I will marry the Demon Empress of the Demon Realm in seven days.
The God of War and the Goddess, who once dreamed of marrying me, were completely unaware of it.
They were happily preparing a birthday banquet for their new love, the merman.
Once, for the peace of the Three Realms, I voluntarily fell into the Demon Abyss and guarded it for thousands of years.
They promised me that when I returned, they would both be my personal maidservants and never part.
However, after I returned with countless wounds, while I was healing my injuries, they took advantage of the situation.
They extracted my dragon tendons to weave shark silk for him and took away my dragon pearl to help him treat his eye disease.
The excruciating pain almost made me faint, and my vision went black repeatedly.
They just watched coldly and even sneered sarcastically: “You are a divine dragon. Your physical body can be healed if damaged. Don’t you feel ashamed to feign death here?”
“Cang Yuan is weak. You should give in. Consider this as a birthday gift for him. Don’t be ungrateful!”
When I woke up again, I immediately agreed to the marriage alliance between the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm proposed by the Immortal Emperor.
1.
“Really? The marriage alliance between the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm is a major event and no joking matter!”
“Besides, don’t Ling Shuang and Qing Li swear that they will only marry you? Do they know about this decision?” The Immortal Emperor’s face, which had shown joy before, suddenly sank, and he looked at me with a bit of hesitation.
I gently touched the cloth strip covering my eyes, suppressed the blood taste churning in my throat, and replied calmly.
“Ling Shuang, Qing Li and I are just childhood sweethearts.
Swear to marry only me? That was just a joke from the past and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
For the smooth progress of the marriage alliance, I hope the Immortal Emperor can hide it from them for now.”
Seeing this, the Immortal Emperor furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, and then nodded.
After that, he rewarded me with the opportunity to use the Soul-nourishing Pool and asked me to recover my body quickly and be in the best condition to marry the Demon Empress of the Demon Realm.
The Immortal Emperor still wanted to give a few more reminders about the marriage alliance, but the Goddess Qing Li rushed in like a cheerful bird.
Probably having heard some fragments of our conversation, she questioned coldly with doubt in her voice.
“Father, I have no intention of marrying Xuan Ming now. You can’t marry me off to him casually!
No, could it be that you arranged for Sister Ling Shuang and Xuan Ming? That won’t do either. Sister Ling Shuang doesn’t have such an intention either!
Right now, the most important thing is Cang Yuan’s coming-of-age birthday banquet. I’m here this time to beg you to let Cang Yuan enter the Soul-nourishing Pool!”
Just a few short sentences interrupted the conversation between me and the Immortal Emperor and also dug out the nightmare that had haunted me recently.
As the most favored daughter of the Immortal Emperor, she naturally wouldn’t be punished by the Immortal Emperor for barging into the hall privately.
However, at this moment, her gaze glared at me fiercely, and her tone carried a hint of threat.
“Xuan Ming, how shameless you are! You’re bothering Father just for trifles! Get out of here immediately!”
At that moment, I understood in my heart that she was worried that the things she and the God of War Ling Shuang did to me earlier, like skinning and tendon-extracting, and taking my dragon pearl, would be exposed.
At that time, Ling Shuang used the God of War Sword that I gave her to gouge out my eyes, and Qing Li swiftly used a dagger to pick out my dragon tendons one by one.
Before leaving, they both threatened me harshly together.
“What happened today is just a little spat between you and us, and it’s also your voluntary gift of dragon tendons and the dragon pearl to Cang Yuan as a birthday present.
If you dare to gossip in front of the Immortal Emperor, we will ruin your reputation as a divine dragon and let the world know that you’re just a despicable dragon who pretends to be pitiful!”
Because of this, I was seriously injured and had to wear a white cloth to cover my empty eye sockets. I immediately went to discuss the marriage alliance with the Immortal Emperor.
After all, they had broken my heart thoroughly. I didn’t want to stay in the Immortal Realm and face them who had changed so much.
However, the Immortal Emperor, who usually indulged Qing Li, forced Qing Li to kneel down with his powerful coercion.
“Look at what you’re saying just for a little merman. Aren’t you afraid of hurting Xuan Ming’s feelings? This is simply absurd!
I used to think that you were just keeping Cang Yuan as a pet. Now you’re being so unreasonable and causing trouble in front of Xuan Ming?
I’ve already given the Soul-nourishing Pool to Xuan Ming for use. This merman Cang Yuan is not qualified to use such a precious thing in our Immortal Realm!”
The Immortal Emperor was quite a fair person and was also grateful for my contribution of guarding the Demon Abyss for thousands of years for the Immortal Realm.
However, Qing Li was very indignant and still wanted to throw a tantrum, but was coldly driven out by the Immortal Emperor.
I watched this scene indifferently and also ignored the apologetic look on the Immortal Emperor’s face.
On the way to the Soul-nourishing Pool, Qing Li quietly came to my side.
She was holding the colorful satin in her hand. It was the colorful satin that I had carefully woven by hunting hundreds of spirit beasts and stitching them together stitch by stitch for her. But now, she used this satin to tightly bind my limbs, and every circle she wrapped seemed to cut a wound on my heart.
Then, she suddenly kicked me hard on my leg. Caught off guard, I fell heavily to the ground.
Before I could react, her quick hands had already torn off the white cloth covering my eyes.
