Chapter 15

After Yan Chaosheng left, Su Lun was stunned, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Earlier, the Demon Lord had sent him on a mission to the heavenly realm, and he had been delighted, thinking that Yan Chaosheng had finally decided to bring the consort back.

To his surprise, Yan Chaosheng had traded the Floating Red Lotus for  heavenly consort Mi Chu’s shattered life-binding jade bamboo.

When Feng Fuming asked Su Lun to choose between Liu Shuang and the jade bamboo, Su Lun struggled momentarily. However, remembering Yan Chaosheng’s words before he left, he could only smile faintly and choose the jade bamboo.

Su Lun, who is usually a refined and courteous man, really wanted to curse for a moment.

“Go find your father’s life-binding jade bamboo; who cares about it? I just want to bring the consort back!”

Perhaps knowing that Su Lun might waver, Yan Chaosheng coldly said before he left, “If you don’t bring back Mi Chu’s life-binding jade bamboo, you can come back with your head in your hands.”

Su Lun tried to persuade him, hoping to evoke some sympathy: “Demon Lord, forgive my boldness, but Feng Fuming is not a kind-hearted person. If Liu Shuang falls into his hands, she will surely be humiliated. For hundreds of years, you’ve been at odds with Feng Fuming, and he will undoubtedly take out his anger on Liu Shuang.”

Yan Chaosheng seemed to see through his thoughts and said, “Oh? So what?”

“After a hundred years of marriage, do you really not care about Liu Shuang?”

“Su Lun, you are overstepping,” Yan Chaosheng replied.

“It’s laughable that you talk to me about attachment. She’s just a woman. Since she had the courage to leave the ghost realm, she must bear the consequences.”

Yan Chaosheng coldly added, “Go, don’t make me say it a third time. Just bring back the jade bamboo and ignore everything else.”

On his way back, Su Lun held the translucent jade bamboo, sighing deeply.

To Su Lun, even though Liu Shuang was just a substitute when the Demon Lord married her, how could Yan Chaosheng truly bear to leave her with Feng Fuming after a hundred years together? Though he didn’t know what had happened between Mi Chu and Yan Chaosheng seven hundred years ago, Su Lun didn’t think much of Mi Chu, who had married Feng Fuming and then regretted it, seeking the Demon Lord again.

Such fickleness was despicable.

Yet, the jade bamboo Su Lun traded for with the Floating Red Lotus fell to the ground before he could fully hand it to Yan Chaosheng, as Yan Chaosheng suddenly disappeared.

The beautiful, translucent jade bamboo fell, adding another crack.

Su Lun’s brow furrowed in surprise as he watched the new crack form on the jade bamboo.

An incredible thought suddenly surged in his mind.

Feng Fuming was crafty and suspicious. If he knew the Demon Lord cared even a little for Liu Shuang, he would never let her go and would use her as leverage against the Demon Lord.

Only by showing no care could there be a chance for Liu Shuang to survive.

Su Lun’s eyes sparkled with surprise at this thought. Looking at the fallen jade bamboo, he was unwilling to admit his schadenfreude. Life-binding was indeed fragile, unable to withstand any damage. He can’t be blamed for the worsening situation.

Yet, if the Demon Lord truly didn’t care as much as he seemed, why had he dissolved Liu Shuang’s spirit bond and forbidden her from returning to the Ghost Realm? What had caused the Demon Lord’s sudden change in demeanor just moments ago?

As an advisor, Su Lun dared not truly crush Mi Chu’s jade bamboo. Shaking his head, he picked it up and temporarily put it in his qiankun pouch.

As Su Lun left the Ghost Realm, he unexpectedly saw someone else.

“Fu Heng?”

Fu Heng frowned at the sky, which was unusually grave. Hearing Su Lun call him, he didn’t show his usual anger but nodded slightly.

“What happened?” Su Lun asked.

Fu Heng, Yan Chaosheng’s right-hand man in battles, lacked Su Lun’s strategic calmness but was much more powerful.

