The pale moon was silently shining, and the heavy snow reflected the moonlight, falling slowly.
He Qingjiao's body was burned to ashes by the flames and returned to dust. Ye Anping watched solemnly without saying a word until only her sword and storage bag remained on the spot.
He raised his hand slightly, took the sword and storage bag, and lowered his eyes. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Sister Gu..."
"Hmm?"
"Go find a place to erect a memorial for Miss He."
Gu Mingxin looked at the sword in his hand, and pursed her lips, expressing doubt. "...Why do you want to erect a memorial for her?"
"She is also your benefactor. If it weren't for her, you would have died after you were brought to the Heavenly Demon Sect by Yu Yan."
Gu Mingxin was a little puzzled. Her eyes lingered on the sword in Ye Anping's hand, but his expression remained unfathomable.
Although Ye Anping had said this, in fact, when she was in the Heavenly Demon Sect, the number of times she and He Qingjiao had met could be counted on one hand, and they had never talked much before...
"For real?"
"Yes."
"Well then..."
Gu Mingxin glanced at Pei Lianxue who was staring at her and narrowed her eyes, grinning. She took the sword from Ye Anping's hand, summoned her flying sword, and flew out of the deep pit.
When the disciples of the Black Star Sect who were hovering in the sky saw her flying on her sword, many of them increased their vigilance and raised their swords, preparing to resist the enemy. However, at Liang Zhu's wave, they made way for her.
Liang Zhu heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his Sixth Brother coming. He got a hint from Ye Anping's eyes and shrugged slightly, then amplified his voice again and led the Black Star Sect disciples back to the battlefield to clean up.
After a while, only Ye Anping, Pei Lianxue, and Feng Yu Die were left in the deep pit created by the six-color formation flags.
Ye Anping calmed down and put his mind off He Qingjiao's death. Then, he turned to Pei Lianxue and smiled, spreading his hands. "Sister, although it's a little late, congratulations on forming your Nascent Soul."
Seeing that her brother wanted to hug her, Pei Lianxue was naturally happy to jump on him, but then she saw the two little guys, one black and one golden, sitting on her brother's shoulders with their legs crossed. Confused, she stood there with her head tilted. "Hmm?"
Ye Anping was a little puzzled. He thought that his sister would jump on him directly. He wondered if she was angry, so he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong..."
"Hmm..."
Pei Lianxue didn't know how to ask, and after hesitating for a while, she simply walked slowly to Ye Anping and stretched out her hand...
"Ah?!"
"Hmm?"
Xiao Tian didn't feel anything at first, but when she saw Pei Lianxue reaching out to her, her eyes widened in fright. She didn't have time to react and hide before she was directly grabbed by Pei Lianxue. She was held in Pei Lianxue's palm like a cat, with her belly facing up, staring at her in a daze.
"!!"
"!!"
"?!"
Ye Anping held his breath; Xue'e opened her eyes wide and her jaw dropped; Feng Yu Die on the side even shrank her neck.
And Xiao Tian, who was in Pei Lianxue's hand, clenched her fists very nervously and gulped, as Pei Lianxue pinched her belly and face...
"Brother, what is this?"
As she said that, Pei Lianxue simply grabbed Xiao Tian's face and pulled it hard to both sides, causing Xiao Tian to shout in pain. "Oh my! It hurts, it hurts..."
Hearing Xiao Tian screaming in pain, Pei Lianxue let go of her face and apologized in a guilty voice. "Ah... I'm sorry."
Xiao Tian also looked worried and frightened, and she waved her hands quickly. "Ah... It's okay, just pinch it gently... um..."
"Oh..."
Seemingly liking the soft touch of Xiao Tian's face, Pei Lianxue smiled.
"Brother, this is quite cute!"
Xiao Tian froze for a moment and immediately nodded like pounding garlic. ''Uh-huh... I'm cute...''
"... "
Ye Anping didn't know what expression to make. If only she knew that this little guy had stolen her red veil back then.
He looked questioningly at Xue'e on the other shoulder, waiting for her to explain why his sister could see them, but Xue'e shook her head vigorously to indicate that she didn't know either.
However, seeing that Pei Lianxue liked Xiao Tian very much, Ye Anping smiled helplessly. "Do you like the little pet that Brother found for you?"
?
Xiao Tian was confused and looked up at Ye Anping. "Eh?"
Ye Anping simply ignored her and waved his hand to put the six-color formation flags back into his storage bag. He looked at Xiao Yunluo who was still in the air, not knowing whether she should come down, and let out a small sigh. "Yu Die, go back to Black Star Sect's flying boat first."
Feng Yu Die nodded candidly. "Ah… Okay!"
