Jade Bracelet

“…!?”

Everyone present was dumbstruck, their gazes darting between Xuan Lie and the “beauty” clinging to him in shock. The decisive, cold-blooded Immortal Venerable of legend… what on earth is he doing? Some disciples even forgot their fear, shamelessly sweeping their spiritual senses over the pair.

Bai Yujing, having already decided to throw his dignity to the wind, remained perfectly composed. Since no one knew his true identity, any embarrassment reflected solely on Xuan Lie. He even felt a twinge of schadenfreude. The bigger this scandal, the better. Let the rumor spread that the Immortal Venerable is so lecherous he won’t even spare a hatchling. Let those hypocrites of the Righteous Path see his true colors.

However, while the disciples were merely shocked, Su Qiantang’s heart was heavy. If the Immortal doted on this snake so much, then the Su family—who had personally plucked and offered its scales—was in dire straits.

Bai Yujing ignored Su Qiantang’s “bitter melon” expression and asked Xuan Lie with feigned innocence, “What were you all chatting about just now, Immortal?”

His acting was so flawless he almost convinced himself.

“Discussing your disciple,” Xuan Lie replied.

“Shen Fenglin?” Bai Yujing arched an eyebrow. “Why talk about that ungrateful waste? Didn’t you already pass judgment on him?”

To strike someone down without a word and have it called “passing judgment”… no wonder the Immortal is smitten, some Su family members grumbled internally. This little demon sure knows how to flatter.

Xuan Lie continued, “I am looking for something related to him.”

…This cold-faced bastard was holding out on me. He didn’t say anything about searching for an item last night. Bai Yujing suppressed a scowl and leaned in, acting the part of the attentive lover. “What is it you seek? Tell me; perhaps I can help.”

Su Jiu-shao: “…” She looked at Bai Yujing as if she were seeing a ghost, momentarily forgetting to mourn her own fate.

“It should be a seed,” Xuan Lie said calmly. “But its specific appearance is currently unknown.”

…A seed?

Bai Yujing looked up sharply, meeting Xuan Lie’s unfathomable eyes. His heart skipped a beat. Why another seed? Did Qingyu tell him about this too? Is it really such a coincidence?

Doubts swirled in his mind. Before he could formulate a response, Xuan Lie looked down at him, his words carrying a hidden edge. “Since you are a demon cultivator, do you know any powerful demons of the spiritual plant variety?”

Bai Yujing: “…”

He had never gotten along with plant-based demons since he was young. Currently, the only powerful plant demon he was close to was ruling a neighboring world. Given the urgency, bringing Jiang Xinyue here to find the Immortal Seed seemed like the best move.

But… could he trust Xuan Lie? How did Xuan Lie know about the Seed? What if Qingyu never actually sent that message? What if Xuan Lie and the thing inside Shen Fenglin were essentially the same?

The thought sent a shiver down his spine, sparking an instinctive wave of revulsion. He released Xuan Lie’s sleeve and gripped his own. “I’ve been at odds with plants since I was little… I don’t have many plant friends.”

Xuan Lie paused. “Why at odds?”

Is this bastard a ‘Gossip Stone’ spirit? Bai Yujing cursed him in his head. Fortunately, this excuse wasn’t entirely a lie. “When I was just a hatchling and couldn’t transform, those plants loved to bully me,” he said truthfully. “Especially the vine types; they liked to weave me into their branches as a decoration.”

Su Jiu-shao: “…” Su disciples: “…”

The disciples struggled to stifle their laughter. Only Su Jiu-shao looked at him with confusion. Is this pouting beauty really the same arrogant Bai Yujing? Did the Immortal use some soul-altering technique on him?

Xuan Lie didn’t laugh. Instead, he patted Bai Yujing’s wrist. “No one will bully you again.”

Bai Yujing froze.

Xuan Lie, however, paused at the touch, looking down at the snake’s bare wrist. This person loved jewelry and would deck himself in gold if given the chance, yet he didn’t have a single decent bangle. His slender, pale wrist looked almost too plain against the lavish fabric of his robes. Xuan Lie stared at the wrist for a long time, as if the lack of an ornament was a matter of cosmic importance.

