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The Demon Palace.

This place is perpetually dark, the palace is extremely cold and lifeless.

Xuanqing sat on the throne at the head of the table, holding a handkerchief in his hand, slowly wiping his sword.

After Chihua finished reporting on the progress of the matter, he looked up at the sword in Xuanqing's hand.

The sword is entirely black, gleaming with a cold light. If you look closely, you'll see that it's actually red, but the color is too intense.

It looked as if it had been soaked in fresh blood.

But Chihua knew that this sword was actually forged from Xuanqing's bones.

Born with demonic bones and inheriting the bloodline of the ancient divine beast Xuan Tian Python, Xuan Qing's strength is unfathomable.

He is the best candidate for Demon Lord.

As for those treacherous officials and traitors, they are nothing but overestimating ants.

Sword cultivators are naturally able to resonate with their swords, let alone a sword forged from a portion of Xuanqing's demonic bone. This sword is just like Xuanqing's limbs, allowing him to wield it with ease.

This sword has drunk its fill of blood tonight, including that of its owner’s closest relatives, friends, and confidants.

Due to a sudden change in circumstances and the need to move the plan forward, Xuanqing had no choice but to return to the Demon Realm to take charge.

After tonight, the Demon Realm will welcome its most powerful monarch in a thousand years.

“The Crimson Prison has been taken back; you shall now be in charge of it,” Xuan Qing said, wiping his sword.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly not disappoint you." Chihua bowed respectfully.

Chilian Prison is a place in the Demon Realm where the most wicked are imprisoned. It was originally under the control of Xuan Ce, the second son of the former Demon Lord. Later, the Demon Lord fell and a new ruler succeeded to the throne. Xuan Ce led Chilian Prison in a rebellion.

Few people know that Xuanqing was once the former Demon Lord's least favorite youngest son.

Because he was merely the product of a one-night stand between the former Demon Lord and a courtesan, and that woman had long since passed away, who would have thought that when Xuanqing was ten years old, he would suddenly awaken his ancient bloodline.

The demon race reveres martial prowess and is warlike. After Xuanqing awakened his bloodline, his strength increased greatly, which pleased the Demon Lord. That's why he included this youngest son in the list of candidates for crown prince.

Later, after the old Demon Lord failed to transcend his tribulation and perished, Xuan Qing emerged victorious in the struggle for the throne. However, the Demon Realm was in turmoil at that time, and Xuan Ce turned Xuan Qing's confidants against him, using the vicious villains of the Crimson Serpent Prison to plot a rebellion, which severely injured Xuan Qing.

He decided to play along, letting Xuan Ce, presumably due to his serious injuries and disappearance, secretly deal with all the traitors one by one, and return to the Demon Realm tonight to kill Xuan Ce and reclaim the Crimson Prison.

Although Xuanqing possesses the bloodline of an ancient divine beast, this does not bring only benefits.

Because his body could not bear such a powerful bloodline, he would lose control every three months, and his strength would be weakened at this time. It was because of this that Xuan Ce was able to take advantage of his weakness.

However, after years of searching, Xuanqing has found a way to completely fuse bloodlines.

This rebellion also unexpectedly led him to encounter a crucial link in the chain.

Next, we just need to wait for the right opportunity.

_

Jiang Huali went to Zhuxie City with Yu Tian.

They didn't use the usual methods to travel, as Yu Tian said it would take too much time, so they used a teleportation seal instead.

Jiang Huali was somewhat surprised.

The teleportation seal is similar to a teleportation array, which can instantly teleport a person thousands of miles away.

Although cultivators can teleport, it consumes a huge amount of spiritual energy and the distance is limited.

Therefore, some larger cities have teleportation arrays that allow people to travel between several cities, and can be used by paying a certain amount of spirit stones.

Teleportation arrays use spirit stones as their energy source, while teleportation seals are different.

The teleportation seal is more like a contract. When two cultivators sign a contract, they can use their own spiritual power as a medium to teleport to the vicinity of the other's location, without any distance limit.

