At the moment of leaving the secret realm, Hua Che sensed someone's presence but made no sound, only glanced in that direction.

An Yu also decided not to hide any longer and obediently stepped forward, gazing deeply at Hua Che.

All the conversations must have been heard by An Yu!

They locked eyes, neither speaking a word.

After an unknown period, Hua Che smiled faintly and performed a respectful salute towards An Yu.

An Yu seemed startled, quickly returning the gesture.

Some matters didn't need to be tangled up, nor did they need to be thoroughly understood. Everything was left unsaid.

Shortly after Hua Che left the secret realm, news spread of Lu Mingfeng's suicide.

In the end, he chose self-destruction, disappearing without a trace, his remains obliterated, with no chance even for ghost cultivation.

For someone with Lu Mingfeng's strong sense of pride, to lose everything publicly was worse than death itself.

Chu Changfeng's injuries were not severe; with about a year or so of recuperation, he would be fine. In gratitude for saving his life, Mu Rongsa personally rushed to Yuntian Shuimirror with a generous gift to express his thanks.

The Martial Arts Tournament finally concluded, and the storm at the Shangqing Immortal Sect also came to an end. After this ordeal, Lu Mingfeng was disgraced, Lu Yao's whereabouts were unknown, and many sect matters were temporarily handed over to Elder Ganyang for management.

"Who would have thought that Headmaster Lu was such a wolf in sheep's clothing, colluding in mischief with his son, harming disciples under his sect, and even attempting to kill Hua Che."

"That's right, truly never judge a book by its cover!"

"If it weren't for the luck of those juniors and the support of the three major immortal sect elders, I'm afraid Hua Che would have had a hard time."

The once proud and noble Shangqing Immortal Sect now seemed like stagnant water. Even the storytellers who used to profit from embellishing Headmaster Lu's achievements had hastily revised their scripts, turning the tearful praises of the past into critical reproaches.

About half a month later, as the various immortal sects began to return home, the group from Lingxiao Palace also departed from Kunlun Mountain. On the way, Hua Che encountered An Yu.

An Yu had abandoned a hundred years of cultivation and seized the body of an old man. Although he had initially escaped the Heavenly Tribulation, his remaining lifespan was at most another twenty or thirty years. For a cultivator, this was merely a flicker of time.

Leaning on a cane, An Yu had only taken a few steps, breathing heavily, coughing for a long time before recovering. His complexion alternated between red and white, and he struggled to say, "Thank you."

Hua Che didn't say much either, simply replied, "Take care."

Cultivators and mortals were different; often, one closed door marked an entire lifetime for a mortal.

This would likely be the last time Hua Che and An Yu would meet.

Returning to Lingxiao Palace, they concluded the thrilling and heart-stirring Martial Arts Tournament and returned to their peaceful and serene daily lives.

In this gathering, apart from the highly anticipated trio of Hua Che, Chu Binghuan, and Mu Rongsa, Lin Yan who ranked among the top hundred also attracted considerable attention. Although he suffered a severe defeat, his unyielding spirit during the match against Duan Tiange truly amazed everyone, not to mention summoning the divine beast Chongming Bird at the critical moment...

No, it shouldn't be said that he summoned it; it should be said that it broke out of its shell.

After carefully nurturing the egg for a year, instead of a venomous python, what emerged was the divine bird Chongming. This surprised not only Hua Che but also stunned Zhuang Tian upon hearing about it.

Master, accompanied by his nine disciples, carefully analysed the situation. Their final conclusion was: this egg was originally a late-night snack for the Python Lord, but before he could enjoy it, Chu Binghuan slaughtered him.

The mystery of its origin was no longer important. Whether it was a Chongming Bird or a mountain chicken, Lin Yan loved it all the same.

This was his first spiritual pet, also his "child."

However, there was still another egg!

At that time, two eggs were found beneath the python's cave. One was the Chongming Bird; what about the other?

Mu Rongsa guessed, "It must also be a Chongming Bird; they are twins!"

