14 Chapter Fourteen
◎But why would Chongli like that cold and aloof Luyue?◎
The molting period is the most vulnerable time for the snake race, testing not only their cultivation but also their resilience to past suffering. Therefore, this is Aman's only chance.
At the entrance to the secret cave, Aman's honey-colored chest was soaked with sweat, revealing his muscular physique. He forcefully tore open a gash, and just as a stream of black demonic energy was about to enter, it poured directly into his chest. Before the smile on his lips could even rise, he collapsed to the ground.
Xue Ji also began to feel physically exhausted; he hadn't expected that there was a backlash technique within this formation.
In the Pure Fox Territory, Wen Ruo, who was leisurely drinking tea, smiled faintly, coughed a few times, and wrapped her rabbit-collar cloak tightly around her with her fair fingers.
It seems the formation has worked. Unlike the Venerable One, he doesn't completely trust others, so he added something to the formation. If the formation is broken, the one who breaks it will die.
This was the first time Wen Ruo had made an exception; he would only protect the Demon Lords of past generations, but he wouldn't spare their lives. An incompetent Demon Lord was unworthy of that position, but he didn't mind personally dealing with that vermin.
Xueji calmly looked at Aman, who was struggling on the ground. His handsome face was covered in blood, yet he was still trying to enter the formation.
"Why is it that Lu Yue became the Demon Lord? Does she even know how noble a prince she killed?"
Chongli is the child of the snake clan chief. Normally, the snake clan would not raise their own children, but there are exceptions. After Chongli's father became the snake clan chief, in order to remain in that position forever, he chose to raise his own child.
The birth of Chongli gave him hope, but as soon as he hatched, he devoured his own littermate. This showed the clan chief that the child was just as cruel as he was.
However, this brutality also fell upon him. Chongli loved killing and enjoyed the thrill of a heart-pounding fight. Naturally, he also killed the father of a powerful figure of equal rank, and he disdained the position of clan leader. He fought the then Demon Lord Qunqing for three days and three nights, ultimately causing Qunqing's death.
However, Chongli didn't gain anything either; he was cursed by Qunqing. Because the curse seemed insignificant, no one paid any attention to it.
From a young age, Aman regarded Chongli as her faith and worked hard to cultivate so that she could enter the Demon Realm and become the Venerable's right-hand woman. However, all of this was destroyed by Luyue. When she learned that the new Demon Lord had taken the throne, Aman refused to believe it.
He had once visited the Demon Realm to pay homage to Chongli from afar, and he was filled with envy upon seeing the horns that belonged to a dragon. It should be known that only Chongli in the world had cultivated a dragon's body, and even the human race had prophesied that he would become the first Demon God.
What right does Lu Yue have to rise to power? She's just a little snake spirit who cultivated in some wild place. It's already an immense blessing that she can enter the Demon Realm, yet she still dares to covet the position of Demon Lord.
With less than a thousand years of cultivation, how could she possibly contend with Chongli, a ten-thousand-year-old dragon? She must have bewitched the Venerable One with her alluring beauty. But why would Chongli be attracted to the cold and aloof Luyue? He clearly never cared about matters of love. Even if someone were to be appreciated, it should be a gentle and caring woman who could look after the Venerable One.
Especially after Chongli's death, Lu Yue, who should have remained chaste, spent her days indulging in pleasures with beauties in the Demon Realm. He had inquired and learned that Lu Yue was already a libertine before entering the Demon Realm. Meanwhile, the Venerable One remained ignorant and naive, obsessed with martial prowess and constantly engaged in battles outside.
Your Majesty has truly suffered a great loss and is pitiful; you must not know the true nature of Lu Yue. Aman has investigated and found that Lu Yue has four beautiful fox spirits, including a woman, which is utterly despicable.
Chongli is so noble, worthy of the reverence of all living beings in the Demon Realm. Having received Chongli's affection, how could she possibly look at anything else? Why should Luyue indulge in pleasure every day? She should be spending her life in lonely and painful longing for her lord.
Aman was unwilling to die; even in death, he wanted to die at Luyue's hands. That way, at least he could die alongside the Demon Lord he respected.
Light footsteps sounded, and Hu Mei looked at the disheveled Aman with pity and said, "I'll spare your life for the sake of you serving me."
Hu Mei gazed at Xue Ji within the secret realm, secretly praising his unwavering devotion, even surpassing the loyalty of the Demon Realm's protectors. The Venerable One, so noble and aloof, rarely revealed such tenderness; even she, as a man, would be moved.
If her cultivation were stronger, she would definitely have stormed into the secret realm and seized Lu Yue's inner core, but there would be no benefit in doing so now. Even if she killed Lu Yue, she didn't know how many treacherous villains were lurking in the shadows, eyeing her with predatory intent.
"I'll take my leave now and wait until His Majesty wakes up before making any further plans."
Xue Ji took a breath and then heard rustling sounds coming from the courtyard. He saw a small puppet hiding in the grass. Perhaps because it had been affected by the formation earlier, a section of its short arm had been missing. He went over and patiently repaired it.
"Thank you, young master." The puppet looked at Xue Ji and hurriedly hid back in the bushes.
Xueji stared at the puppet with curiosity: "You've been here for a long time."
“I have always served the young master.”
"Young Master?"
Xueji had never heard of any young master.
"Young Master is His Excellency's adopted son."
"I haven't seen him."
"He's gone."
"Yeah?"
Xueji didn't care about being called a young master. His injuries were serious, so he went inside to see if there was any medicine. He happened to see a portrait in the room, covered in dust, with only the words "My Beloved" faintly visible underneath.
Xue Ji gently blew on the portrait and saw its true face; his eyes narrowed.
