Chapter 40: Don’t Tell Me You’ve Fallen for Me?

Chapter 40: You're Not Falling for Me, Are You?

The higher the rank of a demon, the more they resemble humans, while lower-ranked demons are like mindless monsters.

That ox-headed monster Shen Lian had seen that day had only managed to transform its body, but its head was still that of a beast.

It was considered a mid-level demon.

Shen Lian's body had now mostly recovered. Just as he was about to sit in meditation, he saw Yan Huaixuan already standing up.

Shen Lian's lips moved as if to speak.

But then Yan Huaixuan suddenly raised his hand, and Shen Lian found himself flying uncontrollably into Yan Huaixuan's embrace.

His pupils constricted, but Yan Huaixuan covered his mouth.

Shen Lian also sensed something was wrong. He looked up and saw a horde of demons—a dense, teeming sea of them—heading their way.

The leading demon's appearance was indeed as handsome as Chen Xue had said, but those blood-red eyes betrayed his demonic identity.

Demons could cultivate human forms, but their eyes could not be changed.

Behind him, the demon soldiers were a motley crew, each one ugly in their own special way.

The demon army came sweeping toward them in a massive tide, as if searching for something.

Shen Lian and Yan Huaixuan both held their breath, hiding behind a tree, and overheard one of the demons on the edge talking to another.

"They say two human cultivators broke in, but we've been searching for ages and haven't found them."

"Who knows."

"I heard one of them is at least at the Tribulation Transcendence stage—that's a real prize!"

"Haha, once the boss catches him, skins him, rips out his tendons, and devours him, maybe we'll get a few scraps too."

"Stop!"

Shen Lian suddenly noticed the handsome demon leader dismount. A cold, sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he looked around, as if searching for something.

Shen Lian held his breath. The demon leader was standing right where Shen Lian had been sitting in meditation.

Shen Lian was so intently focused on the demon that he didn't notice how close he and Yan Huaixuan were—Yan Huaixuan's whole chest was almost flush against Shen Lian's back.

When Yan Huaixuan lowered his gaze, he saw Shen Lian's slender, graceful neck and soft black hair.

The faint fragrance from Shen Lian drifted into his nose.

Yan Huaixuan's throat bobbed, and he averted his gaze.

Under Shen Lian's cautious watch, the demon only glanced around before pointing in one direction. "There! Chase!"

Shen Lian looked and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

That direction was the exact opposite of where they were hiding.

As the thousand-strong demon army departed, Shen Lian was just about to turn and say something, but didn't expect Yan Huaixuan to be pressed so close to him.

His lips accidentally brushed against Yan Huaixuan's cool, thin lips.

Both Shen Lian and Yan Huaixuan froze.

Soft lips met, breath exchanged.

When Shen Lian snapped back to reality, a flicker of disgust flashed in his eyes. He quickly broke free from Yan Huaixuan's embrace.

Then he wiped his lips hard, as if trying to scrub the feeling away.

Yan Huaixuan had been a little lost in thought, but seeing Shen Lian's reaction—

For some reason, his brow darkened slightly. He said flatly, "You've been cultivating for this long and still haven't learned the Purification Art?"

Shen Lian looked up and saw Yan Huaixuan's entire outfit change in an instant.

Clearly, he had used the Purification Art.

Shen Lian clenched his fingers and sneered, "As if I don't know it."

He made a hand seal, and in the span of a blink, Shen Lian was clean and tidy again.

Shen Lian picked up his sword and turned to leave. He didn't want to keep tangling with Yan Huaixuan—he couldn't kill him, and just looking at him annoyed him to no end.

But unexpectedly, the demons that had vanished earlier now all appeared outside.

A sinister smile crept across the leading demon's face. "Found you, human cultivators."

With that, he raised his hand, and a cloud of black mist shot toward Shen Lian.

