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Li Fenglan and Ning Qingmo didn’t speak. The sunset in the desert was beautiful, but it disappeared quickly.
In just a few breaths, the warm sunshine that was shining on the people a moment ago disappeared, and the chill came from all directions.
Looking at Li Fenglan, who was holding a fierce beast in his arms, Ning Qingmo suddenly thought of something—
A thousand years ago, Li Fuyue was hunted by the entire cultivation world, hiding with Cheng Huang everywhere. But even at that time, when passing through some small towns, Li Fuyue had secretly left his aura there several times.
Even when he was possessed by demonic energy, he did not forget the way of dealing with people that he learned from Tianmian Palace…
Duan Wannian recognized Ning Qingmo, the two had even fought before. he knew that this music cultivator in front of him was not easy to deal with.
Therefore, seeing who the newcomer was, the little golden bird hidden in Li Fenglan’s hair moved instinctively toward his neck. Li Fenglan could feel that Duan Wannian was nervous.
If it weren’t for the hand that Li Fenglan had hidden in his sleeve, lightly patting Cheng Huang, the latter would have probably bared its teeth at the newcomer as soon as it saw him.
Seeing Ning Qingmo staring at him the entire time without saying a word, Li Fenglan finally gritted his teeth and took half a step forward.
He pretended as if nothing had happened and saluted the other person, “Immortal Ning Qingmo… what a coincidence.”
There was some probing and nervousness in Li Fenglan’s tone.
Hearing these words, Ning Qingmo finally came back to his senses.
Coincidence?
Not really. Since Li Fenglan and his group left Tianmian Palace, Ning Qingmo had been following him from a distance.
After the last conversation about Tanyi Pagoda, Ning Qingmo believed that the Tower Master would resurrect Li Fuyue. And if Li Fuyue were to be reborn, he would naturally need a suitable new body.
Li Fenglan’s body was the most suitable.
At this point, Ning Qingmo still didn’t know when Li Fuyue would be resurrected. In this long wait, perhaps the only thing he could do was to keep an eye on this body…
He must watch over this body for Fuyue.
Ning Qingmo’s gaze passed through Li Fenglan, looking at another person far away.
Upon hearing Li Fenglan’s words, he lightly smiled and nodded, saying, “Yes, what a coincidence.”
What a coincidence my foot!
Does he think I’m stupid? Which cultivator in their right mind would come to this remote and spiritually depleted place for no reason?
In the previous life, the Ning Qingmo he knew always appeared to be carefree and carried a somewhat nonchalant and non-desire for power attitude. Later, Li Fenglan found out that these were all just a facade.
After Li Fenglan was reborn, Ning Qingmo had to control his emotional fluctuations as much as possible because he forcefully switched to the heartless dao. As a result, he transformed from a man who always spoke with a hint of humor to someone who rarely spoke and even had little expression.
But the current Ning Qingmo was somewhat similar to his previous self.
After experiencing a setback, Li Fenglan immediately realized that Ning Qingmo’s approach to him this time must be for some other purpose.
“I wonder what business this esteemed immortal has here?” asked Li Fenglan, pretending to be unaware.
Business…
Ning Qingmo’s “business” was to find Li Fenglan, but he didn’t show any signs of nervousness or panic when asked. Ning Qingmo’s gaze swept over Cheng Huang and then he said, “I heard that something happened in Daiduo City, so I came to take a look. Do you need any help with anything?”
Looking at the sincere expression on the person in front of him, Li Fenglan could only think of four words in his heart: what a good actor.
After all, he had known Ning Qingmo for a thousand years, so how could he not know that Ning Qingmo never had a habit of helping others.
Just as Li Fenglan was about to tell him that he didn’t need any help, he heard a familiar voice from not far behind.
“I’m here, there’s no need to trouble the esteemed immortal Ning Qingmo.” It was Ling Buyan! When he heard his voice, Li Fenglan couldn’t help but show a happy expression on his face as he turned to look at him.
Ling Buyan walked over slowly and stood beside Li Fenglan. He looked at Ning Qingmo and casually asked, “There aren’t many people in Daiduo City, I didn’t expect the news of Immortal Ning to be so well-informed.”
Ling Buyan almost wrote on his face that he didn’t believe what Ning Qingmo had just said.
At this, Ning Qingmo’s face changed and he remained silent.
