ADAPTED FROM BAI LU CHENG SHUANG'S LOVE IN THE CLOUDS
Ji Bozai!
The ancient divine stone's rebound effect…
What can your meager cultivation
do against it?
If we do nothing, your primordial spirit will be damaged.
I can't stand by and watch.
You have spiritual veins.
What else have you been hiding from me?
Speak!
Who are you?
I did come from Yaoguang Mountain,
and I have ties to Ming Xian.
I am Ming Xian…
Ming Xian's betrothed.
I'm sorry.
I can't tell you the whole truth yet.
The woman who bound a heart imprint with me
was betrothed to Ming Xian.
After everything that's happened,
do you think I'd still believe you?
Give me Twenty-Seven back.
I'll prove it to you.
He was badly wounded at Mu Qibai's place.
If he doesn't get treatment, he'll die.
Please.
Twenty-Seven!
It's all right.
You're going to be just fine.
Ming Xian's companion beast
responds to me
because Ming Xian and I
grew up together.
We were like twins from the same womb,
inseparable.
That's why Ming Xian's companion beast answers to me
and resonates with me.
Twenty-Seven!
What was your purpose from the start
in approaching me?
I…
Ming Xian lost to you
at the Qingyun Tournament
because someone sabotaged him.
Siblings at Yaoguang Mountain
were scheming against each other.
Ming Xian has a half-brother, Ming Xin.
He framed Ming Xian as a traitor of his realm.
After that, Ming Xian went missing.
I suspected someone in the Jixing Abyss colluded with forces in Yaoguang Mountain
to take him down.
Now, it looks like that person could be Mu Qibai.
To survive
and to get revenge,
I had to conceal my spiritual veins
and leave Yaoguang Mountain.
Then, I joined Moonlit Blossoms
to get close to you.
Admittedly, I had ulterior motives, but
our objectives align.
Mu Qibai is suspicious.
I wanted to start with him
and find out
who in Yaoguang Mountain harmed Ming Xian.
I never once meant to harm you.
I want to take down Mu Qibai
as much as you do.
I understand.
You want to stay in Wugui Sea
and go after Mu Qibai.
Yes.
I see.
Allow me to guess what you'll say next.
You'll claim
Mu Qibai has ties to Yaoguang Mountain.
If I keep you as my aide,
we might uncover who's behind Mu Qibai sooner.
Or maybe you're saying
that to outsiders,
we're already of one heart and one mind.
If I kill you,
your sudden disappearance would raise suspicion
and tie my hands.
So, it's better to keep you around
as cover
while I keep probing the netherbeasts,
right?
I see that you do know
keeping me around is the wiser choice.
Ming Yi,
I'd rather kill you
than Mu Qibai right now.
Immortal Ji, I'm sorry I lied to you.
But the bigger problem right now is the netherbeast forces and Mu Qibai.
Immortal Ji!
Are you going to keep pretending?
I'm not.
My…
My spiritual veins aren't hidden with Soul-hiding Nails.
I used another method,
which is why I overexerted myself earlier.
Why put on that weak, helpless act anymore?
Even if you die,
what's it to me?
Twenty-Seven!
Ming Yi, are you all right?
Ming Yi.
Twenty-Seven,
we really are partners in misery.
I just healed your wound.
You just got a bit better,
and now you're protecting my life.
I never thought the repercussions would intensify with each occurrence.
Ming Yi, it's my fault. I'm to blame.
I was too careless, and I fell into their trap.
I'm sorry.
If I caused your death…
Don't say those depressing things.
I'm still alive, aren't I?
See?
I'm fine. You're fine.
We're both here.
This is the best outcome.
And how could it be your fault?
Our enemies were just too cunning.
Right now,
we need to convince Ji Bozai
to collaborate with us.
He defied the divine stone,
carved the inscription for your sake,
and was badly hurt,
forming a heart imprint with you.
You're a huge threat to him,
yet he can't bring himself to kill you.
Ming Yi,
our plan worked.
