Chapter 82: The Demon God Bai Ze

The green mountains rose in layered folds, shrouded in drifting clouds and mists. This place lay deep among the southern ranges of Mount Buzhou, a region blessed with moist air and frequent rains. As a result, the valleys were filled with dense miasma, which, under the morning light, refracted into resplendent, ethereal hues.

Bai Ze gently fanned himself with a white jade fan, his gaze resting on the figure before him, dressed in blue. With a smile, he asked, “Did you come alone?”

The blue-robed man also smiled but said nothing.

“If you truly came alone, then I’m afraid your journey today is in vain,” Bai Ze replied courteously. Clad in robes the color of fresh cream, he radiated a soft glow in the morning sun.

Behind him stood a small stone house, no more than three rooms, plainly furnished without a trace of opulence. Beside him sat a woman, also robed in white, her focus absorbed in embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks on a brocade handkerchief.

At this moment, the woman lifted her head and spoke to Bai Ze, “Why not invite our guest inside for a while? Don’t you still have a jar of your Chilling Elixir wine?” Her voice was gentle but not affected, her eyes bright yet without a hint of seduction.

Turning back, Bai Ze smiled, “As you wish, my dear.” Facing forward again, he wore a wry smile. “It seems my only jar of Chilling Elixir is doomed. Very well, let us drink it together. But once it’s gone, you must tell me: is my wine finer, or that of the Celestial Court?”

The man in blue, somewhat surprised by this turn of events, hesitated before replying with a smile, “I have never tasted the Celestial Court’s wine, but I cannot drink yours, either.”

“Oh? Does the Celestial Court not serve wine? You, the foremost Star Lord of the Heavens, have never tried it? Well, if you haven’t, there’s no harm in tasting mine now, and later you can compare. Should you return, you need only tell me which is better.” Bai Ze’s manner was easy, his white jade fan drifting with poise.

This blue-robed man was none other than Nan Luo. He smiled awkwardly, “Truly, I cannot accept your wine. I have come to invite you to the Celestial Court. If I fail in my task because of your wine, I’d lose more than just the drink…”

“Haha… My dear, it’s not that I refuse him wine, it’s that he will not drink,” Bai Ze said, turning to the woman.

She frowned slightly, looking to Nan Luo. “Star Lord, you must know our custom?”

Nan Luo nodded. “I know that offering wine turns enemies into friends, and refusal means we must cross swords.”

“Then, is it your intention to make things difficult for us?” she pressed.

Nan Luo shook his head. “I am only following orders…”

“I told you: if you came here alone, your journey is wasted,” Bai Ze said, his expression cold.

Yet Nan Luo only tilted his head, glancing at the woman’s gently rounded belly. “Bai Ze of the Southern Frontier is renowned for prophecy, master of yin and yang, knower of the heavens, and a being of great power, revered as the god of the South. All this I know. But since the Celestial Emperor took the throne, he has thrown the balance of yin and yang into chaos. Even so, you cannot divine how many have come with me this time.”

Bai Ze’s jade fan paused in his hand, and his face grew colder. “When Emperor Jun schemed against the Phoenix Dragon Palace, he promised me: if I did not interfere, and he succeeded in founding the Celestial Court, he would never trouble me. Yet now he acts with such duplicity—does the august Celestial Emperor mean to break his word and stoop to pettiness?”

“I know nothing of your agreement with the Emperor. My coming here is at his command,” Nan Luo replied, glancing at the anxious woman behind Bai Ze. “The Emperor said that if I came at this time, I would surely persuade you to enter the Celestial Court.”

“The Emperor is cunning indeed. But he forgets, I am not one to divine only heaven and earth. If I wish to leave, you cannot stop me—unless Emperor Jun and Taiyi come in person,” Bai Ze said with a chill.

Nan Luo looked at the woman but said nothing. He would rather exchange assignments or lead a host into mortal combat than take advantage of another’s weakness in such a cunning task.

He truly was alone; not a soul shadowed him. Yet before him stood Bai Ze, a demon god whose name struck awe throughout the southern lands.

