Stealing an Immortal Back to the Demon Realm Chapter 65

Mu Qiuhan wiped the blood trickling from the corner of her lips with the back of her hand.
A burning pain seared through her abdomen, as if her internal organs had been shattered by that last strike.
She stared at Qing Wu before her, yet her face showed no trace of fear.
“Is that so? Then what about this?”
As the final stroke of the talisman formed, a faint smile touched Mu Qiuhan’s bloodstained lips.
Five rays of light—blue-green, red, yellow, white, and black—shot out simultaneously from her wrist, completely enveloping “Shang Ningye’s” body.
Mu Qiuhan knew, of course, that an array set by two Integration stage demon cultivators and herself, who had just broken through to the Void Refinement stage, could not possibly trap the person before her.
A moment ago, she had used the Soul-Binding Formation to capture Qing Wu’s attention, while in reality, she was racing against time to cast a spell, secretly activating the Five Elements Bracelet on her wrist.
The array within this Five Elements Bracelet had been set by Daoist You when he was at the peak of his power.
Su Hongyu, who had long since broken through to the Mahayana stage, had been trapped within it for hundreds of years, unable to find a way to break the array.
This formation was so formidable; temporarily trapping a damaged soul was by no means a difficult task.
Before Qing Wu’s soul could fully return to a body, she felt another power.
This power not only pulled at her soul but also tugged at Shang Ningye’s physical form.
Qing Wu’s soul was unstable.
Under this pulling force, it was completely drawn out of Shang Ningye’s body.
She wanted to summon the spiritual energy within the body to set up a soul-protecting array, but it was too late.
Qing Wu was completely trapped by that formidable power.
An unwilling shriek escaped her soul, but it quickly fell silent.
Mu Qiuhan desperately circulated her spiritual energy to maintain the array.
Seeing that the soul was now completely locked within the Five Elements Bracelet’s array, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Activating the Five Elements Bracelet consumed an immense amount of spiritual energy; Mu Qiuhan had already emptied her dantian.
When Qing Wu had injured her, she had been forcing herself to endure. Now, her body had reached its absolute limit.
Another mouthful of blood, carrying fragments of her organs, sprayed from her lips.
She was an arrow at the end of its flight. As the last bit of strength holding her up finally gave way, she collapsed like a punctured balloon, completely deflated.
Mu Qiuhan swayed to the side and fell, losing consciousness entirely.
Wu Ling and Chu Yue had been waiting nearby.
Because of Mu Qiuhan’s instructions, although they heard the sounds of fighting from within the room, they hadn’t dared to rush in rashly.
Now, hearing the complete silence from the room, the two exchanged a quick glance and charged out almost simultaneously.
“Your Majesty!”
Mu Qiuhan lay on the ground, the front of her robes soaked with a large patch of blood, a horrifying sight.
Sensing her breath was as faint as a thread, Wu Ling knelt beside her, trembling, and lifted her into a half-embrace.
Chu Yue gritted her teeth, took out a silver pill from her storage ring, and said urgently, “Help me pry open Her Majesty’s mouth.”
Together, they managed to feed the pill into Mu Qiuhan’s mouth.
Wu Ling carried Mu Qiuhan’s body out of the ruins, which were now just as shattered.
Chu Yue followed closely behind her.
No one noticed Shang Ningye, who lay motionless nearby.
Shang Ningye’s soul had already scattered when she clashed with Qing Wu.
She had been prepared to die, wanting to warn Mu Qiuhan and make her see the true face of the woman before her.
But in the unseen workings of fate, a power forcibly re-gathered her soul.
Shang Ningye did not know that, in that critical moment, her life had become completely linked to another’s through a spell.
From then on, the two would share life and death, through the netherworld and the heavens.
The pain of her shattered soul was unbearable for Shang Ningye, but countless streams of immense spiritual energy were continuously pouring into her sea of consciousness, mending her broken spirit.
Shang Ningye had a vague sense of familiarity.
She had clashed with Qing Wu many times before, and her soul had been injured many times.
Each time, she had used Qing Wu’s spiritual energy in this way to gradually strengthen her own spiritual sense.
However, Qing Wu seemed to have discovered this later.
She had forcibly dragged Shang Ningye’s soul out of her body.
The progress Shang Ningye had painstakingly achieved was thus undone in an instant.
Her soul had also suffered torment.
But this time, things seemed different.
Previously, when Qing Wu controlled this body, Shang Ningye could only draw upon a small amount of spiritual energy.
