Chapter 15: Scorched Earth

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. Initially, he was overjoyed, thinking that Yan Chaosheng had finally come to his senses and was going to bring the Empress back.

But to his surprise, what Yan Chaosheng had exchanged the Floating Red Lotus for was the shattered life jade bamboo of Concubine Mi Chu.

When Feng Fuming asked Su Lun to choose between Liu Shuang and the jade bamboo, Su Lun struggled internally for a moment. However, recalling Yan Chaosheng’s words before his departure, he could only smile faintly and choose the jade bamboo.

Su Lun, who always presented himself as refined and cultured, for a moment truly wanted to curse, “To hell with the life jade bamboo! Who wants the life jade bamboo? I just want to bring the Empress back!”

Perhaps knowing that Su Lun might waver, Yan Chaosheng coldly said before Su Lun left, “If you don’t bring back Mi Chu’s life jade bamboo, you can come back without your head.”

Su Lun tried to persuade Yan Chaosheng, hoping to stir a shred of compassion within him: “Demon Lord, forgive my presumption, but Feng Fuming has never been a kind or merciful man. The Empress… Liu Shuang, now in his hands, will surely suffer humiliation. You and Feng Fuming have been at odds for centuries, and his resentment towards you will undoubtedly be taken out on the Empress.”

Yan Chaosheng seemed to see through his thoughts and looked at him: “Oh? So what?”

“Liu Shuang has been your wife for a hundred years. Can you really bear to leave her to this fate?”

“Su Lun, you’re overstepping,” Yan Chaosheng said. “What a joke. You’re telling me I can’t bear it? She’s just a woman. Since she had the courage to leave the Ghost Realm, she should bear the consequences of her actions.”

Yan Chaosheng coldly said, “Go. Don’t make me say it a third time. Just bring back the jade bamboo. Nothing else matters.”

On the way back, Su Lun held the translucent jade bamboo, sighing in sorrow.

In Su Lun’s eyes, even though Yan Chaosheng had married Liu Shuang as a mere substitute, Liu Shuang was so wonderful. How could Yan Chaosheng, after a hundred years, truly bear to leave her to Feng Fuming? Although he didn’t know what had happened between Mi Chu and Yan Chaosheng seven hundred years ago, Su Lun didn’t think that Mi Chu, who had married Feng Fuming and then regretted it to return to the Demon Lord, was anything special.

Her fickleness was contemptible.

But who would have thought that before Su Lun could fully hand over the jade bamboo exchanged for the Floating Red Lotus, Yan Chaosheng would suddenly disappear.

The beautiful, translucent jade bamboo, with no one to receive it, fell to the ground.

Su Lun raised an eyebrow, watching as another crack appeared on the jade bamboo, genuinely surprised.

Su Lun blinked, and a sudden, incredulous thought arose within him.

Feng Fuming was cunning and suspicious. If he were to find out that the Demon Lord cared even the slightest bit for the Empress, not only would it be impossible to bring her back, but Feng Fuming would likely keep her forever as a pawn against the Demon Lord.

Only by showing complete indifference might the Empress have a chance at survival.

Su Lun’s eyes narrowed, the thought surprising even himself. Looking at the fallen life jade bamboo, Su Lun didn’t want to admit his own schadenfreude—life spirit essences were indeed fragile, unable to withstand even the slightest damage. Adding insult to injury couldn’t be helped.

But if that were the case, it was puzzling. If the Demon Lord wasn’t as indifferent as he appeared, why had he severed the spiritual bond with the Empress? Why had he ordered her to never return to the Ghost Realm? What had happened just moments ago to make the Demon Lord’s expression change so drastically?

Su Lun thought for a moment. As a strategist, he didn’t dare to actually step on Mi Chu’s jade bamboo, so he shook his head, picked it up, and temporarily stored it in his Qiankun pouch.

Su Lun walked out of the Ghost Realm and unexpectedly saw another person.

“Fu Heng?”

