In Jinhua Hall, there was complete silence.
After a long moment, Fu Ronghua hesitantly spoke: “Shaoyang, what do you mean by that? What do you mean only the demon race has the key to open the Ruins of the Golden Gate?”
“Back then, Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang was outmatched by the siege of all major sects and fled into the Ruins of the Golden Gate. Qinghua pursued him inside. You were all present that year – the Ruins of the Golden Gate existed for only an instant before disappearing, with no way to enter again. It wasn’t until the Demon Lord died that the Ruins of the Golden Gate were sealed again, and for all these years, it has been nowhere to be found.” Shaoyang Zhenren raised his eyes, “And the one who originally opened the Ruins of the Golden Gate was Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang himself.”
“Qinghua later told me that the Demon Lord took out a key and opened the Ruins of the Golden Gate that were sealed in Duzhou. That key was formed from the Demon Lord’s Yuan power. After the Demon Lord died, the key disappeared.”
“The Ruins of the Golden Gate is where the human realm connects to the immortal realm, but only those from the demon realm can open it. This is the balance of the three realms.”
Lingxin Daoren squinted: “Speaking of which, why did Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang flee into the Ruins of the Golden Gate back then?”
“I heard that his Xiaoyuan Pearl was obtained from the Ruins of the Golden Gate.” Fu Ronghua thought for a moment, “Could it be that there are great opportunities within?”
“Since it’s where the immortal realm connects to the human realm, there must be many secret treasures within. Not to mention the immortal methods for flood control – regarding how to revive withered spiritual veins, the Ruins of the Golden Gate might have answers.” Rongshuang said.
Everyone in the hall paused. This was perhaps the true intention of the Xiangling Sect Leader. The rain might stop, and the floods would eventually cease, but once spiritual veins withered, revival was impossible. Over the years, they had searched everywhere for solutions, all ultimately in vain. The major secret realms of Duzhou had already been destroyed during the great war between humans and demons, and this legendary hidden place where immortals could be seen had become everyone’s last hope.
“Are we supposed to approach the demon race?” Fu Ronghua looked toward Shaoyang Zhenren.
“Hmph,” Lingxin Daoren’s face darkened: “Then let’s kill those demons and make them hand over the key!”
Xuan Lingzi finally couldn’t listen anymore and coughed lightly: “Never mind whether we can cross that Mingming River, even if we attacked the demon realm, those demons wouldn’t necessarily obediently hand over the key. Moreover, the Xiaoyuan Pearl is still in demon hands – we can’t even win in battle…” His voice gradually lowered under Yueguang Daoren’s warning gaze, though his face still showed defiance.
Now the Xiaoyuan Pearl was split into two halves – one half in the hands of the Demon Lord’s daughter, the other in the hands of the Demon Lord’s son. Currently, there was internal strife among the demons, but if the two joined forces, wouldn’t Duzhou face the same situation as twenty years ago? With floods raging and spiritual energy depleted, adding a pair of Gui Diao Tang’s children on top of that, the people of Duzhou would truly be cursed for eight lifetimes.
“I think we don’t need to be so extreme.” Fu Ronghua waved his hand and spoke tentatively, “Previously, at Yuega Mountain, didn’t that demon Yang Zanxing also help our Demon Extermination Army? She stayed at the Taiyan Sect for a long time and has some friendship with them. Aren’t Martial Nephew Gu and the others doing quite well in Heishi City? Since they’re also dealing with Gui Yansheng, and we’re also dealing with Gui Yansheng – the enemy of my enemy is my friend. What’s wrong with asking a friend to borrow something?”
This man was always smooth and diplomatic. Cui Yufu sneered coldly and said in a muffled voice: “What kind of friend throws their friend into a Ten Thousand Killing Formation? Your Yinfeng Sect has quite a special way of getting along with friends.”
