“But it is a bit nervous now.”
“It asks you, now that it is so small, will A Yao still recognize it?”
Chen Zhou glanced at the small branch on his shoulder. “Didn’t you say she used to always tell you to get smaller? Now that you are small, she should be happy.”
The small branch swayed.
“It says that it is a bit too small now.”
“Before, even though it could not move, it was at least large enough to shroud the heavens. One could see it with a single glance.”
“Now it is just a tiny cutting. Standing on your shoulder, someone who isn’t looking closely might mistake it for a dead twig.”
“It is afraid A Yao will not be able to find it.”
Chen Zhou said expressionlessly, “If you wave around right in front of her, how could she miss you?”
The small branch swayed again.
“It says, what if? What if her eyesight has gone bad?”
Chen Zhou: “...You are worrying far too early.”
He paused and then added, “Besides, A Yao is only a remnant soul residing within a dream. Never mind whether her eyesight is good or not—she does not even have eyes.”
The small branch stiffened abruptly, its emerald light instantly dimming.
“It says... what?”
“A Yao does not even have eyes anymore? Then how will she look at it? Will she have already forgotten it?”
“It has been tens of thousands of years. What if she really does not remember?”
“Should it grow back to its original size? At least large enough to be conspicuous? If A Yao really does not remember it, perhaps seeing such a massive tree might help her recall something?”
Chen Zhou’s head began to ache from its constant chatter.
“Quiet down.”
The small branch did not listen and continued to sway.
“It says it cannot help it. The moment it thinks about seeing A Yao soon, it cannot control itself.”
“It says that in the past, it would think every day: What is A Yao doing today? Is she eating enough? Is she hurt? Does she miss it?”
“Later, it stopped thinking about those things because the more it thought, the more painful it became.”
As the small branch reached this point, its tip drooped and rested on Chen Zhou’s shoulder, looking like a person weeping.
Chen Zhou reached out and patted the small branch on his shoulder.
“Why think so much?”
“Won’t you know once you meet?”
“If she remembers you, then all the better.”
“If she does not, then you can tell her who you are, what you used to look like, and how many years you have waited for her.”
“Besides, someone you have missed for so many years must be a gentle person. She will not forget you.”
The small branch straightened up once more, and its emerald light became stable.
“It says thank you.”
“It feels much better.”
After comforting Jianmu, Chen Zhou collected all the ancient beast eggs into his system space and prepared to turn back.
The moment he returned to the underground city, Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed.
The filth energy in the air was countless times thicker than before they had gone down. It was so viscous it was almost like a liquid, flowing slowly through the air.
Chen Zhou looked up to see the entire underground city shrouded in grayish-black filth energy. The ruined buildings loomed in and out of sight within the murk like a ghost city.
In the distance, a ball of golden light flickered.
The light was very weak, being squeezed by the filth energy until it looked ready to collapse and extinguish at any moment.
Chen Zhou narrowed his eyes and saw the scene within that light.
Wu Gou was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the ruins, his hands pressed together in prayer as he chanted under his breath.
Golden Buddhist light surged from his body, forming a hemispherical barrier that protected Lian, the sacrificial souls brought back from the depths, and the little demons of the underground city who had been lucky enough to survive.
Outside the barrier, the filth energy surged like a tide, constantly eroding the Buddhist light.
Wu Gou’s expression was grim, the veins on his forehead bulging. He was clearly struggling to hold on.
Lian stood beside him, her death qi churning as she helped fend off the filth energy.
The little demons huddled within the Buddhist light, trembling as they looked at the filth energy outside in terror.
Seeing this situation, Plague Rat immediately darted forward.
“Damn it, why is the filth energy so thick?”
He cursed as he rushed to Wu Gou’s side. Dark green mist erupted from his body, transforming into a Great Plague Heaven that began to frantically absorb the surrounding filth energy.
As if finding a vent, the filth energy surged toward Plague Rat and was sucked into his body.
The pressure on Wu Gou instantly lightened. The Buddhist light flared brightly and expanded outward.
He opened his eyes and saw Chen Zhou, then grinned.
“Ah, fiend, you are finally back.”
“If you had come back any later, this poor monk really would not have been able to hold on.”
He took a breath, looked at the surrounding filth energy, and then looked at Chen Zhou.
“Just what kind of filthy thing did you release from down there?”
“The filth energy is so thick it is almost like water. Master Grand Vow stayed down there for so many years and never saw filth energy this concentrated.”
Chen Zhou walked over, glanced at the surrounding filth energy, and then looked at the cracks in the ground.
