Chapter 826: Separation of Soul and Spirit

Chapter 826: Separation of Soul and Spirit

It turned out that high cultivation did not guarantee skill in tea-making.

The tea Piaomiao brewed was far from satisfactory—steeped too long, bitter and astringent, quite unpleasant to drink.

Zhao Changhe, however, acted as if it were delicious, sipping tea while reading, downing several cups in silence.

Piaomiao ventured to ask, "How is it?"

"Mmm, good." Zhao Changhe looked up with a smile. "Refreshing and invigorating, reminds me of a specialty from my Zhao homeland called coffee. I wonder if Tang Buqi has come across this in his maritime trade; I'll remind him next time."

"Coffee?" Piaomiao curiously poured herself a cup and took a sip, only to spray it out with a "pfft." Embarrassed, she said, "I'll brew a new batch."

"No need." Zhao Changhe lowered his head to read again. "What matters isn't the tea itself, but that Piaomiao is brewing it for me."

"Even if it's bad?"

"I think it's excellent." He paused, then suddenly chuckled. "Hey, it just occurred to me—during festivals, we're supposed to offer you wine and set up sacrifices."

Piaomiao said, "So does the fact that I'm brewing tea for you in return make you feel differently?"

"If I said I was pursuing you for this sense of achievement, would you find it more believable?"

"You know I think your words are insincere?"

"Mm... In matters like this, you're even more naive than Yangyang. Your thoughts are practically written all over your face."

"..." Piaomiao thought to herself, *Your Yangyang is anything but naive; she's probably the most perceptive of all. What kind of misunderstanding do you have about your own wife?*

Zhao Changhe continued flipping through his book. "Actually, what I said earlier—I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking myself. I just said whatever came to mind. As for the outcome, I'll leave it to your judgment."

Piaomiao was silent for a moment, then brewed another pot, this time adjusting the heat, and handed him a cup.

After reading for a long while, Zhao Changhe suddenly spoke again. "I've been exploring the previous era for so long, and there's one thing about the ancient human realm that puzzles me... You are the spirit of the human realm, so this is right up your alley. Could you enlighten me?"

"Go ahead."

"In ancient times, it was an era of demon gods, with the Azure Dragon as the emperor of the mortal world. I've seen your dialogue with him... The Azure Dragon is a primordial demon god, with an endless lifespan. That means there were no Yao, Shun, Yu, no Qinghe Cui or Langya Wang, no poetry or songs... Yet these Buddhist and Taoist texts are very close to what I know... How did these allusions come down to the present age? Was there another era before the previous one?"

"Since the dawn of humanity, I have existed. I can confirm that there never were Yao, Shun, Yu, or Qinghe Cui, nor any related legends. So there cannot have been an earlier era. These all appeared inexplicably in this age. I suspect someone is maliciously confusing ancient history."

In Zhao Changhe's heart, only the name Ye Wuming surfaced.

It was she who had been to Earth and deliberately scattered these things in the ancient secret realms of this world, making people believe the previous era had possessed such things.

But how to explain the Four Symbols, Mara, and the Twenty-Eight Mansions? Those concepts were also from Earth.

Zhao Changhe had a vague inkling but decided to wait for confirmation. He simply said, "I see," and resumed studying the texts.

Piaomiao didn't press him on why he asked, silently continuing to brew tea.

Cui Yuanyang watched with her chin in her hands. Originally, she had encouraged Piaomiao to brew tea to create an ambiguous, romantic atmosphere of a lady adding fragrance to a scholar's sleeve. But somehow, it felt different—more like the beginning of a shift from chaotic entanglements to normal interaction. And oddly, there was a hint of a superior-subordinate dynamic, though she couldn't tell how it had arisen.

But theoretically, Piaomiao might indeed be meant to assist him...

As the sun slanted westward, Zhao Changhe rubbed his temples in mild headache, resting his elbows on the table and closing his eyes in thought. The Way of Causality was too abstruse; when manifested in written texts, it became even more obscure—almost abstract. Fortunately, he already had a solid foundation, having started from studying trees to sever causality. Now, with additional insights from other texts, he was indeed making progress.

But his spirit was flagging; contemplating such a taxing subject was exhausting.

Unknowingly, he fell asleep, the strong tea unable to keep him awake.

Piaomiao's first thought was that he had entered a meditative state from enlightenment, and she was about to guard him. But upon closer inspection, she realized he was simply asleep. After hesitating for a while, she finally reached out, lifted Zhao Changhe, carried him into the room, laid him on the bed, and covered him with a quilt.

Cui Yuanyang finally spoke. "You do like him, don't you?"

Piaomiao said, "He truly is a hero... At least I understand why you love him. Yangyang, let's merge. Let you be the dominant one."

