Chapter 58

If what he knew about the principles of the Blood Realm’s cyclical flow was correct, the problem could only lie with the red bracelet he had taken from Jiufang Shaogeng.

The bracelet, woven from five threads and stained red with blood, might not be a bracelet at all. It looked more like the five-colored thread used during purification ceremonies for blessing and disaster prevention.

The common people also called it the “Longevity Cord.”

Mo Lin held the bloodstained Longevity Cord and looked at the date at the end of Liuyu’s letter.

It was the winter of the 270th year of the Zhaoye calendar.

In this Blood Realm’s cyclical flow, constructed from Liuyu’s blood, it was the 131st year since their marriage.

That year, news of Yin Shan Ze and Nan Gong Jing’s deaths came from the cliff mountains.

Messages seeking help from the Immortal Capital Jade Capital flew in like snowflakes, not giving her a moment to breathe.

She had to break through the barrier to leave Jiuyou.

She had to find out who from the Yin Shan family was still alive.

She had to rally her retainers and ask for help from the Yin Shan family’s allies.

The news of Yin Shan Ze and his wife’s death was like the collapse of the world for the Yin Shan family.

Everyone who entered and exited the Spirit Gathering Platform wore fearful expressions, and even the gaze cast towards this young new head of the family was filled with doubt.

The young miss had been away from the Immortal Capital Jade Capital for so long, could she really hold up the Yin Shan family?

The family was crumbling to such an extent; even if they returned, what could they do?

Perhaps it would be better to stay in Jiuyou. Here, they might still be able to preserve the Yin Shan family’s flame.

Whispers like these came from all directions, reaching the young girl surrounded by countless communication arrays in her inner room.

The golden light of the communication arrays connected the many immortal families of Dazhao. At the end of each array, there was a flicker of hope for the Yin Shan family.

But no one answered her.

She sat there quietly and calmly, not crying but seeming to empty all the tears from within her, without a single sad expression, slowly chewing and digesting these emotions alone.

Tears like pearls passed through her illusory palms.

Mo Lin lowered his gaze to those tears he could not catch.

He couldn’t feel their warmth, but they seemed like lava, splashing onto his heart, burning deep, leaving scars that pierced his soul.

“…Too cunning.”

His voice was hoarse, and he seemed to laugh faintly, his eyes filled with pity.

“You cry like this, how can I bear to blame you for being my enemy?”

In the Blood Realm’s cyclical flow, Liuyu couldn’t hear his voice. The only words she could hear were those spoken by this other version of Mo Lin in this world.

But Liuyu did not cry before him.

He did not say any comforting words.

Mo Lin was stunned, watching him silently set down a Mountain Ghost Dragon Bell, along with a few cold words, and then decisively left her side, with no intention of comforting her.

Within the Blood Realm’s cyclical flow, he could sense Liuyu’s emotions, but he did not know what the other version of himself was thinking.

He suddenly had an absurd thought.

—He wanted to punch the other version of himself.

Because on this side, the illusion quickly vanished, until he saw Liuyu tearing up the marriage contract at Yinggu Ridge. Even Mo Lin, who was coldly watching, felt no pity for this version of himself in the Blood Realm’s cyclical flow.

He deserved it.

If it were himself, he would never treat her coldly.

Mo Lin watched as Liuyu traveled through the night, like a bird eager to return to its nest, heading for her homeland.

But the Immortal Capital Jade Capital no longer held her homeland; it had become a man-eating demon pit, with its bloodthirsty maw wide open, waiting to gnaw the bones of the Yin Shan family and devour them entirely.

“They think that by killing the family head, the Yinshan clan will be finished! Dream on! The pillar of the Yinshan clan is right here!”

“Liuyu! Once you get past Mistshadow Mountain, it’ll be fine! Fifth Uncle will hold them off for you. No one will hurt you! Don’t be afraid, just keep moving forward! Don’t be afraid!”

The sound of countless spiritual arrows slicing through the air came from behind her.

She wanted to look back.

But the weight of the burden on her back—Tanning and the other clan members stumbling behind her—made her hesitate. She was afraid that if she looked back, she would lose the courage to keep climbing.

Forward.

Forward.

Was there even a road ahead? Could she really carry the Yinshan clan on her shoulders?

She once thought that her talent was extraordinary and that there was nothing she couldn’t do. She once thought that she was surrounded by thousands of admirers, and her future was limitless.

But her talent couldn’t stop the influx of cultivators coming after her, and her fame couldn’t attract any allies brave enough to oppose the Jiufang clan. She was helpless, doing nothing but surviving.

She had done nothing.

Even when leading her family and subordinates to seek a safe haven, she had made a fatal mistake.

She had trusted the wrong person.

“—What so-called close friends?”

