Chapter 891: Shen Yuanming, the Fall of Wu Demon Island

After leaving Beast God Mountain and slipping into the Great Void, Lu Changsheng let the Golden-Winged Roc enter the Heavenly Yuan Lotus to recover.

Then, using his physical divine abilities and the Yin-Yang Glass Wall, he quietly slipped into the ranks of the Barebody Sect army and took up his role as Changsheng True Lord again.

Since that battle at Huarong Immortal City, Lu Miaoge had barely shown herself in public, always claiming she’d exhausted herself and Lu Changsheng with the combined cultivation technique, keeping them resting most of the time.

So besides Yun Wanshang, Lu Wangshu, and Xiao Xiyue, no one realized anything was wrong with Lu Changsheng.

“Changsheng, are you done? I heard Beast God Mountain is settled now—are you hurt at all?”

Seeing him return, Lu Miaoge’s eyes lit up, her gaze gentle as she asked about his wellbeing.

She didn’t know all the details about the battle there.

All she knew was Beast God Mountain had fallen and True Lord Nine Spirits was captured and killed.

But she’d heard True Lord Nine Spirits’ reputation—he was far above the likes of True Lord Youyue, True Lord Huangquan, True Lord Tiancang, or even True Lord Qianren.

“I’m fine, Miaoge.”

Lu Changsheng held her slender hand, warmth in his handsome features, and sat down beside her, recounting what happened at Beast God Mountain.

There was nothing on his face that hinted at Yangming True Lord or the Lord of Dameng City—

which was probably why, even after spending every day together and raising a child, Yun Wanshang was still momentarily shocked every time she saw him transform into Yangming True Lord.

“With the war won, all sides should rest and recover now, right?”

Lu Miaoge nestled into his arms and spoke softly.

She’d spent most her years cultivating on Bihu Mountain, but even a few trips to the front lines had shown her the brutal side of war.

She just wanted the cultivation world to find some lasting peace.

“Yeah, the next step is cleaning up. Yuan Kingdom’s still digesting what it took from Qiyun, and with the Jiang-Yue alliance in place, no new wars will break out.”

Lu Changsheng smiled, but didn’t mention the Seven Demonic Sects or Blood Sea Sect envoys—no reason to burden her with those worries.

Besides, if those demonic sects ever stirred up real chaos, it would start in the Central Domain, far from their remote home in Jiang, deep within the Southern Desolation and Northern Region. They’d be the last to get caught up, so there was no need for needless worry.

“Changsheng, with the Starry Sea troubles and the Liang-Yue War over, can you finally rest a bit?”

Lu Miaoge searched his face, her voice gentle.

Lu Changsheng made time to come home, sure, but as his wife, she saw how these decades had worn him thin. He never got to relax like in the old days, always running here and there.

It pained her to see it, and all she wanted was for him to have some peace at home.

Feeling the concern and tenderness in her clear, soft gaze, Lu Changsheng paused.

He didn’t really know what to say—is it true that the stronger you get, the bigger your burdens become?

Back in his early Qi Refining days, on Qingzhu Mountain, Jiulong Market, or at Hongye Valley, life was nothing but eating, sleeping, making kids, making talismans, and raising the little ones. Pure leisure.

But the higher his cultivation climbed, the more endless trivial matters crowded his days—so much for peace.

Even now, with the Starry Sea and Liang-Yue matters settled, the list of things left to do stretched a mile long.

Consolidating domains, practicing divine abilities, reforging treasures, teaching the kids—just the aftermath in Liang, dividing up territories for Jiang, setting up arrays—all of it made his head hurt.

He was planning to leave it all for Hong Lian and his son Lu Lingxiao to handle.

As for old grudges with the Qisha Sect, Shadow Sect, Shi Hai True Lord, and Wu Gu Old Demon, he just didn’t have time for them now.

He’d have to keep the assassins from Qisha and Shadow Sect locked away in the Inconceivable Treasure Wheel until he got around to dealing with them.

