Simultaneous Transmigration: From Japanese Anime to American Comics

Chapter 150 – Watching It All Unfold Live! The Demon Lord Tries to Reason!

"Indecisive!"

Seeing that Chu Yang hadn't responded for a while, Chonglou immediately summoned a portal and prepared to leave.

"Please wait, Demon Lord. Would you be so kind as to open a passage for us?"

Xu Changqing cupped his hands in salute, his gaze unwavering. "This time, my junior brother won't be coming with us."

Chonglou's expression softened slightly. "At least you have some sense of responsibility."

Li Xiaoyao asked, "You already told us where the Wind Spirit Pearl is, so you might as well tell us about the Water Spirit Pearl too."

Chonglou replied, "The Water Spirit Pearl is clearly with you, yet you're asking me? That's absurd!"

Li Xiaoyao looked at him in confusion. "I don't even know what the Water Spirit Pearl looks like…"

"Then go to Nanzhao. Everything you want to know is there!" Chonglou couldn't be bothered to explain further. With that, he vanished.

Li Xiaoyao scratched his head. "Brother Chu, what did he mean by that? How could the Water Spirit Pearl be on me? Why does he want me to go to Nanzhao?"

Chu Yang patted him on the shoulder. "Since the Demon Lord wants you to go, he must have his reasons."

That brief exchange had already revealed the truth—ten years ago, the Water Spirit Pearl had fallen into the hands of Li Xiaoyao. They would need the power of Nuwa to return to that time and retrieve it.

Once Chonglou left, King Yama finally relaxed. He walked over with Judge Zhong and the ghost messengers, bowing deeply to Chu Yang with the utmost respect.

Chu Yang accepted the gesture calmly, putting on a façade of serene detachment.

At this point, even if he continued denying that he was the reincarnation of the Emperor of Fengdu, it wouldn't change anything. If he admitted the truth, he'd probably never set foot in the ghost realm again.

Besides, King Yama had come specifically for the Fengdu sword. If Chu Yang didn't admit his identity, Yama would likely try to seize the sword by force—then another battle would erupt.

He couldn't defeat the Demon Lord, but bullying a few ordinary cultivators like them? That was another story.

After all, he was the ruler of a realm—he couldn't be that weak.

"The past is nothing but fleeting smoke. I'm just a mortal now, so matters of the ghost realm are still yours to oversee. I won't interfere. Everything should continue as usual."

Chu Yang spoke with a detached tone.

These words allowed King Yama's heart to drop from his throat back to his chest. Just as a smile began to appear on his face, he quickly switched to a solemn expression.

"How can you say such a thing, Your Majesty? You are the true ruler of the ghost realm. I've merely been a placeholder. One day, this authority will be returned to you!"

"From now on, your standing in the ghost realm will remain supreme. Your every word is my command—no one would dare disobey."

The more earnestly King Yama swore loyalty, the less Chu Yang believed he was sincere. At the very least, Yama was still wary of him seizing control.

"Do you have any other instructions for us, Your Majesty?" Yama cautiously studied Chu Yang's expression.

"Send us back to the living realm."

A moment later…

King Yama personally escorted Chu Yang and the others back to the living world, to Fengdu City. He warmly expressed that the leadership was always welcome to return for inspections—then disappeared.

The passage to the Well of Gods and Demons had been set up by Chonglou near the city gate. As soon as they emerged, they saw the magic array.

"You're finally back!"

"Did you get the Fire Spirit Pearl?"

Tang Xuejian and Lin Yue'ru had been waiting all night. Seeing the three of them return, they rushed over excitedly.

"Obviously! Who do you think I am?"

Li Xiaoyao waved the Fire Spirit Pearl in front of them with a smug grin.

"What about the Demon Lord? Did he give you trouble?"

Zixuan suddenly appeared and walked straight up to Xu Changqing, her eyes full of concern.

The area fell silent. Everyone turned to look at the two of them, a sense of dramatic anticipation in the air.

Xu Changqing, as composed as ever, spoke calmly: "The Demon Lord did appear in the ghost realm. We had a brief conflict, but in the end, my junior brother persuaded him to return to the demon world."

"He listened to persuasion?!" Zixuan was shocked. That was the last thing she expected. "That's impossible! If he could be reasoned with, he wouldn't be the Demon Lord!"

Xu Changqing's expression turned complicated. "All he wanted was to restore the Sacred Spirit Pearl. My junior brother agreed to help him do that, so he let us go."

Zixuan grew tense, her voice flustered. "There's nothing between me and him! If he wants to restore the Sacred Spirit Pearl, that's his business. I never looked for him or begged him for anything."

Xu Changqing replied coldly, "Whatever your history with the Demon Lord may be, it's none of my concern. That's your business. But he is a demon. Demons are fickle by nature—be careful."