The new head of the Zhongli clan stood on a darkened city tower, watching Liuyu fighting desperately in the sea of people.

“Your father had so many close friends in the Immortal Capital of Yujing, he was the rising star, the talented scholar of the Immortal Capital. He was the dream lover of countless noble women. Even my wife, she chose me as her husband just to see him a few more times.”

“As long as he stood by her side, all other scholars paled in comparison. As long as he existed, my wife would have dreams of him while sleeping beside me. How could I not hate him? How could I risk taking in the daughter of Yinshanze for the sake of some so-called friendship?”

“Yinshan Liuyu, when you see your father on the road to the underworld, blame him for letting you trust the wrong person!”

With a jade sword, Liuyu fought against ten cultivators at the Eighth Realm. Her eyes were bloodshot as she shouted in anger:

“Coward!”

“You hate Yinshanze so much! Why don’t you dare to kill his daughter yourself? Hiding behind your eight thousand soldiers to vent your anger on a defenseless woman! Zhongli Yi! Come and kill me! Come and kill me!”

Behind her, Lady Liu, suspended on the city wall by a cultivator of the Legalist school, opened her mouth.

“Go!”

“Liuyu! Hurry and go!”

The family retainers and soldiers following her also shouted:

“Zhongli clan has a Grandmaster in charge! We can’t break through their defenses! Lady Liu is beyond saving, but we can still save Miss Tanning! Head of the family, don’t act out of impulse, let’s go!”

Everyone was telling her to leave.

Liuyu’s tears flowed like a river: “I won’t leave! Aunt Liu was captured because she was trying to warn us. I need to take her home! I want her to reunite with Tanning, I…”

Spiritual energy flowed into Lady Liu’s body from above.

In an instant.

The weak, quail-like woman who had clumsily poisoned her father, and then loyally followed her mother, was crushed to dust under the art of torture.

It happened right before her eyes.

After a moment of silence,

Mo Lin heard a desperate roar.

The transparent jade sword lost all its form, and Liuyu discarded the refined path she had cultivated among the Immortal families. She threw aside all her shackles, transforming into a pure beast in this sea of blood and corpses.

When the jade sword shattered, she picked up the sword of the dead.

When the dead man’s sword dulled, she used stones to smash.

What else could be used as a weapon? What else could make them bleed, make them suffer as she had?

When Zhongli Yi saw Liuyu lose her magic weapon, he was about to relax, but then he saw the wind rise outside the city, and the ground trembled.

She had lost her precious jade sword.

But from then on, everything became her weapon.

Blood fell like rain as Liuyu looked up at the sky.

It was as if she was questioning—

The world is a furnace, and all beings are suffering.

Why hasn’t the heavenly path collapsed under the fury of the people?

The heavy rain in Taiping City stopped by dawn.

The sun shone on the broken rooftops, and the extinguished flames in the sunlight emitted a faint blue smoke. Occasionally, someone stepped into a muddy puddle, splashing water, only for it to return to clarity.

After the great battle, the Xiangli clan’s mansion—or perhaps the Ji Mo clan’s mansion—began to clean up in an orderly manner.

Wu Zhi tightened the reins and said to the man next to him, who was holding a smoking pipe, “We’ll go to Tianyin Tower first, then head outside the city. If anything unusual happens, contact us with the jade slip. If you find any suspicious people while patrolling, be sure to notify us. We’ll have them thoroughly checked—Miss doesn’t like the smell of tobacco. Don’t you want to put that away?”

Fang Fucang was redoing Moon Lady’s messy hair into a bun, speaking vaguely, “No more, I’ve quit.”

Wu Zhi looked at the man with stubble, and with a few quick movements, he tied a beautiful double bun. He couldn’t help but show a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Fang Fucang casually waved his hand, “Go play.”

“Who says I’m going to play?”

Moon Lady, holding a small abacus, smiled the brightest. The poison from the Infinite Sea had just been cleared by Xiangli Hualian, and she was happier than anyone else.

“Ghost Lady is going to check the good things in the mansion. I’m going to help!”

Fang Fucang understood and reminded, “A little greed is fine, but don’t go overboard.”

Moon Lady was puzzled.

This person was clearly teaching bad behavior to a child.

The mountain demon passing by glanced at Fang Fucang and then stood in front of Lan Zhu, arms crossed.

“I’ll go watch the family members and servants in the mansion, wait for Miss’s orders. You take care of the cleanup here. These farmers, who have just had the remaining poison cleared, need a place to rest. As for the Xiangli clan’s personal guards… I’ll go ask where the dungeon is. We’ll lock them up first. And the respected…”

The mountain demon glanced in the direction of Liuyu, lowering his voice.

“Miss doesn’t know if she can escape from this red sphere today. I’ll prepare a room nearby for her when she arrives.”

In fact, he felt there was no need to worry at all.

