Chapter 72
The atmosphere inside the room became suffocating.
Wen Zongyu stood calmly beneath the moonlight, as if discussing the weather rather than the fate of an entire city.
Zhao Yuanzhou’s eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, pieces began falling into place.
The resurrection.
The impossible survival.
The flames of the Never-Ending Wood.
The demon slowly spoke.
“Princess Longyu’s phoenix pearl.”
A faint smile appeared on Wen Zongyu’s lips.
“You figured it out.”
Yichen’s heart sank.
Wen Zongyu folded his hands behind his back.
“After obtaining it, I gained the power of rebirth.”
“The power of a phoenix.”
The room fell silent.
No wonder he had returned.
No wonder he refused to die.
He had already become something else.
Something far more dangerous.
Wen Zongyu looked toward Tiandu in the distance.
His eyes filled with obsession.
“Soon…”
“My work will finally be complete.”
“What work?”
Yichen demanded.
Wen Zongyu’s smile widened.
“An army.”
The answer chilled everyone.
“An invincible army of demonized humans.”
For a moment-
nobody spoke.
Then Yichen stepped forward.
“You’re insane.”
“No.”
Wen Zongyu’s voice remained calm.
“I am simply ahead of my time.”
His gaze shifted toward Bai Jiu’s medicines stacked nearby.
Then-
he laughed.
A terrible laugh.
“You should thank your little physician.”
The room froze.
Yichen immediately felt something was wrong.
“What do you mean?”
Wen Zongyu looked genuinely amused.
“The herbal remedy distributed throughout the city…”
His smile grew.
“…will accelerate the transformation.”
The color drained from everyone’s face.
Tomorrow.
By tomorrow.
Thousands would begin changing.
Yichen’s fingers clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“You used Bai Jiu.”
“Again.”
Wen Zongyu shrugged.
“Useful people should be useful.”
Rage exploded inside Yichen.
“You monster!”
His voice echoed through the room.
“Those are innocent people!”
“They trusted us!”
“They have families!”
“They have lives!”
But Wen Zongyu simply looked at him.
Almost pityingly.
“As humans.”
The words made the room colder.
“They suffer.”
“They age.”
“They grow sick.”
“They die.”
His eyes gleamed strangely.
“As demonized beings…”
“They will be free.”
“No more pain.”
“No more weakness.”
“No more fear.”
Yichen stared at him in disbelief.
Horrified.
Because Wen Zongyu truly believed it.
This wasn’t cruelty to him.
This was salvation.
And somehow-
that made it even worse.
Beside him, Zhao Yuanzhou’s expression darkened.
For the first time that night-
the great demon looked genuinely angry.
And everyone knew.
The next battle was coming.
❄️❄️❄️✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️
The courtyard erupted into chaos.
Fire and ice collided beneath the night sky.
Wen Zongyu stood at the center of it all, phoenix flames raging around him like a living storm.
Every strike that landed should have wounded him.
Should have slowed him.
Yet the phoenix demon bones within his body continuously regenerated his injuries.
He looked almost immortal.
Ying Lei wiped blood from his lips and unleashed another wave of Kunlun Mountain’s freezing energy.
The temperature plummeted.
Ice spread across the courtyard stones.
At the same moment, Zhuo Yichen raised the Cloudlight Sword.
Bingyi’s divine power surged through him.
The cold energy and divine ice finally forced Wen Zongyu back a few steps.
For the first time-
he frowned.
“It works!”
Ying Lei shouted.
But victory was still far away.
Wen Zongyu suddenly spread his arms.
Crimson chains of fire exploded outward.
They wrapped around Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhuo Yichen before either could dodge.
The flames weren’t ordinary.
Demonic energy poured through them.
Poison.
Corruption.
Hallucination.
The world immediately blurred.
The courtyard vanished.
Everything became distant.
Dreamlike.
Yichen felt himself falling.
Beside him, Zhao Yuanzhou’s figure seemed hazy.
“Demon…”
Yichen reached for him.
Then saw blood.
Too much blood.
Zhao Yuanzhou was coughing again.
His white robes stained red.
Yet he still smiled.
Still tried to reassure him.
“I’m alright.”
The lie hurt more than the blood.
Yichen’s hands trembled.
He immediately drew a dagger.
“If it’s poison, our blood-“
Before he could cut his wrist-
a familiar voice interrupted.
“Commander!”
The illusion shattered.
Bai Jiu appeared beside them, holding several silver needles.
With surprising speed, he pierced several pressure points.
A sharp medicinal scent filled the air.
The poison dispersed.
