Luan Ling glanced at the scene beside her and explained,

“Later, a surge of demonic energy powerful enough to shake an entire mountain range descended from the sky. Yu Yuan came and rescued her sister. She didn’t have time to take revenge then. After that, the incident that became the fuse of the War of Life and Death happened. Old hatred and new grudges piled together, and with the situation already pushed to that point, the war began.”

The others in Qilin Hall all fell into their own thoughts.

Si Zhuo was about to speak when Luan Ling immediately stopped him.

“I know what you want to say, but if the Council of Elders hears it, it could be dangerous. So keep it to yourself for now.”

Si Zhuo shrugged. Li Xiao, however, looked worried.

“So what happened after that? Lord Qingchen seems to know nothing about all this.”

Luan Ling felt another headache coming on.

“That brings us to what happened after my brother returned from his tribulation…”

—

“Mother, I must go and find her.”

Luan Qingchen said to the Heavenly Empress.

“The heavenly lightning descended because of me. She was innocent. Everything began because of me. I must go to the mortal realm and atone.”

The Heavenly Empress merely sat on her high throne, calmly watching her eldest son, who was showing such intense emotion for the first time.

After he had been pierced through by a sword in the mortal world, the Trial of Kings had come to an end. The Council of Elders finally had no excuse to force him onto the position of successor, and she finally had a reason to abolish those two rigid and pointless trials that had existed for so long.

The price, however, was her child.

“You are an immortal of the Heavenly Realm. Mortal affections are ultimately fleeting. Your trial in the human world is over. It is time for you to shoulder your responsibilities.”

Luan Qingchen replied,

“Father was a tool—the tool of the Heavenly Realm. Mother is the king—the king of the Heavenly Realm. That balance is perfect. That is why all the immortals placed the future of the Heavenly Realm on me. Every member of the Council of Elders wants to use me.”

“But, Mother…”

He looked at her.

“From beginning to end, were you not using me as well? Using me to realize your ambition—that is the way of a ruler. You knew very well that I could not do it, yet you still made me abandon all emotions and desires. You let Xie Qingchen, the tool, live a life like a walking corpse—extreme and empty. Then you gave me back my emotions, gave me a road with no way back, and forced Ye Qingchen, the king, to die upon that throne!”

The Heavenly Empress looked back at him. In her calm gaze, there was a trace of pity.

“If you had not failed, the Council of Elders would have succeeded. Qingchen, reform requires martyrs. You are an immortal. You should understand what matters most.”

Luan Qingchen said quietly,

“Since Mother’s goal has already been achieved, from now on, I am willing to be nothing more than a tool.”

He turned away, intending only to go to the Underworld to retrieve his wife and child.

But at the moment he stepped out of the hall, his divine consciousness was struck violently.

Only the Heavenly Empress behind him could inflict such damage.

Looking at her eldest son collapsed in agony at the doorway, the Heavenly Empress closed her eyes and, with a wave of her hand, sealed away all of his emotions and all memories of his mortal life—

just as he had said.

She turned him into a tool for the Heavenly Realm—thoroughly and completely.

—

After hearing this, Li Xiao looked even more troubled than before.

“So… Yu Yuan attacked you back then and deliberately sealed your memory because she was waiting for this moment.”

Luan Ling nodded helplessly.

“At the time, Mother stopped my brother because she didn’t want him to delay her grand plans over personal feelings. But no one expected the heavenly lightning to strike not someone else—but Princess Huai Ning of the demon race. Or rather, the true ruler of the Demon Realm now.”

“And the worse part is that this Demon Sovereign has half mortal blood. The reason the heavenly lightning could truly harm her was precisely because of that mortal bloodline.”

“This matter wasn’t exposed back then. Perhaps something was happening in the Demon Realm at the time, so Yu Yuan used another incident to vent her anger. But she has never let this go.”

Situ Meng asked uneasily,

“Now that Lord Qingchen has remembered everything… will something terrible happen in the Heavenly Realm?”

Luan Ling shook her head.

“Even if my brother resents Mother, he won’t abandon the Heavenly Realm. Yu Yuan used me as bait to restore his memories. She must know very well that this alone cannot shake the foundations of the Heavenly Realm. There must be something else.”

Just as everyone was deep in thought, Zhu Yin suddenly withdrew her illusion technique and said,

“Xie Yuyan says the Demon Sovereign has arrived. He told us to get ready and go watch along the way.”

“…What?”

Everyone was stunned.

Li Xiao stared at her.

