The unexpected change came so suddenly that before Zhaozhao could react, Su Yuan had already taken action.
No one was allowed to hurt Zhaozhao in front of Su Yuan. This was his bottom line.
He had promised Zhaozhao to give her space to grow on her own. But that didn't mean he could bear to see his beloved suffer the slightest harm.
"Su Yuan, don't!"
A burst of spiritual power, laced with killing intent, shot out. Liang Yueshu, whose spiritual body was merely formed by resentment, was instantly beaten to the brink of collapse. A large part of it had already dissipated.
Seeing the situation before her, Zhaozhao had no doubt that if Su Yuan landed another palm strike, Liang Yueshu would completely vanish.
She couldn't allow such a thing to happen. Even though Liang Yueshu had done wrong, this shouldn't be her end.
Ignoring the strange pain coursing through every part of her body, Zhaozhao reached out and tightly grasped the palm that Su Yuan was about to strike again. Her face pale, she shook her head at him. "Don't. Trust me. It'll be okay."
Her always clear and bright eyes looked straight into Su Yuan's heart. The veins on his forehead bulged as he forcefully suppressed his killing intent. When he looked at Liang Yueshu again, his eyes were terrifyingly cold.
Liang Yueshu clutched her chest and painfully got up. Under Su Yuan's tangible gaze, fear welled up in her heart. She stood there stiffly, not daring to move, as if she had been frozen in place.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Zhaozhao let go of Su Yuan's hand and instead took his slightly cool palm. Just as she was about to start negotiating with Liang Yueshu, a mouthful of fresh blood suddenly surged up her throat and she spat it out.
"Zhaozhao!"
Su Yuan caught the weak Zhaozhao in his arms. Seeing this, Liang Yueshu seemed to think of something and suddenly burst into wild laughter, her every move showing madness.
"Hahaha... So that's how it is. Hahaha, God has eyes. Hic!"
"What on earth did you do? Tell me every single word clearly, or you'll vanish into thin air right now."
Su Yuan held Zhaozhao in front of him with one hand while the other hand tightly grabbed Liang Yueshu's neck. Anxiety and desperation were clearly written on his face. Dragon scales began to protrude from the side of his neck and his forehead, and his eyes were blood - red.
The aura of the true dragon burned Liang Yueshu's vulnerable spiritual body. The more painful she was, the happier she seemed to laugh.
"Kill me! Kill me! Even if you kill me, she won't survive. Hahaha... She has received the incense and faith of my Liang family for so many years. Now that the believers are in trouble, all the pain will only rebound on her in double. This is what she deserves!"
As if to prove the truth of Liang Yueshu's words, as soon as she finished speaking, Zhaozhao spasmed in pain on Su Yuan's shoulder.
Believers, backlash...
Having been in a noble position for tens of thousands of years, Su Yuan naturally knew the severity of this.
Mortals offered their faith to the gods, and the gods drew divine power from the wishes of the mortals, protecting and blessing them in return. This had been the way for thousands of years.
This was the law of heaven, a restriction and binding on the gods.
But Zhaozhao was originally a demon and hadn't cultivated a divine personality. She didn't hold a divine position. Where did this law of restriction come from?
Even if she had really received the incense and offerings for some reason, why didn't Zhaozhao's body show any reaction when Liang Yueshu was alive or even at the moment of her death?
Or was there a reaction, but it just hadn't been noticed?
Su Yuan sorted out the clues from the numerous thoughts in his mind. It seemed that there was an invisible hand secretly pushing everything forward, setting up a huge game.
Now that Liang Yueshu was involved in Zhaozhao's life, Su Yuan couldn't hurt or kill her. He had never felt so helpless before.
"I'm not..."
A weak voice came. Zhaozhao lifted her head from Su Yuan's shoulder. Her gaze was calm yet stubborn as she looked at Liang Yueshu. "I'm not the goddess you're talking about. My name is Zhaozhao. I'm just an ordinary person."
I'm just an ordinary little demon, Zhaozhao added silently in her heart. She was just an ordinary and happy little tree on Wutong Mountain, with ordinary masters, fellow disciples, and friends.
She wasn't any goddess, and she didn't want to be one either.
Zhaozhao shifted her gaze away from Liang Yueshu and gently jumped out of Su Yuan's arms. She shook her head under Su Yuan's worried gaze. "I'm okay. Don't worry."
"I'm here to help you. I know you hate him." Zhaozhao pointed at Zhuang Tingzheng, who had been forgotten on the ground. "I know your son, Zhuang Ming. We're good friends. I also want to help him get rid of the formation on his body. If you trust me, stop. If you kill Zhuang Tingzheng, it'll be too late, because no one but him knows the reason why Zhuang Ming was bound to be the eye of the formation."
"Mingming..." Hearing the news about her son, Liang Yueshu's crazy expression gradually calmed down. She murmured her child's name, and her eyes showed reluctance and longing.
"Will you really help me? Can you guarantee that Mingming will be freed from pain?"
"I will."
Zhaozhao firmly made the promise. Hearing this promise, Liang Yueshu showed a look of astonishment on her face for some reason. As if recalling something, she shook her head with a smile.
"You said you're not the goddess, but now when I look at you like this, you're gradually overlapping with the person in my grandfather's words."
Zhaozhao's heart shrank at this inexplicable remark. Her chest felt stuffy.
"I'm not." She repeated again. She didn't like this feeling and didn't want to dig deeper into the reason behind it. Her intuition told her it wasn't something happy. She was escaping.
All of Zhaozhao's subtle changes in tone and expression fell into Su Yuan's eyes. Su Yuan always seemed to be able to easily detect her emotions. He reached out and put his arm around her waist, and whispered to her,
"Our Zhaozhao is just Zhaozhao. You can be whatever you want to be. Don't be afraid."
The tone of coaxing a child instantly made Zhaozhao relax a lot. The annoyance in her heart was gradually dispelled. She unconsciously leaned back, as if her small body was completely nestled in Su Yuan's arms.
Zhaozhao touched the heart - protecting dragon scale that Su Yuan had put back on her neck. She walked up to the dying Zhuang Tingzheng and squatted down. She softly said, "Tell me. What exactly is the formation on Zhuang Ming's body?"
As she spoke softly, the Duanhun Sword slowly appeared in her hand. The sword body glowed with a cold light, reflecting Zhuang Tingzheng's fearful expression and making a series of clanging sounds.
"Do you know why this sword is called the Duanhun Sword?" Zhaozhao explained as Zhuang Tingzheng shook his head. "Because those killed by it won't even leave behind their souls. They'll instantly vanish between heaven and earth."
Every move of hers carried the aura of the Dragon Lord. Looking at such a Zhaozhao, Su Yuan slowly curved his lips.
Zhuang Tingzheng trembled under Zhaozhao's calm tone. This ungrateful, selfish, and heartless villain finally felt afraid. He stammered and begged for mercy. "I don't know... I really don't know. The formation wasn't set by me. Someone came to me. He, he said he could help me change my fate and ensure my prosperity for a while. I really don't know!"
"Who?"
"A young man, wearing a mask, holding a very small sapling in his hand..."