There was a mixture of joy and sorrow in the Sishui Courtyard of Kongcheng. In the cave of the First Star City of the Demon Ancestor's Sect, Fang Yun tried hard to curb his nervousness.
If the other party was only a half-saint, Fang Yun would not have done so. However, what happened in the Comet Corridor was too bizarre. Once exposed, the descendants of this demon ancestor would most likely kill him. In front of this half-saint, Fang Yun had almost no ability to resist.
However, Fang Yun still stood straight with his back not bent.
"Did Fu Yue give you that secret star?" The voice of the Demon Saint came from all directions.
"Yes." Fang Yun said, only then did he know that the small meteor was called the secret star.
"Why is he friendly with you?"
"According to him, he saw my potential and talent. He was deceived by the Demon King back then, so he wanted to take revenge on him. I am a human, and I have an irreconcilable relationship with the Demon King. I have a chance to avenge him. Besides, this secret planet is useless to him."
"Well, if you say so, I'll take it as true. I just can't understand how you can get through all the corridors. Tell me."
"Scholars have ingenious minds, and the demon ancestor likes to leave people a glimmer of hope. The Comet Corridor has traces to follow in many aspects, so I can move forward step by step. Of course, it can also be said that I am particularly lucky."
"Are there any clues? Then tell me about the clues in these corridors."
Fang Yun first talked about the first corridor, saying that he wanted to comprehend the power in it and turn a disaster into a blessing to comprehend the chillness of the comet. Then he talked about the pattern of floating ice in the Floating Ice River, the efforts of everyone on the Avalanche Slope, the pattern of meteors falling on the Falling Star Bridge and his final realization. He went all the way to the seventh corridor, saying that he got there by relying on the second level of Wendan.
Fang Yun knew very well how terrifying the Demon Saint was, so there was not a single lie in his words, but he would never say anything that would put himself in danger.
After hearing this, the Demon Saint was silent for a long time before he said, "Humans are indeed different from demons, and you are also different from ordinary humans. The strange ideas in your head may not even be thought of by a half-saint, that's right."
"Thank you for the compliment, Demon Saint." Fang Yun said.
"Tell me about the collapse of the Seventh Corridor. I want to hear the details!"
Fang Yun sighed inwardly, knowing that this demon saint was not easy to fool, so he recounted what happened in the Seventh Corridor while recalling the past. He deliberately kept some of the details simple or even omitted them, but when he spoke them, there was not a single lie.
When talking about the collapse of the Comet Corridor, Fang Yun told the truth. He really didn't know what was going on, even now he didn't understand why Qishu Tiandi sucked away the stone.
"Well, at least you're not stupid."
Fang Yun understood as soon as he heard it. This demon saint must know that he was hiding something, but because he did not deliberately lie, the demon saint would not be angry about it. He had the demeanor of turning a blind eye, knowing that there would be no fish in clear water.
"In fact, I already knew that the Comet Corridor was going to be destroyed. I knew it when the Holy Ruins opened ahead of time."
Fang Yun remained silent, waiting for the Demon Saint's words.
"Because my grandfather told me so, I still remember many of his words clearly. In your words, children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, so let us descendants decide for ourselves."
Fang Yun still didn't speak.
"You humans are indeed very shrewd. You know that the Blood Demon Barbarians have greatly increased in strength and have become a threat to our Star Demon Barbarians, so the Human Semi-Saints chose to take action here. Not only can I not stop the Humans, I must also help. Cut off the connection between the Soldier Barbarian Saint and the demon world and the stars in the sky, otherwise how could he be easily suppressed and killed."
Fang Yun felt that the demon saint had something else in his words, and it seemed a bit abrupt to say this at this time. It didn't sound like he was talking to a scholar, but rather to a semi-saint.
"I thank the Demon Saint on behalf of the human race." Fang Yun said.
"You're lucky. You know how to thank me. Fu Yue, that old bastard, was saved by my grandfather, but he still holds a grudge against me. If there wasn't the Comet Gallery, he would have been a dead bastard long ago."
Fang Yun thought this was interesting. Fu Yue said that the Demon Ancestor had robbed his family of their precious star fragments and wanted to use him, and this person said that it was the Demon Ancestor who saved Fu Yue. It was a complete mess.
“Although Fu Yue’s tone was bad, he actually still respected the Demon Ancestor very much.” Fang Yun said.
"You protect it, anyway. Anyone who has been suppressed for nearly ten thousand years will be angry. Well, we have talked about other people's business, let's talk about you and me. We Star Demons are very clear about what we do."
The demon saint's voice paused, and Fang Yun's heart rose to his throat.
"You took so much away from the Comet Gallery, you have to leave something behind."
Fang Yun finally understood that this demon saint might have seen something, but he didn't know enough, and might not even know about the star fragments. He couldn't kill him, so he wanted to save some face. If Fang Yun didn't give him any face, he might turn hostile.
Fang Yun immediately started to think about it in his mind.
"I can't give him the silver stone under the throne of the Star King, nor can I give him the fragments of The Peach Blossom Spring by the Evil King. As for the things I got outside the Comet Corridor, I would feel bad if I gave them to him. The only things I can really give him are the little meteor and the dragon's breath stone carving, but I still feel unwilling to give them up."
Fang Yun thought for a long time, and an idea suddenly came to his mind. He had seen too many things from the ancient demon heritage, including some secrets of the demon world. Some of these secrets were of great use to semi-saints but not very useful to himself, and they could be completely replaced.
