Chapter 65: Scheme

Fang Li was kissed until his air was nearly depleted, but for fear of being discovered, he didn’t dare push Xie Huai.

Xie Huai’s kiss was ferocious at first, then became tender and cautious, as if handling a precious treasure that had been lost and then found again. It carried an intense air of invasiveness, wanting to swallow Fang Li whole into his territory.

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of knocking came from the door.

In the midst of his daze, Fang Li remembered that this actually counted as his and Xie Huai’s third kiss……

The first time had been when he’d used the love parasite on Xie Huai. For the sake of following the plot, he’d had no choice but to kiss Xie Huai. That had actually been his first kiss, so he’d hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he’d still steeled his heart and carried through with it.

The second time had been when the love parasite had acted up, and Fang Li’s mistake had caused Xie Huai to be tormented for seven days. Xie Huai had been so fierce that it’d seemed like he’d wanted to kill him, ice-cold and ruthless, like a savage beast that had been let out of its cage. It was an unfamiliar side of him that Fang Li had never seen before……

Although it had been twice already.

But in Fang Li’s heart, none of it had been related to passion. The first time, he had done it for the sake of completing the mission, and the second time, Xie Huai had been under the influence of the love parasite.

It hadn’t been their true intentions.

Only this time.

Xie Huai was kissing him of his own initiative.

There were no other factors, only purely because Xie Huai liked him.

But he actually didn’t feel a trace of loathing or disgust. No matter when or where or under what circumstances, he never had any way to hate this person……

Besides, strictly speaking, the previous two times had both been his fault, so with Xie Huai kissing him right now, even if he wanted to refuse, he didn’t have the resolve or conviction to back it up……

He thought about how his first, second, and third kisses had all been given to Xie Huai, a man.

Fang Li’s expression suddenly became empty, and a little bewildered. How was he going to explain to his girlfriend in the future that he’d kissed a man before? How would he explain that he’d been in such a hopelessly tangled relationship with a man?

It made it seem like he was a scummy man.

Ever since arriving in this world, everything had been related to Xie Huai.

Being able to cast everything clean away had been his delusional thinking from the start.

He owned Xie Huai so much, he’d tricked Xie Huai so many times, and he’d gotten so hopelessly entangled with Xie Huai…… Could he really still coolly tell himself that he only wanted to leave with all his heart?

Could he still coolly look for a girlfriend without a trace of guilt?

Xie Huai’s hand was pressed against Fang Li’s waist so that Fang Li was leaning into him, and his other hand gripped Fang Li’s chin.

The young man in his arms had been kissed until the corners of his eyes were red, looking like he was about to cry. At first, he’d been a bit resistant, but he’d gradually stopped resisting, allowing Xie Huai to kiss him. He had a perplexed and downcast expression, as if he was sinking into doubt toward his entire life.

Your mind is wandering?

What are you thinking about?

Are you thinking about your Shixiong? Does being kissed by a substitute that you wouldn’t spare a glance for make you this pained and downcast?

A viciousness abruptly surged up in Xie Huai’s chest, and he bit the young man’s lips fiercely, refusing to allow him to have someone else in his thoughts as he was kissing him!

The sudden pain in Fang Li’s lips immediately reeled his thoughts back. Looking at Xie Huai’s ice-cold eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a bit aggrieved. He clearly wasn’t resisting anymore. You can do whatever you want, so why are you still unhappy?

Was his compromise still not enough?

The knocking from outside finally stopped. Huang Tao mumbled a few sentences to herself with perplexion and left.

Xie Huai worked at the corners of the young man’s lips before finally lifting his head, gazing at Fang Li’s aggrieved and innocent eyes. If it were before, he would definitely be led astray, would blame himself and let his heart soften for fear that Fang Li would be the least bit unhappy.

But now, he found it ridiculous.

This devil was far too good at pretending.

Obviously, the hateful one is you, yet you insist on putting on an innocent appearance.

But I’ll never fall for it again.

The corners of Xie Huai’s mouth hooked up, and his index finger softly brushed past the young man’s swollen, red lips as he laughed softly with unclear meaning. His tone was slow and suggestive as he said, “I’ll be waiting for the day we dual cultivate.”

Having said that, he turned and left.

…………………

How hateful.

