Gu Changqing sheltered himself beneath the little fox’s body.
This white fox had borne everything for him.
His expression did shift slightly, but in the end he said nothing.
…
Outside the mirror.
The assembled cultivators were all clearly disturbed and affected to different extents.
These two characters had clearly met by chance, and clearly one had saved the other’s life, yet within this Forbidden Zone, the little fox was still the only one sheltering the Heavenly Emperor from danger.
“I can’t believe such a foolish person exists.”
“Thinking of what the Heavenly Emperor later did to the Demon Race, I feel truly terrible for this little fox.”
“Me too. That’s cursed rain, after all! Yet she would rather protect the Heavenly Emperor than travel alone—clearly, she is already about to die.”
Everyone murmured in low voices.
They had never seen such a self-sacrificial demon.
Nor had they seen such a pure, innocent demon.
“Perhaps this little fox did not die from a bloodline curse, but she was slowly but surely dragged to death by the Heavenly Emperor.”
…
Bai Su’s gaze was exceptionally angry.
“You risked your life to save and protect him, but what has he done!”
“Wasn’t what you did for him enough!”
“You’re a demon, yet you acted like a fool! You are a sinner of my race!!”
…
They finally found a cave.
In the cave, a faint campfire crackled, sending out sparks.
The little fox lay beside the fire, her breath faint.
Her body kept bleeding, and the blood was no longer red but almost completely transparent.
The divine markings that had once run through her blood had dimmed to the extreme, as if they could vanish at any moment.
“The most terrifying thing in the Forbidden Zone is not the powerful monsters, but these cursed occurrences that keep happening everywhere you go.”
“And this is only the edge of the Forbidden Zone. The farther in you go, the more terrifying it becomes.”
“I may not be able to go on. I can feel that the curse in my blood will soon take my life.”
The little fox lay on the ground, sighing softly, “Go, my friend, leave this Forbidden Zone.”
“Do you know why I saved you back then? To be honest, it’s because I saw my own shadow in you.”
“I thought I was already pitiful. But I never expected to meet someone more pitiful—someone whose dao foundation was shattered, whose sword heart was destroyed, even with an arm broken.”
“When I first met you, I kept wondering what you had gone through.”
“Perhaps it was because we’re in the same plight. I was driven by some force to save you, and later found that you really are like me—equally stubborn, equally sorrowful…”
“I have never regretted saving you. On the contrary, I must thank you for accompanying me on my final stretch for so long.”
“If not for you, I might not even have had the courage to set foot in this Forbidden Zone.”
Gu Changqing’s eyes were a little moist.
He had never been so moved.
His life had been full of hardships: his kin’s village was slaughtered, and at five he had struggled to survive with Gu Youwei. He finally found a master and thought he could, like other cultivators, receive protection and warmth, but in the end discovered he was only a pawn.
He had never been treated like this—someone who spared no effort, protecting him wholeheartedly.
The little fox continued talking to herself, “So I really want you to live on… When two lives are so tragic, one of them should survive.”
“After I die, I will turn into a demon pill that will contain my cultivation—do not let me down. Refine it, and perhaps it can help restore some of your shattered dao foundation.”
…
The gathered cultivators choked and sniffled, as if a fishbone was stuck in their throats.
The little fox’s pure emotion and nature moved everyone.
When she met Gu Changqing, she had clearly still been strong.
Yet she used her demon blood to heal him, even risking her life to steal pills.
In the Forbidden Zone, though she was clearly near death, she sheltered Gu Changqing from all dangers, acting as his mount and shield.
And now she was even willing to give her own demon pill to this person she met by chance!
“If I’m not mistaken, the little fox probably gave her demon pill to the Heavenly Emperor, and the Heavenly Emperor refined it—after all, he later became the Heavenly Emperor.”
“The Heavenly Emperor—he is not human!!”
“The little fox treated him so well! How could he bear to refine her demon pill, how could he bear to make enemies of the Demon Race!!”
The Qingqiu Empress’ eyes were wet. She felt both pity and hatred toward this little fox.
“You’re so foolish! But little did you know, it was precisely because of your foolishness that my race lost its footing.”
“He is a ruthless, merciless man—he doesn’t deserve such good treatment from you!”
Especially upon hearing that the little fox intended to give her demon pill to the Heavenly Emperor.
In that moment the empress wished she could step into the river of time and return to that time to severely reprimand the little fox.
…
“Create.”
Without reason, Gu Changqing’s low whisper suddenly came from the mirror.
The words were like some kind of command.
At a certain moment, some law hidden between space and time materialized, gathering busily into his palm.