Grayish-black filth energy was still billowing out from the cracks like smoke from a chimney.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “It should be the ley line under the Eternal Scars that was contaminated by the mushrooms.”
“The ley line connects to the entire province. Without the suppression of the giant Sky-Mending Stone, the filth energy is escaping from the Eternal Scars.”
Chen Zhou then gave a brief account of what had happened within the Eternal Scars. Wu Gou clicked his tongue in wonder, patted the dust off his robes, and stood up.
“As long as it is resolved. Shall we head up?”
“Staying underground is quite uncomfortable. This monk still prefers the surface.”
Chen Zhou nodded.
Wu Gou formed a hand seal and used the earth-tunneling technique. A flash of golden light appeared beneath his feet, and a crack opened in the ground.
“Everyone, keep close. Do not fall behind.”
He was the first to jump into the crack, wrapped in golden light as he flew upward.
Chen Zhou followed with Plague Rat, and Lian protected the souls and little demons as they all dove in together.
The group moved through the earth with startling speed.
Before long, light appeared above them.
Wu Gou broke through the final layer of rock and burst out.
Chen Zhou followed closely behind and stepped onto the surface.
Sunlight spilled down from the sky, illuminating the jagged, massive rocks.
However, the sunlight was dim, mostly obscured by the filth energy permeating the air, making everything look gloomy.
The Stone Forest was in a slightly better state than the underground city, but not by much.
Filth energy surged from cracks in the ground, filling the air with a gray haze.
Jing Hui stood in the center of the Stone Forest, his paper person body frantically absorbing the filth energy.
The grayish-black filth energy flowed into his body like threads, where he converted it into death qi before it dissipated from his body, repeating the cycle over and over.
He was desperately absorbing the surrounding filth energy, trying to lessen the pressure on the others.
But he was only a remnant soul now, lacking the great power he had in life. His rate of absorption still could not keep up with the speed at which the filth energy was surging out.
Su Xue absorbed the death qi filtered by Jing Hui and converted it into pure vitality. She then supported several massive orchid petals, which were as white as snow and emitted a faint, clear fragrance.
Beneath the petals, the little demons huddled together, trembling.
A few of the bolder ones poked their heads out. When they saw Chen Zhou emerging from the ground, they immediately began to shout in excitement.
“The Lord is back!”
“The Lord is back!”
The little demons poked their heads out one after another. Seeing Chen Zhou, their eyes were filled with adoration and excitement.
Seeing Chen Zhou, Su Xue breathed a sigh of relief, retracted her petals, and walked over.
“Lord, what happened below? The filth energy suddenly became so much thicker.”
Chen Zhou briefly explained the events underground once more.
At this moment, the little demons from the underground city finally noticed Jing Hui.
They stared blankly at the old man in the state of a paper person, their eyes filled with disbelief.
“Jing Hui... Lord Jing Hui?”
Xiao Bi squeezed out from the crowd, his eyes wide as he stared at Jing Hui.
“You... are you really Lord Jing Hui?”
Jing Hui looked at him and nodded. “This old man is indeed Jing Hui.”
Xiao Bi’s tears immediately began to fall. He fell to his knees with a thud and kowtowed three times.
“This little one is from the Gecko Clan! My name is Xiao Bi!”
“My grandfather... my grandfather used to serve under you!”
“He said you were the best lord in the world. He said if it weren’t for you, our Gecko Clan would have been wiped out long ago!”
“Even on his deathbed, he was still calling out your name, saying that his greatest regret in this life was not being able to see you one last time!”
Hearing this, Jing Hui felt a bit flustered, and his eyes reddened.
He had been dead for a thousand years; did people actually still remember him?
“This old man... is not worthy of such a bow.”
Yang Dingding also squeezed out from the crowd.
He was heavily injured, his body wrapped in bandages that were soaked with blood, but he seemed completely unaware of it. He walked up to Jing Hui with great vigor and knelt with a thud.
“Yang Dingding of the Ghost Ram Clan greets Lord Jing Hui!”
Jing Hui looked at him and said, “You are injured?”
Yang Dingding grinned. “It is nothing! A minor wound!”
“You should know, Lord, that our Ghost Ram Clan gets stronger the more we are injured. Even if my head were cut off, I could still get one more strike in on the enemy!”
“You... have the spirit of Duke Martial.”
Yang Dingding froze, and then his eyes turned red.
“Lord... you still remember Duke Martial?”
Jing Hui nodded. “I remember.”
“He was the best fighter under my command.”
“And the one... I failed the most.”
Yang Dingding shook his head vigorously. “It was not your fault! That was not your fault!”
“Duke Martial never blamed you! Our Ghost Ram Clan has never blamed you either!”