The teleportation seal requires the spiritual power of two cultivators as a medium, which is equivalent to a spell. When used, it directly draws the spiritual power from the caster's body as energy, which requires a high level of cultivation from the caster.

In addition, this spell can only be used by people who trust each other extremely much.

Therefore, Yu Tian and the city lord of Zhuxie City must have a very good relationship.

The teleportation seal was indeed very convenient. One second Jiang Huali was still outside the inn, and the next second she was already standing in front of a mansion.

Above the main gate is a plaque that reads "City Lord's Mansion".

Yu Tian led Jiang Huali into the mansion. The guards, who seemed to have received orders beforehand, bowed to them and then opened the gate.

Two servants came forward to lead the way for them.

Jiang Huali looked at the two maids with some curiosity. They both had a fluffy tail behind them, like leopards, and fluffy ears on their heads.

"They are leopard demons," Yu Tian explained when he saw Jiang Huali's curiosity.

The city lord's mansion was very large. After about an incense stick's time, they arrived at a small courtyard. As soon as they entered, Jiang Huali saw a man sitting under a Bodhi tree writing.

The maid bowed to the man and quietly withdrew.

"Chu Yun." Yu Tian walked to the man and sat down, placing his sword on the stone table.

"You've arrived." Chu Yun put down his calligraphy brush and smiled at Yu Tian.

"Is this the junior sister you mentioned?" Chu Yun cast a curious glance at Jiang Huali.

Although Chu Yun was an ancient demon, his words and actions did not have the slightest hint of demonic nature; rather, he was more like a gentle and refined scholar.

Yu Tian nodded: "I'll have to trouble you to look after him for a while."

"Don't worry, when I received your message today, I prepared accommodations for my junior sister. I guarantee that no one can hurt her here," Chu Yun said.

Yu Tian frowned, somewhat displeased with the "junior sister" he mentioned, and said coldly, "This is my junior sister."

"You're still the same as ever," Chu Yun chuckled.

"When the news of your passing came a while ago, it really startled me."

Yu Tian remained expressionless: "Isn't my soul lamp with you?"

Chu Yun: "Yes, I was so scared that I dropped a big order that day and rushed back from Longyue Pavilion, only to find that your soul lamp was still burning well."

Yu Tian actually left a soul lamp with Chu Yun.

The fact that the soul lamp of Lingxiao Sect had been tampered with amplified Jiang Huali's long-held suspicion.

Chu Yun poured a cup of tea for each of them. Jiang Huali reached out and took the tea, hesitated for a moment, and almost lost her composure the next second.

This tea tastes the same as the "Immortal's Sin" tea at the inn, only several times more bitter.

Chu Yun noticed Jiang Huali's expression and smiled apologetically: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, is it because you don't like the taste?"

Jiang Huali put down the tea in her hand, and the red line on her wrist traced out of her sleeve.

"It's acceptable," she said politely.

Chu Yun's gaze fell on the red line on Jiang Huali's wrist, and his expression suddenly became somewhat strange. He asked, "Where did Fellow Daoist Jiang obtain this magical artifact?"

Jiang Huali looked at the red thread on her left wrist, not understanding why Chu Yun asked this, and said, "It was a gift from a friend of mine."

"I see." Upon hearing this, Chu Yun smiled meaningfully.

"Have you met City Lord Chu?" Jiang Huali asked.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you may not know this, but this magical artifact is called the Thread of Connection. It was kept in the Obscure Moon Pavilion a few years ago and has never been auctioned off."

The Moonlit Pavilion is the largest auction house in the City of Evils.

"Why hasn't it been able to be auctioned off?" Jiang Huali asked.

Chu Yun thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Perhaps many people think its function is like a chicken rib."

According to Xuanqing, this magical artifact can withstand a powerful attack from a great being. Is that considered useless?

Jiang Huali was puzzled.

With the moon high in the sky, Yu Tian decided not to linger there for too long and left through the teleportation array in Zhuxie City half an hour later.

Jiang Huali also went to the room that Chu Yun had prepared for her to rest.