He's fallen for you.
Yes.
I'm the heartless one.
But what could you have done?
Love won't save your life.
You two finally formed a heart imprint.
We have to get to the Spirit Well
and seize the Golden Millet Dream, right?
We wait until he calms down
and agrees to join forces with us.
I think we still have a shot.
For now, we've got to find a way out of here first.
Ming Yi has formed a heart imprint with Your Lordship.
Once she finds out where the Golden Millet Dream is,
she can use that connection
to enter Your Lordship's Spirit Well anytime she wants.
We should kill her.
I have a way to stop her from taking the Golden Millet Dream.
As expected of Your Lordship.
But we still have to deal with her, right?
She's still useful.
Then, I'll get rid of the cat first.
What good will that do?
The cat doesn't have a heart imprint.
Then, we should kill her first?
Buxiu,
you can't solve every problem by killing.
Even if killing her
might solve some of them.
-Understood. -Come back.
I do understand.
You don't.
Go to Yaoguang Mountain
and find out what happened to Ming Xian.
Understood.
And here I was, talking about Ji Bozai
like he was madly in love with you, saying how much he cared.
After all this time, he hasn't even shown his face once!
Master She was right.
He's a scoundrel!
Immortal Ji! Immortal Ji, please, hear me out.
Mu Qibai controls the netherbeast army.
Do you even know how to deal with them?
I do.
I'm willing to offer you the method to suppress them
as a sign of good faith.
Good faith?
How can I trust someone whose history
I don't even know?
When you're ready to tell me the truth,
we can talk about cooperation.
Immortal Ji!
Immortal Ji, just hear me out.
Immortal Ji…
My love, please wait!
I can leave Ming Xian behind. I…
It's freezing. How can anyone survive in a place like this?
Immortal Ji,
this cell is freezing.
Ming Yi overexerted herself last night.
I think she's fallen ill.
Please, let us out.
Immortal Ji,
it's too cold in here.
Why don't you come in and see for yourself?
Talk properly.
Immortal Ji,
I'm telling the truth.
Ming Xian is my betrothed. He and I…
Immortal Ji?
-Immortal Ji. Immortal Ji! -Oh, woe is me…
Immortal Ji! Ming Yi fainted!
Ming Yi fainted!
Drop the act. He's gone.
How stubborn can he be?
At least he's not completely heartless.
Your Lordship,
after the Qingyun Tournament,
Ming Xian vanished from Yaoguang Mountain.
No one knows where he went.
There's no record of him having a betrothed,
but he did have plenty of romantic rumors
back in the divine capital.
It wouldn't be unexpected
if he were involved with someone.
Ming Yi appeared in Moonlit Blossoms
right after the tournament.
She and Ming Xian
must be connected.
For now, Ming Yi's still useful to us.
Things are complicated, so we'll have to keep her.
Your Lordship, are you concerned about her relationship with Ming Xian?
What's that got to do with me?
Whatever their relationship is,
Ming Xian
won't be reappearing anytime soon.
I used to think he was an upright man.
If he's in hiding,
it's clear something's amiss.
Xiuyun, let's go.
Your Highness.
Is your Highness heading to Wugui Sea?
Xiuyun, wait outside.
You should worry more about yourself.
You've failed several tasks my uncle gave you recently, haven't you?
Can a dog like that still be trusted by its master?
How unlike Immortal Ji.
The more capable someone is,
the less they'll submit to control.
No form of control compares
to the virtue of tolerance.
Is it tolerance or merely endurance?
You'd do better to summon Ji Bozai for an audience.
That would be much more appropriate.
If you came just to say that,
you can leave.
Your Highness may use Ji Bozai,
but don't defend him,
and certainly don't turn
against Lord Hanfeng for his sake.
Thanks for the reminder.
There's something
I should've cleared up long ago.
It was my decision
to include you in the warrior selection.
I thought
maybe one day I could turn you to my side.
You had my uncle's trust,
and he placed you with my father to watch over his health.
