The Scum Shou’s Survival Guide

Zong Jun brought his sword down, leaving a deep fissure in the hard ground, and then he immediately flew forward! 

He wielded his sword, gazing coldly at Ye Yin, his deep blue eyes frosty and angry.

In the short time he’d stepped out, Ye Yin actually dared to sneak into his palace! Zong Jun wasn’t suspicious that Ye Ming would be involved with Ye Yin in any way, since there was no way Ye Ming would know Ye Yin…His first instinct was to suspect Ye Yin of being overly ambitious.
He must have figured out that Ye Ming was his weak spot, and that was why he had designs on him.
It was because of Zong Jun that he was making a move against Ye Ming.

 

 

Ye Yin couldn’t dodge in time, and a chunk of his sleeve was cut off by the sword qi.
Little by little, a sword materialized in his hand as well, as he stared fixedly at Zong Jun.

What a pity.
He hadn’t wanted to fall out with Zong Jun so early, but since he’d been discovered…then they might as well fall out. 

Only, Ye Yin had always been cunning.
They were currently in the Devil’s Palace, and the conditions were not in his favor; he might not be a match for Zong Jun here.
But he did have one advantage over Zong Jun, and that was that he knew more than him!

 

Ye Yin moved as quickly as lightning, but instead of attacking Zong Jun, he pounced straight at Ye Ming!

Zong Jun had been watching out for an attack by Ye Yin against Ye Ming, and he immediately moved to block him.
Unfortunately, Ye Yin was too close to Ye Ming.
Even if he moved as quickly as he could, he was still just a little bit too late! Ye Ming was already in Ye Yin’s grasp!

Ye Yin gripped Ye Ming by the throat, moving him in front of himself as a shield against Zong Jun.
He laughed mildly.
“No need for anger, my Lord.
Truthfully, I don’t want to fight with you.”

 

Seeing Ye Ming in Ye Yin’s grasp, Zong Jun gripped his sword hard enough that his veins pulsed.
He was silent for a beat, then asked coldly, “What is the meaning of your actions, Palace Master Ye? Do you want to make an enemy out of me?”

Ye Yin smiled faintly.
“That isn’t my intention.”

All of a sudden, as Ye Yin held him by the throat, Ye Ming felt all of his spiritual energy being sealed, leaving him completely unable to move or speak.
His gaze grew anxious; Ye Yin knew who Zong Jun really was, as well as his relationship with Ye Ming.
It would be bad if he used Ye Ming to threaten Zong Jun.

With murderous intent in his eyes, Zong Jun watched Ye Yin.
“Put him down, and I can swear to you that I’ll let you leave right now.
I won’t attack you.” 

The oath of a cultivator was very binding; as soon as one violated an oath, they were at risk of having internal demons.
So when Zong Jun said such a thing, that meant he really would let Ye Yin go, as long as Ye Yin let Ye Ming go.

Zong Jun wasn’t willing to take risks with Ye Ming’s life.

Ye Yin raised his eyebrows and smiled meaningfully.
“My Lord is very passionate and righteous.
Unfortunately, I can’t agree.”

Zong Jun looked displeased.
His expression was somber, his brows furrowed.
“What exactly is your intention?” 

He didn’t understand why Ye Yin would kidnap Ye Ming when it meant offending himself.
Ye Yin wanted to dominate the realm, but the righteous cultivators surely wouldn’t tolerate it.
He should be allying with Zong Jun, not making an enemy out of him merely because of Ye Ming—that was very unwise.

It didn’t make any sense at all.

Ye Yin laughed, and his eyes flashed.
“I must decline to answer.”

When he finished speaking, he flew out with Ye Ming still in his grasp! 

Zong Jun couldn’t just stand still and watch as Ye Yin took Ye Ming away.
He took up his sword again and charged forward, but Ye Yin only sneered and used Ye Ming to block Zong Jun’s sword! If Zong Jun didn’t pull back, he would certainly kill Ye Ming!

Zong Jun didn’t expect Ye Yin to be so despicable.
The stately Tianhai Palace Master would actually use another person as his shield!

 

He didn’t dare take any more chances and could only watch helplessly as Ye Yin took Ye Ming away.
Furious, he struck the rear mountain with his sword, nearly hacking down the mountain peak! It was clear just how angry he was!

The emotions in Zong Jun’s eyes fluctuated continuously.
He never would’ve thought Ye Yin would make a move against Ye Ming, which was the only reason he’d given him such an opportunity.
At present, his thoughts were roiling incessantly. 

