Chapter 495 – Return – When Two Kings Meet (08)
Compared to the immortals of the Heavenly Court, Xiao A’s current strength was nothing remarkable. However, he still possessed enough means to protect himself. Unless he voluntarily removed the concealment hiding his whereabouts, or a great cultivator happened to come near him and specifically used a tracking technique to search for him, Xiao A would remain impossible to find under normal circumstances.
Even the Northern Emperor couldn’t locate him, leaving Qiu’er as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He requested permission from the Northern Emperor to leave the Northern Forest and search for Little A. Bai Tang immediately chimed in from the side.
“A Wu, I’m Xiao A’s host. Our bond hasn’t been severed yet, so I’ll go with Qiu’er.”
Jiang Langwu rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
“Qiu’er can go. Tang Tang cannot.”
“Why not? I think I can.”
“No.”
When it came to Tang Tang’s safety, Jiang Langwu refused to allow even the slightest risk.
“The Netherworld aura inside Tang Tang’s body hasn’t been completely cleansed. He’s not from the Netherworld, and leaving that aura inside him for too long will damage his divine soul and shorten his lifespan. Tang Tang needs to stay here to recover while the remaining Netherworld aura is purified.”
Faced with that explanation, Bai Tang had no way to argue. Since it concerned his safety, even Qiu’er refused to let him leave.
“Tang Tang, don’t worry. I’ll definitely bring Xiao A back safely,” Qiu’er promised resolutely.
Jiang Langwu wasn’t an ungrateful master. Qiu’er had spent a long time helping him take care of Tang Tang. Even if he hadn’t accomplished any great feats, all of his hard work deserved recognition. Before Qiu’er left the Northern Forest, Jiang Langwu generously gave him many treasures.
“Return as soon as you find him,” Jiang Langwu said.
Bai Tang immediately translated the hidden meaning behind his lover’s words.
“The Northern Forest is your home. Once you find Xiao A, come home, okay?~”
Deeply moved, Qiu’er knelt before Jiang Langwu and kowtowed once in gratitude. Then, carrying his belongings, he departed gracefully.
Although Jiang Langwu had returned, Qiu’er had left. The Northern Forest didn’t feel any livelier than before.
Back when they had been carrying out missions, Bai Tang often neglected Qiu’er because he was too busy being lovey-dovey with his husband. But at least he had always known Qiu’er was there, accompanying him every step of the way, so he never felt lonely.
Now that Qiu’er had left, Bai Tang felt as though something was missing. He remained listless and downcast throughout the entire day.
Jiang Langwu noticed everything. Letting out a helpless sigh, he wrapped his arms around the little squirrel from behind and kissed his beloved’s temple.
“They’ll be alright.”
“I know,” Bai Tang replied softly. “I’m just… not used to it yet.”
“Let’s enter secluded cultivation. Once we’ve completely cleansed the Netherworld aura from your body and you’re fully recovered, we’ll go look for him together.”
Jiang Langwu simply couldn’t bear to see the little squirrel unhappy. Whenever it came to Bai Tang, his bottom line retreated again and again.
“Really?” Bai Tang asked in delight, his eyes shining with barely concealed excitement. “A Wu, you’re the best~”
The young man turned around and buried himself in his husband’s embrace.
“If you keep spoiling me like this, you’re going to spoil me rotten~”
“Good,” Jiang Langwu replied teasingly. “If I spoil you rotten, then I’ll be the only one who can put up with you. That way, no one else can steal you away.”
He lightly tapped Bai Tang’s nose with a finger before smiling.
“So then, my dear little squirrel, would you do me the honor of entering secluded cultivation with me?”
As soon as the Northern Emperor returned, he entered seclusion.
The immortals of the Heavenly Court, who had secretly been keeping an eye on the Northern Forest, finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he wasn’t angry, everything was fine. Just as they had expected, the Northern Emperor—being the youngest son of the Primordial Ancestor—was just like his father, who had sacrificed himself for the sake of all living beings: magnanimous and forgiving.
The Primordial Ancestor was the first ruler of Heaven and Earth after Chaos gave birth to the world. The Northern Emperor, Jiang Langwu, was his youngest son. To everyone else, he was the Primordial Ancestor, but to Jiang Langwu, he was simply his Father God.
The current immortals of the Heavenly Court had all ascended through cultivation. The immortals of the Primordial Ancestor’s generation had either perished in the great war millions of years ago or entered long-term seclusion, gradually passing their authority on to the next generation—the immortals who now governed the Heavenly Court.
