Chapter 149: Snow Demon (Part 8) Cultivation

The pale-faced Demon King showed a faint smile.
He watched as Xu Qianyu staggered over, reaching out as if to support his Demon Queen.

Xu Qianyu frowned, feeling as if the two candied hawthorns she had just eaten were stuck in her chest, extremely bitter. The bitterness piled up more and more, rising higher and higher, until it suddenly exploded, tearing apart the fog in front of her!

Xu Qianyu abruptly stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide as she stared at Xie Yuzhen, as if gazing at the void in front of her. A tear silently traced her cheek, and a droplet hung from her eyelashes.

Xie Yuzhen’s expression gradually turned desperate.

In her past life, she had never stopped, never even cried, despite enduring countless hardships.

Could it be that the love lingering in her soul for him was so little that even a few steps could not sustain it?

The memories of her past life dissipated like fog, and the memories of both lifetimes fused together. Xu Qianyu became fully conscious amidst the involuntary sobs in her chest, understanding what had just happened.

That was close. She almost lost control and saved the Demon King.

A chill ran down her back, spreading all the way to her tailbone.

The old pain in her chest had healed, no longer reminding her of the emptiness in her soul. But Xu Qianyu felt an unprecedented sourness, spreading and tangling in her chest.

She had just stolen the Demon Bone from her senior brother…

At the thought, she felt a bitter pang in her heart and couldn’t bear to look at Shen Suwei’s expression. Xie Yuzhen dared to toy with her like this, filling her with a surge of rage.

Xu Qianyu looked down at her hand. What she was holding was not the Demon Bone, but clearly a Fire Retrieval Pearl.

Xu Qianyu’s gaze flickered. So, the “demon bone” Shen Suwei had shown her at the beginning had been a lie. The real Demon Bone was still with him.

A sense of relief washed over Xu Qianyu. She threw the fire retrieval pearl at Xie Yuzhen. “Here’s your Demon Bone back!”

Xie Yuzhen’s clothes instantly erupted in flames.

His face changed dramatically, but he had already prepared himself. From his body, eight massive fire dragons surged upward. The Abyssal Fire formed a cage, surrounding Xu Qianyu at its center.

Moments later, the heads of the four fire dragons fell to the ground, their flames extinguished.

Sword Qi circled around Xu Qianyu, her sword ringing with every movement. She attacked the Demon King from both sides, and wherever the sword passed the ground, deep sword marks were left behind.

Tu Zhuang and Yun Chu stood behind the broken pillars, watching the dazzling battle between the two, hesitating, unsure whether they should help her.

“No need.” A voice from behind startled both of them.

Wuzhen’s figure floated above the fallen mustard-seed golden pearl. His dark eyes locked onto Yun Chu for a long moment, making Yun Chu sweat on his forehead. Only then did Wuzhen speak seriously: “Don’t do Xu Qianyu’s homework for her.”

Yun Chu:?

Without Zhen’s form, he suddenly darted into the room filled with sword lights and left behind a single sentence.

“Take her out.”

What was thrown out by him by the collar was Lu You, ragged and crying. She was still struggling desperately as Yun Chu and Tu Zhuang held her, shouting, “Don’t kill him! If he dies, will the world reset? I don’t want a reset!”

Tu Zhuang didn’t understand at all. He struck a hand knife to her neck, and Lu You’s cries abruptly stopped as she fainted.

Shen Suwei was choking Xie Yuzhen’s neck.

Xu Qianyu had never seen Shen Suwei with such heavy killing intent and felt a bit uneasy. But Shen Suwei remained indifferent as he looked at his prey, his eyes cold like frost.

“Are you afraid?” He stared at Xie Yuzhen but spoke to Xu Qianyu in a soft tone, suppressing some unspoken emotions. “If you’re afraid, close your eyes.”

Xu Qianyu wasn’t afraid but still turned her eyes away, feeling conflicted inside.

The Demon King struggled, veins bulging, his eyes turning completely black before reverting to black and white, but his expression was different. He stared at Shen Suwei, warning, “Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

Shen Suwei’s expression changed, and Xu Qianyu’s eyes widened: “Master?”

