Wu Xingxue narrowed his eyes.

He was used to a life of leisure, and this was the first time in his life someone had held him at a fatal point on his throat like this.

"Are you going to kill me?" He looked at Xiao Fuxuan and said softly.

Xiao Fuxuan's lips moved, but he didn't answer.

"You can't kill me," Wu Xingxue said again.

Xiao Fuxuan still had his hand on his longsword. His gaze traveled down his straight nose, and after a moment, he finally responded, "...Why."

His voice was very low, slightly hoarse from disuse.

"Because you have the wrong person," Wu Xingxue said slowly.

He thought Xiao Fuxuan would be stunned for a moment, or perhaps frown. But he found the other man was still pressing against him, unmoved.

Wu Xingxue paused for a moment, then quickly realized: it was probably because the original owner's sins were too grave, having caused too many people to suffer, so no one would easily believe his words.

'I've been truly wronged,' he thought.

"They say you are High Immortal Tianxiu. With such a formidable title, you should be able to see that I..." He spoke softly, then stopped halfway and glanced in the direction of his few subordinates.

Xiao Fuxuan finally spoke, "Speak. They can't hear you."

Can't hear?

Only then did Wu Xingxue realize he hadn't heard any movement from his subordinates for a while. It was as if the wind and snow around him had formed a barrier, isolating everyone else.

He licked his lips and said in a low voice, "You've made a mistake. I'm not him."

"I am not that Demon Lord you speak of."

Xiao Fuxuan was still looking at him. After a long moment, a slow frown formed between his brows.

"I don't know if that Demon Lord is scheming and full of lies, so you're unwilling to believe me." Wu Xingxue sounded a little helpless as he spoke, "That's understandable."

He quirked the corner of his lips and added, "But I'm really not him. I'm not even from here. If you're like the immortals in storybooks, you should be able to probe me. At most, I'm just an unlucky wandering soul. Do you want to try probing me?"

As he spoke, he raised his left hand, exposing the vital point of his wrist.

Xiao Fuxuan watched his action, still not responding.

Wu Xingxue was certain he still didn't believe him. He was silent for a moment, feeling it was futile.

Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly heard Xiao Fuxuan ask in a low voice, "Then what is your name, and where do you come from?"

Wu Xingxue abruptly raised his eyes to look at him, thought for a moment, and said, "That place is called Magpie Capital. It's very different from here, hard to explain in a few words. Since you're an immortal, you must know many things. Do you have a way to help me?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "I'm in charge of punishment. I only know how to capture and punish people."

Wu Xingxue: "..."

His wrist was still raised. After a moment of silence, he dropped it with a thud.

It was unknown what his appearance reminded Xiao Fuxuan of. He watched for a moment, then suddenly lowered his eyes, straightened up, and pulled back his longsword.

Wu Xingxue: "?"

So sudden.

Does he believe me? No, that's not right...

The sharp edge and cold Qi by his neck receded completely. Wu Xingxue propped himself up. Just as he stood firm, he saw Xiao Fuxuan sheathe his longsword.

With a clang, the swirling wind and snow suddenly stopped.

Ning Huaishan and the others were like stone statues, frozen in strange, stiff poses. The moment the wind and snow dispersed, they finally came back to life.

"City Lord!"

"City Lord, that body—" Ning Huaishan seemed to have missed the intervening moments, his memory stuck at the instant Xiao Fuxuan had pinned Wu Xingxue to the ground. He was about to ask anxiously when he saw his City Lord standing perfectly fine, with Xiao Fuxuan right beside him.

"???" Ning Huaishan's voice cut off, completely bewildered.

He looked at the City Lord, then at the High Immortal Tianxiu, and pondered aloud, "You scared me just now! So, was it because there was a little bit of Spiritual Sense remaining in the body that it attacked?"

'A little bit of residual sense couldn't move like that,' Wu Xingxue thought.

