After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 23

Xiao Wuchen glanced inside the door, a flicker of light flashing in his eyes.

So this is the real Treasure Pavilion.

He had already sensed something was off when he first came in.
A normal spatial fold wouldn’t be that thick—unless it contained another space within.

Turned out, he’d guessed right.

Besides, with the Cangyu Sect’s status, how could they store such ordinary junk in their treasure vault and just leave it casually by the entrance? It was obviously a decoy.

The real treasures were locked at the top of the Pavilion—almost no one could get in.

The man double-checked the door he had discovered, made sure everything was secure, then lifted his foot and stepped in.

Inside this hidden space stood eight towering white pillars, each over ten meters tall, covered in golden runes that pulsed dimly, like they were breathing.

Atop each pillar sat an ultra-rare, priceless magical tool—any one of them was worth more than everything he’d just seen. Xiao Wuchen stepped forward, pushing off lightly to climb the pillars.

His pure white robe billowed with his movements, like fluttering butterfly wings.

He moved quickly, collecting all the magical tools into his storage ring, then spread out his divine sense, walking along the tops of the pillars to the deepest part of the Treasure Pavilion.

At the very end of the Pavilion stood a crimson wall, starkly contrasted against the otherwise snowy-white space. The small worlds under Cangyu Sect’s protection were sealed within it.

Retracting his divine sense, Xiao Wuchen placed his hand on the crimson wall. Runes gradually lit up at his touch.

A long time ago, his father once told him that the small worlds were hidden inside a red wall. If the Demon Race had their own small worlds too, their power would far surpass what it was now.

That wistful gaze from his father was still vivid in his memory.

For a moment, the Demon Lord was lost in thought. But he was quickly yanked back to reality by a sharp pain in his palm.

A searing “zzzz” filled the quiet space. Smoke rose from where his hand touched the wall. Xiao Wuchen instantly withdrew his hand, his palm charred and blackened. His brows knit tightly as he quickly pulled a pill from his storage ring, crushed it, and sprinkled the powder over the wound.

New flesh quickly grew from the burn. While waiting for his hand to heal, Xiao Wuchen gazed at the wall. It seemed even Duan Ze couldn’t walk in here freely. His eyes settled on the cluster of glowing runes.

From his storage ring, he took out a token Duan Ze had once given him—one that represented Duan Ze’s personal identity—and pressed it to the wall.

This time, all the runes on the red wall lit up. Though clearly lifeless, the wall somehow gave off a faint air of reverence. Its surface indented slightly before splitting open down the middle.

Xiao Wuchen glanced at his newly healed hand, bent down, and stepped through the gap. The next moment, he found himself standing on a pine branch that jutted horizontally from a cliff.

Thin clouds drifted through the air, surrounded by mountain peaks. Several celestial cranes called as they soared through the clouds.

Floating midair were dozens of massive transparent glass orbs, each perched on a bed of mist, towering over the nearby mountains like giant titans.

Inside each orb—was a small world.

Xiao Wuchen’s black eyes, as deep as a well, reflected those miniature worlds. His lips curved slightly. He was in an excellent mood.

Now, he could finally carry out what his father once spoke of.

All he had to do was destroy one of these worlds, and the Demon Realm would gain a new demon seed. To the Cangyu Sect disciples, that demon seed would appear to have been released by their own sect founder—Duan Ze. And that demon seed would, in the future, destroy the Cangyu Sect.

Just killing Duan Ze would be boring. He needed to ruin him completely—drag him from the clouds into the mud, and make him die in utter disgrace.

As Xiao Wuchen recalled memories from his childhood, his expression darkened. No more hesitation. He reached out a clawed hand and pulled one of the floating small worlds toward himself. As it approached, it rapidly shrank until it fit in the palm of his hand.

The man looked inside at the people living their lives within—and without the slightest hesitation, he sucked out all the spiritual energy from it.

……

“I really am curious—what did your Shizun do to make you hate him so much?”

Hearing Duan Ze’s question, Xie Qingyu’s eyes reddened.

Back then, he had admired this man so deeply… But in the end, he was nothing but a joke. All those gentle words, the high-grade pills fed to him… it was all to use him as a walking medicine jar to patch up his own cultivation injuries.

Every bit of affection turned to hatred when that man cut open his wrist and tormented him, again and again.

Even after being reborn, those painful memories still haunted him—waking him in the middle of the night, unable to sleep in peace.

Still being strangled, the boy lowered his gaze toward the man standing not far away. That pair of always-detached eyes now carried a flicker of curiosity—he actually wanted to know the answer.

Xie Qingyu knew this might be his only shot at survival. But he couldn’t possibly reveal his rebirth. His lips parted, expression dark and unreadable, as if there was something he couldn’t say aloud. “I can’t say.”

“Why not?” Duan Ze frowned slightly, quickly flipping through his memories of the original Duan Ze’s treatment of the protagonist. Aside from sneakily feeding him pills here and there, he’d always maintained a kindly elder image. Nothing over the line. “Is it because there’s nothing to say?”

“No.” Xie Qingyu refuted with a hoarse voice, then went quiet again.

