Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Going Home to Reunite

You You considered this carefully and nodded! She quickly withdrew her head and summoned the System Map again. The thin boundary line that had separated the realms was now fading, and the Demon Realm section of the map morphed into a green forest.

She froze. The map could change? Did this mean they’d truly escaped the Demon Realm? Was the Boundary similar to Heaven’s Sacred Mountain’s seal—a one-way barrier?

One allowing entry but not exit, and vice versa?

To test this, she paced near the crater under the five Divine Thoughts’ anxious gazes. No hint of the Demon Realm remained.

The Divine Thoughts finally relaxed.

“Where are we?” Old Divine Thought asked nervously. “Not still in the Demon Realm?”

You You checked the map’s label: Abyss of the Demons.

Why did that name ring a bell?

“I’ll check the terrain from above.” She soared skyward on her sword. Below stretched an endless green forest dotted with massive craters—eerily familiar.

Wait.

Abyss of the Demons!!!

This was the forest where she’d set off “fireworks” when she first arrived! Those craters were… her doing!!!

“……”

Face burning, You You pulled out Yuan Papa’s pendant. The communicator—useless in the Demon Realm—now buzzed to life.

“You You! Where are you?” Yuan Qi’s voice crackled through, Feng Rong’s muffled urgency in the background.

“Abyss of the Demons. I’m safe—returning now.” She cut the connection after brief reassurances.

“Old Man, we’re back,” she told the stunned Divine Thoughts. “Zhen Yan Sect’s nearby. Let’s go!” She flew ahead on her sword.

“Good, good!” Old Divine Thought sighed in relief.

The other Divine Thoughts blinked. “Where? Divine Realm? Immortal Realm?”

“Mortal Realm,” the old man answered.

“Mortal Realm?!” The four sputtered.

“Huh? Didn’t I mention?” Old Divine Thought added. “You You’s a mortal.”

Divine Thoughts 2-4: “…”

A mortal?! One who strolled through demon hordes and breached the Boundary?!

Nonsense!

Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

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Even after reaching Zhen Yan Sect, the Divine Thoughts struggled to accept You You as a mere celestial maiden from the Mortal Realm. Had mortals become this formidable during the Divine Realm’s isolation?

Feng Rong and Yuan Qi remained at Heaven’s Sacred Mountain, so You You found the Sect unusually quiet—only novice qi-training disciples present.

Next day, Feng Rong and Yuan Papa arrived with Wu Yue in tow. The tearful Wu Yue clung to You You until Feng Rong pried her off.

They’d been missing her for three days—time flowed differently across realms. The disciples had planned to break Heaven’s Sacred Mountain’s seal to rescue her, nearly repeating Ning Rui’s past strategy against demon invasions.

“It was risky, but necessary,” Yuan Papa admitted. “We’d even alerted the Immortal Realm’s Emperors as backup.”

“You vanished suddenly,” Feng Rong added, cautious. “Ning Rui said… Zhen Yan Sect repelled them before. We… could again.”

You You’s throat tightened. Her delay could’ve unleashed hell. Though she hated their plan, their desperation shamed any reproach.

“I’m sorry.” She swallowed. Her meddling with the seal had caused this.

Luckily, they’d hesitated. No amount of preparation could’ve withstood the true Demon Realm forces she’d witnessed. Ning Rui’s “victory” last life? Mere luck—the abyss exit had trapped the main army, letting only weak demons and Demonic Energy seep through.

Had Yuan Qi’s group opened the seal, they’d have charged into the Demon Realm. The Bone Dragon’s Divine Formation wouldn’t have stopped them.

Close call.

After calming Wu Yue and sending off Xuan Guang Sect, You You recounted her Demon Realm ordeal.

“So the Boundary kept demons at bay all these years,” Yuan Qi mused. “But your escape wasn’t accidental.”

“Huh?”

“Recall Ming Ye?” he pressed. “A demon in the Immortal Realm. If the Boundary blocks all, how?”

You You’s eyes widened. “The Boundary’s failing? Or… hidden paths exist?”

“Exactly.”