Su He faced the situation as if confronting a formidable enemy.
Su Huanian gazed at the misty clouds below the cliff like silk.
That day, when he saved Yaya, Liu Ru came from the clouds, and Su He replenished his origin to become Yaya’s father in an instant. Liu Ru’s reaction was not unnoticed.
Surprise, hesitation, indecision… and a bit of being at a loss, as well as a sudden closeness to Yaya.
But Su Huanian could tell that Liu Ru had no relation to Su He. Those emotions were for someone she felt close to. Plus, with Feng Chaofei’s arrival, even the Orient Loong God couldn’t come to the rescue, yet the princess appeared right away.
Some things don’t need guessing; women are natural detectives.
Su Huanian turned to look at Su He, her hand grasping the turtle shell: “I won’t leave, but you must not deceive me.”
Su He opened his mouth, silent for a moment.
He used a technique to project an image of the past.
It was the day after the Dragon God Festival in the Cloud Dream Marsh, when he was seriously injured and confused, brought back to the underwater garden by the Orient Loong God, the Cloud Dream Dragon King, and Ji Feixue.
Su He didn’t alter a single detail, showing how he chatted with everyone in a daze, playing the footage until he fell into a deep sleep, and then the strange atmosphere when he woke up.
Then, the teasing, marrying into the family, signing the marriage contract…
The image ended.
The air stilled, and Su He wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. From a third-person perspective, it was utterly embarrassing!
But now there was something more important. He looked at Su Huanian and said seriously, “The Cloud Dream Marsh princess is not someone I can fathom. It must have been a fool’s errand; that paper can’t be a marriage contract. Such a being has plans at every step…”
Su He was still explaining, but Su Huanian chuckled lightly: “It is a marriage contract.”
Su He: “…”
His train of thought for making excuses was completely disrupted. How could it be a marriage contract when they had barely met?
Su Huanian’s hand, still on his turtle shell, didn’t let go, her head slightly lowered: “I recognize the ancient text on it.”
Qingyuan Sect had no such heritage to study, but she remembered it from her past life.
A plain and standard marriage contract, no tricks, no schemes, just mutual affection.
Not marrying into the family, but forming a kinship!
And the princess had a story in her eyes, long and intense.
And feelings, indissoluble…
Su Huanian turned to look at Su He: “Do you have a past life?”
Su He was born at Listening Sea Lake and raised in Qingyuan Sect, his bloodline condensed in the Bai Ling small world, and he traversed heavenly tribulations in the two realms’ battlefield. Su Huanian knew all about it; it was impossible for him to have met that princess before.
Su He opened his mouth and suddenly shook his head: “Yes! But, it’s impossible!”
His past life in this world was just a corpse! Even if there were any stories, they couldn’t be related to feelings. Even if, in some fantastical tale, he had revived for a time in his past life, he couldn’t have met Ji Feixue!
The timing was off.
When he came in his past life, it was earlier. Much earlier, when the Basalt family was rampant across the myriad realms, and even the Dragon Turtle Dao Palace had not yet sunk into the bloodline. Ji Feixue couldn’t have existed.
On the contrary…
Su He looked at Su Huanian: “If there really is a story from a past life, you’re more likely!”
Su He knew of only three Immortal Venerables: the one who helped his true spirit reincarnate, the “Mingjian Immortal Venerable at Di Mountain” recorded in the history of the Dragon Turtle clan, and Su Huanian’s past life as the Dantai Immortal Venerable.
Immortal Venerables, such rare beings, couldn’t be as common as hair, especially female Immortal Venerables. Su He had suspected that the one who helped him reincarnate might have been Su Huanian.
Su Huanian looked at the mist ahead and said softly, “Perhaps!”
If it wasn’t a past life or this life, where did those indissoluble feelings come from?
“Are you angry?” Su He grinned and moved closer to her. Su Huanian shook her head: “You’ve done no wrong; why would I be angry?”
Setting aside whether Su He had flirted with that princess, even if he really had, at that time she was Su Huanian, and he was Su He. What connection could there be?
If such a thing happened after today…
This Turtle—would be beaten to death!
…
In some unknown world, the ground was sinister, covered in a layer of gray mist, bones scattered everywhere, with hardly any place to stand. Yet in the sky floated endless islands, with flying boats spanning the heavens, connecting the many islets.
On an inconspicuous little island, Ji Feixue sat barefoot on a wisteria tree, the bells on her feet tinkling, signaling her inner unrest.
Meng Xuan circled the island, chasing clouds and moons, and suddenly leaned in, extending his dragon head towards Ji Feixue: “Auntie, are you troubled?”
