Estranged

“Is there a third option?”

Hearing such a question, the princess smiled lightly.

“In your heart, no matter which disciple, be it Zhou Keyi or Yun Weisi, none of them really matter, right?”

Changming smiled as well: “I don’t like other people leading me by my nose. Even if I hear your answer, I probably won’t believe it, so choosing either one is pointless.”

The princess said: “Then, what do you want to ask?”

Changming: “Why are you sure that the Wanjian Immortal Clan is cooperating with you wholeheartedly, and won’t betray you?”

It seemed that the princess had not anticipated this question, so she fell silent for some time.

“I can’t answer this question. You can only find the truth yourself.”

Changming: “Is the master of the Wanjian Immortal Clan, Jiang Li, already possessed?”

The princess: “No. I’ve met him. He is inconceivably wise, no one can see through his thoughts completely. It’s a pity you’re always popping up as he is putting his plans into action. Otherwise, we would have already succeeded.”

Changming shook his head: “It’s not true. If we’re talking about someone with inconceivable wisdom, Jiang Li’s shifu, Lamei, was way better.”

From ancient times, every cultivator sought eternal youth, and a way to ascension. Unfortunately, in the end, few of them managed to break through the barrier between life and death. When it came to more recent times, only this one person, Lamei, had come closest to ascension. The Wanjian Immortal Clan managed to become a first-rate sect so quickly only because it had Lamei.

“Him? I’ve heard about him.”

The princess gasped. She seemed surprised, or, perhaps, faced with a delicate question; it was hard to tell for sure.

Changming had wanted to get a clue from her expression, but, unfortunately, he had failed.

The real cultivation power of the princess was higher than that of any demon Changming had encountered so far. Surely, she was of high rank as well.

And, naturally, she was not easy to deal with.

Changming said: “The difference between humans and demons is only in their way of life. They wouldn’t harm others without benefiting themselves.”

The princess nodded: “That is certainly the case.”

Changming: “Cooperating with you, they’ll eventually create a world with no distinction between humans and demons, with all kinds of monsters mixed in. What will Jiang Li and the Wanjian Immortal Clan gain from it?”

The position of the Wanjian Immortal Clan in the Human World was already prominent enough, and everyone had to bow their head respectfully in front of them. Jiang Li did not have to do such a thing to obtain fame and fortune. If he was seeking immortality, Jiang Li should have simply followed the cultivation instructions left by Immortal Lamei. Then, one day, he would eventually get to a point where his efforts would come to fruition. But, in spite of this, he wanted to collude with demons, and started weaving a hidden formation several decades ago, so profound that no one could figure it out.

“It’s a second question, and I’ve already answered one. You’re playing against the rules.”

As the princess was speaking, she took half a step towards him.

There was only a short distance between the two of them, but it seemed like numerous mountains and rivers separated them. Black lotuses were growing thickly under her feet, but the princess could not get close to Changming at all.

Originally, this place was a trap set up by her. However, she had not foreseen that Changming would use the duration of their conversation to play a trick on her.

The princess was astonished: “Jiang Li told me you’re an opponent I shouldn’t underestimate, but I didn’t believe him. Now, I partially do.”

Her tone was not angry, but rather appreciative, as if Changming matching her in strength was only a cause for celebration.

All other people, be it Feng Suhuai, Kuhe, the empress dowager of Luo, or the ambassadors from You, did not deserve her attention.

To someone standing on a peak, other people resembled mole crickets and ants.

A short time ago, the princess thought Changming had barely climbed halfway up that mountain, but now she was actually looking at him seriously.

The princess waved her sleeves, soundlessly blotting out the sky with black fire, as if binding it with everlasting shackles of affection.

But these gentle and noiseless black flames could devour anything, altering and ruining every single thing.

The abilities of demons were incomparably magnificent.

In their eyes, humans were not creatures requiring protection, but refreshing prey.

If they cared deeply about their prey, it was only to make the hunting process more exciting. They would wait until their victim came near their mouth, before finally enjoying the meal. Such was their nature as hunters.

