“Form a Nascent Soul?” Ye Chenyan froze for a moment, as though the thought had never even crossed his mind. “I...”
“You’re already at full Golden Core, aren’t you? All you’re missing is that last sliver of opportunity.” Yu Qingtang had already sat cross-legged, the Dragon-Crane Zither resting across his knees. His eyes curved with a smile as he readied himself. “Come on!”
Ye Chenyan looked at him for a long moment. Then he let out a slow breath and sat opposite him.
“Fine.”
“Then question my heart.”
He gave Yu Qingtang one deep look before closing his eyes. His hands slowly clenched, then loosened.
Maybe before asking about Yu Qingtang’s feelings, he should have settled his own first.
The qin began to play.
Inside his boiling mind sea, enormous waves surged toward the heavens. The Mind-Sea Bodhi Tree hovered above his Golden Core, shedding a dim primordial radiance.
He was nowhere near as calm inside as he looked.
Yu Qingtang was unusually focused as he played. Maybe his cultivation had improved lately. Maybe the good fortune he had accumulated by cultivating all night was finally paying off.
Either way, today’s Heart-Questioning Melody was an overachiever—one rendition stronger than three.
He was determined to question Ye Chenyan’s heart until every last corner of it was clear, then help him form the prettiest, most successful Nascent Soul imaginable!
As Ye Chenyan’s aura rose higher and higher, the pocket realm trembled faintly. The red cords swayed, but the silver bells hanging overhead remained perfectly still.
Outside the formation, the proprietor sat behind the counter pretending to settle accounts. In reality, he had been idly scribbling away and had already drawn several ugly little turtles.
Then he paused and looked up.
“Li’er.”
He set down his brush and lightly clapped his hands. His narrow fox eyes curved as he smiled, every movement elegant and unhurried.
“Who entered the Love-Listening Bell formation today?”
The attendant who had led Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan inside stepped forward and bowed.
“Master, two young men from Fireblaze Tower. They seem to have come from the Golden Core Competition.”
“Oh?”
The proprietor’s interest rose slightly.
“Fresh from the Golden Core Competition, full of youthful vigor. It isn’t unheard of for feelings to stir and someone to lose control long enough to break through.”
He rose from behind the counter, put on a pleasant smile, and bowed to the guests covertly watching from the hall.
“Please excuse me.”
The attendant followed him toward the courtyard.
“What are you going to do, Master?”
“Hold the formation steady.”
The proprietor strolled into the courtyard and lifted one hand, gathering the entire small world into his palm to keep anyone from peering inside.
The attendant giggled.
“With you guarding the formation, those four hundred spirit stones were money well spent.”
The proprietor glanced at her and drawled lazily, “Don’t let word of this get out. What kind of business will I have left if everyone who wants to break through starts coming to my Love-Listening Bell formation?”
“Yes, Master.”
The attendant immediately lowered her head.
“I’ll remember.”
The proprietor was about to say more when his expression abruptly changed.
All trace of leisure vanished.
He shot into the air and returned to his true form—a colossal nine-tailed white fox whose nine tails unfurled like a fan, sealing the entire courtyard from view.
The sight startled more than a few Qingzhou cultivators. They stopped in their tracks, staring upward in astonishment.
“Demonfolk!”
“What an enormous demon! What’s going on?”
At the nearby Fireblaze Tower, Elder Transmuting Gold stepped onto the roof in a single stride and narrowed their eyes toward Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.
“Demonfolk of Great Wilderness Mountain? One of the old Fox King’s bloodline?”
The nine-tailed fox curled atop Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. With elegant movements, he stretched languidly.
“Oh my, my. Sorry for startling the guests.”
“After spending so long in human form, I occasionally get the urge to come out in my real body and stretch a little.”
Elder Transmuting Gold narrowed their eyes.
“Inside your courtyard...”
“Nothing happened.”
The nine-tailed fox smiled, folding his front paws neatly before him.
“I only let my tails out to get some air.”
“Your place is holding a grand open feast today, and I barely have any customers. Just pretend I was feeling spiteful and wanted to roll around outside your door.”
Elder Transmuting Gold: “...”
“Oh my!”
Tianji Zi arrived from afar atop a cloud, laughing as he descended.
“What’s all this excitement? Little fox, too lazy to pretend to be human again?”
Elder Transmuting Gold raised their brows.
“Again?”
“Every year, there are always a few days like this.” Tianji Zi landed between them with a genial smile, pointing at the massive nine-tailed fox. “He suddenly decides he can’t be bothered being human.”