“We all know you were framed! You did not do it on purpose!”
Jing Hui lowered his head and remained silent.
Xiao Bi felt that the True Lord of Purity and Filth was a bit different from what he had imagined.
He had thought that a powerhouse like Jing Hui, who could unify Tianchi and open a pure land for everyone amidst the plague, would look very fierce.
At the very least, he should have a face full of rough flesh, eyes as large as copper bells, and a mouth that could swallow a cow in one gulp.
But the paper person before him looked... quite kind.
Xiao Bi’s courage grew. “Lord Jing Hui, you are truly amazing, truly great!”
“And that Lord as well!”
He turned to look at Chen Zhou, his eyes full of adoration.
“That Lord is even more amazing!”
“The old villain Wan Xiu—you know him, right? The bad guy who framed you!”
“Our Lord killed him with ease!”
Jing Hui looked at Chen Zhou in surprise.
Chen Zhou was standing not far away, talking to Wu Gou. Sensing Jing Hui’s gaze, he looked back and nodded slightly.
Jing Hui withdrew his gaze and looked back at Xiao Bi.
“Wan Xiu... is really dead?”
Xiao Bi nodded emphatically. “Dead! Completely dead!”
“Our Lord killed him personally. And that person named Qing Lu was also driven away by our Lord!”
“From now on, our Tianchi Province will never have to fear those bad people from the Central Province again!”
Jing Hui remained silent for a long time.
He raised his head and looked around.
The little demons who had come out of the underground city were all looking at him, their eyes full of adoration and excitement.
Some were wiping away tears, some were smiling, some were kneeling and kowtowing, and some were calling out his name.
Jing Hui.
True Lord Jing Hui.
Lord Jing Hui.
These voices rose one after another, echoing through the Stone Forest.
Jing Hui stood there, his paper body trembling slightly.
He did not know what to say.
He had been a remnant soul, clinging to the scattered plague origin, waiting to dissipate.
Because of his unwillingness, his anger, and because he could not let go of his old friends or the clansmen he had personally slaughtered.
He had thought that when Chen Zhou told him two months was plenty of time to reclaim Tianchi and eliminate Wan Xiu, it was just a sentence to comfort him.
He had personally experienced how terrifying Wan Xiu was.
At that time, he had already been a half-step Siming, yet he was still powerless before Wan Xiu.
He could only watch as his mind gradually sank into darkness, and then he personally slaughtered his own people.
He had thought there would never be hope in this lifetime.
He had thought that he would never have the chance to make amends to his old friends, his clansmen, and those he had failed.
But heaven had shown mercy.
It had allowed him, a thousand years after his death, to meet a true god.
It had allowed him, through that god’s compassion, to see the descendants of his old friends once more.
The lineage of Duke Wen and the Mingchan Clan no longer had to hide underground; they could undergo emergence and see the light of day again.
The lineage of Duke Martial and the Ghost Ram Clan were released from their underground seal, still as full of life as ever, even possessing the spirit of the Duke Martial of old.
Jing Hui’s gaze searched back and forth through the crowd.
He looked once, then twice.
A little rabbit poked its head out from the crowd and asked curiously, “Lord Jing Hui, what are you looking for?”
Jing Hui said, “This old man is looking for the Peach Clan.”
“I wonder if you have seen them?”
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the surroundings immediately became strange.
The little demons looked at each other, and no one spoke.
After a long silence, a little rat demon spoke up indignantly.
“The Peach Clan? You mean Tao Tuantuan, right?”
“She is a traitor!”
“She lied to us! She lied to all of us!”
“She was in league with Wan Xiu! She wanted to give us all to Wan Xiu as sacrifices!”
The little rat demon grew more agitated as he spoke, and several other little demons joined in.
“Yes! She is a traitor. To think we trusted her so much! She actually betrayed us!”
“If the Lord had not saved us, we would all be dead by now!”
“Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!”
The little demons began to curse all at once, their emotions running high. Some even started stomping their feet.
As Jing Hui listened, his expression became increasingly grim.
Chen Zhou walked over, glanced at the indignant little demons, and spoke calmly.
“You have misunderstood her.”
The little demons froze and all looked at Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou said, “She did what she did to protect you and, at the same time, to seek revenge against Wan Xiu.”
The little demons were confused, but because it was Chen Zhou speaking, no one stepped forward to argue.
They all followed the Lord blindly.
Even if the Lord were to say that everything had reversed again and that Wan Xiu was actually a good person, they would believe it.
The Lord was the great deity who had given them food, led them out of the underground city, and personally fought a false god. He certainly would not lie to them.
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