"How did you survive the plague?" Shen Yuan wondered. "How did you live this long?"
'As long as we don't pass our immortality to our descendant, our species don't age after we reach a certain threshold. As for the plague…I'm not sure either.' Juliard shook his head. 'I was prepared to die at any given time but it never came to me. It's not like we're immune to illness.'
"Could it be a blessing from the blue moon?"
'The plague spread before I received its blessing.' Juliard shook his head. Remembering something, he paused and added, 'Though I said everybody died, there is one other survivor.'
Shen Yuan had a premonition which was confirmed the next second.
'King Zain. He's been looking for you ever since that day.'
"You mean, he's also an immortal?" Shen Yuan felt a bit incredulous, but at the same time, he knew it wasn't anything impossible in Zhou Yi's own neural space.
It explained the sanctuary being the ruined past world and the abnormal rainstorm. The Great Collapse itself was highly likely to be caused by Zain himself.
Juliard nodded. 'Somehow.'
2 guards entered the hall and were stunned by the aftermath inside. One of them went to help his colleague distribute the healing potion while the other continued to pace toward Ji Zhixuan and Shen Yuan.
He saluted before reporting, "Master, Madame, we spotted several ships falling from the sky. One of them bears the emperor's crest."
"We must hurry before Zhou Jingchen finds us." Shen Yuan turned back to Juliard. "We need to use the Aruthysts again. Do you know what happened to them after we left?"
Juliard fell into a heavy silence for a moment and lowered his head. 'Forgive me. I lost it.'
"Don't tell me…"
'King Zain holds one of them. The one you used.'
"Shit," Shen Yuan cursed under his breath. One Zhou Yi was enough trouble and now they had to deal with two?
"What about the other one?" Ji Zhixuan asked.
'It's sealed in the temple.' Juliard faintly gloomed. 'With His Highness's body.'
Shen Yuan widened his eyes. So that pulse…
"He's still…?"
'In humans' point of view, His Highness seems to be truly dead, but we never know what a demon can possibly do. The main reason why the temple sealed His Highness.'
"Can you break it?"
'It can only be opened by King Zain. The only way to break it is to overload the formation. Unfortunately, I'm not strong enough. But perhaps, His Highness can.'
"We don't have mana in our body," Shen Yuan refuted.
'You do though?' Juliard tilted his head in confusion. 'Your people used magic earlier. I can also feel the same energy from your body.'
Shen Yuan and Ji Zhixuan looked at each other and decided to try Juliard's suggestion. They didn't have any other plan as of now.
Ji Zhixuan ordered the guard still standing attention next to them to set the place back up after everyone had recovered before leaving with Shen Yuan and Juliard. He carried Shen Yuan into his arms and flew out of the barrier while towing Juliard behind them, shielding him from the rain as well.
"So you can just fly me normally instead of carrying me?" Shen Yuan asked in amusement. He had thought as much since Ji Zhixuan could float the ship.
"Do you rather fly by yourself?" Ji Zhixuan raised his eyebrows.
Shen Yuan chuckled and clung tighter around Ji Zhixuan's neck. "No, not really."
"I thought so."
Juliard watched everything with a smile in his heart. He knew His Highness's decision was never wrong.
Once they arrived back at the temple, Ji Zhixuan landed them by the entrance of the passage, but Juliard pointed towards the center instead.
"What about the one underground?" Shen Yuan pointed down the passage.
'It's a diversion. The true seal encapsulates the entire temple. When it's broken, the one on the door will naturally break as well. But not the other way around. It will only alert King Zain.'
"Will this not alert him?" Ji Zhixuan asked.
'It will. Inevitably. We must immediately leave after retrieving the dagger.'
Shen Yuan and Ji Zhixuan followed Juliard to the center ground and swept all the rubbles away, clearing the area for their convenience. Seeing how their powers operated, Juliard contemplated for a while.
'Does His Highness not have his own mana pool?'
"No, I supply it for him. On the other hand, I can't use my own mana and can only transfer it to others like him to activate their ability," Shen Yuan explained.
