Liu Shuang did not reveal herself to Chang Huan. Knowing that what she cherished was still there, and that Chang Huan was well, already made her heart glad.

Even if they were to meet again, Chang Huan wouldn’t recognize her, wouldn’t pretend to be a mortal for her as she had done for the little immortal herb.

All things had subtly changed.

At the ghost gate, a person was chained, wings drooping listlessly behind her. Liu Shuang looked closely and saw it was Cong Xia.

Behind her was a stone tablet inscribed with an account of how she had deceived the demon realm people over these three years.

It included all of Liu Shuang’s deeds in saving those little demons, all listed on the tablet. Yan Chaosheng hadn’t done much to her directly, but making her lose what wasn’t truly hers had been enough to make the pampered butterfly spirit suffer.

How the demon realm people would regard Cong Xia from now on was no longer their concern.

Liu Shuang’s gaze swept briefly over the inscription. No wonder since his return, Yan Chaosheng had replaced all the demon scribes and ghost maids. He didn’t want Liu Shuang to deduce what he had done from the changes in people’s attitudes.

He was certain he could keep her confined, and when he returned from battle, perhaps the Eight Wildernesses would be a different landscape.

Why did Yan Chaosheng do all these things?

These trivial matters seemed superfluous to Liu Shuang.

Liu Shuang walked toward the butterfly spirit. Cong Xia’s eyes widened: “You… you…”

She had broken free of the spirit-locking contract?

“Are you going to kill me?” Cong Xia was nervous.

She had been left by Yan Chaosheng for Liu Shuang to deal with. Terrified of death, she now apologized profusely: “It was my vanity. I didn’t mean to harm you intentionally.”

Liu Shuang was both irritated and amused: “I won’t kill you.”

She couldn’t be bothered with Cong Xia and walked past her. Although Cong Xia had done many wrong things, driven by vanity, she had also done much for the demon tribe.

Liu Shuang had no intention of seeking out Yan Chaosheng or Feng Fuming. Regardless of who succeeded in the end, they would realize they lacked only the Heart of Hui Ling.

The Demon God’s immortal power, after tens of thousands of years, had transformed into the heart of a female immortal infant.

It had given her a unique encounter, a chance to live again. Since the story began here, it should also end here.

The Demon God had given Liu Shuang a treasure, asking her to protect these mountains and rivers.

Before, in her ignorance, she had transformed all that power into a small immortal realm, which was eventually trapped, burned, and absorbed by Yan Chaosheng using the Primal Mirror.

She had already touched upon all truths. In her previous life, Yan Chaosheng still couldn’t bear for her to die; he had felt some genuine emotion. He tried to destroy Cang Lan to save her, not knowing that in Liu Shuang’s heart, Cang Lan was more important than herself.

Flying toward Kun Lun, Liu Shuang saw that spring had arrived in the mortal realm. It was a magnificent spring day, with brilliant sunshine. Colts ran through the forests, and people’s calls rose and fell.

This beautiful scene suddenly made her heart calm and gentle.

She remembered the bustling mortal realm during the Lantern Festival. The immortal clans had forgotten the mortal world for too long. Without protection, mortals lived day after day without faith, and the spirit veins began to wither.

This calamity was inevitable. Each fulfilling their duty, with the Eight Wildernesses united in heart, would be the best outcome.

She suddenly no longer hated Yan Chaosheng.

Different paths toward the same goal—compared to the safety of the Eight Wildernesses, those personal feelings had become insignificant. Everyone had their mission. From her vantage point high above, Liu Shuang looked down at the mortal world. Yan Chaosheng’s mission required him to lead the demon tribe in breaking through their shackles.

And Shao You, Feng Fuming, even Ji Xianghan—each person had to plan for their mission and the countless people behind them.

Including Liu Shuang, who had once strived to protect Cang Lan, was willing to die nine times without regret. Turned to blood, tears, and ashes, buried with them in the spring lake. Once jumping into the Weak Waters, enduring bone-corroding pain, all to keep Kung Sang safe and sound.

With greater love, lesser love became insignificant.

Liu Shuang wasn’t afraid at all now. She remembered several years ago when she had first been reborn and was forced by Chi Shui Chong to go to Kun Lun to retrieve the Phantom Beauty Pearl, feeling confused and lost. Now, going to Kun Lun was a path to certain death, yet her heart was quiet and gentle, like spring water flowing gently through the mortal realm, opposed to the raging battle between immortals and demons behind her.

