Helian Lanyan looked at Qingque, and Xue Zhizhi took a step back.
Her posture was disheveled, revealing a hint of panic and helplessness.
Helian Lanyan stared at her intently. Her lips moved, her voice trembling.
"I don't know… please, don't… don't ask anymore, I really don't know anything…"
Ling Qianhe continued to speak in a clear voice.
"How could she not know? She knows."
"It's just that for some reason, she cannot speak."
Helian Lanyan's brow furrowed deeper.
He gazed at Xue Zhizhi's eyes, watching the overwhelming despair surge within them. He looked at her.
"You know I have ways of soul-searching."
As soon as he said this, Xue Zhizhi seemed to be struck by immense terror. She looked at him as if she had lost her parents, tears streaming down her face instantly.
"Niannian brother, how could you even think… think of soul-searching me?"
Her tears flowed ceaselessly.
"Niannian brother—please… don't do this, okay?"
A flicker of reluctance passed through Helian Lanyan's eyes.
After all, he had doted on this young girl for countless years, cared for her meticulously, warmed her soul, and mended her wings.
Ling Qianhe, on the other hand, let out a sneer.
"Don't do this?"
"If you keep babbling, I'll do it. I'm vicious anyway."
"How to soul-search? I'll do it."
He took a large step forward, and the Qingque trembled in fear, like a startled bird.
She gasped for breath, her eyes filled with panic, wishing she could hide completely behind Helian Lanyan. Helian Lanyan finally made up his mind.
He said,
"I'm sorry… Zhizhi. But I have to know who saved me back then."
He always appeared indecisive, but now, his eyes were tinged with a hint of sorrow, yet he no longer wavered.
A wisp of spiritual energy lightly touched his fingertips as he reached out to her forehead.
The Qingque tried to evade, but her body trembled. Ling Qianhe held her shoulder, a mocking smile on his lips.
"What are you running for? What are you guilty about?"
"Shameless woman, are you that afraid of your own thoughts being seen?"
It was rare for the demon lord and the demon emperor to cooperate.
This Qingque had no escape.
The soul-searching technique would reveal the truth from her own memories above her head.
Ling Qianhe looked up. He had initially been smiling coldly.
But after a moment, his expression turned solemn. His eyes seemed to be filled with a dark, gloomy aura. After a moment, he let out a cold snort, his expression icy.
"It really is…"
"Bastard."
"As expected, it's fake."
"It's all a fabricated illusion."
"She saved no one; she merely usurped the credit of others."
However, Helian Lanyan's reaction was even more significant than Ling Qianhe's.
Helian Lanyan stared blankly at the illusion.
In the darkness of the night, his five-clawed golden dragon form plummeted from the sky—and then, from the dark earth, a small figure emerged.
His heart turned cold, but he felt his eyes splitting apart, almost unable to believe it.
How could it be…
Xiao Ci?
A delicately featured girl, possessing a beauty so rare it was difficult to find in the mortal realm.
She cautiously peeked out at him, reaching out to lightly touch his scorched scales before quickly retracting her hand, looking quite vexed.
In Xue Zhizhi's memory, Si Mucai appeared as she was in the demon realm, naturally much more elegant. As a descendant of the phoenix, the brilliant phoenix mark between her brows was exquisite and beautiful. In terms of appearance, Qingque was not even a tenth as attractive.
She glanced at the scorched dragon, squatted there, and sighed heavily.
"This is really… troublesome."
Si Mucai, of course, recognized this as a five-clawed golden dragon.
But his wounds—she slowly traced his scorched scales with her fingertip, hesitated for a moment, then turned and retrieved a piece of ice-silk satin, slowly wrapping it around his torn and bleeding wounds.
The black dragon gradually shrank, transforming into a dying little black snake curled on the ice-silk satin.
She picked up the little black snake and placed it in her pocket.
Then she walked away.
Meanwhile, hidden at the top of a discreet bush, was a little Qingque.
That little Qingque was its original form, a rather inconspicuous little blue bird, secretly watching this scene.
Clearly, this little Qingque was Xue Zhizhi!
Helian Lanyan's breathing quickened as he turned his head, about to speak.
Lin Mucai looked at Ling Qianhe nervously.
He had no time to look at Xue Zhizhi's illusion—
Because he suddenly clutched his hand in pain, while his other hand caressed his chest!
Lin Mucai could no longer care about anything else, nor about what Helian Lanyan was thinking or about to say. She rushed to Ling Qianhe's side and pulled open his collar.
On his chest, a blood-red lotus flower was once again winding its way.
Lin Mucai gasped, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"How… how could this be?"
Did the Love-Severing curse act up again?
But she hadn't done anything this time.
The young man's eyes were vacant, immense pain sweeping through his body. Lin Mucai, in a daze, also felt the same pain. She gritted her teeth, finally remembering the dreaded shared pain.
Last time, the system had probably shielded her from the pain.
Moreover, Ling Qianhe had kissed and touched her, using a method like drinking poison to quench thirst, and quickly passed through that crisis.
