Sun Tu didn’t dare face Duan Chenhui directly, so he constantly complained to He Qing about how Duan Chenhui was always giving him the cold shoulder.

As He Qing calmly tapped on his wooden fish, he consoled Sun Tu, “That’s because you’ve caught the General’s eye. Otherwise, he wouldn’t bother giving you that cold face.”

“???” Sun Tu was absolutely stunned. “Are you even speaking human language?”

“It’s spirit language,” He Qing replied, continuing to tap his wooden fish.

“You’re really becoming more like a spirit,” Sun Tu snatched the wooden fish from him. “You’ve already practiced dual cultivation techniques, so why are you still bothering with the wooden fish?”

“Tapping the wooden fish helps cultivate my mind and keeps me from falling into demonic ways,” He Qing took his wooden fish back, hugging it protectively.

Sun Tu jumped up, “I feel like you’re mocking me! I’m going to accuse you of slander!”

He Qing put down the wooden fish and closed his eyes to continue tapping. “I vaguely remember a black carp carrying me off while I was asleep.”

At this, Sun Tu immediately made an excuse, “I drank too much water today, need to use the restroom!” He turned and bolted.

He Qing opened his eyes again and glanced at the door. It seemed Sun Tu did know that the lotus seed was him, even though he pretended not to.

A few days later, their ship landed on the planet.

He Qing followed Duan Chenhui off the ship, with Sun Tu tagging along. The three of them arrived at the base of a mountain.

He Qing took out the armor and compared the patterns to those on the tomb door. “This is definitely the place.”

Sun Tu looked annoyed. “I can feel faint spiritual energy inside, so why are you still fiddling with the armor? Let’s just go in.”

He Qing bowed to the armor and then put it away. Duan Chenhui pulled him along. “The tomb door’s already been broken. It’s likely been looted inside.”

“There might still be something left,” He Qing said as he followed the passage into the tomb, glancing around. Unfortunately, the murals on the walls had long since weathered away, leaving little to see.

After a while, they came across the first burial chamber. Sun Tu ran ahead and rummaged around, “Nothing here.”

“Let’s keep going,” Duan Chenhui said, pushing open another door.

The burial items inside had been looted as well, but the size and layout of the tomb suggested the owner had been very wealthy or of high status.

Sun Tu was puzzled. “Wasn’t the owner of the armor a cultivator? Why does this place feel more like a mortal’s tomb?”

“He might have been someone like us, who crossed over from another world,” He Qing said, sensing the strongest spiritual energy. “This way.” He led them to a wall with seven circular holes.

“Seven stars? Royalty?” Sun Tu touched the holes. “We don’t have the key to open it.”

He Qing looked up at the holes. “We can try using spirit stones.”

“Oh, right,” Sun Tu immediately took out some spirit stones, using his spiritual power to shape them into spheres.

As Sun Tu shaped each stone, He Qing placed them into the wall. After placing all seven, the three of them stepped back, waiting for the result. After a moment, the spirit stones emitted a burst of bright light, and the wall turned semi-transparent.

Duan Chenhui found it quite fascinating. “Does this mean it’s open?”

“Mm…” He Qing nodded.

Sun Tu excitedly exclaimed, “Maybe this door leads back to the Cultivation Realm! But the cultivator ran out of spirit stones, so he couldn’t return?”

Duan Chenhui glanced at He Qing, finally understanding why He Qing had been so quiet. He Qing looked up at him. “I’m not sure if this is really the way back to the Cultivation Realm.”

“We’ll find out once we go in. We should move quickly, or the door will close when the spirit stones run out of energy!” Sun Tu, without another word, rushed straight through the door.

Duan Chenhui narrowed his eyes. When Sun Tu passed through, it looked like he was running into a wall of water, with ripples spreading out.

“Let’s go in too,” Duan Chenhui said, turning to grab He Qing’s hand.

He Qing hesitated, “General, sometimes the boundary doors of the Cultivation Realm are one-way. You can enter, but you may not be able to leave.”

Duan Chenhui sighed and nodded, “I know. I already told my family everything before I came. Since you’re a cultivator, you can’t stay in our world forever.”

“When I resigned last time, I made sure the military matters were properly arranged. Even if I don’t return, they’ll handle the transition.”

He Qing gently touched the prayer beads on Duan Chenhui’s wrist. “The General is truly remarkable, arranging everything so carefully. So, was your resignation meant to lure me back?”

“…” Being exposed, Duan Chenhui cleared his throat awkwardly, “Let’s go in first. Who knows where Sun Tu has run off to.”

“I’ll remember this,” He Qing thought for a moment, “I’ll get even later.”

“…” Duan Chenhui pulled him along. He Qing must have picked up some strange habits from the interstellar world! As they approached the door, a flash of white light blinded them both. Duan Chenhui instinctively tightened his grip on He Qing’s hand, but in the next moment, he lost consciousness.

