Chapter 106 I can prove "You bastard!"...
Forty years have passed.
Forty years in the human world is the lifetime of many ordinary people.
The two of them hadn't seen each other for forty years.
The brief encounter during which Mingguang helped Bitao form her soul midway through the process cannot be considered a proper meeting!
If you love someone, it might be better not to see them. But once you see them, how can your heart not pound like a deer and beat wildly?
For Bitao, the most difficult part of those long forty years in the underworld was not being corrupted by the turbid air, but that after Mingguang passed away, she could no longer learn about him from anyone else.
At that moment, Mingguang stood at the door, his golden eyes, which had haunted Bitao's dreams, fixed intently on her.
During their brief encounter last time, Mingguang was wearing a mask, and Bitao didn't even get a clear look at him before being pulled back into the underworld.
Bitao's breathing became somewhat labored.
Mingguang's expression was indifferent, but the sinister and fierce look in his eyes was suppressed by his long eyebrows that reached his temples.
He tried his best to appear "immovable as a mountain".
But the moment he met Xiao Taozhi's gaze, he could hear nothing but his own frantic heartbeat.
For over twenty years in the human world, Mingguang searched desperately, yearning restlessly. That belated, thunderous stirring of the heart was like the five signs of decay in a celestial being—an inescapable end.
He secretly vowed that he would never run away from their feelings again.
Because he knew very well that there would never be another person in the world who would pursue and love him as passionately and wholeheartedly as Xiao Taozhi.
It's pitiful that he was born into a "noble" family and was revered by all the immortals, yet in his entire life, he only ever received such a pure and clear heart.
But after he passed away, he discovered that it was all a hoax.
It is about utilization.
It was just wishful thinking on his part.
Mingguang was not someone who would be easily swayed by anything; he had always been like a still river, a stagnant pool.
What could have remained unchanged for millennia was turned upside down by a single peach branch.
In the end, it was all in vain and made them a laughing stock.
He knew perfectly well that the most rational course of action was to "remain indifferent."
As long as he shows indifference to the affairs of the lower realms and to what has happened, someone will defend him, saying that he has been completely deceived and has not been moved by that shameful farce.
But while he could control himself from doing anything "earth-shattering," he couldn't control his despondency and despair.
He was relieved that being heartbroken at least allowed him to pretend to be "indifferent".
But that pretense crumbled and rekindled when Xiao Taozhi glanced at it with a casual look.
Like weeds growing from cracks in parched ground; like withered branches sprouting tender shoots that are hard to hide; like rotten bones buried underground, irresistibly regenerating flesh and blood.
The more than twenty years of decay and decrepitude that mortals endured, and the chilling schemes they plotted after their passing, all paled in comparison to this single, feather-light glance.
How tragic he was.
How could he possibly let her go so easily?
After a moment, Mingguang moved. He walked to Bitao, knelt down in front of her, and placed the array plate he had prepared earlier on the ground between them.
The array was activated, and golden light swirled around the peach blossom.
Bitao forcibly tore her gaze away from Mingguang and looked down at the array runes moving on the ground.
—It's the Heart-Testing Array!
This is used by celestial beings to interrogate and judge those who have committed crimes. It is used in the Nine Heavens, including even the Azure Emperor. No celestial being can lie in front of the Heart-Testing Array.
This thing comes from the Shangqing Realm and is specifically for judging those demons whose souls are inherently evil and who are most adept at deceiving and distorting the truth.
In Shangqing Realm, there is a magical artifact called the Heart-Observing Lock.
The Heart-Testing Lock is usually worn around the neck of a sinful immortal. If the truth is told, the Heart-Testing Lock will not react. If a lie is told, the Heart-Testing Lock will contract. The more lies are told, the tighter the Heart-Testing Lock will contract, until it forcibly pulls the neck of the sinful immortal who refuses to speak the truth off his neck.
The Heart-Reading Array, derived from the Heart-Reading Lock, does not possess any binding or destructive capabilities; it merely has the ability to extremely accurately distinguish between emotions expressed insincerely and those expressed insincerely.
