Li Lanxiu's hand, which had been stroking his hair, moved to his jaw. He felt the taut muscles and trembling skin and gently soothed him. "Chu Yue, I’m here."
Chu Yue's pitch-black pupils constricted as he stared at him, murmuring, "I... ate..."
Li Lanxiu tilted the man’s chin up a little and spoke softly. "Don’t think about it."
Fragments of memory flickered in Chu Yue’s mind—endless darkness inside the giant jiao's stomach, a maddening hunger, the metallic taste of raw meat. He followed Li Lanxiu’s guidance, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, striving not to recall the full extent of what had happened.
As Li Lanxiu continued to caress his cheek, the tension in Chu Yue’s face began to ease, and his trembling subsided. Li Lanxiu praised him. "You’re doing well."
Chu Yue opened his eyes and realized he had been clutching Li Lanxiu’s hand tightly all along. His grip, tense with nervousness, had left bloodstains on Li Lanxiu’s hand, and faint bruises marred the back of it.
He brushed his thumb over the bruises, taking a closer look at Li Lanxiu, who was clad in vibrant ceremonial robes. His gaze lingered briefly on the veil covering his face. "What happened?"
Li Lanxiu glanced at the blood-soaked bedchamber. The massive body of the black jiao lord lay collapsed within, blood spattered across the floor and ceiling. Headless yao corpses littered the doorway. His expression turned complicated.
Chu Yue followed his gaze, his expression stiffening. He asked in astonishment, "I did all this?"
Li Lanxiu felt his muscles tighten again. He turned Chu Yue’s face back toward him, making him look into his eyes. "You won."
Chu Yue stared at the wedding robe Li Lanxiu was wearing, nodding slowly. "I won."
"No other feelings?" Li Lanxiu asked.
Chu Yue’s expression turned slightly odd. "I feel very full."
That was to be expected. Li Lanxiu looked around at the mess of the bedchamber, then at Chu Yue, who was covered head to toe in blood. He raised a hand and said, "They should be here soon. Let’s get you cleaned up first."
Chu Yue followed him into the hot spring chamber within the bedroom. The warm spring water let off gentle steam. The stench of blood from Chu Yue’s robes was overwhelming, mixed with nauseating, sticky, slippery substances.
He quickly shed his outer and inner robes. Just as he was about to remove his underwear, his hands paused, and he looked up at Li Lanxiu.
Li Lanxiu glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "Strip completely."
Chu Yue removed his underwear, revealing a tall, youthful figure with smooth, toned muscles. His skin was splattered with red all over. As he stepped into the water, the milky-white hot spring turned pink in an instant.
Li Lanxiu’s gaze flickered slightly. His brow arched as he let out a soft laugh.
Chu Yue looked up at him and wiped the bloodstains off his face with water. "What are you laughing at, Young Master?"
Li Lanxiu rolled up his sleeves and used a jade bowl to pour water over Chu Yue’s head. The water ran down his black hair and into the spring, turning it completely red. "I’m laughing because your talent isn’t limited to cultivation—you seem quite exceptional in other areas as well."
Chu Yue moved closer to him, resting his arms on the edge of the bath. He raised his head, his dark eyes gazing at Li Lanxiu in silence.
Li Lanxiu was quite pleased with his doglike demeanor. He poured more water over Chu Yue’s head as he casually asked, "Do I look good?"
Chu Yue nodded lightly. After a pause, he said, "You look very good."
Li Lanxiu snorted softly. The water in the hot spring rippled with a murmur, and the incense from the bronze burner on the small table wafted quietly through the air.
After a long while, Chu Yue’s bloodstained head was finally clean. Li Lanxiu set the jade bowl aside and was about to stand when a hand suddenly gripped his wrist.
Chu Yue’s hoarse voice asked, "Don’t you think… I’m terrifying?"
Li Lanxiu lowered his eyes and looked at him. Chu Yue had awakened from endless darkness, surrounded by the hollowed-out corpses of massive yao and a field littered with severed limbs. All of it was his doing, yet he remembered very little.
It felt as if some terrifying force had possessed him. Indeed, it was terrifying.
Chu Yue's gaze flickered as he looked at him. Li Lanxiu touched his damp hair, leaned closer to his face and coaxed him gently. "You did well. You completed the task I assigned to you."
