When Xue Huai goes this time, he will actually be working for the Heavenly Court.
Murong Jinchuan was transferred to Fuli Palace for recuperation, and Xue Zong’s whereabouts were unknown, but Xue Huai guessed that he was probably secretly protected by Fuli Palace. Shenhua Terrace was in league with the Heavenly Court, so he also had to take on this responsibility.
There is only one heaven in heaven, divided into the southern and the northern gates. Both places are heavily guarded, and there are no resources worth fighting for in the Demon Realm. Therefore, the focus of the protection sent by heaven and the Immortal Realm is actually on the nine continents of the Immortal Realm.
Among the Nine Continents, Dongzhou is rich in rare minerals and is an excellent place to smelt magic weapons. Fengzhou is full of exotic flowers and plants and has the most coveted medicinal herbs and spiritual beasts in the Demon Realm… and so on. Each continent is ranked according to the importance of its terrain; if the Demon Realm invades, Dongzhou will be the first to bear the brunt.
Although Dongzhou is not at the edge of the Immortal Realm, but it is the closest to the Demon Realm. Similarly, the Shenhua Terrace, which was being deathly stared at, is also located here. From this, it is not difficult to see the demon clan’s wishes.
Therefore, Yun Cuo’s first step in cooperating with the Heavenly Court was to capture all the territories of the Demon Realm in the north of Dongzhou, including the Demon Realm’s capital, Baifeng City.
When Xue Huai heard the news, it was already the third day after Yun Cuo conquered Baifeng Xueyuan.
Some people in the Heavenly Palace were discussing: “The newly appointed Immortal Lord of Xianzhou, Yun Cuo, is indeed powerful, but I always feel that he is too eager to achieve success. He has conquered so many places in such a short time, but it is still unknown whether he can maintain stability or not.”
Others also echoed, “Yes, and I also don’t understand the matter of conquering Baifeng Xueyuan this time. The focus is on conquering the capital, but Immortal Lord Yun chose to focus on the snow plain behind the capital and insisted on stationing the army there.”
Someone else said, “Just wait. This Immortal Lord seems to act rashly, but he is actually very thoughtful, which is perhaps beyond our imagination. You have also seen that, with his skills, have there been any mistakes in the past few days? No, right? Just do as he says and it will be done.”
After Xue Huai heard about this, he felt a little disappointed.
There has never been a moment when he was as sure as he was now that Yun Cuo really started the war for him.
Otherwise, why is he so obsessed with Baifeng Xueyuan?
That was the place where he died in his previous life, and perhaps it was also the sad place that Yun Cuo did not want to face in this life.
But Yun Cuo seemed to be afraid that he would know. The more he indulged Yun Cuo, the more Yun Cuo tried to show the side of him that he should have grown up: a sense of the overall situation, a sense of responsibility, and also a tolerant character.
Like a child who only remembers food but not beatings, the more gentle he is to him, the more cautious he becomes.
Yun Cuo is like this, when you give him the cold shoulder, he stiffens his neck, his eyes are cold, and he refuses to take a step back. But if you give him candy, he will become cautious, unless the candy is about to melt, then will he cautiously lick it and taste the sweetness.
On the night when the Xianzhou army captured the capital of the Demon Realm, the remaining large forces of the Demon Realm immediately moved to the wilderness deep in the Demon Realm and wandered between the Netherworld and the Underworld.
The war suddenly became a little tricky.
The demons were good at hiding in the dark due to their roots and bloodlines, and once they escaped to the netherworld or the wilderness, they had a natural advantage. When the heavenly soldiers arrived at their place, they were like trapped beasts with their eyes blindfolded and needed tamed bats and underworld crows to lead the way so that they could know where the enemy was.
However, due to the communication between the spiritual beasts, they were always one step behind the demons, and sometimes they were caught off guard by plots and ambushes, which were hard to defend against. The morale of the soldiers began to decline, and the situation became stale.
Under such circumstances, the war between the heavens, the Immortal Realm, and the Demon Realm basically turned into a situation where Yun Cuo alone was fighting against thousands of troops.
He returned to the way he was in his previous life, relying on his natural immortal-demon roots and supreme cultivation to fight and kill single-handedly.
He became an entire army by himself, squandering his strength and skills without restraint, as precise and accurate as a tireless mortise and tenon gear, turning into an unstoppable sword. No one could run in or cooperate with him, and he didn’t need anyone’s support, he just kept killing without end.
