Heavenly Soul

From the outside, it looked as if sheets of water were enveloping the entire Nine Gems Sanctuary, drawn over it like a translucent shroud.

As the heavy rain poured down from the heavens, it incessantly drummed over the black-tiled roof of the Obsidian Pavilion. But despite the constant noise, on the inside, the entire pavilion was permeated by a hushed and peaceful silence, lending it a tranquil serenity.

Standing by the open window in nothing but a pair of pants, Hei NingYu looked out into the darkened world with a gaze tinted with nostalgia.

"NingYu, it must be cold there. You should close the window," Chen Xiande spoke worriedly. Taking a large blanket from the bed, he walked over to his lover and covered him in it.

With an amused smile, Hei NingYu accepted his little sheep's concern. Lifting up a corner of the blanket, Hei NingYu pulled Chen Xiande into his embrace before wrapping the thick fabric around them both snugly.

Feeling how his lover's body had gotten chilly, Chen Xiande moved under the blanket to wrap his arms around Hei NingYu's waist, holding his beloved closer to share his warmth.

"Your body is freezing, why don't we get away from here?" Chen Xiande suggested.

"I'm fine. It's not like I can catch a cold," Hei NingYu rea.s.sured his beloved, then returned to looking out the window.

Frowning, Chen Xiande asked, "Is something wrong outside?"

Hei NingYu shook his head, his smile turning wry. "I was just reminiscing fondly about the time I killed my master. It had been raining then as well, though I don't remember much about it anymore."

Chen Xiande felt his heart aching for his lover. Every time he looked at those large scars littering Hei NingYu's body, it made Chen Xiande wish that he had been there to help him, to s.h.i.+eld him from his cruel master.

But Hei NingYu thankfully didn't seem all that broken up about what had happened to him long ago, so Chen Xiande was content to let it remain in the past as well.

After about an hour of the couple peacefully watching the rain fall, they moved to the bed for a round of pa.s.sionate activities, then fell asleep in each other's arms, their minds filled with contentment.

On the little table situated by the bedside was a small round vase, holding a large, fully bloomed flower that was a pristine white, the edges of its petals tinted with a very light purple. It emitted a faint fragrance that involuntarily made one's mind relax under its influence, causing thoughts to drift and memories to unwind.

This beautiful blossom had many names, but it was well-known for only one thing.

This was the flower that connected dreams.

...

The moment Chen Xiande became cognizant, he knew that he was dreaming. As to why he felt that way…

It was because he had no freaking body!

Right now, Chen Xiande knew that he was nothing but a disembodied mind, floating about at eye-level. He clearly remembered lying down to sleep alongside Hei NingYu and didn't recall waking, so he was definitely still asleep. This could clearly be nothing but a dream.

After determining this fact, Chen Xiande finally decided to look around his dreamscape, then wished he hadn't.

This definitely did not seem to be a pleasant dream.

The room he was in was dark and gloomy, a single tallow candle lighting up a lone corner in a dreadfully unhealthy-looking orangish yellow. The rest of the s.p.a.ce seemed a vague, murky brown that slowly darkened to black at the edges.

Ominous shadows swung threateningly in the air. But upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be thick and rusted chains that dangled from the ceiling like garlands, manacles and hooks with dark stains hanging from the ends.

Half-rotten wooden tables were scattered haphazardly throughout the room, their surfaces filled with heaps of strange implements and tools that Chen Xiande really didn't want to look any closer at.

Placed at the side by the wall was the only spotless thing in the entire room. It was an odd, vase-shaped artifact that was almost as high as an adult human. On its bloated belly was a palm-sized round hole that was covered with an intricate metal grille. Beyond the grille, all Chen Xiande could see was a bizarre green flame that flickered and flailed menacingly.

As Chen Xiande pondered over the importance of this weird artifact, he suddenly remembered what it was.

This was the furnace of the d.a.m.ned—a soul burning furnace!

If Chen Xiande had a body right now, he would have flinched and recoiled away from this blighted thing. After all, soul burning furnaces were torture devices that had once been used by demonic cultivators to torment the souls of their enemies, as well as to distill the souls of innocents and use them to better their own cultivation.

Thankfully, the Sentinels had long since outlawed these sorts of things. But for Chen Xiande to see one right now in his dream… just what exactly was happening?

Suddenly, something moved and clinked in the darkened corner that was situated the furthest away from the gloomy candle.

Chen Xiande wanted to gulp in fear, but then remembered that he had no throat or body. He slowly steered his consciousness towards the direction of the noise to see what it was, then felt like reeling due to shock.

In the corner, collared and chained like an animal, was a person. His hair was disheveled and loose, covering his lowered face and draping over his skinny frame in tangles. His upper body was bare, the emaciated torso smudged with dirt and covered in wounds and bruises. The edges of his restraints were crusted with thick, dried blood, the skin surrounding the cuffs reddish purple and puffy.