But that was the spiritual energy of a Tribulation Transcendence expert; even a tiny fraction had greatly benefited her damaged soul.
This time, Shang Ningye felt an incredibly vast amount of spiritual energy surge into her sea of consciousness, almost instantly re-gathering her already dissipating soul.
Afterward, the cracks in her soul were completely mended.
Then followed a long dream.
In the dream, it felt as if her chest had been violently struck by a fist of spiritual energy.
Her internal organs seemed to be shattering.
Amidst that deep, bone-chilling pain, Shang Ningye slowly opened her eyes.
Above her was a bright, clear moon.
And she was waking up from a sleep, completely unharmed. The pain that had awakened her seemed to have been just a dream.
Shang Ningye spread her palm, feeling this body that was both strange and familiar.
An unprecedented sensation washed over her.
Wherever her spiritual sense reached, mountains and rivers appeared in minute detail. Each breath seemed to be able to influence the heavens and earth around her.
Shang Ningye gently waved her hand, and the ruined wall beside her completely collapsed.
She looked down at her palm, momentarily confused.
Is this Qing Wu’s spiritual energy?
Where did Qing Wu’s soul go?
What exactly happened after I charged at Qing Wu with all my might?
Where is Mu Qiuhan?
With a thought, Shang Ningye’s spiritual sense scanned an area hundreds of miles wide.
Mu Qiuhan was currently lying with her eyes tightly closed.
She lay motionless on a couch, the flickering candlelight illuminating her face.
Wu Ling and Chu Yue anxiously kept watch beside her.
Shang Ningye flew towards Mu Qiuhan’s direction, reaching the outside of the room in the blink of an eye.
When she pushed the door open and entered, the two people awake in the room had already sensed her arrival.
Shang Ningye sat down by Mu Qiuhan’s couch.
Mu Qiuhan’s breathing was sometimes light, sometimes heavy, her eyelashes occasionally fluttering as if she were experiencing a troubled dream.
Shang Ningye could feel her severe internal injuries.
She reached out and gently smoothed Mu Qiuhan’s furrowed brow.
“Does it hurt?” she murmured softly.
A warm stream of spiritual energy flowed from her palm, enveloping Mu Qiuhan’s body.
In the green fluorescent light, the bloodstain on Mu Qiuhan’s brow began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her damaged meridians throughout her body were also being mended by the immense spiritual energy, slowly starting to recover.
Seeing this, Chu Yue gave Wu Ling a look.
Wu Ling was about to argue, but Chu Yue had already dragged her out.
Shang Ningye tirelessly transferred spiritual energy to Mu Qiuhan.
The sun rose and the moon set.
When another night fell, she had finally mended all of Mu Qiuhan’s injuries, large and small, internal and external.
Mu Qiuhan was still lost in a deep sleep.
Shang Ningye gently lay down beside her, tucked the corner of the blanket for her, and reached out to hold her slightly cool hand.
Mu Qiuhan slept for a very long time.
The burning pain in her chest and abdomen had felt like being in a blazing fire.
The fire burned and burned, as if it would completely incinerate her soul.
Later, she didn’t know when, the pain began to slowly lessen.
Her sleep thus became much more peaceful.
In her dream, the Demon Realm had never experienced that incredibly tragic battle.
Mo Li, Sang Zhi, Qiu Feng, even Leng Yi, they were all still there.
She herself had never been forced to self-detonate her dantian.
But vaguely, she felt something was missing, yet she couldn’t remember what it was at all.
So she could only search everywhere, search and search.
After searching in a daze for an unknown amount of time, her consciousness finally returned.
Mu Qiuhan finally remembered what she had lost in her dream, yet had been constantly searching for.
As she woke, the person she had been seeking day and night was holding her waist from behind.
Sensing Mu Qiuhan move several times in her embrace, Shang Ningye buried her face in the nape of Mu Qiuhan’s neck.
“You’re awake.”
Mu Qiuhan stiffened at first, but then, feeling that the person holding her from behind was indeed Shang Ningye herself, she completely relaxed.
She turned over in Shang Ningye’s embrace.
When their eyes met, both couldn’t help but smile at each other.
Mu Qiuhan propped herself up on the couch, staring at Shang Ningye.
She gazed at the person before her for a long time, as if she could never see enough.
After a long while, she finally let out a soft sigh.
