Chapter 719: I’ll Count to Three

Whoosh!

A mighty wind swept across the Far West, carrying a surge of yellow sand that resembled an invading sandstorm. In reality, this was caused by the earlier battle, which had been so intense that it shattered thousands of li of the surrounding land.

After confirming that Chu Liang had indeed returned to Mount Shu, the human cultivators, led by Venerable Wen Yuan, decided to let it go. It was unrealistic to think they could kill the remaining eighth-realm demon kings. While they could unleash their full power to wipe out all the lesser demons in sight, doing so would leave the demon kings free to act without restraint.

If the demon kings retaliated with destructive attacks on human cities, even the powerful human cultivators would find it difficult to manage.

Thus, after fighting to the point where the land of the Far West was left in ruins, the humans chose to retreat.

What remained was an even more desolate, blood-soaked wasteland. The Verdant Foxhills bore the worst of the devastation, with the villages Caiyi had spent centuries building now lying in ruins.

Made of strong materials, the Mountain Range of the Seven Kings was not destroyed. Even though the temple on top faced a fiery attack from Di Nufeng, it withstood the attack. After all, this was the place of worship for the demons and would not be so easily burnt to ashes.

However, Changfeng, who had been in the temple, was nowhere to be found.

Glancing at the surrounding Samadhi True Fire, it wasn’t hard to deduce that he had likely fallen at the hands of Di Nufeng from Mount Shu.

After performing a divination, the Great High Priest confirmed that Changfeng’s soul had been destroyed.

Another one of the few remaining powerful demon kings had fallen!

Such losses were unheard of in millennia.

The other demon kings turned their sharp gazes toward Caiyi.

"All dealings with the humans were led by the Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills," roared the Demon King of Mount Thunder. "Now that such a disaster has happened, you cannot shirk responsibility!"

"Has the Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills spent so much time among humans that you’ve taken their side now?" the Demon King of the Desolate Plains remarked coldly. "You couldn’t even keep track of a single disciple from the Mount Shu Sect. This failure is entirely your fault."

The Great High Priest didn’t say a word, but his gaze at Caiyi was equally full of disappointment.

Faced with the scolding from the demon kings, Caiyi remained silent. She simply stood up and said, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll return to my territory. Although everything has been destroyed, rebuilding will surely be easier than starting anew."

"Tch." The Demon King of the Abyss of Wrath sneered. "You still foolishly believe you can use human tools to defeat humans?"

"I think you’ve completely lost your mind," the Demon King of the Desolate Plains said loudly.

Caiyi turned away from the crowd without a word and flew straight back to her territory, the Verdant Foxhills. The home she had painstakingly built over the years had now been reduced to ruins, left in a state of desolation.

Yet, her expression remained calm. Standing atop a high mountain, she silently scanned the area with her divine sense, searching for any surviving members of the Verdant Foxhills demon clan.

Sensing her presence, the members of the Fox Clan and other demon clans that were in hiding slowly began to gather towards her. Before long, a group of demonic creatures had gathered before her.

At that moment, a streak of light descended from the distant sky.

The streak of light landed onto the hillside with a swoosh, revealing a figure in black Daoist robes.

It was Daoist Xuan Lu from Penglai Supreme Sect.

Having just experienced a fierce battle with human cultivators, all the demonic creatures harbored deep hostility toward humans. They glared at him with sharp, resentful gazes.

Only Caiyi remained calm. She raised a hand, gesturing for the demons to stand down and signaling them to let Daoist Xuan Lu approach.

Caiyi’s understanding of humans was enough to distinguish the clear divisions among their factions. She knew that Daoist Xuan Lu was not part of the group that had attacked the Far West earlier.

The enemy of her enemy could serve as an ally, even if that "ally" happened to be the main instigator of Changfeng’s death.

"Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills, greetings to you," Daoist Xuan Lu said with a polite smile. "It seems this place has just experienced a fierce battle. Are you alright?"

"Not too bad," Caiyi replied with a faint smile. "What brings you here, Daoist Xuan Lu?"

"You know me?" Daoist Xuan Lu asked, slightly surprised.

Among the prominent figures of Penglai, he was relatively inexperienced and not widely recognized. It seemed the Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills had a far deeper understanding of the humans and the sects of immortality cultivation than he had anticipated.

"Among the newly promoted Eminent Ones of the Penglai Supreme Sect, Daoist Cangsheng values you the most." Caiyi chuckled softly. "It’s only natural that your reputation precedes you."

