Devouring the Heavens (ATG)

A/N: Hi guys. Sorry for the late release but I had a small procedure at the hospital today called a Bone Marrow Biopsy (I won't explain, look it up). Don't worry, I am in remission so the fic won't be dropped due to illness or anything.

So, about the procedure, sometimes it can be quick but the one I had today took a pair of doctors over 80 minutes of continuous jabbing to get a sample out and I think they clipped a nerve too (wouldn't be the first time).

Although they do give you gas and air and a local, that doesn't really take away the pain, so I took some codeine and had a nap afterwards and I am feeling a bit crippled right now.

Depending on how I am feeling tomorrow, the scheduled chapter may also be late or even posted the day after so I apologise in advance if that's the case but also wish me luck lol.

The chapter is edited but I may have missed some things. Enjoy...

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Walls of bubbling blood rose around the edges of the clearing, trapping him within, and from them spawned a myriad of deadly yet disfigured scarlet weapons.

As if they were a single entity, the weapons all turned their sharp edges to face him as the liquid they were formed from writhed and undulated as if struggling to keep their shapes and giving off a frightening heat.

A huge Spirit Pressure loomed above him as if it were a gigantic mass of water held back by a small dam, ready to crush him into dust if only it were released. Added to the mix, was a deathly cold wind composed of tiny blades of tangible killing intent that whipped across his face and scratched at his skin.

Shane, however, just cocked an eyebrow, that same playful smile still locked in place. Sure, his back was coated in cold sweat and he felt extremely uncomfortable right now but if she attacked, he won. And she knew it…

The world faltered a little as she realised he would call her bluff, the blood weapons retreated, the blood walls receded, the pressure was taken back and the winds died down. "Hmph! Coward."

Shane's eyebrow twitched a little but he managed to recover and continue to raise it questioningly instead.

Coward? How the hell was he a coward!? What an unreasonable girl! 'Calm down Shane, this place is messing with your head. She very nearly annoyed you into reacting! How could you almost let a little girl beat you at your own game?'

He took a few seconds to calm himself down while outwardly he somehow managed to retain his laidback posture.

"So… Little Red" Shane drawled. "Care to explain how that makes me a coward?"

Was that the sound of teeth grinding or perhaps a small growl he could hear? So delicious. "You are obviously scared of the space created by this Princess." her voice as confident as it was cold and lofty.

Shane deadpanned, really. "Hold up missy. Don't confuse disgust with fear here!

I will admit, I was afraid the first time I came here, but in my defence, I thought I had died again. Honestly, now it just feels weird and... creepy."

"C-creepy!? How dare yo-" Shane waved his hand and cut her off. "Look Little Red, I don't know if you have ever actually taken a stroll out here but I can tell you now, it's not exactly pleasant.

Firstly, what is with all this blood? Where the hell did it come from? Why is it ankle-deep and endless? What does it even mean?

Secondly, The Goddess damned temperature here is awful. Either pick boiling hot or freezing cold, the two don't mix, they just cancel each other out and in the end, are only mildly discomforting.

Lastly, the soul-sucking stars, just what the fuck is that all about?" Shane glanced upwards, ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. This place truly was annoying him. Maybe it was the fact that he had the ability to control it but was holding back.

Just what was wrong with him today? He knew that there wasn't much time left to make an impression on her but rushing things would only make her suspicious and seem fake, pushing her away instead.

"...I just wanted… talk... relax… read… don't want… deal… with... shit" He mumbled in irritation as every action he had taken so far suddenly seemed a little pointless. What plan? He should have just come here to relax and read with her like last time.

*puchi* A small girly giggle echoed in the clearing and Shane's ears perked up as he was pulled from the whirlwind of self-loathing. Maybe it wasn't all so bad after all.

He regained a little of his confidence and decided to just have a bit of fun instead of trying to scheme when he was clearly too emotional for it to be his strong point.

He was treating her like a kid when he should have been treating her like a friend and although it would have probably worked, it just felt wrong.

"Are you laughing at me now Little Red? You come out here and see if I don't clean you up!" He shouted while shaking a fist around, although, his only answer was another giggle.

"You'll see Hmph!" He pouted, a tiny sliver of madness shining in his crimson eyes as he finally stopped holding back and crazily poured his Will into the very fabric of the dreamscape, seizing complete albeit momentary control.

*Snap!* With a feral grin and a click of his fingers, the world answered his call, and everything changed. An extremely bright burst of colourful light, full of soft greens, light browns, whites and reds, exploded outwards from Shane's position.