“Elder Shang has encountered such a rare opportunity, one that comes once in a thousand years. I’m afraid you’ll look down on little old me from now on?”
Hearing this, Shang Ningye wrapped her arms around Mu Qiuhan’s waist, pulling her closer with a slight force.
She bit Mu Qiuhan’s neck, leaving a light red mark on the smooth skin.
“You’ve already given me the betrothal gifts. Don’t tell me you want to call off the wedding?”
Saying this, she flipped over, completely pinning Mu Qiuhan beneath her.
Shang Ningye kissed Mu Qiuhan’s lips, pressing until she was almost breathless, then finally let her go.
“Will you dare say such things again?”
Mu Qiuhan gasped for breath, a teasing glint in her eyes.
“Even if I do… what will Elder Shang do about it?”
Shang Ningye tutted softly.
The soft lips that had just tightly sealed Mu Qiuhan’s mouth now traveled downwards.
Only when Mu Qiuhan let out a soft gasp did Shang Ningye look up.
“Remember this feeling? If you say such things again, I’ll punish you.”
Although Mu Qiuhan’s breathing was quite unsteady at the moment, seeing Shang Ningye’s fierce-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside expression, she couldn’t help but tease her again.
“It wouldn’t hurt to have Elder Shang’s punishment a few more times. Haven’t you noticed that the spiritual energy in this Sovereign’s dantian is becoming more abundant?”
“Is that so?”
Shang Ningye raised an eyebrow and leaned down again.
This time, no matter how Mu Qiuhan begged for mercy, she did not let her go.
When daylight broke.
Mu Qiuhan was thoroughly worn out, all her temper gone.
Her body was extremely tired.
Shang Ningye finally released her when she was too weak to even move her lips.
She wrapped her arms around Mu Qiuhan from behind, holding her tightly.
She was just about to ask Mu Qiuhan how she had managed to drive Qing Wu out of her body when she heard Mu Qiuhan’s even breathing.
Listening closely, Mu Qiuhan had actually fallen asleep just like that.
Shang Ningye gently turned the person in her arms over, kissed her brow, and closed her eyes as well.
Outside the window, a gentle breeze lifted falling snowflakes.
Within the hibiscus-patterned bed curtains, their long hair intertwined as they embraced, falling into a warm dream.
The Demon Realm was festooned with lanterns and colored banners this day, bustling with extraordinary excitement.
An overwhelming sea of red adorned the entire Jialuo Hall.
Shang Ningye sat before a mirror, her head held stiffly upright, allowing the maids to fasten various pearls and jades into her hair.
She idly played with the red silk robes she wore, her mind, however, was wondering what Mu Qiuhan was doing at this moment.
Is she also sitting as primly before a mirror as I am?
In her mind, she pictured Mu Qiuhan in her wedding dress, imagined her wearing a phoenix coronet.
Finally, she couldn’t resist releasing her spiritual sense, secretly peeking into Mu Qiuhan’s room.
As if hearing her thoughts, the door creaked open.
Shang Ningye hastily withdrew her spiritual sense, her hand gripping the silk robe tightening slightly.
“Your Majesty!”
The maids beside her curtsied towards the person in the mirror.
Shang Ningye looked at Mu Qiuhan behind her through the water mirror.
Mu Qiuhan’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she walked quickly towards her.
She placed her hands on Shang Ningye’s shoulders, looking with her at the water mirror in front.
“Whose pretty little lady is this, so eager to sneak a peek at the bride already?”
She leaned down, her fingertips gently brushing Shang Ningye’s face.
Shang Ningye thought to herself, I wonder who’s really the impatient one. She’s already run all the way over here.
She tilted her head slightly.
“Don’t rub, you’ll smudge the makeup.”
“Is that so? Let me see, is it really smudged?”
Mu Qiuhan walked around to Shang Ningye’s front, cupped her face, and examined it carefully.
After scrutinizing for a while, she finally couldn’t resist and leaned in to kiss Shang Ningye on the lips.
Shang Ningye looked at herself in the mirror; the freshly applied rouge on her lips was now smudged by Mu Qiuhan.
She glared at Mu Qiuhan.
“Stop messing around. What if we miss the auspicious time?”
Mu Qiuhan chuckled and lifted Shang Ningye’s chin.
“What’s there to fear? It’s just making them wait outside for a little longer. With Elder Shang here, I’d like to see who dares to say no.”
Shang Ningye gently patted her hand away.
“You’re becoming more and more like a foolish ruler.”