Cui Yuanyang was surprised. "Why? You haven't even taken revenge yet."

"As I've said before, the most natural relationship between us was always for you to awaken with my memories. My extra awakening was an error caused by the Ye sisters... Since it's an error, it should be corrected anytime. By then, you will avenge me anyway, and the karma will naturally pass to you."

"I won't do it. You avenge yourself." Cui Yuanyang said, "Are you running away?"

"Running away from what? I wish I could tear Ye Wuming to pieces!"

"You're running away from the fact that if you truly develop feelings for Brother Zhao and want to create a separate body, you'll be at Ye Wuming's mercy because of the lotus platform. You don't know how to face that day, so you want to end it now, while the feelings are still shallow."

Piaomiao's heart skipped a beat.

Cui Yuanyang continued, "So far, I've gained nothing from this so-called reincarnation. Instead, it's disrupted my normal life, forced me to leave my parents and stay in this godforsaken Kunlun for so long, unable to control my own body for even an hour a day, and caused Brother Zhao to be covered in wounds for this. I don't blame you, since there were reasons, but I truly have no obligation to bear all this. It's an undeserved calamity for both me and Brother Zhao... Sister, I don't want your memories or your power. You handle your own burdens—whether hatred or love. I am a daughter of the Cui family; I have my own life."

Piaomiao was speechless.

Cui Yuanyang added, "You can't figure out Brother Zhao's feelings for you. It's actually simple: he thinks you're good because you're good to me. Mixed in is a conqueror's desire toward an ancient top-tier demon god, which is the demon heart stirred by Mara. He himself can't distinguish it. He has many desires and emotions; not everything is about love between men and women. Brother Zhao is just a mortal; his desires aren't that lofty."

Piaomiao stammered, "He... he said he likes me, that was..."

"He has a strong sense of responsibility. He feels that since he's been intimate with you, he should take responsibility, pursue you, and make you feel secure." Cui Yuanyang said, "Now, the truth is, you're the one falling for him... Your demon heart was suppressed for his sake, without even needing any spell. It was like that before the intimacy, and even more so after—after all, he truly is your man now... See how quiet you've been today? Where's the tantrum-throwing you from before?"

"..." Piaomiao finally felt that the things she couldn't understand these past two days had suddenly become clear.

So the most perceptive one was this little green tea. When she wasn't playing the weakling, she was a master-level advisor—at least a grandmaster in understanding Zhao Changhe, because for years, all her thoughts had been focused on every bit of news about this man.

Even though they had met very, very rarely.

"So you had me brew tea not to test my feelings?"

"It was to make him understand your feelings. A woman doesn't serve tea to just any man, let alone an ancient demon god. But he probably hasn't realized it yet—too many women, he's starting to take it for granted. Stinking playboy."

"..."

"Anyway, the two of you have never had a proper man-woman relationship. This is the beginning." Cui Yuanyang rested her chin on her hand. "I heard from my parents that before their marriage, they had never even met. They only started building feelings after the wedding night. I guess you two are the same now..."

Piaomiao felt that the one who truly deserved to be served tea was this master.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep too. You handle it yourself." Cui Yuanyang hugged her knees and crouched in a corner of her consciousness, soon dozing off.

Who wasn't mentally exhausted these past two days? Cui Yuanyang's soul had been knocked unconscious several times just by the demonic energy leaking from Piaomiao's tantrums...

Piaomiao felt a pang of guilt. As Cui Yuanyang had just pointed out in her outburst, she truly had no obligation to bear all this. She had her own life. She hadn't gained a single benefit from being a demon god's reincarnation, only trouble.

Piaomiao sighed softly, lowered her head, and gently stroked Zhao Changhe's slightly sweaty forehead.

If anyone was the most exhausted, it was him. Today was supposed to be a day of rest, yet he had spent the whole day studying the most abstruse Buddhist texts.

Piaomiao pondered for a moment, and a faint energy stirred in her hand.

In his sleep, Zhao Changhe suddenly felt a great comfort. A misty spiritual energy seeped in, protecting his consciousness and nourishing his soul. He had felt something similar before—when the stone wall's soul-stealing mirror had attacked him, he had used his heart-soul chain to lock his own spirit, while at the same time a vast energy of mountains and rivers had protected him. That was the passive protection and bestowal of fortune from the mountain and river veins.

But this time, it was an active gift.

He had a vague feeling that he could fully borrow this immense power, that it could become his own strength—just like the Changsheng Heavenly God using the grassland's veins on his home turf.

Zhao Changhe woke up and saw in his soul sea that the mountains and rivers were covered in purple energy.

Opening his eyes, he saw Piaomiao sitting quietly beside him.

