飘零影音

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 280: Transformation

Day by day, Yun Lie refined more and more of the Demonic Mara petals, and the dangerous aura surrounding him grew increasingly intense. Xu Ziqing didn’t need to investigate closely to know that his Shixiong’s cultivation had advanced significantly, far surpassing his strength when they first entered this demonic land.

At the same time, Yun Lie’s demonic thoughts intensified, and he spent even more time in that pure and tranquil mental state. His moments of closeness with Xu Ziqing also became more frequent.

Although there was no sun, moon, or stars in this place, the cycle of day and night created an atmosphere that felt vast and boundless.

Xu Ziqing lay flat on a slab of jade stone by the Cold Jade Pool, while Yun Lie pressed down on him. His arms were raised, his black hair fanned out, and his clothes were in disarray.

Yun Lie’s hand slid into Xu Ziqing’s waistband, lips locked firmly onto his. Their tongues entwined, breaths mingling, neither willing to stop.

Xu Ziqing’s breathing grew erratic. Unlike Yun Lie, his heart had long been full of affection during their days of closeness. Now, that affection was even harder to keep in check, and he found himself unable to resist Yun Lie, becoming more entangled with each passing day.

When a young man’s desire flares up, it’s hard to control. Despite having lived two lives, Xu Ziqing was still quite innocent when it came to matters of the heart, and once stirred, he found it particularly difficult to endure.

At this point, Yun Lie had barely begun touching him, and already a wave of heat surged within Xu Ziqing, causing his face to flush and a low moan to escape from his throat.

Yun Lie seemed to greatly enjoy seeing him like this. His hand gently caressed Xu Ziqing’s waist, applying just enough pressure to make him shiver uncontrollably.

That hand didn’t stop, slipping Xu Ziqing’s belt away and sliding down to his thighs, finally grasping the source of the heat.

Xu Ziqing gasped, a sharp “ah” escaping his lips as he climaxed unexpectedly. Immediately, a deep sense of embarrassment washed over him, his face turning even redder, nearly dripping with shame. He shut his eyes and turned his head away, breaking the kiss with Yun Lie, overwhelmed by his inability to voice his discomfort.

Yun Lie frowned, withdrawing his hand, which was now slightly sticky. Then, he dipped a finger in it and, using his other hand, gently turned Xu Ziqing’s face back toward him, brushing that finger over his lips.

Xu Ziqing froze, eyes snapping open. He saw what was on Yun Lie’s fingers and widened his eyes in shock.

His Shixiong… how could he… do such a thing?

For a moment, Xu Ziqing’s chest was in turmoil, embarrassment and frustration swirling inside him with no outlet. He hastily grabbed Yun Lie’s hand and used his sleeve to wipe it clean.

Yun Lie noticed Xu Ziqing’s increasingly reddened face, a look in his eyes that was different from before, and his frown softened. Though he didn’t understand why Xu Ziqing was acting this way, he had a vague sense that he might be upset… Yet Yun Lie himself didn’t know why he behaved as he did; he simply acted on impulse. However, he didn’t want to see Xu Ziqing upset, so realizing this, he raised his hand, gently caressing Xu Ziqing’s face, then lowered his head to lick his lips with his tongue.

Xu Ziqing was stunned again. Ever since Yun Lie had embraced demonic cultivation, his every action had become unpredictable. Xu Ziqing had always yielded to him, but being unable to guess his Shixiong’s thoughts left him a little uneasy. However, this recent gesture seemed to carry a hint of comfort… It reassured him that his Shixiong was still the same person, despite the changed behavior, always able to put his heart at ease. With that thought, Xu Ziqing sighed inwardly, opened his mouth to accept Yun Lie’s tongue, and wrapped his arms around Yun Lie’s shoulders, pulling him close to his chest.

And so they tangled together once more.

Thirty days later, Yun Lie’s aura, once outward and fierce, had become more subdued, and the demonic energy around him had further diminished.

During this period, the two of them had grown increasingly intimate each day. Though they hadn’t yet fully consummated their relationship, the level of closeness between them had far exceeded Xu Ziqing’s expectations.

At the same time, Yun Lie’s refinement of the Seven Emotions Demonic Flower had accelerated.

Initially, he needed most of the day to refine it, but gradually it took only a few hours, and eventually just one hour each day, leaving the rest of his time spent in Xu Ziqing’s company.

This growing closeness brought Xu Ziqing both joy and a sense of helplessness.

If his shixiong had not fallen into demonic cultivation, Xu Ziqing might have asked him what his true feelings were… But now that Yun Lie had entered the demonic path, Xu Ziqing could no longer discern whether there was any love behind his actions.

Still, Xu Ziqing was not one to wallow in self-pity. He now regarded Yun Lie’s closeness to him after becoming demonic as a stroke of fortune, feeling as though it fulfilled a long-cherished wish. He thought that even if they could not be mutually affectionate in the future, the intimacy they shared during this time would be enough for him to reminisce on for the rest of his life.

So, apart from following Yun Lie’s lead, Xu Ziqing spent the remaining time stabilizing his cultivation and solidifying his strength. He also made use of the pure spiritual energy in this place to activate the “Wood Cultivation Art” and nourish the ancient seeds he had acquired from the auction.

