They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Aftermath

Yun Qingwu felt as if a rusty knife had been plunged into his heart. A dull ache spread from his chest. Every breath was accompanied by piercing pain and the rusty smell of blood.

He held the blood-covered person tightly in his arms.

All notions of righteousness, responsibility, and correctness were utterly forgotten in that moment.

Only one thought remained in his mind: This person cannot die. He absolutely cannot die like this!

He… he can’t bear to let him die…

Only now was he completely unable to deceive himself or deny the turbulent emotions surging within him.

Behind him, the astonished gazes of Hua Yuan and Yang Yuanli fell upon Yun Qingwu. Yun Qingwu had no time to think more. He followed his most urgent instinct and summoned the Soul Locking Pagoda.

Leng Lici’s face felt searing hot. It was Yun Qingwu’s blood…

His expression was dazed, as if studying an unsolvable mystery. Since they had already reached the point of mutual destruction, why would this person go to such unnecessary lengths?

He curled his palm. The red string on his wrist had barely cut a hair’s breadth before it could go no further.

The Soul Locking Pagoda spun rapidly in mid-air, instantly enlarging several times.

In the blink of an eye, he completely lost consciousness.

“Sovereign, why did you do this?” Hua Yuan’s typically indifferent eyes showed a hint of anger. If Yun Qingwu hadn’t interfered, he would have succeeded just now.

Yun Qingwu collected his expression, reached up to wipe the blood from his lips, and stood up to face Hua Yuan: “I believe I said that until I made my move, you were only to restrain and not act rashly.”

Hua Yuan placed his hand behind his back and shifted slightly: “As long as the goal of executing the demon is achieved, does the method matter?”

“Why did Cousin conceal the Soul Devouring Claw? What do you intend to do with Leng Lici’s demon core?” Yun Qingwu’s face also turned cold.

For demons, gods, or immortals, the higher the cultivation level, the more potent their inner core is if refined and consumed for improving cultivation. This was also how Leng Lici had rapidly increased his power previously.

However, this practice was viewed as a demonic path, not the righteous way, and was explicitly forbidden in the Heavenly Realm.

Hua Yuan’s expression remained unchanged: “That fox demon’s hands are stained with the blood of countless members of our clan, and this demon core is no different. I am merely making the best use of it and returning what belongs to the rightful owner.”

“Returning what belongs to the rightful owner?”

Yang Yuanli propped himself up and let out a light laugh: “Are you the rightful owner? High Yang God Lord is truly being informal.”

Hua Yuan’s gaze fell on Yang Yuanli, carrying a subtle contempt: “Poor in military might, no amount of courage is anything but overestimation.”

“You—”

Struck at his weak point, Yang Yuanli was irritated, but he quickly suppressed it, gritting his teeth: “Since my skills are inferior now, I have nothing to say, but High Yang God Lord shouldn’t be too complacent. Who knows what the future holds.”

Then, Yang Yuanli looked at Yun Qingwu, his tone not exactly pleasant: “What are your plans for today’s matter, Sovereign?”

Yun Qingwu gripped the pagoda in his hand: “Since the matter of the demon core was unsuccessful, I will not pursue it. As for Leng Lici, I will hand him over to Grandfather God and follow all of his arrangements.”

“Fine, we will do as you say.”

Even if Hua Yuan and Yang Yuanli were inwardly dissatisfied, they did not wish to argue further.

Hua Yuan turned around, looking down with disdain, and said gravely: “Your demon lord has been captured. As long as you hand over the Ancient Town Lamp, we can let bygones be bygones and spare you.”

The battle below was currently in a deadlock, but now the morale of the demon soldiers began to waver.

Dan Mu’s eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Yun Qingwu. She flew up and charged forward recklessly: “Yun Qingwu, I’m going to kill you!”

Yun Qingwu looked away. He felt unable to meet Dan Mu’s gaze candidly. He lightly swung his ice spear, easily pushing Dan Mu back: “Don’t engage in futile effort.”

