Chapter 812: Give Me Your Heavenly Book

Chapter 812: Give Me Your Heavenly Book

Even though Ye Jiuyou had anticipated the two would be inseparable, she never imagined that adorable little girl could burn so fiercely.

Nor did she expect Zhao Changhe would dare to do it right in front of her, on her own bed.

Watching the spring scene unfold in her cave dwelling, Ye Jiuyou stood dumbfounded for a long while, her mind blank, utterly at a loss for what to do.

She thought it would be over after a short while, but Zhao Changhe was not only first on the martial world’s Heavenly Ranking; his second brother was also unmatched under heaven. Half the night passed, and still it wasn’t finished. And Cui Yuanyang’s cultivation had been leveled up by Piaomiao’s proxy training, so she could endure a great deal. The two were like fish in water, endlessly entwined.

They even took the opportunity to dual cultivate, healing the lingering injury Zhao Changhe had sustained earlier that hadn’t fully recovered.

Was she really supposed to just watch this erotic scene for an entire night?

Ye Jiuyou’s eyes darted around, and she quietly cast a spell.

The sleeping Piaomiao slowly awoke, groggy and unaware of what was happening. She only felt an overwhelming pleasure, as if ascending to heaven, and savored the sensation for a moment.

When she realized what was going on, she fainted from sheer fury. So quickly that Cui Yuanyang didn’t even notice Sister Piaomiao had briefly awakened in her consciousness.

Ye Jiuyou was delighted.

If I’m unhappy, I’ll drag someone else down with me.

Besides, it wasn’t entirely dragging her down… Sleeping through it? Wasn’t that just self-deception? Being taken while asleep and pretending nothing happened—wasn’t that akin to date rape? Better to let her know.

With that thought, Ye Jiuyou felt at ease.

In truth, during that brief moment when Piaomiao woke, Cui Yuanyang didn’t notice, but Zhao Changhe did.

Because he wasn’t there for pleasure or to fulfill marital duties… From the very start, he had been using the method of dual cultivation to merge his mind and body, delving into Cui Yuanyang’s spiritual sea, trying to find a way to separate Cui Yuanyang and Piaomiao.

Theoretically, the two were symbiotic and couldn’t be forcibly separated. Although their cultivation had reached a level where they could actively split their souls—dividing their own spirit into two—it should be possible to separate the part belonging to Cui Yuanyang from that belonging to Piaomiao using soul-splitting techniques. But as San Niang had clearly explained, even with her typical tortoise-snake duality, the two parts were never completely independent; they were still her.

Zhao Changhe’s own cultivation of the soul inhabiting all things, omnipresent, was also not about creating countless avatars; they were all under his control.

To achieve completely separate, independent beings, according to Ye Jiuyou, one could only consult Ye Wuming.

Yet Zhao Changhe still felt that Piaomiao and Yangyang were different from others, because they truly had two distinct consciousnesses. While others couldn’t become fully independent, these two should be able to.

The result of probing their souls was headache-inducing… To use an analogy, it was like two different pigments stirred together, intermingling yet not fully blending into a new color—you could still see two hues. That was roughly the state. Moving forward meant merging into a single new color; moving backward meant complete separation.

Moving forward was simple—just stir vigorously until uniform. Moving backward was harder than ascending to heaven—who could completely separate two pigments that had been mixed together? Even harder was that they weren’t static but constantly moving.

At that moment, the color belonging to Piaomiao was dormant, while Cui Yuanyang’s color was boiling—the easiest time to distinguish. Zhao Changhe carefully attempted to infuse his soul power to separate the two, but he couldn’t grasp the method and failed.

He never considered that this attempt essentially meant simultaneous contact with the souls of both Cui Yuanyang and Piaomiao.

In her slumber, Piaomiao found herself dreaming. A man had broken into her dream, holding her close, whispering in her ear. Her body faintly sensed what was happening, a pleasant sensation that made her instinctively press closer to the soul in the dream.

The man in the dream was… Zhao Changhe?

The alien power of Ye Jiuyou’s spell invaded, and Piaomiao’s instinctive resistance caused her to awaken.

As Zhao Changhe continued his attempt, the part belonging to Piaomiao woke.

The pigment was just an analogy; the actual form was different. Zhao Changhe could clearly see a serene sleeping beauty, faintly reminiscent of the grace she had when she used the Four Mountains Rivers Sword to slay the demon of destruction. The mountains and rivers were imbued with spiritual essence, swirling into being.

The sleeping beauty’s eyes stirred slightly, as if dazed and intoxicated, then suddenly snapped open, glaring at Zhao Changhe before her. They stared at each other for a moment, and the sleeping beauty fainted from sheer fury.

