Chapter 110: Unspoken Regrets

  The light ball in the hall, the fantasy gradually disappeared in the increasingly strong purple light. Shen Bailian still wanted to take another look, but suddenly a loud earthquake came, and he stumbled and couldn't stand firm. He only heard the sound of the glazed tiles on the top of the hall responding loudly. The noise was extremely severe. There were also several crisp sounds coming from the corner, Shen Bailian turned his head to look, and saw that in just a moment, several clusters of purple crystal stones were covered with cracks, like a dead snake crawling all over the originally clean stone body, which was really frightening.

  Shen Bailian vaguely felt something was amiss, turned around and rushed out of the palace. Just then, a loud rumbling sound came from above, like countless thunderbolts exploding in the air. Looking up, the sky was filled with dense clouds that rolled and churned ceaselessly, everything in sight was a deep purple-black color. He circled around the Fantuan Palace several times, but all around him was empty and desolate, without a single person in sight. The people who were supposed to be resting here, such as Han Hongsuo, had vanished into thin air.

  He searched deeper and became more anxious, the tremors grew stronger, and the entire Huanming Palace began to sway slightly. At this point, Shen Baiyun no longer hesitated, stretched out his hand and drew out the Chunshui Sword, transforming into a dark blue sword light that pierced directly into the sky above his head.

  She stepped into the palace, and saw Yuanyu sitting alone on the throne, one hand stroking her chest, her face pale and wan, with a trace of blood still wet on her lips, apparently suffering from severe internal injuries. Xi Zhong stood beside her, his eyes fixed on her without blinking, his eyebrows tightly furrowed.

  The two demons, one injured and the other worried, were completely unaware of Shen Baiyun's approach until he stepped onto the stairs. Yu Rou suddenly lifted her head, her cold eyes scanning over like electricity. Xi Zhong also saw him at this time, instantly revealing a hint of relief: "Lord Baiyun!"

  "No need to say more, I'll heal Miss Yuanyou first." Shen Bailian said as she stepped forward and placed her palm on Yuanyou's back.

  She only felt a strong surge of demonic energy pouring into her back, and in an instant it spread throughout her limbs. Her throat moved, and with a "whoosh" sound, another mouthful of blood spurted out. However, her complexion gradually calmed down. She glanced sideways at Shen Bailong, her expression slightly different, and secretly wondered: This kid has only been practicing my clan's demonic arts for a short decade or so, yet he has achieved such mastery! But she had experienced many things after all, and her face didn't show any emotion, merely saying lightly: "It was quite troublesome."

  Shen Bailian smiled slightly and withdrew her palm, only then asking Xi Zhong: "What happened? Where did Meng Li and the others go?"

  Xie Zhong hastily reported all the matters, and it turned out that after Liu Mengli and others entered the Ri Huang Palace, a strong and powerful force suddenly broke in from outside, forcibly breaking the seal at the entrance of the Huang Palace. The seal was closely related to Yuanyu's own demon power, and when the seal was broken, Yuanyu herself was inevitably damaged. However, the person who broke the seal was extremely powerful, even projecting his spiritual body into the Ri Huang Palace to provoke them. It happened that Liu Mengli and others rushed back in time to see this, and seeing their mother severely injured and unable to fight for a while, Liu Mengli took the initiative to volunteer. Yun Tianhe and others naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing, so the four of them went together.

  Finally, Xie Zhong said: "Bai Ying, although Yuanyu ordered Gui Ye and Shao Zhu to guard the entrance of the Ri Huang Palace, humans are always cunning, and now that such a powerful evil star has appeared, I'm afraid Gui Ye and Shao Zhu will not be able to defeat him. Yuanyu's injuries have not healed yet, and I am not convenient to leave. Now that the situation is urgent, I can only entrust all important matters to Bai Ying..."

  Before he finished speaking, Shen Bailian had already nodded in agreement: "I understand, your waiting here is enough." With that, she turned around and hastily walked out.

  At this time, the scene outside Xuanmeng City was completely different. Shen Bailian rode his sword through the sky above Huanming Boundary, and as far as the eye could see, there were fierce battles everywhere. The boundary had been broken, and the disciples of Qionghua Sect poured in like water, while the Mo Yao welcomed them with battle. Everywhere, one could see several people killing a monster or several monsters fighting against one person. The crystal stones were stained with blood, and the corpses piled up in the gullies. This scene was shocking and heartbreaking.

