My Best Friend Said He Loves Me - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Under the Demon Abyssal Pit, grey mist billowed, and black shadows flitted about.
Crimson earth was crisscrossed with cracks; lava spewed from vents, and the Heavy Sun Sword Array, woven from five-colored spiritual energy, trapped a great demon with a bull’s head, snake’s body, and countless tentacles.
The array was formed by several immortal sect disciples dressed in misty blue civil and military robes.
“Change array! Exterminate the Great Calamity!”
With a command, the disciples changed their hand seals and simultaneously chanted sword spells.
Golden runes materialized out of thin air, like chains, ready to merge into the sword array. Before that could happen, the great demon, named “Great Calamity” (Zhong Nie), instinctively sensed the threat. It roared and fiercely charged towards one spot.
“Roar—!”
Spiral-shaped bull horns suddenly projected a phantom of demonic energy, ramming the weak point of the sword array repeatedly, non-stop, following the Great Calamity’s movements.
“Crack, crack.”
The sound of shattering was faint but instantly caused the faces of the few people forming the array to change drastically.
“Oh no!”
During the impact, spiderweb cracks spread, the five-colored spiritual light struggled for a few moments, then completely dimmed, and a gap was torn in the sword array by the black demonic energy!
The moment it shattered, the backlash of spiritual power caused Liu Cong to spit out a mouthful of clotted bl00d with a “poof,” and the fellow disciples around her were equally ashen.
She didn’t have time to recover.
The Great Calamity was huge and seemed cumbersome, but its escaping speed was extremely fast, flying a thousand miles in the brief interval while they were vomiting bl00d.
Right now, only she had the strength left to pursue it.
This vile beast absolutely couldn’t be allowed to escape!
Liu Cong gritted her teeth, chanted a sword mantra, and flew after it on her flying sword. However, the distance between them grew wider and wider. Just as despair was setting in—
The sky over the Demon Abyssal Pit, which was perpetually obscured by demonic energy, suddenly brightened, and a streak of extremely conspicuous crimson gold plunged down like a blazing fire, intercepting the Great Calamity’s path.
Shen Yunjian!
Liu Cong saw a savior. Her eyes first lit up, then she remembered that the Great Calamity, provoked by the sword array, had a drastically increased demonic aura and was no match for a single person. She immediately warned loudly: “Shen Immortal Lord, be careful! This Great Calamity is incredibly powerful; it broke the Heavy Sun Sword Array!”
Shen Yunjian nodded, his pale golden pupils fixed intently on the Great Calamity, which was arching its body in front of him and emitting threatening low growls.
His gaze swept over the unusually enormous body of the Great Calamity, sensing the flow of demonic energy within it.
Bull horns, snake body, single eye… The continuously flowing demonic energy, like a stream, was completely visible in his golden eyes. Shen Yunjian’s gaze penetrated its bones and flesh, and he quickly locked onto the target—
It’s on the back!
All his thoughts took only a few breaths; the standoff between the two also lasted only a few breaths. The Great Calamity roared and suddenly lunged!
Its body flashed, appearing above Shen Yunjian in the blink of an eye. Demonic energy surged down, and tentacles thick enough to smash mountains “whooshed” as they lashed down.
“Dong, dong, dong…”
The earth trembled, and dust flew everywhere.
Terrifying whip marks crisscrossed into a giant pit, but there was no trace of the human figure to be found.
The Great Calamity hovered in the air, its massive white pupils rolling up and down, its tentacles flailing aimlessly, unable to find anyone.
Suddenly—
There was a very slight ripple in the airflow behind it. The Great Calamity was about to turn around when a mournful shriek came from its mouth. A transparent sword blade had directly pierced its chest and back, almost tearing it in half.
One strike, straight to the mark!
With its fatal spot pierced, its enormous body uncontrollably plummeted from the high altitude, and during the fall, it suddenly vanished into nothingness, leaving only a clear wind rushing up to the sky, lifting Shen Yunjian’s ink-black hair and the golden-embroidered civilian sleeve on his left arm, making him truly appear like a True Immortal from the Nine Heavens.
The transparent sword blade in his hand returned to cloud vapor. He was embraced by the wind as he landed, his incomparably handsome features still tinged with a hint of murderous intent from the battle just now.
The moment his foot touched the ground, he heard a shout—
“Shen Immortal Lord!”
When Liu Cong arrived, the Great Calamity had just completely dissipated.
“Shen Immortal Lord, are you alright?”
“Yunjian is fine.” Shen Yunjian shook his head and smiled: “Sister Liu, there’s no need to be so formal.”
Liu Cong first let out a sigh of relief, then, with a guilty look, glanced around before saying: “Ah, ever since you were taken in as a disciple by the Dao Ancestor Miaozhen Chongning, everyone in the Immortal Dwelling Sect has been calling you that. It wouldn’t look good for us Outer Peak disciples to appear too special.”