Xie Huai was becoming more and more hateful.

These days, Fang Li couldn’t sleep at all, couldn’t cultivate, his heart restless and full of neverending storms.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he would see Huang Tao knocking on the door from outside, Xie Huai pressed him against the wall as he stayed completely still, allowing Xie Huai to fool around with him, kissing him until his head was dizzy and spinning.

But he remembered that when he’d first met Xie Huai, Xie Huai clearly hadn’t been like this. Fang Li couldn’t help but recall the original story. Being clear of heart and free of desire had been Xie Huai’s trademarks. He had a heart of stone and didn’t love anyone, and he was someone who wouldn’t react even after being cough cough cough like that by Yan Sui…… Xie Huai would never let anyone connect him with this kind of thing……

Without passion or desire, like flawless white jade.

He was a celestial untainted by the dust of the human world.

But forget the fact that the Xie Huai of right now was single-mindedly thinking about dual cultivating with him, he’d even learned to forcefully kiss someone. Was even this kind of thing something you could learn without a teacher?

Fang Li thought Xie Huai might be possessed.

But thinking about it again, that was impossible. Which ghost in this world was blind enough to dare to get close to Xie Huai? Wouldn’t they be afraid of their soul scattering to the wind, never to be reborn?

Fang Li let out a gloomy sigh.

Although he didn’t know why Xie Huai had become like this, it would still be best for him to be a bit more well-behaved during this period of time. If he didn’t leave the room, then he wouldn’t run into Xie Huai.

In the blink of an eye, a few more days had passed.

The day of the wedding was approaching.

But Fang Li acted very calm.

He couldn’t understand the situation with Xie Huai for the time being, so he simply didn’t think about it. But the matter of the person behind the scenes still had to be resolved as quickly as possible, or else it would be difficult to eat or sleep in peace.

That day, Fang Li was sitting in his room. The communication talisman in his hand lit up. It was a message from Wu Yimei saying that everything had been prepared.

Fang Li’s expression shifted. He contemplated for a moment, and with a wave of his hand, a paper talisman fell to the ground and transformed into a young man with his exact appearance, its every movement identical to his own.

But a mere paper figure likely wouldn’t fool Xie Huai. Fang Li bit through the tip of his tongue, and a drop of blood flew into the paper figure’s forehead.

With his spiritual blood, the paper figure would have his aura. Tricking Xie Huai for a long period of time definitely wouldn’t work, but fooling him for a short while wasn’t a problem. It would be enough for Fang Li to slip out.

Fang Li controlled the paper figure out the door to where Xie Huai was.

He changed into a set of black robes, then leapt into the night.

…………………………

Fang Li spurred on his flying device at lightning speed through the night sky, quickly reaching the foot of Mount Xingyang.

Wu Yimei was already waiting on him there.

Behind him was an orderly rank of several hundred demonic cultivations, heads bowed respectfully in attendance.

The night flew by.

At this point, the sky was already hazily brightening.

Faint golden sunlight spilled onto Mount Xingyang, as beautiful as a painting. Only, because of the collapse of the ruins, the topology of the area had changed, and it was a bit different from Yan Sui’s memories.

Fang Li walked up Mount Xingyang step by step.

Back then, that pure and innocent youth had accidentally fallen into the Great Sage’s remnants just for the sake of chasing a wolf, bringing disaster back with him. He had placed all of the guilt on himself, unable to forgive himself ever again, falling into hell, never to climb back up.

In the end, he’d lost sight of himself and brought disaster to the entire world.

This was where everything had started.

The ruins back then had already collapsed. Wu Yimei had also spent no small amount of time in order to find the entrance again and clear out a passageway to it.

Fang Li entered the ruins through the passage.

The grand, imposing white jade walls from the past were now crumbling and covered with cracks. There were many demonic cultivators sweeping away the pieces on the ground and strengthening the walls around them, clearing this place out again so that he could enter.

Wu Yimei stood respectfully by Fang Li’s side, saying, “This subordinate found the object Your Excellency left behind back then, as Your Excellency ordered.”

Fang Li nodded impassively, laughing softly. “Good work. WIth this, those people from the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance will be a sight to see. The day we return to Hollow Ridge is just around the corner.”