Juliard nodded in understanding and changed his plan. He stood at the circular tiles and prompted Shen Yuan to join him. 'Since you're strong enough to support His Highness, you should have the amount we need. But it's best not to deplete our mana, so I will use mine as well and share the burden.'
Following Juliard's example, Shen Yuan knelt across him and pressed his palms to the ground. Juliard's body glowed with pale yellow light and bright purple magic formations flashed into sight below them. Rings after rings of ancient runes formed and connected until they spread across both ends of the temple.
Shen Yuan activated his spirit and injected his energy alongside Juliard. As the diamonds on his chest flared one after another, the formation grew bigger and brighter until it enveloped the summit. With his full concentration on the task, Ji Zhixuan's dome gradually faded until rain touched them and showered upon their body.
Ji Zhixuan fixed his eyes on Shen Yuan's determined figure, bathed in the mystical purple light and his ever-dazzling silver luster. However bleak the world was, however heavy the rain fell, no amount could diminish his radiance.
The radiance that burned for him.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth as he increased his output. He didn't know how much more they needed, but he was nearing his limit. He had thought he could handle this with the amount of energy he had received from Ji Zhixuan for the past 6 months, but it seemed like S-Grade was still far beyond him.
When his body weighed down on him and his head pounded with a thousand mallets, a surge of blazing, powerful energy burst into his vessels and rushed down his bone marrow, like the first breath of air after drowning in the depth of the sea.
Red filled his vision and wrapped him like a lover's embrace. He raised his head to meet Ji Zhixuan's undivided attention. His eyes burned red with passion and his body exuded crimson wisps that distorted the space around him.
Shen Yuan's heart thumped. Could it be…?
The formation flashed a degree brighter, pulling Shen Yuan out of his stupor. Juliard gave him a nod, signaling that they were close. He took a deep breath and forced his output up another notch.
Soon, the earth shook under them, and the remaining pillars cracked and collapsed one after another until none was left. The formation flashed once again and finally shattered.
The energy overload exploded and blasted Shen Yuan and Juliard off the ground. The shockwave also threw Ji Zhixuan back, but he swiftly dropped to all fours and stopped his motion with his hands, feet, and knees.
He hurried to his feet only to find Shen Yuan crashing to the ground, his body not reacting to mitigate the impact. He rolled down the uneven tiles until he hit the base of a broken pillar and lay there motionlessly.
Ji Zhixuan's blood ran cold. He rushed to Shen Yuan's side and propped him up. Seeing the scrapes and bruises, he took out one of the vials he brought with him, tilted Shen Yuan's chin up, and carefully fed him the potion.
After his wounds healed, he checked his pulse and confirmed it was normal but he still lay unconscious in his arms, not giving any sign of waking up. He could only hope it was caused by exhaustion and energy depletion.
With the formation shattered, Zhou Jingchen's other reincarnation must already be alerted. They weren't in a position to fight. They had to leave fast.
He whisked Shen Yuan off the ground and carried him down the passage, bringing him out of the rain. Once he reached the end, he found the wall was no more, only what remained of it.
Inside was a chamber of stone blocks and steel bars, each rod carved with enchantments of ancient language. They encased a thick chunk of ice at the center, suspended above a pool of milky white water that exuded cold mists that carried the strong scent of sage.
Within the ice was a man with his head and limbs detached from his torso, stripped of all dignity. His golden hair had turned into a dull yellow and his skin had become grayish blue. The arrogant yet magnetic charm he exuded from his painting was nowhere to be seen.
A dagger sheathed deep in his left chest, right where his heart should be.
This was him.
"…"
Ji Zhixuan stared at the body for a long while and lowered his eyes to his unconscious lover. In a way, it was a good thing Shen Yuan wasn't awake to see this.
He couldn't find anywhere appropriate to lay Shen Yuan down and could only position him by the wall, careful to balance his weight. It wasn't the best place, but he had to figure out how to break the cage, take 'him' out, and get the dagger.
Before Shen Yuan's body could touch the ground, a low, unamused voice entered his head, 'Where do you think you're putting our beloved?'
Ji Zhixuan paused in his motion. He slowly straightened back up and turned around.
Four pupils of demonic red eyes stared back at him from within the ice.