Paying Respects

P. S.: This chapter marks 800,000 words! When I started writing, I never imagined I could keep it up for so long—I'm not a professional writer, after all! I'm even moved by my own achievement. On this auspicious occasion of reaching 800,000 words, I make a wish: I hope every reader will give me a recommendation vote as encouragement. (I'll immediately go to the homepage and pin this post; new and old readers are welcome to leave a comment and wish me a happy birthday. Tonight, I'll sit here with chopsticks and count the bubbles.)

At the entrance of the mountain stronghold, Yue Qianchou, waiting for Wood Lady Mu branch, found a rock to sit on, and idly drew circles on the ground, his mind preoccupied with his trip to the South Sea Purple Bamboo Forest. Lost in thought, he heard congratulatory shouts coming from within the stronghold. He casually tossed aside his broken branch, stood up, and saw that it was Wood Lady Mu's subordinates congratulating her. Yue Qianchou shook his head and smiled. It wasn't like she was going to enjoy a life of luxury. What was there to congratulate about a Hall Master Demon King giving up his domain to farm?

With a clang, the longsword sprang from his back, Yue Qianchou lightly leaped into the air, heading towards Thousand Mile Lake. Inside the stronghold, Wood Lady Mu glanced up, quickly waved goodbye to her subordinates, and rose into the air in her fluttering pink robes, circling the stronghold once, her expression suggesting lingering affection. The last pink figure swiftly chased after the distant streak of light, while the group below looked up to see her off...

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, sir," Wood Lady Mu said apologetically. With her cultivation level, she caught up with Yue Qianchou in no time.

Yue Qianchou glanced back at the Wood Lady Mu soaring through the air, her pink dress fluttering like a fairy Flying Immortals —a truly pleasing sight. He looked at her a few more times before saying, "The Great Dao is ruthless, but humans are compassionate. Since you are a demon, having endured countless hardships to transform into human form, if you had no humanity, why would you have taken human form? Knowing how to say goodbye is a good thing; otherwise, what difference would you have from the plants, trees, birds, and beasts below? Compassion and righteousness are the true essence of being human. I hope you cherish them! I don't mind waiting a little longer." He then paused, surprised at himself. Had he been spending too much time with Bi Changchun? He was suddenly spouting Great Dao! Damn! How cheesy!

Wood Lady Mu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. She looked at the lush greenery below, her expression thoughtful. After a long while, she replied thoughtfully, "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

"I'm not qualified to lecture you, I was just saying it casually," Yue Qianchou said self-deprecatingly. Wood Lady Mu smiled and always flew half a body length behind him, not because she was slower, but because she respected him and dared not overstep her bounds.

A moment later, brilliant sunlight streamed through a gap in the clouds, symmetrically illuminating the shimmering lake below. In the blink of an eye, the two emerged from the dim space, bathed in sunlight, their fleeting shadows faintly reflected on the lake. Wood Lady Mu raised her hand to shield her eyes; the sudden sunlight was momentarily disorienting. When she withdrew her hand, she looked around with delight, the dim world behind her gradually receding into the distance...

The sky was azure, the clouds white, the sunlight golden, and the wind carried the scent of sunshine and water—refreshing! Fish darted across the lake's surface from time to time. The Wood Lady Mu's expression was one of rapture; her beautiful eyes seemed insufficient, as if she wanted to take in everything around her, afraid it would all be a dream, and she would wake to that hazy world again. Tears, unseen for a thousand years, gradually filled her eyes. She couldn't hold them back, and two glistening tears were carried away by the wind. Not long after they flew away, two soft "tinkling" sounds echoed on the lake's surface, immediately attracting several fish to kiss the water's surface, creating ripples. I wonder if these fish could taste something called bitterness!

Wood Lady Mu finally couldn't hold back her tears. A feeling called happiness desperately pushed the salty liquid out of her eyes. No matter how high her cultivation was, she couldn't control it. The tears fell and drifted away with the wind. Yue Qianchou suddenly turned around and was stunned. This girl was a powerful Demon King who dominated a region before she came. Why was she crying? And it was the kind of silent crying.

"A man crying isn't a sin, and a woman crying is even less of a sin!" Yue Qianchou shook his head slightly, understanding why these demons and monsters all wanted to come to Shuntian Island; at least, Wood Lady Mu's silent weeping was one of the reasons. He didn't say anything, consciously slowing down the flight speed to let this silly woman shed more tears.

It wasn't that I was kind-hearted and pitied her, but I was afraid that if she saw the old man with tears in her eyes, he would definitely think that I was abusing my power and had done that to her... This was Yue Qianchou's explanation for his actions.