The veil brushed lightly against Chu Yue's cheek. The breath from his lips from such a close distance was warm and moist. His soft, red lips hovered just inches away. Chu Yue's Adam’s apple bobbed as he averted his gaze. "Then, are you happy?"
Li Lanxiu chuckled softly and gave a faint "Yes." He patted his head and said, "Clean yourself up quickly. Before the sect disciples arrive, we should scour this place thoroughly."
Once the sect arrived, anything they found would have to be handed over. Whatever they found now could go straight into their own pockets.
In short, they would line their own purses.
As they passed the black jiao lord’s corpse, Chu Yue stopped. He crouched down, turned his head away, and reached into the gaping wound on its abdomen. After searching for a while, he finally pulled out a warm, perfectly round orb from the pile of mangled flesh.
He extended his hand and retrieved it. In his palm lay a glossy, blood-red orb that radiated brilliance. As it turned slightly, the blood inside flowed like a tide.
A five-hundred-year-old yao's core. It was truly extraordinary.
Chu Yue held it out in front of Li Lanxiu, wanting to make him happier.
Li Lanxiu took it from him with his lips slightly curved. Using a handkerchief, he wiped the blood off the yao core. Conundrum Sect had designated retrieving this core as a top-priority mission, as cores from great yao were exceedingly rare.
The yao core of a hundred-year-old great yao was not only an excellent medicinal ingredient for refining top-tier pills but also a key material for crafting superior magical artifacts. If consumed... it could purify inner demons.
Cultivators tormented by inner demons found it nearly impossible to free themselves through sheer willpower. The yao core of a great yao contained potent energy. Without an inner demon, consuming it would lead to a qi deviation. However, for those with inner demons, it could act as poison against poison, using the yao qi to eradicate the demon within.
The deeper the great yao’s cultivation, the stronger the yao energy within its core, and the greater its ability to overcome inner demons. This five-hundred-year-old great yao’s core could destroy at least three hundred years' worth of inner demons.
Li Lanxiu rubbed the yao core in his hand and narrowed his eyes with delight. The core itself wasn’t the only thing that pleased him. He knew someone who desperately needed it to conquer their inner demons.
Someone very useful.
Or rather, a very useful ghost.
If he brought this yao core to the Four Seas Commerce Guild auction house, Li Lanxiu would soon encounter the ghost king, the villainous boss.
He looked at Chu Yue, smiled and nodded. "Good boy." Chu Yue saw his cheerful expression and couldn’t help but curve his lips into a small smile.
The black jiao lord had reigned supreme in the Azurerain realm. The yao under his command followed his orders without question, and no one dared to covet his treasures. Thus the secret chamber where he hid his treasures wasn’t difficult to locate.
Li Lanxiu lifted an elegant landscape painting from the wall of the bedchamber. A brick in the wall was slightly darker than the others. He pressed it downward, and the bricks beneath their feet shook suddenly, revealing a glowing underground staircase.
Chu Yue nodded cautiously at him and stepped to the front, descending the staircase first.
After a moment, Chu Yue’s voice echoed from the tunnel. "You can come down. There’s a parrot in here."
Li Lanxiu entered the tunnel. Halfway down, he heard a childlike, endearing voice say, "What parrot? I am the divine phoenix entrusted by the black jiao lord to guard his treasury. If you wish to enter the treasure vault— Hmph! You’ll have to dig out your heart and offer it in a blood sacrifice to this phoenix. Only then will I consider opening the vault door for you."
At the end of the passage stood a thick stone door. Branches hung over the door frame, and perched on one of them was a brightly colored parrot, speaking to Chu Yue.
Chu Yue responded with a simple "Oh." He said, "So, you can open the treasure vault door."
The parrot’s beady black eyes glared at him with disdain. "Do you think you can intimidate me? You underestimate this phoenix! Even if you pluck all my feathers, I won’t yield."
When Li Lanxiu approached, the parrot turned to him. Its nose twitched, and it flapped its wings before landing on his shoulder. "You smell so nice..."
Li Lanxiu had heard this line far too many times recently. He cast a sideways glance at the parrot. "Get off."
The parrot hopped to his other shoulder and said, "If it’s you, just give me a handful of millet, and I’ll let you in."
Li Lanxiu had long since stopped eating grain. How would he have millet? He glanced at Chu Yue.
Chu Yue hadn’t eaten anything since reaching Foundation Establishment. He took out the last piece of dry rations from his storage ring and handed it to the parrot. “Are you hungry? This is all we have.”
