Fox Spirit Matchmaker: The Immortal

He was an outsider who had cultivated his body to sainthood in the world of immortal cultivation. His flesh could withstand heavenly tribulations, and his soul was as steady as a rock. Yet, while undergoing a tribulation, he fell into a “heart demon tribulation”: Tushan, where humans and demons coexisted; the Bitter Love Tree, which bound people together and rekindled love; and Rongrong, the fox demon who always wore a gentle smile and clicked her abacus briskly.

Lin Yue watched with a cold sneer. “A mere illusory realm. Not worth getting attached to.”

He crushed Void Tears with his bare hands, withstood the intent of the Wangquan Sword, and dismissed the Black Fox’s ambush as “a heart demon tickling him.” When Rongrong gave him a probing look, he responded only with the cold austerity of the Pure Heart Mantra. It was only when the shadow of Jin Chenxi coiled around her, and that ever-composed figure bled to protect him, that he finally realized:

The pain was real. The furrow in her brow was real. And the crack in the depths of his soul, opened by her, was real too.

“If this is an illusion...” Holding her as her demon power scattered, he tasted the salt of tears for the first time. “Then I will never wake.”

From then on, his invincible body became her shield, and his steadfast soul became her armor. When Tushan’s moonlight fell upon the hands he used to massage her shoulders and neck, and upon the tenderness of her fingertips tracing the cracks in his body, Lin Yue finally understood: no matter how profound one’s Dao heart, it could never compare to the osmanthus cake she offered with a glance whenever her abacus clicked softly.

The bond tied by the Bitter Love Tree could never compare to the tribulation I overcame by abandoning my Dao for you.