Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 830: Perhaps We Should Try Dual Cultivation

In truth, Ye Wuming had been putting on a bit of an act. The moment she failed to give chase, it was already too late.

Once Piaomiao carried out the divine descent to escape, she could vanish to an unknowable distance in an instant, and the direction in which she escaped would be impossible to divine. Moreover, neither she nor Zhao Changhe even belonged to this current time or world; they existed outside its bounds, so no one in this world, not even Ye Wuming, could trace their path.

Ye Wuming quietly performed a divination, but the results only deepened her confusion. That had clearly been Piaomiao just now, and she had managed to transfer the entirety of her power to a man. And yet, no matter how she tried to deduce it, she could not discern who the man was.

His strength was comparable to the current Human Emperor, Azure Dragon. But Azure Dragon would never be supported to such an extent by Piaomiao; as for her deigning to touch him, that was a hilarious idea. And even if she were willing to do so, there was no way he could fully receive such power. The process required absolute mutual trust and the complete exposure of their souls to one another.

It absolutely could not have been Azure Dragon then. Besides, the intent in that punch felt... eerily similar to mine. Who exactly was that?

Stranger still, no matter how she calculated, Piaomiao was still at the Luo River forging the divine swords...

Ye Wuming lifted her eyes to the stars and murmured, “Not in the present... not in the past... Could it be... a Human Emperor of the future?”

Meanwhile, the two fugitives who had just made even the all-powerful Blindie grasp at straws were now tumbling through a celestial river. Their bodies drifted with the current as if they were ghosts being carried along the river of the Underworld.

Both were injured. Zhao Changhe, already weakened, was clearly in a poor state, but Piaomiao did not fare much better. She had transferred her entire strength to him in that instant, and her body was unable to withstand the backlash. Fortunately, Ye Wuming had restrained the force of her blow, and Piaomiao had quickly pulled back her own power to escape with Zhao Changhe. Had she been any slower, they might have both perished then and there.

Even with the combined efforts of both Zhao Changhe and Piaomiao at this moment, they had barely survived a single blow.

This was the ancient Heavenly Emperor, Ye Wuming.

A supreme figure whose name lingered through the ages like a monument carved into myth. She was someone whose presence still overshadowed most of the legends long after her own era had passed. Suppressing all of eternity would not even sound like an exaggeration when used to refer to her power.

Of course, the comparison was not entirely fair. Neither Zhao Changhe nor Piaomiao currently had physical bodies to fight with, placing them at a clear disadvantage. In full form, Piaomiao alone could force Ye Wuming to tread carefully, and killing her would require a sneak attack when she was completely spent. As for Zhao Changhe, his strength had always been his body cultivation and the usage of his sword and saber; his soul was relatively underdeveloped in comparison.

Regardless, this brush with death had left them both shaken and exhilarated. Zhao Changhe floated in the water, letting himself drift, and sighed, half-laughing through his exhaustion. “I never thought we’d actually snatch something from the hands of that damned blind woman... Even taking a beating was worth it. Damn, that felt good!”

His excitement was genuine, and Piaomiao could hear the sincerity in his tone. Her own spirits lifted as well. Whether Ye Wuming had held back or not, snatching something from her was a feat of legend in any era, and exacting even the smallest bit of interest on that long-standing grudge? That was damn satisfying.

Especially considering... Everyone knew that there was something peculiar between Zhao Changhe and Ye Wuming. The fact that she would appear for him in Papiyas’s domain meant something. Until now, Piaomiao had never truly known which side Zhao Changhe would lean toward if forced to choose between Ye Wuming and herself. But that punch just now... had wiped away every doubt.

He had gone all in to help her collect on a debt from Ye Wuming.

For the first time in a long while, Piaomiao’s cold, stoic face cracked into a smile—an expression of true ease and delight. “Why do you refer to her as a damned blind woman’? What’s the story between you two?”

“Uh... Let’s keep that a secret for now. It’s not important.” Zhao Changhe turned to her with a smile. “But hey, you should really smile more. You look beautiful when you do.”

“...Didn’t you say you liked my corrupted self better? Didn’t you even say it was cuter?” Piaomiao immediately dropped her smile and put on a stiff face. “So which line of yours is true?”

“But this is the first time I’ve seen you smile like that, so I hadn’t even been able to consider it before,” Zhao Changhe replied. “Now that I have, I definitely prefer seeing you smile like this.”

