Chapter 568: Double Happiness, Great Joy...

Two women descended slowly from midair, one behind the other, walking forward until they came to a stop at the edge of a bottomlessly deep ravine.

"Grand Elder, this is the place." Tushan Hongxia said softly to Tushan Meng, her gaze falling on the ravine below their feet. "This crevice used to be the entrance to the Yuezhuo hidden realm."

"Mm." Tushan Meng gave a slight nod, her expression calm as she looked down.

The ravine was dark and murky, like a sleeping eye.

Decades ago, after the Yuezhuo hidden realm had closed completely, this plain had gradually returned to its former stillness, no different from any other ordinary place in the world and yet Tushan Meng had always felt that this place still warranted watching.

For this reason, she had specifically dispatched cultivators to take turns standing guard here, with instructions that if anything unusual occurred, they were to send word back to the Tushan clan immediately by sword-borne message, without fail.

And not long ago, the Nascent Soul realm cultivator responsible for guarding the Yuezhuo Plain had suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy. Not daring to delay, he had immediately sent an urgent message back to the Tushan clan by sword.

Upon receiving the message, Tushan Meng had wasted not a moment, immediately bringing Tushan Hongxia and rushing here in haste.

"Hongxia, guard me while I do this." Tushan Meng turned her head and instructed Tushan Hongxia beside her.

"Yes, Grand Elder." Tushan Hongxia nodded solemnly, and quickly set up a protective formation array, while extending her spiritual sense outward to cover a hundred li in every direction.

Should any cultivator suddenly approach this area, Tushan Hongxia would sense it at once.

Tushan Meng smoothed her skirt and sat cross-legged at the edge of the ravine, closing her eyes and settling her mind, silently chanting an incantation as she slowly invoked the innate divine ability of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan.

Before long, a spirit fox no bigger than a palm, snow-white and flawless all over, leapt out from above Tushan Meng's head, landing lightly into the dark depths of the ravine, and vanishing into the darkness in an instant.

She was not worried about this strand of her soul being harmed.

Even if something truly unexpected happened, it would take no more than a year or two of quiet recovery to restore it fully, nothing to be overly concerned about.

However, after falling for the better part of half an incense stick's time, this strand of Tushan Meng's soul was still drifting through the dark void.

It was as though this ravine had no bottom at all, and could never be reached.

"Oh... so it's the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. I hadn't expected that this lineage of divine beast bloodline still survived." Suddenly, a voice drifted, without warning, into the depths of Tushan Meng's mind, its tone carrying a touch of languor, and also a hint of playful amusement.

Right after that, the strand of Tushan Meng's soul landed on solid ground and in the darkness not far off, a faint, dim glow appeared, standing out strikingly against this boundless stillness.

Tushan Meng walked step by step toward that glow.

At last, she came to stand before a statue.

It was the statue of a woman, radiating a holy, gentle light all over, its craftsmanship extraordinarily fine, its lines smooth and delicate.

Even though this was merely a colorless stone statue, Tushan Meng could clearly sense that this woman, in life, must have possessed a beauty striking enough to move the heart.

And in the deepest part of this abyss, as far as the eye could see, aside from this faintly glowing statue, there was nothing but endless darkness, vast and desolate.

"Who are you?" Tushan Meng's spirit tightened slightly, and she gazed warily at the statue before her, her tone cold and direct.

"Who I am is not important."

That voice sounded again, slowly, from within the depths of Tushan Meng's mind, unhurried, as though separated by a thin layer of mist.

"What matters is that I can sense the old wound on your body that refuses to heal, the one that has left you little time left to live, and that has kept your cultivation from ever advancing another step forward."

The voice paused briefly, then took on a faint, unreadable note of amusement. "And yet your entire being radiates a thick, almost obsessive aura of ambition."

"You are quite interesting."

Tushan Meng's brows drew tightly together, her expression heavy with wariness.

That this other party could see through her old wound at a single glance was enough to show that they were no ordinary being.

A thought even rose faintly in her mind, that while this other party was weak at the moment, she might as well destroy this statue outright, to avoid any uncontrollable trouble arising later.

"I know what you're thinking."

The statue's voice rang out again in her mind, its tone carrying a trace of mockery, and also a trace of indifference.

"But I would advise you not to waste your effort. A little fox like you could never destroy me."

"However... if you are willing, you and I could strike a bargain. I could grant you a certain power, to help you achieve the ambition in your heart. What do you say?"