Then, like treating something dirty, she threw the white cloth under her feet and trampled on it crazily.
“Xuan Ming!” She glared at me with wide eyes, and the anger in her eyes almost swallowed me up.
“What on earth did you say to my father? Otherwise, how could he have such a big grudge against Cang Yuan!”
Her voice became sharp because of anger.
“Father never treated him like this before. It must be you who sowed discord and spoke ill of Cang Yuan!”
She was like a wild beast gone mad, pressing on me step by step.
“Why can you go to the Soul-nourishing Pool while he can’t?
Cang Yuan is so kind-hearted. Why are you so vicious as to frame him?”
2.
I smiled bitterly in my heart.
Am I the vicious one? It’s clearly them who changed their affections and treated me coldly after I returned from the Demon Abyss.
I thought that when I came back, I would be greeted by their warm hugs and careful care.
But what happened? One of them was busy coaxing Cang Yuan to sleep, and the other was hunting monsters outside to search for rare treasures for him.
I was like a stray dog, silently returning to my own room.
Only to find that my room had become Cang Yuan’s storeroom, filled with the little toys he was tired of playing with.
I also learned from the fairy maids that Cang Yuan was rescued by Ling Shuang and brought back to the Immortal Realm not long after I went to suppress the demons.
The two of them quickly fell in love with him at first sight, pampered him in the palm of their hands, and even caused a big stir in the city because of him.
However, due to their noble identities, even if someone was indignant for me, they were privately executed by them with violence.
Gradually, the whole Immortal Realm forgot about me and didn’t dare to mention me, for fear of making Cang Yuan unhappy.
I struggled hard against the colorful satin, but guarding the Demon Abyss for thousands of years had consumed too much of my divine power.
Plus, I was injured by Qing Li and the others, so my resistance at this time was more like scratching an itch through boots, which was rather ridiculous.
I stopped moving and said faintly.
“I didn’t say anything. Rather, it’s him who doesn’t deserve such treatment!
With your love like this, isn’t it enough?”
You know, Cang Yuan was originally an ordinary merman.
If he hadn’t been rescued by Ling Shuang, his fate wouldn’t have been any better.
Even if he cultivated for a thousand years, he might not be able to become an immortal.
Even so, the two of them still spent countless precious herbs and elixirs to help him grow unbelievable immortal bones . But his immortal bones were unstable, resulting in many problems with his body, so they didn’t even spare my dragon pearl.
Qing Li was so angry that her whole body trembled, and the anger in her eyes almost set the surrounding air on fire.
“You despicable dragon, don’t talk nonsense! His charm and talent are beyond what a useless thing like you can understand!
Look at your ugly and jealous look. How can you compare with the holy Cang Yuan!”
She became more and more excited, and a malicious light flashed in her eyes.
“Are you so inferior and so afraid that Cang Yuan will take us away from you?
You’re so despicable that you even gouged out your own eyes to win everyone’s sympathy!”
In an instant, those immortal officials who were watching the show before.
Like flies smelling blood, they couldn’t wait to jump out one after another.
Their faces were full of disdain and contempt, and they pointed at me and criticized me.
“I thought the last divine dragon in the world would be majestic. Look at this behavior , it’s simply a shame to the dragon race! How dare it be compared with Lord Cang Yuan? It’s not even worthy to clean Lord Cang Yuan’s shoes. It only deserves to lick the soles of shoes on the ground!”
“Oh my god! How can such a useless thing be qualified to guard the Demon Abyss? Can it hold it? I think it can’t even deal with the little minions in the Demon Abyss! What a disgraceful thing, still shamelessly lingering here!”
“I can tell you that I was lucky enough to meet Lord Cang Yuan once. That’s what real elegance is! Compared with this despicable dragon, it’s like heaven and earth. No wonder the Goddess and the God of War prefer Lord Cang Yuan!”
These words were like bolts of lightning, striking my head and making me taste the humiliation.
I just couldn’t understand how I had been so dedicated to maintaining the peace of the Three Realms but ended up being spurned by everyone.
After all, Cang Yuan was more important in Qing Li’s heart.
I had a cold face, endured the sharp pain in my divine soul as if being cut by a knife, and tried my best to mobilize the divine power in my body.
In an instant, the divine power was like a raging flame, rampaging through my meridians and finally gathering in my limbs.
With a light shout, the colorful satin binding me was instantly shattered into pieces under this force.
Qing Li’s eyes widened suddenly, and her eyes were full of disbelief.
She let out a sharp cry of surprise: “Xuan Ming, this colorful satin was made by you after hunting hundreds of monsters and spending a lot of effort sewing it by hand. How dare you destroy it?
You’re getting more and more arrogant now. Cang Yuan is just a simple and kind-hearted little brother. Why do you have to be his enemy?”
3.
If it were in the past, I would never have easily destroyed the hard-won friendship and precious things.
But now, keeping these things is just an eyesore.
Just then, Ling Shuang, wearing a silver armor, came out supporting the weak Cang Yuan.
Ling Shuang tightly held the God of War Sword in her hand, and her eyes were as sharp as lightning.
She suddenly swung the sword and stabbed straight at my neck.
The sword blade was wrapped in a fierce wind, and it stopped abruptly when it was only a hair’s breadth away from my throat.
