Inside Seeking Immortality Temple, candlelight flickered.

Daoist Yunxi sat upright in her chair, her fine brows slightly furrowed, her expression grave and thoughtful.

Not long after Xiao Mo received that slip of paper, he told Gui Junmeng about it. Then the two of them came together to the great hall of Seeking Immortality Temple and reported the entire matter to Daoist Yunxi from beginning to end.

“This matter... is indeed somewhat strange.”

Daoist Yunxi gently shook her head and slowly spoke.

“To begin with, Jingci is already a cultivator at perfected completion of the Immortal Realm. Looking across the world, how many people could actually injure her?”

“Moreover, she is Tushan Meng’s proudest disciple, the future ruler of Tushan. Tushan Meng has always valued Tushan Jingci greatly, treating her like a jewel in the palm of her hand. How could she easily allow anyone to touch her?”

“It is indeed strange.” Xiao Mo also nodded slightly, his expression grave.

“For these peace talks between the Human Alliance and the Demon Alliance, Tushan Meng personally promised that she would not harm so much as a single finger of any Human Alliance cultivator. The head of Cold Mountain Academy saw it with his own eyes—beneath the Moon God Tree, she swore a grave oath upon her own Great Dao. If she violated it, her body would perish and her Way would fall, her soul would scatter and disperse, and she would never enter reincarnation for all eternity.”

“And yet now, a letter has suddenly come from Tushan’s side.” Xiao Mo paused, his gaze darkening slightly.

Suddenly, Gui Junmeng, who had been sitting quietly to the side and listening intently, brightened. She spoke softly, “Could it be... that the demon race factions unwilling to hold peace talks wrote this letter to us? Their goal is to sabotage the negotiations?”

“That possibility cannot be ruled out.” Daoist Yunxi spoke slowly, her tone carrying the caution of careful deliberation. “I have already sent a flying-sword letter to Head Cun and asked him to go to Tushan on our behalf to make inquiries. He will give us an answer.”

“I doubt we’ll get any real result.”

Xiao Mo smiled faintly, but there was a trace of helplessness in that smile.

Whether or not someone truly was deliberately trying to sabotage these peace talks—

even if Tushan really was secretly plotting something unspeakable, how could Tushan possibly admit it?

“Enough. Don’t think about this for now. The hour is late. You two should go rest first,” Daoist Yunxi said softly, her gentle gaze brushing over them both. “During these days, I will continue deducing the matter. If there is any news, I will tell you at once.”

“Yes.” Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng bowed respectfully, then turned and withdrew from the great hall.

......

In the courtyard at night, moonlight flowed quietly over the ground like water.

Xiao Mo sat alone on a stone stool, raising his head to look at the night sky.

The stars were like fine grains of sand, scattered densely across the entire curtain of heaven, flickering with cold, distant light.

Xiao Mo gazed at this vast sea of stars above Tushan, and without realizing it, his thoughts drifted far away. For a moment, he felt as though he had returned to his previous life, to those days when he had still been at Tushan.

He remembered that when he told Jingci he was going to the front line—

Jingci had also stood beneath such a brilliant starry sky, stubbornly shaking her head as she said, “I don’t agree.”

“What is it? Still not asleep at this hour?”

Gui Junmeng walked out of the room, dressed in a thin gauze skirt as light as mist, its hem fluttering faintly in the night wind.

She gently smoothed her collar, drew her knees together, and sat gracefully beside Xiao Mo, turning her head to look at him.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Xiao Mo smiled faintly, his gaze gentle as he looked at her. “You should rest first. I’ll return to the room in a while.”

Gui Junmeng gently shook her head, her voice soft. “Actually... I couldn’t sleep either.”

“Xiao Mo...”

After a while, she slowly raised her head and lightly bit her lower lip. Her clear eyes looked seriously at Xiao Mo’s profile.

“Actually... even if Tushan’s side really does have some scheme, you still want to go, don’t you?”

Hearing Gui Junmeng’s words, Xiao Mo slowly turned his head and quietly looked at the woman beside him, his gaze carrying a trace of complexity.

“During this period, I have also been using Great Dream of Yellow Millet to deduce the secrets of Heaven.”

Xiao Mo fell silent for a moment before finally speaking slowly.

“But I do not know why. Every time I step into that long river of karma, there is always a strange layer of mist blocking my path. Everything is blurred and hazy. I can see nothing clearly, and I can deduce nothing.”

His gaze turned toward the heavy night in the distance. “In my own heart, I keep having this inexplicable feeling. I keep feeling... that something major is going to happen.”

