Chapter 1719 772: Divergence (Part 2)

With the fall of Thunder City, all resistance within the city became a joke.

Even those intricate underground tunnels of the Rebel Army were nothing special as hiding spots before demons that could burrow through earth and soil; coupled with sharp senses of smell and enhanced hearing, the demons cooperated in their search, and within Thunder City, humans who could luckily survive and evade the demons' sweep were almost none.

The vast city, that once incomparably glorious great city, had now fallen into a ruin of broken walls and shattered remnants.

Since there was no need to occupy the town, only to plunder without end, the Demon Army displayed an incomparably brutal, predatory nature.

Any cultural relics, any scenic towers and lofty buildings, were all worthless as dung before the demons.

The culture of Thunder City, the heritage it had passed down for hundreds and thousands of years, was completely destroyed, ruined beyond recognition.

When the Four Great Demon Kings led their army back in triumph, Thunder City behind them had already become a land of ruins.

Perhaps someday later, people would rebuild a town upon this wasteland, excavate the former splendor of this soil—but that would all be in the future.

The glory of Thunder City, passed down over many years, ended here.

From this day on, upon this land, the three characters "Thunder City" would exist no more.

That city once famed for its Ten Great Sky-reaching Pillars would, with the passage of time, finally sink into the dust of history, fade from people's memories, and become a misted piece of bygone history in the mouths of certain elders.

With the departure of the Demon Army, this terrifying war that had shaken this borderland finally drew to a close.

Thunder City was annihilated, the Demon Army returned in triumph—this news spread without needing anyone to carry it.

"Lost? That Thunder City was actually flattened? And those great clans of Thunder City? Every one of them was as strong as a Monster, yet they still couldn't withstand the Demon Army? I heard that this time, that lofty Demon Emperor of the Demon Capital didn't even personally march out!"

"The heavens have changed… they really have changed! First the Capital's army marched south, was completely wiped out, annihilated within the Demon Capital. Now the Demon Capital leads troops forth, flattening our borderland's great city, Thunder City! In this place, who can still stop the Demon Capital's rise?"

"It's over! Everything's over! Even Thunder City isn't a match—then the Demon Capital can exterminate whoever it wants! For our little cities and little towns, where is there any safety left to speak of!"

"Go to Sui Chong Pass, enter the Central State—only in the core region of the Da Xia Dynasty are there experts who can contend with the current Demon Capital; only there can we find a place for peaceful lives! Otherwise, living every day on edge under the Demon Capital's terror, how can we settle down and work, how can we live any kind of good life!"

"You want me to leave my hometown? Dream on! Even if I die, I'll die on this land! Besides, the wilds aren't safe either! If you want to enter the Central State, who knows how many dangers you'll meet on the road! I don't agree with this!"

All kinds of voices, all kinds of statements, all kinds of arguments spread far and wide; because of this matter, the whole borderland was in an uproar, and everyone had their own thoughts.

Some people began preparing to leave with their entire families, recruiting guards, stockpiling goods, and selling off their property.

Some stubbornly clung to their own views, refusing to leave their native soil, burying their heads like ostriches, ignoring the voices outside and continuing a life the same as the past ten years.

And some people seized the opportunity, speculated and profiteered, buying up at low prices the properties others were dumping, quietly rising in the process.

Yu Wenwuji belonged to this last kind.

Moreover, he also made a backup plan, preparing for a chance to enter the Central State and develop there. After all, the Red Immortal Inheritance lay in the land of the Central State. To be precise, it wasn't actually far from the Capital.

"Fortune gathers upon me; in this world, there must be a seat for me!"

Though the road was bumpy, his steps steadily climbed upward, and the ambition in Yu Wenwuji's heart swelled without end…

…

Demon Capital.

Lan Yuhe was calmly gazing at the ghostly blue foxfire before him and spoke first.

"You taking the initiative to contact me—now that's a first. Finally had enough of staying in the palace, found it dull and boring?"

That cluster of foxfire let out a very human-like series of chuckling sounds; the little flames trembled and quivered, as if the person on the other side were laughing with irresistible charm.