Zhao Changhe’s spirit awkwardly withdrew entirely from her consciousness.

…

As dawn’s light began to glow, Cui Yuanyang fell asleep in utter satisfaction. Zhao Changhe gently stroked her flushed little face, bent down to kiss her, then draped his robe and rose.

The next moment, his form flickered, and he appeared before Ye Jiuyou.

Ye Jiuyou was still sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak. Zhao Changhe sat down opposite her, as if they were discussing Zen.

Ye Jiuyou’s expression was teasing: “Though it seemed a matter of pleasure, you were actually exhausting your mind and body. I doubt you enjoyed much yourself, did you?”

Zhao Changhe replied calmly, “As long as my wife is satisfied, that’s enough. Also, it seems the demon god Jiuyou doesn’t know everything—at least not about men.”

“Oh?” Ye Jiuyou asked curiously, “I’d like to hear more.”

“Generally speaking, for a man, only the final moment is truly pleasurable. The work before that isn’t enjoyable; it’s just tiring.”

Ye Jiuyou blinked: “Then why do people all over the world wish to last long?”

“One reason is for the other’s experience; the other is the psychological satisfaction of achievement and conquest. If it were only for oneself, using one’s hand would be better.”

Ye Jiuyou nodded: “Thank you for the lesson.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

One of the strongest ancient demon gods and the current top of the Heavenly Ranking sat facing each other, discussing this. And both were utterly serious, without a hint of embarrassment.

Though if you thought about it, discussing this earnestly could be considered academic… But if the Heavenly Dao still existed, it might think the world would be better off destroyed.

After a short while, Zhao Changhe said, “Is this how you treat a guest? Not even a cup of tea?”

Ye Jiuyou replied, “I’ve offered my house and my bed as hospitality. What more do you want? Should I offer myself as well?”

Zhao Changhe glanced at her chest involuntarily but said nothing.

Seeing his gaze, Ye Jiuyou smiled charmingly: “Do you want me to fulfill the bet?”

Zhao Changhe lowered his eyes slightly and said calmly, “I know that if I force you to keep your word, you’ll only renege. Reneging carries no psychological burden for you; it might even be your trademark.”

“Then why did you bet with me?”

“Only to prove myself, and to prove that your self-righteous judgments can be wrong. Both yours and Ye Wuming’s.”

“Ha… Now Ye Wuming has become something of a demon in your heart, you know? Everything revolves around her, even this need to prove something to her.”

“I know.” Zhao Changhe said calmly, “From the very beginning, she has been my demon, always. Even in my martial arts training, I must be wary—whether this move might be controlled by her, whether that one is manipulated by her. There is never a moment of peace in my heart.”

“She might be listening right now.”

“Then let her listen. Whether I say it or not, she already knows.”

Ye Jiuyou thought for a moment and laughed: “So, do you still intend to fight me as agreed? You know you’ll win, and I’ll still renege.”

“I will fight, but not now. Such an agreement is meaningless at present. The reason I came here is, first, for Yangyang, and second, to show my sincerity for cooperation. Whether you have sincerity is your affair; I need to demonstrate mine. That’s all.”

Ye Jiuyou found it intriguing: “Not now… When are you thinking?”

“Our agreement was that whoever wins gets to call the shots… But such a thing shouldn’t need an agreement. It’s always the weak who obey the strong. If I truly could defeat you, you wouldn’t be able to renege—even if you tried, you’d get beaten. When I can’t possibly win, this agreement is nothing but a joke, with no binding force.”

“So you mean, for now, you’re willing to listen to me?”

“At present, we haven’t established any cooperation, so there’s no question of who listens to whom.”

“But you need to establish cooperation with me.”

“Yes, but the cooperation I came to discuss has nothing to do with fighting, and certainly doesn’t require subordination.” Zhao Changhe said slowly, “Of course, you can attack me, kill me to take the Heavenly Book and the Star River Sword… But that is exactly what Ye Wuming wants to see. I believe you’re not foolish enough to take the bait.”

“How do you know that killing you is what Ye Wuming wants?”

“For certain reasons, Ye Wuming cannot kill you or Piaomiao. She needs to use my hand. If you and I truly fight to the death, at the critical moment, she might ambush you, and you could end up wounded by me. From the moment we met, you’ve never dared to go all out against me, always wary of Ye Wuming lurking. Otherwise, you would have killed me long ago, and I wouldn’t have lasted until now.”

“No wonder… You could have easily avoided carrying the Heavenly Book with you, knowing that carrying it means carrying Ye Wuming, and no matter where you go, you can’t escape her surveillance. Yet you still carry it. I thought you were foolish, but it turns out you’re using her to shield yourself from me?”