Kill, kill, and kill.
His ruthless, terrifying, and extreme execution ability has even frightened the villagers in the fairy world. Some people even began to spread the rumor that Yun Cuo himself was the biggest spy in the Demon Realm.
Xue Huai made time that day and asked Bai Yi for leave to leave Dongzhou and go to Yun Cuo’s base camp to see him. At the same time, he was also going to discuss the next plan with Yun Cuo on behalf of Dongzhou.
He waited in the base camp for several hours before he heard the news that Yun Cuo had returned at full speed.
Xue Huai couldn’t help it, and he rode on the gluttonous ghost to pick him up. The two met ten miles outside the base camp.
Yun Cuo was followed by a huge army. He was the first to march in the front row, riding a tall fairy horse, and he could be seen from afar.
At first, he seemed not to notice anything. He only knew that someone in white appeared on the way here. After a while, he realized that it was his Xue Huai.
At that moment, a light of joy shone in his dark crimson demon’s eyes.
Xue Huai stood far away from him, stopped, and waited for him to come over. He said nothing, he just looked at him and smiled.
He could see from Yun Cuo’s expression that he had resisted the urge to dismount and pounce on him. Because he was now the king of all people and the leader of the warriors behind him who had risked their lives, he could not lose his composure.
He waited patiently.
Yun Cuo increased the speed of his horse. Seeing the distance between them getting shorter and shorter, suddenly, an immortal rushed in from the side—
Holding flowers in both hands, he rushed forward and nearly died in front of Yun Cuo’s horse’s hooves.
Fortunately, Yun Cuo reacted quickly and quickly reined in his horse to turn around. Amid the fairy horse’s neighing, the immortal knelt down, raised his hands above his head devoutly, and presented the flower to him, shouting, “I hope Immortal Lord will accept it. This is my heartfelt gift. I am grateful for you risking your life for us and fighting on the battlefield. I am grateful for your willingness to fight against the demon realm.”
That flower was the one that Xue Huai and Yun Cuo both loved in their previous lives. It only grew in Dongzhou and would appear in cold and snowy weather. Its petals were crystal clear, like frozen ice and snow.
Yun Cuo had obviously encountered this kind of thing more than once, so he handled it very skillfully. He leaned over slightly and stretched out his hand to take it, but Xue Huai shouted at that moment, “Don’t touch it!”
At that moment, the white petals suddenly turned into several vicious poisonous insects, buzzing and baring their teeth as they tried to drill into Yun Cuo’s seven orifices. Xue Huai raised his hand and used the spiritual fire gun to fire a storm-like Qingxin Jue, instantly dispersing all the filthy poisons.
At the same time, the immortal in front of him also disappeared in the wind.
Xue Huai rushed to Yun Cuo’s side quickly, checked his pulse with his cold hands, and felt relieved when he found that he was fine.
He whispered, “Winter flowers appeared in the land of dust and sand. He is an illusionist. He can use poison. He has also cultivated medicine. He has wood spiritual roots and the ability to tame beasts.”
Yun Cuo just looked at him gently, “Xue Huai, I’m fine.”
At this moment, a large group of immortals suddenly emerged from the distance and began to talk noisily. Xue Huai listened carefully, and it sounded like curses.
He had sharp hearing and soon distinguished the angry roar among them: “We missed! We let that evil demon escape!”
Some people even shouted, “There must be something fishy about this man! Why would we let him be the Immortal Lord? How could someone of the sixteenth level of demonic cultivation and free from cause and effect in immortal cultivation be so kind as to help us? Right now we are fighting the Demon Realm together, but who knows if he will suddenly announce that he has given up his status as an immortal after the Demon Realm has been conquered? In this case, it would be the Demon Realm that has swallowed us up, not us swallowing the Demon Realm!”
“That’s right! Seeing how violent and murderous he is and how he doesn’t look like a god at all, he must be working for the Demon Realm!”
Xue Huai’s eyes darkened, and he fired the spiritual fire gun again, creating a gentle barrier.
He could now use the spiritual fire gun relatively successfully, especially when he was angry. After being strengthened several times by the magic weapon, the barrier instantly turned into a huge air wall that stretched for hundreds of miles, directly separating the crowd in the distance.
