113 Side Story Two

When one has lived through countless years, it becomes difficult to retain the boundless curiosity and desire for exploration that youth so naturally possesses. Yet he seemed, from the very moment of his birth, never to have truly known these qualities.

“Heavens, a dual spiritual root of ice and fire!”

“A divine, heaven-bestowed spiritual root.”

“This child’s future is limitless. Our Pei family shall rely entirely on him.”

“By the clan elder’s decree, Pei Ling, son of Pei Qing, bears a great responsibility and is to be sent to the family’s secret ground to be personally nurtured by the Supreme Elder.”

At the age of three, during the spiritual root assessment, when both the red and white gems simultaneously glowed, his path for life was nearly set in stone.

The ice-fire dual spiritual root had once appeared in the Pei family’s ancestry, bestowed upon a prodigious forebear who personally composed the fitting cultivation technique, “Profound Fire and Ice Heart.” From the very beginning, he enjoyed the finest resources and the most formidable methods. Naturally, he continually shattered records, and before reaching a millennium in age, he ascended.

After ascending, he spent over ten thousand years wandering the celestial realm.

Later, he was appointed as a realm lord and returned to the mortal world, and thereafter…

His life was far from uneventful, yet he lived it with a calm that seemed unshaken. Until that day, when he began to explore the most exquisite emotions of the world as if experiencing the first stirrings of love.

The first time he saw her, he was still “ill.”

Having suffered a grave defeat at the hands of a Cloud Transformation wielding an artifact spirit, his injuries were severe. His primordial spirit retreated into the Mud Pellet Palace, leaving him unconscious to all that transpired thereafter. Suddenly, one day, his consciousness awakened. Yet he could not open his eyes and could only silently perceive.

He had always been powerful and inviolable. No one had ever come so close before, nor had he ever experienced the helplessness of being entirely reliant on another.

He cautiously savored this unprecedented sensation. Someone approached; with every step drawing nearer, a fresh, natural sweetness accompanied by a faint warmth enveloped him.

The visitor stepped into the ice coffin where he lay, and he heard the rustling of garments. The visitor drew closer, closer still! A few strands of hair playfully brushed his face, oddly tickling a place deep within his heart. The visitor bent over him, their breaths mingling. The sweet fragrance grew clearer, blown gently onto his face and nose with each breath. Though but a fleeting moment, it felt longer than all the years he had spent in the celestial realm.

This proximity stirred his heart into a fierce pounding; his face gradually warmed, and an unfamiliar sensation ignited within his chest—whether anticipation or fear, he could not tell.

At last, the torment ended as she ceased her inspection and bent down to help herself up.

But this was even more overwhelming than before, for first, her warm, soft hands pressed upon his shoulders, then arranged him into a seated meditation posture.

Her hands left their marks upon his shoulders, waist, legs, and more. Then, their hands clasped together, and streams of ice and fire spiritual energy flowed ceaselessly from her body into his.

He hurriedly gathered his spirit, guiding the energy to nourish his somewhat depleted meridians, healing the hidden wounds left from the great battle, storing the energy within his body.

Yet, given the vast disparity in their cultivation, the small amount he gave her was nearly everything she had. Upon realizing this, he felt regret, but at that time, he could not control his actions nor sever their connection.

Fortunately, she had her own means of self-preservation.

Afterward, she did not return for many months. What once was but a blink of an eye to him stretched interminably, as if he had lived a lifetime during that span. He repeatedly recalled those moments; if not for the lingering sweet fragrance on his clothes and hands, he might have thought it all a fleeting dream.

At last, one day, she returned. In the months that followed, she stayed by his side day and night, diligently channeling spiritual energy into him according to the “Healing Chapter” of the cultivation manual he practiced. He, in turn, strove to avoid harming her.

For her, this period was perhaps a tedious experience, but for him, it was the warmest time in tens of thousands of years.

He had received countless praises and been the object of fervent admiration, yet in his heart, only one thought remained: to ascend and behold the celestial realm’s vistas. He never paused to glance back at the women trailing behind.

After ascending, he maintained his customary restraint and decorum, never once moved by affection for others.

His steps were swift, his gaze cold; no one had ever come so close. Yet this time, that closeness warmed the heart he had sealed for millennia.

Day by day, he sensed her transformation. From clumsily almost being drained by him, to gradually retaining enough spiritual energy to release him and meditate on her own, and later, her spirit power could trace the flow of energy into his body, observing every process.