In the heavy silence, Su Qiantang couldn’t take it anymore. “We shall take our leave.”

“Wait,” Bai Yujing snapped back to reality. “Is Miss Jiu-shao busy these days?”

Su Jiu-shao blinked, her voice trembling. “…I have no duties. Does Senior have instructions?”

“I’ve been stuck in a pot since I arrived at Moon-Grace; I haven’t seen the world yet.” He smiled and turned to Xuan Lie. “If you want to find that seed, Immortal, why not start with this world? I think Miss Jiu-shao would make an excellent guide.”

Su Jiu-shao’s heart leaped into her throat. She looked at him in disbelief.

Xuan Lie didn’t need mind-reading to know what the “Stupid Snake” was doing. His old habit of pitying “hatchlings”—the kind where he’d pick up an ant and try to raise it for two days—was flaring up again. Without looking up, Xuan Lie said simply, “Go pack your things. Come back tomorrow.”

Though he didn’t name her, everyone knew who he meant.

“…Yes.” Su Jiu-shao took a sharp breath, her lungs aching. She bowed, fighting back tears. “Thank you, Senior. I obey.”

That Night: The Xiaoyao Pool

A snow-white snake tail poked out from the water, coiling obediently around Xuan Lie’s wrist. Its owner leaned lazily against the man’s shoulder. “I must thank the Immortal for his indulgence today.”

“Jiu-shao is a good girl; she was just tricked by that ungrateful wolf, Shen Fenglin.”

In his five hundred years of “picking up children,” Bai Yujing could always find a dozen reasons why he had to save them, even if the results were usually disastrous. Xuan Lie usually let these excuses go in one ear and out the other, but at this, he opened his eyes and looked down.

“…?”

Bai Yujing tilted his face up to meet his gaze. The weight, texture, and aura of the snake in his arms were identical to the original. Without a Spirit Race’s innate talent, even Xuan Lie wouldn’t be able to tell this was an Avatar (External Incarnation). To use a single scale to create such a perfect duplicate… the name of Demon Emperor was well-earned.

Even if Xuan Lie wanted to keep him by force, it would likely cost him dearly, and success wasn’t guaranteed.

…Step by step, Xuan Lie thought.

“What is it, Immortal?” Bai Yujing asked innocently. The hot spring had turned his face a soft pink, but he refused to let go, insisting on soaking with Xuan Lie until the end.

He clearly had an ulterior motive. But Xuan Lie didn’t care. Looking at the pink-tinted tail on his wrist, he wondered: Does the original body feel the same heat right now? He briefly considered pinching the tip of the tail to test the sensory link, but ultimately just pressed the snake’s head against his shoulder. “Nothing. Close your eyes.”

“…Oh.” Bai Yujing obeyed.

Ten Thousand Miles Away: The Desolate Jade Mountains

Bai Yujing’s True Body stood atop a massive rock, staring expressionlessly at a spring—the place where he had plucked the scale for Shen Fenglin. Behind him, water dripped from stalactites, freezing as it hit the ground and forming a crystalline ice lotus.

The lotus glowed with a rainbow hue before fading to reveal a woman in blue robes. She bowed low. “Subordinate Jiang Xinyue greets my Sovereign.”

Jiang Xinyue, the Frost-Grace Demon Queen. Her true form was an Arctic Ice Lotus, and her companion plant was the Nine-Colored Moon-Gazing Lotus. When Shen Fenglin was forming his core, Bai Yujing had given him five of those 100,000-year-old lotuses, along with countless other herbs.

Recalling this, Bai Yujing felt a surge of guilt. “At ease,” he said, turning to her. “Rise.”

Jiang Xinyue wasn’t the cold-blooded “Northern Empress” described in rumors. she studied him warmly. “Cang Xiao spends every day with a long face, muttering that our Sovereign is dead and we are failures for not protecting you. I told him he was wrong. It seems my Sovereign truly has heaven-sent luck.”