What exactly is depicted in this painting?
A dark blob of ink, barely revealing a nose and eyes, with messy lines forming hair and clothes, and a strange horizontal line resembling a mouth.
The puppet said excitedly, "This is a portrait of Chongli's favorite woman, which he painted himself."
Xueji could only agree: "Indeed, it is extraordinary."
This is what Chongli said a hundred years ago.
The handsome, aloof man withdrew his usual arrogance and looked at the woman in the portrait with tenderness, touching her face with great affection: "The moment I saw her, the blood in my veins began to stir restlessly."
That's because she stabbed you and you bled too much.
Standing beside him was Wen Ruo, dressed in a close-fitting outfit, his long hair tied up in a silver crown. His eyes no longer held the respect he usually showed Chong Li; only impatience and disgust remained.
He didn't understand what had gone wrong; he had only been away from the Demon Realm for a short while, yet Chong Li, who had always loved killing, had inexplicably become attached to it. Could it be because of the curse of the Azure Sky?
He thought that even if Chongli were to fall in love, he would only be attracted to someone of his own kind, like Luyue, who was equally proud. He never imagined that a woman who appeared out of nowhere would capture his heart, which had remained unmoved for millennia.
"Why haven't you found her yet? You must search carefully for all of them, whether they are human, demon, or monster."
Wen Ruo was always meticulous in her work, but she couldn't help but ask, "Does Your Majesty not realize her identity?"
"I only remember the look in her eyes when she looked at me, so intense it made my heart flutter. I gave you the portrait, and you still haven't found it. You're such a waste."
Looking at the portrait that was unrecognizable, Wen Ruo put one hand to her chest and apologized: "It is because I am incompetent that I could not find the woman Your Majesty wanted."
Say it again.
"Your subordinate is foolish and is Your Majesty's demon queen."
"Hmph, hurry up and go find it."
Chongli was growing impatient; for hundreds of days and nights he had longed for the portrait. Even though he waited day after day at the place where they first met, she never appeared.
She's been here twice, so why hasn't she come back?
Chongli remembered that her scent was very sweet, like the fragrance of flowers or honey.
"Your subordinate, Lu Yue, has come to pay his respects to Your Majesty."
"Come in."
Chongli hung the portrait on the wall. He admired Luyue; even though she hid it well, he could still see her barely concealed ambition. Chongli looked forward to her improvement in cultivation so that she could become a worthy opponent to contend with him.
"Here's what you wanted."
Lu Yue placed the bundle on the table and was about to leave when Chong Li called her back.
"Have you seen the woman in the portrait?"
Lu Yue calmly looked at the ink stain and quickly replied, "This subordinate cannot discern the features in the portrait."
“How dare you!” Chong Li was about to teach her a lesson for her rudeness, but looking at the portrait, a sense of self-reproach appeared on his face. “Indeed, I could not possibly capture her beauty.”
All he can remember now is the woman's scent.
"Your subordinate takes his leave."
As Lu Yue left, the wind stirred the sachet on her body, and Chong Li's dim eyes brightened. He could smell that familiar scent again. But how could it be on Lu Yue?
Lu Yue walked a short distance away and saw Wen Ruo. She bowed her head and called out, "Protector Wen."
"Hmm, has His Majesty made things difficult for you?"
"No."
Wen Ruo looked at Lu Yue with some curiosity, wondering what kind of woman Chong Li could be attracted to. He patted Lu Yue's shoulder, noting that she had lost a lot of weight: "You've worked hard, get some rest."
Lu Yue returned to her cave dwelling and smelled the sachet at her waist. Perhaps because sleeping beside the woman had been so reassuring, Lu Yue couldn't fall asleep for a long time after returning to the Demon Realm. Fortunately, she had always treasured the cloth the woman had used to bandage her wounds; it must have been her personal item, emitting a gentle, warm fragrance.
She hadn't visited the woman in the bamboo house for a long time, and now that she had finally completed her mission, and since the Venerable One hadn't provided her with anything new, she might as well go see her again.
Under the cover of night, Lu Yue left the Demon Realm and returned to that familiar place. After she disappeared, the woman continued to live a normal, peaceful, and tranquil life, healing wounded wild beasts and occasionally treating villagers.
She wanted to go up to the woman and tell her that she was the little snake, but she was afraid of scaring the woman, so she always watched from a distance.
Just as Lu Yue was about to leave, Chong Li's excited words rang in her ears.
"You do know her."
Lu Yue didn't understand what Chong Li meant, but she subconsciously drew her sword to attack. However, Chong Li was obviously faster, dodging directly and grabbing her neck through the air.
"You're really overestimating yourself. You'd need another thousand years of cultivation to even be qualified to fight me. Tell me, since you saw her portrait, why didn't you tell me you knew her?"
Lu Yue struggled in vain, but did not beg for mercy, looking at Chong Li with cold indifference and calm. She did not understand what the ugly portrait had to do with a gentle woman.
How do you know her?
"She saved me, and I recuperated here."
"Really? But how come she's here?"
Chong Li couldn't wait to see her, so he directly examined Lu Yue's spiritual consciousness and saw all the past events. He also wanted to be treated gently by a woman, so he directly commanded, "Take a knife and cut me."
"What?"
Lu Yue didn't understand Chong Li's meaning, but the moment she saw him, she wanted to become Chong Li, sitting in the Demon Lord's seat watching all the beings of the Demon Realm kneel before her. But clearly, she wasn't even qualified to be his opponent yet.
Lu Yue swiftly and cleanly ripped a hole in Chong Li's stomach. Chong Li was satisfied and lay down on the ground just as Lu Yue had done when she was rescued.
But three days passed and the woman still did not appear.
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