On the snowfields.
The trail of four footprints stretched incredibly long.
A man and a woman, draped in white fur coats, walked forward.
The man carried a black sword box on his back, while the woman wore a black dress beneath her white fur—they looked exactly like an immortal couple wandering the snowy plains.
Li Yaozu was distracted.
He had gone out to seek the Dao, retracing his old path.
After finishing his sword-plundering, experiencing all the swordsmen the world had to offer, he had also returned to the snowfields.
He hadn't made it back in time for the battle at Grandhaven Prefecture. The family sent word of a sweeping victory, yet he remained deeply worried.
"There's no need to rush. The Blood Moon hasn't arrived yet, and the Southern Frontier can't hide many immortals.
With the strength of the Southern Frontier, it's more than enough to kill those pieces of trash." Fang Linglong's red lips parted slightly.
"Sister Fang, do you know of immortals?" Li Yaozu asked casually.
Fang Linglong had resided in his sword box for many years, and his second sister had constantly sent him medicine—medicine that had grown increasingly potent over the years.
This Demon Lord, who had once ended the Wu Tribe's calamity, was shrouded in mystery at every turn.
"What do you think? I am a demon, though I haven't encountered many immortals. Killing those few things was just something I did in passing."
Fang Linglong continued walking, seemingly recalling something unpleasant.
Li Yaozu had always avoided asking too many questions, but now, with the impending arrival of the Blood Moon, he braced himself and asked,
"How did Sister Fang end up stranded in the Demon Cave?"
"This is my home."
Fang Linglong pointed toward the snowy expanse ahead.
Li Yaozu frowned. Back when Fang Linglong had rescued him and brought him to the snowfields, she had mentioned this was her home.
Li Yaozu had always assumed Fang Linglong was merely giving him a goal to march toward.
He listened as Fang Linglong said,
"I was born here, born a demon. Back then, there were still many Demon Tribe members here.
My father was the Demon Lord, leading the reclusive Demon Tribe.
My father said that the Demon Tribe was formed from the living beings of the world, who were forced to fall into darkness in order to end the Immortal Tribe."
"Unfortunately, after many fell, they could never reclaim their humanity, sinking into negative emotions and becoming intolerable to the world.
My father brought us to this land of ice and snow, sheltering the living beings who had fallen for the sake of the world. I grew up here."
"Until one day..."
"One of my compatriots caused a disaster in the mortal world; he annihilated an entire clan of the Sea Tribe."
Fang Linglong lowered her eyes.
Li Yaozu didn't know how to comfort her.
In his youth, he had been quite skilled at charming young girls, but now, weathered by time, he had instead grown reticent—even less talkative than the clinking swords in his sword box.
"The Human Emperor of that generation was furious and personally led men to slaughter their way into the snowy region."
Fang Linglong said mockingly,
"As if it was for the Sea Tribe. My tribe had two Great Emperors. The Human Emperor led his Emperor Realm experts here specifically to claim two more Great Emperors for the Human Race.
In the end, the Wu Tribe and the Demon Race had long been lying in wait. In just a short millennium, the Imperial Dynasty collapsed, and there were no more powerful Demon Tribe settlements in the world."
"I fled for tens of thousands of years, yet still, no one was willing to let me go. But they also knew that I had no attachments to hold me back, while they had far too many."
"The last time, I assassinated the Human Emperor right after his massive battle with his son, Zishu Lingtian."
The corners of Li Yaozu's mouth twitched.
He finally seemed to understand why, after Fang Linglong took a trip to the Wu Tribe, their experts never dared to set foot in the Southern Frontier again.
This person... had even assassinated the Human Emperor.
"Why did you assassinate him?" Li Yaozu asked.
"The previous generation's Human Emperor was already dead. I couldn't even find my actual enemy, so I couldn't just sit around and do nothing, right?" Fang Linglong replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
What a powerful reason. Li Yaozu was actually left speechless.
For some unknown reason, Li Yaozu felt a heavy gloom in his heart.
He faintly sensed the dullness in his own emotional intelligence; perhaps he simply couldn't empathize with Fang Linglong's experience of living alone for so many years, living without any purpose.
