Part 2
Auntie Bai and Lou Yunxiao were dead, and Jiu Yuan was in a deep slumber.
He himself could only hold on for half a day before he would revert to his beast form.
This was everyoneâs fate…
And the karma of ten thousand years ago.
“Brother…” Ning Ke hugged Jiu Yuan tight. “Thank you…”
Thank you for giving me the chance to atone for my sins to Lou Yunxiao.
…
Ning Ke sent the sleeping Jiu Yuan back to Qingqiu and set up a powerful barrier. He returned to Aké River City and gathered the fox clan, telling them to live in seclusion in Qingqiu from then on and to protect Jiu Yuan at all costs.
With the Great Mo sealed, it was much easier for the cultivators to defeat the low-tier Mo.
Ning Ke established a barrier between the humans and the Yao, so the two sides wouldn’t disturb each other and would govern themselves.
After that, he buried Bai Wanru and set up a cenotaph for Lou Yunxiao. He took the Folian Lamp and the two divine swords, Cangyin and Hongyun.
Returning to Qingqiu, he reverted to his little fox form and stayed by Jiu Yuanâs side.
Because of that battle, his foundation was damaged, and his cultivation always yielded half the result for twice the effort.
But diligence could make up for lack of talent.
If one year wasn’t enough, heâd take ten. Then a hundred, then a thousand…
By the time his strength reached the Dujie stage, six thousand years had passed.
He finally left Qingqiu.
At this time, the continent was no longer the chaotic era where Great Mo ran rampant; life had returned to the world.
During his travels, Ning Ke took in his first followerâYin Feng.
It was hard to imagine that Yin Feng, who was so calm and collected in the Yao Palace, had been such a hot-headed brat in his youth.
After Ning Ke beat him into submission, the kid followed him loyally.
Later, Ning Ke rescued many more small Yao and fought with great Yao, winning their respect and loyalty.
Eventually, he became the Yao Lord.
When building the Yao Palace, his only thought was to make it as magnificent as possible. He thought that if his brother ever woke up, he would definitely like it.
Unknowingly, every trajectory was aligning with the original plot.
He placed the two divine swords, Cangyin and Hongyun, in the Sword Sectâs burial ground and handed the Folian Lamp to a master craftsman with a good heart.
That master craftsman embedded the Folian Lamp into a staff.
Later, Xiao Yuan told him that the master craftsman was Wu Gouâs father.
Ning Ke also carved the talismans and arrays given to him by the Tiandao into gold-threaded wooden tablets and placed them in Ning Xiaoxiaoâs swaddling clothes, so they would grow up with her.
However, he still wasn’t quite sure who Ning Xiaoxiaoâs biological parents were.
Ten thousand years passed, and the plot completion reached 62%.
Ning Ke finally saw Lou Yunxiao again… and Bai Wanru.
Despite saying they wouldn’t be mother and son in the next life, they were mother and son again.
Only this time, Bai Wanru wasn’t a craftsman but a sword cultivator.
After Lou Yunxiao was born, Ning Ke would often sneak over to the Liuyun Sect.
He watched the small child practicing his sword in a wobbly manner, falling on his bottom, dusting himself off, and getting back up to continue.
Serious, focused, and persistent.
This was the personality Lou Yunxiao was born with.
As Ning Ke watched, he took out the sachet he always carried. Even though he had preserved it carefully and nourished it with Yaoli every day, the little fox sachet was old and yellowed, looking as if it would crumble to dust if squeezed too hard.
He carefully touched the sachet, then looked at the small figure in the distance, his heart filled with an unbearable bitterness.
He took a step forward, having so much he wanted to say, but as he reached out his hand, he didn’t know what his next move should be.
The young Lou Yunxiao seemed to sense something and turned his head, but he found no one under the tree.
Ning Ke had already left.
…
Ning Ke came to the Liuyun Sect so often that he was eventually caught once by Bai Wanru.
The woman recognized him as the Yao Lord immediately; after all, Ning Keâs appearance and strength were known to everyone, human and Yao alike.
“Yao Lord.” Bai Wanru held no hostility toward him and didn’t ask what he was doing at the Liuyun Sect. She simply said, “You seem familiar to me for some reason. In the future, if you want to come to the Liuyun Sect, you can come openly. Iâll make sure to treat you well.”
Ning Ke was stunned, but he shook his head.
“There’s no need.”
After leaving the Liuyun Sect that time, he didn’t return.
Until… the day the Liuyun Sect was massacred.
At the time, he was holding a meeting for the various Yao tribes. When he heard the system prompt, he immediately got up and rushed to the Liuyun Sect.
