After Sheng Jun Chapter 42 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 42 A Fortuitous Encounter (part 1)
The man's tall figure stood rigidly upright, as if frozen by a paralysis spell.
Jiang Xingzhi asked curiously, "What's wrong with you?"
Gulp. Zhong Ming's throat bobbed. His heart was in complete panic, though his expression remained steady as an old dog, terrified that Jiang Xingzhi might detect any flaw.
What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do...
Sensing the gaze from ahead gradually becoming suspicious, Zhong Ming could only steel himself and take a step forward, "Nothing, I just had a sudden heart palpitation."
"Really?" Jiang Xingzhi was half-convinced. But remembering his own inexplicable heart palpitations in Tongtian Hall last time, he still showed concern, "How do you feel now?"
Zhong Ming said, "I'm fine now."
"That's good," Jiang Xingzhi felt relieved and turned to walk toward the barrier, "Then let's get going."
Get going? Zhong Ming's fingertips trembled, his heart becoming extremely sensitive at this moment—these words sounded so ominous.
He lifted his feet to follow, feeling each step he took carried the weight of a thousand pounds. The two figures crossed the stone monument in a few steps and were about to disappear into the barrier.
The ethereal tablet spirit circled in the air several times, watching the two departing silhouettes with interest, letting out a series of crisp "heh heh heh heh"...
Whoosh, the barrier gate closed again.
Jiang Xingzhi and Zhong Ming stepped into the barrier, their feet on a narrow riverbank, while two steps away stretched the white expanse of the Night Crossing River.
Thin mist rose from the quiet water surface, with distant scenery shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see clearly. Far and near on the river surface floated clusters of fluorescent blue flames, clearly reflected in the river water—these were souls.
The river reflecting souls—truly living up to its name.
Jiang Xingzhi raised his hand and placed a leaf-shaped boat by the riverbank, thin and narrow, yet it was an earth-grade magic instrument worth its weight in gold.
He stepped onto the small boat first, "Bai Mu, hurry up."
After calling once with no response, he turned to see the man pressed close to the barrier, far from the water's edge, his expression seemingly grave and uneasy.
Jiang Xingzhi frowned, "Don't tell me you get... seasick?"
Zhong Ming's breath caught in his throat, his thin lips moving as he vaguely responded, "No... you turn around, I'll board the boat right away."
His attitude was thoroughly strange. Jiang Xingzhi suspiciously glanced at him twice before turning back around.
He wanted to see what the hell Bai Mu was up to.
Just as he turned his head, a warm body suddenly pressed against his back. Before he could react, his vision went dark as two palms covered his eyes, even using a barrier to block divine consciousness.
At the same time, the leaf boat beneath their feet shot across the water surface like an arrow!
Jiang Xingzhi: ???
He grabbed the wrists in front of him, "Bai Mu, what are you doing?!"
The chest pressed against his back transmitted violent "thump, thump" heartbeats, while those palms still firmly covered his eyes. His hair flew backward in the rushing wind. Jiang Xingzhi tried to pry open those hands, "Bai Mu!"
This person, this person was truly strange!!!
Zhong Ming's arms almost completely encircled Jiang Xingzhi. His heartbeat was rapid and fierce, yet his heart held no romantic thoughts, only endless fear and the cries echoing from deep in his consciousness: "Save me! Save me!"
"Deng Deng, don't claw at my hands." He spoke to steady the person in front of him, while his spiritual power drove the small boat frantically rushing out of Night Crossing River.
"Then why are you covering my eyes?" Jiang Xingzhi was sharp, "Are you playing 'guess who I am' with me?"
Zhong Ming wouldn't dare play such a game—being guessed correctly would cost him dearly.
He spoke gently, "No, no... I have something I can't speak of, something I can't tell you yet."
"What can't you speak of?"
"If it's unspeakable, how can you ask me to say it?"
"..." Jiang Xingzhi instinctively felt he was definitely hiding some major secret from him. His earlier suspicions returned to his heart, growing heavier with the tightly covered hands over his eyes.
He spoke directly, "Bai Mu, you don't want me to see your soul, do you?"
His fingertips trembled slightly.
Pressed against his eyelids, it transmitted clearly to Jiang Xingzhi.
Physical reactions were tantamount to admission. Zhong Ming steadied his mind, "It's not that I can't let you see. But the soul is such a private part... I'll only show it to my future dao companion."
Zhong Ming's heartbeat gradually slowed as he lowered his head, "If you're willing to be my dao companion, I'll let go and show you right now."
Jiang Xingzhi, "..."
What the hell "the soul is such a private part"! By this logic, when Bai Mu helped him dispel cold and heal injuries, was he defiling his own purity?
The voice by his ear continued asking, "Are you willing?"
Willing my ass!
Jiang Xingzhi clearly knew this person was definitely hiding something from him, but he had no direct evidence—after all, this person had been mysterious from the beginning. What if he was wrong, and Bai Mu's secret had nothing to do with that person? He couldn't really become dao companions with someone.
"Cut it out." Jiang Xingzhi rejected without hesitation, the force of his grip on the person's wrists loosening—a signal of giving up pursuit.
The heartbeat against his back then steadied.
Zhong Ming, having survived a great disaster, lowered his eyes to glance at the pearly white ear tip in front of him. His heart stirred slightly as he held Jiang Xingzhi and accelerated toward the end of Night Crossing River.
****
Under the frantic drive of spiritual power, they rushed out of Night Crossing River in just a few breaths.
Only after leaving Night Crossing River did they discover that the entire river flowed from the sky of the Demon Realm. The end of the Night Crossing River was like a waterfall hanging from high altitude, flowing with a "splash splash" sound into a deep abyss.