When Liu Shuang arrived at Kun Lun, the morning sun was just rising. With the spirit vein taken from Kun Lun, the peach blossoms were about to wither, and the peach forest no longer glowed as it once had.

Its desolate and dreary appearance was lamentable.

All this was due to Feng Fuming’s misdeeds over these years. Without the spirit vein’s nourishment, Liu Shuang saw many newborn immortals die in their mothers’ arms.

Many elders were also at death’s door. If Feng Fuming had any conscience and shared a little of the spirit vein, they could struggle to survive and gradually adapt, becoming no different from the small immortal realms in the mortal world. But clearly, Feng Fuming didn’t care whether they lived or died; he wanted all of the Demon God’s spiritual power.

Liu Shuang didn’t linger, heading straight for Kun Lun’s main hall.

Wo Jiang, with his white hair disheveled, scattered divination peach wood pieces. The last piece pointed toward Liu Shuang as she entered the hall.

“You’ve come,” Wo Jiang said, looking at Liu Shuang, his deeply furrowed face showing the composure of age.

“The old Realm Lord passed away yesterday. The Young Lord has returned and is now in the hall, accompanying the old Realm Lord in his final moments. Immortal Maiden may wait patiently. Later, this old one and the Young Lord will help you open the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron.”

Wo Jiang’s divination skills were unparalleled. Having divined with all his heart and soul, he must have guessed her intentions. Liu Shuang felt some sadness and respectfully bowed.

Wo Jiang smiled: “Ah, it’s all the same. Without the spirit vein, old fellows like us who have already transcended nature will eventually reach our end. We should be grateful that Feng Fuming didn’t forcibly take it; we couldn’t have fought him now. It seems the smartest one is that unremarkable girl from the Ji family, Ji Xianghan. Most people have survived in her Long Liu all these years. We all underestimated her. Sit, girl.”

Liu Shuang sat beside him on the ground: “Immortal Master, everything will end.”

“It’s been hard on you,” Wo Jiang said. “Are you afraid?”

Liu Shuang smiled and shook her head. Wo Jiang might be one of the few people in the world who knew she carried the Heart of Hui Ling.

To have such a peaceful moment in the war-torn Eight Wildernesses was truly rare.

“The Young Lord also knows the Hui Ling power is within you, but he never thought of asking you to sacrifice yourself. The lives of the Eight Wildernesses’ people are lives, and yours is not insignificant. Immortal Maiden has come today to burn away the Hui Ling power; this old one admires you.” It was fortunate that the bearer of the Heart of Hui Ling was wholly virtuous.

Perhaps in her previous life, Shao You had known early on, so he guided the little immortal herb toward goodness and taught her worldly affairs.

If the Heart of Hui Ling had been tainted, it would have been a disaster for everyone in the Eight Wildernesses.

Liu Shuang waited until evening, when Shao You walked over slowly.

Behind him followed Feng Caiyi, like a little tail. Seeing Liu Shuang, Feng Caiyi showed none of her previous arrogance and only nervously looked at Shao You.

Shao You appeared serene, not overly grieved by his father’s death. Seeing Liu Shuang, his clear eyes swept over her: “Were you mistreated in the Ghost Realm?”

Liu Shuang shook her head.

Shao You said softly, “That’s good.”

Wo Jiang coughed once, and Feng Caiyi pouted. Shao You chuckled: “I won’t do anything rash. Let’s go, Immortal Maiden Liu Shuang.”

He led the way toward the divine hall where the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron was kept. He instructed Feng Caiyi: “Wait for me here.”

Feng Caiyi, like a proud little peacock, deflated upon hearing his words and waited where she was. She didn’t know what Shao You was going to do with Liu Shuang. These mysterious, important figures would never tell her, making her crane her neck anxiously, fearing that Shao You might elope with Liu Shuang.

This amused old Wo Jiang: “Girl, be patient. Perhaps there will be a day when the willow shade gives way to bright flowers.”

Feng Caiyi’s eyes brightened immensely.

“Hmph, but that can only happen after that bastard brother of yours is gone.”

Feng Caiyi smiled awkwardly. She had no particular affection for Feng Fuming, who had never valued her life.

Liu Shuang followed behind Shao You, passing peach blossoms on the verge of withering, exuding an air of decadence.

Shao You: “Do you blame me?”

“Of course not. This is the path I chose myself.”