After making that slight movement that had alerted Chen Xiande to his presence, the man stilled again, continuing to sit there in the corner motionlessly.

Just imagining all the ways in which this man must have been mistreated, Chen Xiande felt distress welling up within him. But this was definitely a dream―or rather, a nightmare―so this man mustn't really exist, right?

As Chen Xiande seriously contemplated over this, he heard the sound of nearing footsteps. Then, with a creaky groan, a small and roughly hewn wooden door that he had overlooked before opened, revealing the silhouette of a robust man.

He stepped into the room with steady steps and lightly closed the door behind him again but didn't lock it, as if he didn't feel the need to do so.

This newly arrived person looked like he was in his early forties, the lower half of his face covered in a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. The hair on his head was pinned up properly, the black strands scattered with equally as much grey and white.

Hanging from one side of his belt were a sheathed sword and a jade pendant weighed with age, and dangling from the other side were a thick horsewhip and a dagger.

Garbed in the traditional attire of demonic pract.i.tioners, the man was very carefully dressed and groomed, making the chained, half-naked figure in the corner look especially wretched in comparison.

But the man's eyes, however, were cold and indifferent, almost cruelly so.

Seeing this, Chen Xiande could already tell that this was not a nice person. It also wasn't that difficult to guess that this man must be the tormenter of the chained individual.

Sure enough, the man's gaze directly cut to the figure in the corner, and a condescending sneer claimed his face.

"Yet another of your senior brothers ended up disappointing me. Dying so soon due to a little torture, how pathetic. But just because you've managed to live this long doesn't mean you're any better. Sooner or later, you'll die miserably too, just like a mangy street dog," the man spat at the chained figure viciously.

But the person in the corner didn't even twitch, remaining utterly still as if not realizing that there was someone else in the room, much less that they were addressing him.

The man scoffed at being ignored and walked over to the dark corner in large strides, his steps thumping the ground loudly. He grabbed the chained man by the jaw and lifted his head up in a brusque manner. The grimy strands of hair covering the chained man's features finally slid away to reveal a gaunt yet beautiful face.

The Chen Xiande who had been watching all this from the side felt like gasping in recognition and horror. How could he not

The chained man was Hei NingYu.

And though his expression remained blank for the most part, Hei NingYu's eyes as he looked at the man were sharp and filled with a deep hunger, like that of a wild, savage beast.

Seeing this open show of hate and defiance, the man's cold eyes narrowed in displeasure. He took the horsewhip from his belt and directly lashed at Hei NingYu's unflinching face.

A red mark immediately bloomed on his skin, looking bright and garish on the too-pale cheek, but Hei NingYu still stared at the man fixedly as if he couldn't feel the sting and burn of the injury.

Witnessing all this with misery and despair filling his heart, Chen Xiande realized that this man must be Hei NingYu's master. This wasn't a dream or a nightmare, but Hei NingYu's memories of the past.

And no matter how much he wanted to scream and cry due to the heart-wrenching pain of watching this happening to his beloved, Chen Xiande knew that all of this had already happened. It was already in the past where he couldn't touch or change any of it. He could only act as a spectator now and finally understand what his lover had had to go through.

But still, Chen Xiande felt befuddled. From what Hei NingYu had told him till now, his past had clearly not sounded this terrible. But reality proved that it was more horrific than anything he could have imagined.

But why would Hei NingYu lie?

Rather than feeling angry or betrayed, Chen Xiande merely felt confused. He felt that if Hei NingYu lied to him, then it must be for a very good reason. And so, Chen Xiande resolved to ask him after he got back.

On the other hand, Hei NingYu's master didn't remain idle.

Gripping the chain connecting to the collar, the man brutally pulled Hei NingYu up. The sharp edges of the rusted collar cut into his pale and thin neck, causing it to bleed. The fresh, red liquid dripped out and covered the bloodstains that had already caked onto the collar's edge in a thick layer, new blood flowing over the old.

Lowering his face so that his eyes were peering into Hei NingYu's, the man growled aggressively, "I don't have time to sit and properly discipline you again, you filthy beast. I still have work for you to do. Behave till then. For now, I'll remove the spirit suppressing restraints on you, so you better work hard with that ability of yours."

Hei NingYu's master then unceremoniously hoisted up his disciple and chanted a strange spell, then used his blood to draw complicated symbols on the metal cuffs. The restraints opened on their own, the various heavy chains cascading down and landing on the ground with thunks.

But though his bindings had fallen off, Hei NingYu made no move to escape. And as if expecting this, his master also did not take any precautions.

"Time for you to work, mongrel," the man said with an antic.i.p.atory glint in his eyes as he dragged Hei NingYu out of the room by his hair. Since the muscles in his legs had atrophied after not being used for so long, Hei NingYu wasn't able to walk steadily and could only let himself be roughly pulled along.