Zixuan clenched her fists tightly, a strange sense of grievance swelling in her chest. She bit her lip and stared at Xu Changqing.

The atmosphere was painfully awkward. Even Chu Yang couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Xu Changqing, don't you know who she—"

Tang Xuejian couldn't hold it in any longer. She was about to reveal the truth, but before she could, Jing Tian covered her mouth and dragged her to the side.

Infuriated, Tang Xuejian took out her anger on Jing Tian, raining punches down on him.

Long Kui quietly appeared and hugged her. "Sister Xuejian, don't hit Brother anymore."

"All men are the same! Ugh, I'm so mad!" Tang Xuejian shook free from Long Kui and angrily smashed stones into the ground.

The air grew even more awkward. Chu Yang cleared his throat and said with a chuckle, "Before leaving, the Demon Lord said the Wind Spirit Pearl is in the divine realm. To get there, we must go through the Well of Gods and Demons. He opened a path for us—anyone who wants to go, speak up."

Lin Yue'ru immediately raised her hand. "I want to go! Hehe! If my dad finds out I've been to the divine realm, he'll lose all credibility bragging about his days as a wandering hero."

"If he ever tries to boss me around again using his title as Wulin Alliance Leader, I'll just ask him why the great leader never set foot in the divine realm. Just imagining his face makes me want to laugh, hahahah!"

Chu Yang couldn't help but think—what a loving family. Her father's greatest blessing in life is having a daughter like her.

Just as Li Xiaoyao was about to speak, Tang Xuejian suddenly stood up and said coldly, "I'm going too."

Jing Tian scratched his head. "Miss Tang, won't you just get in the way? That place sounds super dangerous. Everyone'll have to waste energy protecting you."

Already fuming, Tang Xuejian exploded at his words. She glared at him, then stormed into the array without a word.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Jing Tian grabbed his demon sword and hurried after her. If she got lost in there, her chances of survival were slim.

Li Xiaoyao was just about to follow when Chu Yang grabbed him.

"What gives, Brother Chu?"

"You're coming to Nanzhao with me to get the Water Spirit Pearl."

"Huh? Just the two of us?"

"What, you planning to bring the whole crew on a sightseeing tour?"

"But this is probably my only chance to see the divine realm…"

"Says who? You could always cultivate hard and ascend one day. I believe in you!"

After a long back-and-forth with Chu Yang, Li Xiaoyao finally gave up. Tearfully, he watched the others step into the array and vanish toward the Well of Gods and Demons.

"You've surpassed me in cultivation, so I won't nag you. Just take care of Brother Li."

Xu Changqing glanced at Zixuan, then stepped toward the array. Chu Yang quickly stuffed a jade bottle into his arms.

"Take these Blood Bodhi. They can save your life in a pinch. Don't be stingy with them."

Xu Changqing nodded and entered the portal.

Chu Yang had expected Zixuan to follow, but to his surprise, she walked over to him instead.

"I'd like to come to Nanzhao with you two, if that's okay."

Only after Xu Changqing left did Zixuan show her sorrow. It was hard to muster the courage to return to her homeland alone.

As she had once said—

This was the price.

The price of forsaking her duty as a descendant of Nuwa for love.

"Xiaoyao, you decide."

Chu Yang sighed.

Seeing Zixuan look so humbled, as if burdened with guilt, Li Xiaoyao gritted his teeth and said, "Zixuan… senior, come with us to Nanzhao. Even if you made a huge mistake, after all these years, it's time to let it go."

Tears streamed down Zixuan's face. "Thank you, both of you."

And so, the three of them flew off on their swords, heading to Nanzhao.

Meanwhile, in the Well of Gods and Demons—

Jing Tian finally caught up with Tang Xuejian. The two wandered the labyrinth, the tension between them fading, but they soon realized they were lost.

With no choice, they pressed onward, only to encounter horrifying demons—creatures with grotesque, mismatched parts as if pieced together from nightmares.

Tang Xuejian was startled, but fought through her nausea and drew her weapon. Jing Tian stepped in front of her with the demon sword, giving her a strong sense of safety.

But they were quickly overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Long Kui, sensing the demon sword's aura, arrived with Xu Changqing and Lin Yue'ru just in time.

Reunited, the group fought together to wipe out the monsters. After a fierce fifteen-minute battle, they finally got a moment to rest.

Realizing the trouble she'd caused, Tang Xuejian bowed to each companion in apology.

"In all the chaos earlier, I forgot to ask something," Xu Changqing suddenly said, catching everyone off guard.

"When we entered the ghost realm… did anyone see my junior brother's physical body?"

"No! We thought Master Chu never went in."

"Yeah, we totally forgot to ask him about that."

