She had prayed that after parting in the mortal realm, they would never meet again in this lifetime.
Yet the youth's appearance now, more than the emotionless emperor of five hundred years ago, resembled another person—
The Demon God she had glimpsed as a child in the Demon Realm, shrouded in dark mist, with deathly pale skin and a cruel, unrestrained aura.
She had clearly extracted Tantai Jin's Evil Bone, so why did his features still draw closer to that person's likeness? Even his bearing held a faint resemblance.
What had happened over these five hundred years?
Encountering him again so abruptly, Su Su unconsciously bit her lip until it bled. Yue Fuyai noticed her distress and whispered in concern, "Senior Sister?"
That moment felt both endless and fleeting.
Fuyai's voice snapped Su Su back to awareness, like a drowning person gasping back to life. Tantai Jin's presence chilled her to the bone, but fortunately, she was no longer Ye Xi Wu and would not relive those hopeless, powerless days.
She was now Li Susu.
Su Su was the first to look away. Perhaps her earlier reaction had aroused his suspicion, for Tantai Jin stared at her, his brow slightly furrowed.
By the time she reached Qu Xuanzi's side, her expression had already returned to normal.
The Path of Ruthlessness flowed from her Spiritual Platform through every meridian, and over the years, his shadow in her heart had gradually faded.
Su Su said, "Father."
Qu Xuanzi nodded at her.
A gaze followed her like a shadow, but Su Su had no intention of letting Tantai Jin recognize her. Memories were like smoke and clouds—meeting without recognition was already the best outcome.
Her eyes remained cool and detached, and she did not look at him again.
Cang Hai nudged the young man beside him. "Junior Brother?"
Why had he been staring at Fairy Yuling? Wasn't he supposed to be indifferent to beauty? And that fairy wore mermaid gauze over her face, with only the cinnabar mark between her brows clearly visible. Surely he hadn't taken a fancy to her? Their Carefree Sect couldn't possibly aspire to someone of her status!
Tantai Jin's expression cooled as he said, "It's nothing."
It was just that the moment he met the girl's eyes, something beneath his chest felt as if gripped tightly by a hand. When she turned to sit down, her eyes held no emotion, no different from any other Cultivator at the immortal banquet.
Tantai Jin found it somewhat laughable. Had he gone completely mad? Over a stranger, he could glimpse a familiar shadow in a single glance.
Sometimes he even wondered—after five hundred years, he should have long forgotten even her face.
Seeing his emotions recede so quickly, with no hint of interest in Qu Xuanzi's treasured daughter, Cang Hai breathed an inward sigh of relief.
If he had truly taken a liking to her, it would have been troublesome. Would they have to send the Carefree Sect's only genius to the Hengyang Sect? Their master would skin him alive.
Cang Hai remarked, "Speaking of which, no one has ever seen Qu Xuanzi with a Dao Companion. A century ago, it was suddenly heard that he had a daughter with an Innate Spiritual Body. Junior Brother, you have no idea how shocked the cultivation world was at the time."
Qu Xuanzi was a paragon of the Righteous Path, yet the identity of Fairy Yuling's mother remained unknown throughout the Three Realms. Given how Qu Xuanzi cherished his daughter, he must have deeply loved Li Susu's mother back then.
Tantai Jin lifted his eyes and suddenly asked, "Senior Brother, you said Fairy Yuling has an Innate Spiritual Body?"
Cang Hai replied, "Yes. Why do you ask, Junior Brother?"
The youth smiled. "Nothing, just curiosity."
So he said, but beneath his chest, his heart suddenly beat with excitement. According to the "Book of Rebirth," an Innate Spiritual Body was the finest vessel for containing a soul.He touched the jade inside the Universe Bag and licked his lips.
In his heart, he spoke to it: Don't worry, soon I will find you a place to dwell.
However, this young maiden's status was extraordinary. To crush her soul and leave behind an empty shell would require some effort on his part.
In just a few words, Elder Qingwu of the Hengyang Sect had taken out the Soul Calming Lantern. Before everyone's witness, he handed it to Tantai Jin.
Tantai Jin's fingers tightened around the Soul Calming Lantern. Su Su's gaze paused on the lantern before she looked away.
Whose soul was he trying to find again? Ye Bingshang's?
That made sense. Ye Bingshang was a mortal. She had probably only accompanied him for a few short years in the mortal realm. After the Evil Bone was extracted, he had grown a love thread and come to hate himself—he must have fallen in love with Ye Bingshang. Even before his emotions had awakened, he had cared so much about Ye Bingshang, so it was only natural that he would go to great lengths to retrieve her.
The mist of the Immortal Mountain drifted past Su Su's palm. She lowered her eyelashes. No matter what, the Evil Bone was destroyed, and everything about Tantai Jin had nothing to do with her anymore.
