Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The torn piece of red silk fell lightly to the ground without making a sound, yet it struck the hearts of all the guests like a heavy hammer blow.

The deafening sound of gongs and drums abruptly stopped. The musician playing the suona puffed out his cheeks, his breath stuck in his throat, unable to come out or swallow, his face turning a deep purplish-red.

The lobby of Zuixianju was deathly silent.

All eyes were fixed on the Mountain Moving Sect disciple who had rolled to the ground.

He was covered in blood, and the gray Daoist robe that originally belonged to the Moving Mountain Sect had been torn into strips. There wasn't a single piece of good flesh on his exposed skin, as if he had been gnawed by some wild beast. The wounds were chapped, and the blood flowing out had an eerie black hue.

"Prime Minister Gu..."

The disciple stretched out a hand, his fingernails torn off, his blood-stained fingers trembling as he tried to grab Gu Xiang's hem, but it fell limply in mid-air.

"The land forsaken by God... has collapsed."

"Those things...have no face...they eat people...they eat spiritual energy...they eat rocks..."

"Elder Tie sacrificed himself to cover our mission of delivering the message... He didn't even leave behind a complete corpse..."

The disciple's voice grew softer and softer until his last breath dissipated, his head lolled to the side, and he fell silent completely.

Only those eyes remained wide open, fixedly staring in the north.

Gu Xiang stood there, dressed in a bright red auspicious robe, the large red flower embroidered with gold thread on his chest looking rather glaring at the moment.

He slowly squatted down, reached out his hand, and gently closed the disciple's eyes.

When Gu Xiang's fingertips touched those cold eyelids, his fingers trembled slightly.

Just last night, the hot-tempered Elder Tie, who was always ready to chop people up with an axe, stood before him like a quail, offering him a thousand-year-old snow lotus and saying, "I would gladly die ten thousand times over."

Today, I am truly dead.

"Gu Xiang".

Li Yu, who had been sitting on the high throne, suddenly stood up. The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by the coldness of an emperor.

"Why has no news come back from the 300,000-strong army in the north?"

Gu Xiang stood up, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, and slowly wiped the bloodstains from her hands.

"Because there wasn't enough time."

His voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

"The Mountain Moving Sect is the first line of defense. If even a cultivator like Elder Tie, who is at the peak of the Transformation Realm, can only self-destruct to buy time, then it means that what is surging out is far beyond common sense."

"Ordinary military reports can't outrun those monsters."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Qing, who was standing next to Gu Xiang, suddenly swayed.

The phoenix crown and jewels on her head trembled violently, and her beautiful face instantly lost all color, turning ashen white.

"Su Qing!"

Gu Xiang reacted quickly and grabbed her waist.

Su Qing gripped Gu Xiang's arm tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh.

"pain……"

She gritted her teeth, cold sweat trickling down her temples and dripping onto her red wedding dress.

"My true form... my true form is in pain."

That was the connection between the intertwined branches.

She is the spirit of the sacred parasol tree, and the sacred tree is her root.

At this moment, she could clearly feel that in the far north, deep within the collapsed land abandoned by the gods, countless greedy mouths were frantically gnawing at her tree roots and sucking away her life force.

The pain felt like someone was sawing her bones inch by inch with a dull knife.

"They're eating me..."

Su Qing gasped for breath, raised her head, and her once alluring fox-like eyes were now filled with pain and a barely perceptible fear.

"Gu Xiang, it's those things."

"Those things that forced the entire Mountain Moving Sect to migrate ten thousand years ago... they've returned."

Inside the lobby, there was an uproar.

Those princes and ministers who had come to offer their congratulations looked at each other in bewilderment, and some of the more timid ones even began to quietly retreat.

The land forsaken by the gods is a taboo of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Legend has it that gods and demons are buried there, making it a forbidden zone for living beings.

Now that the forbidden zone has collapsed and monsters have been unleashed, the heavens of the Great Zhou Dynasty are likely to crumble.

"Prime Minister Gu!"

The Minister of War walked out shakily and knelt down with a thud.

