Chapter 63: Fading Affection

## Chapter 63: Echoes of the Past

Just as Ji Ningshuang reached out to lift Ye Chen's mask, he stirred, his hand shooting out to grasp her wrist with unerring precision.

"What are you doing?" Ye Chen's voice was sharp as he abruptly sat up.

"I... I merely wished to gaze upon your esteemed countenance." Caught in the act, Ji Ningshuang’s cheeks flushed with sudden embarrassment.

"There's no need." Ye Chen's cold retort inexplicably brought a pang of loss to Ji Ningshuang.

Stumbling to his feet, Ye Chen approached Lu Zhi, retrieving his storage bag. He even stripped the dangling spirit jade and ornaments from the corpse, leaving nothing behind. Having done so, he summoned his true fire, reducing Lu Zhi's remains to a pile of ashes.

After clearing the battlefield and ensuring no trace remained linking him to the Heng Yue Sect, he turned to Ji Ningshuang. "I seek no repayment for this kindness. I only ask that you keep today's events sealed, like a bottle. Can you do this?"

Ji Ningshuang remained silent, offering only a gentle nod. She understood Ye Chen's caution perfectly. Since he had employed the Heavenly Thunder Curse, it was evident he was a disciple of the Heng Yue Sect. To avoid bringing trouble upon his sect, discretion was paramount.

"Let this matter be concluded here." Ye Chen's voice was final, and he strode forward.

Watching Ye Chen's departure, Ji Ningshuang longed to speak, but the words caught in her throat, her jade-like lips ultimately remaining sealed.

Unexpectedly, Ye Chen halted after only a few steps. He glanced back at Ji Ningshuang, seeing her slumped on the ground, her beautiful face pale, her breath shallow. The wound on her shoulder pulsed with a noxious black light. Slowly, he turned back. He could not bear to see his former lover perish in this desolate mountain range from poison, or worse, become a meal for a demonic beast.

"This is but this once. Never again will there be any entanglement between us," Ye Chen silently admonished himself.

As night fell, a bonfire blazed in the jungle. Ye Chen used his true fire to purge the potent poison from Ji Ningshuang's body before settling cross-legged by the flames to tend to his own injuries.

Nearby, Ji Ningshuang stole several glances, but Ye Chen offered not the slightest reaction. This only deepened her sense of loss. To have a peerless beauty seated beside him, and yet remain utterly unmoved?

Finally, Ji Ningshuang could no longer contain herself and spoke. "You... are you a disciple of the Heng Yue Sect?"

Ye Chen remained still, like an old monk in serene meditation. Though he heard Ji Ningshuang's question, he offered no reply.

Seeing his silence, Ji Ningshuang softly continued, "I have no other intentions. I merely wish to repay your life-saving kindness."

"I said, there's no need." Ye Chen finally spoke, his voice devoid of emotion beneath the mask.

"Then... what is your name?"

"Dust Night." He uttered the two words coldly, choosing a false name to conceal his identity. His coldness caused Ji Ningshuang to wrap her arms around her knees, a hint of loss in her posture. His demeanor left her with no more words to offer, a peculiar feeling blossoming within her – a sense that this savior was unusually cold towards her.

She could not know, when she finally discovered the identity of the man seated before her, what expression would grace her face.

*I am seated right before you, and you do not recognize me? Can a mere mask sever all connection?* Ye Chen's heart was a mix of sarcasm and sorrow. All of this proved a single, painful truth: whether in the past or present, Ji Ningshuang had never loved him enough. If they were this close and she could not recognize him, what hope could he possibly harbor?

*The one I love, no matter how the rolling red dust may alter her, I can recognize her at a glance. Recognizing a person is not done with the eyes, but with the heart. Ji Ningshuang, our destiny together has thoroughly faded into the past.*

Beneath the mask, Ye Chen offered a sad smile before closing his eyes once more.

Heaven and earth descended into silence again. The bonfire continued to burn, and Ji Ningshuang, too, entered a state of cultivation.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen was inwardly examining his body. The demonic transformation during his battle with Lu Zhi had been far too strange, suggesting that the changes he experienced in the Nether Black Market inn were not so simple either.