It was Wuzhen.

Wuzhen had somehow infiltrated Xie Yuzhen’s body.

Shen Suwei loosened his grip, but Xie Yuzhen was still as if bound by something. He rolled on the ground, fighting with another fragment of his soul inside, glaring with hatred: “You dare to enter my body?”

Another voice, belonging to the young soul inside him, flatly responded: “You dared to enter my body. Why shouldn’t I dare to enter yours?”

Wuzhen looked up: “This is a personal grudge I’ve waited for a long time. You two, aren’t you going to leave?”

Shen Suwei looked at Xu Qianyu, sending her a transmission: “Wuzhen wants to bind Xie Yuzhen’s soul.”

Xu Qianyu’s heart tightened. Wuzhen had used this method to seal the Demon King, causing her serious injury back then.

Now he was nothing but a ghost, but he had made the same choice as he did a hundred years ago—unrelenting, to the death.

Shen Suwei looked at her again, as if asking whether she wanted to stop him, giving her the option to intervene.

Xu Qianyu thought for a moment before drawing her sword, the sharp sound of the blade unsheathing echoing: “No, your half-step to becoming a Divine was never completed.”

Shen Suwei drew his own sword at the same time, the bloodstained Chisu sword appearing in his hand.

In that instant, the rocks of Wufu Cliff trembled as a streak of golden light fell, blocking his sword.

Both Xu Qianyu and Shen Suwei felt the powerful pressure, taking a half-step back. The only force capable of overwhelming two half-step Divine beings was a Daojun at the Divine Transformation level.
But in the current world, no Daojuns were alive…
The golden light transformed into a shadow, gripping Shen Suwei’s sword edge. The figure was tall, wrapped in a black robe, its hem billowing like a banner.

Shen Suwei turned his head. “Dao, Lord Qingheng?”
Qingheng Dao: “I am not a Daojun, only a wisp of lingering thought.”

His figure was hidden in the golden light, with no solid form. The murderous Chisu sword in Shen Suwei’s hand calmed down, and the blood-like threads slowly disappeared.

Qingheng’s illusion released the sword tip, asking solemnly, “If you kill the Demon King, the balance of the world will be disrupted, and you must take his place. Will you fall to the demonic path?”

“I didn’t want to become a demon.” Shen Suwei lowered his eyes, speaking flatly, “The world has forced me here, step by step.”

Qingheng Dao: “Lingsu Daojun, if you don’t want it, no one can force you.”
Shen Suwei didn’t respond.

But Xu Qianyu felt a bit confused, unsure why Qingheng’s lingering thoughts would address Shen Suwei as “Lingsu Daojun,” as he was clearly not a Daojun in this life.

Qingheng seemed to understand her confusion and raised his hand to stop her: “My time is limited. I cannot explain all of your doubts.”

He lowered his gaze to Xie Yuzhen: “He was originally evolved from my tailbone, inheriting all of my cultivation, bringing disaster to the world. I feel guilty and have thus left behind this lingering thought. I’ve waited for a long time, and today must be the time to resolve it.”

Wuzhen’s eyes inside Xie Yuzhen’s body fixed on him: “Big Brother, don’t.”

When Qingheng fell, it was because of a self-immolation caused by their battle. Now, upon meeting an old friend, Wuzhen couldn’t bear to see him leave.

However, Qingheng Dao didn’t have much time left. He said, “Little Seventeen, the heavens have their own will. It’s not your fault; don’t blame yourself.”

After saying that, the golden light swirled into a Bagua shape, enveloping Xie Yuzhen, and together they fell into the bones at the bottom of the cliff. The golden light then formed an array, sealing itself.

The Demon King was born in Wufu Cliff and is now buried there as well.

The wind howled, and Xu Qianyu closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she felt the surrounding desolation and quietness, with only the sound of wind rustling the pine trees. She couldn’t express the feeling inside her heart.

“Did Xie Yuzhen die?” She asked.