Good lad, you've brought out this array just to ask a question?
Bitao turned her gaze toward Mingguang.
I couldn't help but want to laugh.
Afraid that laughing out loud would ruin Mingguang's composure, and that he would become so angry that he would vomit blood, he had no choice but to bite his cheek and endure it.
Just how much resentment must one harbor to allow a law-abiding official to abuse his power for personal gain?
The Heart-Observing Formation was activated, and Mingguang maintained that posture, like a small mountain piled up in front of Bitao, looking down at her.
His brows were stern, and his gaze was fierce.
He spoke, his voice deep, urging the Golden Spirit to unleash its innate talent of Judgment and Insight.
Not content with activating the Heart-Testing Array, he also wanted to use his Judgment Voice to prevent Bitao, this "utterly wicked madman," from deceiving him in any bizarre way.
“Little… Bitao, I only have two questions for you.”
Bitao clenched her cheeks tightly.
Because Mingguang deliberately lowered his voice to urge her on, it was so powerful that it made Bitao's ears go weak. Since her hands were tied, she could only rub her ears with her shoulder.
This is terrible.
And there's this "Little Peach".
Mingguang never called her Bitao, and even when he was angry, he would call her Xiaotaozhi. Now he has changed it, which shows that he is really angry this time.
Bitao remained silent, waiting for him to ask.
Mingguang stared at her for a moment and asked his first question: "Back in the lower realm, you planned from the beginning to use our formation to steal merit, right?"
Even now, many immortals on the Silver River have not figured out this matter. Those who defend Bitao insist that she violated the heavenly rules by forcibly summoning the Dharma form in order to save everyone.
But Mingguang was so close to her at the time, he even got up from the center of the formation to save her. He pieced together all her actions before and after and concluded that from the moment she agreed to cooperate, she had already planned how to use their formation to seal the Xuanmen patriarch.
Now, that immortal and indestructible heart for all living beings resides within her chest.
This is almost an undeniable truth.
But Mingguang still wanted to hear her say it herself.
After Mingguang passed away, she traced the Milky Way back to the source. She used a mix of truth and falsehood to deceive the Xuanmen patriarch into willingly going with her to build a bridge.
That Xuanmen patriarch certainly never imagined that all those words Bitao spoke to him, expressing both admiration and pity, calling him "senior brother" repeatedly, were ultimately aimed at fulfilling his obsession, then using the turbid energy of the netherworld to cleanse his will and retrieve the heart of all living beings that rightfully belonged to him.
The ancestor of this realm was so miserably deceived by her that in the end, he probably didn't even know how he died.
Mingguang was eager to know what kind of excuse Xiaotaozi would use to deceive him this time, given her eloquence.
To everyone's surprise, the next moment Bitao spoke, but without any explanation, she said, "Yes."
Mingguang was taken aback.
A moment later, the bitterness in his heart was like a rising tide, about to overwhelm him.
Little Peach Branch was willing to use her silver tongue to deceive and coax the "senior brother" of Meteor.
Now that she's gone, she's achieved her goal and doesn't even want to come up with a reason to lie to him anymore.
Mingguang paused for a moment, then forced a steady voice and asked, "So everything you did... was to use me to ascend to the position of Xuanxian?"
This "all" includes the earliest period, more than a hundred years ago, when Xiao Taozhi, before he had regained his memory, pursued and admired him from the very beginning.
Mingguang thought sadly that, apart from him, there was probably no better stepping stone in the heavens.
He hoped that at least it wouldn't be like this.
If they started scheming and plotting from such a young age, then their years of companionship during their childhood would truly become a joke.
But as soon as Bitao spoke, Mingguang's luck vanished once again.
"Yes," Bitao admitted casually.
She did indeed begin planning over a hundred years ago.
From the moment she condensed her spirit, she regarded the bright light as her possession.
If one wants to climb to the highest heavens, then only Mingguang, which is born in the heavens, is the most suitable stepping stone.