When the princess realized she would not be able to break through the barrier Changming had raised, she did not feel frustrated at all. Conversely, she was even more interested.

If the prey rose up in resistance, the hunt would definitely become more challenging and amusing.

This place seemed like an independent realm cut off from the real world.

She could see Changming, and Changming could see her as well.

Except for them, there was no one.

But she could not get near Changming from the beginning. No matter what technique she used to teleport away, she was trapped in one place.

Contrary to her expectations, he managed to set up a formation in her realm in no time.

“How did you do this?” she asked.

“While we were talking nonsense.” Changming answered.

When the princess gave him that choice, he realised that she was not going to kill him.

Even though it appeared as if she was threatening him, if she really wanted to take his life, she would have attacked him without saying much.

Her not planning to kill him seemed interesting to Changming. Why was she so sure she had everything under control?

The black fire was burning up the formless barrier, spreading towards Changming little by little. The flames started licking the ground around him, coming closer or scattering away stealthily, making their victim lower his guard.

But the princess had noticed that her enemy was not relaxed at all. His barrier seemed flawless like seamless heavenly clothes, and she could not see a single opening for a while.

Since she could not see it…

She smiled faintly, and raised her sleeves!

The darkness all around them suddenly evaporated, and the sky reappeared, illuminating the surroundings. Fire fell down from above their heads, turning into fireballs in the air and smashing into the earth, creating one pit after another. Everyone in the Imperial Palace of Luo was screaming out of fear and fleeing in disorder. The garden that used to be exquisite had turned into a sea of flames in an instant!

At the same time, Changming heard the sound of the princess’ voice near his ears.

“At first, I only wanted to kill you, but you forced me to kill them as well. Jiufang Changming, you wanted to save them, but became their murderer in the end, how can you be calm now?”

Changming did not care about psychological attacks.

“Is the princess saying these words because she has forgotten about the Basin of Plenty made of human bones in the Celestial Library Pagoda?”

Her plan was laid out with a single pertinent remark, but she laughed pleasantly, like a ringing bell. She did not say anything, but the fire falling from the sky continued burning people and things around Changming.

The sea of flames was blazing brightly, forcing Changming into an encirclement. Anguished wails and shrill cries rang out unceasingly.

But Changming noticed that her sky-fire could not fall onto the ground outside the Imperial Palace.

Which meant that although the princess was strong, she probably had not completely merged with this body yet.

Her right eye was shedding tears all the time, brimming with lamentations and sorrow, while her left eye was devoid of emotions, as if the most unfeeling, stoniest heart on earth was hidden within.

Changming unhurriedly gestured with his fingers, ordering his sword to move.

Seeing his actions, the princess smiled broadly, and said in a sweet tone of voice: “I don’t want to kill you, why struggle? You seem composed, but you are actually like an arrow, slowing down due to the long distance it has flown. Trying to hold on painstakingly is worse than letting everything go. Come with me. I admire you a lot, so I’ll definitely treat you well.”

She really did not want to kill Changming, because his resolute mind and high cultivation base alone could be refined into a unique Soul Gathering Pearl. She would even feel sad giving such a Soul Gathering Pearl to Jiang Li’s formation, and wanted to wear it as a necklace. Demons were immensely fond of such things.

They were eerie and monstrous, making people shiver without feeling cold.

Suddenly, there was a burst of brilliant rays of light in front of Changming!

The Sifei Sword hung in the air, split into three, and flew forward swiftly, following his gesture.

The princess started moving as well.

The black flames were hurled at the sword glow. White and black were intertwined, and for a short period of time, no one could guess the winner.

But the princess had already noticed a gap in Changming’s defense!

The one standing in front of her and controlling the sword’s movements was a paper puppet, while the real Jiufang Changming was hiding behind it, to the right side!

She smiled internally. The fire rushed at the puppet, as she pretended to fall into the trap, but she was actually surrounding the real Jiufang Changming secretly.

In the moment of a deadly peril, one only has an instance to make the right choice from a myriad of options.

In the end, she did not take Changming too seriously.