Jiang Langwu had witnessed the Heavenly Court’s gradual decay with his own eyes. The immortals who resided there had become consumed by ambition, constantly fighting among themselves for power.
He was tired of it all and had no desire to involve himself in those endless disputes. He only wished to guard his Northern Forest and protect the peace of all living beings.
What Jiang Langwu didn’t know was that after he left the Northern Forest in search of the little squirrel, the immortals of the Heavenly Court were no longer satisfied with ruling only the Heavenly Realm and the Mortal Realm. They had begun setting their sights on the flourishing Demon Realm.
The Demon Realm was now thriving. Its population was steadily growing, and its current Demon Lord was a cultivation fanatic of extraordinary strength. Under his leadership, the Demon Realm prospered with each passing day. Even many lesser demons from the Demon Beast Realm had given up pursuing immortality through cultivation and instead chosen to join the Demon Realm.
The resources of Heaven and Earth were limited. The stronger the Demon Realm became, the fewer resources remained for the Heavenly Realm. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the Demon Realm surpassed the Heavenly Realm.
The Grand Supreme Elder refused to accept such an outcome. With the Northern Emperor gone, if the Demon Realm learned of his disappearance, who knew what ambitions they might develop? Better to strike first than wait for disaster.
Power had clouded their judgment.
Led by the Grand Supreme Elder, the immortals grew jealous of the Demon Realm—envious of its rapid cultivation progress and fearful that it would seize too many of Heaven and Earth’s spiritual treasures. In the end, they decided to launch an attack on the Demon Realm.
To capture the thieves, one must first capture their king.
Defeating the Demon Realm itself wasn’t particularly difficult. The real obstacle was the Demon Lord, who personally guarded the realm and had established a powerful protective formation that prevented anyone from entering.
So, the Grand Supreme Elder came up with a scheme.
He ordered Heavenly Soldiers to disguise themselves as demons and descend to the Mortal Realm, where they wreaked havoc. Ordinary mortals knew nothing of the truth. Faced with overwhelming injustice and having nowhere to seek help, they could only place their faith in the gods and pray for divine salvation.
As the protectors of the Mortal Realm and guardians of peace for all living beings, the Heavenly Realm naturally could not allow the Demon Realm to disrupt the world’s balance. Thus, they finally had a righteous pretext to wage war against the Demon Realm.
The Demon Lord had never concerned himself with worldly affairs, but neither would he tolerate being made the scapegoat for crimes he had never committed.
He accepted the Heavenly Realm’s declaration of war and personally led the demonic army into battle. What he hadn’t expected was that the Grand Supreme Elder knew they couldn’t defeat him in a direct confrontation, so they resorted to underhanded tactics and launched a sneak attack instead.
No matter how powerful Demon Lord Lou Shun was, he had never imagined that the Heavenly Realm could stoop so low. By the time he discovered the ambush squad, it was already too late. To minimize casualties, he ordered the Demon Realm attendants to lead the army in retreat while he stayed behind to cover their escape.
In the end, the Grand Supreme Elder captured him using the Mortal Mirror.
Lou Shun had always been invincible in battle. His capture was due solely to his enemies’ despicable methods.
The instant he was captured, Lou Shun used his own blood essence to reinforce the Demon Realm’s protective formation. At the same time, he secretly transmitted an order to his attendants: no one was to enter the Demon Realm, and no one was to leave it either.
As long as they remained within the Demon Realm’s borders, they could continue living off their own land. Supporting themselves for millions of years would not be a problem.
The Grand Supreme Elder then sent the Divine Might General to attack the Demon Realm, only to discover that the barrier was completely impregnable. Forget breaking through it—even worse, every attack they launched was instantly reflected back at them, striking their own troops indiscriminately.
The Grand Supreme Elder flew into a rage.
Using the Mortal Mirror, he cast Lou Shun into one of the countless small worlds of the Lower Realm.
As long as Lou Shun’s will was gradually worn away, then once he abandoned all resistance and his soul finally dispersed, the Demon Realm would meet its end. When that happened, every heavenly treasure would belong to the Heavenly Realm, and all Six Realms would have no choice but to submit to its rule.
The plan sounded perfect.
Reality, however, proved far crueler.
The Grand Supreme Elder had never expected that none of the demons would dare leave the Demon Realm, yet a little fox with only a few hundred years of cultivation would actually storm the Heavenly Court.
Not only did it destroy countless of his treasured artifacts, but it also stole the Mortal Mirror.
Looking at the priceless treasures he had painstakingly collected over the years, now damaged beyond repair, the Grand Supreme Elder felt as though his heart were being ripped apart.