“Junior sister… do you mean the Demon Realm has attacked?”

Luan Ling looked horrified.

‘Go on the way’—you mean us?!

Zhu Yin nodded.

“He said the Demon Sovereign came to the Heavenly Realm to negotiate with the Heavenly Empress. Many Lords are already on their way. He told us to go and watch, and maybe we’ll run into them.”

Qilin Hall: “……”

Zhu Yin’s way of speaking truly had no equal.
But why was it so sudden?

It wasn’t sudden at all.

The long-sealed channel between the Demon Realm and the Heavenly Realm was bound to reopen sooner or later. It only needed a trigger.

—

Huai Ning looked at the Heavenly Empress before her.

She was not unfamiliar with her.

Two years ago, because of Yu Yuan’s actions, she had communicated with the Heavenly Empress from afar once. From then on, it was as if a door between the two sides had been opened.

And today, after Yu Yuan and Luan Qingchen nearly came to blows in the mortal world, the Heavenly Empress formally invited Huai Ning to the Heavenly Palace.

This was the first time in many years that a Demon Sovereign had come to the heavens in a non-violent manner.

No one in the Heavenly Realm knew what they discussed.

They only knew that the two spoke for three days and three nights. Then, without showing herself again, the Demon Sovereign left.

And the reason nothing went wrong during that time was—

—

Yu Yuan stood in a courtyard with her arms crossed, watching Huai Ning step out of the teleportation gate. Only then did she lower her arms and anxiously check her from head to toe.

Huai Ning smiled helplessly.

“You guarded the entrance the whole time. How could the Heavenly Realm dare lay a hand on me? Besides, I’m already half dead. You, on the other hand, are still perfectly fine.”

“Who says you’re going to die?!”

Yu Yuan no longer looked as cold and terrifying as when Luan Ling had seen her before.

Pouting, she said,

“The old fossils of the Heavenly Realm go back on their word all the time. If the Heavenly Empress can’t control them, I’ll help her set things right myself.”

Huai Ning tried to pinch her face.

“You, set things right? Just don’t turn my side upside down. I’d still like to live a few peaceful years before I die.”

Yu Yuan leaned back to avoid her.

“Even if you keep reminding me about your condition, I still won’t take over your job. When you die, just wait for the Demon Realm to fall into chaos. That’s how it was in my time anyway.”

Huai Ning raised her foot to kick her.

“Even if it’s just angry talk, don’t say that in front of me—ah… what’s going on? My head suddenly hurts so much.”

Yu Yuan immediately stopped dodging and reached out nervously, only to see Huai Ning straighten up, pinch her face, and smile.

“Fooled you.”

“姐姐，你还是一如既往的阴险。”
“Sister, you’re just as sly as ever.”

Yu Yuan was about to laugh when she suddenly saw someone. The smile vanished from her face.

Huai Ning followed her gaze.

A tall figure stood beneath the archway, staring at her intently.

Luan Qingchen.

Yu Yuan raised her hand, ready to attack. Huai Ning pressed her hand down.

Yu Yuan said urgently,

“It was because of him back then!”

“It was because of him—but not only because of him.”

Huai Ning said softly,

“You tricked his sister into going down to the mortal world just to make him remember the past, didn’t you? Now that he has remembered, your goal has been achieved.”

Yu Yuan snorted.

“I just didn’t want him to beat me without even knowing why, and then act righteous and bite back at us. You know I hate how immortals are like that.”

Huai Ning brushed Yu Yuan’s hair.

“No matter what, you’ve achieved what you wanted. If you truly wish to have a world-shattering battle with him in the human realm, then pretend I never spoke with the Heavenly Empress. Go ahead.”

She lowered her hand and gestured for Yu Yuan to go.

Yu Yuan wanted to say something, but seeing Huai Ning’s expression, she swallowed her words.

She could only vent her anger on Luan Qingchen, who looked irritating just standing there.

They were not allowed to use spells, but surely bumping into him while passing by didn’t count as intentional.

As Yu Yuan brushed past Luan Qingchen, she shot him a vicious glare and said in a low, cold voice,

“If you dare lay a hand on Huai Ning, I swear I’ll wipe out your entire Heavenly Realm.”

Even with pure physical strength, Yu Yuan’s collision still made Luan Qingchen stumble back two steps.

He steadied himself and looked at the person he had once thought of day and night—then forgotten for many years.

Huai Ning looked at him and said softly,

“Long time no see, Qingchen.”

—

Below, a major conflict nearly broke out.

The Heavenly Realm itself was far from peaceful.