Su Su heard Qu Xuanzi say, "This time, I wish to discuss two matters with all fellow immortals. Since the War of Gods and Demons, the Demon God has perished, the great demons have been suppressed in the Desolate Abyss, and the lesser Demonic Beasts have retreated to the barren Suopo Demon Realm, not daring to cause trouble. Five hundred years ago, the seal of the Desolate Abyss was broken, and dark energy surged into the sky. Countless Chimei Wangliang escaped from the Desolate Abyss, wreaking havoc in the mortal realm."
Mentioning matters of the demon realm made everyone's expressions turn serious.
Su Su focused her attention, wanting to hear about the current state of the Three Realms without the Demon God.
"Fortunately, over the past century, all Immortal Sects have united to fight against the Demonic Beasts, thus preserving peace in the mortal realm and stability in the immortal world. But recently, the Demon Emperor has emerged, and the Demonic Beasts now revere him as their leader." Qu Xuanzi closed his eyes and said gravely, "Some time ago, the sect leader of Taixu Sect died in his own room, along with all three hundred and sixty of his disciples—none were spared."
These words shocked everyone.
Demon Emperor? Su Su instinctively looked at Tantai Jin. How was that possible? The Evil Bone was gone, so how could a Demon Emperor still appear!
Qu Xuanzi possessed a magical treasure called the "Water Mirror," which could briefly replay events that occurred in a specific location.
He summoned the Water Mirror, which hovered in the air for everyone to see.
In the Taixu Sect, the streams before the mountain gate were all stained red with the blood of the disciples. The golden cores of disciples above the Golden Core stage had been dug out—the Demon Emperor's methods were extremely cruel. In the Water Mirror, Demonic Beasts ran rampant, but the Demon Emperor's figure was not reflected. Only a silhouette remained in the Water Mirror, and it was impossible to tell whether the Demon Emperor was male or female.
Such a bloody and arrogant scene filled the Immortal Sect members with both anger and fury. Someone, red-faced and indignant, cursed, "Damn that Demon Emperor! If I ever encounter him, I'll grind his bones to dust and scatter his ashes!"
But everyone understood that since he was the emperor of the demon realm, he wouldn't be easily captured.
The Demonic Beasts now lived in the Suopo Demon Realm, a desolate place where nothing grew and rivers of blood flowed. No one who went to subjugate them could guarantee they would return alive.
Qu Xuanzi put away the Water Mirror and said, "I am about to break through and need to go into seclusion to overcome my tribulation. Qingwu will lead the Hengyang Sect disciples to Taixu to investigate the Demon Emperor's situation and search for the token to enter the Suopo Demon Realm."
"Chixiao Sect is willing to follow..."
"Zhenwu Sect is willing to follow the Immortal Venerable..."
"And us, Tianyuan Sect is also willing to go together."Cang Hai asked, "Little junior brother, what should our sect do? Are we going?" Mainly because their sect seemed to have no talents to send out for such ventures.
Tantai Jin said indifferently, "We're not going."
Cang Hai sighed. At a time like this that required unity, the Carefree Sect felt utterly ashamed. He silently covered his face with his sleeve.
"Secondly," Qu Xuanzi said, "the Cangyuan Secret Realm will open in half a month. The entrance is in Zhaoxia City. While the secret realm contains countless magical treasures and unpredictable opportunities, it's also full of dangers. However, the Cangyuan Secret Realm has always only allowed disciples below the mid-Nascent Soul stage to enter. There might be Demonic Beasts mixed in by then, so everyone must be extra cautious."
This matter wasn't a secret. On the contrary, many people came to this competition precisely to get acquainted with disciples below the Nascent Soul stage, planning to train together and seek opportunities when the time came.
In cultivation, time passed without notice. One might enter the secret realm and emerge to find three to five years had passed in the outside world.
It was said that fragments of Divine Artifacts could be found in the Cangyuan Secret Realm.
If they could truly find fragments of Divine Artifacts, their chances of victory would be much greater when war broke out with the Demon Realm.
Su Su had heard from the curved jade that the Cangyuan Secret Realm had opened two hundred years ago. At that time, Gongye Jiewu's Cultivation was still low, and Qu Xuanzi, fearing he might perish, didn't allow him to go.
Thinking of this occasion, Su Su couldn't help but glance at the dignified man beside her.
"Senior brother, are you going to the Cangyuan Secret Realm?"
Gongye Jiewu put down his wine cup. He had been lost in thought earlier, but upon hearing Su Su's words, he said gently, "Compared to the Cangyuan Secret Realm, I'm more concerned about the Tai Xu Sect's annihilation. Someone needs to go investigate what happened to Tai Xu."
Su Su then understood his decision.
