Chapter 745: Farewell to Da Nanzhou: The Path of Flight

It was deep into the night.

Yet in Liuli Fucheng, lanterns blazed brightly, and crowds thronged every street and alley.

Even though the citizens of the Divine Dynasty were well-traveled and far surpassed the creatures of Hongze's remote corners, they were still mere mortals.

For mortals, it was nearly impossible to discern just how profound a demon's cultivation was; the most direct, crude measure was sheer size.

The Southern Emperor's demonic body was simply too vast—so vast it stretched beyond sight, making people feel that if it merely fell, Liuli Fucheng would instantly become ruins.

Thus, even after several days had passed, the people remained immersed in the shock and exhilaration of having survived the calamity.

Such a colossal demon was ultimately pierced through the body by a divine sword forged from surging heavenly flames.

Those who had not witnessed it firsthand could not possibly imagine the depth of awe it inspired.

The name Nanyang, passed mouth to mouth, had already been elevated to the status of a true immortal; if this trend continued, erecting temples and offering sacrifices would be merely a matter of time.

In contrast to the noisy clamor outside, the Grand Hall of the Fucheng Prefecture was now eerily silent.

The three Generals of the South sat in utter silence.

Yet they bore none of their usual commanding authority.

Yang Mingli flipped aimlessly through the memorials on his desk, his gaze unfocused—he had not absorbed a single word.

Beside him, Yan Lanting sat slumped in his chair, staring blankly downward, rubbing his aged face repeatedly with both palms, like an old farmer squatting on a Tian Geng—there was not a trace left of a General of the South.

As for Lady Lady Feng Xi, she leaned back, eyes closed, resting; on her expressionless beautiful face, faint signs of aging had begun to appear.

"… "

Wushan slipped silently into the hall and replaced the untouched, now-cold tea with fresh cups.

He gazed at the three lords, hollow-eyed and spiritless, his lips moved slightly, yet he said nothing to comfort them.

The demon calamity of that day still echoed in his mind.

But what had reduced these three to this state was not the Southern Emperor's terror—after all, these three Generals of the South were no green recruits; they had long known the vast gulf between themselves and the Southern Emperor, and were not so easily crushed.

The true cause was the Southern Emperor's single utterance: "Bodhisattva."

That one phrase had exposed why their own Nanyang General had acquired so much intelligence in advance, and why he possessed cultivation that overshadowed all of Da Nanzhou.

Because he was, in truth, a man of the Puti Sect—and one of high rank, a Bodhisattva.

More precisely…

He was a Zhan Yao Si officer who, to save Da Nanzhou, had risked everything to join Ruleda Sect.

As for when…

Wushan clenched his teeth, recalling the Bodhisattva who had arrived just in time to ambush him during the Puti Sect's assassination attempt.

Under such circumstances, how had he even awakened safely within the Divine Dynasty?

Perhaps from that very moment, Lord Nanyang had already joined the Puti Sect.

News of his battle with the Southern Emperor would soon spread… Wushan knew little of these great sects, yet he could still imagine how they would treat a "traitor."

This was precisely what the three Generals of the South feared.

If Lord Nanyang failed to return safely, these three might never find peace for the rest of their lives.

"Sigh."

Wushan turned and walked slowly toward the hall's exit.

On the steps, Ye Lan rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, staring blankly at the sky, motionless as a stone statue.

"If only I hadn't left the Divine Dynasty," Wushan stood beside him, whispering guiltily.

"…"

Ye Lan remained silent for a long while, still not turning his head, only murmuring softly: "He never mentioned any of this."

Hearing this, Wushan froze.

Lord Nanyang had done so much—when had he ever spoken a single word to anyone?

Even before the Southern Emperor arrived, the man had lightly patted his shoulder—meaning he had remembered all along that Wushan bore a grudge against the Southern Emperor.

And that final, arrogant remark as he slew the Southern Emperor—wasn't that also fulfilling Wushan's own wish?

How could such a man ever blame you?

Thinking of this, Wushan lifted his gaze in awe, looking toward the heavens—when, at that moment, a streak of light flashed across his pupils.

The burly, fat man shuddered, his face lighting up with joy: "He's back!"

Before the words had fully left his mouth, three figures had already shot out of the hall behind him—swift as lightning, utterly devoid of their earlier hollow despair.

The streak of light landed, revealing a familiar figure in dark robes.

Ye Lan stepped forward, staring fixedly at that handsome face—she had personally witnessed his transformation from her subordinate, to her junior brother, then to her senior uncle, then to her superior, and now to Shenxu Laozu.

