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Chapter 60: Who Killed Me?

A soft, fluffy warmth pressed against the side of his face, radiating a plush heat. Chen Moqing lowered his eyes to see the little snow-white beast on his shoulder stretching out two fluffy little paws, wrapping them briefly around his face.

What are you doing.

He didn't move, and Cang Shun didn't move either—human and beast simply held each other's gaze for a moment.

A light breeze stirred a few strands of black hair, drifting down against the snow-white fur. Cang Shun caught the faint, clean scent lingering among the black hair, like green bamboo under moonlight.

His gaze rippled faintly, and before the thought had fully formed, he'd already lowered his head on instinct, leaving a light, brief kiss against that pale cheek.

Quick as a dragonfly skimming water, there and gone in an instant.

Then the Demon Emperor buried his head into his human's shoulder in a flash, refusing to lift it again.

"......"

Chen Moqing watched this little fluffball, having just kissed him, burrow wordlessly into his collar, the tips of its soft, fluffy fur tinged faintly pink.

Turning into a little peach-blossom cake.

The corner of his mouth curved up faintly as he gathered up this soft little peach-blossom cake, seemingly on the verge of melting, holding it close.

The little peach-blossom cake stayed perfectly still, head buried silently in his palm; after a moment, it quietly shifted closer to his chest, pressing itself against his heart.

Stuck there for good.

"Seems I'm the one who's been taken advantage of," Chen Moqing said, his tone easy and light, drifting softly by Cang Shun's ear. "Is Your Majesty the Demon Emperor going to deny it now?"

【...No!】

Cang Shun lifted his head quickly, stealing a glance at the young man's faintly arched eyes, and found his gaze caught there, unable to look away.

He tugged at his sleeve, murmuring quietly, 【You're not angry anymore?】

Chen Moqing rubbed the Demon Emperor's head. "I was never angry to begin with."

Cang Shun fell silent, pressing himself into his palm on his own, nuzzling and rubbing against his fingers every which way.

Just as Chen Moqing reached out to ruffle that soft, smooth fur, he felt a faint dampness at his fingertip.

Cang Shun had nipped him again.

Chen Moqing: "......"

A kiss a moment ago, now a bite.

He bent a knuckle and gave the Demon Emperor's head a light knock.

Cang Shun blinked, gazing up at him obediently.

On the ground, Ning Lili sat with her eyes slightly glazed, having just watched the little bird chick pounce all over the young cultivator—hopping onto his shoulder to nuzzle him one moment, burrowing into his arms to peck about the next, the two of them seeming to exchange quiet whispers.

She couldn't say why, but the longer she watched, the more something felt off.

At that moment, the little bird chick was still nestled in the young man's arms, head held high, looking thoroughly pleased with itself.

"Fellow Daoist, don't leave just yet."

A clear, resonant female voice rang out again from behind them. Chen Moqing turned his head to see the yellow-robed cultivator give a brisk, formal bow. "This one is Qiu Zaiwang. I'd like to spar with you a round."

Cang Shun looked up to see his human smile faintly, the smile refined and gentle. "All right."

The little snow-white beast tucked its two paws in without a sound, thinking to himself—smiling at someone else again.

In the blink of an eye, an invisible arena unfurled across the sky, the tall figure in black robes with its rippling dark gold cloud patterns standing opposite the crisp yellow robes in the distance.

Qiu Zaiwang gripped her long whip, snapping it back with a flick of the wrist, her aura utterly unconcealed—early Deity Transformation stage!

"This generation of talents really is something else." Ning Lili heard the mysterious turtle A' Bai's voice. "Not even three hundred fifty years old, and already several Deity Transformation cultivators among them."

Ning Lili said without a second thought, "We used to have an even more impressive one, a Void Refinement cultivator at just a hundred years old!"

"You can't even compare that to a talent," A' Bai said dryly. "That was more like a monster."

Ning Lili laughed. "If Jiang Yu were still around, he might well be at Deity Transformation by now too."

The mysterious turtle A' Bai burst out laughing at that. "Wasn't he still at Qi Refinement when you first met him? Qi Refinement to Deity Transformation in that short a time? Hahaha... even that Chen Moqing isn't that outrageous!"

Ning Lili balled up a fist the size of a sandbag with practiced ease.

The mysterious turtle A' Bai's laughter cut off abruptly, its gaze fixed on the sky, tone turning serious. "Now that's a fine fight."

Qiu Zaiwang was a Deity Transformation weapons cultivator, her long whip forged from the bones of a flood dragon. With each crack of the whip, nine illusory flood-dragon forms coiled through the sky, eyes blazing with fury.

The dragons surged across the earth, stirring wind and cloud, yet none of them could touch that tall, light figure, wreathed in swirling runes.