Fu Heng was frowning at the sky, unusually solemn. Hearing Su Lun call him, he didn’t react with his usual anger, only nodding slightly.

“What’s happened?” Su Lun asked. Fu Heng, as the Demon Lord’s right-hand man in battle, wasn’t as strategically adept as Su Ling, but his magical abilities far surpassed Su Lun’s.

“Not sure. The Heavenly Realm is overflowing with spiritual energy, so much that even the Ghost Realm can sense it. Listen—the ghosts are starting to become restless.”

Su Lun focused and indeed heard the mournful wails of countless spirits in the abyss. It sounded like fear, or perhaps sorrow.

Su Lun’s expression darkened: “The Demon Lord has gone to the Heavenly Realm.”

Whatever the reason, going alone to the Heavenly Realm was practically suicidal. Fu Heng immediately understood his meaning: “I’ll mobilize the troops and follow him.”

To send troops without orders was a violation of commands, but no matter what, they couldn’t let their king go to the Heavenly Realm alone.

However, by the time they reached the outskirts of the Ninth Heaven, thunder was already rumbling across the sky, clearly indicating that Feng Fuming and Yan Chaosheng were already fighting.

Yan Chaosheng had Feng Fuming by the throat, his halberd just inches from Feng Fuming’s skull.

And Yan Chaosheng, who was usually clad in black with dark hair, now had silver patterns spreading across his face, and even his pupils had turned a cold, silvery hue.

“Tell me, where is she!”

Feng Fuming narrowed his eyes. After centuries of conflict, this was the first time he had seen Yan Chaosheng completely at a disadvantage.

Looking at Yan Chaosheng’s silver eyes and patterns, Feng Fuming seemed to realize something: “So that’s it! So that’s it!”

He had always wondered where such a prodigious cultivator had come from, someone who could rival his own ten-thousand-year cultivation in just a few centuries.

It turned out he was the last remaining descendant of the rebellion—the prince of Xiangyao. Yan Chaosheng’s expression was calm, but the patterns revealed by his bloodline betrayed him. He had lost control and transformed into this state because Liu Shuang had shattered her spirit essence.

And it had happened in front of everyone.

Feng Fuming glanced at the crowd in the distance, their expressions varied, and smiled eerily at Yan Chaosheng: “Why are you asking me now? Didn’t you already abandon her? Don’t you know better than me what happens when the spirit essence shatters?”

Yan Chaosheng’s cold silver pupils contracted, and at that moment, Feng Fuming seized the opportunity to push him back and returned to the side of his Heavenly generals, commanding, “Intruders in the Heavenly Realm, kill them!”

The Heavenly generals looked warily at Yan Chaosheng’s silver eyes, whispering among themselves.

“It’s him…”

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

Fu Heng immediately stepped forward: “Demon Lord!”

Yan Chaosheng looked at the silver patterns on the back of his hand, closing his eyes. Centuries of planning couldn’t be ruined in a single day. How could he have been so impulsive?

Purple feathers drifted through the air, silently recounting the tragedy of the past.

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

Su Lun glanced at Yan Chaosheng’s slowly fading silver hair and eyes, turning back to black. The secret that had been kept for centuries had been revealed. The appearance of Xiangyao could no longer be hidden.

By the cost of her shattered spirit essence, Liu Shuang instantly returned to the outskirts of the Canglan Blue Paradise.

Blood welled up in her mouth. Knowing her time was short, Liu Shuang quickly got up and ran inside: “Grandfather Tree, Xiu Lang, Shan Yu…”

Liu Shuang had thought that before entering the Canglan Blue, she would encounter the barrier Grandfather Tree had mentioned, but as she stepped into the realm, there was nothing.

For a moment, she didn’t feel relief but rather a chill ran down her spine.

A burnt smell wafted into her nose, filling her with intense unease.

Liu Shuang, as if her soul had been drained, walked step by step into the Canglan Blue Paradise.

The ground beneath her feet was scorched earth, emitting a nauseating stench. Liu Shuang crouched down, dry-heaving twice, then gritted her teeth and got up, stubbornly pressing forward.

