Chapter 839

Ugly?

Xiao Jiu could hardly imagine how Liu Junyan could be associated with 'ugly'.

Even at his most miserable, when his injuries were worst, Liu Junyan had never been ugly.

The battle-worn Liu Junyan was even more manly.

However, Xiao Jiu wasn't greedy either.

If you won't let me see, then I won't look for now.

After all he's been through, he can still be by my side, be held in his arms, feel his warmth—Xiao Jiu is already satisfied.

"Āyàn, are you tired?"

"Not tired."

"Then shall we talk?"

"Mm, good."

"Our Little Third is a boy; we named him Liu Dingchuan. On his full‑month day he endured three heavenly thunderbolts, successfully transformed into human form, and Xiaoye said he is an ao, a dragon‑turtle in body. Xiaoye wants to personally raise him, and he is now in the Linghai Dragon Palace."

"I know, his successful transformation eased my burden here, and I could only bear it."

Sure enough, Xiao Jiu's earlier guess was still correct.

"Āyàn, by now, about Old Turtle and Little Third, shouldn't we talk?"

After a brief silence, Xiao Jiu felt Liu Junyan kiss her hair.

Then he said: "This matter has to start from the year I was forced to ascend."

"That year I helped Old Turtle block several heavenly thunderbolts, saving his life. I had planned to leave immediately after the thunder ended and go home with you, but I never expected Old Turtle, unwilling to let the myriad beings of Suedi perish, to sacrifice his own spiritual power and merit, nourishing Suedi's life‑force, and finally force‑feed his inner elixir to me."

Xiao Jiu nodded; she was well aware of this.

"Xiao Jiu, you know I never wanted to ascend; I had given up the chance more than once, but in the end I was persuaded by Old Turtle's last trace of spiritual consciousness. This is my inevitable path—each avoidance piles up endlessly until the day I can no longer evade, when an intensity I cannot bear crashes down on me."

"Perhaps it's because I'm not as noble as other cultivators who ascend; I was forced to ascend with selfish motives, and even before ascending I set a memory anchor for myself, so that after reporting to the lower realm I could recover my memories quickly and reunite with you sooner."

As it turned out, a memory anchor really existed.

Xiao Jiu couldn't help but ask: "What is your memory anchor? The burnt fish in the cave? The farewell at Cangwu Mountain? Or the willow‑branch bracelet?"

"My memory anchor is only the willow‑branch bracelet," Liu Junyan sighed. "But the moment my feet touched the human world, I realized I didn't need to preset a memory anchor—our shared memories are too many. Xiao Jiu, every moment with you is etched deep into my blood and flesh; even the slightest trigger will instantly bring you to mind."

The large hand holding Xiao Jiu's right hand tightened; she felt its strength, moved and reassured.

"In the first year after my ascent, I tempered my mind in the upper realm; my mind was a blank slate, I remembered nothing, and the days were fulfilling yet dull."

"At the end of the second year I was assigned to the northern borders to clear the meridians; at first I could only merge my true form with the meridians, working tirelessly until I had cleared all the northern meridians, after which I returned once more to the upper realm."

Xiao Jiu exclaimed: "You went back again?"

"I went back to report on my duties," Liu Junyan said. "Later, recalling that period, I felt those years might have been another test from the upper realm. When I passed through Zàng Qū and listened to the Dharma within the meridians, fragments of memory surged in my mind, almost prompting me to burst out of the meridians."

Xiao Jiu asked: "What would happen if I really burst out of the meridians then?"

Liu Junyan pondered, then said: "If I saw Xingchen, I would surely think of you; then my mind would surely fall into chaos, the trial would fail, and what I would face would not be heavenly punishment, but…"

Xiao Jiu knew that the punishments harsher than heavenly punishment basically come in three kinds.

One is to be stripped of divine registry, imprisoned, and never see the light of day again in this life.

Another is to have one's spiritual bones gouged out, the dantian crushed, and be beaten back to one's original form, leaving no possibility of cultivation.

As the saying goes, 'a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs.' For someone like Liu Junyan, if he met such an end, before Xiao Jiu even got the news he would likely have been skinned alive of his inner elixir, left with nowhere to bury his corpse.

The last is to be blasted to ashes by heavenly thunder.

In short, none of these outcomes are good.

Fortunately Liu Junyan endured, he successfully cleared and smoothed the earth vein lines in that northern region, endured numerous trials, then returned to the upper realm, was conferred a title, formally appointed as Earth Vein Divine Dragon, to report duties in the lower realm.

Hearing this, Xiao Jiu finally understood: Liu Junyan had not been appointed to a divine post from the start.

Rather, only after he endured the trials and achieved some results was he conferred the title.

It was really not easy.

Indeed, every step was extremely difficult.

Xiao Jiu really wanted to hug Liu Junyan to comfort him.

Unfortunately Liu Junyan wouldn't let her turn around, so she could only press his large hand, which she was holding, against his chest to give him warmth.

Xiao Jiu knew Liu Junyan spoke lightly, brushing off all those years of hardship in a casual manner, simply not wanting her to worry.

She could understand his difficulty and also analyze that after his appointment, things were harder for him: "Suedi is a watershed; after passing this watershed, you not only gradually recalled me, but also discovered some things that were off, right?"

"Xiao Jiu, you are more perceptive than I." Liu Junyan said, "Actually, when I passed through Suedi's earth veins, I did recall you, but I did not realize the greater challenge awaiting me; perhaps during that time I was trapped in the whirlpool of memory, thus overlooking other matters."

"I repeatedly verified our relationship while heading south; as my memory recovered more fully, I also discovered that my body was undergoing a series of subtle changes in this process, and the surge of Spiritual Qi along the earth vein lines was also strange."

Finally, we come to the point Xiao Jiu cares about most and wants to clarify.

Xiao Jiu asked: "Are the changes happening to you related to the tortoise-shell pattern? And is the surge of Spiritual Qi along the earth vein lines being disturbed by the nefarious qi?"

Liu Junyan was greatly relieved: "This is why I am certain that even if I cannot say anything, I am still sure you will understand me, and can follow my course of action to achieve ultimate union with me."

"I have studied your route; before Zhe region, I was right every time." Xiao Jiu said, "Actually, for that Zhe region incident, I didn't go, yet you could still have passed safely."

It just so happened that the Meng family came knocking; otherwise Xiao Jiu would not have gone to Zhe region.

But unexpectedly Liu Junyan said: "No, if you hadn't gone to Zhe region then, I would probably have suffered serious injury; it's not that I couldn't immediately see through the opponent's Formation Array, but rather at that time I had been entangled by the nefarious qi for a long time, so though willing, I lacked the strength for many matters."