Chapter 41 Humans and Demons Are Destined to Go Their Separate Ways "This junior is a disciple of Heng Qichun of the Eighteen Realms..."
A halo of light pierced through the dappled shadows of the trees and fell on Lou Yan's face. He moved his eyelids and opened his eyes to meet the blinding light.
wrong.
That's not a tree.
The golden light flickered, outlining the rugged shape of the "tree shadows," which looked remarkably like rare coral. The turquoise water and crimson coral interacted, creating a dappled glow before our eyes.
Lou Yan sat up abruptly—what kind of weird place had he come to!
The first thing that catches the eye is the figure of a rhinoceros demon playing with a group of small fish and shrimp. Further behind are the pale blue ancient buildings, which look like they are covered with a layer of water mist from a distance. Although they are magnificent and huge, it is difficult to see the details.
Lou Yan suddenly had an idea, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and decisively popped a small floating bubble in front of her.
It was water! He was actually underwater!
Unlike the three years he spent imprisoned at the bottom of the pool on the rooftop in his previous life, his spiritual power was not sealed at this moment. His dantian felt comfortable, and the scattered ghostly energy was difficult to detect for the time being. Only gentle spiritual power filled his limbs, gradually giving him a bit of "living energy".
So what exactly is this place?
Why did such a strange underwater ancient palace appear after the ground beneath Xuanwu Lake was filled with water?
Suddenly, a deep, aged voice reached his ears, "You still have some sense. No wonder the Chongming Bird insisted that I save you."
Lou Yan didn't hear what "it" was saying at all. The wolf was so agitated by the "arrogance" in the voice that its fur stood on end, its neck stiffened, and its joints moved backward inch by inch. It took a long time before it could barely see the person coming.
Perhaps it cannot be called a person.
It looks just like an old tortoise.
The tortoise shell was carved like black jade, with a faint blue light appearing and disappearing on its back. A black serpent coiled around it, its scales gleaming with a cold, iron-like luster.
It slowly approached Louyan, its golden eyes, like the ever-burning lamps of an ancient temple, looking down upon all living beings with disdain.
Lou Yan took a step back and vaguely heard Wei Xiuzhu whispering in his ear.
Help.
He found the ancient Xuanwu, a mythical dragon that appears only briefly in the Book of Nine Provinces.
Unable to place any hope in the rhinoceros demon that was engrossed in playing, Lou Yan could only barely hear his own trembling voice, "Senior?"
No wonder he was shaking.
Just as the saying goes, "immortals and demons are on different paths," Lou Yan is essentially a pitiful demon wolf who was abandoned. By nature, he has no reason not to be afraid when facing a huge ancient divine beast.
It's already quite good that he didn't tuck his tail between his legs and run away.
"Hmm." Xuanwu actually responded to him, still pacing back and stopping in front of him, the black snake on its back hissing as it poked its head out.
“The world has truly changed.” Xuanwu looked at him scrutinizingly, his tone as if lamenting the decline of morality. “Even a demon wolf can cultivate immortality and seek the Dao.”
Lou Yan curled his fingers slightly, and it took him a long time to accept the fact that the Xuanwu was talking to him.
This was the first mythical beast that Lou Yan had ever encountered in both his lives that could speak human language. He finally calmed himself down, forced himself to look up at it, and immediately withdrew his sharp gaze, looking rather timid.
"I..." Lou Yan began, her voice still trembling slightly, "It is my master, Ren Shan."
The black snake hissed and flicked its tongue, circling around to Lou Yan's face and looking at him with interest. Seeing that the little wolf demon did not react, it simply climbed up his shoulder and licked his cheek with its bright red forked tongue.
Lou Yan clenched his back teeth, and amidst the almost overwhelming sounds of licking and swallowing, he lifted half of his eyelids and gave Xuan She a forced smile, "Senior, perhaps... you could stop licking me..."
The black serpent ignored this and even tried to wrap its arms around Lou Yan's neck to smell his scent, but fortunately, the black serpent coughed lightly, "Come back!"
The bronze-colored black serpent reluctantly retreated back onto its tortoise shell.
Even though Xuanwu appeared relatively calm, its gaze filled with curiosity towards Lou Yan was quite evident. It paused, and then its deep voice came through, "May I ask who your master is?"
Lou Yan pressed down on the corner of his lips and answered honestly, "This junior is a disciple of Heng Qichun of the Eighteen Realms."