These days, everyone knew Ye Ming was his weak spot.
Perhaps Ye Yin had gotten such an idea because of that as well.

Zong Jun’s eyes were ice-cold.
He summoned a subordinate at once.

The demonic envoy quickly arrived and asked respectfully, “My Lord, what are your instructions?”

Coldly, Zong Jun said, “Kill the Tianhai Palace’s people!” 

You escaped quickly enough, but your subordinates might not be able to escape right away.
If you have the audacity to touch my people, you’d better be prepared to pay the price!

The demonic envoy was greatly alarmed.
Those two had been getting along so well just a few days ago; he didn’t understand why, in the blink of an eye, they’d become enemies…But seeing how angry Zong Jun was, he didn’t dare ask and instead hurried to pass along the order to kill the cultivators from the Tianhai Palace.

Slowly, Zong Jun walked back inside of the room.
The space where Ye Ming used to sleep was now completely empty…

This was the first time anyone had been able to snatch Ye Ming away from him.
He hadn’t been able to protect him…No, that wasn’t right—he didn’t want to protect him, he just couldn’t allow him to end up in someone else’s clutches. 

Even if he were to die, he would only be allowed to die by his own hand!

Zong Jun’s gaze was all fury, dark as an abyss.

………………

Ye Yin didn’t expect Zong Jun to suddenly appear.
With his plans having been disrupted, he could only make the choice on the spot to capture Ye Ming and flee, but it was likely that his subordinates left behind at the Devil’s Palace would not be able to escape certain death. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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Ye Yin arrived at the base of a mountain, his gaze becoming wistful.
He recited an incantation, and suddenly a heavy, dust-covered stone door slowly began to open, revealing an ornate palace within. 

The top of the palace was fraught with night pearls, and the floors were of green jade boards.
Countless top quality spirit stones were in a haphazard heap to the side, and there were also some…bones wearing black clothes.
It was clear that this place had been sealed off for a very, very long time now.

Ye Ming couldn’t speak.
After being brought here by Ye Yin, his eyes widened in surprise.

 

Ye Yin put Ye Ming down and felt the delicately carved light on the wall with his hand, a look of rue in his eyes.
“I haven’t been back in a long time,” he said faintly.

This was one of his underground palaces in his previous lifetime.
The bones in black were the cultivators who used to be in his service.
After he died, all of his palaces were sealed, and so they could only die here. 

Ye Yin tapped his finger in the air, and Ye Ming found that he could speak again.

He watched Ye Yin apathetically.
“What do you plan to do?”

Ye Yin bent to look at Ye Ming.
His white hair cascaded down from his shoulder; in contrast, his handsome face looked like an immortal’s.
His thin lips parted slightly.
“Actually, I want to ask you something.
You think my cultivation method is flawed.
How would you fix it?”

He’d been at a standstill at this threshold of tens of thousands of years already.
Even if he took over someone’s body and re-cultivated, he still couldn’t take that final step. 

What if…he was on the wrong path? And this final step couldn’t be taken?

Perhaps it was precisely because he had these doubts that he was stirred up by Ye Ming’s words.
All his life, he’d sacrificed everything for the sake of attaining the great Dao, cutting off his mortal binds…Was it possible that he really had lost himself and become a slave to this heavenly Dao?

Ye Yin was extremely proud and would never be willing to submit to anyone else.
Not even the heavenly Dao could make him serve it! He didn’t believe he wouldn’t be able to succeed!

Previously, when he’d failed to pass his heavenly tribulations, he’d had the faint inkling that in ten thousand years, he would have the chance to be reborn.
He just needed to wait patiently for the opportunity for new life, and he would get the chance to take that final step. 

And ten thousand years later, three thousand years ago, Ye Ming had unsealed him, allowing him to see the light of day again.

His premonition had come true, but why was he still unable to succeed? Was the opportunity this time around going to land in the lap of the person in front of him, in the end?

Ye Yin smiled faintly.
“You and I have intertwined fates.
If you help me, and I successfully achieve the Dao, I’ll help you break free from Zong Jun.
How about it?”

Ye Ming’s expression flickered, no longer serene at last. 

He knew very well that his body wouldn’t die if it left Zong Jun because Zong Jun didn’t want his life in the first place.
But he would suffer a fate worse than death…Furthermore, his soul had already fused with this body and could not break out of it.
Not even Ye Yin could do anything about it.