  Shen Bailian's eyes were gloomy, and she felt an inexplicable sense of boredom and frustration in her heart. The scenes from 19 years ago still lingered vividly in her mind, but now it seemed like a hellish repetition. When would this struggle between humans and demons finally come to an end?

  The entrance to the Illusory Boundary was just a few dozen feet away, shrouded in a swirling purple mist. But just as they were about to approach, several rainbow-colored sword lights appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that several men and women were riding swords in mid-air, surrounding a Qiong demon that was shrieking incessantly. As Chunshui Sword drew closer to the group, their ferocious expressions became clearer. One of the young men suddenly shouted, "This demon is almost done for! Everyone, let's form a sword array!"

  The fur on the body of the Qiong demon was already blurred with blood and flesh, and its beastly eyes were even more crimson and congested. When it heard those people respond in unison, the sword light became even more intense and dazzling. Suddenly, it let out a mournful howl: "Even if we Qiong demons die in battle, we will not fear you evil humans!" From the sound of its voice, it was actually just a young Qiong demon.

  Shen Bailian immediately recognized the voice as Tóng Jì's, and with a swift motion, he pointed his finger like a sword in the direction of the group and shouted "Break!" A cyan light shot out from his fingertip, piercing through the palm of the first person, who let out a pained cry. The half-formed sword array dissipated into mist instantly.

  Those men and women were all shocked, but Tong Ji was overjoyed: "Bai Ying, sir!"

  Shen Bailian nodded slightly to him, indicating that he should leave quickly. Jing Ye, however, shook his head stubbornly and hatred surged in his eyes once again. In a hoarse voice, he said: "I won't go! I want to avenge my brother!"

  Shen Bailian was taken aback and asked: "What's wrong with Tongyou?"

  Her eyes flashed with hatred as she gazed at those Qionghua disciples: "These people are so despicable, if they hadn't launched a sneak attack, Big Brother wouldn't have been hit while protecting me. I must tear them to shreds and avenge Big Brother!"

  "Hmph, a soldier is not afraid of deceit. We are here to subdue the evil and eliminate the demons. What moral principles can we discuss with these demonic creatures?" The man who had his palm pierced covered his wound, arguing with a sly expression on his face, and glanced at Shen Bailong again, "And you, who are you? You don't look like a demon, why do you want to stop us from killing the demons?"

  "Senior brother, since this person is not from our Qionghua Sect and is in the demon realm, he must be evil. Why bother talking to him?" a young girl said, "Those who associate with demons should also be eliminated!"

  "Right! Afraid of what he would do, even the general of this demon world was defeated by Zhangmen and Master Xuanshu. Can this guy still escape Master Xuanshu's sword?" Someone chimed in agreement.

  Shen Bailian's eyes narrowed: "You're saying that Xuanyue... was the one who broke the seal with Su Yao?"

  "How dare you! Are our master and uncle's names something you can call out casually?" Those few people shouted angrily.

  Shen Bailian let out a cold snort, suddenly swung her sleeve towards them and brushed them off. A blue light spread out like ripples along the movement of her sleeve, and all that could be heard were cries of "Ah yo" and "Ai ya". Those people fell from the sky like kites with broken strings.

  Her eyes widened as she watched, her heart racing and her spirit trembling. "Elder Bai Ling is truly formidable!" she exclaimed. But Shen Bai Ling merely glanced lazily at the fate of those few people, waved her hand dismissively, and charged straight into the center of that swirling purple cloud.

  In the purple mist, he didn't know how long he had been walking, when suddenly there was a bright light flashing in front of him. Shen Baiying was just using his energy to urge on the Spring Water Sword under his feet, when he suddenly heard a burst of maniacal laughter. The laughter carried three parts of recklessness and ten parts of madness, but amidst the pride, there were also a few parts of familiarity. Shen Baiying's heart moved slightly, and before he could think carefully, the Spring Water Sword had already taken him out of the mist.

  In the blink of an eye, the purple color faded from before her eyes, and a clear sky reappeared. Shen Baiying had not yet looked down when she heard several familiar calls.

  "Older brother!"

  "Ba Ling!"

  Liu Mengli and Murong Ziyin exclaimed at the same time, Shen Bailian lowered her head to look, and found that a archway had been formed by the gathering of demonic energy outside the entrance of Huanming Boundary. Yun Tianhe and several others were standing at one end of the archway, facing off against a group of Qionghua disciples on Juan Yun Tai from afar. Seeing Shen Bailian descending from the sky, everyone's face showed a hint of relief.