He Qing didn’t expect to be ambushed as soon as they entered.

•

The Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters was a legendary place filled with countless fierce and dangerous monsters. Mortals dared not enter, and even Daoist cultivators and demonic cultivators stayed far away. It was said that even those who wanted to enter had a hard time finding the entrance.

Rumor had it that a thousand-year-old demon king lived there, and the Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters was his creation.

At this moment, the thousand-year-old demon king, He Qing, who had not yet fully taken human form and was still a lotus seed, was rolling around on a rock.

“Uncle Pine, there’s no one here…” He Qing said as he stopped rolling and raised his lotus seed body to talk to the old pine tree spirit.

The pine tree spirit wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at him. He Qing was much older than him, yet still called him uncle. The pine tree felt awkward about it. “I’ve told you to just call me by my name. This is the new realm’s Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters… of course, there aren’t many people here.”

In fact, this realm had formed when He Qing awakened, creating a new secret dimension. You could say that this secret realm belonged to He Qing, so naturally, no one else could enter.

But for some reason, word spread outside, and the place became known as the Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters! It sounded so terrifying and dangerous! He swore on his thousand-year lifespan that there weren’t even a hundred spirits here!

Most of the spirits in this place were little ones that He Qing had brought back, like rabbit spirits, squirrel spirits, deer spirits, and goldfish spirits—small creatures that would get trampled to death if they ventured outside the valley!

He himself had been brought here by He Qing after almost being struck dead during a tribulation, which made him the second-oldest spirit here, after He Qing.

“I’m going outside to take a look,” He Qing said, feeling bored and wanting to go out and collect more creatures to fill the valley.

A bunch of small animals immediately gathered around.

“Boss, boss! We want to go out and play too!”

“I want to see how my master is doing.”

“It’s been fifty years; the grass on your master’s grave is three feet high!”

“Wah, then I need to pay my respects.”

“Alright, Little White can go check on your master,” He Qing said after looking them over, choosing the white-furred rabbit spirit, whose reason was solid, leaving no room for protest. Plus, it would be comfortable to lie on his fur.

Little White immediately jumped up. “Yes! Let’s go!”

He Qing flew onto Little White’s back, hiding himself in the white fur. “Off we go!”

Old Pine, used to such antics, waved at them with a group of little spirits. “Come back soon.”

The little spirits waved tearfully as they said their goodbyes.

Little White jumped forward, muttering a spell, and leapt out of the secret realm, though he couldn’t quite control the landing spot and ended up crashing into a cave.

He Qing was almost thrown to the ground by the impact, but once Little White regained his balance, He Qing peeked out. “Where is this place?”

“I don’t know.” Little White took a few cautious steps, then suddenly saw a person lying on the ground. “There’s someone here. Not sure if they’re dead.”

He Qing looked over and saw a glow of golden light.

“I’ll go check.” He Qing was drawn to the golden light and hopped onto the person’s chest to listen for a moment. “Still alive.” He floated up and observed the man’s face, which had blood on it but looked sharp and dignified. He seemed like a good person.

“Probably a general?” Little White sniffed the air. “There’s a scent of blood; he’s injured.”

He Qing, still looking at the golden light, jumped onto the man’s face. “Let’s take him back.”

Little White felt nervous. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? This guy has a lot of killing intent!” He had definitely killed many people!

At that moment, the man’s fingers twitched, and his weak voice came out, “Who’s there?!”

He Qing looked into his eyes. Was he blind? “Give me some merit, and I can save you.”

The man seemed uncertain, but after a moment, he said, “Alright.”

Immediately, He Qing felt merit points accumulate. He nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Duan Chenhui.”

“Got it.” He Qing quickly transported him back to the Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters. “Uncle Pine, we’ve brought someone back!”

Old Pine—Pine Nian—was startled, transforming into human form and rushing over. He looked down at the person He Qing had brought, who was a seriously injured man. The man had fainted again.

Pine Nian bent down and searched the man’s clothes, finding a gold token on his waist. He almost dropped it in shock. “This seems like a celestial token! Is there some major event happening outside?”

“I don’t know. Is there something big going on?” The little spirits gathered around, chattering.

“Is it another war between the immortals and demons?”

“What’s a war between the immortals and demons?”

“I don’t know either,” He Qing said, looking at Duan Chenhui, not really interested in outside affairs.

Pine Nian wiped his forehead. “Forget it, let’s wake him up first.” He thought for a moment, then picked Duan Chenhui up and carried him into his wooden house. He removed the man’s armor, stopped the bleeding with spiritual power, and applied herbal medicine to heal his eyes.

After treating him, Duan Chenhui still hadn’t woken up, which worried Pine Nian. “I’m not skilled in alchemy…”

“Let me handle it,” He Qing said, jumping onto Duan Chenhui’s face. “Open your mouth!”