Before this, as a major commercial town in the desert, Daiduo City did not close its gates at night in case travelers arrived suddenly. But after what happened to Lou Yuanwei, the city gates of Daiduo City had been closed after sunset for the past few days.
Just as a few people were talking, the bone whistle symbolizing the closing of the city gate had already been blown on the nearby city wall.
Ling Buyan nodded silently to Li Fenglan and said, “Let’s go back.” Then he walked towards the city gate.
However, after walking only a few steps, Ling Buyan suddenly stopped.
He said to Ning Qingmo, “It seems that the residual soul in the Immortal Zither of the Immortal Venerable is gone. I don’t know if you have let go of your obsession. It’s a good thing to let go of it earlier, as people cannot come back to life once they die.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Buyan continued to walk forward without looking back.
With the other person standing beside him, Li Fenglan’s nervous heart gradually calmed down.
Li Fenglan could see that Ning Qingmo had dropped a realm in cultivation, and Ling Buyan had naturally noticed it as well. He knew that Ning Qingmo was still far from letting go of his obsession.
He had said that just now to stimulate the other party.
…
Ning Qingmo was still somewhat wary of Ling Buyan. Since their chance encounter outside Daiduo City that day, Ning Qingmo had temporarily disappeared from Li Fenglan’s sight.
But this was only temporary.
Li Fenglan could feel that Ning Qingmo had not gone far and had been silently watching him.
After staying in Daiduo City for a few days, Cheng Huang had completed his task. And on the same day, at the peak of the noon sun, the two small golden birds had long since returned to their original forms, finally regaining their human bodies.
In the lobby of the inn, two figures in beige sat at the table. They didn’t say a word, but quickly and gracefully used their chopsticks to eat.
Meanwhile, Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan…sat at another table, silently watching those two people.
These two individuals were cultivators who have lived for thousands of years. According to reason, they should have seen all sorts of scenes, but this time, after watching for a while, Li Fenglan couldn’t help but turn around and ask Ling Buyan, “Master, will they really be okay eating like this?”
Ling Buyan was also unsure this time. He shook his head slowly and said, “According to reason, they shouldn’t have any problems, but… now I’m not sure either.”
At noon that day, Duan Qianli and Duan Wannian transformed back into human form. After becoming human again, the first thing Duan Qianli did was to order a whole table of dishes at the inn.
This table of dishes was enough to serve half a banquet.
Not only Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan, but also the others in the inn were stunned.
Only Cheng Huang, who was held in Li Fenglan’s arms, was different. Although it wasn’t very interested in human food, it couldn’t help but smack its mouth when it saw the two of them eating so deliciously.
After another stick of incense time passed, the food and fruits on the table were finally consumed completely by the two of them.
At this point, Duan Qianli finally remembered that Li Fenglan had been watching him all along.
The hand that he had just put down his chopsticks with couldn’t help but pause… As the leader of the demon race, Duan Qianli’s actions just now were naturally very elegant, but even as a demon, he knew that he had eaten a bit too much just now…
“Ahem…” Duan Qianli slowly put down his chopsticks. He pretended to be serious and said with a hint of disdain, “Compared to what we have in our place, it’s still a bit lacking.”
What a joke! Fuyue…oh, no, it’s Fenglan now, he is the future clan leader’s madam of the demon race. He must leave a good impression on him for the sake of the demon race.
After being a little golden bird for a few days, Duan Qianli felt depressed for a few days. Now that he had finally returned to his original form, he remembered his goal from his previous life.
Before Li Fenglan, who looked conflicted, could say anything, another demon who had just put down her chopsticks exclaimed, “It’s so delicious! I haven’t eaten this much in a long time.”
Duan Qianli thought to himself, “Why does Duan Wannian sound like they’re always experiencing famine in their demon clan?”
“I haven’t been to the human world since the last time,” Duan Qianli forcefully changed the topic.
Upon hearing this, Duan Wannian, who had just put down his chopsticks, immediately turned to look at him, with a look of incomprehension and doubt.
In order to prevent his silly sister from saying anything more, Duan Qianli quickly stood up and said, “What about our previous agreement? Since both me and Wannian have recovered, let’s head to Duozhi Mountain.”
After settling the matter with Lou Yuanwei, Mu Hantao had returned to Tianmian Palace. The rest of them had also been busy with various tasks in the city, so the people here already knew that they were not ordinary mortals.
For example, when Duan Qianli and Duan Wannian were having their meal, half of the entire hall had been cleared out for them.
