This Is Not the Female Demon Lord I Remembered-Chapter 836 - 660: Supreme Holiness and Purity, Ultimate Evil and Malevolence (Part 2)

"However, the reason I chose to help the Mystic Mechanism is because in this world, there was once my only close friend in this life, and I do not want the world my friend guarded for their entire life to fall into the hands of the Abyss."
Qinglian turned around, her expression carrying a hint of melancholy.
"A close... friend?"
Feng Luoshu seemed puzzled, as not even the Mystic Mechanism Heavenly Dao was called a close friend by this Qinglian, so who could that close friend be?
"Senior Xiao Xi?"
In the courtyard, Liang Yi and Su Youyi suddenly heard an unheard secret from Zhou Ruanxian.
"Xiao Xi? This name sounds familiar..."
Wan Tinggui furrowed his brows and murmured in a low voice, looking thoughtful, vaguely remembering hearing this name before.
"The Taoist Sect, the Physical Immortal!"
Zhou Yuqing, once the third princess of the Xuanzhou Immortal Dynasty, had browsed through countless secrets of the Immortal Dynasty and easily retrieved this name from the depths of her memory.
"I remember now, the three immortals of the Taoist Sect: the Daoist Immortal Nianyun, the Sword Immortal Su Jianyi, and the Physical Immortal Xiao Xi."
A spark of realization flashed in Liang Yi's mind, and he recalled after Zhou Yuqing's reminder.
"Is he Su... father's friend?"
Su Youyi opened her mouth to speak but then hastily changed the way she addressed him.
Though she knew Su Jianyi was her father, and she could feel her father's love for her through the River of Sword Intent he left, Su Youyi still felt a bit unfamiliar at heart.
She habitually wanted to address him as Senior Su, but quickly corrected herself.
Su Youyi's expression was conflicted, knowing that even after all this time, she still had difficulty adjusting.
Liang Yi, observing his junior sister's troubled expression, reached out and held her soft hand.
"Don't force yourself, nor overthink it, just let things take their course."
Liang Yi quietly transmitted his voice.
His junior sister's issue right now was merely the dissonance between emotion and fact. She understood that Senior Su Jianyi sincerely cared for her; otherwise, he wouldn't have granted her the only surviving chance. Later in the Secret Realm, he first saved both her and the senior brother's lives, then bestowed upon them insights from two epochs, even guiding them on an imagined path.
But since childhood, Su Youyi trusted and could entrust her heart and soul to only her senior brother; even her master Chen Hua and mistress Zhou Ruanxian were secondary.
Now, having suddenly gained another significant presence in her heart, Su Youyi found it difficult to accept.
"I'm fine..."
Su Youyi shook her head.
"But I've never heard about Senior Xiao Xi and Senior Qinglian being close friends."
Liang Yi shifted his attention to what Zhou Ruanxian had mentioned earlier.
Previously, they had inadvertently brought up the relationship between Senior Qinglian and their master, gradually leading the conversation to why Qinglian cared so much about the Taoist Sect.
It was due to this reason that Zhou Ruanxian suddenly mentioned this matter.
"Yes, when Chen Hua first met Qinglian, it was during the cultivation of the Qinglian Creation. You know that Chen Hua never managed to master this technique, right?"
Zhou Ruanxian smiled while recounting old stories from long ago, a time when only she and Chen Hua lived on Youdao Mountain.
"Yes! We were indeed curious about this before."
Liang Yi nodded in agreement.
The master's talent in the sword path was incredibly remarkable, and Liang Yi had only ever seen his junior sister being able to compare.
Yet the master's exceptional talent in the sword did not mean he lacked talent elsewhere. At least Liang Yi knew that his master was proficient in most of the Daoist skills in talismans.
But for a master like this to not achieve Qinglian Creation was quite unimaginable to Liang Yi.
"Haha, that's because when Chen Hua was engrossed in the Qinglian Creation, he accidentally encountered Qinglian and inadvertently awakened the dormant Qinglian. Both being proud individuals, they naturally didn't relent, which led to a fight."
