Liu Qingcheng had been waiting in the Golden Phoenix Pavilion for a long time.

She had been waiting from dawn until dusk, from when the iron hooves led by King Jingnan marched through the streets of Zangfeng State, until the Saint’s Finger descended from the sky once more.

In her anxiety, the ground shook, and the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Alliance retreated into the Golden Phoenix Pavilion, even taking in some refugees among the cultivators.

In the darkness, the atmosphere was overwhelmingly oppressive and heavy.

She heard unfamiliar cultivators sighing softly, resigned to despair, fearing that none of them could escape this calamity today, and Zangfeng State would become a ghost state today.

Indeed, who could possibly save these more than five million people from the hands of a saint?

Not even gods could save them!

Liu Qingcheng leaned against the window in a daze, thinking about how the world of the Demon Race and cultivators was like this.

Even those she thought were incredibly powerful were under even stronger powers, who didn’t even need to speak a word—a mere finger would spell others’ doom.

It seemed... they weren’t much better off than ordinary people.

The young master of the Chang Family wanted to force Lianmi to become a concubine, needing many strategies and efforts, yet here, ending millions of lives was just a moment’s task.

Liu Qingcheng thought of the silly little girl and felt a dull ache in her heart, an emptiness.

"Just as he said, demons live a life far worse than mine."

Liu Qingcheng smiled bitterly, mocking herself.

All the myriad fantasies of the past shattered today.

In this world, being an ignorant mortal was indeed far happier than these cultivators who couldn’t see another dawn.

Demons didn’t obtain freedom either; they just leaped from one pit of mud into another.

Liu Qingcheng suddenly felt she lost all strength, sliding down the window slowly.

She thought, dying here might not be so bad. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

At least, she did see many different things... things she wouldn’t have seen living as a caged bird in the brothel, things beyond that square sky.

Liu Qingcheng’s gaze dimmed, slowly sinking into the darkness.

Then, she saw a light.

A stream of radiance soared skyward, piercing the blackness that shrouded the skies, transforming into colorful clouds and boundless mountains and rivers.

The brilliance filled the sky, shattering the pillar of heaven!

She strained to lift her head at the window, eyes wide open, recognizing the person unleashing a fist against the Saint’s Finger, causing celestial phenomena to unfold—it was Chen Kuang.

Heroism, indeed.

The surroundings were full of noise; Liu Qingcheng stared blankly at the falling radiance, suddenly remembering not long ago when Chen Kuang held her, saving her life, with their backs tightly pressed together.

What was she thinking back then?

Her fleeting thought was how the chest and arms of a man were so hard, so hot, and so broad, seemingly capable of upholding the collapsing sky.

"It really is possible..."

Liu Qingcheng murmured.

A tickling warmth sprouted in her heart, like a new bud quietly pushing through the layers of darkness above, breaking through the soil.

She suddenly wanted to rush out, to the place where the radiance landed, to see Chen Kuang’s face.

But the situation outside remained unclear; the alliance leader and several elders hadn’t returned.

Liu Qingcheng had just started cultivating and was practically without any cultivation, rushing out would be seeking death and ruining others’ plans.

So, she could only obediently wait.

Wait until the commotion outside finally subsided, and many cultivators returned to the streets.

The demon race within the Golden Phoenix Pavilion received messages one after another, confirming temporary safety and that the alliance leader and the elders would soon return, and they cheered with joy, preparing to go out and welcome them.

Liu Qingcheng quickly tidied her messy, dirty skirt, blended into the crowd, and moved to the entrance, modestly looking around.

She saw the Mountain and Sea Alliance leader who looked like a child and saw Yu Xiangsi... but Liu Qingcheng couldn’t find that familiar face.

Yu Xiangsi walked up to Liu Qingcheng, hesitated to speak, but remained silent.

However, Liu Qingcheng already knew what she wanted to say, her mind a mess.

Liu Qingcheng, familiar with the mother who taught her for many years, had a dry throat; after a long time, she finally asked with difficulty: "He left?"

Yu Xiangsi was taken aback, jokingly said: "I thought you would ask if he died."

Liu Qingcheng shook her head, firmly said: "He won’t die."

Yu Xiangsi, seeing her somewhat calm demeanor, found it curious: "You believe in him that much?"

Liu Qingcheng suddenly blinked: "I don’t believe in him; I understand you, mother. Even if he did die, if you see me like this, you’d surely lie and say he just left."

"This way, I wouldn’t be too sad."

Yu Xiangsi found it amusing, but felt relieved in her heart.

Her greatest fear was Liu Qingcheng becoming deeply entangled and unable to escape... Previously, after Qingcheng was saved by Chen Kuang, the way she looked at him was just like a newly hatched chick looking at a mother hen.

Now the mother hen flapped its wings and left, leaving a bewildered chick not knowing where to go, pitiful to think about.

Yu Xiangsi looked at Liu Qingcheng: "Do you have any plans later?"

Liu Qingcheng was silent for a moment and asked instead: "May I ask... what the Mountain and Sea Alliance intends to do next?"

Yu Xiangsi then told Liu Qingcheng the plans of the "Kui"—after all, it was all part of the open strategy, and if the Yang Kingdom could survive, it could only be said that destiny ordained their national fate not to end.

Liu Qingcheng took a deep breath, softly said:

"My cultivation is too low, even if I follow the Mountain and Sea Alliance, I probably wouldn’t be of much use."