After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 16

Xiao Wuchen had one hand clamped over half his face, while the other… kept moving.

His slightly ragged breathing and the curses spilling from his mouth were all drowned out by the crashing thunder. The corners of his eyes were red—he looked absolutely furious.

Seriously, does Duan Ze never take care of himself when he’s alone?!

What kind of trash Heaven’s Will was this? Totally inhumane!

What pissed him off the most was that for cultivators like them who had long stepped into the Divine Transformation stage, this kind of thunder didn’t really do much damage. It just added this weird tingling numbness that drove him up the wall while he was trying to deal with his situation.

And worst of all—the heat in his body still hadn’t faded. On the contrary, it was getting even more intense and aggressive.

Xiao Wuchen had already lost count of how many times he’d been struck by lightning. In the end, he had to grit his teeth and cling to the thought of hunting Duan Ze down and settling the score just to keep himself from giving in.

Just as he braced himself for the next strike, Duan Ze, dressed in a brown robe and bathed in moonlight, jumped down into the pit. Those usually cold and clear eyes of his now had a subtle glow, free of any hostility.

A breeze stirred, and Xiao Wuchen snapped out of it, quickly pulling his clothes together as he eyed him warily. “What are you doing down here?”

Duan Ze stood still, and gave him a once-over. Seeing that the other’s consciousness was intact and he still looked full of life, he felt much more at ease. He waved a hand and said, “It’s my body—I’ve seen every inch of it. And I haven’t sunk to the point of needing to do anything to myself.”

Then he reached into his sleeve, rummaged a bit, and tossed everything he pulled out at Xiao Wuchen. “I raided the Blood Candle Vine’s nest. Should be useful to you.”

Xiao Wuchen had barely any strength left, and Duan Ze threw things at lightning speed—like a rainstorm. One item missed his hand and smacked right into a very unfortunate spot.

“Ugh…”

Silence.

Duan Ze froze mid-motion, scratched at his face awkwardly, glanced around, unsure of what to do with himself. The air was thick with embarrassment.

A long moment passed before Duan Ze finally spoke. “Uh… I’ll head up first.”

Before the words were even fully out, the man launched himself upward, stepping off the cave walls and climbing out in just a few swift moves.

And just like that, Xiao Wuchen was alone again. He glanced down at the pile of stuff in his arms—just like Duan Ze said, he really had looted the whole place. Every part of the Blood Candle Vine, nearby plants, even a generous scoop of soil—he brought it all.

Xiao Wuchen rubbed the bridge of his nose, headache brewing.

What exactly was Duan Ze trying to do?

And why, just now, when he saw the guy show up… did all that bottled-up rage he’d been holding onto suddenly feel so weak?

Realizing that thought made him extra irritable. He rubbed his face, and his eyes darkened with killing intent again.

That guy had to be eliminated.

The burning heat was still raging in his body. Xiao Wuchen quickly calmed himself and made a fast antidote. After taking it, the heat slowly began to fade. He got dressed, though his legs were still a bit shaky, but at least better than before.

He looked up at the cave ceiling, gathered his strength, and flew upward.

“You recovered?” Duan Ze saw him come out and walked over to ask.

Xiao Wuchen glanced at him and replied coolly, “Mn.”

Neither of them brought up what had just happened—it was a silent agreement to bury the topic.

They exchanged storage rings with the practiced ease of two people who’d done this before. Duan Ze suggested, “Next time, let’s each carry a spare.”

“Mn.”

“And we should take some time to learn each other’s qi circulation methods. Otherwise, keeping each other sealed like this is just asking for trouble.” Duan Ze had been thinking it over outside and finally came to this conclusion.

Their bodies operated on different systems. Forcing them into reverse could literally make them explode. But if they just learned how the other one operated, they could probably bring out the full ten-tenths of power. Not that hard for the two of them.

Xiao Wuchen’s expression shifted slightly but in the end, he only responded with another “Mn.”

Duan Ze nodded. Facing someone who acted even more like the original owner than he himself did… it was kind of a weird experience.

The original owner definitely had some history with Xiao Wuchen, but Duan Ze honestly couldn’t remember any of it.

Like those memories had been sealed off.

“So, what’s your plan now?” Duan Ze asked, eyes on him.

“Over there.” Xiao Wuchen lifted his hand and pointed toward the depths of the nearby forest. That was the real reason he’d come here.

As a member of the Demon Clan, he couldn’t use demonic energy within the ruins of the righteous path. Relying on physical combat to make it through this forest would’ve been self-inflicted torture. So the moment he saw Duan Ze arrive, he jumped at the chance.

What he hadn’t expected was the body swap. Now, with only thirty percent of their power available, they were bound to fall behind schedule.

“I’ll go with you.” Duan Ze glanced in the direction Xiao Wuchen pointed and added, “It’ll be safer with the two of us.”

Also, he could keep an eye on him—just in case the guy did anything weird with his body.

Xiao Wuchen was briefly stunned, but after thinking about it, he decided to set personal feelings aside for now and focus on the mission. “Alright.”