But if Ye Yin managed to attain the Dao and gained control of the heavenly law, he might really be able to help Ye Ming.

Only…how could he possibly help Ye Yin? With Ye Yin’s nature, once he gained control of the heavenly law, he would enslave the entire Immortal Cloud Realm.
And when the time came, Zong Jun wouldn’t be any match for him.

What was more, he’d never been able to make it to the end of his own path in all his life.
On what grounds could he talk about helping others? 

Ye Ming laughed self-mockingly.
“Palace Master must really hold me in high regard.
If I could help you, I never would’ve ended up in a state in which my body was destroyed and my cultivation vanished.”

Ye Yin paid no mind, however, and smiled gently.
“Just consider it.
Take your time, I’m not in a rush.”

 

When he was done speaking, he really did leave Ye Ming alone.
Ye Yin wasn’t worried about Ye Ming escaping.
His underground palace was already sealed off, and there was no way Ye Ming would be able to break out with his current cultivation, so he left him here without a worry.

As soon as Ye Ming saw Ye Yin leave, he tried to leave too, but he was unable to even make it out the door.
A long while later, he finally gave up. 

[888: You didn’t actually need to incite conflict between Zong Jun and Ye Yin yet.
Even if you didn’t do this, Ye Yin would’ve made a move against you sooner or later.]

[Ye Ming: Ge, since you said it would’ve happened sooner or later, then why should I bother waiting? I don’t want Zong Jun to misunderstand me forever, after all.
Isn’t it best to clear up any misunderstandings sooner rather than later? o(∩_∩)o~]

[888: Misunderstandings? Are there misunderstandings between you two?]

[Ye Ming: …] 

………………

Ye Yin was wholly dedicated to cultivation.
As soon as he returned to his underground palace, he entered seclusion without any concern for Ye Ming.

On the third day, Ye Ming went back to work with dedication, pretending to be miserable.

To tell the truth, this was the worst part about this world…Though this body brought him a lot of fun, its side effects were quite severe…As soon as you weren’t careful, fun would turn into pain. 

Ye Ming sighed.

[Ye Ming: Ge, how come my family’s Zongzong still hasn’t found me? I miss him so much.
I’m going to wilt without the nourishment of love.]

[888: …] He had the urge to vomit.
How frightening.

[Ye Ming: The first step~! Is to let Zongzong know that I didn’t really want to kill him.
I really regret it, I really love him.
I treasure him more than the heavenly Dao, even.
I’m certainly not always bad to him~! But there’s no use saying these things to him directly; that’d be too artificial.
But that won’t be the case if it’s revealed indirectly~ The heavens and earth are witnesses to my feelings!] 

[888: …] This fucker.

[Ye Ming: So sleepy.
Let me know if anyone’s coming.
I’m going to rest for a bit ^_^]

[888: …]

Ye Ming fell asleep blearily.
At midnight, 888 abruptly woke him up, telling him Ye Yin had come out. 

Immediately, Ye Ming shut his eyes tight, furrowed his brows, and groaned in pain.

Ye Yin came to him and picked him up.

 

Because of the terrible pain, Ye Ming was unable to fully fall asleep.
When he felt Ye Yin’s actions, he immediately opened his black eyes, in which pain and obstinacy were interwoven.
A long moment later, he opened his mouth and said in despair, “Kill me…”

He truly couldn’t bear it anymore. 

He’d never begged Zong Jun to kill him because he knew Zong Jun wouldn’t…and he didn’t want to make such an excessive demand of Zong Jun, to force Zong Jun to make such a cruel decision simply to end his own pain.

Even if Zong Jun hated him now, he probably didn’t want to kill him with his own hands.

That’s why Ye Ming would rather bear it all…

But Ye Yin was different.
This cold, heartless cultivator didn’t care about anything.
To him, Ye Ming was nothing more than someone who might be of a little use to him.
Thus, he didn’t need to continue to endure and hold back.
Finally, he voiced this plea. 

Sometimes, life was worse than death.

Perhaps it wasn’t so bad that Ye Yin had taken him away.
This way, he could finally find relief…

Ye Yin sighed softly.
“How sad…”

Ye Ming was shaking from head to toe, drenched in cold sweat.
The extreme pain was going to drive him mad.
He really wished he could smash his head on the wall till he was dead, but how could his spiritual tool of a body be smashed to death so easily? 