I figured if you helped me,
I could keep my father safe.
But I was wrong.
It's understandable
that you'd ally with my uncle to secure your future.
I shouldn't have expected anything else.
I won't anymore.
Oh,
and if you don't wish to join the warrior selection,
feel free to withdraw anytime.
Tianji,
I…
Let go of me.
You could've warned me
about Ming Yi.
Instead, you led people into Shouhua Academy
and left me to humiliate myself
in the only place I could control.
I know
it was foolish of me to expect anything from you.
I never should've.
But it's you.
You know
how I've always felt since we were little.
It's time we put a stop to this.
It's meaningless to me now.
He really won't show up.
-It's Ji Bozai. He's here. -Cut it out.
Ji Bozai. Ji Bozai's here.
My Lord, I've decided. I…
Princess Tianji has summoned us.
Come with me.
Of course.
As long as I'm useful to you.
Say one more word and you'll be back in that cell.
But…
What about me? Ming… Ming… Ming Yi!
You're just going to leave me here?
This is abuse!
Ming Yi!
Is there a reason Your Highness
wished to see us?
After everything that happened,
I must look into it.
What else do you want to know?
Mu Qibai
set my wife up
to strip me of my status as warrior.
Isn't that obvious?
What more is there to ask?
Of course, there is.
For example,
when did you take in Ming Xian's companion beast?
Ji Bozai,
we're allies,
but you hide too much from me.
You worry for nothing, Your Highness.
Lord Hanfeng's been trying to move against my husband,
planting spies across Wugui Sea.
When they found out
my husband sheltered Ming Xian's companion beast,
they used that to slander us.
Fortunately, Your Highness stepped in.
If not, we'd never wash that stain away.
Is that so?
I've been regretting it these past days.
I should've let
Lord Hanfeng take you away then
and be rid of the trouble.
Your Highness should know
Lord Hanfeng targeted me
because he thinks I'm Immortal Ji's weakness.
But please rest assured.
Despite its scale,
the matter's been handled properly.
I doubt anyone will dare exploit it again.
Therefore, my presence will not pose an issue.
Keeping me around
will make Immortal Ji more willing
to serve the Jixing Abyss in future.
You're not as foolish as you look.
Your Highness must have more to your position
as Venerable of Shouhua Academy
than people claim.
Claims? About me?
What do they say?
They say you're good-natured, naive, and without guile.
How offensive! How dare you--
Being described that way by others
isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The idea that Ming Yi is Ming Xian is ridiculous.
My uncle didn't believe it either.
He merely needed a reason to provoke action.
Now that it's escalated this far,
all eyes at Shouhua Academy are on us.
Ming Xian's companion beast
can't stay.
Let it stay.
I'll look after it.
I thought that if Ming Xian ever returned,
I'd use it to bait him.
Will that explanation be enough
to satisfy everyone at Shouhua Academy?
Very well.
But remember, Ji Bozai,
to outsiders, you are of my faction.
From now on,
run things by me first.
Of course.
Your Highness.
Thank you for saving Twenty-Seven.
You were the one who got Princess Tianji to summon us.
If she wanted to see you,
I had to let you out.
You wanted her to remind me
we're on the same side.
I thought she'd want to meet us sooner or later,
but I didn't make her do this.
There was no need.
A while ago,
I sent you back to Moonlit Blossoms.
You left, and Yan Xiao arrived right after.
Pure coincidence?
I'm sorry.
Everything from the past,
I owe you an apology for.
Please don't hold it against me.
For the sake of what I can do for you,
work with me.
You're clever.
But Ming Yi,
being clever isn't enough to ally with me.
I need to see your skill and your sincerity.
All right.
To purge the unrefined netherbeasts,
one must use the Netherbeast Refining Skill.
This skill requires using one's own body as a netherbeast vessel
to absorb the netherbeast core from the netherbeast,
drawing it in with your body before refining it.
But it risks damaging one's spiritual veins.