As soon as he spoke, Xuanwu paused for a moment, then his gaze suddenly shifted, staring intently at the black snake on his back for a long time.
The two pairs of beastly eyes, each imbued with an ancient aura, gazed intently for a long time, concealing their inner thoughts, before Xuanwu finally uttered a soft, thoughtful voice: "It was actually him..."
Lou Yan did not respond.
He lifted his eyelids and glanced at the other person. His previous fear gradually dissipated in the long silence, turning into many inexplicable speculations about Heng Qichun.
Heng Qichun never introduced himself to him.
He had only heard snippets of information from others, piecing together from two lifetimes the long and incomplete tale of Heng Qichun.
Legend has it that the divine realm was separated from the lower five realms a thousand years ago, and a barrier was set up on the immortal mountain of Hezi Island, making it impossible for anyone to enter the divine realm.
Heng Qichun was the last god left in the human realm. He and Nanyushan were from the same school and were raised by the ancestors of the eighteen realms from childhood, guarding the peace of one side of the human realm.
It has survived for thousands of years, but in summary, it can be summed up in just a few words.
Lou Yan felt a void in her heart, as if a piece of her soul had been ripped out.
But he didn't think this feeling was because he was thinking of Heng Qichun.
He hates him too much to even think about pitying him.
Before Lou Yan could figure out the source of these complex emotions, Xuanwu's voice rang out again: "Did he send you here?"
"Hmm." Lou Yan snapped out of her daze and shook her head as naturally as possible. "He's my senior uncle."
“Some of our disciples discovered that monsters were frequently appearing in the Four Symbols Mountain, so we sent our disciples to investigate.” He looked at the rhinoceros demon in the distance. “When we arrived, it was drawing ghostly energy into itself in Xuanwu Lake.”
Xuanwu remained silent, but the black snake on its back suddenly extended its forelegs and coiled directly around the rhinoceros demon's neck.
The rhinoceros demon let out a startled "moo," and the small fish and shrimp in its hand scattered and fled. Its clumsy body was unable to resist the divine power of the black snake. It was pulled back several steps by the neck and fell on its backside in front of the black tortoise.
The snake's tongue did not loosen its grip, but instead wrapped it tighter and tighter around the neck, until the ugly, dark blue face turned blackish-purple.
The rhinoceros demon struggled to breathe, its limbs thrashing and thrashing in the water, emitting mooing sounds as it cried for help.
Lou Yan subconsciously clenched his fist, a wisp of spiritual energy already forming at his fingertips. He thrust the copper-colored forked tongue towards the black snake and shouted sharply, "Let it go!"
Xuanwu chuckled and looked at the rhinoceros demon struggling at his feet, its strength gradually weakening. "It has failed to transform after trying to lure a ghost into its body. Gods, ghosts, demons, and monsters alike will find it hard to tolerate. It's better to give it a quick death."
Lou Yan's eyes immediately blazed with anger, and his previous cautious and restrained expression completely vanished.
He suddenly raised his hand, and the spiritual power at his fingertips transformed into a golden light that slashed down. "It can die however it wants, but it cannot be killed by you gods."
The black snake nimbly avoided the spiritual energy and slid its body back onto the back of the black tortoise.
The rhinoceros demon's eyes were filled with tears, and it covered its neck, coughing incessantly.
Lou Yan glanced at it, his anger only increasing. "If one could become a god, who would want to be born a demon? If not forced to reveal their true form, who would want to risk attracting a ghost into their body and becoming such a monster that is neither human nor demon?"
"Don't mention the divine way. Just because you're a god doesn't mean you can kill living beings and treat all demons in the world as death row inmates—" it sneered, "Gods are the most ruthless."
Two lifetimes.
The word "demon wolf" weighed heavily on them, making them extremely cautious and fearful that someone might expose their true nature with every step they took.
His first outburst against the injustice of the divine order came when he faced such an ancient divine beast.
Lou Yan gave a bitter laugh to himself.
These few words will surely provoke the Xuanwu's wrath, and I'm afraid I'll die before the rhinoceros demon.
So be it.
It's still more dignified than the ending of my previous life.
The golden light at his fingertips gradually faded, and Lou Yan stood there with his eyes closed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
The imagined divine power did not come.
