Still Inside The Domain
"Do you mean to say that the malicious energy controlling Zhu Yan during the Blood Moons is Chaos itself?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked, staring at the demon dragon in surprise.
"He is, though he is much weaker than he was when he was the cosmic seed of the universe, sowing chaos before heaven and earth parted. At the beginning of time, Chaos was so out of control that he became one of the four evils of the world (Hun Dun) and fought against the other gods for so long that his power began to weaken and disperse under the force of stronger gods and goddesses. Realizing that he was losing the battle, his only way out to preserve himself was to escape to the primordial Wilderness, where the demons ruled after the separation of heaven and earth. But I... well, I put an end to his "reign of eternal darkness" by becoming the moon, the sun and the stars that now illuminate the night, forcing him to survive in the accumulation of malicious energy coming from the dark nature of mortals, which ended up sealed inside a vessel. My reincarnations, to be exact. Since I almost destroyed him, he makes sure to make me pay for it every time my soul comes back to life." Ying Long explained to the two men who were listening the long story of his history with Bing Yi and how it all began with great interest.
"But then how can we get rid of him and please don't tell me that Zhu Yan really needs to die." Zhuo Yi Chen said a little emotionally and Zhu Yan smiled at him as he took his hand, entangling his fingers with his and lifted it up to deposit a soft kiss on the back of his hand.
"Chaos' existence in this world is like the balance of the two forces of yin and yang, his being an extreme yin energy that comes not only from himself, but also from the darkness within the hearts of mortals. Luckily, it is so contained that it can only act on nights of extreme yin energy, which are the blood moons, so getting rid of it requires extreme pure yang and a very complicated, not to say very powerful, purification spell with the power of life." Ying Long answer as Zhuo Yi Chen's heart started to throb so fast in fear that even Zhu Yan could tell he was about to panic.
"Xiao Zhuo, don't be discouraged... let him finish first. Everything will be fine..."
"No, it won't be. Don't you see? Even if I had killed you with the Cloud Light Sword, it would only have dispersed the malicious energy back into the world until the next vessel was reborn. The circle wouldn't be broken, and both your sacrifice and my pain in killing you would have been in vain."
"Not exactly." Bing Yi replied, and Zhuo Yi Chen looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Yi Chen asked.
"The Cloud Light Sword would have purified his soul for his next reincarnation, freeing him from it, but Chaos is energy itself, which means it can possess him at birth. Then the cycle would repeat itself."
"Is there any difference between what I said and what you said?" Asked Zhuo Yi Chen, who didn't see it.
"Yes. Dying by any means other than the Cloud Light Sword would have kept his soul bound to Chaos each time he was reborn, attracting evil energy in return and becoming the next vessel. Being purified by the sword will free him from Chaos's control over his soul, meaning he would not be born as a vessel in his next life."
"But if his body can be possessed later..."
"Even if possession is inevitable, his life, like yours with my blood, will be weakened by a power he was not born to possess. His next reincarnation may die at the very moment of his possession."
"Which still repeats the cycle."
"Yes, but to a lesser extent and it will further weaken Chaos with each attempt it makes. Eventually he will be forced to use someone else." At that, Zhuo Yi Chen paled even more and closed his eyes in pain.
"So it's inevitable that I kill him?" He asked while Zhu Yan smiled sadly, before Ying Long walked toward him and without warning, placed his fingers in between his forehead and muttered a word.
"Sleep." Ying Long whispered and Zhuo Yi Chen got hold of him in astonishment.
"What...?"
"Seal." Ying Long muttered a second one-word spell and sighed.
"Why did you do that?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked as he held Zhu Yan closer to him in protection of another spell.
"Don't worry, he was not harmed." Bing Yi reassured him. "What we are going to tell you he cannot hear, as Chaos while dormant is still there." He added and Zhuo Yi Chen widen his eyes in more surprise, hoping to hear something other than killing the man he loved.
"So, there is a way?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked hopefully, and this time Ying Long smiled quite confidentially.