Duan Chenhui didn’t move. He Qing shot him a glare and then rolled down to his lips, feeding him a drop of lotus seed juice.

Pine Nian quickly picked up He Qing. “Stop, stop, stop! What if he drains you dry?!”

“Wah, that’s terrifying! I heard from my elders that there was once a lingzhi spirit who was drained dry by a human!” A nearby ginseng spirit shivered, the leaves on its head trembling.

“I’m fine.” He Qing leaned over and looked down at Duan Chenhui, but the man still didn’t move.

He noticed the golden token and jumped down. “What’s written on it?”

“I can’t read it…” Pine Nian squinted at it for a while. “It must be celestial script? He should wake up soon, so let’s all leave.”

He Qing gave Duan Chenhui one last glance before following everyone out. After playing around outside for a bit, He Qing snuck back and peeked through the crack in the door, seeing that Duan Chenhui had woken up and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

Duan Chenhui suddenly looked in He Qing’s direction.

He Qing quickly pretended to be a fake lotus, staying perfectly still.

But Duan Chenhui moved, walking over and looking down at him. “Were you the one who saved me?”

He Qing shook his head. “It was the King of the Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters who saved you.”

Duan Chenhui rubbed his aching head. “I’d like to thank him. Where is he?”

He Qing pointed outside to Pine Nian, who was fishing leisurely by the lake. Pine Nian certainly looked like a wise old master, but when he heard He Qing’s words, he almost fell into the lake.

Duan Chenhui opened the door and walked over, with He Qing flying along behind him. Suddenly, Duan Chenhui turned and caught He Qing in his hand. “You’re the thousand-year demon king?”

“???” He Qing shook his head furiously. “Do I look like a demon king? I’m very weak!”

The surrounding little spirits shivered in fear. Help! Their demon king had been captured by a bad guy! They bravely rushed forward, kicking and punching Duan Chenhui.

“Let go of He Qing!”

“You villain!”

Pine Nian turned around, seeing a group of little spirits surrounding Duan Chenhui, bumping into him. But Duan Chenhui stood firm, unmoving.

Pine Nian immediately dropped his fishing rod and rushed over. “Apologies, Celestial Lord, they don’t understand.”

“It’s fine. I just wanted to know what happened,” Duan Chenhui said.

“Let’s sit down and discuss it slowly.”

For the first time, Duan Chenhui found himself in such a strange situation. He sat in front of a black-and-white chessboard, across from a white jade lotus seed, with an old man next to him and furry little animals all around.

“…” Duan Chenhui rubbed his temples and looked at He Qing, who, it seemed, really was a thousand-year-old demon king… but still so small.

The infamous Valley of Ten Thousand Monsters… wasn’t home to any terrifying, fierce monsters at all.

He Qing stared at him. “Any more questions?”

“No,” Duan Chenhui had already learned the situation from Pine Nian.

He Qing looked at the chessboard, using his magic to float a chess piece and place it down. “Then it’s my turn to ask. Who are you, and why were you injured?”

“I’m from the Ninth Heaven,” Duan Chenhui didn’t reveal his full identity, lowering his head to place a piece. “I had intended to perish together with the demon king, but I survived.” He glanced at them. “What kind of reward do you want?”

“I’ve already claimed my reward,” He Qing said, placing another piece.

Duan Chenhui looked at the board. He Qing’s chess skills were rather lacking. He placed another piece. “You’ve lost.”

“??!” He Qing, angry, flew into Pine Nian’s arms. “I’m not playing with him anymore!”

The surrounding little spirits glared at Duan Chenhui. “Villain!”

“…” Duan Chenhui looked at Pine Nian, who was sweating nervously. He sighed, “Well… they’re still children…”

Duan Chenhui accepted the explanation. “Can I stay here to recover?” He was also curious about the place and wanted to observe it further.

He Qing peeked out and began bargaining, “In the mortal world, emperors often form alliances with other nations.” He simply wanted to visit the celestial realm and have some fun.

Duan Chenhui smiled slightly. “Alright.” Even his celestial eye couldn’t discern He Qing’s true nature. If He Qing ever fell into demonic cultivation, he’d likely become a great threat. Perhaps it was better to… keep him close.

“What about us? What about us?” The other little spirits started getting excited again.

Pine Nian, knowing that the celestial realm wasn’t necessarily a good place, tried to comfort the little spirits, “Wait until you’ve formed your human shapes. It’ll be dangerous up there otherwise.”

He Qing disagreed immediately. “I’m tough. No one can hurt me.”

“…” Pine Nian stayed silent. He Qing did have a point.

“…” Duan Chenhui looked at He Qing’s plump, round little body, still skeptical. “Alright, when I’ve recovered, I’ll take you to see it.”

Pine Nian strongly suspected that Duan Chenhui, this celestial lord, was trying to abduct their demon king!