Qiu Zaiwang fixed her gaze intently on him. The young talisman cultivator before her kept his aura carefully restrained, his true cultivation impossible to gauge, yet the runes flying about him moved like a dragon in flight, drawn freely and effortlessly, as easy and unhurried as wandering through mountains and rivers.

Such fine talisman craft.

Qiu Zaiwang's eyes gradually brightened.

She'd seen talisman work and combat style this beautiful once before, though not from a talisman cultivator. From a sword cultivator.

——The former Sect Master of Tianshu Sect's foremost disciple, whose sword intent moved like flowing clouds, sharp enough to cleave the heavens. In the battle at the Demon Abyss, the sword array that had torn open the crimson depths of that blood-colored chasm was the single most breathtaking strike she had witnessed in her entire life.

She'd never imagined she'd meet a second person like him.

Runes filled the sky, forming a vast canopy that enveloped the dragons; they surged toward the heavens but could not break through the net, ultimately crashing back down to earth.

"Marvelous!" Knowing her defeat was sealed, Qiu Zaiwang laughed heartily, not a trace of discouragement on her face. "I concede this round to you, until next time!"

She stood still, waiting for the moment she'd be expelled from the secret realm, only to see the young talisman cultivator before her sweep his wide sleeve, the runes scattering down like rain across the earth, fading into nothing.

"Why didn't you finish it?"

Chen Moqing said calmly, "It was only a friendly match. No need to fight to the death."

Qiu Zaiwang laughed again. "I find you quite an interesting person. Why don't we—"

Cang Shun: "?"

The Demon Emperor let out a sharp cry and sprang up onto his own human's shoulder, glaring fixedly at the woman.

Qiu Zaiwang laughed even harder. "You two are both quite entertaining. You don't look like owner and pet, you look like a couple!"

"......"

Once she'd finished laughing, she gave another formal bow. "I haven't yet asked for your name, fellow Daoist."

"Liu Yun."

"Good. Liu Yun, once we're out of here, our paths will cross again."

Qiu Zaiwang gave her whip a flick, coiling it back at her waist, and strode off, her yellow robes snapping in the wind.

Chen Moqing landed on the ground. Ning Lili bounded over to him, mysterious turtle in her arms. "Brother Liu Yun, I'm off too! Here's my communication jade sli, come visit us in Dongzhou Prefecture sometime."

Chen Moqing nodded. "I've passed through there before. It truly is a place of fine mountains and waters."

He spread his slender fingers open. "This talisman will help protect you."

Ning Lili let out a hearty laugh. "No need, I'm a talisman cultivator too! I already got what I came for this tournament—rank doesn't matter, just do your best and come home soon—that's what my master said!"

The mysterious turtle A' Bai's dry voice sounded within her spiritual sea: "That was a fifth-grade Heavenly Tribulation Talisman."

Without a second thought, Ning Lili grabbed Chen Moqing's hand, her expression turning solemn. "If you don't mind, I'd like to swear you as my sworn elder brother!"

Cang Shun: "?"

In the instant before the little bird chick could spring up, Ning Lili quickly pulled her hand back, casually pocketing the fifth-grade Heavenly Tribulation Talisman along with it.

Then she heard the young cultivator before her laugh softly. "You're very good to your master."

Ning Lili paused for a moment.

"What?"

The young talisman cultivator had already left with his little bird chick some time ago. The mysterious turtle A' Bai nudged Ning Lili, who still wore a dazed expression.

Ning Lili slowly lowered her head, meeting those bean-like eyes. "...A' Bai, there's no way someone could actually go from Nascent Soul in five years to Deity Transformation in ten, right...?"

The mysterious turtle rolled over with laughter. "Hahaha! Are you an idiot? Would you believe me if I said I was Chen Moqing?"

"......"

Not long after leaving Extreme Flame Island, a dark cluster of over twenty cultivators appeared, blocking Chen Moqing's path—clearly having waited quite a while already.

"Fellow Daoist, bad luck for you, all alone out here."

The talent at the lead said with a smile, "Fairy Qiu's long gone by now. Why don't you... play with us brothers for a while instead?"

Chen Moqing smoothed down a tuft of fur sticking up on the little snow-white beast, pressing down that fuzzy little paw, and smiled back. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

...

"Chu family head! What do you have to say for yourself now!"

Outside the secret realm, the argument on the viewing platforms had grown heated and unending.

"First he killed Gongsun Bushi, now he's beaten Qiu Zaiwang! Among this generation's named talents, no one but Xiao Jibai could pull that off! And you still say he's not some demonic cultivator who snuck in!"

Aboard the Chu family's light boat, Chu Langtao held his tongue for a moment, then said, "Luck—it's just luck!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the silver mirrors on the viewing platforms rippled, bringing up a new scene.

The black-robed talisman cultivator stood tall and slender, striding through the high sky, runes flying about him as over twenty talents facing him fell, one after another.

