Falling dust
The banquet came to an abrupt end.
The false god's empty eyes looked at Yun Hua, then drifted towards Yun Shu, and for the first time, his slender body trembled with excitement. He covered his eyes, touched the deep, unhealed wound in his heart, and laughed heartily.
"So that's how it is... You're his disciple. No wonder you all taste equally delicious." Li's head twisted at an incredible angle, and the raging black sand seemed to be summoned by him, suddenly calming down, and then overflowing in an instant, rushing in all directions.
He continued to lick his fingertips ambiguously, still savoring the sweetness of the white fox's blood: "No, there is still a difference between you... When Yunshu enters the mouth, it is far smoother than yours."
Upon hearing his disciple's assessment, Yunhua's face darkened. Without a word, he drew his spear and charged, aiming directly at the heart hanging high above. However, as he pierced the ugly creation, he realized it was merely a smokescreen by this false god.
Within the shattered "Heart of the False God," there was no blood or flesh, only a fresh corpse—the black-robed man whose avatar had been destroyed by Yunhua, or, as Wubo, the one who had been killed.
The fugitive from the underworld smiled, seemingly satisfied with his fate. His fragmented body was filled with black sand, making him look more like a monster than when he was alive.
This also means that Li Qin killed his own relatives and bestowed upon them the supreme gift—devouring.
"...Ugh!" In just a moment of hesitation, the sand spike pierced through Yun Hua's chest. Fortunately, he was prepared and dodged in time, avoiding a fatal injury.
But this was enough to force him to lean on his gun and catch his breath, creating an opportunity for Li to get closer.
"Let me see what interesting things this expired old pastry has brought?" As always, He lay hungry behind Yunhua, His exceptionally soft fingers reaching into Yunhua's heart, precisely touching the heavily protected jade box. The latter's counterattack was a step too late, and the false god took a piece of it, flesh and all.
The elixir made by Jin Yelan fell from His fingertips, reflecting the chaos of the place.
Glancing at Yun Shu, whose limbs and joints were riddled with holes and who was powerless to resist, He was in high spirits: "Ah... a nice candy ball. Too bad, it's mine now."
After saying this, he lightly raised his hand and swallowed it, completely unaware of the subtle smile in Yunhua's eyes behind him.
Just as the false god turned around again to deal with the remaining "dishes," everything He had swallowed earlier finally launched a counterattack.
A strange power surged within his stomach, and the corpse that originally belonged to the Netherworld but had been taken by Him to corrupt it also broke free from the control of the black sand and began to sway like a puppet.
"Using the fugitive Wu Bo's identity, we have successfully located the lair." A female voice, not belonging to Li, suddenly rang out here, a sigh from another world, "Lord of the Underworld, will you allow me to assist the mortal realm in eliminating the source of chaos?"
"Good and evil judgment, you know I have never refused your request."
"...It's part of the procedure. Master, please allow me to remind you, they can hear us."
"Huh? Cough cough... It's approved."
"yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Shu felt a force behind him lift his heavy body up. The coldness from the River of Oblivion actually lessened the pain in his crippled limbs.
But when I turned around, there was nothing there.
Fortunately, this did not prevent him from talking to the other party: "A-Yue, how have you adapted to serving in the Netherworld for three thousand years?"
“Master… White Fox Immortal Lord, I have grown accustomed to the cold of the River of Oblivion, and… I have also adapted to living alone.” She seemed to choke up a little, but her vocal cords had long been stiffened by the frost of the Netherworld. “Thank you for your concern, thank you… for remembering me.”
The White Fox Immortal felt a surge of emotion in his chest. He spat out the blood clots he had choked on while laughing, but he only said, "How could I not remember? No matter how far a bird flies away from its nest, the nest that remains will always remember the way it first flapped its wings... You are also a child I am proud of."
Upon hearing this, the transparent figure hurriedly said, "The dead cannot be dealt with..."
"Master knows. It will bring me misfortune and disaster, right?" Yun Shu interrupted softly, then smiled, "But now, is there any greater calamity than this situation?"
The other person fell silent. After a long while, Yun Shu realized that she had been carefully embraced for a moment, and then heard the person say, "Master, A Yue has worked diligently in the Netherworld and has not brought shame upon you."
You're all silly kids... The moment you have the courage to break the wings that allow you to soar through the sky, you are destined to become everyone's pride.
With her joints crippled, Yun Shu couldn't personally comfort her eldest disciple, so she squeezed out her last bit of demonic power, fumbled for her hands instead, and placed them on Dai Yue's head: "Ah Yue, you've worked hard. But now is not the time for us to catch up."
His other disciple, Mo Yiheng, still has his heart inside the false god's body, and he still fantasizes about devouring the entire world as his food. The heavenly lightning has arrived; how can we allow him to continue his evil deeds?
"Hmm." Daiyue regained her cold, judgmental demeanor, and after helping Yunshu sit down, she coordinated with the formation that the Lord of the Underworld had already activated in the River of Oblivion to connect with the other seven directions.
The icy, bone-chilling waters of the River of Oblivion surge forth from who knows where. All the people in the world see is it, along with the power of all realms, piercing through the deathly black sand, strangling vicious poisonous insects, and finally rushing towards the Western Regions, towards a bottomless, empty valley.
