Chapter 27: Leaving the Secret Realm

"Enough! Enough! Time will not flow backward, and the years will not cease. Since the departed are already gone, what meaning is there in lingering and sinking into despair?"

A moment later, Vajra Pestle buried its heavy heart deep within, let out a long sigh, and gradually began to let go.

It had lived for long ages, experienced endless dark turmoil, and witnessed countless partings and deaths.

It had long since seen through such things; were it not for the manifestation of Jin Fu, it is likely that nothing or no one here could have disturbed its state of mind.

Not far away, the Jiuyou Ao cub was crying so sorrowfully that Vajra Pestle looked on and sighed deeply.

"It is still just a child! Yet it must endure such grief. If not for the turmoil of the alien races, it should have grown up happy and joyful, living a carefree life in the company of its parents."

"When the next turmoil comes, I wonder how many more children will lose their parents and loved ones."

"When will this turmoil ever end?"

Vajra Pestle slowly moved forward, flying over to the side of the Jiuyou Ao cub to offer comfort.

"Little one, time passes like a fleeting horse, let us turn the tears of parting into an eternal smile!"

"Although they can no longer stay by our side, they will live forever in our hearts."

"Recalling the time we once had is beautiful; it can always evoke our most sincere smiles. They exist eternally, in the deepest part of our hearts, never changing."

Vajra Pestle's words made the Jiuyou Ao cub recall the past; its father's every glance and smile flashed before its eyes, and the sound of its crying grew even louder.

It cried while calling out, wanting only for its father to return.

At this moment, Mengchen could understand the sorrowful mood of the Jiuyou Ao cub.

But its father had long since died, and what remained was merely a manifestation of a lingering thought; how could he possibly return?

Mengchen believed that the Jiuyou Ao cub understood this in its heart—that its father could never return—it was simply unwilling to accept reality.

After all, reality is cruel and heartless.

Perhaps for the Jiuyou Ao cub at this moment, escaping reality made it feel a little better.

"Gangzi, come back. Let it stay by itself for a while!"

Mengchen thought to give it some time to slowly accept things, perhaps it would emerge from the grief.

"Very well!"

Vajra Pestle walked over, looked at the two divine lotuses floating before Mengchen, and said, "You have no use for these divine lotuses yet. I will keep them for you for now! When you have a use for them in the future, I will give them to you."

"Mm!" Mengchen nodded! Vajra Pestle's strength was unfathomable; such a sacred object should indeed be kept by it.

Just like that, the two divine lotuses were taken into Vajra Pestle's inner world, and after it transformed and shrank, it hung itself on Mengchen's chest.

Having dealt with this, Mengchen decided to give the Jiuyou Ao cub time to heal itself, while he carefully looked after the unconscious Xiyao.

For three consecutive days, the Jiuyou Ao cub continued to cry, heartbroken.

On the seventh day, Xiyao, who had fallen unconscious due to the impact from the Jiuyou Ao, woke up; her primordial spirit was damaged and required recuperation.

Therefore, in the following half-month, Mengchen went into seclusion to cultivate, and thanks to the dense spiritual energy here, his cultivation level improved slightly.

Xiyao's damaged primordial spirit also recovered during this half-month of recuperation.

Over twenty days had passed, and the Jiuyou Ao cub's crying still continued, never stopping.

This point greatly exceeded Mengchen's expectations.

Now, the three-month opening period of the secret realm had arrived, and seeing that it was about to close, Mengchen was filled with anxiety.

But there was no more time to give it.

So Mengchen roared:

"If you keep wailing here, believe it or not, I will make it so you cannot make a sound."

Mengchen's roar did not have any effect; the Jiuyou Ao cub continued to cry.

It seemed it would not shed tears until it saw the coffin.

He clenched his fist and charged forward, bearing down on it.

Seeing this, the Jiuyou Ao cub stopped crying instantly; it flashed backward and shouted in terror, "You promised my father you would look after me well, how can you go back on your word?"

"I did promise to look after you, but if you don't listen, I'll beat you regardless. If you cry yourself to death here, wouldn't I be breaking my word?"

"Who the hell can cry themselves to death, and who has ever died from crying?" the Jiuyou Ao cub muttered to itself.

Then, it shouted out: "Excuses, all excuses, I knew you couldn't be trusted."

Seeing a fist about to smash down, it discovered that Mengchen's body, which had been charging straight at it, came to an abrupt halt. "Alright, the secret realm is about to close, I don't have time to play with you. Come with me!" Mengchen said, reaching out his hand to signal it to jump into his arms.

