Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Beneath my feet, the countless branches of the peach tree sprouted wildly, their tendrils blooming like fireworks in a futile attempt to catch his retreating figure.

But it was too late.

He had sacrificed his Primordial Spirit Heart, which burned as hot as the sun-enough to cleanse all filth and perish together with the Demonic Thought.

Seeing Cangyu’s resolve, even the Demonic Thought grew afraid.

It transformed into a mass of mangled flesh, writhing on the ground as it pleaded with Cangyu, “Divine Lord, I beg of you… I beg of you to give the Monster Race a chance to live…”

Before it could finish, Cangyu’s gaze turned cold and stern, and his sword swept down.

The Demonic Thought, born from the collusion of the Demon Race and the Monster Race and fueled by the sacrifice of tens of thousands of souls, met its end.

Cangyu, the peerless genius of the Golden Crow Clan and the War God born to defend the order of the Ninth Heaven.

At this moment, both were dying for the future of their respective peoples.

What a similar fate.

I stood frozen in place, tears falling from my eyes in a daze.

With a single strike of his sword and his Primordial Spirit, he crushed the Demonic Thought. Golden Divine Blood flowed from his hollow chest. He forced his body to remain upright, swaying as he sat down against the Boundary Stele.

He looked at me, seemingly wanting to say something more.

But there was no time.

His physical body transformed into a heartless statue, leaning against the Boundary Stele of the Ninth Heaven. From now on, he would never give me a cold face again, nor would he hurt me in the slightest.

I slumped to the ground, staring blankly.

How could someone be so unreasonable?

I hadn’t even asked him how he spent those five hundred years. I hadn’t even settled the score for the wrong he did me by mistaking my identity that day. How could he just die like this?

The Miasma of the Demonic Thought dissipated, followed by a brief, sudden rain. The Golden Crow drove the Sun Chariot, and once again, sunlight flooded the world.

It was as if no one had ever been here, and no one had ever died.

This was the most massive rebellion in a thousand years. From now on, the demons and monsters would be unable to stir up any more trouble. The death of one Cangyu was of no great consequence; the Ninth Heaven could now rest easy.

Sihun said that when he found me, I was leaning against Cangyu’s Statue, lost in thought, unsure of what I was thinking.

“Why didn’t you help him?” I questioned him. “You clearly could have all stepped in…”

“Little Peach Blossom, you are too naive.” Hearing my question, Sihun actually smiled.

The Ice-blue Hairpin reflected a piercing light. His peach-blossom eyes were as deep as midnight. “This is the Ninth Heaven, a place that is unbearably cold at the top.”

“But he was guarding the Ninth Heaven! He was protecting you!”

“That was what he was supposed to do. The Ninth Heaven gave him status and honor.” Sihun stroked my cheek with some affection, that warm, spring-breeze smile still on his face. “Little Peach Blossom, if you bring the survival rules of mutual aid from the West of Weak Water to the Ninth Heaven, you will die a miserable death.”

At that time, I didn’t understand what Sihun meant by the Ninth Heaven being “unbearably cold.”

Later, I understood. The unwritten rule of the Ninth Heaven was for everyone to look out only for themselves and watch from the sidelines with cold eyes.

“Even if he died for you?” I stared at Sihun in a daze.

“Even if he died for us,” Sihun replied, his eyes filled with sincerity.

In that battle, the Demon Race colluded with the Monster Race, and Cangyu sacrificed his own heart, resulting in both sides suffering heavy losses.

Having lost his heart, he turned into a statue, guarding the Heavenly Realm’s Boundary Stele. He would never get angry again, nor would he look at me with a dark face.

That battle was extremely tragic; over half of the Immortals and Demons were killed or injured. The War God Cangyu sacrificed his Primordial Spirit Heart to utterly crush the Demon Race, but he also suffered a backlash, falling here. For a thousand years, no one knew if he was alive or dead.

Immortal Lord Siming said his Soul Lamp had not gone out; he was merely in a long sleep and needed someone to watch over him.

“Who are they kidding?” the Celestial Maiden ordered to guard Cangyu snorted coldly. “He’s clearly just a dead stone statue.”

Fortunately, those Celestial Maidens would sneak down to the mortal realm, allowing me to stay and guard him.

A thousand years have passed. I stopped liking him a long time ago.

I’m just unwilling to remain in his debt.

Half of my cultivation, the Monster King’s Inner Core, the misunderstanding between him and Choulu, and the emotions and memories stripped away during his Apotheosis.

I want to wait for him to wake up so I can return all of it to him.

“Choulu is engaged again, to Immortal Lord Siming.”

“Today is Fairy Choulu’s grand wedding. Do you want to give her some face, wake up, and go crash the wedding?”

“Choulu seems to be having a baby. Why don’t you place a reservation? In the future, you can call her ‘Mother.’ It would be a way to double the kinship.”