Their revered lord had walked through a mountain of blades and a sea of fire. A mere Seventh Realm practitioner’s technique couldn’t possibly defeat him, whether in terms of power or mental fortitude.

“We’ll clean up the room ourselves.”

Chao Ming said to Shan Xiu and the others:

“After last night’s fierce battle, everyone is quite exhausted. What do you all want to eat? I’ll arrange it.”

Lan Zhu naturally started naming dishes, while Shan Xiu glanced at Chao Ming’s profile and had a strange feeling rise in his heart.

Back when they almost fought outside the Jiyue Palace for the honor of Jiuyou and Xiandu Yujing, who would have thought there would be such a harmonious moment today?

Shan Xiu’s gaze fell on the farmers not far away.

Even more unexpected was that these humans, who had witnessed their demon ghost forms, after learning the truth, only experienced brief fear before rolling up their sleeves and starting to clean up the aftermath with them.

“No wonder you’re all so strong! Turns out you’re demon ghosts!”

A child, brought by someone, pointed at the flying tentacles and shouted:

“It’s a giant octopus—”

A terrified mother quickly covered his mouth, leaving the boy with only his big, dark eyes staring at the demon ghost.

The demon ghost, annoyed by the stare, turned back and said:

“If you want to touch, just touch. We have rules; we won’t hit you randomly.”

“Can I sit on your octopus legs and fly?”

“We won’t hit you, but don’t push your luck.”

Dan Sui, who was helping Xiang Lihua under the corridor, looked up and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Give me some Rebirth Grass.”

Xiang Lihua had just checked Liuyu’s pulse and felt that the residual poison left by Xiang Lishen still needed some medicine to be completely eliminated.

She took the herbs from Dan Sui’s hand and ground them, then reached out:

“Get me a Buddha Mushroom and a bronze cauldron for burning—why do you have a lump on your forehead?”

“A lump?”

Dan Sui touched his forehead.

“That’s my devil horn. I just usually keep it hidden.”

Xiang Lihua, who had been feeling down, was shocked into silence by the two prominent devil horns.

It was only then that she suddenly realized that the Ji Mo clan didn’t seem to reject demon ghosts. Even the husband—or perhaps consort—of this Ji Mo clan leader was a demon ghost.

In the future… was she really going to work with demon ghosts?

“Here, take this.”

The girl, who had been staring blankly at the red moon above, snapped back to reality and threw a stack of items into Dan Sui’s arms.

“Dan Sui, you will keep these for now. Anyone in our family who wants to learn can do so, but they need your permission. Make a list and report it to me.”

Dan Sui and Xiang Lihua examined the stack of books.

“Xiang’s Agricultural Book,” “Essential Techniques for Farmers,” “Farming Tasks Through the Seasons,” all written by the Xiang family.

And among them was the “Complete Book of Immortal Farming,” which only the heads of the Xiang family could fully read.

All were retrieved from Xiang Lishen’s mustard seed pouch.

Xiang Lihua looked up in disbelief at Liuyu:

“What do you mean by ‘anyone can learn’? How many people does ‘anyone’ include?”

Liuyu, still a bit dizzy, lay on the soft cushion prepared by Chao Yuan, casually pointing at the demon ghosts:

“These, these, and those over there.”

She then looked at the farmers helping nearby.

“If they are willing to join the Ji Mo clan, they can learn too.”

Xiang Lihua jumped up.

“That’s not acceptable!” she shouted angrily. “These are the Xiang family’s books. How can we just let anyone learn them? Even I… I haven’t read them all!”

Liuyu lifted her thick eyelashes and gave her a smiling glance:

“Then join the Ji Mo clan. Once you’re in, you can learn. It’s that simple.”

Liuyu was, in fact, trying to lure Xiang Lihua into her trap.

Someone who could create something as wicked as the Boundless Sea, like Yue Niang, had to be kept close to her to feel secure.

Otherwise, if Xiang Lihua stepped out today, Liuyu would have Fang Fuzang eliminate her immediately.

It wasn’t about personal feelings toward Xiang Lihua.

The lessons from her past life were harsh. Even if her methods weren’t entirely ethical, she wouldn’t leave any hidden dangers for the Yinshan clan.

Xiang Lihua, having been confined at home for too long, didn’t realize her life hung in the balance of the young girl’s whim and seriously considered:

“Then… what about the Xiang clan members in Longdui City? How do you plan to deal with them?”

“Those who submit can stay, those who resist will be killed.”

Liuyu blinked, her tone nonchalant:

“This isn’t child’s play. We, the Ji Mo clan, have conquered the Xiang clan. Did you really think it would be bloodless?”

Xiang Lihua, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

At least they weren’t going to kill everyone, which was better than expected.