If Chen Xiande had had his body, he would have been crying his eyes out and wringing his hands anxiously, all the while worrying about what was going to happen to his beloved. He would have rushed up to that d.a.m.ned master of his lover and strangled him. He would have hugged and taken care of his beloved until he turned back into the cheerful and teasing self he was in the real world.

But unfortunately, Chen Xiande was helpless to change anything.

As the two people left the room, the scenery also changed, fading into that of a vast and rocky plain, with grey boulders and p.r.i.c.kly cactuses strewn all over the barren land.

In a certain direction, Chen Xiande could see a large cloud of dust approaching rapidly. The dust was being stirred up by the hooves of strange demonic beasts, and riding on the backs of each these huge beasts was a cultivator.

Chen Xiande surmised that these people must be from one of the beast tamer sects that had existed before the spiritual beasts withdrew from the world and went into hiding. More specifically, since they were riding demonic beasts, these cultivators must be from a beast tamer sect belonging to the demonic faction.

The demonic beasts being ridden by these dark arts pract.i.tioners looked vaguely like upright salamanders, their dull, gleaming hides colored in varying shades of green and plum, their backs patterned with tan stripes. From the middle of each of their foreheads rose three straight, black horns, an indicator that they were of the third realm and had turned demonic. Their eyes were a deep orange with dark slits expanding and contracting within.

These beasts had sharp and curved claws with a strange nacreous sheen to them, indicating that they were coated with poison. Their giant maws gaped wide open, displaying several sets of small and exceedingly sharp teeth that covered the entire inside of their mouths in closely-packed rows, this arrangement very conducive for clamping down and holding onto struggling prey. The beasts walked on their powerful hind legs, their forelegs folded and held in front of them like hands, with claws facing outward.

As their riders urged these demonic beasts on, they galloped with thundering steps towards a sprawling group of buildings in the distance. Looking in that direction, Chen Xiande recognized their destination to be the Nine Gems Sanctuary.

But before the group of riders and beasts could go any further, a figure suddenly blocked their path.

The riders all pulled their mounts to a halt, vigilantly looking at the emaciated man who had suddenly appeared.

The man's bare upper torso looked bruised and battered, while his neck, wrists, and ankles showed dark ring-shaped marks that had clearly been left behind by restraints. And though his gaunt face had a haunting, fragile beauty to it, the black eyes set within that face brimmed with savage wildness, as if he were a beast straining against his leash.

The leader of the riders looked around with caution to see if there was anyone else here to back this person. But seeing that the s.h.i.+rtless man was the only one nearby, the leader of the riders sneered, then motioned his subordinates to charge forward again.

If this person got in their way, then he would only be squashed under the feet of their beasts and churned into meat paste, the leader thought callously.

Seeing the beasts speeding towards him, Hei NingYu's lips curled up slightly.

As the group complacently kept on riding in the direction of the figure obstructing their way, the riders suddenly began to stiffen on the backs of their mounts and started sliding down one by one. As the riders fell down to the ground, they were then subsequently trampled under the galloping beasts' feet, their bodies crushed and turned to pulp.

This was a result of Hei NingYu using his ability, 'Enchantment', to paralyze his enemies.

But not all of the riders were immediately affected by his Enchantment. After all, Hei NingYu's spiritual circulation had been sealed off for long periods of time by his spirit suppressing restraints, with only a few hours of reprieve in between for him to practice his cultivation. As a result, Hei NingYu naturally couldn't do his best in his current condition.

Realizing that they had underestimated him too much, the remaining riders pressed forward with gritted teeth, setting their mounts upon the unguarded man in an attempt to kill or at least incapacitate him.

Watching at the side, Chen Xiande's heart shook with horror and distress.

After the remainder of the beasts quickly reached him, their talons immediately raised and pierced into Hei NingYu, yet he didn't attempt to move or escape. Chunks of flesh flew as bright blood splashed copiously onto the rough ground.

As the sharp claws dug into him, the poison from them visibly spread under Hei NingYu's skin in dark red and purple blotches.

Seeing this, Chen Xiande suddenly realized that this was how his lover had gotten his scars. But even then, he couldn't understand. Why didn't Hei NingYu dodge? Even though he was weak, it definitely wasn't to the point where he couldn't even put up a struggle, was it?

As the beasts continued to maul Hei NingYu, brutally ripping into his already weakened body, Hei NingYu simply closed his eyes and made no move to resist.

Chen Xiande couldn't bear to look at this anymore, but he refused to avert his gaze from this tragic scene.

A few minutes later, Hei NingYu's master appeared, sneaking behind the group of preoccupied a.s.sailants and their vicious beasts.