Wu Yimei said deferentially, “Your Excellency is wise.”

He paused, then asked, “What exactly is it?”

Fang Li’s tone was meaningful. “Something that will allow this lord to be unrivaled in the world.”

Wu Yimei’s expression became even more deferential.

He gave an order to his subordinates, and someone retrieved a jade box from the room where Yan Sui had discovered the jade talismans, presenting it respectfully in both hands before Fang Li, lifting the box high above their bowed head.

The corner of Fang Li’s lip hooked up. With a wave of his hand, the jade box was opened. Inside was a black jade talisman.

He was just about to reach out to take it.

Suddenly, a shadow flitted past, and the talisman inside the box disappeared.

Fang Li suddenly raised his head, his cold, sharp gaze directed in front of him.

A graceful man in green robes stood not far away, the hint of a gentle smile on his brow and eyes. In his hand was the black jade talisman, and he smiled at Fang Li. “We meet again.”

Fang Li fixed his eyes on the person in front of him, then suddenly smiled as well. His fingers moved slightly, and suddenly, countless beams of light appeared all over the stone cavern. The pillars of light intertwined to form a barrier, trapping Fu Junling inside!

At Wu Yimei’s command, countless demonic cultivators drew their weapons in sync and tightly surrounded Fu Junling!

Fang Li’s expression was indifferent, and he slowly opened his mouth. “This lord has been waiting a long time already, Tower Master Fu.”

Only after being trapped inside the barrier did Fu Junling reveal a surprised expression. He asked a bit curiously, “When did you find out that it was me?”

Fang Li said lazily, “It was a random guess.”

The person who’d planned everything must have known his identity as the demon lord, but since his rebirth, he hadn’t come into contact with very many people. Using the process of elimination hadn’t actually been difficult.

Xie Huai definitely wouldn’t hurt him.

The Fang family were all mortals.

Lu Hongdao didn’t have the ability.

Tao Lu’s personality was pure and simple.

Only Fu Junling appeared gentle and amiable, but Fang Li didn’t actually understand him very well. Although there weren’t any problems with his words or actions, he was proficient in concealment and observation, a shrewd and unfathomable cultivator.

Perhaps from the very first moment he’d seen Fang Li at Hollow Ridge, he had already started suspecting Fang Li’s identity.

After all, someone who could make Xie Huai keep him by his side definitely couldn’t be an ordinary person. Fu Junling wasn’t a silly kid like Tao Lu. How could he not think twice about it?

Moreover, thinking about it now.

At the time, all of Fu Junling’s actions had been for the sake of probing him.

He’d accompanied him to play for the sake of observing him, he’d intentionally brought him to the seaside cliff to fish and said those things to observe him, and at the same time, to probe for Xie Huai’s reaction. Xie Huai’s reaction back then had probably already allowed Fu Junling to perceive Fang Li’s identity, but for the sake of confirming it, he’d turned Xie Huai’s own plans against him, using the Nine-Turns Wisdom Pill as bait to have Xie Huai bring Fang Li to the Ascension Conference.

Fu Junling had been the one to host the trial domain at the Ascension Conference. If he had cooperated from the inside with Yin Kui, it would have been easy to set up the demonic array inside the trial domain without anyone noticing.

The inside of the trial domain had been full of Wu Yimei’s things. Firstly, it could make the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance angry at Wu Yimei, and secondly, it could make Fang Li contact Wu Yimei and allow Fu Junling to thoroughly confirm his identity.

The thought had occurred to Fang Li at the time, but for the sake of Wu Yimei’s safety, he’d still had no choice but to risk it and meet with Wu Yimei.

The opponent had been scheming against them, but he had also been waiting for the other party to expose a clue.

Up until the “Shixiong” in the illusion had asked that question, thoroughly exposing Fu Junling’s purpose. His goal was the black jade talisman.

As long as he knew what the opponent wanted, luring him out wouldn’t be difficult. Even if the enemy knew that it might be a trap, he would still be sure to come, just like when he’d plotted for Fang Li to see Wu Yimei.

If a person had a wish, then they were sure to have a weakness.

Fu Junling glanced deeply at Fang Li.

With a crack, he shattered the black jade talisman in his hand.

Since it had been a trap, then that jade talisman could only be fake.

