Secrets

Zhang Yuanqing touched down at the sprawling manor and strode over to the artificial lake that occupied half the estate's grounds. The water was a deep blue, carrying a faint salty tang in the breeze, and teemed with marine life such as sardines, sea turtles, banded sea kraits, and small sharks. As a high-ranking Siren, Chris loved soaking in the manor's artificial lake. The lake bed faithfully simulated an oceanic environment, encompassing hundreds of common marine plants and creatures. Compared to dry land, the "ocean" gave a Siren a far greater sense of security. Whenever Chris felt unhappy, insecure, nervous, or frightened, she liked to hide at the bottom of the lake to calm herself in solitude. Zhang Yuanqing gazed down at the deep blue surface and let out a sigh. "Chris, I'm here!" Winnie already knew his identity, and as a direct descendant of Heaven's Punishment's chairman, Chris couldn't possibly still be kept in the dark. The moment his voice fell, a banded sea krait slithering across the surface suddenly vaulted out of the water. Its body ballooned into a python over ten meters long, gaping an enormous, dark red maw that splattered saliva as it lunged to bite Zhang Yuanqing. At the same time, the surrounding marine creatures mutated one after another, transforming into monstrous, hideous sea beasts that broke the surface and pounced toward Zhang Yuanqing. Sizzle... The sea python leading the charge was instantly reduced to ash by golden flames. Then came the sea monsters following close behind; three meters from their target, they were ignited by the golden flames in succession, silently burning into cinders. Zhang Yuanqing fixed his gaze on a certain spot at the bottom of the lake and said coldly, "Are you coming out yourself, or should I boil all this seawater dry?" The lake surface fell still. There was no reply, nor did any more sea beasts leap out. A dark shadow glided rapidly beneath the surface. As it neared the shore, it abruptly vaulted upward, revealing a siren woman covered in dark green scales. Clasping a golden trident, her brownish-tawny hair hung loose, her skin fair and lips lush, radiating a gallant, valiant aura. High in the air she leapt, like Runtu thrusting his pitchfork under the moon, plunging with a whoosh straight at the badger surnamed Zhang. Zhang Yuanqing caught the trident's point with one hand, gave a gentle yank to pull the valiant siren into his embrace, and balled his other hand into a fist, slamming it heavily into Chris's lower abdomen. Bang! A shockwave tore through the surroundings, tearing up the turf and trees along the shore and churning massive waves across the artificial lake. Chris flew backward, vomiting blood. Zhang Yuanqing flashed behind her and kicked her straight toward the shore. Chris bounced and rolled like a ball, gouging deep craters into the ground. Finally, she crashed into a waist-high hedge. Whoosh! Chris sprang from the greenery, leaning on her golden trident to steady her trembling stance. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth as she glared at him with stubborn fury. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the approaching dawn. "Give me the treasure map fragment, and save yourself from physical suffering." Among his many lovers, Chris was different. Zhang Yuanqing hadn't won her over back then with sweet talk, nor through enduring three meals a day and unflagging nightly stamina. He had won her over with violence. Sirens were volatile and belligerent by nature, revering the strong. Overwhelming martial prowess was far more attractive to a siren woman than a handsome face. Of course, when the Demon Lord had fought Chris in those days, it hadn't been with the intention of bedding her. It was purely that Chris had courted death, attempting to hunt down the fallen Night Wanderer Demon Lord. She had tried repeatedly to end his life, and each time, she had been soundly thrashed. Over time, the girl had fallen in love with him. At first, Zhang Yuanqing hadn't particularly liked her; he had merely seen her beauty and shapely figure and figured he might as well indulge. Later, he discovered that this young mistress possessed a straightforward and pure heart. If she liked something, she genuinely liked it; if she hated something, she genuinely hated it. There were no petty schemes or endless ulterior motives. This had brought the battle-worn, weary-hearted Demon Lord a long-lost ease and peace, leading him to view her as his second white moonlight beside Yin Ji. Their split had been twofold: on one hand, Chris couldn't stomach the Demon Lord's philandering; on the other, the Demon Lord had wished to sever ties with Teng'er, Chris, Winnie, and the others, cutting off all connections. Chris bit her lip, continuing to glare at him with burning rage. From the lake behind Zhang Yuanqing, a little multicolored fish popped out and shrieked in a shrill, crisp voice: "Foul man! You rotten scumbag! You piece of trash who falls for every woman you see, you degenerate who deserves to be mounted by a donkey—why aren't you dead yet?!" Having vented with impassioned fury, the little goldfish shrank its head back and added timidly: "Those are my master's inner thoughts, not mine, not mine... Ruth is just an emotionless translation machine." What donkey would dare mount my ass? Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally. His eyes swept toward Chris with implicit majesty, but Chris stubbornly met his gaze. Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward and sent Chris sprawling to the ground with a resounding slap. The hot-tempered young mistress slumped on the ground as tears poured down like a torrent, sobbing and sniffling uncontrollably. Like a freshly broken wild filly. Zhang Yuanqing held out his hand to her. Chris yanked out the treasure map fragment and hurled it at him in fury, her reddened eyes glaring wide in silent protest. Zhang Yuanqing caught the fragment, patted her head gently, and murmured in a low voice: "I am him, yet I am no longer him!" What he meant was that he was indeed the Demon Lord—the one intertwined with her emotionally, the sweetheart she could never forget. Yet at the same time, he was no longer that callous, heartless Demon Lord. Having said that, whether Chris understood or not, Zhang Yuanqing transformed into a golden rainbow and shot away. Through tear-filled eyes, Chris looked toward Ruth the little fish. "What did he mean?" Ruth blew a few bubbles and spread its two tiny pectoral fins. "I think he means: 'I am indeed the Demon Lord, but I'm no longer tainted by the Fallen Holy Grail, so I won't own up to the past. Understand it if you want; if you don't, I couldn't care less.'" Chris's eyes dimmed. "To think Yuanshi Tianzun was the Demon Lord all along. Had we known back in New York County, we should have castrated him to vent your anger, Master," Ruth comforted her. "Don't be sad. The end of the world is coming anyway—what do personal grievances and heartaches matter?" ... A rural village somewhere in the northwest. The villages of the northwest were impoverished and backward. Whether built of yellow mud or brick and tile, every structure breathed an air of age and dilapidation. There were none of the orderly, stylish mansions of southern villages, nor clean concrete roads or streetlights. The soil was barren, and most farmers could barely scrape together enough to eat, carrying only a few crumpled bills in their pockets year-round. Public attention never fell here. Online influencers never visited, journalists never set foot in the place, and official surveillance rarely extended this far. Yet here lay a temporary outpost of the Soldier Master sect. Some of the villagers had long been bewitched by sect members. Though they lived their lives as usual, they obeyed the orders of the Bewitching Demons unconditionally. Whenever the sect members arrived, the villagers provided lodging and food free of charge. There were many such secret outposts belonging to the Soldier Master sect throughout the northwest. Sect members rarely visited, except to conduct periodic maintenance to keep the outposts "stable." Only when clashes between the orthodox and Freedom factions escalated and the situation turned tense would these hideouts be activated. Inside a two-story brick building with a courtyard, lights burned brightly. Over a dozen Soldier Master sect members sat around a stove in the yard, eating hotpot. Beef, mutton, dog meat, and assorted offal bobbed in the boiling broth. The northwest in winter lacked green vegetables, but meats were plentiful. A burly, bald man covered in tattoos cursed foully: "In this godforsaken place, you can't even find a decent broad—just dark, withered women. How long do we have to hide here? Ah, I really want to go on patrol duty. Out there, you get wine, meat, and women." The main force of the Soldier Master sect had gone into hiding, but that didn't mean they were willing to be blind and deaf. Intelligence personnel serving as scouts still roved outside, periodically sending back encrypted messages; they were the personnel on external duty. "Or maybe we should go out and reap some spoils? Heavenly King Miejue is out there killing people, isn't she? Having the time of her life, and I haven't seen