"With the nation in peril and the northern border in imminent danger, we implore Prime Minister Gu to prioritize the greater good and swiftly dispatch troops north!"

"Yes, Prime Minister Gu! This marriage... it can be held later!"

"In a world ravaged by demons, how can one indulge in romantic love!"

In an instant, everyone in the hall knelt down.

Everyone is pressuring him.

He was forced to choose between the throne and the beauty.

Gu Xiang remained silent.

He simply held Su Qing tightly, his boundless righteous energy flowing into her body through his palms, suppressing the excruciating pain for her.

Su Qing caught her breath and nudged Gu Xiang's chest.

"fool."

She forced a smile and reached out to straighten Gu Xiang's slightly disheveled collar.

"Go."

"I am a demon, and you are the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"If you're willing to turn these three northern states into hell and the people of this world into monster food just to marry me, how can you remain prime minister?"

"Although I, Su Qing, am not a good person, I cannot bear this eternal infamy."

As she spoke, she tried to break free from Gu Xiang's embrace and lift the red veil herself.

"We're not going to have the wedding ceremony."

"You take your men to the north, and I'll go too."

"As long as I am still here, I can use the power of the divine tree to seal that entrance for a short while longer."

Su Qing's voice was soft, yet it carried a resolute tone.

She was afraid of dying.

Having been given a second chance at life, she cherishes it more than anyone else.

Having finally found Gu Xiang, and with all that wealth and affection, she couldn't bear to part with him.

But she knew even better that if Gu Xiang didn't go to the Northern Border today because of her, then all the righteous energy he had cultivated in his life would be wasted.

A scholar with a guilty conscience cannot become a saint, nor can he protect her.

"Don't be silly."

Su Qing pushed Gu Xiang's hand away and staggered back a step.

"Go quickly."

"Any later and it will really be too late."

Inside the lobby, everyone was looking at Gu Xiang.

Li Yu's knuckles turned white as he gripped the wine cup. He was waiting, waiting for the choice of the prime minister.

The Imperial Advisor stood in the corner, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes beneath the mask.

Is this fate?

Three hundred years ago, a monk ripped out his heart for the greater good.

Three hundred years later, will Gu Xiang also abandon his bride for the sake of righteousness?

Gu Xiang stood there, looking at Su Qing's pale face and the fiery red wedding dress she wore.

That was material that the Imperial Advisor had been gathering for three hundred years.

He stayed up all night and sewed it stitch by stitch.

He had said he would make sure she entered the family in a grand and impressive way.

He once said that even if the King of Heaven himself came, he would have to hold back.

Gu Xiang suddenly laughed.

His laughter was soft, yet it carried a chillingly mad energy.

He bent down and picked up the torn piece of red silk from the ground.

He tightened his fingers and tied a knot.

It looks a bit ugly, but at least it's connected.

"Who said we're not going to worship anymore?"

Gu Xiang tucked one end of the red silk back into Su Qing's hand.

His movements were very gentle, as if he were afraid of disturbing some fragile treasure.

"Gu Xiang! You've gone mad!"

Su Qing stared at him in disbelief, her eyes wide.

"That's a land forsaken by the gods! It's filled with countless monsters! If you don't leave now, and they break through the defenses, the capital will be finished!"

"I know."

Gu Xiang grasped Su Qing's icy hand; the temperature of his palm was frighteningly hot.

"But I promised you."

"On this grand wedding day, losing even one head wouldn't be the end of it."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the guests in the hall, over the officials kneeling on the ground, and finally landing on Li Yu's face.

"His Majesty."

Gu Xiang's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed throughout the hall, causing dust to fall from the roof beams.

"Your Majesty, I wish to perform the wedding ceremony."

"The sky over the North will not fall down."

"Even if it collapses, I can hold up the sky with one hand and hold her hand with the other."

After he finished speaking, a dazzling golden light suddenly burst forth from his body.

That's not spiritual power.

That was pure and righteous spirit to the extreme.

Gu Xiang took a step forward, and the bluestone bricks beneath his feet shattered instantly.

"Please, play the music."