If you want to pluck the sun from the sky, you have to look up and raise your hand.
If you want to climb to the highest peak and look down on all living beings, you have to climb in a sorry state and be prepared to fall halfway and die.
Nothing in this world comes without a price.
Bitao never felt ashamed of her desires, whether it was the desire to climb or the desire to love.
She once used Mingguang's name to "gain fame" in order to make herself known to everyone, a fact she has never denied.
After that, making friends became easier, even though those people initially intended to make fun of her.
So what?
It would be good if I could be of use to her.
If it weren't for that competition, Bitao might have gone further and longer; she even considered going to Shangqing Realm to seek a shortcut amidst the dangers.
But no matter how difficult her path may be, she will eventually reach the place she envisions and make the person she loves fall in love with her.
However, this competition was like the east wind in the story of "borrowing arrows with straw boats".
It simply shortened the time it took her to get everything.
She would never feel ashamed or embarrassed about it.
Her untimely "frankness" caused Mingguang to feel a sense of collapse once again.
He closed his eyes, the veins on his arms bulging beneath his robe sleeves, a testament to the brutality of suppressing his urge to destroy and tear apart the person before him.
No one has ever dared to treat him like this.
No one had ever dared to treat him like that, yet he was still unable to harm her.
Mingguang shifted his gaze from Bitao to the ground.
The formation operates smoothly and without obstruction—indicating that those within the formation uttered not a single false word.
Mingguang recalled Bitao's rejection of his marriage proposal when she descended to the mortal realm, saying that she wanted to ascend to the highest heavens.
At that time, his arrogance had not yet been shattered by the more than twenty years of the five signs of decay in the heavens and man, and he took it as just Xiao Taozhi's nonsense.
But looking at it now...
She has always been steadfast and determined, with a clear goal in mind.
The person who enters into delusion is someone who has an innate talent for breaking through delusion.
This is really ironic.
Mingguang's eyelashes concealed his fiery golden eyes, silently burning away his uncontrollable nature that he wouldn't allow anyone to see through.
He stood there, silently processing the heart-wrenching pain without revealing a trace.
After a while, he stood up.
He raised his hand and put away the array plate.
Bitao, who was just waiting for Mingguang to ask the next question, exclaimed, "Hey! Why did you put it away?"
Mingguang paused, giving her a dark and menacing look.
With her hands bound and trapped in the net, Bitao looked up at Mingguang with her exquisitely beautiful face: "Aren't you going to ask anymore? Keep asking!"
Mingguang instead asked her, "What do you mean?"
Bitao said, "...Shouldn't you be asking me if I truly love you?"
Mingguang paused for a moment, then chuckled.
Extremely sarcastic.
It's unclear whether he was mocking himself or Bitao.
He didn't care anymore.
What difference does it make whether you love someone or not?
He didn't want to listen, nor did he intend to believe a single word she uttered.
He shouldn't have asked for so much. Among the ancient immortals, there have never been many couples who came together because of so-called love.
Wasn't he born prepared to marry a stranger with whom he had no feelings?
Mingguang looked at Xiaotaozhi, his hand gripping the array plate tightly.
It's okay.
It doesn't matter if she hates him in the future.
Nothing in this world comes without a price.
If she dares to climb over him to get ahead, she should be prepared to pay the price.
Mingguang turned around and placed the array plate on the table. He should have released the little peach branch.
She was already a Xuanxian (a high-ranking immortal), represented Youtian (the Netherworld), and was now at the forefront of the competition, with the sinful immortals awaiting judgment. If others knew that he had imprisoned her here, they would think that the ancient immortal clan had finally been driven mad and intended to personally eliminate this "heretic."
Everything is not ready yet; it's not the right time.
He needs to let her go first, and then proceed gradually.
After all... she was no longer the immortal who could be easily manipulated and imprisoned in a palace to avoid seeing the light of day, with just any excuse.
But Mingguang pulled up a stool and placed it opposite the little peach branch.
He didn't let go of her, but instead sat down opposite her.
