He glared at her coldly.
“How dare you steal his inner core?”
Hong Ning discreetly clutched a spirit talisman, keeping her voice calm.
“Then let him continue down the path of darkness.”
“Let him be consumed by his sins and perish in the heavenly tribulation.”
A hand suddenly clamped around her throat.
Wu Ling’s tone was indifferent.
“You meddle where you shouldn’t. He may still have been able to survive the tribulation. But now, you’ve forced him to abandon his inner core. A thousand years of cultivation—completely ruined. You…”
His grip tightened.
Her vision darkened, her breath faltered—
Yet Hong Ning did not pass out.
She met his gaze unwaveringly.
“And what if he did survive the tribulation?”
“After all the evil he committed for your sake, he could only become a demon immortal at best.”
“Besides, he’s spent these past centuries running from place to place, constantly worrying about his half-dead younger brother. Do you really think he had the time—or the heart—to focus on cultivation? How would he ever survive the next tribulation?”
Wu Ling’s expression wavered.
His gaze shifted to the withered peach tree.
Sensing his hesitation, Hong Ning seized the opportunity.
With a swift hand gesture, she activated her spell, forcing his grip to loosen.
She stepped back two paces.
“Losing his inner core doesn’t mean losing everything. He still has his original form. He only needs to start over.”
“Your reunion will come soon enough.”
“But if you die here now, who will protect him?”
“How long before he is cut down, uprooted, and completely destroyed?”
“Are you certain you can defeat me?”
Wu Ling froze, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.
He had been prepared to strike again, but her words stopped him cold.
Hong Ning’s face was pale, her breath uneven.
“Becoming a demon isn’t so bad.”
“At least you and your brother can remain together.”
Wu Ling slowly walked to the base of the peach tree, gazing at its fragile branches, battered by the rain.
In a low voice, he murmured, “Back then, my brother and I sought immortality together… but we never imagined that only one of us could survive the tribulation.”
“It was fate.”
Hong Ning let out a cold laugh.
“Fate?”
“Back then, it was you who risked your life to help your brother overcome his tribulation.”
“Now, it is your brother—and me—who have saved you.”
“This isn’t fate. And even if it were, does that mean we should just sit back and accept it?”
Wu Ling remained silent for a long time, before finally nodding.
“If he can regain human form, we will wander the world together.”
“We will no longer chase the path of immortality.”
Just then, a gentle voice interrupted them.
“Demon clans can live at most for ten thousand years.”
“How long do you think your reunion will last?”
“Abandoning the path halfway through—how can you ever hope to achieve true eternity?”
His brocade robes shimmered as if golden clouds and mist were shifting across the fabric.
His face was flawless—each of his features perfectly proportioned.
His phoenix eyes were as clear as water, exuding a divine and noble aura, tinged with a trace of compassion.
There was no malice in him whatsoever.
And yet, this was a man who commanded boundless power, capable of defying fate and overturning the heavens.
For a hundred thousand years, he had wielded supreme military authority over the Heavenly Court, his mere presence enough to instill fear across the celestial realm.
In the blink of an eye, the dense yin energy in the courtyard had completely vanished.
In its place, golden light radiated in waves, accompanied by an auspicious glow that left no doubt—this was no ordinary being.
He was a High God.
Wu Ling was stunned and wary, his gaze shifting toward Hong Ning.
But Hong Ning remained still, observing coldly from the sidelines.
Seeing that she showed no reaction, Wu Ling could not help but break the silence.
“May I ask who this esteemed deity is…?”
The man in gold did not answer.
Instead, he tilted his face upward, his eyes sweeping over the withered peach tree.
With a casual motion, he plucked a single branch.
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