Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 922: Two Days, Two Nights

Zhao Changhe realized that this damned blind woman knew exactly how to push his buttons. It was just a few short words, yet his blood was already surging through his veins. He was boiling over with desire and his breathing had grown ragged and heavy.

Both of them knew what this meant. Zhao Changhe wanted to conquer her—truly and fully. And Ye Wuming understood that very well.

Three captures, three releases... He had not rested until his saber was pressed at her throat. It had been a gesture steeped in domination, as if showcasing the desire to break her. But despite all the groundwork he had laid, and no matter how meticulous he had been in his psychological warfare, Ye Wuming was still no easy target. Her power was still undeniable, and in the end, all he had managed to achieve was a mutually assured destruction. Still, on the surface at least, he had indeed pressed a saber to her throat.

And perhaps, for both of them, that was all they needed. To Zhao Changhe, pulling Ye Wuming down from her pedestal was already a form of victory.

But it was not true conquest.

And Ye Wuming knew exactly what he longed for, so she gave it to him.

Only when she was willing to give it would he ever come to have it. Otherwise, he never could, no matter how strong he became. This so-called conquest had never been about brute power and taking things by force; it was about acknowledgement and allowing things to be taken.

She was still so proud, and yet her words carried a devastating, intoxicating allure. It was especially so when spoken with misty eyes and a bashful, pink flush on her cheeks. No man could care at that moment whether it was given or taken. In the next instant, the gates of hell howled open, shaking the underworld itself.

Ye Wuming let out a muffled groan. Her head tipped back and her slender fingers carved deep bloody trails down his back.

For a moment, time itself stilled. Even breath was suspended in the oppressive silence.

Only after what felt like forever did Zhao Changhe whisper hoarsely, “Why... why would you say that... to me?”

Ye Wuming answered softly, “You’ve wandered your whole life for this one moment. So, have you finally let go? Have you let go of all your obsession and desire?”

Zhao Changhe said nothing.

She continued, “Was this this forceful moment... one of those dark impulses that haunt you, the ones you never dared act on because it would tarnish your character?”

She knew him all too well.

She had watched, from beginning to end, every stage of his growth. She had watched as he went from a naive youth to a hardened warrior.

Ye Wuming closed her eyes again and murmured, “So? Are you just going to stand there like an idiot?”

Zhao Changhe could not even tell anymore if he was forcing himself on her, or if she was once again leading him by the nose, as she’d always done.

But he had no spare brain cells to ponder such a thing at a moment like this. So you want to lead? Fine... Let’s see who truly holds the reins!

Ye Wuming paid a steep price for trying to take control.

Her lofty, provocative words still echoed faintly in the air, but she could no longer string together a single coherent sentence. All that remained were vacant eyes staring up at the heavens. Across the veil of space, the hazy stars looked back... One of them, dark and distant, resembled not the Jade Hare but a smug, mocking, slanted-eyed emoji.

She thought she already knew what this was like. Back when she shared her perception with Ye Jiuyou, she had experienced it once. And during the time they had split apart from their fused state, the sensations had been even more intense. Doing it now was bound to be almost routine, a mix of indifference and “just get it over with.”

But the reality of physical experience was something else entirely.

Someone else’s touch, however vivid in memory, was still not the same as the true, overwhelming sensation of his presence inside her.

Last time, she could still use her fragmented state as an excuse. She let him tease her and consoled herself with an “I allowed this.” If she wanted to resist, she told herself that she had countless ways to stop him.

Yet now, even at full power, even while complete and whole, she felt like a lone boat tossed about on a raging sea, at the mercy of his will. She felt utterly vulnerable and defenseless.

She, a being who could obliterate stars with a single punch, had never once cared about differences in size or stature. But at this moment, it became painfully clear. Beneath his powerful body, her delicate form was completely dominated, crushed beneath the weight of a mountain. The suffocating sense of pressure and possession was clearer than it had ever been.

Instinctively, Ye Wuming tried to escape. Her hands pushed against his shoulders, struggling to create some distance, but it was like pressing against a wall.