“Never mind, you can’t call her ‘Mother’ anymore. It’s a pair of boys.”

It didn’t matter whether I was gloating or being sarcastic.
Cangyu simply stood there, silent and unmoving.

This place was far from the Ninth Heaven Palace, exposed to the wind and sun. Here, the weather was not something the gods could control.

I had moved here, abandoning Fangfei Hall to live in the small Bamboo Hut beside him.

I chanted an incantation, and a ten-mile Peach Grove rose to surround him, ensuring he would never be lonely.

I also used my magic to stimulate one particular peach tree until it grew massive and lush, spreading a giant canopy over his head like a natural umbrella.

This way, even in torrential rain or under a scorching sun, not a single drop or ray would touch him.

I hummed a little tune as I returned to the Bamboo Hut. Tending to flowers, taking baths, and chatting with the statue when I had nothing better to do-it felt like I had entered retirement early.

To my surprise, it wasn’t long before two uninvited guests arrived at the Bamboo Hut.

I had slept in until the sun was high in the sky. When I went to the lake to fetch water, I saw two little brats trampling the peach tree, trying to climb onto Cangyu’s shoulders.

“Get down!” I barked.

The little brats ignored me completely.

“I said get down! You little monsters!”

Seeing that they wouldn’t listen, I angrily pinched a finger-sign and recited an incantation. The branches of the peach tree reached out and bound the two of them tight.

“Let me go! Do you even know who I am?” the boy shouted, kicking his legs in a fit of rage, only to find he couldn’t break free no matter how hard he struggled.

“Heh, and who might you be?” I looked at the powerless, fuming boy with a smirk. “Oh, I see. You’re just a little brat who can’t beat me.”

Perhaps I looked too much like a child-eating monster, because the younger one had already sat down on the ground and started crying from fright.

“You… you’re bullying the weak!” the boy cried out, his legs still kicking, on the verge of tears himself.

“I’m bullying the weak?”

“Yes! Mother says that bullying those weaker than yourself makes you a coward! A weakling!”

“Then what do you call bullying a peach tree? What do you call climbing on the statue of the War God Lord?”

My words left the boy speechless, and the younger one froze as well.

“My name is Xiong Yi, and my brother is Xiong Er!”

I knew the Immortal Realm usually fell for their act. Whenever they were caught playing pranks, the other immortals would just give a bitter smile and let them go once they heard their names.

I simply gave them an “Oh, really?” expression.

Seeing that I remained unfazed, the two grew frantic.

“Our father is Immortal Siming, and our mother is Fairy Choulu!”

These two were the notorious brats of the Immortal Realm. They ran rampant, relying on their parents’ reputations and their own young age to do whatever they pleased.

In my opinion, they shouldn’t be called Xiong Yi and Xiong Er. Xiong Da and Xiong Er-Big Bear and Second Bear-suited them much better.

“So? Xiong Da, aside from getting lucky in the reincarnation lottery, have you ever done anything worthy of your parents’ titles?”

Xiong Da’s arrogance deflated instantly.

“Xiong Er, do you think what your brother did was right?”

Xiong Er’s eyes welled up with tears again.

It seemed there was still hope for them; they weren’t completely rotten yet.

I sighed. I hadn’t expected I’d have to give them a lesson in ethics and stayed conduct.

I had the branches of the great peach tree coil into a long bench. The three of us sat upon it, and as I leaned against the statue of Cangyu, I began to tell them the story of the Great War between Immortals and Demons from a thousand years ago.

The afternoon breeze drifted from afar, rippling the nearby Immortal Pool and lifting my hair.

Occasionally, swallows chirped, and bees and butterflies danced through the air.

I grew a bit tired of talking and leaned my head gently against Cangyu.

Xiong Da and Xiong Er rested their chins in their hands, completely enthralled by the tale.

“Sister, Uncle Cangyu is really amazing,” Xiong Da said, his face full of admiration.

“Of course. He beat the Demon Lord so badly that the guy packed his bags overnight and bought a standing-room-only ticket to get out of there,” I said, my lips curling into a wide smile.

“But why would Uncle Cangyu be willing to turn into a statue? He can’t eat or move,” Xiong Er said, biting his finger, looking utterly perplexed.

“Because his heart is filled with the common people of the world,” I said, patting Xiong Da’s fuzzy head.

“But his heart is empty! There’s clearly nothing there!” Xiong Er tilted his head.

“It’s because it’s empty that it can hold anything at all,” I said, resting my chin in my hand. “You’ll understand when you grow up to be a great hero.”

“I get it! It’s like if Xiong Er is hungry, he can eat anything. But if he’s full, even the best food…” Xiong Er said, a look of sudden realization dawning on him.

“As if you ever stop eating!” Xiong Da rolled his eyes.

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The scene was incredibly heartwarming.

That is, until I saw Immortal Siming and Fairy Choulu approaching with dark, furious faces, charging straight toward us.