out?!
However, more important now than figuring out the reason is how to respond to Xuanwei's words.
After this incident, Ren Yi realized he had been far too careless. No matter how crazy Xuan Wei was, he was still the Emperor of the Nine Heavens, the protagonist destined to rule this world, and his mind was definitely not flawed. The reason the other party had been so easily fooled before was because he had no suspicions. Once he had any doubts, Ren Yi would be in big trouble.
However, the situation isn't that bad yet.
Ren Yi guessed that Xuan Wei was suspicious of Yuan Que's amnesia, not Yuan Que's identity.
Unlike Xun Que, who served as a stand-in, Yuan Que, as the Emperor's most favored disciple, could freely enter and exit the Emperor's palace in the eighth level. This was an honor that even many immortals did not have. Although Yuan Que was not the only one with this privilege, most immortals only regarded it as a declaration of status. Only Yuan Que truly exercised this privilege.
This is also the difference between the real person and the substitute. Ren Yiding's pseudonym, Xun Que, is also a disciple of the Emperor, but everyone in the Nine Heavens knows that he is just someone who was picked up halfway and is only nominally a disciple. He doesn't even have the qualifications to set foot in the Emperor's palace.
In fact, Xun Que rarely addressed Xuan Wei as "Master." Only when no one else was present would Xun Que call him that in private, out of a selfish desire to get closer to the Cloud Immortal. In formal occasions, he would respectfully address him as "Emperor," which shows the difference in status between him and Yuan Que.
Of course, what Xun Que is like is not important. The key is that Ren Yi is now in charge of Yuan Que's identity. Yuan Que does often come to the Emperor's palace. Therefore, although he is being scrutinized by Xuan Wei's gaze, Ren Yi is not panicked at the moment.
He looked as if he had been taken aback by the question, frowning as if he was trying to recall but couldn't. After a long while, he said, "This disciple does feel that it is somewhat familiar."
Even though you have amnesia, it's normal to still have some vague memories of familiar things.
Logically speaking, leaving the Ninth Realm isn't a good thing for Ren Yi, as it greatly increases the chances of him slipping up. However, everything in the Ninth Realm is under Xuan Wei's control, and Ren Yi can't logically remind Xuan Wei of the Immortal Soul. Therefore, Xuan Wei's current situation—taking him away from the Ninth Realm while preventing him from contacting others—is actually extremely advantageous for Ren Yi. He needs to seize this time to obtain the Immortal Soul; otherwise, if he continues to act, his danger will be immense.
"We'll deal with the problems later," Ren Yi thought to himself, "I think there was nothing wrong with how I handled it." But Xuan Wei remained silent for a while, and for the first time, his gaze on Ren Yi held a hint of scrutiny.
Xuanwei didn't intentionally create pressure, but the difference in cultivation level was undeniable. Once he let go of the aura he had been constantly careful to conceal, Ren Yi's face immediately turned pale. Xuanwei was taken aback upon seeing this, and finally carefully restrained his overflowing immortal power, refraining from asking any further questions.
The basic layout of the eighth palace remained unchanged, but the emperor had changed, and the interior furnishings were naturally different from those of the past. In addition, Ren Yi had deliberately restrained himself after Xuanwei's earlier suspicions. After observing for a while, Xuanwei finally dispelled the sudden doubts that had arisen.
The layouts of palaces in the celestial realm are actually quite similar. Although the Emperor's palace is larger in scale and uses more precious materials, its basic framework does not deviate from the palace style.
Xuanwei couldn't help but think: Ah Que, perhaps he's confused with the palace he lives in...
The doubts were suppressed, but the problems that followed soon became apparent.
Thinking of Ren Yi's words, "somewhat familiar," Xuanwei couldn't help but feel apprehensive: Would Aque remember? How much would he remember? And if he remembered everything, what would happen?
Xuanwei couldn't help but recall that day.
Below the Execution Platform lies a bottomless abyss, surrounded by torn spaces. The violent gales are enough to leave deep, bone-revealing gashes on the Emperor's body. Ordinary immortals who jump down are annihilated, their bodies and souls destroyed, let alone A-Que, who was already injured at the time...
Memories that he hadn't dared to recall for so long surged back into his mind, and the immortal power around Xuanwei began to surge uncontrollably once again.
In fact, Xuanwei initially retreated to the ninth realm not because of the puppet—at that time, the puppet had not yet been made—but because the surge of immortal power at the Emperor level was enough to destroy a realm, and he could no longer stay in the eighth realm.
Back then, the Ninth Realm where Xuanwei was located was far from the peaceful and serene scene Ren Yi had witnessed. Forget the delicate and fragile Purple Jade Flower; apart from Xuanwei, there was no other living thing in the Ninth Realm at that time. The violent immortal power distorted space into a chaotic mess, and anyone who entered, even an immortal, would be instantly torn apart. The Ninth Realm at that time was a perilous place no different from the Execution Platform.
Later, Xuanwei searched through the records of the Six Realms and used the Azure Branch of the Feather Clan to create that puppet. With this ethereal "hope," the Ninth Realm barely maintained a semblance of peace.
At that time, Xuanwei only wanted that if the puppet could really attract Aque's soul and restore color to his empty eyes, he would ask for nothing more.
