Smack!
Smack!
Beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement, Ren continued cultivating while Yaya squatted nearby, plucking grass out of boredom.
"Is this guy seriously not going to take a break?" Yaya stared blankly ahead, looking as though her brain had stopped working.
Hadn't she rushed out of seclusion just to show off in front of Ren? And, while she was at it, get revenge on the bastard for eyeing her lunch earlier?
Yet she had been out of seclusion for an entire month, and Ren was still cultivating. He didn't look as though he had any intention of waking up, either.
Naturally, Yaya wasn't about to disturb him. She might be a little dense, but she wasn't stupid.
She gazed at Ren, her thoughts known only to herself.
Meanwhile, Honghong had been observing her younger sister for several days. She was now fairly certain that Yaya might finally be growing up.
However, both Yaya and Ren were demons with long lifespans. Honghong had no idea how long it would take them to understand each other's feelings.
But does Ren actually have those kinds of feelings for Yaya? Honghong wondered uncertainly.
After all, Honghong herself had never experienced romance. How could she possibly give Yaya any advice?
Ren had no idea what was happening outside. Ever since Rongrong had set up a barrier around his cultivation chamber, he had stopped paying attention to the outside world entirely. His whole mind was devoted to mastering his divine ability.
After years of effort, aided by his strength as a Demon Emperor, Ren had finally made some progress in his study of the soul.
By incorporating the Way of the Soul into his own Way of Wind, he had successfully completed the second stage of his divine ability.
No one knew how much time passed before Ren finally opened his eyes again.
The world around him was blanketed in snow.
Fortunately, he was inside the barrier and felt no cold.
"Winter?"
Ren looked around and spotted Yaya standing in the distance, blowing cold air toward him.
The snow and ice he saw were all the result of Yaya's magical power.
What a blockhead…
Ren shook his head helplessly and stepped out of the barrier.
The moment he left, the barrier vanished.
Seeing that Ren had finally emerged, Yaya grinned crookedly.
"You stinking tiger! Come fight me and see who's stronger!"
"I refuse."
"Your refusal doesn't count!"
Yaya shot forward, releasing a burst of bone-chilling cold. A thin layer of frost instantly formed over Ren's body.
What a blockhead.
Ren summoned a shield of wind around himself, blocking the cold Yaya released.
"What is that?" Yaya slammed on the brakes and stopped a short distance away, staring at the shield curiously.
"My newly developed defensive technique, the Wind Shield!" Ren declared proudly. "It's based on the first stage of my Three Flavors Divine Wind. Anything that comes into contact with it gets pulverized. It's practically an absolute defense!"
"…"
Yaya leaned her head forward, staring at him with half-lidded eyes.
"If your wind is that powerful, why would you even need a defense? Can't you just use it to attack?"
Ren looked at her approvingly.
"Excellent! You're finally getting it!"
"That's right. Under normal circumstances, few people in this world could withstand my divine wind. But the opponent this time is our charming and adorable Sister Yaya. How could I possibly bring myself to attack you with it?"
Seeing Ren's smiling face, Yaya suddenly felt a little guilty.
She really had intended to go all out just now.
Her gaze began to wander.
"Well… that's true, I suppose…"
Ren's face immediately darkened. In a wounded tone, he asked, "Wait. Were you planning to use your new divine ability on me just now?"
"No! I wasn't!" Yaya panicked.
"Alas… So this is how it ends. All my feelings, wasted…"
Ren ran off in sorrow.
"No! Listen to me!" Yaya hurried after him, explaining frantically from behind. "I was only playing around! Otherwise, how could someone at my Demon Emperor level have produced such a weak attack? Right? Hahaha…"
"Stop explaining. I could never forgive you…"
Pfft!
Yaya nearly spat blood.
Seeing Ren's utterly heartbroken expression, she began to panic.
After the two had left, Honghong and Rongrong appeared beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement.
Rongrong narrowed her eyes, smiling with satisfaction. Honghong remained calm as she said, "That brat has spent another six years slacking off. Tomorrow, I'll drag him out to patrol the mountains."
Beside her, Rongrong's face displayed a silent, unimpressed expression.
Something about this doesn't feel quite right…
When she turned around, Honghong had already flown away.
"Honestly, Sister…"
Rongrong shook her head and went back to her own work.
As Tushan's chief financial officer and resident housekeeper, she had a very busy schedule.
"Oh, right. The fated-bond mission for Fan Yunfei, the Demon Emperor of West-Western Regions, has been delayed for several hundred years. If Ren has nothing to do, perhaps… Never mind. He'll definitely find an excuse to get out of it."
Ren returned home and was surprised to find the place spotless.