In such a short time, their relationship had changed too many times.

So much so that for a moment she didn't know what to call him—only instinctively breathing heavily, her voice gradually thickening with tears, she voiced the question everyone most needed to ask: "Are you well?"

"…"

Shen Yi had just returned, and was immediately pinned by dozens of stares.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, unsettled—since leaving Hongze, he had not felt this kind of attention in a long while.

He nodded: "For now, I'm fine."

At the instant the young man spoke those words, the taut strings in everyone's hearts loosened slightly.

"If someone carries word of this back to Nan Xumí, you…" Yan Lanting still couldn't help asking—Puti Sect members weren't fools; if Da Nanzhou remained unconquered, they would demand accountability.

"I killed everyone who knew. It should buy me enough time to escape Da Nanzhou."

Shen Yi stepped into the hall. The affairs of Da Nanzhou were concluded; there was no need to hide anything from them, only to cause needless worry.

"…"

The three Generals of the South froze, their joy instantly solidified into stone.

They stared with complex eyes at the figure ahead, hard to imagine what kind of mental state could utter such terrifying words with such calmness.

After all, the other was a Bodhisattva, and those who came out together must surely be other Bodhisattvas.

Those great masters towering above the mortal realm were swept up in a single sentence, not even worthy of a name.

"You're leaving Da Nanzhou?"

The first to snap out of it was Ye Lan, the lowest in cultivation, for she had spent the most time with Shen Yi and had nearly grown accustomed to his ways.

Though she had expected it—given the things their Shen Laozu had done, Da Nanzhou could no longer hold him.

But at this very moment, Ye Lan's eyes still involuntarily filled with reluctance.

"First to the imperial capital—you must come with me."

Shen Yi gave the other no choice.

After all, for what he had done, Nan Xumí would at least send a Great Freedom Bodhisattva to investigate, and Ye Lan and Master Zhikong, who knew so much of the entire affair, were certainly the first targets Nan Xumí would seek.

And they lacked the cultivation and the Demon-Slaying Edict like the General of the South, who could even summon imperial qi when necessary.

If caught, they might not even have the ability to beg for death.

Whether for himself or for their lives, Shen Yi could not let these people remain in Da Nanzhou.

"Also, send word to the mountains—let them relocate on their own, preferably all go into hiding and cease involvement in any affairs."

Facing the youth's somewhat domineering words, Ye Lan showed no resentment; instead, her face lit up with joy: "Understood! I'll see to it at once."

Watching Ye Lan turn and hurry away.

Lady Lady Feng Xi then stepped forward, pursed her lips, and from Shen Yi's actions aimed at erasing all traces, she sensed the situation might not be as optimistic as he claimed.

"Da Nanzhou should be safe for now—no need for you all to worry. Remain steadfast in your posts."

Shen Yi looked at the beautiful woman and offered words of comfort.

No matter their strength, merely the fact that these three Great Immortals, when facing the Southern Emperor, reacted by lifting him up rather than fleeing, was worthy of his respect.

"What we're worried about isn't Da Nanzhou…" Lady Lady Feng Xi sighed bitterly. The Bodhisattvas who descended and the great demons of this world had nearly all been wiped out; the twenty-seven prefectures had gone long without a demon calamity.

Compared to the other three continents, Da Nanzhou today could rightly be called an earthly paradise.

She shook her head and sighed: "Given our brief time as colleagues, let me see you off one last time—it'll spare you much trouble upon reaching the imperial city."

If she didn't personally witness his safe departure, she and the two old men would never rest easy.

"Then thank you, Elder."

Shen Yi paused, then nodded in agreement.

He would leave behind a set of stabilizing stones in the twenty-seven prefectures, and these three Generals of the South had just suffered heavily—they had no need to force them to remain in Da Nanzhou.

"Wait! Old man has one more question."

Yang Mingli finally found his chance to speak. Under the puzzled gazes of the others, he licked his dry lips: "May I ask—what is your honorific title in the Puti Sect?"

"..."

Shen Yi looked over, understanding what the man was struggling with, and sighed wryly: "Subduing the Dragon, Taming the Tiger."

"Ssshh—"

Upon hearing those four words, Yang Mingli clenched his teeth and pulled a scroll from his sleeve.

Matched! All matched!

He had long sensed something strange about recent events—his decades of experience had failed him precisely at every major incident, making him nearly doubt his own mind.

Yang Mingli opened the first page of the scroll and tremulously pointed to the top three names.