He had never looked at Little Peach Branch so brazenly, or rather, he had never looked at anyone or anything other than his own "possessions" so rudely.
But as he looked at her, his golden pupils reflected her image with exquisite detail.
Covered in the Immortal Binding Net, she looked so pitiful and adorable.
Mingguang couldn't help but wonder, was the peach tree's spiritual energy truly a celestial position?
Born with both pure and impure energies, isn't that a demon?
Otherwise, how could she be so adept at bewitching people?
Mingguang leaned back in his chair, saying nothing, his long legs slightly apart, elbows resting on his thighs, leaning forward, and unceremoniously began to scrutinize her face, inch by inch.
Her shoulders, neck, arms, waist, down to her curled-up calves and the pointed toes of her shoes.
He no longer tried to forget, but for the first time, he found in Wei Danxin's memory the same tense look she had when she was being pleasured.
His gaze was almost tangible, like a pair of golden hooks, catching the "evil thing" in front of him and examining it inch by inch.
She is his.
It will be soon...
Bitao felt a slight tremor run down her spine from the intense, yet unfamiliar, gaze he gave her.
But he had her under his control, and she surrendered willingly, answering all his questions, while Mingguang could only watch helplessly!
Bitao was so aroused by his gaze that she couldn't resist.
Within the Immortal Binding Net, she blinked her beautiful, affectionate peach blossom eyes at the bright light.
She truly seemed like a bewitching enchantress, saying, "You should ask me if I truly love you."
"I love you," Bitao said, staring straight at him.
The manipulation and calculation were real, but the love was absolutely genuine.
People say you can't have your cake and eat it too, but she insists on having both and enjoying them to the fullest.
Mingguang's eyes flickered slightly, unlike Wei Danxin who shyly avoided Bitao's gaze.
As for her sudden, passionate expression of affection...
He simply didn't believe it.
It's all exploitation.
The only reason she didn't turn her back on him... Mingguang guessed, was that he was still useful to her.
“Mingguang…” Bitao’s voice was incredibly convoluted.
She only makes that spine-tingling sound when she's talking to her little Mingguang.
Mingguang saw her roll over in the net and move closer to him.
He watched as she rested her rosy, peach-like face against his calf.
Mingguang slightly curled his thin lips, but it was hardly a smile.
The intense, barely concealed ferocity in his eyes made his stern, cold features almost icy.
He thought that as soon as Xiao Taozhi passed away, he rushed to find Zhu Mingxian, and stayed in the Jade Bone Palace for a whole day.
He slept soundly through the night, came out disheveled, his clothes and hair in disarray, and wore a relaxed and contented smile.
He stood outside the Jade Bone Palace and could even hear her and Zhu Ming playing around.
Would she also use such expressions and gestures when speaking to Zhu Ming?
Mingguang, with his hand resting on his thigh, extended a finger and poked Xiaotaozhi's rosy cheek through the Immortal Binding Net.
She didn't smell of alcohol, but rather of plum blossoms.
What she was drinking was probably not alcohol.
So, for whom was she "drunk"?
Bitao's eyelashes trembled as she was poked.
She pressed herself against Mingguang and coaxed, "Mingguang, please let me go, okay? I can vouch for you."
"Prove what?" Mingguang withdrew his hand from poking her cheek.
"Prove that I love you."
This time, Mingguang actually smiled.
But he laughed in his extreme anger.
The two questions I asked her in the Heart-Testing Formation were enough to prove that she was full of lies.
However, it is reasonable for her to want to be released.
He shouldn't have detained her at this time in the first place.
He simply couldn't tolerate letting her go, and then she ran back to the Jade Bone Palace to find that Zhu Ming Immortal Supervisor.
The two of them colluded, one in the sky and one in the earth, yet they tacitly stirred up a stormy and gloomy atmosphere throughout the land.
How can it not be considered telepathy?
How could Mingguang tolerate their continued clandestine affair?
He had already begun to think about how to send that Zhu Ming Immortal Supervisor back to the mortal realm.