Yaya puffed out her chest proudly.
"I cleaned it a couple of days ago!"
"Oh! Then I owe you a huge thank-you, Lady Yaya!"
"Hehehe! Think nothing of it!"
Yaya was thoroughly pleased with his praise. She opened her eyes, only to discover that Ren was already lying in bed, preparing to sleep.
"Hey! You just finished cultivating, and now you're going to sleep?"
"What else?" Ren replied without even lifting his eyelids. "These past few years have worn me out. Let me rest properly for a while."
He really had spent a long time studying the Way of the Soul without taking a proper break. Now that his head had touched the pillow, an overwhelming wave of sleepiness washed over him.
Yaya wanted to say something else, but Ren had already fallen asleep.
She swallowed her words and quietly approached his bed, pouting.
"Stinking tiger… You actually fell asleep…"
She rested her head on the edge of the bed, and her own eyes gradually grew heavy.
"Yaaawn… Come to think of it, I haven't slept in ages either… What kind of demon sleeps, anyway? Especially a Demon Emperor…"
As she spoke, her consciousness sank into a haze.
The next morning.
Honghong hadn't been joking when she said she would drag Ren out to patrol the mountains.
Early that morning, she arrived at his home, pushed the door open, and walked inside.
When she saw Yaya sleeping on the floor in such an undignified position, Honghong's brow immediately furrowed.
"You two! Get up!"
It was rare for Honghong to shout at them, but this time she did.
The two woke up, rubbing their eyes and wondering what had happened.
Once Yaya realized it was Honghong, she rushed over and hugged her sister's leg.
"Sister, what are you doing here?"
Honghong sighed.
"I came to take Ren on mountain patrol. But Yaya, why are you sleeping on the floor?"
"On the floor?"
Yaya turned around and looked behind her. Sure enough, there was even a puddle of drool on the ground.
"Let me think…"
Ren looked at the sisters and scratched his head.
"I remember coming home yesterday and going straight to sleep. As for Yaya… Maybe she saw me sleeping, got sleepy herself, and ended up on the floor?"
Honghong studied them for several seconds before nodding.
"Fine. I'll believe you this time."
"Now that you're awake, get ready. You haven't worked in years. You're coming on patrol with me today!"
Ren's face fell. He was about to make an excuse when he met Honghong's unyielding gaze.
He knew there would be no slacking off today.
"Sister! I want to come on patrol with you, too!" Yaya said with a grin.
"Good! We'll go together," Honghong replied with a smile.
On the mountain path, Ren walked behind the two sisters, yawning as he asked, "Where's Yuechu today? I haven't seen him."
"He left Tushan for the human world a month ago," Yaya sighed. "Qinlan said Yuechu's cousin was suffering in the Wangquan family, so she asked him to rescue his cousin."
Ren thought about Wangquan Fugui's circumstances.
The poor guy really had been through a lot…
"Little Yuechu has already made quite a name for himself in the human world over the past month," Honghong added. "Because of his Pure Yang Flame, the humans know he's a descendant of the Dongfang family who came from Tushan. They haven't made things difficult for him, but they haven't allowed him to join the One Qi Alliance, either."
"Fine. That sort of thing doesn't really matter," Ren said with a shrug. "As long as Dongfang Yuechu is around, peaceful coexistence between humans and demons will eventually become possible."
Hearing that, Honghong asked curiously, "Why do you keep saying Yuechu is the key to peace? Can't you just tell me why?"
Ren had previously said that a common enemy was one of the prerequisites for peace between humans and demons. Later, he had claimed that Yuechu was the key.
With her straightforward way of thinking, Honghong simply couldn't figure it out.
Ren explained, "Since Yuechu has already gone off to make trouble, I might as well tell you."
Under the expectant gazes of Honghong and Yaya, Ren continued.
"Dongfang Yuechu is an extraordinary man, the only one of his kind in this world! He'll combine demonic techniques with Daoist magic and use spells to develop all sorts of technology. He'll advance the technological level inside the Circle by a hundred years, laying the groundwork for an explosive technological revolution in the future!"
Honghong and Yaya stared at him blankly.
Technology? What was that supposed to be? They had absolutely no idea.
Seeing their expressions, Ren spread his hands helplessly.
"See? I knew it would be hard for you two to understand this with those brains of yours. That's why I never bothered telling you."
"Oh…"
This time, Honghong and Yaya understood perfectly well.
The two immediately sprang into action and kicked Ren in the face.
"Hmph! Sister and I are the smartest people around! If you insult us again, I'll stuff you into a toilet! Understand?" Yaya snapped angrily.
With both women standing on his face, Ren was having a wonderful time.
After warning him, the sisters finally withdrew their feet.