"Subduing the Dragon, Taming the Tiger—the Great Ming King is you; the General of Nan Yang is you… If I'm not mistaken, the Taixu Danhuang must also be you!"

The Taixu Danhuang came from Shenxu Mountain, a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

It was common knowledge that Ye Lan and Shen Yi had long joined Shenxu Mountain; his tone just now had clearly been that of a sect master.

Such a young genius could not possibly be the worm-demon Shenxu Laozu—his identity was now obvious.

"So the three prodigies I had Zhan Yao Si investigate… they were all my own people…"

By this point, Yang Mingli's throat was parched.

Seeing the old man's excitement, Shen Yi glanced at the names further down the scroll: "Something like that."

To be honest, he felt a touch of sympathy for this Lord Yang.

After all, Yang Mingli was the first to uncover half his identity—his sudden question about the Bodhisattva's honorific title proved that even without confirmation, the man had already guessed seven or eight out of ten.

And such a sharp-minded man, precisely because of him, had suffered repeated failures in judgment… a severe blow to his confidence.

"See? It's not my fault!"

Upon receiving confirmation, Yang Mingli glared at Yan Lanting beside him, puffing out his cheeks.

"..."

Yan Lanting had no interest in him; when he looked again at Shen Yi, he found him even more terrifying.

That meant there had never been two legendary prodigies each slaying eight young elites from two sects.

Outside the Bei Liu River, the man had slain all sixteen—including the Tianwu Xuanwu—by himself, and even toyed with the third-rank observers nearby.

Of course, the three old fools like himself had been fooled too.

They had actually believed the lie that the two had fought to exhaustion, and the General of Nan Yang had seized the opportunity.

"I don't know why you're so excited."

Lady Lady Feng Xi shot Yang Mingli a scornful look. Had it not been for Yan Lanting's intervention to protect Nan Yang during the Elder Yu Chi's monkey-demon incident—if Yang had gotten his way and punished Nan Yang… the twenty-seven prefectures would already be a wasteland of corpses.

"..."

Shen Yi watched the three bicker in silence, suddenly feeling as if he had returned to the Great Ming.

Back then, after resolving the Qingzhou demon calamity, Old Master Chen Qiankun had suddenly turned into this childish old man.

He liked this feeling—it made him inexplicably relaxed.

It's a pity now is not yet the time to relax; once this little life of mine is secured, I can find a chance to return to Qingzhou to take a look.

"Everyone, farewell." Shen Yi slowly cupped his hands.

The few who had been chattering nonstop just moments ago suddenly fell silent.

The two old men said nothing, and could only heave a long sigh in the end, likewise cupping their hands in return, and said softly, "Fortunate indeed that you were here... farewell."

The trouble in Da Nanzhou had not been resolved; it had merely shifted from the common folk of Li Min across twenty-seven prefectures onto that one person alone.

The likes of them could not be of much help; the only thing they could do was to watch over, on Nan Yang's behalf, the peace and tranquility he had exchanged his life for.

……

Several days later.

A Fire Dragon treasure carriage rose into the sky from Liuli Prefecture, streaking straight toward the north; the surging, burning dragon soul let out a Gao Ang long cry, covering ten thousand li in the blink of an eye, and left Da Nanzhou outright.

Inside the carriage there were only a sparse few people.

Lady Lady Feng Xi had prepared a memorial, recording in detail everything that had happened in Da Nanzhou, bearing the seals of the three Generals Who Pacify the South.

This was the only thing Da Nanzhou could prepare for Shen Yi.

With this memorial, the other party should be able to exchange with the Human Sovereign for any reward they desired.

Ye Lan and Master Zhikong the Monk were brought up, sitting to Shen Yi's left and right respectively. The matter over at Divine Void Mountain had also been arranged for the most part; Daoist Thousand Winds should be able to lead the disciples of the Eight Great Main Peaks and the several hundred remaining Outer Peaks to evacuate Da Nanzhou in full before Nan Nan Xumi could react.

Apart from the name Nan Yang, Shen Yi had left no trace whatsoever in Dananzhou.

He closed his eyes and feigned sleep, feeling the Fire Dragon carriage beneath him.

A magic treasure is a fine magic treasure, but it's a pity that once it leaves the Divine Dynasty, it cannot be used lightly again.

He did not know how long had passed.

As the carriage abruptly halted, Shen Yi opened his eyes and looked toward the faintly discernible silhouette of the Imperial City ahead.

(End of this chapter)