She stayed at the mansion for the next four days, rarely going out. Chu Yun didn't appear often, seemingly preparing for the upcoming auction.

I heard there's a big treasure at this auction, and I suppose the rumors are true.

Jiang Huali also became a little curious about what this treasure was.

The city lord's mansion was very large and the scenery was elegant. As instructed by Chu Yun, the servants in the mansion would not disturb Jiang Huali except for three meals a day. She had been living a comfortable life these past few days.

On the evening of the fourth day, after checking Yu Tian's message, Jiang Huali washed up and went to bed.

Yu Tian's return to Lingxiao Sect shocked the entire sect, which is now in complete chaos. All the disciples who were abducted on the day Yu Tian was taken down the mountain have been temporarily imprisoned.

After extinguishing the candles, Jiang Huali chatted with the system for a while before falling asleep.

Perhaps because she had been in a relaxed mood these past few days, she had many dreams tonight, all of which were about events from the previous mission worlds.

As night deepened and the room fell silent, a person suddenly appeared.

Xuanqing stood in front of the bed and parted the bed curtains.

Jiang Huali was fast asleep.

Her hair was casually draped over the pillow, and she lay flat on her back, revealing a cool and aloof face.

Xuanqing felt that he had been acting very strangely these past few days.

While handling affairs in the Demon Palace, or while torturing prisoners in the Crimson Prison, he would always think of Jiang Huali in the gaps of his mind.

Xuan Qing had no memory of the night he lost control, but as the current loss of control over his bloodline was about to pass, fragments of that night would occasionally surface in his mind.

Thinking of Jiang Huali's tearful face and her soft complaints at the inn, my heart pounded, bringing a strange feeling.

Throughout the journey, she didn't seem to dislike him at all; on the contrary, she was very tolerant of him.

He was clearly using the pretense of saving her life to approach her with ulterior motives, only to use her to break the seal in the secret realm and free himself from the pain of his bloodline going out of control.

She always seemed to be getting hurt when she was by his side.

And every time she gets injured, no matter how minor or serious, she takes care of it herself.

Use those medications that have negligible effect.

He was right there beside her, able to use his spiritual power to heal her.

She didn't even glance at him.

Was it because he rejected her at the beginning?

Some of these injuries were caused by him.

Even though he was clearly hiding something from her and had even hurt her, she didn't seem to blame him at all.

They just verbally scolded him a few times and then let the matter drop.

Why?

Xuanqing didn't understand.

At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten his initial purpose in approaching Jiang Huali, and began to care about the special feelings she showed towards him.

Jiang Huali seemed to be dreaming of something happy. Her originally calm and aloof sleeping face suddenly turned into a smile. She turned slightly to the side and mumbled something.

"He Yuqing... what are we eating today?"

...

Xuanqing's pupils contracted slightly.

Jiang Huali's voice was faint, and he didn't hear it completely, but he still keenly caught the name.

He Yuqing?

Who is that?

Is he the man she loves?

Xuan Qing frowned, subconsciously assuming the person was male, and felt displeased that the person's name contained a character that was the same as his own.

He recalled the night he first met Jiang Huali in the cave. She developed a high fever in the middle of the night and seemed to be murmuring this name.

Was that her lover? If so, then he was truly useless. Her cultivation was destroyed, and she was hunted down. To this day, her lover has not shown up.

A strange emotion was taking root in his heart. Xuan Qing stood in the darkness and stared at the sleeping Jiang Huali for a long time until she showed some signs of waking up.

He reached out and gently stroked her face, and Jiang Huali quickly fell asleep again.

Then he lowered the bed curtains and disappeared.

After leaving Jiang Huali's room, Xuan Qing went to a brightly lit courtyard and pushed open the door to the inner room.

Chu Yun was sitting in a recliner reading a newly bought storybook when he noticed someone coming and slightly raised his eyes to look over.

A deathly face, as always, came into view.

Chu Yun put down his storybook and smiled slightly: "Oh, a rare guest indeed."