“I’m not sure. The heavenly realm’s overwhelming spiritual energy is spilling over, even affecting the ghost realm. Listen, the ghosts are starting to become restless.”

Su Lun concentrated and indeed heard countless wails from the ghosts in the ghost realm, sounding both terrified and mournful.

Su Lun’s face darkened.

“The Demon Lord has gone to the Heavenly realm.”

No matter what for, going to the heavenly realm alone was a suicidal move.

Fu Heng immediately understood.

“I’ll mobilize our forces and follow him.”

Mobilizing forces without orders was a breach of command, but they couldn’t let their lord go to the heavenly realm alone.

However, when they reached the outskirts of the Ninth Heaven, thunder rumbled across the sky, indicating that Feng Fuming and Yan Chaosheng were already fighting.

Yan Chaosheng had Feng Fuming by the throat, his long halberd poised above Feng Fuming’s head, ready to strike down.

And Yan Chaosheng, who was originally in black clothes and with black hair, now has silver lines spreading on his face, and even his pupils are as cold as silver!

“Where is she?”

Yan Chaosheng demanded.

Feng Fuming squinted for the first time in hundreds of years, finding himself at a disadvantage against Yan Chaosheng.

Seeing Yan Chaosheng’s silver eyes and patterns, Feng Fuming understood.

“So that’s it, that’s it!”

He had always wondered where such a genius cultivator had come from—someone who could match his ten thousand years of cultivation in just a few hundred years.

It turned out Yan Chaosheng was the last descendant of the rebel army—Emperor Xiang Yao’s son. Though Yan Chaosheng’s expression was calm, the bloodline patterns betrayed him. He had lost control and revealed this form because Liu Shuang had shattered her life essence.

And it happened in front of everyone.

Feng Fuming glanced at the onlookers with varied expressions and smiled cunningly at Yan Chaosheng.

“Why ask me now? Didn’t you already give her up? You know better than anyone what happens when a life essence is shattered.”

Yan Chaosheng’s silver pupils narrowed. In that moment, Feng Fuming seized the chance to push him away and rejoin the heavenly generals, commanding, “Intruder in the heavenly realm, kill him!”

The heavenly generals, wary of Yan Chaosheng’s silver eyes, began whispering among themselves.

“It’s him…”

“Wasn’t the Xiangliu clan wiped out? How could they still exist…?”

Fu Heng immediately stepped forward.

“Demon Lord!”

Yan Chaosheng looked at the silver patterns on the back of his hand and closed his eyes. Hundreds of years of planning couldn’t be ruined now. Today… how could he have been so impulsive?

Purple feathers scattered everywhere in the air, silently telling the story of past tragedies.

Suppressing the pain in his heart, Yan Chaosheng withdrew his long halberd and, in a hoarse and calm voice, said, “Retreat.”

Su Lun glanced at Yan Chaosheng’s hair and eyes, slowly fading from silver back to black. What had been concealed for hundreds of years was now no longer a secret; the world now knew of Xiang Yao’s return.

Liu Shuang, paying the price of shattering her life essence, instantly found herself outside the Canglan lake.

Blood constantly welled up in her mouth. Knowing she had little time left, Liu Shuang quickly got up and ran inside.

“Grandpa Tree, Xiu Lang, Sister Shan Yu…”

Liu Shuang had expected to encounter the barrier Grandpa Tree had mentioned before entering the Canglan Lake, but upon entering, she found nothing.

In that moment, she didn’t feel relieved but rather chilled to the bone.

The smell of burning filled her nose, bringing a strong sense of unease.

Liu Shuang felt as though her soul had been extracted as she stepped into the Canglan lake.

Underfoot, the scorched earth emitted a nauseating odor. She squatted down, dry-heaving, then gritted her teeth and got up, stubbornly pressing forward.

Until she saw the clear stream, now filled with floating black ashes. She knew what the ashes were—burned remnants of plants.

A fierce fire had swept through, leaving not a blade of grass.

The once vibrant and joyous Canglan Lake from her memories is now a wasteland.

She hadn’t made it in time.