The parrot pecked at it ravenously and asked, “Did you kill the black jiao lord?”
Li Lanxiu nodded. “Yes, he’s dead. You can leave now.”
The parrot, clearly starving, quickly devoured half of the dry rations. With a sense of principle, it said, “Threats are useless against me, but I can’t resist your bribes. I’ll open the door for you.”
It flew to the top of the stone door and stomped its claws a few times. With a “click,” the stone door moved back and opened. In an instant, dazzling light filled the room, as the walls embedded with numerous spirit stones emitted a soft, vibrant glow.
Countless cultivators had perished at the hands of the black jiao lord. Their qiankun pouches and storage rings had naturally fallen into his possession. While spirit stones and cultivators’ treasures were invaluable to humans, to yao, they were little more than luminous rocks.
The room was sparsely furnished. At the center stood an unadorned stone platform, flanked by several massive wooden chests. A row of true-intent jade slips rested on the stone platform.
Li Lanxiu walked over and examined them. The jade slips were ancient. Some contained techniques infused by the black jiao lord himself, while others had clearly been looted from unknown sources, containing records of cultivation methods and various techniques.
These jade slips, which sect disciples would dream of obtaining, were casually displayed on the stone platform. If the elders of Conundrum Sect saw this, they would surely cry out against such waste.
Chu Yue and Li Lanxiu exchanged a glance. Li Lanxiu tilted his chin, signaling Chu Yue to collect all the jade slips and leave nothing for anyone who might come later.
The chests contained an eclectic assortment of treasures. The two began searching separately for items they needed most.
Li Lanxiu found several bottles of supreme-grade cleansing and marrow-refining pills, a ghostly rattle drum and a palm-sized wooden doll. The last two items, stored separately in a chest, were undoubtedly of extraordinary value.
He didn’t have time to study their usage, so he put them away, planning to examine them back at the sect.
Then Li Lanxiu and Chu Yue started prying spirit stones off the walls.
The black jiao lord had decent taste. The mid-grade and high-grade spirit stones emitted a soft, delicate glow, illuminating the room with a warm brilliance. It was truly a beautiful sight.
At that moment, outside the black jiao lord’s demonic palace.
Chuxuan joined Jiang Jiusi and the disciples of Conundrum Sect. They had set up half of the demon-exterminating array when internal disputes broke out among the disciples.
A few days ago, the black jiao lord had revealed his true form, terrifying all the disciples present. The mere thought of that sky-piercing giant jiao made their legs tremble uncontrollably. If they encountered him again, they doubted they would have the same luck to escape with their lives.
Li Lanxiu was the son of a peak lord and held a prestigious status within the sect. Did that mean the lives of ordinary disciples like them were worthless?
That black jiao lord had devoured an unlucky outer disciple alive right before their eyes. Who could guarantee that they wouldn’t be the next ones to end up in the demon’s mouth?
“That’s a five-hundred-year-old yao demon. If it were an ordinary one, I’d gladly stop him from bullying Li-shidi, but…”
“I think the xianzhang just wants to kiss up to Peak Lord Li. Otherwise, why make us go through all this trouble to set up another demon-exterminating array?”
“Hah, I bet when we face the black jiao lord, those shouting about rescuing Li-shidi will be the first to run.”
“Our demon-exterminating array is like a toy to that lord. One sweep of his tail, and it shatters. Why humiliate ourselves like this?”
Disciples from the other peaks voiced various complaints, but the disciples of Violetstage Peak argued fiercely in Li Lanxiu’s defense.
“What nonsense are you spouting? If Xiao-Shidi hadn’t risked himself to save us, would he have agreed to marry a yao demon?”
“That’s right. Do you even have half the courage our Li-shidi does? He’d rather die than submit and even dared to slap that yao lord across the face. Can you match his bravery?”
Chuxuan and Jiang Jiusi reported the situation inside to the xianzhang. The xianzhang's brows furrowed and relaxed intermittently. "Aside from the black jiao lord, there are so many other yao?"
"What are we supposed to do about this..."
The disciples watching from within the sect could see everything through the mirrored surfaces. Some cursed those retreating in fear, calling them spineless, while others remained silent, empathizing with the difficulties faced by the disciples on the frontlines.
The Dao-Questioning Plaza erupted into chaos. However, on the floating island at the center, amidst the faint aroma of tea, a calm yet tense exchange was underway.