Maybe, fifty years ago this man could fight her, but now he could only rely on the Art of Conferring Spirit to draw out this fight.

A frosty glow suddenly flew towards her back from behind!

Chunzhao’s sword glow was glittering especially blindingly amidst the dark flames, and no kind of spiritual barrier could stop it.

It was Yun Hai.

The black fire was split into half, and forced to crawl to the sides.

The princess squinted. Her figure split, and then disappeared.

The Chunzhao Sword pierced the air, and the black flames used this opportunity to rise up and bind the sword.

One rising, and the other falling; everything changed in a moment.

When the flames started falling down from the sky, Kuhe and others set up a barrier of spiritual powers immediately, securing the empress dowager, the emperor and the others in a safe place.

The empress dowager paled, and not just because she was frightened.

She thought that this fire from the sky, resulting in a disaster like this, would be viewed as an omen by others, and some traitors would raise a rebellion.

Fortunately, King Hui had already revealed his true colors today, and was quickly subdued—otherwise, she would have had to deal with another calamity in a few days.

Kuhe, Xie Chunxi and the rest of them did not seem much less relaxed than she was.

They were waiting for the end of the battle between Changming and the Zhaoyue princess.

Luckily, she concentrated her attention mostly on Changming, so they had a chance to rest for a moment.

But right now, both of them could not be seen.

Of course, the princess had not actually disappeared. The black flames were her, and she was the black flames; they had blended together.

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The Sifei Sword could not find its target, and its blade was trembling slightly, as if it was a bit nervous.

It was waiting for an order from its owner.

But its owner seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and even his breath could not be detected.

The black fire was getting more ferocious, and the sword qi was flourishing more and more vigorously; they were on the verge of breaking out.

Suddenly, a drop fell onto the surface of the dark liquid, covering it with layers of ripples.

That droplet had not been water, but blood. Changming’s blood.

Changming had already been wounded before the battle, and now he could not hide it anymore.

Like a wild beast smelling blood, the black flames dashed towards him from every direction, following the ripples. The black flames had formed a human figure, encircling the space and swallowing it little by little.

Half of the princess’s body had appeared from the black fire. Smiling faintly, she blocked the Sifei Sword and the Chunzhao Sword coming from two sides simultaneously.

While the flames on her palms were right in front of the points of the swords, the pair of weapons could not move forward at all.

At this moment, the black fire that had wrapped itself around a human suddenly combusted. It revolted against its owner and now threw itself at the princess!

The princess flinched internally, and diverted her attention to bringing the black fire under control. The two swords broke through her barrier at once, and swept towards her!

Kuhe thought, I’m afraid that even if shixiong Buku was here today, it would have been difficult to handle this nevertheless.

Who would have thought this Zhaoyue princess, who had appeared to be so delicate, would be the main culprit.

The sky-fire had already stopped, which meant that the princess was already unable to attend to other things, so she would not have an opportunity to attack them for the time being. But, raising his head, Kuhe saw the sky burning with red clouds everywhere. This redness was not the orange shades of sunset at all, but rather the maroon color of blood, as if a bloody rain could start falling from the sky at any minute.

There was a foul wind blowing through the air, making everybody feel uneasy.

Several threads of black flames swept in front of them, transforming and gathering into lumps. Xie Chunxi and the others hurried to take up defensive positions, shielding the empress dowager, Song Nanyan and the others behind them.

The black flames gradually took the shape of a dark cloud in the middle of the garden. The cloud quickly expanded, turning into a vortex.

Kuhe could almost feel the force of attraction pulling everything around towards the vortex, as if it wanted to absorb them all. He quickly placed his cane in front of his body, ready to protect them.

At this moment, a hand reached out of the vortex.

It was white and thin, but strong and obviously not a woman’s hand.

Changming came out of the vortex, and then stretched his arm back and pulled another person from it.

Unexpectedly, it was the Zhaoyue princess.

The princess was thrown to the ground, breathing faintly, and was no longer as pretty and flirtatious as before.

The last to appear was Yun Hai.

He turned back, waved his hand, and the vortex disappeared.

