SGSHE140

The Land of Immortals and Demons.

This region emerged ten millennia ago as the site where countless immortals and demons perished during the Great War between this vast realm and the invading Zerg. To honor the fallen heroes, no conflict or bloodshed is permitted here, earning it the alternative name, the ‘Bloodless Land’.

Therefore, relations between the Immortal and Demon Realms, the two supreme powers of this universe, have eased significantly, putting an end to their ceaseless warfare.

The Land of Immortals and Demons lies in close proximity to the Nine Heavens Immortal Realm. Currently, a group from the Demon Realm has gathered there, brazenly demanding the return of a supreme Demon Realm treasure from the Nine Heavens.

The Demon Realm’s ‘Turtle Diviner Immortal’ — renowned across both realms for having the most accurate prophecies — had foreseen that a supreme Demon Realm treasure would emerge in the Immortal Realm this year.

Some time ago, the treasure-detecting instruments carried by the Demon Realm delegation had indeed reacted. However, the Nine Heavens Immortal Realm dismissed this as a staged ruse, an attempt by the demons to fish in troubled waters.

Would the people of the Demon Realm stoop to such a shameful, undignified act?

Absolutely not!

Thus, the Demon Realm delegation refused to disperse after a long standoff. They even summoned the Turtle Diviner Immortal himself, making it clear they would not leave without retrieving the treasure.

While the Heavenly Emperor could ignore the other ruffians from the Demon Realm, he could not easily turn away an elder like the Turtle Diviner Immortal, a survivor of the Great War ten thousand years ago.

He had no choice but to invite him into the Nine Heavens for negotiations.

The Turtle Diviner Immortal produced the natal turtle shell used for the prophecy. Faced with this evidence, the Heavenly Emperor felt a splitting headache coming on.

The Heavenly Emperor said, “Venerable Immortal, I truly know nothing of any supreme Demon Realm treasure. What use would my people in the Nine Heavens have for a treasure from your realm? Besides, as you are well aware, there have been no significant anomalies in our Immortal Realm of late.”

“How could the emergence of a supreme treasure occur without causing a stir?”

Supreme treasures of heaven and earth possess their own temperaments. They delight in being the center of attention and the object of fierce contention.

Any emergence into the world is invariably accompanied by an extraordinary omen.

The Turtle Diviner Immortal gazed at his own tortoise shell. “Yet, that is what the divination indicates, and I am quite confident in my readings. The fact that there was no activity earlier might simply mean the Demon Realm’s supreme treasure has not yet manifested, though it should be happening soon.”

The Heavenly Emperor thought to himself: You people of the Demon Realm are far too impatient. Coming to demand an item before it has even appeared, what am I supposed to give you?

Harboring months of accumulated grievances, the Heavenly Emperor began to consider using this opportunity to secure some benefits for the Nine Heavens.

Thus, he asked, “Old Immortal, it is not that I doubt you. But how did a supreme treasure of the Demon Realm end up appearing here in our Nine Heavens Immortal Realm?”

“The Nine Heavens are close to the borderlands between the immortal and demon realms, perhaps the treasure drifted over here.”

The Turtle Diviner Immortal parried the question with evasive tact.

No sooner had he spoken than the Heavenly Emperor received a telepathic message from the Heavenly Empress: their youngest son had completed his mortal trial, and his immortal soul was about to return to his body.

The youngest child was always different. Moreover, Yun Xing possessed the greatest talent among the brothers, having attained the rank of Great Golden Immortal at a tender age.

The Heavenly Emperor stood up abruptly. “Old Immortal, my son is returning from his trial, I must go and see him.”

With a wave of his hand, he employed a spell to traverse space, instantly appearing beside the Heavenly Empress.

The Turtle Diviner Immortal had been sitting quietly, but suddenly, his divination shell shuddered. He immediately followed the Heavenly Emperor, tracking the aura.

***

A crowd of immortals had gathered around a young immortal boy clad in yellow robes and the translucent jade peach tree standing before him.

They watched as one of the two streaks of flowing light upon the jade peach tree began to thicken.

The Heavenly Empress found this strange. “Why is that minor immortal recovering first?” That boy was merely an ordinary immortal, whereas her son Yun Xing was already a Great Golden Immortal.

Logically speaking, the more powerful an immortal is, the sooner they should regain their memories and strength after surviving a tribulation.

The Heavenly Emperor found the situation odd as well, but matters concerning an immortal soul required extreme caution, he dared not interfere.