…

At Yellow Leaf City, in the demon race's territory, the demon alliance army led by Tushan Jingci had already made camp there.

At first, when Tushan Jingci had just taken command of this army, many of the generals had not been entirely convinced of her ability to lead troops in war, harboring no small measure of doubt and a wait-and-see attitude in their hearts.

But gradually, they discovered that this Holy Woman possessed an extremely sharp instinct for the battlefield, often able to perceive opportunities and anticipate the enemy's moves before they happened. Moreover, over the years, Tushan Jingci had constantly studied the records of great battles, as well as the various treatises on military strategy written by the strategists of the Ten Thousand Laws Realm. Beyond that, Tushan Jingci was also extremely skilled at drawing lessons from actual combat.

After every great battle, her grasp and understanding of military command visibly rose another level, leaving others unable to help but admire her. More importantly, whenever a great battle came, Tushan Jingci never hid within her command tent, but led from the front, fighting in blood and slaughter on the battlefield herself. After several decades of this, nearly everyone had come to hold this Tushan Holy Woman in complete respect, with no trace of doubt remaining.

It was only that the human race's resistance had proven unexpectedly fierce and moreover, while the demon side had Tushan Jingci, the human side had both Gui Junmeng and Xiao Mo.

Originally, Gui Junmeng had been a full major realm behind Tushan Jingci but over these several decades, Gui Junmeng had already advanced into the Immortal realm.

It was rumored that the reason Gui Junmeng's cultivation had progressed so remarkably fast was, aside from her being an innate Dao body of extraordinary talent, most importantly because of Xiao Mo.

According to what the demon alliance had gathered, this Xiao Mo was engaged in dual cultivation together with Gui Junmeng, and their method of dual cultivation was extremely well matched to both their constitutions and their great paths.

Beyond this, there was another rumor circulating, that Gui Junmeng and Tushan Jingci looked exactly alike!

However, the demon alliance had no way of confirming whether this rumor was true.

Because every time Gui Junmeng went to the battlefield, she always wore a veil, and only the cultivators of Seeking Immortals Temple had ever seen her true face but judging by her figure, cast from the same mold as Tushan Jingci's, and by those fox eyes of hers.

This news was very likely true.

Not only that, the demon alliance had also heard that this present-day Xiao Mo was, in fact, the reincarnation of the young page boy who had once stood at Tushan Jingci's side back then, the very person Tushan Jingci had loved.

If this were truly so, then the relationship among these three people became rather intriguing indeed.

For a time, all manner of speculation and rumor sprang up around these three people.

Only, under Tushan Meng's heavy hand, no one dared to discuss the matter openly.

Moreover, since the fighting had grown ever more intense, most of the demon cultivators in the alliance did not even know whether they would live to see the next day, and so, after a brief flurry of excitement, these gossip and rumors were quickly cast aside by most people and forgotten.

"I propose that our main force strike directly at Yellow Dragon Valley, then destroy Fengyun City, to put pressure on the Human Alliance!"

"Absolutely not! Yellow Dragon Valley is a natural no-fly zone. If the enemy has set an ambush there, and our army rushes in recklessly, the consequences would be disastrous!"

"Then what do you propose? We can't just keep sitting idle in Yellow Leaf City forever, can we?"

"What of the other two demon armies now?"

"What else could they be doing? One army has been pinned down by the Human Alliance, caught in the same deadlock as us, unable to advance or retreat. As for the Serpent clan's army, they seem rather at leisure, probably holding themselves back."

"Damn the Ten Thousand Laws Realm! If it weren't for their meddling behind the scenes, we would have wiped out the Human Alliance long ago! Just let me catch them at it, and I'll march straight into the Ten Thousand Laws Realm myself!"

"Heh heh heh, what use is there in saying all this now? Better to think of a way out of our current predicament first."

Within the city lord's mansion in Yellow Leaf City, a great many demon generals were arguing back and forth, discussing the plan for their next offensive.

But the longer they discussed it, the more their frustration mounted.

Originally, the demon alliance had been utterly crushing the Human Alliance, so much so that at the start they had scarcely even taken the Human Alliance seriously yet who could have known that the Ten Thousand Laws Realm would secretly support the Human Alliance, continuously sending them all manner of natural treasures, elixirs, and cultivation techniques.

There were even quite a few cultivators from the Ten Thousand Laws Realm who had smuggled themselves in to assist the Human Alliance!