Then he seized both her wrists in one hand, pinning them above her head, and lowered his face to kiss her, silencing the muffled protests that spilled from her lips.

Every bit of resistance felt more like foreplay than actual defiance. He did not even seem to register it as real struggle—only an unconscious offering to heighten the game, casually suppressed as if by instinct.

In her daze, a flicker of thought passed through her mind. Anything she said at this point was meaningless. The act itself was conquest, and it was far more absolute than a saber at her throat.

It seemed he had finally succeeded.

A strong arm lifted her and flipped her over. Ye Wuming instinctively braced herself amid the clouds. Only when she realized what kind of humiliating position that was did her awareness surge again, but then she was suddenly swept away once more.

She could not even hold herself up anymore. In that moment, her body, her thoughts, her everything no longer belonged to her.

So this... is what it’s like when you actually do it...

And it was not over. When he began using the dual cultivation technique, Ye Wuming finally understood just how shallow her theoretical comprehension had been.

She had known that the Pure Bliss Art could amplify pleasure. She had even helped him complete core parts of the cultivation technique. But it was only now, through direct experience, that she grasped what “amplify” truly meant.

It could scatter even the last vestiges of coherent thought, leaving only instinct to respond to the rhythm of the cultivation technique.

* * *

Time lost all meaning in this small world.

Ye Wuming did not know how many storms had passed before the clouds finally stilled, before rain gave way to calm.

She lay in the sky, dazed, staring blankly at the stars beyond the veil. Her scattered thoughts took ages to gather themselves again.

Her neck rested on the crook of an arm, and she felt warm and comfortable.

With some effort, she turned her head slowly to look at the man beside her. He turned at the same moment, and their eyes met.

Ye Wuming instinctively averted her gaze.

Zhao Changhe chuckled and reached out to gently lift her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. She glared at him.

But he only looked at her tenderly, his voice low and soft as he said, “At last... I’ve truly made you mine.”

Her glare gradually softened, her eyes glimmering like water. It was impossible to tell what emotions lay behind them.

That was a line meant to be said during the act, but it came after the fact.

Had he said it earlier, she could have replied, “You’re only getting this because I’m allowing it.” But now, there was no such justification left to be made.

Because even now, she lingered against his shoulder, reluctant to move.

He really had taken her, and there was nothing more to it.

Back when she first summoned him from Earth, she could never have imagined that she would one day be owned by this man so thoroughly. It was mortifying.

Ye Wuming gritted her teeth and forced herself to sit up. “So this is what the union of man and woman is like... It’s kind of underwhelming.”

“Hah...” Zhao Changhe chuckled as pulled her back into his arms, trapping her head in the crook of his shoulder. “Tell me something. Does the spine of the Heavenly Tome count as your mouth?”

Ye Wuming drew a blank. “Huh?”

Zhao Changhe went on, “Well, if we burned the whole thing down, it would probably only be its spine that would be left behind. It’s just like how your mouth’s the toughest part of you.”

Ye Wuming huffed and turned away in frustration.

Zhao Changhe wrapped around her from behind, his hand gently caressing the smooth skin of her abdomen as he whispered, “I’ll finish what I started... and give you your betrothal gift.”

Ye Wuming pursed her lips. “You could go back on your word.”

That promise had only ever been a stepping stone. The moment she said “I am willing,” it lost all real weight. Whether he fulfilled it or not no longer mattered.

What was done was done. She had fallen for him. Who could say exactly when it happened? It was a gradual, inevitable slide pushed along by his relentless pursuit and nudged further by a thousand little acts of warmth and care.

Perhaps she and her sister were not so different after all. Maybe it was simply because they had never known a man who chased after them so fervently, who treated them as if they were the meaning of his entire existence. Ever since Papiyas first peeled back the veil, she had been running and fleeing not from him, but from the flutter in her heart.

And if that flutter made her run... then this ending had already been waiting to be written.

Zhao Changhe said, “You’re the one who brought it up. That means I’ll see it through.”

Ye Wuming turned back to face him, her gaze locking with his.

Zhao Changhe’s voice softened. “And besides, what you’ve given me is far more than just a conquest.”