"Yes. What Nuwa left behind was more than just a stone that could suppress Bing Yi's power for future use. The stone itself has the power to seal even the most powerful demon of ancient times... not to mention that it keeps Chaos out of the heavens, so it can contain Chaos and protect the great demon's soul from further possession." Ying Long explained and Zhuo Yi Chen was honestly unsure if laugh or cry at that.
"The stone is as broken as the sword... that's what Zhu Yan told me when we talked about what happened when I was bedridden." He whispered as he looked down at his great demon.
"Who said it's broken? No demon can destroy a divine stone left behind by the most powerful goddess in heaven, and with a purpose, too." Bing Yi told the young man.
"But..."
"The stone was meant to break itself at the right time, and it will also repair itself when the time comes to act... but before that, we have two problems to solve first." Ying Long pointed out.
"The sword..." Yi Chen whispered again.
"Restoring the sword may be a bit tricky, but saving you, Zhuo Yi Chen, is something else entirely. To obtain what you need for the restoration, you must go to the east part of the Wilderness to ask for a dragon scale. However, obtaining it is not easy, as it must be given voluntarily and not taken by force, no matter how desperate one is. Otherwise, whoever attempts to snatch a dragon scale by force will be poisoned and suffer a painful death soon after. There is no cure or salvation for that." Ying Long began to explain with the warning.
"What about my demonization?" He asked looking at Bing Yi.
"That requires a core." Bing Yi said as he looked at Ying Long.
"The bones I left behind still contain much of my power and are enough to make it into a core." He said, and as realization dawned on Yi Chen, he shook his head.
"No. That means you'll have to sacrifice yourself again, so no. Let's find another way..." Zhuo Yi Chen said as he hugged Zhu Yan.
"I told you he was an exceptional pure soul. So pure that he is the definition of yang. He reminds me of you." Bing Yi said to Ying Long, who smiled pleasedly.
"It's yours after all.... Child, I mean, Zhuo Yi Chen, I've been gone for centuries and what ties me to this place are the bones sealed here." Ying Long said, but seeing no understanding in the young man's eyes, he sighed.
"Which means that once he becomes your bones and core, he will be released from this cave and become a part of you, the same way I am. Which means we will both remain mostly dormant inside you until you die." Bing Yi explained and this time, his child finally smiled.
"You said mostly, right?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked in confirmation.
"Yes, as once you get a core, you need to train it..... Zhuo Yi Chen, whether you save Zhu Yan in this life and all the following lives will depend on how strong you can make your core in a very short time. Bing Yi is water and ice dragon, a dragon with the power of life (water) and I am a dragon with the power of creation and light (purification). With such strong powers at your disposal, no malicious energy or darkness will be able to stand in your way... but only if you manage to be able to use and maintain those powers to save him."
"I understand, and I assure you I'm no stranger to rigorous training. I just need to understand how demonic energy works with a core." Zhuo Yi Chen said as he was completely clueless in the ways of demonic cultivation.
"Then, it's a good thing you have a great demon who knows all about demonic cultivation by your side, huh?" Ying Long pointed at the sleeping man in his arms.
"Can I have another one...? He's not exactly the best teacher around and knowing how mischievous he is, his training may take a while." Zhuo Yi Chen joked with the unconscious man, and Bing Yi chuckled as he looked at Ying Long.
"Don't worry, the strongest spells, the ones you need to perform when the time is right, you'll get from us and only us." Ying Long assured him.
"Then it's a deal," Zhuo Yi Chen said before the other two demons smiled at him, and with one last glance at his reincarnation, Ying Long muttered the last one-word spell he was going to use.
"Break." He whispered, and soon, Zhu Yan and he returned to their frozen bodies, with the ice already cracking all around them. As soon as he was able to move, Zhuo Yi Chen turned to look at Zhu Yan, who was now wide awake, and hugged him tightly while Wen Xiao and Pei Si Jing ran towards them finally shouting their names in uncontained joy to see them alive.