Zhong Ming carried Jiang Xingzhi off the boat, moving far from the river flow before finally releasing the hands covering the person's eyes.
He had used too much force, and the moment he let go, he received a deeply meaningful gaze.
The expression in Jiang Xingzhi's eyes was more suspicious, more resentful, and sharper than ever before, "Help me check—are my eyeballs much more sunken now?"
Zhong Ming felt extremely guilty and quickly coaxed him, "No, they're still bright and full as always."
Two words floated in Jiang Xingzhi's bright and full eyes: Ha ha.
Zhong Ming, "..."
As they stared at each other, a greeting came from ahead, "Outsiders entering our Demon Realm, please register here before you may enter."
Jiang Xingzhi turned his head to see, not far from where Night Crossing River fell into the abyss, towering city gates stood. A line of demonic cultivators guarded the gate entrance, with their leader apparently being the guard captain, whose cultivation seemed to be around the Nascent Soul stage.
Zhong Ming urged softly, "Let's go, refining the red spider lily is urgent."
Jiang Xingzhi temporarily filed this matter in his mental notebook and walked toward the city gate.
The captain at the gate didn't seem surprised by their "human cultivator" identity, skillfully registering their names and handing over two waist tokens, "Imprint your divine consciousness and keep them safe, and leave a trace of divine consciousness with us."
This method was still used a thousand years later, convenient for Demon Realm security. If any outsiders caused trouble in the Demon Realm, they could immediately identify the person.
Jiang Xingzhi had no objection and was reaching for the waist token when he saw the guard captain tiredly rubbing his shoulders, "There have been quite a lot of human cultivators coming to the Demon Realm recently."
Jiang Xingzhi was curious, "What's the reason for that?"
"Of course it's for the 'Midnight Gathering'—don't you know?" The guard captain's gaze immediately became puzzled, "Then what are you here for?"
Jiang Xingzhi paused, "Tourism."
The guard captain, "..."
He looked at the two of them: So it's a young couple on their honeymoon, coming to their Demon Realm for their honeymoon.
His mouth twitched, "You really know how to pick tourist spots. But you're just in time for the 'Midnight Gathering'—you can join the fun if you're interested. Alright, hurry up and imprint your divine consciousness."
Jiang Xingzhi thoughtfully imprinted two traces of divine consciousness and stepped aside.
After he finished, it was Zhong Ming's turn. Jiang Xingzhi saw those broad shoulders block his view completely.
Zhong Ming quickly imprinted his divine consciousness and slowly moved his body aside.
Jiang Xingzhi's gaze once again became substantial:
Hiding it really thoroughly... You'd better pray that what you're hiding from me isn't what I think it is.
Zhong Ming's shoulder blades stiffened as he felt eyes boring into his back.
Jiang Xingzhi walked up and patted his stiff shoulders, "Let's go, Ah Zuo."
The light words brushed past his ears.
The former's figure had already passed him and walked ahead.
Previously, when Zhong Ming heard him call "Ah Zuo," he only felt it was intimate and cute. Now, however, there was a subtle sense of déjà vu—after all, Jiang Xingzhi had been just as gentle before going to Kouyue Sect, Qingfeng Pavilion, and Yuhua Sect.
He secretly consoled himself "don't be too sensitive" and reluctantly gathered his composure to follow Jiang Xingzhi ahead.
The two figures entered the city gate one after the other.
The guard captain at the gate routinely threw the divine consciousness imprints into the nearby spirit-testing pool. Spiritual power surged up the measuring ruler, suddenly "bang" bursting through the top of the ruler!
Screech—the chair scraped backward as the guard captain stood up in shock.
The measuring ruler was personally left by the Demon Lord, and the top of the ruler represented the upper limit of the Demon Lord's cultivation. In other words, the two human cultivators who had just entered had cultivation levels far exceeding their Demon Lord!
"You stay here and guard, I have urgent matters to report to the Demon Lord!"
The guard captain quickly issued orders to his subordinates and flew away like a streak of light.
….
Jiang Xingzhi was still unaware of what had happened at the city gate.
After entering the city, he began observing the surrounding environment—the Demon Realm of a thousand years ago was indeed different from that of a thousand years later. The terrain had undergone some changes, and the city's layout was more orderly than it would be a thousand years later.
It was even orderly to a degree that could be called "symmetrical"—who knew who had planned and designed it.
Demonic energy filled the surroundings throughout the city. Walking along, the two without any demonic energy were particularly eye-catching to the demons.
Jiang Xingzhi randomly grabbed a demonic cultivator who looked relatively kind-faced, but the other party seemed startled. The honest and sturdy big male demon crossed his hands over his chest, "You you you what do you want to do?"
"..." Jiang Xingzhi's expression was complex, "I'm just asking where the most famous alchemist in the Demon Realm is."
Zhong Ming stood to the side, expressionlessly watching the demonic cultivator who looked like a "virtuous househusband": Heh, he knew it—these demonic cultivators' minds were filled with improper thoughts.
It wasn't in vain that he risked being skinned alive to follow Jiang Xingzhi.
A certain blood-red figure floated through his mind... Zhong Ming frowned: That's right, especially that person—it would be best not to encounter him on this trip.
"What are you thinking about?"
A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. Zhong Ming came back to his senses to find Jiang Xingzhi standing in front of him, frowning as he looked over, "That expression looks like you're guarding against thieves."
"Nothing, when traveling, one must always be careful of personal belongings." Zhong Ming saw that the virtuous male demon had already disappeared and asked, "Did you find out?"
Jiang Xingzhi pointed in a direction, "They said in the eastern part of the main city, there's an alchemist called 'Fan Xiu.'"
Zhong Ming nodded, "Let's go ask."