Back when Ye Jiuyou had yet to reach the Other Shore, that single dual cultivation session had been enough to help Zhao Changhe ascend to that realm. And now, Ye Wuming herself was at the Other Shore; being with her was like taking a fistful of red pills and seeing the Matrix for what it was. The benefits this round of dual cultivation brought were immeasurable. At the very least, Zhao Changhe felt that if he turned back now and fought Luo Chuan again, he could crush the man’s skull barehanded.

The next stage was still some distance away, but he now had a clear direction. It was only a matter of time until he reached it.

Zhao Changhe sat up at last and began getting dressed.

Ye Wuming pursed her lips again.

There was a particular indignity in watching a man nonchalantly dressing beside her afterward... It was somehow even more humiliating than the act itself.

After all, he would usually hold others tenderly afterward, resting together in gentle intimacy. But with her? He barely shared a few words before getting up and pulling up his pants, looking like he could not be bothered to linger. It stung more than she expected.

Sensing her gaze on him, Zhao Changhe turned around with a grin. “That look in your eyes...”

Ye Wuming kept her face blank. What look?

“You’re... sulking.”

“...”

Still smiling, Zhao Changhe bent down and pressed a light kiss to her eyelid. “Now that’s what I call getting my money’s worth.”

Ye Wuming shoved him away with a half-hearted huff, sitting up without bothering to cover herself. “You already tore my veil to shreds. What’s the point of saying this now...? Yes, I’ve fallen for you. Yes, I’m sulking. Are you fucking happy now?”

That mix of languid charm and playful vexation made Zhao Changhe stare, utterly captivated.

He said nothing, only retrieving a silken cloth from his ring and beginning to gently clean her up.

Ye Wuming froze for a beat, then her expression turned oddly complicated.

You’re finally not wiping yourself with me, but actually wiping me down instead?

This is... so weird.

After a while, Zhao Changhe finally said, “I didn’t get up because I didn’t want to stay with you longer... You know the situation. We’ve been at this for two days and nights now...”

“Hah?” Ye Wuming snapped upright. “WHAT?!”

“Two days and two nights.” Zhao Changhe looked a bit sheepish, averting his gaze. “What can I say? You’re just too tempting.”

In truth, dual cultivation at the level of the Other Shore demanded prolonged time and focus. It was not something that could be stopped at will. Ye Wuming did not question it; she knew full well the effect she had on him. It was just that... for a moment, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

No wonder my whole body feels like jelly... Two days and two nights. Zhao Changhe, you really are something.

And the current situation? Luo Chuan was still alive. The Myriad Manifestation Segmentum was volatile and unpredictable. They had only left briefly using the tome, but they were still technically within the segmentum. By now, Emperor Withered Wood might already be knocking on their door.

Zhao Changhe truly did not have the luxury to lie around any longer with a soft, fragrant beauty in his arms. Ye Wuming was even more anxious than he was. With a spin, the black silk robe that had been tossed aside earlier flew back into her grasp. She slipped it on in one fluid motion, and in the blink of an eye, the two vanished without a trace.

* * *

Within the Heavenly Tome’s world, things were not as dire as the two imagined.

Luo Chuan had been injured and sealed within River of Stars. If left undisturbed, he might have broken free at some point, but Ye Jiuyou was not to be trifled with.

They were both at the Other Shore. Even if Ye Jiuyou could not match Luo Chuan at his peak, sealing an already injured soul for a few days posed no issue. Not to mention she had Piaomiao and the Four Idols assisting her. Even if Luo Chuan were at full strength, they could have held him off for a while.

Truth be told, Ye Jiuyou very much preferred that Luo Chuan not die just yet. Her hatred for him had long burrowed into her bones. If she could keep his soul trapped in that sword, tormenting him day and night, that would be far more satisfying than a swift death.

She was confident she could sustain that torment for ten days, maybe half a month. By the time her husband returned with Ye Wuming in tow and stronger than before, then perhaps they could finally obliterate Luo Chuan’s soul once and for all.

This was the case so long as there were no outside interruptions... If anyone tried to interfere, things could get messy.