“Exactly. Any battle I have with demon gods is what Ye Wuming wants. Will you comply with her wishes?”

Ye Jiuyou tilted her head, staring at Zhao Changhe for a long time, before finally chuckling: “Your courage is truly immense… If your judgment is wrong, you would die by my hand right now, or become my puppet, living a fate worse than death.”

Zhao Changhe said calmly, “If a pawn wants to jump off the chessboard, it must be prepared to die. If it doesn’t even have that courage, it might as well go home and nurse a baby.”

Ye Jiuyou said, "Before, I asked you to give me the Heavenly Book, but you refused, saying I was a villain and couldn't be allowed to grow stronger... You wouldn't give me the Star River Sword either, saying it was your daughter... You refused this and that, so what is this 'cooperation unrelated to battle' you speak of?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Let me see your page of the Heavenly Book."

"Hm? What will you trade for it?"

"I have nothing to trade. Just let me see yours."

Ye Jiuyou's eyes widened, and she nearly laughed out loud: "Have you lost your mind?"

Zhao Changhe said seriously, "Ye Wuming cannot kill you, but can you kill Ye Wuming? She needs to borrow my hand, and so do you. She has painstakingly arranged for me to obtain so many pages of the Heavenly Book, making me stronger and stronger... Do you have her boldness? If not, I suggest you concede to your sister early—you are not worthy to compete with her."

Ye Jiuyou withdrew her smile, her expression turning grave.

Zhao Changhe calmly looked into her eyes.

Ye Jiuyou was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Giving you the Heavenly Book is not out of the question. But Ye Wuming also needs to collect all the pages; she only lacks this one... How can I be sure that giving it to you won't be making a wedding dress for her?"

"Of course you can't give it to me directly, then she would have them all. I said let me see it... You hold it in your hand, I won't touch it. Once Ye Wuming appears, I'll help you guard this page together. Piaomiao is also here; she won't be able to take it."

"You have already learned the Way of Space from Ying Wu and Xinghe. What do you need my page for? In fact, it's more suitable for you to learn these things from outside the Heavenly Book; what you learn from the book might inevitably be constrained by Ye Wuming."

"Because I need to peer into Time."

"Reason?"

"First, to see if I can find out what Ye Wuming really wants and what the Hanchi is suppressing; second, because I already have the Way of Causality, but causality cannot be separated from time. Each page of the Heavenly Book complements the others; missing one page makes it hard to achieve great success in the others. The page floating in the sky, based on current analysis, has nothing to do with martial arts itself, so the only page I need is the one in your hand."

Ye Jiuyou fell silent again, as if pondering.

Zhao Changhe said, "My thoughts on Ye Wuming are no different from a loud conspiracy; she knows all my thoughts thoroughly. I am not biased, and I speak plainly to you as well—when I become strong enough, I will be your enemy, and I might even kill you, because this world cannot have the demon gods of chaos and annihilation. That's all I have to say. How you choose is up to you."

Ye Jiuyou finally laughed: "Ye Wuming wants to introduce a variable outside the Heavenly Dao to be the knife in her hand. But if this knife is dull, it cannot achieve what she wants; if this knife is too sharp, it easily cuts its wielder. You are the latter... The knife has been sharpened until now, its edge fully exposed. I really want to know what Ye Wuming is feeling at this moment."

"She feels nothing. She deliberately wants me to be her enemy. Since that's what she wants, I'll oblige her."

Ye Jiuyou suddenly asked an irrelevant word out of nowhere: "Why did you say 'I might even kill you'? Shouldn't it be a must to eliminate the evil? Can't bear to?"

"Because..." Zhao Changhe, who had been answering without hesitation, now showed rare hesitation, thinking as he spoke: "Because I feel... you are different from when we first met, different from ancient legends—this shouldn't be the Jiuyou in my conception... You seem more and more human... I don't know what change has occurred, but if this direction continues, what reason is there to kill you?"

Ye Jiuyou smiled sweetly: "No need to say more. You just can't bear to. Am I nice to touch?"

Zhao Changhe's face was expressionless.

Truly, chaos has always bred clowns; normal people simply cannot understand. They were discussing such serious topics, why did it turn into this? How does her mind work?

Just as Zhao Changhe was about to try to steer the conversation back, Ye Jiuyou flipped her slender hand, and a page of golden silk appeared: "What you want—the last page."

Zhao Changhe was stunned, then heard Ye Jiuyou continue: "Regardless of whether this outcome is also what I need, in the end, the one who gains and improves is you. No matter how silver-tongued you are, remember that you owe me a favor."