The two of them had both done things that Lanxing hated behind his back. They were grasshoppers tied to the same rope, and all they could do was see which one fate would favor.
As things stood now, it seemed that his luck was ultimately better.
The seal on Zhuohua was far too strange. No matter how many times Xi Yu summoned it, he couldn’t find it.
He could only descend to the mortal world and push Lanxing’s progress along, not giving Zhi Yue time to find Chenyu.
Every day, he lived in fear that one wrong step would cause Lanxing to discover his identity. But now, everything was about to end.
The two people on either side of him had completely different thoughts.
Xi Yu noticed none of this. He crossed the sea of flowers and stood before the stone stele.
Xi Yu frowned and touched the air in front of him.
“What a solid barrier.”
After saying this, spiritual power gathered in his palm, and he struck the barrier with all his might.
Just as expected, it didn’t move at all.
Seeing this, Chenyu chuckled.
“This barrier is extremely sturdy. Breaking through it will be difficult. Why not use a simpler method~?”
Xi Yu glanced sideways at Chenyu.
Chenyu flew up from his shoulder and landed on top of the stone stele. His voice was hoarse.
“To enter Wutong Village, you only need to walk across the Heart-Probing Stone.”
The moment Chenyu finished speaking, a circular disc of jade emerged beneath the feet of the three of them.
……………………
Xi Yu stared at Chenyu.
“It’s that simple?”
“Simple?” Chenyu laughed. Accompanied by his unpleasant voice, he let out a strange, cackling sound.
“Cack-cack-cack… You’re underestimating the Heart-Probing Stone.”
“The most terrifying thing in this world is the obsession within the human heart.”
“The Heart-Probing Stone can draw out the thing a person desires most deeply, creating an illusion that causes them to lose themselves and become its nourishment.”
“For so many years, countless people have wanted to enter Wutong Village, but in the end, they all died on the Heart-Probing Stone. Only those who are utterly pure and good, with nothing they desire, can safely pass through it.”
“In the past hundred years, only one person has passed the Heart-Probing Stone. You met him just a few days ago.”
That was the unlucky bastard Chenyu had slashed with a swipe.
Xi Yu’s eyes flickered.
“You mean only one person has entered Wutong Village in the past hundred years?”
Chenyu said, “Not exactly. A few years ago, Biaozi brought his companion inside. One was a human and one was a demon, and they were a married couple. Strangely enough, both of them had desires in their hearts and were originally about to become nourishment for the Heart-Probing Stone, but they were saved by a powerful aura. They crossed the barrier, but since they didn’t enter by passing through the Heart-Probing Stone, they don’t count.”
Xi Yu blinked and said nothing more.
Lu Zhixing’s gaze fell on Luo Cheng’an, whose face had turned somewhat pale, and a trace of mockery appeared in his eyes.
Chenyu circled above the three of them before landing back on Xi Yu’s shoulder.
“With your cultivation, you can forcibly break through the barrier, but you might get injured in the process. So? Have you made up your mind~?”
Chenyu sounded somewhat excited as he spoke. He was currently under Xi Yu’s control through his spiritual power and couldn’t return to his true body.
But if Xi Yu entered the Heart-Probing Stone, things would be different.
Even if Xi Yu were a god, it was impossible for him to be completely without desire. Chenyu knew that, given Xi Yu’s cultivation, there was no way he would be unable to escape. But as long as Xi Yu was trapped for even a little while, the control over his spiritual power would fluctuate. At that moment, Chenyu would be able to return to his true body and no longer be controlled by anyone.
Even better, if Xi Yu forcibly broke through the barrier and got injured, Chenyu would be able to run away even faster.
They had already reached Wutong Village. As long as he returned to his true body, what did he have to fear from these people?
Heh heh.
Thinking this, Chenyu looked toward Lu Zhixing. Since his black mist had no eyes, no one could see the burning excitement in his gaze.
The new Demon Venerable had arrived. Once Lu Zhixing unlocked his seal, he would be free.
Chenyu excitedly churned and tumbled in the air.
Xi Yu stared at the jade stone beneath his feet for two seconds, then turned to look at Lu Zhixing and Luo Cheng’an.
“You two go first.”
Luo Cheng’an shook his head, looking somewhat frightened.
“I don’t dare.”
“Don’t be afraid,” Xi Yu said. “I’m here.”
It was only the Heart-Probing Stone. If the two of them truly had desires and became trapped inside, he could intervene.
If they could pass through successfully, then he wouldn’t have to help them.
The fact that it was already so difficult just to enter through the gate meant there would certainly be even more troublesome things inside. With difficulties waiting at every turn, he needed to preserve his strength.
Lu Zhixing stepped forward.
“I’ll go.”
Xi Yu looked at Lu Zhixing with some concern.
Actually, he wasn’t too worried about Luo Cheng’an. Luo Cheng’an had golden light protecting him.
But Lu Zhixing was different. If he truly had desires, once the obsessions of his heart were magnified, they could cause the demonic energy within him to fluctuate.
But whether he was worried or not, Lu Zhixing still had to cross the Heart-Probing Stone.
“All right. You go first.”
Xi Yu took off the ring from his hand and put it onto Lu Zhixing’s finger.
“It’ll protect you. Don’t be afraid.”
Lu Zhixing lowered his eyes, watching Xi Yu put the ring on him, and his heart stirred.
This wasn’t the first time Xi Yu had put a ring on him. Xi Yu had also put a ring on his finger during the variety show.
He had always felt that this gesture seemed like a proposal.
Like a shackle that bound a person, one they would willingly endure even if it meant giving up their life.