Both Changming and Yun Hai did not look too good. Changming’s complexion seemed to be a bit darker, with traces of blood on the corners of his mouth. He was most likely wounded.

But the Zhaoyue princess was so strong that Kuhe thought that if it had been him instead of Changming, he would not have been merely wounded—even saving his life would have been hard.

Yue Chengbo was very impetuous. He took a step forward at once, intending to subdue the Zhaoyue princess, but was stopped by Changming.

“Return the emperor’s life soul,” Changming said.

Everyone was taken aback.

The Zhaoyue princess laughed quietly, remaining silent. She raised her head. The black fire was surging in her left eye, but her body was sealed by spiritual powers, so she was struggling to get free and strike back.

Changming did not repeat his request. He raised his arm directly, and pierced her right eye.

Everyone heard a terrified scream. White light followed Changming’s hand. Two rays of light, one pale and one dark, were crumpled up in his palm, so intertwined it was hard to tell them apart.

Changming frowned.

The empress dowager stepped forward, trembling with fear.

“Is it my son’s life soul?”

“Not only his,” Changming said.

The empress dowager did not understand him, but Kuhe completed Changming’s words: “There’s also the Zhaoyue princess’ life soul.”

The life soul of the Son of Heaven had spent too much time inside the Zhaoyue princess, so their souls had merged into a single entity that could not be separated anymore. Just now, Changming had used the moment of the demon’s weakness to forcibly take the emperor’s soul away, bringing out the souls of the real Zhaoyue princess along with it.

Kuhe was afraid the empress dowager might misunderstand, so he explained: “Perhaps, if we want to return His Majesty’s souls right now, we have to let the Zhaoyue princess’ souls enter His Majesty’s body.”

“Wouldn’t that be…” the empress dowager was dumbstruck. She wanted to say, male and female sharing one body, but that felt wrong.

Male and female sharing one body: fig. hermaphroditism, bisexuality

The emperor’s body was, after all, just a body. If the emperor’s and the Zhaoyue princess’ souls entered it simultaneously, they would have to share this one body.

The empress dowager had heard mysterious legends about souls reincarnating in a dead person, souls leaving the body, and so on, but she had never thought that the emperor would have to go through such an experience. It was even more bizarre than the story about reincarnating in a dead body. With two souls sharing one body, would that person still be the emperor himself?

Just when Changming was going to pass the lump of souls to Kuhe, the Zhaoyue princess suddenly got up and transformed.

The balck flames ignited once again, engulfing her body and breaking the forces constraining her spiritual powers. Everybody was caught off guard, and had to take a few steps back.

The princess turned into black flames, and dispersed right in front of them all, leaving behind only a single sentence:

“Jiufang Changming, see you again soon.”

Everyone still had not returned to their senses.

Changming and Yun Hai looked at each other, saying nothing.

Probably Kuhe’s and the others’ cultivation levels were not enough to sense it, but, during the fight against the princess, Changming realized that her cultivation base resembled a bottomless abyss. No matter how deep he probed it, he could not find its limit.

If they were not fighting against her together now, and it was only one of them, even if it had been Changming at the peak of his strength fifty years ago, he still could not have been sure of his victory.

If the situation was different, he would have been happy to have found such an unpredictable and powerful opponent. But he did not enjoy being controlled and used as a chess piece.

Doing something out of your own will and being led to do this are two entirely different matters.

The imperial garden was burning after the fire shower. Although it had mostly been extinguished, they could see withered flowers and broken branches everywhere. Wounded palace maidens were walking past feebly. This utter chaos was hard to describe in a few words.

The empress dowager ordered people to arrest the You ambassadors and King Hui and take them away for now, and also sent people to assess the situation outside the palace. If the fire from the sky had damaged the city somewhere, she intended to send people to provide disaster relief and put out fires.

At the same time, the unconscious emperor was brought over. Kuhe lowered his hands, and the shining souls landed on the emperor’s head, gradually entering his body.

In a short time, the emperor opened his eyes slowly.

Everyone held their breath, watching him.

“Is there a third option?”