“What’s so special about it?” Shen Yunjian’s pale golden eyes were like the first ray of morning sun, dazzling yet sharp: “Before I left, I challenged every disciple who dared to gossip about the Outer Peak. No one dares to speak ill now.”
“Still a child’s temperament,” Liu Cong chuckled, then spoke seriously: “Alright, our Junior Brother Yunjian, the Immortal Lord Shen of the Immortal Dwelling Sect, it’s just a title. Everyone in the Outer Peak knows who you are and what kind of person you are.”
After catching up, she sternly lectured: “Don’t fight alone in the future. The demons in the Demon Abyssal Pit are getting harder and harder to deal with lately, and who knows what kind of strange changes will occur.”
“Yes, yes, yes…” Shen Yunjian replied: “Elder Sister is absolutely right.”
As they spoke, the immortal sect disciples who had recovered arrived one after another.
“Sister Liu, Shen Immortal Lord.”
Liu Cong resumed her official demeanor, first nodding to the group of disciples, then turning to Shen Yunjian and asking: “Our mission to clear the Demon Abyssal Pit today is considered complete. Does Junior Brother Shen wish to return to the Immortal Sect with us?”
Junior Brother Shen? This address caused a few people to look up in confusion.
“Naturally.” Shen Yunjian ignored the strange glances and calmly agreed: “I have been in the Demon Abyssal Pit for several months; it is time to return and report the anomalies that have occurred here.”
The two walked together on their own. “Your birthday is next month; it’s time for you to go back. Qingyu misses you all the time.”
Shen Yunjian scoffed: “With how much he likes to find a place to cultivate in solitude, he probably wouldn’t even remember if I was gone for a year or two.”
“Tsk tsk, you resent him for neglecting you.”
“It’s clearly that Zhou Qingyu guy who’s been inexplicably avoiding me recently. Every time I send him a spirit message, he only replies with two or three words. I think he’s been infected by his family’s group of old fogeys, and he’s forgotten how to speak!”
“Qingyu has indeed been frequenting the old fogeys lately, but he talks as much as before. Forget it… I won’t get involved in your affairs.”
“Hmph, Elder Sister, don’t take his side then. I’m going back to see what tricks that guy is up to!”
…
The two figures gradually receded. The few disciples following them exchanged glances and whispered: “Sister Liu and Shen Immortal Lord know each other?”
“They look very familiar.”
“Both Sister Liu and Shen Immortal Lord are from the Outer Peak.”
“That Outer Peak, the one that only takes in oddballs?”
“That Zhou Qingyu seems to be the newly prominent family head of the Zhou family.”
“You know him?”
“No, I don’t. The headline of last month’s spirit report had those words in big letters, but I only like to read the romantic gossip of the various sects, and I hadn’t finished it before I was sent to the Demon Abyssal Pit.”
“Alas, I wonder if there’s any new explosive news in the Three Thousand Realms lately.”
…
There was indeed one piece of explosive news in the Three Thousand Realms lately.
Following the public announcement of the contract between the two beauties of the Heaven’s Gate a hundred years ago, the two cultivators of the Dream-Plucking Tower recently grandly sent invitations to all the sects.
They were preparing to enter a marriage contract at their wedding banquet, and the wedding date was conveniently set three days after Shen Yunjian and his group returned to the sect.
Immortal Dwelling Sect.
Misty clouds coiled around the Azure Peak, where jade towers and magnificent palaces shone with iridescent light under the sun. The usually quiet Path of Immortals was bustling with activity.
The news of Shen Yunjian leaving the Demon Abyssal Pit to return to the sect had spread widely, as had the news of him single-handedly slaying a Great Demon of the Peaceful Tribulation Third Stage. Thus, many people of various sorts who came to join the excitement and catch a glimpse of the Immortal Lord Shen gathered outside the Immortal Dwelling Sect.
“A Congenital Spiritual Body and the favorite disciple of Dao Ancestor Chongning, now with the added achievement of single-handedly killing a Great Demon. Tsk tsk tsk, this Immortal Lord Shen is truly something…”
“Do you Immortal Dwelling Sect disciples not feel jealous when you see him?” While waiting, an Outer Heaven’s Gate disciple in silver-white Daoist robes casually struck up a conversation with a nearby Immortal Dwelling Sect disciple in a deep blue martial robe.
“Jealous of what? Immortal Lord Shen’s talent is extraordinary, but he is not boastful of his talent, nor does he wallow in boundless praise. Whenever he is not tied down by sect affairs, he ventures to the four cardinal directions of the world, slaying demons and evil spirits.”
“Almost all Immortal Dwelling Sect disciples below the Heavenly Tribulation Stage have been saved by him.”
“He became famous due to Dao Ancestor Chongning thirteen years ago, but the title ‘Immortal Lord’ ever since has been earned by him alone, with a single sword in treacherous places.”