Before the great hall, they stopped. Shao You turned around: “Liu Shuang, I always felt it was unfair. I believed my affection for you was no less than Yan Chaosheng’s. Why, in the end, did your heart turn to him? Now I understand—”

His features were as elegant as pear blossoms, his smile resigned.

“Each of us has things we must do, choices we must make that break our hearts. You carry the Heart of Hui Ling. To prevent the Demon God’s descent and destroy Feng Fuming’s ambition, we would all eventually come to this step. Yan Chaosheng is of the Xiang You royal lineage, born carrying the burden of a blood feud. He needs the Heart of Hui Ling even more—it’s his inborn mission to lead the demon tribe out of their plight. He had many paths available, yet he chose the most difficult one for himself, just to give you a chance to survive.”

“What…” Liu Shuang looked at him in surprise.

Shao You lowered his eyes. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, injuries from his time in Feng Fuming’s hands. He said: “On my way back to Kun Lun, I saw Yan Chaosheng leading demon and ghost armies toward Kung Sang. The moment you appeared safely here, I understood. To prevent the Demon God from destroying the world, there are two paths: first, destroy the Heart of Hui Ling; second, destroy all the spirit veins in the world.”

“You’re saying Yan Chaosheng is going to destroy the spirit veins…” Liu Shuang immediately understood but denied it: “Impossible. Even the ancient royal lineage couldn’t destroy the Demon God’s spirit veins. Besides…” Besides, he was the ruthless Demon Lord from the future. Didn’t he want the Demon God’s power?

“I don’t know what happened between you two,” Shao You said, looking at her with all-seeing eyes and smiling gently. “But I think Yan Chaosheng felt that once he led his army out, you would no longer need to sacrifice yourself to the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron.”

Not just Liu Shuang, but even Wo Jiang, who had been following them at a distance, widened his eyes.

He marveled inwardly: this Yan Chaosheng, if he succeeded, would destroy all the spirit veins in the world, and the immortal clans would no longer be divided into ranks.

Then the demon tribe, ghost tribe, and human tribe would naturally be equal to the immortal clan, able to live peacefully in this world.

However, destroying the Demon God’s spirit veins was something that couldn’t be accomplished even with the combined forces of the Eight Wildernesses. How dare Yan Chaosheng even think of it? Not only would he fail, but the surging spirit veins would retaliate, reducing him to dust.

Had Yan Chaosheng gone mad?

Even Shao You believed success was impossible, which was why he had brought Liu Shuang here.

If the five spirit veins were united and Yan Chaosheng failed and died, no one in the Eight Wildernesses could oppose Feng Fuming. If Liu Shuang were captured and Feng Fuming took her Hui Ling power, he would become the Demon God, the true ruler of the Eight Wildernesses, with no possibility of reversal.

What they could do was destroy the Hui Ling power in advance, preventing all this from happening.

The silence was terrifying. Liu Shuang’s palms were sweating. She was unwilling to believe everything she had heard from Shao You.

That selfish Yan Chaosheng, forever at war, cold and unfeeling, who always loved to see her cry.

Was he going to destroy the Demon God’s spirit veins?

That day, he had smiled coldly and said: I didn’t come back for you.

Yan Chaosheng indeed hadn’t done much for her. Since he awoke, he had constantly dragged her around, speaking with cold mockery. Even on the most tender occasion, the Lantern Festival, sitting on the rooftop, he had only said he wouldn’t marry her.

He left with his army, leaving her only with a cold back view.

Liu Shuang bit her lip. She had thought their paths diverged, that the youth who loved her was dead, so she hadn’t even raised her head to look at him.

“Liu Shuang,” Shao You said, “do you want to go see him, or take a last look at Kung Sang, your parents, and your people?”

“Young Lord! We don’t have time!” Wo Jiang couldn’t help interjecting. Shao You raised his hand: “Master, I know what I’m doing. I’ll take the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron and go with her. If Yan Chaosheng… fails, I’ll melt the Heart of Hui Ling before Feng Fuming can act.”

Wo Jiang sighed and said no more.

He truly had no right to stop them. Yan Chaosheng was willing to defy the heavenly way to give Liu Shuang a chance at life, to ensure the peace of all beings for ten thousand generations. How could he take Liu Shuang’s heart while Yan Chaosheng was fighting for the Eight Wildernesses?

On that night when Yan Chaosheng put on his armor, he had only one belief: the Eight Wildernesses and she must both be well.

“Shall we go?” Shao You asked.

Shao You had never been able to do what Yan Chaosheng did, but at this moment, as a close friend, he could do one last thing for Liu Shuang.