By the time he arrived, the disciples of the entire sect had turned into half-Mo, roaring as they slaughtered each other. Half of Bai Wanruâs face was covered in demonic patterns. She held her long sword and stabbed it toward Lou Yunxiaoâs father, Lou Jing, screaming in a breakdown: “You bastard Mo! Iâll kill you!”
Ning Ke froze on the spot. He looked at Lou Jing, who happened to meet his gaze, revealing a truly wicked smile.
“Oh, a familiar face. Thanks to you guys letting Lou Yunxiao reincarnate back then, otherwise I might not have had the chance to revive.”
He wasn’t Lou Jing; he was the Demon Lord Nan Lou from ten thousand years ago.
“Yao Lord!” Bai Wanru retreated to Ning Keâs side, pleading, “I beg you, kill him, and then save my son!”
Bai Wanru told Ning Ke that she had discovered two days ago that the Great Mo had occupied Lou Jingâs body. He had also planted a demonic parasite in Lou Yunxiaoâs body. If it wasn’t removed, Lou Yunxiao would eventually become Nan Louâs puppet.
That was why she had used an excuse to send Lou Yunxiao away on an errand while she tried to kill Lou Jing herself. But she hadn’t expected that the demon had already turned the Liuyun Sect into a demon den.
All the disciples, including Bai Wanru herself, were not spared.
“Iâve figured it out this time,” Nan Lou said. “This Lou Yunxiao is blessed by the Tiandao. I can’t defeat him, but I can raise him into the best vessel. When the time comes and I occupy his body, I will become the strongest existence in this world. From then on, no one will be able to do anything to me!”
Ning Ke never expected that the truth behind the Liuyun Sectâs extermination would be this.
He had looked forward to Lou Yunxiaoâs revival, but he hadn’t realized that because of that reincarnation, he had also brought back Nan Lou.
He had caused Bai Wanru and the disciples of the Liuyun Sect to suffer this catastrophe ten thousand years later…
Under the immense pressure, the string that had been pulled tight in Ning Keâs heart finally snapped.
He looked like he was laughing and crying at the same time. He tapped his forehead with the ribs of his fan, his eyes filled with a frenzied murderous intent.
He said to Nan Lou, “Thatâs assuming youâll live long enough to see that day.”
Then, he charged at Nan Lou.
After ten thousand years, his strength was even greater than the Lou Yunxiao of back then.
The fan ribs shot out fine threads burning with Fox Fire, slicing Nan Lou into pieces, and the Mo-Sealing Talismans forcibly suppressed him.
Then he turned and grabbed the long sword Bai Wanru was thrusting at him, his palm bleeding.
He looked at the womanâs demonized, mindless face with sorrow.
Ning Ke laughed miserably as he gripped the sword, pulling it deeper into his own body.
He used the pain to keep himself clear-headed.
And then…
He ignited the Fox Fire and burned everyone present to death.
Amidst the screams, he vaguely heard the disciples calling out one after another.
“Yao Lord, please, save us…”
Ning Ke threw away the long sword and staggered out of the Liuyun Sect.
His wounds gradually healed under the replenishment of his Yaoli.
The Yao who had followed him arrived.
And right behind them was the fifteen-year-old Lou Yunxiao.
The youth saw the Liuyun Sect engulfed in Fox Fire and let out an angry roar, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at Ning Ke.
He charged at him with a sword.
But the man broke his sword and grabbed him by the throat.
Yaoli surged in, and Ning Ke detected that the toxins from the demonic parasite in Lou Yunxiaoâs body had already permeated his Golden Core, spread to his eyes, and the next step was his sea of consciousness.
To save him, his cultivation and Golden Core had to be destroyed, and his eyes had to be ruined.
So…
That was how it was.
So, that was the real reason he had harmed Lou Yunxiao.
He thought that letting Lou Yunxiao reincarnate was a chance to atone for his sins, but now he realized that it was precisely because of this reincarnation that he had created even deeper sins and brought Lou Yunxiao even more pain.
This time, he had even personally killed Auntie Bai…
Hearing the system prompt congratulating him on the plot completion reaching 65%, Ning Ke smiled.
But it was a smile of utter desolation.
Amidst Lou Yunxiaoâs screams, he destroyed everything the youth was proud of.
He threw the boy heavily onto the ground.
And told him:
“Hate me, Lou Yunxiao.”
“I am the one who destroyed everything you had.”
“Iâll be waiting… for you to come and kill me.”
Translatorâs Note:Â
Glossary: Tiandao (怩é): Heavenly Dao. Yaoli (ćŠć): Yao power. Mo (é): Demon. Huhuo (çç«): Fox Fire. Jindan (éäžč): Golden Core.
Recommended Reads