Through such observation, she gradually learned his cultivation methods, mastering the technique of transforming spiritual energy into physical essence at merely the Nascent Core stage. She mimicked his steps: purifying, compressing, and accumulating her spiritual energy into the purest form.

What exceptional aptitude this was! When he could slightly control his body, he would return a small refined energy sphere to her at the end of each weekly cycle. Indeed, she soon mastered even more concise methods.

Thus, the amount of spiritual energy she could exchange with him grew, and at last, he could open his eyes and truly see her.

When his eyes finally fluttered open, he felt momentarily lost. His millennia-old thoughts had lately been consumed by her alone, rarely considering himself.

Where was he? Why had he become like this? How did it all happen?

Only upon opening his eyes and seeing his surroundings did he realize he needed to understand the situation.

She was not quite as he had imagined, yet upon closer inspection, she seemed precisely as she ought to be.

In the celestial realm, he had seen many peerless beauties. Though never excessively obsessed with appearances, he held high standards: naturally, a woman should be fair and tall, curvaceous, with a graceful countenance. Were not all the celestial maidens alike?

Yet upon seeing her, he felt those women were too ordinary, too mundane, tinged with a stale rigidity. She, with her face as rosy and translucent as an apple, eyes sparkling like black grapes, slender and petite frame, yet radiating a vibrant vitality—this was the true image of a celestial maiden, deserving the title of fairy.

Her character matched the countless times he had pondered it: intelligent, pure, adorable, and obedient. She never fawned excessively nor harbored improper thoughts; everything was so natural, so measured.

She earnestly completed the tasks he assigned, treating him with respect and propriety, neither servile nor arrogant. Yet at that time, as he gradually grasped his current predicament and began investigating events from ten thousand years ago, his mind was consumed with speculation but lacking confirmation. Thus, he focused entirely on this, oblivious to her feelings.

No longer content to remain unseen in the background, letting her explore alone, he wished to interact with her as ordinary people do, like two friends who happened to meet and share a tacit understanding, or like senior and junior siblings.

Unlike during the healing period, now they traveled together, fought side by side, played, and ventured forth. He finally witnessed more facets of her: her joyful smiles, tears in sorrow, resolute pursing of lips, and selfless kindness.

When the Snow Spirit appeared, he immediately recognized its origin. Soon after, he encountered Hong Yu and Bai Nan, whose personalities had remained unchanged through the millennia. He drew ever closer to the truth, lost in memories and reflection. Therefore, when Hong Yu spoke ambiguous words, he did not deny them.

Having reigned from on high for too long, he was no longer adept at interacting with them. He felt no need to share his thoughts, nor was he accustomed to explaining or denying. Yet, how could a small detail affect the entire progression of emotions?

The gulf between them was vast; his past remained shrouded in mystery. With the adversary elusive and veiled in mist, he was unwilling to drag her into the fray and had no choice but to bid her farewell for the time being.

Days spent together, their close proximity—these were words he only came to savor and reflect upon after leaving her.

Setbacks gave him excuses to see her again. At the moment she faced danger, his heart pounded wildly, wracked with pain. Only when holding her in his arms did he suddenly understand his own feelings.

Upon meeting the Underworld Empress and learning the so-called truth, a voice within him constantly warned him to stay vigilant. The Celestial Mirror and the artifact spirit had separated and were both lost. For thirty thousand years, no one had ascended, delivering a fatal blow to cultivators striving for progress. Prolonged, this would affect all cultivators of the realm.

All else could be set aside, but as a lord of a realm, he could not abandon this matter. He must strive to retrieve the Celestial Mirror and provide an answer to all cultivators.

In the face of these affairs, where could romance halt his steps?

Repeated hesitations led to multiple meetings and missed opportunities between them. He often wondered if he had spoken sooner, would it have been less difficult? Could he have held her earlier, claimed her for his own?

Once, she asked him why he loved her.

She did not know that her arrival had illuminated his entire world.

She had not only saved his life; every smile, every movement of hers brought him immense joy.

Before meeting her, he had no curiosity or desire to explore; after meeting her, all his curiosity revolved around her. He vowed to spend his life exploring, discovering, understanding, and loving her.

Her origins mattered little to him. Whoever she was, the one he loved was the strong, kind, principled, and measured girl before him.

If you are willing to walk this mortal world in another guise, how could I refuse to accompany you?

Finally having found you, I will never let you go—not for a single moment.