Three months earlier, in the void on the top floor of the Immortal-Sealing Tower.
Yun Huang's fingertips hovered barely an inch above the sea of qi in Yun Qing's Dantian.
Just a fraction closer, and he would touch the chaos dao embryo, a rarity unseen through the ages.
As instructed, Yun Qing had completely lowered the defenses of his Sea of Consciousness, halted the dao embryo's circulation, and stilled every trace of spiritual energy throughout his body.
Life and death, honor and disgrace-all hung on a single thought from the man before him.
At the very instant he lowered his mental defenses-
Hum.
Under Yun Huang's secret urging, the utterly unremarkable Gray Stone Bead at the top of the tower finally unleashed its full power!
Without Yun Qing's knowledge, the rich, strange fragrance it emitted had been subtly influencing his mind all along.
Yun Qing felt his soul sway faintly. Those emotions he had locked deep within his heart through sheer will-his fear and resentment of an unknown fate, his bewilderment and loneliness in this cruel other world, his complicated, unspoken dependence on and affection for the blood relative before him...
The torrents of emotion intertwined, magnified wildly by the immortal treasure formally known as the Soul-Devouring Pearl, threatening to swallow his consciousness whole.
No... it's that pearl... His remaining clarity alerted Yun Qing to the danger, but he had lowered his defenses too completely. It was already too late to try to hold the fortress of his mind.
Yun Huang, who had been watching him coldly all this time, curled his lips in an indifferent smile.
The Soul-Devouring Pearl took full effect, stripping away every acquired disguise shielding his heart. Whatever reactions flowed from Yun Qing's soul now would reflect his most primal, most genuine emotions. He wanted to see whether this calculating "elder brother," once stripped of his deferential skin, concealed carefully woven lies and schemes, or...
Yun Huang's thoughts broke off abruptly the next instant.
The venomous curses, desperate screams, or even more cunning excuses and schemes he had anticipated never came.
Bound in layer upon layer of chains, Yun Qing kept his head lowered. His ink-black hair spilled down, hiding most of his face, and his body trembled almost imperceptibly. He was quiet... unnaturally so.
"Heh." That subtle thread of satisfaction in Yun Huang's heart was swiftly replaced by a deeper, coldly weary disappointment. Even now, he could still force his mental defenses to hold? This "elder brother" of his truly possessed a tenacity that was... loathsome.
Just as his patience ran out, and he decided to give Yun Qing no further chances and sweep away-
"Tap."
A sound so faint it was almost inaudible.
Without warning, a warm, crystal-clear droplet slipped down Yun Qing's face and fell straight onto the back of Yun Huang's hand, which glowed with dangerous golden light!
The warmth of that tear seeped through his skin, leaving Yun Huang with an inexplicable sense of being scalded.
His entire body suddenly stiffened. With extreme slowness, he raised his eyes to look at the man wrapped in chains.
That handsome face, always so calm and composed, always carrying a gentle smile, was now white as paper.
But what struck Yun Huang hardest were those double pupils. Their usual calm depths were gone, filled instead with shattered, trembling glimmers of tears. A startling crimson spread around his eyes and their outer corners with astonishing speed, and tears fell like beads from a broken string.
He was not wailing. There were not even any distinct sobs.
He simply wept like that, silently and in torrents. He bit his lower lip hard, trying to stop any humiliating sound from escaping, yet uncontrollable, broken sobs still slipped intermittently through his tightly pressed lips.
Even those hands, normally steady as bedrock when they wielded a spear to cleave the sky, were trembling beyond his control!
The dangerous golden light at Yun Huang's fingertips flickered at this sudden turn of events. The utterly uncontrollable sight before him battered his anger to pieces, until nothing remained.
He stared straight into double pupils washed clean by tears. There was no hypocrisy there, no pretense-only an almost childlike sincerity submerged in profound pain, and... dependence.
"Little brother Huang..." Yun Qing finally spoke, his voice hoarse and broken, every word soaked in tears. "The dao embryo... you can have it. Don't be angry anymore... please..."
The words came in fits and starts, yet like a mountain torrent, they swept away Yun Huang's icy barrier.