The pain she had been suppressing finally erupted. Liu Shuang desperately searched through the scorched earth, choking back sobs.

“Why is this happening? Why! I have rushed back as soon as possible, Grandpa Tree, Xiu Lang, and Sister Shan Yu… You guys, come back, come back!”

No one answered her, and no one comforted her.

With her life essence shattered and her heart losing the ability to feel joy, Liu Shuang could no longer shed tears, leaving only large tears of blood falling into the scorched earth.

“Can anyone save them? Can anyone save Canglan Lake? Ah—”

Liu Shuang had thought that with her empty chest, she wouldn’t feel any more pain. But when she knew that her loved ones had all died in the fire, she couldn’t help but break down and weep bitterly.

“It’s my fault; it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have married Yan Chaosheng; I shouldn’t have left Canglan Lake. It was me who did not protect you well. It was me who was not cultivating well.”

Blackened plant ash was blown up by the wind, staining Liu Shuang’s red wedding dress. Her heart was empty. She couldn’t tell if it hurt more from the loss of her heart or from the lingering emotions.

Gradually, her heart seemed to cool. Liu Shuang thought she might die, but when she moved her fingers, she realized she was still alive.

She got up in a daze and wandered to the tombstone of her mortal parents.

Under the fierce fire, nothing had survived, not even the tombstone.

Yes, she still had a home—a final place in the human world. The house her parents had lived in.

With a thought, Liu Shuang returned to the human world.

Suppressing her overflowing spiritual energy, she now resembled a living dead person clinging to her last breath. Liu Shuang knew clearly that once the power from her shattered life essence faded, it would be her time to die.

Two hundred years have passed. The house looked somewhat similar to her memory, yet different.

She looked up at the plaque and softly read, “Zhang Mansion? How could it be the Zhang Mansion?”

Her father’s surname was Yue, so it should have been the Yue Mansion. Her mother had once joked, saying, “We named you Yue Liushuang, ‘Yue’ meaning ‘moon’ and ‘Liu Shuang’ meaning ‘flowing frost’, your heart as pure as glass, unparalleled in the world.”

Their… unparalleled in the world.

Liu Shuang stepped forward to knock on the door.

It was afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly.

A servant shouted, “Coming, coming, just a moment.”

Opening the door, the servant saw a young woman in a red dress standing in the sunlight. He stared in a daze for a long while, never having seen such a beautiful person in his life.

The family’s young lady was said to be a beauty, even becoming the emperor’s favorite concubine, but she couldn’t compare to the woman before him.

She wore a red dress, her hair styled in the most common bridal hairstyle, and her face and body smeared with black ash, yet her beauty remained undiminished.

The servant nervously swallowed. “Young lady… who are you looking for?”

“Are there any relatives of Master Yue here?”

“I’ve never heard of Master Yue. My master is Zhang Pinglan, Master Zhang. Miss, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“The wrong place?” Liu Shuang murmured.

“I made a mistake.”

The servant was about to comfort her, but when he looked up, the girl had already disappeared.

The Eight Wilderness is vast, as Liu Shuang has known since she was a child. Her home, the Canglan Lake, was large, but beyond it, there was an even bigger mortal world. Above the mortal world was the demon realm; below it was the ghost realm; and further up were the Ninth Heavens.

In the Ninth Heavens, there were many beautiful immortal realms, each more splendid than her home, the Canglan lake.

Yet the Eight Wilderness were so vast, and she had no idea where to go.

Liu Shuang wandered from afternoon until dark in the mortal world. Winter had not yet passed, and perhaps due to the decreasing spiritual energy, she could not even resist the cold of the mortal world.

She could only curl up in a mountain cave.

Winter in the mortal world is dry, and as the snow melted, the sky rumbled with thunder. For an immortal, a hundred years passed in a flash, but for the mortal world, dynasties changed, and everything was different.

A winter squirrel spirit saw her and ran away, squeaking, afraid that the immortal might harm it.

Liu Shuang watched them flee, never having imagined that her home would be gone and that she would inadvertently take someone else’s home.

