Chapter 65

Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, then grew flustered and helpless, his expression a mix of delight and shock, seemingly tinged with a trace of disbelief.

Su Zhen quietly enjoyed this scene, feeling for the umpteenth time that this fellow was truly a strange person, yet for this very reason, she found him endearing.

"I..."

Xiao Yu nodded slowly, stating almost word by word, "I am willing."

Su Zhen was amused by him. "Why must you put it that way, Senior? Had you brought this up earlier, I would not have refused."

"I know."

A look of apology surfaced in Xiao Yu's eyes. "I am sorry. I was overthinking things."

Then excitement took over. "But this is different. When you agreed to me, it was one kind of joy; when you took the initiative to ask me, it is quite another."

Su Zhen curved the corners of her lips. "Which joy is greater?"

Xiao Yu seemed stumped by the question. He pondered for a long time without finding an answer, repeatedly opening his mouth to speak before trailing off and shaking his head, as if unable to put his thoughts into words.

Just as Su Zhen was about to speak, he gave up on answering, leaned down directly, and, wrapping his hands around her waist, lifted her up.

"I do not know. I imagined it—had it been the other way around, I expect I would have been bursting with joy, just as I am this very moment."

Xiao Yu held her high in the air, spun her around, and then looked up at her with an expression bordering on reverence, like a devotee worshipping a deity.

Su Zhen lowered her gaze to meet his eyes.

Those azure eyes were as clear as washed jade, brimming with gratified smiles, devoid of the slightest gloom or shadow, and completely mirroring her figure.

"Senior."

Su Zhen slowly stretched out her hand.

Xiao Yu immediately realized what she wanted to do and quickly pulled his arms in, holding her close before him. Thus, her slightly cool fingertips landed right between his brows.

Her hands always carried a temperature not quite human—a trace of coolness, yet not freezing, and easily warmed by the flesh and blood of another.

Su Zhen stroked that handsome, striking face, her fingers tracing the line of his brow bone, the contour of her eye sockets, and then the superior, straight bridge of his nose.

Her fingertips lingered on the corner of his lips like a dragonfly skimming the water before she abruptly pinched the man's cheek.

Xiao Yu kept smiling, letting her pull at him. He even tilted his head slightly, subconsciously rubbing against her hand.

Su Zhen endured for a moment, ultimately suppressing the urge to kiss him.

It was not because others were still around, but because she wanted to save all of this for after the greatest trouble was resolved.

"Senior."

Su Zhen's hand fell upon his shoulder. "You mentioned earlier about restoring the Holy Sword. Does that have to do with this matter as well?"

Xiao Yu nodded slightly. "There is no rush for that. Wait until you come out from within."

With that, he set her down, turned to face the Demon King not far away, and offered a junior's salute.

The latter had been watching them quietly, his eyes almost devoid of ripples, showing no intense reactions from beginning to end, let alone any significant emotional changes.

Su Zhen tugged at Xiao Yu's sleeve. "Senior, do not be too polite to him. Just treat him ordinarily from now on, otherwise, I will only feel uncomfortable."

Hearing this, Xiao Yu immediately nodded. "No problem."

He did not utter a single word of admonition, nor did he invoke human propriety and rules.

Su Zhen was extremely satisfied.

She was not sure how a human father would react to such a scene.

Yet she knew very well that the man before her would not take it to heart.

Many, many years ago, he had told her to dispense with those cumbersome rituals, saying he loathed them most of all.

He had also said that if she insisted on acting as weak and hypocritical as humans, he would most likely kill her simply because he found it repulsive.

"Your Majesty—"

Xiao Yu said indifferently, "I bow to you because I am willing. If you are unwilling to let your daughter adopt human airs, and even threaten to forbid her from doing so, it is simply because you are stronger than she is. Now that you cannot defeat me, you must accept my bow no matter how displeased you may be."

Su Zhen opened her eyes in astonishment, nearly laughing out loud.

The black-haired, green-eyed Demon King stood amidst the verdant shade, dressed in magnificent emerald-feathered robes. His form was like a spring tree, glowing with dew-washed splendor; standing motionless, he resembled a jade statue.

At this moment, he tilted his head thoughtfully, looking over without a trace of anger on his face, and then gave a light, mocking smile.

"How could I be unwilling to such a rare event? Although I am a few years older than the Immortal Venerable, how else could I make your Excellency bow were it not for the advantage of my daughter?"

