The restoration of the Ten Thousand Heavens Void barrier was suspicious, making Siming uneasy. After wandering through heaven and earth with Changyuan for several days, they discussed and finally decided to check on the Boundless Forbidden Land. The Ten Thousand Heavens Void and Wuji Wasteland City were connected—if there were any changes, they would affect both places.
Upon returning to the Boundless Land, the primordial spiritual power in the Boundless Mountain had weakened significantly, likely due to the destruction of the Wasteland City affecting the world’s vital energy. The Boundless Mountain had become empty, with all disciples having left to capture those who escaped from the Wasteland City and still wished to do evil in the world. The people from the Wasteland City weren’t easy to deal with—even Changwu had to personally take action.
Siming felt somewhat guilty, but looking at Changyuan beside her, she felt that no matter what sins she committed, as long as she had rescued Changyuan, she could slowly atone for everything else.
She hugged Changyuan’s arm and nuzzled against it: “If you ever dare betray me, I’ll…” She had meant to say something fierce, but in the end could only weakly say, “I’ll never speak to you again.”
Changyuan froze for a moment, amusement appearing in his eyes: “That would indeed be the severest punishment.”
They proceeded unimpeded to the Boundless Forbidden Land, but Siming was stunned by the sight before her.
The Wasteland City gates stood starkly at the bottom of the dried-up forbidden lake, the massive gates broken open, with fierce winds carrying yellow sand rushing out from within the city like they were fleeing.
And within the city gates, a man in cyan robes knelt on the ground. His silhouette looked like a lonely hero, his straight back seeming to support heaven and earth. The blood flowing from his body had dyed a large area red, appearing particularly shocking amid the heavy yellow sand, making Siming think he must have lost all his blood.
Siming slowly walked forward, and upon reaching him, she started slightly, involuntarily stepping backward.
Changyuan caught her from behind, looked at Chang’an kneeling there—his breath gone but eyes still open—and patted Siming’s head: “Don’t be afraid.”
Siming seemed to suddenly realize something and turned to look at the sky full of yellow sand. She finally understood what was wrong—Nüyuan was the City Lord, her resentment had shrouded the Wasteland City in endless daylight, but now that resentment had completely disappeared. Siming’s face paled as she understood: “No wonder she agreed to help me so easily—she had been seeking death all along.”
She turned back to stare at Chang’an’s unseeing eyes and said: “You sacrificed your life to restore the seal to save her… If she saw this, no matter how much resentment she held these years, she must be happy deep down.” Siming stepped forward and gently covered his eyes, helping him close them. “If I were Nüyuan, I would surely forgive you. If you meet again in the next life, just cherish her and treat her well.”
Siming withdrew her hand, looking at Chang’an’s body soaked in blood yet still stubbornly refusing to fall. She suddenly remembered her life as Ershen, when she first saw Chang’an—the blue-robed immortal with cold features, his bearing as straight as bamboo.
It hadn’t been that long, yet time had already painted the entire lives of many people.
She turned around to find Changyuan still quietly gazing at her. Siming smiled faintly: “Changyuan, we’ve accumulated quite a few debts, haven’t we? What should we do?”
“We’ll repay them together.”
“Mm, then tell me whose debt we should repay first—Chang’an and Nüyuan’s, little Lanhua who I abandoned in the Heavenly Realm, or…”
“Siming, we should collect a debt first. That Tiandi…” Changyuan’s eyes focused slightly, “needs a beating.”
Siming was slightly startled, then smiled: “If he doesn’t provoke us, let’s not provoke him.” Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly saw layers of black clouds pressing down from the sky outside the Wasteland City, with drum beats thundering like lightning, making one’s heart tremble.
Siming raised an eyebrow slightly—she had been fortunate enough to see such a formation several times by Lord Moxi’s side, though each time she had stood high above those black clouds, watching as one hundred thousand celestial soldiers descended to eliminate demon remnants and cleanse rebels against the Heavenly Court. Siming had never imagined that one day she would stand beneath these black clouds, receiving judgment from the Heavenly Realm.
Changyuan moved his arm to protect Siming behind him, giving her a sidelong glance: “See, he’s provoking us.”
Hearing a hint of teasing in his calm words, Siming pouted: “Since that’s the case, I have no choice. At worst, you can go provoke him back.”
Siming knew that the Heavenly Emperor, like herself, had been doing desk work since achieving true form—his skills couldn’t be much better than hers. If the Heavenly Emperor were to fight Changyuan one-on-one, the ancient divine dragon would undoubtedly win completely. But that fellow had hidden many secret treasures and magical artifacts, and now had one hundred thousand celestial soldiers assisting him, perhaps even the War God Moxi among them. Changyuan alone, probably…
Siming pondered and nodded: “Changyuan, a true man doesn’t bully the weak. Today let’s spare the Heavenly Emperor, and find another time to attack his [private parts].”
