31 Chapter 30: Decisions and Sacrifices

Zhan Luo had teleported them directly to the Sky Clan's Palace. The soldiers were already waiting for them at the entrance.

"High God Zhan Luo, Demon Princess," the soldiers greeted quickly.

"Seriously? Even at war, etiquette comes first," Ruo Yin thought. Zhan Luo did not care about greetings and etiquette and asked where the Sky Emperor was.

"His Highness is waiting in the reunion hall," the soldier said. Zhan Luo and Ruo Yin did not waste a second more and went to the reunion hall. They saw how the sky was slowly gaining a red color.

"Oh no..." Ruo Yin said in a slow scared voice.

"What is it, my love?" Zhan Luo asked.

"The Ten Thousand Spirits Stone, it isn't a myth, You Xie really got it," Ruo Yin said as they both continued walking.

"Explain it when we arrive to the reunion hall," Zhan Luo said.

The reunion hall was full of generals and soldiers, even Si Ming was there. The Sky Emperor was at the center of the battlefield mockup instructing his first son and generals the strategy.

"That won't work with him," Ruo Yin said in the middle of the multitude.

"Who dares to contradict the Sky Emperor's idea," a general, who was ironically Xia Mei's father, asked.

Zhan Luo and Ruo Yin then came out of the multitude that had gathered in the reunion hall. Ruo Yin then saw that the Sky Empress was also there cradling the second prince.

Zhan Luo then patted her back as a sign for her to continue. Ruo Yin cleared her throat and with confidence, she said, "I was the one who said that the Sky Emperor's strategy would not work."

"Aren't you the little Demon Princess from the Demon Clan? Why should we listen to you when your men are the ones attacking us?" General Xia asked. He was just as petty as his daughter.

Zhan Luo then stepped in as all this bickering was going nowhere and the war was still going on outside. "She is my wife. If I think she is to be trusted, then she is to be trusted. Ruo Yin, tell them quickly what you know."

Ruo Yin quickly told the generals and the Sky Emperor what she knew about the myth that surrounded the Ten Thousand Spirits Stone. "When we were outside the sky was turning red. There is only one thing that could turn the entire realm's sky red," Ruo Yin said hoping that the Sky Clan would hear her.

"Was that stone responsible to erase the binding spell put on the Demon Clan?" The Sky Emperor asked.

Ruo Yin shook her head, "I'm not sure about it, but I know that the stone is powerful, so it may be capable of undoing the binding spell."

Zhan Luo then asked, "Isn't there a way to make a sealing spell to seal back the stone?"

The Sky Emperor and General Xie looked at each other with dubious eyes. "There is, but it requires a sacrifice a lot of cultivation or better said, it requires the life of an immortal with a lot of cultivation. I think that the only ones capable of doing the spell are one of us, Zhan Luo," The Sky Emperor said.

Ruo Yin knew what the words were coming next, "Please, Zhan Luo, don't say those words..." she wished. "I will do it then," Zhan Luo said.

General Xia at that moment shouted, "This is ridiculous, the battle strategy if fine. Why are we listening to this Demon Princess? She may be working for the Demon Lord! She doesn't have the binding spell in her neck!"

Zhan Luo at that moment saw that the mark that Ruo Yin had made had vanished a bit. Before anyone could question further, Zhan Luo said, "I was the one responsible to undo her spell. Your daughter had hurt her greatly, General Xia. I undid her spell, so no one could hurt her again."

The Sky Emperor just asked, "Why? Zhan Luo, you know that is a great infringement!"

"She is my wife. I would go to the ends of the earth for her. I think you know what I mean, Sky Emperor," Zhan Luo said. The Sky Empress then came to the emperor's side and touched his hand. It was as if the three of them were having a silent conversation.

"After we subdue the Demon Clan, we will speak about it," The Sky Emperor finally said.

"Please, Princess Ruo Yin, tell us how to subdue them," The Sky Empress added giving her an acknowledging smile.

Ruo Yin saw the battlefield and asked some basic questions before forming her strategy. After explaining her strategy to all the generals and the Sky Emperor, she added, "Zhan Luo is going to need enough time to cast the spell, so while everyone is distracting the army, I will fight the Demon Lord."

Everyone started to disperse to prepare. Ruo Yin had gone to change her clothes and as she came out with her warrior clothes, Zhan Luo grabbed her hand and said, "What are you doing Xiao Yin, do you have a death wish? I agreed to let you come to the war, but not to fight the Demon Lord himself!"

Ruo Yin then said as she finished tying her hair, "I should ask you the same thing. You made your choice; I'm just making mine. Without the binding spell, I can fight with my full capabilities."

Zhan Luo just said hurt, "Do as you wish," and left her alone.

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Si Ming was not a fighter; he would barely survive five minutes in a fight. So, he oversaw tending the wounded. He was caring for a soldier when Zhan Luo suddenly appeared and told him, "When you are finished, come outside."

Si Ming finished quickly tending the wounds of the soldier and saw Zhan Luo pacing nervously outside of the tents.

"I thought you told me that Ruo Yin was coming," Si Ming said.

Zhan Luo then clicked his tongue and replied, "She came, but she is going to fight with us. To be more specific, she is going to fight the Demon Lord with me." Zhan Luo then proceeded to explain everything that they had talked about in the reunion hall omitting the part where he was going to die.

"If both of you are destroyed by the stone, there is no way you are going to reincarnate," Si Ming said.

Zhan Luo nodded.

Si Ming then asked his friend, "Do you trust me?"

Zhan Luo nodded again. He noticed that Si Ming had a serious face. His friend rarely got serious about anything.

Si Ming then proceeded to explain, "There is a way to save the immortal's essence or spirit minutes before they die." He explained that the immortal's spirit could be taken from the body and with a couple of hundred years, the spirit shall regain its form again and the immortal could be reborn. He obviously did not tell his friend that the spell was prohibited and that he stumbled on it just by accident.

Zhan Luo then planned with Si Ming how they were going to rescue Ruo Yin's spirit in case she was on the verge of dying. "Thank you, Si Ming, I owe you one," Zhan Luo finished saying.

"May the gods let you both be together in the next lifetime," Si Ming thought as he saw his friend go back to the reunion hall.