The sea of clouds churned, and at the entrance to the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm, more than twenty figures were spat back out.

——As for the two Deity Transformation cultivators of the Hei family who'd been staking out the entrance earlier, no one could say where they'd gone off to hide.

This time, the viewing platforms fell silent for a good several breaths, before a cold, distant voice rang out from within Jinwu Sect's pavilion: "Heh. Luck?"

Chu Langtao could hold back no longer and burst out cursing. "You're just jealous! The man's a talent from a lower prefecture, just because his gifts are off the charts and he's not from your sect, you slap the label 'demonic cultivator' on him without a second thought?"

"Demonic cultivator this, demonic cultivator that—go on, tell me exactly what about him fits a demonic cultivator's ways! Gongsun Bushi was the one trying to snatch that soul fruit, Qiu Zaiwang was the one who proposed the sparring match herself, and those twenty-some people walked right into it with their eyes wide open! The whole point of the tournament is to compete for first place, are you saying the man's not even allowed to fight back!"

"If you're too weak, go cultivate more! Stop crying 'demonic cultivator' every damn day! Can't measure up to someone, so the second you step outside, everyone in sight is suddenly a demonic cultivator!"

"How dare you, Chu Langtao! You've barely crossed into Body Integration yourself, and you dare spout such nonsense here!"

An old, furious voice thundered out from another immortal ship, its overwhelming pressure—that of a cultivator at the peak of Body Integration—crashing down onto the Chu family's light boat at once!

"Well said."

A smooth, unhurried female voice drifted through, and the surging pressure bearing down on the Chu family's boat dissolved in an instant.

The viewing platforms fell silent once more.

That voice a moment ago had come from the Qiushui Sect's painted barge, from someone every powerful figure present knew all too well.

——The Grand Elder of the Qiushui Sect, Qiu Tianyue, at the peak of Mahayana!

She'd come here in person?

And she was standing up for that talisman cultivator called Liu Yun, no less?

After a brief silence, a voice rang out from a distant hall: "Elder Qiu speaks with true insight. From what I've observed, young friend Liu Yun has astonishing talent and an unshakeable resolve, like the rising sun climbing into the sky. He's bound for greatness."

"Indeed, such genius is rare in this world! If you don't want a treasure like that, then I'll take him! Jiuyang Sect would be more than happy to take him in as an inner disciple."

"What do you Jiuyang lot even have to offer! My Taishang Sect is in need of a closed-door disciple, and the position is open!"

"Heh, you Taishang Sect people are all array cultivators. My Shenlu Sect's talisman arts are the finest in all the Nine Thousand Prefectures, he's bound to join us!"

The wind had shifted. Many of the great upper-prefecture sects who'd stayed silent until now suddenly began scrambling to lay claim to him.

...

"Gongsun Bushi's been killed? Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"

In a deserted cave somewhere within the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm, Xiao Jibai doubled over laughing, the tremors knocking loose a couple of pebbles from the cave walls.

"Even eight lives couldn't save him! Hahahaha!"

"Host, be careful. Someone's watching you from outside."

Xiao Jibai covered his face. "Pfft, senior brother, my poor senior brother, what a miserable death you had... who, who did this to you!"

The system: "......"

The system said, "Would you like to avenge him?"

"Avenge him? Heh. Whoever managed to kill Gongsun Bushi must be at Deity Transformation. I know nothing about this person—if we actually fought, we'd both come out wounded, and everyone else would just profit from it, wouldn't they?"

Xiao Jibai let out a scoffing laugh.

"This is only the preliminary round of the tournament, just deciding the top hundred slots. All I need is to be one of those hundred."

"Once we're out of here, that person's background will be dug up completely. Next time I run into him, I'll have a near-certain chance of winning."

Xiao Jibai set a stone down firmly on his gomoku board, planning his moves carefully, still settled comfortably in the empty cave, with no intention of coming out.

"The host has changed."

"People change, that's all. Maybe that's just what growth looks like for the protagonist," Xiao Jibai said, running a hand through his hair, his tone cool and detached.

Time within the secret realm continued to pass, and the final hundred slots remained undecided for a long while. After days of probing and testing, the various talents finally erupted into a massive battle in one of the valleys.

Many Tianshu Sect disciples were the first to join the fray, working together in coordination, at one point managing to suppress the other talents—but the rest quickly regrouped and pushed back with equal force. Before long, for reasons unclear, the Tianshu Sect disciples themselves began to turn on one another, and the whole scene spiraled completely out of control, dissolving into a chaotic free-for-all with no sides at all.

Before long, most of the remaining talents in the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm sensed the chaos and came flooding toward it. As for the last hundred slots, some chose to keep hiding their strength, staying concealed in the shadows, while others threw themselves into the melee without hesitation, determined to fight to the very end and come out victorious.