“So, you are quite confident. I know you came alone. At worst, I’ll kill you—and then my wife and I will simply vanish again. With heaven and earth in chaos, even Emperor Jun may not track us down,” Bai Ze narrowed his eyes, folding his fan, his presence locking onto Nan Luo with deadly intent.

Nan Luo remained calm, neither admitting nor denying he was alone; he simply stood, gazing at the void.

Bai Ze’s killing intent was palpable, cold as winter, his aura pressing upon Nan Luo like a mountain.

After a long silence, Bai Ze suddenly laughed. “Haha! Humanity was born weak, and yet the Star Lord is a man of such caliber. I have heard of you, but never imagined your skills would surpass all tales.”

Nan Luo smiled faintly.

“Yet this time, Star Lord, I fear you will be disappointed. The Emperor calculated my temperament well. He knows I would surely go with you, but only if you can stop me from leaving,” Bai Ze added.

Nan Luo’s smile was mild. “Then let us see. Try me, and the answer will be clear.” His tone was light as wind, without a trace of malice.

Bai Ze moved—so swiftly, so naturally, it was as if he became the wind itself. His jade fan swept toward Nan Luo, but Nan Luo did not dare be careless. As the fan brushed by, he vanished without a trace, reappearing atop a tree branch.

“The art of the five elements… I never thought anyone but Kong Xuan could master it so. Let me see how far your five-element technique has come.” As Bai Ze’s voice fell, he disappeared into thin air.

He reappeared above Nan Luo’s head, striking down with his jade fan as a sword, but Nan Luo vanished again before the blow could land.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze stirred the entire space, flowing like a mountain spring through the void, unseen and intangible. Yet soon, the trees touched by the wind withered in an instant.

The range of the breeze widened, covering the entire mountain in a heartbeat. Birds in the sky, beasts unable to flee, even the monsters of the hills—none could withstand it; in moments, all were reduced to brittle bones.

Within this wind, Nan Luo was wreathed in a haze of five-colored mist, shielding himself from the deadly softness of the breeze. Though the wind blew away the mist faster than he could replenish it, it was enough to hold out for a time.

“Ze, do not use your Yin-Yang Fan any further. It’s too damaging to the balance of the world,” the woman called from the stone house, her brows drawn in worry.

At her words, the wind ceased at once.

Bai Ze appeared, casting a cold look at Nan Luo. “If this is all you can do, you cannot hope to stop us from leaving.” With that, he ignored Nan Luo, and with a flicker, was at the woman’s side. He swiftly gathered her into his arms, and the two vanished together.

A flash of fire reflected in Nan Luo’s pupils, yet he saw nothing. He sighed inwardly: the Heavenly Eye grew ever less effective—though it could see far, there were many whose arts it could not penetrate.

He had suffered greatly at the hands of the Mosquito Daoist before; now, Bai Ze’s escape left not even a trace to sense. Such mastery of escape techniques could rank among the greatest in the world.

This time, he had truly come alone. He could not allow Bai Ze to escape.

With a shimmer, Nan Luo soared into the sky. Above his head, a clear light appeared, within which floated a great mirror, bright and translucent. It revolved midair, as if imbued with spirit, turning to point in a certain direction—whereupon the image of Bai Ze, cradling his wife, appeared upon its surface.

From high above, Nan Luo laughed aloud. “If I let you slip away so easily, how could I call myself the Star Lord who watches the heavens?” He gestured, and a sword-light streaked through the sky.

He called out, “Master Bai Ze, accept my sword! Let’s see if I am worthy to invite you back.”

The white light pierced through the void, arriving in a flash above Bai Ze’s head, as reflected in the Demon Moon Mirror a hundred miles away.

“Haha! The Star Lord of the Celestial Court wields a mirror that can illuminate all the world—did you think I would not know? Alas, today it must change hands, and the Star Lord will fall here!” Bai Ze’s laughter echoed through the empty air, and his distant image shattered beneath the sword, dissolving into a white jade fan that spun once before vanishing into nothingness.