However, the cold sword energy had already cut my skin, and a little blood seeped out.
“Cang Yuan is the younger brother we recognize. Don’t you dare to make things difficult for him again!
He’s so weak now. He just wants to recuperate in the Soul-nourishing Pool with you!
Why are you so cruel and ruthless, and you have to put him to death?”
She had a solemn expression, and that solemn tone seemed to be informing me rather than discussing with me.
I felt a sharp pain in my heart and was suddenly tired of it, so I didn’t say anything more.
I coldly pushed aside her sword and covered the little blood coughed out with my sleeve robe.
Hiding my disappointed expression, I replied in a low voice.
“I didn’t stop him! If you want to soak in it, you can soak as much as you like!”
Hearing this, their faces showed joy, and they finally didn’t argue with me anymore.
Before leaving, Cang Yuan even put on a pretentious look and piled up a kind face.
“Did I make Xuan Ming Immortal Lord unhappy? If so, I’ll just endure it.
I don’t matter. I don’t deserve the deep love of the two sisters.”
His eyes gradually turned red, and anyone who saw him would think that he was a pitiful person who had suffered a great deal of grievance.
Sure enough, when Qing Li and Ling Shuang heard this, they immediately became extremely worried and quickly hugged Cang Yuan tightly.
When they left, they didn’t forget to step on me hard.
“Don’t pay attention to this hypocritical despicable dragon. He’s just pretending to be pitiful here!
Cang Yuan, you’re the best in the world. Whoever dares to say a bad word about you,
I’ll definitely pull out his tongue and make him unable to talk nonsense and slander you anymore!”
As they walked away, the onlookers gradually dispersed.
However, at the moment when they turned around,
I clearly saw a dark look flash in Cang Yuan’s eyes. That was a hidden malice that couldn’t be concealed.
Actually, his clumsy trick could only deceive Qing Li and Ling Shuang.
But they just believed in this disguise so firmly. How stupid they were!
I dragged my exhausted body. After walking just a few steps, I felt dizzy and almost fell headfirst into the pool.
Now, I had nowhere to go. Even my former mansion had been arrogantly occupied by Qing Li and Ling Shuang.
Helplessly, I had to find a deserted and uninhabited corner, forced myself to meditate for a long time by gathering my energy, and finally regained some strength.
Then, dragging my heavy steps, I made my way to the Soul-nourishing Pool, thinking that they should have finished using the pool.
Before I could get close, the sounds of Cang Yuan playing and laughing with Qing Li and Ling Shuang came into my ears.
Those sounds were like needles stabbing my heart, and I turned around to leave.
But at the moment when I raised my eyes, I saw a scene that made my eyes almost split open.
Cang Yuan was wearing shark silk made from my dragon tendons.
He was dancing gracefully in the pool, with a graceful figure.
The shark silk flickered with a strange light as he danced, as if trampling on my dignity.
His face looked even more enchanting in this brilliance, like a soul-snatching ghost.
He easily locked the gazes of Qing Li and Ling Shuang.
Qing Li had a smile on her face and gently stroked the strings with her jade-like hands, playing a cheerful tune for Cang Yuan.
Ling Shuang was on the side, using her fingers that were used to killing enemies to gently peel the skins of grapes for Cang Yuan.
Those plump and juicy grapes, like purple crystals, were handed to Cang Yuan’s mouth by her.
Cang Yuan slightly opened his red lips and took the grapes into his mouth.
Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
That blood bloomed in front of him like a bright red flower, shocking to behold.
“Sister Qing Li, Sister Ling Shuang, save me…
It hurts so much. My whole body hurts. Is there something wrong with the shark silk?”
Cang Yuan’s miserable cries echoed by the poolside, like devilish sounds piercing through the ears.
Just because of this, Qing Li and Ling Shuang were on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.
Both of their faces changed drastically, and they got up in a panic.
They turned around and were about to rush out, as if they were going to find a life-saving straw for Cang Yuan.
I also didn’t want to stay here any longer, but was caught by the sharp-eyed Ling Shuang.
4.
Her hand grasped my arm tightly like an iron clamp, and her eyes were full of anger and suspicion.
“Xuan Ming, why are you running away! Did you do something to the dragon pearl and dragon tendons?
You vicious despicable dragon. If anything happens to Cang Yuan, I won’t forgive you!”
At this time, Cang Yuan, whose face was as pale as paper, said weakly: “Sister Ling Shuang, don’t blame Immortal Lord Xuan Ming. It must be because my immortal bones are unstable that this happened.
Alas, if only I could replace my immortal bones with dragon bones. Maybe then I wouldn’t hurt anymore.”
There was a faint glimmer in his eyes.
He seemed kind and harmless, but I clearly sensed deep malice from it.
I was furious and shook off Ling Shuang’s arm that was tightly grasping me.
“Let go of me! He went against the way of heaven himself. You tried to use external forces to forcibly improve his cultivation,
and now he’s suffering from the backlash and his immortal bones are unstable. What does it have to do with me? Don’t be deceived by him anymore!”
As soon as I finished speaking, Qing Li had already rushed over and slapped me hard across the face.
“You vicious despicable dragon. You’re still trying to quibble at a time like this!
If it weren’t for your resentment and your secret tricks, how could Cang Yuan be in such pain?”