Until she saw the clear stream, its surface covered in black ash. She knew what this ash was—the remnants of burned vegetation.

Sinful fire had ravaged the land, leaving no blade of grass untouched.

The once vibrant and joyous Canglan Blue, filled with laughter and the songs of birds, had turned into a wasteland.

She had been too late.

The pain she had been holding back finally erupted at this moment. Liu Shuang frantically dug through the scorched earth, sobbing, “Why did this happen? Why! I came back as fast as I could! Grandfather Tree, Xiu Lang, Sister Shan Yu… come back, come back to me!”

No one answered her, no one comforted her.

Her spirit essence was shattered, and without the heart that could feel joy, Liu Shuang could no longer cry tears, only large drops of bloody tears fell onto the scorched earth.

“Someone, please save them! Save the Canglan Blue!”

Liu Shuang had thought that her empty chest could no longer feel anything, that she was already numb to pain. But when the sinful fire consumed everything, and she realized all her loved ones had perished in the flames.

She finally couldn’t hold back her heart-wrenching sobs: “I was wrong, it was all my fault. I shouldn’t have married Yan Chaosheng, I shouldn’t have left the Canglan Blue. I didn’t protect you all, I was lazy, I neglected my cultivation.”

The black ash of burned vegetation was blown by the wind, staining Liu Shuang’s red wedding dress. Her empty chest ached, whether from the loss of her heart or the lingering emotions, it was unbearable.

Gradually, her chest seemed to cool. Liu Shuang thought she would die, but when she moved her fingers, she found she was still alive.

She got up from the ground and, in a daze, made her way to the graves of her mortal parents.

The sinful fire had consumed everything, even the tombstones were gone.

That’s right, she still had a home, a house in the mortal realm that her parents had lived in.

Liu Shuang focused her thoughts and instantly returned to the mortal realm.

She reined in the excess spiritual energy that was spilling out. Now, she was like a living corpse, holding on to her last breath. Liu Shuang knew clearly that once the power from her shattered spirit essence dissipated, it would be her end.

Two hundred years had passed. The house was somewhat similar to her memories, yet also different.

She looked up at the plaque above the gate and softly read, “Zhang Residence. Why is it the Zhang Residence?”

Her father’s surname was Yue, so it should have been the Yue Residence. Her mother had once joked, “We named you Yue Liu Shuang, which sounds like ‘Moon Frost.’ Your heart is as pure as crystal, our one and only.”

Their… one and only.

Liu Shuang went up to knock on the door. It was afternoon in the mortal realm, and the sun was shining brightly. A servant called out, “Coming, coming, just a moment!”

When he opened the door, the servant saw a young woman in red standing in the sunlight. He stared for a long moment, having never in his life seen someone so beautiful.

The young lady of the house was praised as a celestial beauty, even becoming the emperor’s favorite concubine, but she couldn’t hold a candle to the woman before him.

She was dressed in red, her hair styled in the common fashion of a mortal bride, her face and clothes stained with black ash, yet none of it detracted from her beauty.

The servant swallowed nervously, “Miss… who are you looking for?”

“Is there any family of Lord Yue still here?”

“No… never heard of Lord Yue. My master’s surname is Zhang, he’s Lord Zhang Pinglan. Miss, you must have the wrong place.”

“The wrong place?” Liu Shuang murmured, “I must have.”

The servant was about to comfort her, but when he looked up, the young woman was already gone.

The Eight Desolations were vast. Liu Shuang had known since she was a child that her home, the Canglan Blue, was large, but beyond it was an even larger mortal realm. Above the mortal realm was the demon world, below it the ghost domain, and above that was the Ninth Heaven.

Within the Ninth Heaven were several beautiful paradises, each more stunning than her home, the Canglan Blue.

But though the Eight Desolations were vast, she had nowhere to go.

Liu Shuang wandered the mortal realm from afternoon until nightfall. The mortal winter had not yet passed, and as her spiritual energy waned, she found she could no longer withstand the cold.

