Chapter 519: Tremor
When Hui Yue awoke, he felt someone playing with his hair. He instantly opened his eyes only to find Huli laying by his side. She was gently brushing his hair with her slim, delicate fingers and had a happy smile on her face.
As for how long they had slept, Hui Yue did not know, but he could feel that it was quite a while as their bodies were once more filled to the brim with Ancestral Worldpower; their energy was now completely restored.
But even so, Huli showed no signs of moving, and Hui Yue was starting to feel rather uncomfortable as the woman was laying on his arm and stuck closely to his body. Although they were wearing clothes, it had been a long time since he was last so close to a woman, and he had never before been this close to such an attractive woman.
'Idiot,' he scolded himself, 'although Huli is close to you, she loves that friend of hers who died long ago. Why would she like you?'
'Well she would like you if you turned out to be the person from back then,' Lan Feng answered simply, and the young white-haired man was stunned.
'What do you mean turned out to be me?!' He said shocked as he looked at the phoenix as if he had seen a monster. The words he just said made no sense; how could he be the man that Huli had loved?
'Use your head,' Lan Feng sighed. 'At first, I thought that your soul resonated with Huli's longing, and it seems that your own longing for Wang Ju Long forced open the memory of that black figure. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.'
'Think about it like this; if your desperation caused these memories to resonate, should they not have done so when Wang Ju Long died? But oddly they did not.'
'Therefore, the only reason I can see was not that this memory was reacting to Wang Ju Long’s death, but to the story Huli told. It must have something to do with her. After hearing her voice, there are only two options. Either you are the God who died in her arms, or you are the Alchemist God.'
'Of these two options, it makes the most sense that you are the God that died in her arms. Although the Alchemist God and Huli had a relationship, it was not one where Huli loved him as she loves you and that other God. Use your brain; you are fated lovers!'
Hearing Lan Feng's words, Hui Yue was shocked to his core. It all made sense in a way, but he could not help but feel mixed emotions. Should he ask her if he was the reincarnation of her loved one, or should he pretend that the thought had never crossed his or Lan Feng's mind until the day he merged with the memory?
What was the best for Huli? She was so caring towards him but did she really love him or did she just see his previous personality in him? He did not know, and he could not help but feel worried.
"What's wrong?" Huli asked as she felt Hui Yue's current state of mind was clouded and rather chaotic. Looking at Huli, Hui Yue suddenly felt calm. Even if she loved his previous self, it was still him. No matter what, Huli was his, and he could not help but pull her into his arms and give her a warm hug.
"The one you loved years ago… Was it me in my previous life?" He asked as he embraced the alluring woman who was at first greatly startled, but then she smiled at him and comfortably snuggled closer to Hui Yue's chest. "The one I love is you. Your past, your present, and your future. You are you no matter which life you are living. Have you not noticed that although your memories are different, the core of who you are is the same?" Huli asked curiously.
"I have waited for so many years to find you, and I will never again let you go," Huli said seriously as she trembled slightly. "Although I wished to wait for you to remember me on your own, in the end, I couldn't wait. Do you know you look the same as you did back then? Your personality is so much like it was those many years ago. You are as kind as ever, and you are the only one I love."
Hui Yue had at first just cared about Huli as a companion. When she was a fox, she was a companion whom Hui Yue trusted and appreciated. After she changed into a woman, the situation became slightly more complicated, but he still cared about her as a good friend and even like family. But recently as the two had spent more and more time alone, these feelings had changed.
The constant small touches that they shared, the moments together where Hui Yue saw the love in Huli's eyes caused him to slowly fall for her. She became more and more important to him, and eventually, he could no longer ignore the place she occupied in his heart. Still, he was apprehensive. He felt like he was a cheap person; someone who loved too many women at the same time, but even though he felt like this, he could not deny that he truly loved all three of them. He loved each one of them with all his heart.
Neither Hui Yue nor Huli said anything, they just laid there, embracing one another and thinking about their emotions.
Finally, Hui Yue sat up and sighed, "I need to completely comprehend the dao of inferno before the trial begins." He said but despite what he said he did not move. He just stayed seated with Huli in his arms. The small nine-tailed fox giggled at his indecisiveness and finally left his embrace. Although she preferred to stay in his embrace, she also knew that it was paramount that Hui Yue became stronger. He needed strength to survive the trials he was about to encounter.