If it had not been for the Ten Thousand Laws Realm stirring up trouble from behind, they were certain they would have already annihilated the Human Alliance completely and in the seat of honor within the mansion, a woman of exquisite figure and world-toppling beauty sat with her eyes closed, her legs crossed gently beneath her skirt, her elbow propped against her smooth, pale chin, her manner languid and at ease, listening quietly to their quarreling.

"Send a message by sword to the Serpent clan."

After a long while, the woman spoke slowly, her voice clear and bright as a silver bell, yet carrying within it an awe-inspiring authority.

"Tell them to send an army of a hundred thousand, every one of them at least Cave Mansion realm or above, to join our army in attacking Yellow Dragon Valley!"

Tushan Jingci gave the order in a cold voice, brooking no argument.

"And if they dare to make excuses, my army will strike camp and march straight to Black Serpent City, and I will go ask the Serpent clan myself. Is that understood?"

"Yes..." the demon general named Zeng Qiang hurriedly bowed in response, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead despite himself.

Although Zeng Qiang deeply respected this Tushan Holy Woman in his heart, he had to admit that at times he truly felt this Holy Woman was practically insane...

If the Serpent clan dared not to send troops, this Holy Woman would absolutely follow through on her word, and would truly lead the army straight to Black Serpent City herself.

"Very well, then it's settled." Tushan Jingci said no more, rose to her feet, and walked out of the tent without looking back.

All the generals rose at once, bowing respectfully to see her off.

However, just as Tushan Jingci had stepped out of the tent, Yueshi came hurrying over, her expression flustered, bowing slightly. "Young Miss..."

"Sister Yueshi, what is it?" Tushan Jingci turned her head to look at Yueshi, her tone softening slightly.

Yueshi's eyes darted back and forth for a moment, her lips pressing together lightly, as though weighing her words over and over.

"Sister Yueshi, whatever it is, feel free to speak plainly. It's fine." Tushan Jingci said to Yueshi, her usually cold tone now carrying a rare gentleness reserved for an old friend.

Yueshi took a deep breath, steadied herself, and said slowly, "Reporting to you, Young Miss, someone has sent a letter."

"Who sent it?" Tushan Jingci asked evenly.

"It's... it's from Seeking Immortals Temple... from Xiao Mo..." Yueshi answered haltingly, her voice growing softer and softer and the moment Tushan Jingci heard the words "Xiao Mo," her heart gave a violent lurch, and her small hand clenched involuntarily into a tight fist, her knuckles turning white.

"Give it to me." Tushan Jingci said slowly, her voice carrying a tremor she could not suppress.

Yueshi drew the letter from within her robe and presented it to Tushan Jingci with both hands, most respectfully.

The envelope was a festive, vivid red, printed with a large, finely cut red paper decoration of the character "double happiness”, delicate and eye-catching.

This was...

A wedding invitation...

Gazing at the invitation in Yueshi's hands, its red so vivid it seemed to pierce the eye, Tushan Jingci's breath suddenly caught, and the color drained from her face, bit by bit, until it was pale as paper.

Her eyes, already cold as frost, now seemed to plunge into a bottomless abyss, losing every trace of their luster.

She simply stood there, frozen, motionless, as though time itself had stopped upon her, and only the invitation in her hand remained, its red piercing her heart but in the end, Tushan Jingci slowly reached out and took the invitation, her slender fingers trembling ever so faintly. She opened it and drew out the red paper inside.

Word by word, the characters on the red paper unfolded slowly before her eyes.

The woman's eyes trembled gently, reddening bit by bit from the corners, until at last a hazy mist of tears veiled them over.

She fought to hold herself back, biting her lip but in the end, crystalline tears slid quietly from the corners of her eyes anyway, one drop at a time, falling onto the vivid red paper, blooming into small, damp marks.

"Young Miss..." Yueshi called out softly, yet found herself, for the moment, at a loss for how to offer any comfort.

In truth, even without looking at the contents of the invitation, she had already guessed a good deal of it in her heart.

After all, over these several decades, the rumors of Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng cultivating together in dual practice had long since ceased to be any secret.

"Xiao Mo is getting married."

Tushan Jingci spoke slowly, the black characters on the red paper like nails, one after another, driving cruelly into her heart.

"Double..."

"Great joy..."

Tushan Jingci gently ran her fingers over the finely cut paper decoration on the envelope, a smile plain upon her face, the corners of her lips even curving upward, and yet the tears kept falling without end, one after another, as though they would never run dry.

"Since it is such great joy."

"Then I shall have to send you a grand gift in return."

She raised her head and looked off into the distance.

"Wouldn't you agree?"