Li Yanbi’s expression darkened as he spoke sharply. "Elder Shen, you promised to rescue Lanxiu as soon as possible. My son must not fall into the hands of a yao!" He slammed his hand against the table. "How could a disciple of our sect be married off to a yao?"
Master Xue furrowed his brows, his voice carrying a sense of righteous indignation. "For the sake of Li Lanxiu, no matter how many lives it costs, a rescue will be worth it!"
The Outer Sect Elder spoke in a faint tone. "I agree. Lanxiu grew up under my watch. He’s practically my own nephew. No matter what it takes, we must save him."
"You!" Li Yanbi roared, seething with anger.
Bai Zhenchuan, however, failed to discern anything inappropriate in their words. They even seemed to agree with Master Xue and the Outer Sect Elder’s stance.
Just as the tension escalated toward conflict, Elder Shen spoke up. "Li Lanxiu is indeed a disciple of our sect, and it is only right to rescue him, especially as he fell into the yao’s hands while saving others. However, this operation comes with significant risks. I hope Peak Master Li can understand the difficulties we face."
Li Yanbi showed no regard for the plea. "Spare me the nonsense. Act immediately."
Meanwhile, outside the demon palace, Jiang Jiusi and Chuxuan had finally persuaded the xianzhang to organize the disciples and set up the demon-subduing formation once more.
As soon as the formation lit up, everyone—both inside and outside the mirrored surfaces—let out a unified sound of surprise. "Huh?"
The demon-subduing formation earned its name because it could detect any traces of demonic energy within a hundred-mile radius, ensuring no yao could lurk inside or outside the array.
As the light from the formation spread, the air became charged with intense spiritual energy. Everyone fixed their gaze on the core of the formation, awaiting the results of the detection.
Suddenly, the formation's central disk emitted a clear, crisp ringing sound that echoed in all directions. The sound meant that no trace of demonic energy existed in the surrounding area.
The disk displayed a clean, bright screen of light without a single shadow of demonic energy or red dot. It indicated that there were no living yao within a hundred miles.
Jiang Jiusi raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the black jiao lord’s palace. "I saw him just now, along with that group of yao."
Chuxuan nodded slightly and also turned toward the palace, narrowing his eyes in puzzlement.
The Xianzhang inspected the formation and spoke with confusion. "The formation isn’t malfunctioning. It’s true—there aren’t any yao within a hundred miles."
"What’s going on? The formation didn’t malfunction. Could they have all fled?"
The disciples began whispering among themselves, their murmurs blending into a cacophony of speculation.
After much effort to reignite morale, it was on the verge of collapsing yet again. The xianzhang exchanged a glance with Chuxuan and Jiang Jiusi before he declared, "All disciples, follow me into the demon palace to investigate!"
His words provoked a chorus of complaints, but the xianzhang had already started walking toward the demon palace. The dissatisfied disciples had no choice but to trail after him.
Jiang Jiusi led the disciples from Thousandchance Peak into the demon palace. Along the way, those behind him marveled at the grandeur and elegance of the black jiao lord’s lair, whispering in hushed voices.
"The black jiao lord is truly incredible. Do you think he used some kind of illusion to deceive the formation and is waiting to ambush us inside?"
"A yao as powerful as him doesn’t need illusions. He could swat us to death with a single flick of his tail. We’re basically delivering ourselves to him on a silver platter..."
Jiang Jiusi furrowed his brows and snapped, "Quiet."
The disciples fell silent, not daring to speak further. They followed him into the lord’s sleeping quarters, where they found the doors wide open. Several yao lay sprawled across the threshold, their bodies grotesquely mutilated, their stomachs torn open. The gruesome sight sent a chill through everyone’s hearts, making them even more cautious as they ventured further in.
Upon entering, they were met with an even more shocking scene: at the center of the sleeping quarters stood a mound of black flesh—a massive heap that was unmistakably the corpse of the black jiao lord.
Beside the corpse, Chu Yue sat casually on a chair, holding an embroidered handkerchief, leisurely wiping the sheath of his blade.
Across from him sat a red-clad beauty, his arm lazily propping up his chin. His face was covered by a ghostly mask that everyone recognized.
Whether the beauty had spoken something or not was unclear, but Chu Yue’s gaze remained fixed on him. Leaning slightly closer, the corners of his lips curled into a faint, clean smile. His dimples were sharp and bright, carrying a trace of ingratiation.
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