Er Sheng’s actions undoubtedly startled everyone present.
How was she able to remain unaffected by the evil energy that even the immortals couldn’t resist?
King Yue fixed his blood-red eyes on Er Sheng. “Heh, I never thought someone would be foolish enough to deliver themselves to death.” Er Sheng glared back at him, her eyes full of disgust and hatred. King Yue’s anger flared. “Since you’re so eager to die, this king shall grant your wish.”
He approached slowly.
Chang Yuan tried to move his fingers, wanting to pull Er Sheng behind him, but his body was too numb with pain to respond.
How had he become so pathetic? Chang Yuan thought bitterly. He couldn’t even protect a mortal. He had never considered the ancient dragon’s power particularly special, but now that he had lost it, he finally understood why people coveted such strength so desperately.
Because only with such power could one do whatever they wished.
“Little girl.” King Yue stood before Er Sheng, lifting her chin with one hand. “Tell me, where should I begin to eat you?”
Before he could finish speaking, a thunderbolt suddenly struck from the sky, hitting King Yue squarely in the back and scorching his luxurious robes. King Yue let out a cry of pain, released Er Sheng, and quickly leaped backward.
“Who dares!” King Yue roared. “Who dares interrupt this king’s business!”
A blue light streaked across the night sky. Er Sheng looked up in a daze to see white beams of light raining down like arrows, all aimed at King Yue’s position. Following these dazzling lights, riding the cool night breeze, came a man wearing a blue mandarin-collared robe.
His expression was as solemn as a celestial being, though the pale flame mark on his forehead seemed oddly demonic, appearing quite discordant on such a serene face.
“Chang Yuan,” Er Sheng whispered, “another immortal has come to save us.”
Chang Yuan struggled to look at the newcomer, his expression growing more resigned. Though he had spent countless years in the Celestial Void and much of the mortal world had become unfamiliar to him, he still recognized what that mark between the man’s brows represented. After all, the mark of Heaven’s Punishment would never change throughout eternity.
“Er Sheng,” Chang Yuan said, “this man is a Fallen Immortal. The world calls his kind demons.”
Demons? What are demons? Er Sheng stared at the man in confusion.
The newcomer completely ignored his surroundings, focusing solely on King Yue as he spoke: “Your grave crimes are enough for me to send you to the Desolate City.” His voice was cold as if he were already addressing a dead man.
“It’s you!” King Yue suddenly panicked. “Who exactly are you!”
“Chang An is my name.”
Chang An… Er Sheng thought. How could such a peaceful-sounding name belong to someone like this?
The others on the ground—Ji Ling and his companions—trembled upon hearing this name. They struggled to raise their heads to see the man’s face but were defeated by the powerful evil energy. Only Chen Ru stared fixedly at the man’s features, murmuring in a daze: “Fallen Immortal Chang An… the last disciple of the ancient immortal sect Liu Bo…”
Upon hearing this name, King Yue stumbled back two steps. “You already told me the legend of the immortality herb, so why do you now stand in my way?”
Chang An smiled faintly. “I simply wish to send you to the Desolate City sooner rather than later.”
Beyond the Three Realms, above lies the Celestial Void, and below the Infinite Desolate City. Both are places of death, without the sun or moon, without life. The Infinite Desolate City imprisons those whose crimes are too great to ever be reborn. Unlike the eternally sealed Celestial Void, the Desolate City’s gates open to receive criminals. Once they enter and the gates close, neither the Celestial Court, the mortal realm, nor the Netherworld can see its entrance again.
Those inside cannot leave, and those outside cannot enter.
Everyone knew that Fallen Immortal Chang An took great pleasure in sending criminals to the Desolate City.
King Yue began to panic. “This king is about to obtain the immortality herb and master the art of eternal life! I refuse to go to such a cursed place as the Infinite Desolate City!”
“You have no choice.”
A flash of light was followed by King Yue’s agonized scream, and the evil energy in the air dissipated completely. In the blink of an eye, Chang An had beheaded King Yue. He bound the king’s soul in a small bottle and secured it away. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed Er Sheng and Chang Yuan by the deep pool.