“We used to be startled too. Now we’re nearly used to it. The timing was unfortunate this time, though. There are still plenty of guests within Qingzhou’s borders, and we were worried it might cause a disturbance, so Sect Master Senior Brother sent me to reassure everyone.”
He waved with a smile.
“Please excuse us. Nothing serious is happening.”
Then he turned back toward the fox.
“Go on. Change back.”
“Not quite yet.”
The nine-tailed fox’s tone carried another meaning.
“Can I change back now?”
Tianji Zi smiled calmly.
“You can.”
“Then it has nothing to do with me.”
With a flick of his tail, the nine-tailed fox became a refined young man again and landed lightly in the courtyard.
His gaze swept the area without drawing attention.
The aura that had shaken his courtyard moments ago had been completely contained. Not a wisp had leaked outside.
No wonder the old man warned me not to provoke that mysterious fellow. He really does have some ability.
After Tianji Zi sent Elder Transmuting Gold and the other curious cultivators away, he finally dropped into the courtyard and cupped his hands toward the young Fox King with a laugh.
“Thank you for helping conceal it. Should you ever need anything, come find me at Guiyi Sect.”
“I’ll remember that.”
The young Fox King accepted without ceremony. Then he asked, “The boy breaking through inside the formation... he’s the one connected to that person from Nanzhou?”
Tianji Zi nodded faintly and sighed.
“No calculation can beat fate. That boy’s opportunity came quickly.”
The young Fox King’s expression turned thoughtful.
“If it really is him, then won’t he soon...”
He shook his head.
“He certainly knows how to pick a place. Of all places, he came here to break through.”
Tianji Zi laughed.
“That’s fate for you!”
...
Inside the Love-Listening Bell formation, Ye Chenyan had reached the critical point.
The phantom image of his mind sea projected into reality.
Behind him, it was as if a single sword had split his mind sea in half. Demonic energy boiled on one side, spiritual power surged on the other, the two clearly divided and unwilling to merge.
The Mind-Sea Bodhi Tree swayed faintly, lowering its branches around his consciousness. The vague shape of a miniature Nascent Soul had already begun to appear.
The qin music drifted across the formation.
Ye Chenyan’s turbulent mind sea calmed slightly, easing the pain on his face.
Yu Qingtang had known for a long time that Ye Chenyan’s origins were unusual. He also knew Ye would face a difficult hurdle when forming a Nascent Soul.
In the original novel, Miaoyin Xian had played the Heart-Questioning Melody for him at precisely this moment.
But knowing about it and seeing it in person were two entirely different things.
Especially when he was practically standing inside the spectacle.
As expected of a Long Aotian. Even his visual effects budget is bigger than everyone else’s.
Ye Chenyan suddenly raised a hand.
Demonic energy and spiritual power were forced together, compressed into a spinning black-and-white yin-yang disc. At last, it settled beneath the Nascent Soul.
The tiny figure immediately solidified.
It stood atop the yin-yang disc, a primordial Bodhi Tree above its head and its palms pressed together. Half of its body was demonic energy, half spiritual power. Behind it, the sea of suffering had blended into a peaceful, tranquil whole.
Ye Chenyan’s eyes snapped open.
Nascent Soul pressure swept outward, shaking the entire pocket realm.
Yu Qingtang threw up a hand to shield his eyes. His robes snapped wildly in the wind.
“That’s enough—” he said with difficulty. “Blow any harder and I’m going to get swept away!”
Ye Chenyan abruptly shut his eyes.
The pressure on Yu Qingtang vanished without a trace.
Ye Chenyan landed before him, then glanced back at the gradually fading phenomenon.
“You saw...”
“I saw it.” Yu Qingtang nodded earnestly. “Congratulations. You gave birth. A big, chubby Nascent Soul.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
He failed to hold back a laugh.
Then he simply sat down on the ground and threw his head back, laughing loudly.
Yu Qingtang put away his qin and touched his slightly depleted dantian. Somewhat worried, he crouched beside him.
“I didn’t play the wrong notes, did I? You’re all right, aren’t you? You didn’t suffer a cultivation deviation?”
“No. Of course not.”
Still smiling, Ye Chenyan cupped his hands toward him.
“Thank you. My Nascent Soul is big and chubby, black and white.”
“A phenomenon just means it’s powerful.” Yu Qingtang patted his shoulder, casually trying to reassure him. “In cultivation, being different is proof you’re impressive.”
“Fine. I’ll remember that.”
Ye Chenyan looked at him with a smile, light flickering in his eyes.
“Thank you for questioning my heart. It helped me make up my mind.”