“You glib-tongued bastard... Is that how you tricked Yangyang?”

“The way I tricked Yangyang is the same way you tricked me just now back in the mortal realm.”

Piaomiao: “?”

“I mean, by letting me eat soft r... I mean, by letting me enjoy being protected,” Zhao Changhe said, floating closer with each word.

Piaomiao kicked out at him. “Then go die. Who’s protecting a lecher like you?”

But her kick missed, and he had already grabbed her hand.

She tried to shake him off. “Let go!”

“We’ve been holding hands all day, and I haven’t heard you complain.” Zhao Changhe finally pulled her into a full embrace. “Stop kicking up such a fuss... We’re both injured. Let’s rest a bit.”

Piaomiao did not resist. She let him rest his head on her shoulder. Her right hand lifted instinctively as if to hold him, but then she hesitated and her hand fell back down.

She muttered softly, “Don’t get any ideas...”

“What do you take me for...” Zhao Changhe looked around. “Where are we, anyway? We’re in no condition to fight. It would be a joke if someone stumbled across us and took our heads.”

Piaomiao said, “This is the Heavenly River... the very same Milky Way people gaze at from the mortal realm. In the heavenly realm, it takes physical form. In your era, it seems no one ever discovered this place. It may have actually vanished by then.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred. This river actually had a strange resonance with his martial arts intent, and it seemed to be worth studying.

Speaking of which, if there are heavenly soldiers guarding this river, does that mean that there might be a Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy somewhere too...?[1]

It seemed that the starry river in the sky was not merely the cluster of cosmic stars Zhao Changhe had always understood it to be. Within the heavenly realm, it actually had a physical manifestation. Yet at this very moment, the two of them were quietly lying adrift in the heart of the river. Above them, the sky was studded with glittering stars. So what then were those stars above?

“It may not have disappeared entirely. There are still many places we’ve yet to uncover. We haven’t even found the ancient White Tiger, who might have something to do with this,” Zhao Changhe said, the pain of his injuries beginning to overtake him. His voice dimmed with fatigue, “So... is this river dangerous? Can we recover here?”

“We can. Once you enter the Heavenly River, even a step apart becomes immeasurable. In terms of space, every crest of every wave exists countless realms apart. Each contains its own cosmos, invisible to the others. That’s why I descended here. It’s safe.”

So this really is just like the Milky Way. Zhao Changhe found it fascinating, staring upward in thought.

The dark of night deepened, the mist thickened across the river, and all notions of direction blurred. There was only silence all around them. There was no sound of flowing water, no chirping insects, only a profound and boundless silence.

Only two injured souls drifted together, suspended in the Heavenly River, gazing up at the stars far beyond.

Souls had neither breath nor heartbeat. Even their closeness was a conscious effort to condense their soul bodies, a forced illusion of mutual support. It was only in this way that they could hold onto the faintest thread of human warmth. Otherwise, they would be no different from ghostly wraiths adrift in the river of the dead.

But Piaomiao seemed perfectly at ease in such vast, desolate solitude. She had already slipped into meditation, tendrils of divine mist curling around her, making her seem even more otherworldly.

Zhao Changhe, on the other hand, was not used to such eerie silence. He felt unsettled and distracted. Eventually, he could not resist propping himself up slightly, casting a glance at Piaomiao’s silhouette floating upon the rippling water.

She really is extremely beautiful.

It was no wonder she did not trust anything he said. All those declarations of affection, of pursuit... Back then, he was not even sure if he had meant them. Only now, in this quiet moment, did he truly feel that heartbeat-skipping thrill. Now that her temperament had returned to normal, he clearly felt an attraction both visual and deeply emotional.

Commanding and fierce to the outside, gentle and shielding to those within.

This was exactly what the human manifestation of the spirit of the mountains and rivers felt like it should be, and such a being was in perfect harmony with him.

Thinking back on her tantrums back when she was in a corrupted state, they now seemed almost endearing, a flirtatious kind of bickering. The memories made the corners of his mouth lift involuntarily.

Piaomiao, eyes still closed, suddenly spoke up. “What are you staring at me for...”

Zhao Changhe coughed. “N-nothing... I just couldn’t focus. I was... watching over you, acting as your protector. Weren’t you meditating?”

“No one can meditate with someone staring at them like that,” she said, opening her eyes. “Zhao Changhe, you’re disturbing my peace of mind.”

Her tone sounded like reproach, but her gaze was soft, not a trace of anger in it. Instead, a ripple of something hard to define flickered in her eyes.

