The wind stopped and the rain ceased.
The elder in green robes stood on the high ground, gazing at the massive corpse that had completely lost its life force, remaining silent for a long time.
Demon blood was still flowing slowly, gathering into small streams and soaking the scorched earth.
"Elder Cheng... how should we handle this corpse?"
A Demon Quelling General stepped forward quickly, his expression respectful.
Elder Cheng snapped back to his senses, his gaze sweeping over the Demon Suppression Guards who were gathering one after another. He frowned and said, "Lock down the surroundings first; no one is allowed to approach."
"Yes!"
The general took his orders and left.
Elder Cheng turned around, looked at the Demon Suppression Guards not far away, and sighed.
The corpse of the Demon Saint before him was truly a hot potato.
When they came here, how could they have ever imagined they would be able to slay a Demon Saint?
Therefore, they hadn't brought any storage items capable of containing a demon's corpse.
If such a massive body were left exposed like this... Elder Cheng was hesitating when he suddenly saw a figure in black robes walking slowly from a distance.
"Your Highness."
Elder Cheng hurried forward and bowed with his hands cupped.
Looking at the young girl before him, his heart was filled with a thousand emotions.
Although he didn't know exactly how she did it, Commander-in-Chief Bai had said himself that this Demon Saint was slain by Her Highness's own hand.
A Mountain Gazing slaying a Lamp Lighting.
Such an inconceivable thing had actually happened right before his eyes.
Jiang Yuechu nodded slightly, her gaze falling on the Demon Saint's corpse, her expression calm.
Aside from using them to raise her Realm, she originally had no interest in demon corpses.
Now that she had Myriad Demon Swallowing Heaven, she could even plunder the Origin directly without destroying the demon corpse.
The reason she kept it was simply because she didn't want to waste it.
"Should it be sent back to Chang'an?"
Elder Cheng cupped his hands and said, "Yes, the Demon Saint slain by Your Highness should naturally be sent back to Chang'an."
"Since the founding of the Great Tang over eight hundred years ago, those who could obtain a Demon Saint's corpse only existed during the era of the Progenitor. Now, His Majesty has just ascended the throne for only two years; it is a time when the national fortune is newly settled and everything is waiting to be rebuilt..."
"If we can send this Demon Saint's corpse back to Chang'an, it can serve to deter petty people and also announce to the world that the Great Tang's fortune is flourishing and is not to be bullied by demons."
Speaking to this point, Elder Cheng paused.
"As for the merit..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he suddenly felt that saying this was a bit redundant.
Who was the person before him?
Not only was she the Grand Princess of the Great Tang!
He had also heard that His Majesty favored her exceptionally.
A noble lady of the imperial family, she could have whatever she desired.
What could she possibly lack?
Elder Cheng gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I've spoken too much."
"Then send it."
Jiang Yuechu spoke indifferently and turned to leave.
Elder Cheng hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please wait."
Jiang Yuechu stopped her footsteps and looked back at him.
Elder Cheng hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Your Highness has achieved merit that covers the world by slaying the Demon Saint this time. I take the liberty to ask, is Your Highness injured? If you need to recuperate, the Demon Suppression Division can still find some Medicinal Pills and spiritual materials..."
Jiang Yuechu waved her hand, interrupting him.
"It's fine."
In the distance.
Lü Qinghou and Gu Wanlan stood side by side, looking at the elder sitting cross-legged on the ground.
White Jade Tower had now lost the elegance he had when lighting the lamp; his entire aura had receded like an ebbing tide, returning to a hunched and aged appearance.
No, it was even worse than before.
His head of white hair was now sparse, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper.
In his cloudy old eyes, there was no longer any spirit.
Gu Wanlan squatted down, took out a medicine bottle from her robe, poured out a few Medicinal Pills, and handed them to her Master's lips.
"Master, please take these first."
White Jade Tower shook his head and smiled bitterly. "It's useless."
"Master..."
"Girl, don't be sad."
White Jade Tower raised his hand, wanting to pat his Disciple's head, but halfway through, his hand dropped powerlessly.
Lü Qinghou stood to the side, clenching his fists, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't say a single word.
A Lamp Lighting Realm Martial Saint only has six chances in their life to light their heart lamp.
Each time it is lit, it is a way to snatch life from the heavens and reverse the universe.
But after these chances are exhausted... the oil is gone and the lamp is dry, and one falls back to the mortal Realm.
Not only is their cultivation completely lost, but even the Lifespan accumulated over hundreds of years will be exhausted in an instant.
Now it's likely... Lü Qinghou took a deep breath, suppressing the soreness in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Master, your Disciple will send you back to Chang'an immediately. At the General Bureau..."
