The wind swept through the sparse woods, stirring waves of pine.
A figure in a dark green robe stood beneath a tree, her expression utterly indifferent.
"Heh..."
The Demon Emperor suddenly laughed. "Even the fiercest tiger won't eat its cubs."
"Brother Qianyuan, your heart is harder than even this demon's."
"If I didn't know you were a true son of the human race, I'd almost wonder whether a demon had possessed you."
Li Qianyuan slowly reached out and caught a withered leaf as it drifted down.
The leaf withered rapidly in his palm, crumbled to ash, and vanished on the wind.
"Since that girl is my daughter, and she can help me attain the Dao, then this is her good fortune."
"Having resolved to ascend the Tower-Ascending Realm, one must first sever worldly ties, then cut off all familial bonds."
"After thinking of one's parents, one thinks of the ancestral temple. After the ancestral temple, one thinks of all living beings. After all living beings, one thinks of the world itself."
"The world turns; the sun and moon wax and wane according to their own laws. What have they to do with me?"
"I seek only eternal life, to glimpse Saint-Entering transcendence. For that..."
"Let alone a mere daughter."
"I'd even sacrifice every last living soul in Great Tang, and this entire world besides, without hesitation."
"As long as I can attain the Dao."
"All can be killed."
"All can be sacrificed."
The Demon Emperor listened in silence.
A chill stirred in his heart.
But it never showed on his face. Instead, he clapped his hands in admiration. "Since Brother Qianyuan has reached such a level of resolve, it would be churlish of me to refuse."
The Demon Emperor straightened and drew a black seal from his sleeve. "If we're