*Why does my body contain a demonic bloodline?* He murmured to himself, filled with confusion. He recalled the spiritual liquid from the purple-gold gourd. That night, the strange transformations had occurred after he consumed the liquid. Prior to that, there had been no such issues.

*The problem lies with that night.* Ye Chen seemed to pinpoint the source of the issue. Following his conjecture, he directed his suspicions towards the small tripod. It was only after placing the small tripod within the purple-gold gourd that the spiritual liquid had undergone this transformation.

*Could it be that the purple-gold gourd refined something from the small tripod, which then fused with the spiritual liquid, causing it to mutate?*

*If that is truly the case, then whatever was refined from the small tripod must be intrinsically linked to demons.*

He had heard legends of demons while gathering intelligence in the Zheng Yang Sect. Speaking of demons brought to mind a mysterious and powerful race: the demon race.

The demon race was an ancient people, each individual bloodthirsty and violent, earning them the classification of the demonic path by orthodox cultivators. This very race had more than once unleashed a bloody storm upon this land, yet for reasons unknown, they had vanished without a trace within the river of time.

*My body possesses a demonic bloodline. The substance refined from the small tripod must be demon blood. This instilled a demonic path within my bloodline, and the pressure from Lu Zhi's spirit tool pagoda forced the demonic path within me to awaken.*

Ye Chen racked his brain, feeling as though he had finally unraveled the mystery. Thinking of the violent and bloodthirsty thoughts that had threatened to consume his mind after the demonization, he still felt a sense of trepidation. If his mind were to be swallowed, he would surely become a bloodthirsty great demon, and he would never want his relatives or brethren to suffer harm because of it.

Yet, when he recalled the surging power within him after the demonization, he felt an inexplicable desire.

*The demonic path... this could serve as a trump card.* Lost in thought, Ye Chen involuntarily rubbed his chin.

The night passed without incident, dawn breaking in a flash.

In the early morning, three distant breaths disturbed Ye Chen, causing him to slowly open his eyes. Gazing into the sky, he saw three figures riding rainbows in the distance. They were all elders of the Heng Yue Sect, and Wu Changqing was among them.

"It seems the Zheng Yang Sect truly intends to groom Ji Ningshuang. Otherwise, they wouldn't be out searching like this," Ye Chen murmured.

With Wu Changqing and the others approaching, Ye Chen knew he had to leave. To be detected by Wu Changqing would be the most ridiculous of outcomes.

Abruptly rising, he put away his Heavenly Void Sword. Without a word, he prepared to dart into the depths of the jungle.

Unexpectedly, Ji Ningshuang also rose abruptly behind him. Gazing at Ye Chen's back, she pursed her lips and softly asked, "Will I see you again during the Three Sects Grand Competition in two months?"

"You will." Uttering a single word, Ye Chen's figure flashed as he leaped into the lush jungle.

Watching Ye Chen's retreating form, a wave of inexplicable loss washed over Ji Ningshuang. Her only regret was not being able to see Ye Chen's true face. She would have to recognize him one by one during the Three Sects Grand Competition in two months.

"See you again in two months." The thought of the competition brought an involuntary, moving smile to Ji Ningshuang's lips.

Behind her, Wu Changqing and the others had already landed.

"Ningshuang, why did you run all the way here?" Seeing Ji Ningshuang unharmed, Wu Changqing breathed a sigh of relief. "You are the Xuan Ling Body, the future of my Zheng Yang Sect. Nothing must happen to you."

"It's good that you're alright," another elder stroked his beard. "The Sect Master has already opened the Xuan Ling Pool. After you return and bathe in it, your Xuan Ling Body will surely awaken fully. At that time, your cultivation will undoubtedly increase dramatically."

"The Xuan Ling Body is rarely seen in a thousand years. During the Three Sects Grand Competition in two months, you will surely be able to suppress the true disciples of both the Heng Yue and Qing Yun Sects."