Xiao Yu was entirely calm. "I am not doing this to make you happy."

The Demon King evidently did not care, a look of genuine satisfaction even flashing through his eyes. "It doesn't matter."

Su Zhen: "..."

Had her father been possessed as well?

Su Zhen could not help but say, "When I bowed to you back then, why were you so unhappy about it? Were you treating people differently depending on who they were?"

He swept a light, floating glance over her. "What was your cultivation level back then?"

Su Zhen sneered, "His Majesty had better cherish it. In a couple of days, when I attain sagehood, it will be too late for you to regret."

The Demon King ahead remained unperturbed. "You have already done it anyway. When the time comes, I shall collect grand bows from two Saint-realm powerhouses; I certainly won't be losing out."

Su Zhen was nearly infuriated to death by him. "You call that a grand bow?"

Fuming, she grabbed Xiao Yu. "Let's go! Back to Huanhua Prefecture!"

Xiao Yu was taken aback. "Huh?"

Su Zhen curled her lip. "To pay respects to my mother, to kowtow before her grave. Are you unwilling?"

Xiao Yu dazed for a moment, then was struck by wild joy, wrapping his arm around her. "Willing, willing! Right now?"

"...Mn, right now."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

At the very last moment before leaving, Su Zhen still could not help turning back to look at the Demon King beneath the tree.

The latter stood leisurely with his arms crossed. Within the deep shadows of the foliage, the emerald light patterns upon his cheeks and torso all shone brilliantly, flowing like the colors of spring.

His gaze flickered, bright specks dancing among his eyelashes, his pupils resembling a pool of clear blue water reflecting ten thousand blooming trees of midsummer.

For a fleeting second, Su Zhen recalled a long time ago—

In that palace carved from a giant tree, the King of Tree Demons stood upon the high steps, looking down at the lords below. His green eyes were as cold as blade edges, emitting a desolate, chilly light that made one shudder.

She had been one of the many demon folk being looked down upon.

What had her state of mind been back then?

Regret, perhaps.

Regret for coming to see him, regret for trying to find her mother's shadow in him. After all, the more she understood him, the more she realized how completely different he was from her mother.

What she had lost could never return.

Aside from that, there was likely a trace of resentment and grievance. Since she was not one of his lords and had never received his protection or favor, by what right should she endure his condescension, his bossiness, his scrutinizing gaze, and eyes that looked upon her as though she were an ant?

To avoid losing her life in the Demon Realm, she had no choice but to continuously comfort herself: at least his power was part of the fetus-refining array; otherwise, had she been given a different father, her talent might have been even worse.

Yet such things could never be guaranteed. There were many half-demons whose parents were both mighty figures, yet they ended up mediocre, their talent even inferior to ordinary cultivators.

It was the same for those whose parents were both powerful human cultivators; one could easily find many examples of offspring with mediocre talent.

Otherwise, there would not be so many great noble clans gradually declining, suffering a lack of successors, and ultimately perishing entirely.

At that time, her mind had been in chaos, constantly dwelling on these thoughts—comforting herself, then refuting herself. Ultimately unable to bear it, she had flicked her sleeve and left.

And then they had not met for a very long time, until her cultivation gradually grew and she constantly came to the Demon Realm to temper herself, occasionally passing by here and encountering him.

Yet those times had been few and far between.

"..."

Su Zhen blinked.

She suddenly saw a smile akin to gentleness in his eyes—or perhaps it could not yet be called gentleness, but rather the shedding of arrogance and haughtiness, making him appear much softer.

Perhaps in the very beginning, this was all she had ever expected. She had not wanted anything more; after all, they had never met before, and he had not been particularly fond of humans.

Had he deigned to praise her, perhaps she would have been very happy, just like the approval and affirmation she had once received from her mother.

To receive praise from someone else after her mother's departure—even if it might make her happy for a moment—was ultimately different.

"…Your Majesty."

Su Zhen paused her steps. "I suddenly feel that perhaps I should apologize to you. I shouldn't have regarded you as—"

A substitute?

"No need."

He interrupted her. "You did nothing wrong. I cannot be like a human father to his children, nor can I make you satisfied. Whether you are satisfied or not is of no importance to me anyway."

Su Zhen was not surprised. "The bones of this body were bestowed upon me by Your Majesty. Even if Your Majesty previously said we are even, strictly speaking, you did give me the grace of life."