Zhou Ruanxian laughed out loud as she recalled Chen Hua's bruised appearance at the time.
Although Chen Hua was not yet unrivaled, he was one of the world's top cultivators, and yet he got bruised and battered while cultivating a technique.
Everyone exchanged glances, especially Wan Tinggui, who couldn't wrap his head around what the bruised face of the long-invincible Banished Immortal would look like.
Liang Yi and Su Youyi were also surprised, as they hadn't expected their master to have once been defeated by Senior Qinglian.
But upon reflection, it made sense; back then, their master was at most at the peak of the Seventh Realm or Great Perfection, while Senior Qinglian, residing in the Void, was not restrained by the rules of the Mystic Mechanism World, naturally holding the cultivation of the Ninth Realm.
Thinking about it this way, it was understandable that their master got a bruised face.
"But the two got to know each other through fighting, and their relationship improved since they found each other agreeable. It was Qinglian who told Chen Hua about Senior Xiao Xi, and Chen Hua subsequently informed me."
"A close friend, huh? No wonder Senior Qinglian gave up the chance to focus on cultivation just to stay in the Mystical Mechanism Continent and help us fight against the Abyss."
After hearing his master's words, Liang Yi resolved a long-standing question in his mind.
Senior Qinglian entered the Mystic Mechanism World initially planning to use the Mystic Mechanism Heavenly Dao to diminish the Void Heavenly Tribulation upon breaking through, but unexpectedly spent more time contending with the Abyss Cultivators than in actual cultivation.
Liang Yi had thought Senior Qinglian aimed for a fair trade, helping the Mystical Mechanism Continent to resist the Abyss in exchange for the Mystic Mechanism Heavenly Dao aiding him against the Void Heavenly Tribulation, but surprisingly it was to protect a world that once existed.
"With such a close friend, Senior Xiao Xi can rest peacefully in his grave, right?"
Liang Yi sighed, for such friendship indeed engenders envy.
"That fellow might be simple-minded but incredibly passionate; as his close friend, I couldn't accept the world he guarded falling into the Abyss. Does this explanation satisfy you?"
Qinglian candidly revealed her reasons for aiding the Mystical Mechanism Continent.
Feng Luoshu paused for a moment and suddenly removed his hood.
Before Qinglian's eyes appeared a young cultivator, seemingly in his early twenties. The young cultivator stood facing the light, casting a long shadow behind him. His features were delicate and handsome, though not quite as striking as Liang Yi's.
The most striking feature was his blood-red pupils.
Unlike Su Youyi's eyes, which resembled pure rubies, this young cultivator's red pupils seemed to roar with a Corpse Mountain and Blood Sea, truly stained red with blood.
Yet while the young cultivator appeared young, his eyes and aura bore an unspeakable world-weariness.
"This is..."
Qinglian revealed a look of surprise, having never expected the Blood Demon to have such an appearance.
"I merged with Feng Luoshu, everything has changed, yet the love for Qingqiu Mingsi remains constant."
Feng Luoshu spoke hoarsely.
"Now, with Mingsi reborn with the help of Qingqiu Mingli, I do not wish for her to regain her memories or remember me, but I will not allow the Abyss to devour the world she is in. She and her world shall be protected by me."
Finishing his words, Feng Luoshu put his hood back on.
Qinglian stared in a daze at Feng Luoshu, then suddenly broke into a smile, gently patting his shoulder.
So that's how it is...
"Who would have thought that we, born devoid of emotions, would one day fight for the sake of feelings in our hearts."
Qinglian self-mockingly chuckled, yet didn't feel tricked by fate, only feeling no regret.
An Innate Green Lotus, holy and pure, appeared here for a past friend.
A Blood Sea incarnation, evil and threatening, restrained its instincts for a past love, silently guarding.
"In this regard, at least, I've defeated you."
Qinglian raised her head, looking dazedly at the sky, recalling the Mystic Mechanism Heavenly Dao, whom they had once contested against.
That fellow thought entering the Tenth Realm before him was a victory, yet did not realize he outmatched him far more decidedly.