"You're here."
Rongrong and Honghong were standing beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement.
"First Mistress, Third Mistress, what did you call me here for?" Ren Kurogane asked with a smile.
Rongrong pointed at the tree. "The power of us fox demons comes from emotions. If we want to become stronger, we must comprehend them. You've always wanted to break through to the Demon Emperor realm, haven't you? Try meditating on the Tree of Acknowledgement. You might gain something from it."
Ren pointed at himself, looking uncertain. "I'm a tiger. Can I cultivate the same way you do?"
"In theory, yes." Honghong nodded. "Although the path of emotions is practiced by the fox demons of Tushan, that doesn't mean we're the only ones who can follow it."
Ren nodded thoughtfully and walked up to the tree.
"What should I do?" he asked Rongrong.
"Just place your hand on the tree and try to comprehend it," she replied with a smile.
Ren did as she instructed. Rongrong's eyes opened, and her expression turned serious.
Ren sent his demonic power into the Tree of Acknowledgement. Almost immediately, he began sensing countless emotions.
The most obvious were the seven emotions and six desires of human beings.
In an instant, his consciousness was overwhelmed, plunging into chaos.
He seemed to experience one emotional extreme after another, swinging wildly between overwhelming joy and unbearable sorrow!
Realizing something was wrong, Ren immediately tried to sever his connection to the Tree of Acknowledgement.
After several attempts, he discovered something horrifying.
He couldn't break free!
Damn it! Rongrong, you set me up!
Ren wanted to cry. An ominous feeling crept over him.
Just as he was at a loss for what to do, a hand suddenly struck out, severing his connection to the Tree of Acknowledgement.
The tremendous force sent Ren flying. He landed on the ground and gasped for breath.
After recovering a little, he pushed Yaya off himself and looked at Honghong.
"What was that just now? Did I experience reincarnation or something?"
For that brief moment, he had genuinely felt emotions more extreme than anything he had ever experienced. If his demonic power hadn't been so formidable, he would have lost himself almost instantly and become part of the Tree of Acknowledgement.
"Those were the emotions of people who have undergone reincarnation and continued their fated bonds, emotions that the Tree of Acknowledgement has collected over the years," Honghong explained. "If you can comprehend the emotional power within them, you can break through to the Demon Emperor realm."
"…"
Ren fell silent.
He knew that cultivation in this world involved comprehending emotional power, but experiencing it firsthand had been downright terrifying!
He had almost felt as though he were no longer himself!
After getting to his feet, Ren cupped his hands.
"Forget it. I'll go home and work on comprehending it myself. The Tree of Acknowledgement isn't suitable for me."
It was just emotions, right? Ren considered himself reasonably good at understanding those.
"Not going to try again?" Rongrong asked with a mischievous smile. "Now that you have some experience, you shouldn't get trapped in it this time."
"No, thank you!" Ren refused without hesitation.
Perhaps he would consider trying again if his cultivation hit a bottleneck in the future. But for now, he had absolutely no intention of experiencing that emotional roller coaster a second time.
Watching Ren practically flee, the three women beneath the tree wore mischievous smiles.
"It's about time someone finally knocked that guy down a peg!" Yaya laughed.
"Indeed. I thought he might break through to the Demon Emperor realm right there on the spot!" Rongrong said.
Honghong watched Ren's retreating figure without saying a word, but the smile on her face said everything.
Back in his cave, Ren began cultivating.
"Whether it's familial affection, friendship, romantic love, or any other human emotion, it all falls under the concept of emotions…"
Ren suddenly thought of the Third Young Master of Aolai Kingdom. That fellow seemed to be following Sun Wukong's script.
"If the concept of emotions in this world is connected to Journey to the West, then what they call emotions should actually be the heart. In other words, cultivating emotional power means cultivating the heart."
As soon as he reached that conclusion, a phrase surfaced in Ren's mind.
Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.
Having figured this out, Ren immediately felt that, somewhere deep within him, he had grasped the correct path. His aura began to grow slowly once more.
Ren's face lit up.
"Just as I thought! I really am a cultivation genius!"
With a clear path ahead of him, Ren once again had a definite goal for his cultivation.
The wind-based techniques he practiced required him to comprehend the Way of Wind. He had to connect his demonic power with heaven and earth and sense the elusive Dao that lay beyond.
Over the following days, Yaya often came looking for Ren to play. But he remained immersed in cultivation, leaving her thoroughly disappointed.
Fortunately, she soon discovered that she and their neighbor, Qinlan, got along remarkably well. The two had been spending a great deal of time together lately.
Yaya also found the little Yuechu incredibly entertaining. She would often play with the child until he cried, then return him to Qinlan before making her escape.
Qinlan was furious enough to grind her teeth, but with a child to comfort, she had no time to hunt Yaya down. In the end, she could only let the matter go.