"Bunch of fools."

Not far from the valley, Xiao Jibai, still tucked away in a cave, let out a scoffing laugh.

"It's only the preliminary round, and they can't even manage to hide their strength. Let them have their moment in the spotlight—in the end, victory will only ever belong to the clever ones."

"Wise words, host."

Xiao Jibai chuckled and was about to return to his cultivation when he suddenly spotted a figure sweeping through the sky, crossing what looked like a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye, then landing lightly, robes billowing like a great hawk's wings in flight.

It was a young cultivator, dressed in black, hair bound up high, eyes calm and still, his bearing like a deep, cold pool hidden within a dense forest—impossible to gauge its depths at a glance.

At his shoulder, a little jet-black bird chick shook out its feathers and settled down peacefully, occasionally turning its head to peck gently at the human beside it.

A nearby Tianshu Sect disciple caught sight of them and, assuming they were some overconfident fool come looking to die, thrust a sword straight at them.

The black-robed cultivator neither dodged nor evaded. His black hair lifted in the wind as the sword's edge came to a stop, hovering three inches from his brow, perfectly still.

Under the stunned gaze of the Tianshu Sect disciple, he smiled faintly, still without making a single move, as the longsword before his brow slowly turned, its blade now pointed back at its original owner.

A flash of cold steel pierced straight through the Tianshu Sect disciple's chest!

The first Tianshu Sect casualty on this battlefield!

"What?!"

The talents nearby were utterly stunned. Sword cultivators stood at the very top among all cultivation paths, and Tianshu Sect's own sword cultivators, in particular, were each stronger than others at the same stage—and yet this stranger, who had just joined the battlefield out of nowhere, had struck down a Tianshu Sect cultivator in an instant, as effortlessly as plucking a leaf or brushing away a petal!

As all eyes converged on him, the young cultivator, spirited and radiant, black robes billowing, dark gold patterns flowing across his sleeves, took a single step forward—

Deity Transformation cultivation!

The entire battlefield froze in shock, utterly silent!

Below the cave, Xiao Jibai's pupils contracted sharply. "Deity Transformation? Where did another Deity Transformation cultivator come from now? I've never seen this person before, he's definitely not from the upper prefectures!"

"System! Why didn't you tell me!"

The system said nothing.

...Not this again!

Xiao Jibai's eyes turned cold, fists clenching tight.

The system couldn't be relied on, utterly useless!

Still, it didn't matter. Once he got out, he could go find his master. His master would help him!

"Tianshu Sect disciples, heed the order! Join forces against the enemy!" A voice rang out across the sky as a Tianshu Sect disciple boldly drew his sword, the blade's edge cutting through with a cold gleam. "Deity Transformation or not, what is there to fear!"

A sword cultivator's blade could cut down enemies beyond their own stage—in close combat, they never had reason to fear any technique cultivator.

The other talents, those not from Tianshu Sect, came to their senses as well, someone calling out: "Everyone! Let's take him down together first!"

Three thousand talents still remained on the field—if they united their strength, even a Deity Transformation cultivator couldn't possibly withstand an assault from all of them at once!

Swords raised, treasures drawn, three thousand enemies converging on a single man!

The black-robed cultivator stood suspended in the sky, smiling faintly, his hand moving like a dragon in flight as he traced out a single talisman.

This talisman was named: Sun and Moon Suspended in the Sky!

——A talisman of Jiang Yu the talisman cultivator's own creation!

In an instant, the heavens themselves seemed to shudder, sun and moon both vanishing from sight, the mountains and rivers losing all color, no trace of daylight remaining—only countless talismans pouring down from above, vast and overwhelming, surging down upon the mortal world!

A fierce wind rose from level ground, a sea of talismans churning into being. The black-robed cultivator's wide sleeves billowed as he stood atop that vast, flowing tide of talismans, striding across the sea and soaring through the sky, an aura utterly unstoppable!

The assembled talents' divine senses shuddered violently, and amid their shock and terror, they watched as countless brilliant talismans linked sky to earth, weaving through mountains and rivers in every direction, like ink strokes flowing down from a painted scroll of heaven and earth, swirling around that sharp, striking figure, transforming into a robe of flowing ink and gold that settled over him!

The ink-wash robe bore flowing mountains and rivers rendered in black, and within its billowing sleeves, streaks of gold ink wound like a wandering river, ink and golden light intertwined—every trace of it carrying the aura of the great dao!

In that instant, it seemed as though an immortal had descended from the heavenly stairs into the mortal world, majesty blazing forth, pressing down until every talent there bowed their heads, unable to rise!

One man, towering above a thousand!

Amid rows of frozen, staring eyes, all three thousand talents on the field heard the black-robed cultivator speak with an easy laugh:

"Come. Let's see who can kill me."

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