Meng Xuan asked.
Since a few days ago, auntie’s mood had been off, and after a trip to the chaos, it got even worse.
She actually drank alcohol!
“Yes!” Ji Feixue stretched lazily: “I met a scoundrel, I helped him challenge Hakutaku, but he went out and took a mistress. I really want to kill him!”
She didn’t dare to return to Cloud Dream Marsh, fearing she couldn’t restrain herself from actually killing him.
Meng Xuan’s eyes suddenly widened, his entire body curling into a question mark.
Auntie was unrestrained and free-spirited, like a bewitching woman. But she never joked about matters of men and women, and outsiders only saw a capricious, crazy dragon. One moment she was cheerful, the next she might draw a knife to kill.
But matters of men and women—Auntie’s stunning beauty had tempted many, but now… well, probably all turned to dust.
Since Auntie uttered “I met a scoundrel,” that person must be the one she acknowledged.
Who had such capability?
Such a big event, and she hadn’t heard a whisper of it?!
Meng Xuan’s eyes sparkled with a thirst for knowledge, sneaking a glance at Ji Feixue, only to see a big red brocade book beside her.
A few lines of ancient text on it:
Phoenix and dragon sing in harmony, a beauty seeks a husband; swallows stick together, a phoenix seeks its mate;
The red string is tied early, forming a fine couple, a good match made, to be together until white-haired.
This was a marriage contract, plain and ordinary, neither poetic nor rhyming, just the most common marriage contract found in the countryside.
But the names signed at the back made Meng Xuan’s eyes pop out.
Husband, Su He. Wife, Ji Feixue.
Behind Ji Feixue’s name, another name was forming: Su Huanian.
This marriage contract seemed like a magical item!
Wait, hold on a moment. Meng Xuan didn’t react at first. An utterly ordinary marriage contract, with the man being Su He, but the woman… Auntie?
And Su Huanian!
She looked incredulously at Ji Feixue.
Meng Xuan was stunned for a long while before she stammered: “Didn’t Auntie promise Su He a Cloud Dream Marsh princess?”
When Su He proved his Dragon Turtle status, Meng Xuan thought she would be the one promised to him. But after entering the Bai Ling small world, seeing the affection between Su He and Su Huanian, she gave up that idea and even let Yaya call her auntie.
She would never agree to be sisters with someone, but with the Dragon Turtle’s status, among the seven princesses of Cloud Dream Marsh, anyone else would be reaching too high.
But… Auntie!
Meng Xuan still couldn’t accept it, staring blankly at Ji Feixue.
Ji Feixue glanced at her, with a mix of laziness and listlessness: “Isn’t the princess also a princess?”
“But… but…” Meng Xuan stammered for a long time, her gaze falling back on the marriage contract, watching the slowly forming name “Su Huanian”: “He actually wants to enjoy the fortune of having both!”
Heartbreaker! Delusional man!
Ji Feixue languidly said: “That’s why! I really want to go back and kill him!” She crushed an ant passing by with a finger, her mood worsening.
Heartless man! Playboy!
Meng Xuan panted for a while, looking at Ji Feixue and couldn’t help feeling frustrated, where was your wild nature? Go hit him! You only bully me!
Under the big tree, a beautiful fox smashed a piece of bluestone with a slap.
…
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name…
Su He recited the Tao Te Ching in his heart, and Yaya slept even more soundly, her consciousness returning from the Mountain and Sea Xuan Realm, completely asleep. The toad and the azure bird also collapsed beside him, and Su Huanian leaned against him, falling into a deep sleep.
Su He found he didn’t know how to love; his experience was too little, he hadn’t received training in this area in his past life.
Staying with Su Huanian by the cliff, as time passed, he didn’t know what to do. There were endless things to say, yet nothing to say.
The stars above shone through the clouds, bestowing the power of the stars. Su He suddenly had an epiphany, silently comprehending the Tao Te Ching and the stars.
The turtle and snake were born together, like yin and yang, and somewhat related to the joy of men and women. Both are yin and yang, both are companions.
Today, a joyous event had arrived, with a loved one by his side, and he had an epiphany.
Observing the Basalt constellation, how could one only use the Turtle Eye? The spiritual snake on his back should also accompany him. The turtle observes the west, the snake the east.
The qi in his body vibrated slightly, swaying with the power of the stars.
Unable to understand, unable to comprehend, he simply followed through. A sense of inexplicable comfort rose from within, indescribable.
At that moment, Su Huanian’s cool voice came from behind: “What Taoist scripture is this?”
The dragon and snake heads turned together, sandwiching Su Huanian in the middle.
