Chapter 689: Chapter 550: Sikong Temple

The woman’s warm blood was like a key, silently unlocking the seal and illuminating the entire Array.

For thirty years, Tushan Jing Ci had tried and failed, time and time again. But she never gave up.

This time, she used her bloodline as a nine-tailed celestial fox to guide it, the Moon God Tree to form it, and the Qi Fortune of all of Tushan to protect it.

’This time, I *have* to find him!’

"You promised! You said you would never leave me! You swore you’d never go back on your word!"

Behind her, seven snow-white fox tails billowed and unfurled in the air like bolts of the finest silk, radiating a sacred light.

The Moon God Tree suddenly erupted in a blinding flash. A brilliant pillar of light pierced through the heavy clouds, soaring to the ends of the sky.

Waves of immense Spiritual Power radiated out from Moon God Mountain in concentric circles, like ripples spreading across the surface of a disturbed lake.

At that moment, Tushan Jing Ci’s Divine Sense was inextricably linked with the Moon God Tree.

She felt as though she had become those ripples of Spiritual Power, spreading across every inch of the Demon Race’s World.

Her gaze swept over countless members of the Demon Race and Human Race, across wastelands and cities, over mountains and rivers.

Every person, every Demon, was but a tiny, insignificant grain of sand in a vast ocean to her.

But all of them were dim and lackluster. The one she so desperately sought was nowhere to be found.

She had no idea how many grains of sand she had examined.

The prolonged use of the Moon God Tree’s power and the immense burden of the Array made her Divine Sense grow heavy. With every breath, it felt as though a mountain was crushing her spirit.

She could even feel a tearing pain in her Divine Soul, as if it were about to be violently ripped apart by countless invisible, tugging threads.

Meanwhile, her face had grown visibly pale, drained of all color.

Crimson blood trickled from the corners of her mouth, dripping onto the glowing runes of the Array beneath the Moon God Tree.

But Tushan Jing Ci cared nothing for any of this.

Her only fear was that this time, after pouring everything into this near-perfect Array, she would still fail to find any trace of him.

’If I still can’t find him this time...’

’...what will I do then?’

Tushan Jing Ci didn’t dare to entertain the thought.

But just as the Array’s power began to fade and the last of the Moon God Tree’s Spiritual Power ripples were about to dissipate, just as Tushan Jing Ci’s heart was about to sink to its lowest depths...

...a tiny speck of light suddenly appeared on a mountain peak at the border of the Demon Race’s World.

It was like the faint yet stubborn glow of a firefly in the dead of night.

It was minuscule, yet impossible to ignore.

In that instant, her heart hammered in her chest, and her mind went completely blank.

Three breaths later, the Array’s light dimmed, and the Moon God Tree’s ripples finally vanished.

Although she couldn’t pinpoint his exact location, it was enough.

"I knew it..."

"I knew I would see you again..."

"I knew it... You wouldn’t lie to me..."

As the woman beneath the Moon God Tree slowly opened her eyes, tears silently streamed from their corners.

They traced a path across her pale cheeks, over the thin lips curved slightly like a crescent moon.

...

「Four Seas Dragon Palace.」

Xiao Qing sat alone in the great hall, her gaze lowered as she dealt with a mountain of official business.

Thirty years ago, when she had rushed back to the Imperial Palace from the Demon Race’s World, her heart had been filled with anxiety.

She had been worried her sister had learned the news about Brother Xiao and would rush to his side, heedless of the consequences.

Fortunately, her sister hadn’t paid much attention to the state of affairs in the Demon Race’s World over the years, so some things had gone unnoticed.

But whenever Xiao Qing saw her sister so stubbornly searching for Brother Xiao, her heart ached.

She knew better than anyone that it was a fruitless endeavor, a hopeless search that would never bear an answer.

But in all these years, Xiao Qing had never brought herself to tell her sister that Brother Xiao’s Divine Soul had been shattered and had completely dissipated from the world.

She couldn’t bear to.

She couldn’t bear to be the one to extinguish her sister’s last glimmer of hope.

But in the dead of night, Xiao Qing often found herself asking the same questions over and over.

’Is what I’m doing really right?’

’Am I really doing this for her own good, hiding the truth like this?’

’And... will she really... never find out?’

Xiao Qing sat in tormented silence for a long, long time.

Finally, Xiao Qing made a decision. After her sister came out of seclusion, she would tell her everything, down to the last detail. No more hiding things from her.

"Sister Xiaoqing..."

Just as Xiao Qing finished reviewing the memorials from the ministers of the Four Seas, a Maid, Han’er, rushed into the palace, her expression panicked as she called out.

"What’s wrong?" Xiao Qing looked up, her brow furrowed. "What has you so flustered?"

"Sister Xiaoqing, the forbidden ground in the rear palace... something’s wrong." Han’er’s voice trembled as her fingers twisted the fabric of her skirt.

Han’er didn’t know the purpose of the Array in the rear palace, the one that had been created using the full power of the Four Seas.

But she knew that both Your Majesty and Sister Xiaoqing cared deeply about every little change within that Array.

Both Your Majesty and Sister Xiaoqing had personally instructed her that if anything unusual happened with the Array, she was to report it immediately, no matter the time or place. Even if the sky itself were falling, this matter came first. There could be no delay.

"Something’s wrong?"

’Could it be...?’

Hearing Han’er’s words, Xiao Qing was stunned. She shot to her feet and rushed toward the rear courtyard without a moment’s hesitation.

But as she walked the path to the forbidden ground, her mind was filled with doubt.

’This Array was built by my sister to search for Brother Xiao’s reincarnation.’

’But Brother Xiao’s Divine Soul was destroyed. How could he possibly be reincarnated?’

Soon, Xiao Qing arrived before the Array.

The vast Array was blazing with a dazzling light, its runes flowing like a river of stars, brilliant and intense.

Although this Array didn’t pinpoint Brother Xiao’s location as the other one had, Xiao Qing, frozen in place, understood everything.

Brother Xiao... wasn’t dead.

...

「The border between the Demon Race’s World and the lands of Sikong Temple.」

This area was no strategic point of contention for the Military School. The Spiritual Power here wasn’t just lacking; it was downright sparse.

As a result, it held little importance for any Sect or Dynasty.

The towns and villages on this border were therefore relatively peaceful, having been spared from the ravages of war.

And because of its proximity to the Western Regions, there was a fair amount of trade across the border.

The local customs and culture had also been influenced, to some degree, by the Western Regions.

Thus, a temple stood on a mountain along the border.

The temple was called Sikong Temple.

Sikong Temple was by no means grand or magnificent, nor were its monks numerous.

However, the monks of Sikong Temple often descended the mountain to help the common folk in the nearby towns and villages, treating illnesses, exorcising evil spirits, and officiating ceremonies for weddings, funerals, and prayers.

Over time, the local people came to hold Sikong Temple in high esteem.

While the temple wasn’t bustling with worshippers on a daily basis, it was never short of incense offerings.

One day, the old Abbot of Sikong Temple went to Yuncai Village to tend to the sick.

The old Abbot often came down the mountain for such tasks, much like a traveling country doctor.

As evening fell, after a full day of seeing patients, the old Abbot left the village and started his slow walk back to the temple.

But just as he reached the temple’s main gate, he saw a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying quietly by the entrance, sleeping soundly.

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