Her eyes were full of hatred, as if I were the most evil existence in the world.
Ling Shuang also echoed beside her: “That’s right, Xuan Ming. You can’t escape the blame!
Cang Yuan is so kind. How could he possibly scheme against you?
It must be that you became so insidious and cunning because of jealousy after going to the Demon Abyss!”
Cang Yuan then pretended to be in even more pain in the pool and sobbed.
“Sisters, don’t blame Immortal Lord Xuan Ming. Maybe this is my fate.
I don’t want to cause conflicts between you because of me.”
His words were like a fire that reignited the anger of Qing Li and Ling Shuang.
Suddenly, a chain appeared in Qing Li’s hand, and the chain was flickering with a strange light.
She chanted a spell, and the chain instantly flew towards me.
It tightly wrapped around my body, squeezing so hard that the scales that were gradually emerging on my body started to bleed.
“Since you don’t repent, then we can only use your dragon bones to save Cang Yuan!”
Qing Li’s voice was cold and heartless, like a judgment from hell.
I struggled desperately, but the chain tightened even more.
Most of my divine power had been consumed before, and at this moment, I couldn’t break free at all.
I suddenly realized that they were just looking for an excuse to take my dragon bones to save that insidious villain.
Ling Shuang walked over, holding the God of War Sword that was emitting a cold light in her hand.
She walked towards me step by step, without the slightest hesitation in her eyes.
“Xuan Ming, you asked for this!”
Just as the sharp blade was about to pierce my body, I mustered the last bit of strength and roared angrily: “You’ll regret this! He’s just using you, but you’re going to hurt me for him.
I’ve sacrificed everything for the peace of the Three Realms, yet I’m going to end up like this. Where’s the justice!”
The cold dagger mercilessly cut open my chest and reached for the dragon bones near my heart.
The excruciating pain overwhelmed me like a surging tide in an instant, and I let out a heart-rending howl.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing the entire Soul-nourishing Pool red, making it look like a terrifying hell on earth.
They were like two executioners possessed by demons, without a trace of pity in their eyes.
After taking out my dragon bones, they unhesitatingly discarded me like trash in this pool of blood.
I floated quietly in the Soul-nourishing Pool, like an empty shell with its soul sucked out.
As the twilight suddenly fell, the water in the Soul-nourishing Pool gradually became bitterly cold, and the coldness was like countless steel needles piercing into my body.
But how could the coldness of the body compare to the despair in my heart?
I felt my life slipping away bit by bit, and my consciousness gradually became blurred.
Just when I was on the verge of death, an unimaginably powerful force, like a brilliant light, suddenly rushed into my body.
It rushed and flowed through my body, reshaping my dragon body and divine soul in a miraculous way, gradually alleviating my pain.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the complacent Cang Yuan was immersed in the joy of his scheme succeeding .
He thought that by taking my dragon tendons, dragon pearl, and dragon bones, he could enjoy everything without worry.
However, his face suddenly changed drastically, and his body convulsed violently as if hit by an invisible force.
Then, he spat out a large amount of blood, and his eyes were filled with horror.
Before he could even let out a cry for help, he fell to the ground with a thud and died suddenly.
5.
When Qing Li and Ling Shuang saw Cang Yuan’s corpse, they were as shocked as if struck by lightning.
They first froze in place, their eyes full of disbelief.
Then, almost without thinking, they rushed to my side with Cang Yuan’s corpse.
“Xuan Ming, what’s going on here!”
Qing Li roared, and her voice became hoarse because of anger and grief.
“Did you kill Cang Yuan? You murderous devil!”
Ling Shuang also glared at me angrily, holding her weapon tightly in her hand.
“If you don’t explain clearly, today will be your death day!
We’ve been so tolerant of you, yet you killed Cang Yuan!”
At this moment, a figure exuding a chilly air suddenly blocked in front of me.
“Speak? Humph, let this Empress tell you what I’ve seen and heard!”
The voice was as sharp as an ice blade, cutting through the air.
I stared wide-eyed, my eyes full of horror.
Staring fixedly at the familiar back, my eyes suddenly became hot.
“Xiao Jiu? Is it you? How could you be here?
However, didn’t you… die already?”
My voice trembled slightly because of excitement, and the emotions in my heart were rather complicated.
She slowly turned around, and a trace of warmth that was hard to detect overflowed from the depths of her eyes.
“Well, it’s me. I’m not dead. I’m the newly crowned Demon Empress of the Demon Realm, Mu Yan.”
Her words were powerful, each word highlighting her noble identity now.
“Unexpectedly, when this Empress came to the Immortal Realm this time, I saw my husband being bullied like this by you.”
Her imposing eyes swept over Qing Li and Ling Shuang, making people tremble with fear.
Not only me, but even Qing Li and Ling Shuang seemed to be under a spell and were frozen in place, their faces full of shock.
“What? You’re the Demon Empress?
This… How is this possible? How could you be here?”
Qing Li was the first to react, and her face was full of astonishment.
“Also, Xuan Ming, when did you become the husband of the Demon Empress?
Don’t joke around! This must be your conspiracy!”
Ling Shuang also came to her senses, and her eyes were full of suspicion.
She held the God of War Sword tightly in her hand, as if she was about to swing it at any moment.
I was still immersed in shock .