Sitting down, Hui Yue closed his eyes and started to feel the dao surrounding him. The dao of inferno was many times more profound than when he had last meditated upon it. It seems that whatever the elderly man from space had done to him had greatly increased his comprehension ability of this particular dao. After he started meditating on the dao, his body turned into a massive flame as he started his comprehension.
Although the flame was chaotic and hard to control, Huli managed to form a barrier to keep the terrifying flames at bay. Now it was many times easier for her than before because he know had much better control over the flame.
The speed at which he comprehended the rest of the dao of inferno was not as swift as it had been before, but all things considered it was not slow either. If any other God knew how swift Hui Yue was at comprehending the dao, they would be coughing up blood in jealousy.
As the days passed Hui Yue was steadily focused on the dao, and as his understanding grew by the hour, the more enlightened he became causing a manic smile to form on his lips.
As he fully comprehended the dao, Hui Yue felt his soul undergo yet another change. His soul felt like it was expanding as he was comprehending the dao, and his overall strength soared by leaps and bounds.
Hui Yue and Huli were sitting like this for many days. They did not move but just focused on the daos surrounding them before Hui Yue finally opened his eyes.
The flame on his body suddenly vanished, but a small flame burned within his eyes and a large smile erupted on his face as Hui Yue ran to Huli's side. He dragged the stunned fox into his embrace. "I succeeded! Huli, I have comprehended the dao of inferno!" He exclaimed excitedly as he looked at Huli's face and on a whim, he lifted her head and kissed her on the lips.
Time stood still as Hui Yue realized what he was doing, but the soft lips that he was pressing against were so alluring that he could not stop; instead, he thought what the heck and fully immersed himself in his emotions.
At first, Huli was rigid and shocked, but she too quickly allowed for her emotions to take over and her arms gently wrapped around Hui Yue's neck.
Both man and woman were lost in each other's embrace when suddenly the inn started to shake and their intimate moment was interrupted.
Hui Yue looked toward the window with a frown on his face, "What happened?" He mumbled to no one specific, but soon he saw that the entire building was shaking once again.
"Let’s get out of here," he said with some urgency. The sudden shaking had caused him to be cautious. Something was definitely not right.
Huli, who was at first in a very bad mood from being disturbed, also understood that something was seriously wrong and nodded her head. Taking each other's hand, the two left the room only to see that the hallway was filled with experts who were likewise leaving the inn. The first floor was crowded as everyone was trying to get outside.
"Let’s take the window," Hui Yue said and with some force they manage to return to their rooms when a massive third shake caused the building to almost collapse.
Opening the window, Hui Yue gently helped Huli out as they jumped to the ground. One was not allowed to fly in Skydragon Fortress, but one could still jump, and with the body of a God, it was no great feat to jump from such a height.
Looking up, Hui Yue saw that others were doing the same as they landed on the street below, but just as they did, another quake appeared. This time it was not just the inn that was shaking, but the entire Skydragon Fortress was shaking!
In the air, guards were flying from the different parts of the city towards the mansion in the middle. Although there was a sense of crisis, no one was panicking. It was clear that all the Gods knew how to act, so a somber atmosphere descended upon the city.
"Everyone, be calm. The tremors will cease in a few hours. Until then please stay put and do not cause trouble!" A voice suddenly boomed through the entire city. Hui Yue and Huli glanced at one another before they both nodded their heads. No words were needed as both of them knew what the other wanted, and together the two moved towards the mansion in the middle of the city, towards the location where the guards were headed.
In the city, there were three kinds of God ranked cultivators. There were the ones who were leaving the city as quickly as they possibly could, there were the ones who were hesitating and staying put where they stood, and finally there was groups of experts that were filled with curiosity. This group contained Hui Yue and Huli, and the two, together with another group of experts, moved towards the mansion in the middle of the city, the massive mansion that belonged to the City Lord.
"Any idea what could cause this?" Hui Yue asked with a quiet voice as he moved forward. He was constantly scanning his surroundings looking for whatever was the reason behind the sudden tremors.
"I have one theory, but I don't know if it is correct..." Huli said hesitantly, but Hui Yue smiled at her and urged her to continue. With a soft smile on her face, she continued, "The dragon below. This is the Skydragon Fortress, and it is said that a real dragon is imprisoned beneath the city inside of the reverse mountain. A real dragon that one day will awaken and lay waste to the prison that has held him for countless eons."
Hearing this, Hui Yue paled slightly as he looked around, "Perhaps we should escape then instead of walking towards the cause of these tremors?" He said feeling quite nervous.