Wuzhen had already returned to the Dream Shadow Tube, his voice emotionless: “It cannot be said he’s dead, only that he is in deep slumber. Qingheng Daojun used himself as a seal and imprisoned him.”

Xu Qianyu looked up, and the body of Daojun Qingheng, who had stood unmoving on Wufu Cliff for a hundred years, turned to dust.

All the demonic energy in Wufu Cliff dissipated, and the sky, which had been covered by a gloomy curtain, now became a bright blue, the light shining brilliantly.
The sword Xu Qianyu held in her hand, its blade pointing downward, felt heavy, pulling at her, grounding her heart as if giving her strength, like a form of comfort.

She gazed at the blue sky and thought, This sword had never had a name before, but today she could give it one. It would be called Demon Punishment.

Amidst the howling wind, the sword seemed to respond, “Alright.”

Xu Qianyu used her demon power to activate “Heavenly Thunder Sealing God.” It felt like forcing a square peg into a round hole. The pain in her meridians became unbearable, and her fox ears drooped. A blood-tinged sweetness surged up her throat. Shen Suwei quickly removed his outer robe, wrapped her in it, and lifted her up: “I’ll take you back.”

Xu Qianyu, held in his arms, pulled open his sleeve and glanced at the red rope in his hand, the scar left by the Sealing Spirit Lock. She understood but felt a tinge of sadness.

Outside Wufu Cliff, Hua Zimei was shocked.

Three people went in, and five came out. Tu Zhuang dragged the unconscious Xiao Lu, while another beautiful swordswoman in white held Xu Qianyu. Xu Qianyu was wrapped up, leaving only her face exposed, stiff and unmoving. It was unclear whether she was injured or severely harmed. Yun Chu followed behind, hesitant to speak.

Shen Suwei’s gaze swept over Hua Zimei’s face, then fell to the ground covered in white snow.

There were several depressions in the snow, the traces of several people crawling out from the snowdrifts after the recent avalanche.

A sword energy swirled around him, precisely clearing away the snow, revealing an ice spoon lying on the ground, gleaming brightly. Yun Chu hurriedly picked it up and stored it in the mustard seed gold bead.

Hua Zimei was surprised, then angry at herself and Ade for having been up there for so long without noticing it earlier: “How did you know there was an ice spoon there?”

Shen Suwei replied, “There aren’t many demons that can make the snow fall from the sky. Most likely, they used the power of the ice spoon to do so.”

However, it wasn’t easy to precisely locate the ice spoon in such thick snow, which indicated that the person behind it had extensive experience with the spring season.

Hua Zimei looked him up and down: “You are… Shen Suwei, Senior Brother Shen from Penglai?”
Seeing him confirm her guess, she forced a smile: “You were quite impressive in the battle at the Demon Domain.”

But as Hua Zimei approached Shen Suwei, the spiritual ape perched on her shoulder sensed something. It leaped down in terror, returning to its sheath. Hua Zimei’s expression turned somewhat suspicious.

Xu Qianyu felt the change in Shen Suwei’s aura and knew he was about to leave.

There was no way he could return to Penglai. If the heart demon was discovered by someone from another immortal sect, it would be even more troublesome. He wanted to hide and avoid causing trouble for Penglai.

Her body ached terribly. At this moment, she simply closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, making her appear even more like a corpse. Shen Suwei, holding her, could only slowly follow at the back of the group.

Yun Chu said, “Senior Brother Shen, are you tired? I can carry you.”

Shen Suwei glanced at him but said nothing.

Yun Chu then looked at Xu Qianyu, wrapped in her outer garment, and said, “If everyone is tired, why don’t we find an inn to rest?”

Hua Zimei, eager to continue, actually wanted to test her luck again and see if she could find another ice spoon: “There’s only one last snow demon. If we take care of it quickly, we can head back sooner.”

Unexpectedly, Xu Qianyu, who was being carried by Shen Suwei, suddenly ‘came back to life’ and gloomily said, “I’m exhausted! Can’t we just find an inn to let me rest for a bit?”

Shen Suwei suddenly raised his hand, covering her exposed ear.