Hearing such a question, the princess smiled lightly.

“In your heart, no matter which disciple, be it Zhou Keyi or Yun Weisi, none of them really matter, right?”

Changming smiled as well: “I don’t like other people leading me by my nose. Even if I hear your answer, I probably won’t believe it, so choosing either one is pointless.”

The princess said: “Then, what do you want to ask?”

Changming: “Why are you sure that the Wanjian Immortal Clan is cooperating with you wholeheartedly, and won’t betray you?”

It seemed that the princess had not anticipated this question, so she fell silent for some time.

“I can’t answer this question. You can only find the truth yourself.”

Changming: “Is the master of the Wanjian Immortal Clan, Jiang Li, already possessed?”

The princess: “No. I’ve met him. He is inconceivably wise, no one can see through his thoughts completely. It’s a pity you’re always popping up as he is putting his plans into action. Otherwise, we would have already succeeded.”

Changming shook his head: “It’s not true. If we’re talking about someone with inconceivable wisdom, Jiang Li’s shifu, Lamei, was way better.”

From ancient times, every cultivator sought eternal youth, and a way to ascension. Unfortunately, in the end, few of them managed to break through the barrier between life and death. When it came to more recent times, only this one person, Lamei, had come closest to ascension. The Wanjian Immortal Clan managed to become a first-rate sect so quickly only because it had Lamei.

“Him? I’ve heard about him.”

The princess gasped. She seemed surprised, or, perhaps, faced with a delicate question; it was hard to tell for sure.

Changming had wanted to get a clue from her expression, but, unfortunately, he had failed.

The real cultivation power of the princess was higher than that of any demon Changming had encountered so far. Surely, she was of high rank as well.

And, naturally, she was not easy to deal with.

Changming said: “The difference between humans and demons is only in their way of life. They wouldn’t harm others without benefiting themselves.”

The princess nodded: “That is certainly the case.”

Changming: “Cooperating with you, they’ll eventually create a world with no distinction between humans and demons, with all kinds of monsters mixed in. What will Jiang Li and the Wanjian Immortal Clan gain from it?”

The position of the Wanjian Immortal Clan in the Human World was already prominent enough, and everyone had to bow their head respectfully in front of them. Jiang Li did not have to do such a thing to obtain fame and fortune. If he was seeking immortality, Jiang Li should have simply followed the cultivation instructions left by Immortal Lamei. Then, one day, he would eventually get to a point where his efforts would come to fruition. But, in spite of this, he wanted to collude with demons, and started weaving a hidden formation several decades ago, so profound that no one could figure it out.

“It’s a second question, and I’ve already answered one. You’re playing against the rules.”

As the princess was speaking, she took half a step towards him.

There was only a short distance between the two of them, but it seemed like numerous mountains and rivers separated them. Black lotuses were growing thickly under her feet, but the princess could not get close to Changming at all.

Originally, this place was a trap set up by her. However, she had not foreseen that Changming would use the duration of their conversation to play a trick on her.

The princess was astonished: “Jiang Li told me you’re an opponent I shouldn’t underestimate, but I didn’t believe him. Now, I partially do.”

Her tone was not angry, but rather appreciative, as if Changming matching her in strength was only a cause for celebration.

All other people, be it Feng Suhuai, Kuhe, the empress dowager of Luo, or the ambassadors from You, did not deserve her attention.

To someone standing on a peak, other people resembled mole crickets and ants.

A short time ago, the princess thought Changming had barely climbed halfway up that mountain, but now she was actually looking at him seriously.

The princess waved her sleeves, soundlessly blotting out the sky with black fire, as if binding it with everlasting shackles of affection.

But these gentle and noiseless black flames could devour anything, altering and ruining every single thing.

The abilities of demons were incomparably magnificent.

In their eyes, humans were not creatures requiring protection, but refreshing prey.

If they cared deeply about their prey, it was only to make the hunting process more exciting. They would wait until their victim came near their mouth, before finally enjoying the meal. Such was their nature as hunters.

