Chapter 150: Live Drama! The Demon Lord Who Persuades with Kind Words!

Indecisive!

Zhong Lou saw that Chu Yang was still not responding, and immediately summoned a portal to prepare to leave.

"Demon Lord, please stay a moment; could you open a passage for us?"

Xu Changqing clasped his fists in salute, his gaze firm, "On this journey, junior brother will not go with us."

Zhong Lou's expression softened slightly, "You actually have a bit of responsibility."

Li Xiaoyao asked, "You already told us the whereabouts of the Wind Spirit Pearl; the Water Spirit Pearl isn't any different—just tell us both together."

Zhong Lou said, "The Water Spirit Pearl is clearly with you, yet you turn around and ask me—how absurd!"

Li Xiaoyao stared blankly at Zhong Lou, "I don't even know what the Water Spirit Pearl looks like…"

"Then you should go to Southern Zhaoguo; the answer you seek is there!" Zhong Lou, too lazy to explain further, left a single remark and vanished.

Li Xiaoyao scratched his head, "Brother Chu, what does this mean? How could the Water Spirit Pearl be on me, and why does he want me to go to Southern Zhaoguo?"

Chu Yang patted his shoulder, "Since the Demon Lord wants you to go, there must be his reasoning."

The previous words almost proved that the Water Spirit Pearl was in Li Xiaoyao's hands ten years ago; it must return ten years back via Nv Wa's power to retrieve that pearl.

Seeing Zhong Lou leave, Yanluo Wang breathed a sigh of relief, and with Zhong Pan and the ghost emissaries approached, bowing respectfully toward Chu Yang.

Chu Yang calmly received the gift, still trying to put on a carefree front.

At this moment, even if Chu Yang no longer admits he is the reincarnation of the Fengdu Great Emperor, what does it matter? If he were to reveal the truth, he would never set foot in the Ghost Realm again in this lifetime.

Moreover, Yanluo Wang came here specifically for Fengdu; if Chu Yang doesn't acknowledge it, he will immediately lead men to seize that sword, sparking another great battle.

If they can't defeat the Demon Lord, could they still bully these few mortals still cultivating?

After all, as the ruler of a realm, even a weak power wouldn't be that lacking.

"Past events are fleeting clouds; I am merely a mortal now, so matters of the Ghost Realm remain under your authority. I won't intervene; let everything proceed as usual,"

Chu Yang said lightly.

These words made Yanluo Wang's heart retreat from his throat to his stomach; a smile briefly rose on his face, then he instantly donned a solemn expression, "What the Great Emperor said—You are the true ruler of the Ghost Realm; I am merely a caretaker, and will eventually return it to you!"

"From now on, your status in the Ghost Realm remains honored; your word is my command, and no one dares disobey the lands of the Ghost Realm."

The more Yanluo Wang swore solemnly, the less Chu Yang believed his sincerity; at least the other still worries about losing power.

"Do you see… any other matters you wish us to attend to?" Yanluo Wang cautiously observed Chu Yang's expression.

"Send us back to the mortal world."

A moment later.

Yanluo Wang personally escorted Chu Yang and the others back to Fengdu City in the mortal world, kindly stating they were always welcome to come down for inspection, then vanished.

The passage to the Divine-Demon Well, set up by Zhong Lou near the city gate, was visible as soon as they emerged, a formation of seals.

"You're finally back!"

"What about the Fire Spirit Pearl? Did you obtain it?"

After waiting all night, Tang Xuejian and Lin Yueru, upon seeing Chu Yang and the others, became excited, chattering as they rushed over.

"Nonsense! Of course I have it, and you should know who I am!"

Li Xiaoyao produced the Fire Spirit Pearl, waving it before the two, grinning triumphantly.

"What about the Demon Lord? Didn't he make things difficult for you?"

Zi Xuan suddenly appeared, walking straight to Xu Changqing, her eyes full of worry.

The surroundings fell silent at once, everyone's gaze fixed on the two of them.

It felt like the thrill of watching a drama unfold live.

Xu Changqing, as always, gentle as jade, spoke calmly, "The Demon Lord indeed manifested in the Ghost Realm and clashed with us, but in the end junior brother persuaded him back to the Demon Realm!"

"Persuaded back?!" Zi Xuan was very surprised, this answer exceeding her expectations, "How could that be? If he could be swayed by others, he wouldn't be the Demon Lord!"

Xu Changqing, with a complex expression, said, "The Demon Lord only seeks to restore the Holy Spirit Pearl; junior brother promised to return the Holy Spirit Pearl to its original state, and he will no longer trouble us."

Zi Xuan suddenly grew tense, hurriedly saying, "I have nothing to do with him; his desire to restore the Holy Spirit Pearl is his own matter. I never approached him, nor asked him anything."

Xu Changqing indifferently said, "What connection Miss Zi Xuan has with the Demon Lord need not be told to me; that's your own matter. Yet the Demon Lord, being of the Demon Tribe, is most capricious, so you'd be wise to keep an extra guard of heart…"

Zi Xuan clenched her fists, a vague sense of grievance in her heart; she bit her teeth and stared intently at Xu Changqing.