I hadn’t recovered from the astonishing news that “my friend Xiao Jiu in the Demon Abyss is Mu Yan”.
And Ling Shuang on the other end had already lost her sanity . She raised the God of War Sword without hesitation and slashed at Mu Yan fiercely.
“I don’t care who you’re pretending to be. Anyway, you’re Xuan Ming’s accomplice!
It was you who killed Cang Yuan, right? I’m going to kill you, this vicious witch, to avenge Cang Yuan!”
Her face was distorted because of anger, and she suddenly burst out with a powerful force, as if she wanted to tear Mu Yan to pieces.
I was extremely worried and tried to stop Ling Shuang.
However, my worry was obviously unnecessary.
Mu Yan looked calm. Facing Ling Shuang’s attack, she casually sidestepped and easily dodged it.
Then, her figure was as swift as lightning. In an instant, she appeared behind Ling Shuang and raised her hand to strike with her palm.
This palm seemed casual, but it contained a powerful force like a landslide and a tsunami, and it hit Ling Shuang’s back directly.
The famous female God of War Ling Shuang had no power to fight back under this palm.
She flew out like a kite with its string cut and crashed heavily into the cold Soul-nourishing Pool.
With a “splash”, water splashed up several feet high.
Ling Shuang struggled a few times in the pool, and her breath gradually weakened.
At this time, she was like a person with only one last breath left, swaying weakly and unable to get up no matter what.
6.
Qing Li, who had been full of confidence in Ling Shuang before, became flustered when she saw this scene.
She gritted her teeth, summoned up her courage, and rushed forward, wanting to block Mu Yan’s palm that was about to continue attacking.
But her little strength was like an ant trying to shake a big tree in front of Mu Yan.
Mu Yan just casually waved her palm, and a powerful force rushed towards Qing Li like surging waves.
Qing Li was hit by this force.
She let out a scream and was thrown out like a cannonball for several meters and crashed heavily to the ground.
“You… You’re really the Demon Empress Mu Yan? As the Demon Empress,
why didn’t you stay in the Demon Realm properly and came to my Immortal Realm to cause trouble?
And you, Xuan Ming, do you want to watch me being beaten to death by this witch?”
Qing Li’s face was as pale as paper, and there was still a trace of unwillingness in her eyes.
But her words still carried her usual arrogance, and when she looked at me, her eyes were burning with anger.
However, how could Mu Yan spoil her? Mu Yan’s figure flashed.
Instantly, she came in front of Qing Li and slapped her twice on the face.
“Slap! Slap!” The two crisp sounds were especially clear in the quiet night sky.
“Just a little Goddess, yet you dare to bully my future husband?
If it weren’t for me being here today, wouldn’t my husband be wrongly accused to death?
You two fools, you can’t tell good from bad. Now I’ll teach you a lesson!”
Mu Yan’s slightly narrowed eyes burned with anger, and her haughty look unconsciously carried a powerful coercion.
Actually, there was a reason why Mu Yan could be so arrogant.
Recently, the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm had been in turmoil, and the situation was on the verge of breaking out.
It was rumored that the Demon Empress had quickly suppressed the riots in the Demon Realm with irresistible force.
And then, through the strategy of marriage alliance with the Immortal Realm, she had avoided the outbreak of a war between the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm.
From this, it could be seen that her strength was definitely not to be underestimated, and her means and strategies were even more awe-inspiring.
It seemed that she had saved me tonight. If she hadn’t appeared in time, I might really have died here.
Qing Li, with her bleeding and painful mouth, was about to say something when she was slapped senseless by the Immortal Emperor who arrived late.
The Immortal Emperor glanced at the messy place, frowned for a few moments, and then smoothed things over.
“Demon Empress, calm down! It’s because I didn’t teach my daughter well that she made such a big mistake!
Today’s matter, I will definitely get to the bottom of it and give you and Xuan Ming an explanation!”
Mu Yan snorted coldly and threw the Time Reversal Stone in front of the Immortal Emperor.
“The answer is in it. I hope the Immortal Emperor can handle this fairly!
Don’t indulge these foolish people anymore and ignore the safety of the Three Realms!”
After saying that, Mu Yan grabbed my hand and left like the wind.
Soon, we came to the mansion prepared by the Immortal Emperor for her.
It was quiet and secluded here. Taking advantage of the absence of others, I poured out all my doubts.
The moonlight was like silver, shining on the pavilion. Mu Yan and I sat facing each other.
She looked at me, her eyes full of memories, and began to tell the past.
When I went to suppress the Demon Abyss, the civil war in the Demon Realm was in full swing.
The confidants of the Demon Emperor escorted Mu Yan, the daughter of the Demon Emperor, to flee, but the enemies chased after them relentlessly.
After a fierce battle, the confidants fell one after another.
To make matters worse, Mu Yan accidentally fell into the Demon Abyss.
It was a place of death, and both she and the only remaining people thought they were bound to die.
But I showed up and saved her.
Since then, in the long years in the Demon Abyss, we depended on each other and became companions.
I didn’t know her identity at that time and just thought she was a newly awakened demon.
Like this, Mu Yan hid in the Demon Abyss for hundreds of years.
Later, she suddenly disappeared, and I searched everywhere but couldn’t find her. I thought she had died.
After that, I was depressed for a long time, and my heart was full of the sadness of losing her.