When the princess realized she would not be able to break through the barrier Changming had raised, she did not feel frustrated at all. Conversely, she was even more interested.

If the prey rose up in resistance, the hunt would definitely become more challenging and amusing.

This place seemed like an independent realm cut off from the real world.

She could see Changming, and Changming could see her as well.

Except for them, there was no one.

But she could not get near Changming from the beginning. No matter what technique she used to teleport away, she was trapped in one place.

Contrary to her expectations, he managed to set up a formation in her realm in no time.

“How did you do this?” she asked.

“While we were talking nonsense.” Changming answered.

When the princess gave him that choice, he realised that she was not going to kill him.

Even though it appeared as if she was threatening him, if she really wanted to take his life, she would have attacked him without saying much.

Her not planning to kill him seemed interesting to Changming. Why was she so sure she had everything under control?

The black fire was burning up the formless barrier, spreading towards Changming little by little. The flames started licking the ground around him, coming closer or scattering away stealthily, making their victim lower his guard.

But the princess had noticed that her enemy was not relaxed at all. His barrier seemed flawless like seamless heavenly clothes, and she could not see a single opening for a while.

Since she could not see it…

She smiled faintly, and raised her sleeves!

The darkness all around them suddenly evaporated, and the sky reappeared, illuminating the surroundings. Fire fell down from above their heads, turning into fireballs in the air and smashing into the earth, creating one pit after another. Everyone in the Imperial Palace of Luo was screaming out of fear and fleeing in disorder. The garden that used to be exquisite had turned into a sea of flames in an instant!

At the same time, Changming heard the sound of the princess’ voice near his ears.

“At first, I only wanted to kill you, but you forced me to kill them as well. Jiufang Changming, you wanted to save them, but became their murderer in the end, how can you be calm now?”

Changming did not care about psychological attacks.

“Is the princess saying these words because she has forgotten about the Basin of Plenty made of human bones in the Celestial Library Pagoda?”

Her plan was laid out with a single pertinent remark, but she laughed pleasantly, like a ringing bell. She did not say anything, but the fire falling from the sky continued burning people and things around Changming.

The sea of flames was blazing brightly, forcing Changming into an encirclement. Anguished wails and shrill cries rang out unceasingly.

But Changming noticed that her sky-fire could not fall onto the ground outside the Imperial Palace.

Which meant that although the princess was strong, she probably had not completely merged with this body yet.

Her right eye was shedding tears all the time, brimming with lamentations and sorrow, while her left eye was devoid of emotions, as if the most unfeeling, stoniest heart on earth was hidden within.

Changming unhurriedly gestured with his fingers, ordering his sword to move.

Seeing his actions, the princess smiled broadly, and said in a sweet tone of voice: “I don’t want to kill you, why struggle? You seem composed, but you are actually like an arrow, slowing down due to the long distance it has flown. Trying to hold on painstakingly is worse than letting everything go. Come with me. I admire you a lot, so I’ll definitely treat you well.”

She really did not want to kill Changming, because his resolute mind and high cultivation base alone could be refined into a unique Soul Gathering Pearl. She would even feel sad giving such a Soul Gathering Pearl to Jiang Li’s formation, and wanted to wear it as a necklace. Demons were immensely fond of such things.

They were eerie and monstrous, making people shiver without feeling cold.

Suddenly, there was a burst of brilliant rays of light in front of Changming!

The Sifei Sword hung in the air, split into three, and flew forward swiftly, following his gesture.

The princess started moving as well.

The black flames were hurled at the sword glow. White and black were intertwined, and for a short period of time, no one could guess the winner.

But the princess had already noticed a gap in Changming’s defense!

The one standing in front of her and controlling the sword’s movements was a paper puppet, while the real Jiufang Changming was hiding behind it, to the right side!

She smiled internally. The fire rushed at the puppet, as she pretended to fall into the trap, but she was actually surrounding the real Jiufang Changming secretly.

In the moment of a deadly peril, one only has an instance to make the right choice from a myriad of options.

In the end, she did not take Changming too seriously.

