Martial Cultivator

Liking Chen Chao was easy enough to understand. After all, there were very few young men in this world who could compare with him.

But the Divine Daughter was still curious about Zhu Xia's reason for liking Chen Chao.

She did not seem like the sort of ordinary girl.

Moreover, since she was willing to give up her own life for him, then her reason for liking him had to be different.

Zhu Xia thought about it but could not answer for a while.

Many things have clear answers, but there are also many things that do not.

When had she fallen for Chen Chao?

Zhu Xia could not say. Was it that day in the Divine Capital, when the youth in black had saved her? Or was it later, when he bought honey dates for her?

She did not know.

"Don't rush. Think about it more. You'll figure it out eventually."

The Divine Daughter looked at Zhu Xia. She only needed to look into her eyes to know what kind of girl she was.

"If I really had to give a reason, it's probably because he never treated me as a medicinal herb. In his eyes, I was just a person."

"Unfortunately, I'm not the person he likes."

Looking at the lake, Zhu Xia said this quietly.

The Divine Daughter shook her head and said softly, "What a silly girl."

Zhu Xia was not angry. She merely said, "I'm willing."

The Divine Daughter said nothing, only smiled.

A foolish girl. But then, who wasn't?

......

......

A streak of demonic qi swept through the sky, traveling from south to north. Only after crossing the thirty thousand miles of the desolate north did it finally dissipate above the Onan River.

Two figures appeared by the banks of the Onan River.

The tall Demon Emperor's complexion was pale, yet he remained as imposing as ever. This powerful ruler of myriad demons looked toward Autumn in the distance. A trace of emotion surfaced in his eyes before quickly fading away.

In the end, the Demon Emperor said nothing and merely began walking slowly toward the royal city.

Autumn stood by the riverbank, looking at the Demon Emperor's retreating figure. Her lips moved slightly, "Royal Father..."

The Demon Emperor did not turn around. He simply continued walking.

"It doesn't matter what you want to do. Just remember your identity, and remember that the land beneath your feet is what sustains you."

The Demon Emperor's voice sounded out slowly.

Autumn stood quietly by the riverbank, watching her father walk northward just like that. She said nothing. Nor did she follow him.

Some things are very important, some things are more important, and some things are not so important. It all depends on what one chooses.

In Autumn's heart, the Demon Domain was naturally the most important.

And the matter of liking Chen Chao was not that important.

But there were still some things that were more important.

......

......

Deep in the desolate north, a demon cavalry army had already broken camp and headed south.

The main body of this demon cavalry all came from the same clan - the green apes.

Among the demons, the Green Ape Clan actually held no low status, and had produced more than one great demon. Among the younger generation of demon geniuses, the Green Ape Clan had once produced one named Yuan Ling. That Yuan Ling had once been regarded as second only to Autumn, and given enough time, would certainly become a great demon, perhaps even a demon lord.

Yuan Ling came from the green apes. His talent was exceptional, and coupled with his bloodline, his physical body was incomparably powerful. Whenever he fought others, he always relied on his body alone. Without any technique whatsoever, he could simply beat his opponents to death.

In those years, within the Demon Domain, there were already very few young people who dared provoke Yuan Ling.

Unfortunately, during the confrontation between the younger generations of the human race and the demon race, Yuan Ling encountered an even more unreasonable young martial artist. After the two fought a fierce battle, that young genius of the Green Ape Clan had his head cut off by that young martial artist.

Because of this, the Green Ape Clan lost a young genius who had the potential to ascend to demon lord. It should be known that if Yuan Ling had become a demon lord, the status of the green ape clan would have risen accordingly.

Yuan Ling died, but even more unfortunate was that afterward, Yuan Ling's uncle, a great demon, took the initiative to seek out that young martial artist to avenge his nephew. But in the end, the outcome was even more tragic.

He encountered His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty.

Thus, the Green Ape Clan lost both its present and its future in one stroke. Over these years, the territory belonging to them had grown smaller and smaller.

If a race did not have a great demon overseeing it, then within the Demon Domain, it was destined to live at the mercy of others. Therefore, the Green Ape Clan's hatred toward Great Liang was almost unmatched by anyone else.

So when, inside the command tent, the newly appointed commander, Demon Lord Redsleeve, asked which cavalry army was willing to set an ambush at Cloud Gorge, the green ape clan stepped forward without hesitation.

Now they were galloping south, intending to reach Cloud Gorge as quickly as possible.

Cloud Gorge was a canyon several hundred feet deep. It had not existed before, but had only become such a terrain after the battle between the Demon Emperor and the Great Liang Emperor.

That place was not far from the northernmost human passes.

Demon Lord Redsleeve had chosen to begin her first battle there.

About half a quarter of an hour after the thirty thousand cavalry of the Green Ape Clan broke camp, Demon Lord Redsleeve finally opened her eyes.

The newly appointed commander of the demon race looked at the demon generals, who had already been standing inside the command tent for some time, and calmly said, "These thirty thousand men were sent out by me to die."

The words were simple and direct, calm and indifferent.

The demon generals showed no expression.

Because there were no demon cultivators of the Green Ape Clan here.

"Don't be so calm. If you really want to stay calm, then wait until after you've heard what I'm about to say."

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled. "The thirty thousand cavalry of the Green Ape Clan can be thrown away by me to die, but they cannot die for nothing. If they lose thirty thousand men, then we will take three human passes. My demand isn't high. The three northernmost passes must be captured by the time they die. I've already sent people there. If they fail to take them, then I'll send them to accompany the Green Ape Clan in death."

"There's one more thing you all need to understand. Today it's them who are being sent to die. Tomorrow it could be you. Nothing is fixed. The only thing that matters is what is most suitable and what benefits us the most. Since we're truly going to wage a fight to the death against the human race, then nothing else matters. The only thing that matters is when we can shatter the Northern Frontier Great Wall, and when we can kill all those elite Great Liang frontier troops."

Demon Lord Redsleeve said calmly, "Once we've killed them all, we'll drive straight south and enter the Divine Capital. From then on, let the human race disappear from this world. By then, I won't even return to the Demon Domain. I'll just find a piece of land in the south and make it my own fief."

"The lands of the human race have always been good at nurturing people."

From the moment Demon Lord Redsleeve began speaking, the expressions of the generals changed again and again, but in the end, none of them spoke. They simply listened quietly.

They all knew that the demon lord whom even the Demon Emperor addressed as Aunt was not merely ruthless. She was indeed the demon race's finest commander.

They could only pray that they themselves would not one day become one of the things she chose to abandon.

......

......

When the thirty thousand cavalry of the Green Ape Clan became sacrificial pawns and were gradually devoured by the Great Liang frontier army, the three northernmost passes of Great Liang had already fallen.

The soldiers defending the passes and the cultivators atop the walls had all died in battle.

No one had expected that after the great war that began in the early summer of the nineteenth year of Tianjian, when the demon race's first southward advance had been halted, the demons, after a brief lull, would take such a great step south in silence during their second advance.

This time, the wind and rain fell without end.

There was no grand fanfare, yet it carried a feeling of even greater danger.