“Actually...” Gui Junmeng lowered her head. Her voice was as soft as the evening wind brushing over a lake. “That feeling in your heart... may be right.”

“Why do you say that?” Xiao Mo asked softly.

“I told you before...”

Gui Junmeng’s voice was low, as though she were recalling something.

“Ever since that period of seclusion, Jingci’s Great Dao and mine seem to have merged together. In the unseen, there is a connection I cannot explain. Sometimes, I can even faintly sense Jingci’s mood.”

A trace of loneliness quietly flashed through her eyes, and her voice grew even lighter. “Recently, I have felt that Jingci seems somewhat anxious, and also somewhat vexed...”

“Xiao Mo, go.” Gui Junmeng gently tugged at the corner of Xiao Mo’s robe. “I’ll go with you.”

“It’s too dangerous.” Xiao Mo shook his head, his brows furrowing slightly.

“But you are my husband, and Jingci is my younger sister.” Gui Junmeng raised her head and looked deeply into Xiao Mo’s eyes, her gaze stubborn. “If anything happened to either one of you... I could not accept it.”

Xiao Mo gazed into Gui Junmeng’s unyielding eyes, and his heart gave a faint sigh. He knew that no matter what he said now, he could no longer change her mind.

“Tomorrow... we’ll go speak to Daoist Yunxi.”

“Mm.” Gui Junmeng nodded happily, a faint smile rippling across the corners of her lips.

She leaned gently against Xiao Mo’s shoulder and rested her head there, gazing at the sky full of stars. Her voice was soft as a dream.

“Xiao Mo, tell me... if the human race and the demon race truly could reconcile one day, what kind of scene would that be?”

Xiao Mo reached out and gently held Gui Junmeng by the shoulder. Looking at the bright moon on the horizon, his gaze was distant and peaceful.

“That would probably... be quite wonderful...”

......

Half a month later, Daoist Yunxi finally received a reply from the head of Cold Mountain Academy.

In the letter, Tushan Meng stated that the threat letter had merely been a scheme by certain demon cultivators within the Demon Alliance who were unwilling to make peace, a ploy meant to sow discord.

Moreover, Tushan Meng had already found the one secretly causing trouble and personally dealt with them.

However, Tushan Meng also said that she likewise looked forward to Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng, the two future leaders of the Human Alliance, coming to Tushan and participating in the peace talks.

Of course, it would not matter if they did not come.

Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng expressed to Daoist Yunxi their wish to go to Tushan and take part in the negotiations.

After weighing the matter again and again and considering it with utmost caution, Daoist Yunxi ultimately nodded.

After several rounds of discussion, the Human Alliance’s higher-ups also felt that Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng going to Tushan together was not unworkable.

After all, Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng were now Immortal Realm cultivators. They were fully qualified to be called ancestral-level figures.

Moreover, Gui Junmeng was at perfected completion of the Immortal Realm, only one step away from the Ascension Realm.

The Great Dream of Yellow Millet that Xiao Mo cultivated was also exceedingly skilled in illusion arts and concealment techniques. If some unexpected situation truly arose, he should have no problem protecting himself and withdrawing unharmed.

And if something really did happen, as long as the Human Alliance’s upper-three-realm cultivators set their minds on leaving and refused to get entangled in battle, then looking across the entire world, there were basically very few who could stop them.

Even Tushan’s mountain-protecting formation would be useless.

What put their hearts most at ease was that they had also received news that, besides Cun Caiguang, the head of Cold Mountain Academy, the venerable and highly respected Senior Gui Ning would personally come to Tushan as well, responsible for presiding over these peace talks between the Human Alliance and the Demon Alliance.

Although Gui Ning was of the demon race and not human, the Human Alliance had always held this senior in great respect.

Soon, the day before the formal peace talks arrived.

Xiao Mo’s group stepped into Tushan territory.

When they truly sensed the vast pressure radiating from that brand-new mountain-protecting formation, everyone’s heart could not help but tremble.

It was not as though they had never been to Tushan before. They had also seen Tushan’s former mountain-protecting formation.

However, the brand-new grand formation now standing before them surpassed the previous one in both scale and aura.

This grand formation was like a greedy giant beast, as if it wished to devour and drain every trace of spiritual qi from the surrounding world.

Tushan had originally been an enormous blessed grotto-heaven favored by nature.

Yet the completion of this grand formation had actually forcefully raised Tushan by another level.

The benefit brought by such a method was naturally that the cultivators in Tushan would possess an even more superior cultivation environment.

However, the spirit stones consumed each day to maintain this grand formation’s operation would also be an enormous number.

Still, with Tushan’s current wealth so abundant it was nearly extravagant, it was not an expense they could not afford.

“Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox—Qingyu greets you all.”

Before Tushan’s grand formation, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox woman who had already been waiting for some time saw Xiao Mo and the others arrive, then walked forward gracefully. She dipped in a respectful curtsy, the corners of her lips carrying a proper smile.

“Tushan has already prepared courtyards for all of you to rest in. Please follow me. You may rest for the night first, and tomorrow, I will bring you to Moon God Peak to attend the peace talks.”

“Thank you, Miss Qingyu.” Daoist Yunxi nodded slightly, her tone warm.

“You are too courteous. Please follow me.”

Qingyu smiled faintly, turned around, and led the group into Tushan’s grand formation.

Xiao Mo and the others were arranged to stay on a guest peak. The courtyards were only a few steps apart, making it extremely convenient for them to watch over one another.

That night, no one slept. They remained alert at all times, afraid that some accident might occur.

However, that evening passed with unusual peace. Nothing happened at all.

It was as though Tushan truly wished to sit down sincerely and negotiate properly.

At dawn the next morning, Qingyu arrived on time to guide Xiao Mo and the others to Moon God Peak for the banquet.

When Xiao Mo’s group reached Moon God Peak, the demon-race mighty figures had already all arrived and were seated in their respective places.

In total, the Human Alliance had come to Tushan with one Ascension Realm cultivator, three Immortal Realm cultivators, and five Jade Pith Realm cultivators.

On the Demon Alliance’s side, including the patriarch of the Soaring Serpent clan, there was a total of one Ascension Realm cultivator, five Immortal Realm cultivators, and seven Jade Pith Realm cultivators.

The cultivators of the Human Alliance and the Demon Alliance sat in two separate rows. They glanced at one another without saying a word, but the looks they exchanged were filled with drawn-sword tension.

“All right, all right, stop staring at each other...” An aged yet powerful voice suddenly rang out, breaking the heavy atmosphere. “What, do you think you can stare each other to death?”

Everyone turned to look.

They saw Gui Ning striding over with great steps. Behind him followed Cun Caiguang and Tushan Meng.

The cultivators of the Human Alliance and the Demon Alliance immediately rose one after another, bowing respectfully as they said in unison, “Greetings, Senior Gui, Elder Tushan, Head Cun.”

“No need to be so polite, everyone. Please, take your seats.” As the host, Tushan Meng smiled and extended a hand, inviting everyone to sit.

Only after everyone had taken their seats again could this round of peace talks truly be considered begun.

“I know that for these peace talks, everyone from the Human Alliance must surely feel uneasy. Here, I must also thank all of you from the Human Alliance for giving me and Cun Caiguang, these two old men, a bit of face and being willing to attend.”

Gui Ning turned his gaze toward the Human Alliance and continued speaking.

“To tell the truth, when Tushan Meng first came to the two of us and said that the demon-race world could not keep fighting endlessly like this, and that she wished to help both sides hold peace talks, we were both quite surprised.”

“But then again, this great war has already dragged on, on and off, for several hundred years. The entire demon-race world has been plunged into misery and ruin. It is indeed time for it to come to an end.”

“Today, whatever conditions everyone has, just put them out on the table. If they cannot be settled in a short time, then we will talk slowly and grind through them slowly. If they truly cannot be agreed upon, then just treat this as having shared a meal!”

As soon as Gui Ning finished speaking, an Immortal Realm elder of the Human Alliance named Zhuang Shun stood, cupped his hands in salute, and said in a clear voice, “Since Senior Gui has said as much, we will no longer beat around the bush. Our Human Alliance has listed out our conditions for peace one by one. Please have a look.”

Sheets of white paper filled with terms drifted lightly onto everyone’s tables.

The Demon Alliance members lowered their heads and looked at the demands the Human Alliance had put forward on the paper. One by one, their brows locked tight, and their faces darkened until they looked ready to drip water.

......

At the same time—

just as the peace talks were underway, Yuan quietly arrived beneath the Moon God Tree.

She slowly extended a hand and gently stroked the Moon God Tree.

Yuan closed her eyes, sinking her mind downward. The spell incantations she murmured were like the purest laws from the primordial chaos when heaven and earth first opened.

Then she poured divine power into the Moon God Tree. That divine power carried her divine sense and, through the roots and veins of the Moon God Tree, silently connected to the enormous formation covering all of Tushan.

The Moon God Tree stirred without wind, swaying again and again.

Before long, the originally lush green Moon God Tree, thick with verdant branches and leaves, gradually saw its leaves turn from green to red, one by one.

A deep, aged red, like blood.

“Sister, I will make these damned all races know—

we gods have never left!”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.