Unexpectedly, we could meet again now, and I felt a thousand emotions in my heart.
I looked up at her and smiled sincerely.
“Thank you, Mu Yan. You saved me.”
Mu Yan returned a gentle smile and opened her lips softly.
“Perhaps, this is fate.”
Thinking of Cang Yuan’s stiff corpse, I continued to ask.
“Then, what’s going on with Cang Yuan?”
She narrowed her eyes slightly, and the aura around her suddenly became a bit colder.
You’ll find out soon…”
7.
The next day, the Immortal Emperor summoned us to the main hall to publicly interrogate the matter of the God of War, the Goddess, and Cang Yuan.
Stepping into the main hall, we saw that Cang Yuan, who should have died suddenly, was still breathing weakly and kneeling on the ground.
While the bruised Ling Shuang and Qing Li were tightly bound by the Immortal-binding Ropes.
Under the scrutiny of the gazes of all the immortals, they were full of humiliation, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
The huge and clear Retroactive Mirror in the main hall lit up, and Mu Yan and I looked into the mirror together. Cang Yuan’s true face was thus completely revealed. It turned out that Cang Yuan was not an ordinary merman. His real identity was that of a member of the Demon Race, and his true form was a wild fox good at bewitching illusions.
He was a spy planted by the Demon Race in the Immortal Realm. While I was guarding the Demon Abyss, he was carefully sent to the side of Qing Li and Ling Shuang.
After learning that I had returned from the Demon Abyss, he tried to completely eliminate me.
His sinister intention was to disrupt the delicate balance of the Three Realms and plunge them into chaos.
When the truth was revealed, Qing Li’s desperate wail exploded in the main hall.
“No, this isn’t true! How could Cang Yuan be such a person?
Could it be that our thousand years of companionship was just a scam?”
Even Ling Shuang, who had always been as cold as ice, couldn’t help but shed tears at this moment.
Her voice trembled with anger and grief as she questioned Cang Yuan harshly.
“Cang Yuan, speak up! Explain this clearly to me!
Could it be that all these years, we were just toys in your hands?”
Cang Yuan, who had been as still as death just a moment ago,
suddenly curled the corners of his mouth upward, drawing a sarcastic smile full of malice and disdain .
“In my eyes, you are just two pawns that I can manipulate and use at will!
Those so-called feelings are nothing compared to my plan!”
His eyes flashed with a ferocious light, and his tone gradually became wild.
“The winner takes all. I have nothing more to say!
It’s just a pity that I couldn’t get rid of that despicable dragon and complete the mission given to me by the Demon Race!”
Before he had even finished speaking, Ling Shuang managed to break free from the restraints of the Immortal-binding Ropes with her pent-up grief and anger.
She suddenly raised the God of War Sword in her hand. The blade of the sword shone with a cold light, like a bolt of lightning stabbing towards Cang Yuan’s throat.
Instantly, blood gushed out like a spring, splashing onto Ling Shuang’s robes, dyeing the originally clean clothes a bright red.
However, Ling Shuang seemed to have lost her mind, like a puppet controlled by hatred, mechanically waving the sword in her hand.
She stabbed at Cang Yuan again and again, roaring continuously: “Damn beast! It was you who sowed discord among us,
making us turn against Xuan Ming! You deserve to die a thousand times!”
Qing Li, who was on the verge of fainting from crying, also went mad at this moment.
Her eyes were red, and she stumbled towards Cang Yuan, looking like a vengeful ghost from hell.
“Bastard, I’ll make you vanish into thin air and never be reborn in this world!
How dare you use us like this? I’ll kill you, kill you, kill you…”
She pulled out the chain that had once bound me and mercilessly tightened it around Cang Yuan’s body.
As she increased the strength in her hands, Cang Yuan’s cold smile became even more wild.
At that moment, he didn’t seem like a dying man but a victor in control of everything.
“Heh, do you think killing me will solve everything?
You stupid and incompetent immortals will be wiped out by our Demon Race one by one sooner or later, hahahaha…”
His laughter echoed in the main hall, like the whispers of a devil, sending chills down people’s spines.
8.
For a moment, the inside of the main hall was in chaos, like a lake into which a huge rock had been thrown.
The expressions of the immortals looking at me had long lost the previous ridicule and contempt.
Instead, they were filled with deep guilt and shame.
And the Immortal Emperor on the throne also had an embarrassed look on his face.
He was to blame.
It was his indulgence that allowed Qing Li and Ling Shuang to act recklessly.
It was also his negligence that gave the thieves of the Demon Race an opportunity, allowing this cancer to grow unchecked in the Immortal Realm.
The Immortal Emperor was silent for a moment, and finally, he slowly knelt down towards me with a heavy and slow movement, as if every inch of his movement drained his strength.
Seeing this, the immortals were filled with shame. Their faces flushed red, and they all followed the Immortal Emperor and knelt down.
Waves of apologies echoed in the main hall like a tide: “Immortal Lord Xuan Ming, please forgive our stupidity and incompetence…”
At this moment, I had mixed feelings in my heart, and my thoughts were as tangled as a mess of threads.
I thought that getting revenge would make me feel relieved, but now, I only felt an endless heaviness in my heart.
It seemed that these so-called immortals usually indulged in love affairs and were obsessed with traveling around and having fun.