“How could I die at the hands of that Stupid Stone?” Bai Yujing leaned back, shedding his submissive act. “If that stupid dog keeps talking like that, you should teach him a lesson.”

“He was just worried, though the Fox has already scolded him,” Jiang Xinyue explained. “Does my Sovereign summon me to prepare for your return to the throne?”

Bai Yujing shook his head. “Now is not the time.”

“Then today’s summons is for…?”

“You are a plant demon with the ‘Ten Thousand Wood Domain.’ I need you to find a seed for me. It’s urgent; find it as quickly as possible.”

“A seed?” Jiang Xinyue frowned. “What kind of seed?”

Bai Yujing thought for a moment, then mimicked Xuan Lie’s cryptic tone. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

Jiang Xinyue hesitated but eventually nodded. “…Yes, I understand.”

Bai Yujing wanted to ask about the other three Demon Kings, but he stopped. No, I have to get back quickly. Spirit Race beings are hollow and soulless; they can’t create avatars, which makes them highly sensitive to them. Sensing Xuan Lie studying his avatar, Bai Yujing cut to the chase. “When do you plants cast seeds into other minor worlds?”

“Usually when we cannot reach a place, or when it’s inconvenient for the world’s inhabitants to know our presence,” Jiang Xinyue explained. “We cast a seed to act as an avatar.”

“…”

Bai Yujing looked at the high moon. Are there places even Immortals cannot reach? Is Ascension a blessing or a curse? Under the perfect, fake starry sky, he felt as if a truth far beyond anyone’s expectations was being slowly unveiled.

Suddenly, an indescribable sensation made his face turn bright red. What is that bastard putting on my tail now?!

Jiang Xinyue watched as her respected Sovereign suddenly stiffened, his face flushing crimson. “I must go. Handle the task I gave you immediately.”

“Where are you going, my Sovereign? If the Xuantian Immortal Venerable is keeping you by force—”

“Who said he’s keeping me by force?! I’m the one keeping him!” Bai Yujing flared up as if his tail had been stepped on. “No need for you to interfere. I have a great use for him.”

Jiang Xinyue’s expression was subtle—like she was looking at a lamb hopping into a cooking pot without realizing it. But she simply bowed. “Yes. But I must remind you: if a plant truly doesn’t want to be found, their seed can appear completely ordinary. Finding one in the Three Thousand Realms is like finding a needle in an ocean.”

“However, if you are in a rush, you might try your luck in the Bao-Bao Minor Realm.”

Bai Yujing frowned. He’d never heard of it.

“It’s a minor realm, but it connects many worlds. The ‘Tianbao Pavilion’ there is the finest auction house in existence. If you are inclined, you could visit it with the Immortal.”

Bai Yujing nodded. “Fine. I’ll have him prepare for the journey when I return.”

Hearing him say “return to him,” Jiang Xinyue lowered her head thoughtfully. When she looked up, Bai Yujing was gone. What “use” does the Sovereign have for the Immortal? …Bed-warming?

Back at the Pool

Bai Yujing opened his eyes in the water and looked down at the Red-Jade Bangle clamped around the tip of his tail. His face flushed with shame.

In the pool earlier, fearing Xuan Lie would notice something wrong with his avatar, he had acted coquettishly to distract him. “Why were you touching my wrist in front of everyone today?” he had asked, offering his pale wrist. “You can’t just touch it for free.”

He’d hoped Xuan Lie would be disgusted by such a third-rate demand and “kill” his avatar. Instead, the man had produced a vivid, dripping-red jade bangle. But he hadn’t put it on his wrist; he’d slid it onto the tail.

The blood-red bangle was made of an unknown material that radiated a subtle warmth. Clamped on the snow-white tail, it gave the flesh a slightly “squeezed” look.

…Useless old rogue, so many tricks!

Bai Yujing cursed, his face like a dripping beet. He quickly removed the bangle and put it on his wrist. He transformed his legs, threw on some robes, and marched toward Xuan Lie’s sleeping hall, ready to start a fight.

However, as he reached the entrance, he heard voices from within. He paused, stroking the new bangle. Who the hell is visiting this god of death in the middle of the night?