“You may follow heaven’s will, but even the Way of Heaven cannot save you,” he sneered coldly. “Still want to put up a futile resistance?”

Feng Miaojun stepped forward at the opportune moment: “Yan King.”

The Yan King spread his hands, concealing his apprehension in his eyes: “Fine, you go first.”

“Our reunion is complete,” Feng Miaojun advanced two steps and smiled at Yun Ya. “I said before, I would release my people with my own hands. As long as you surrender obediently, I can spare your life.”

Anyone could see he was at the end of his rope. Her gaze toward him now carried undisguised eagerness.

She was getting closer and closer to her goal.

“Different soul, same fear of death,” Yun Ya’s face showed mockery as he suddenly pointed at his heart. “Releasing the Celestial Demon clan or preserving your own life—which would you choose?”

Feng Miaojun frowned slightly: “Can’t I have both?”

“You could, but I won’t let you have your way,” Yun Ya shrugged. “Don’t forget, our lives are linked. If I don’t wish to live alone, you’ll have to accompany me in death!”

He pulled out a faint, detached smile: “Then you, as clan leader, won’t have the chance to witness your Celestial Demon clan descend upon the world.” He twirled his sword with a flourish, emanating a chilling aura.

This divine sword had been with him for nearly three hundred years, drinking the throat blood of countless people. One more would hardly matter now.

Even if it was its master’s.

Feng Miaojun’s expression darkened slightly. This fellow had indeed grasped her weakness: “As a towering man of seven feet, do you have the nerve to kill yourself?” Under circumstances where her side had the complete upper hand, she had no desire to die!

“What joy is there in living? For your sake, it’s worth it.” He smiled, looking around at the people present. More figures emerged from the dark forest—the New Xia cultivators had arrived, led by Nu Ba.

The two groups sized each other up, caution written on all their faces. Yun Ya ignored them: “Or, shall we make a deal?”

“Oh?” Since he had no way to escape anyway, Feng Miaojun felt more at ease. She crossed her arms, her interest piqued: “Sounds quite interesting. What terms can you offer?” Making deals was her specialty—did this fellow dare to show off in front of her?

“Is An’an still there?” Yun Ya stared intently at her, not missing the slightest change in her expression. “The truth!”

This man was truly persistent. Feng Miaojun sighed: “Yes.”

She was indeed still there, not yet completely devoured! Yun Ya’s heart warmed slightly, though his expression remained unchanged: “This—” he pointed to his temple, “—I can open to you, but you must leave An’an untouched.”

Lu Ming was greatly alarmed: “State Preceptor!”

“Silence.” Yun Ya gave him a cold glance, then continued addressing Feng Miaojun: “For all these years, you’ve been fixated on releasing the Celestial Demon clan, yet you couldn’t kill me. Now with such a good opportunity, don’t you want to seize it?”

Feng Miaojun’s gaze fell on his chest: “Can you bear to part with it?”

“I can’t,” Yun Ya’s face showed no emotion, as if unconcerned. “Anyway, I can’t escape today, so why not use this life to make a deal—”

Night had already fallen, and the forest where dozens of people stood was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even the sound of wind seemed frozen, with only Yun Ya’s clear yet hollow voice echoing:

“—Return An’an to me, or you’ll accompany me in death right now!”

Feng Miaojun laughed lightly, clear as silver bells, and cold as silver bells: “The men of the Hao family are truly interesting. Hao Minghuan was ruthless to his son, willing to cut out your heart to seal my clan; as for you, you’re ruthless to yourself, willing to die for an ethereal soul.”

Yun Ya didn’t answer, only staring at her: “You know now, so I won’t waste more words.”

Yes, after leaving the Dream City, she had learned where her people were truly sealed. The stone chamber had long been empty, which meant that after she fled to Yingshui City, Hao Minghuan, fearing she might return to rescue her people and realizing that the divine seal was no longer impenetrable for these prisoners, had transferred the Celestial Demon clan to another place for sealing. He then arranged the original temple stone chamber as a trap to capture the Celestial Demon leader.

Unfortunately, man proposes but heaven disposes. The Haoli Empire fell faster than he anticipated, and he never got to use his backup plan.

But the Celestial Demons had remained sealed all these years, cut off from the world, unable to arrange for their disciples to act on their behalf. This was enough to prove that the new sealing location was even more secure.

When she returned to the mortal world and accessed Feng Miaojun’s memories, she immediately understood where her people were hidden—

Hao Minghuan, daring and black-hearted, had sealed the Celestial Demon clan within his own son’s heart!

Otherwise, why would a projection of the Celestial Demons appear in Yun Ya’s sea of consciousness? Why hadn’t his heart ailment healed after more than three hundred years?

The matter was so shocking that even the Celestial Demon leader hadn’t considered this possibility.

Yet it made sense, given that Yun Ya’s bloodline destined him for tremendous vitality and longevity. As an extremely secret living prison, he had enough time to fight the Celestial Demons to the bitter end.

Most importantly, from the beginning, he had received protection from the great beasts of White Elephant Lake, including the White Dragon, ensuring he wouldn’t easily perish in the chaotic world.

This so-called Emperor Li of Hao was truly calculating to the extreme, even making her bow in admiration.

Feng Miaojun pursed her red lips, smiling more happily: “An’an is merely a fragment of my memories. You insist on having her?”

Seeing the wariness in her eyes, Yun Ya knew she still harbored doubts, uncertain if he would truly surrender what he had desperately guarded. He stepped back: “If you refuse, so be it. Taking you down with me wouldn’t be bad either.”

“Hey, hey, don’t be like that!” Seeing the cold light flashing in his eyes, Feng Miaojun quickly waved her hands. “Who said I refuse?”

The man’s face was white as paper, with the air of one resolved to die. While severely wounded, he couldn’t escape or defeat her, but if he decided to end his life, perhaps no one could stop him.

When pushed to the extreme, what wouldn’t a person do? This was what she feared most about Yun Ya.

Damn Ao-Fish mark!

She cursed silently in her heart, but outwardly said: “Let’s settle it then.” She beckoned to Yun Ya with her finger. “Come, let’s fulfill our agreement.”

Lu Ming couldn’t help stepping forward, blocking Yun Ya’s path: “Master, you mustn’t…”

Before he could finish, Yun Ya grabbed him and threw him into the distance.

As Lu Ming soared through the air, he heard Yun Ya’s voice in his ear: “Find Xiao Yan. No one will stop you on the way.”

How could he agree to this? After landing, he tried to rush back, but two Wei Kingdom cultivators stepped forward simultaneously, blocking his path.

“Go!” Yun Ya didn’t even glance at him, but Lu Ming knew he was speaking to him. “Report to the Emperor that the mission is complete. From now on, I am even with the Xiao clan of Great Wei.”