His treasures…
His Eight Treasures Gourd…
His Profound Heaven Pills…
And worst of all, the Mortal Mirror.
Still, so what if the Mortal Mirror had been stolen?
Lou Shun had already been sent to the Lower Realm. His memories and powers had been sealed away, reducing him to nothing more than an ordinary mortal. The Lower Realm contained far more than just three thousand planes. Finding him again would be like searching for a needle in the sea. Once someone descended, returning was no easy feat.
The Grand Supreme Elder immediately issued a wanted order to the Demon Beast Realm.
The Demon Beast King was terrified. He repeatedly apologized and cautiously assured the Grand Supreme Elder that he had never ordered the little fox to cause such chaos.
To prove that he was telling the truth, the Demon Beast King even ordered the little fox to be expelled from the fox clan. He also commanded all demons and beast spirits that if they ever encountered the little fox, they were to capture him immediately and deliver him to the Heavenly Court to atone for his crimes.
With the Heavenly Realm already at war with the Demon Realm, it was unwise to provoke the Demon Beast Realm as well. As a result, the matter of holding the Demon Beast King accountable was raised with great fanfare but quietly dropped.
After learning that the little fox had already left the Upper Realm, the Divine Might General let out a mocking laugh.
“That tiny thing actually thinks it can find the Demon Lord and bring him back? What a fool. Pure wishful thinking.”
Nevertheless, to eliminate even the slightest possibility, the Grand Supreme Elder ordered every passage leading back to the Upper Realm to be sealed. He refused to believe that a little fox with only a few hundred years of cultivation could possibly overturn the heavens.
Without the Demon Lord’s leadership, the demons remained shut inside the Demon Realm, refusing to come out. The Grand Supreme Elder therefore sent people to stand outside the gates of the Demon Realm every single day, hurling insults and making outrageous provocations.
The demons inside were furious beyond measure, but because of the Demon Lord’s orders, they dared not act rashly. Day after day, they endured the humiliation while pouring all their efforts into cultivation.
The Demon Realm had never feared war.
What they feared were the despicable tricks employed by the Grand Supreme Elder and his followers. Even the Demon Lord himself had fallen victim to their schemes—what chance did the rest of them have? For the sake of the Demon Lord and the future of the Demon Realm, they could only preserve their strength, remain behind closed gates, and cultivate diligently every day, waiting for the day their Demon Lord returned to lead them in washing away this humiliation.
The Grand Supreme Elder truly enjoyed a long period of comfort.
With no need to worry about the Northern Emperor of the Northern Forest, he indulged freely in a life of luxury. His greatest thorn in the side, Demon Lord Lou Shun, had been defeated and cast into the Lower Realm, where he would be bullied and tormented by ordinary mortals. The Heavenly Court was now practically under his sole control.
The feeling of standing at the pinnacle of the world was intoxicating, something ordinary people could never understand. As for those Heavenly Soldiers, they were fools. A few fabricated words from him were enough for them to believe everything and obediently follow his every command.
What he didn’t know was that the Northern Emperor, whom he believed had perished forever, and the Demon Lord, whom he regarded as his greatest enemy, had met in the Lower Realm.
The two had fought each other fiercely, neither willing to give an inch. Had their respective lovers not forcibly stopped them from fighting, they might very well have pushed themselves beyond their physical limits, broken through the seals on their powers, and returned to the Upper Realm then and there.
After returning to the Upper Realm, the Northern Emperor entered seclusion once again.
Seeing that he showed no reaction, everyone assumed he knew nothing about what they had done to the Demon Realm. And even if he did know, so what? They believed they had a just cause. Everything they had done was supposedly for the sake of all living beings.
Bai Tang cooperated wholeheartedly, allowing Jiang Langwu to remove the remaining Netherworld aura from his body without difficulty. The two cultivated together in the Northern Forest, circulating their cultivation techniques in complete seclusion, forbidding anyone from disturbing them.
Because of this, they completely missed the spectacular scene of the Demon Lord’s return and his assault on the Heavenly Court.
Meanwhile, Qiu’er crossed towering mountains and vast oceans. At long last, on a deserted island far out at sea, he sensed Xiao A’s aura.
Ignoring his travel-worn appearance, he followed the familiar presence into a cave, where he found his beloved cultivating in seclusion.
“Xiao A…”
Sensing someone entering the cave, Xiao A slowly opened his eyes.
The face that had haunted his dreams day and night came into view.
“I told you, I wouldn’t keep you waiting too long. I’ve come to find you.”