"The upper realm is not to be explored."
"In order to leave you a message, I used the power of the stars to send a message to the Fu family, but for some reason it was discovered by other people left behind in the upper realm, so I had to close this place in time."
After Fu Yangxu finished speaking, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Flames leaped in the cave, but only the glacial rock beneath him exuded a chill.
Fu Mingxu's gaze was fixed on the glacier stone, and he remained silent for a long time with his lips pursed.
"So, the chains on you were also made by your mother?" he asked softly. The nine flaming chains easily passed through Fu Yangxu's shoulder blades, binding him here for many years.
Fu Yangxu closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again without any resentment. "It wasn't her."
At least, it wasn't her doing it herself.
"She is an immortal, and I am just an ordinary cultivator from the lower realm. Falling in love with her must have offended the upper realm." The legends about the upper realm have never subsided in the cultivation world. Fu Yangxu still remembers how embarrassed he was when he first met her.
Perhaps what she said about being hunted by enemies was true, but she accidentally escaped to the Cangling Continent, which led to the story between the two of them.
In mortal folk tales, love between immortals and mortals is always punished, and he would rather that punishment fall on him.
In his heart, Zhaoling was nothing more than a fairy he secretly loved.
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingxu felt a sense of relief. Subconsciously, he didn't want to attribute everything his father had suffered to his mother.
However, Han Tao, who was standing quietly listening to the conversation between the two, merely lifted his eyelids, gave Fu Yangxu a deep look, and then moved his lips slightly without making a sound.
Their eyes met briefly before they looked away without a word, their subtle movements going unnoticed by Fu Mingxu.
"Just now, Bai Huazhi was being controlled by the consciousness of someone from the upper realm. He tried to attack me in order to threaten your mother."
"The Witch Clan Ruins will close on their own after you leave. It's safer for me to stay here than to go outside."
In the end, Fu Yangxu once again refused Fu Mingxu's offer to help him escape, citing the reason that "if he breaks free of the chains and leaves, his mother, Fu Yangxu, will suffer if the upper realm discovers it."
"If you can find a way to repair the broken Heavenly Ladder, find your mother, and confirm that she is safe and sound, then come and get me."
In the end, Fu Mingxu could only leave, looking back every few steps.
As soon as he left Wuwang Island, gazing at the island in the center of the silver waves, he slowly squatted down, lowered his head, and covered his eyes.
Under the starlight, his shoulders trembled incessantly, making him appear exceptionally thin and weak.
The lingering soreness in his nose, which he had been holding back for so long, finally burst forth like a flood breaking through a dam. Tears streamed down his face, quickly soaking his fingers.
He was crying silently.
Han Tao also squatted down and silently hugged him.
He didn't say anything, only gently patted his back, his golden eyes filled with endless affection and tenderness.
...
Inside the cave, Fu Yangxu, who had been resting with his eyes closed since Fu Mingxu left, opened them again.
As Si Yang Xianjun looked at the person opposite him who resembled Fu Mingxu, the heavenly secrets he had deduced kept flashing through his mind.
"The Heavenly Dao is declining during the day, but it cannot bear to see the Cangling Continent perish." Fu Yangxu smiled gently, as if he had sensed his intentions. "I already know the name of the Immortal Lord. In this world, only you are closest to the secrets of Heaven. I only managed to glimpse a trace of the secrets of Heaven because I obtained the power of the stars from the Wu Clan by chance."
"But my talent for deducing the secrets of heaven is limited. Over the years, I have been alone here, which has given me some leisure time to think about problems."
“Mingxu has a unique bloodline. Although I don’t know the reason why his mother did what she did, I do know that people in the upper realm regard the lower realm as nothing more than ants who are just trying to survive.”
“Even ants have the desire to embark on the path to heaven. Immortal Lord, you have the well-being of all living beings in your heart, and you are surely the most suitable medium for the Heavenly Dao here.”
Si Yang Immortal Lord frowned slightly, his half-gray hair shimmering in the leaping flames. "Did you tell him everything you knew?"
Fu Yangxu smiled but remained silent.
He naturally knew more than he said, but he didn't want Fu Mingxu to live in pain and entanglement.
The Heavenly Ladder has been broken for a thousand years. He doesn't know how those people from the upper realm came down or what they did. He can only treat the restoration of the Heavenly Ladder as a dream and send it to his son's other thoughts.
"I give you the power that formed the Witch Clan." Fu Yangxu's voice was unhurried, as if he were giving away the most ordinary gift.
After he finished speaking, he slowly stood up again.
The chain swayed, and flames surged forth, seemingly trying to stop him.
Fu Yangxu stood on the glacier rock, slowly bending his straight back, which he maintained even when sitting, and bowed respectfully and solemnly to Si Yang.
"I hope that in the future, the Immortal Lord will help my son."
As people often say, parents who love their children plan far ahead.
However, after Si Yang obtained the information and wishes that Fu Mingxu knew from the power of the stars, he deeply understood the meaning of those words.
...
When Fu Mingxu stood in the sunlight again, he and Han Tao had already left the Demon Realm.
Immortal Lord Siyang sent a message saying that he was all well, but needed to return to the Tianyan Sect. He said that he could send a message at any time.
The morning breeze still carried the lingering coolness from the night, and a few strands of hair drifted in front of his eyes, splitting the sunlight in his vision into several pieces.
Fu Mingxu vaguely felt that nothing had changed during this trip to the Witch Clan ruins, except for the unexpected surprise of Han Tao's demonic seed being devoured by a demonic spirit by some twist of fate.
“Mingxu, shall we go back to Yunhan City together first?” Shen Ange naturally took You Shu’s arm and said in a good mood, “My parents’ remains have been brought together. I want to take them back to Yunhan City for a proper burial. Uncle Chang just sent a message saying that he has prepared the burial site.”
