The Debts of Love That Must Be Faced

The Debts of Love That Must Be Faced Zhang Yuanqing now knew where the loop power sheltering the bottom of the Rebirth Pool had come from! If he wasn't mistaken, it was the item of unknown origin in his hand. As for which existence this item had come from, and what class it belonged to, he already had some guesses. The electronic watch's attributes were all question marks, which fit the "unknowable" trait. Combined with the Elvis Presley speaker's revelation that there had been "help from a supreme existence," and with what he had learned from his conversations with Sovereign Haotian, Zhang Yuanqing suspected that the supreme existence who had helped the Demon Lord was Sovereign Haotian himself. For the loop to affect a demigod, it had to be divine-rank power. Among the supreme existences of the Orderly class, wasn't Sovereign Haotian the only one left? Moreover, the loop resembled his "Time" rule, and matched the description of "unknowable"; an electronic watch was a timer, and it symbolized time. "When I got this electronic watch back from the character card reward, the loop's buff must have appeared. Anyone who touched on a clue pointing to me being the Demon Lord would fall into the loop. "This is a safeguard Sovereign Haotian laid on me. If I lost the protection of the Fragment of Taiyin Origin, Ling Tuo and the Taiyi Sect Master would certainly have seen through my true identity. At that point, the electronic watch could have preserved the secret that I am the Demon Lord." Only in that way could he descend on the dungeon unexpectedly during the battle for the Sun Origin, awaken the remnant soul inside the Sun Origin, and become the Lord of the Sun. Otherwise, the Lord of the Stars and the Lord of Taiyin would have killed him long ago, and he would never have lasted until the Sun dungeon opened. "And the reason it was lifted is that I became the Lord of the Sun, wielding the power to purify everything. The loop rule on me was purified, and that is why the Xie Family Old Ancestor, Xie Su, and I have remembered the clone at the bottom of the Rebirth Pool in the Arbiter of Fate Palace dungeon again." As for why "the Demon Lord" had forgotten Sovereign Haotian, and why he himself, having become the Lord of the Sun, had forgotten the memories of the Demon Lord's contact with Sovereign Haotian, while Yuanshi Tianzun remembered the conversation with Sovereign Haotian... Zhang Yuanqing believed the latter was Sovereign Haotian's deliberate arrangement, letting Yuanshi Tianzun keep the memory of that conversation in the Chaos World. Sovereign Haotian knew the Sun Origin was flawed, knew the evil god would invade the Spirit Realm at all costs, and knew that He would have to give everything He had, with no attention to spare for answering a summons—so He had Yuanshi Tianzun retain that memory from the Chaos World. If even that memory had been lost, Zhang Yuanqing would never have thought of the electronic watch at all. "I can purify the electronic watch's buff, but I can't recall the information from when the Demon Lord contacted Sovereign Haotian. That means the electronic watch's rank is at the demigod level, unable to suppress an incomplete Lord of the Sun." "An item of demigod level, even a causality-type one, isn't necessarily enough to turn the situation around. Besides, I still don't know how to use it..." At that thought, Zhang Yuanqing had an idea: open the treasure vault of the Ascension Immortal Sect. He knew there had to be relevant clues inside it, and the reason was simple—he had forgotten what was in the vault. Forgetting was a manifestation of Sovereign Haotian's rule power. And the first step to opening the vault was to meet one of his former lovers. "In the end, there's no avoiding it," Zhang Yuanqing muttered inwardly. Of the Demon Lord's six key fragments, one was in Teng'er's hands, one in Yin Ji's, one on Brother Bing, one with Betty, and the remaining two were kept by Winnie and Kris. Of those, the three key fragments held by Teng'er, Brother Bing, and Betty were already in his possession. For the remaining three, he would have to go ask his lovers one by one. Just thinking about it made the Lord of the Sun's scalp prickle. Glancing at Commandery Princess Yinyao, whose fortunes had risen and crashed so many times, Zhang Yuanqing said with a smile: "Don't be so downcast. Those things I did to you back then were the Demon Lord's doing—what do they have to do with me, Yuanshi Tianzun? Don't let the Demon Lord ruin the friendship between us." Commandery Princess Yinyao shot him a look and