Chapter 117: Promise, Return

Hongyun departed from that place and set off once more for the Kingdom of Half-Demons.

He did not enter immediately, but instead paused before the mirror at the very center of Mirror City. Strangely, when he looked into the glass, he saw no reflection of himself. After he stood there in silence for a moment, ripples spread across the mirror’s surface, and a figure emerged before him.

It was Mirror Seven. His voice remained flat, devoid of any discernible emotion: "I can sense that you have succeeded, for you carry the aura of the Yang Calamity."

Hongyun did not refute this; he simply watched him quietly. "Yes, I have mastered it. Whether I go or stay is entirely up to you."

Hm? Mirror Seven’s expression flickered with a faint ripple, but as if recalling something, he shook his head slightly, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "No, it is good here."

Seeing this, Hongyun said nothing more. He reached out and touched the mirror, imparting a trace of calamity energy into it before his figure vanished. "In that case, until we meet again."

Mirror Seven, sensing that the other had vanished from his perception, slipped back into the mirror. "Until we meet again..."

***

In the Kingdom of Half-Demons, Yue Sansi sat in a small pavilion, scratching his head and pacing back and forth in a state of agitation. Opposite him, Yue Lei sipped scalding tea, completely unperturbed.

"Calm down, Little Third. Peace of mind, indifference to affairs—that is the way."

Yue Sansi’s expression remained unchanged, but he turned and punched the air in frustration. "Little Yue is in seclusion, isn't she? And Father, could you please address me properly? I am a Demon King!"

"I treat Little Yue like a daughter; can you compare? As for you... hurry back to your grandfather’s place. You’re an eyesore."

"Father, that’s not what you said before..."

High above in the distance, Hongyun watched the bickering father and son, along with the two crows slumbering at the doorway of a room. He flicked four Cloud-Plume wings, which drifted down and entered their foreheads unnoticed, then turned his gaze away.

He had come to see Little Yue. Although the identity of the Child of Destiny was no longer useful to him, she was, after all, a little girl he had once guided. The others were merely incidental, like those who benefit from the ascension of another.

***

Hongyun opened his palm, and Chai Xiaoyue, who was in the midst of seclusion, was instantly plucked from her sanctuary. His technique was silent and seamless, causing not a single ripple; even the calamity energy surrounding her place of seclusion remained undisturbed.

Seeing the young girl, Hongyun’s mood brightened significantly. He approached her and gently stroked her head.

Hm? Chai Xiaoyue was no longer the little girl she once was. Even in her seclusion, she reacted instantly, her heart skipping a beat as she recoiled.

"Xiaoyue, it’s me." Hongyun’s voice remained gentle. He chuckled, looked her over, and teased, "You’ve stayed in the Kingdom of Half-Demons for so long that you’ve grown into a fine young lady. What’s this? Are you shy?"

Huh? The time Hongyun had been away was neither long nor short, but it had spanned several years. After all, time passes unnoticed in seclusion, and he had not kept strict track, but it had been at least three or five years.

"Uncle Yun!" Hearing that voice stirred memories deep within her. She lunged toward the source of the sound, grabbing his arm and refusing to let go. "Are you here to stay with me?"

Hongyun stroked her hair, letting her hang onto him. "Yes, I have come to stay with you one last time."

Hearing this, Chai Xiaoyue’s ears drooped, and her voice turned dejected. "Last time..."

***

"Since you are unharmed, I am at ease... Xiaoyue, do you remember what I told you before?"

"Huh?" Hongyun looked at her dazed, foolish expression and chuckled. He closed his eyes and waved his hand before her face.

With that single gesture, Chai Xiaoyue’s eyes—which had never truly felt anything—began to well up with warmth. Panic-stricken and sensing something profound, she cried out, "Uncle Yun... where are you going this time?"

"To the place where I belong..."

Having said this, he patted her head one last time, and his figure gradually dissipated.

At the very last moment, Chai Xiaoyue opened those moist eyes, catching a glimpse of Hongyun’s fading silhouette, as if he had cast the entire vibrant world aside. She reached out to grab him, but she could no longer touch him.

"Uncle Yun..." she murmured. She did not wipe away the tears that fell as she adjusted to her new eyes, simply closing them and letting the droplets flow.

***

"If you still cannot see this world when Uncle Yun leaves, Uncle Yun will give you a pair of eyes."

***

Hongyun had indeed left the Treasure Bottle World, but he did not return to the Primordial World. Instead, he stood in a vast sea of stars. Before him lay a universe he had never perceived before. Here, he vaguely sensed something different.

The only thing under his control was the bottle-shaped sea of stars beside him. Is this the Treasure Bottle World I have mastered by becoming the Four-Fold Yang Calamity?

Hongyun, using the host’s body as a vessel, held the Treasure Bottle World in his hands, his calamity energy intertwined with the realm. On the bottle, a landscape painting seemed to manifest, reflecting the worlds of both humans and demons.

At this moment, the interface no longer remained within the host’s body, but appeared beside it, enveloping his soul:

*Calamity Master has completed all tasks. Hidden task triggered upon refining the Yang Calamity: Capture the Treasure Bottle World. Attempt capture?*

*Reminder to Calamity Master: This task requires 5,000 Calamity Points and carries certain risks. Please think carefully.*

Capture... the Treasure Bottle World?

Hearing this, Hongyun’s heart was stirred. Without hesitation, he confirmed.

In that instant, the Cloud-Plume wings behind his host body spread out, covering the entire sea of stars, followed by an endless, suffocating wave of calamity radiating from the body. As he observed this, the host body sat cross-legged, cradling the Treasure Bottle World and drawing the entire sea of stars toward it.

Behind the host, his own manifestation appeared, grasping the world within its palm. Chains that ignored the constraints of space and time emerged.

*Clatter—*

As the chains sealed the entire sea of stars, a palm-sized Gate of Heavens appeared on the reverse side of the interface. Chains linked to the frame of the gate, dragging his soul toward it.

Immediately thereafter, the entire sea of stars and the palm-sized gate vanished, leaving only chaos to fill the empty void.