Fang Yun said: "You may not know that a big reason for the rapid rise of the Demon King is because he got some treasured secret places from Senior Fu Yue. I know a few of them, but most of them are useless to you. However, there is one place that will be of great use to you."
"Oh? Tell me about it." The Demon Saint's voice was the same as before, without any fluctuation.
"The core of the demon world is called by the ancient demons... It is called 'Wanwang Mountain' after translation into demon language. There are many secrets in Wanwang Mountain, which you probably know. There is a place you may not know, where the 'Empty World Tree' grows..."
The Demon Saint immediately interrupted Fang Yun and said, "You actually know about the Sky Realm Tree? Tell me in detail! As long as you find the Sky Realm Tree, you will be rewarded handsomely!"
"The entire Void Realm Tree did not grow outside the mountain, but inside the mountain. The mountain has no name. We only know that if we walk from the North Moon Tree to the Wan Wang Mountain, with the Burial Sacred Valley as our destination, after walking 800,000 miles, and then heading west for another 3,000 miles, there is a place suitable for the ancient monster 'Winged Rat' to live. This mountain is there. However, the world has changed dramatically, and there should be no Winged Rat in the Wan Wang Mountain now, so I don't know exactly where the Void Realm Tree is."
"Okay! This clue is enough! If I find the Sky Realm Tree and get... what I need, I will give you a generous gift!"
"Thank you, Demon Saint." Fang Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"But if you lie to me and make me happy for nothing, don't blame me for being rude!"
"I just said that it existed there in ancient times. I'm not sure if it still exists now. To prove my innocence, I'll draw a picture of what it looks like there."
After Fang Yun finished speaking, he took out his brush and ink, and first drew the mountains there, and then the hollow tree in the belly of the mountain. He deliberately made the drawing blurry, because if he drew it too carefully, it would arouse the suspicion of the demon saint.
After Fang Yun finished painting, the two paintings automatically flew up and landed in front of the green stone pillar.
"Yes, it does look like the Wan Wang Mountain. Good! Do your best in the imperial examination. I will bet with Li Sheng whether you can pass the imperial examination. If you can pass the imperial examination, I will give you a small gift."
Fang Yun was completely relieved. Since the Demon Saint said so, it meant that he would not pursue the matter of the Comet Corridor, at least not now.
"By borrowing the good words of the demon saint."
"You can call me 'The Fiery Saint'. Okay, you can go now."
A ray of moonlight falls...
The Sishui courtyard was very lively, and many people who had returned alive were surrounded by relatives and friends, asking questions about everything.
Yan Yukong and others signaled to their relatives and friends that they had something to do and continued to gather together to discuss Fang Yun's affairs.
"Even De Lun said so, so Fang Yun might really be in trouble. Alas, no matter whether he becomes the King of Stars or not, everything is in vain."
"Who among you knows the relationship between the Demon Saint of Zuyuan and our human race?"
"Never had any contact, at least I've never heard of it." Yan Yukong said.
"After all, they are demons. The Zuo Zhuan once said: They are not of our kind. Their hearts must be different. Alas... If Fang Yun is alive, we will all be happy. If he really encounters an accident, we have received a great favor from him and cannot sit idly by."
"Of course! I may not be able to do other things, but he once killed a generation of demons and barbarians, and his achievements are comparable to those of great scholars. I will go to the Holy Academy immediately to make arrangements and strive to confer him the title of Marquis of Ten Kingdoms, so as to ensure the safety of his family for three generations."
"I will also go home immediately and tell my elders what happened in the Comet Corridor to protect the Fang family."
"After leaving the Holy Ruins, we still have to visit other temples. Let's find a place to rest first. The Holy Ruins are not tiring, but the Comet Corridor is too tiring."
Li Fanming said: "You go and rest first, I will wait, I believe Fang Yun will come out!"
The big rabbit wiped his tears and nodded.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Li Fanming, I heard that you placed your bet on Fang Yun before going to the Holy Ruins, and even went to Yuhai City to sow discord between our Meng family and Fang Yun. Now I really want to thank you for your provocation. What do you think?" Meng Linyu said with a smile.
Li Fanming glanced coldly at the brother of this evil king and said, "You'd better not bring disaster upon yourself! If you dare to disrespect Fang Yun again, when I become a Jinshi, I will definitely challenge you in a literary duel and destroy your literary courage!"
Meng Linyu laughed and said, "I know a little bit about your talent. It is better than mine, but not much better. Okay, I will wait for you. But if you have the guts, you can compete with me, a Jinshi, with your literary talent as a Juren."
The people around immediately cursed in their hearts, saying that the evil king and his family were truly shameless.
Yan Yukong stepped forward and said, "I am still a juren now. Come, I will challenge you to a literary duel. Do you dare?"
Meng Linyu was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that this top scholar had such a good relationship with Li Fanming. He knew Yan Yukong's name very well. Even if he was a Jinshi, he would not dare to compete with a top genius like Yan Yukong in literature. He would definitely lose.
"Don't dare to fight with words? Then get out of here and stop mocking us! Where were you when we were killing monsters and barbarians in the Holy Ruins? Get out!" Yan Yukong even used his tongue to make a thundering sound, and a strong wind blew towards Meng Linyu.
Everyone was puzzled. Yan Yukong had always been known as a gentleman and had never been known to use harsh words. But now he was publicly scolding a Jinshi from a semi-saint family, who was also the brother of an evil monarch. There must be something else going on here.
Meng Linyu said angrily: "Even if you are a genius of your generation, even if you are a disciple of a half-saint, how can you insult me like this? After all, I am a Jinshi, and my literary rank is higher than yours. You are so rude!" (To be continued...)