The Demon Lord's Invasion

Chapter 46: Journey to the Boundless Sea

“Junior Sister Gao, you’d better keep your distance from him from now on!” The female disciple who spoke was Yu Xinian of Qingling Cave, also the top-ranked young disciple in teleportation techniques this year. “A romantic ordeal!” Suddenly, another female disciple said to Gao Heng, “Judging by Junior Brother Jiang’s facial features, I see he has no dimples, and the light in his eyes is somewhat hazy and tinged with melancholy—a sign of being lost in love. On top of that… on this journey, he’ll likely be surrounded by romantic entanglements and face countless trials!” This female disciple was Ning Yuanshu of the Fénxīn Cave—the top diviner in Xian Zong among those under thirty! Consequently, her words were taken as gospel by those present, and they also piqued the curiosity of all the disciples, who, putting their shyness aside, began asking her to predict their romantic fortunes or the blessings and misfortunes of this journey. “Did you hear that? Romantic entanglements everywhere!” Yu Chang lay across Jiang Tang’s lap, smiling charmingly. Jiang Tang sighed and tried to move his body, but felt nothing—clearly, Yu Chang had placed a restriction on him. He couldn’t help but say gloomily, “And there are countless tribulations ahead.” “You brought that on yourself!” Yu Chang said, running her finger over Jiang Tang’s faint dimple. “Aren’t these just ‘smile dimples’?” “Smile dimples only appear when you smile; these are just dimples,” Jiang Tang replied. After a moment of silence, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Your feelings for me are just a figment of your imagination. Love? Hah, what is that anyway? Just getting by together? Don’t be silly.” Yu Chang smiled, wrapped her arms around Jiang Tang’s neck, pulled his head down toward hers, and looked him straight in the eyes. “The more you act like this, the more I love you!” Jiang Tang smiled and said, “I like you.” Yu Chang immediately said, her eyes filled with adoration, “Say it again.” Jiang Tang took a deep breath, his gaze even more adoring than Yu Chang’s, and murmured, ““I like you. I’ve liked you since the moment I saw your portrait. Whether you like me or not, whether you ignore me, reject me, or even end up with another man—whether you marry him, sleep with him, and have children—I’ll still like you. Even if you die, countless years from now, as long as I’m alive, I’ll miss you every single moment.” Yu Chang froze, a flush of color rapidly spreading across her cheeks. As she stood there dazed, the adoration in Jiang Tang’s eyes vanished in an instant, and he sneered, “This is what love truly is—it’s selfless. You don’t have that. Haven’t you been cultivating through obsession? Well, I’m going to shatter that obsession right now. For every foot you love me, I’ll love you ten feet. Come on, let’s disgust each other.” Having lived in the age of the information explosion in his previous life, the cultural influences Jiang Tang had absorbed were far beyond what an ascetic like Yu Chang could ever hope to match. Jiang Tang figured that since Yu Chang was tough, he’d try a softer approach—after all, there had to be one she wouldn’t like! But upon hearing this, Yu Chang’s cheeks flushed crimson, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged. Finally, she suddenly rolled over and pinned Jiang Tang to the ground. Her eyes bloodshot and gasping for breath, she said, “I can’t take it anymore. I have to have you—so you’ll say these sickening words to me every single day, every single moment!” “Holy shit, drool, drool—wipe it off… Ugh, you’re so gross!” Jiang Tang was at his wits’ end. Yu Chang’s expression was exactly like that of a middle-aged man forcing himself on a schoolgirl—it truly disgusted Jiang Tang to no end! “I absolutely love it when you look at me like that!” Seeing the disgust in Jiang Tang’s eyes only made Yu Chang more excited. Finally unable to control herself, she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and leaned in close. The light in Jiang Tang’s eyes faded just as he was about to succumb to the darkness. Suddenly, a beam of black light shot from his chest. At the same moment, Yu Chang’s face flashed with shock; she instantly pulled away from Jiang Tang and stood by the window, glaring coldly at the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared. Qiong Sang flapped its wings as it hovered over Jiang Tang, glaring coldly at Yu Chang and saying, “Do you want to kill Jiang Zi? If you lay a hand on him, your mother will surely kill him.” “You have the nerve to say that!” Jiang Tang snapped. If it weren’t for Qiong Sang, would Jiang Tang have gone to Piaomiao Peak? If