"The will of heaven is fickle, the will of heaven is unpredictable, and the will of heaven is hard to believe, but who can completely disbelieve it?"
White Jade Tower interrupted him, his voice weak but carrying a hint of relief.
"Qinghou, you are a good child, it's just that... your personality is too blunt. In the future, you should think more before acting."
"Yes."
"Wanlan girl, your talent is peerless. In time, you will surely enter that Lamp Lighting Realm, it's just..."
White Jade Tower paused, "Don't be like your Master. Sometimes, you must also think for yourself."
Gu Wanlan bit her lip, her eyes red, yet she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.
"Master, rest assured, your Disciple... your Disciple will take good care of herself."
"Good, good..."
White Jade Tower smiled, his gaze passing over the two of them to look at the massive Demon Saint corpse in the distance.
"In my life, I have guarded the Great Tang for hundreds of years and slain countless demons, but I never thought that after my Master went to his eternal rest, I would one day see a Demon Saint fall with my own eyes."
"Even though it wasn't by my own hand..."
"It can be considered worth it."
...Elder Cheng stood on the high ground, watching that scene in the distance, and sighed softly.
"Although Commander-in-Chief Bai came from humble beginnings, he showed amazing martial talent from a young age."
"He entered the Demon Suppression Division at fifteen, was already at the Ink Dot Realm by twenty, Seed Lotus at thirty, and Mountain Gazing at fifty."
Jiang Yuechu glanced sideways slightly.
Elder Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze distant as if he had fallen into memory.
"Such speed is rare even in the entire Great Tang."
"But what truly made his name famous throughout the world was when he was two hundred and seventy years old."
"That year, the Demon Court provoked us, wanting to step into the territory of the Great Tang."
"Commander-in-Chief Bai was ordered to take charge in a crisis, guarding the Region while waiting for the support of a Lamp-Lighting Martial Saint, but unexpectedly, the enemy actually dispatched two Demon Saints first, intending to take the Region by surprise..."
"It was at that moment of life and death that Commander-in-Chief Bai, at the Mountain Gazing Perfection, forcibly lit his heart lamp and stepped into the Lamp Lighting Realm in one leap."
"In that battle, he fought two Demon Saints alone. Although he failed to slay them, he severely wounded them, forcing the Demon Court to retreat."
"Since then, he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Demon Suppression Division, guarding the Great Tang for hundreds of years."
Jiang Yuechu listened quietly without interrupting.
Elder Cheng continued, "Reasonably speaking, a Lamp Lighting Realm Martial Saint can have a Lifespan of up to a thousand years."
"Commander-in-Chief Bai is only six hundred and eighty years old this year; he should have had hundreds of years left to live."
"But over these hundreds of years, in order to suppress demon troubles in various places... he consumed his lamp-lighting chances time and again..."
Elder Cheng shook his head, his eyes full of sighs.
"In the end... he has reached the end."
Hearing this.
Jiang Yuechu was somewhat confused. "Lamp-lighting chances?"
Elder Cheng was stunned. "Your Highness doesn't know?"
"Uh..."
Jiang Yuechu was a bit embarrassed.
Elder Cheng had, after all, moved in court circles for many years and was very good at reading people's expressions. He hurriedly explained, "Your Highness might not be aware."
"The reason the Lamp Lighting Realm can be called a Martial Saint and stand above all living beings lies in its heart lamp."
"heart lamp?"
"Correct."
Elder Cheng nodded and said, "The world knows the Lamp Lighting Realm is powerful, but they don't know exactly where its power lies."
"A Lamp Lighting Realm Martial Saint only has six chances in their life to light their heart lamp."
"Each time it is lit, it is a way to snatch life from the heavens and reverse the universe."
"No matter how severe the injury, even if limbs are missing, even if the Qi Sea is shattered, even if only one breath remains."
Elder Cheng paused, his tone becoming increasingly solemn.
"As long as the heart lamp is lit."
"In an instant."
"All injuries are completely healed, returning to the Peak, and combat power even surges several times over!"
Jiang Yuechu's eyes narrowed slightly.
So that's how it is... no wonder that Demon Saint was so hard to kill.
She thought it was some special mechanism of that Demon Saint.
It turned out to be a method of the Lamp Lighting Realm.
"If all six times are extinguished, the Lamp Lighting Realm Martial Saint will fall back to the mortal Realm. Not only is their cultivation completely lost, but even the Lifespan accumulated over hundreds of years will be exhausted in an instant."
He glanced at White Jade Tower, who was sitting cross-legged in the distance, and sighed, "Just like now, I'm afraid... he only has a few months left..."
"Is there a way to solve this?"
Elder Cheng hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "A method... naturally, there is one..."
---