She only needs one burial plot because she will bury her father's and mother's remains together.
Fu Mingxu's eyes were still slightly red. He casually brushed his hair behind his head, glanced at her arm linked with You Shu's, and barely suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
"You Shu, are you really giving up being the Demon Lord?"
You Shu was still dressed in red, and shrugged indifferently: "I became the Demon Lord for the sake of the Demon Spirit. Now that I have the Demon Spirit, I can cultivate the most orthodox demonic techniques. Who would want to stay in this godforsaken Demon Realm?"
Shen Ange frowned when she heard her crude description, but didn't say anything more.
In the beginning of time, spiritual energy was not the dominant force. All things in the universe freely cultivated various methods and supernatural abilities, which led to the existence of the three thousand Great Daos.
With the correct cultivation method, spiritual energy and demonic energy are simply two different kinds of energy.
If the dantian is the medium for cultivating spiritual energy, then the demonic spirit is the medium for cultivating demonic energy.
Both attained enlightenment through cultivation.
After the demonic seed within Han Tao was resolved, even knowing that Bai Hua was backed by someone from the Upper Realm, Fu Mingxu and the others could not do anything else for the time being.
"Then let's go back first." After traveling so much, he was exhausted and just wanted to get a good night's sleep and put his worries aside for the time being.
The group of four quickly returned to Yunhan City.
Shen Ange and You Shu parted ways with them. Fu Mingxu watched the two of them enter the shop together and couldn't help but sigh, "Ange has found a good friend. That's great."
He and Shen Ange had known each other for many years. She had experienced difficulties in the Shen family that were no less severe than his, which was one of the reasons why the two became friends.
He was happy that Shen Ange had found companionship on her lonely journey.
"Friends?" Han Tao, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke up, his expression a little strange as he uttered those two words.
Fu Mingxu didn't think too much about it. He turned around and walked towards the City Lord's Mansion, chuckling, "Although it's a human and a demon, friendship can always overcome racial barriers, and it's more about having the same goals."
"I'm leaving, I'm going home."
Han Tao, who was standing next to him, paused, then laughed upon hearing this, "Yes, let's go home."
After returning to the city lord's mansion, Fu Mingxu planned to rest well first, and then study with Han Tao on how to repair the Heavenly Ladder, a great undertaking that would benefit all living beings.
But as soon as the two stepped into the city lord's mansion, before they could even greet the priests coming towards them, Han Tao grabbed him and vanished from the spot in a flash.
The priest stood there dumbfounded, muttering, "Did I see wrong just now? The city lord and Master Fu haven't actually returned?"
He rubbed his eyes; the entrance was deserted, not a soul in sight.
Inside the folded space, before Fu Mingxu could even utter two words, he was plunged into a dizzying spin.
"You're doing something..." He had barely met a pair of golden eyes when, before he could finish speaking, a thick, hot breath filled his mouth, and an overwhelming kiss left him no chance to catch his breath.
"Mmm." Fu Mingxu blushed from the kiss, and finally managed to use his hands to push against the man's chest to create some distance between them. "What's wrong with you?"
On the bed, the dark desire in those dazzling golden eyes was chilling.
Chapter 100
Han Tao looked at him intently, "I missed you."
His voice was deep, filled with a captivating tenderness and affection. His tall figure completely obscured Fu Mingxu, and his hot breath brushed against Fu Mingxu's ear.
The intense heat radiating from his thigh was impossible to ignore; Fu Mingxu's face flushed instantly, and he muttered, "We're together every day, what's there to think about?"
The bed curtains were lowered by the spiritual energy flicked from between their fingers, blocking out the light around them, and their auras intertwined and merged in the small space where only the two of them were present.
Perhaps the flames leaping in those golden eyes were too intense, for Fu Mingxu couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly. His long, slender neck gleamed with a jade-like luster, like a piece of fine mutton-fat jade.
The slight stinging sensation on his neck made him tremble all over. Han Tao did not answer him, but his actions perfectly demonstrated that his "longing" for him was genuine and unwavering.
"Um.."
As the sun set and the moon rose, until the first light of dawn broke, Fu Mingxu had no chance to spare a single thought for anything else.
When he woke up, he instinctively swung his arm to the side, but missed.
Fu Mingxu woke up subconsciously, and his memory returned when he saw the familiar curtains. The soreness all over his body made him unable to get up for a long time. His head was dizzy and he had a sense of confusion, unable to tell what year it was.
It took him more than half an hour to finally manage to get up.
Wearing a blue robe, Fu Mingxu felt incredibly refreshed, experiencing no discomfort except for the soreness afterward. He simply tied his hair up, rubbed his neck, and accidentally touched a spot on his skin, feeling an even more pronounced pain.
"Hiss." He then conjured a water mirror, and sure enough, he saw many layers of teeth marks and purplish-red marks reflected on his neck.
When their passion reached its peak, the golden dragon transformed into a wolfhound, trapping him in its arms, licking and biting him, as if it wanted to devour him whole.
It took Fu Mingxu an hour to clean up all the marks on his body.
He pushed open the door and sent a message to Han Tao, asking where he was.
"I need to handle some matters at the City Lord's Mansion." Han Tao's voice was as usual, completely different from his frenzy last night. "Are you coming over?"
Thinking that nothing major had happened between them recently, Fu Mingxu assumed that he was just having intermittent bouts of madness last night and didn't think much of it.
He stood by the lake for a while, enjoying the breeze, and then squinted at the clouds under the willow tree. "I'm not going. I'll go to Shen Ange's shop to get some herbs."
Finally, he refused Han Tao's suggestion that Han Zhengzhi follow him.