Lu Zhixing laughed softly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
Xi Yu watched him walk toward the Heart-Probing Stone without saying anything, thinking only—
How could he possibly be fine?
There was demonic energy within Lu Zhixing. It would probably be very difficult for him to come back out.
Xi Yu began to regret it. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Lu Zhixing wouldn’t be able to pass. Demonic energy was born from desire and greed. That thing would affect him.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go. I’ll just break my way in…”
Before Xi Yu could finish the word “in,” he watched in disbelief as Lu Zhixing took two steps and walked across the Heart-Probing Stone.
The terrifying thing Chenyu had described was as easy as walking on flat ground beneath Lu Zhixing’s feet.
????
Lu Zhixing stepped off the Heart-Probing Stone, entered the barrier, and turned around to look at Xi Yu.
“What did you just say?”
Xi Yu straightened his expression.
“Huh? I didn’t say anything. You must have imagined it.”
Unnecessary!
All that worrying had been completely unnecessary!
His disciple was simply that pure and good!
So what if he had demonic energy? It couldn’t affect his disciple in the slightest!
Amazing~
The smile on Xi Yu’s face fell into Lu Zhixing’s eyes, causing a bitter feeling to rise in his chest.
His eyelashes trembled, and he looked away, bitterly laughing to himself.
Xi Yu probably thought that he had been able to pass the Heart-Probing Stone because he had no desires.
But it was precisely the opposite.
It was because his obsession was too deep that he knew he couldn’t pass the Heart-Probing Stone and was afraid Xi Yu would discover his identity.
So when Chenyu said that entering Wutong Village required them to pass through the Heart-Probing Stone, he had forced Chenyu to tell him how to pass it.
As long as he sealed away his seven emotions and six desires while crossing the Heart-Probing Stone, he could pass through it with ease.
Luo Cheng’an poked his head out from behind Xi Yu and couldn’t help applauding.
“That’s amazing, Brother Lu! I want to try too.”
With Lu Zhixing going first, Luo Cheng’an seemed completely unafraid now. As he spoke, he stepped onto the Heart-Probing Stone.
Xi Yu hurriedly reached out to stop him.
“Wait. I’ll give you a strand of my…”
Spiritual power to protect you.
Luo Cheng’an entered the barrier and turned around.
“Big brother, what did you say?”
Xi Yu fell silent.
Xi Yu was confused.
Xi Yu repeated himself.
“I didn’t say anything. You must be hallucinating.”
One Lu Zhixing successfully getting through was one thing.
But now Luo Cheng’an had also happily skipped right across.
“No,” Xi Yu said, grabbing Chenyu in his hand. “You were exaggerating on purpose, weren’t you? This is just a damn broken stone, isn’t it?”
He had been so worried, and these two had simply strolled across as if they were messing with him.
Then what had all his earlier worrying been for?
Did it mean he had something wrong with his brain?
Xi Yu shook the crystal ball, gritting his teeth.
“Try spouting more nonsense and see what happens!”
Chenyu was shaken dizzy.
“I wasn’t exaggerating! How was I supposed to know these two would get through so easily?!”
He knew about Lu Zhixing. He had given him the method.
But Luo Cheng’an had genuinely passed on his own.
That meant he was truly pure and good!
Just like that unlucky bastard Chenyu had slashed.
Damn it!
He had originally thought Luo Cheng’an would become trapped in the illusion. Then Xi Yu would have to rescue him, wasting some of his spiritual power.
Yu-yu’s plan was ruined!
Xi Yu sneered and tossed Chenyu far away.
“Go bother someone else.”
After the two had passed through, Xi Yu didn’t waste any more time either. He stepped forward and onto the Heart-Probing Stone.
Both of them had made it across. He refused to believe he would get trapped.
Xi Yu was full of confidence.
But the next second, he was suddenly immobilized, unable to move.
????
Immediately afterward, his body abruptly became weightless, and everything before his eyes went black.
In the final second before he was pulled into the illusion, Xi Yu cursed,
“Fuck this damn Heart-Probing Stone!!!!”
……………………….
Xi Yu entered the Heart-Probing Stone while cursing under his breath. Everything before his eyes was pitch-black.
Two seconds later, the darkness faded.
What appeared before his eyes was a place that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Xi Yu’s pupils contracted slightly.
This was… Lanxing Hall.
But it also wasn’t quite Lanxing Hall.
His palace had always been an ethereal expanse of white. Yet now, the great hall was covered in red silk, filled with a festive atmosphere. Crystal wind chimes hung above his bed, producing pleasant, delicate sounds. Red gauze curtains hung down, obscuring the view inside the bed.
It was different from the illusion created by the Dream Demon.
The Dream Demon had combined pain, pleasure, and regret, trying to drive people into mental collapse.
But the Heart-Probing Stone was meant to draw out the deepest desire in a person’s heart, creating an illusion that would make them linger and lose themselves within it.
But that shouldn’t be possible…
Xi Yu thought.
He shouldn’t have been pulled into the Heart-Probing Stone at all.
The thing he had desired most was the destruction of the demon clan. A thousand years ago, he had personally eliminated that obsession.
Now, there was nothing he desired.
Could it be…
Xi Yu suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up.
What he wanted most now was to reunite with his disciple.
And this was Lanxing Hall.
Perhaps he could see Zhi Yue once again within this illusion.
Thinking this, Xi Yu looked around, but he couldn’t see any sign of Zhi Yue.
Where was he?
Xi Yu frowned slightly and stepped forward to search.
But suddenly, he heard a sound coming from his own body.
He lowered his head, and confusion slowly appeared in his eyes.