Maybe, fifty years ago this man could fight her, but now he could only rely on the Art of Conferring Spirit to draw out this fight.

A frosty glow suddenly flew towards her back from behind!

Chunzhao’s sword glow was glittering especially blindingly amidst the dark flames, and no kind of spiritual barrier could stop it.

It was Yun Hai.

The black fire was split into half, and forced to crawl to the sides.

The princess squinted. Her figure split, and then disappeared.

The Chunzhao Sword pierced the air, and the black flames used this opportunity to rise up and bind the sword.

One rising, and the other falling; everything changed in a moment.

When the flames started falling down from the sky, Kuhe and others set up a barrier of spiritual powers immediately, securing the empress dowager, the emperor and the others in a safe place.

The empress dowager paled, and not just because she was frightened.

She thought that this fire from the sky, resulting in a disaster like this, would be viewed as an omen by others, and some traitors would raise a rebellion.

Fortunately, King Hui had already revealed his true colors today, and was quickly subdued—otherwise, she would have had to deal with another calamity in a few days.

Kuhe, Xie Chunxi and the rest of them did not seem much less relaxed than she was.

They were waiting for the end of the battle between Changming and the Zhaoyue princess.

Luckily, she concentrated her attention mostly on Changming, so they had a chance to rest for a moment.

But right now, both of them could not be seen.

Of course, the princess had not actually disappeared. The black flames were her, and she was the black flames; they had blended together.

Visit wuxiax[.]com for extra chapters.

The Sifei Sword could not find its target, and its blade was trembling slightly, as if it was a bit nervous.

It was waiting for an order from its owner.

But its owner seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and even his breath could not be detected.

The black fire was getting more ferocious, and the sword qi was flourishing more and more vigorously; they were on the verge of breaking out.

Suddenly, a drop fell onto the surface of the dark liquid, covering it with layers of ripples.

That droplet had not been water, but blood. Changming’s blood.

Changming had already been wounded before the battle, and now he could not hide it anymore.

Like a wild beast smelling blood, the black flames dashed towards him from every direction, following the ripples. The black flames had formed a human figure, encircling the space and swallowing it little by little.

Half of the princess’s body had appeared from the black fire. Smiling faintly, she blocked the Sifei Sword and the Chunzhao Sword coming from two sides simultaneously.

While the flames on her palms were right in front of the points of the swords, the pair of weapons could not move forward at all.

At this moment, the black fire that had wrapped itself around a human suddenly combusted. It revolted against its owner and now threw itself at the princess!

The princess flinched internally, and diverted her attention to bringing the black fire under control. The two swords broke through her barrier at once, and swept towards her!

Kuhe thought, I’m afraid that even if shixiong Buku was here today, it would have been difficult to handle this nevertheless.

Who would have thought this Zhaoyue princess, who had appeared to be so delicate, would be the main culprit.

The sky-fire had already stopped, which meant that the princess was already unable to attend to other things, so she would not have an opportunity to attack them for the time being. But, raising his head, Kuhe saw the sky burning with red clouds everywhere. This redness was not the orange shades of sunset at all, but rather the maroon color of blood, as if a bloody rain could start falling from the sky at any minute.

There was a foul wind blowing through the air, making everybody feel uneasy.

Several threads of black flames swept in front of them, transforming and gathering into lumps. Xie Chunxi and the others hurried to take up defensive positions, shielding the empress dowager, Song Nanyan and the others behind them.

The black flames gradually took the shape of a dark cloud in the middle of the garden. The cloud quickly expanded, turning into a vortex.

Kuhe could almost feel the force of attraction pulling everything around towards the vortex, as if it wanted to absorb them all. He quickly placed his cane in front of his body, ready to protect them.

At this moment, a hand reached out of the vortex.

It was white and thin, but strong and obviously not a woman’s hand.

Changming came out of the vortex, and then stretched his arm back and pulled another person from it.

Unexpectedly, it was the Zhaoyue princess.

The princess was thrown to the ground, breathing faintly, and was no longer as pretty and flirtatious as before.

The last to appear was Yun Hai.

He turned back, waved his hand, and the vortex disappeared.