Changyuan slightly narrowed his eyes: “Are we going to run?”
Having her intentions exposed by Changyuan, Siming wasn’t embarrassed, seriously nodding: “Yes, we’re running.” As she spoke, she tugged at Changyuan, but he unusually refused to move, looking at her with an indecipherable expression, his features showing inexplicable gloom.
“Tiandi is like this… do you still protect him?”
“What?” He spoke so softly that Siming couldn’t hear clearly.
But Changyuan took advantage of Siming’s momentary distraction to draw the Scale Sword that had always been at her waist. He said coldly: “Others I can let go, but him alone, I won’t spare.”
Siming didn’t know why Changyuan held such anger toward the Heavenly Emperor. As she was about to persuade him further, she felt a heart-piercing pain in her head, as if some sharp tool had pierced her skull. Her face suddenly turned pale, and try as she might to endure it, she couldn’t help but let out a pained groan.
Changyuan started, seeing Siming’s figure sway as she clutched her head and fell straight toward the ground.
Greatly alarmed, Changyuan stepped forward and quickly caught Siming, repeatedly asking “What’s wrong?”
“My head… feels a bit dizzy.”
Changyuan knew she must be hiding something from him, but there was no time to force an answer. He could only condense divine power and press it to her forehead, intending to help ease the pain. However, this action unexpectedly intensified Siming’s suffering—cold sweat flowed more rapidly from her forehead, and her face became as white as paper.
Changyuan didn’t dare move further. As he withdrew his hand, he suddenly saw a circle of spell text appear on Siming’s forehead, like a headband.
Changyuan naturally recognized the ancient spell text. One glance and his face immediately grew darker and colder.
He held the nearly unconscious Siming with one arm and gripped the Scale Sword tightly with the other, stepping steadily out of the Wasteland City gates: “Don’t be afraid. This time I will protect you safely. I won’t let anyone bully you even slightly.”
Black clouds pressed down on the city, and all gods and buddhas wore solemn expressions. The Heavenly Emperor’s golden carriage was positioned among the hundred thousand celestial soldiers. Seeing Changyuan carrying Siming emerge, he waved his hand, and the heart-shaking drum beats suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed the two figures below, and the black spell mark floating in his palm suddenly deepened.
The spell mark on Siming’s forehead darkened accordingly, causing her to groan in pain, but this made her more clear-headed. She forced herself to support her body and look up at the Heavenly Emperor. Her eyes were full of defiance and mockery: “One hundred thousand celestial soldiers come to capture us husband and wife—Your Majesty truly thinks highly of Siming.”
Though her voice was soft, it contained divine power, allowing all present gods to hear clearly.
The words “husband and wife” pricked the gods and buddhas. Who here didn’t know that just two days ago, the Heavenly Emperor had wanted to marry Siming, the wedding feast half-prepared when the bride ran away… Who would have thought she had run to the mortal realm to give the Heavenly Emperor such a massive green hat [of cuckoldry]? She even destroyed the seals of the Ten Thousand Heavens Void and Wuji Wasteland City, risking heavenly punishment just to give the Emperor this green hat.
This Emperor as a person… was truly quite a failure.
Hearing Siming’s words, the Heavenly Emperor maintained his cold expression as the spell mark in his hand slowly disappeared. He said: “Siming, you’ve never truly known what the divine dragon’s descendant is. Your actions this time are truly ridiculous.”
Siming was startled—the true Changyuan?
The soaring dragon pillar in the Dragon Return Valley and the character for “resentment” coiling up suddenly appeared in her mind. Siming silently glanced at Changyuan.
Changyuan’s arm holding Siming stiffened slightly. He moved his gaze from Siming’s face to stare directly at the Heavenly Emperor, his golden eyes ice-cold as he said: “If you don’t remove the spell, I’ll let you know what the divine dragon’s descendant truly is.” As soon as he finished speaking, great winds rose howling to the sky, making the black clouds under the feet of the hundred thousand celestial soldiers tremble uncontrollably.
All the gods were shocked, never expecting his power to be so overwhelming.
“Arrogant.” The Heavenly Emperor waved his hand, and four green-armored divine generals rode out on clouds.
Siming recognized these four—they were four fierce generals under Moxi. These men had fought together for thousands of years, their coordination unmatched. Even Moxi might not fare well fighting all four simultaneously.