"Not at all, not at all," Daoist Xuan Lu said quickly, waving his hands dismissively. He then added, "I’m here under the orders of our sect leader to discuss a matter with you and the other demon kings."

"Please, speak freely," Caiyi replied with remarkable generosity.

Daoist Xuan Lu said, "When you two took Chu Liang, the Demon King of the Great Marshlands was struck by the Curse of the Flowing Golden Immortal that my sect’s leader cast using the East Sea Chrono Wheel. By now, I am sure you are aware of the power of this curse. Apart from our sect leader himself, no one else can remove the curse to save the Demon King of the Great Marshlands."

Looking at Caiyi, Daoist Xua Lu continued, "We don’t know why you took Chu Liang, but surely he isn’t more important to your demon race than an eighth-realm demon king. Our sect leader proposes this: hand Chu Liang over to Penglai, and he will lift the curse on the Demon King of the Great Marshlands."

Caiyi gazed silently in the direction where the army of human cultivators had departed moments ago, remaining quiet for a long time.

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke, "Daoist Xuan Lu, if someone wanted to trade the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for your great-grandfather, would you agree?"

Daoist Xuan Lu was taken aback, unable to grasp her meaning. "My great-grandfather passed away long ago... and wasn’t the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda from Mount Shu lost centuries ago?"

"Exactly." Caiyi said with a sigh.

What’s the point of such a trade now...

This isn’t just being slow—it’s being so late it doesn’t even matter anymore.

By the time you want the fertilizer, it’s already grown crops in someone else’s field. It was far too late.

"But..." She shifted her gaze. "I am curious, though. What does your sect leader want with Chu Liang? Don’t tell me it’s something like avenging an illegitimate child. I’m not a three-year-old."

...

"I'll count to fucking three!"

"Oh, come on, don’t throw a tantrum."

"..."

In the Boundless Palace on Mount Shu, the Violet and Azure Twin Swords caused yet another commotion. When Venerable Wen Yuan returned, the two swords were brought here.

The conflict started because the male sword spirit had fought alongside Baize, which greatly displeased the female sword spirit.

She demanded that Venerable Wen Yuan evict the male sword spirit from Sword Sheath Peak and move him to Guardian Peak. From then on, Sword Sheath Peak would belong to her alone.

"Time to go our separate ways!" she said.

As Venerable Wen Yuan watched the two sword spirits quarrel, he felt this throbbing headache. Many legendary artifacts had spirits, but none of those artifact spirits were as lively as these two sword spirits of the Mount Shu Sect.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Each generation of Mount Shu Sect’s leaders had to take on the burden of mediating their never-ending marital squabbles.

At this moment, Chu Liang’s voice came from outside, requesting to see Venerable Wen Yuan.

"Chu Liang, come in quickly," Venerable Wen Yuan called out. "You get along with them. Say something and settle their arguments."

"Huh?"

Immediately, Chu Liang felt his head throb As well. He had just finished mediating a fight between the three young ones of Cloud Horizon Peak at the Silver Sword Peak. Why did he have to mediate an argument here too?

That earlier incident was entirely his fault. He had learned the hard way not to experiment casually with the Evil Heart Curse. But this matter had nothing to do with him!

Looking at the bickering Violet and Azure Twin Swords, Chu Liang could only try to explain, "Esteemed Senior Azure, there’s absolutely no possibility of Esteemed Senior Violet having an affair with Baize."

The female sword spirit raised an eyebrow. "An' how d'ya know, kid?"[1]

Chu Liang fell silent for a moment.

How exactly does one prove that a sword and a celestial beast can’t have an affair? Is this really so difficult?

After some thought, he spoke earnestly, "Because I know that Baize doesn’t have much life force left. Everything she does is solely for the protection of the Mount Shu Sect. Esteemed Senior Azure, in the face of such a formidable enemy, she—an aging mother—still rose to defend Mount Shu. How could the two of you, the most powerful guardian artifacts of Mount Shu, stand idly by?"

"Exactly," the male sword spirit chimed in.

The female sword spirit was startled by the news. "Baize is... dying?"

She immediately thought of her prejudice against Baize and felt she had been excessively harsh, sinking into deep guilt.

"That’s correct," Chu Liang said, turning back to Venerable Wen Yuan. "I have an important matter to report. It's about Baize!"

1. She speaks with the sichuan dialect so I thought maybe we can try adding an accent. ☜