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Chapter 33: He Doesn't Want Me Anymore

All was silent, only the rolling thunder reflecting off the massive, imposing demon beast, looking down from on high, reigning over the Sacred Sparrow clan.

Chen Moqing slightly raised his eyes, his inky dark gaze quietly reflecting that touch of mountain-snow white, shielding this whole stretch of heaven and earth for him.

In an instant, the rolling cloud layer split open with a huge gap, a massive palm covering the sky, carrying overwhelming might, pressed down heavily, colliding with the sea of thunder, stirring up a terrifying tremor of pressure, in the deafening boom that shook the earth, dozens of li around were leveled flat—the Sacred Sparrow clan's territory utterly destroyed!

Qing Fen: "……"

The fierce wind howled, Cang Shun stood unmoved, firmly shielding Chen Moqing behind itself, its provocative eyes glancing toward what lay ahead.

Standing there was a man whose hair and beard were entirely white, yet whose face appeared no more than thirty-some years old, his aura restrained, his expression placid.

He wore magnificent golden robes, of incalculable nobility, one hand cradling a feeble, weak soul—none other than Gongsun Bushi's soul.

The third elder of the Tianshu Sect, Gongsun Qing.

Peak Body Integration stage, half a step from Mahayana! Across the entire Nine Thousand Prefectures, an undisputed figure at the very pinnacle!

At this moment, Gongsun Qing did not look toward the great demon across from him, but raised his other hand, tapped at the soul of Gongsun Bushi resting in his palm: "I warned you long ago, don't go stirring up trouble relying on your status, look at the state you're in now, are you happy?"

His tone was light and casual, as if this were not some battlefield in the Demon Realm at all, but merely his own household courtyard, disciplining a disobedient junior.

Gongsun Bushi's soul lowered its head, said nothing.

【A pity】

Chen Moqing heard Cang Shun's cold, flat voice.

【He has an eighth-grade treasure on him, protecting his soul】

Eighth grade, able to withstand the might of Mahayana itself.

Chen Moqing wasn't surprised: "More than one treasure, items to die in his place, at least seven of them."

The Gongsun family of the Jiugai Prefecture held the title of "Longevity Clan," its ancient tree towering, holding ten-thousand-year lineage. And Gongsun Bushi was precisely the eldest son of the five-hundredth generation of the Gongsun clan.

"Elder Gongsun!"

The Jinwu Sect elder, previously knocked back by Cang Shun's single strike, flew over, stood respectfully behind and to the side of Gongsun Qing, bowed in greeting. Qing Fen also slowly stepped into the high sky, standing shoulder to shoulder with Gongsun Qing.

One at peak Void Refinement, one at mid-Body Integration, one at peak Body Integration stage!

With three such powerful figures gathered together, with a mere wave of the hand, who knew how many worlds they could bring to ruin.

Facing them, the massive, magnificent demon beast's eyes held mockery, stepped forward, completely blocking the young cultivator's form.

This scene, how familiar it was, still the Tianshu Sect standing high above the clouds, pressing down from on high.

Chen Moqing gazed at that radiant, brilliant snow-white form, as if seeing, beneath a blazing sun, a snow mountain that never melted.

In the Nine Thousand Prefectures, this vast world, there was actually someone walking alongside him, pushing against the current, standing in front of him.

He raised a hand, lightly brushed across that sacred, snow-mountain-like fur: "Let's go first, they still have cards in hand, no need to expend too much."

He knew that this Demon Emperor's strength had not yet fully recovered, and even with cultivation close to Body Integration, it would be hard to match two Body Integration cultivators joining forces—what's more, beneath them lay the Sacred Sparrow territory, with an unknown-purpose Mahayana stage formation as well, meaning they'd be fighting within someone else's domain, even more disadvantageous.

Cang Shun said: 【Good】

Its eyes swept coldly over Qing Fen: 【The one who killed Zhu Ran is right within the Sacred Sparrow clan】

The low voice pierced through the spiritual seas of everyone present in the Sacred Sparrow territory, thunder bursting with blazing light, fleeing far into the high heavens.

Gongsun Qing gave a faint, cold laugh: "Trying to escape?"

He raised his palm, heaven and earth went dark, a massive hand a thousand zhang long came crashing down, swallowing everything beneath it—

Chen Moqing turned his head, black hair streaming through the air, a snow-white lotus seal blazing to life between his brows.

Cold ice blotted out the sky, a nine-petaled lotus took form!