Time passed, and little Yuechu turned seven.
One day, after completing his mountain patrol, Ren returned to his luxurious cave.
Over the past few years, Qinlan's family had helped renovate the place. They had installed a door, tidied up the interior, painted the walls, and replaced his old furniture with a complete set of solid wooden pieces.
The furniture hadn't cost him a single coin. Qinlan had crafted every piece herself, and she was remarkably skilled.
Ren pushed open the door and saw Yaya sitting on his bed, cultivating. A thin layer of ice had already formed over the once-pristine mattress.
His face darkened. He immediately dragged Yaya off the bed.
"If you want to cultivate, sit on the floor! Stop wrecking my bed!"
Qinlan had made this bed herself, and it was high-quality stuff. The mattress was filled with goose down. If Yaya froze it beyond repair, who knew how long it would take him to save enough money for another one?
Yaya opened her eyes in confusion. When she realized she was sitting on the floor, she immediately became furious.
She spun around, jumped onto Ren's back, and began pounding his head with her little fists.
"I was only cultivating on your bed for a little while! Why did you put me on the floor?"
Yaya wasn't hitting him with any real force, so Ren couldn't be bothered to dodge. Instead, he carefully brushed the ice crystals off his bed.
"My goose-down mattress! My quilt! Do you have any idea how expensive these things are? If you ruin them, I can't afford another set!"
Yaya curled her lip in disdain.
"If they break, just ask little Qinlan to make you another set. Her family raises plenty of livestock now. Making another one wouldn't be a big deal."
"How could I do that?" Ren immediately began lecturing her. "I, Ren Kurogane, may be shameless, but even I have my limits!"
Yaya stared at him for a moment, then asked in disbelief, "You actually have any shame?"
"Damn it, Tushan Yaya! I'm challenging you to a duel!"
Ren was furious. Yaya, on the other hand, grew excited.
"Sure, sure! Let's fight on Luoluo Mountain!"
Luoluo Mountain had originally been an unnamed, unremarkable hill. But Ren and Yaya had spent the past few years fighting duels there so often that Yaya had given it a name.
The two transformed into gusts of wind and flew to the summit.
"Take this! Ice Fist!" Yaya shouted.
Waves of cold surged from her body. Behind her, an enormous fist made of ice materialized in an instant and hurtled toward Ren.
"Such a petty trick, and you dare show it off in front of me? Take this—Wind Cutter!"
Ren swung both hands, sending two razor-sharp blades of wind flying toward her.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The wind blades sliced through Yaya's ice fist with ease, leaving smooth cut surfaces. The severed chunks of ice flew past Ren.
The next moment, Yaya charged forward again. She took a deep breath as blue magical energy gathered inside her mouth.
"Frostwind Cannon!"
BOOM!
A blue beam shot toward Ren. Before it even reached him, the intense cold within it had already covered the surrounding grass with frost.
Snowflakes began drifting down from the sky.
Ren remained unfazed. He took a deep breath as well, gathered his magical energy, and fired a streak of green light.
"Gale Cannon!"
The two beams collided in midair and exploded instantly!
The resulting energy burst in every direction. The gale carried the freezing air with it, coating the entire mountaintop in a layer of white.
Both of them wore grins and were about to continue when Rongrong's voice suddenly reached their ears.
"Stop fighting! Someone's come to cause trouble outside!"
At those words, they immediately stopped.
Yaya was particularly furious.
"Which idiot has a death wish and dares to cause trouble in Tushan?!"
Neither of them lingered. They immediately flew toward Tushan's main entrance.
Honghong stood on top of the city wall, her expression indifferent. Below the wall lay a lake.
Several ships bearing the banner of the Divine Fire Manor floated on its surface.
Above the ships, members of the One Qi Alliance dressed in yellow robes and standing on flying swords glared menacingly at Tushan's gates.
Honghong's gaze settled on the old man seated in the middle of the fleet.
"You traitor of the Divine Fire Manor, Jin Renfeng! You betrayed your master and turned against your own teacher. You've come to Tushan today with such a grand display of force. Are you planning to wage war against us?"
Honghong's voice carried clearly to everyone present.
The members of the One Qi Alliance hovering in the sky frowned. Not a single one of them believed her accusations.
Jin Renfeng's expression changed, but that surprise was quickly replaced by delight!
Honghong knew so much about his past. Someone must have told her.
And the only person who knew the truth so well and was still alive was Dongfang Qinlan!
I suspected it before, but now I'm certain!
Jin Renfeng sneered inwardly. His eyes were fixed on Honghong, and the killing intent in them was impossible to hide.
Several years earlier, after betraying his master, he had forcibly used the blood-exchange secret technique of the leech clan to replace his own blood with the spiritual blood of the Dongfang family.
His power had increased dramatically as a result. He was now strong enough to suppress Wangquan Baye, whose Sword Heart had been shattered.