Fang Li had correctly discerned his thoughts, because even if he knew that this might be a trap, he still wouldn’t let this chance go by. As long as the black jade talisman appeared, it was sure to lure him out.

This was a scheme in broad daylight.

An appreciative look emerged in Fu Junling’s eyes.

He let out a soft sigh, looking at Fang Li gently. “Your guess was correct, but do you not know exactly who I am?”

Fang Li’s eyes suddenly became fierce. He laughed coldly and waved his hand, saying, “What does it matter to me who you are?”

Beams of light transformed into sharp blades, heading straight for Fu Junling!

Wu Yimei directed the demonic cultivators all around to assist. Just as Fang Li had ordered, he’d arrived far earlier precisely for the sake of setting up this absolute killing array. Like shooting fish in a barrel, this array made use of top-tier spiritual devices. Even a Void Refining cultivator would have no return.

But what Wu Yimei hadn’t expected was that a turn of the folding fan in Fu Junling’s hand would actually block the sharp blades of light!

That ordinary-looking folding fan was in fact impenetrably strong, and Fu Junling’s expression was too at ease. He didn’t look the least bit afraid, still gazing at them with a smile.

Fang Li’s expression sank slightly.

Although he’d anticipated that Fu Junling wouldn’t be easy to deal with, Fu Junling’s tricks were still outside of his expectations.

But he remained unpanicked. The array hadn’t been broken yet, and he had the advantage of numbers. He wasn’t the one at a disadvantage.

Fu Junling looked at Fang Li a bit regretfully and let out a soft sigh. “A’Yan, when you were here waiting for death, Shixiong was the one who saved you. Now  you repay kindness with enmity. Shixiong is very disappointed……”

The elegant man had a smile in his eyes. He didn’t actually look the same as Shixiong, but his bearing right here, right now. was identical to that in the illusion, as if overlapping.

Fang Li’s expression suddenly became heavy, but there wasn’t much surprise on his face.

As if he’d anticipated it long ago.

Fu Junling looked at him gently. “Do you know how long Shixiong looked for you after you left back then……”

Fang Li pressed his lips together tightly.

He recalled the scene of Shixiong waking up after fainting in the illusion. Yan Sui had actually never forgotten that scene, but Shixiong was someone he’d had absolute trust in, someone he could entrust his life to without any hesitation, so Yan Sui had never suspected his Shixiong.

Shixiong would never hurt him. Of this, Yan Sui had had no doubt, even as he’d died.

But Fang Li, who had no lenses before his eyes, could clearly see that this person wasn’t Yan Sui’s Shixiong anymore.

Before, it had only been a suspicion, but now, he was finally certain.

Even if the possibility was slim beyond measure, right now, the truth was displayed in front of him. He could only believe it.

Shixiong was the reincarnation of the Great Sage.

After touching the white and black jade talismans, he’d awakened the memories of his previous life, but the Shixiong who’d awakened them wasn’t the person Yan Sui could trust with all his heart any longer.

Fang Li had only accepted a mere twenty-something years of memories from Yan Sui, and he still had to be careful and prudent, not daring to pry too much in order to avoid Yan Sui’s influence. The Great Sage of Origin had existed since tens of thousands of years ago and had lived for thousands of years. Compared to his long and expansive life, what did Shixiong’s mere twenty years of memories count for?

Perhaps, they were no more than the blink of an eye.

Furthermore, if Shixiong was the Great Sage’s reincarnation, it explained why Shixiong would know of the Cloud-Swallowing Beast’s blood spirit fetus, why Shixiong would know of things that hadn’t been written in the Great Sage’s book, and why Shixiong could create such an ancient protective talisman. All of it made sense.

It wasn’t that Fang Li had never thought about these things, but it was truly too absurd. Besides, even if he knew, what of it?

None of it could be changed anymore.

Perhaps all of this had been predetermined long ago.

Fang Li said coldly, “You’re not him.”

This person wasn’t the Shixiong in Yan Sui’s memories. He was no more than an evil deity with Shixiong’s memories who’d reawakened from a faraway past.

Fu Junling seemed a little pained as he sighed, “A’Yan, are you blaming Shixiong for tricking you back then?”