You…
If you'll join me,
I shall serve as the netherbeast vessel
and bear that burden.
Get up.
We'll set three rules.
One. While you stay in Wugui Sea,
you can't contact…
You can't contact anyone from other realms.
Two. Whenever
I summon you, you must answer.
Three.
You only need to tell me
how the Netherbeast Refining Skill works.
The rest isn't for you to meddle in.
All right.
Mu Qibai and I were in conflict, both publicly and behind the scenes.
He'll scheme again,
now that that his plot has failed.
Finding proof he raises the netherbeasts won't be easy.
However,
that cat has been to Dragon Carp Terrace.
Got it.
He's been attempting to infiltrate Wugui Sea with his people.
We'll do likewise with his Dragon Carp Terrace.
I leave it to you, then.
I'll figure it out.
I won't let you down!
After the recent selection trials,
Ji Bozai,
Chen Xi,
Meng Yangqiu,
Sun Liao,
and Yan Xiao
are confirmed as the official warriors for the next Qingyun Tournament.
We have our team.
I'll ask one more time.
Are you all joining Shouhua Academy of your own will?
Anyone wishing to withdraw?
Excellent.
From today onward,
I expect diligence and unity
as you prepare for the next Qingyun Tournament.
Your Highness.
During the last tournament representing the Jixing Abyss,
I noticed Immortal Ji prefers to act alone,
which makes teamwork difficult.
I suggest we live
and train together to build rapport
to guarantee another victory
at the next Qingyun Tournament.
That's a fine idea.
Bozai's temper
could use some softening.
The four warriors ought to stay with Bozai
in Wugui Sea,
where they can eat and train as a group.
Are you still trying to insert your people into my Wugui Sea?
What's this? Another scheme since the first failed?
Bozai,
if you still hold that against me,
I'll apologize.
I only proposed it
for Princess Tianji's sake.
Don't you want
the team to bond sooner
and fight better?
I appreciate your concern, Uncle.
But since this is preparation for the Qingyun Tournament,
having so many people stay at Wugui Sea isn't practical.
Perhaps
the five warriors should stay at Shouhua Academy instead.
That would allow them
to train without trouble,
and I can supervise every day.
How does that sound?
Are you kidding me?
We're all lodging together in one large room?
A bunch of grown men sharing beds.
Disgusting.
Chen Xi, you take that bed.
I'll sleep next to you.
All right.
Yan Xiao,
you take this bed.
I can't stand Sun Liao.
I'm not sharing with him.
It's comfortable, though.
Ming Yi, watch your step.
My Lord,
Her Highness said you're supposed to live and train with the other warriors.
Why'd you bring me along too?
Because I can't bear to be away from you for even a moment.
Won't Her Highness be upset if she finds out?
My silly girl.
What are you worried about?
As long as you're happy,
I couldn't care less about anyone else.
What?
Why does Ji Bozai get a private room?
Because he's married.
Then, I'll get married too.
You?
More like dazed than married.
Chen Xi, you don't snore, do you?
Of course not!
You dare hit me?
Come here!
My niece acts on a whim, just doing as she pleases.
She even made you and Meng Yangqiu warriors.
What? Instead of healing,
a physician shall now kill?
Does everyone think
they can rise like Ji Bozai
through the Qingyun Tournament?
Lord Hanfeng, you overestimate me.
I'm not that capable.
No, you're really not.
Yan Xiao,
you once betrayed Tianji.
You think she'll take you back just because you changed your mind?
Know your place and do your job.
When the time comes,
I'll wipe her memory
and give her to you unharmed.
Her Highness isn't an object
to be given.
Moreover, I'm unworthy of her.
Whether you're worthy or not
is for me to decide.
Keep watching Ji Bozai
at Shouhua Academy.
Yes, Lord Hanfeng.
My Lord,
you mentioned investigating Dragon Carp Terrace.
I already sent Twenty-Seven to look into it.
The place is indeed sealed tight.
The only way in is to lure someone away.