"What about now?" Ning Huaishan glanced cautiously at Xiao Fuxuan, still wary, but his eyes couldn't help but sparkle. "Is it done? Is this body the City Lord's puppet now? If it is, then that's a real gain. Puppets are always loyal to their masters and do exactly as they're told."

Xiao Fuxuan gave Ning Huaishan a cold look.

Wu Xingxue was about to say that this wasn't a puppet, but before he could speak, rumbling sounds arose throughout the Canglang Northern Domain, and the ground began to shake violently.

The white jade coffin where Xiao Fuxuan had once rested in slumber shattered completely. The giant tree swayed endlessly, huge fissures split the wasteland, and sharp rocks rained down from above, until the noise was almost deafening.

"It seems the Canglang Northern Domain has reached its end! It's really collapsing!" a subordinate shouted.

Giant rocks fell like rain, and they were still on the thirty-third level. Getting out was harder than hard.

"City Lord—"

The subordinates cried out as they were separated to unknown distances, their voices becoming faint, their fates uncertain.

A giant cliff fell from somewhere, its base several zhang wide and sharp as a sword's point. If it were aimed at a mortal, it would pierce right through their head, killing them on the spot.

And the person beneath that giant cliff was Wu Xingxue.

The ground where he stood was also collapsing, leaving only a single stubborn rock, with nothing on either side. He stood on that rock like a wisp of green mist, and at the moment his life hung by a thread, he looked up at the cliff's point.

The next moment, countless golden longswords suddenly appeared, bearing the "Mian" character seal, and enveloped him.

He couldn't see anything, but he felt someone protect him.

 

The collapse of the Canglang Northern Domain caused a great tremor in the Endless Sea.

As the disciples of the Hundred Immortal Sects were scrambling to respond, an inconspicuous black-canopied boat was passing through the Posuo Path at the edge of the Endless Sea.

Wu Xingxue hugged a hand warmer, leaning silently in a corner of the black canopy.

A paper lantern hung from the boat's canopy, swaying gently in the wind, but its long tongue of flame never managed to lick the lantern's sides.

His subordinates had been lost during the collapse of the Canglang Northern Domain. Only Ning Huaishan and a subordinate with a severed arm had been close enough to be pulled onto the boat with him.

Duan Bi* had expended a lot of energy and was unconscious ever since getting on the boat. Ning Huaishan, however, had a good constitution and was still chattering non-stop.

*T/N: Duan Bi literally means severed arm. Sounds better than being called "Severed Arm" all the time.

Outside the canopy, he wrung the water from the hem of his robe, then rubbed his hands together as he came inside. He reported to Wu Xingxue, "We're about to enter Bailu Ford, City Lord. Did you hear that just now? The thunder from the Endless Sea's Snow Pond was deafening."

Wu Xingxue didn't really understand what he was so happy about.

Fortunately, he was a chatterbox and would explain himself, "It just goes to show how far the effects of the Canglang Northern Domain's collapse reached. Those Immortal Sect disciples waiting outside must be in a sorry state. As long as I know they're unhappy, I'm happy."

"Think about them, and then look at us—" He glanced at the person opposite Wu Xingxue. "Normally, one can only enter the Canglang Northern Domain, not leave. But who would have thought, we have a secret weapon."

"The City Lord is still the most amazing, knowing to turn the body of this High Immortal Tianxiu into a puppet. Who could be more familiar with the way out of the Canglang Northern Domain than him? The rumors are true, this puppet really does as it's told and is loyal to its master."

"It's a good thing the real High Immortal Tianxiu is already dead. If he knew in the underworld that the body he left to guard the Canglang Northern Domain would one day save the Demon Lord of Zhaoye City, that would be truly... tsk tsk tsk."

'No need for the underworld, he's watching you blabber right now,' Wu Xingxue thought.

He was happy to watch the show, listening with great interest while shamelessly glancing at the person opposite him.