  Shen Bailian slowly descended with his sword, just as he was about to respond, a cold and icy voice suddenly sounded from behind him, still carrying a hint of gritted teeth: "......Xuan...Zhen?!"

  Shen Bailian's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly turned her head to look back. On the cliff of Juan Yun Tai, two figures stood, one of whom was a woman with a high bun and a jade crown, with two long ribbons fluttering in the wind, her white robe billowing in the wind, making her appear even more elegant and refined. However, her face was filled with shock and disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide open, completely devoid of her usual majesty. One step ahead of her stood another person, also wearing a snow-white long robe, with a head of black silk flying wildly behind him. The wind howled through the sky, whipping up fallen leaves and grass in front of him, but his gaze was like two solid beams of light, piercing through the obstacles, sharper than knives and swords, stabbing towards Shen Bailian.

  Shen Bailian's eyes met with that person for a moment, and she couldn't help but feel her heart tremble. She softly called out: "Xuan Xiao..."

  “...Master Xuan Zhen?” On the Cloudy Platform, Su Yao involuntarily took a step forward, as if she wanted to get a clearer look at his face. But immediately after, she shook her head in disbelief, “No, it's impossible that you're Master Xuan Zhen... You... Master Xuan Zhen died nineteen years ago during the great war, it's impossible for him to still be alive... Impossible...”

  "Hmph... Xuan Zhen, do you know how many times I've thought about our reunion? I've fantasized about what I would say to you if we ever met again..." The man's voice beside her was extremely low and heavy, but everyone could hear it clearly. His murmurs eventually turned into a cold laugh. "Heh... But I never expected that after all these years, you're still colluding with the demon, I never expected you'd fall so far. Good, good, good!" As he said 'good', his face grew increasingly gloomy, and his eyes revealed an intense hatred, making his handsome young face look even more terrifying than a ghost's.

  Shen Bailian's lips trembled slightly, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start. The thoughts in her heart eventually merged into a faint sigh that was almost inaudible. What could she say? Should she reveal that she was actually a demon, or that she had never been able to escape these past few years? But even if she revealed the truth, what could be changed, what could be erased?

  Everything can't be turned back now...

  Yún Tiān Hé and several others nearby heard the conversation between Su Yáo and Xuán Xiāo, and Yún Tiān Hé asked in a low voice with a puzzled expression: "What are Big Brother and the Master saying... Why do they call Shěn Dàgē (Shen) 'Xiān Zhèn' and also call him 'Shī Xiōng'?"

  Liu Mengli didn't answer, but looked at Shen Baiying's back with a worried heart. Murong Ziyin, however, seemed to be thinking deeply and only asked in a low voice after a while: "Baiying, you... are you really an old acquaintance of Master Xuanxiao?"

  Shen Bailian's body trembled slightly, and she lowered her eyes without speaking.

  "You and I drank together in Qinglong Town that night, you also called out the name 'Xuan Xiao' in your dream. At that time, I only felt that this name was familiar, until later when I met Master Xuan Xiao in the forbidden land, I started to suspect... Why would someone who claims to be a wandering cloud and has never been to Kunlun Mountain know the name of a person that even ordinary disciples of the Qionghua Sect don't know? Later, you called out the names of the sect leader and several elders on Juan Yun Tai, with such a familiar tone, I was even more suspicious... It turns out that you indeed have a deep connection with our Qionghua Sect." Murong Ziyin's face was complex, "Bailian, until now, are you still unwilling to reveal the truth to me?"

  "Ziying, I..." Shen Bailian let out a deep breath, slightly closing his eyes. "Those are old matters from nineteen years ago, I only wish to forget those things for this lifetime... Never mind, since you want to hear, I'll tell you. The Qinghua Sect's Taiching Zhenren was my master, the three elders Qīngyáng, Chóngguāng and Zōngliàn were my uncles, and the two people standing in front of you, Xǐu Yáo and... Xuán Xiǎo are my junior brothers and sister." He let out a soft sigh, opening his eyes to look at the young face that was as beautiful as it was nineteen years ago, with no signs of aging, and the sadness that had been accumulating for nineteen years or even longer slowly rose to his eyes. "Nineteen years ago, my name was... Xuán Zhèn."