The light spread rapidly in every direction and only receded after a few seconds, revealing that the entire clearing and even the distant surroundings were now blanketed by rolling hills covered in a huge amount of wild, green, grass.

Flower stems swiftly began to grow up and out of the ground, blooming into a myriad of crimson coloured poppies, and white jasmine flowers that swayed slightly in the breeze.

The eerie, soul-invading, scarlet stars in the sky were catapulted far off into a corner of the space and instead, a massive warm ball of orange fire rose to replace them.

"*Whistles* En, now that is a real star." A low appreciative whistle followed by incomparably smug sounding voice drifted in the air.

Shane was admiring his handiwork without any kind of reservation while still sitting on that recliner, looking especially out of place in a meadow full of flowers and with the same annoying playful smile on his face.

He could have sworn he heard the sound of teeth grinding together and that stifling pressure began to fill the air again. When it had reached a palpable level, the girl finally spoke in an immeasurably cold voice, as if straight from the ninth layer of hell. "Why did you choose these flowers?"

Shane shuddered and put his hands up, this girl truly could change her attitude at the drop of a hat. "Whoa there Little Red, actually let me explain will ya. I just thought the whole blood thing was disgusting and I was tired of the feeling against my feet. Never been fond of wearing shoes you see…"

"Speak! Answer this Princess!" Now, Shane wasn't exactly happy about the tone of voice that she was using on him but he knew when to be patient. He was still reaching his goal by keeping her talking. Plus it was so goddess damned cute when she said 'This Princess'

"Well, where I am from, these red flowers, the poppies, are notoriously known for growing thickly on battlefields where there has been a lot of bloodshed. Fitting choice considering this was all blood not long ago" He shot her a rather hollow look.

"The white Jasmine flowers..." That's right, why had he added the Jasmine flowers, was it subconscious? Shane now realised why the girl acted defensively but as a different set of memories poured into his mind, he just couldn't be bothered to care.

The world faded away into the background as his eyes glazed over a little. He didn't even notice the extreme spike of killing intent and pressure in the surroundings that made whatever the girl tried to oppress him with earlier, look like child's play.

"*Sigh* ...They were my mother's favourite..." He tried to speak normally but couldn't quite stop the way his voice quavered or how he almost choked up on the word mother. Obviously, it would take an idiot to not realise what was going on.

The pressure and killing intent disappeared but still, he remained stationary, completely immersed in his own memories, totally unaware of the surroundings.

Shane didn't often think about his family on Earth as it wasn't exactly a pleasant subject but he just couldn't help himself this time.

Over the last few months, he had been extremely busy, setting one goal after another and didn't have many opportunities to dwell on the past but the pain and sorrow of never being able to see his family again were still there, just buried deeply.

He had a new family now in the form of Qingyue and Shane could safely say that he loved her more than anything in both worlds but even that still couldn't heal the mother shaped hole in his heart.

How she was always so selfless, supporting him throughout his illness and how she helped him study to get into university early, despite knowing that he might see her less when he got in. How she cared for him when he was at his lowest, even though he wasn't always a bundle of joy to be around.

Unknowingly, and despite his best efforts, the corner of his eyes grew a little moist as he lost himself in the pleasant memories of another world.

The little girl here with him also understood the pain of never being able to see her mother again. She didn't know why, but when she looked on at the Wild young man whose face was contorted in sadness, she felt an unfamiliar stuffy feeling in her chest.

Not only was there that slight pain in her heart but the worst thing was the immense feeling of incongruity. Seeing him with that melancholic expression… just. felt. wrong. Before she really knew what she was doing, she had opened her mouth.

"...Jasmine…" It was barely a whisper but it managed to shake Shane from his thoughts. "Huh?"

"...This Princess allows you to call her Jasmine." He took a deep shuddering breath and slapped his cheeks. Damn, he really could do with a hug right now!

With a concentrated effort, he pushed the lingering sorrow back down inside, allowing for a genuinely happy smile to spread across his face instead.

How thankful he was that heart demons didn't actually exist in this Universe. Reminding himself to give Chu Yueli's backside a tight slap, he turned towards the cocoon that was now loosely wrapped in long grasses and said softly with a gentle smile.

"Hi Jasmine, I'm Shan Long but you can just call me Shane." Quite a few seconds passed and he was actually wondering whether to create some tumbleweeds or not when he heard a slight grumble and then a whisper. "Hi, Shane."