raised her little loudspeaker resentfully: "I am never coming back to life. Not in this lifetime." The Elvis Presley speaker seized the opening to play some background music: "You hurt me, and still just smiled it all away~" ... The capital. In Elder Sun's courtyard house, a streak of golden light fell from high in the sky and became the tall, striking Lord of the Sun. Elder Sun, lying in a rocking chair, opened his eyes at once. What he saw first was not Zhang Yuanqing, with his dark golden skin and the golden blazing sun imprinted between his brows, but a scorching, majestic, overwhelming sun. It made him tremble and stand in awe by instinct, and a submission rose from the depths of his heart. Then that golden sun faded, revealing Yuanshi Tianzun in his altered form. Elder Sun sprang up from the rocking chair, unconsciously hunching his back, not daring to straighten it, and said uncertainly, shock and doubt in his voice: "Yuanshi Tianzun? You..." This was a pressure even the Great Elder, the Crimson Sun Executioner, had never given him. Zhang Yuanqing nodded slightly. "I have become the Lord of the Sun." These words were like a thunderclap bursting beside Elder Sun's ear, raising a storm in his mind that roared like mountains and seas. Absurd! Unbelievable! In everyone's mind, the Lord of the Sun could only be born from the Lord of the Stars or the Lord of Taiyin, and they had absolute faith in their own Sect Master. And now he was suddenly told that Yuanshi Tianzun was the dark horse of the year, that he had become the Sun! Elder Sun's mind refused to accept it, and his body refused as well, so he simply froze, dumbstruck. But reality left Old Sun no choice but to believe it. If this man were not the Lord of the Sun, how could he exert such terrifying suppression? As a Day Wanderer of that very class, he had a sensitivity to the Sun Origin. Zhang Yuanqing paid the stupefied Elder Sun no attention. He looked toward the sky gradually deepening to azure, and spoke in a grand, layered voice: "All Day Wanderers, come and pay homage to the Lord of the Sun." The voice seemed to carry some magic in it. Spreading swiftly on the golden daylight, it reached the ears of a particular group of people. The next second, streaks of golden light came flying from the distance and descended into the courtyard. Among them was the Great Elder Crimson Sun Executioner, highest in seniority and strongest in strength; Elder Zhao, of the same generation; Elder Hongying, of the vigorous younger faction; and the newly ascended Fengdu Ghost King and Yin Ji... Thirteen in all! The moment the Taiyi Sect elders landed, a majestic, awe-inspiring golden sun rose in their eyes. In that instant, they felt their bodies and souls washed clean from the inside out. In that instant, they were no longer astonished, no longer doubtful. From the awe and submission that welled up from their hearts, they confirmed that the man before them was the Lord of the Sun, the end point of solar divine power. He was... Yuanshi Tianzun?! In that moment, the same shock, bewilderment, and confusion that Elder Sun had felt flashed through the minds of the Taiyi Sect elders. And they realized that something had gone wrong in the battle for the Sun Origin. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze rested on Yin Ji for a few seconds, and he said slowly: "I inform you all: the battle for the Sun Origin is over. Ling Tuo has perished. The Lord of the Stars has defected to the evil faction, holding the Star and Taiyin Origins in his hands. I am the Lord of the Sun. In a few days, I will fight the Lord of the Stars to the death, and the survival of the world rests on the outcome of that battle." The Taiyi Sect elders stood there woodenly, all expression drained from their faces. It took them a full half minute to digest what Yuanshi Tianzun had told them, and even then they could not accept the fact that their Sect Master had betrayed the Orderly camp and gone over to the evil faction. They felt a dazed, painful sense that everything they believed had been overturned. The hot-blooded Fengdu Ghost King stepped forward, staring hard at him. "What proof do you have? Are we supposed to believe whatever you say?" Even as he said it, he was forcing down his fear and the urge to submit, holding himself up on sheer defiance alone. The Taiyi Sect Master was the faith and the leader in the disciples' hearts. Making them accept that he had betrayed the Orderly camp was not something a few words could accomplish. Zhang Yuanqing said slowly: "The Wind and Thunder Twin Gods have awakened. So where did the Night Sovereign go?" The Fengdu Ghost King was taken aback, unable to see what the question was meant to imply. Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "The Night Sovereign slipped into the Sun dungeon. It was the Lord of the Stars who summoned the Night Sovereign at the critical moment, dragging the orthodox faction's demigods into a slumber they will never wake from. The only Orderly demigods still able to move freely are the President, the Xie family's Old Ancestor, the Goddess of Beauty, and me." Everyone present was clever, and they grasped Yuanshi Tianzun's meaning at once. The awakening of the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods meant the Night Sovereign had woken, and the Lord of the Stars, who schemes out everything under heaven, must have known it. That the Night Sovereign could pull the Orderly demigods down into sleep could only mean that either the Lord of the Stars had failed to give warning, or he had masterminded the whole thing. But did that make it true, just because Yuanshi Tianzun said the Orderly demigods had fallen asleep? Though so far, the Orderly demigods had indeed not appeared. Zhang Yuanqing looked at them, and his majestic face showed pity. "That a giant is willing to explain himself to ants is already the greatest mercy and grace. You are the senior figures of the orthodox faction and have the right to know the facts. That is all." ...For a moment, no one could say a word. The Great Elder Crimson Sun Executioner was silent for a few seconds, then bowed. "Great Lord of the Sun, we are willing to pledge our loyalty to you. What are your orders?" Seeing the Crimson Sun Executioner's stance, the Taiyi Sect elders fell silent, lowering their heads and eyes. Elder Sun kept his brow lowered and his manner obedient, but a desolate thought rose in his heart: The Yuanshi Tianzun I once cast aside like a worn-out sandal has become the Lord of the Sun after all!! My name is going to stink for ten thousand years! "Withdraw!" Zhang Yuanqing gave his orders like an august sovereign. "Yin Ji, stay." The Crimson Sun Executioner and the others turned into golden light and vanished. The Fengdu Ghost King cast a look at the woman he had feelings for, and in the end chose to obey the Lord of the Sun's order. Only Yin Ji and Old Sun were left. Zhang Yuanqing shot a glance at the tactless Old Sun. "Are you staying because you're waiting to be purified?!" The muddled Old Sun slunk away. Yin Ji, her face veiled in black gauze, studied Yuanshi Tianzun with her clear, luminous eyes, and said with a soft sigh: "I never thought the one who'd become the Lord of the Sun in the end would be you." She could not help thinking of her own lover, that faithless man she had longed for all this time. Ling Tuo, the Lord of the Stars, and the Demon Lord had all set their sights on becoming the Lord of the Sun. No one had imagined that the one who became the Lord of the Sun would be the dark horse who burst out last year—Yuanshi Tianzun. The ways of the world are unpredictable, and it makes one sigh. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze passed through the gauze and rested on that gentle, beautiful face. Each feature was striking on its own, but together they gave the gentleness of the girl next door—the kind of gentleness that soothes you and forgives you when you've done wrong or lost your temper. Seeing that face now, his state of mind was utterly different. As Yuanshi Tianzun, looking at this face had stirred a strong fondness, a flutter that came from an unfinished love between a living man and a ghost. Now, looking at this face, it was the emotion of one who, after all the sails have gone past, turns his head and finds the person he loves still standing where the lights burn low. Zhang Yuanqing said in a low voice, "Give me the Demon Lord's treasure map fragment." Yin Ji did not refuse, did not resist. She opened her item inventory and handed over a piece of jade as white as mutton fat. The jade piece was fan-shaped, its surface marked with small pits like a sky full of stars. As she handed over the key fragment, Yin Ji unconsciously avoided Yuanshi Tianzun's gaze, feeling somehow that this friend's eyes were a little too heated, carrying some unusual emotion. It left her flustered and uneasy. Sure enough, as Yuanshi Tianzun took the key fragment, he held her hand. Yin Ji pulled her hand back on instinct, but failed. The panic in her eyes deepened at once, and a plea flashed through them. Zhang Yuanqing sighed, and in the Demon Lord's distinctive hoarse voice, said: "Sister Yin Ji, it's me!" ...