Xue Huai took back the spiritual fire gun and gave Yun Cuo a gentle smile in return. “I’m glad you’re fine. Let’s go back first.”
Because of this accident, Yun Cuo acted out of character and did not press him down on the couch or do anything wrong to him as soon as he was brought back to the tent. Instead, he took a bath first and asked the army’s medical cultivator to come and take a look at him.
He asked Xue Huai to go out and eat something first. Xue Huai agreed on the surface, but he was unwilling to do so in his heart. He secretly ran to the outside of the screen, where he was taking a shower, and sat there waiting for him.
The medical cultivator didn’t know he was coming and only warned Yun Cuo anxiously from behind the screen: “Immortal Lord, you can’t use your power like this anymore, or it will cause irreversible damage to your roots. Your eyes are an example. When you were a child, the colors you saw when you looked at people and things shouldn’t have been as gray as they are now, right?”
Yun Cuo let out an uncertain sound: “Umm.”
After a while, he added, “What I saw and heard when I was young does seem to be more vivid than it is now.”
“That’s it. You’ve been practicing too much and have damaged your Qi and roots. The evil spirit is getting deeper and deeper and is corroding your body. If you continue to use your strength to such an extreme, not only will you not be able to distinguish the colors of people and objects, but you will even have difficulty seeing things normally.”
“I understand.”
Yun Cuo paused for a while, his tone sounding a little indifferent.
But after a while, he seemed to have thought of something and asked with uncertainty, “Then will I not be able to see Xue Huai?”
The medical cultivator seemed to have been asked this question so often that he was numb to it. He answered very calmly, “It is like this. You will not be able to see everyone clearly, including the Immortal Empress.”
Xue Huai laughed when he heard this, and he didn’t know what he felt in his heart—a little sweet but also a little sad.
He remembered that the same medical cultivator had once talked to him privately about Yun Cuo’s physical condition.
The medical cultivator had a headache: “Whatever illness the Immortal Lord has now, he will first ask about the consequences, and then ask about the consequences for you. The Immortal Lord really thinks that you are separate from others. Even if we say it clearly, such as ‘Your Majesty, everyone has gone to bed’; Your Majesty will definitely ask again, Where is Xue Huai? Is he asleep?”
He felt that it was stupid and kept using it to laugh at Yun Cuo.
There was another tug of war behind the screen.
The medical cultivator earnestly persuaded Yun Cuo, and finally he said reluctantly, “Alright, I will use less power when killing people next time. You go out first and let Xue Huai come over.”
The medical cultivator withdrew. As soon as he popped his head out from behind the screen, he saw Xue Huai smiling at him with his arms folded, lip-syncing him to be silent.
The medical cultivator quickly slipped away tactfully.
Yun Cuo took a bath by himself for a while, and then there was the rustling sound of someone getting dressed.
Xue Huai heard him stand up and walk towards this side. As soon as the figure appeared from behind the screen, Xue Huai sat down beside the couch, looked up, and smiled at him: “Yun Cuo, let’s dual-cultivate.”
Yun Cuo seemed to have been completely unprepared for him to appear here so soon, and he was a little at a loss.
Xue Huai, however, was not so patient. He quickly took off his clothes, got up to strip off Yun Cuo’s outer robe, and pulled him to roll onto the couch.
Xue Huai said softly, “Dual cultivation, seriously. I don’t want you to not be able to see me in the future.”
Yun Cuo quickly said, “I will be able to see, I won’t be blinded, Xue Huai.”
Xue Huai was too lazy to talk to him. He bit his shoulder and matched his movements, gradually sinking and floating, becoming confused.
Even though his energy hadn’t traveled a small circumference yet, Xue Huai had already felt the emptiness in Yun Cuo’s body that was becoming more apparent by the day. The person in front of him was overdrawing his own strength, which was a way to hurt himself.
“…You don’t have to work so hard, Yun Cuo.” Xue Huai reached out and brushed his hair. “I’m still by your side. We can all be used by you. Don’t take on everything by yourself. Do you understand?”
Yun Cuo just shook his head and said in a hoarse voice, “I just want to end this war quickly.”
“Then what?” Xue Huai asked.
“Then I’ll marry you, and we’ll move in together and raise Daigua and Xiao Tao. What do you think?” Yun Cuo said.
That’s what he really wants to do.
Since the war began, the two of them had been together less and less, and even if they met like now, they would soon be apart again.