The little system's voice also became flustered.
"Host, he's having an episode of the Love-Severing curse—I'll shield you from the pain now, please wait."
"Host, do you want to stay away from him?"
Lin Mucai gritted her teeth. The pain was indeed… unbearable.
Helian Lanyan looked at the expressions of the two, especially at the lotus flower on Ling Qianhe's chest. He was momentarily dazed, and then, in an instant, he realized something.
"It's… the Love-Severing curse…"
His face became extremely grim.
He looked at Xue Zhizhi. Xue Zhizhi's body was swaying precariously, and she could only force out an expression that was uglier than crying.
Seeing her expression, Helian Lanyan suddenly had an epiphany. He was no longer so foolish; in an instant, he understood everything.
"You cast the Love-Severing curse?"
Xue Zhizhi gritted her teeth.
"He humiliated me… I could only do this."
She was still lying, trying to cover up what she had done.
Helian Lanyan fell silent for a moment, then said,
"The Love-Severing curse is a red mark, but there's a blood-red lotus on his chest. There's only one situation where such a reaction occurs, and that is if you cast the Love-Severing curse within the Jade Bone Lotus."
"You weren't targeting him; you were targeting Si Mucai."
"You want Si Mucai to never be able to fall in love, ever."
The corners of his lips twitched, revealing an expression more painful and disheveled than weeping.
He looked at the delicate girl before him, at her reddened eyes, and at her constant headshakes. In an instant, he understood everything.
"You didn't save me back then… but Xiao Ci didn't tell me the truth. Perhaps she forgot, or perhaps it was due to some restrictions within their phoenix clan, preventing her from openly saving me…"
His eyes gradually turned crimson.
"You saw her save me back then, so you used the secret methods of your Qingque clan to substitute the plum blossom, claiming Si Mucai's merit of saving me as your own."
"You were afraid of the truth being exposed and losing everything. So you wanted to snatch me away from her, you wanted me to extract her spirit meridians, you wanted to destroy her, to ensure there was no possibility between us…"
"How… how could you be so wicked?"
His nature was gentle and refined.
Now, his eyes were crimson, as if about to bleed.
He desperately wanted to turn and look at Si Mucai again; he desperately wanted to explain a few things.
Extracting her spirit meridians back then was not… not that he was so heartless.
It was because he had read the clan's ancient texts, which told him that for a phoenix's innate true spirit body to reach perfection, it must undergo rebirth through fire.
Just as humans must pass through tribulations, phoenixes must also die once to be reborn.
All phoenixes had to experience this rebirth from death.
But Si Mucai was the daughter of the Demon Emperor. No one dared to bully her. She grew up in a daze, living happily.
However, when phoenixes reached a certain age and refused to undergo rebirth through fire, they had to go to the boundary of life and death, where evil spirits and baleful energies were abundant, which could assist their advancement.
Phoenixes were destined to suffer greatly there.
The boundary of life and death would cause phoenixes to die there.
Then, they would be reborn amidst the deathly aura, transforming into true divine beasts of heaven and earth.
Qingque had saved him and then asked for his spirit meridians—a thought stirred in his heart. If he extracted Xiao Ci's spirit meridians, it would be equivalent to her passing through tribulation. Perhaps, she wouldn't have to go to the boundary of life and death to face death?
Wouldn't have to endure the suffering of being reborn amidst pain?
However, these were thoughts hidden deep in his heart.
When he extracted her spirit meridians, he used the heart blood of a five-clawed golden dragon to protect her, ensuring she felt no pain.
It was like falling asleep.
When she woke up, she had only lost her cultivation. But she was so powerful; as long as she soaked in the divine pool of the demon tribe, she would soon Nirvana…
As for Qingque Zhizhi, he was only temporarily borrowing Xiao Ci's spirit meridians to keep her alive, as she had saved his life.
But he had always intended to find the Jade Bone Lotus to regenerate her spirit meridians.
He had inquired about the whereabouts of the Jade Bone Lotus and was willing to use the heart blood of a five-clawed golden dragon to break the restrictions and obtain that lotus.
Xiao Ci's spirit meridians ultimately could not be given to her.
Once she regenerated her own spirit meridians, and Xiao Ci attained Nirvana, her spirit meridians would return, and she would become even more powerful.
He could not owe this little sister.
He thought it was a good plan, he thought.
Perhaps this was for the best for both Xiao Ci and Qingque—only he hadn't expected Xiao Ci's temper to be so fierce. Before he could explain,
Xiao Ci rushed forward, gouged out Qingque's eyes.
Then, she broke Qingque's wings.
And destroyed the demon tribe's sacred artifact, the Kunlun Kongtong Scissors, just to prevent Qingque from healing.
In the ensuing chaos, she destroyed the Kunlun Kongtong Scissors, and he was busy treating Qingque's injuries. It was due to this carelessness that he overlooked Xiao Ci, allowing her to leave the demon realm.
Her temperament was so resolute.
From beginning to end, she refused to listen to his explanations.
He absolutely did not want to truly harm her.
