However, before the Qingqiu Empress could say anything.
Ye Chen jumped up and pointed at the talking cultivator, saying, “What kind of look is that!!”
“Empress Bai is absolutely beautiful and her looks enchant the masses—how could that little fox compare to her!”
Everyone nodded in agreement, highly approving of Ye Chen’s words.
Qingqiu Empress Bai Su was someone favored by the Heavenly Dao.
In other words, she could almost be called the Heavenly Dao’s own daughter. Such a person, in looks, talent, and fortune, was top-tier above all.
By contrast, that little fox had a tragic fate—cursed in her bloodline, and her transformed appearance was extremely ugly.
Even if there was some similarity in aura, the difference was simply too great!
From start to finish, Bai Su’s gaze remained fixed on the little fox’s face, never shifting.
She unconsciously touched the tear-shaped mole beneath the corner of her eye.
Although that little fox truly differed greatly from her, the position of that tear mole was… too similar.
At this moment, a cultivator sighed, “Come to think of it, this little fox was almost endlessly attentive to the Heavenly Emperor, asking for nothing in return. So why did the Heavenly Emperor later come to hate the Demon Race so much?!”
The Heavenly Emperor’s hatred of the Demon Race was not slight.
The current Great Emperor of the Demons—Bai Su’s mother—was suppressed by the Heavenly Emperor with his supreme imperial heart, which needed no further mention.
The Heavenly Emperor’s nickname of “Bloody Butcher” came from what he did to the Demon Race.
It was said that back then the Heavenly Emperor, for his own selfish desires, slaughtered all the Demons across the Beixuan Continent, and the Great Emperor of the Demons bled out into the void!
In that battle, corpses lay everywhere, blood flowed like rivers; so many stars fell that even the great sun turned dim.
It was said that across the entire Beixuan Continent, every living being could smell the fishy stench of Demons’ blood.
If that were all, it would already be terrible enough. But afterwards the Heavenly Emperor, by his own power, drove the Demon Race to the bitterly cold northern polar regions.
He left an imperial edict: dare to enter the eastern lands, and he would wipe them out completely!
Since then, on the Beixuan Continent, aside from some ferocious beasts that had not yet transformed, traces of this race had mostly disappeared.
For a time, people found it hard to understand the Heavenly Emperor’s cruelty. After all, his life had been saved by a Demon.
At this point, Ye Chen spoke, “Ungrateful and ruthless—this is the Heavenly Emperor’s true face. What you saw before was merely the illusion of him not yet having turned evil.”
Hearing this, everyone finally felt somewhat enlightened.
Indeed, the Heavenly Emperor must have been always like this. Otherwise, how could there now be a rebellion of heaven and earth?
Giving up the Immortal Root for Gu Youwei, destroying his sword heart for Jiang Minghuang—all of that was just a facade.
For a moment, everyone felt inwardly that the little fox had been treated unfairly. Clearly, this fox had behaved without any fault toward Gu Changqing!
Ye Chen’s mouth twitched into a slight smile. He somewhat looked forward to the day Gu Changqing would betray the fox’s feelings and slaughter her fellow beings.
…
In the Cave.
One man and one fox clung to each other like that, sheltering from the long cold season.
Just like their fates—two drifting vagabonds battered by the chaotic currents of destiny—each saw the other’s reflection in themselves.
They leaned on each other, warming one another.
Together they sustained each other through the darkest moments of life.
Winter passed, spring arrived.
The cold finally gave way to warmth, and like the weather, Gu Changqing’s body also revived.
Thanks to the little fox’s blood and the pills she stole for him, he gradually recovered.
He was healed.
But the little fox’s condition grew increasingly despondent.
Unlike when Gu Changqing had first met her, this little fox now seemed nothing but a skeletal husk.
Her body was shrunken, her white fur lost its luster.
Even her pair of gem-like eyes had grown dark veins throughout.
Added to that were the scars left from stealing the pills.
The little fox now resembled Gu Changqing from the beginning in some ways.
“It’s time to say goodbye, my friend.”
“I do not have much time left, so it’s time to enter that forbidden land.”
One day, the little fox gazed at the rising sun in the east and murmured these words to herself.
“In your current state, if you go, you’ll surely die.”
Gu Changqing’s expression shifted slightly.
This fox not only healed his body but also reawakened his invincible Dao heart.
A life for a life!
Once, Gu Changqing had risked himself for Gu Youwei, but this time it was the little fox sacrificing for him.
The little fox turned her head to Gu Changqing and shook her head. “There’s no choice—if I go, there’s still hope. If I don’t, I can only wait to die.”
Gu Changqing was silent.
He stood, came to the cave’s mouth, stood shoulder to shoulder with the little fox, and looked down at the wasteland. “Let’s go together.”
The little fox shook her head and smiled sadly. “It wasn’t easy for me to save you. Now that you’ve lost your cultivation, if you go, I’m afraid it’s only a road to death.”
“One more person is one more bit of strength—how will you find your way in that vast forbidden zone?”
The little fox said no more.
Having spent nearly a year together, she knew this mortal’s stubbornness well.
These days, whenever she brought back Immortal Pills, no matter how many wounds she bore, this fellow would pay no heed—only eat the pills and strive to restore his body.
Wasn’t it all in anticipation of this moment?
“If only one of us can survive, I hope it’s you,” the little fox murmured to herself.
The man and the fox thus set out on their journey.
The sun rose from the east, yet it could not outshine the hope on the road ahead for these two tragically fated souls.