Everyone watched with a painful heart, and even Chu Yang couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Xu Changqing, do you know she is…"

Tang Xuejian grew anxious, leapt forward to reveal the truth, but she had no idea that Xu Changqing had already recalled everything, only to have Jing Tian cover his mouth and pull him into a corner.

The tense atmosphere made Tang Xuejian unleash all her anger onto Jing Tian, her fists raining down like raindrops.

Long Kui quietly appeared, clutching Tang Xuejian without letting go, "Sister Xuejian, stop hitting brother."

"All the stinky men in the world are the same scum, it really makes me furious!" Tang Xuejian broke free from Long Kui's embrace, squatted on the ground, angrily hurling stones back and forth.

The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward; Chu Yang cleared his throat and laughed, "Before departing, the Demon Lord said the Wind Spirit Pearl lies in the Divine Realm, but reaching the Divine Realm requires the Divine-Demon Well; he opened the passage for us. Anyone who wishes to go can speak now."

Lin Yueru was the first to raise her hand, excitedly saying, "I want to go! Hehe! If my father learns I visited the Divine Realm, he'll never have the face to brag about his past wandering adventures again."

"If he later uses the title of Martial Arts Alliance Leader to press me, I'll ask him how the Alliance Leader never even went to the Divine Realm; just imagining his expression makes me want to laugh, hahahaha!"

Chu Yang, hearing this, couldn't help but comment, "Truly a loving father and filial daughter; having you as his good daughter is his lifelong blessing."

Li Xiaoyao was about to speak when Tang Xuejian suddenly stood, coldly saying, "I'll go too."

Jing Tian scratched his head, "Miss Tang of the Tang family, wouldn't your going cause trouble? That Divine-Demon Well sounds dangerous; everyone would have to divert attention to look after you."

Still fuming, Tang Xuejian heard this and a malicious fire surged to her celestial spirit cover; she glared at Jing Tian and, without looking back, rushed into the formation.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait for me!" Jing Tian, brandishing a demon sword, hurriedly chased after her; Tang Xuejian's cultivation was too weak—if she got lost inside, her chance of survival would be almost zero.

Li Xiaoyao was about to set off, but Chu Yang grabbed him and pulled him back.

"What's up, Brother Chu?"

"You'll come with me to Southern Zhaoguo to get the Water Spirit Pearl."

"Huh? Just the two of us?"

"Otherwise? Do you expect to take your whole family on a trip!"

"But this is the only chance in my life to go to the Divine Realm…"

"Who said that? You can still choose to cultivate hard, ascend in daylight; I have faith in you!"

Li Xiaoyao and Chu Yang chatted for a while, but in the end Li chose to stay, watching the others enter the formation array toward the Divine‑Demon Well with tears he could not shed.

"Junior brother, your cultivation is now higher than mine, so I won't lecture you—just remember to look after Brother Li."

Xu Changqing glanced sideways at Zi Xuan, preparing to enter the formation array, and Chu Yang quickly slipped a jade bottle into his arms.

"Hold onto these blood bodhi; they can save your life in a pinch, so don't be stingy."

Xu Changqing nodded and stepped into the formation array.

Chu Yang had assumed Zi Xuan would follow, but she instead walked toward him.

"May I accompany you two to the Nanzhao Kingdom?" Only after Xu Changqing left did Zi Xuan show a sorrowful expression; traveling alone to her homeland was too daunting for her.

Just as she had once said.

This is the price!

The price one must bear for abandoning Nv Wa's descendants' mission for love.

"Xiaoyao, you decide."

Chu Yang sighed.

Seeing Zi Xuan, humbled as a sinner, Li Xiaoyao gritted his teeth and said, "Zi Xuan… senior, come with us to the Nanzhao Kingdom. It's a grave mistake, but after all these years it should be let go."

Zi Xuan's face was wet with tears, "Thank you both."

Then the three rode their swords out of Fengdu, heading for the Nanzhao Kingdom.

On the other side, the Divine‑Demon Well.

Jing Tian finally caught up with Tang Xuejian; the two wandered aimlessly inside the Divine‑Demon Well, their breath restored but the way back nowhere to be found.

With no choice, they kept feeling forward, and after only a few steps encountered terrifying demons.

They were a horde of oddly shaped demon monsters, as if broken fragments of various things were forced together, looking utterly disgusting.

Tang Xuejian jumped in fright, swallowed her revulsion and drew her weapon to resist; Jing Tian raised his demon sword and stood before her, giving her great reassurance.

However, two fists could not match four hands, and they soon fell into a perilous bind.

Fortunately, a special resonance between Long Kui and the demon sword, at the very last moment, brought Xu Changqing and Lin Yurou to them.

The group reunited and began to annihilate the demon monsters before them; after about half a minute they finally lowered their weapons to rest.

At that moment Tang Xuejian realized the trouble she had caused and bowed to each companion in apology.

"In the hurry earlier, I have a question I couldn't ask," Xu Changqing suddenly said, causing the apologizing Tang Xuejian to pause.

"When we entered the Ghost Realm, did anyone see Junior Brother's mortal body?"