Both Changming and Yun Hai did not look too good. Changming’s complexion seemed to be a bit darker, with traces of blood on the corners of his mouth. He was most likely wounded.

But the Zhaoyue princess was so strong that Kuhe thought that if it had been him instead of Changming, he would not have been merely wounded—even saving his life would have been hard.

Yue Chengbo was very impetuous. He took a step forward at once, intending to subdue the Zhaoyue princess, but was stopped by Changming.

“Return the emperor’s life soul,” Changming said.

Everyone was taken aback.

The Zhaoyue princess laughed quietly, remaining silent. She raised her head. The black fire was surging in her left eye, but her body was sealed by spiritual powers, so she was struggling to get free and strike back.

Changming did not repeat his request. He raised his arm directly, and pierced her right eye.

Everyone heard a terrified scream. White light followed Changming’s hand. Two rays of light, one pale and one dark, were crumpled up in his palm, so intertwined it was hard to tell them apart.

Changming frowned.

The empress dowager stepped forward, trembling with fear.

“Is it my son’s life soul?”

“Not only his,” Changming said.

The empress dowager did not understand him, but Kuhe completed Changming’s words: “There’s also the Zhaoyue princess’ life soul.”

The life soul of the Son of Heaven had spent too much time inside the Zhaoyue princess, so their souls had merged into a single entity that could not be separated anymore. Just now, Changming had used the moment of the demon’s weakness to forcibly take the emperor’s soul away, bringing out the souls of the real Zhaoyue princess along with it.

Kuhe was afraid the empress dowager might misunderstand, so he explained: “Perhaps, if we want to return His Majesty’s souls right now, we have to let the Zhaoyue princess’ souls enter His Majesty’s body.”

“Wouldn’t that be…” the empress dowager was dumbstruck. She wanted to say, male and female sharing one body, but that felt wrong.

Male and female sharing one body: fig. hermaphroditism, bisexuality

The emperor’s body was, after all, just a body. If the emperor’s and the Zhaoyue princess’ souls entered it simultaneously, they would have to share this one body.

The empress dowager had heard mysterious legends about souls reincarnating in a dead person, souls leaving the body, and so on, but she had never thought that the emperor would have to go through such an experience. It was even more bizarre than the story about reincarnating in a dead body. With two souls sharing one body, would that person still be the emperor himself?

Just when Changming was going to pass the lump of souls to Kuhe, the Zhaoyue princess suddenly got up and transformed.

The balck flames ignited once again, engulfing her body and breaking the forces constraining her spiritual powers. Everybody was caught off guard, and had to take a few steps back.

The princess turned into black flames, and dispersed right in front of them all, leaving behind only a single sentence:

“Jiufang Changming, see you again soon.”

Everyone still had not returned to their senses.

Changming and Yun Hai looked at each other, saying nothing.

Probably Kuhe’s and the others’ cultivation levels were not enough to sense it, but, during the fight against the princess, Changming realized that her cultivation base resembled a bottomless abyss. No matter how deep he probed it, he could not find its limit.

If they were not fighting against her together now, and it was only one of them, even if it had been Changming at the peak of his strength fifty years ago, he still could not have been sure of his victory.

If the situation was different, he would have been happy to have found such an unpredictable and powerful opponent. But he did not enjoy being controlled and used as a chess piece.

Doing something out of your own will and being led to do this are two entirely different matters.

The imperial garden was burning after the fire shower. Although it had mostly been extinguished, they could see withered flowers and broken branches everywhere. Wounded palace maidens were walking past feebly. This utter chaos was hard to describe in a few words.

The empress dowager ordered people to arrest the You ambassadors and King Hui and take them away for now, and also sent people to assess the situation outside the palace. If the fire from the sky had damaged the city somewhere, she intended to send people to provide disaster relief and put out fires.

At the same time, the unconscious emperor was brought over. Kuhe lowered his hands, and the shining souls landed on the emperor’s head, gradually entering his body.

In a short time, the emperor opened his eyes slowly.

Everyone held their breath, watching him.