Feeling something gently tug at the hem of his robe, Lou Yan opened his eyes in confusion and saw the rhinoceros demon, who had escaped death, lying on the ground tightly hugging his leg, tears streaming down its face, full of gratitude.
"Moo!"
You're such a good wolf!
She was thanking him for saving her life.
Lou Yan unconsciously twitched the corner of his mouth, trying to avoid its touch, but as soon as he lifted his foot, he saw the rhinoceros demon kneel up and wrap its arms around his waist.
The stupid thing was tall and big; even kneeling, it was almost as tall as him. Lou Yan was about to say that it was just a small favor and there was no need for such a grand gesture when his pupils suddenly contracted.
—The rhinoceros demon was about to lick his neck with gratitude!
All beasts have a desire to eat, and wolves are no exception, nor are rhinoceroses.
Lou Yan's expression twitched, and as if facing a formidable enemy, he dodged and pushed it away, thinking to himself, "I shouldn't have stopped the Xuan Snake from entangled you, you ugly thing."
The farce unfolded before Xuanwu's eyes, and it chuckled lightly, its words laced with sarcasm, "You're quite kind-hearted, having learned all of Heng Qichun's ways."
It refers to the story of Lou Yan speaking out for justice for a rhinoceros demon, even resorting to violence.
The rhinoceros demon had already calmed down under Lou Yan's warning gaze.
Lou Yan stood to the side and blinked. From Xuanwu's tone, he knew he wouldn't die today.
But he was still curious. He crossed his arms and carefully examined the ancient Xuanwu. With the fearlessness of a newborn calf, he asked, "Does my master have any grudge against you?"
"It's not a holiday." Xuanwu seemed to chuckle. "I have lived for tens of thousands of years and have seen countless gods, demons, immortals and monsters. He is the only one who pities the world with his divine form, and you are the only one who angrily denounces the gods with your demon form."
It suddenly narrowed its eyes, took a step closer to Lou Yan, and brought its enormous head right in front of Lou Yan, asking each word with a questioning tone, "Wolf cub, do you want to flatten the God Realm?"
Lou Yan almost thought he had misheard. He subconsciously lifted his foot, his tanned skin turning slightly pale, and his lips parted slightly. "No..."
He didn't know why the Black Tortoise asked that question, but he had a feeling...
He always felt that this Black Tortoise seemed to know everything!
That thick tortoise shell carries the past and the future, revealing his past life of killing his master and slaying gods, and also foreshadowing his fate of dying without a burial place in this life.
No.
That's impossible.
Lou Yan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the fear in his eyes had faded, replaced by a burning intensity.
He said bitterly, "Don't think that just because you're an ancient divine beast you can presume to know people's hearts!"
Xuanwu was naturally not intimidated by a mad wolf cub. He smiled good-naturedly, stopped the restless black snake on his back, and naturally changed the subject.
“You just said… ‘If it weren’t for being forced to reveal its true form, who would want to risk letting a ghost enter their body?’ What, was this rhinoceros forced back to its original form by someone else?”
“No,” Lou Yan replied, arms crossed. “It said there’s a ‘man-eating mirror’ on the mountain that will reveal the true forms of any passing monsters.”
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Author's Note: Because Master hasn't appeared for so long, I've included an extra scene to make up for it~
The Eighteen Realms.
When Nan Yushan burst into Shenxiao Palace with a whistle, Heng Qichun was still sitting at his desk, engrossed in his copy of "The Record of Heavenly Secrets" which he had read hundreds of times.
“Tsk…” Nan Yushan placed the whistle in his hand in front of him, “Your apprentice is quite the fearless newborn calf.”
Heng Qichun's fingers holding the pen paused abruptly, then he lowered his eyes without changing his expression, looking somewhat cold.
"His senior brother has given him an important task, so I'm afraid he won't dare not do his best."
Nan Yushan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt that the person sitting on the lotus platform in front of him gradually overlapped with the figure of his junior brother when he was a child and was sulking and ignoring people. He couldn't help but chuckle, "Are you blaming me for sending your disciple to the Four Symbols Mountain without telling you?"
Heng Qichun remained silent, clearly neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Nan Yushan sighed and resignedly coaxed his junior brother, "Alright, this is a message sent back by the Chongming Bird."
“Your son went into Xuanwu Lake by himself, so we’ll probably have to make a trip to Sixiang Mountain ourselves.”
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