Chapter 73
Zhao Yuanzhou could barely remain standing.
Blood stained his robes.
His breathing was uneven.
The loss of his inner core had left him exhausted, and every attack from Wen Zongyu seemed heavier than the last.
Yet he refused to retreat.
Never once.
Li Lun watched silently.
Then sighed.
The familiar arrogant smile appeared on his face.
“You two really are troublesome.”
Before anyone could stop him-
he raised his hand.
Ancient demonic energy surged from his body.
“Li Lun!”
Zhao Yuanzhou’s eyes widened.
Half of the power flowed directly into Zhuo Yichen.
The Bing Yi blood within him immediately resonated with it.
Ice and locust blossoms intertwined.
The second half flowed toward Zhao Yuanzhou.
Warm.
Steady.
Like sunlight after a long winter.
The great demon froze.
“Why?”
Li Lun laughed.
“For once…”
“…stop asking stupid questions.”
His gaze lingered on Zhao Yuanzhou.
His oldest friend.
His greatest rival.
The person he had spent thousands of years resenting and admiring.
“You still owe me a game of chess.”
For a brief moment-
the two demons smiled.
Like old friends again.
Then Li Lun rose into the air.
His body dissolving into countless branches of a giant locust tree.
Golden leaves filled the sky.
Beautiful.
Heartbreaking.
Wen Zongyu immediately understood.
“No!”
The Never-Ending Wood erupted.
Flames consumed the branches.
Burning them.
Destroying them.
Yet every attack drained his own power as well.
Exactly as Li Lun intended.
The tree grew smaller.
And smaller.
Until only fragments remained.
Through the falling leaves, Li Lun’s voice echoed one final time.
“Protect the Great Wilderness…”
Then-
silence.
The last branch burned away.
Gone.
Forever.
Zhuo Yichen’s eyes filled with tears.
But there was no time to grieve.
Wen Zongyu was still alive.
Still dangerous.
Still determined to drag the world into ruin.
“Yichen!”
Zhao Yuanzhou called.
Black wings unfolded behind him.
Magnificent.
Ancient.
Powerful.
He stepped forward and wrapped those wings around Zhuo Yichen.
Protecting him from the flames.
Then-
with a single motion-
he launched him into the sky.
The wind roared.
The Cloudlight Sword blazed with icy light.
Below, Wen Zongyu struggled against the chains binding him.
His strength was fading.
His demon power nearly exhausted.
This was their chance.
“NOW!”
Multiple Zhao Yuanzhous appeared around the battlefield.
His avatar technique.
One last gamble.
One final opening.
The illusions attacked from every direction.
Wen Zongyu lashed out wildly.
And in that instant-
the True Eye of Illusion revealed the truth.
Not his chest.
Not his heart.
Not his abdomen.
His elbow.
Hidden deep within the phoenix demon bone.
The location of his inner dan.
Zhuo Yichen descended like a falling star.
The Cloudlight Sword pierced forward.
Straight through the hidden core.
CRACK.
The sound echoed across the battlefield.
Wen Zongyu froze.
Disbelief filled his face.
His inner dan shattered.
For the first time-
fear appeared in his eyes.
Yet suddenly-
he laughed.
A terrible laugh.
Blood spilled from his lips.
“You think you’ve won?”
Flames erupted from the Never-Ending Wood.
His broken body became engulfed in fire.
Phoenix feathers scattered through the air.
His voice echoed from within the inferno.
“I am immortal!”
“I will be reborn!”
“Again and again!”
“Like a phoenix rising from ashes!”
The burning Never-Ending Wood pulsed violently.
Its roots wrapped around him.
Feeding him.
Restoring him.
Keeping him alive.
The battlefield trembled.
And Zhuo Yichen realized with horror-
even after destroying the inner dan…
Wen Zongyu still wasn’t finished….
❄️❄️❄️❄️✨✨✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️
Tiandu was dying.
The city that had stood for generations was collapsing before their eyes.
The ground shook endlessly.
Ancient walls cracked apart.
Roofs crashed into the streets below.
The sky itself seemed wounded, split by crimson fire and black demonic energy.
People were crying.
Praying.
Running.
The Never-Ending Wood had grown completely out of control.
Its roots spread across the earth like veins of corruption.
Everything it touched began to wither.
Everything it touched began to break.
And standing in the middle of that disaster-
covered in blood, exhausted beyond measure-
was Zhao Yuanzhou.
He looked at the chaos around him.
Then he looked at Wen Xiao.
At Bai Jiu.
At Ying Lei.
At the countless lives below.
Finally-
his gaze settled on Zhuo Yichen.
And in that instant…
he understood.
There was only one path left
The kind of acceptance that comes when someone has already made peace with their own ending.
Yichen saw it.
Immediately.
And terror gripped his heart.
No.
No.
Not that look.
Anything but that look.
His legs moved before his mind could.
He stumbled forward and grabbed Zhao Yuanzhou’s robes.
His fingers trembling violently.
“No.”
The word escaped him instantly.
Barely a whisper.
Yet it contained every fear he had ever carried.
“No.”
Zhao Yuanzhou smiled sadly.
That smile alone made Yichen want to scream.
Because he knew.
He knew exactly what it meant.
Yichen repeated.
Louder this time.
His voice breaking.
“No.”
The great demon reached out.
His fingers gently brushed away tears that Yichen himself hadn’t noticed were falling.
His touch was warm.
Familiar.
The touch Yichen had searched for across lifetimes.
Across death.
Across fate itself.
“Yichen.”
“No.”
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
The commander who had faced countless monsters.