“Oh.” He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “An ancient dragon.” His gaze then shifted to Er Sheng, studying her for a long while. “The Star of Destiny…”
Suddenly, murderous energy surged through the air. The pale mark of the Fallen Immortal between Chang An’s brows flashed blood-red, and killing intent filled his black eyes. With a wave of his hand, he sent a blade of light directly at Er Sheng.
No one expected him to attack so suddenly, and any attempt to save her would come too late.
Er Sheng saw only a blur before someone stepped in front of her. Warm blood splattered across her face, followed by a “splash” in the water. Everything fell silent. When she finally came to her senses and turned to look, Chang Yuan was no longer behind her. In the deep pool, a black-robed figure surfaced twice before sinking completely.
“Chang Yuan…” Er Sheng’s voice trembled. Before anyone could react, she had already plunged into the water.
She dove in without hesitation—no one knew that Er Sheng couldn’t swim.
Free from the suppression of the evil energy, Ji Ling and the others struggled to their feet. Several immortals who could swim moved to rescue the two.
Chang An waved his hand, drawing a deep line in the ground. “Who dares to save those I wish to kill?”
Everyone fell silent, none daring to step forward. Ji Ling, though severely wounded and supported by others, glared at Chang An with gritted teeth. Before he could speak, a golden light suddenly flashed from the corner of his eye, emanating from the pool.
Chang An looked back to see a dragon’s shadow moving in the pool. Golden light reflected in his eyes, bringing with it traces of flowing radiance, which slowly faded after a moment.
The immortals were filled with uncertainty, while Chang An murmured to himself: “So the Dragon’s Tomb truly lies here… How fortunate you are to escape this time.” He thought that surely the dragon’s blood had opened the Dragon’s Tomb’s seal, allowing the two to escape into the Return Dragon Valley through the deep pool.
However, now that he knew the Star of Destiny had reincarnated as a mortal, he would need to kill her in this world, even though Chang An himself knew clearly that death for the Star of Destiny merely meant returning to her heavenly position—nothing serious. But if she didn’t die once by his hand, Chang An thought, he would never find peace in this life.
His life’s destiny, everything he had encountered, all stemmed from that fate the Star of Destiny had written… How could he not hate such a destiny?
Chang An glanced at the angry immortals around him who dared not attack rashly due to his power. “The disciples of Wu Fang lack skill in the Dao. Let this zombie incident serve as a warning bell.” After a pause, he added, “Tell your Immortal Lord not to sleep too soundly—the peace in this world won’t last much longer.”
The Star of Destiny governed the fate of all under heaven; if she descended to the mortal realm, the world would surely be affected by her presence.
Of course, he would never share these thoughts with Wu Fang’s junior disciples. He touched the small bottle in his robes and soared away on a cloud.
The next day, all those infected by the parasitic insects recovered miraculously, bringing the zombie plague to a complete end, though those who had died would never return. Wu Fang’s senior immortals descended into the deep pool after daybreak to search for Er Sheng and Chang Yuan, but finding nothing, they had to give up. Everyone returned to Wu Fang with the arriving Immortal Lord.
When Er Sheng awoke, she heard the gentle sound of flowing water.
She opened her eyes in a daze, seeing sunlight streaming down, painfully bright in her eyes. Er Sheng sat up, feeling sore all over. She held her head and sat quietly for a moment before suddenly jumping up and shouting, “Chang Yuan! Chang Yuan!”
Only then did Er Sheng fully take in her surroundings—
A clear spring flowed past her feet, and in the distance stretched an endless grassland dotted with wildflowers. The sky was azure, the clouds pure white, but strangely there were no birds or butterflies, not even the sound of insects. The only sound in the entire world was the tinkling of the spring.
“Huff…”
Just as Er Sheng was puzzling over this, a deep breath startled her. No, there was another living being. Er Sheng thought, judging by the sound, it must be something large.
