After a moment, a highly respected elder spoke up: "Cooperating with the Demon Realm is indeed a feasible solution. After all, the Demon Realm is also part of this continent and should work with us to resist the invasion of the extraterrestrial demons."

"I disagree!" Just as this elder finished speaking, another elder retorted as if he had been hit by a cannonball: "The Demon Realm is full of wicked demonic cultivators. Who knows if they will stab us in the back if we cooperate with them?"

As soon as the elder spoke, the other members of the immortal sects began to discuss among themselves.

"Exactly! Demonic cultivators are utterly wicked; can we really trust them to cooperate with?"

"I, for one, have no intention of cooperating with the demonic cultivators."

"But, Elder, aren't you being too absolute? Not all demonic cultivators are utterly evil!"

...

"I think there's some misunderstanding among everyone!" Just as the people of the Immortal Sect were discussing among themselves, Qin An suddenly spoke up. "After I unified the Demon Realm, I issued orders to everyone, telling them not to do evil or commit wrongdoing. Therefore, the situation you are worried about does not exist. We demon cultivators are all people who abide by the rules."

"Yes, yes, I was helped by a demon cultivator just a few days ago!"

"Yes, Demon Lord Qin An did indeed issue such an order, and now it's impossible to find any demon cultivators practicing evil arts."

"Those demon cultivators in the Demon Realm are indeed getting better."

As soon as Qin An finished speaking, some disciples of the immortal sects spoke up for him. They were all people who had witnessed the changes in the demon cultivators.

"This..." The elders of the immortal sects were speechless for a moment. After all, what these disciples said was true, and they could not deny the efforts made by Demon Lord Qin An.

"Since that's the case, what do you all think about cooperating with the Demon Realm?" Venerable Lieyang asked when everyone was silent.

"I have no objection!"

"I have no objection either!"

I second that!

In the end, these elders of the immortal sects compromised and agreed to cooperate with the Demon Realm.

Thus, the two sides reached an agreement and formed an alliance.

Qin An entrusted the negotiations with the people from the immortal sect to his left and right protectors, instructing them to discuss subsequent cooperation matters.

Qin An rushed towards Shu Lan, "Master, are you alright?!"

Seeing Qin An running towards his junior brother, Venerable Lieyang quickly stepped forward, blocking Shu Lan's path. "What are you doing here?" Venerable Lieyang stared coldly at Qin An. He hadn't settled accounts with Qin An yet! It was all his fault that his junior brother was so heartbroken! And that his junior brother had waited for him for so many years!

"I...I've come to heal Master's injuries." Qin An's tone immediately softened when he saw the fierce look on Venerable Lieyang's face. He knew that his departure without saying goodbye and his fall into the demonic path had caused great harm to his master, so he couldn't blame Venerable Lieyang for disliking him.

"By the way, Junior Brother, your injury!" After Qin An's reminder, Venerable Lieyang's attention was once again focused on Shu Lan's wound.

"Senior brother, I'm fine, it's just a few minor injuries!" Shu Lan gently brushed aside Venerable Lieyang and walked up to the aggrieved Qin An. "Alright, we're all on the same side, why were you so harsh on him, senior brother?"

"It's all his fault—" After waiting for him for so many years, she couldn't eat or drink, and even the smile on her face was gone.

"Shh!" Shu Lan suddenly put a finger to her lips. "Senior brother, there's no need to talk about the past!"

Seeing Shu Lan's resolute gaze and the way she protected Demon Lord Qin An behind her like a mother hen, Venerable Lieyang knew that nothing he said would make a difference, so he could only swallow his words.

Seeing that Venerable Lieyang had stopped speaking, Shu Lan turned to Qin An, who was protecting him from behind, and smiled in a long time: "Xiao An, come home with me first!"

The word "home" touched Qin An's heartstrings. He had always thought that after he became a demon, his master brother would not allow him to go back. Unexpectedly, his master brother was still the same as before, caring for him, loving him, and wanting to take him home.

Home! What a wonderful word! Qin An always felt that home was where his master brother was. Although he lived quite well in the palace in the Demon Realm, without his master brother's company, he felt that place was not his home.

Now, his master is inviting him home, smiling so gently at him. How could he bear to refuse? How could he possibly refuse? Home! How long has it been since he's been home?

Qin An grasped his master's hand, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "Yes, let's go home! Xiao An wants to go home with Master!"

Shu Lan smiled even more happily. He grasped Qin An's hand in return, turned around and bid farewell to Venerable Lieyang: "Senior brother, I'll take Xiao An back first!" After saying that, before Venerable Lieyang could react, he took Qin An and flew away on his sword, heading straight for the Star River Sect.

"Alas! You, you all!" Venerable Lieyang stretched out Erkang's hand, but all he could see was his junior brother's back.

Shu Lan and Qin An quickly returned to Tinglan Peak of the Star River Sect.

Qin An stepped into the courtyard of Tinglan Peak and found that it was exactly the same as when he left. Even the courtyard where he lived was spotless, obviously because someone cleaned it regularly.

Seeing Qin An staring blankly at his room, Shu Lan said, "I thought you would come back someday, so I didn't touch anything in your room. I even cleaned it occasionally. Is there anything that doesn't suit your taste? I'll have someone change it when the time comes."

"No, it's not that it doesn't suit my taste!" Qin An only came to his senses after hearing his master's words. He hugged his master tightly and said, "I'm just... just so happy!" He was happy that his master still cared about him.

"You're such a grown man, why do you still need to be hugged?" Shu Lan looked at Qin An with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Such intimate things are only done between—" Daoist partners.

"I don't care!" Qin An interrupted Shu Lan angrily. "I want to hug you! I want to hug my Shizun brother for the rest of my life!" After saying that, Qin An took advantage of the situation and put his hands on Shu Lan's waist, hugging her tightly.

Shu Lan felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. The thought that Xiao An would one day leave him and find her own Daoist partner caused him immense pain. Perhaps, after that day, he would never receive Xiao An's embrace again! So, he decided to be greedy and savor these last few days of his life.

At this moment, Qin An's heart was also filled with bitterness. He dared not tell his master that he liked, even loved, his elder brother. He was afraid that his master would reject him, and even more afraid that his master would abandon him. After all, who would accept a disciple who coveted theirs?