If the Wangquan family hadn't possessed such enormous influence and used it to pressure Dongfang Huaizhu into becoming a concubine, she would have fallen into the clutches of Jin Renfeng years ago. By now, she might even have given birth to eight children.
However, Jin Renfeng hadn't mastered the technique. He had attempted the blood exchange with Dongfang Gumu before fully learning the art, and the consequences had been severe: he was aging at an alarming rate.
Less than ten years had passed, yet Jin Renfeng, a man in his late twenties, was already covered in white hair, with a long beard hanging down to his crotch.
In short, if he didn't tell people his age, they would probably mistake him for a hundred-year-old man.
Jin Renfeng rose from the ship, flames suddenly blazing around his body.
"Fox demons of Tushan! You've imprisoned my junior sister, Dongfang Qinlan, and her family! As her senior fellow disciple, I've come here today to demand justice for the three of them!"
"Justice? You can talk about justice after you defeat me!" Honghong sneered.
She curled her hands into claws. Her demonic aura erupted, her eyes turned blood-red, and her golden hair shifted to a fiery orange-red.
The two rose into the air and faced each other.
Flames enveloped Jin Renfeng's entire body as he sneered.
"Tushan Honghong, today I'll show you the true power of my Demon-Slaying Divine Flame!"
As he spoke, he brought his hands together in front of his chest and formed a series of hand seals, apparently activating some secret technique.
One scorching fireball after another materialized around him.
"Take this!"
"Hmph!"
Honghong snorted. Rather than retreating from the incoming fireballs, she advanced and reached out to grab them.
Sizzle!
The sound of flesh burning beneath the intense flames rang out.
Honghong's expression changed drastically. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she immediately retreated.
With Honghong no longer blocking their path, the fireballs struck Tushan's city wall. Explosions left several enormous craters behind.
Honghong's expression turned grim. She couldn't help remembering something Ren had told her a couple of years earlier.
But she had no time to dwell on it.
Seeing that his first attack had succeeded, Jin Renfeng smiled triumphantly and gathered more divine flames, sending them toward her.
Honghong knew that her Absolute Edge Claws could not counter the Pure Yang Flame. She could only retreat for now, searching for an opportunity to get close enough to Jin Renfeng to kill him with a single strike.
By then, Ren and Yaya had also arrived.
Seeing the flames from a distance, Ren's heart stirred.
Could that bastard Golden Pig really have attacked Tushan? But how did he find out that Qinlan's family was here?
Though puzzled, Ren moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, he reached Rongrong on the city wall.
"Rongrong, what's happening? Do you need us to help?"
Rongrong shook her head.
"That Pure Yang Flame truly deserves its reputation as a Demon-Slaying Divine Flame. Even Sister's Absolute Edge Claws are completely countered by it."
"What? Sister is losing?" Yaya exclaimed in shock.
She looked closely and saw that her invincible elder sister was constantly dodging Jin Renfeng's attacks. Honghong didn't dare let even a single strand of the Pure Yang Flame touch her.
"This…"
Yaya couldn't believe what she was seeing.
In the past, no matter how powerful a technique or magical treasure was, it became little more than a child's toy in front of Honghong's Absolute Edge Claws. Its original power would simply vanish.
Yet now, Honghong was suffering a disadvantage against the Pure Yang Flame!
Ren placed a hand on Yaya's shoulder.
"Don't worry. I've already sent a message to Qinlan. She'll be here soon."
Rongrong glanced at him in surprise and asked with a smile, "Are you planning to hand Qinlan over to him?"
"Of course not!" Ren replied. "I'm bringing Qinlan here to fulfill the promise she made back then. And after that, we'll have to trouble Miss Cu Yu Ling."
He looked toward the green-haired woman beside them, who had been watching the spectacle with interest.
She nodded.
"As long as the head hasn't been separated from the body and the person hasn't died on the spot, I can save them."
"I have complete faith in the medical skills of the leech clan!"
Before the two could say anything more, a wave of scorching heat swept toward them.
They looked up and saw Jin Renfeng throwing a fireball directly at the spectators!
Since Honghong kept dodging and his attacks were repeatedly missing, he had apparently decided to force her into action by threatening those watching.
Facing the fireball, Yaya immediately formed an ice fist and sent it flying toward the attack. The two collided in midair, triggering a violent explosion.
BOOM!!
When the black smoke cleared, Yaya's ice fist had vanished. Jin Renfeng's flames, however, had merely weakened slightly before continuing toward Ren and the others.
Ren raised a hand and sent out a gust of wind, which transformed into countless razor-sharp blades and pierced through Jin Renfeng's fireball.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions echoed through the sky. The fireball was sliced into countless pieces, each of which was forcibly detonated.
Jin Renfeng… is he actually this weak?
At that moment, a bold idea began to take shape in Ren's mind!