She wasn’t close to those clan members, but they were still her blood relatives. She didn’t want to see them slaughtered.

“If… I can persuade them to submit to the Ji Mo clan, can they also learn from the ‘Complete Book of Immortal Farming’?”

Testing the limits, Xiang Lihua couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

Ordinarily, when one noble family conquered another, exterminating the opposing practitioners was standard.

Who would dare to speak of advancement opportunities?

But looking at the girl named Ji Mo Gui before her, Xiang Lihua felt that if it were her, she would agree.

“Yes.”

Sure enough, Xiang Lihua’s eyes lit up with joy.

“But there are restrictions,” Liuyu said, lowering her long lashes like butterfly wings as the bright sunlight fell on her face. “Only children under ten can learn.”

Xiang Lihua paused for a moment, then quickly understood her reasoning.

Young children can be brought into the family’s core for nurturing, subtly fostering loyalty to the Jimo clan.

And for the future prospects of their offspring, those members of the Xiangli clan will also let go of their grudges and submit to the Jimo clan.

In this chaotic world where rites and music have collapsed, compared to the intangible honor of a family, interests are certainly more important.

Xiangli Hualian agreed.

While preparing medicine for Liuyu, the two of them eagerly gathered together and began to intently read through the contents of the “Complete Book of Immortal Agriculture.”

Liuyu glanced at Dansui, who was visibly delighted.

She seemed to have completely forgotten about the person she secretly admired who was still trapped in the blood realm above.

After taking the medicine, Liuyu felt a bit sweaty, and the room was too stuffy. Chao Ming and Chao Yuan found a way to tidy up a nearby waterside pavilion.

They hung curtains on all sides to block the wind, which made it more ventilated than the inner room without being too cold.

After bathing, Chao Yuan also changed Liuyu into clean, scented clothes.

Finally, the exhaustion from the great battle was washed away.

In the evening, after enjoying a meal prepared by the Xiangli clan’s chef, Liuyu, Chao Ming, and Chao Yuan lay in the pavilion to cool off.

The summer cicadas were chirping, and noises came from a distant courtyard.

It seemed that the demons transferred from the Longque city fortress were switching shifts with the people here, continuing to repair the mansion’s ruins.

The red moon above still showed no signs of movement.

“This time, thanks to the Lord’s assistance, otherwise both Chao Yuan and I would have been injured if not dead.”

Lying on a wicker chair, Chao Ming looked at the reflection of the red moon in the pond and, for the first time, addressed him as “Lord” with genuine respect.

Actually, even without this incident, Chao Ming had already accepted this son-in-law.

He could sense that this demon lord genuinely liked their young lady, and she also had feelings for him.

What reason did he have not to approve?

Chao Yuan also turned her head, “The Lord is good. He helped me understand a new spell. I’ll show it to the young lady next time.”

Holding Chao Yuan’s hand with one hand and Chao Ming’s with the other, Liuyu smiled slightly and nodded.

Their intertwined hands were held tightly.

As if worried they would disappear at any moment.

Chao Yuan gazed at Liuyu’s profile. She had many questions to ask but ultimately just gently squeezed the young lady’s soft fingers.

Just like they did since childhood.

The night cicadas’ chirping gradually faded, a breeze brushed over the lotus in the pond, and a frog leaped across the reflection of the red moon, scattering into fragments.

Chao Yuan and Chao Ming woke up as the blood realm fragmented.

Seeing Mo Lin approaching them unharmed, they sighed in relief and were about to wake up the more deeply sleeping Liuyu when the young man across from them slowly raised his index finger, gesturing for silence.

Chao Ming hesitated.

Because he was closer, he noticed that although the demon lord appeared uninjured, his moist, cold green eyes still harbored traces of unhidden brutality and coldness.

Such terrifying killing intent.

Just a bit of emotion that hadn’t been fully concealed was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

After a brief salute, Chao Ming pulled Chao Yuan and quickly left the pavilion.

Hearing their footsteps, Liuyu barely opened her eyes.

The moonlight was bright, and a figure approached her wicker chair, slowly crouching down. Liuyu knew who it was.

“Are you okay? Are you still conscious?”

Liuyu gently cupped his cheek with her hand, feeling a strange coldness as she grasped his fingers.

The brutality in his eyes vanished without a trace. He caressed her fingers tenderly, with pity, as if treating something fragile, desperately restraining the impulse to swallow her whole so no one could ever hurt her again.

The demon lord, half-crouched beside Liuyu, rubbed his cheek against her palm.

“I’m fine.”

He held her wrist, turned his head to kiss it lightly, his deep eyes reflecting Liuyu’s features.

When he spoke again, he suppressed the clamor of murderous desires and screams in his mind, his voice hoarse as he asked:

“And you?”

In these years when I wasn’t by your side.

Have you been living poorly?