He saw Xiao Fuxuan, with his broad shoulders and narrow waist, leaning against the boat canopy with his sword in his arms, watching Ning Huaishan's "tsk tsk tsk" with a deadpan expression. His eyes seemed to hold six large words—Why are you still alive?

If looks could become swords, Ning Huaishan's head would already be gone.

Wu Xingxue watched High Immortal Tianxiu's indescribable expression for a while, and couldn't help but laugh, hugging his hand warmer.

Ning Huaishan was startled into silence by reflex.

Hearing the laughter, Xiao Fuxuan also turned around.

When he looked at Wu Xingxue, his gaze fell from beneath his thin eyelids, reflecting the faint light of the lantern.

After a moment, he turned his gaze back outside the boat, and with an expression that was hard to describe... continued to pretend to be a puppet.

In the Canglang Northern Domain, when Ning Huaishan was spouting nonsense, he still had reason to kill him.

But he couldn't now. He had well and truly brought a Demon Lord out with him. In front of miscellaneous people, he could only pretend to be a puppet.

"City Lord, our Zhaoye City has expanded again, even incorporating the former Langzhou and Great Sorrow Valley. In a moment, we'll pass through Bailu Ford, go ashore to the west, and then we can enter the city."

The night grew deeper and the dew was heavy. Ning Huaishan yawned, and soon went to keep Duan Bi company. In no time, his snores were like thunder.

What he didn't know was that not long after he closed his eyes, the "puppet" he'd been talking about opened its precious mouth.

"When the giant cliff was falling, why didn't you dodge?" Xiao Fuxuan retracted his gaze from outside the boat and asked in a deep voice.

Wu Xingxue had been hugging his hand warmer, drowsy. He lifted his eyes at the words.

There was sleepiness in his eyes. He stared at Xiao Fuxuan for a good while before reacting, saying lazily, "How could I dodge?"

"There was no way out on either side, and I'm not a monster with three heads and six arms. I told you, I'm just a mortal, but you just won't believe me." He slowly closed his eyes again, his words becoming a mumble.

He looked as if he had already fallen asleep. After a long while, he suddenly spoke unclearly, "Xiao Fuxuan."

The man holding the sword abruptly raised his eyes. He saw the person close his eyes and pull the hand warmer further into his sleeves, revealing a long and well-proportioned wrist. He asked, "Since you don't believe me, why did you just save a Demon Lord..."

Xiao Fuxuan didn't answer.

The one who asked the question didn't seem to be waiting for an answer either. Without opening his eyes, he fell asleep again in moments.

 

Wu Xingxue was woken up by Ning Huaishan's shouting.

"Something's not right. I set the tiller, aimed it west. We should be landing at Bailu Ford by now, how the hell did it change direction?! Great, now we'll probably be delayed getting to Zhaoye City..."

It was unclear what business he had in Zhaoye City that he was so urgently trying to get Wu Xingxue to return.

There was no way Wu Xingxue would agree to that.

That was the Demon's Den. He'd have to be crazy to go there.

Wu Xingxue listened for a while with his eyes half-open, and finally understood that someone had probably moved the directional tiller in the middle of the night.

Ning Huaishan and Duan Bi were sleeping like logs, so it was obvious who did it.

But the High Immortal was still pretending to be a puppet at this moment, turning a deaf ear to the shouting.

"Stop shouting. Where are we headed now?" Wu Xingxue was still sleepy, asking with his eyes half-closed.

Ning Huaishan said dejectedly, "Looking at the direction, we'll have to detour through Chunfan City."

Chunfan City...

Chunfan City??

Wu Xingxue instantly perked up.

He still remembered what he had heard earlier, that there was an extraordinary person in Chunfan City named Yi Wusheng, and if he wanted to go back, he could ask him for help.

The one who changed the boat's direction was Xiao Fuxuan.

Could it be that this Lord High Immortal had finally thought it through, believed his words, and decided to find Yi Wusheng to help send him back?!