Perhaps the spiritual energy left over from ancient times was particularly suitable for those seeds. Through Xu Ziqing’s efforts, more than ten seeds had absorbed enough life force to be integrated into his dantian.

Delighted, Xu Ziqing immediately took action, and sure enough, it was easy to fuse them. Most of the seeds became secondary wood spirits, but he set aside one called the “True Yang Sacred Tree” as his auxiliary wood spirit. This was because the True Yang Sacred Tree was an excellent material for refining weapons, and the longer it aged, the stronger its yang energy became. Trees that had existed for tens of thousands of years were even rarer and could be used to craft precious artifacts, showing how extraordinary it was.

Xu Ziqing chose this wood as his auxiliary wood spirit for balance. After all, his life-bound wood spirit, Rongjin, was an extremely vicious yin wood that was also bloodthirsty and filled with hostility. It needed a yang wood to counterbalance it. If he only had secondary wood spirits, no matter how many he gathered, it wouldn’t be enough. Thus, he had to leave space in his auxiliary wood spirit for a few more yang wood spirits.

The True Yang Sacred Tree, an ancient spiritual tree long thought to be extinct, was certainly qualified as an auxiliary wood spirit. In the future, if Xu Ziqing could find a few more rare yang trees to serve as auxiliary wood spirits, Rongjin’s power would increase without causing any harm to his physical body.

Some of the other seeds were also quite rare, mostly medicinal herbs, though they were delicate and would require more effort before Xu Ziqing could fully utilize them.

The Golden Blood Grass was particularly troublesome. It had only recovered about 60% of its life force, with the remaining 40% still lacking. It would take quite some time before it fully regained its vitality and could be integrated into his dantian to stimulate the growth of his demonic vine. Other seeds were similarly stubborn or even rarer, but they also lacked sufficient life force.

Even so, Xu Ziqing felt fortunate that he had broken through once again, now possessing a cultivation level in the later stage of the Core Formation realm. Otherwise, the seeds might have absorbed enough life force, but his dantian would not have been able to accommodate so many precious seeds, which would have been a great waste.

In addition, Xu Ziqing refined all of his secondary wood spirits, particularly focusing on the Thousand-year Steelwood, since he had often used it in combat before.

He also comprehended a newly derived fragment of the “Ten Thousand Woods Transforming Spirits Art,” which could transform all kinds of wood into spiritual beings. It allowed the transformation of wood into creatures that could move like beasts and birds, offering many wondrous applications. It was said that once this technique was fully mastered, there was an even higher-level skill called the “Ten Thousand Woods Transforming Dragon Art,” which could turn plants and trees into dragons, imbuing them with part of a dragon’s power, making the technique even more profound and mysterious.

As his cultivation deepened, Xu Ziqing increasingly understood why the “Ten Thousand Woods Great Heart Planting Technique” was considered a legendary cultivation method. Its numerous derived fragments, incomplete techniques, and transformation methods were all extraordinary. Even if he took them out one by one to study slowly, they would still be endlessly beneficial, perhaps even until the day he ascended to immortality.

Thus, the two shixiong and shidi made significant progress in this strange place of inheritance.

After breaking through, Xu Ziqing gained many new techniques, while Yun Lie’s changes were more enigmatic. However, at least in terms of his aura, Xu Ziqing could glimpse a few things.

By the forty-fifth day, almost all the demonic energy had been absorbed by Yun Lie, and only three petals remained on the Seven Emotions Demon Flower. Beneath it, a bare stem stood pitifully.

As the demonic energy dissipated, the area of brightness expanded bit by bit. Eventually, except for the small area surrounding the rooted Seven Emotions Demon Flower, the rest of the space was illuminated.

Yun Lie’s aura became more restrained, making him appear almost identical to how he was before entering this place.

However, Xu Ziqing knew that his shixiong’s demonic thoughts had not only persisted but had grown even deeper.

Those pitch-black, unfathomable eyes became even more terrifying.

At that moment, a change finally occurred in the twin lotus in the Cold Jade Pool.

On that day, Yun Lie had Xu Ziqing seated between his legs, his head buried against Xu Ziqing’s neck, slowly licking and sucking. Xu Ziqing didn’t resist, even tilting his head slightly to make things easier for his shixiong. After so many days, such interactions between them had become routine, no longer stirring any waves.

Suddenly, Xu Ziqing’s expression shifted, and he looked toward the Cold Jade Pool.

He saw that above the pool, countless streams of spiritual energy had formed two small vortices, hovering over the twin lotus flowers. Within the vortices, faint rumbles of thunder could be heard, but as soon as they appeared, they were suppressed by the surrounding spiritual energy, turning into faint glimmers of light that scattered in all directions.

Within the twin lotus buds, a powerful consciousness suddenly emerged.

This consciousness was very clear and brimming with joy, as if reborn, full of exuberant excitement.

Not long after, two beams of light shot out from the buds, swiftly landing on the edge of the Cold Jade Pool.

At the same time, the two vortices above the pool vanished, and the spiritual energy dispersed into the air with a whoosh.

The red and white lights that landed seemed to each reveal a hazy figure, indistinct but showing that one wore red robes and the other white. Their temperaments were vastly different, yet both appeared to possess remarkable beauty.

Then, Xu Ziqing heard two nearly identical voices:

“Yan Hua.”

“Yue Hua.”

“Greetings to the Master of Ten Thousand Woods.”

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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