He remained silent.

Su Zhen took a deep breath. "I only have one grievance left to voice: had you been a bit more affectionate toward me back then, perhaps I wouldn't have looked at my former master..."

Or if her mother had simply stayed alive.

Yet there were no such hypotheses.

Su Zhen gave a self-deprecating sigh. "Though it never affected my path of cultivation..."

In her past life, her age upon each breakthrough could practically crush all her peers. Therefore, although certain matters brought her some trouble, they ultimately did not truly hinder her cultivation.

As for the incident at Feiyuan City, even if she held no romantic illusions toward Immortal Venerable Yuchen, and even if she had taken someone else as her master, as long as she remained in Tianyuan Sect and obtained Lengxiang during that trial, she would have clashed with Liu Yunyao sooner or later.

Su Zhen knew her own personality very well; even if they were not martial sisters, she would never have willingly handed that sword over.

"...Hence, though I did not pine for these things day and night, I still desired them somewhat. When all is said and out, I am indeed not cold-hearted enough, so it is only natural that you look down on me."

The Demon King beneath the tree was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "Though your talent is considered high, in these past few thousands of years, I have seen countless others whose aptitude matched yours."

He paused. "Yet among them, only my child has the prospect of shattering the void and ascending to another world. What do all those other trivial matters amount to? How many are heartless and unfeeling? How many parricides and matricides are there? Where are they now? How many of them have achieved the Great Dao?"

Su Zhen trembled all over, finding it almost hard to believe. "…You are talking about me, right? You don't mean some brother or sister bred from your seeds or severed branches, do you?"

He looked at her expressionlessly.

Su Zhen silently averted her gaze.

Five hundred years.

This fellow had finally praised her for once.

Though she no longer desired it quite so much—forget it, she was still quite happy.

Su Zhen gave a light cough. "Human fathers have good ones and bad ones as well. There are those who sell their children or beat them to death after drinking. Since Your Majesty is not human, and was not truly wedded to my mother, there is indeed no need to compare yourself with them."

The Demon King ahead glanced at her. "I genuinely cannot tell whether you are mocking me or comforting me."

"...I already said there is no need to compare."

Su Zhen waved a hand. "I really must go now. My father is surely affected by the Heavenly Dao as well; enduring and restraining himself from attacking me must be extremely agonizing for him."

He frowned slightly, seemingly wanting to refute her, but ultimately said nothing, only staring at her hand as if pondering the meaning of the gesture.

Then, he slowly raised his arm and gave her a wave.

Su Zhen's face blossomed into a smile. She finally turned around completely and dragged Xiao Yu away.

They went straight to Shuiyun Mountain. In the back mountain, far away from the Su family estate, lay a vast expanse of ancestral tombs belonging to the Su clan, guarded by two elderly servants in the Qi Condensation realm.

Clearly, the Heavenly Dao had not completely lost its mind; it did not cause every living thing that saw her to attack her.

Only those possessing a certain level of strength and genuinely capable of harming her would be manipulated.

Amidst the mountains stood neat rows of pine trees, their canopies like clouds of cedar. In the midst of summer, everything was filled with dense, luxuriant emerald shade. A broad, flat stone path ran straight through the forest, and the tombs within the graveyard stood rugged and silent.

Occasionally, the sound of the wind blew past, carrying faint bird calls and insect chirps from afar.

Su Zhen exchanged greetings with the elderly couple guarding the grounds.

They were servants of the Su family who had signed lifelong service contracts. The clan had taught them basic cultivation techniques; though they looked aged now, they were actually about the same age as her.

Upon seeing her, the two hurriedly came forward to pay their respects.

Seeing their puzzlement, Su Zhen offered an explanation: "Although the anniversary of my mother's death has passed, I might not make it back for the next year. In the future..."

Both were cultivators, and upon hearing these words, they guessed that the eldest miss was most likely going to attempt a breakthrough. Since her realm was so high, it was bound to be extremely dangerous.

These words clearly implied that she might not be able to return in the future.

Su Zhen said no more, pointing to the man beside her instead. "This is the one I have set my heart upon."

The two elderly servants quickly turned and bowed, addressing him directly as "Master Husband."

Upon hearing the phrase "the one I have set my heart upon," Xiao Yu felt as though his soul had left his body, completely immersed in pink bubbles. Seeing them bow brought him back to his senses, and he hastily reached out to steady them.