Luan Ling had not expected that, at such a time, she would still be able to hear fresh gossip.

“You mean… the Demon Sovereign met my brother when she was still a human girl?”

At this moment, all the high-ranking Lords in the Heavenly Realm were attending an important meeting. No one was focused on class anymore.

Luan Ling simply went out to look up some records. By coincidence, she ran into the red-robed fairy from the Marriage God Shrine and ended up chatting with her about Huai Ning.

“Yes. After all, the Demon Sovereign has half mortal blood. That’s one of the biggest shocks to the Heavenly Realm this time. If it weren’t for that mortal lineage—and the fact that she is the descendant of a meritorious human cultivator—negotiations with the Heavenly Empress would never have gone so smoothly.”

The fairy said,

“Ever since the Demon Sovereign’s identity was revealed, everyone in our department has been investigating. And surprisingly, we really did find something.”

“Originally, when the Demon Sovereign was in the human world, she should have had two marriage threads.”

“One was when she encountered bandits on the road. A young nobleman fell in love with her at first sight. After going through several events in the capital, the two would have married.”

“But for some reason, this fate was interfered with when Lord Qingchen descended to the mortal world. He became that nobleman himself—yet he was placed under a restriction that prevented him from being bound by a red thread.”

“That end was basically ruined.”

“What could the Marriage God Shrine do? We could only try to make up another fate line for Lu Huai Ning as a mortal.”

“After that Young Master Xie died of a plague a few years later, the Marriage God noticed that the next true dragon of the mortal world had his romantic star activated. It should have been a once-in-a-thousand-years perfect match. The threads were already prepared.”

The fairy smiled.

“Then the Demon Sovereign’s side got ruined again.”

Luan Ling clicked her tongue.

“It must have been because the Demon Sovereign somehow returned to the Demon Realm at that time. Of course they couldn’t find her.”

The fairy sighed.

“Fate truly toys with people. Who would have thought the Demon Sovereign’s background would be so tragic? The Marriage God even pulled a red thread for her…”

She couldn’t help laughing quietly.

“The Marriage God actually tied a red thread between the Demon Sovereign and Lord Qingchen…”

At first, Luan Ling didn’t find it funny.

But seeing the fairy laugh like that, she suddenly found the whole thing absurdly hilarious.

The Demon Sovereign.

And a Divine Lord.

And that Divine Lord was Luan Qingchen, who barely ever smiled.

—

In the human world.

Huai Ning leaned back in a reclining chair, gently rocking it.

When the chair was about to come to a stop, she felt Luan Qingchen lightly push it, making it sway again.

“To be honest,”

she said softly, looking at the flower in her hand,

“when I learned your true identity, I did consider using your influence to push cooperation with the Heavenly Realm. Cooperation benefits both sides, and you were a perfect entry point.”

Luan Qingchen understood what Huai Ning wanted—and also understood her hesitation.

She did not trust him.

Between them, there was always a barrier whenever the past was mentioned.

“You immortals are the most changeable of all.”

Huai Ning tossed the flower toward the moon.

The flower rose into the air, then suddenly fell back down.

Just as it was about to hit her, Luan Qingchen raised his hand and caught it.

“I am already a god.”

Luan Qingchen said.

What mortals could not do—he could.

That was his promise to her.

“I wish you were still just a mortal,”

Huai Ning laughed softly.

“Then I might live a few more years.”

Luan Qingchen fell silent.

Huai Ning asked,

“How did you guess that I don’t have much time left?”

Luan Qingchen lowered his eyes and took her hand.

Her hand was icy, like water from a frozen pool—no matter how hard he tried, he could not warm it.

“Your identity is already different from ordinary demons. The former Demon Sovereign’s power was too overwhelming and destroyed Lu Wuyu’s body. In order to resist that raging demonic energy, you were conceived within her body.”

“You grew up caught between the power of the Demon Sovereign and Lu Wuyu’s bloodline. You could neither cultivate immortal techniques like normal cultivators, nor freely release demonic arts like other demons.”

Huai Ning raised an eyebrow, surprised he had deduced so much in such a short time.

“Yes. Those two powerful forces only fought inside my body and made me weak. They never brought me any benefit in cultivation.”

If she had not slowly established herself in the Demon Realm, learned how to use the demonic core, and mastered puppet techniques, she would not have survived until now.

Luan Qingchen gripped her right hand tightly.

“I will not let you die.”

Huai Ning smiled.

“Saying that now has no meaning. If I weren’t dying, I would never have agreed to see you.”