But Wood Lady Mu's tears seemed endless, flowing continuously for a long time. "Sigh!" Yue Qianchou sighed, turning back with a deeply resentful expression, "Wood Lady Mu, you volunteered to bathe with me and give me a massage! I didn't mistreat you!"

"Ah!" Wood Lady Mu, regaining her senses, asked with some surprise, "Why do you ask that, sir?"

"Then why are you crying?" Yue Qianchou said, both amused and exasperated. "We're almost at Shuntian Island. Are you planning to go to see my master with tears in your eyes? If my master sees you like this, he'll definitely think I've done something shameful to you."

"This... I lost my composure." Wood Lady Mu hurriedly wiped away her tears, but could no longer cry. The thought of seeing Bi Changchun, who was renowned throughout the Demon Ghost Domain, immediately made her uneasy. As time passed, she became so nervous that she even had difficulty breathing. Unbeknownst to her, the distance they had covered in flight had increased by another body length between them and Yue Qianchou.

What's meant to happen will happen, and fear is useless; an island in the lake in the distance has already come into view. The two rushed over, instantly arriving above Shuntian Island, and Wood Lady Mu followed Yue Qianchou down. Yue Qianchou's relaxed demeanor instantly turned into a proper and orderly one upon landing, and he walked towards the houses in the center of the island. Even he was like this, making Wood Lady Mu, who was following behind, even more nervous. She didn't dare to breathe and followed timidly.

The island was so quiet it seemed deserted. Yue Qianchou walked to Bi Changchun's door, glanced back at Wood Lady Mu was standing a few meters away with her head bowed, and bowed to Bi Changchun, who was sitting cross-legged inside the house, saying, "Master, I have brought the person who planted the Deficient Flame Mysterious Fruit. He is outside and is waiting to pay his respects to you."

"Come in!" Bi Changchun slowly opened his eyes.

The aged voice immediately made Wood Lady Mu tremble. Although she was the Demon King appointed by Bi Changchun, she had never seen Bi Changchun, but she had heard his voice many times, and it matched the voice of this person speaking. Yue Qianchou beckoned to her and said, "Come in! Master wants to see you."

Wood Lady Mu glanced at Yue Qianchou with a somewhat flustered look, then lowered her head to look at the ground and cautiously followed Yue Qianchou inside, not daring to lift her head. Feeling they were in the right place, she immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This little Wood Lady Mu greets the Immortal Master."

Bi Changchun glanced at her casually, then said to Yue Qianchou standing beside him, "You must teach her about the Deficient Flame Mysterious Fruit. You must go to the South China Sea as soon as possible. Everyone, step back!" With those two simple words, he closed his eyes again.

Yue Qianchou scratched his head and said, "Master, there's something I need to tell you. On this trip off the island, I killed a Demon King named You Fengjiao, and Wood Lady Mu was also originally a Demon King..."

"Understood, I will handle it myself," Bi Changchun said with his eyes closed.

Yue Qianchou thought to himself that he hadn't finished speaking! But he had no choice but to bow and say, "This disciple takes his leave."

After speaking, he beckoned to Wood Lady Mu, signaling her to leave together. Wood Lady Mu hurriedly kowtowed and took the opportunity to get up to finally see the old man's appearance clearly. She never expected that such a thin and vigorous old man was the Punishment Envoy throughout the Demon Ghost Domain.

Once outside, Wood Lady Mu's heart, which had almost stopped beating, began to pound wildly. Yue Qianchou looked at the sun in the sky and waved ahead, saying, "Wood Lady Mu, come with me. We still have things to do, and we can't be late." The former Demon King, like an obedient little girl, had been tricked into farming by him.

In the garden of the Deficient Flame Mysterious Fruit, Yue Qianchou didn't give her a moment's rest. He taught her how to take care of these things through his actions and told her some things to pay attention to on the island. Actually, it wasn't anything difficult. After a while, Yue Qianchou threw a large pile of Spirit Stone at her, which meant that from today onwards, he was handing over the heavy responsibility of managing the Deficient Flame Mysterious Fruit to her, while he himself could wander around again.

Then, the two chose a spot that Wood Lady Mu deemed suitable, dug a deep pit, and Wood Lady Mu brought out a miniature magnolia tree, which was her original form. After placing it in the pit, she cast Method Formula, and instantly it grew into a tall magnolia tree, deeply rooted in the ground. A gentle breeze blew, and the elegant magnolia blossoms on the treetops swayed in the wind, emitting a delicate fragrance.

After finishing all that, it was already late. Yue Qianchou stripped naked, jumped into the lake, and splashed around wildly before going back to sleep soundly. He planned to leave the Demon Ghost Domain the next day and felt he needed to rest up first. Meanwhile, Wood Lady Mu stood under the magnolia tree all night, gazing at the glittering stars that filled the night sky...

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