That made sense. The sooner he was sent back, the sooner this body could be returned to that Demon Lord. Whether it was to be slain or imprisoned then would have nothing to do with him.

Hopefully, that Yi Wusheng was a kind person who was easily persuaded, would believe his words, and be willing to help.

They disembarked the boat at mao hour. The place where they landed had a white sheng banner hanging, with the two words, "Yanzi Harbor", and a swallow embroidered in blue.

Although it was clearly sunrise, Yanzi Harbor was shrouded in a gloomy mist. Only two young men carrying swords on their backs were standing there, probably disciples from some sect.

As Wu Xingxue walked past on the wooden bridge, he saw their sullen expressions. They all wore palm-sized, carved wooden statues of deities around their necks.

Not only that, on the embankment behind them, almost every stone pillar was carved with images of immortals, encircling the entire pillar.

Ning Huaishan and Duan Bi squatted down as soon as they got ashore.

"Why are there twice as many deity statues here as there were a few months ago? I told you not to take this detour, not to take this detour, isn't this trying to kill me?" He clutched his head, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Before getting off the boat, Wu Xingxue had heard him mention a few things—

He said that although the Immortal Capital had fallen, the common people still loved to carve deity statues. When these statues received many offerings and incense, they would possess some immortal spirit. While they couldn't eliminate Evil Demons, they could make them feel uncomfortable.

Nowadays, most Immortal Sects were concentrated in the areas of Meng Capital, Yuyang, and Langzhou, which were safer. The remaining places could only rely on minor sects and these deity statues to get by.

But even so, it still couldn't stop the increasingly rampant Evil Demons.

After all, the Immortal Capital was gone. Cultivators had no hope of ascending, their path had a visible end. But the paths of evil demons and heretics were full of shortcuts, unrestrained, and without regard for virtue. The more wantonly they killed, the longer they lived.

No wonder Zhaoye City, the Demon's Lair, was expanding more and more, with an ever-increasing population.

In the past two years, even Meng Capital, Yuyang, and Langzhou had been plagued by constant chaos, forcing harbors, fords, and city gates to be covered in carved deity statues.

Yanzi Harbor was one of them.

Compared to Ning Huaishan and Duan Bi's reactions, Wu Xingxue was strangely at ease.

He stood surrounded by the deity statues, yet was completely unaffected, and even had the mind to listen to the two sword-carrying disciples chat.

"Tell me, now that the Canglang Northern Domain is destroyed, what will happen in the future? Won't those evil demons and foul creatures become even more arrogant?"

"We don't know how many years we can guard this place..."

"Sigh, it's hard to say. Did you hear? The senior sister who went to the Canglang Northern Domain yesterday came back and said that the Demon Lord Wu Xingxue might still be alive! With the collapse of the Canglang Northern Domain, it's not impossible that he's already out."

"Pah! Don't say such unlucky things. No way."

'Silly child,' Wu Xingxue thought, 'yes way. Not only is he out, he's also listening to you pah-ing him.'

Just as he was pondering, 'Is it feasible to dump these two burdens, Ning Huaishan and Duan Bi, outside the city?', he suddenly heard another part of their conversation—

One of the sword-carrying disciples couldn't help but ask, "If that Demon Lord really got out, where do you think would be the first to suffer? Why am I so flustered?"

The other comforted him, "Don't be flustered. No need to guess. It would be our Chunfan City."

"..."

"Think about it, how many people in our city have a grudge against him? The Gao family, the Shen family, oh, and Mr. Yi Wusheng. His brothers, father, wife, and daughters all died at that Demon Lord's hands, a tragic death..."

Wu Xingxue: "..."

Wu Xingxue: "What sheng? Which sheng???"

Xiao Fuxuan lowered his head slightly and said, "The Yi Wusheng you were looking for."

Wu Xingxue was silent for a moment, then turned and walked away.

Finding someone, getting help, might as well just live in this Demon Lord's body for a hundred years.