The pure, flawless nine-petaled lotus flower slowly unfurled its crystalline ice petals, ten thousand years of accumulated frost settling with an ancient aura of the Dao, the lotus blooming a hundred zhang wide, snow staining ten thousand feet.

The Body Integration cultivator's strike, beneath the blooming, undefiled snow lotus, was entirely dissolved!

Countless points of light like snow gravel scattered through the air, casting down a vast snowfall, and those two figures were already nowhere to be found.

Two at Body Integration, one at Void Refinement, yet none of them had managed to keep the two demons there after all!

"…a seventh-grade treasure, heh, so there really is some background here, daring to openly provoke us—which longevity clan is this from, I wonder?"

Gongsun Qing withdrew his hand, his face showing neither joy nor anger, glanced once toward Qing Fen beside him.

"Was that great demon also at Body Integration stage? Have you seen it before?"

Qing Fen said coldly: "Never."

Gongsun Qing gave a light laugh: "Could it be possible… that the Demon Emperor has been reborn?"

"Absolutely impossible." Qing Fen's eyes turned cold, "For several thousand years, the place where he fell has long had countless restrictions set upon it. The moment he were to revive, it would inevitably alarm heaven and earth, known to every prefecture."

Gongsun Qing slowly nourished Gongsun Bushi's soul with spiritual power: "Even with ten thousand precautions in place, are you not afraid of the one chance in ten thousand?"

Qing Fen looked down upon the leveled ruins of the Sacred Sparrow territory, gave a cold laugh: "The northern border is guarded by your esteemed sect, wouldn't you know better than I? To guard against the possibility of your sect master's eldest disciple reviving, you all specifically had him annihilated within the northern border—"

Gongsun Qing's brow furrowed slightly, looking at Gongsun Bushi's soul, which had begun trembling in his palm, rather exasperated at its lack of promise, put it away directly into his wide sleeve.

The former Tianshu Sect head disciple Chen Moqing had fallen in the northern border of Zhou Kingdom, and no one had investigated, partly because everyone believed in the Yanluo Sword that Yu Bai had used to sever his divine soul, and partly because—the northern border held restrictions thousands of years old, making it absolutely impossible for a living soul to appear there without being noticed.

Should anyone attempt the heaven-defying technique of rebirth within the northern border, they would certainly be discovered, and so, all those guilty of monstrous crimes, all demons that absolutely had to be executed, were put to death within the northern border, to prevent them from silently being reborn—this too was an unspoken secret shared among certain ancient great sects.

"Enough of this. Even if the Demon Emperor were reborn, it's impossible he could cultivate such heaven-defying power again so soon." Gongsun Qing flicked his sleeve, clasped his hands behind his back, "And if he really were the Demon Emperor, then wouldn't the one beside him be the former Chen Moqing?"

"Such a joke would keep this old man laughing for three thousand years."

With that one remark of laughter, he set the matter aside. Then, together with the Sacred Sparrow Demon King, turned and walked off into the distance.

...

"What? You were sent to call on Qing Fen, and you blew up his entire nest?"

"What? His kid died too?"

"Qing Fen's dao companion already died long ago, he only had two children, and now great, they're all dead!"

In the Vermilion Bird's cave abode, the youth in red robes wore an expression as if he'd been struck by plague.

"So what you're telling me is, you blew up the Sacred Sparrow clan's territory, got pinned with the crime of killing the Sacred Sparrow young clan head, and then waltzed right over to my place like nothing happened?!"

Chen Moqing said: "We didn't come through the front gate, weren't noticed by anyone."

The Vermilion Bird's voice instantly rose: "Is that really the issue here, front gate or not?!"

【Qing Fen has long since betrayed the demon race, colluding with Tianming Prefecture. The next step, he might well bring the fight right to your doorstep】

The low, unfamiliar voice rang out in his spiritual sea, and the Vermilion Bird's mouth twitched again: "I've been wanting to ask this for a while, why do you never speak out loud, always transmitting voice in secret instead, are you mute or something?"

Cang Shun: "?"

The little snow-white beast immediately lifted its head, looked at Chen Moqing.

Chen Moqing calmly stroked that little head, spoke evenly: "The one who killed the Sacred Sparrow young clan head wasn't anyone else, it's highly likely to have been the Sacred Sparrow Demon King himself."

From the very moment the Jinwu Sect had appeared within the Sacred Sparrow territory, certain things had already become plain to see.