The man who had never bowed his head.
The man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Was crying.
Openly.
Like a frightened child.
Because suddenly-
none of that mattered.
Not duty.
Not honor.
Not the world.
Only him.
Only Zhao Yuanzhou.
“I just got you back…”
His voice shattered.
“I just got you back…”
The words stabbed deeper than any sword.
Zhao Yuanzhou closed his eyes.
For a moment he couldn’t speak.
Because the truth was-
he felt the same.
He had finally found him again.
Finally married him.
Finally built a home with him.
Finally begun imagining a future.
A future that included mornings together.
Arguments over tea.
Watching their child grow.
Growing old beside him.
For the first time in twenty thousand years-
Zhao Yuanzhou had allowed himself to dream.
And now fate was taking it away again.
Slowly-
he stepped forward.
And wrapped his arms around Yichen.
Holding him tightly.
As though he could somehow memorize the feeling.
The warmth.
The heartbeat.
The person.
Everything.
Yichen buried his face into his chest.
His entire body shaking.
“Don’t.”
His voice was muffled.
Broken.
“Please don’t.”
The great demon lowered his head.
Resting his cheek against Yichen’s hair.
His own eyes burning.
“This isn’t the end for us.”
Yichen laughed bitterly through tears.
A hopeless sound.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“You said that before.”
“I know.”
“You left anyway.”
The accusation hurt because it was true.
Every time.
Every lifetime.
One of them always remained behind.
One of them always had to grieve.
One of them always had to wait.
Zhao Yuanzhou’s arms tightened.
“I’m asking you to wait one more time.”
The words almost destroyed Yichen.
One more time.
How many times had he waited already?
How many lifetimes?
How many graves?
How many goodbyes?
Yet even now-
he knew he would.
Because it was Zhao Yuanzhou.
Because he loved him.
Because there had never been anyone else.
“There is no world without you.”
Yichen whispered.
And for the first time-
the great demon cried.
A single tear slid down his face.
Then another.
“I know.”
His voice trembled.
“I know.”
Slowly-
he reached into his sleeve.
Pulling out a bracelet.
Simple.
Worn smooth by years.
Something he had kept with him for a very long time.
He gently took Yichen’s hand.
And fastened it around his wrist.
The movement was careful.
Tender.
Almost reverent.
As though placing a part of himself there.
His fingers lingered.
Refusing to let go.
“If you miss me…”
His voice faltered.
“…look at this.”
Yichen stared at it.
Unable to speak.
Unable to breathe.
“It will stay with you.”
The demon smiled weakly.
“Like I always would.”
Then-
he leaned forward.
And kissed him.
Not desperately.
Not hungrily.
Just softly.
Like their first kiss.
Like their wedding.
Like every quiet moment they had stolen from fate.
A promise.
A goodbye.
A prayer.
When he pulled away-
his hand slowly moved downward.
Resting against Yichen’s stomach.
The place where their child slept.
For a long moment-
he simply stayed there.
Feeling the faint life beneath his palm.
His daughter.
His little girl.
Someone he would probably never meet.
The realization nearly broke him.
A shaky laugh escaped his lips.
Immediately followed by tears.
“I had so many plans.”
His voice was trembling now.
Completely vulnerable.
“I wanted to teach you how to fly.”
“I wanted to tell you embarrassing stories about your dad.”
Yichen let out a strangled sob.
The demon smiled through tears.
“I wanted to spoil you.”
“I wanted to carry you on my shoulders.”
“I wanted to watch you grow.”
His hand shook.
Violently.
“I’m sorry.”
The apology was so quiet.
So small.
Yet it shattered everyone who heard it.
“I’m sorry I won’t be there when you’re born.”
His shoulders trembled.
“I wanted to see your face.”
“I wanted to know if you looked like him.”
He glanced at Yichen.
A watery smile appearing.
“If you inherited his temper…”
A broken laugh escaped him.
“…the world is doomed.”
Even then.
Even now.
He was trying to make Yichen smile.
Trying to leave him with warmth instead of sorrow.
Trying to be strong.
For everyone.
But eventually-
he couldn’t anymore.
His forehead rested against Yichen’s.
And he finally admitted the truth.
The truth he had hidden behind smiles.
Behind jokes.
Behind courage.
“I’m scared.”
The confession stunned Yichen.
Because Zhao Yuanzhou never admitted fear.
Not even facing death.
Not even facing destiny.
Yet now-
he was terrified.
Not of dying.
But of leaving.
“I’m scared of forgetting your face.”
“I’m scared our child won’t know me.”
“I’m scared you’ll cry when I’m gone.”
Every word felt like another wound.
And Yichen couldn’t stop crying.
Couldn’t stop holding him.
Couldn’t stop wishing for a miracle.
Any miracle.
But fate remained silent.
As it always had.
And eventually-
Zhao Yuanzhou kissed his forehead one final time.
Then whispered:
“Wait for me.”
His voice was filled with certainty.
Filled with faith.
Filled with love.
“Even if it’s a hundred years.”
“Even if it’s a thousand.”
“I’ll come back.”
His fingers gently wiped away Yichen’s tears.
Just like he always did.
And his final smile was heartbreakingly beautiful.
Because even standing before his own end-
the last thing in his eyes wasn’t fear.
Wasn’t regret.
Wasn’t sorrow.
It was love.
Only love.
The kind of love that waited twenty thousand years.
The kind of love that crossed lifetimes.
The kind of love willing to sacrifice everything.
And still return.
Again.
And again.
And again.
For Zhuo Yichen.
Always for Zhuo Yichen.