he hadn’t gone, perhaps nothing would have happened. Now, with this madwoman clinging to him, he was effectively at odds with both Nikuang Mountain and Xian Zong! “Sigh, I never expected she really was a descendant of the Passionate Immortal Maiden.” Jiang Tang didn’t believe a word Qiong Sang said! “Just what kind of demonic creature are you, clinging to Tangtang—what are you plotting?” Yu Chang glared coldly at Qiong Sang for a moment, then suddenly turned to Jiang Tang with a gentle expression and said, “Tangtang, come here. Chang’er will protect you.” “Get lost,” Jiang Tang snapped angrily, then turned to Yu Chang and Qiong Sang, his voice weak. “Please, just stop this, okay? I just want to cultivate in peace. Yu Chang, please lift the restraints.” Yu Chang, however, said smugly, “Call me Chang’er and let me hear it.” Jiang Tang’s temples throbbed as he shot a sidelong glance at Qiong Sang and said in a deep voice, ““He wrote all those letters. He’s just bored out of his mind and has nothing better to do than toy with you—got it? You’re the woman destined to marry into the Yamamoto clan of Nikuang Mountain, and I’m the man who’s going to wipe out the Yamamoto clan. I’d be grateful if you didn’t kill me. One day, when I storm Nikuang Mountain, I’ll spare your husband’s family line. But if you kill me, I’ll return in the next life and uproot both Nikuang Mountain and Xian Zong.” “That’s so badass, Little Jiang Zi!” Qiong Sang praised. “Mm, so badass!” Yu Chang said, mesmerized. “Wote?” Jiang Tang had absolutely no idea what was so domineering about that. “What you just said is practically a declaration of war against the United States.” Suddenly, a flash of black light appeared on Jiang Tang’s chest, and Dongfang materialized, addressing Yu Chang: “You can’t control Jiang Tang—it’s impossible, even with Xian Zong’s tacit approval. Give it up.” “Saying that will only make it even harder for her to give up,” Qiong Sang chuckled. Dongfang shot him a withering glance, then turned to Yu Chang: “It’s up to you. But Qiong Sang is right—if you don’t want Jiang Tang to die, you’d best stay away from him. If you agree to this, I can guarantee that one day you two will certainly become Dao companions. After all, Jiang Tang does like you—provided, of course, that you haven’t already married.” “Really?” Yu Chang looked at Jiang Tang. Jiang Tang froze for a moment, then noticed that both Qiong Sang and Dongfang were nodding at him. He lowered his eyes in resignation and grunted, “Mm-hmm.” Yu Chang’s heart immediately soared with joy, and she cursed, “Liar!” “What the hell?” Jiang Tang was speechless. Was that supposed to be an acceptance? “Madmen have no logic,” Dongfang said in Chinese before drifting back into the black box. “It’s a fine line between a madman and a fool,” Qiong Sang added in Chinese before following him back into the black box. No matter how clever or resourceful Yu Chang was, or how profound her cultivation, there was no way she could fully understand a foreign language! Although she had used the Seven-Star Illusion Array to unlock the mental imprint within Jiang Tang’s puppet and transfer it to herself—allowing her to enter Jiang Tang’s mind—she could only comprehend through his thoughts, not through the language itself. This was the only drawback of the Seven-Star Illusion Array: anything she had never seen or experienced would not manifest within it—especially through a mental imprint. Conversely, the richer one’s life experience, the harder it is to remain self-aware once trapped within the illusion. However, the situation would be different if someone were stationed there to oversee it. But Yu Chang hadn’t reached that stage yet. Given her state of mind, if a massive influx of emotions, perceptions, and mental states created by others were to suddenly flood her, she would be trapped in an illusion for the rest of her life. Even if she emerged from the array, she would remain in a daze, unable to distinguish reality from illusion—perhaps not even knowing who she was. The disciples on the first deck were completely unaware of the goings-on on the second deck of the painted boat; they continued to chat and laugh, yet no one dared to ask what Junior Brother Jiang was actually doing up there with the Junior Great-Uncle! The spirit vessel traveled at breakneck speed, capable of covering ten thousand li in a single day and night. Yet the sea ahead seemed endless; it wasn’t until three days later that a vast ice plain finally came into view. The spirit vessel did not pause for a moment; after drifting onto the ice plain, it continued to speed forward until it had soared over a massive glacial canyon, at which point it finally came to a halt. Yu