When faced with a conspiracy, they were so vulnerable.
At this time, Qing Li was already on the verge of madness. Her eyes were swollen and red, and her tears flowed out like a flood breaking through a dam.
She tightly held the shark silk that was stuck to Cang Yuan’s flesh in her hand and staggered towards me.
She was crying in a sorry state, and her shrill voice was full of endless remorse.
“I’m sorry, Xuan Ming. I was careless and was bewitched by that damn beast,
and that’s why I did such cruel things to you like skinning and tendon-extracting, making you endure such inhuman pain.
For the sake of our past friendship, can you forgive me?
I really know I’m wrong. I deserve to die. I’m so sorry to you…”
As she spoke, she burned the shark silk, which was covered in blood and pieces of flesh, in the raging fire in her palm.
The flames instantly devoured the shark silk, and the pungent smell of burning filled the air.
After the fire burned the shark silk to ashes, revealing the broken dragon tendons, she cast a cleaning spell to clean up the remaining ashes completely.
“Xuan Ming, I’ve returned your dragon tendons to you. Don’t be angry with me anymore, okay?”
Her eyes were full of pleading, like a sinner waiting for judgment.
In the past, I couldn’t resist her pitiful look.
But now, I just glanced at her indifferently and then looked away.
Then, Ling Shuang, who was covered in a thick smell of blood and looked extremely haggard, also walked over.
She held the slender dragon bones and the round dragon pearl in her hands.
Those things that originally belonged to me now seemed to be a witness to the past pain.
She had a face full of guilt, and her voice was hoarse and low: “Xuan Ming, I was blind. I was too stupid and was bewitched by that demon’s sorcery.
I’ve committed unforgivable sins. Please forgive me and give me a chance to make up for my mistakes, okay?
Even if I have to pay any price, I’m willing to!”
I stretched out my hand, my fingertips trembling slightly, and took the cleaned dragon tendons, dragon pearl, and dragon bones.
Then, in their astonished gazes, I didn’t hesitate to mobilize my divine power and crushed these things one by one.
Those fragments turned into powder in my hands and drifted away with the wind.
Just like that, I cut off the past ruthlessly.
“Things that are soiled, I won’t take them back!”
My voice was as cold as frost, without a trace of warmth.
“From now on, I have nothing to do with you!”
As soon as these words came out, their tears flowed down like a river, and deep despair could be seen in the depths of their eyes.
But I had already made up my mind and didn’t pay any attention to these two dejected people.
Turning to the Immortal Emperor, I said firmly: “Immortal Emperor, please hold the wedding for me and the Demon Empress as soon as possible.
If the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm join hands, we will surely be able to uproot and wipe out the Demon Race forces hidden in the Three Realms one by one!”
The Immortal Emperor immediately agreed, and the immortals also praised me for being as broad-minded as the sea, grateful that I didn’t hold grudges and thought about the Three Realms.
No one paid attention to the two desperate people in the hall, and some immortals even asked the Immortal Emperor to punish them quickly.
9.
However, Qing Li seemed to have not heard anything. She slowly knelt down in front of me as if her soul had been taken away.
She tightly grasped the hem of my trousers, crying and begging as if she wanted to die: “No, don’t, Xuan Ming. We really know we’re wrong!
How can you sacrifice your own happiness? You don’t love the Demon Empress at all!”
Even Ling Shuang suddenly came to her senses.
She rushed forward, grabbed the hem of my robe forcefully, and there was a look of determination and coldness in her eyes.
“That’s right. You can’t sacrifice your own happiness!
Don’t worry. This time, as long as you don’t want to marry the Demon Empress, no one can force you!
We’ll risk our lives to protect you and will never betray you again!”
Even now, these two people who had hurt me deeply still didn’t understand the situation.
I won’t be forced to do anything if I don’t want to.
Actually, during the time I spent with Mu Yan, I had sincere feelings for her.
I had thought that after returning from the Demon Abyss to the Immortal Realm, I would put aside the past and return to life with them.
But fate played tricks on me, and everything had changed.
This also just proved that their so-called true feelings for me were so fragile.
Some wounds, once inflicted, are like cuts on the heart that will never heal, and there’s no turning back.
I couldn’t forget the excruciating pain, nor could I find excuses for their mistakes.
We all knew that no matter how powerful the bewitching sorcery was,
it just magnified the hidden desires deep in people’s hearts, and they just couldn’t resist the temptation in the end.
I forcefully shook off their restraints, without a trace of nostalgia in my eyes.
The Immortal Emperor saw this and his face darkened. A look of determination flashed in his eyes.
He coldly and mercilessly pronounced a severe sentence on them.
“Sinful immortal Qing Li, you have committed such heinous crimes that you are no longer worthy of being an immortal.
Tomorrow, you will go to the Immortal-killing Platform and endure the pain of ten thousand blades piercing your heart. After your soul is scattered, your divine soul will be reshaped,
and you will have to go through ninety-nine and eighty-one lifetimes of reincarnation in the mortal world, suffering all kinds of hardships in each lifetime and never having a good end!”
The Immortal Emperor paused for a moment and then turned his gaze to Ling Shuang, his eyes calm and emotionless: “Ling Shuang, as the God of War, you couldn’t distinguish between good and evil and even helped the evildoer.