Xu Changqing asked the question that weighed heavily on him.

"We didn't see it! We thought Daoist Chu hadn't gone down."

"Right, we forgot to ask Daoist Chu about that just now."

"Could Daoist Chu have entered the Ghost Realm with his mortal body? How could that be?"

Hearing their remarks, Xu Changqing already had an answer in mind.

Junior brother… truly the reincarnation of the Fengdu Emperor!

No wonder Junior brother's cultivation rose so fast; it wasn't just the power of eating demon elixirs!

The shock was undeniable.

Xu Changqing seemed already accustomed to this entanglement with reincarnation and destiny.

In his past life, Jing Tian was General Feipeng and Prince Longyang, and he shares a two‑life romance with Zi Xuan.

Chu Yang is also a reincarnation of the Fengdu Emperor, which seems no longer surprising.

"After we return, we still need to explain this to the master and the others…"

After a brief rest, the party continued to explore the Divine‑Demon Well; with ample blood bodhi, any wound healed swiftly.

No need to fear injury; each battle Jing Tian fights inside the Divine‑Demon Well boosts his cultivation at a visibly rapid rate.

Fortunately, with Li Xiaoyao's pearls ahead, Xu Changqing wasn't overly shocked and could only remark that a celestial deity reincarnation is indeed extraordinary.

Including Long Kui, the five of them slaughtered their way through the Divine‑Demon Well to the topmost layer, where numerous demon generals guarded the area, no longer the oddly shaped monsters of earlier.

Even with Jing Tian and Xu Changqing's rapid progress, breaking through the heavily guarded final layer remained difficult.

Just as the group was at a loss, Mo Zun Zhong Lou reappeared.

"Well done, you finally have a hint of Feipeng's style," Mo Zun Zhong Lou said without holding back his praise for Jing Tian; the faster the opponent improves, the sooner the battle he anticipates can arrive.

"I told you I'm not Feipeng; stop constantly comparing me to him, okay?" Jing Tian looked exhausted, having said it many times; the red‑haired monster before him remained willful.

Mo Zun Zhong Lou ordered the demon generals guarding the passage to stand aside and personally opened the road to the Divine Realm for them, a reward for Jing Tian.

Tang Xuejian and Lin Yurou entered first, followed by Jing Tian and Long Kui.

Just as Xu Changqing was about to enter, Mo Zun Zhong Lou suddenly said, "Among the Six Realms, only humans have affection; do not easily abandon those before you for the illusory immortal path. What you possess is envied by both gods and demons alike."

Xu Changqing stared at Mo Zun Zhong Lou; he knew this lofty demon lord favored Zi Xuan, yet he hadn't expected the Demon Tribe's nature to counsel him to cherish fate.

Normally the plot would have him schemed against until he and Zi Xuan were completely separated, allowing the demon lord to strike in the void.

What a strange demon, somehow bearing a human scent.

"All fates are set by Heaven; bonds arise and fade, beyond the control of a mere mortal like me. I will keep the demon lord's heartfelt words in mind, but how it ends must follow Heaven's will."

Xu Changqing clasped his hands in salute and walked into the formation array without looking back.

Mo Zun Zhong Lou lowered his head, murmuring, "Is fate really that important?"

When Xu Changqing and the others entered the Divine Realm, Chu Yang and Li Xiaoyao also brought Zi Xuan back to the Nanzhao Kingdom's old lands, and the three went straight to the Nv Wa Temple.

The Holy Maiden who accompanied Zi Xuan in that generation had already passed away, but in the main hall, beside the statue of Nv Wa, one could still see her spirit tablet.

Zi Xuan devoutly lit incense for the Holy Maiden, then knelt before the statue of Nv Wa and began to weep silently.

She was repenting the mistakes she had made over the years.

But Chu Yang didn't understand what wrong there was in pursuing one's own happiness—could it be just because she is a descendant of Nv Wa?

"Chu Big Brother, where is the Water Spirit Pearl? Didn't the Demon Lord order us to come to Nanzhao Kingdom to find it?"

Li Xiaoyao whispered in Chu Yang's ear, not knowing why, his actions resembled those of a dog thief.

"Can't you ask openly? This is the Nv Wa Temple, not the Worship Moon Sect."

Chu Yang shoved him away with a look of disdain.

Li Xiaoyao exclaimed in surprise, "Who are you asking?"

Chu Yang clasped his hands before the statue of Nv Wa and smiled, "Please, Lady, send him to fetch the Water Spirit Pearl."

The next moment.

The statue of Nv Wa shone brightly, warm orange light illuminating all directions.

"Li Xiaoyao, I can send you back to the past, but you must promise me that no matter what you see, you must not intervene."

Before Li Xiaoyao could agree, he was enveloped by light and vanished before Chu Yang's eyes.

Zi Xuan saw Lady Nv Wa manifest her spirit, and she wept even more sorrowfully.

Nv Wa let out a sigh, "Foolish child... truly a foolish child."

After worrying for so long, Chu Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Xiaoyao was sent back ten years, meaning the time loop was completed and the possibility of the world undergoing a sudden change was completely cut off.

(End of chapter)