"Mr. Lan, your Divine Skill has reached perfection—I came in advance to congratulate you. Did I anger you somehow? Otherwise, why treat your servant so coldly?"

"…You're in the palace and still contacting me—aren't you afraid 'he' will find out?"

Giggle giggle giggle giggle giggle giggle!

The little foxfire laughed again, then came a foxy, seductive voice, as though a fox demon with a heaven-defying figure were circling lightly around Lan Yuhe's body.

"If I can seek you out, naturally it's with 'his' tacit consent. However… 'he' is too arrogant, too conceited—still thinks I'm that little fox, and also thinks you're still that young Mr. Lan."

Lan Yuhe shook his head.

"The fact that he doesn't dare come to me himself and only sends an army to probe already shows he's not underestimating me."

Giggle giggle!

The little foxfire was laughing again.

"But he still looks down on you. He wants to use me to find out just how far you've gone. And I, for that matter, am full of interest too!"

If it were anyone else asking, Lan Yuhe would not answer.

But this fox demon before him—he had history with them.

"…I've only taken a small step forward, that's all."

Foxfire was still laughing, but the laughter drew back a little, the voice gaining a few shades of seriousness.

"Then he won't tolerate you."

Lan Yuhe raised an eyebrow.

"Let him come find me himself. He… does he dare!"

Cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck!

Foxfire burst into exaggerated laughter, darting up and down in the air.

"I'm only a bridge. How things end between you two has nothing to do with me. But… if Mr. Lan ever needs anything, you can come to me. I don't mind… the Capital getting a little more chaotic!"

Amid that over-the-top laughter, Foxfire thinned out and vanished.

Lan Yuhe sneered, not bothered in the slightest.

His focus had long since been set on another world entirely; compared to those old relics still standing in place, he was already on a different level.

Yet just as that thought crossed his mind, the foxfire that should have vanished suddenly flashed back into being, adding one more line with a roguish grin.

"Oh right, that man you've been ordering me to scour the world for, to keep an eye out for… has appeared. He's in the Capital right now. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!!!"

With a splat, Foxfire completely, truly disappeared.

Lan Yuhe's pupils, however, were slowly contracting and dilating.

His mind buzzed, going utterly blank.

That heart which hadn't rippled in so many years, for the first time, surged with a storm of unimaginable fury!

"Im…possible…"

"He… how could he…"

Lan Yuhe's inner world was in complete chaos.

That old close friend.

That long-estranged nemesis.

That man who'd mysteriously vanished for so many years without a single trace.

Why… at a time like this… would he suddenly surface?

Is he… telling me he's back…?

Was it my success that made him decide to emerge, that finally pushed him to return to the world?

The ideological clash of those years! Is it finally going to turn into concrete results, to settle who was right and who was wrong?

Lan Yuhe fell into a long silence. For the first time since that night, he let go of his obsession with the new world; his mind, his thoughts, his entire focus—all were on that man!

That former Lord of Mansion of Tianyuan Town, that desolate Prince who'd buried his name, that man… the one he'd wanted to kill a countless number of times yet had imagined reconciling with again and again!

"Not returning to Tianyuan Town, but to the Capital, is it."

"And to think I built the Demon Capital right here…"

"Giving up this place—does that mean giving up all his past? Coming out this time, is it to return and inherit that pathetic throne?"

"You really are… so pitiful! But even so, I still want you to know what I've achieved now! I want you to see with your own eyes just how outrageously wrong you were back then!"

"I'll use your eyes to prove that my path is the one true, correct path!!"

Lan Yuhe's breathing, at some point, had grown ragged, his chest heaving violently.

This loss of composure happened to be witnessed by Green Demon, who had just returned triumphant and come to pay respects.

Startled for an instant, Green Demon lowered his head.

"Lord Lan, I have fulfilled the mission. Thunder City has been razed! The Demon Capital's might will surely spread throughout Great Xia!"

Lan Yuhe looked back at him, his emotions already reined in. After a moment's thought, he spoke.

"Green Demon, are you willing to go to Shangjing once, as a Demon Capital Envoy?"

…