She gripped Changyuan’s hand, feeling somewhat nervous as she secretly pondered ways to escape. However, Changyuan just patted her head and said softly: “If we want to live peacefully in the future, today we must defeat them so thoroughly they’ll have nothing to say. Don’t be afraid—I’ll first force Tiandi to remove your spell.”
Siming thought for a moment and could only nod. She hesitantly took out the Soul Purifier she had been hiding in her sleeve, wondering whether she should secretly attach it to Changyuan somewhere, in case he lost control and was possessed by the demon energy that had once controlled Ershen.
Seeing her movement, Changyuan just shook his head and pushed away her hand: “No need—I already digested that Yin-Yang Demon who controlled Ershen back then.”
Siming was shocked: “That was… the Evil Spirit Pearl, an ancient demon artifact.”
Changyuan nodded: “Exactly. I am an ancient divine dragon—he couldn’t overcome me within my body.”
“You digested him?” Siming was stunned. “Expelled him completely?”
Changyuan’s ears reddened slightly as he said: “Haven’t expelled it yet, because I digested it without a drop remaining…”
Siming knew well the power of the Evil Spirit Pearl, and perhaps even Changyuan himself didn’t know how powerful he had become. She asked in a daze: “Why don’t you show any joy?”
“Back in the Ten Thousand Heavens Void, I didn’t feel there was much to be joyful about. But now I’m with you, and there are more joyful things, I just forgot to mention them.”
Siming smiled: “Don’t make these gods and buddhas cry—leave them some face.”
Changyuan agreed. Just then, one of the four divine generals suddenly struck down with thunder. Changyuan waved his hand, and a golden barrier rose from the ground, thoroughly protecting Siming within it. Siming placed the Soul Purifier in Changyuan’s hand: “Tell the Heavenly Emperor we don’t care for his things anymore.”
Changyuan’s gaze briefly lingered on the milky-white pearl in Siming’s palm. He understood her meaning and couldn’t help but smile slightly: “Good, we don’t care for him.”
The Scale Sword in his hand burst with brilliant light, extremely excited to return to its master’s hand. The flowing light on the sword made many sword-loving soldiers in the sky envious. Changyuan’s figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared before the four green-armored divine generals. Before the Scale Sword even struck, its sword energy had already pierced through the four generals’ armor.
The four were immediately shocked and hurriedly scattered, taking positions in the four directions of east, south, west, and north to surround Changyuan. However, Changyuan completely ignored their formation, throwing the Scale Sword directly westward, forcing the soldier positioned there to dodge. Changyuan condensed dragon energy in his hand, and the Scale Sword flew back along its trajectory. It went quickly and returned even quicker, piercing the western general’s waist as he frantically dodged. Fortunately, he moved fast enough—otherwise, this sword thrust would have burst his [vital parts]…
The gods watched slack-jawed. The other generals fighting Changyuan cursed his despicable tactics, but Changyuan ignored them, taking advantage of the gap in the west to forcefully throw the “Soul Purifier.”
All the gods were greatly shocked because the direction he threw the “Soul Purifier” happened to be where the Heavenly Emperor’s carriage was located.
With a “whoosh,” the “Soul Purifier” was blocked by the barrier in front of the Heavenly Emperor. The milky-white sacred object now violently scraped against the barrier, producing wisps of blue smoke and sparks. The Heavenly Emperor remembered how Siming had begged him for this pearl that day, and his palm suddenly tightened. His face ashen, his gaze didn’t linger on Changyuan for even a moment, instead staring directly at Siming below, protected within Changyuan’s barrier.
Her complexion looked terrible—surely this heart-consuming spell was making her extremely uncomfortable. Yet she still supported herself, watching Changyuan battle the heavenly generals without turning away, the worry and adoration in her eyes making him want to gouge them out.
The Heavenly Emperor lightly tapped his index finger twice on his throne, and the Crane Immortal behind him understood, ordering people to bring out two fierce beasts raised in the Heavenly Palace. As soon as the beasts broke free from their shackles, they pounced straight at Changyuan. Beasts know no fear, growing bolder as they fight, and for a moment even Changyuan was entangled and unable to break free.
With so many people in the Heavenly Realm, using rotating tactics to exhaust Changyuan’s divine power was most appropriate.
The Heavenly Emperor smiled coldly: “The gates of the Netherworld are already open, just waiting to capture this demon dragon and cast him below the eighteenth level of hell. Since you no longer wish to stay in the Ten Thousand Heavens Void, I’ll give you another place instead.”
