As a jiao with a voracious appetite, Xiao Yanjing had eaten many things. But the taste of the Butian Stone was truly unbearable. The moment it swallowed it, Xiao Yanjing felt as though its soul had flown out of its body, yet it was stuck in its throat—neither able to swallow it down nor spit it out.
Fortunately, the Great Demon Lord picked it up and shook it, like shaking a strand of noodles. Xiao Yanjing saw stars, and finally, with a “wah,” spat it out.
Xiao Yanjing began to wail loudly.
The Great Demon Lord said in disgust, “Shut up.”
Xiao Yanjing continued to howl and cry.
As the Demon Sovereign, his natal spirit beast did nothing but open its blood-basin mouth every day, aba aba, begging for food—and after eating something disgusting, it would bawl its eyes out. Not only was it humiliating for a demon, the crying also made the demon’s head throb incessantly.
Xiao Yanjing still wanted to cry. The Great Demon Lord reached out, pinched Xiao Yanjing’s mouth shut, and tied it into a dead knot.
The world finally became quiet.
Afterward, Xiao Yanjing felt that its spirit had suffered a tremendous trauma, so it went to the sword cultivator to seek comfort.
Since the Butian Stone had made Xiao Yanjing cry from how awful it tasted, out of a sense of compensation, she rummaged through her storage pouch and took out dried spirit beast meat to feed Xiao Yanjing.
While eating in extreme bliss, Xiao Yanjing hissed and complained to her.
In return, there came a cold sound from the demon outside the carriage.
This scene looked exactly like a naughty child who had been beaten by his biological father, running back to his mother for comfort.
—And the child’s father outside was even mocking coldly because of disagreements over parenting philosophy.
Child’s father: “If you dote on it like this, it’ll only know how to cry when something happens. What will it do if it grows up without any prospects?”
What prospects would a jiao need? Could one really expect it to transform into a dragon?
Sui: “Don’t place unrealistic expectations on it.”
The child’s father poked Xiao Yanjing, disdainful: “Only by eating the bitterest of the bitter can one become a jiao above jiao.”
—Even more alike.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
At this moment, they had already left Taixuan City and were on the road to the Demon Realm.
Taixuan Wuji had originally intended to kill and silence them, so he not only cleared the area but also set up a barrier, all so that Chao Jinsui could disappear without anyone knowing, preferably so that when the people of Taixuan City woke up, they would not even realize a great battle had occurred;
With such thorough preparations, who would have thought that the one who disappeared without a trace in the end would be himself.
Their sect-guarding stone divine beast exploded, blasting Taixuan Wuji into pieces. Presumably, when the people of Taixuan City woke up, they would suspect they had hallucinated.
Before reaching the Demon Realm, Chao Jinsui decided to have a talk with Lingyun.
“Lingyun, now that you know who they are, are you still willing to stay by my side?”
When Lingyun first learned that Hongniang and the others were of the demon race, she was indeed extremely shocked. But she had a kind of blind trust in the Young Sect Master and felt nothing was wrong at all. Moreover, after these days of getting along, Lingyun discovered that even as demons, they were better than Chao Xiaotu and those people of the Kunlun Sword Sect.
Lingyun nodded wildly. “Of course I’m willing!”
She smiled. “In that case, I want to entrust you with something. Are you willing to go?”
Lingyun’s eyes lit up. She had received the Young Sect Master’s life-saving grace, yet her cultivation was not high, and she had always wanted to help her do something but had no opportunity. Now that the Young Sect Master had a request, she immediately agreed.
“Do you still remember Five Poisons Valley?”
Chao Jinsui did not really have any extremely close confidants.
But after serving as Young Sect Master for many years, adhering to the principle of casting a wide net, quite a number of people owed her favors.
The Valley Master of Five Poisons Valley was one of them.
She now wanted to know the whereabouts of the other pieces of the Butian Stone, but had no one to help inquire. The Valley Master of Five Poisons Valley, however, was extremely well-informed and very reliable as a person.
Only, the matter of Taixuan Wuji had just occurred—it would be difficult not to connect it to her. Presumably, it would not be long before this matter spread throughout the entire cultivation world. If she went personally, it would inevitably bring some trouble to the Valley Master.
So she wrote a letter and had Lingyun go visit the Valley Master of Five Poisons Valley.
Lingyun gladly accepted.
After the person left, the Great Demon Lord smiled.
“What, is the Demon Realm some dragon’s pool or tiger’s den? You don’t even dare let your own people enter?”
Ever since she agreed to return to the Demon Palace with him, he had first been delighted but immediately afterward, this demon discovered the problem—she was someone with very firm principles, yet this time she not only accepted the help of the demon race, she was even willing to return to the Demon Realm with him.
And so decisively at that. He could not help but suspect she might be plotting something.
But this time, the demon guessed wrong.
To obtain new clues about the Butian Stone, she would probably have to wait for Five Poisons Valley to help. During this time, she truly needed a quiet place where she could cultivate properly—and also think about what she should do next.
She closed her book and asked the demon, “Does the Demon Palace have a place to practice swordsmanship?”