The Jiuyou Ao cub stepped forward slowly and jumped up with a light leap.

This jump exhausted Mengchen! "You blind fellow, who told you to just jump up like that? You should have shrunk down!"

Mengchen strained to support the Jiuyou Ao cub, which was nearly twice his size, with a look of astonishment on his face.

This guy was truly straightforward; he told it to jump, and it really just jumped like that.

Xiyao, who was to the side, saw this scene and was instantly amused, laughing very happily.

When the Jiuyou Ao cub heard the sound, it did not transform in time, and after some playful dawdling, it finally turned into the shape of a little black dog.

Although it was a bit tiring, the little one had rarely felt any interest these past few days, so how could he bear to interrupt it.

Among this, the Jiuyou Ao cub naturally had some feelings of revenge; after all, Mengchen had given it a good beating earlier.

In fact, for these many days, the Jiuyou Ao cub had spent most of its time repeatedly considering whether or not to go with Mengchen, unable to make up its mind for a long time.

The crying was merely to cover up the conflict in its heart.

It was not until just now, when Mengchen charged at it but did not actually strike, that it finally made up its mind.

It decided to follow its father's final wish; it figured its father would not harm it.

"Gangzi is gone, from now on I'll call you Heizi." Mengchen looked at the Jiuyou Ao cub in the shape of a little black dog and thought of this name.

"That doesn't sound good, I don't want it!" The Jiuyou Ao cub immediately refused.

"Your father entrusted you to me, you have no right to decide. From now on, you are Heizi!"

The Jiuyou Ao cub could only roll its eyes at Mengchen, because it could not change the fate of being called Heizi by him.

Afterward, Mengchen held Heizi and came before Xiyao, saying, "Fairy, could you please help me keep the secret of its identity as a Ten Fiends cub?"

At this moment, Xiyao was full of smiles, her laughing eyes as beautiful and moving as crescent moons; she nodded her head slightly and replied, "Senior Brother, rest assured! Xiyao understands."

"Thank you, Fairy!" Mengchen was deeply attracted by Xiyao's eyes, and he responded without blinking.

Mengchen's increasingly greedy gaze caused a faint blush to appear on Xiyao's face, "Senior Brother's kindness is something Xiyao cannot repay; what is this compared to that?"

Just as Mengchen was about to speak, the previously well-behaved Jiuyou Ao cub suddenly spoke up: "It can be repaid; just offer yourself to him!"

Hearing this, Xiyao's face instantly turned beet red, and she lowered her head in silence.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Mengchen scolded.

Afterward, he looked at the extremely shy Xiyao and said, "This fellow is spouting nonsense; please do not take it to heart, Fairy."

"Xiyao will take her leave first!" Having said that, Xiyao turned and trotted away for a distance, her flawless white skirt fluttering, and the bells on her ankles emitting a crisp, pleasant melody.

She took out a Life-Preserving Spirit Talisman, and just as she was about to crush it, she asked with her back to Mengchen, "May I ask, Senior Brother, what is your name?"

"Mengchen! The 'Meng' from dream, the 'chen' from mortal dust."

"Good! I have remembered it; Xiyao will take her leave first."

As soon as the words fell, she crushed the spirit talisman in her hand and vanished in an instant.

As of now, there was one other person who knew the identity of this Jiuyou Ao cub, and that was the Jinmao Shizi.

Time was tight now, and Mengchen could only search by using the great divine ability of the Vajra Pestle, so he very quickly found that lion.

Mengchen was also surprised; that fellow was so afraid of death, yet he had actually managed to hold out until the end without using his life-preserving spirit talisman early.

It seemed the temptation of the opportunities within the secret realm was truly not small.

Under Mengchen's threats and inducements, the Jinmao Shizi agreed to help him keep the secret and would never speak of him possessing a Ten Fiends cub.

Logically speaking, with the unfathomable strength of the Vajra Pestle, it could absolutely protect him and the Jiuyou Ao cub.

But human hearts are greedy; it is better to avoid extra trouble.

In the end, the Vajra Pestle took action, creating a double insurance by hiding the aura of the Jiuyou Ao cub.

After finishing all this, it was finally time to leave.

Finally, the secret realm shook! Mengchen and all the remaining living beings were teleported onto the Xuanmen Guangchang.

Today's second chapter, the content might be a bit short, but it had to be written.

Tomorrow, we begin entering the next chapter. We will be setting off for the Huangyu; Shichanchan and the Witch are coming...

(End of chapter)