Chapter 49: Leaving Behind Only a Thousand-Hole-Riddled Corpse… Part 1

Su Zhen took the secret to his grave, never revealing it to the world.

At first glance, proclaiming the truth to all under heaven seemed the righteous path—awakening the masses, allowing them to lay down their arms and end this millennia-long war.

Yet the ways of the world were never so simple.

From ancient times to the present, people had always believed only what they wished to believe, clinging fiercely to their own interests.

To the mighty Immortal Clan experts who prided themselves on their noble bloodlines and ten-thousand-year heritage, the notion of equality among all beings was no less than heretical doctrine that upended their orthodox path. Far from awakening in repentance, they would likely purge all dissenters in the name of eradicating heresy.

And for the Demon Clan and Demon Immortals consumed by their dream of restoring their homeland, the resentment pent up over millions of years would only erupt in full fury.

Who, then, would bear the brunt of that heaven-shaking rage?

None other than the ordinary Immortal Clan folk who sought only to live out their days in peace, the Demon Immortals scattered across the Mortal Realm living quietly without strife, and the commoners in the Demon Realm struggling to survive in its barren wastelands.

Thus, Su Zhen chose silence.

He allowed the Three Realms to wobble along in turmoil that stopped short of total collapse, scraping by for a few more decades.

But now, things were different—

The latest battle reports revealed that the Dawnbreaker Army had counterattacked the Demon Capital in the Demon Bright, while Demon Sovereign Luo Ting had vanished with his princess. Rumors swirled that the two had taken Prince Ji You hostage and fled to the Demon Realm.

Ten thousand years ago, when the Demon Clan suffered their sealing, the defiant Demon Clan powerhouses had risked tearing open space-time to summon an otherworldly evil god for revenge. But the array backfired: not only did it fail to break the seal, it birthed countless ferocious beasts across the Demon Realm’s frozen earth, making survival even harsher for the Demon Clan.

The Demon Clan blamed all their suffering on the Immortal Clan, reasoning that if they hadn’t been imprisoned in such a dire prison for millions of years, they never would have resorted to such desperate measures.

Driven by deep-seated hatred, successive Demon Sovereigns had secretly constructed an underground palace in the depths of the Extreme North Ice Plains, enshrining the otherworldly evil god known as the Lord of Nothingness. Built upon a foundation of a million vengeful souls and fueled by demonic veins, the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array within could, once activated, tear apart the barriers between the Three Realms.

Generation after generation toiled on it, until the previous Demon Sovereign nearly completed this cataclysmic formation.

Fearing the uncontrollable nature of the foreign evil god, however, he divided the palace’s two keys between his son, Prince Ji You, and his adopted daughter, Tu Ji. He bound them with oaths that they could only open the palace together in the direst hour of the Demon Clan’s survival.

This secret was never meant to reach outsiders.

That changed twenty years ago, when Luo Ting forged an alliance with the Demon Clan through covert means and relentless scheming. Not only did he learn the method to refine demonic beasts, but he also uncovered the truth of the underground palace.

Now at the end of their ropes, Luo Ting saw himself and Tu Ji as grasshoppers tied to the same string—

With the Immortal Clan’s defenses impregnable as fortified gold and their grand ambitions turned to soap bubbles, they might as well stake everything on that forbidden place!

“Since this heaven and earth rejects us…”

“Then let us summon new gods to recast the order of the Three Realms!”

…

Yet just as Luo Ting and Tu Ji prepared to activate the palace, the bound Prince Ji You tremblingly revealed the truth.

His key had long been stolen by the Demon Immortal Mo Qing’s scheme and now rested in Immortal Emperor Shen Fengyu’s hands in the Unstained Immortal Realm!

“Waste!” Luo Ting and Tu Ji itched to grind him to dust and scatter his ashes.

But as the two grew frantic and at wits’ end, the Immortal Clan activated the Vast Heaven Mechanism Mirror, broadcasting the secret of immortals and demons sharing the same origins—along with Luo Ting and Tu Ji’s plot to summon the otherworldly evil god and topple the Three Realms—to all realms simultaneously.

The information was too much, too heavy.

In an instant, the Three Realms fell into shock, confusion, hatred, panic… and ultimately, silence.

Who was right, who was wrong? Who was righteous, who was wicked?

Layer upon layer of endless grudges spanning millions of years—too tangled to unravel.

The sudden loss of foundation for their millennia of strife and hatred left massive confusion shaking Luo Ting and Tu Ji’s very roots.

Some of the Yao Clan and Demon Clan who had sworn eternal loyalty vanished into the wind and snow overnight with their tribes; others knelt en masse, petitioning against summoning the evil god. And at that very moment, the Immortal Clan coalition forces broke through the Demon Realm’s borders!

With the tide turning against them, madness flashed in Tu Ji and Luo Ting’s eyes: “Since heaven will not aid us… then with a million Yao and demon souls as sacrifice, we’ll forge the missing key and forcibly tear open the palace seal!”

