Chapter 118

Luo Han sighed deeply. Her worst fear had come to pass. So it really would come down to the Bodhi Tree.
She asked wearily, “Where is the Bodhi Tree now?”
“Bodhi has no tree.” The Xuan Turtle’s massive shell shimmered faintly. “It has no fixed place—and yet, it is everywhere. This is a token it left with me long ago.”
He conjured a water bubble that cradled an ancient wooden token and floated it toward Luo Han. “Take this. If the tree senses it...it will appear.”
Luo Han accepted the token, still full of doubts. This might’ve been a solution, but it felt less like an answer and more like a mystery wrapped in hope.
No time. No location. Just...wait and hope the Bodhi Tree noticed her?
Still, she stored the token inside her pendant and said, “I understand. I’ll find a way to locate the Bodhi Tree. I must go now—farewell.”
The Xuan Turtle gave her a slow nod, watching as she drifted farther away.
“Heavenly Dao...take care.”
Not long after leaving the turtle, Luo Han saw Ling Qingxiao and the others waiting for her up ahead. They hadn’t followed her, but neither had they gone too far—just far enough not to hear, yet close enough that she wouldn’t lose her way.
Luo Han let out a quiet sigh and greeted them as if nothing had happened, rejoining the group with practiced ease.
She said nothing about her conversation. And Ling Qingxiao never asked.
Their mission was complete, and the five of them resumed their journey at full speed. Soon, they broke through the surface of the sea. The return trip was much faster than their approach. By the time Luo Han set foot on land again, it was already the third month of the following year.
Ling Qingxiao was heading to the Far East to search for Nuwa’s descendants. Zou Jibai and Feng Yujia had decided to join him. Seeing Feng Yujia agree, Ye Zinan also followed.
The five of them rested briefly on the shore, then boarded the flying vessel once more, setting course for the far eastern region known as the Great Wilderness.
Their trip to the Eastern Sea had lasted nine full months—most of it spent just traveling.
News did not spread easily across the ocean. It was only upon returning to land that Luo Han learned just how much had changed in their absence.
The most shocking news? Lei Lie King had died and Ye Zhongyu—after a ruthless power struggle—had taken the throne of Lei Lie City.
Onboard the flying vessel, they rapidly caught up on nine months’ worth of gossip, the more they heard, the more baffled they became.
Zou Jibai asked, “How did Ye Zhongyu become a demon king? Even if he’s a prodigy, he’s only been in the demon realm three years. Are we really supposed to believe the entire Demon Realm couldn’t produce someone better than him?”
Ye Zinan shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he’s a cultivation genius or something. He was mediocre in the Celestial Realm—nothing special, not even particularly hardworking. But now in the Demon Realm, he’s somehow skyrocketed overnight.”
Feng Yujia wasn’t familiar with Ye Zhongyu, but both Ye Zinan and Zou Jibai had dealt with him before. In their eyes, Ye Zhongyu had always been unremarkable—neither talented nor diligent.
If someone like that suddenly possessed deep, terrifying demonic power…it was hard not to be suspicious.
Luo Han said quietly, “It’s hard to say whether it was cultivation or scheming that put him on the throne—but honestly, it’s not surprising he rose to power. Tension between the Demon Realm and the Celestial Realm has been rising. The demonic energy is thinning, resources are scarce, and the Demon King has repeatedly made concessions to the heavens. The resentment among the lower ranks has been simmering for years. Ye Zhongyu simply rode that wave.”
The former King of Lei Lie had barely crossed the Milky Way before dying under mysterious circumstances—his expression peaceful, no wounds on his body, and not even the guards escorting him could explain what had happened.
Seizing the moment, Ye Zhongyu emerged and boldly claimed that the Heavenly Palace had orchestrated an assassination—that the moment Lei Lie crossed the border, he was poisoned to death.
He had no proof. But the common folk of the Demon Realm didn’t care about evidence. They had been searching for someone to blame, and this narrative gave them the perfect outlet for their rage. Ye Zhongyu stoked their anger and hatred for the Celestial Realm. With a few rousing speeches about "restoring the Demon Realm," he swiftly rallied support and ascended to power.
But Luo Han knew—there was no way the Heavenly Palace had killed the Lei Lie King. If the Celestial Emperor truly wanted him dead, why bother sending him back alive? Besides, Lei Lie’s death benefited the heavens not at all. Replacing a known, manageable ruler with someone new and unpredictable? It made no sense.
And yet, the moment Lei Lie stepped foot back into the Demon Realm, he died. Technically, it had nothing to do with the Heavenly Palace. But emotionally? Many refused to believe otherwise.
The Heavenly Palace was wrongfully accused.
Ye Zinan lowered his voice. “Only one person profited from this. I can’t help but suspect that Ye Zhongyu had a hand in it.”
Luo Han spread her hands. “Who knows? Ling Qingxiao already sent a message to the palace. We’ll know soon enough.”
Ye Zinan shook his head in resignation. Then, remembering another piece of gossip, he leaned in with renewed interest. “Ye Zhongyu’s been up to more than just that. Did you hear about Su Yinyue? Her Dragon Core shattered—she’s dying. Ye Zhongyu got his hands on some shady method to extend her life—by transplanting a heart from a living person. And guess whose heart he picked? Yun Menghan.”