Chang appeared at the bow of the ship, her face radiant and showing no sign of fatigue. In contrast, the nine disciples looked somewhat listless from the monotony of the past few days, but when they saw Jiang Tang, they were all taken aback. “Junior Brother Jiang, what’s wrong with you?” “Pull yourself together, Junior Brother Jiang.” Jiang Tang stepped off the boat like a zombie, seemingly oblivious to what others were saying. He stood there in a daze for a while before asking listlessly, “We’re here.” “Not yet,” Gao Heng said as she walked over. Jiang Tang instantly looked completely bewildered again and asked, “Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?” “Are you okay?” Gao Heng was about to step closer when she suddenly sensed something; she immediately took several steps back and said to the group, “It’s okay—he’s fine.” “As if he’s fine!” Though all the disciples thought this, none dared to say it aloud. Even Gao Heng—a tomboy who never took orders from anyone—was so frightened by a single glare from her junior great-uncle that she cowered like a quail; the rest of the disciples dared not utter a word. “Let’s go.” Yu Chang’s tone was as indifferent as ever, making it hard to imagine what she had actually done to Junior Brother Jiang. The disciples cast a glance at Jiang Tang, then, with puzzled expressions, followed Yu Chang as they floated down the glacier. Although Jiang Tang’s expression remained blank, he too slowly floated along behind them. Amid the vast glacial mountain range, the occasional silhouette of a ferocious beast would flash by, but none of them had any desire to hunt them. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, such beasts were of no use to them—though ancient ferocious beasts were a different matter; even a beast containing a single thread of their bloodline was enough to have cultivators fighting tooth and nail over it. As Jiang Tang followed the group as they soared over a massive glacial crevasse a thousand zhang wide, he suddenly heard a male disciple ahead say, “We should be nearing the Sea of No Abyss soon.” “The Boundless Abyss!” Jiang Tang’s gaze darted around, as if searching for something. The Boundless Abyss was the former Ice Lotus Mountains—the very place Qiong Sang had mentioned as the site where the Shenwu Emperor had self-detonated. Not only had the Ice Lotus Mountains been obliterated, but the seabed had been blasted to an unknown depth as well. Jiang Tang had no idea what kind of world lay beneath, nor had he ever heard anyone mention it. This glacier was a remnant of the Ice Lotus Mountains; it had taken them a full day of flight to reach the border of the Boundless Abyss. Yu Chang raised her hand to signal everyone to stop, then flung a sound-transmission talisman into the air before sitting cross-legged to regulate her qi. Seeing this, the other disciples also sat down to replenish their spiritual energy. They remained motionless for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until nightfall that a streak of light appeared on the horizon. After a few flashes, it materialized above them. As the light faded, an elderly man in a gray robe floated down. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly spotted Jiang Tang and exclaimed in surprise, “Third Disciple, I can’t believe you’re here.” “This disciple greets you, Master,” Jiang Tang said, clasping his hands in a bow. “We pay our respects to Senior Uncle Tie,” the other nine disciples said in unison, bowing deeply. The visitor was none other than Tie Wu Yi. He did not linger in conversation with Jiang Tang; after dismissing the disciples’ courtesies, he said to Yu Chang, “It truly comes as a surprise to this nephew that you were able to come, Auntie.” At these words, the disciples couldn’t help but chuckle. Tie Wu Yi looked every bit his age—well into his seventies or eighties—while Yu Chang looked no different from a young girl. But such is the way of Xian Zong: seniority is set in stone, and no one can challenge it. If blame is to be assigned, it falls on the old monster who took Yu Chang as a disciple. Rumor has it that he not only took her in but also accepted four more disciples after her—all of whom he had designated while they were still in their mothers’ wombs. It’s said he was preparing to make a grand wager with the Patriarch of Nikuang Mountain, though few know what exactly was at stake. Yu Chang shot them a cold glance, instantly silencing the disciples. “Thank you, Senior,” Yu Chang said, bowing to Tie Wu and his party. “You’re too kind, Senior Uncle,” Tie Wu Yi replied. He seemed to be aware of Yu Chang’s aloof nature, so he cut to the chase and led the group as they flew toward the Wuyuan Sea.