Su Huanian was still asleep, but her solidified primordial spirit had awakened, sensing the Taoist charm emanating from Su He, and asked softly.
Her body couldn’t bear the implications of the Tao, falling asleep. Her primordial spirit, however, became more alert.
Su He shook his head: “This scripture cannot be spoken, only recited in the heart.”
Then it’s a treasure. Su Huanian nodded.
“Are you comprehending the stars?” She felt the breath of the stars from Su He, weak but enduring.
Su He nodded, then smiled wryly: “Yes, but I don’t understand at all.”
He had no knowledge or experience with the stars. Forcing comprehension was indeed difficult.
“I’ll guide you!” Su Huanian said clearly. Her primordial spirit reached out and touched Su He’s head: “Don’t resist, follow me.”
With a gentle lift, Su He’s consciousness soared infinitely, feeling as if his soul had left his body, ascending to the stars.
Su Huanian’s voice resonated directly in his consciousness: “This is the Heavenly Star Palace’s method of sensing stars. You must not stop reciting the Taoist scripture with your physical body—I alone cannot bring your consciousness to this extent; it requires the help of that Taoist charm.”
Su He was taken aback and chuckled. She had one more Traverse Heaven technique than him! He didn’t know how to use this method of drawing out one’s consciousness!
In Gu Luo’s Transformation of Beasts, this method was used, and Su Huanian did just that to guide Yaya’s consciousness into transformation.
But Su He couldn’t understand the method of guidance at all. At that time, he only acted as a conduit, passing the Transformation of Beasts to Su Huanian. It was entirely his wife’s own comprehension, and later Meng Xuan helped. Su He played no part.
His consciousness soared, breaking through the Long Moon Mansion and entering the starry sky, as if the Basalt constellation was right above his head.
“Do you want to observe the seven stars of the north?” Su Huanian asked. She felt the aura of the northern seven stars from Su He.
“Yes.” Su He replied.
“The four directional constellations are different from the rest,” Su Huanian explained softly. “Other stars are in this world; with sufficient cultivation level, one can fly to them. But the sun, moon, five planets, and the four directional constellations are not in this world. No matter how high one’s cultivation level is, one cannot fly to them. Drawing their star power is also the most difficult, but if one uses their star power to cultivate the Heavenly Star Palace’s Taoist arts, the power is also the strongest.”
Su Huanian had never been to the Heavenly Star Palace, but her mother left all the inheritances. In terms of the classics of the Heavenly Star Palace, she far surpassed the Qingyuan Sect’s.
Although she had not delved deeply into cultivation, she was more than enough to be Su He’s teacher in the way of the stars.
This world is special. The three thousand great worlds share the same sun and moon, and the sun and moon main stars in the many small worlds have countless connections with these celestial bodies.
The four directional constellations are the same.
Su He listened to Su Huanian’s explanation of the way of the stars, his consciousness slowly spreading into the starry sky, resonating with the seven stars of Basalt. The Dragon Turtle was steady, the spiritual snake was sharp.
One still, one moving, one sinking, one rising.
Su Huanian guided Su He, and the Tao Te Ching seemed to whisper in his ear, unclear, but the Taoist charm was perfectly revealed, and his entire primordial spirit was soaked in the Taoist charm of the scripture.
The Tao Te Ching does not improve cultivation level; it is not a scripture for cultivation—at least in Su He’s current understanding, it cannot be directly used to improve cultivation level.
But this Taoist charm is the most simple and pure in the world. Comprehending the Tao Te Ching, the improvement is silent and invisible. Unseen and unheard, but it truly exists.
The east brightens, a loud crowing of a rooster. The power of the stars slowly faded, much weaker than before.
“Let’s go back,” Su Huanian said softly.
Su He felt a sense of weightlessness, his consciousness returning to his body, finishing the recitation of the Tao Te Ching just in time, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Su Huanian’s eyelashes trembling slightly, also waking up.
In her starry eyes, the Taoist charm flowed, and she gained extraordinary insights this night.
Su He tilted his head: “Is this considered dual cultivation?”
Su Huanian’s face turned slightly red, but she finally replied: “Yes!”
Consciousness merged, and each gained from the cultivation; fundamentally, it was dual cultivation. But it was not the kind of dual cultivation Su He had in mind.
Su He smiled.Su Huanian bent down to pick up the child and walked down the mountain with him. Halfway through, Su He’s spirit snake suddenly sprang out, coiled around Su Huanian, and pulled her back, causing Su Huanian to let out a scream as she and the child were both embraced onto the turtle shell.