She gathered her courage and climbed the small slope behind her. When she saw what lay beyond, Er Sheng’s whole body trembled, and she tumbled back down the grassy slope.
It was the snake demon! That huge black snake demon!
I should escape while it’s sleeping, Er Sheng thought, or this time I’ll truly be eaten without even bones remaining!
Wait, where’s Chang Yuan…
A terrible thought suddenly flashed through Er Sheng’s mind, and her body gradually grew cold. Trembling from head to toe, she climbed the grass slope again, carefully peeking over to look down, examining the snake demon thoroughly.
It seemed severely wounded, covered in fresh blood, breathing heavily with eyes tightly closed. Blood stained the ground around it, and its tail still lay in the small river, threads of crimson blood slowly dispersing in the current.
It looked just like when Er Sheng first met Chang Yuan—weak and wary.
Er Sheng couldn’t see Chang Yuan anywhere, and the thought in her mind slowly expanded as her face rapidly turned pale. But still clinging to a thread of hope, she carefully approached the snake demon’s side, holding her breath, searching along its length, fearing Chang Yuan might be crushed beneath it. Finally, she reached the snake demon’s massive mouth.
Its jaws were tightly clenched, still exhaling bloody breaths that wafted over Er Sheng’s hands. She trembled for a long while, then finally closed her eyes and, almost recklessly, placed her hand on the snake demon’s mouth, pulling down its lip to reveal stark white fangs wrapped in threads of fresh blood.
Chang Yuan… Er Sheng was nearly crying. She couldn’t see any trace of Chang Yuan between the great snake’s teeth, not even a scrap of clothing, just blood—and she couldn’t tell if it belonged to Chang Yuan or the snake demon itself.
At that moment, the snake demon’s tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, murderous energy filling the air as its heavy breath washed over Er Sheng’s face. She fell back in terror, staring blankly at the now-awake great snake.
Upon recognizing Er Sheng, the killing intent in its golden eyes gathered and then slowly dispersed. The snake demon moved its head closer, as if to comfort her, and nuzzled her face with its nose.
But Er Sheng only smelled the overwhelming scent of blood. She tried desperately to control her fear and trembling, but finally couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into tears, sobbing while mumbling: “You stupid snake demon! You ate Chang Yuan! Swallowed him whole… you didn’t even leave me any crumbs. And now you’re going to eat me too…”
Confusion flashed through the great snake’s golden eyes, and seeing Er Sheng crying so hard, it moved closer again to try to comfort her.
But Er Sheng grew angry, pushing its face away and shouting with red eyes: “What are you sniffing at! I don’t stink! If you’re going to eat me, just do it, but don’t chew me up! I want to stay with Chang Yuan!”
The snake demon stopped moving, laying its head down obediently on the ground. Its eyes watching Er Sheng held three parts amusement and seven parts helplessness.
Er Sheng cried a while longer, releasing most of her fear and terror, until she finally began to calm down. Choking back sobs, she turned to look at the great snake. It still lay there, motionlessly watching her. Er Sheng stared blankly: “You’re not going to eat me?”
The great snake snorted out a breath.
Er Sheng nodded to herself: “I understand. You must be full from eating Chang Yuan just now, so you’re planning to save me for your next meal.”
The great snake snorted in disagreement at Er Sheng’s interpretation, but she suddenly jumped up, ran over to hug the great snake, and tried to shove her head into its mouth: “No, no! Soon Chang Yuan will be gone in your belly! What will I do when he turns into poop! You have to eat me now!”
Seeing Er Sheng’s actions, the snake demon quickly turned its head away, afraid its sharp fangs might hurt her. Its tail curled around to gently wrap around Er Sheng’s waist, pulling her back.
Er Sheng struggled desperately, but her small strength was no match for the snake demon. The more she struggled, the more helpless she felt, until finally, she could only hang her head in resignation, calling Chang Yuan’s name over and over. She looked utterly pitiful.
The great snake seemed to sigh, then turned its head and gently nuzzled Er Sheng’s face again, as soft as it could be.
Just like Chang Yuan said: “Er Sheng, don’t be afraid.”