After a quick plan, the two of them stepped out toward the forest’s edge.

The core of the ruins lay deep in the forest. But unlike the lush surroundings, the heart of the forest was a barren wasteland.

They’d already spent most of the night messing around in the woods. By now, the sky was starting to lighten. Clouds and mist at the horizon glowed with a warm orange hue—the sun was about to rise.

Duan Ze wandered the perimeter. If memory served, the protagonist in the original novel never entered the ruins from this direction. With his cultivation level, he couldn’t even reach this place.

Back then, Xie Qingyu had gotten cornered by a group of spiritual beasts in the forest. In his panic, he fell into a pit—and when he opened his eyes again, he was at the core’s entrance.

The protagonist’s lucky breaks always came wrapped in “accidents.”

But this time, with Duan Ze around, Xie Qingyu didn’t get chased around by spirit beasts.

And yet the kid still managed to scheme against him behind his back.

Unpleasant thoughts crept in again. Duan Ze forced himself to stop dwelling, squatted down, and ran his divine sense into the ground. Just as expected, the original owner’s divine sense had blocked this area. Whatever they were looking for should be right underneath.

All they needed now was the entrance.

“Hey, over here.” As Duan Ze was deep in thought, Xiao Wuchen called out from not far off. Duan Ze looked over—only to see the other man halfway sunken into the wasteland.

Duan Ze, “???”

“This is the entrance, hurry up.” Xiao Wuchen had barely finished speaking when his whole body dropped out of sight.

Duan Ze rushed over, stepped into the same spot—and immediately felt a strong wave of vertigo as he plunged into darkness. The slowly brightening sky vanished completely.

Everything around him was stone walls. With normal vision, he could barely make anything out, so he just closed his eyes and activated his divine sense.

His scan revealed a massive cave below him. Xiao Wuchen was still beneath, falling freely. Nothing unusual so far.

There were faded, complex murals on the cave walls, most too oxidized to make out clearly. Torches lined the sides, still filled with oil.

As he continued to fall, Duan Ze’s divine sense finally reached the bottom of the cave—what he saw was a massive underground ancient city. He opened his eyes. Not far from their landing point, he spotted a firelight.

Someone had gotten here before them.

Duan Ze activated his spiritual power to slow his descent, landing soundlessly with only a puff of dust.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the whole underground city rumbled—and then lights sprang to life one after another. In the blink of an eye, the ancient city was fully illuminated, like people were still living there.

Duan Ze’s skin instantly prickled with goosebumps. Xiao Wuchen walked over, covered in a bit of dust, and said lightly, “Much better like this.”

“You lit all these torches?” Duan Ze asked.

Xiao Wuchen nodded. “Mn.”

“You seem really familiar with this place. Have you been here before?” Everything from finding the entrance to lighting the place up—Xiao Wuchen had done it way too smoothly.

He didn’t try to hide it. Lifting his gaze, he stared directly at Duan Ze, like he wanted to see straight into his soul. “I came here before… with my royal father.”

Royal father? The old Demon Lord?

Duan Ze rubbed his chin. He vaguely remembered meeting the old Demon Lord before, but the details were fuzzy. He did remember that the guy seemed like a pretty decent ruler. During his reign, the Demon Realm had been orderly, his marriage harmonious—the only downside was the short life spans of both husband and wife.

If they’d still been alive, Xiao Wuchen probably wouldn’t have turned out so twisted.

Xiao Wuchen stared hard at Duan Ze, as if trying to find some flicker of recognition on his face. But in the end, he saw nothing. It looked like Duan Ze really had no memory of what happened back then.

He lowered his gaze, pushing down the hatred and bitterness surging inside him. When he looked up again, his face was back to calm.

“You take the lead then,” Duan Ze said, noticing the man was lost in thought again. “But be careful. Someone else is here.”

Just as he spoke, he heard soft footsteps nearby. His eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he summoned a dagger from his storage ring and threw it.

CLANG! A sharp sound rang out, followed by a blade clattering to the ground.

A snowy white, fluffy tail appeared in front of him. Then the tail pulled back, revealing an androgynous, strikingly beautiful face. The person was dressed in red, eyes long and narrow, gleaming with emotion. Their skin was pale, making the teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of their eye stand out even more.

Six maids stood behind them, all in the Out-of-Body stage—rare high-level cultivators.

With that kind of lineup, it made sense they’d arrived earlier.

The red-robed figure looked at Duan Ze with a smile on their lips, but their words sent chills down his spine. “If you hurt my tail, I’ll skin you alive.”

As they spoke, their gaze shifted to Xiao Wuchen.

And the moment they recognized him, their pupils dilated—and nine fluffy tails instantly flared out. Like a wild beast, they leapt down from the rooftop.

Duan Ze and Xiao Wuchen both tensed. But the red-robed person just wagged their tails and stared at Xiao Wuchen, eyes sparkling.

“Duan Ze! You’re the Immortal Duan Ze from Cangyu Sect, right?!”

⸻

Author’s Note:

Duan Ze: “Fake fan!”