Having regained her composure, Su Huanian sat on the turtle shell, holding the child, her cheeks slightly flushed. The spirit snake arched to form a backrest behind her. A warm sensation transferred from the snake’s body into Su He’s heart.
In fact, if he wanted to do something bad, using his snake body wasn’t impossible. It was just too sleazy… Unacceptable!
Cultivate Basalt!
Su He looked up, sensing the weakening power of the stars from the Basalt constellation.
After sending the child back to his room, Su He carried Su Huanian towards the garden pond—the merfolk were very considerate. Su He couldn’t possibly have a wooden house to live in; his dwelling was under the garden pond, neither too big nor too small, with a diameter of over thirty zhang. Underwater, they even built a pavilion for Su Huanian, with a jade bed suitable for both lying and sitting.
It seemed the merfolk had been quietly scheming something all along.
Su Huanian was of pure water attribute, but leaned more towards the ice element. When Su He first saw her, she was healing underwater.
The pond was connected to a river that led to an outside lake, with exceptionally clear and abundant water elements. It was even more suitable for her healing.
But before Su He returned, she was healing alone underwater. Now, she was carried here by Su He.
Su Huanian lowered her head, her body trembling slightly.
This Turtle had gone bad!
During their second encounter, it was in the mountain waist pool, where she was healing underwater in her undergarments. This Turtle actually… saw it, right?
Growing up together, it was her first time! And she didn’t kill him with a slap! Perhaps many things were predestined?
A smile crept onto Su Huanian’s lips, and her trembling stopped. She let Su He carry her as they dived underwater.
With the abundant water elements here, even without elixirs, healing for three to four years could lead to a full recovery. With elixirs, especially the heavenly treasures given to her by Qing Lei, she could heal in just three to four months.
Then she could resume her cultivation journey. Dragon Turtle wouldn’t be able to get too far ahead of her.
For cultivators who wanted to become husband and wife, they first had to become cultivation partners. Otherwise, with a lifespan of only twenty to thirty thousand years at the second level of Traverse Heaven, Dragon Turtle would just take a nap and she would grow old, not to mention waiting for Su He to reach his peak and transform into a human.
The water in the pond rippled slightly, clinging to her clothes and outlining Su Huanian’s graceful figure. Just as Su He was about to turn around, he was stopped by Su Huanian’s Fairy Sword.
Su He: “……”
“I just wanted to ask if Elder Qiao has contacted you after he left… Hey! It’s only right for me to turn around and look now, isn’t it?!”
Su Huanian, with her head lowered: “Before you transform into a human form, you must not overstep.”
Su He was first disappointed, then his eyes brightened. Did that mean once he transformed into a human, he could break the rules? Su Huanian’s body trembled slightly, her earlobes reddened, and she inadvertently glanced aside.
But she noticed the spirit snake that was serving as her backrest was sticking out its tongue, staring straight at her.
The gaze moved from top to bottom, stopping at a certain spot above her waist. Su He’s gaze swept past, and it was as if the Fairy had been brushed by something.
Su Huanian’s entire body froze. She forgot that Dragon Turtle was no longer just a Dragon Turtle; besides the turtle body, there was also the spirit snake body.
The Fairy Sword suddenly unsheathed, but the spirit snake quickly coiled up, hastily pressing her Fairy Sword back into its scabbard.
“Stop it!” the spirit snake spoke.
“What kind of husband would be slain for just one glance at his own wife? There’s no such reasoning even if you argue to the ends of the earth!”
Su Huanian was frustrated, and Su He coiled around her tightly, fearing she would break free and truly strike him with her sword. Women with silly minds were unreasonable. Who knew what they might do.
Su Huanian’s face grew even redder: “Let me go.”
It wasn’t the command of a cold Fairy; her voice was crisp but with a slight tremble.
Su He warned: “If I let go, you must not slash me! It’s too much to murder your own husband.”
Su Huanian barely squeezed out a voice between her lips: “Fine.”
The Fairy was a bit off today. Su He lowered his snake head slightly and saw the spirit snake’s body, as thick as a calf, coiling around Su Huanian’s waist, pressing the distant mountains into highlands. A warm touch came through, making Su He’s breath tighten.
No wonder Su Huanian was off. It turned out the Fairy had fallen to the mortal world.
The snake body tightened reluctantly, then let go, but didn’t completely leave. Instead, it shifted position, coiling around the Fairy’s waist, encircling her slender waist within its own body.
Su Huanian was suddenly breathless, and after a long while, she whispered: “I… need to heal, I can’t meditate with you holding me like this.”
Such a proper reason.
Su He let her go. Carrying her to the pavilion, Su Huanian lightly pressed on the turtle shell, turning into a white light that fell into the pavilion.
