Chapter 429

Chapter 429: Master of the Heart

Lu Ye nodded, realizing that the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign resembled a Celestial Lord, but his essence was truly depleted.

It was basically akin to someone who had been using the Heavenly Demon Blood Escape technique for thousands of years all at once.

Of course, even in such a state, he would still be far more powerful than an ordinary soul.

Being a main soul was definitely within his capabilities.

However, Lu Ye thought better of it; after all, he was a Celestial Lord, and it was only right for him to maintain some dignity!

There was also the matter that the Emperor’s Banner could only accommodate eight main souls. If the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign took one of those slots, with his severely depleted essence, it could potentially create a flaw in the Emperor’s Banner.

“Fellow Daoist, it seems our paths should part here. Take care!” The Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign cupped his hands towards Lu Ye.

His appearance visibly aged at a perceptible speed.

“There’s one more thing.”

Lu Ye spoke up.

A look of curiosity flashed in the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign’s eyes.

“What is it?”

“Your last wish?”

The Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign was taken aback, then chuckled softly.

“Forget it, forget it. Dust returns to dust, and old acquaintances have long vanished. As time fades, so do the ties of karma. If in the future, you meet the Demon Ancestor, give him a couple of punches for me, and I’ll be forever grateful!”

Lu Ye nodded.

“I’ll remember that, fellow Daoist. Farewell!”

No wishes for safety, no goodbyes, just a farewell.

The two exchanged bows, and Lu Ye decided not to linger any longer, turning to leave.

The very instant he turned away, the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign began to disintegrate into ash, his soul dissipating into specks of light.

The entire wooden cabin was vanishing.

Lu Ye didn’t look back; he stepped onto the path and disappeared at its end.

And with that, a legend of the Demon Dao fell, with not even a chance for reincarnation.

However, Lu Ye didn’t feel particularly shaken. After all, he had seen more than one Celestial Lord die before him, even having personally slain multiple. He wasn’t the type to get sentimental.

But this time, it was certain that coming to the No Return Cave was quite the jackpot.

Just what treasures did the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign leave behind?

As he made his way along, he immediately began to inspect.

To his surprise, he was utterly astonished.

He even felt a stroke of luck that he hadn’t let Shangguan Huanling in.

If she had come in, her clumsy luck would have surely let her snag the Storage Ring, allowing her to effortlessly cultivate to the Seventh Heaven with the Origins Devouring Heaven Sutra.

Because within the ring lay treasures, countless treasures.

Don’t even get me started on the royal weapons; there was a ton.

The scariest part was the Imperial Weapons!

And there were Chaos Treasures, pure Chaos Treasures!

All top-notch items, treasures, and secret techniques. It seemed there were hardly any Source Stones or potent herbs left; instead, there were numerous odd items, likely things the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign never figured out what to do with, so he didn’t dare use them.

Looking at the dormant treasures, Lu Ye couldn’t help but feel excited.

Still, he was no stranger to wealth, so he kept his cool.

For a moment, even as he held these items, he wasn’t quite sure how to handle them.

If he’d had these in his past life, he wouldn’t have had to worry—he could’ve just fed them to Shangguan Huanling. But this time…

Lu Ye began to ponder — certainly some would need to go to the Stone Sword and the Emperor’s Banner for upgrades.

As for whether he needed any other treasures, he’d have to evaluate the effects of these treasures in due course.

These were crucial, but there was something even more important.

This heart!

Lu Ye took out the Holy Heart.

The heart was pristine, devoid of any unusual aura, making it impossible to discern which Saint’s heart it was.

In Lu Ye’s mind, he had a guess, but this wasn’t something you could just rely on intuition.

“System, initiate the deduction!”

“Ding, commencing deduction.”

Having the system do the deduction made things so much easier.

“Ding, deduction successful!”

The owner of the heart was revealed.

It was…

Zhu Qing Shen?

Compassionless Sage!

Lu Ye nodded subtly, as he had indeed guessed it was this Saint.

Because this heart was exceedingly serene.

There weren’t many Saints to begin with, even if you counted them all—how many could there possibly be?

To have such a calm heart was a rarity.

For instance, if this had been the heart of the Monster Sage, when the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign touched it, he’d probably be drained dry right then and there.

Similarly, if it had been any other Saint’s heart, it would have undoubtedly had its own characteristics. Only the Compassionless Sage’s heart was as tranquil as still water.

“Has the Compassionless Sage fallen?” Lu Ye asked curiously.

“Ding, unknown. However, this heart seems to have some issues.” The system replied.

“What kind of issues?”

“Little Heavenly Dao, let’s deduce together!”

A beam of light illuminated the heart, and as it shifted, a translucent screen materialized before Lu Ye.

He focused his gaze on this screen.

He understood that the system was doing this as a way to reverse time through the heart as a medium.

In his previous life, the system worked only at its peak due to immense resources, but in this life, the system served as the Heavenly Dao, making everything so much simpler.

The image on the screen was quite blurry.

The heart appeared in the hands of the Heavenly Thief Demon Sovereign over a long span of time.

As he pushed further back, it was certain this heart had been taken from the Demon Ancestor.

The Demon Ancestor had obtained it in a forbidden land deep in the void.

Going further back in time, the heart belonged to a woman.

It was a girl in pink attire, exuding natural beauty as if she had just emerged from water. Though she wasn’t as beautiful as Shen Xitang, she was no less captivating than any of Lu Ye’s former wives.

“This… isn’t the Compassionless Sage, is it?” Lu Ye asked, somewhat unsure.

“Ding, incorrect!”

Lu Ye recalled the Compassionless Sage was male, but given his moniker, gender didn’t really matter.

However, as time moved forward, it became clear that this woman really wasn’t the Compassionless Sage.

Because her strength didn’t measure up.

This heart had been inside this woman’s body, having saved her life countless times.

Until a certain scene emerged.

A young man in blue stood before the dying pink-clad girl.

His hand delved into his chest, pulling out his own heart.

It was a heart radiating infinite brilliance; calling it a heart was an understatement—it seemed more like a manifestation of a Dao Fruit or possibly a special constitution.

He gave love to the woman, and he gave his heart to her.

From then on, they were even.

From that point on, Zhu Qing Shen ceased to exist; only the Compassionless remained, ascending to the realm of sainthood.

After witnessing the reversal, Lu Ye’s eyes sparkled—who would’ve thought, it could be refined!

In fact, at this very moment, he could start the refining process!

“Deduce the refining method!”

“Ding, beginning deduction!”

Lu Ye was eager; he couldn’t wait to see what transforming a Saint’s heart would bring about for the essence of his world or for the crown of his Nascent Soul!