princess

"Three hours... you're punctual."

Upon entering the forbidden area of ​​Yunhua Immortal Mountain, Murong Jin heard this sentence for the first time. Yunhua had her back to him, most of her body still immersed in the spiritual spring, her black hair hanging down and soaked in the spring water, but she never turned around to look at him.

Perhaps it was simply to avoid causing the Human Emperor too much fear, or perhaps it was to prevent himself from accidentally killing the human who had harmed his disciple.

This is what I deserve. Murong Jin lowered his eyelashes, lifted his dragon robe, and solemnly knelt down to await his fate.

"A sincere attitude cannot make up for your mistakes."

The demon god finally granted him a glance, and with the new self forged by the Yunhua Sect Leader and the Demon Clan's Medicine Master, he opened his palm towards him.

The combination of the ten-thousand-year-old ice essence and the molten jade marrow actually made the demon god's eyes clear. After adjusting to his no longer chaotic mind for a while, Yun Hua released a wisp of black energy from his palm. He commanded, "Raise your head, ruler of humanity. Your people do not want the emperor to be a weak man. Yun Shu begged me and Xiao He to spare your life, not to see you bow down and submit."

...Xiaoxue is still as magnanimous as ever. With a wry smile, Murong Jin stood up as instructed, looking directly at Yunhua and the blackness of her palm with neither arrogance nor servility.

A sharp pain shot through him. He instantly raised his hand to press his temples—it felt as if hundreds of silver needles were forcefully inserted into his brain, stitching all his thoughts together into a jumbled mess. He didn't flinch, his back remained straight, and he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to endure it.

He was just thinking: when he imprisoned Xiaoxue in Yilan Palace, was Xiaoxue a thousand times more miserable than this?

Such thoughts did not last long, because the information injected into the brain with excruciating pain had already strung together into a hellish mess.

He saw, deep within the endless sea of ​​sand, far beyond where Yun Shu stood, a broken yet stubbornly beating heart lay dormant. The black-robed figure, recently erased by Yun Hua, knelt in worship before that heart, behind him countless blind snakes and faceless beings. They sang ancient hymns as they approached, devoutly embracing the heart of their "god." Only when the last person returned to their place did the black sand beneath the heart rise and take shape, transforming into a blond man with closed eyes.

"Our master, the Crown Prince of the Quicksand!" the black-robed man shouted hoarsely in celebration. "He is about to return! He will bring the purest destruction and rebirth to the world! The dying vessel will eventually become a vessel for the gods, nourishment for His great cause!"

“…Too noisy, Ubah.” The man spoke, his voice surprisingly soft like a woman’s. Furthermore, his eye sockets were empty. After everyone else withdrew, he raised his hand to the man in black robes: “Come, serve me. And, more than ‘Crown Prince’…I prefer the name ‘Lord of Silence’.”

This is the first piece of information.

Murong Jin was momentarily dazed, but quickly regained his composure and took the second part from Yunhua.

He saw a blonde woman gazing towards the capital from the edge of the desert. Then, without hesitation, she drew her scythe and turned, facing alone the black quicksand bursting forth from the earth, until she was swallowed up. He easily noticed that this woman's face bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Jinzhu, a former palace maid from the Yilan Palace.

"The false god who usurped the throne, the thug who stole the title of 'Crown Prince'... The people of the quicksand and the king they elected will never give up the fight!" Before being submerged, she personally dug out one of her emerald eyes and buried it deep in the sand. Then, she offered her blood as a sacrifice to wipe out the Black Sand Blind Serpent of this place, perishing together with it.

"The blood of the princess... will awaken the soul of the land of quicksand once more in the future... while the false god who plunders our water and oasis will be buried in dust."

This is the second piece of information.

Just as he was about to take the last meal ticket in a daze, Yunhua withdrew his hand. He looked up and saw that the demon god was staring intently at him.

"Human Emperor, can you still withstand it?" Yunhua asked in a deep voice.

Murong Jin slowly shook his head and smiled, "I think Immortal Master Yunhua will not stop just because I can't bear it."

“Heh, that’s true.” Yunhua raised an eyebrow, dissatisfied yet helpless. “But Xiaohe and I have promised Qiuqiu that we won’t let you die a violent death.”

"Please continue, Immortal Master."

"As you wish."

The pain returned. This time, Murong Jin saw the false god and a bronze mirror. Inside the mirror stood a woman wearing a mask.

"Good and evil judge, what are you doing standing alone by the River of Oblivion, lost in thought?" Another woman, also wearing a mask, patted her shoulders. Seeing the shadow of the White Fox Immortal Lord appear above the River of Oblivion, the second woman softened her voice: "Missing home?"

The Judge of Good and Evil did not answer the question, only saying, "Recently, too many poisonous insects have appeared in the Netherworld. There is something... let's call it 'He' for now. He wants to taint the Netherworld, to taint this pure land of reincarnation for the dead. But I do not know how to do it..."

The third piece of information ends here, but it's enough for Murong Jin to guess the person behind the mask of good and evil judgment—Dai Yue.

Knowing he had regained his senses, Yunhua slowly tightened her palm. The black mist let out a miserable cry and vanished completely.

"What He desires extends beyond the mortal realm." Yunhua gazed towards the Western Regions, as if looking back ten thousand years. "'Controlling the cycle of all evil'... Through Daiyue's corpse, He has already crossed the boundary between Yin and Yang, setting His appetite in the realm of the dead. Furthermore, the Mountain Lord in the far north has recently discovered traces of quicksand within the Snow Realm... The Demon Lord is also aware of this. The flowing power of the Three Realms—water, fire, wind... even emotions, desires, and reincarnation—are all His nourishment."