Duan Ze was starting to lose patience. He tightened his grip on the boy’s neck again. “Spit it out. I’m in a hurry.”

Xie Qingyu’s head tilted back slightly from the pressure. He glanced up at Duan Ze, his eyes full of undisguised hatred. After a long silence, he chose to reveal half the truth. “He… drugged me.”

“Drugged you?” What kind of drug?

Chi Xiuzhu, who had been silently observing, felt his heart sink. Thinking back to what he knew—Duan Ze really had seemed to dote on his little disciple in public… Could there have been something more between them?

If so, it would make sense for Xie Qingyu to hate him. But still, how could Duan Ze the High Immortal do something like that? Impossible!

Chi Xiuzhu stepped forward, completely disregarding Xue Jiang now. In the blink of an eye, he stood before Xie Qingyu, eyes cold and beast-like, his voice sharp with killing intent. “If you’re lying to slander Duan Ze the High Immortal, I’ll rip out your tongue.”

“I’m not lying,” Xie Qingyu growled, voice rough.

The atmosphere turned strange. Duan Ze actually seemed surprised to hear that the original him had drugged Xie Qingyu so early on. No wonder the boy hated him so much.

He steadied himself and casually asked, easing his grip, “When did you realize he was drugging you?”
Considering someone nearby could easily spread rumors all over the continent, Xie Qingyu’s words needed clarification.

“I found out by accident.” Xie Qingyu’s eyes landed on a flower swaying in the breeze nearby, his face full of sorrow. “At first… I really didn’t want to believe my shizun would ever harm me.”

Chi Xiuzhu caught the detail and asked again, “You found out by accident? With Duan Ze’s cultivation, if he really wanted to drug you, you shouldn’t have been able to notice.”

Xie Qingyu shook his head. “I didn’t find out on my own. Someone told me.”

“Who?” Duan Ze and Chi Xiuzhu asked at the same time.

“I don’t know them.” Xie Qingyu’s face twisted in pain, throat still burning.

He cautiously watched Xue Jiang’s expression, then added, “I still have revenge to take. Once it’s done, this life is yours to deal with, Immortal Xue Jiang.”

“I’m not interested in your life,” Duan Ze said coolly.

This plot didn’t exist in the original story. It must have happened because he took the male lead as a disciple and changed his fate. And since he hadn’t continued drugging him, Xie Qingyu wouldn’t have hated him so deeply—yet someone still came forward to tell him about it, forcing the plot back on track?

Xie Qingyu still ended up hating him.

Duan Ze thought for a while. He more or less understood now. Stepping onto his lotus flying device, he didn’t press further. “I’ve asked what I wanted to know. You two better keep this buried. If I hear any rumors… don’t blame me for silencing people.”

With that threat dropped, Duan Ze flew back toward the Demon Realm on his flying tool.

As for that storybook or whatever… that could wait. He had more important things to handle now—like preparing to deal with the consequences of swapping bodies with Xiao Wuchen.

Once he disappeared into the sky, the pressure around Xie Qingyu finally vanished. The lingering killing intent still made both of them uncomfortable.

The boy barely managed to stay standing, face pale.

One day, he would make Duan Ze pay for this humiliation.

Chi Xiuzhu gave him a long look. Seeing the cold, violent energy churning in the boy’s eyes, he began to doubt whether the information he’d received was actually true.

This kind of person… didn’t look like a future righteous path prodigy at all.

“I’ll be waiting for you to bring your shizun to see me.” He recalled Xue Jiang’s expressions and movements—curious about how this master-disciple pair would interact going forward.

……

After flying for a while, Duan Ze landed in a remote corner. There, he drew a single-use teleportation array and sent himself near the Demon Realm.

The man soared on his sword. Once he tore off his disguise talisman and returned to the appearance of the Demon Lord, all the Demon Race members who had been secretly watching him instantly withdrew their gazes and dropped to their knees, trembling all over.

The Demon Realm was still just as desolate as he remembered. Cracked earth, barren lands—it might’ve even gotten worse. Seeing it reignited the urban planner within him.

Xiao Wuchen wasn’t coming back anytime soon. If he quietly did some rebuilding without getting caught—should be fine, right?

While surveying the terrain, Duan Ze flew toward the Demon Palace. By the time he arrived, he already had a rough plan forming in his mind.

But just as he stepped into the royal city, a sudden jolt of unease shot through his chest. He paused, nervous for no reason.

He checked over his body. No issues. Only then did he continue walking in.

Everyone he passed knelt in greeting.

For them, being ignored was already a blessing.

Back in the sleeping quarters, Mo Han suddenly appeared, kneeling on one knee before him. “Lord, you’ve returned.”

“Mn,” Duan Ze responded, then noticed Mo Han was still kneeling. “What is it? You have something to report?”

Mo Han nodded, his red eyes filled with confusion over what he was about to say.

“The Cangyu Sect’s founder, Duan Ze… drained the spiritual energy from one of the small worlds in the Treasure Pavilion and disappeared along with eight supreme magical tools. The whole sect is secretly searching for him now. The news will likely spread soon.”

“WHAT?!” Duan Ze’s vision went black on the spot.