However, when it came to the words “Duozhi Mountain,” Duan Qianli lowered his voice a little.
Upon hearing this, Ling Buyan, who had been silently watching Duan Qianli eat, finally spoke up, “Alright, since you two have recovered, we can go at any time.”
“Okay,” Li Fenglan also nodded.
Although Li Fenglan had fought countless times with Duan Qianli in their previous lives and had been his rival, he had never been to the other side of Duozhi Mountain.
Although he had read records about it, he was still curious about the demon realm.
“Ts-ts…no, ” Duan Qianli suddenly shook his head and said to Ling Buyan, “You can go anywhere you want, but Fenglan is not an ordinary person. If he wants to go to the Demon Realm, I may have to go back and prepare first.”
Walking in the human world, Duan Qianli temporarily turned his white hair black. But although his hair color changed, the unique expression of a demon on his body was hard to conceal.
Seeing Duan Qianli’s expression, Li Fenglan immediately felt that he must be thinking of something bad.
At the same time, Duan Qianli’s words suddenly awakened someone – Duan Wannian.
Duan Wannian, who was in the bustling city, was trying hard to suppress her instinct to turn back into her original form and act cute to Li Fenglan. However, a few “gu gu” sounds couldn’t help but escape from her throat.
“What my brother said is right!” Fenglan is indeed an important person.
As soon as he heard his sister’s words, Duan Qianli’s face immediately turned pale.
Both he and Duan Wannian said that Li Fenglan was an important person, but their positioning of Li Fenglan…was completely different!
Is Duan Wannian avenging herself for doing undercover back then? At this moment, Duan Qianli was completely puzzled.
Due to Duan Wannian’s sudden interference, Duan Qianli’s “grand welcome” plan was temporarily shelved.
After resting at the inn for a while, they flew towards Duozhi Mountain.
Unlike Duan Qianli, who could finally turn back into human form, Duan Wannian seemed to have fallen in love with the feeling of becoming a little golden bird. When they left the inn, she turned back into her original form and stood on Li Fenglan’s shoulder.
This made Cheng Huang, who was following them closely, gnash his teeth in frustration.
Ning Qingmo had been following Li Fenglan’s group, but after leaving Daiduo City for not too long, he lost track of them.
Not knowing that Li Fenglan’s destination was Duozhi Mountain, he could only turn around and head towards the direction of Tianmian Palace after searching for them in the human world to no avail.
…
Although the demon clan was lacking in resources and had barren land, the completely different scenery here from the human world made Li Fenglan very curious.
After passing through Duozhi Mountain and looking at the dark red mountains beneath his feet, Li Fenglan didn’t feel bored. He observed his surroundings while riding his sword, and in no time, arrived at the very center of the demon realm.
Duan Qianli originally wanted to bring Li Fenglan to the Demon Clan Palace, but when he thought of the annoying Ling Buyan, he decided to bypass the location of the palace and fly further away.
“Hoot hoot~”
“Hoot hoot hoot hoot~”
After arriving at the territory of the Demon Clan, Duan Wannian became very excited. Every time she saw a mountain peak, she would hoot towards Li Fenglan, as if introducing the name and legend of the mountain. However, among the group of people here, only Duan Qianli could understand her. The rest not only couldn’t understand… and Cheng Huang, after hearing Duan Wannian’s “hoot hoot” for a while, was hypnotized by her and fell asleep on Li Fenglan’s shoulder.
At this moment, Duan Wannian’s hoots and Cheng Huang’s little snores complemented each other, making Li Fenglan’s ears lively.
Ever since he crossed Duozhi Mountain, Li Fenglan had been surrounded by endless mountains. It wasn’t until he reached the vicinity of the Demon Clan Palace that the terrain became slightly flatter.
Therefore, after his line of sight was no longer obstructed, he quickly realized that something was wrong with the environment around him.
“Why is it getting brighter…” He saw that at the end of the distant horizon, there were faint signs of sunrise. A bright golden line outlined the arc of the horizon, no different from when the sun was about to rise normally.
Although the Demon Territory was always overcast, Li Fenglan could still distinguish that the sun should be to his left rear.
How could there be two suns in the Demon Territory?
“Ugh… is it morning?” Not only Li Fenglan, but Cheng Huang, who had just fallen asleep, also felt the brightness.