"…No one's going to believe that." The Vermilion Bird said coldly, "Same as no one would believe—that Tianming Prefecture is the mastermind behind the Desolate Ruins Secret Realm, even if you had evidence, even if that evidence were laid bare before the eyes of the whole world, it would still be useless."

Tianming Prefecture, the Jinwu Sect. Jiugai Prefecture, the Tianshu Sect.

Which of them wasn't a renowned ancient great sect, a colossal power that had dominated the cultivation world for tens of thousands of years, blotting out the sun. In the battle at the Demon Abyss too, these two great sects had built up accumulated merit beyond count.

The Demon Realm at present, with its demon kings each guarding their own territory, mostly in seclusion, was already scattered sand. Even if the truth of the Desolate Ruins Secret Realm came to light, what use would it be for the Demon Realm to openly denounce them?

Among all the demon kings, only the Vermilion Bird was at early Mahayana stage, surpassing all the other demon kings. Yet looking across the human race's upper prefectures, there were three at peak Mahayana stage altogether, two in Jiugai Prefecture, one in Tianming Prefecture, and above even them was a Tribulation Crossing stage powerhouse, who though in seclusion for many years, whereabouts unknown, still remained a sword hanging over the Demon Realm.

The Jinwu Sect would not fall because of this, not so long as one glance from their peak Mahayana Grand Elder could silence ten thousand voices.

Hearing the Vermilion Bird's words, Chen Moqing's expression showed no change, all of it within his expectations.

He and Cang Shun were equally aware of this, which was precisely why they hadn't made the truth of Qingluan Prefecture known to everyone, because—it would be useless at this point.

In the cultivation world there was only one path, strength reigns supreme.

"You're saying, Qing Fen killed his own two children, but why would he do such a thing? He's already a demon king, what benefit would there be for him in betraying the Demon Realm?"

The Vermilion Bird paced back and forth, his expression dark.

"As for you two, what's come of stirring up this whole affair? Originally Tianming Prefecture had only cordoned off a small cage within little Qingluan Prefecture, while the various demon kings each settled within the Demon Realm, peaceful and undisturbed for a thousand years—now, if their human race uses this as a pretext to declare war on the Demon Realm, given the Demon Realm's current strength, it would be a matter of mere centuries before it fell."

Cang Shun's eyes took on a tinge of mockery, Chen Moqing said: "One step back, then step by step back. Five thousand years ago the demon race followed the Demon Emperor into battle at the Demon Abyss, a thousand years ago the various demon kings withdrew into seclusion, another hundred years from now, will the Demon Realm bow its head and pledge allegiance to the human race?"

The Vermilion Bird stood still, turned back, his sharp gaze stabbing toward him like a blade.

Chen Moqing's expression didn't change, didn't dodge or evade either, met the Vermilion Bird's edge head-on.

Cang Shun narrowed its eyes coldly, planted on his shoulder, directly facing off against the Vermilion Bird.

Some invisible aura seemed to unfurl, clashing briefly in that short span, and finally, the Vermilion Bird gave a cold laugh.

"…Tell this king everything you saw at the Sacred Sparrow clan, leave nothing out, however trivial." He said, expression cold, "After that, let this king think it over."

Chen Moqing said: "Is the Demon King willing to trust us?"

The Vermilion Bird fell silent for a few breaths, glanced at that snow-white spirit leopard on his shoulder.

"If it had just been him, I'd have tossed him out long ago." He paid no mind to that snow-white spirit leopard's icy glare, just looked at Chen Moqing, "But, you're different."

Cang Shun: "???"

It directly blocked in front of Chen Moqing.

Chen Moqing calmly pressed down the little snow-white beast that had puffed up in alarm, gently smoothed down that fluffed-up fur: "Why is that?"

The Vermilion Bird said nothing, just turned around—the posture of someone seeing off a guest.

Having received no answer, Chen Moqing calmly said his farewell, and carrying the Demon Emperor, left.

Just as he stepped out from beneath the eaves, a cold voice came from behind him again: "Don't wander off, there's a pond over there, just go find a rock and squat by it, the two of you."

"……"

A courtyard shaded by parasol trees, fallen leaves drifting across a jade-green pond.

A little snow-white beast leapt onto the young human's shoulder, leaned its head in close, lightly rubbed his cheek with its soft fur.

【What are you thinking about?】

Why had he been lost in thought ever since coming out from that bird's place.

Not even looking at it anymore.

Cang Shun raised a paw again, touched the side of Chen Moqing's face.