From today on, you will not only be stripped of your position as the God of War but also be thrown into the Heavenly Prison and endure torture.
After a hundred years, you will be exiled to the most dangerous place on the border of the Three Realms to forever suppress demons and evil spirits and will never be allowed to return.
If you disobey, you will surely be scattered into nothingness and will never be reincarnated!”
When Qing Li and Ling Shuang heard the Immortal Emperor’s sentence, they were as shocked as if struck by lightning and collapsed to the ground.
They were surrounded by a desolate despair, and their former pride and dignity were completely crushed at this moment.
I looked at them, but it was hard for me to stir up any emotions in my heart.
The friendship in the past had already been shattered when they tried to kill me.
Now, they must pay the price for what they had done.
In the dead silence of the atmosphere, Mu Yan and I left the main hall.
After returning to the mansion, Mu Yan gently held my hand and asked softly: “Xuan Ming, have you really let go?
Are you willing to let them endure such a heavy punishment?”
I smiled slightly, and there was a sense of relief in my smile.
“It’s the crimes they committed themselves, and they should bear the consequences.
Now, we have more important things to do.”
During the following days, the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm were busy preparing for the wedding.
At the same time, we also used special treasures to root out the spies of the Demon Race within the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm and subdued them.
However, on the eve of the wedding, something unexpected happened.
When Qing Li was being punished on the Immortal-killing Platform, she tried to break free from the restraints. There was a crazy and unwilling look in her eyes.
But the heavenly might of the Immortal-killing Platform was not something she could resist. Bolts of heavenly lightning struck down one after another, almost reducing her body to ashes.
But at the last moment, her soul released a strange power.
That power broke through the restrictions of the Immortal Realm and rushed towards the direction of the Demon Abyss.
And Ling Shuang, who was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, was also controlled by an unknown dark power.
She broke out of the Heavenly Prison, injured the guards of the Heavenly Soldiers, and fled towards the border of the Demon Abyss all the way.
Wherever she passed, she released an evil aura, causing the surrounding living beings to fall into chaos and death.
10.
Mu Yan and I realized that something was wrong and felt that this mysterious power seemed to be related to the Demon Race.
They should be using the last value of Qing Li and Ling Shuang to destroy the marriage alliance between the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm and stir up new disputes.
After sending the combined forces of the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm to deal with the mess around, Mu Yan and I quickly rushed to the scene of the incident.
We saw that Qing Li’s broken soul body was like a burning black flame, emitting a terrifying aura.
When she saw me, she let out a shrill and crazy laugh: “Xuan Ming, do you think you can get rid of me? Even if I die, I’ll take you down with me!
Why won’t you forgive me? I just made a little mistake!”
“It’s all your fault, you witch! You stole Xuan Ming from me, and you deserve to die too!”
As she said that, she rushed towards us.
Seeing this, I released my powerful divine power and collided with Qing Li’s crazy soul body.
On the other side, Ling Shuang also appeared.
She was surrounded by black smoke, and her eyes were empty.
The God of War Sword in her hand had been corroded by the evil power, and she attacked us crazily.
Mu Yan immediately blocked her way forward and also released her powerful magic power.
“You two poor fools blinded by hatred!
Are you still going to continue to be used by the Demon Race?”
I roared angrily with grief and indignation.
But at this time, they couldn’t listen to any words and just blindly launched attacks.
Mu Yan and I stood back to back and started a fierce battle with them.
The surrounding space was constantly distorted under the impact of our powers, and the combined forces of the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm rushed to support us one after another.
During the battle, we gradually discovered that the souls of Qing Li and Ling Shuang seemed to be controlled by a special demon spell.
To rescue them, we had to find the caster.
After a tough fight, we finally found the powerful demon expert hiding in the dark.
He was manipulating a huge demon array, and Qing Li and Ling Shuang were the key points of this demon array.
Mu Yan and I exchanged a glance and then launched our strongest attacks on the demon array at the same time.
Under our combined efforts, cracks began to appear on the demon array, and the demon expert showed a look of panic.
Just when we were about to break through the demon array, the demon expert even burned his own soul without hesitation to enhance the power of the demon array.
All of a sudden, the demon array burst out with a powerful suction force, sucking everything around it in.
Mu Yan and I held tightly to each other, trying to resist this suction force.
Qing Li and Ling Shuang in the demon array let out painful cries, as if their souls were being torn apart bit by bit.
At this critical moment, the combined forces of the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm gathered their powers together,
forming a huge shield that blocked the suction force of the demon array.
I took the opportunity to break free from the restraint, rushed into the demon array, and found Qing Li and Ling Shuang.
I exerted my divine power, trying to dispel the demon spell in their souls.
With my efforts, the madness in Qing Li and Ling Shuang’s eyes gradually faded away, and a glimmer of clarity was restored.
“Xuan Ming… What happened to us…”
Their voices were extremely weak.
“Don’t talk. Let’s get out of here first.”
I took them and rushed out of the demon array.
Finally, we successfully thwarted the Demon Race’s conspiracy.
And Qing Li and Ling Shuang, after this ordeal, also completely repented.
They chose to spend the rest of their lives atoning for the sins they had committed and working hard for the peace of the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm.
Mu Yan and I’s wedding was also held smoothly, and the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm ushered in a new era of peace.
(The End)