Shen Lian strained to move but was pinned in place. His pupils constricted as he frantically channeled his spiritual energy, his limbs feeling like they were filled with lead.

Just as he watched the black mist approach, a hand found his waist. Yan Huaixuan carried him, and in a flash, they were gone.

The scene changed in an instant, and Shen Lian found himself soaring through the air alongside Yan Huaixuan.

Beneath their feet was Ling Yun.

Shen Lian could fly as well, but nowhere near this high.

Shen Lian suddenly spoke. "Why do you keep saving me over and over?"

His eyes curved into a smile. "Don't tell me you got lonely after we split and realized you're in love with me?"

Yan Huaixuan paused almost unnoticeably, then said in a flat, indifferent tone, "You ran into trouble during the Tianheng Sect trial. I can't just abandon you."

Shen Lian gave a cold, fake smile. "Wow, how righteous and grand of you—all for a newbie like me who hasn't even gotten one foot through the sect's door."

Yan Huaixuan looked ahead. "Not everyone's as self-absorbed as you."

Shen Lian's nails dug sharply into his palm.

But before he could say anything, a deafening roar erupted from behind them.

"Humans, halt!"

Shen Lian suddenly heard Yan Huaixuan let out a low grunt.

He immediately looked up—not that he cared much for Yan Huaixuan, but because they were grasshoppers tied to the same string, or rather, on the same sword.

He saw Yan Huaixuan's brow furrow slightly, and the sword beneath them trembled slightly.

Shen Lian's mind raced. "Hold on."

Yan Huaixuan glanced down to see Shen Lian pull out two pills.

"What are these?"

Shen Lian's voice faltered for some reason. "These are pills I made—Disguise Pills. I made them 'cause I was bored; I only picked it up two days ago. They can change how you look. When you take one, just picture the face you want in your head."

When Zheng Huifeng made him stay on the mountain to train, he gave Shen Lian a pass to the library.

When he got bored, Shen Lian would go in and browse, and eventually he found a few books on alchemy. He thought it was weird that they were stashed in such a remote corner, all covered in dust.

When he opened them, he found they explained how to make all kinds of pills, and Shen Lian got curious.

He'd always loved cooking and baking—every time he made something tasty, it cheered him up. He figured that following the steps in the "instruction manual" wouldn't be too hard.

Sure enough, Shen Lian whipped up a Fasting Pill on his first try.

He hadn't fully mastered fasting; he still needed food now and then, so this was just a backup.

He never expected to use it just days later. He'd also made a few other pills back then.

But he only had so many materials—he ran out after making a small batch, and then the assessment came.

"But I'm not sure if there are any side effects or not."

Yan Huaixuan just gave him a look.

Ling Yun blurted out, "You made pills in just two days???"

Did Shen Lian not know that, throughout history, the two hardest paths to walk were sword cultivation and alchemy?

Sword cultivators were doable—with persistence, they could eventually get somewhere. But alchemists were different; they could only rely on luck.

It required not just a super high sensitivity and affinity for herbs, but also meticulous attention to detail.

Most people got stuck at the affinity stage—if they couldn't sense the herbs, they couldn't control the heat. A hair too much or too little, and days of work and materials went down the drain, especially since the ingredients were so precious.

So most cultivators gave up on alchemy altogether.

But the flip side was that pills made by alchemists were the hottest thing in the entire cultivation world. Even the simplest Qi-Refining Pill would start a frenzy if it hit the market.

Ling Yun thought it was weird. "Could it be 'cause he used to like cooking?"

And Yan Huaixuan's silence, to Shen Lian, came off as disdain.

Shen Lian pressed his lips together and said coldly, "Suit yourself. Eat it or don't."

Shen Lian swallowed one himself, silently picturing red eyes.

That was the most crucial part.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Lian opened his eyes and met Yan Huaixuan's somewhat speechless expression.

"What's wrong?"

A bad feeling suddenly crept into Shen Lian's heart.

He suddenly felt himself—