Inside the pavilion was a cold jade ice bed, chilling to the bone, but it didn’t freeze the pond water.
This was a piece of ice jade that Liu Ru, on behalf of Ji Feixue, had congratulated him with on the day he became a disciple, which he had swindled from Qiu Hu. Su He had given it to the child, but the merfolk craftsmen had carved it into an ice bed, perfect for Su Huanian’s meditation.
Su He watched her, the water rippling, moving her clothes, perfectly outlining her figure. Her white clothes underwater could not conceal her form, her delicate body faintly visible and overwhelmingly beautiful.
“You meditate, and I’ll protect you,” Su He murmured, his throat dry despite being underwater.
Su Huanian’s cheeks flushed: “Okay!”
She sat down with difficulty, but couldn’t dispel the distractions. As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt a pair of Turtle Eyes caressing her body, making her heart tremble.
Opening her eyes, she saw Su He, both turtle and snake bodies, properly guarding by her side, without any impropriety.
Su Huanian closed her eyes again to meditate. That feeling of being swept over rose again, and she helplessly opened her eyes, looking at Su He: “Don’t look anymore, I can’t calm my heart!”
Su He nodded: “I won’t look, I’ll just stay here with you.” Healing was important; Su Huanian had been seriously injured for over half a year and hadn’t fully recovered. It wasn’t the time for mischief.
Su He withdrew his Divine Sense, truly not looking anymore.
Suppressing the complexity in her heart, Su Huanian exhaled deeply and slowly closed her eyes.
This time, there was no feeling of being watched. With a slight smile on her lips, she breathed slowly to heal. But after a moment, she opened her eyes again and looked at Su He.
Su He sensed it and turned his head, blinking: “I didn’t peek.”
“I know,” Su Huanian responded, but for some reason, even though she knew Su He wasn’t looking at her, she couldn’t calm down.
Seeing Su Huanian’s hesitant expression, Su He suddenly laughed, waved his paw, and stirred the water, pulling Su Huanian out and embracing her in his arms, with the dragon head encircling and holding her tightly.
Su Huanian was taken aback, her heart beating wildly, feeling the powerful embrace of Dragon Turtle, but gradually relaxing.
Unconsciously, she truly calmed down. There was no feeling of being watched, no chaotic thoughts, and closing her eyes, she could feel the scales of Dragon Turtle pricking her skin, slightly painful, but it gave her an unprecedented sense of security.
She had never experienced this feeling before.
She didn’t have to worry about the child’s illness, her own safety, or desperately trying to improve her Cultivation Level, fearing that when the child needed it, her Cultivation Level wouldn’t be enough to nourish her essence.
The child was clearly not by her side, far away, sleeping alone on the other side of the garden, yet she inexplicably felt at ease.
It seemed as if the sky could fall, and she would no longer be afraid.
This feeling was not unfamiliar. From the last time the child transformed into a beast, encountering the Teng Snake, surrounded by danger, when Su He had not yet arrived, and the toad came first, she inexplicably felt at ease.
Although it was a life-and-death situation, she could only rely on the sword formation to contend with the Teng Snake, and even whether she could survive the next moment was unknown.
But she knew someone would come to save her!
Indeed, Su He didn’t disappoint her. A Flying Boat shattered the clouds, and with divine might, he shielded her behind him.
Saving the child, slaying the Teng Snake.
Then when the child’s essence was stolen by Feng Yiju, Su He broke through the Dust Shield, and at the critical moment, he leaped to defeat Feng Yiju and stabilize the child.
Dominantly making the child call him “Father.” The child refused to call Feng Yiju father again, but willingly and joyfully called Su He, delighted to the extreme.
That call of “Father” not only reached Su He’s heart but also hers.
Especially when the child smiled and told her: I’m going to die! I’ve changed my father, you can’t hit me anymore…
Su Huanian knew she probably couldn’t escape anymore!
She laughed softly.
It turned out it wasn’t because you saw my body that my mind was restless; it was because you weren’t holding me…
Some things, once obtained, are even more feared to lose!
Tears fell from her eyes, blending into the water, invisible and intangible.
Su He nudged closer, holding the Fairy in his arms even tighter.
Su Huanian, trembling, gently embraced his neck.
Breathing lightly, the pond water entered her nostrils and flowed into her heart and lungs, cool and penetrating.
Her heart calmed, and she circulated her energy.
It turned out that healing didn’t necessarily require meditation; as long as one could calm the mind, the posture wasn’t important…
It’s late, but today is a ten thousand word update!
Continuing tomorrow.