Recalling the pale appearance of the female ghost in the Infinite Desolate City, Er Sheng could not connect her at all with this coquettish woman clinging to Chang An.

She couldn’t understand what had happened between these two that led to one falling to demon cultivation three times and the other being eternally confined to the Desolate City as if separated by life and death… at least they seemed to get along very harmoniously now.

“Chang An has fallen to demon cultivation twice, and now that he has finally attained immortal bones, he really shouldn’t have too much contact with that fan demon. If he’s lured into the demon path again, I’m afraid…”

At the Liu Bo Elders’ Council meeting, someone raised concerns, and others quickly agreed: “Chang An has undergone celestial tribulation and ascended twice, his divine power is far beyond what it once was. Now that Liu Bo has just recovered from natural disasters and everything needs rebuilding, if Chang An falls to demon cultivation again, who could control him? It would be a calamity for all living beings.”

“We should prevent trouble before it happens.”

“The fan demon must be executed.”

“She should be eliminated.”

Er Sheng, floating above the great hall, listened to the elders’ clamoring discussions and felt inexplicably disgusted. Nothing had even happened yet, but these people, with their sanctimonious appearance, saying ‘this is for your own good,’ were arbitrarily condemning others while calling it precautionary measures.

It was absurd, utterly absurd.

“The fan demon and Chang An’s marriage is their private matter. Whether they stay together or separate should be Chang An’s decision. Now that he has attained immortal bones, he must have his considerations.”

At that moment, a cold voice came from the corner. Er Sheng followed the voice and was startled when she saw the speaker—it was none other than Wu Fang’s Sect Master. Compared to his appearance hundreds of years later, his appearance hadn’t changed at all.

“Chang Wu, your words are mistaken. Although Chang An has attained immortal status, he hasn’t severed his connection with the fan demon, showing he still harbors feelings. If that demon causes mischief and drags Chang An back to the demon path, it would be a great misfortune for the world.”

“Hmph, now that Chang An has become immortal, he must know what to keep and what to discard. How could he be so easily tempted?” Chang Wu said disdainfully. “If an immortal’s heart is so unstable, they might as well fall to demon cultivation.”

“Chang An is your junior brother, it’s natural that you want to protect him. But leaving the fan demon alive will lead to endless troubles. She must be eliminated.”

At these words, all the elders lowered their eyes in agreement. Chang Wu gave a cold laugh and left with a sweep of his sleeve.

Er Sheng followed Chang Wu’s figure out of the hall, watching him descend Liu Bo Mountain until he found Chang An in a small wooden cabin by the lakeside at the mountain’s foot. At that moment, Chang An was standing by the lake, quietly practicing breathing exercises.

“Senior Brother.” Without turning around, he already knew who had come.

“The elders won’t tolerate her anymore. Settle your mortal affairs quickly. Having ascended to immortality, you shouldn’t linger in the lower realm.”

Chang An smiled faintly: “Two falls to demon cultivation count as two tribulations. Senior Brother, have you ever heard of anyone needing to undergo tribulation twice to ascend to immortality?”

Chang Wu frowned.

“Lately, I seem to be able to see some future events. I see you becoming the leader of a sect and see dynasties changing amid warfare. But I can’t see myself, nor Liu Bo.” Chang An closed his eyes, feeling the breeze brush past him. “If I’m not mistaken, I still have one tribulation to undergo.”

“Senior Brother, do you remember what Venerable Chong Hua told us before his death? For immortal ascension tribulations: one tribulation to become immortal, three tribulations to become divine. In the Nine Heavens, the Star Lord of Fate wrote three tribulations for me, truly treating me generously.”

Chang Wu’s frown deepened.

“But this tribulation, if I can’t pass it, I’ll truly fall to demon cultivation forever.” Chang An turned around, staring steadily at Chang Wu. “Senior Brother, would you help me with something?”

“What is it?”

“I have a premonition that the tribulation is approaching. I need to go into closed cultivation for several months. If the tribulation comes during this time, at least others won’t be affected. Since the elders are determined to act, neither of us can stop them. I must face the tribulation and can’t be distracted. Could you… help me take A Wu away, as far from Liu Bo as possible?”

Chang Wu remained silent for a long while. As he turned to leave, he finally said slowly: “I won’t reason with her.” Implying he would simply knock her unconscious and take her away.

Chang An smiled helplessly and sighed slightly: “That’s the only way it can be done.”

However, even with all his careful planning for A Wu now, in the end, they still couldn’t escape the merciless tribulation. Er Sheng suddenly felt a bit of pity for Chang An. But before she could organize her thoughts, the surroundings suddenly darkened, the bright moon rose into the night sky, and Er Sheng was pulled back to the place called “Ten Li Pavilion.”

But tonight, the person standing there was Chang Wu, transformed to look like Chang An, presumably to lure A Wu to come of her own accord.

Sure enough, before long, a black figure nimbly leaped into the pavilion, draping herself over “Chang An” as if boneless: “Chang An! Today I have wonderful news to tell you, do you want to hear it?”

“No.” Chang Wu answered coldly, then dispelled his illusion, returning to his appearance. He grabbed A Wu with one hand, preventing her escape.

A Wu was shocked: “You! Where’s Chang An?”

“He asked me to take you away.”

