Chapter 45 Divine Punishment: The True Form Descends to the Mortal Realm.
After being repelled by divine power, the Chiwen let out a deafening roar and finally returned to the riverbank, falling into silence.
Hua Xun stared blankly at the deity before him, who remained in his concealed form, his white robes fluttering gently.
After a while, Hua Xun stepped forward, wanting to grab his sleeve.
The hand passed through the god's semi-transparent body, and only where it passed through did it emit a faint golden light.
"This is a phantom of my avatar." The God-King's voice was as ethereal as a dream, accompanied by a resounding echo.
Hua Xun lowered her eyes in disappointment, but her eyes lit up when she saw the golden bottle in her hand. She held the bottle up and said, "My Lord, I got the Childhood Essence Pill."
"Hmm." The deity nodded with a smile, but paused when he touched her blood-stained hands and arms. He wanted to heal her, but when he raised his hand, he realized that this wisp of illusion was no longer useful.
Hua Xun didn't care about her injuries, only casually wiping away the blood that had flowed down her wrist.
Baili Sheng stared at the scene before him, the demonic energy in his palm vanishing without a trace.
"Heh." He chuckled, a sound that seemed both mocking and self-deprecating. "Didn't Lord Changsang boast of the equality of all beings, yet now he's doing this for..."
"...A mere demon has even resorted to using clones and illusions."
Hua Xun frowned. She had long known that Baili Sheng looked down on her identity as a black demon, but being belittled like this in front of the God Lord still made her feel deeply embarrassed.
"Ah Xun is very well." A gentle voice flowed slowly.
Hua Xun suddenly looked up.
Baili Sheng's fingertips trembled slightly as he stared intently into Chang Sang Jiuqing's eyes.
Their eyes met in mid-air, and neither of them spoke again.
Until Hua Xun's soft cry rang out: "My Lord, your robe has disappeared..."
The deity withdrew his gaze and smiled at the girl before him: "The phantom has appeared in the world and will soon dissipate."
Hua Xun pursed her lips tightly: "The Divine Lord is waiting for me in Thousand Shadows City."
"Alright." The moment the words left his mouth, the divine lord's phantom transformed into specks of golden starlight and vanished from the world.
Hua Xun looked up as the starlight dissipated, and only after a long while did she turn her gaze away. She glanced at the golden bottle in her hand, then turned to look at Baili Sheng.
Baili Sheng's throat tightened.
"Thank you, Demon Lord," Hua Xun said quietly. "Now that I have obtained the Childhood Essence Pill, I will not bother you any longer."
Baili Sheng froze, standing rooted to the spot, staring at her expressionlessly, remaining silent for a long time.
"Demon Lord..."
"Hua Xun." Baili Sheng suddenly interrupted her.
From a distance of nearly ten feet, Hua Xun looked at him with puzzlement.
Baili Sheng's gaze fell on her blood-stained left arm, an injury she sustained while saving others.
When she faced herself, she felt only wariness, caution, and an eagerness to escape.
Baili Sheng pursed his lips tightly, then suddenly burst out laughing after an unknown amount of time: "...Okay." he said.
Hua Xun's tense heart relaxed as she looked at the still surging winds of the Crimson Moon River and the Eternal City on the other side of the river.
Baili Sheng's hands were clenched tightly, and it took him a long time to raise them.
In an instant, an illusion enveloped the Crimson Moon River, and the turbulent riverbed gradually became calm.
Obsidian bridges gradually span the river.
Hua Xun glanced at Baili Sheng one last time, nodded in thanks, then turned and stepped onto the bridge, walking step by step into the distance.
He didn't look back even once.
Baili Sheng stared at the receding figure until it disappeared from sight, then he slowly turned around.
Without leaping into the air, he simply walked in the opposite direction of the stone bridge, silently heading towards the Demon Palace.
She was just a lowly demon.
He is the Demon Lord, the lord of both the demon and monster races.
Keeping such a little demon around would only make us a laughingstock.
Chang Sang Jiuqing, that hypocritical god, if he wanted to show compassion for all living beings, then he would just take her away.
A familiar, delicate fragrance emerged.
Baili Sheng's steps gradually came to a stop. He looked up blankly and realized that he had unknowingly walked into the Brahma Sound Hall.