"……"

Chen Moqing turned his face slightly, met that pair of crimson demon eyes gazing intently at him.

"Your Majesty mentioned before that your cultivation has recovered most of the way?"

Cang Shun gave a small snort: 【Just a little more to go】

That last little bit, once crossed, would mean transformation.

It was just about to say there's no need to be afraid, I'll protect you from now on—when a clear, calm, gentle voice fell against its ear first:

"Since that's the case, could Your Majesty—sever the bond between us?"

The words were already out, no way to take them back.

Chen Moqing quietly gazed into those crimson demon eyes, and within that condensed crimson, saw his own reflection clearly.

The Demon Realm was destined for great upheaval. He had no intention of leaving. But once the great battle began, the bond between him and Cang Shun might become a fetter upon the Demon Emperor.

…That was the outer reason.

Questioning his own heart, his path was destined to be one with no way back, no road behind it, a dead-end road with no return.

Why drag another along, dragging a heart of pure sincerity down to sink together with him?

"……"

Upon hearing the young human's words, the crimson demon eyes suddenly went still.

The sound of the wind stopped in an instant. Heaven and earth fell silent.

Amid that stillness, only one clear voice echoed within Cang Shun's sea of thought.

…Is he leaving?

Because I brought him back to the Demon Realm, and it's burdened him?

…Makes sense.

He never needed to get caught up in the Demon Realm's troubles to begin with. It's too dangerous.

If he hadn't come back with me, he wouldn't have run into the Tianshu Sect again either.

So, he's leaving.

…He doesn't want me anymore.

Cang Shun slowly lowered its eyes.

【I don't know how to sever a contract】

The voice held not a trace of emotion, like a shard of snow falling into a frozen lake in winter.

"Before, Your Majesty had said—"

【That was a lie】

【This one has no means of dissolving the contract. You may seek out a method yourself, and once you've found it, come see this one again】

With that said, Cang Shun turned around, crushed the fallen leaves scattered across the ground underfoot, and walked off into the distance without looking back.

...

The Vermilion Bird had just crossed the threshold when he saw that familiar figure standing on the jade steps, motionless, like ancient, frozen snow.

He took another step out, looked left, looked right, found only that solitary great demon, alone.

The Vermilion Bird brightened up at once: "Ooh ho ho, he's ignoring you, is he!"

Cang Shun: "……"

Those crimson demon eyes hung quietly downward, not a trace of emotion in them, only an exceedingly low voice passing through the Vermilion Bird's spiritual sea: 【Why does he want to leave?】

Is it because I'm not good enough?

Or is it that I'm not strong enough… making him feel that I can't protect him?

The Vermilion Bird: "Gibbering and mumbling whatever it is you're saying, all this king knows is, if someone this king fancies ignores me, drag them to bed and have a round, that'll do it, and if they still ignore me, then have a few more rounds."

Cang Shun: "……"

Cang Shun said coldly: 【No wonder your dao companion ran off】

The Vermilion Bird: "???"

"Damn it, you and I are sworn enemies! Someone! Toss him out!"

Someone did come, though it was a young cultivator with a tall, slender build.

He stepped forward a few paces, extended a hand toward the little snow-white beast on the steps: "I have something to say to you."

Cang Shun turned around without a word, not looking at him.

So Chen Moqing simply raised his hand—pinched the loose skin at the back of the little snow-white beast's neck.

Lifted this little fluffy ball right up, tucked it into his arms, gave the Vermilion Bird a nod as a gesture, and walked off, carrying the little fluffy ball with him.

The Vermilion Bird: "……"

Left standing there alone, the Vermilion Bird: "Are you two in on this together, just to mess with this king?"

On the bluestone steps, the young cultivator sat down along the stairs, looking at the little snow-white beast curled up between his knees, radiating a cold, forbidding chill.

The little snow-white beast had curled itself into an icy little ball, not moving at all.

"Kitty," Chen Moqing said calmly, "I only meant to dissolve the contract. I never said I was leaving now."

Cang Shun: "……"

"…………"

It slowly raised its head.

【You're not leaving?】

"The Demon Realm is in a time of great upheaval," Chen Moqing said, "Why would you think I'd abandon you?"

Cang Shun fell silent.

A full cup of tea's worth of time later, it slowly let out an "oh".

Then, this little snow-white beast, its fur having drooped listlessly until just now, stood up with its expression back to normal, hopped down from the young human's lap as if nothing had happened.

Bounced around him, hopping this way and that.

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