They had grown up together since childhood. The only mistake he made was listening to Qingque's instigation, thinking that temporarily borrowing Xiao Ci's spirit meridians was better than forcing her to undergo the painful Nirvana alone at the boundary of life and death.
He also hadn't explained it clearly to her.
He had grown up with her since childhood and knew her fierce temperament.
But he hadn't expected her to show no mercy—he felt both guilty towards her and towards Qingque.
That was why he suffered and avoided the situation.
Only now did he realize he was wrong from the very beginning.
He might as well have let her go to the boundary of life and death, rather than her hating him to the point of no return.
Now, even speaking the truth would make him seem ridiculous.
Even breathing hurt him. He stared blankly at the stubborn girl before him.
Even though she had transformed into a human, her face was disguised to be plain, but those eyes were stunningly beautiful. The light deep within her pupils was still that of the Demon Emperor's daughter he knew, the familiar little girl.
Stubborn to the point of being heartbreaking.
He gave a bitter smile, his heart filled with an endless surge of bitterness, a pain that almost choked him.
"I truly… was wrong… I shouldn't have back then…"
"Done such a wrong thing."
"Please…"
"Whatever revenge you want, I will willingly accept."
"It's better than being treated as a stranger…"
He had no strength to defend himself.
He was the one who had done it. No matter how much he paid, it couldn't compare to the pain Xiao Ci felt from being betrayed by someone she trusted.
That day was their wedding day.
He had dug out her spirit meridians and broken off the engagement, making her a laughingstock of the demon tribe.
He thought this would allow her to achieve rebirth through fire, but he never expected that she would not Nirvana.
Instead, he himself sank into hell, and from then on, there was no more light.
During the days and nights spent healing Qingque.
All he thought of were the reddened eyes of that little girl—he knew he owed Qingque a great deal. He thought that by helping Xiao Ci save Qingque, he could ease his conscience.
Then, only in the end did he realize what it meant to be tormented day and night for all eternity, what despair and pain were. He didn't even have the courage to go after Xiao Ci and explain; he even dared not look at her again.
He feared that his little girl, Xiao Ci… would hate him, resent him.
And never forgive him again.
He thought Xiao Ci was just a child. He thought that if he hurt her, he could coax her back.
They had spent so many years together; it had always been like this.
She was always so obedient and adorable.
She had always called him brother.
How could she truly hate him to the bone?
But she would not turn back.
From then on, she never returned to the demon realm.
Lin Mucai was still enduring the same pain as Ling Qianhe. Only after the little system shielded her from the pain could she clearly hear what Helian Lanyan was saying and see his expression.
She took half a step forward.
She said,
"I know."
"What you want to explain."
She raised her hand and pointed at Helian Lanyan.
With the little system's help, she quickly understood the truth behind extracting her spirit meridians and breaking off their engagement!
Extracting her spirit meridians was partly to temporarily save Qingque's life, and partly to force her to Nirvana.
As for breaking off the engagement—
There was also a hidden reason.
It wasn't that he truly loved Qingque to the point of obsession.
Helian Lanyan did have his own difficulties. Unfortunately, in Lin Mucai's eyes, these difficulties were nothing!
"When you were injured back then, it was the work of the phoenix clan."
"Because the phoenix clan did not want the descendants of your five-clawed golden dragon to ascend to the position of Demon Emperor, fearing you would harm phoenix descendants in the future, so you married into our clan. I am the future Demon Emperor, and you share the entire demon tribe with me. But even so, your ambition was evident. How could the phoenix clan allow you to covet the position of Demon Emperor?"
"All superficial peace is merely an illusion!"
"But later, an accident occurred. My father disappeared in outer space—"
"I was still a little phoenix who had not yet undergone Nirvana."
"Your five-clawed golden dragons seized power."
"Then the engagement naturally could no longer be honored."
"If you were to marry me, I would be imprisoned in the demon mountains day and night under the pretext of having already married you. Your uncles and your clan members would force me to hand over the demon tribe's treasures."
"Because times have changed, the five-clawed golden dragons and the phoenix clan are now in a life-or-death relationship."
"So, even though I saved you back then, I couldn't say so. Nor could I let the clan know that I had saved you."
She looked at the gentle and refined demon emperor opposite her. The pain deep within her eyes, she smiled faintly.
"You broke off the engagement, claiming it was for Qingque. In reality, it was because you didn't want me to be imprisoned."
"I know."
"You extracted my spirit meridians because you wanted me to Nirvana, I know that too."
"But—"
She looked at him, and what she said made his heart tremble. His eyes were rimmed with red, and a single tear of blood finally flowed uncontrollably from his eye.
"Knowing does not mean forgiving."
"From beginning to end, I only considered you a brother."
"Now, I'm not even a brother anymore. You are just an enemy who extracted my spirit meridians."
"A thousand years of affection have now come to nothing."
"From today onwards, you and I are severed. Aside from hatred, there is no other entanglement."
Helian Lanyan heard her words firsthand—his heart shattered into pieces in an instant, as if the sky and earth were collapsing!