"How is that possible?" Yan Hongye frowned. "That old man was clearly not lying. You also detected the disappearance of the [Netherworld Spring] and the [Mo Xie] sword."
The Three Realms Saintesses is composed of three pure Yin maidens whose fates and constitutions perfectly align with the sun, moon, stars, heaven, earth, and humanity, and who are seated on three lotus-shaped celestial artifacts.
Within the Heavenly Pool, where the Positive Qi is strongest in the world, on the Heavenly Lotus Platform, they should be able to calculate everything in the human realm.
"Could it be that the Demon Lord, born from Seven Lifetimes of Resentful Lovers, a rare human-demon, is planning to remain holed up in the Demon Realm until the day the Heavenly Demon Charges Seven Sha?"
"Yan Hongye, I've said it before, we should go find the birth mother of that demon and the other baby born from the same womb as him." A majestic yet clear voice rang out.
This caused the Three Realms Saintesses to subconsciously nod and lower her brows.
The person who arrived was dressed in exceptionally luxurious clothing.
Her forehead was decorated with flame patterns and pearls, her hair was tied up with a gold ring, and she wore six dark gold hairpins with phoenix tails arranged in the shape of lotus flowers.
White inner garment with dark patterns, a collared inner garment, a light blue outer garment with dark gold embroidery and dark green trim, a wide-sleeved outer garment with Eight Trigrams Mirror, five matching tassels of the same color and pattern, and a matching cloak with a trailing hem.
What's even more surprising is that every single piece of jewelry and clothing is a powerful magical artifact.
This person is none other than Jin Guang, the current sect leader of the Xuan Xin Sect.
He was followed by the Xuan Xin Four Generals.
Accompanying them were Yan Chixia and Sima Sanniang, as well as Zhuge Liuyun, who shamelessly followed along.
"This is a war between good and evil, a war for the survival of humanity. We cannot be soft-hearted. We cannot repeat the mistakes of twenty years ago," Jin Guang glanced at Yan Chixia and Sima Sanniang. "As long as we use those two as sacrifices, we will definitely be able to find the entrance to the demon realm."
"Jin Guang, those are people, two innocent lives," Yan Chixia said in a deep voice.
He spoke somewhat evasively.
The reason is that Jin Guang's act of stripping him of his position as sect leader and succeeding him as sect leader was in accordance with ancestral precepts.
Before succeeding as sect leader, Jin Guang was the fifth generation of Inspector of the Xuan Xin Sect.
This position was created for the Seven Lifetimes of Resentful Lovers who triggered the world-ending crisis.
Moreover, in the twenty years since he succeeded to the position, Jin Guang has been self-disciplined and upright, winning the hearts of all his followers and making the sect increasingly prosperous. He himself has even served as the National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty.
Most importantly, he did not tell Jin Guang the secret passed down through each generation of sect leaders, out of some selfish motive, but his wife, Sima Sanniang, also knew this secret.
"So, you're going to be soft-hearted again?" Jin Guang sneered, "At the cost of the world?"
"It was you and Sima Sanniang who caused all of this."
"Twenty years ago, in Honghe Village, those two babies were innocent, but if they were killed, the world could be saved. The babies were innocent, but what about the common people, and the righteous path of humanity? How innocent they were!"
"Yan Chixia, you always persist in things you shouldn't."
"As a father, you couldn't let go of your power and secretly trained your daughter to be the successor of the [Profound Heart Marvelous Art], which led to the separation of your wife and children."
"As the former sect leader."
"You discovered the location of the [Netherworld Spring], which was about to erupt, yet you did not report it to the sect and even injured sect disciples who came to explore it."
"You only know how to resist on your own and make self-righteous sacrifices, but if it weren't for the Yin Yue Demon Lord, you would have fallen into a demon long ago, and the world would have been destroyed by the eruption of the Nether Spring."
"Your life is full of mistakes, two crises that led to the destruction of the world, how dare you interrupt?"
"Shut up!" Yan Hongye snapped. "He may be wrong, but it's none of your business to speak! Also, I am not Yan Hongye, please call me Sima Hongye!"
Jin Guang, who already knew that the [Profound Heart Marvelous Art] was a suicide technique, was not as angry as he was in the original timeline. He simply nodded and kept quiet for the time being.
"Junior Sister is right," Zhuge Liuyun interjected, "But I think Master is right. If we casually sacrifice other people's lives, wouldn't we be no different from the demonic path?"
"Don't call me junior sister! Until I can use the purple talisman!" Yan Hongye said impatiently.
Her expectations of Zhuge Liuyun were low enough.
The talismans of the Xuan Xin Sect are divided into yellow, purple, gold, and blood.
Yellow talismans can be used by ordinary people.
Purple talismans require a certain level of Dao Power.
Zhuge Liuyun was the disciple of the previous sect leader, Yan Chixia, and was raised under the tutelage of Yan Chixia's master, the previous sect leader.
