motherland

The Demon Palace.

The Demon Lord, who had been resting with his eyes closed on the throne, suddenly opened them, his heart pounding in his chest and his breathing rapid.

During that brief break from handling the demon clan's affairs, the broken jade in his chest suddenly began to burn without warning. The unease was cold and sharp, almost suffocating him.

...Master?

Mo Yiheng touched his heart. He clearly sensed that the invisible thread connecting him and Yun Shu, bound by the master-disciple bond, was trembling and buzzing violently. It wasn't a warning of impending doom, but rather more like a spiritual resonance caused by countless resentful thoughts.

This anomaly lasted only a moment. On the silk thread, the fox spirit's end quickly returned to its usual calm and gentle state, as if the tremor was merely dust that Yun Shu had brushed away when she swept her sleeve.

But Mo Yiheng didn't think that way.

Even the slightest abnormality in Yun Shu's aura was enough to make him nervous and cause a huge wave of emotions to surge within him.

"Master..." he whispered, though no one in the Demon Realm responded. Beneath his dark robes, the Demon Lord's muscles were taut.

What happened in the Western Regions? What exactly is hidden in that land of yellow sand shrouded in death and mystery that could cause such a clear emotional fluctuation in his master, who was as still as water and almost a hermit?

Did they encounter the so-called "Faceless Man," or something even more ancient, a being whose existence is only vaguely described in ancient magic books?

His fingertips, resting on the throne, turned white. For a moment, Mo Yiheng almost lost control of himself, wanting to impulsively abandon the fragile consensus he had reached with Murong Jin, ignore his own cultivation bottleneck, and leave the Demon Realm that he needed to protect... He wanted to go to the Western Regions himself, regardless of the consequences, to see if his master was alright.

But he didn't in the end.

His senior brother Yunhe had clearly told him that Yunshu preferred children who were sensible and had a sense of the bigger picture.

Although the conversations with the millennium-old human emperor after forming an alliance with Murong Jin were not pleasant, he was still able to learn a lot.

Besides the art of ruling and the ways of emperors, Mo Yiheng also rediscovered a very simple principle—think thrice before you act.

Does he know where Yun Shu is at this moment?

He didn't know.

Is his cultivation level higher than Yun Shu's, to the point that he is able to handle this matter for her?

He can't do it.

What consequences will his departure bring to the Demon Realm?

...This could very likely give members of cults an opportunity to cause trouble here again.

If they rush there, the most likely outcome is that Yun Shu will have to spare some attention to protect him.

That's incredibly inconsiderate.

Mo Yiheng slumped back onto the throne, feeling anxious yet helpless.

Just then, the water mirror inside the hall suddenly lit up.

Murong Jin held a border report in her hand and was about to speak when she saw the Demon Lord looking like a black dog that had been soaked in the rain, looking dejected.

"You..." After hesitating for a long time, Murong Jin finally asked with concern, "Did you sense something?"

Mo Yiheng glared at him, but stubbornly replied, "My affairs are none of the Emperor's concern."

"I understand. You noticed something was wrong with Xiaoxue." The Emperor chuckled, revealing the truth, and merely waved the urgent report in his hand. "What a coincidence. The Zhenxi Army just sent a message, also reporting unusual activity in the Western Regions, requesting my instructions."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yiheng stood up abruptly, waiting for what was to come.

"According to the investigation, an oasis on the western border suddenly shook, and a mournful sound was heard. Judging from the location, it coincides with the direction where Xiaoxue went."

Mo Yiheng's eyes lit up: "Do you have a more precise location?"

The Human Emperor readily provided the location, calmly observing the Demon Lord without offering any objection. On the contrary, Murong Jin alleviated his concerns: "I will assist in guarding the Demon Realm, but for no more than three days. Demon Lord, return as soon as possible. Rest assured, I am not so despicable as to betray my allies."

"...Why?" He had assumed that Murong Jin would speak up to stop him, just as he had expected.

“Besides my duties as emperor, I sometimes indulge in my whims… Isn’t that why so many people yearn for the dragon throne?” Murong Jin glanced at the ends of his gray hair and smiled bitterly. “I… am ashamed to face him. So I can only ask the Demon Lord to go in my place and accompany him…”

He didn't want to be just Yun Shu's best friend, just as Mo Yiheng was unwilling to be just Yun Shu's child.

Unfortunately, Yun Shu failed to perceive his feelings back then, and she still fails to perceive Mo Yiheng's feelings now.

After the falling out at Yilan Palace that day, he couldn't help but fantasize: if he hadn't been deceived by Liu Qing, if he had confessed to Yun Shu hundreds of years earlier, would Mo Yiheng have even had the chance to seize it?

But he soon realized that from the moment he ascended the dragon throne, he and Yun Shu could no longer have any connection beyond that of close friends. The White Fox Immortal Lord, born free and otherworldly, could not be bound by anything... and naturally could not become the Empress of Emperor Murong Jin.

Now, they are not even friends anymore. The Phoenix Throne has never had a master, and it will never be the same.

Mo Yiheng looked at him intently, his gaze unusually filled with pity: "Your Majesty, I owe you a favor."

"If I have any wishes in the future, I will ask the Demon Lord for them."

Neither of them spoke further. Mo Yiheng's figure flickered, transforming into a dark stream of light that tore through space, and sped off towards the Western Regions.

Deep within an underground temple in the Western Regions.

The phantom vanished, the whispers faded, leaving only Jinzhu's suppressed sobs and the murmuring of the spring.

Yun Shu held the trembling little girl tightly in his arms, his palm gently channeling his demonic energy to soothe her. The Nine Heavens Heart Bell swayed silently, calming the child's agitated mind. He scanned the direction the phantom pointed, his gaze sharp as a knife.