It seemed like everything had changed, yet her senior brother remained unchanged. He always stood in front of all living beings. Whether achieving success or facing destruction, he faced it with such composure.
Gazing into his gray eyes, Su Su suddenly remembered the man who had told her to keep moving forward under the moonlight that year.
Xiao Lin... whom she had killed with her own hands.
Those past events were like clouds at her fingertips, as if they had happened so long ago.
Su Su knew she should gradually let go as well.
Having seen those events through the water mirror, Su Su understood that the war between the Immortal Sect and the Demonic Beasts was inevitable. Perhaps soon, the Immortal Sect and the Demon Realm would go to war again.
However, this time the Immortal Sect had the power to fight, unlike before when they were so helpless and miserable.
All sects bid farewell to the Hengyang Sect, returning to prepare for entering the Demon Realm later and to instruct their younger generation about the Cangyuan Secret Realm.
Su Su's Path of Ruthlessness was currently unstable, so she planned to use Sword Control to return to Changze for cultivation. Before she could summon her Immortal Sword, a fierce whip came slashing through the air.
The whip carried water patterns and a chilling killing intent.
Su Su immediately detected the sound of something cutting through the air and prepared to dodge.
"Junior sister!" Teng Zhuang exclaimed in alarm, too late to stop it. Another sword with blue light collided with Cen Mixuan's whip and shattered into pieces.
Yue Fuyai stood in front of Su Su. "Senior Sister Cen, this is Hengyang Sect, not Chixiao Sect. If you disrespect our senior sister again, don't blame Hengyang Sect for being impolite!"
Yue Fuyai's spirit sword lay shattered on the ground. Looking at the fragments, Su Su felt angry. The entire sect knew how much Junior Brother Fuyai cherished his sword.
Now his sword had shattered because he protected her.
But Cen Mixuan seemed not to hear his words and attacked again without hesitation.
Just as Su Su was about to counterattack, she suddenly sensed something wrong when she saw the emptiness in Cen Mixuan's eyes. Although Cen Mixuan was arrogant, she had come to Hengyang Sect this time to cultivate her mind, hoping to become Qu Xuanzi's disciple.Su Su was Qu Xuanzi's daughter, so Cen Mixuan couldn't possibly attack her outright within the Hengyang Sect.
No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than a slender hand reached through the air and snatched something from above Cen Mixuan's head.
Cen Mixuan's eyes widened before she collapsed limply.
"Junior Sister!" Teng Zhuang hurriedly caught Cen Mixuan.
From behind Cen Mixuan, Gongye Jiewu stepped forward, frowning as he looked at Su Su. "Junior Sister, are you alright?"
Su Su shook her head, her gaze fixed on the wisp of purple energy in Gongye Jiewu's palm. "What is this?"
Gongye Jiewu crushed the purple energy in his hand and said, "It's the Puppet Technique."
Upon hearing this, Teng Zhuang's expression turned grim. "Who would use the Puppet Technique to control Junior Sister into attacking Fairy Li?"
Yue Fuyai also realized the severity of the situation and pressed her lips together tightly.
Gongye Jiewu asked, "Junior Brother Teng, think carefully. Who has Cen Mixuan offended recently?"
Teng Zhuang glanced at Yue Fuyai, hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
He had been accompanying his junior sister all along, yet he hadn't realized she was being controlled. The person who harmed her was truly terrifying.
The Puppet Technique... such a loathsome yet familiar method.
Su Su looked up at the sky. The Carefree Sect's flying artifact, the wine gourd, had already flown far away, and Tantai Jin's presence had vanished along with it.
She glanced at the unconscious Cen Mixuan, then at Gongye Jiewu, suddenly feeling the absurdity of it all.
Five hundred years had passed. Had that person not changed at all? Even after obtaining the Divine Marrow, was he still resorting to such despicable methods? In the past, he had controlled her to kill Xiao Lin. Was he now controlling Cen Mixuan to kill her?
Meanwhile, the young man sitting on Cang Hai's wine gourd opened his eyes.
He hadn't managed to gauge her depth. Tantai Jin thought coldly, what a pity. His eyes were icy as his slender fingers tightly clasped the jade pendant, as if holding onto his last lifeline.
The jade in his hand was unmistakably the one the young girl had personally tied to his waist in a carriage in the mortal realm that winter day.
She had lifted him from the snow, struck the Prince of Zhao for him, and told him not to bend his knees.
Back then, she had frowned and whispered, "This is for you. When the Prince of Zhao sees it, he'll think twice."
She had brought him the warmest spring of the mortal world, yet also inflicted upon him the cruelest pain. He wanted her back, and for that, he would stop at nothing.
Even if she hated him, even if she hated him just as fiercely as before.
But not like this—never appearing in his dreams.
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