"You... will die like the rest of them."

The creature lunges towards Xiuying but he swiftly moves to the side. Although it's no doubt it was strong and quick the beast acts recklessly. Xiuying remains calm and collectively dodges each attack with ease. He conjures a spell summoning sharp shards and sending them toward the monster.

Xiuying punches it and summons more shards out. He stops and holds the beast down. Xiuying mutters a spell under his breath knocks the creature out and transforms it into that of a human.

"I knew it."

"Knew what your majesty?"

"It's the human my father took in to use. Or at least it was. The true form of it, is now a monster. It seems they've split into different bodies. This one is Yili".

"May I ask how you know?" The soldier questions. Xiuying shoots a quick glare at him, "because he looks exactly like one of the pair of lovers, if I'm correct his name is Xiao Zhan. And Jianyu looks completely different from him so I'm certain this thing is Yili. This beast is no longer of use to us. It's not human anymore and filled with demonic energy." Xiuying summons more shards and finally releases Yili from his misery.

What a shame. After such misfortunes, this soul becomes a creature full of hatred in the end and is killed. I quite pity you so I'll let you off with a quick death instead of torture for having caused deaths in my residence.

Xiuying teleports in front of a portal and enters the lush cave. He sighs, "All my hard effort to make this cave look nice has gone to waste. What a mess."

Part of the cave had collapsed due to the Yili becoming a monster causing high-energy waves to break the cave. Xiuying sees Jianyu lying on the ground unharmed. He lets out a small sigh of relief.

I won't have to go through the trouble of finding another soul or human after all.

Xiuying walks over to Jianyu and picks him up before teleporting in front of a gate.

"Greetings Your Highness."

"I need a room in Guo Cheng's residence."

"Yes, of course. I will go inform him."

...

"Why not use a royal guest room? Why my place?" Guo Cheng looks confusingly at Xiuying. "Because it's closer to my residence."

"Tsk." Guo Cheng gets up from his chair and walks away, "lazy." In response, Xiuying rolls his eyes.

...

I take in a deep breath as I look around the beautiful scenery in front of me. The cool breeze and sunny sky the my perfect weather. Moving to this cozy little apartment in a busy and loud neighborhood has its charms. It's always so lively and warm. The streets hustle and about with children running around and people working at different stalls and such. Sure, it does get a little distracting but I love the people here. They're kind and welcoming.

"I'm back! I even got your favorite snack this time!" I turn around and smile as Xiao Zhan walks through the door. He's so cheerful and full of energy. Xiao Zhan is caring and dotes on me a lot. He's gentle and sweet. Even cute at times. I love him. And I never want to lose Xiao Zhan again. In this lifetime I'll make sure we have a happy ending. No matter what.

"What's with that face? Are you lost in thought again?" Xiao Zhan lightly flicks my forehead and chuckles. He leans in for a kiss and pulls me close before wrapping his arms around my waist.
______________________________
(Special characters)
Xiao Zhan = the first Xiao Zhan before reincarnation
Yibo = the first Yibo before reincarnation
.
(None special characters)
Xiao Zhan = Xiao Zhan from the first two stories
Yibo = Yibo from the first two stories
______________________________
Yibo sighed. There hasn't been a single demonic activity in a year now. He can barely relax or cultivate properly because of the constant fear of getting attacked by Guo Shan the demon king. Yibo felt conflicted and torn. In this lifetime he hoped it to be his last. He remained in Yibo's inner consciousness trying to think of a way to defeat the demons. Not to mention Fanxing has been missing and he can't go search for his son.

Concealing himself he exits Yibo's inner consciousness and walks around making sure there is no trace of any demonic energy. He sighed once again. Nothing. Anxiety creeps up on him once again. Just because he couldn't find anything doesn't mean the demon kingdom is lying around and not doing anything. They're planning something bigger than last time. And when it comes Yibo is worried about how he'll be able to handle it. What're they gonna do? An overwhelming burden is looming on his shoulder and he has no one to rely on. Especially not Yibo and Xiao Zhan they're total idiots. At least that's what Yibo thinks.

Funny how he technically is insulting himself and his lover. For over a year now he's been trying to teach Yibo and Xiao Zhan but he hasn't made much progress. Yibo furrows his eyebrows even more and sits down on the couch. The two are utterly helpless. Yibo couldn't believe how much power they grasped but couldn't utilize it properly.

Yibo lets out many more sighs and groans of frustration. He is only one person.

...

Yibo whined with his arms stretching out and legs bent. How much longer was this gonna take? He's been doing this for over an eternity. They've been at the field that Yibo proclaimed to have a "high energy source, excellent for cultivating."

Yibo sighed with frustration. "Don't you remember what happened? Guo Shan nearly killed you at the ritual." He picks up two small but heavy pots from the ground places each one on Yibo's hand and paces around scolding him.

"If I had not saved you in time he would've succeeded and destroyed the world. Including this one. I cannot protect you at all times." Yibo stops and turns to lightly kick Yibo's leg causing him to lose balance and fall.

"Your composure is terrible."

He lets out a groan of frustration and gets up about to complain but stops in his tracks when Yibo is standing in front of him. Inches away. Yibo never realized it until now how despite having the same face and technically being the same person they were so different from each other. Especially in build. His past self was much bigger. Broad shoulders and a lean build. Long yellow hair reaching past his waist and bangs covering his face like curtains. Although today his hair was tied into a ponytail. He stood tall and was intimidating. His eyes were cold and distant.

It didn't help that they dressed vastly differently from each other. Yibo normally dressed himself in cool-tone shirts and wore loosely fitted pants. Yibo on the other hand, wore a white hanfu with layers that faded into blue from top to bottom. Soft blue clouds embroidered on the shoulders and collar. A white cape that clung to his shoulders flowing down gracefully. A white and blue jade hung from a string that tugged from his belt. His sleeves hugged his arms tightly showing off his build. And much more. Over the year Yibo has ordered quite a lot of Hanfu. Surprisingly, he was extremely good at scoping out the good high-quality ones. That, Yibo would admit, is impressive.

Yibo swallows his complaints and walks away with a huff.

"My power and energy has its limit. So you must learn how to cultivate and work hard. Only when your mind is calm and still can it flow into endless possibilities. You possess the greatness of my power. Don't underestimate how much you hold in the palm of your hands. If you want to protect not just yourself but Xiao Zhan you must put time and effort into learning."

Yibo picks up a stick and stands in front of Yibo. "Relax your body and mind. Close your eyes and focus on the energy that is suppressed within your chest and let it flow throughout your body and mind like streams of water lightly treading along the forest."

Yibo sighs and does so and gets back into a better position and closes his eyes. "Now, no matter what do not stop." Yibo relaxes his body. Although awkward at first he takes in the soft breeze blowing against his skin and the leaves all cluttering against each other. The birds chirping and the wind blowing all around him. He imagines the energy slowly spreading out and takes in deep breaths.

Yibo perks up a smile. He was doing it. He could feel the energy Yibo was talking about flowing throughout his body. He could feel and sense so much more around him now too. His body felt light and his mind was becoming more calm and steady.

"Now take my hand."

Yibo opens his eyes and Yibo grabs his hand. Before he could say anything else he was suddenly high off the ground. He gasps. Feeling adrenaline kick in. Yibo couldn't believe he was able to jump so high. He reaches his hand out and grabs a leaf off the tree branch in amazement. His body felt light as a feather. Yibo lands softly on his feet and begins to run around in excitement about his achievement.

"I managed to do something!"

"All you managed to do was jump high. You haven't even reached the surface. Don't get too excited."

To be continued