"My son." At this moment, the Demon Lord turned his gaze to Qin An. "Both of the two protectors are loyal to me, so you can use them with peace of mind. As for the ten elders, not all of them are loyal to me, so you must be very careful. As for the four demon generals, you defeated them all last time, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Remember, you must be careful of the Seventh Elder and the Sixth Elder. Their ambitions are the greatest." At this point, the Demon Lord narrowed his eyes slightly. "If they dare to covet the position of Demon Lord, you can eliminate them without worrying about anything else."

"Yes, I understand." Qin An nodded, taking the Demon Lord's words to heart.

"Alright." The Demon Lord was relieved. "Jiaqi, Liyuan, take me to the secret chamber. I need to begin my life-or-death cultivation immediately!"

"Yes, Your subordinates obey!" Jiaqi and Liyuan said in unison. Then, they supported the Demon Lord on either side and led him to the secret chamber.

...

The waiting time was long. During the Demon Lord's seclusion, all the affairs of the Demon Palace, big and small, were handled by Qin An.

Qin An diligently reviewed memorials every day without fail, keeping track of all the information about the Demon Realm.

Jiaqi and Liyuan were responsible for clearing obstacles for Qin An. Whenever there were dissenting voices, Jiaqi and Liyuan would go to deal with them.

Someone leaked the news that the Demon Lord had gone into seclusion, causing an undercurrent of unease throughout the Demon Realm, with various forces coming to test the waters.

Jiaqi and Liyuan's workload suddenly increased significantly. They had to suppress those troublesome underlings every day, which was extremely annoying.

Three months passed, and finally, some movement occurred in the Demon Lord's secret chamber.

Upon noticing the commotion in the secret chamber, Qin An, Jia Qi, Li Yuan, and the ten elders all went to investigate.

As soon as they arrived at the door of the secret chamber, the entire chamber began to shake violently, the ground trembled, and countless stones fell from the chamber.

A chilling roar echoed from the secret chamber, a sound like the howl of a wild beast.

Immediately afterwards, a figure burst out of the secret room.

"Roar!" The figure, with disheveled hair, let out a beast-like roar.

The demon cultivators looked closely and saw that the figure was actually the Demon Lord.

At this moment, the Demon Lord had completely lost his mind. His whole body was covered in blood, and his eyes were completely dull, leaving only the instinct to attack.

The Demon Lord attacked Qin An and his companions as soon as he emerged from the secret chamber, and they quickly responded.

Fortunately, a formation was set up around the secret chamber. As long as the Demon Lord loses control, the formation will be activated and trap him inside.

This formation was specially set up by the Demon Lord, who feared that one day he would be devoured by the power of his cultivation technique and become a monster who only knew how to kill. That's why he specifically set up this trapping formation. Unexpectedly, today, this formation has actually come in handy.

Qin An and his companions used the power of the trapping formation to contend with the Demon Lord.

Just then, the Demon Lord suddenly stopped attacking, clutching his head in pain. He had regained a sliver of his senses and looked at Qin An, crying, "My son, kill me!"

Qin An tightened his grip on the Bloodthirsty Sword.

"Lord!" Jiaqi and Liyuan were filled with disbelief, and they wanted to step forward to help the Demon Lord.

"Don't come near me!" The Demon Lord quickly took a few steps back, then looked at Qin An again, now in unbearable pain: "Quickly, kill me! That's an order!"

"Lord, no!" Jiaqi and Liyuan were about to rush forward, but they were firmly stopped by the ten elders.

Qin An closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, a hint of determination appeared in his eyes.

He knew the Demon Lord was beyond saving; if he wasn't killed, the entire Demon Realm would suffer. Moreover, the Demon Lord himself was in immense pain; he didn't want to become a monster capable only of killing. Therefore, only by killing him could he find release.

Qin An raised the Bloodthirsty Sword and walked steadily towards the Demon Lord.

At this moment, the Demon Lord was engaged in a fierce struggle with his own body. The last vestige of his sanity was on the verge of collapse. When he saw Qin An approaching with his sword, a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.

Qin An understood the longing in his eyes, and thrust his sword into the Demon Lord's heart.

The moment the Demon Lord's heart was pierced, Qin An saw the Demon Lord smile—a smile of relief and satisfaction.

After the Demon Lord fell, he immediately turned into a cloud of ashes. A gust of wind blew, and the cloud of ashes scattered in all directions, leaving nothing behind.

This is the consequence of the backlash from the cultivation technique. Any demon cultivator who suffers from the backlash from the cultivation technique will turn into ashes after death.

Qin An stared blankly at the hand that held the sword. It was this very hand that had just pierced the Demon Lord's heart, causing the Demon Lord to perish and find release.

Qin An didn't know how to describe his feelings; at the moment the demon lord's heart was pierced, his mind went completely blank.

When he saw the Demon Lord fall, he didn't know whether to feel happy or sad.

Does he hate the Demon Lord? Of course he does, because the Demon Lord has never treated him and his mother kindly. He and his mother have endured countless hardships and were sold into slavery. If it weren't for his master brother's rescue, they would probably have fallen into an abyss of no return, just like the scene in the Netherworld Flower.

However, the Demon Lord also taught him many things, personally instructing him and guiding him in his moves and swordsmanship. In the Demon Palace, the Demon Lord never mistreated him. Although they only spent a few months together, during that time, the Demon Lord truly treated him as his successor. Therefore, he felt a sense of gratitude towards the Demon Lord.

With such mixed feelings, Qin An sheathed the Bloodthirsty Sword and said to Jia Qi, Li Yuan, and the ten elders, "Let's go back to the Demon Palace!"

Upon returning to the Demon Palace, Qin An produced the Demon Lord's Token, which the Demon Lord had given him: "With the Demon Lord's Token in hand, I am now the new Demon Lord. Does anyone have any objections?"

The ten elders looked at each other, then knelt down together: "We have no objection, we pay our respects to the Venerable One!"

Qin An, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder were exchanging glances behind the other elders, probably communicating telepathically. At the same time, the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder would occasionally glance at him, their eyes clearly flashing with calculation.

Qin An remembered what the Demon Lord had said, and his heart immediately became vigilant.

He beckoned to Jiaqi and Liyuan, and they immediately stepped forward: "Lord, may I ask what you need us to do?"

By this time, Jiaqi and Liyuan had adjusted their mood. Although they were still saddened by the passing of the old Demon Lord, they had forced themselves to move on and were now wholeheartedly thinking about the new Lord.

"You two keep a close eye on the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder. If they make any unusual moves, tell me immediately. Remember, don't act rashly, lest you alert them. I still want to catch them red-handed."

Jiaqi and Liyuan exchanged a glance and immediately understood Qin An's meaning. "Yes, Your subordinate obeys!"