At the words "dao embryo," Yun Qing's body shook violently, as though the terrifying golden light so close to him had stabbed him again. His tears instantly burst their banks, yet he still bore a devotion akin to offering himself as a sacrifice.
Somehow finding the strength, he leaned forward despite his bonds and planted his head against Yun Huang's black, gold-embroidered shoulder. He even rubbed his tears off on it. "...If this body's dao embryo can truly be of some help to your Dao Path, little brother Huang..."
Yun Huang-Yun Huang had forgotten how to move.
Only upon hearing those words did he barely recover a sliver of clarity.
This was the second time Yun Qing had offered his dao embryo willingly, yet Yun Huang could not utter a single mocking word. He even wanted to flee in utter defeat! This man had cried all over his shoulder!
"The Soul-Devouring Pearl merely draws out and magnifies hidden emotions. What sort of nonsense does this man think about all day?! How could he be like this..."
Warm wetness seeped into his shoulder, choked words echoed beside his ear, and before him was that face streaked with tears, so rarely vulnerable... Yun Huang's mental defenses crumbled.
Especially when, stunned beyond measure, he unconsciously moved his fingertips an almost imperceptible fraction toward the Dantian again, Yun Qing's eyes instantly welled up. He was about to start shedding kitty tears all over again!
Yun Huang was exasperated. Such pretty words! If he really took it today, Yun Qing would probably cry himself to death right here!
As though scalded, he abruptly snatched his hand back. Even that terrifying golden light went out completely with a "pfft," faster than ever before.
His scalp prickled. He had no idea what to do with his hands or feet.
A Reincarnated Immortal Emperor who had lived through countless ages, looked down upon seas of blood spilled by gods and devils, and controlled schemes woven through heavenly fate was now thrown into complete disarray by a few tears and a few choked, heartfelt words, unable to advance or retreat.
He wanted to step forward and draw out the Soul-Devouring Pearl's energy, but the moment he raised his hand, Yun Qing thought he was coming to extract his essence. The sight of him baring his neck for slaughter gave Yun Huang a headache.
Yun Huang wanted to sternly shout down this utterly uncontrolled, disgraceful scene and reclaim his authority. But when the words reached his lips, he found his voice inexplicably dry, and even... lacking conviction:
"...Shut up! Stop crying!"
Under the gaze of those reddened eyes, brimming with grievance, and those silently surging tears, his rebuke failed to establish any authority. Instead, it carried an indescribable air of... embarrassment turned to anger, and sheer helplessness.
That "shout" seemed to leave Yun Qing feeling even more wronged. His lips trembled as he glanced at Yun Huang with tear-filled double pupils, his eyes plainly saying, I'm already like this, and you still won't forgive me?
As though he, Yun Huang, was being! utterly! unreasonable!
Yun Huang surrendered completely, knowing that no matter what, there was no way to continue this "interrogation" today. He swept his sleeve fiercely!
Clatter-!
The Soul-Calming Chains binding Yun Qing sprang open at once, hanging limply like black snakes drained of life.
Suddenly robbed of support, his mind in turmoil and his strength exhausted, Yun Qing dropped to the floor with a thud.
Seeing that he was about to cry again, Yun Huang ignored him. The chains he had just withdrawn shot out once more, bundled up the man lying facedown on the floor, and unceremoniously tossed him into a meditation chamber on the third floor of the Immortal-Sealing Tower.
Yun Qing rolled inside with a thoroughly undignified rumble, finally disappearing from Yun Huang's sight.
Without the chains sealing his cultivation, the Soul-Devouring Pearl's influence should subside before long.
Yun Huang did not even dare spare another glance toward that meditation chamber. He turned sharply, his black sleeves stirring a cold gust, and left the top floor of the Immortal-Sealing Tower at a pace far faster than when he had arrived, almost in a hurry.
The soul-calming energy on the top floor of the Immortal-Sealing Tower is too harsh. Keeping him there could easily damage the essence of his Dao Foundation, he told himself inwardly, as though trying to convince himself. If his dao embryo is damaged, that would diminish the strength of our Yun Clan as well...
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