His smile turned into a wide toothy grin. "Who knew you could be so cute, little red!" something that sounded especially similar to the growl of a small animal was his response.

"Now, how's about you give me that book back. Unless you don't want me to continue reading it to you?" Her reply only came in the form of a snort but was soon followed by a crimson flash. The well-worn, green paper-covered book with a dragon at the bottom of the front cover appeared in his hands.

Shane ran his fingers lovingly along the spine before opening it and launching into the story. This time, he managed to elicit a few gasps and giggles from the girl as he narrated the events and voiced the characters, a testimony of his progress with her.

By the time he could feel the familiar tug on his consciousness, the book was two thirds complete. Deciding to push his luck a little, Shane snapped it shut and stood up from the recliner.

He waved the book along with his hand and said. "Little Red, it's time for me to go, If you want to read the book, you will have to get it from me yourself."

Silence…

Shane sighed, maybe that was pushing too far? He started turning around, intending to observe the field of Jasmine and Poppy flowers for the last remaining moments. "Okay then, I'll see you next ti-" "Wait!"

With a rustling sound, the grasses surrounding the cocoon swiftly began to recede and the chilly starlight once again reared its ugly head. The cocoon cracked open a little and a small dainty hand followed by a snow-white arm reached out of the crack.

Shane was incomparably shocked but he still managed to take the last two steps towards the cocoon and pass the book into that small hand. The book itself was almost but not quite snatched from his grip and the hand swiftly withdrew back into the depths, the crack sealing up behind it.

He couldn't help but chuckle, that reaction was actually quite cute, like a little cat in a box...

What would her reaction be when she realised the content recorded in the book was still only up to where they had read together, he wondered.

As if he was going to let her finish it alone! He waited weeks to meet her again when he could have read it any time!

Giving the cocoon his best charming smile, Chad edition, Shane waved with his semi-transparent hand. "Well, see you next time ...little Jasmine" and faded away.

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Shane awoke to something tickling his nose and the familiar weight of Qingyue treating his entire body as a mattress. Opening his eyes in the dim light of early dawn, he was greeted by a curtain of Obsidian black.

Inhaling her comforting scent of Winter Honeysuckle and recalling the success of the night before, a huge grin spread across his face.

He roused his lovely wife from her slumber and amidst her protests, bundled her into the bathroom. Shane himself went to wash in the other one, patting his lovely maid on the head on the way through and making her beam a smile like a fresh ray of sunshine.

Feeling his blood beginning to boil at the thought of the upcoming hunt, Shane decided to have a cold one for old times sake.

He directly opened a portal to his storage somewhere near the ceiling and poured gallons of the chilly water from the cave side pool on top of his head before roughly scrubbing his hair and skin with some special sandalwood and vanilla soap.

Yes he knew how to make soap like a second rate Isekai MC, yes he had already made soap for himself and Qingyue and no he wouldn't be selling soap to make money here unless he could make profound soap... 'Maybe when we get to the sect. Can't imagine that those fairies would be against something like that.'

They also knew how to make soap here, by the way, it just fell under the extremely expensive and only used by the wealthy cliche.

Finally, after rinsing off with more of the same cold water and shaking himself dry, Shane couldn't help himself but let out a loud and happy howl at the ceiling.

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*Howl!* The corner of Qingyue's eyes crinkled and her cheeks involuntarily displayed two rosy dimples at the sound of her husband's yell. She elegantly raised a sleeve of her new white and blue robe to cover her giggles.

He must have been looking forward to today more than even she had realised. Qingyue was always watching him and so she had obviously noticed how restless he had become over the last few weeks.

She knew Shane yearned to travel and explore but because of her, he was staying here in this small place...

Qingyue felt a small pang of sadness and regret at the thought of possibly holding him back but before it could even take root, she remembered the words that he had spoken to her when he first realised she was having these feelings.

'Qingyue my dear, Loving someone is all about compromising. We have our whole lives, hundreds or even thousands of years to travel and see the world together. If I cannot halt my desires for a few weeks, to ensure our future together, how could I be worthy of being your husband?

I will NEVER leave you behind, I would rather be mediocre my whole life and spend it with you than be all alone in greatness.' A huge burst of warmth flowed into her chest and chased all of those errant thoughts away. God, she just loved him so much.

How did he always know when something was bothering her, and how did he know exactly what to say to ease her fears and worries?