Soon, the sacrificial rite began.

Tu Ji waved the Soul Suppressing Banner, and a crimson sacrificial array ignited across the ice plains. Countless Yao Clan and Demon Clan members writhed and wailed within it, their souls ripped from their bodies like wisps of green smoke; even their diehard generals were not spared. A heaven-shaking resentful energy gathered above the array, staining even the howling gales blood-red.

The Immortal Clan coalition had just set foot in the Demon Realm when they beheld the northern sky blazing crimson as blood.

The Demon Realm was in its most perilous winter—

Eternal night shrouded the frozen plains, scoured by bone-eroding gales, with black ice shards blanketing the land like blades. Twisted demonic beasts lurked in the shadows, while Demon Clan commoners wailed amid the blizzard everywhere.

They had to traverse this deathly wasteland and reach the Extreme North Palace before the sacrifice concluded.

But how easy was that?

…

Xia Yunjie, gravely wounded from the previous great battle, had stayed behind in the Demon Bright to oversee reconstruction and soothe the populace.

The task of leading the assault on the Demon Realm fell to Immortal Emperor Shen Fengyu.

With the battle urgent and the Demon Clan’s sacrifice imminent, Shen Fengyu decisively split his forces into two—

He ordered High Priest Yu Changxin to lead Zhao Lixuan, Yu Rumu, and other Human Immortals to the long-abandoned Demon Clan Sacrificial Tower, using pure immortal arts to cleanse the demonic qi and reshape the terrain, paving the way for the main army. Shen Fengyu himself would lead Jiang Chen and the elite forces straight to the Extreme North Palace, vowing to destroy the altar before the evil god descended.

This deployment was beyond reproach.

Yet it meant Zhao Lixuan and Jiang Chen had to part ways.

As farewell loomed, Jiang Chen was visibly anxious.

Zhao Lixuan specially sought out Shen Fengyu’s tent for this, but the Immortal Emperor had sound reasoning.

“This time, I’m parting from my foster father as well. The Sacrificial Tower requires your innate immortal power and the High Priest’s utmost purity to effectively purge the demonic barriers, while the underground palace is guarded by Luo Ting, Tu Ji, and the Soul Suppressing Banner—only elite forces can breach it. It’s not intentional meddling in your affairs.”

Indeed, it was so.

Shen Fengyu couldn’t possibly play favorites at such a juncture.

Helpless, Zhao Lixuan could only comfort Jiang Chen as best he could before departure.

These past days, Jiang Chen had clearly been distracted.

Though he tried to maintain a calm facade, he often zoned out, needing multiple calls to snap back.

When questioned, Jiang Chen strained to respond but struggled even to utter a few words.

Nights brought insomnia; he would cling to Zhao Lixuan’s waist like dank water weeds, his cold, damp palms clutching like a drowning man, as if loosening even slightly would plunge him into the abyss.

Holding him close, Zhao Lixuan could clearly hear the muffled thuds from his chest—like a trapped beast battering its cage, pounding with raw unease.

He could only stroke Jiang Chen’s back again and again, gradually soothing the frantic rhythm to calm.

This fragile dependence made Zhao Lixuan afraid to dwell too deeply—how had he endured the past twenty years like this?

On their parting night, the moonlight hung unusually hazy.

Zhao Lixuan lightly kissed Jiang Chen’s cool forehead: “Little Jiang, the Sacrificial Tower demands my core immortal power… There’s truly no other way; it’s not leaving you alone on purpose.”

“But I swear to you.”

“Once purification is done, I’ll come find you immediately—no delays. I promise, alright?”

“At most three to five days, and we’ll meet again.”

Seeing Jiang Chen’s lashes tremble faintly, he softened his voice further, coaxing meticulously:

“Count the stars rising three to five times, and I’ll be back. I’ll have Senior Yu watching over me, Rumu’s miraculous healing hands, Chu Immortal Lord’s sharp wits and thoroughness, and Sister Ziyuan arriving soon—no mishaps.”

“You’re the one facing Demon Sovereign Tu Ji and all those sinister artifacts head-on; be exceedingly cautious. If you dare show up wounded…”

The unspoken words dissolved into a sigh.

Under the pale moonlight, he cradled Jiang Chen’s pale, haggard face, gazing into those deep, shadowed eyes.

“Little Sweet Ginger.”

He had many more comforting words in mind, yet he knew this battle’s peril all too well. No matter how his heart ached for Jiang Chen, he couldn’t indulge this dependence now.

“This war concerns the survival of the Three Realms. As Sword-Holding Immortal Venerable, you’re the pillar for countless Demon Immortals. I know you can bear it, right?”

As he spoke, his finger twirled lightly in the air.

The Nine Heavens Immortal Sash, infused with his vital immortal essence, tied around Jiang Chen’s wrist. The silken fabric, alive with spirit, coiled around like an affectionate little white snake.

“Take it—consider it me by your side these few days.”