But just these two words made Pei Lianxue, who was originally having fun playing with Xiao Tian, suddenly frown. She looked up at her brother and reached out to grab his face. "Brother!!"
"Ah? Wait, wait…"
Pei Lianxue stood on tiptoe, holding Ye Anping's face, and bit her lips angrily. "Don't fool me. What have you and the Second Idiot done during this period?!"
"Uh..." Ye Anping pursed his lips awkwardly. "I just pretended to be a demonic cultivator and went to Brilliance City and Heavenly Sorrow City, but we didn't do anything..."
Seeing Ye Anping being scolded by Pei Lianxue, Feng Yu Die hesitated for a while before walking over hesitantly, then shyly said, "Sister Pei..."
"Huh?! What?!"
"I like Young Master Ye…Hehe."
Ye Anping didn't know why she said this when his sister was already so excited. Feeling embarrassed, he simply closed his mouth. He saw Pei Lianxue frowning and staring at him as if she was asking— Really?
He nodded slightly. "Well..."
"I knew that if I didn't follow you, you would..."
Pei Lianxue puffed up her cheeks and looked at her brother with resentment. She was extremely dissatisfied, but in the end, she didn't say anything. She just turned and walked to Feng Yu Die, raising her head. "Second Idiot!!"
"Sister Pei." Feng Yu Die smiled shyly. "I am sincere to Master Ye, just like I was to you before..."
?
Pei Lianxue frowned, and just like she had done to Xiao Tian, she grabbed Feng Yu Die's face and pulled it hard to both sides, causing Feng Yu Die to cry out in pain as well. "Ah, ah, ah—"
However, Pei Lianxue didn't let go this time. Instead, she pulled harder and harder, squeezing harder and harder, as if she wanted to tear Feng Yu Die's mouth open.
Seeing that Feng Yu Die's face was about to be torn out, Ye Anping stepped forward. "Sister, you can go back to the immortal boat, I will slowly..."
"Stinky brother, don't talk!!"
"..."
Ye Anping smiled wryly and turned his head to look at the seven immortal boats with the Black Star Sect's flags, flying in the distance. The dark clouds dispersed to reveal the starry sky behind them, and he searched for a while on the star-studded chessboard.
Then, he discovered some stars clustered near the full moon.
He could recognize the Heavenly Pivot, Heavenly Demon, and his Reverse Star that Si Xuanji taught him to recognize. He also saw another black star next to his Reverse Star that seemed to have split out.
"Forget it, I'll understand after asking Xuanji. Sister, don't squeeze Yu Die's face, you made it look like a bun. Let's go back to the immortal boat..."
"Oh... hum!"
...
Another place, near the Heavenly Demon Sect.
In the forest full of purple catkins, Mo Chi Ling sat in a wheelchair, accompanied by several disciples of the Heartbreak Palace. She raised her hand and picked up an unknown spiritual flower beside her, listening to the confidant who came from Moonfall Gorge and reported the ending of He Qingjiao.
Upon learning that He Qingjiao had chosen death despite Ye Anping's persuasion, Mo Chi Ling revealed a little helplessness in her eyes. "Really? It does seem like Qingjiao's temperament, alas–"
A cultivator wearing a mask, who was pushing her wheelchair, nodded. "Milady, why didn't you persuade Mr. Ye to let Senior He live? If you had said so before, Mr. Ye might..."
"It wouldn't matter whether I persuaded him or not. Qingjiao's personality was like that. Even if Ye Anping let her live in the end, she wouldn't want to live. This is the path she chose..."
"..."
Mo Chi Ling lowered her eyes and threw away the spiritual flower.
A few years ago, when Gu Mingxin returned from the Eastern Great Wall, He Qingjiao sent her a message saying that Gu Mingxin had betrayed the Heavenly Demon Sect and fled and asked her to see if she could help and protect Gu Mingxin from the various demonic sects in the Eastern Region.
That was why she took the initiative to show up when Gu Mingxin was looking for her all over the Eastern Region, and took her to the blood forest, giving her a place to practice safely, away from all the demonic sects.
He Qingjiao only wanted to die at the hands of Gu Mingxin, and now her wish had come true.
Now it was her turn...
Mo Chi Ling exhaled slightly, then looked up at the storm eye wrapped in demonic energy above the Heavenly Demon Sect. "Yu Yan, it's time to end it. Qingjiao, I will join you in a few days."
"Milady…"
"Order all the disciples of the Heartbreak Palace in the Eastern Region to help the immortals from the Western, Southern, and Northern Regions eliminate the demonic cultivators who are blocking the roads, and welcome the Immortal Red Moon to the Heavenly Demon Valley."
"Yes, Ma'am..."