The aura of that little demon still lingered inside the hall.
Baili Sheng stood outside the hall, looking at the empty inner hall and the faintly swaying purple gauze curtains, motionless.
After standing there for an unknown amount of time, his gaze shifted slightly.
For some inexplicable reason, Baili Sheng thought of the way Changsang Jiuqing had addressed the little demon earlier...
"Ah, Xun." The unfamiliar and hesitant voice rang out late.
*
When Hua Xun rushed back to Qianying City, it was exactly the seventh day that he had arranged with Qian Zhichou.
Standing in front of the Falling Moon Pavilion, Hua Xun finally caught her breath. Before she could even knock on the door, the large stone door slowly opened with a loud bang.
A demon servant stood behind the door: "The Demon Lord ordered me to come and fetch the young lady."
Hua Xun hesitated for a moment before slowly walking in.
This time, instead of climbing the stone steps, the demon servant led her directly into the stone pillar in the center of the nine-story tower. A stone platform was manipulated by demonic energy, and in an instant, they reached the top floor.
Hua Xun was placed in an empty room and waited for half an hour, but no one came.
With the divine lord in her heart, Hua Xun tried to push the door, but as expected, she couldn't open it.
Hua Xun sighed in frustration, then turned around and found that Qian Zhichou was already sitting on a stone bench by the stone table in the room, holding a cup of wine in her hand, languidly and seductively tilting her head back to sip it.
"I'm sorry, little black demon," Qian Zhichou chuckled, "I was enjoying a drink with Lord Jiuqing, which is why we were delayed for a while."
Hua Xun was initially startled, but after hearing what she said, she gradually calmed down. She didn't believe what she said, but simply took out the golden bottle: "I got the Zhihua Pill you wanted."
Qian Zhichou glanced at the golden bottle and knew it was real. She couldn't help but chuckle, "I didn't expect you, little black demon, to be so lucky as to come back alive."
Hua Xun frowned: "Now it's your turn to keep your promise."
"Return the earth soul of Lord Luohe and unlock the spirit-locking array."
Qian Zhichou looked at Hua Xun with curiosity, then circled her in confusion: "Little Black Demon, if I heard correctly, you're telling me to keep your promise?"
At this point, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud: "I am a demon, why should a demon keep its promise?"
Hua Xun's expression changed slightly: "You want to back out?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Chiori raised an eyebrow. "It can't be called 'going back on your word,' since you not only didn't die, but came back alive and well."
Hua Xun pursed her red lips and swiftly stored the golden bottle in her dantian: "It will only take two hours to refine the bottle body with the demon core."
"Once the golden bottle is refined and the pill enters your body, you can forget about obtaining the Childhood Essence Pill again."
"You!" Qian Zhichou's expression suddenly turned angry, but after a few breaths she relaxed and chuckled a few times, "Little crow demon, are you so loyal in wanting to save the God Lord and the Earth Soul of God Lord Luohe?"
Hua Xun replied quietly, "Yes."
"Then do you know who Lord Luohe is?" Qian Zhichou asked in return.
Hua Xun frowned: "Lord Luohe is a member of the same clan as the Lord of Gods, and is one of the ancient gods. He even suppressed the demon beasts with his own body for ten thousand years."
In fact, the Divine Lord said that it was during the ten thousand years of suppression that Divine Lord Luohe continued to resist the power of the demon beasts, which made the ancient demon beasts that swallowed mountains and spewed mist as weak as ordinary demon beasts.
"Pfft..." Chiori laughed so hard she almost fell over. "So it's just a pitiful little demon who knows nothing."
After laughing enough, Qian Zhichou slowly raised her charming eyebrows and eyes: "What if I told you that Lord Luohe, like Lord Jiuqing, is the last of the ancient gods?"
Hua Xun: "I don't understand."
Qian Zhichou pushed a cup of wine in front of her: "If the gods had not perished back then, these two would have been the ones responsible for reproduction."
Hua Xun suddenly raised her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Qian Zhichou drank a cup of wine: "They are gods, unattainable gods."