Mu Rongsa's reasoning was sound, leaving even Hua Che unable to refute. Lin Yan recalled the details of the Chongming Bird breaking out of its shell back then and decided to emulate it by dripping his own blood onto the eggshell, waiting patiently for a full day and night.

Nothing happened.

Mu Rongsa was the first to step forward to comfort, saying, "Its sister definitely had insufficient innate foetal qi, hence her late hatch. Don't lose heart!"

Lin Yan decisively believed Mu Rongsa's nonsense.

Because Hua Che, the top leader of Lingxiao Palace in this Martial Arts Tournament, had bravely exposed Lu Mingfeng's evil deeds, it set a new standard for righteousness in the immortal cultivation world. Countless cultivators visited Lingxiao Peak daily, whether to curry favour, witness his brilliance, or simply make friends. The atmosphere was bustling with the prestige of a prominent sect.

Chu Changfeng was injured, leaving Yuntian Shuijing without a leader. Though Mei Cailian was of noble status, she was ultimately just a woman and couldn't shoulder the entire sect.

Zhuang Tian allowed Chu Binghuan to return, and during this time, Chu Binghuan handled the sect's affairs at Yuntian Shuijing.

In his previous life, Hua Che thought that Lu Yao held a special place in his heart, especially dispatching underworld figures to protect him in secret and even mobilizing the power of ten major factions to rescue him.

But looking at this life again, Hua Che had no emotions left for Lu Yao, treating him with complete indifference just like Lu Mingfeng. Both Lu Yaos from this and the previous life conspired with Lu Mingfeng, leaving Hua Che feeling utterly disillusioned.

But why didn't he kill Lu Yao? Not only did he refrain from killing him, he even sent people to protect him.

Couldn't he kill him?

Chu Binghuan didn't ask and didn't explicitly mention that he, too, had been reincarnated.

His concerns were numerous, after all, with the accumulated grievances and enmities from his past life. If he were to rashly reveal everything and disrupt the current tranquillity, the situation could escalate beyond control.

Hua Che, having experienced death once before, had changed. He no longer clung or entangled himself, and he wasn't as... stubborn about himself anymore.

Chu Binghuan had a premonition. If he were to reveal the matter of reincarnation now, Hua Che would immediately turn and leave, escaping to the ends of the earth, hiding until the seas dried up and the rocks crumbled, never to be seen again.

Hua Che had given up on him.

This could be seen from going to Yuntian Shuijing to break their marriage.

Hua Che once said, "My father died, my mother died, and even my grandmother died. My master and friends are all gone. I thought there was nothing left for me in this world..."

Hua Che was all alone, isolated. He thought Chu Binghuan hated him to the bone, and since he was completely opposed to it, he might as well have died at the hands of his loved ones. However, he didn't expect his loved one would have been upset by his death.

Hua Che was very surprised and happy. It turns out that he still had one "thought" that hadn't collapsed, and he rekindled hope to live.

But then, what did he do?

Chu Binghuan's heart ached.

Hua Che regretted it!

Regret falling in love with him, regret entangling him, and regret using him as hope to live.

Whenever he thought of this, Chu Binghuan was very scared.

He worried that Hua Che, because of his relationship with him, had lost confidence in living and lost expectations for tomorrow, so Hua Che ...

He was the supreme demon, with enough cultivation to travel through Kyushu and enough power to dominate the realms of immortals and demons. Why did he choose to break down and not to fight? He dispersed the Fen Qing Palace without a fight.

Dead, lifeless, so don't want to fight again?

He chose the bamboo house in the back of the mountain, which was built in the style of Yuntian Shuijing, the only place where Hua Che could be in peace.

He died there.

Chu Binghuan couldn't imagine who else in Jiuzhou could hurt Hua Che so much, unless it was Hua Che who did it himself, dissipated his spirit, turned his internal alchemy, and destroyed his body altogether.

Self-inflicted.

Chu Binghuan had been pondering this matter all along, often waking from dreams with a chill.

Just then, a maid stood respectfully outside with lowered eyes and reported, "Young Master, Young Master Hua Qingkong has arrived. He's waiting at the Yuntian Pavilion to see you!"

Translator: DarNan