Unknowingly, the two reached the very end of the snowfields.
Li Yaozu was startled; Fang Linglong must have used her Spiritual power, bringing them to an unfamiliar place in an instant.
They were amidst ice and snow.
As Fang Linglong waved her hand, the snow layer revealed ruined walls encased in ice beneath.
Even though it was a ruin, peering through the tip of the iceberg, Li Yaozu could faintly guess the glorious history of this place; perhaps this was indeed Fang Linglong's homeland.
"People are always content with the status quo."
As Fang Linglong took a step, a hollow cavity opened in the ground.
Frowning, Li Yaozu followed Fang Linglong downward, instantly sensing overwhelming demonic qi.
Fang Linglong's low voice echoed in his ear: "Confused by the present, they feel all effort and pain are unnecessary things. They slack off in learning and cultivation, only to realize in the end how little they truly possess."
"Ultimately watching helplessly as everything slips away, thus blaming heaven and others."
Entering their sight were massive doors engraved with the shadows of Asuras. Fang Linglong pushed them open.
An aura brimming with oppressive might and a terrifying presence that made the body instinctively fear surged out, prompting Li Yaozu to involuntarily use his Spiritual power to block it.
However, he never expected to stumble forward, and the massive doors slowly closed behind him. Li Yaozu's eyes widened. "Sister Fang..."
All he saw was Fang Linglong's smile.
"I don't like people who blame heaven and others. Back when you walked the snowfields, you couldn't reach my tribe's lands, but the current you should be able to survive.
Walk out alive, and beneath the Blood Moon, you will be able to battle immortals."
"..."
Bang!
The massive doors slowly closed shut.
Behind the dark doors was an independent spatial world, surging with monstrous demonic shadows!
The red glow from behind had already reflected onto the closed doors. Li Yaozu swallowed hard.
"How is this any different from murder? Sister Fang, you will definitely come and save me, right?"
"I won't."
The familiar voice echoed in his ear. Li Yaozu's guess was indeed correct; Fang Linglong could definitely see everything inside.
His face darkened. "Right now, behind me, is there a whole group of people?"
"..."
No response. Bracing himself, Li Yaozu turned his head, only to see pairs of glowing red eyes.
A horde of dead demon overlords were rubbing their fists and wiping their palms, sneering hideously at the guest they hadn't welcomed in ages. "Jie jie jie jie!"
The sword box clinked.
Li Yaozu slowly drew an iron sword. Feeling the aura on these dead demon overlords—an aura strikingly similar to Fang Linglong's—he exhaled a long breath.
"Then, please forgive my offense, everyone."
[Your descendant Li Yaozu, led by Fang Linglong, arrived at the former Demon Capital of the Demon Tribe.]
[The demonic qi in the Demon Capital is endless. It is the final trial array left behind by the Demon Emperor of the Demon Tribe before his death, intended to cultivate descendants through a nine-deaths-one-life grand array.
Fang Linglong used this killing array to assist Li Yaozu's Sword Dao. She believed that with Li Yaozu's unyielding nature, he would certainly face eight deaths and two survivals.]
[Ten days passed.
Your descendant Li Yaozu is fleeing madly amidst the mangled corpses of the Demon Tribe.]
[A hundred days passed.
Li Yaozu found a ruin, gaining a moment to catch his breath and heal his heavily injured body.
Comprehending a sliver of the Sword Dao, he acquired the Trait: Hope of the Demon Tribe]
[The Demon Tribe's Great Emperor left a silver lining of survival for juniors braving the grand array.
Protected by the grand array, while slaughtering and cultivating within it, cultivation speed, combat power, and comprehension increase by 100%.]
Outside the array, Fang Linglong had her back turned to the icy ruins of the Demon Tribe's homeland.
She sat on the ground, helplessly hugging her calves and curling up into a ball.
When she spoke those words to Li Yaozu, she was speaking them to herself.
When she was with the Demon Tribe, she had never once thought about cultivating until the Demon Tribe was annihilated, and the world gained a fearless female demon overlord.