We're confined within the cage
known as the Shouhua Academy.
How will we do that?
I have an idea.
Ji Bozai!
We're married!
Can't you have a little more faith in me?
I've been loyal to you! You think I've been hiding something?
You…
You're being unreasonable!
And why can't I doubt you?
You married me while still holding someone else
in your heart, didn't you?
Let me tell you something.
Cracks can't be mended.
We're like this teacup.
Once it's broken, it's broken.
There's no going back.
Ji Bozai!
You've got no right to say that.
Yes, I had someone in the past.
But what about you? Are you so innocent?
-I'm going to become the strongest warrior -I am not making an issue of it.
-in the Six Realms. -But you've got some reputation.
-Ouch. -I've never asked you about that!
Answer me!
-Chen Xi, what are you-- -What do you have to say for yourself?
I did it for you. It was all for you.
For your sake.
Are you so sure about that?
Of course! What other reason is there?
What… What gives you the right to bring up the past?
If anything, I'm the one who should be questioning you.
All the times you've doubted me,
yet I've never asked about your secrets!
Give that back!
You…
The things you did. Ji Bozai.
-The things I did? -I've never asked about your secrets.
-What secrets? -Who are you to demand answers?
-Out with it, then! -As you wish!
Where's all the rewards you won, huh?
-Where is it? -They just got married too.
-Prove your love! -Men.
Prove it to me!
-Yan Xiao. -Got anything else to say?
What are you doing? Eavesdropping on a marital spat
-in the middle of the night? -Ji Bozai!
If you won't explain yourself today,
get out!
You think I've changed?
You think those ladies are better? Then, go!
Go find them!
Don't return until you've assembled all 28 constellations!
Fine, I'll go!
That was terrifying.
Better not marry, after all.
I'll be a warrior for life.
-What a wonderful performance! -Indeed.
Look.
I've never seen Immortal Ji like this before.
-Neither have I. -How long has he been here to drink?
Did Immortal Ji and Ming Yi have a fight?
Looks like it.
So, men really change that much
after marriage.
Over there.
The Mistress is here.
Immortal Ji,
why don't I send a message to Ming Yi to come get you?
You do that.
I didn't bring any money anyway.
Madam, Ming Yi just sent a message too.
Now you remember me?
Ladies, ignore him!
Let him die out there!
Don't come back!
Let him die! Die!
Die! Die!
Die!
Immortal Ji,
even if you brought your own liquor,
you spilled all the fruit and pastries
on the floor.
You know the rules of Moonlit Blossoms.
We don't do tabs.
Then,
send a message to my best friend
and ask him to come.
Your best friend?
May I ask who that is?
Your Lordship,
the Mistress of Moonlit Blossoms sent a message.
Ji Bozai wants to see you.
What's Ji Bozai up to now?
Could it be he got wind of our plan
and set up a trap at Moonlit Blossoms
waiting for Your Lordship to walk right in?
He wants me to step into his snare.
It's risky.
We can't lower our guard.
Then, let's give him what he wants. We'll go.
Bring all our men.
Understood.
Make way! Move!
Make way!
Bai…
I made way.
Your Lordship, thank goodness you're here.
-Immortal Ji insisted I call for you. -Lord Hanfeng.
He said you're his best friend.
That's news to me.
Bai…
-Stop. -Bai…
I'm here.
Qibai…
You made me wait so long!
Oh, Qibai.
Listen to me.
Men should never get married.
Before marriage, they lift you to the heavens.
After marriage, they trample you into the ground.
Qibai.
She didn't give me a single coin,
then kicked me out of the house!
I… I'd rather be a prisoner of the Sunken Abyss
than a prisoner of love!
Qibai.
Let… Let go of me!
Ji Bozai, if you're playing games again,
this place could be your grave!
Brat.
Do you know what the real grave is?
It's marriage.
Qibai!
I've suffered too much, Qibai.
Ji Bozai!
Qibai.
My life's miserable.
-Qibai… -Let go! .