She had always been clear-headed.

After being severely injured by heavenly lightning and losing her child, she quickly adjusted herself and returned to her position.

But what happened more than a decade ago had left a far deeper mark on her heart than she had imagined.

It was a harsh lesson—

teaching her not to indulge in dreams of freedom and pleasure, and to remain vigilant at all times.

Huai Ning placed her hand over her lower abdomen.

She still remembered her heartbeat, her joy, and her pain.

That was probably the moment in her life when she lived most like an ordinary woman.

No worries about survival.

No schemes and deception.

She could express her emotions freely.

And the man beside her was the one she loved.

Ye Qingchen.
Luan Qingchen.

Lu Huaining.
Lu Huai Ning.

She had enjoyed what she could enjoy, and done what she had to do.

Coming to this world once—it had not been in vain.

But when death truly drew close, she realized she was still a little lost.

She lowered her hand from her abdomen and gazed into the distance.

There was one question Luan Qingchen had always wanted to ask her.

If she were given another chance, would she still choose him?

He did not dare ask.

But Huai Ning suddenly said,

“Actually, if I had known from the beginning that this was a tribulation arranged by the Heavenly Realm for you… I would still have gone with you.”

Seeing the faint surprise in his eyes, she smiled.

“But don’t think of me as too devoted. Even without that lightning strike, I wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway. To me, your identity mattered more than you yourself.”

“Or rather…”

“To the Demon Sovereign, the Heavenly Realm’s tool is more important than Luan Qingchen is to Lu Huai Ning.”

Luan Qingchen lowered himself to one knee beside her, pressed her cold hand against his forehead, and let her feel his divine consciousness.

Huai Ning slowly turned her gaze to his face.

“I will do everything I can to find a way to save you.”

—

Since exchanges between heaven and demons had officially begun, Luan Ling could feel that many things in the Heavenly Realm were slowly changing.

Both worlds were being reshaped by a new wave of impact.

But since both sides possessed powerful anchors, this kind of exchange—under equal conditions—was actually quite interesting.

She even got to taste demon-realm cuisine and learn about demon culture.

The most outrageous part was—

she had never imagined she would one day learn demonic formation techniques.

“I just went into seclusion to study some spells. Why have the two realms suddenly become so close?”

Luan Ling glanced at a demon boy awkwardly chatting with a fairy and poked Si Zhuo beside her.

“You went to their side recently. Do you know what’s going on?”

Si Zhuo replied,

“You don’t know? The Demon Sovereign’s body was almost unable to suppress the former Demon Sovereign’s power. Your brother found a way to inject his divine power into her body. With divine, demonic, and mortal powers clashing together, her condition actually improved.”

“She even suggested going to the human world for a trip and strengthening cooperation.”

Luan Ling was stunned.

“That actually works? If the two realms hadn’t opened communication, this outcome would never have happened.”

Si Zhuo snorted.

“I told you long ago—the old men of the Heavenly Realm are just too stubborn.”

Luan Ling agreed.

Ever since Luan Qingchen’s seal was lifted, those old men seemed to be watching her again. Luckily, with the Heavenly Empress around, no one dared truly force her into anything.

“Oh, right. The Demon Sovereign said she wants to return to the human world to relax. She and Lord Qingchen will go together. The Heavenly Realm is worried about safety, so they asked the two of us to escort them.”

“…Not safe… escort…”

Luan Ling stared.

“Who is escorting whom? Us? Escorting Luan Qingchen and the Demon Sovereign—us?!”

Si Zhuo pouted, not denying it.

—

When they stood on a tree branch and watched Luan Qingchen open an umbrella and take the hand reaching out from the carriage, wisteria petals drifted gently.

Petals fell onto the umbrella—and into Huai Ning’s eyes.

The two walked hand in hand toward the courtyard.

The spring rain slanted in the wind, yet not a single drop fell on Huai Ning.

Whenever you feel that a scene is beautiful, remember this—

there are two immortals on the tree, silently carrying the burden for them.

“You blew the wind too hard. You almost blew the rain onto my sister-in-law.”

“Your petals were clearly deliberate. The wind couldn’t even knock them down—you used magic to smack them down. Apologize to the flowers.”

“Why should I apologize? You deliberately made the carriage bump earlier. If my brother beats you up, I won’t help you.”

“Help me? You’re closer to him than you are to me.”

“Stop right there! Take my spring-rain projectile!”

“That would be water washing over the Dragon King’s temple. Sorry—invalid target.”

“Stop—!”

[The End]