He flicked his sleeves and a stream of talismans flew out, yellow characters scrawled on black slips of paper. The talismans attached themselves onto the backs of the clueless group of riders and their mounts, all of them too busy tormenting Hei NingYu to notice that they were being targeted. His master barked out a coa.r.s.e-sounding word, and the yellow characters on the talismans suddenly flashed an eerie red.

Alerted by the sound, the riders turned around to see yet another person who seemed to have suddenly appeared.

But before the riders could react to the presence of this new threat, they were already clutching at their throats as they foamed at their mouths. Their eyes rolling up, the group of riders fell to the ground, writhing and thras.h.i.+ng madly due to the spell. The riders' struggles gradually slowed, and within a few moments, they had all died, their beasts swiftly following after them to the afterlife.

Seeing his opponents so easily defeated, Hei NingYu's master let out a pleased chuckle. Then looking at his disciple's sorry state, he laughed happily, roughly shoving some healing pills into Hei NingYu's mouth before dragging him back to the Sanctuary.

Witnessing the careless way he was handling a wounded Hei NingYu, Chen Xiande wished with all his might that he could suddenly pop into the past and skewer this vicious b.a.s.t.a.r.d with a thousand swords!

But Hei NingYu did not utter a word of complaint or protest, just continued to lie in his master's grasp limply, a disinterested and blank look on his face. On the other hand, his master seemed filled with endless good cheer.

However, by the time the master and disciple pair made it back to that gloomy room again, Hei NingYu's master wasn't laughing anymore.

Though all his other wounds had healed by now, the splotches of poison under Hei NingYu's skin kept spreading at a visible rate. And when the spirit suppressing restraints were applied to him, the rate of the spreading only increased.

It was obvious that as long as his spiritual energy was allowed to keep circulating through him, it somewhat managed to suppress the poison. Though it wasn't a permanent solution, it was still better than nothing. So for now, the man bound his disciple using plain iron restraints, Hei NingYu's hands pulled straight above as he slumped on his knees without strength.

Chen Xiande's heart ached. He really wanted to pierce through time and hold his beloved.

Forcing himself to divert his attention, Chen Xiande noted that even now, the patches of scarred skin on Hei NingYu's body were relatively small, only a palms width, so how did they get as big as the ones that he had seen on Hei NingYu's skin in the future? Was it because they weren't treated in time, so they had grown?

On the other hand, Hei NingYu's master was pondering on how to proceed with the problem of the poison.

To diagnose it better, he carelessly thrust his power into Hei NingYu's spiritual veins to see if there was any way he could heal the poison, or at least gather some useful information so that he could find a cure. But this was not out of concern for the well-being of his disciple, but rather pure self-interest. Because as much as he manhandled and abused his disciple, he knew how much easier having Hei NingYu's ability on his side made things for him.

For example, the riders just now had been coming over to challenge Hei NingYu's master for his position as the sect leader. But since he wasn't confident in his power, Hei NingYu's master had used his trump card, his disciple, and had ambushed his opponents on the way to sneakily kill them off while they were weakened due to his disciple's ability.

Therefore, he naturally didn't want to see this useful disciple of his die.

On the other hand, having his master's spiritual energy thrust so abruptly into him, Hei NingYu jolted in his restraints before stilling again. He gritted his teeth and bore his master's forceful method of surveying the effects of the poison as the intrusive power sc.r.a.ped through his spiritual channels.

Once he had gathered all the information he could get, Hei NingYu's master simply strode out. He knew that Hei NingYu was too weak, so he didn't feel threatened at all at leaving his disciple like this without putting spirit suppressing restraints on him. After all, what could he do?

A few minutes after his master left, the Hei NingYu who had been hanging limply from the iron chains suddenly raised his head. A small cruel smile slowly claimed his lips.

"Stupid, so stupid," Hei NingYu whispered softly into the darkness, amus.e.m.e.nt and disgust coloring his hoa.r.s.e voice.

With a twist of his wrists, he effortlessly undid the manacles. Then gripping the collar in his hands, he easily pulled it apart, before continuing on to wrench open the cuffs on his ankles as well.

Finally freed of all restraints, Hei NingYu leisurely stood up and stretched. Then with slow and steady steps, he walked toward the wooden door that led outside the room.

Chen Xiande beheld his lover's nonchalant actions while feeling stunned.

So he had been able to escape all along? Then why didn't he do so earlier?

And seeing his expression just now, why did it feel like his beloved was greatly looking down on his master? And why did Hei NingYu seem so a.s.sured all of a sudden?

A stream of confused thoughts filled his mind.

But still, Chen Xiande couldn't help but feel apprehensive, because he knew that on the other side of the door was Hei NingYu's master. And if Hei NingYu went out right now, wouldn't he be found immediately by him? Surely his beloved also realized this?

But contrary to Chen Xiande's expectations, upon opening the door and seeing his master, Hei NingYu only smiled wider, eagerness and bloodthirst swirling in his dark gaze.