She curled up in the cave, not wanting to move, completely exhausted.

The squirrels chattered, unwilling to leave completely, and kept watching. “What’s wrong with these immortals? A few days ago, the sky almost tore apart with thunder. Grandma said the heavens are at war with the demon realm. Today, an immortal took over our cave.”

“Don’t immortals have their own abodes?”

“Yes.”

The squirrels chattered, “They all have abodes. Some even have entire immortal realms, said to be very beautiful. Why would she come to the mortal world? I hope she didn’t see the pine nuts in the cave. I’ve been storing them for a year!”

“Look at you. If you please this immortal, maybe she’ll take us as disciples.”

“Forget it. If she had anywhere to go, she wouldn’t be in a place like this. As long as she doesn’t take our pine nuts, it’s fine.”

Thunder rumbled, and Liu Shuang curled up, shivering from the cold.

The next morning, the squirrels peeked in and found the desolate immortal gone, leaving behind a half-piece of jade brimming with spiritual energy, shaped like a lively fish.

The squirrels gathered around.

“Hey, look! The immortal left us a treasure. She’s not a bad immortal.”

Before the jade could warm their hands, it was taken by a man.

The squirrels were about to shout when one of their companions covered their mouths. They felt the oppressive aura of the man and all bowed, trembling. “Sir, have mercy, sir.”

Yan Chaosheng asked, “Which way did the immortal who gave you this jade go?”

He had tracked the faint immortal energy to this place, but the trail had vanished. He held the half-piece of the double-fish jade, his expression calm, with the authority of a ruler of two realms.

He was always proud, and it was not yet the end of the road. He needed to find her first. With so many talented people in the Eight Wilderness, there was always a way.

“We don’t know. The immortal left this and then departed. We dared not ask.”

Yan Chaosheng remained silent.

Seeing that he did not intend to harm them, the little spirits quickly scattered.

Yan Chaosheng resumed his tracking spell, but Liu Shuang’s last trace of immortal energy had dissipated, and she was nowhere to be found.

He frowned, leaving a high-grade spirit stone behind as he exited the forest.

After a few steps, the sky began to rumble with thunder again.

Yan Chaosheng looked up, his eyes dark.

This thunder was familiar to him. As he is not an ordinary person, he could easily tell it wasn’t a weather change but someone undergoing a tribulation.

He didn’t dwell on it, taking a few more steps before Fu Heng silently appeared behind him.

“Any news?”

Fu Heng shook his head.

“Forgive my incompetence; we couldn’t find her. She shattered her life essence and deliberately concealed her immortal energy. Finding her in the vast Eight Wilderness is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

Yan Chaosheng coldly uttered, “Useless bunch.”

After hesitating, Fu Heng said, “The Canglan Lake … it’s in ruins. Demon Lord, she has returned and seen it all.”

Saying this, Fu Heng felt a rare difficulty.

He glanced at the green bead in Yan Chaosheng’s hand, which he had obtained by burning the entire Canglan Lake…

Refining all things, causing mass slaughter.

Yan Chaosheng caressed the bead, raising his eyes.

“What, do you also have objections to me?”

“I wouldn’t dare!” Fu Heng quickly knelt.

“Then keep searching,” Yan Chaosheng’s voice was indifferent.

Fu Heng opened his mouth, wanting to say that even if they found her, what could they do? Her life essence was shattered, the Canglan Lake was gone, and her fate was sealed.

But when Fu Heng looked up and saw the cold, resolute eyes of Yan Chaosheng, recalling his true form when he lost control, he couldn’t say a word.

“Yes,” Fu Heng accepted the order.

Why say more? Under the mask of restraint, suppressing the raging waves, it wasn’t him.

Waiting for the right moment, Yan Chaosheng might collapse.

(T/N:ML is a piece of sh*t… Killing her loved ones… I really want to strangle him to death… an unrecyclable piece of trash…huhu. I’m so glad that the FL is not some holy mother who will forgive whatever the ML did to her.. like having some sick stockholm syndrome…)