For now, he would honor his promise to the Green Dragon King, then pay a visit to Divine Maiden Palace.

After all, he’d put off the meeting with the Green Dragon King long enough—he wasn’t about to break his word.

Same thing with Divine Maiden Palace.

His son Shen Yuanming was ten already, and now that he felt truly powerful, it was time he met both his son and Shen Yiren, and made things right.

When it came to his daughters Mu Que and Nangong Yaoyao, he could only sigh—there was just nothing he could do.

“Changsheng, whatever’s weighing on you, you can always tell me. I may not be much help, but you don’t have to carry it alone.”

Lu Miaoge saw the look on his face—he’d never really get to relax. She bit her lip, smoothing his hair, then guided his head into her lap, circulating the Supreme Goodness Like Water Method as she massaged him.

Her gentle care made his heart soften. With his eyes closed and his body completely at ease, he started to tell her about his promises to the Green Dragon King, his intentions toward Shen Yiren, and how he’d discovered Lu Quanzhen was his son.

Lu Miaoge honestly hadn’t expected her husband’s journeys to be so eventful.

Especially not the part about a son she never knew about.

“Since the Green Dragon King helped us, of course you should go see him and return the favor.”

Her fingers traced his brow as she said softly, “You can’t put off matters with Master Shen either. Go and talk things out—get it settled.”

After a century as husband and wife, she’d come to terms with his romantic entanglements—in fact, she was used to them.

Still, when she saw how he kept leaving children behind wherever he went, with no time to care for them, she couldn’t help but quietly advise, “If you can, Changsheng, spend some time with this child—and with Shouzheng. When you and Qingyi True Lord go back, make sure to be with them more.”

Her own daughter, Lu Qingzhu, had been accepted as Immortal Tian Yuan’s disciple when she was young, so she understood how hard it was for Chu Qingyi to leave for the frontlines, unable to see or raise her own son, Lu Shouzheng.

Seeing little Lu Shouzheng on Bihu Mountain—withdrawn and always by himself—pained her, too.

She knew the boy was mature for his age, missed his mother, and held some bitterness toward Lu Changsheng, his father. He had complaints but kept them to himself.

As for what happened between Changsheng and the third palace master, Shen Yiren—it was fate, nothing they could change. But she hoped all the same that it wouldn’t be dragged out any longer.

“Yeah.”

Lu Changsheng thought of all his sons and daughters back home and felt another wave of regret.

There were far more Lu children than he could ever truly care for.

All he could do was give them better lives, hoping that made up for the fatherly presence he lacked.

Still, seeing the faces of those who’d barely met him, looking up with awe, fear, and the sort of distant respect only strangers give—it brought a bittersweet ache to his heart.

Lu Miaoge didn’t push him further; her slender fingers moved with the power of Taiyi True Water, easing his stress and soothing his body and soul.

Starry Sea, Divine Maiden Palace.

On Divine Maiden Peak, right where sea and sky met in a billow of clouds, a woman in a luxurious red dress lay languidly atop Seaview Stone.

She was tall and sinuous, about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, with stunning beauty like peach blossoms in March—mature, captivating, radiating feminine complexity.

Her slim waist flowed into those long, graceful legs, wrapped by her red dress. Every time the winds whipped the cloud sea into waves, a pale, snow-white glimpse of thigh would show—a tantalizing, artful allure.

Beside Seaview Stone, another woman in emerald-green sat gracefully atop a Five-Colored Spirit Deer.

This green-robed woman shared a few features with the lady in red, but her aura was gentler, her beauty more classically refined.

Soft worry shone in her bright eyes as she watched a young boy, inside a magnetic field, gritting his teeth and enduring the bombardment of forceful mystical light.

The boy looked about ten, features not yet matured, but his brows and bones hinted that when he grew up, he’d be tall, elegant, and striking.