Siming’s gaze finally turned to the Heavenly Emperor, the mockery at her lips increasingly glaring: “Your Majesty, your character has become increasingly despicable.”
The Heavenly Emperor’s fist tightened, slightly activating the spell mark. Sure enough, Siming clutched her head, the mockery disappearing from her lips. The Heavenly Emperor’s anger gradually subsided, and he said leisurely: “Does Star-Lord Siming know why, even now, I haven’t ordered this dragon’s execution?”
Despite her splitting headache, Siming still stubbornly refused to admit any defeat, smiling: “Naturally because you don’t have that ability.”
“Indeed, I don’t have that ability,” the Heavenly Emperor admitted without hesitation. “Do you know why he alone was left when the ancient dragon clan was exterminated? At that time, he was just a young dragon with minimal divine power. If the Heavenly Emperor of that time could destroy the dragon clan, why would he expend such great effort to imprison him alone in the Ten Thousand Heavens Void? Siming, have you thought carefully about these questions?”
Siming narrowed her eyes.
Hearing this while unable to break free, Changyuan’s eyes turned fierce. The Scale Sword in his hand flashed with light, instantly killing both fierce beasts. The Crane Immortal was prepared—at his command, hundreds of celestial soldiers swarmed forward to entangle Changyuan again.
“Changyuan, Changyuan—originally should have been called Changyan,” the Heavenly Emperor said coolly. “Formed from the eternal, unextinguishable resentment of the ancient dragon clan, taking dragon form, becoming a monster that will never die for all eternity—the dragon clan used this method to continue their bloodline. Now I can’t kill him, and the Heavenly Emperor of that time also had no way to kill such a monster. With no alternative, he could only imprison the dragon’s resentment in the Ten Thousand Heavens Void.”
Few among the gods and buddhas still knew these secrets, and hearing the Heavenly Emperor’s words now, they were all shocked.
Such eternal, unextinguishable resentment… truly couldn’t be allowed to remain.
Siming was stunned.
Nüyuan was formed from the collective resentment of women under heaven, but she was originally human, created by heaven and earth—the destruction of her physical body was naturally the end of her life. However, Changyuan was different from Nüyuan. He was formed from dragon resentment, not created by heaven and earth, not within the Three Realms and Five Elements—naturally, no one in this world could kill him.
Changyuan had no life, nor death—truly an intruder in this world.
Vast as heaven and earth were, no place belonged to him.
Siming suddenly remembered long ago, when Changyuan looked at the dragon pillar in Dragon Return Valley and said softly to Ershen: “Ershen, now even I don’t know what kind of… thing I am anymore.”
So that was what he meant by those words. Thinking back, Changyuan must have only learned about his origins then—and at that time, what kind of emotions did he feel when saying those words?
His sorrow, helplessness, the ten thousand years of loneliness hidden in his heart—who could understand…
The Heavenly Emperor said coldly: “Such a demon, sooner or later will destroy heaven and earth. Have you thought it through, being with him?”
The hundreds of celestial soldiers had all been slain, and Changyuan’s angry red eyes looked more like eyes reddened by sorrow. Holding the murderous Scale Sword in his hand, Changyuan didn’t look at Siming, only steadily moving toward the Heavenly Emperor. Perhaps it wasn’t that he didn’t want to look at Siming, but rather that his heart held some inferiority, some fear. Afraid that with one look, he would see fear and disgust for herself in her eyes.
Actually, Siming had always known that Changyuan wasn’t an overbearing man without concerns—he too was so afraid of the loneliness of being abandoned. He had always been like a child…
Fragile.
“Your Majesty, perhaps you don’t know that recently Siming has experienced some things and remembered some things. Before, I always thought fate was hateful, determining life and death, and limiting freedom, but now I see it’s not entirely so. In this vast world with its countless beings, what we call fate is nothing more than the right or wrong choices we make at certain turning points. Each choice comes from the heart—in the end, what determines our fate is only ourselves.”
“Regardless of whether Changyuan will destroy heaven and earth someday in the future, at least now, in my eyes he is kind and holds curiosity and cherishment for all things in heaven and earth. He hasn’t destroyed the world, yet you use world destruction as an excuse to imprison him eternally—this isn’t fate, this is merely your order, Heavenly Emperor.”
The Heavenly Emperor’s face darkened as he stared fiercely at Siming.
“Under the name of saving all beings, raising the banner of prevention, you send one hundred thousand celestial soldiers and all the gods and Buddhas to execute an innocent person…” Siming paused, then raised her voice: “If this is what you call the way of immortals, then I, Siming, hereby vow that from this day forward, through all lives and all kalpas, I will never again be an immortal!”