After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 7

The silver dragon was like a man lost in the desert finally spotting a glass of clean water—it couldn’t wait and pounced straight onto Xiao Wuchen.

Everything happened too fast. Before Xiao Wuchen could even react, that bolt of lightning had already turned into countless fine threads, burrowing into his body. Destructive and chaotic, they rampaged inside him just like during a thunder tribulation.

The thunder came quickly and left just as fast. In the aftermath, a puff of green smoke rose from the top of Xiao Wuchen’s head.

His already gloomy face turned a shade darker, and his intimidating aura became even more intense.

This was Duan Ze’s first time watching himself get struck by lightning from a bystander’s perspective—it felt oddly exhilarating. Standing far away, he cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice and shouted, “How’s that feel?”

Xiao Wuchen lifted his eyes with a dark expression. His figure shifted slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Duan Ze. “Wanna try it together?”

As soon as Duan Ze heard that, he was about to bolt—but too late. Xiao Wuchen had already sneakily grabbed his shoulder and tightened his grip. With the other hand raised toward the sky, two bolts of thunder struck down. One was for breaking character, and the other… well, was pulled down by Xiao Wuchen.

“You’re crazy?!” Duan Ze never expected Xiao Wuchen to be this damn shady. He instinctively summoned a folding fan magic tool from his storage ring, flicked it open, and held it above their heads. The fan blocked both bolts of lightning perfectly.

The aftershock left Duan Ze’s hands tingling, but the fan was unharmed after taking both hits.

This fan was the Nine Nether Exquisite Treasure Fan, just one step away from becoming a divine-grade artifact, and the only one of its kind in existence.

It had mysteriously appeared over four hundred years ago after the original owner had gone into seclusion and slept for a year. Not only that, it had somehow signed a contract with him and became his life-bound artifact—without his knowledge. It felt incredibly natural to use, so over time, the original owner stopped questioning where it came from.

After all, artifacts of this level could choose their own master.

Ever since Duan Ze came here, this fan’s main use was… well, to keep cool in the summer.

Xiao Wuchen’s gaze swept past the fan. His deep eyes widened slightly, and for a brief second, a storm of hatred and anger surged within them, tinged with the faintest trace of nostalgia. Then, everything calmed down again.

His lips curled into a mocking smile, his words full of bite. “The Cangyu Sect’s Shizu can’t even take a little lightning?”

Duan Ze folded the fan and used it to push the hand off his shoulder. “I’m not into getting electrocuted for fun, thanks.”

Now that his life-bound artifact had shown itself, there was no hiding his identity anymore.

What’s more, Xiao Wuchen had already passed his period of weakness. His divine sense had returned, and the substitute talisman Duan Ze was using probably looked like trash to him now.

Though the two looked like they were chatting casually, both were on high alert, ready to fight at any moment.

Xiao Wuchen’s lips curled slightly, his phoenix eyes icy cold.

The current version of Duan Ze gave off an aura of detachment—cool, distant, like an emotionless jade statue. But now, with Xiao Wuchen right in front of him, that jade-like beauty had turned into a demon from the underworld—sharp and arrogant.

As their eyes met, Xiao Wuchen suddenly pulled out a communication token from his storage ring—the one that belonged to him originally.

With a surge of spiritual power, a very familiar voice came from it.

“My Lord, what are your orders?”

“I’m currently at the Cangyu Sect. The operation—” Before Xiao Wuchen could finish, Duan Ze lunged at him. His fan, filled with murderous intent, aimed straight at his hand.

Just from the look in Xiao Wuchen’s eyes, Duan Ze could already guess what he was about to do—move up the timeline of that plan he’d overheard in the Demon Realm to attack the Cangyu Sect.

If that happened, it’d be the Shizu, looking like himself, leading the charge from the Demon Realm. That would make it seem like he was colluding with the Demon Realm and had betrayed the cultivation world.

That crime would make practicing forbidden arts look like child’s play.

Xiao Wuchen moved lightly and dodged. With a hum, a cold sword that had been lying dormant flew toward Duan Ze, matching his fan strike midair.

He crumpled the communication token in his hand, along with the voice inside, and turned it all into ash.

When the sword and fan clashed, the sky changed colors. The air around them twisted under the force of their attacks.

Duan Ze confirmed that Xiao Wuchen’s current cultivation was roughly the same as his—only about thirty percent of their original power could be used. In fact, Xiao Wuchen might be a bit weaker.

Even so, the guy charged at him like a man possessed, every strike aiming to kill.

There was a strange excitement in Xiao Wuchen’s eyes. He didn’t care if this body could take it, didn’t even dodge the lightning earlier. It was like he’d been waiting for this moment all along.

Duan Ze flipped open his fan to block another incoming sword. While defending, he said, “This isn’t my doing. Once this is settled, can we find a place and fight properly?”

Xiao Wuchen raised his head, eyes full of murderous intent, his attacks unrelenting.

Seeing there was no chance for conversation, Duan Ze stopped talking and focused on the fight. It was simple—win, then talk. Lose… and die.

Even though they were only using thirty percent of their power, the damage was massive. Half the buildings in Zeshuang Pavilion had already been destroyed, and that was with Duan Ze having set up protective wards beforehand. As for the nearby unprotected mountains—they were already reduced to rubble by flying sword energy.

