LETTING GO

It began with a ripple in the sky.

Like a veil being torn open, the clouds parted in unnatural stillness. A shaft of golden light pierced down upon the earth—pure, divine, and sharp as a blade. Mo Tianzun's head snapped up immediately, his expression darkening.

Longxuan stepped beside him. "You feel that too."

Tianzun didn't answer. His body was already moving, cloak fluttering as he strode back toward the camp where their companions had just begun preparing evening tea.

Fenglie was sharpening a dagger against a stone. Zhenhai lay on his back trying to balance a fruit on his nose while Fenglan was yelling at a squirrel that had stolen a pastry.

All of them paused when Tianzun arrived, eyes shadowed.

"We need to move," he said curtly. "Now."

Before anyone could question him, the heavens split open.

A sound like a thousand bells ringing at once thundered across the sky. Beams of golden light poured downward in spiraling columns, and from each one descended figures clothed in shining robes and divine armor—the Celestial Army. Their faces were solemn, eyes aglow with righteous fury.

The air turned heavy. Spirit beasts nearby scattered in fear. The trees bent backward, and the ground trembled with the force of descending power.

And leading them was a familiar imperial general—riding a spirit-winged horse with the imperial crest etched into its armor.

"By order of the Heavens and decree of the Imperial Court," the general shouted, "we are here to retrieve His Highness the Crown Prince, the Liu Twins from Yunxiao Sect, and the mortal allies believed to be held hostage by the dark being known as Mo Tianzun, who survived the Infinity Cliff and now seeks vengeance against the world."

The words echoed like a blade through Tianzun's chest.

"Hostage—?" Fenglie blinked.

"Wait, us?!" Zhenhai's voice rose.

"I'm not a hostage! I'm barely even a volunteer!" Jiang Fenglie exclaimed.

But the Celestial Army was already forming battle lines.

Tianzun stepped forward calmly, his voice like thunder wrapped in silk. "They are not hostages. No one here is under threat. I have harmed no one—"

"Silence, demon!" the general roared. "Your deception ends today!"

With a single wave of his sword, a rain of golden chains descended from the sky. Tianzun raised his arm, a barrier of black and silver energy bursting outward to protect the others. His sleeve tore at the force, revealing the pale skin beneath—where his veins glowed faintly red from the power stirring within.

Longxuan was by his side in an instant. "Don't. Not yet. Don't show them your full power—they'll only believe the lie even more."

Tianzun's hand trembled.

"They've already decided who I am."

"No," Longxuan whispered. "You decide who you are."

Behind them, Huayin had appeared with Shuiyun, shielding the twins and Fenglie. "There are too many," Huayin said grimly. "Even if we fought, we'd have to hurt them."

"I don't want blood," Tianzun murmured. "Not anymore."

Longxuan turned to him, desperation in his voice. "Then you need to go. Right now."

"I won't leave you behind again—"

"You'll be killed if you stay."

A tremor went through the ground. The Celestials had begun to summon a binding array—the same kind that once sealed high devils in the distant past.

"You don't understand," Tianzun said, voice cracking. "I just got you back. I can't lose you—"

"Then live," Longxuan said fiercely. "Live so you can come back to me again."

With a flick of his hand, a portal of jade and starlight tore open behind Tianzun. It glowed softly, leading deep into the Spirit Mountains far to the west—safe from celestial reach.

Tianzun stared at it. His body trembled—not from fear, but from unbearable choice.

"I can't," he whispered. "Don't make me go."

Longxuan pulled him close, cupping his cheek. Their lips met in a kiss that was less passion, more plea. Desperate, aching, final.

"You once told me you had no one to return to," Longxuan said. "That's no longer true. Now… you return to me."

And before Tianzun could say another word—

—Longxuan shoved him through the portal.

"Tianzun!" the Liu twins screamed.

The portal sealed.

Silence fell.

The Celestial Army surged forward—but all they found was a now-missing demon, a weeping prince on his knees, and a group of friends who had just lost the one they followed across life and death.

Far away, on the other side of the world, Mo Tianzun fell through the mist and landed harshly on the cold grass of the Spirit Mountains. His breath tore from his lungs.

He screamed into the sky.

He had lost everything once.

And now, he had been forced to leave it behind again.