After the old servants left, Su Zhen led him into the graveyard, finding her way with familiar ease to the resting place of the past clan heads. She first paid simple respects before her grandfather's grave, then offered tributes beside her grandmother.

There were simply too many other ancestors, and she had always been too lazy to pay respects to them one by one.

Finally, she knelt before her mother's grave.

Xiao Yu unhesitatingly lifted the hem of his robes and knelt down as well, both knees hitting the ground solidly in a motion as crisp and decisive as could be, without the slightest hesitation.

Su Zhen looked at the characters "Su Che" carved upon the tombstone. "Mother, this is the one of my heart. Your daughter will marry him, and today I have brought him to see you."

Before her words finished falling, tears were already streaming down her cheeks, dampening her robes.

Strange to say, the time they had spent together had been a mere ten years.

In the hundreds of years that followed, through countless storms and life-and-death partings, the peaceful childhood spent in Huanhua Prefecture seemed by comparison like a fleeting instant.

Yet even so, no one could ever replace her mother's place in her heart.

"Ultimately, I..."

Su Zhen rested her forehead on her hand, sobbing uncontrollably for a moment. "Though I could not become what you hoped, perhaps I can become even stronger than that..."

Xiao Yu gazed quietly at the tombstone and slowly spoke. "Immortal Su, I know full well that I am unworthy of your daughter. To have won her favor now is already my utmost honor..."

Su Zhen slapped him across the back, weeping as she scolded angrily, "Although I know you speak from the bottom of your heart, my mother does not care to hear such things! She has always favored confident people!"

Xiao Yu performed a full, respectful bow without a second word.

Then he straightened up. "Yet I truly am not all that confident. I could hardly deceive Mother."

Su Zhen: "..."

The sorrow in Su Zhen's heart dispersed by more than half.

Sensing the approaching spiritual pressure from afar, Su Zhen prepared to leave the graveyard.

Clearly, someone else had been manipulated by the Heavenly Dao and was coming to make trouble for her. Knowing that these people could not be killed off all at once and that new ones would appear once the old ones died, she had no intention of staying to fight. Instead, she simply pulled Xiao Yu into the Void Realm.

The Void Realm was ever-changing, its small worlds constantly shattering and reforming. Following the anchor marks she had left previously, she arrived at another turbulent and chaotic plane.

Su Zhen produced the brilliantly glowing dragon-tendon bow.

"The third one will inevitably be even harder."

Xiao Yu suddenly spoke up, "Your personality is most similar to the God of Law. I reckon He will be placed toward the end. The third one will most likely be Liu Yunyao's ancestor."

Su Zhen mused, "I shouldn't be very similar to the God of Illusion..."

The Demon God of Illusion and Birth possessed peak-level illusions; a god of a thousand faces, the Myriad Forms Cult was filled with liars, thieves, and pretenders. They were hypocritical, selfish, wearing layer upon layer of masks, and their true demonic forms possessed countless heads and faces.

Yet, come to think of it, the spiritual arts she favored—playing with memories and tormenting souls—did indeed include disguising oneself.

Su Zhen: "...Still, one shouldn't speak too absolutely."

Xiao Yu remained noncommittal. "Do not let your guard down because of that. You were not particularly similar to the first two either, and before they became Demon Gods was different from after they became Demon Gods."

"True. Moreover, even if my personality differs from the memory's owner, the memories captured by this trial are bound to evoke similar feelings in me. Even if there is only the slightest bit of similarity, I might still become immersed in it."

Su Zhen felt a headache coming on. "And it is clearly getting harder."

The two fell silent for a while.

"Senior."

She had grown so accustomed to this title that she seemingly could not change it anytime now.

After hesitating over and over, she asked, "Did the original text ever write about how my father reacted after my death?"

Xiao Yu raised his brows in surprise. "I thought you wouldn't ask."

"Well, I did ask anyway. But I guess the author might not have written about it? His screen time is far less than mine."

In that book, characters with extraordinary backgrounds—or rather, complex bloodlines—were simply too numerous. Neither of the two main characters was an ordinary human, and other supporting characters were much the same. Setting aside passersby, among the various point-of-view characters, purely human ones were actually a rarity.

"The book didn't write about the scene when he received news of your death."

