Chapter Eighty-Nine: A Bitter Harvest

Beside the Dragonblood Pool in the Realm of Flowing Fire, four volcanic craters gaped like the jaws of enormous beasts. Crimson magma churned in their depths, and from time to time erupted in waves dozens or even hundreds of yards high, yet not so much as a stray drop ever splashed into the Dragonblood Pool.

At the bottom of the pool, Yu Youwei’s body was curled into itself within the thick blood-plasma. Apart from the bracelet formed by the paired Azure and Scarlet Swords around her wrist, her whole body was smooth and pure as that of a newborn infant. Her storage pouch and storage rings had all failed to withstand the energy contained in the blood-plasma; even the treasures she had collected over the years had been melted away. Only the beast-command token gifted by Old Master Ning lay quietly between her feet.

“Wake up! If you don’t wake up now, you’ll be ruined!”

The little white bear’s howling from inside the beast-command token sounded more like sobbing. The little thunder hawk, though unable as it was to perceive Yu Youwei’s condition through spiritual connection, could tell how worried the bear was, and it too flew frantically about inside the token in agitation.

Yu Youwei opened her eyes. In those deep pupils flickered a bewitching red glow. With great difficulty, she moved her limbs into a cultivation posture. The blood-plasma began to circle slowly around her body, forming a dragon of blood, while upon the soft, pink skin newly reborn like that of an infant there also emerged glimmers in the shape of scales.

Then came a dragon’s roar, as though rising from the very depths of her soul. It shook her so violently that her spirit nearly scattered. At that same moment, a powerful pressure belonging to a divine beast burst forth from the beast-command token. The dragon’s cry ceased at once, and the blood dragon coiling around her suddenly shot upward. The Scarlet Flame Sword also erupted with dazzling sword-light, enveloping the blood dragon whole.

Within that sword-radiance, the blood dragon was rapidly compressed until it was no longer than a chopstick, then drawn into the blade. A blood-red dragon pattern appeared upon the Scarlet Flame Sword, and its sword spirit laughed in smug delight.

“So, even with all your tricks, little loach, you still couldn’t escape my grasp.”

“So... can I go up now?” Yu Youwei asked weakly.

Her consciousness was on the verge of dissipating. The spirit of the Scarlet Flame Sword had stubbornly refused to let her leave, insisting on seizing the dragon soul hidden within the Dragonblood Pool. Luckily, what had come was only a young dragon. Had it been the soul of a full-grown one, she could have dispensed even with reincarnation and gone straight to utter annihilation of body and soul.

“Stop looking half-dead. If I grow stronger, your safety is better assured. Otherwise, a tiny shrimp like you, lugging around an infant divine beast, might not live to see tomorrow’s sun after surviving today.”

“Let’s survive today first.”

There was not the slightest thrill or joy in her, only endless exhaustion. Yu Youwei struggled to keep her mind clear. Her flesh, transformed as though reborn from the marrow outward, ached in every inch of her body, and in her lucid state the pain was magnified without limit. Though she retained the memories of a previous life, in this life she was still only a girl in her teens. To endure agony a hundred times worse than death by a thousand cuts was no easy thing.

“With me here, you won’t die!” the Scarlet Flame Sword spirit declared grandly. Then, in the very next instant, it said something that nearly made Yu Youwei faint from rage. “I’m going to sleep for a hundred years now. Don’t bother me.”

“What kind of trap is this? If you’re going to sleep, at least get me out of here first!” Yu Youwei roared.

There was no reply.

Left with no choice, she picked up the beast-command token and slowly stood.

There was somewhere worse than being in water.

It was being in blood-plasma.

Wave after wave of dizziness surged over her. Her empty stomach clenched violently. Were it not for the fierce unwillingness keeping her upright, Yu Youwei would have wanted nothing more than to slash her own throat with a sword. She forced her arms to move, and her body slowly floated upward.

The instant her head broke through the blood-plasma, even the sky thick with drifting volcanic ash looked astonishingly beautiful in her eyes. A streak of fire, like a meteor, tore across the heavens, and she stared at it in dazzled fascination.