At this point, he paused, his gaze fixed on Murong Jin like a knife: "And you, you once personally delivered the purest soul to His lips."

A metallic taste rose in his throat, and Murong Jin leaned even lower: "This junior... is guilty beyond redemption even if he dies ten thousand times."

"Only Qiuqiu can decide your fate." Yunhua sneered and pointed a finger at his brow. As the power of chaos surged in, Murong Jin immediately felt the immense weight of the mountains and rivers pressing down on his spine lessen considerably.

"I summoned you here today not only to inform you of those matters, but also for this purpose," Yunhua said calmly. "You dare to connect yourself with the dragon veins of the world, and use your own dragon energy to nourish the growth of the dragon veins... I admire your courage. Go back, Human Emperor, you should know what to do."

The Western Regions, at the bottom of the rift valley.

The cost of this round of purification far exceeded expectations. It can be basically concluded that the false god was certain that he would not allow the souls of the dead to suffer, and thus interfered, with the aim of weakening his strength after he truly arrived.

Yun Shu covered her lips with her hand, swallowing the blood in her throat. The clear light emanating from her body had clearly dimmed somewhat. The path beneath her feet had completely transformed from a rock wall back into some kind of writhing, fleshy cavity, filled with a nauseating stench of decay.

A series of thumping sounds came from his chest. It turned out that the anxious little black coal ball was pressed tightly against his heart, trying to warm that cold spot with its insignificant body.

This human-like furball must be composed of something more important than "desire." He sighed softly, thinking that he should punish his disciple for his recklessness when he got back.

"Don't be afraid," Yun Shu gently patted her chest and said softly to the little thing, "Master is fine."

The little black lump of coal finally stopped jumping around, carefully nestled in Yun Shuxin's chest, and wouldn't move again.

"So good, just like Heng'er." Yun Shu chuckled, stood up, looked around, and considered her next move.

Given his current physical condition, leading so many people deeper into the cave would leave him no time to attend to everything… Before he could finish his consideration, a door made of countless pale arms appeared at the end of the fleshy cavity ahead. In the very center of the door, a bright green gem shone brilliantly.

Judging from the aura... those must also be the eyes of a princess.

Unfortunately, Yun Shu was too late to shield Jin Zhu's view. The little girl, clutching the jade box, almost instantly felt nauseous and began to gag. Black sand and that asphalt-like substance reappeared around the cavity walls. And those arms stretched out towards her, the entire ruins of Hasaran seemed to be calling out and weeping, praying for the princess's return, eroding Jin Zhu's mind.

Yun Shu suppressed her anger and was about to strike again—here it comes again, a tormented soul, its very self obliterated, reduced to mere instinct, fused with the false god.

Canglang immediately drew his sword, and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire blazed fiercely, forming a wall of fire that blocked out all the sights and cries of agony: "Don't listen to them!"

But Jinzhu was already in tears.

“But…aren’t I their princess? They…are begging me for help…” The little girl’s tears fell onto her mother’s eyes, but she cut her own wrist before Yun Shu could, the bright red blood shimmering with specks of gold. “Mother said that the very existence of a good child can save others…I also want to…be like the Fox Fairy, to help them find liberation…They said I am a princess…I should save them…”

You've grown up, Geumjoo.

"Girl! You..."

"If that's what she wants, then don't stop her." Yun Shu stopped Cang Lang and the Faceless One, and used her demonic power to enter Jin Zhu's small body to help her.

The enormous serpent coiled beside the girl, tenderly wiping away her tears with its tail.

Miraculously, the arms fell silent, as if they had heard the princess's weeping in another world, and drooped down, no longer wailing. Furthermore, the door resonated strongly with the blood of the golden pearl, and after the rift trembled violently, the door slowly opened a crack—deep and terrifying, as if luring a lost lamb into a trap.

Bewitched by it, Jinzhu moved forward involuntarily, trying to enter that unknown door—or rather, to walk towards death.

However, this only lasted for a moment.

With the Nine Heavens Heart Bell swaying, Jinzhu only took two steps before fearfully hiding back behind Yunshu.

"Are you alright?" Yun Shu carefully examined her body, and when she saw her shake her head, she smiled and said, "You did a great job just now."

After a pause, Yun Shu asked again, "Jin Zhu, could you please do the Fox Fairy another favor?"

The little girl cleaned herself up and nodded emphatically.

"I'll borrow a drop of the fox spirit's blood, and then you and 'Shasha' will stay here, okay?"

"But...it's dangerous inside, and they..."

"It's alright. I assure you, everyone will be freed... Besides, they wouldn't want you to be tricked into going in by a false god and get hurt, right? Staying here will also help the Fox Spirit catch the escaped villains and prevent them from harming other places. And... come closer..."

Jinzhu obediently leaned closer, and after listening, her eyes hardened. She nodded along with Ming She and the Faceless One behind her: "Alright! I will definitely help Lady Fox Fairy bury that false god here completely!"

“Yes, keeping you here is the most important step…” Yun Shu said with relief, then turned to Cang Lang and said, “Lord Cang Lang, may I speak with you in private?”

The patrolman, unaware of the situation, bowed deeply after Yun Shu explained: "I understand the Immortal's order. I will certainly live up to expectations, bring this situation back to the main altar, and contact all parties!"

Thank you.

As a wisp of demonic power carried Canglang away from this place, Yun Shu pinched the little black lump on her chest, left all her magical artifacts and medicines with Jinzhu, and then walked alone through the door.