"Since the birth of the God Race, it has never formed a marriage alliance with any other race. Furthermore, do you think that if the Human and Immortal races learned of Luo He's resurrection, they would ask Lord Jiuqing to help Luo He continue the divine lineage and ensure the God Race's protection for generations to come?"
Hua Xun was stunned, standing blankly beside the stone table.
She thought she understood what Qian Zhichou meant.
Only when gods form a bond with each other can the purity of bloodlines be guaranteed, and their descendants will also be born gods.
If Lord Luohe were to be reborn, he would be one of only two gods in this world.
"How about it?" Qian Zhichou's voice was melodious. "Do you still want to revive Lord Luohe?"
Hua Xun's eyes flickered as he looked at her: "...Why are you telling me all this?"
"Hmm?" Chiori asked back, then smiled faintly, "Do you really think you've hidden your thoughts so well?"
"Little Black Demon, do you know what it was like when I first met Jiu Qing?"
“The sky was filled with demonic energy and blood, and the city of Thousand Shadows was littered with corpses. It was so filthy,” Qian Zhichou’s voice was like a sigh. “In such chaos without any order, rules, or social norms, he appeared, like a moon.”
Hua Xun stared at the dazed woman: "You..."
“I am just like you,” Chiori laughed, a hint of fanaticism flashing in her eyes, “but he is a god. He is too high above, too pure and flawless. You should know this better than I do.”
"I had to pull him down, pull him to the ground, into the dust."
Hua Xun: "So, for thousands of years, you have used the lives of those who were sacrificed to maintain your beauty and commanded the whole city to believe in the God, while you have been secretly creating a spirit-locking array, just waiting for the God to come and trap him by your side?"
“That’s right,” Qian Zhichou raised her eyebrows. “I know that with my cultivation level, I can never trap a true god. I do not seek to stay with the true god, but only to spend the rest of my life with a wisp of his avatar.”
"How can I allow myself to grow old like an old woman when I am spending millions of years with a god who will never grow old?"
Hua Xun gazed into Qian Zhichou's eyes, which held a hint of infatuation. At that moment, her usually stunningly beautiful face seemed to have developed several cracks.
Something was cracking along the seam, little by little.
"Didn't you just ask me if I still wanted to revive Lord Luohe?" Hua Xun said quietly.
Qian Zhichou composed herself and looked at her firmly: "Do you still want to?"
Hua Xun nodded gently and smiled, "I think so."
"For the sake of the Three Realms, Lord Luohe destroyed her divine body; for this alone, she deserves to be reborn."
Qian Zhichou's face darkened: "But if she comes back to life, a little demon like you isn't even worthy of being near the body of the Nine-Tiered Divine Lord..."
"So what?" Hua Xun curled her lips into a smile. "The moon should be hanging high in the night sky."
"The lifespan of the Black Demon is short; no matter how deep its cultivation, it will only last ten thousand years. If Lord Luohe is reborn, then someone can accompany the Lord forever, which is wonderful."
The moment the words left her lips, Hua Xun felt an absolute silence descend upon her.
She looked around blankly, but seemed to hear a familiar breath.
Qian Zhichou's beautiful face twisted slightly as she looked at her with a shrill voice and bloodshot eyes: "I originally intended to spare your life, and if you knew what was good for you, I would let you go. Since you are so stubborn, then I will strip you of your dantian, it will be the same."
Hua Xun was startled and immediately tried to escape.
The powerful demonic energy bound her limbs, preventing her from rising into the air.
A powerful purple demonic light gradually spread behind Qian Zhichou, her long, seaweed-like hair fluttering without wind: "Don't worry, once you retrieve the Zhihua Pill, I will release those mortals. They will thank you..."
Hua Xun, uncontrollably manipulated by Qian Zhichou, floated before her eyes.
A demonic light emanated from Qian Zhichou's fingertips, sharp as blades, as she was about to tear apart her dantian.
The next instant, a deafening roar resounded.
The seemingly indestructible nine-story pagoda was blasted in half by a powerful force, leaving only half of the tower teetering on the brink of collapse.
The spirit-locking array that had been hovering in the sky, spinning silently, shattered like glass after a moment of stubborn resistance, with countless fragments falling to the bottom of the tower along with the broken walls and ruins.
Beside the nine-story pagoda, the tall white jade statue collapsed in an instant, turning into shattered jade.