But when all of this actually happened, after the initial euphoria, Xuanwei found that he was completely unable to be "without desires."
On the contrary, he wanted so much more: he wanted those eyes to stay that bright forever, he wanted to be with A-Que forever, he wanted the tenderness and trust in that person's eyes... just like before nothing happened...
He wants to start over, so he can't let Aque remember the past.
The task of completing the Heavenly Dao has nothing to do with Aque. Yuanque was born for this purpose. He escaped his own responsibilities back then, forcing Aque to take the blame in his place. Now it is time for him to fulfill his duty.
All of this has nothing to do with Aque.
A-Que doesn't need to know anything; he can just do what he likes without any worries.
He wouldn't let those trivial matters bother Aque.
*
After a trip to the Eighth Heaven, Ren Yi successfully dissuaded Xuan Wei from giving him the Dao-Stabilizing Stone. However, subsequent developments differed from his expectations. Ren Yi had initially thought that Xuan Wei's willingness to take him to the Eighth Heaven was a sign of a softening attitude, and that the puppet's freedom would increase. But after returning from the Emperor's Palace, Xuan Wei reverted to his previous behavior, and even the aura around him became increasingly unstable. Ren Yi vaguely sensed that he seemed to be preparing to do something—whatever it was, it was definitely not good for him.
However, before figuring out Xuanwei's intentions, Ren Yixian encountered a new problem: the puppet's body had developed a problem.
Ren Yi rolled up his sleeves, revealing mottled, crisscrossing bloodstains on the puppet's arm. The gushing blood gathered into a stream and dripped down the elbow, but it vanished into the void the moment it left the body.
This peculiar phenomenon has its reasons, because these are not injuries on the puppet's body, but rather wounds on the soul projected onto the physical form.
Ren Yi's injuries from the previous spacetime turbulence hadn't fully healed. However, in the previous two worlds, he used a pseudonym to stabilize his soul, so he didn't show any abnormalities and his soul's wounds healed considerably. But this world is different. The puppet body Ren Yi is currently using isn't the pseudonym he used in the novel, and his soul strength is far greater than in this world, which in turn affects his current physical body.
Ren Yi had noticed this before, but the speed of soul erosion was much faster than he had thought, and it was already so fast that it could no longer be concealed.
Looking at the wounds on his body, Ren Yi couldn't help but frown and mutter to himself, "...This is troublesome."
He couldn't explain the injury to Xuanwei.
Moreover, Xuanwei's divine sense has been constantly monitoring this area these past few days, so his illusions couldn't conceal it for long. The only reason he can still hide is because Xuanwei hasn't aroused any suspicion.
When it rains, it pours.
Before Ren Yi could figure out how to cover up his wounds, the demon mark on his arm, visible beneath the mottled scars, burned again – it was Haoming.
Ren Yi hesitated for a moment, but then released his consciousness.
—This injury needs to be concealed not only from Xuanwei, but also from Haoming.
The moment I let go, Haoming's deep, complaining voice echoed in my mind: "[Why are you so slow today? I haven't heard from you all day. I miss you terribly.]"
Ren Yi tensed up for a moment, but fortunately, Hao Ming was just making some flirtatious remarks as usual and didn't seem to care about the reason for the "slowness".
He then spoke again, this time with provocation: "[What do you think of my suggestion from a few days ago, A-Que? There are many good places in the demon realm, such as Yuanye Cliff, Lichu Mountain, and Hetai Pool. If you're willing to come, I'll personally take you to see them. These are not comparable to those lifeless fake shows simulated with immortal power.]"
Ren Yi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his tone, which was no different from usual, but couldn't help twitching his lips.
This Demon Emperor really doesn't miss any opportunity to smear Xuanwei.
Ren Yi gave a few perfunctory words as usual, politely declining the Demon Emperor's warm invitation, but did not immediately cut off contact. Instead, he subtly inquired about what happened to "Yuan Que" back then and what wounds he had.
It's unrealistic for Ren Yi to keep concealing these injuries with illusion magic. The fact that these wounds are currently somewhere between reality and illusion is what allows him to hide them. Once the injuries to his soul are truly imprinted on the puppet's body, Xuan Wei will immediately notice. For Ren Yi, the best option is to disguise the wounds as if Yuan Que had suffered similar injuries before—this way, he can both cover up the injuries and further solidify the persona of "Yuan Que" that he is portraying.
Ren Yi still doesn't know what happened to "Yuan Que" back then that led to his soul being scattered across the world. Although Hao Ming has been sowing discord, he has intentionally or unintentionally avoided this topic. It's unclear whether he's unwilling to tell him or is waiting for Xuan Wei to bring it up with "Yuan Que" himself while he watches the fun from the sidelines.
Given the Demon Emperor's wicked nature, Ren Yi felt that the latter possibility was more likely.
Ren Yi underestimated Hao Ming's perceptiveness. He had only probed a few times when Hao Ming's voice turned somber: "[Have you been in trouble?]"
Ren Yi: !
Before he could brush off the topic, he felt ripples spreading through the space beside him. Haoming was actually planning to use the demon seal to tear through space and go directly to the ninth realm.
Ren Yi: ? ? ?
—Has he gone mad?!
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