Honghong looked toward the distant sky and asked, "You said the common enemy we face is the creatures from beyond the Circle. What exactly are they?"
"Well…" Ren scratched his head, deciding that this wasn't something he should explain himself.
After all, the identity he had constructed for himself was that of an ordinary person from the future. He could only know insignificant information that had already been made public. There was no way he could know any of the core secrets.
Seeing Ren at a loss for words, Honghong smiled.
"Fine. I won't press you. I'll find a way to investigate the creatures beyond the Circle myself."
At that moment, Yaya's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Stinking tiger, Sister! Why don't we go beyond the Circle and explore together?"
"Absolutely not!" Ren rejected the idea sternly. "We know almost nothing about what's beyond the Circle. If we rush out there recklessly, we'll end up like the Masked Troupe, manipulated by those creatures until they have us dancing in the palm of their hands!"
"The Masked Troupe? You know about the Masked Troupe?!" Qinlan's voice suddenly came from behind them.
She was holding a basket, her eyes shining as she stared at Ren.
Ren knew what she wanted to ask. She was probably wondering why the masked men had never appeared and who they really were.
He had no intention of hiding it. It wasn't anything particularly important.
"Yes. The leader of the Masked Troupe was Wangquan Baye. The other members were all outstanding talents from his generation. If they were still alive, humanity would be practically invincible today. Even we demons would have to avoid them, including the Demon Emperors."
"What? The leader of the Masked Troupe was Wangquan Baye?!"
Qinlan was even more shocked by his identity than by the group's potential.
"Does that mean my sister eventually married the man she loved? The Wangquan family didn't take advantage of the situation?"
As soon as she said it, Qinlan rejected her own theory.
"No, that can't be right! The leader of the Masked Troupe was so powerful that even my father might not have been his match. How could he have lost to that useless Golden Pig? You're lying to me!"
"Hey! You've just hit the key point!"
Ren raised a finger toward the sky.
"The younger generation of the Masked Troupe was unmatched. Even the older generation couldn't compete with them. After spending several years traveling around and upholding justice, they went to the Southern Kingdom and discovered the existence of the Circle. Then they ventured beyond its protection, and almost the entire group was wiped out. Of the two survivors, one had his divine eye gouged out, while the other's Sword Heart was shattered. If either of them retained even thirty percent of their former strength, they'd have to consider themselves lucky!"
"They were all wiped out?" Honghong frowned.
Yaya looked disdainful.
"What? They left their comfort zone and immediately died? Was their strength all just hype?"
Ren shook his head and explained, "From what I know, after they crossed the Circle, they fell under some kind of illusion that disrupted their minds. Then Wangquan Baye killed all his brothers…"
Honghong, Yaya, and Qinlan were left speechless.
They had assumed the Masked Troupe had been crushed by powerful creatures from beyond the Circle. They hadn't expected the members to kill one another instead.
"So those creatures beyond the Circle aren't necessarily strong, but their methods are bizarre?" Qinlan immediately grasped the key point.
"Exactly." Ren nodded. "That's why I absolutely won't leave the safety of the Circle until I'm strong enough!"
Honghong and Yaya agreed with his reasoning.
Honghong, in particular, thought back to what had happened years ago. If she had been strong enough back then, that tragedy might never have happened.
Yaya's reasoning was much simpler. If you weren't strong enough, you'd get beaten up. And Queen Yaya had no intention of getting beaten up!
After learning the story of the Masked Troupe, Qinlan immediately sent a message to her precious son, telling him not to act recklessly. He should first investigate whether Fugui actually wanted to leave the Wangquan family before making any plans.
At that time, the Wangquan family was already dealing with an unusual guest.
Thanks to his absurd talent and wildly imaginative ideas, Dongfang Yuechu had become a special elder of the One Qi Alliance.
Because of his ties to Tushan, the alliance hadn't allowed him to formally join. However, he was undeniably a genius, and the alliance's leaders didn't want to let him go. After much discussion, they had granted him a special position.
Although he wasn't officially a member of the alliance, he enjoyed the privileges of an elder.
In other words, aside from lacking formal membership in the One Qi Alliance, Dongfang Yuechu had already become one of its central figures.
By then, Yuechu had put his cousin's situation aside and devoted himself entirely to his research.
"Combining Daoist magic with demonic techniques isn't difficult. If anything, they're powers that share the same origin. But why can't humans achieve immortality like demons after absorbing spiritual energy? Think! Which step have I missed?!"
Just as Dongfang Yuechu was racking his brain, he heard Qinlan's voice in his ear.
"Little Yuechu, don't rush to rescue your cousin yet. First, gather some information and find out whether he actually wants to leave!"