Xue Huai took leave this time just to see Yun Cuo. At the same time, he pestered Yun Cuo to dual cultivate several times. Even when he was so tired that he could not speak coherently, he still wanted Yun Cuo to continue.
His purpose was pure, just to help Yun Cuo make up for his cultivation and spiritual energy.
Compared with his previous endless demands, Yun Cuo felt sorry for him, and finally, when he started bleeding, he would say that he didn’t want him anymore, no matter what.
When Xue Huai refused to leave, he packed him up and threw him back to Dongzhou, warning him at the same time: “Xue Huai ge, don’t do this next time, I’m going to be angry.”
Xue Huai refused to listen to him and told him, “I will come back in three days.”
He was just joking when he said he would come to see him again in three days to strengthen their relationship; but three days later, Xue Huai really came to see Yun Cuo with important matters.
He reported the situation in Dongzhou to Yun Cuo three days ago, but a new situation emerged three days later: the Demon Realm continued to move its base, and now it is difficult to detect their presence even in the Netherworld and the Wilderness.
According to informants, this time the Demon Realm moved to a new location, a place called Shanhu Mountain.
This place is not complicated, and judging from the classification of local residents, it can even be classified as the Heavenly Realm because it is the residence of the Phoenix Clan.
But this is where the problem lies. The Phoenix Clan has always been proud, mysterious, and secluded. In this three realms war, the Phoenix Clan was the only one that did not participate and was completely in a state of indifference.
Originally, it would not be a big deal if they did not join the war, but the problem was that the Phoenix Clan of Shanhu Mountain had a previous record—in the great war between immortals and demons twenty years ago, they stood on the Demon Realm’s side.
In other words, twenty years from now, it is very likely that the Phoenix Clan will take the initiative to seek refuge in the Demon Realm, thus providing them with a refuge.
Shanhu Mountain is a place rarely visited by people, and there is no detailed record of the situation there. However, the fact that the Phoenix Clan was able to hide there for a thousand years is enough to prove that this is not a place that ordinary immortals can enter.
In order to wipe out the demon clan, one must first obtain the cooperation of the Phoenix clan—or wipe out the Phoenix clan as well.
As one of the auspicious animals on a par with the dragon, the phoenix is worshipped by all the immortals. If the immortals were to go to war against them one day, the criticism and obstacles they would face would only increase, not decrease.
What’s more, the Crown Prince Bai Yi of Fuli Palace and his Crown Princess, as well as their Empress Bai Liao, are all genuine phoenixes.
What Xue Huai didn’t expect was that Bai Yi and his Crown Princess Rong Yi, the two phoenixes, expressed their intentions without hesitation: “If you have to fight, then fight. The Phoenix Clan has been closed for a long time. We, in this generation, can’t persuade them, so let’s just fight. Speaking of which, I also have no impression of this so-called Phoenix Clan’s Crown Prince. The only thing I remember is that their previous king participated in the incident twenty years ago, but in the end, he didn’t pose any major threat. He was a waste.”
“But there is one thing. The phoenixes living in Shanhu Mountain will be more difficult to deal with than in the Demon Realm. The phoenix clan is born with high luck. If we go against this clan of gods, we will not have any of the three advantages of time, place, and people. At that time, it will be a huge pressure for Immortal Lord Yun.”
Bai Yi said, “I also think that we should retain some strength. We have achieved great results in recent battles, which must have been a great drain on Immortal Lord Yun. In this case, we can actually choose to delay time. It is also time to negotiate peace.”
The Crown Princess Rong Yi on the side praised him: “You finally said something human.”
Bai Yi: “……”
The attack from the Immortal Realm was too fierce, and they instantly reduced the Demon Realm’s territory by two-thirds. Now was indeed a good time to negotiate peace.
After all, the Immortal and the Heavenly Realms have never been warmongers. This massive battle is also to take the initiative and give the demons a warning. The existence of the six realms of sentient beings has its own laws and reasons, which is also the consensus of most immortals.
Under such circumstances, the Immortal Realm remained silent for two days and then indeed received the Phoenix Clan’s letter of peace.
The Phoenix Clan’s Crown Prince declared that he hoped the Immortal Realm would send someone to negotiate for peace and that he would then make a decision on the war between the Immortal and Demon Realms.