Demon: “Yes.”
She asked, “Will I see you killing people every day?”
Demon: “This Sovereign is not a madman!”
Sui: “Then that’s fine.”
She was extremely adaptable.
Seeing that he still wanted to speak, she crooked a finger at him.
Just as the Great Demon Lord approached with great suspicion, she suddenly reached out and grabbed his demon horn.
Ever since she was young, when reading or memorizing cultivation techniques, she liked to touch something—sometimes a wooden fish, sometimes a tabby cat or a puppy. The more pleasant the touch, the more absorbed she became in reading. But now she had discovered the thing with the best feel—this demon’s horn.
In an instant, wooden fish, kittens, puppies—all became dull and uninteresting.
He immediately became annoyed: were the Demon Sovereign’s horns something that could be touched so casually?
But she leaned a little closer to him. His hair felt truly wonderful, as smooth as black silk ribbons. The motion was exactly like smoothing fur. And the effect was remarkable—once she began smoothing, his gloomy expression shifted from overcast to clear skies, and he snorted coldly.
The Great Demon Lord thought: clingy.
Thus, he no longer felt this posture was so bad, and directly lay down across her lap, lazily refusing to get up.
She enjoyed the rare quiet and sighed softly in her heart.
Actually, what he said was also true—she really had nowhere to go. Only when she finally had a moment of stillness did she realize that the world was vast, yet she had no place to belong.
In the past, she had always acted in accordance with principles, seeking only openness and integrity. But now she no longer thought that way.
Since obtaining the two pieces of the Butian Stone had already been so tortuous, if she wanted everything to be beyond reproach from now on, it would no longer be possible.
After all, as long as the Butian Stone was obtained and the Heavenly Dao returned to normal, everything could be reversed.
She did not care how others would view her or what they would think of her. To draw a clear line with the demon race now would only seem hypocritical.
As long as she always understood what she wanted to do, and what she was doing.
So long as she was doing what she believed was right, that was enough.
Come to think of it, she had indeed never been to the Demon Capital.
What kind of place was the capital of the demon race—the place where the little demon lord had grown up?
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
Shan City was an extremely grand and magnificent capital.
As the masses of demons returned in great numbers, with a single command from the Demon Sovereign, they immediately went off calling friends and companions to drink.
Unlike the delicate elegance of the human race’s small bridges and flowing streams, the Demon Capital appeared extremely rugged. It was practically a city piled together from massive boulders. Countless lanterns hung along the streets, emitting all kinds of eerie lights—red, purple, blue. From afar, in the darkness, it carried the distinct atmosphere of the underworld.
Especially with all kinds of bizarrely shaped demons moving through it, their cries and clamorous noise unceasing—it could rival a parade of a hundred ghosts at night.
The Great Demon Lord said to her, “I’ll take you home.”
In the past, the Great Demon Lord would never have called his Demon Palace “home,” but now, perhaps because of her presence, he suddenly wanted to call that place by that name.
This should count as one of the rare warm words spoken by the Demon Sovereign. Only, paired with the current scene, it sounded as though he were saying: I’ll take you down to hell.
Anyone more timid would have turned and run.
She surveyed this underworld-like place without even blinking, thinking: Aside from being a bit dark, a bit gloomy, it’s actually much better than I imagined.
She walked in calmly with him.
There were not many guards in the Demon Palace. Generally, demon generals took turns standing watch.
Aside from when matters were discussed, the enormous Demon Palace was inhabited only by the Demon Sovereign and Xiao Yanjing—at most, plus Ran Yang, the steward responsible for feeding Xiao Yanjing.
Ran Yang was different from other demons. His only hobby was cooking, so after being taken in by the Demon Sovereign, he enthusiastically became the Demon Palace’s manager and head chef.
But unfortunately, the Demon Sovereign simply did not eat. No matter how exquisite the delicacies of mountains and seas, he had no interest in them.
All of Ran Yang’s culinary skill was wasted on Xiao Yanjing, feeding it year after year until it became a gluttonous snake with severely excessive weight.
In Chief Steward Ran Yang’s eyes, Yan Xueyi was a very strange demon, a very strange master.
Once, there had been a high-ranking demon as powerful as he was, named Nie Hai, who greatly enjoyed beheading others for amusement. It was said that Nie Hai’s home was built upon a mountain piled with skulls.
Of course, later on, Nie Hai’s own head was hung before the Demon Palace for public display.
The more powerful a demon was, the more cruel it became—this seemed to be indulgence and madness engraved into their blood.
But Yan Xueyi was never like that.
Perhaps because he was the reincarnation of the Demon God, he could not perceive pain, nor could he perceive many emotions.
Back then, after killing Nie Hai, he built the new Demon Capital upon Nie Hai’s remains. One demon after another joined his ranks, and those who opposed him were all killed by him one by one.
Ran Yang joined at that time as well.
But Ran Yang gradually discovered that everything the Demon Sovereign did—he did not seem particularly interested in any of it.
When Xiao Yanjing lived with the Demon King in the vast but empty Demon Palace, it often had the same feeling.