The source of the spring was a deeper, darker expanse, so dark that even divine sense found it somewhat obstructed. Yun Shu vaguely heard restlessness within, but it seemed... there was no malicious intent?

"Don't be afraid." It seems that the children raised by Yunhua are all exceptionally calm. Despite experiencing such a strange sight, Yun Shu's voice remained steady, carrying a calming power: "If you heard it, it is fate. Since it is a guide, let's go and find out what's going on."

"Mmm...mmm!" Jinzhu wiped away her tears, stood up while hugging the tail Yunshu had released, "Fox Fairy, they sound like they're in a lot of pain...I...I'll try my best not to hold them back!"

The fox spirit patted her and laughed, "Who said you were a burden? Jinzhu just discovered a very remarkable clue."

He then asked Canglang, "We two wish to explore the water source further. I wonder if the Fire Patrol Envoy will accompany us? If you need to return to the sect first, I can use my demonic power to guide you in the right direction."

After a moment's hesitation, Canglang finally stepped forward and bowed solemnly: "Immortal Master, this matter is strange and likely has far-reaching implications. Although my magical power is weak, I am not worried about protecting myself. Therefore, I humbly request that you accompany me to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Although he was unaware of the full story, he could piece together, based on the murals and reliefs, the words "wandering soul," "princess," and "plea for help," along with the sect's records of evil spirits causing trouble in the Western Regions, that the situation here could not be simply explained by "demonic mischief." And as he himself said, his magical power was weak, and his wounds had just healed. Even though a fox spirit's demonic power helped him leave the temple, no one could say for sure that when he returned to the sect in the desert, that formless and invisible entity wouldn't return.

After careful consideration, it is still more appropriate to stay by the side of the fox spirit and the "princess".

Yun Shu was not surprised by this. He nodded slightly, and a clear light emanated from his fingertips, his pure demonic power protecting the three of them. With the Nine Heavens Heart Bell present, the gathering cold death energy from all directions was not a threat.

He picked up the still somewhat trembling Jinzhu with one hand and took the lead towards the source.

As one ventures deeper, the walls of the golden sand gradually give way to smooth black stone, upon which the feathered serpent patterns carved become increasingly dense and menacing. Unlike the exterior, the scales and fangs of these serpents are made of solid mercury—thankfully, Yun Shu's demonic power protects them, otherwise they would likely have frozen or poisoned to death here. Furthermore, the serpents' pupils are made of malachite, reflecting a cold and eerie light when illuminated by the fox fairy's radiant glow.

Despite the extremely low temperature, the spring water did not freeze, and a very faint smell of decay permeated the steam.

The end was not the expected spring and crevice, but a more magnificent yet more thoroughly damaged underground altar.

The altar is circular and carved from translucent black jade. At its center is not a statue of a god, but a huge, eerily black pool. The bottom of the pool is covered with cracks, from which spring water seeps out, but the octagonal walls of the pool, submerged in the spring water, are burning with clusters of ghostly blue flames.

It was these flames that illuminated the chilling scene—

Countless petrified figures, clad in black robes and twisted like snakes, knelt densely on the altar, all facing the center of the pool with their arms raised, maintaining an eternal posture of worship. Their faces were smooth and blank, identical to the weeping phantom and the human skins seized from the human and demon races!

Before Jinzhu could see clearly, Yunshu raised her sleeve to cover her eyes.

"This place is ugly, Jinzhu, don't look." He said gently, afraid that seeing the truth would leave a shadow in the heart of such a young child. "Wait until the Fox Fairy says it's okay before you open your eyes, alright?"

The fox spirit's exceptional senses allowed him to see clearly what the dark center of the pool looked like the moment he stepped inside.

A figure formed from black mist stood in the center, golden sand flowing into it from all sides and disappearing, while eight eerie blue soul flames frantically absorbed the remaining moisture and life force, tormenting and devouring the trapped souls within. Above, on the ceiling, was a painting of the Empress. In the painting, she was turned away from the chaotic black shadow, facing a faceless crowd, her arms outstretched, endless feathered serpents extending from her skirts, the last barrier protecting her subjects. In the pool, she lay at the feet of the black shadow, her limbs twisted, her golden hair turning into snakes, only a single tear, frozen for millennia, remained in the corner of her unclosed emerald eye, like the last lake in an oasis in a desert.

Thus, everything seemed clear.

Jinzhu sniffed and whispered, "Fox Fairy... I heard... them crying..."

Perhaps over ten thousand years ago, under the rule of the Empress, the Kingdom of Quicksand was merely a small kingdom in the Western Regions. Though the people were faceless, they lived peacefully and contentedly in the oasis. They lived alongside the four-winged serpent monsters—the Howling Serpents—and, like people in other nations, led laborious but fulfilling lives. But at some point, the kingdom was invaded by an unknown evil spirit. The Empress led them in a fierce resistance, but ultimately they were no match for the demonic power, burying the entire kingdom beneath the yellow sands. Only a small group escaped and survived—among them, perhaps, the ancestors of Golden Pearl.

Yun Shu's eyes narrowed, and a brilliant light suddenly emanated from her fingertips—this place must be destroyed to make the rivers and lakes clear and to release the souls of the dead here.

Just as he was about to strike, the dark figure in the center of the pool stiffened and raised its head, its faceless "face" staring directly at Yun Shu. At the same instant, all the faceless stone statues around the altar trembled violently, their outer stone shells peeling away to reveal the eerie, jet-black bodies beneath, flowing like sand. They all "turned their heads" to look at the intruder.

At this moment, Yun Shu's first thought was: Fortunately, the empress's body was not further desecrated... and fortunately, she could not see this scene.

The greatest pain is for a guardian to witness everything they cherish being utterly defiled and destroyed.