Even his death was beyond his own control—this was perhaps the saddest of all…

Seeing Ye Ming like this, Ye Yin suddenly sighed regretfully.
“Do you still love Zong Jun, even though he treats you this way?”

When Ye Ming heard Zong Jun’s name, a look of deep yearning and sadness appeared in his eyes.
His voice shook, but it carried an infinite decisiveness.
“I love him.”

Ye Yin had always looked down on the affection between people.
He felt that that was the most useless, artificial thing of all.
In the face of true life and death, even the staunchest love between cultivation partners seemed weak, unable to withstand a single blow. 

But the love between Ye Ming and Zong Jun really garnered a new level of respect from him.

Despite spending three thousand years apart, despite going through so many tribulations, despite the way hatred caused them to torment each other, he couldn’t deny that…they still loved each other.
Neither death nor time could break their bonds.

For the first time, Ye Yin felt that he’d underestimated these so-called human emotions.

Ye Yin asked, “You don’t regret it?” 

Ye Ming bore the pain.
His eyes bright, he ground out, “The only thing I regret in my life is that in order to pursue the so-called heavenly Dao, I practiced your cultivation method and ended up being poisoned…and hurt the person I love.
If the price of pursuing the heavenly Dao is to abandon what I love, then I don’t want it!”

Ye Yin’s expression hardened.

 

There was an inexplicable oppressiveness in his heart.
His entire life, he pursued the heavenly Dao, trying in vain to gain control of it.
But in fact he still wasn’t as at ease at Ye Ming, who could say something so insolent.

Ye Yin paused and lay Ye Ming down, ready to leave.
But suddenly, the look in his eyes subtly shifted, his pupils flashing with a vigilant light. 

Something seemed to be wrong.

………………

The day that Ye Yin had used Ye Ming as his shield and kidnapped him from the Devil’s Palace, Zong Jun hadn’t dared give chase right away, worried that Ye Yin might hurt Ye Ming.
Fortunately, when he had created Ye Ming’s body for him, he’d swallowed the vine heart, which meant there was a faint connection between Ye Ming and himself.

After a few days, Zong Jun finally tracked them down to this location. 

This underground palace was very well-concealed, and its array was very powerful.
A normal person would be completely unable to break in, but Zong Jun was the Demonic Lord, and his cultivation base was no worse than Ye Yin’s.
He took out a very precious magical treasure: fog cloud organza.
With this piece of fog cloud organza, he could become one with the mountains and rivers, and like this, he stealthily snuck in from the other end of the mountain range.

To avoid giving Ye Yin another chance to use Ye Ming as leverage against him, he didn’t immediately show himself, instead hiding himself and entering in secret.
Finally, he caught sight of Ye Ming and Ye Yin in the main hall of the underground palace.

Zong Jun was planning to wait for Ye Yin to leave before taking Ye Ming away.
After he brought Ye Ming back to the Devil’s Palace, he would certainly kill this person to resolve his hatred!

But Zong Jun didn’t expect that he would overhear such words here. 

Words he didn’t even dare dream of…

He saw Ye Ming’s stubborn, determined gaze and listened to his staunch, unremorseful tone as he said: The only thing I regret in all my life is hurting the person I love…If the price of pursuing the heavenly Dao is to abandon what I love, then I don’t want it!

At that moment, Zong Jun’s state of mind fluctuated, and he nearly revealed a trace of himself by accident.

Why would Ye Ming say that? He said he loved him.
Was that true…? 

Did he still love him, despite how he’d tortured him? And why would he say that he regretted cultivating Ye Yin’s cultivation method? Why would he say he’d been poisoned? Why would he act like…he hadn’t wanted to kill him?

He’d obviously been so apathetic back then.

Zong Jun’s inner thoughts were in complete turmoil.
He stared rigidly ahead.
Even though he really wanted to rush out right away and demand answers, now was not the right time.

Just then, he heard Ye Yin speak again. 

Initially, Ye Yin was going to leave, but he seemed to have suddenly changed his mind.
A strange smile hung on his lips, and as he smiled, he said to Ye Ming, “Tell me, if Zong Jun knew you still loved him like this, that you didn’t truly want to kill him, would he regret treating you this way?”

Ye Ming was in so much pain he was already on the brink of unconsciousness, but he still replied, “That’s not important anymore…”

 

Ye Yin shook his head gently and said meaningfully, “You don’t think it’s important, but it might be very important to Zong Jun.
After all, he didn’t know that at the ruins he took you to, I would be there, leading to my attaching myself to you.
He even had you cultivate the cultivation method I left behind.”