The courtyard returned.
Reality returned.
“You two are impossible,” Bai Jiu muttered.
Relief flooded Yichen.
But there was no time.
Wen Zongyu attacked again.
“NOW!”
Zhao Yuanzhou shouted.
The group moved instantly.
A perfect pincer attack.
Ying Lei and Wen Xiao distracted him from the front.
Zhao Yuanzhou engaged him directly.
And from behind-
Zhuo Yichen struck.
The Cloudlight Sword pierced deep into Wen Zongyu’s abdomen.
The phoenix demon staggered.
Blood splashed across the stones.
For a brief second-
everyone thought it was over.
Then Wen Zongyu laughed.
The wound regenerated.
Almost instantly.
Yichen’s heart sank.
“No inner dan…”
He pulled the sword free.
Nothing.
The core wasn’t there.
Zhao Yuanzhou’s expression changed.
Suddenly he understood.
“He’s hiding it.”
Wen Zongyu smiled.
A terrifying smile.
The great demon gritted his teeth.
“Only the True Eye of Illusion…”
His gaze shifted toward Wen Xiao.
“…or Bai Ze’s Golden Eyes can reveal its location.”
❄️❄️❄️✨✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️
The battle had become a nightmare.
Fire consumed the courtyard.
Broken stone covered the ground.
Blood stained the paths of the Demon-Hunting Bureau.
And at the center of it all-
Wen Zongyu smiled.
Cold.
Merciless.
Bai Jiu rushed forward to help Wen Xiao.
He never even saw the attack coming.
A hand seized his throat.
Instantly.
Wen Zongyu lifted him off the ground.
The young physician clawed desperately at his wrist.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to speak.
“Worthless.”
Wen Zongyu’s voice was devoid of emotion.
Bai Jiu’s vision darkened.
Then-
he was thrown aside.
His body crashed through a stone wall.
The sound echoed across the battlefield.
“Bai Jiu!”
Ying Lei screamed.
The boy lay motionless.
Barely breathing.
Zhuo Yichen saw everything.
And something inside him shattered.
His hands trembled.
His heart felt as though it would break apart.
Bai Jiu.
The frightened child who once hid behind him.
The boy who followed him everywhere.
The one who spent nights searching for cures to save everyone.
Reduced to this.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yuanzhou appeared beside him.
His face was pale.
Blood still staining his lips.
Yet his voice remained firm.
“Stay here.”
Before Yichen could protest-
a barrier formed around the room.
Golden light sealed every exit.
“Zhao Yuanzhou!”
Yichen slammed against it.
Nothing happened.
The demon looked at him through the barrier.
Pain flickering in his eyes.
“You’re exhausted.”
“Don’t do this!”
“The baby needs you.”
Yichen’s voice cracked.
“And I need you!”
For a moment-
the great demon nearly faltered.
Then he smiled.
A sad smile.
Before turning back toward the battlefield.
Yichen pounded against the barrier again.
Again.
Again.
Desperate.
Powerless.
Outside-
another figure appeared.
A familiar breeze carried the scent of locust blossoms.
Li Lun.
His form was faint.
Unstable.
The result of leaving his century-long cultivation too early.
Zhao Yuanzhou immediately frowned.
“You’re a fool.”
Li Lun laughed weakly.
“Not the first time you’ve said that.”
“If you’re injured now, your soul may never recover.”
“I know.”
“You’ll face eternal damnation.”
“I know.”
The answer came calmly.
Without hesitation.
Then Li Lun looked toward the room.
Toward Zhuo Yichen.
And smiled.
A tired smile.
“If it’s for him…”
“…it’s worth it.”
The battlefield fell silent.
Even Zhao Yuanzhou had no reply.
Li Lun slowly raised his hand.
Ancient power gathered.
The True Eye of Illusion.
A forbidden ability.
One that his unfinished soul could barely sustain.
Inside the barrier, Yichen stared.
Confused.
Then suddenly-
a burning sensation exploded behind his eyes.
He gasped.
Falling to one knee.
Golden light flooded his vision.
The world changed.
Every illusion disappeared.
Every lie unraveled.
Every hidden truth became visible.
Li Lun swayed.
His already unstable form becoming more transparent.
Yet he smiled.
Relieved.
“Now you can see it.”
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
His soul flickered.
Like a candle in the wind.
And Zhao Yuanzhou realized-
Li Lun had truly accepted the possibility of losing everything.
Not for revenge.
Not for hatred.
But to save someone else.
For the first time in thousands of years-
he had chosen love over resentment.
And even the great demon could only lower his gaze in silence.