Only the Turtle Diviner Immortal smiled at the yellow-robed immortal child, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth.

— It was none other than the Yellow Peach Demon Immortal who used to attend to the Old Ancestor!

With one of their own kind present, could it be that a treasure belonging to their Old Ancestor Heguang was manifesting?

As the Turtle Diviner Immortal speculated about the Old Ancestor’s treasure, he lamented the fact that the Old Ancestor had died in his prime.

Immortals of their caliber were usually beyond counting the years.

However, they had been unlucky enough to encounter the Great War ten thousand years ago. Those with meager strength, like himself, could only handle minor tasks in the rear and managed to survive.

But figures like the Old Ancestor, possessing immense power, had to shoulder the fate of the entire realm and fight with everything they had.

At that time, the Queen Mother of the Zerg possessed the capabilities of an Immortal Emperor or Demon Emperor. She had an indestructible shell that had endured for ten thousand years and could summon endless swarms of offspring to aid her, she was virtually invincible.

Humankind was steadily losing ground to the zergs, and just as the realm seemed on the verge of collapse, the Old Ancestor of the Demon Realm sacrificed his own body to the Zerg Mother, seizing the chance to detonate himself and destroy her.

In the end, the Zerg Mother perished, but their Old Ancestor was gone too, not even a trace of his soul could be found.

Thinking of the countless heroes who had sacrificed themselves in that war ten thousand years ago, the Turtle Diviner Immortal sighed.

But then, as the radiance flowing from the jade peach tree intensified, the tortoise shell hidden within his Sleeve Universe began to vibrate violently.

He reached out to touch it, only to find the shell had disintegrated into a palmful of dust.

The Turtle Diviner Immortal’s small eyes widened in shock.

Above the jade peach tree, a streak of light broke free from the branches. Aimultaneously, an immortal body materialized from within the tree.

The man was clad in red, his black hair drifting behind him as if gently lifted by the breeze.

His eyes were closed, his lips a vivid vermilion, and his brows held an air of bold, wicked charisma.

When he finally opened his eyes, his peachblossom eyes, though not overtly seductive, exuded an imposing aura. Jing Heguang gazed at the crowd before him, taking a moment to fully piece together his recovered memories.

He had awakened alone after ten thousand years.

Yet, the person who had promised to roam the world with him after the war was gone — lost, in fact, because of him.

Upon waking, he could find no trace of that person’s presence anywhere in the heavens or on earth. When he inquired, he learned that the other had sacrificed his own soul to nurture his, vanishing completely from existence…

A bitter ache lodged in Jing Heguang’s chest, a feeling he could neither purge nor forget. He simply stayed in the Nine Heavens, drinking to mourn the departed and punish himself.

He never expected, however, to encounter a young fellow who took a fancy to an ancient relic like him.

That youngster happened to be a descendant of his old friend. Jing Heguang didn’t drive him away, choosing instead to play with him while using the alias Jing Guang.

Despite having little real contact, the youngster became utterly captivated by him, so much so that he was willing to descend to the mortal realm…

For an immortal to descend to the mortal realm meant risking life and death.

Why not simply remain a carefree immortal, doing whatever one pleased day after day?

Not to mention, the youngster was the son of the Heavenly Emperor, gifted with extraordinary talent and destined to one day ascend to the throne himself.

Jing Heguang found the situation amusing, yet — driven by some inexplicable impulse — he had a former attendant orchestrate a ‘fake descent’ for them.

He reasoned that within that mortal world, the youngster would surely give up on him.

Stripped of their memories and unable to recognize one another, what ties could possibly remain?

Let alone seven lifetimes, the little fellow would likely regret the decision to descend after just one.

Who would have thought the two of them had actually spent seven lifetimes together?

And every single one of them had been a happy, fulfilled life.

To think that he, while in those small worlds, had actually…grown so fond of the little fellow?

Having already reaped all the benefits, it wouldn’t do to renege on a promise made so casually.

A fleeting thought that the situation was ‘a bit odd’ crossed Jing Heguang’s mind, but he dismissed it — attributing the feeling to the influence of Little Yellow Peach — and turned back to wait for the little one to emerge.

Before long, the remaining streak of light from the jade peach tree merged with the newly formed immortal body, which was now enveloped in a soft, pale-yellow glow.

The Heavenly Empress probed the glow with her divine sense and thanked the immortal child in the yellow robe: “Ten thousand year old peach dew, my thanks to you, Immortal Yellow Peach!”

