Chapter 516: I believe that no matter how difficult this battle is, we will win

Inside the Demon-Suppressing Pass.

After the brief, happy gift-receiving session, Tang An had to put away the Gold Mountain and the Money Tree, returning to the steady appearance of a Great Dao Saint.

Everyone gathered here, discussing the plan for a great counterattack against the Outer Realm Demon Race.

For this decisive battle, they either held a hesitant attitude of continuing to wait and see, or held a resolute attitude. Or they felt that the Outer Realm battlefield was not like the Inner Realm and needed more preparation, and so on.

But not a single person refused to join this great counterattack plan.

After all, having been harassed by the Outer Realm Demon Race for so long, everyone wanted to vent their anger.

The great counterattack plan was finally finalized, on the night before the attack.

Tang An sat alone on a high platform, her figure thin, the wind blowing her skirt, giving a sense of cold, aloof, and lonely feeling.

"An'er."

"Father."

Tang An turned her head and saw Li Shimin walking toward her.

"Alone here by yourself, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking, can we really end everything this time? After everything ends, what will the Three Realms look like?"

Li Shimin patted his daughter's shoulder, letting her look toward the lights of ten thousand homes.

"Naturally, it will be peace in the Three Realms and happiness for the people."

Tang An looked at the lights of ten thousand homes, but there was no emotional fluctuation in her heart.

"Father."

"Hmm?"

"I'm afraid."

"What's wrong?" Li Shimin looked at Tang An with heartache and nervousness; she had never said the word 'afraid' in front of him.

In her early years, when Tang An was out seeking scriptures, facing the difficulties of gods and Buddhas, and the difficulties of other countries, she had never shown fear.

Even later, when she guarded the Demon-Suppressing Pass alone, facing the endless Outer Realm Demon Race, she had never said the word 'afraid'.

Tang An looked at Li Shimin, feeling her eye sockets sour. At such a time, she should take off her disguise in front of her father and cry for a while.

But she couldn't cry, and her emotions seemed to be stifled, always a feeling that couldn't be described.

"I'm afraid that in the future, Tang An will no longer be Tang An, but just a so-called Great Dao Saint."

"I'm afraid that I will ultimately be unable to escape the fate of the Heavenly Dao, becoming the loneliest person in this world, yet no longer possessing emotions."

"I'm afraid that in the future, when I see you again, I will only be left with respectfully calling you the Tang Emperor. I'm afraid that Wukong, Yang Jian, Nezha, and Jiuyue will all drift further and further away from me."

"Father."

"I don't want to live as a cold, emotionless, and desireless Saint."

"I really don't want to..."

Li Shimin hugged Tang An and patted her back gently.

"My poor An'er." He wanted to say that he would help Tang An solve this matter.

But Li Shimin also knew very well that at the current stage, Tang An transcending the secular world, with all seven emotions and six desires gone, was only a matter of time.

With familiar people by her side, the speed at which Tang An's seven emotions and six desires faded would be slower. If she were truly left alone to comprehend the Great Dao again, I'm afraid...

"After everything ends, Father will definitely do everything in his power to find a turning point for you."

"An'er, you must wait for Father."

Tang An pulled the corners of her mouth and smiled reluctantly. "Okay."

She should be moved at this moment, right? Even if she wasn't moved, she should at least be touched.

But she felt her heart becoming emptier and emptier; she seemed to have started learning to perform emotions.

Father and daughter chatted for a while longer, and after a eunuch came to invite Li Shimin away, Sun Wukong and the others, along with Jiuyue, came over.

"Sister~" Jiuyue came over and took Tang An's arm. "Why didn't you take me?"

"Jiuyue can protect herself now and can help Sister."

Tang An smiled and rubbed Jiuyue's hair. "The Demon-Suppressing Pass always needs someone to guard it."

"You know, there are not many people Sister trusts."

"It is precisely because you are powerful now, can protect yourself, and can help Sister, that Sister is letting you stay behind."

Jiuyue pouted. "Really?"

"Naturally." Tang An signaled Jiuyue to look into the city. "Look, there are so many people in the city, all waiting for Jiuyue to protect them."

"Jiuyue staying here is a big help to Sister."

"Okay~" Jiuyue couldn't win an argument against Tang An and could only shake her arm reluctantly.

Yang Jian noticed Tang An's strangeness, took out a pot of wine, and handed it to Tang An.

"Master, would you like a drink?"

Tang An took the wine pot, the corners of her mouth moved slightly, and there were faintly some emotions in her eyes as if forcing herself, and she poured the wine into her mouth.

Yang Jian grabbed her wrist. "Forget it, if you don't want to drink, then don't."

Sun Wukong took the wine pot from Tang An and handed it to Nezha. "Master doesn't want to drink, little brother Nezha should want to drink."

Nezha took the wine pot, looked at Tang An, and then went to the side to drink.

"Little brother Yang Jian, tomorrow will definitely be a fierce battle. Why don't you and I go study Master's magic treasure again?"

Tang An had already given the great killing weapon to the three of them, and all three of them could activate and use it.

Now, that great killing weapon didn't have much of a supporting role for her anymore.

"Okay." Yang Jian nodded and even brought Jiuyue along.

On the city tower, only Tang An, who stood with her hands behind her back, and Nezha, who was drinking beside her, remained.

When Tang An looked at Nezha, his gaze was also looking at her.

From Nezha's eyes, Tang An saw a feeling of heartache and pain.

"I'm sorry."

Nezha did not speak, just drank a pot of wine boldly. The strong wine went down his throat, but the more he drank, the more bitter it became.

"Actually, I lied to you."

"What?" Nezha put down the wine pot, puzzled.

"The things I told you last time were actually half-true and half-false."

"What things? When?"

"The day you came to me to express your feelings, the things I told you about the previous few reincarnations. The love and hate intertwined that I spoke of were actually fake."

"And the purpose of doing so was to keep you from feeling so uncomfortable. It counts as a white lie, and it was also to let the Heavenly Dao hear my determination and take the initiative to invite me to cooperate."

"Plop."

The wine pot fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"What is the truth?"

"The truth is... in the last reincarnation, I did have feelings for you. But at that time, I had already comprehended the Great Dao and obtained part of my memories."

"Of course, at that time, my seven emotions and six desires were also affected, and I felt that the love between men and women would interfere with my plan. So, I took the initiative to cut off the ties of love, and there were no more ripples in my heart."

Nezha seemed to have grasped the point. "You, did you truly have feelings last time?"

Tang An nodded. "At a time like this, I have no need to lie to you anymore."

"Then the stories you told?"

"Sigh, I've watched too many abusive love dramas; I can make up a bunch of stories in minutes."

Nezha's emotions were almost played to pieces by Tang An; one moment she made him heartbroken, the next she made him excited.

Is this the side effect of her gradually losing her seven emotions and six desires? She didn't even have a sense of proportion when she acted.

"Are you, very happy?"

"Hmm."

Tang An shook her head. "But there is one thing I didn't lie to you about."

"What?"

"Your death was real, and my reversing it to resurrect you out of guilt was also real. That's why this time, I gave the great killing weapon to you three."

"As long as you look out for each other, plus a great killing weapon, even if you fight with the Primordial Demon, you can circle around with him and won't be defeated for a while."

Speaking of this, Tang An thought of a dream.

It was the nightmare scene she saw when Lu Ya Daoren cursed her with the Nail-Head Seven-Arrow Book.

"Nezha."

"Hmm?"

"Don't rush forward so desperately anymore; listen more to Wukong and Yang Jian. With your tacit understanding, I believe that no matter how difficult this battle is, we will win." ===== CHAPTER 517 =====