"This is war," Jin Guang said. "It's not a place for benevolence and morality. Your father, who is Diadem and mighty, who thinks I'm Joker and that his senior brother Yan Chixia is the only one worthy of the position of sect leader, did the same thing. He had a wife, but he seduced Demons and Monsters who was inexperienced in human relations and even had another child with him."
"After finding out everything and returning, he cried and said that even demons have feelings. He refused to talk about the location of the demon realm passage. While we were heading to Red River Village, he injured his disciples and fled to the demon realm."
"If it weren't for the fact that the witch didn't tell the Six Paths about our plan because of him."
"In Honghe Village, it wasn't the Yin Shi Dynasty that was ambushed, but us!"
"My father?" Zhuge Liuyun's pupils contracted. "Which child am I?"
"You? You are that half-demon." Jin Guang turned his head with some disgust. "That's why, even though you are exceptionally talented and your martial arts are among the best in the sect, your Daoist magic is also among the worst."
"No, I am not a half-demon. I am not!"
"Flowing Clouds!" x2
Yan Chixia and Sima Sanniang, who finally couldn't help but speak up, tried to persuade Zhuge Liuyun to stay, but he still ran away without looking back.
"Jin Guang, you!" Yan Chixia's eyes widened in anger.
"Why are you looking at me? I'm telling the truth." Jin Guang frowned. "The reason I was able to keep him alive and give him such a high and special status is because his father did indeed make great contributions, and his mother—that witch—also indirectly helped us."
"Yan Chixia, although your junior brother Zhuge Qingtian made a mistake, it ultimately did not lead to a bad outcome."
"It also created an opportunity to annihilate the world-ending crisis in one fell swoop."
"But you are different."
"Your benevolence and morality are correct, but the result is the opposite."
"After dealing with this great calamity, I do not wish to see you again in the main hall of the Xuan Xin Sect."
He looked at Yan Hongye, "Sima Hongye, I hope you won't hinder us like your father did."
"You've already sent people to do it?" Yan Chixia was like an angry lion, as if he wanted to tear the Jin Guang apart.
"Of course," Jin Guang nodded. "We can't afford to waste a single moment right now."
Yan Hongye did not speak, but simply looked quietly at the surface of Tianchi Lake.
At the Huan Bo Pond, the people of the Demon Palace peered through the water to observe everything that was happening at the Heavenly Pool.
Qi Ye calmly withdrew the magic from the pool. "Very good, the human-demon body is indeed powerful. Letting Zhuge Liuyun live was definitely the right choice."
He seemed to have discovered the secrets of the human-demon body through his recent survey and applied them to himself.
His aura became even more powerful.
The expressions of the four sages of the Demon Palace and the Demon Palace protector Jing Wuyuan remained unchanged.
They obeyed the Saint Lord Qiye; whether he was human or one of the Seven Lifetimes of Resentful Lovers was irrelevant to them.
Just as they didn't care that the Seven Nights Demon Lord killed all the man-eating Demons and Monsters.
The Demon Realm has been closed off from the outside world for many years, so there are no humans there and no need for them to eat people.
Those killed were all external forces that did not submit to the Yin Yue Dynasty.
Their primary concern right now is the safety of the Holy King's birth mother and his brothers.
Jing Wuyuan asked first, "Your Majesty, do we need..."
"No need." Qi Ye shook his head. "They will be very surprised. Ning Caichen, who did not win Xiaoqian's love, is no ordinary person."
"May I ask who he is?" Jing Wuyuan asked curiously.
"Yi Xi." Qi Ye said the name mockingly, "He is Yi Xi. Gan Jiang and Yi Xi were like brothers."
"Human demons possess strength as great as celestial demons, but if they do not become true demons, their lifespan is still as short as that of humans, and their souls can only return to the Heavenly Demon Star after their lifespan ends."
"But Yi Xi was different. He was not an ordinary human demon. He was a human demon who communicated with the Heavenly Demon Star through the [Heavenly Demon Ore]."
"He saw that in the distant future, he could truly win Mo Xie's love."
"So he was born again as a human being, and together with his enemy, he entered into a womb."
"So, the disciples of the Xuan Xin Sect will face the First Holy Lord?" Jing Wuyuan was surprised for a moment, then thought of another question, "Will Yi Xi return to the Demon Realm and guide the people of the Xuan Xin Sect to descend?"
"The Demon Realm's passage to the outside world has long since disappeared." Qi Ye smiled mysteriously. "It exists in a place no one could have imagined."
Nanguo Village.
"Where? Where? It should be here, it should be here. Hmm? It's another bastard from the Xuan Xin Sect! The successor of that vile woman, Su Tianxin!"
The scholar-looking man suddenly turned his head; half of his face was filled with madness, and the other half with clarity and fear.
A chilling crimson demonic aura burst forth from his body, flew into the forest, and after several screams, returned to his body.
"Mother, I am still Caichen. I will never hurt you."
He then bowed his head and comforted the woman beside him, who seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
"No, Moye, Moye, where are you? You should be mine, you should be mine!"
But the next second, he went back to his madness.
Inside the Demon Palace.