"Could he have entered the ghost realm with his body? That's impossible, right?"

From everyone's reactions, Xu Changqing had his answer.

So… junior brother is the reincarnation of the Emperor of Fengdu!

No wonder his cultivation had advanced so quickly. It wasn't just the power of the Devouring Demon Gu.

Shocked, but no longer surprised.

Xu Changqing had grown used to these stories of fate and reincarnation.

Jing Tian's past life was General Fei Peng and Crown Prince Longyang. Xu Changqing himself had a love story spanning two lifetimes with Zixuan.

Chu Yang being the Emperor of Fengdu? It almost felt normal now.

"…When we return, we'll need to report this to Master and the others."

After a short rest, the group pressed on through the Well of Gods and Demons. With an ample supply of Blood Bodhi, even the worst injuries could be quickly healed.

Without the fear of death, each battle greatly boosted Jing Tian's cultivation.

Thanks to Li Xiaoyao having set a high bar earlier, Xu Changqing wasn't too shocked—only impressed by the divine-level progress.

With Long Kui joining them, the five fought their way to the top layer, where they were finally blocked by powerful demon generals—no longer just misshapen monsters.

Even with their rapid progress, Jing Tian and Xu Changqing couldn't break through the heavy defenses.

Just then, Chonglou appeared again.

"You've done well—you're finally starting to show a bit of Fei Peng's bearing." Chonglou didn't hold back his praise for Jing Tian. The faster his opponent improved, the sooner the battle he looked forward to could come.

"I told you, I'm not Fei Peng. Can you please stop comparing me to that guy all the time?" Jing Tian looked utterly exhausted. He'd said this so many times already, but the red-haired freak in front of him just kept doing things his own way.

Chonglou ordered the demon general guarding the passage to step aside, personally opening the path to the Divine Realm for them—a gesture meant as a reward for Jing Tian.

Tang Xuejian and Lin Yueru entered first, followed by Jing Tian and Long Kui.

Just as Xu Changqing was about to step in, Chonglou suddenly spoke. "Among the Six Realms, only humans are capable of emotion. Don't give up the person in front of you so easily for the illusory path of immortality. What you have is something even gods and demons envy."

Xu Changqing gazed at Chonglou. He knew this exalted Demon Lord had feelings for Zixuan, but he hadn't expected someone from the Demon Tribe to actually advise him to cherish his fate.

The usual script would've involved endless schemes to separate him and Zixuan so that the Demon Lord could swoop in.

What a strange demon. He actually felt… human.

"All fated encounters are dictated by the heavens. Whether they begin or end—how could a mere mortal like me hope to control that? I'll remember your heartfelt words, Demon Lord, but as for the outcome, I can only follow the will of Heaven."

Xu Changqing cupped his hands and stepped into the formation without looking back.

Chonglou lowered his head and murmured, "Is fate really that important?"

While Xu Changqing and the others were entering the Divine Realm, Chu Yang and Li Xiaoyao had already returned with Zixuan to the lands of Nanzhao, heading straight to the Nuwa Temple.

The former Saintess who once accompanied Zixuan had long passed away. But in the main hall, beside the Nuwa statue, her spirit tablet could still be seen.

Zixuan lit a stick of incense for the Saintess with heartfelt reverence, then collapsed before the Nuwa statue and broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

She was repenting for the mistakes she'd made over the years.

But Chu Yang couldn't understand—what mistake had she made by pursuing her own happiness? Was it simply because she was a descendant of Nuwa?

"Brother Chu, where's the Water Spirit Pearl? Didn't the Demon Lord tell us to come to Nanzhao to find it?"

Li Xiaoyao whispered in Chu Yang's ear, acting as if they were trying to steal something.

"Can't you ask properly? This is the Nuwa Temple, not the Lunar Sect Cult."

Chu Yang shoved him aside with a look of disgust.

Li Xiaoyao blinked in confusion. "Ask who?"

Chu Yang cupped his hands toward the Nuwa statue and said with a grin, "We ask Her Highness. Please, Lady Nuwa, send him to retrieve the Water Spirit Pearl."

The next instant—

The statue of Nuwa burst into radiant light, warm orange brilliance illuminating the temple.

"Li Xiaoyao, I can send you back to the past, but you must promise me—no matter what you see, you must not intervene."

Before Li Xiaoyao could reply, the light enveloped him, and he vanished before Chu Yang's eyes.

Seeing Lady Nuwa manifest before them, Zixuan wept even more bitterly.

Nuwa let out a soft sigh. "Foolish child... such a foolish child."

After all the worry, Chu Yang finally let out a sigh of relief.

Li Xiaoyao had been sent ten years into the past. That meant the time loop was now complete, and the possibility of the world being drastically altered had been completely eliminated.