“Away? Where? I won’t go! I didn’t leave before, and I won’t leave now, I…”

Giving her no chance to speak further, Chang Wu struck the back of her neck. A Wu’s eyes rolled twice before she finally lost consciousness, though extremely unwillingly.

Er Sheng thought: Sect Master, indeed a ruthless character.

The surroundings changed again, and Er Sheng saw A Wu tied up in a cave. At first, she could be heard loudly cursing the Liu Bo Daoists as despicable and shameless. After some time, she seemed to tire of cursing and began whimpering, muttering about unfaithful men being struck by lightning and such. Finally, she fell silent, and for the next few days, she allowed Chang Wu to keep leading her northward.

Each day she would only say one thing to Chang Wu: “I want to see Chang An,” but Chang Wu couldn’t be bothered to reply even once. After many days, as they got further and further from Liu Bo, the anxiety in A Wu’s expression became increasingly difficult to suppress.

“I know you Daoists look down on demons from birth. You won’t let me be with Chang An, fine, but you can’t separate a child from its father.”

For the first time in days, Chang Wu properly looked at A Wu: “What did you say?”

“A child.” A Wu gently covered her lower abdomen and said seriously, “Chang An’s and my child.”

Chang Wu’s cold expression cracked slightly with surprise. After a while, he rubbed his temples and asked: “When did this happen?”

“When he fell to demon cultivation, we married, on our wedding night.”

Chang Wu narrowed his eyes skeptically: “That was about a year ago.”

“Correct. When he fell to demon cultivation, he was a demon, so naturally, our child is also a demon. A demon child needs three years of gestation. I only discovered it recently. If you don’t believe me, I didn’t believe it at first either, but I asked Rong Su. He’s a thousand-year-old great demon, my sworn brother, he wouldn’t misread the signs.”

A demon child from birth…

Chang Wu’s brow suddenly furrowed. Er Sheng’s heart jumped, for a moment thinking Chang Wu would kill A Wu.

But in the end, Chang Wu didn’t act. He only said flatly: “What would you do if you saw Chang An?”

“What can a wife carrying a child do when she sees her husband? I just want to live with him.”

“Chang An won’t live with you.”

“You’re not Chang An, how do you know he won’t?” A Wu said, “Chang An must have his reasons for asking you to take me away from Liu Bo, and I believe he means well to me, but all these decisions were made when he didn’t know I was carrying his child. Now if he knew, perhaps he would make different decisions, have different plans.”

“Chang An must undergo tribulation, and all the Liu Bo elders want to kill you. What other plans could he have?”

A Wu froze, lowering her eyes to murmur: “Is becoming immortal so important to him?” Chang Wu’s lips moved slightly, but he didn’t explain anything on Chang An’s behalf. A Wu raised her head to look at him pleadingly: “Since Chang An asked you to take me away, he must trust you deeply. Could you… go back and tell him? Perhaps he might think of another way.”

Chang Wu remained silent.

“Please, I know after Liu Bo’s natural disaster, Chang An only has you left as a fellow disciple, and you only have him as a junior brother, isn’t that right?”

“Fine.” Chang Wu sighed softly, taking out a yellow talisman from his robes. “This is Liu Bo’s communication talisman. Find a place to hide yourself well, and I’ll come find you when it’s time.”

A Wu was overjoyed, obediently taking the talisman and watching Chang Wu soar away on a cloud.

Looking at A Wu’s delighted face, Er Sheng suddenly had an ominous feeling. She instinctively wanted to call Chang Wu back, tell him not to leave like this, to at least take A Wu to a safer place. But for this story, she was only an observer, unable to do anything.

Sure enough, A Wu waited several days for Chang Wu, but never received any news about Chang An from him. Instead, she only met two stone-faced Liu Bo elders.

Upon seeing A Wu, they attacked without a word, every move lethal. They must have been searching for her for a long time, intending to end her life today. A Wu protected her belly, unable to fight freely, and quickly fell into a disadvantage. Just as it seemed she couldn’t escape this calamity, a man suddenly intervened. His techniques were overbearing and domineering, forcing back the two Liu Bo elders in just a few moves.

He didn’t linger to fight, but grabbed A Wu and quickly fled.

Only when they had hidden in a dense forest did they stop? As soon as she saw this man, tears of grievance filled A Wu’s eyes: “Brother Rong Su…” So this was A Wu’s sworn brother, the thousand-year-old great demon, Rong Su.

“Useless!” Rong Su scolded, “Look at yourself, where’s your demon pride? It’s just one Daoist, kick him aside, and brother will find you another.”

“Though there are many men in the world, I happened to uselessly fall in love with this one. Don’t scold me, brother, I can’t help it.”

Rong Su took several deep breaths to calm his mood: “He doesn’t want you and the child?”

At these words, tears welled up in A Wu’s eyes again: “I don’t know.”

“That bastard! How dare they of the declining Liu Bo treat my sister Rong Su this way!”

“Brother Rong Su…”

“That scoundrel must be staying in Liu Bo now. I’ll take you there to demand an explanation. What kind of immortal cultivation is it to abandon wife and child?” A Wu still hesitated, but Rong Su grabbed her and headed toward Liu Bo without further discussion. “With me here, who dares bully you? Have some demon pride!”

And so A Wu’s slight protest was suppressed.