It rubbed its eyes with its front paws and asked Li Fenglan in a daze.
Ling Buyan, standing next to Li Fenglan, heard the conversation between the two just now.
“It’s daytime now,” Ling Buyan said, “but that’s not the sun in the distance.”
“Hmm?”
Not the sun…
Wait, it’s not the sun!
Li Fenglan couldn’t help but turn around and glance at the little golden bird on his shoulder. Suddenly, an answer emerged in his mind.
“Could it be…the former leader of the demon clan?” Li Fenglan asked.
But to be able to illuminate the entire horizon, and even create the illusion that it was the sun, how massive of a body would it need?
Although Li Fenglan was active in the cultivation world in his previous life when the former demon leader was not yet injured and dormant, he was not like Duan Qianli, who loved to venture out of the demon realm. He had not met many important figures in the demon clan.
Before, Li Fenglan only knew that the former demon clan leader, after transforming into human form, had white hair like Duan Qianli, but he had never heard of any legends about his true form.
Li Fenglan did not know that at this moment, Duan Qianli, who was leading the way in front of him, had a proud expression on his face.
He cleared his throat and said, “The forbidden area of our demon clan is ahead.”
After speaking, Duan Qianli finally turned around and glanced at Duan Wannian.
“Gu gu gu…” The little golden bird rubbed against Li Fenglan’s long hair reluctantly, and after a final “gu~”, it finally struggled to flap its thin golden wings and flew to Li Fenglan’s side.
Another burst of golden light flashed by, and Duan Wannian finally turned back into human form.
Duan Qianli waved his hand to open the barrier and let everyone pass through.
At this moment, Li Fenglan finally saw the scene below clearly.
It was the former demon clan leader, Duan Jisu.
A giant golden demon body laid on the crimson earth. Despite having been sleeping for many years, Li Fenglan could still feel the powerful demonic pressure emanating from Duan Jisu’s body. The golden light still shone brightly without any signs of dimming.
Viewed from the sky, it was like the sun that had been hanging high above had fallen to the mortal world.
It wasn’t until Li Fenglan saw Duan Jisu’s demon body that he realized how huge demons could be.
Overwhelmed by the sight, Li Fenglan remained silent for a long time.
Looking down at his father who had been sleeping for who knows how many years, Duan Qianli finally sighed and said, “My father is the oldest demon in the demon clan today. He’s over ten thousand years old… He could have ascended to the upper realm with his demon body a long time ago, but he didn’t because he missed my mother.”
In other words, Duan Jisu had reached the highest level that the lower realm could accommodate.
“I don’t know why he… turned into this because of a savage beast,” Li Fenglan hadn’t thought of this question before seeing Duan Jisu.
But now, seeing the giant body and the surging demonic energy around him, this doubt arose in his heart.
Yes, why did it happen?
At this point, Duan Wannian, who had been silent, looked at Cheng Huang that he had been fighting with for a long time and pouted, “By all accounts, Cheng Huang is the most powerful savage beast in the world, right? But even with its power, it couldn’t have hurt my father, let alone keep him asleep for so long.”
Out of respect for the dignity of ancient savage beasts, Cheng Huang wanted to refute, but after taking another look at the giant bird shining like gold below, it swallowed the unspoken words.
He looked at Ling Buyan and said, “Didn’t you say before that you could awaken my father? Now that I’ve brought you here, don’t tell me your method is just to make me wait.”
Although there was nothing important inside the demon clan’s forbidden area, at least Duan Jisu’s true form was here, so this place had a different meaning for all demon clans.
If it weren’t for the sake of Li Fenglan’s face, Duan Qianli really didn’t want Ling Buyan to come.
“Of course not.” Ling Buyan said, and then took something out of his space.
He looked at the golden body and said, “Actually, it’s very simple to wake him up, as long as there is enough demonic energy.”
“I’ve already tried this, and this forbidden area has the most demonic energy–” Duan Qianli thought Ling Buyan was joking with him. Who didn’t know about this method? However, knowing and being able to do it are completely different things!
But he had only spoken halfway when he saw a wooden plaque with cracks appearing in Ling Buyan’s hand.
“The Du…Du Sheng plaque?” Duan Qianli recognized the characters on the wooden plaque.
At this moment, there was only one thought in Duan Qianli’s mind: Isn’t this thing supposed to be in Endless Purgatory according to legend?
Most importantly, does Endless Purgatory really exist in this world?!