Fu Ronghua choked for a moment, then said: “It was your sect leader who activated the Ten Thousand Killing Formation back then. It was the Chihua Gate that tried to kill Yang Zanxing completely, and the Xiangling Sect that fanned the flames from the sidelines. Our Yinfeng Sect did absolutely nothing.”
He cleared himself completely, while Rongshuang’s expression changed several times – she looked like she wanted to curse.
Li Danshu smiled: “Fellow sect leaders needn’t be anxious. Even if we now have the intention to ally with the demon race, the demons might not agree.” After all, previously, the sect cultivators had forced Zanxing into the Ten Thousand Killing Formation. If Zanxing hadn’t had an extraordinary fortune and received heaven’s protection, she would have truly been reduced to ashes by now.
“Doesn’t Yang Zanxing have a good relationship with your sect? Even if she holds grudges against us, she surely wouldn’t hold grudges against you.” Fu Ronghua’s eyes rolled, “And there’s Martial Nephew Gu,” he called out, “Martial Nephew” warmly, “Martial Nephew Gu and Zanxing once had romantic feelings, and he even divided his Yuan Soul before the Ten Thousand Killing Formation to gain a thread of hope for her. I imagine Zanxing still has lingering affection for Martial Nephew Gu; otherwise, she wouldn’t let him stay comfortably in Heishi City. Why don’t we… have Martial Nephew Gu speak up and ask the demon race? Yang Zanxing definitely won’t refuse.”
“Absolutely not!” Xuan Lingzi immediately spoke up: “Make my junior brother beg Zanxing for your sake? You…” He forcibly swallowed the words “are you worthy?” and only said: “Besides, my junior brother definitely won’t agree! He’ll stand on Zanxing’s side!”
“Ha, I knew it – he’s definitely in cahoots with that demoness. The entire Taiyan Sect is birds of a feather!” Lingxin Daoren said sarcastically.
“How can you say that?” Fu Ronghua glared at Lingxin Daoren, “Lingxin, don’t be so petty. Besides, it was Gui Yansheng who killed your Chihua Gate disciples, not Yang Zanxing. There’s no need to harbor resentment for so long. We sect leaders should have broader hearts. Right, Sect Leader Rongshuang?”
Rongshuang ignored him and only looked toward Shaoyang Zhenren: “Shaoyang, what exactly are you thinking?”
After a moment of silence, Shaoyang Zhenren spoke: “If we want to enter the Ruins of the Golden Gate, we can only seek help from Heishi City.”
“Then…”
“I’ll speak to them,” he said.
…
The azure paper crane circled once in the hall before transforming into a wisp of light mist and disappearing.
But clear feminine laughter rang out in the hall.
“Hahaha, truly thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river – fortune turns in cycles!” Bujiang reclined languidly on the soft couch, laughing until tears nearly came: “Those old fellows from the sects have been showing off above the demon race for many years, forcing our demon race to hide everywhere these years, not even daring to leave Heishi City. Now it’s their turn to beg us for help. How satisfying!”
Today, an azure paper crane had flown to Heishi City, delivering a letter written by Shaoyang Zhenren, the Taiyan Sect Leader. The wording was polite and courteous, seeking to borrow the key to open the Ruins of the Golden Gate from the demon race.
The letter tactfully expressed the other sects’ apologies and recompense for previous misunderstandings. It stated that the discord between human and demon races had long been settled with Gui Diao Tang’s death years ago, and that the previous difficulties with Zanxing were due to falling for Gui Yansheng’s treacherous schemes. They asked Her Highness the Demon Empress of Heishi City to be magnanimous and not take it to heart.
After a moment, Bujiang stopped laughing and raised her eyebrows while looking at the long letter in her hand: “Though it bears Shaoyang’s seal, you can tell at a glance it’s not Shaoyang’s tone. It sounds more like that old fox from the Yinfeng Sect.”
Xiao Shuang asked: “Then does Your Highness plan to agree?”
“Agree?” Bujiang seemed amused and asked in return: “Just because they’re begging this palace, must this palace agree?