Chapter 56
When pulled away by Bai Zeyue, the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect truly breathed a huge sigh of relief.
As one of the prominent sect leaders in the Demon Realm, she had seen many grand scenes.
But what just happened was truly a first.
Not far after leaving, the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect sensed a low, oppressive aura like an approaching storm chasing after them from behind. Just that small remnant of power almost made her knees buckle and fall to the ground.
Bai Zeyue’s figure almost simultaneously stiffened for a moment.
Fortunately, that terrifying aura didn’t linger for long, but quickly dissipated.
The Sect Master of Hehuan Sect quickly took a few steps to get in front of Bai Zeyue. She turned her head to look back with lingering fear, but didn’t dare slow her pace at all: “My lord… is everything alright?”
“That has nothing to do with you and me,” Bai Zeyue replied coldly, “The two of them sparring, you and I can’t interfere at all.”
Sect Master of Hehuan Sect: “…” Although it was the truth, it still sounded hurtful.
“What did you say in there?” Bai Zeyue asked again with slightly furrowed brows, “His mood has been relatively calm these past few days, this is the first time he’s gotten angry.”
The Sect Master of Hehuan Sect briefly thought as they rushed along, then said uncertainly: “He probably thought I wanted to seduce my lord.”
“With looks, cultivation, and status all inferior to others, what would you use to seduce?” Bai Zeyue said bluntly.
The Sect Master of Hehuan Sect’s face alternated between pale and flushed: “I didn’t have that intention! Heh, they say women are unreasonable when jealous, but men are truly unreasonable when jealous, childishly laughable!”
Bai Zeyue: “Say that again in front of Li Qing?”
The Sect Master of Hehuan Sect shamefully cowered.
Just facing Dong Xia alone had already made her tremble in fear, let alone the entire Demon Realm’s nemesis and number one bane, Li Qing.
The two traveled in silence until they stopped tacitly after leaving Winter City for over a hundred li, turning to gaze at the small city that was as red as if on fire.
“Could it be…” the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect finally couldn’t resist asking, “Li Qing is truly in my lord’s grasp?”
Bai Zeyue didn’t answer. He lowered his face in thought for a moment, then turned to ask: “What did she summon you to ask about?”
The Sect Master of Hehuan Sect frowned: “Do you remember I once said, if heart blood can’t be obtained, essence blood might suffice for half the effect?”
“…I remember too well.” He had nearly incurred Dong Xia’s wrath for relaying this suggestion.
“Li Qing is plagued by heart demons, my lord probably wants to suppress his heart demons.” After saying this, the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect asked with confusion, “But why bother? Wouldn’t it be better to just let him die and remove this thorn in the Demon Realm’s side?”
Bai Zeyue gave her a bland look.
The Sect Master of Hehuan Sect shuddered and obediently closed her mouth.
“I don’t know what Master intends to do, but you and I only need to follow orders.” Bai Zeyue gazed at Winter City for a while longer before continuing, “If Li Qing can truly be used by the Demon Realm, the day the Demon Realm unifies the Spirit World is just around the corner.”
*
Unlike the Demon Realm, the tense atmosphere in the Immortal Realm that darkened the sky had persisted for a long time.
Usually when someone goes into seclusion it’s for at least a few months, so Li Qing not making an appearance for a while wasn’t anything unusual. But after Li Qing’s heart demon aura erupted and swept through shocking half the Immortal Realm, no one would believe Li Qing was just in seclusion anymore.
—The Immortal Lord Li Qing has fallen to heart demons!
Though this news was brief enough, every word weighed heavily.
Not to mention anything else, just the possibility that the Demon Realm might immediately make a comeback under the leadership of that demonic woman and occupy the Spirit World was enough to make everyone in the Immortal Realm worry deeply.
In this atmosphere, the first to be pushed to the forefront was the once glorious Wentian Gate.
To be honest, Wentian Gate’s ability to hold the top position in the Immortal Realm for so many years relied on just two people.
First was Yue Fu Tu, then Li Qing.
And now, Li Qing was gone, but that demonic woman was still around.
For a time, many voices emerged criticizing Wentian Gate, mostly shifting blame onto them for concealing Li Qing’s heart demon issue.
Yue Fu Tu, who had retired behind the scenes for decades, had no choice but to reemerge to salvage Wentian Gate’s faltering reputation.
He brought Chu Ling with him to gain experience, only because he knew Sun Zhuo Er could no longer be relied upon.
Sun Zhuo Er should have been angry, but at this moment he couldn’t care less about external matters like Wentian Gate – after all, his own life was in danger.
Sun Zhuo Er’s original calculations had been very good.
The demonic woman was indeed formidable, but Li Qing could hold her off. As long as Sun Zhuo Er remained Li Qing’s master for one more day, he didn’t have to worry about his own life and safety.
But a string of sudden changes left Sun Zhuo Er dumbfounded.
After the demonic woman severely injured him, Li Qing came directly to confront him about the Cauldron matter, demanding he confess his crimes to the world.
Then, Li Qing’s heart demons erupted and he left Wentian Gate. Sun Zhuo Er was both afraid and glad, thinking he had escaped calamity, yet terrified at losing a lifeline.
After that came the Immortal Realm’s condemnation of Wentian Gate, and news of Li Qing going to the Demon Realm.
Sun Zhuo Er even saw some clues in Yue Fu Tu’s eyes…
“Li Qing must have told him something before he left!” Sun Zhuo Er raged, “He must already know what I’ve done, maybe even that little girl Chu Ling has heard! How much longer can I hold this position as Wentian Gate Sect Master?”
The person on the other end of the communication seemed to say something, but Sun Zhuo Er received no consolation at all. Instead, two more veins popped out on his forehead.
“If I could still command Li Qing, would I need to be so nervous now? Don’t you understand?! Li Qing fooled all of us, that woman he formed a soul contract with is the demonic woman, she never truly died by Li Qing’s hand! Otherwise how could Li Qing go straight to the Demon Realm to find her as soon as his heart demons erupted? Where in Li Qing’s heart is there still room for me as his master?! I even have to be wary of him helping to kill me!”
After ranting this long tirade, Sun Zhuo Er stopped, panting heavily. After calming down for a moment, he spoke again in a sinister tone: “But thanks to that demonic woman not killing me last time, I’ve also found her weakness. As long as I grasp her soft spot, I’m not worried this woman won’t bow her head and apologize to me.”
Saying this, Sun Zhuo Er tapped the communication jade pendant on the table with his finger.
“…I can’t leave Wentian Gate, so this matter can only be entrusted to you to handle.” He narrowed his eyes, malice flowing in his voice, completely unlike that pedantic and stubborn Wentian Gate Sect Master, “Don’t worry, I’ve prepared everything needed, we just need to find someone to be the ‘carriage’ to transport the goods. Besides this, we also need to cut off an arm as bait.”
The person on the other end immediately interrupted him, seeming to raise strong objections.
Sun Zhuo Er laughed coldly: “It’s too naive to think we can preserve all our forces at this point. As long as the mountain remains green, there’s no fear of having no firewood to burn. We just need to survive this time. Once I fake my death and escape, even if she’s the ruler of the Demon Realm with supreme cultivation, she won’t be able to find us.”
The person communicating with him fell silent for a moment, ultimately choosing to agree.
Sun Zhuo Er smiled smugly.
“…Where to transport the goods?” He tightly gripped the corner of the table, crushing the wood there to powder with a crunch, “Naturally to Winter City, the place that demonic woman herself doesn’t dare to act rashly!”