Little Yellow PEach opened his eyes, embraced his true form, the peach tree, and merged it into his body.

After safely stowing away his most precious treasure, Little Yellow Peach glanced at the Old Ancestor, then smiled at the Heavenly Empress. “You are too polite, your majesty.”

After all, they were family.

It was precisely because they were family that Little Yellow Peach felt no heartache over giving away that treasure, a single drop of ten thousand year old peach dew that held the power of memory.

Besides, once the Old Ancestor got his wife back, he would surely make it up to him with something even better!

Happily daydreaming about his return to the Demon Realm, Little Yellow Peach gazed eagerly from the Old Ancestor to the reincarnated Immortal Emperor Chen Xing.

One phrase summed up his mood: Hurry up!

As the peach dew entered the body, the already refined and handsome immortal took on an even more distinguished and graceful air.

The Heavenly Empress clasped the hand of her youngest son, Yun Xing, and asked with concern, “Xing’er, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Yet, the usually well-behaved young Immortal Lord withdrew his hand this time and replied with a distant air, “I feel no discomfort.”

Having pulled his hand away, the young Immortal Lord raised his gaze and looked at Jing Heguang with a faint smile playing on his lips: “Immortal Jing Guang? That dao companion pact, it must be honored!”

A dao companion pact is difficult to forge, yet easy to dissolve.

Once this little fellow grew weary of him, he would naturally dissolve the pact himself.

Thinking this, Jing Heguang nodded: “It stands.”

No sooner had the words left his lips than the immortal energy surrounding the young Immortal Lord surged uncontrollably, rapidly swelling in intensity.

In an instant, rosy light erupted everywhere, and wisps of the purest immortal aura swirled around him.

The daylight sky suddenly plunged into darkness, and the stars in the heaven above shone with startling brilliance.

Countless beams of starlight cascaded from the heavens, enveloping the young Immortal Lord in a dazzling radiance.

The Heavenly Empress stared in dumbfounded amazement.

The Heavenly Emperor was equally astonished: Could his youngest son have experienced a sudden epiphany, was he about to ascend to a higher realm right then and there?

But…surely such an epiphany was far too rash?

Just because a man agreed to form a bond with him, he had an epiphany?!

The Turtle Diviner Immortal gazed up at the starry canopy, too terrified to utter a word.

— Amidst the myriad stars, a single star was slowly taking shape.

The Chen(imperial) Star had reappeared!

The Chen Star, which had dimmed and vanished ten thousand years ago, was shining once more. It had returned!

The reappearance of the Chen Star signified the return of the Chen Xing Immortal Emperor.

If the Chen Xing Immortal Emperor had returned, what about their own Old Ancestor?

By now, the other immortals had also recognized the reappearing Chen Star.

Their gazes converged upon the young Immortal Lord, Yun Xing, filled with utter shock.

Was the young Immortal Lord the reincarnation of the Chen Xing Immortal Emperor from ten thousand years ago?

Now that the Chen Star was shining again, would the Chen Xing Immortal Emperor regain his memories?

“The Chen Star has reappeared!”

“Could it be the Chen Xing Immortal Emperor?”

“Ah…does that mean there are now two Immortal Emperors?”

As the immortals murmured in astonishment, Jing Heguang pierced through the starlight and walked up to the young Immortal Lord. He cupped the little fellow’s chin, gazing at a face that was at once unfamiliar and familiar: “Chen Xing?”

Chen Xing, now in a different body, tilted his chin upward and said, “I’m a bit too short in this lifetime. I have to look up to see you.”

He hadn’t answered “yes” directly, but it was an implicit admission.

Jing Heguang looked at him, a stifling heaviness and a surge of self-reproach rising in his chest.

His eyes reddened. His expression was fierce, yet his voice was hoarse: “Who told you to save me! Is self-sacrifice supposed to be fun?”

Before Chen Xing could reply, the man roughly swept him up into his arms, strode out of the Star River, and vanished.

Chen Xing wrapped his arms around the man’s waist, leaving a parting message for his bewildered descendants:

“This Emperor is one who has long since passed away, just pretend nothing happened.”

Little Yellow Peach flipped up his yellow robes and hopped about, trying to catch up: “Ancestor! Ancestor! Take me with you!”

The Wood element immortals of the Immortal Realm drank nothing but immortal dew, it was terrifying! He didn’t want to stay there a moment longer!

Author’s Note: The main world arc is a simple love story.

T/N: I love simple love story ･*:.｡.(๑>◡<๑).｡.:*･