The three ancestors by the Dragonblood Pool had stood watch for seven days. By now, they had already given up hope that Yu Youwei might still be alive. So when her head suddenly surfaced in the center of the pool, none of them reacted at first.

A moment later, Patriarch Hong leapt up like a cat with its tail on fire and cried, “She’s not dead!”

Patriarch Shui and Patriarch Ye said nothing, but they were equally shocked beyond measure. If Yu Youwei had not known for certain that the blood-plasma in the Dragonblood Pool possessed miraculous body-remaking effects, she might have thought they had intended to kill her all along.

“You’re disappointed that I lived?” she asked, her voice so hoarse it was barely recognizable.

Drawing a deep breath, Patriarch Ye forced a smile. “Never has a little one at the Qi Refinement stage remained in the Dragonblood Pool for a full two days, and it should have been impossible for you to dive more than five meters deep.”

What explanation was she supposed to give for that? Curse that Scarlet Flame Sword spirit. It had insisted on taking a dragon soul, and now things had gone far too far. If this went badly, those old monsters of the Immortal Firmament Sect might just cut her open to examine her.

Her thoughts raced. The more she said, the more mistakes she might make. Better not to speak at all. So she only stared at them with bewildered eyes and said nothing.

“You likely don’t understand what happened yourself. Never mind. Come up first,” said Patriarch Shui. Soft-hearted as a woman, she tossed Yu Youwei a lotus-colored robe with a leaf-shaped collar, then called out, “You two old things, are you still not leaving? Let Little Fool’s wife come out.”

Patriarch Ye and Patriarch Hong vanished in an instant. Only after putting on the robe did Yu Youwei swim toward the edge of the pool and clamber out in a wretched state. Patriarch Shui was waiting there, and a strange light flickered in her eyes.

“The girl has truly been remade from the marrow out. Looks like you gained no small harvest.”

“It hurts so much I could die. Is this what body-remaking is? Then I’d rather not be remade at all,” Yu Youwei said without the least trace of joy.

“Enough scheming, child. This old woman has no intention of demanding repayment for a favor. Your transformation in the Dragonblood Pool was your own destined opportunity. You risked your life to solve Little Mo Fei’s problem and created, for our Immortal Firmament Sect, a peerless genius. Besides, whether or not you join our sect, you are still Mo Fei’s wife.”

“Mhm, that’s exactly how I see it. Even if I don’t join a sect, with Mo Fei around I won’t lack cultivation resources. Whatever I want, I can have him find for me. If he can’t get it, then I can always rob his sworn brothers, friends, elders, or teachers. There’s really no need for me to join a sect, put shackles on myself, and have to complete sect missions from time to time.”

“Only a girl like you would dare say such things,” Patriarch Shui said with a laughing rebuke.

“Well, I did marry a husband spoiled by heaven and adored by all. If there’s an advantage to be had, why not take it?” Yu Youwei replied with a grin.

“Fine, fine. The little fool you married is indeed a good one. It will take two months for the spirit of the Soul-Devouring Sword to be refined. To be safe, your little fool still needs to remain inside. Do you want to enter the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower to keep him company?”

The Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower was under Patriarch Shui’s control. If she entered, the secrets of the twin swords and the little white bear would be even harder to conceal. Feigning hesitation, Yu Youwei said, “The grand battle in the Illusory Demon Realm among the Ten Prefectures of the Qian Dynasty is probably about to begin. Mo Fei’s father said that since Third Brother can’t lead the team into battle today, I’m to take part in his stead—and win the championship. After the contest, I’ll come back. Better not see him today, or he’ll cry.”

“You and Bai Xia truly are in perfect accord. Two days ago, when Mo Fei was making a fuss and insisting on finding you, Bai Xia used this exact excuse.”

“It really was his father’s instruction.”

“Did this old woman say I didn’t believe you?” Patriarch Shui said with a teasing smile.

Though she bore one body across two lives, Yu Youwei was not that thin-skinned. She bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Ancestor, for looking after Mo Fei.”

When she straightened, Patriarch Shui had already vanished, leaving behind a string of cheerful laughter. Only then did Yu Youwei turn and walk out of the Realm of Flowing Fire.