In the sky, a golden figure stood on the void, his fingers slightly twirling, his eyes clear and focused, like a snow lotus on a mountain peak, untouched by dust.
Hua Xun raised her head and squinted her eyes with difficulty, looking towards the horizon.
Her face was flawless, as if bathed in moonlight.
This is... the true form of the God!
Hua Xun stared blankly at the figure, a hint of joy rising in her heart, but then she remembered something, pursed her lips, and her smile faltered slightly.
“How could this be, how could this be…” Chihiro murmured, staring intently at the figure in the sky, “How could you appear, why did you appear…”
She turned around abruptly, staring intently at Hua Xun: "It's all your fault!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the demonic energy transformed into a sharp blade, which was about to pierce straight into her dantian.
Before it could even touch Hua Xun, a glimmer of golden light touched the blade, and the blade instantly vanished into nothingness.
Qian Zhichou looked at her empty hands, her face turning deathly pale.
"You have committed murder, defied the virtues of Heaven, disrupted the laws, and gone against my will. Now your punishment shall end here." The divine voice resounded, neither sad nor happy, proclaiming her guilt.
Then, the nine-story pagoda gradually turned to dust, along with the demonic servants who had once served the tyrant within it, all vanishing together.
Only the young girl and boy trapped inside the tower pillar were protected by the golden barrier and remained unharmed.
Qian Zhichou's body was trapped by the golden light, and her ten thousand years of cultivation were rapidly drained away. Her body gradually turned into thick purple smoke, but she still tried her best to resist the annihilation of her soul.
She looked at the high and mighty god with resentment: "If you will one day kill me with your own hands, why did you save me in the first place?"
The deity lowered his eyes and calmly said, "Because I am gambling."
Will the Demon Lord, who guarded the city alone ten thousand years ago, be able to break free from his fate?
Qian Zhichou's eyes widened in shock. After a long while, she withdrew her upward gaze and looked down at the person she had captured for sacrifice.
The children, no older than sixteen, were huddled in the blood-stained cage she had built, staring at her with eyes full of fear.
Ten thousand years have passed; she's almost forgotten.
Ten thousand years ago, she also took the lead and guarded the city gate when the demons attacked.
He also willingly submitted to the Demon Lord when the Demon Lord unified the Demon Race, in order to prevent Thousand Shadow City from falling into war.
She once saved the entire city's people, but over the long years, she also killed countless of them.
Qian Zhichou's final resistance eventually dissipated, and in a moment, a great purple light shone, turning into a cloud of smoke that quietly vanished from the world.
Hua Xun felt her body suddenly loosen, and she began to fall uncontrollably to the ground.
The expected pain did not come; a beam of golden divine power gently lifted her up and placed her steadily on the ground.
Hua Xun looked up and saw the God Lord slowly flying towards her, landing in front of her.
Hua Xun stared at him in a daze: "Divine Lord?"
"It is I," the deity said gently, and with a wave of his hand, the wounds on Hua Xun's hand and arm healed instantly.
Hua Xun glanced at his now-healed hand, then looked up again at the deity standing close before him.
This was the first time she had seen the true form of the God in the mortal realm.
He remained as gentle and compassionate as the moonlight, which should have hung high in the sky.
"How..." The deity was about to ask a question, but his words froze the moment the girl opened her palm.
In her palm lay a serene ball of translucent, bamboo-green light.
The Earth Soul of Luohe.
He had completely forgotten that.
A golden light rose from the ruins, transforming into the ordinary appearance of the Divine Lord's avatar, standing quietly not far in front of her.
The deity waved his sleeve, taking the earth's soul into the Soul-Gathering Lamp, and turned to look.
Hua Xun looked over and was stunned again: "Divine Lord..."
The deity's avatar smiled gently at her: "The Soul-Locking Array can indeed prevent me from returning to my original body, but it cannot stop..." He looked at his original body, "you."
The deity looked at his clone and composed himself: "Return."
The clone was enveloped in golden divine light, its form gradually becoming transparent, and finally turning into golden light, returning to the Divine Lord's true form.
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Author's note: Running straight into the synopsis lol~
Since this story focuses on romance, it won't be very long.
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