Could it be that her heart isn’t so still either?

“I... we...” Zhao Changhe hesitated, then thickened his skin and said softly, “We don’t have any medicine here, and healing like this is inefficient. So... perhaps we should... try dual cultivation?”

Finally, a flash of annoyance sparked in Piaomiao’s eyes.

“No, no...” Zhao Changhe hurriedly explained, “I mean, since we’re only souls, the dual cultivation I’m talking about isn’t that kind of thing. I’m just referring to communion between our souls... And if you think taking on human form feels awkward, we can always become mist...”

“Mere self-deception.” Piaomiao turned her head away. “You’re clearly just feeling lust. I wouldn’t be surprised if your body back in the temple is... reacting.”

Zhao Changhe gave a sheepish silence. She really did see right through people.

What surprised him even more was that her demeanor at this moment, soft and playful, was a far cry from how she dealt with the likes of the Sea Emperor. The contrast was honestly intoxicating to him.

He said nothing more, and Piaomiao, too, remained silent. Neither of them shifted to the so-called mist form and silence stretched out again.

Zhao Changhe, unable to resist, slowly lowered his head toward her. His lips inching closer to hers.

Piaomiao’s lips pressed together faintly and her lashes trembled.

Their soul bodies came into contact, and so did their lips.

“You might be feeling lust...” Piaomiao murmured. “But I think I like you... You people have really messed me up...”

Zhao Changhe gave no reply. He simply held her tightly, kissing her with unrestrained fervor.

Piaomiao tilted her head back slightly, whispering, “This is just soul dual cultivation... Don’t start doing anything indecent...”

Normal soul bodies could not actually engage in that kind of act. While they might be able to condense into a form that could mimic their appearance, they could not replicate the full functionality of a physical body. And no one in their right mind would be so wasteful with their energy to craft a soul-body version of their lower parts. It would be monumentally idiotic.

She was genuinely worried this lunatic might actually try something like that, so she preemptively warned him.

Thankfully, Zhao Changhe was not that deranged. All he did was instinctively undo the illusions of clothing Piaomiao had formed.

She gave a token push of resistance, then sighed and simply let him proceed.

After all, it was not as if he had not seen her bare before. He was the one who had seen her bound in chains, no less.

In the end, the two lay bare to each other, tangled in a deep kiss. They did not do anything more, but the non-existent atmosphere was still thick with longing.

They rolled slowly in the river, enveloped in swirling mist, like lovers hidden within the veils of a bridal chamber.

Zhao Changhe could not shake the feeling that this scene was oddly familiar... Ah, right, I dreamed something like this not long ago. Entangled with Piaomiao in some indistinct place... hazy and unreal, as if it hadn’t really happened. So this was it? It wasn’t a dream, but a glimpse of the future?

The long river of time... able to see both the past and the future. It seems like I truly have taken a step into the very essence of cultivation. But why did it show me this instead of something truly vital? What was the trigger? If I can figure that out, maybe I could eventually master the ability to peer into the future at will.

As the thought crossed his mind, Zhao Changhe suddenly felt the urge to slap himself.

Piaomiao had been meditating in peace, and he had been letting his monkey mind run wild. Now that they were entangled, this was when he started thinking about cultivation?

My brain must have really gone bad.

No more thinking. Focus on dual cultivation and recovery.

* * *

The next morning, Zhao Changhe awoke a little earlier than Piaomiao.

After dual cultivation, both of them had naturally entered a meditative state. By all logic, Piaomiao should have come out of it first with her superior cultivation. Yet somehow, Zhao Changhe awoke before her.

A brief check within revealed that it likely had to do with the aura of the Heavenly River itself.

Much of Zhao Changhe’s martial arts intent, especially his saber intent, was rooted in the image of the Milky Way cascading down from the highest heaven, and the Milky Way was this very river they were on. In a sense, this was his home ground. Training here could enhance his saber intent and help patch the weaknesses in his soul cultivation.

They did not have much time and could not afford to linger here forever, but once they returned, he ought to seek out this river in earnest. It could become the perfect place for his next round of closed-door cultivation.

Speaking of cultivation, Zhao Changhe realized he had advanced again. He was now at the peak of the second layer of Profound Control.

This was only to be expected. After all, he had just dual cultivated with Piaomiao who was at the third layer. If there had not been any improvement in his cultivation, that would have been truly strange. Piaomiao had likely gained something as well.