Gritting his teeth, his skin laced with grayish spirit light, he struggled against the magnetic waves produced by a godly magnetic crystal.

“Thud!”

After a long struggle, the boy finally buckled, groaning as he collapsed.

“Yuanming.” Shen Yiren quickly leaped from the Five-Colored Spirit Deer to catch and heal her son.

But the lady in red sprang upright, stopping her. “Sister, I told you—Yuanming is cultivating. He needs this magnetic force to awaken his abilities and master the Heavenly Light Magnetic Method. If you interfere now, you’ll only hurt, not help!”

She shot the boy a cold look. “Yuanming, get up!”

Yuanming shot his second aunt a resentful look, then glanced at his concerned mother. He forced himself upright and managed, “I’m fine, Mom.”

But the words were barely out when the magnetic field slammed him down again. He groaned, blood trickling from his lips.

“Tch, little brat,” Shen Baishuang scoffed,

then crossed her arms, standing as regal as a blooming peony, looking down at him. “If you’re not dead, then get up. Even if you faint, your second aunt will just bring you back.”

She didn’t actually dislike him. It was just how she was—direct, a bit sharp. And she knew her sister was too softhearted, the kind to spoil her kid, so she had to play the bad guy.

That was why, for years, her elder sister Shen Jianjia had forbidden her from leaving Divine Maiden Peak, making her stay and teach Shen Yuanming instead.

The boy just groaned and started circulating his cultivation again, grinding his teeth as he took the brunt of the magnetic force.

“Calm down, little sister. Can’t you see he’s totally fine?”

Shen Baishuang pulled Shen Yiren aside, telling her not to worry.

The sisters hadn’t gotten along in their early years—fighting, drugs, all kinds of strife. But after that incident, things changed: Baishuang started apologizing more, making up for her faults over a decade of living side by side.

Shen Yiren, now at the peak of Core Formation, obviously knew her son wasn’t in real danger.

Still, watching him suffer through cultivation made her ache with worry.

“The Heavenly Light Magnetic Method is a top-tier cultivation your big sis nearly broke her back tracking down. If Yuanming can master it, not only will he be unbeatable among his peers, he’ll fully tap his hidden power. If he doesn’t train hard now, it’ll just hold him back later.”

Shen Baishuang, legs crossed on Seaview Stone, kept advising her sister.

Of course Shen Yiren understood.

But what mother could stand to watch her son suffer?

She turned away, dress fluttering in the sea breeze, like a flawless lotus blooming above the clouds.

After a while, she quietly said, “Second sister, I want to try for Nascent Soul.”

Her cultivation had been at the peak of Core Formation for years. If not for her pregnancy, she’d have broken through long ago.

“You want to break through?” Shen Baishuang blinked, then tried to act cool. “You’re still young, no rush. Besides, Yuanming needs you around.”

She knew her sister’s condition better than anyone. Passing two of the three Nascent Soul tribulations—forming the soul and weathering thunder—would be easy.

The hard part was always the heart demon tribulation.

Her sister had delayed her breakthrough all these years, making sure she could weather it without risk. But the shadows of Xuamu Daoist still lingered—Shen Baishuang knew her sister’s heart wasn’t free.

So as long as Shen Yiren still hadn’t made peace with her inner turmoil, neither she nor Shen Jianjia dared let her try.

Even though Shen Jianjia had prepared the best soul-calming items, they still hoped Yiren would let things go naturally before taking the leap.

“Yuanming has you and big sis. He’ll be fine.”

Shen Yiren’s voice was soft, certain—should anything happen to her, her son would be looked after.

“Little sister, the fault was mine back then. Yuanming still needs you.”

Shen Baishuang saw her sister’s melancholy, then barked toward the field, “Brat, you’re down again? If you can’t do it, just give up already!”

She had nothing against her nephew. But just thinking of his father got her riled up every time.

Shen Yiren, seeing her sister’s attempt at distracting her, sighed and watched her son grit his teeth in the magnetic field.