Having lived over a thousand years, Duan Ze managed to press his fan against Xiao Wuchen’s throat in the end. “Can we talk now?”

But Xiao Wuchen wasn’t intimidated at all. He turned his sword and held it at Duan Ze’s neck in return.

Duan Ze frowned slightly. “If you kill me now, you might end up trapped in my body forever. And if you commit suicide, your soul could die with this body. Until we switch back, you better stop thinking about killing me.”

Xiao Wuchen tilted his chin up, motioning for him to continue—but didn’t withdraw his sword.

“We’ve switched bodies. Our cultivation can only reach thirty percent. If word gets out, both of us will be in danger,” Duan Ze said, staring right at him.

The two of them were peak existences in the cultivation world and the Demon Realm. Revered by many, yes—but also targets of countless lurking eyes.

“Mm.” Xiao Wuchen’s gaze lingered on the sword in his hand, clearly trying hard to resist the urge to slice off Duan Ze’s head.

He kept reminding himself—inside was Duan Ze, but the body was his own. He couldn’t damage it.

Duan Ze suddenly grew curious—what on earth had the original owner done to make Xiao Wuchen hate him this much? This hatred was their biggest obstacle to cooperation.

From what he’d inherited in the memories, aside from standing on opposing sides, there didn’t seem to be any major conflict between them.

“You don’t care about your life?” Duan Ze asked, then realized belatedly it was a dumb question.

“……” Xiao Wuchen answered with silence.

Duan Ze took a breath and continued, “If you do care, then don’t tell anyone about the soul swap. Also, there’s still a chance we might swap back. Until then, we have to cover for each other.”

At first, he thought turning into the Demon Lord meant freedom, but now… things were even worse.

Before Xiao Wuchen could reply, a glowing bird formed from divine sense flew over. This was a method cultivators used to deliver messages—only those in the Nascent Soul stage and above could use it.

Did it come because of the commotion just now?

The bird circled between the two for a while, hesitating, then exploded in the air.

Golden light scattered, then reformed into Li Qingyuan’s figure. In perfect sync, both men put away their weapons. Li Qingyuan opened his eyes and gave Duan Ze a cold glance, then turned to face Xiao Wuchen, cupping his hands, “Shizun, at noon today, sect leaders and disciples from each sect will gather at Yunxiao Sect. It won’t take long, and won’t disrupt your seclusion. May I ask if you’re able to attend?”

Duan Ze, “……”

He looked directly at Xiao Wuchen and shook his head.

No way.

Anyone who made it to sect leader level was a master schemer. With his current situation, one slip and he’d be exposed. Way too risky.

Xiao Wuchen caught his hint from the corner of his eye, then looked at Li Qingyuan. His previously tortured expression turned cold and aloof like a plum blossom in winter. “Very well.”

His demeanor, every move, even the way he lifted his eyelids—exactly like the real shizu. Even more convincing than Duan Ze’s imitation.

Duan Ze didn’t know what to be more shocked by—Xiao Wuchen actually agreeing to this super risky meeting, or how flawlessly he could fake being him.

Li Qingyuan hadn’t expected much, so when he got a yes, his eyes lit up. He quickly confirmed again, then disappeared before Xiao Wuchen could change his mind.

Xiao Wuchen summoned his sword, looked down at Duan Ze—who was now speechless—and asked, “Where is Yunxiao Sect?”

Now that he’d agreed, backing out wasn’t an option. Duan Ze pulled out a substitute talisman from his storage ring. He’d drawn the symbols himself; good enough to fool anyone under Divine Integration stage.

“I’m going with you. And, just a heads up—my body has some kind of deal with the Heavenly Dao. If you do something out of character in front of others, lightning will strike you again, like before.”

Back when he first arrived, he’d been struck in front of Li Qingyuan and the others too—but now the crowd would be full of outsiders. Getting zapped again would not only be humiliating, it’d be suspicious.

“Heavenly Dao cares about that kind of thing?” Xiao Wuchen’s tone was cool, lips slightly parted with a strange mix of emotions. “What a load of hypocrisy.”

“Right? I think so too,” Duan Ze nodded in agreement. Then he pulled out a fancy outfit he usually wore to important events and handed it over. “Anyway, this is happening, so let’s start adapting now? You go get changed first.”

Xiao Wuchen narrowed his eyes. In his memory, Duan Ze had always been proud and aloof. If he’d said that earlier, the guy would’ve at least looked annoyed, definitely wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He took the clothes without hesitation and walked into one of the rooms in Zeshuang Pavilion.

Duan Ze went into another room and changed into an outer sect disciple’s uniform. He used to wear this when sneaking out to buy storybooks, just in case he got recognized.

After changing, he stood outside waiting… and waiting… until he realized something was wrong.

When he opened the door to check, Xiao Wuchen had disappeared again.

At that very moment, a bolt of lightning fell from the direction of Yunxiao Sect.

⸻

Author’s Note:

Might as well rename this “Where’s That Magical Chen Zai?”

The relationship between Chen Zai and Xiao Ze is kinda complicated, but they’re each other’s one and only! (shouting loudly)