Ye Ming was a little bit stumped.
He didn’t understand why Ye Yin would suddenly say these things.
They were both well-aware of these matters already.
Why would he repeat them again? 

Ye Yin spoke slowly, raising his voice a little and hiding a smile.
“If you hadn’t practiced my cultivation method, how could you have fallen under its influence, lost yourself, and ultimately ruthlessly killed him? What a pity that in the end, your love for him was just slightly stronger, since for him, you ended up giving up on your own cultivation…

“I really feel sorry for you.”

Ye Ming’s gaze was sorrowful.
He laughed at himself derisively.
“Is that so…If you truly feel sympathy for me, then you might as well kill me.”

Ye Yin chuckled.
“No, I won’t kill you—” He suddenly raised his voice and let out another strange, piercing laugh.
“Do you think Zong Jun would feel remorse if he knew all of this?!” 

As he voiced the final word of his question, he suddenly turned around and abruptly stabbed at the empty wall!

When Ye Ming was speaking just now, Ye Yin had acutely sensed a very, very brief fluctuation.
That made him realize that Zong Jun might have snuck in already, which was why he changed his mind and decided to keep talking—it was all so that he could destabilize Zong Jun’s state of mind!

He and Zong Jun had already become enemies.
Neither could rest until the other was dead.
Naturally, he had to strike first and gain the upper hand!

Zong Jun was concealed in the wall.
Listening to Ye Yin speak, he only felt like boulder after boulder were crushing his heart.
Shock, doubt, and disbelief threw his mind into disorder and caused his breath to go unsteady. 

How was it possible…?

How could it be…? There was a problem with the ruins he’d discovered, as well as the cultivation method.
It was only because of that place that Ye Yin got the chance to influence Ye Ming…Had he in fact been harming Ye Ming when he thought he was helping him?

Did Ye Ming actually love him?

[Ding, Zong Jun’s blackening value -30, current blackening value 60] 

This completely subversive realization made Zong Jun unable to keep calm.
His chest heaved violently.
Right when he was off guard, the sharp qi of a golden blade pierced the wall, and it went through his shoulder! The spiritual energy of the blade corroded his body unceasingly!

The acute pain jolted Zong Jun awake.
A ripple, and he appeared in the previously empty space.

After injuring Zong Jun in one strike, Ye Yin didn’t plan to give him a break.
This was the one card up his sleeve that could rock Zong Jun; he had to make the most of it and kill him! Otherwise, if he let Zong Jun escape, he would become a powerful enemy in the future!

Zong Jun had been injured by Ye Yin when he lowered his guard.
Now, facing Ye Yin’s relentless attack, he was suddenly at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, the main hall wasn’t very big.
He was worried about hurting Ye Ming, so he couldn’t freely maneuver around, allowing Ye Yin to suppress him even more. 

In the blink of an eye, Zong Jun’s arm was cut by Ye Yin’s blade once more.
Blood gushed out.
The spiritual energy of Ye Yin’s sword was very corrosive, so it took him a lot of energy to ward it off.

Though Ye Yin had the upper hand, he didn’t dare lower his guard in the slightest.
Instead, he only became more and more relentless! It seemed like Zong Jun was going to be sent to his death!

 

Zong Jun already knew that Ye Yin’s words were meant to deliberately rattle him, but he still couldn’t help but be affected, because…Ye Yin was telling the truth.
Ye Ming didn’t refute it…It was all true…

Yet he hadn’t had a clue… 

He didn’t even know Ye Ming had given up so much for him.

Zong Jun’s eyes were red.
He didn’t even pay any mind to his wounds; he just wanted to kill Ye Yin! But his and Ye Yin’s cultivation bases were nearly on par to start with, and now Ye Yin had taken advantage of that key moment.
They were also on Ye Yin’s territory…The situation was growing increasingly dire.

Ye Yin laughed grimly, and the cold glow of his sword shone even brighter!

Right at the moment of imminent peril, a white figure rushed at them from the side.
He paid no attention to the chaotically clashing spiritual energy in the midst of their battle.
Cuts appeared on his face and body, but without fear of death, he charged in front of Zong Jun! 

Ye Ming grabbed Ye Yin’s sword.
When he lifted his head, his expression was unperturbed and determined, and the jade between his brows released a blinding light!