In addition to the implicit attitude of submission, this letter of peace also put forward a request: we hoped that Xue Huai of Dongzhou could come with the envoy, as the Crown Prince of the Phoenix Clan intends to hire him as a military advisor.
Xue Huai was in Dongzhou when he heard the news.
He frowned and asked the person who reported the news, “It’s him again?”
The green bird was stunned by his question: “Ah? What is ‘again’? Has this person come to you before, Young Master Xue?”
Xue Huai shook his head.
He had never looked for him before in this life, but there was no way he didn’t remember it.
The biggest trigger for his falling out with Yun Cuo in his previous life was the letter of recruitment from the crown prince of the Phoenix clan, who offered very generous conditions to hire him, including a very suspicious condition—they could even let Xue Huai come over, and as a descendant of the Fengyu clan, he would be regarded as a fellow phoenix and could marry into Shanhu Mountain.
Yun Cuo thought that he would change his mind and leave him, and he felt that Yun Cuo’s belief in this way was a sign of his lack of trust in him.
Now that he thinks about it, Yun Cuo was just jealous at that time.
As for the so-called Crown Prince of the Phoenix Clan of Shanhu Mountain, Xue Huai had never seen this person in his previous life until his death. But when he was five or six years old, he went to Jianyuan Kindergarten, which was opened by Fuli Palace. There was a large group of phoenix cubs in the next class. At that time, everyone in the kindergarten had a crush on him. It seemed not impossible that he had provoked this peach blossom debt.
However, he had to go. As things were serious, he had to go according to the other party’s wishes, it was also just for show in order to find out the truth.
The final decision made by Fuli Palace was to send Xue Huai directly as an envoy to negotiate with the Phoenix Clan of Shanhu Mountain.
Before that, Xue Huai met Yun Cuo first, wanting to explain the matter and tell him about it clearly.
Unexpectedly, this time he happened to see Yun Cuo losing his temper and causing trouble for others.
As soon as he arrived at Yun Cuo’s tent, he saw a man being kicked out, followed by Yun Cuo’s cold voice: “Get lost.”
The one who was kicked out was a young man who looked like a messenger. He was so scared that he was crying and looking miserable.
Xue Huai looked at him strangely, then went into the tent to find Yun Cuo.
When Yun Cuo saw him, he was stunned for a moment, “Xue Huai ge.”
His tone softened immediately, and his expression became very naturally gentle, with a bit of obedient dependence—it’s just that there was still some uncertainty, as if he was afraid that he would think he was cruel and inhumane and was not willing to let him see this side of him.
Xue Huai raised his chin towards the outside of the tent. “What’s going on?”
Yun Cuo said in a deep voice, “This person spread rumors that you were about to hook up with the Crown Prince of the Phoenix Clan. It’s this person again. I will make sure he is killed without a complete corpse. I will also reprimand the person who is trying to sow discord between us and send him away.”
Xue Huai pursed his lips and said nothing.
Yun Cuo observed his expression, and as if he remembered something, he immediately added, “I know you will go, but it is impossible for you to change your heart and fall in love with someone else. I believe you, Xue Huai ge, don’t you think so?”
Xue Huai smiled and went over to hug him. “My baby is right.”
Yun Cuo buried his head in his shoulder for a while and then asked him again, “What if you go there and that person wants you to marry him? What will you do?”
“It can’t be.” Xue Huai knew this man’s temper very well and took out a red-sealed note from his sleeve, “Look, I will give him this.”
Yun Cuo looked down.
It was a carefully sealed invitation, an invitation to a wedding, with both of their names written on it, a double happiness character in the middle, and flowing clouds and flowers patterned underneath.
“I’m going to invite him to attend our wedding. Yun Cuo, do you think this is a good idea?” Xue Huai asked him with a smile.
Yun Cuo immediately showed a look of joy, but then he suppressed his emotion calmly and said stutteringly, “It’s also-also good. Just go, be careful on the road, and remember to come back early.”
Xue Huai continued to laugh.
Yun Cuo murmured softly again, “I don’t know if the Sansheng Stone has been repaired…”
The exact same questions and wishes made Xue Huai feel itchy as well.
He reached out and hooked Yun Cuo’s fingertips.
“It must have been fixed. Let’s sneak over again when we’re not busy.”
Xue Huai blushed a little. “That’s also true, you and I are already… like this, and we haven’t carved our names on the Sansheng Stone yet. This is not good.”