Zhao Changhe looked down at her still-slumbering face, serene and tender.

Strictly speaking, this was their true first time. All their previous encounters had been through Yangyang’s appearance. This was the first time they had come together with her in her own form, and her first time willingly doing so.

Of course, it was precisely those past entanglements that had led them here. What he had ended up with was... an absolute treasure. How fortunate he was...

Perhaps it was his gaze lingering too long, but Piaomiao finally stirred, and their eyes met again.

After a pause, Piaomiao’s soul body flushed pink. She turned away and re-clothed herself with a faint murmur, “You really are a lecher. Even in your soul form, you have to undress. I must’ve been blind to think you were some kind of hero.”

Zhao Changhe wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered in her ear, “It’s just a little intimacy between husband and wife. How am I a lecher?”

“Who’s your wife? I’m not Yangyang.”

“Want to hold a ceremony? We can bow to heaven and earth right now....” But as soon as he said it, Zhao Changhe hesitated. In this world, was bowing to heaven and earth not the same as bowing to Ye Wuming and Piaomiao herself?

Since it touched on Ye Wuming, it did not feel right to say aloud. Piaomiao had not expected him to go on such a tangent and simply replied, “Spare me. Save that for your human wives, like that young lady of the Li Clan.”

Zhao Changhe could not help laughing in exasperation. Why did Piaomiao always get jealous of Ye Jiuyou so randomly? “There’s nothing between me and her.”

“Hmph. That’s hard to say. She played her part in screwing me over too.” Piaomiao had calmed down enough to see through certain things. Ye Jiuyou sending her to seek out Papiyas with Zhao Changhe reeked of ulterior motives.

Zhao Changhe said, “Then I really ought to thank her.”

Piaomiao snorted. “I’ll settle accounts with her myself.”

Then she paused, letting the topic drop. She then continued, “My cultivation has actually improved... I thought my path was completely detached from conventional methods. But apparently, even I can advance.”

Zhao Changhe replied, “As long as yin and yang are in harmony, it’s only natural. No matter how unique your path, you’re still subject to the same fundamental laws of the world. Besides, you’ve got a long way to go. If you want to beat Ye Wuming one day, then when we return, we can dual cultivate more often...”

“Who said I’m dual cultivating with you again? I’ll return to being a little black mist once we return. I’m not seeing you in this form again.”

Zhao Changhe pictured that adorable little cloud of black mist and could not help but chuckle. “What about the lotus platform?”

“I used the method of Mount Sumeru in a Mustard Seed[ref]A little refresher: this refers to a Buddhist belief. Mount Sumeru is at the center of the universe and it is of cosmic magnitude, yet at the same time, it can be as small as a mustard seed, a metaphor for the smallest thing in existence. This goes to show the illusory nature of reality./ref] to conceal it. Otherwise its aura would attract too much trouble. Once we’re back, we can figure out how to rebuild a physical body...” Piaomiao trailed off mid-sentence.

Zhao Changhe blinked. “Why’d you suddenly stop talking? Honestly, I think with the lotus platform in hand, crafting a body for you won’t be difficult. Back then, even a newbie at the first layer of the Profound Control Realm managed to reconstruct a body from a single drop of blood through the page of life. Compared to him, we’ve got far better resources and comprehension of the laws. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

Piaomiao thought silently, It’s not about whether we can or not... It’s that I don’t even know who this body is supposed to belong to anymore. It seems like it might mean more to you than to me...

That strange, indescribable feeling made it impossible to speak directly, so she changed the subject and said, “Since we’ve recovered, shall we head to the Heavenly Demon Illusion Realm and examine the Soul-Capturing Mirror? Getting back should still be our top priority. If we can’t return, everything else is meaningless.”

Zhao Changhe said, “We’re still only guessing the mirror can help us return. It’s not guaranteed. Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the chopping of firewood. I want to stay one more day.”

“To consolidate your cultivation? Hm, this place really does suit you.”

“Mm, but more importantly, I realized that an earlier dream might have been a glimpse into the future. I want to study it... Trying to divine everything at once is too ambitious, but maybe I can use the specific question of whether we’ll make it back as a starting point. Maybe I can begin learning how to foresee fortune and misfortune in concrete ways.”

1. This is a reference to Journey to the West where there exists a Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy (天蓬元帅) who is in control of a heavenly navy, which is likely what is being referred to in the mention of “heavenly soldiers.” ☜

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