"OK?"
Bitao also stretched out a finger from the net and traced it along the side of Mingguang's calf.
Mingguang lowered his eyes, staring intently into her beautiful, cunning eyes, and said, "Okay."
"Prove it to me."
As he spoke, he actually untied Bitao's binding net.
With a feeling of lightness, Bitao's magic returned.
While still sitting on the ground, she placed her hand in front of Mingguang and said, "Untie this too, so I can properly prove it."
Mingguang wanted to laugh again.
So cunning, isn't it all about trying to escape?
Or perhaps they wanted to get revenge on him.
Both of them are now Xuanxian, and both are at the upper stage of Xuanxian.
When it came to a fight, Mingguang was indeed not very confident, otherwise he would not have chosen to use the Binding Immortal Net to launch a sneak attack.
But at this moment, he is in his house, in his palace.
The intricate arrays here were all set up by him personally.
This is not like those ridiculous barrier arrays that Wei Danxin set up in the mortal realm.
If Xiao Taozhi were to fight him here, Mingguang would have a way to overpower her.
Therefore, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers to break the spell.
He stepped back slightly, preparing to meet her counterattack.
The moment the Binding Immortal Rope was freed from Bitao's hand, she grabbed it and pinned it to Mingguang's hand.
This was also within Mingguang's expectations, and he reacted very quickly by trying to break through the lock with the Golden Spirit.
He had modified the Immortal Binding Rope, so it couldn't restrain him at all.
But just as he activated his Golden Spirit, he felt Bitao, who was half-lying beside his legs, slap his leg with her fingers, channeling her spiritual energy.
Wood spirit petals immediately surged out like a flood, climbing and twisting along the surface of his shoes.
In the blink of an eye, his shoes and trousers vanished into thin air amidst Bitao's new innate magical artifact and ultimate skill—a thousand cuts.
Using this trick to disarm those Thunder Kings was a momentary lapse of concentration on Bitao's part, not an intentional act. But with Mingguang, it was intentional.
If it were a real fight, who would just come up and destroy the other person's clothes!
Caught off guard, Mingguang felt a chill run through his body.
That's so despicable!
He was stunned by Xiao Taozhi's despicable move.
However, during the "battle," the worst thing to do is to lose focus.
Mingguang was only stunned for a moment before Bitao had already climbed onto his knees and nestled there, lowering her head—
With a "whoosh," Mingguang broke free of the Immortal Binding Rope.
With a downward slash of his palm, beneath his billowing robes, Bitao's head was less than an inch from Jin Linglie's palm.
But his palms were suspended in mid-air, and then he gripped the armrests on the side of the stool tightly with both hands.
How could the handrail withstand such a strong grip? Like grains of sand in the palm, it slipped away from those two large, broken golden hands.
"You..." You bastard!
Mingguang tilted his head back, his throat churning with images of collapsing mountains. He gritted his teeth, not daring to look down, feeling as if he had fallen into scorching underground lava.
Golden energy surged forth from his body, accompanying his disordered breathing.
As if his soul had been quenched by lava, his golden eyes, which were originally full of mockery, were now tinged with a blood-red hue, like the setting sun.
Soon, the wood spirit was activated in front of him, transforming into a large, cool, shimmering green net that enveloped him.
It brought down his body temperature, which had risen rapidly due to the intense gathering of qi and blood.
In the blink of an eye, he became the one who fell into the "Binding Immortal Net".
Unable to break free, he could only stare blankly with his bloodshot eyes as he watched himself "die and his soul dissipate" in the demon's mouth.
The array formation of Xuanhui Palace was extremely ingenious. Sensing that its master, Jin Ling, was in a panic like a trapped beast, the protective array was activated with a "hum".
This array is used to infuse Mingguang with the depleted immortal spirit.
The golden light of the formation gathered above his head and poured down like rain.
With his head down, his hands, which had nowhere to go, finally couldn't bear it any longer and grabbed Bitao's head from behind.