As it turned out, the three great forbidden zones of the Myriad Manifestation Segmentum had already begun stirring. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The incident had erupted so suddenly that, in the moment, neither of the two rulers of the other two great forbidden zones dared to act recklessly. Sovereign Withered Wood’s interference left them mutually constrained, unable to immediately pursue Ye Jiuyou when she made her escape with the Heavenly Tome.

But words could still be exchanged.

An old man wearing an imperial crown, asked in a low, heavy voice, “Daoist Brother Withered Wood, are you saying you deliberately shielded those outsiders so we could not interfere in their battle with Luo Chuan?”

Withered Wood smiled faintly. “I never said that. If you two were too hesitant to step forward, what does that have to do with me? Besides, Luo Chuan is a scourge upon the segmentum. He’s an enemy to us all. Isn’t it a good thing that someone else stepped in to deal with him? Why get in the way?”

The other, dressed in a Daoist robe, sneered coldly. “Why wrap it up in such high-minded words? You surrounded the battlefield with your stellar array. That trap was not just for Luo Chuan but for them, too. You were just hoping to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. And when both sides were bloodied, you’d swoop in and reap the rewards. Only... you probably didn’t expect them to be that strong. Not only did they break out of your array and defeat Luo Chuan, but they even slipped through our watchful eyes.”

Withered Wood’s smile did not falter. “True, they beat Luo Chuan, but it was not without cost. They’re heavily wounded and spent. That much is obvious. Now that my array is gone, why haven’t you gone after them?”

The other two just stared at him coldly.

What, are we supposed to chase them down just for you to reap the spoils?

More to the point, it was becoming increasingly clear that Withered Wood had forged some kind of alliance with these outsiders. While they had not made it public, there was no animosity between them. In fact, future cooperation seemed entirely possible. The Myriad Manifestation Segmentum had been a three-way balance for countless years, but now Withered Wood had surreptitiously acquired a powerful new ally. What did that mean for the rest of them?

Should they take this opportunity, while the newcomers were still in retreat, to strike first and eliminate Withered Wood?

Both of them exchanged a look, malice flickering in their eyes.

But he saw it all and merely shook his head. “My alliance with that fellow Daoist extended only to the matter of Luo Chuan. Now that he’s been defeated, everything else is up for discussion. That group is clearly formidable. There are at least three confirmed Other Shore cultivators among them. You fear I’ll join forces with them to suppress you, but why wouldn’t I fear that they’ll eventually turn on me and seize this land for themselves? They’re outsiders. Who knows what they’re truly after?”

The two looked at each other again. Then one of them spoke, “So what are you proposing, Daoist Brother Withered Wood?”

“We three once stood together to drive out the demonic cultivators. Why not join forces once more?” Withered Wood said lightly. “They carry artifacts of immense power. That book and sword of theirs are both peerless in their craftsmanship, and they’re probably divine artifacts. Are you truly not tempted? Now that they’re exhausted from their battle with Luo Chuan, it’s the perfect time to go after them. If we work together sincerely, we can finish them in one strike.”

They were old allies. Even if they had clashed over the years, they still knew each other well. And when it came to facing off against foreign invaders, their chances of working together were much higher than anyone else’s. There was not much hemming or hawing. An alliance was formed almost naturally.

After all, those treasures truly were incredibly enticing. And outsiders meddling in the affairs of the segmentum was not something any of them wished to see.

Tracking the aura left behind from the recent battle was not difficult at all. Within a day and a night, one of them had already found where the group was hiding.

However, their so-called “sincere cooperation” fell apart on the very first day.

Staring at the pages of the tome, now gently fluttering open in the void, radiating the pure and overwhelming aura of the Great Dao, the Sovereigns’ expressions shifted.

During the battle, the distance had been too great. But now, up close, it was unmistakable: This was a supreme treasure, a treasure of the highest order!

They had talked about dividing the spoils afterward. But now, having witnessed the true magnitude of this tome, it was clear that nothing else could compare.

Even if they split the loot with some sense of fairness—say, one got the book, and another got the sword—there were still only two items, and there were three of them. So, who was getting left out?