Xiao Yu paused. "Right, he indeed didn't have much screen time afterward. It was only later, when the demons completely invaded, the nine realms' planes overlapped and became chaotic, and the great melee began, that a few sparse lines mentioned: Elder Wang, who had previously presided over your execution, perished at your father's hands, torn apart and devoured by him. Xu Ling was also nearly killed by your dad."

Su Zhen: "..."

She had a slight recollection of this episode, but had only read a small portion of its description and was unaware of this particular detail.

Was he avenging her?

Su Zhen asked, "Who else was killed by him?"

Xiao Yu shook his head. "Many, but the ones whose names were singled out were just those few."

He then rattled off a few more names.

Su Zhen choked.

Every single one of them had been people who tried to block her path at Feiyuan City back then, as well as those on the Punishment Platform who had agreed with Elder Wang's execution order.

Seen in this light, it could hardly be a coincidence.

"Your dad was even cursed by readers; everyone thought he had defected to the demons..."

A fair number of demons had indeed surrendered to the Demon Gods and become their vassals. Aside from them, the rest of the demon race should have been aligned with the cultivators, fighting the demons together.

Su Zhen shook her head slightly. "When has he ever cared about such things? The common people of the world were never any business of his to begin with. Even if I had truly slaughtered Feiyuan City, he wouldn't have cared in the least."

Though absurd to say, he truly was such a person.

Never mind dying humans who had no relation to him; even if the demons in his own territory died, he wouldn't feel particularly sorrowful or grief-stricken.

Su Zhen looked up toward the gloomy sky of the Void Realm, where dark clouds rolled and lightning flickered and quivered.

She recalled a long time ago, when she was still young and her mother had not yet left.

Her peers in the clan were laughing and playing around when a cousin of similar age suddenly crowded over, full of curiosity.

"...They say your dad is a tree. Is that true?"

The cousin had asked thus.

Su Zhen had forgotten how she answered; perhaps she had not answered at all.

The cousin had muttered softly, "My mum says the eldest miss is good at everything, learns everything fast, and can sit still—unlike me and my sister, who spend all day thinking about going out to play, get bored after hearing the teacher lecture for just a moment, let alone cultivating, and struggled for months without even succeeding at guiding Qi into the body."

Su Zhen remembered feeling somewhat surprised at the time.

It had taken her only a few hours to complete the guidance of Qi into her body and step into the Body Tempering realm. Her mother had praised her for doing exceptionally well, even faster than she herself had been back then.

Therefore, she had always known she was considered fast, yet she had never expected it could take others several months, let alone realizing later while mingling in the cultivation world that a few months wasn't even considered slow.

"But my dad refuted my mum..."

The cousin continued, "The eldest miss's father is a tree; the eldest miss inherited his bones and is merely a tree wearing human skin. Trees have no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness; even if you bore holes through it and chop it to pieces, it will not weep. Therefore, the eldest miss is different from us. We are normal children, but the eldest miss is not."

As the cousin spoke, a look of confusion appeared on his face. Clearly, a seven- or eight-year-old child had not fully understood the meaning of those words.

Su Zhen had simply felt that those words made no sense—how was she abnormal in any way?

However, her mother had long since told her to take the clan members' words with a grain of salt. Most of those who spoke ill of her were either jealous or acting out of self-interest; if she allowed herself to be hurt by them, she would only be playing right into their hands.

Thus, she had not been particularly angry and had brushed him off with a few perfunctory words before leaving.

Later on, she had never seen that cousin again. Years passed, and she heard that he had fallen at the hands of demon cultivators, but she no longer cared.

At that time, she had probably never imagined that one day, someone would say to her face that once a demon attains a human form, they attain a human heart, and their affections are equally sincere and precious.

Su Zhen suppressed the corners of her lips, which wanted to turn upward. "Senior."

"Hmm?"

Su Zhen cleared her throat. "I really do like you."

Xiao Yu: "..."

Xiao Yu entered a state of utter helplessness once more, looking both delighted and bewildered. "Is there any back story? How did we leap from your dad avenging you to me?"

Su Zhen smiled without answering.

Xiao Yu lowered his head to look at her, seemingly wanting to cross-examine her for a moment, yet not knowing how to broach the subject. In the end, he could only helplessly raise his hand and cup her face.

He leaned down and kissed her, a warm kiss brushing against her lips without deepening further. The scorching breath drifted upward, sweeping across the tip of her nose, her eyelids, and her brow bone, finally coming to rest upon her forehead.

Xiao Yu planted a kiss between her brows. "I like you very much as well."