the authorities hunting her down either," someone offered as a half-baked suggestion. The two Heavenly Kings hadn't hidden in the secret outposts. Their personality defects were difficult to suppress; Miejue, for instance, was inherently bloodthirsty. If she lacked targets, she would turn her blade on the Soldier Master sect's own members. "If you want to die, don't drag us down with you," a short, stocky man said in a deep voice. "Yuanshi Tianzun has already ascended to Lord of the Sun. Fear Heavenly King said he's the strongest demigod in the world right now, even edging out Asura. If we draw his attention, every last one of us is dead." "Dammit, how did Yuanshi Tianzun become the Lord of the Sun? What gave him the right?" "Going from an ordinary person to a demigod in a single year—that kid is an absolute freak. Just thinking about him terrifies me." The conversation shifted to discussing the Lord of the Sun. Just then, the roar of a supersonic fighter jet streaking overhead rang out. The expressions of the Soldier Master sect members flickered. Before they could react, a tower-like dark silhouette crashed down into the courtyard. With a thunderous boom, the bowls and chopsticks on the table bounced slightly, and boiling broth slopped from the pot, splashing onto the men gathered around. Not an enemy attack... The Bewitching Demons breathed a sigh of relief, then hastily dropped to their knees in reverent terror. "Asura!" Asura's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice booming like a muffled bell: "Any new intelligence?" A Mist Lord hurried out of the house and bowed. "We haven't received any intelligence from the members on external duty yet." In his eyes, Asura and Fear Heavenly King had only been gone for a few hours. Hearing this, Asura turned expressionlessly to walk out. He intended to head to the next outpost—the Soldier Master sect had more than one secret hideout, and a single small village couldn't accommodate all the Bewitching Demons. Since there was no news here, he had no choice but to check the next location. He had just taken a step when a phone rang inside the house. The Mist Lord hurried inside. A few seconds later, he rushed frantically back into the yard, a strange look on his face. "Asura, Dark Night Rose's protector, Forest King, just sent a message." Asura turned back, all six eyes fixing on the Mist Lord simultaneously. Still wearing that strange expression, the Mist Lord said: "Yuanshi Tianzun disappeared four years ago, and during that disappearance, he became a spirit realm walker. When Sect Master Chunyang investigated his background, he touched upon this secret, only to fall into a loop of losing his memories..." What is he talking about? The Bewitching Demons in the yard couldn't make heads or tails of it. Asura remained silent for a few seconds, then turned and walked into the house. He retrieved a worn leather scroll and willingly entered a dream. Within the bizarre, kaleidoscopic dreamscape, he saw a silhouette condensed of starlight. "Anyone who investigates and discovers Yuanshi Tianzun is the Demon Lord, or anyone who draws close to this truth, enters a loop," Asura said. The starlight figure nodded slightly. ... The Spirit Realm world, Clash of the Gods dungeon. Seated cross-legged in midair, clad in a starlight robe, the Taiyi Sect Master had a black full moon hovering above his head. Starlight surged continuously around his body, roasting the black moon overhead like flames. The Lord of the Stars was grinding away Ling Tuo's residual spirit bit by bit; the lunar origin had already begun to merge with him. In two days at most, he would obliterate the brand left by Ling Tuo and take complete control of the lunar path. Suddenly, he tilted his head to listen for a moment, then opened his eyes. His left eye shone with dazzling starlight, while his right eye was filled with pitch-black energy. "So that's how it is..." The darkness in the Taiyi Sect Master's right eye receded as starlight welled up. He looked up toward the starry sky, deduced for a few moments, and abruptly exhaled a plume of lunar power. This smoke-like lunar energy pierced straight through the dungeon and flowed through the Spirit Realm world like petroleum, "extinguishing" the star nodes along its path. Before long, this stream of "petroleum" reached its destination—a dungeon called the "Ascension Immortal Sect." The dense, pitch-black lunar power enveloped the star node representing the dungeon, causing it to vanish from the Spirit Realm world. Almost the very next second, a golden light cleaved through the river of stars and arrived in the Spirit Realm world.