“What decision?”
Yu Qingtang looked at him curiously.
Ye Chenyan crooked a finger, signaling for him to come closer. Once Yu Qingtang leaned in, he lowered his voice mysteriously.
“Whatever.”
“Huh?”
Yu Qingtang tilted his head.
“Whatever what?”
The smile on Ye Chenyan’s face deepened.
“Everything. Whatever.”
Immortal or demon, man or woman—it was all whatever.
He took Yu Qingtang’s hand and led him step by step toward the array eye. Looking down at the red cords tied around their wrists, he said softly, “Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s Love-Listening Bell formation can reveal one’s true heart.”
“When the heart stirs, the bells ring.”
“Huh?”
Yu Qingtang instinctively wanted to run.
“Relax.”
Ye Chenyan gave his hand a light squeeze and smiled.
“I’m not trying to see your true feelings.”
He lowered his gaze, looking almost shy.
“I want you to see mine.”
Before Yu Qingtang could react, Ye Chenyan sharply shook his wrist.
Behind him, silver bells hanging from red cords rang out.
Like ripples spreading across water, their chimes overlapped one after another, each bell striking the next.
Ye Chenyan stared into his eyes. The tips of his ears had turned red, but his gaze was bright and unwavering.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?”
Yu Qingtang instinctively turned toward the wall of silver bells behind him.
The bells that had remained completely motionless before were now shaking so wildly that they looked ready to rip free of their red cords and go clubbing.
His muddled thoughts took a moment to catch up.
The bells had rung.
That meant someone’s heart had stirred.
Ye Chenyan’s heart had stirred.
Ye Chenyan liked him.
“I-I...”
Yu Qingtang accidentally lifted his hand. The red cord twitched uncontrollably, but the silver bells behind him remained silent.
Ye Chenyan pressed his lips together.
He had known this might happen. He had prepared himself.
But seeing it with his own eyes still left a trace of loneliness in his expression.
The light in his eyes dimmed for an instant.
“You don’t have to care about it,” he said quietly. “I told you already. I’m not asking for an answer. I only wanted to show you.”
“We agreed that once the Golden Core Competition was over, if you still didn’t feel anything for me, I would send you back to Biehe Sect without a hair harmed.”
He hid his hand behind his back, but the ringing bells could not be hidden.
“At least let me escort you for part of the way. That way...”
He looked at Yu Qingtang, trying to seem unconcerned.
“But I can see it through properly.”
The unwillingness and loneliness in his eyes were impossible to hide.
He looked like a puppy no one wanted.
Yu Qingtang’s heart skipped a beat.
Behind him, the entire wall of silver bells seemed to receive some strange pull.
“Ding.”
One clear chime rang out.
Ye Chenyan’s head snapped up. The light in his eyes flared back to life.
“It rang!”
“It didn’t!”
Yu Qingtang shot out of the array eye in a single leap.
“Look! It’s not ringing now!”
“That’s because you jumped out of the array eye!”
Ye Chenyan had not missed that sound. He grabbed Yu Qingtang, trying to drag him back inside.
“Get back in there!”
“No!”
Yu Qingtang plopped onto the ground, trying to fool himself into safety.
“You heard wrong! I didn’t hear anything just now! I’m a music cultivator. If I didn’t hear it, then it definitely never happened!”
“It did! It did!”
Ye Chenyan circled around him.
“It rang! One chime counts as a chime. Even the tiniest flutter counts as a flutter!”
He suddenly leaned close and cupped Yu Qingtang’s face. His eyes shimmered, and he could not hide his smile.
“Come to Nanzhou with me.”
“Nanzhou has all sorts of strange things. I’ll take you to eat snake soup! I’ve heard those poisonous insects that look terrifying have their own special flavor too...”
Yu Qingtang answered dryly, “That doesn’t sound especially tempting.”
Ye Chenyan could not help laughing.
“Come on.”
“Stay a little longer before going back, all right?”
Yu Qingtang nearly nodded, dazzled by his smile.
Luckily, he recovered a little clarity at the last possible moment.
He drew his head back and said quietly, “I-I still have something I need to tell you.”
He took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he prepared to confess.
“Actually, I lied to you...”
Ye Chenyan immediately covered his mouth.
“If you confess,” he asked, “will you be able to go back to Jinzhou without any guilt?”
Yu Qingtang looked up at him and nodded cautiously.
“Then don’t say it.”
Ye Chenyan covered his mouth more firmly, his forehead almost touching Yu Qingtang’s.
“You...”
His voice dropped.
“Lie to me a little longer.”
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