Using the countless clones of the fugitive Wubo as anchors, the sand that Li cleverly scattered in various places unexpectedly became the best landmarks for the Lord of the Underworld. The cold from the other shore drew the power of humans, demons, and immortals, precisely targeting their vital points and bringing destruction upon them.
In addition, the swallowed demon heart, the devoured fox demon power, and even the elixir that was supposed to repair the meridians, were actually entangled and intertwined internally, plundering the power of the false god and turning it into their own.
"You... plotted against me?" Li's smiling mask shattered, her beautiful face contorted with extreme resentment and joy. "From the very beginning... your purification of those ants, Mo Yiheng's heart hidden in your chest, the Wu Bo clones you killed outside... and this tribulation lightning that was brought forward ahead of schedule, was it all for this moment?"
Despite her extremely poor condition, Yun Shu still nodded and said, "Not bad."
Li became interested again, ignoring the fact that Yunhua's spear had cut his perfect body, and asked closely, "Aren't you afraid that I won't be so eager to swallow your power and that heart?"
“That won’t happen.” As if remembering something, Yun Shu said softly, “Because you have been hungry for too long, too long… so long that you have forgotten why you need to eat. You frantically absorb and devour power, but because your heart is empty, no matter how much you eat, you will never be satisfied.”
"What does this have to do with the certainty of your plan's success?"
“Of course it is. You smelled Heng’er’s desire, didn’t you? And you know that only by consuming my power can it be satisfied… only then can your empty body find some solace.”
Yun Shu finally raised her eyes. In the instant that Li Wuqing pierced her heart, the Nine-Tailed Fox used all its strength to turn around and bind her: "Your desire to fill your heart will naturally lead you to first devour that heart, and then devour me, which that heart craves. But now, none of that matters. Survive the Heavenly Tribulation with me, and I will retrieve his true heart from your corpse."
He would accept and bring back the heart that loved and longed for Yun Shu, and then personally place it back into Mo Yiheng's chest.
The white fox, covered in blood, let out a long howl, and, carrying the false god who could no longer break free, headed towards the thunder it had been trying to escape for millennia.
Thunder is a divine object that purifies evil and cleanses impurities.
You wicked and depraved god who devoured countless souls and civilizations, I grant you permission to ascend with me to the heavens to face final judgment.
Eighty-one divine lightning bolts struck, scorching the nine-tailed celestial fox's flawless white fur to charred black, turning his proud eyes into chaos, vibrating his keen and sensitive ears until they rang, and then tearing out his true heart to roast and fry it.
When the trial ended, a torrential rain fell from the sky, rainbows reshaped his bones, the rising sun polished his five senses, and the moonlight became his soul. The mountains, rivers, wind, snow, and bustling world of his fiefdom endowed him with an unchanging heartbeat and emotions, sending him back to the mortal world from the heavens.
Before awakening, the unprecedentedly powerful immortal lord stepped into a void. In that desolate place that devoured all things, he slowly walked towards the aimless man.
“I have lost.” Hearing the person beside him, He said calmly, “But at least I will never feel hungry again.”
The White Fox Immortal Lord remained silent, simply sitting cross-legged to be a dutiful listener.
“Actually, I really like you. Or rather, I hope you can appear sooner.” He tugged at his golden hair, seemingly belatedly realizing his discomfort with his body. “Being abandoned in a deserted valley because of birth defects is almost a certain death sentence for a child who has just opened his eyes.”
"I am not the only one nourished by rain and soil. I am just the hungriest among them. Everything I crave is out of reach. Neither food nor pity can be found in this empty valley. I have used many things, including rotting corpses, stones, and even my own flesh. But nothing can truly satisfy my hunger."
“I have burst my own body many times, and I have slaughtered lives and drunk blood many times, but I have never been able to die from it. Every time I wake up, I am controlled by an even stronger hunger, no matter how ugly I died the day before.”
At this point, He turned to “look” at Yun Shu: “At that time, I thought of something: if someone dared to bring me back and fill my stomach with sweet ‘love,’ I would certainly not have ended up in this state.”
The White Fox Immortal remained seated, offering no response. He was not annoyed, but continued to mutter to himself: "Just as Murong Jin, through your grace, escaped the fate of a tyrant and became a wise ruler for all time. Just as Mo Yiheng, thanks to your kindness, remained clear-headed even after becoming a demon god. Unfortunately, no one was as compassionate as you back then. But thankfully, though tens of thousands of years late, you still appeared before me, granting me final peace."
“Li, you should know that I will not forgive your actions because of this,” Yun Shu finally spoke.
"I had no such intention." He chuckled twice, took the white fox immortal's well-defined hand and placed it above his eyes. "Send me to the Netherworld to be punished, merciful immortal. But in the end, could you allow me to see this world one last time?"
"If that's your wish."
They shared their gaze with Him, and after soaring through the sky for a while, they returned to this place.
“How beautiful…” He sighed, “Now I have no regrets. Farewell, the only one who knows my true name, the only one who reached out to me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished with the wind, and the black sand that had been engulfing everything returned to silence, turning into dust.
It's time to go back.
Yun Shu closed her eyes, gently inhaling the fresh scent of the clouds, and then, without hesitation, leaped down, returning to the human world.
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