The Immortal Dwelling Sect disciple who replied glanced at him, the expression on his face completely natural:
“The Immortal Dwelling Sect is proud of him.”
“By that account, this Immortal Lord Shen is practically a saint!”
After their chat, the nine-layered palace bells spread an ethereal sound wave, and golden auspicious clouds unfurled to create a path—disciples who returned from the four cardinal directions after demon-slaying would receive such treatment.
“They’re here!”
By the Path of Immortals, the waiting crowd simultaneously looked up towards the direction the auspicious clouds extended.
The flowing light of the flying swords, rapidly approaching from afar, slowed down. Dozens of figures leaped off their long swords, gently caught by the auspicious clouds, and slowly advanced under the gaze of all.
“Which one is Shen Yunjian?”
Someone in the crowd voiced this question.
No one responded. Even the questioner fell silent subconsciously after clearly seeing the figures on the golden cloud.
The reason was none other than the person in the lead was too striking, so much so that one glance was enough to know who deserved the title of “Immortal Lord.”
That person had his high-ponytail tied with a crimson-gold hair tie, wore a form-fitting dark-black martial uniform underneath, a woven-gold scarlet-red single-shoulder outer robe, and black-gold satin flying fish boots. A belt was cinched at his waist, defining his lean physique.
Closer still, one could see his handsome features illuminated by the exceptionally bright daylight: pale golden eyes, a high-bridged nose, and vermilion lips. He had the graceful appearance of a royalty or a noble, yet his expression was upright, imbued with a touch of the unyielding spirit of a youth.
He was an Immortal Lord, but not the aloof and transcendent Immortal Lord they had originally imagined.
“Is that Shen Yunjian?”
That is Shen Yunjian.
*
Shen Yunjian stood on the golden cloud, his eyelids lowered, scanning the surroundings from above.
He was accustomed to being the center of attention, so he remained composed even under so many pairs of eyes, though he found it a bit strange.
“Why are there so many people outside the Immortal Dwelling Sect today? Did something major happen? Or is an Elder holding another gathering?”
Liu Cong, however, discerned something. She smiled: “I don’t think anything’s happened. These people must have come specifically to admire the immortal bearing of our Shen Yunjian, the Immortal Lord Shen.”
She teased: “How does it feel to be the center of attention?”
Shen Yunjian was about to reply when an exceptionally lavish spiritual message rushed straight towards him.
The spiritual message transformed into an invitation letter before him. The invitation had a cover of crimson-pine gold gilding, with characters for the coiling dragon condensed from silver-sand spirit stone. Both crimson-pine gold and silver-sand are high-grade spiritual treasures; the sender has a grand gesture!
But the people who sent him spiritual messages numbered at least eight hundred, if not several thousand, daily, so Shen Yunjian waved his hand, intending to dismiss it.
However, the sender seemed to have known this. The spiritual message spontaneously combusted without wind, filling the air with a strange fragrance. A spiritual crane flapped its wings, and two phantoms suddenly flew into the sight of the crowd—
“Meng Xiuzhu of the Dream-Plucking Tower, Lin Yashan of the Dream-Plucking Tower, request the presence of Immortal Lord Shen of the Immortal Dwelling Sect at their wedding banquet.”
Meng Xiuzhu? Lin Yashan?
People he didn’t know.
Shen Yunjian furrowed his brows. He cast a spell to retrieve the spiritual message, not understanding why the surrounding voices suddenly erupted after the message dissipated.
“Just a wedding invitation, why all the commotion?”
On the golden cloud, the disciple who enjoyed reading romantic gossip had his eyes light up, quietly conversing with the person beside him: “The two male cultivators planning to enter a contract actually grandly invited Immortal Lord Shen! Huge news! This is absolutely living, huge news!”
“Is this my compensation for being assigned to the Demon Abyssal Pit mission?”
Amidst the clamor of discussion, Shen Yunjian’s keen ears caught the key phrases: “Male cultivators? Marriage contract?”
Liu Cong gave a dry laugh beside him, unsure how to easily explain the biggest gossip event of the past year to her long-uncontacted Junior Brother Shen: “Junior Brother Shen hasn’t read the spirit reports in a long time, have you? These two male cultivators have been very much in the spotlight recently.”
“In the spotlight?” Shen Yunjian looked thoughtful: “Is it something so shocking for two men to enter a contract?”
All the cultivators present had sharp hearing, and their attention was focused on the Immortal Lord Shen, so they naturally heard his question.
The discussion suddenly quieted.
It was a while before someone offered a comment: “The Immortal Lord truly lives up to his name. He is well-informed, open-minded, and his capacity for acceptance is unparalleled.”
“So, were we the ones making a fuss over nothing?!”
“Who wouldn’t be shocked after hearing the story of Lin and Meng! I think Immortal Lord Shen has been isolated from the world for too long and doesn’t know the mystery behind it.”
“Makes sense!”
“No, no, the focus now should be: will Immortal Lord Shen go to the wedding banquet?”