His voice was somewhat hoarse. After speaking, he turned around, unwilling to watch the commotion below.

“Soldiers!”

You Suqian, who had been standing at the back, stepped in front of You Sumei and shouted to the demon crowd: “We will not sustain meaningless casualties! Let’s temporarily cease fighting today! There will be other opportunities!”

You Suqian shouted, simultaneously flying into the air with the Ancient Town Lamp in both hands. He knelt on one knee toward Yun Qingwu and offered the lamp.

“Returning what belongs to the rightful owner. This battle was not our intention. We ask the Sovereign to be lenient.”

Yun Qingwu did not speak or turn around, merely making a hand gesture to signal retreat with his right hand. The celestial soldiers below immediately stopped their actions and began to pull back.

Hua Yuan stepped forward and retrieved the Ancient Town Lamp.

You Suqian: “Thank you, Sovereign.”

He stood up and glanced at You Sumei. You Sumei immediately understood You Suqian’s gesture:

“Retreat!”

At the command, the fox clans of Mount You Su were the first to respond, sounding the gongs and drums to retreat into Mount You Su, no longer clinging to the fight.

Although the other demon clans were still unwilling in their hearts, since the main force had withdrawn, they had no reason to stay and fight, so they also pulled back their troops.

In the end, only the Snake Clan and the Colorful Pheasant Clan remained on the battlefield, still unwilling to give up, struggling with all their might to kill as many celestial soldiers as possible.

But with Yun Qingwu’s earlier signal, the celestial soldiers also had no need to continue the fight and soon withdrew from Mount You Su.

Dan Mu savagely stomped on the corpses of the celestial soldiers left behind a few times. Eventually, her heart was overcome with a mixture of powerlessness and anger. She sat on the ground, weeping bitterly: “Your Honor, Wuwuwu—Your Honor—”

Lu You looked anxious inside the barrier: “Qing Yuan, let me out quickly!”

Qing Yuan waved his hand, removing the barrier.

Lu You immediately ran over and said calmly: “Your Honor’s condition is unknown right now, but it definitely hasn’t reached the point of no return. We must not act rashly.”

Dan Mu’s crying suddenly stopped. She nodded: “Right, right, right. You Suqian will definitely cause trouble while Your Honor is gone. Can you two stay on Mount You Su? Keep an eye on You Suqian for Your Honor? He will certainly be wary of me.”

Lu You nodded: “Of course. Ultimately, this matter is also because of me. I will stay here during this time.”

Qing Yuan looked troubled: “Little Deer… I need to return to the Green Wood Forest first. Our Snake Clan also suffered some casualties this time, and I need to go back and handle things.”

Lu You walked over, used his hand to wipe away the residual bloodstains on Qing Yuan’s face. Where his hand touched, the wounds and dirt instantly vanished. He said softly: “It’s alright. I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Qing Yuan hugged Lu You and nodded: “Okay, I’ll be quick.”

“Xiao Dao… wait, and Xiao Dao!” Dan Mu wiped her tears and immediately rushed toward the small courtyard. When she arrived, however, she found the cradle empty; Xiao Dao was nowhere to be seen.

…

Heavenly Realm.

The Immortals were discussing animatedly.

“The Sovereign achieved a great victory in this battle! I heard he captured the wicked demon alive. Truly boundless potential!”

“Hmph, why didn’t he just execute the demon on the spot? What if something changes again?”

“Fortunately, the Ancient Town Lamp was successfully recovered this time, and the foundation of our clan was not harmed.”

“I heard the Sovereign brought a child back from the Demon Realm? What’s going on with that?”

“It’s true! I saw it with my own eyes. The child’s forehead has the exact same demon crest as that fox demon! Only the color is different—half of it is white.”

A celestial soldier who participated in the battle that day leaned in and whispered.

“Why would the Sovereign bring back that fox demon’s child?”

“Could it be to eliminate the root of the problem?”