She could only curl up in a cave.

The mortal winter was dry, and it was the time when the snow was melting. The sky rumbled with thunder. In the blink of an eye for an immortal, a hundred years had passed in the mortal realm, and dynasties had risen and fallen, leaving everything changed.

A squirrel demon preparing for winter saw her and squeaked before running away, fearing the immortal might harm it.

Liu Shuang watched from afar as they fled, never imagining that she had lost her home and had inadvertently taken over someone else’s.

But she lay in the cave, not wanting to move, utterly exhausted.

The squirrel demons chattered among themselves, unwilling to flee too far, and decided to observe: “What’s wrong with these immortals? A few days ago, the thunder was so loud it almost tore the sky apart. Grandma said it was because the Heavenly Realm was at war with the demon world. Today, an immortal came and took over our cave.”

“Don’t immortals have their own caves?”

“Yes,” the squirrels chattered, “They all have caves, some even have entire paradises, said to be incredibly beautiful. Why would she come to the mortal realm? Did she see the pine nuts in the cave? I’ve been saving them for a year!”

“Don’t be so petty. If we befriend this immortal, maybe she’ll take us as disciples.”

“Forget it. If she had a place to go, she wouldn’t be here in this dump. As long as she doesn’t touch our pine nuts.”

Under the rumbling thunder, Liu Shuang curled up, shivering with cold.

When dawn broke the next day, the squirrel demons peeked out and saw that the destitute immortal was gone, leaving behind half a piece of jade, glowing with spiritual energy, shaped like a lively fish.

The squirrels gathered around: “Look, she left us a treasure! She’s not a bad immortal.”

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

The squirrel demon was about to cry out, but its companion covered its mouth. Immediately, the squirrel demons felt the oppressive aura emanating from the man and knelt down, trembling, “Lord, have mercy!”

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

Yan Chaosheng had been following the faint traces of immortal energy to this place, but the trail had gone cold. He held the half-piece of jade, shaped like twin fish, his expression calm, exuding the authority of a ruler of two realms.

He was too proud to admit defeat. It wasn’t the end yet. He would find her. With so many skilled individuals in the Eight Desolations, there must be a way.

“We don’t know. She left this and was gone. We didn’t dare ask.”

Yan Chaosheng remained silent.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to harm them, the little demons quickly scattered.

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

He frowned, left a high-grade spirit stone, and left the forest.

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

Yan Chaosheng looked up, his pupils dark.

He wasn’t an ordinary mortal, so he could see at a glance that this thunder wasn’t from the weather—it was because someone was about to face a heavenly tribulation.

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

“How is it?”

Fu Heng shook his head, “I couldn’t find her.” Her spirit essence was shattered, and she had deliberately hidden her immortal aura, making her no different from a mortal. Searching for her in the vast Eight Desolations was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Yan Chaosheng coldly spat, “Useless.”

After a moment of hesitation, Fu Heng said, “The Canglan Blue Paradise… it’s been destroyed. Demon Lord, she returned and saw it all.”

As he spoke, Fu Heng found it unusually difficult.

Fu Heng glanced at the emerald green bead in Yan Chaosheng’s palm, the result of Yan Chaosheng burning the entire Canglan Blue to ash.

Refining all things, committing great sins.

Yan Chaosheng rubbed the bead, lifting his eyes, “What? Do you have objections too?”

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

“Then keep looking.” Yan Chaosheng’s voice was devoid of emotion.

Fu Heng opened his mouth, wanting to say, even if you find her, what then? Her spirit essence is shattered, the Canglan Blue is gone, her fate is sealed.

But when Fu Heng looked up and saw the cold, resolute look in Yan Chaosheng’s eyes, remembering his loss of control and the true form he had revealed that day, he suddenly couldn’t say anything.

“Yes.” Fu Heng accepted the order. Why say more? The one suppressing the storm beneath the mask wasn’t him.

Just waiting for the right moment, he would surely collapse.