Qi Ye lay on his side on Blue Demon's fair thighs, while Su Tianxin curled up in Qi Ye's arms, her hair disheveled.
"Gan Jiang, where exactly did you hide the passage to the Demon Palace?"
She seemed to ask the question unintentionally.
"In my dream, in my dream." Qi Ye seemed completely oblivious to anything amiss, and replied directly, "Blue Demon," he buried his face in the softness, "Your power is truly useful. Now... we just need to wait for the day when the Heavenly Demon Charges Seven Sha."
Blue Demon exchanged a gentle smile with Su Tianxin.
"What? The Earth Dragon Scouts are all dead?" Yan Hongye exclaimed in shock.
Unlike Yan Chixia and Sima Sanniang's joy upon hearing the news, and unlike Jin Guang's anger and sorrow, she felt mostly annoyed.
"It must be someone from the Yin Yue Dynasty!" Jin Guang exclaimed angrily.
Although the earth dragon scouts were dead, they had already revealed the identities of the mother and child.
"Are Ning Caichen and his mother still alive?" Yan Chixia asked.
"Still alive," said the Xuan Xin Sect disciple who brought the news.
"Jin Guang!" Yan Chixia seemed to have discovered Jin Guang's weakness. "Look! The people of the Yin Yue Dynasty are more humane than you! They didn't harm them! The Earth Dragon spies were all killed by you! It was you!"
"Me?" Jin Guang sneered. "You really care about the deaths of the Earth Dragon scouts? I noticed that your first reaction and Sima Sanniang's were both joy. After that, all you cared about was the life or death of that mother and child."
"Sima Hongye, I will personally go to Nanguo Village next. I hope you will not stop me."
"Of course not," Yan Hongye replied unperturbed. "I'll be here to keep things under control."
"Hongye?" Yan Chixia looked at Yan Hongye with disappointment.
"It's all your fault! It's all because you made Hongye practice that demonic art! That's why she's so cold and heartless!" Sima Sanniang accused Yan Chixia.
"I'm cold-blooded and heartless?" Yan Hongye laughed angrily. "I finally understand Jin Guang's feelings. You are all truly foolish! Get out of here!"
A powerful Dao Power erupted from her slender body, and even Yan Chixia and Sima Sanniang were unable to resist it for a moment, and were blasted out of the main hall.
Bang!
Yan Hongye waved her hand, and the main hall doors slammed shut.
The highest level of the Xuanxin Sect, the Blood Talisman, which even Jin Guangyan and Chixia could hardly fathom, was condensed in an instant by skipping the prelude of "Heaven and Earth Without Limits; All Laws Return to One," sealing the main hall door.
Yan Chixia and Sima Sanniang, who were trying to break into the main hall, were instantly terrified when they saw the crimson blood talisman.
They all knew what this meant: it not only meant that Yan Hongye's [Profound Heart Marvelous Art] had improved further, but also that she was getting closer to death.
However, Yan Hongye did not act as the two of them had imagined.
Because of that enchanting dream, the man in the dream who possessed her and whom she loved, her lifeline, which was about to burn out, has been extended.
And now, the dream has come again.
"Seven Nights, where are you?"
In a canyon even more beautiful and tranquil than the Heavenly Pool of the Dao Realm, a girl in white, possessing an innocence she would never have in reality, was searching for something.
Rustle--
The sound made her smile even brighter.
However, upon entering the dense forest filled with towering ancient trees, the smile vanished in an instant.
Because what appeared before her were two beautiful figures who were no less stunning than herself.
Someone who possesses a similar, immense Dao Power.
A magic power that is ethereal and dreamlike.
Who are you?
"I am Su Tianxin, the Founders of the Xuan Xin Sect, and the creator of the [Profound Heart Marvelous Art]."
"I am Blue Demon, the creator of this dream."
The two people opposite replied.
"Where is Qi Ye?" This answer was incredibly jarring to Yan Hongye. For the first time, a look of utter despair appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face, which was as smooth as ice and snow. Her cascading black hair suddenly turned white. "Where is he?"
"He is real, not a fictional being. Blue Demon was not the creator of your previous dream."
Su Tianxin could tell at a glance that Yan Hongye was about to suffer a qi deviation, and in an instant, she determined that the pillar of her [Profound Heart Marvelous Art] was none other than Qi Ye.
Although Blue Demon didn't know what was going on, he nodded repeatedly.
Her white hair turned jet black again, Yan Hongye's face returned to calm. "You, the creators of evil arts, a demon, what brings you to me? What is your relationship with Qi Ye?"
"[Profound Heart Marvelous Art] was born for love. It is you who has flaws, not it," Su Tianxin retorted. "I think you should have recently learned about its true power."
"Relationship?" Blue Demon didn't react. Everything she knew about humanity originated from Zhuge Qingtian, and Zhuge Wuwei, who accompanied him in Coiling Dragon Valley, was just a child at first.
So, following the devil's nature, she replied, "I am his woman."
Click—
It sounded as if something was breaking.
Yan Hongye's white hair fluttered in the wind; she had fallen into demonic possession!