She didn’t want to die, only… she could feel herself growing less and less able to let go.

As her son got older, the firmer her heart had to be. If she wanted any hope of breaking through, now was the time—before her courage failed her.

One exhausting round after another, Yuanming finally collapsed in the practice field.

Shen Yiren hurried over, gently scooping him up, healing his wounds, and carrying him back to rest.

Watching the two of them, Shen Baishuang didn’t return to her own White Dew Palace. Instead, she headed to Divine Maiden Palace to see her elder sister.

“What is it?”

Shen Jianjia sat serene and beautiful, noble dignity in her eyes. Even after more than a decade, she still hadn’t truly forgiven Baishuang’s past mistakes.

“Elder sister, little sis is talking about breaking through again…”

Shen Baishuang had always respected this big sister—and after so much trouble, especially when Shen Jianjia had to clean up after her, she barely dared look her in the eye.

“Tell Yiren that the Starry Sea isn’t stable. Wu Demon Island was just destroyed. Don’t let her attempt a breakthrough now—wait for this storm to pass.”

Shen Jianjia knew her younger sister too well, had already guessed her intent, and gave her instructions.

“Wu Demon Island was destroyed?!” Shen Baishuang blurted.

That island belonged to Wu Gu Old Demon—protected by a powerful formation. Wu Gu Old Demon wasn’t the strongest Nascent Soul cultivator, but even so, to destroy his island was no simple feat.

“Who did it?”

Even though she ran business for both Divine Maiden Palace and Blade Forging Mountain and was usually well informed, being grounded by her sister meant she missed a lot of news.

“Not sure yet. The reports say it was likely two demonic Nascent Soul cultivators, but it doesn’t seem to match the style of Six Paths Palace.” Shen Jianjia shook her head.

With a few more words, Shen Baishuang left Divine Maiden Palace.

Once her sister was out of sight, Shen Jianjia turned her hand and summoned a message talisman. “Yuning, come see me.”

Soon enough, a beautiful and elegant young woman, dressed in a blue-and-white robe, hurried over and bowed respectfully. “Yuning greets Master.”

“What do you know of Da Mengze?”

Qin Yuning replied, “I’ve heard a little, Master.”

A few years ago, a rumor had exploded across the Starry Sea—that the legendary Kunpeng egg had already hatched, its chick escaping into a mysterious mist-shrouded zone called Da Mengze using a precious artifact.

Some say the Kunpeng hatchling ended up in the hands of the overlord of that land, the Immortal City of Damengze.

As a core disciple of Divine Maiden Palace, now handling many matters as acting Second Palace Master, Qin Yuning knew this rumor had been started by Fuhai Sect.

“Go through the Mist Sea, cross Da Mengze, and seek an audience with the deputy lord of the Immortal City of Damengze. Deliver this jade slip to him.”

Shen Jianjia waved her sleeve, and a deep-blue jade slip floated over to Qin Yuning.

Qin Yuning was surprised by her master’s connection to the Immortal City but knew better than to ask. She took the jade slip, bowing. “I’ll deliver it!”

“There may be danger in the Mist Sea and Da Mengze. Take these treasures and talismans for protection.”

With a flick of her star-swirled robe, a quasi-spirit treasure and several fourth-tier talismans landed before Qin Yuning—just in case she ran into a fourth-rank demon king.

“Thank you, Master.” Qin Yuning bowed again.

“Xuamu Daoist, Immortal City of Damengze, Changsheng True Lord…”

As Qin Yuning left, Shen Jianjia’s eyes turned deep, gazing toward Da Mengze.

Years ago, when Lu Changsheng fled from her grasp, she had already seen through his disguise. The mysterious Xuamu Daoist, the one who crossed the Mist Sea on a giant whale and meddled with her goddaughter Shen Wanzhao’s memory, was none other than the deputy lord of Immortal City—Changsheng True Lord himself!