A strange expression crossed his face. According to his cultivation knowledge, this was the mountain and river veins actively empowering him. In other words, as long as Piaomiao was by his side, no matter where he was, it was his home ground—he carried the divine land of China with him.

Even past human emperors hadn't enjoyed such treatment; others had to pray for protection and blessing.

Not only had he received a buff, but his cultivation had inexplicably increased by a notch—a gift from Piaomiao.

"You... what are you doing?" Zhao Changhe couldn't help asking. "Won't this harm your cultivation?"

"No." Piaomiao said calmly, "My cultivation only requires the prosperity of the mountains and rivers; then my power is inexhaustible. What truly prevents me from returning to my peak is that the world is not yet unified. In fact, my current power is not weaker than in ancient times, because I have gained the submission of the spirit race... Once Guanlong and the Western Regions are under your control, I will be even stronger than before."

"Then earlier, when you possessed Yangyang's body to train on her behalf, was it purely for body refinement?"

"Yes."

"Then if we could separate you from Yangyang, could you exist purely as a spirit? After all, you were originally a spirit—you shouldn't need a lotus throne for a body, right? If you had a body before, wouldn't it have been the mountains and rivers of the earth?"

"Not exactly." Piaomiao paused. "I once fashioned a body for myself; otherwise, why would a spirit need to bathe?"

"Uh..."

"Originally, I did take the mountains and rivers as my body, but there was a limitation: the body couldn't move, and the spirit, bound by it, could only act in the human realm, unable to go elsewhere. So I managed to shape a body, but the essence of the mountains and rivers remained. That's why I had a reincarnated self—otherwise, like Poxun, I would have been reborn into the world's rivers and mountains, with no need for reincarnation at all. In other words, in this life, I cannot exist solely as a spirit; I truly need a body."

Zhao Changhe nodded. "I understand... So, taking advantage of your current demonic state, where your soul's entanglement with Yangyang isn't as deep, I'll take this chance to separate you two. Once you have a body, you can possess it anytime. How about that?"

Piaomiao nodded. "Alright."

Originally, to separate the two, aside from lacking a body, the biggest problem was that the soul entanglement was impossible to untangle—like two pigments stirred together. But precisely in this demonic state, the part belonging to Piaomiao appeared especially dark and dense. With someone's help to carefully distinguish, there was indeed a chance to separate them clearly.

However, such a complete exposure of the soul to another's sorting required absolute trust. If anything went wrong, both entangled souls would become mindless.

A few days ago, Piaomiao would never have agreed, but now she was willing—whether trusting his character or his ability.

Zhao Changhe entered Piaomiao's sea of consciousness again. Cui Yuanyang was sleeping, her soul intertwined with Piaomiao's. In many places, they had seemed inseparable before, but now the heavy demonic intent made them easy to distinguish. Zhao Changhe took out the soul-chain and bound the two again, whispering, "Sorry, I'm afraid you'll move in pain and cause trouble. I'll tie you up first."

Piaomiao didn't mind. "Alright... go ahead."

Zhao Changhe bound them and began to try cutting them apart.

As he cut in, a strong sensation of soul friction arose. Cui Yuanyang was jolted awake, and all three trembled at once.

Cui Yuanyang blinked.

She had thought the separation would hurt, but it didn't—it was... pleasurable?

So the process was practically like Zhao Changhe having a threesome?

Yuanyang was willing, of course... but she wondered if Sister Piaomiao would agree... Well, it should be fine, since the posture wasn't that kind of act. Sister Piaomiao probably hadn't even thought of it that way. So let her endure it. Cui Yuanyang would bet that Piaomiao wouldn't dare to cry out, forcing herself to believe it was just treatment.

Sure enough, stealing a glance at Piaomiao, her soul appeared with eyes tightly shut, body trembling, eyelids clenched.

As Zhao Changhe continued, she suddenly opened her eyes wide, expression dazed, yet she held back and said nothing. Instinctively wanting to writhe, but bound by the chain, only the faintest hint of resistance remained.

The sight was utterly amusing...

Cui Yuanyang didn't care about that—if it felt good, she'd cry out. So Piaomiao found herself not only suffering soul torment but also bombarded by enchanting sounds. This little fox had no shame at all... We're separating souls to start anew, what do you think this is? How can you moan like that?

Might as well take a Dragon Sparrow and cleave us apart—this is unbearable...

Dragon Sparrow and Star River dutifully circled around their bodies, guarding them. Dragon Sparrow stroked its chin, observing the man and woman on the bed. Though both were in a trance, their bodies unconsciously flushed and heated, and there were sounds...

Most amusing was Aunt Yuanyang's body—her voice kept changing, as if two different people were taking turns having erotic dreams. Utterly fascinating.