In the bamboo hut in the inner sect of the Yun Zou Sect, Qiu Ling raised his head and got up from where he was sitting next to Jing Yi. The two of them had recently returned after touring the mortal realm once again and Jing Yi was now putting his whole focus on cultivating again. With just a bit more time, he would definitely be able to ascend to the Nine Heavens.
Qiu Ling walked over to the window and then looked up at the sky, his lips curling into a smile. "Looks like the old geezer finally managed to heal his soul."
Jing Yi stopped cultivating and opened his eyes, looking at Qiu Ling's satisfied expression. While Qiu Ling normally didn't like talking about his relationship with Jinde or his parents, it was obvious that he cared for this person very much. "That's great."
Qiu Ling heaved a sigh of relief and then went back to Jing Yi's side, reaching out and taking his hand. "I feel better knowing that he won't be in danger even if we leave here."
"Doesn't he have a husband to take care of him anyway?" From what he understood, Leng Jin Yu wasn't weak at all. He should be able to ensure his husband's safety, shouldn't he?
Qiu Ling shook his head though. "I don't want to say that his husband isn't strong but … at the end of the day, he still is a rather recently ascended deity. Compared to the people in the immortal realms, he is likely still lacking." At the very least, Leng Jin Yu had stood no chance when he attacked him back then. But, among the people of his generation, he was definitely one of the strongest whether that was among the dragons or more the other two races. So maybe he wasn't giving him enough credit.
Jing Yi nodded, not trying to discuss it any further. Anyway, Qiu Ling knew better about that than him. It did make him wonder what that would mean for himself though.
If his own ascension wasn't far off anymore, then he would have hoped that he would be strong enough to contend with people in the Nine Heavens. But it seemed that once again, he would be one of the weakest people around. It really wasn't fair. After putting in so much hard work, he would still be at a disadvantage there.
He sighed and then leaned his head against Qiu Ling's shoulder, trying not to think too much about it. "When I ascend, you can't go back on your promise. You have to show me everything, the Nine Heavens, the dragon realm … I want to see everything."
Qiu Ling hesitated a moment but then nodded. "Since I promised it, I'll do so." He was still a little unsure if this would be a good idea but anyway, he couldn't bring himself to do anything else. So it was still best to go along with this. He could still explain it to Jing He later on. Anyway, there would be quite a bit to explain.
He sighed and then squeezed Jing Yi's hand. "Anyway, it will likely still be a few years, won't it?" He didn't know too much but he did realize that ascending wasn't that easy. For a human to manage to do so, they needed to reach a very high level and amass a lot of spiritual energy. It wasn't something an ordinary person could do.
Jing Yi didn't seem to think so though. "I don't think that that is necessarily true. I guess if we were just talking about my personal aptitude, you would be right. But with spending time in the immortal realms and even the High Heavens for a short period, I've really advanced by leaps and bounds. With recovering some of my old memories, my understanding is also much deeper. I think that it shouldn't take much longer. Actually, I might be able to do it by the end of this year."
Qiu Ling blinked his eyes in surprise. While he knew that his beloved had advanced quite a bit over the years, he hadn't thought that it had been to this point. Just one more year … He really didn't know how to feel about this.
On the one hand, he was a bit excited because it meant that they would start a new chapter in their journey together. On the other hand, mixed into this excitement was some worry. After all, while they stayed in the human realm, there wasn't really much of a conflict in regards to Jing Yi's identity. But as soon as he ascended, that would be different.
He did not believe that the Heavenly Emperor would take kindly to Jing Yi becoming an ascended deity and actually strolling around the immortal realms. Who knew what would happen when he arrived in the Nine Heavens?
Jing Yi slightly raised his brows. "What's the matter?"
"Well, I couldn't help but think of the Nine Heavens. I don't know how Jing He's family will react."
Jing Yi's gaze became a little absent-minded. After retrieving some of Jing He's memories, he also knew about his family. To be honest, he was quite curious about them. From what he had gleaned from his past, it seemed that Jing He's attitude toward them had actually been rather lukewarm.
While it all seemed magnificent at first, it was really just at the surface level. If he compared it with his own life, then his relationship with his parents had been much closer. And even though he had never had many friends either, there had at least been some, unlike Jing He who always stayed alone until the time Qiu Ling barged into his life.
Jing Yi forced himself to keep a neutral expression but inwardly, he couldn't help but think that while he might lose out in terms of looks and appeal toward Qiu Ling, this was definitely the one part when he was outdoing Jing He by far.
Jing He … He was actually quite curious about seeing the place where this person had lived and he did not mind at all that he would likely bring trouble to that place.