Feng Yujia blinked in disbelief. “He’s...digging out someone’s heart?!”
Zou Jibai was equally stunned. “Wait—Yun Menghan? Wasn’t she his wife? Didn’t they just get married?”
Feng Yujia’s eyes widened. “They’re married?!”
Luo Han sighed. Ah. So the heart-gouging drama arc had finally arrived.
Su Yinyue had always been frail. When Ye Zhongyu smuggled her back to the Demon Realm, the strain on her body was too much. She’d been deteriorating ever since and was now on the verge of death.
Luo Han said coldly, “It’s amazing how convenient the word love can be. Just say you love someone, and anything becomes forgivable. Even the victim will forgive you.”
But love...was nothing but a feeling. It was what someone did that mattered. If someone truly loved you, how could they bear to harm you? The moment violence entered the picture, it stopped being love—it became abuse.
Whether it was Yun Menghan or Su Yinyue, Ye Zhongyu had never loved either of them. The only thing he ever cared about was himself. The difference was, Su Yinyue knew. Yun Menghan...was still lying to herself.
All that deep, tragic love Yun Menghan believed in—it had always been her own delusion. From the very beginning, Ye Zhongyu had only ever cared about Su Yinyue. Yun Menghan just couldn’t face the truth. So she lied to herself, convinced herself he loved her too—anything to numb the pain.
And the more she lied, the more real it felt. But in reality, she owed him nothing. She didn’t depend on him. She didn’t need to stay and endure this.
How much was a man’s love really worth? Could it compare to her dignity—or her body?
Ye Zinan had long known about the twisted love triangle. But who would have thought it would spiral this far?
He shook his head. “Another soul blinded by love. I just hope she wakes up soon.”
But if someone couldn’t learn to say no, no one else could help them.
In the end, the Demon Realm’s affairs were just mealtime gossip for them. The four chatted for a while before their eyes turned toward Ling Qingxiao again. Zou Jibai raised a brow. “He’s still at it? Doesn’t that man ever rest?”
While the rest of them sat outside, enjoying the breeze and conversation, Ling Qingxiao remained in the study—reading letters, responding to them, drafting reports. When others were asleep, he was training, reading, refining his techniques.
An absolutely terrifying person.
Ye Zinan said, “You’ve known him for this long and still haven’t gotten used to it?”
“I get working hard,” Zou Jibai muttered. “But does he ever take a break? Is it possible to function without rest?”
“It is,” Ye Zinan replied, his voice dry. “That’s how he became an Immortal Lord. Meanwhile, we’ve only just broken into Celestial Rank.”
Everyone collectively felt the stab of inadequacy—and dropped the subject.
Luo Han had thought that digging out a living heart was already extreme. But the story didn’t end there. By the time they entered the Great Wilderness, the love triangle from the Demon Realm had reached new, grotesque heights.
Yun Menghan refused to donate her heart. In a fit of rage, Ye Zhongyu hung her from the city gate.
During this time, he continued to manipulate public sentiment, even building a Heaven-Slaying Platform to draw more support. He had it constructed atop a towering cliff—so high that all who looked up would see it.
The man truly stopped at nothing for power and fame. What started as a heart transplant scandal had now become the Hanging Incident. And it worked—Ye Zhongyu became infamous across all Six Realms.
On the fourth day, Yun Menghan miscarried. And then, in despair, she jumped from the Heaven-Slaying Platform.
“Heaven-slaying, heaven-slaying…” Luo Han murmured. “Yun Menghan was immortal. And so, to slay the immortal—she became the offering.”
Rumor had it that after her fall, Ye Zhongyu went mad. He dispatched people in waves to comb the cliffside, searching desperately for her body.
Luo Han felt nothing but disgust. He was the one who tried to dig out her heart. He ordered her strung up for all to see.
And now that she had died just as he wanted—he was the one losing his mind? He had committed every sin under the sun. So what did he want now? Applause?
Did he truly expect to dig Yun Menghan’s heart out, and still have her serve him without resentment, even love him? Ye Zhongyu’s sense of entitlement was utterly warped.
Luo Han didn’t even know where to begin. The entire affair reeked of absurdity. Ling Qingxiao had long dismissed it from his mind. He had done all he could. Whatever became of Su Yinyue or Yun Menghan was no longer his concern.
The Great Wilderness—though used as a place name—had no clear borders. It referred generally to the remote eastern reaches. They searched far and wide, scouring hidden paradises and untouched lands, yet not a trace of the hidden Nuwa clan could be found.
Luo Han speculated, “Could it be that only the Dark River leads into the Nuwa Clan’s domain?”
Ling Qingxiao looked out over the endless expanse. “It’s highly likely.”
With no better lead, they changed tactics and began searching for the Dark River. It was a mysterious and temperamental force—appearing once every century, but never in a fixed time or place. Sometimes it would surge onto the surface as a great river, other times it would quietly branch off from an existing stream, only to vanish again without a trace. Locals often mistook it for a natural shift in water flow.
Finding it was no easy task. But one day, while passing through a dense mountain forest, Luo Han suddenly halted.
“…Why is there demonic energy here?”
Her senses were finely tuned. At her words, the others finally paused and focused. Sure enough, faint traces of demonic aura could be felt.
They looked down. Beneath the thick soil, an underground river twisted and turned—carrying with it a dark, tainted aura.