The vast immortal spirit that the array infused into Mingguang's spiritual platform made him burn like a red-hot charcoal.
It was only after an incense stick had burned that the formation finally confirmed that its master was safe and no longer needed to be replenished with immortal energy.
Bitao emerged from beneath the robe of the Mingguang ruler, embroidered with a golden crow with outstretched wings.
He got up and ran.
Before Mingguang could even focus his eyes, he got up and chased after her without thinking about anything else.
The two clasped hands at the door of the inner room, and the Wood Spirit and Metal Spirit deflected the equally matched gale.
Mingguang grabbed Bitao by the neck, ignoring the attack from the wood spirit on his shoulder, and subdued her. At this moment, the blood on his face had not yet faded, but the ferocity he had shown earlier was gone.
In Mingguang's eyes, besides the remaining blood vessels, there was only a burning look.
And then there's the shame and anger that were rekindled from the ashes.
He pressed the peach against the door leading to the inner room and, looking down at it sternly, said, "Spit it out!"
Bitao's eyebrows danced with joy, her face beaming with happiness. Though her neck was being choked and she couldn't move her head, she swayed her waist a couple of times to annoy him.
Then, right in front of Mingguang, he stretched his neck against the palm of his hand, which Mingguang hadn't even managed to clench, and swallowed it with a soft gulp.
"you!"
Mingguang, who was only wearing a long robe, was burned to a blood-red statue on the spot.
"Cough cough cough cough... cough cough cough..."
Bitao pushed Mingguang's hand away and, bending over, couldn't help but cough.
It wasn't that she choked, but rather that she hadn't eaten Mingguang's Golden Spirit for many years, and it felt like she had swallowed a poison that sealed her throat, causing her to cough from the burning sensation.
"What a strong 'liquor,' it's potent!" Bitao teased, bending over and coughing.
When she first condensed her spirit on the large peach wood and it landed on Mingguang's shoulder, she treated his spirit as strong liquor and exclaimed, "It's potent!"
Mingguang seemed not to hear this joke that spanned more than two hundred years, and stood there dumbfounded.
All the scheming, the playing, the jealousy, the plotting, the confinement... were like drifting clouds, passing before his eyes, unable to stay.
He felt as if his soul had been sucked out of his body; he simply hadn't expected the method of proof that Xiao Taozhi had suggested...
This was beyond what he could accept; even when they were husband and wife in the mortal realm, they had never done anything like this.
Of course, Bitao had wanted to do this for a long time. There were many things she wanted to eat, but because Wei Danxin was obsessed with "having children verbally," Bitao didn't have many opportunities to try different things.
Mingguang, suddenly struck by this "great calamity," was like a broken puppet. Apart from standing there with red eyes, coughing at Bitao, he couldn't even remember to put on a pair of pants.
After Bitao finished coughing, she curled her extremely bright red lips, which looked as if she had applied lip rouge, and led Mingguang to his bedside in the inner room with practiced ease.
He pushed Mingguang onto the bed.
He sat down like a puppet on strings.
Only those eyes followed Bitao without fail.
Bitao leisurely picked up the teapot, poured herself a cup of tea, rinsed her mouth, and drank the water.
Then she returned to the bedside, put her arms around Mingguang's neck, straddled him, and sat on his lap.
Facing him up close, her moist lips lightly brushed against the peak of his handsome nose, and she asked in a low, husky voice, "Did you reply this time?"
They set up a mind-testing formation, but it turned out like a stupid donkey, pulling forward and back, asking only unimportant questions.
They set up a binding net and even launched a sneak attack, but all they did was stare at people.
Tsk, her adorable and innocent little golden crow.
Bitao embraced Mingguang and kissed his forehead tenderly, both to comfort him and to express her affection.
Mingguang swallowed hard; Bitao's hoarse voice sounded like a knife stabbing into each of his ears.
He felt his brain was foggy, his thoughts were sluggish, and his head was throbbing with pain.
After a long while, he lowered his eyes, his eye sockets wet, and cursed through gritted teeth, "You bastard!"
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