Mu Qiuhan laughed heartily.
“I’ll stop teasing you. Let me see, why is the powder on your face applied so heavily?”
Seeing her frown, Shang Ningye couldn’t help but furrow her own brows.
“Is it heavy? Should I have them change it again?”
Mu Qiuhan burst out laughing.
Shang Ningye immediately understood that she was being teased again, and glared at her once more.
Bantering and teasing, they finally walked out of the wedding chamber before the auspicious time.
The ritual officer following behind Mu Qiuhan wiped the sweat from his brow.
He really thought Her Majesty would make all those guests outside wait.
After all, Her Majesty has been incredibly willful these days, and the one beside her is always indulging her, listening to her every whim.
As the gongs and drums in Jialuo City began to resound merrily with the completion of the ceremony, the two returned to their room and drank the nuptial wine that had been prepared long ago.
Mu Qiuhan had a sudden idea.
“It’s still early, A-Ye. Do you want to go out for a stroll with me, or head straight to the bridal chamber now?”
Remembering the wild nights of the past few days, Shang Ningye chose the first option without hesitation.
“Where to?”
“How about we go back to the Taiqing Immortal Sect and take a look?”
Shang Ningye looked puzzled.
“Why the sudden urge to go there?”
Mu Qiuhan shook the Five Elements Bracelet that she hadn’t taken off her wrist for months, day or night.
“Qing Wu’s soul is still in here. I’ve been worried these past few days. I was thinking, the arrays in your Master’s tomb might be able to deal with her completely.”
Then you won’t have to do it yourself.
Shang Ningye was a healer by training. She had saved countless lives but had never stained her hands with blood. Mu Qiuhan didn’t want her to make an exception for her sake.
Moreover, she also worried that something might go wrong in the process.
As expected, Shang Ningye frowned upon hearing this.
“You want her soul to be completely annihilated?”
Seeing the disapproval on her face, Mu Qiuhan felt a pang of regret.
She knew Shang Ningye would react this way; she shouldn’t have told her about this.
However, it was too late to take it back now.
The two returned to Shang Ningye’s bedroom, filled with green plants.
Shang Ningye took the Five Elements Bracelet off Mu Qiuhan’s wrist.
“Let me try. Perhaps there’s a better way than killing her. After all, my life originated from her.”
Seeing her take the bracelet and head towards the transfer array by the mirror, Mu Qiuhan stopped her.
“Are you planning to just release her like this?”
Shang Ningye patted Mu Qiuhan’s hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, she can’t harm me now.”
Mu Qiuhan shook her head.
“Together.”
Shang Ningye couldn’t dissuade her, so the two of them stepped into the array together.
As a white light shot out from the bracelet, Qing Wu’s soul emerged from the array that had confined her.
Having lost all her cultivation to protect it, this soul had been worn down by the array for several months. Now, it no longer possessed its former arrogance, only a faint flicker of strength remained.
Shang Ningye brought her to the withered tree in the room, a tree she had nurtured for decades until a tiny new sprout had finally appeared.
Qing Wu’s soul had been separated from a body for too long and had lost the protection of a soul array. Seeing a suitable spiritual vessel now, it instantly and willingly attached itself to it.
Seeing Qing Wu’s soul merge so well with the peach wood, Shang Ningye couldn’t help but stroke the peach tree that had accompanied her for so many years, feeling emotional.
“Perhaps everything is fated.”
She gazed at the peach tree, which still had only one branch of new green.
“I knew long ago that its soul had dissipated under that lightning tribulation, yet I kept nurturing it here for many years, foolishly hoping to see it again one day…”
“Perhaps it was all just so I could repay her life-giving grace from a thousand years ago today.”
Seeing her looking rather melancholic, and not wanting her to dwell on others on this joyous day, Mu Qiuhan deliberately asked her.
“You and her were fated. Then what about you and me?”
Shang Ningye’s eyes grew slightly moist.
“Many years ago, Master foresaw that I would live a lonely life. To change this fate, after Shiniang passed away, he exhausted his entire life’s cultivation to tie a red thread of fate for me. Tell me, isn’t this a heaven-sent marriage?”
Mu Qiuhan’s pupils trembled slightly.
So, this is why I was able to survive in a cultivator’s body after self-detonating my dantian?
She took Shang Ningye’s hand and bowed towards the burial place of Daoist You.
“Since it’s a heaven-sent marriage, how about this: our first child will be named Tianci.”
(The End)