She would have to see if Lingxi had any more of those books and find something special to do for him, a 'special' gift, given by a loving wife. Qingyue's fragrant tongue darted out and moistened her cherry lips before they curled up into a lewd smile that was thankfully still hidden by her sleeve. 'Something special indeed.'

"Master seems to be in an especially good mood today~" Dongling hummed from behind her while skillfully running a jade comb through her silky black hair.

Qingyue squinted her eyes through the mirror at the happy looking maid and noticed how the top of her head had a few loose strands of hair. 'He's not the only one. Sneaky girl, I bet he patted your head on the way through.'

Suddenly she had a rather outlandish idea and began to gaze even more intensely at her diligent maid. The robes she wore were high quality albeit very plain but she was without a doubt a pretty little slip of a thing. Qingyue started to feel a little warmth in her core and licked her lips again.

Perhaps she and her husband could enjoy a special gift, together…

She wasn't stupid, it was obvious that her maid had it bad for her husband and strangely, it didn't bother her at all like she had thought it would. In fact, she only felt pride that HER husband was able to attract women to him everywhere.

She also somehow had an inkling that her maid would love nothing more than to be wrapped up 'or tied up' and presented to him as nothing more than an item. She was aware that it would be a longshot trying to get him to treat the maid like that but the possibility of it excited her greatly.

Qingyue had seen how those young ladies in Floating Cloud looked at Shane, even some of the young misses that had eyes on top of their heads would show lovestruck expressions after exchanging just a few words with him.

Shane always talked amiably with those girls, remembered their names, and even sometimes flashed them a gentle smile, but that was just how he acted with everyone.

Qingyue actually immensely enjoyed the fact that he didn't even put any of these girls in his eyes, he just treated them like ordinary people, no matter how beautiful they were, yet always looked at her with such hunger and passion.

Of course, it didn't stop them from flocking around him whenever he went out into the city proper. He had some sort of animal magnetism to him that attracted young ladies...

Qingyue let out a small groan and the building warmth in her little sister was snuffed out as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her. This was unfortunately the greatest cause for her recurring headache over the last few weeks.

Shane was handsome, charming, powerful, confident and domineering yet also kind and gentle... all without meaning to be.

In fact, she would hazard a guess that he was mostly unaware of how fatal that combination was to a woman...

In just a few months, he would follow her back to a sect full of hundreds of emotionally starved and extremely innocent yet beautiful young maidens.

Qingyue didn't even need to think about whether he would be allowed to join, adding on to the fact that she would never stay there without him, they would actually have to be stupid to refuse his offers.

Obviously, Shane could provide them with many extremely beneficial things, and she knew that he would go to extreme lengths to ensure her happiness. She just worried that he would intentionally allow the sect to take advantage of him if it were for her.

That wasn't the point. When he arrived there, all sexy and half-naked and gentle and then broke through the shells created by their Heart Arts, Qingyue had absolutely no doubt that he would break through those shells, what kind of a romantic mess would he cause there?

What if he broke through those emotional barriers and those fairies imprinted on him as she herself had done to an extent? Wouldn't that be ridiculous?

She didn't especially mind the thought of having a few sisters, as long as they understood who was at the top, but hundreds of them, all beauties in their own right, becoming emotionally dependent on HER husband was still a very worrying thought.

Dongling finished combing her hair and handed over a snow-white veil. Qingyue frowned a little, she wasn't fond of wearing a veil but the last thing she wanted was to cause her husband issues because of her appearance.

Thankfully, the veil didn't hide her eyes or there was no way she would even toy with the idea of wearing one, regardless of what troubles would await them or whether she was able to see through it or not.

Smiling fondly at the memory, Qingyue remembered how she once asked Shane which part of her he liked the most and his answer surprisingly matched her own. 'Without a doubt, your eyes are the most incomparably beautiful thing I have ever seen in both my lives.'

Now, that was funny because she felt the exact same way about his own crimson globes and could easily spend the whole day staring into them…

With the veil secured firmly in place, she rose from her chair and turned to pull the maid into her embrace. 'A nice body indeed.'

"Take care of yourself Dongling and remember my husband's words. You are only a servant to us, nobody else in this world has the right to order you."

Lofty words indeed, but Qingyue had no doubt that her husband would one day stand at the apex of this world and she would be right there next to him...

The girl's eyes got a little moist again but she refused to let anything fall. Dongling clenched her fist, she would get stronger so that she was qualified to follow these two people who had given her a real home and shown her real care. "Thank you Mistress Qingyue. I will."