Wen Xiao bumped into the two embracing men and joined them as she reached to wrap her arm around them both. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed between them. Zhuo Yi Chen smiled at her and with one arm gently stroked her back, while with the other he continued to hold Zhu Yan close.
"You pair of inconsiderate demons! How dare you do this to us?! You owe me so much! So much, do you hear me?! I was... I thought you both were gone... Stupid demons... I cried so much... What would I do if you never came back? Zhuo Yi Chen! I'm not your aunt anymore! And you...! I'm expelling you from Baize's protection..." Wen Xiao shouted as she punched them both once the relief hug ended.
Zhuo Yi Chen looked over Wen Xiao's shoulder as she punched him with barely a shred of strength, to Pei Si Jing and nodded, who responded with a shy smile and a nod back.
"Wen Xiao, please don't hurt my Xiao Zhuo. He's still very weak," Zhu Yan said to the goddess, who suddenly realized he was right and rubbed his arm instead of hitting him.
"So... it didn't work?" Wen Xiao asked fearfully as she looked at Xiao Zhuo with more tears.
"No, it worked," Zhuo Yi Chen told her, wiping her tears away with his fingers. The gesture was meant to calm her down, but a certain demon coughed in disapproval, which only caused Wen Xiao to punch the great demon in the arm, this time harder.
"He's family, you jealous monkey."
"You said you're not his aunt anymore." The great demon refuted, and Wen Xiao this time kicked his leg, causing Zhu Yan to cry out in pain while Pei Si Jing smiled.
"Hey, that was unfair... I was frozen in ice..."
"Unfair, my as..."
"Wen Xiao, it's not over yet." Zhuo Yi Chen said, interrupting the sentence before turning around and walking towards the end of the cave where Ying Long's bones rested.
Right there, in front of the bones that would become his core and salvation, he knelt on the ground and bowed respectfully to Ying Long, hoping the gesture would please him, since he was now going to be a part of him.
"No need for that child, I am already more than happy to help you on your hard road. It is I who started this...it is I who owe you more than I can ever repay you in this life. Get up...it may hurt a lot, but then again the great demon can always carry you back if you faint." Ying Long said mischievously and Zhuo Yi Chen blushed brightly for a moment before he felt the pain hit him hard as the bones began to transfigure into incandescent dust that entered his chest.
Honestly, he felt the temptation to scream his heart out, but he held back the scream as Wen Xiao and Pei Si Jing were also there, thus he only gritted his teeth in pain. He felt his body being reforged from the inside out, making way for the core and dragon bones that will hold Bing Yi's demonic energy and it was such an intense pain that for a moment he thought he was going to actually faint.
However, with his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face, he endured the pain until it finally subsided, and he staggered before Zhu Yan took a chance and lift him up.
"Are you okay, Xiao Zhuo? I can ease the pain if it's too much..." Zhu Yan offered, but he simply shook his head.
"No, it's fine... This is what he felt when he gave his bones to forge the sword... it's a fair price for such a precious heirloom." Zhuo Yi Chen whispered as he closed his eyes and felt the enormous difference the power of the bones created in his now demonic body. He also felt Ying Long's core and energy merge with Bing Yi's in perfect harmony and he smiled faintly.
"I can feel it..." Zhuo Yi Chen whispered as he touched his stomach. Seeing his pleased expression, Zhu Yan couldn't pass up this opportunity.
"What? Our son?" He joked, and Zhuo Yi Chen blushed even more as he tried to wriggle out of the demon's embrace.
"It's the core, you perverted monkey! The core!" Wen Xiao and Pei Si Jing laughed out loud as Zhu Yan ignored his lover's attempts to break free from his arms and carried him down the stairs. At that moment, Zhu Yan was experiencing the happiest moment in a long, long time.
AN: Lol. Thanks for reading. There will be many differences from here on as well as some things stay the same. I hope you like it. It was a little difficult for all the nonsense to sound right. Lol.