“The child seems quite close to the Sovereign, it doesn’t look like…”

At this, the expressions on everyone’s faces became a mixture of colors, each with their own conjecture, but no one dared to voice it easily.

“Alright, disperse, disperse, disperse.” The minor immortal who started the conversation waved his hand, and the gossiping crowd scattered.

…

“Qingwu, I require an explanation.”

Inside the Clear Palace, the Celestial Emperor’s expression was solemn as he stared at the child in Yun Qingwu’s arms.

Yun Qingwu knew this matter could not be concealed from Grandfather God from the moment he decided to bring Xiao Dao back, so he chose not to hide much.

“Grandfather God, Xiao Dao is my daughter.”

“Nonsense!”

The Celestial Emperor slapped the table, causing the tea set on it to tremble slightly. Perhaps recalling unpleasant memories from the past, the Celestial Emperor’s usually calm demeanor was tinged with anger.

Yun Qingwu held Xiao Dao tighter: “Grandfather God, I want to keep her.”

The Celestial Emperor closed his eyes, trying hard to calm his rapid breathing.

After a moment, he cooled down and beckoned to Yun Qingwu: “Qingwu, come here.”

Yun Qingwu did not doubt him, believing this was a sign of Grandfather God’s softening attitude. He walked over to the Celestial Emperor as instructed.

The Celestial Emperor reached out and took Xiao Dao’s pulse. His tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly upon sensing that there was no divine essence within Xiao Dao’s body. He then turned to take Yun Qingwu’s wrist, confirming that the divine essence was still within Yun Qingwu’s body, which immediately dissolved half of his anger.

But the anger had not entirely vanished. His brow twitched again.

The other bloodline in Xiao Dao’s body…

It belonged to his eldest son, Yun Chuan.

But at that time, it was clearly…

The Celestial Emperor forcefully suppressed his thoughts, maintaining a composed expression. He looked at the little person in Yun Qingwu’s arms: “Who is the child’s mother?”

Yun Qingwu lowered his head slightly, but his tone was firm: “She has no mother, only a father.”

The Celestial Emperor looked at this grandson, who had always been so sensible, and fell silent.

He had just taken the child’s pulse. One of the bloodlines definitely belonged to Yun Qingwu, so the child could not merely be adopted.

“What do you mean? Explain clearly,” he stared at Yun Qingwu with piercing eyes.

Yun Qingwu no longer concealed anything. He told the Celestial Emperor how the Ancient Town Lamp merged with him and Leng Lici, and subsequently, the circumstances of the child’s birth.

He had expected Grandfather God to be furious again, but Grandfather God’s demeanor was much calmer than before. Just as he was about to relax, the Celestial Emperor’s words plunged him into an ice cellar.

“This child cannot stay. Hand her over to Grandfather God, and I will take care of the aftermath for you.”

Yun Qingwu suddenly looked up at the Celestial Emperor, instantly understanding the meaning behind his words. He retreated a few steps: “Grandfather God, she is my daughter.”

“She is not your daughter. She is merely the twisted product of chance. She should never have been born,” the Celestial Emperor said coldly.

“Qingwu, give her to me.”

“No.”

Yun Qingwu quickly backed out of the Clear Palace: “Forgive me, Grandfather God.”

With that, he immediately turned and left.

“Intractable!”

The Celestial Emperor was enraged. He struck out with his palm. This grandson had never disobeyed him; this was the first time.

But this first time should never have happened.

Yun Qingwu stepped back, looking at Grandfather God in surprise. He hadn’t expected his grandfather to be so enraged by this.

“Brother!”

A figure in blue blocked the attack—it was Yun Ya.

“Brother, you need to calm down. Qingwu is still young. You need to give him some time.”

The Celestial Emperor flicked his sleeve, restrained his attack, and turned away from Yun Qingwu.

Yun Ya signaled with her eyes for Yun Qingwu to leave first.

“Thank you, Aunt.”

Yun Qingwu nodded and left the Clear Palace with Xiao Dao in his arms.