The corner of Fang Li’s lips rose mockingly. He didn’t feel like bothering to converse with Fu Junling and struck again without any hesitation—

Fu Junling waved the fan in his hand and blocked Fang Li’s attack. His other hand formed a spell, and the ground suddenly began to tremble, the entire cave on the verge of collapse.

The demonic cultivators in the cavern swayed back and forth, completely unable to stand steady. Moreover, because the ground had begun to crack, the array that had been installed started to shift from its original location, and the light of the barrier began to shake as well.

Wu Yimei was extremely anxious, but with the mountains and earth swaying right now, there was no way to reverse it. It was already too late to set up the array again.

Fu Junling stood there with a shallow smile, gazing deeply at Fang Li.

He opened his mouth leisurely. “It was a very smart decision for you to set up your ambush here. You were sure that I wouldn’t have thought that you would actually return the treasure to its original location. After all, if you had randomly selected a location, I might not have appeared so quickly…… But choosing this place was also your mistake.”

Fang Li’s expression became heavy.

Indeed, just as Fu Junling said, he had only set up the ambush here for the sake of making Fu Junling believe that the jade talisman was really here. The trap naturally needed to be realistic enough to lure the snake out of its den.

But if Fu Junling really was the Great Sage reincarnated, then this was his territory. Even if this place had been destroyed many years ago, there might still be some tricks to this place. The risk and opportunity were inseparable.

But Fang Li had still decided to bet on it, because even if Fu Junling was really the Great Sage reincarnated, he had only awakened less than twenty years ago.

If Fu Junling had already become a Unified Dao true immortal, he would have absolutely no need to lie in wait and bide his time, lowering himself to be Black Star Tower’s deputy tower master.

But Fu Junling was stronger than he’d anticipated.

There was a boom.

Countless lights transformed into fragments raining down. The array had been thoroughly broken, and only an afterimage remained where Fu Junling had been. In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived before Fang Li, and he struck a palm out at Fang Li without any hesitation!

Fang Li had only just recovered his cultivation to Nascent Soul. How could he be a match for Fu Junling? The strike sent his blood roiling, and he immediately vomited a mouthful of blood.

Fu Junling hadn’t obtained the black jade talisman yet. He wouldn’t kill Fang Li right now. A harsh expression suddenly flashed through Fang Li’s eyes, and he was about to activate a forbidden technique to combat Fu Junling—

Just then, the ceiling of the cavern shook, and shortly afterwards, the light of the sky rained down. The top of the cavern had been struck open by a sword!

Xie Huai’s figure appeared in the air, and in the critical moment, his sword pierced toward Fu Junling!

Fu Junling’s expression shifted. With a flick of his wrist, the folding fan blocked Xie Huai’s sword Snowblue, causing the clash of metal against metal to ring out. Fu Junling retreated several steps in quick succession, only a shallow mark left on his fan. To think that he’d blocked Xie Huai’s blade without any injury at all!

Xie Huai watched Fu Junling coldly. He had personally witnessed everything in the illusion, and he could naturally guess everything that Fang Li had guessed. Only, Fang Li wasn’t willing to let him know about his Shixiong and had wanted to resolve everything himself, so Xie Huai had pretended not to know.

But he definitely wouldn’t allow Fu Junling to harm Fang Li, no matter who he was.

Seeing that Xie Huai had already caught up.

Fu Junling glanced at Fang Li a bit regretfully and finally ceased battle, turning to leave without any hesitation!

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Seeing that Fu Junling had finally retreated, Fang Li suddenly let out a breath of relief. Although there had been some accidents, at least they’d confirmed the opponent’s identity. They weren’t completely without profit.

Then, Fang Li’s attention finally snapped back, and he looked toward Xie Huai. When he met Xie Huai’s cold, murky gaze, his expression stiffened minutely.

It looked like his illusion hadn’t fooled Xie Huai for very long……

Wu Yimei was nearby.

There were still many demonic cultivators present.

This time, even the last trace of concealment was gone.

Looking at Xie Huai, Fang Li’s throat felt dry. He wanted to explain, but in the moment, he didn’t know what to say. His chest hurt relentlessly, and his body swayed, his vision going black.

Xie Huai swiftly caught him.

Fang Li’s last thought before he passed out was—

He’d tricked Xie Huai again.

This time, he was done for.

………………………