Appreciating New Tea with an Inkstone - Chapter 46

The man took a few steps forward, his gaze firmly locked onto Gu Xiyan, and said with a smile, “Curious, are you? Don’t worry, you’ll soon find out what I’m going to do. You’re too weak right now, but I have a way to make you stronger. I lost track of you for years, planning to deal with other matters before looking for you, but I never expected you to come right to me. Very good, very good.”

Mujin sensed danger and quietly moved a little closer to Gu Xiyan. “My lady, do you have a grudge against this ugly thing?”

Gu Xiyan couldn’t see his appearance and didn’t know whether he was ugly or not, but after hearing Mujin’s comment, she noticed that the man’s aura grew even more oppressive, which she found amusing. However, she quickly composed herself and said, “I suppose we do have a grudge. Ah Jin, be careful. This body has only been forcibly occupied by him. The one speaking to me now is Ji Wuyan, the one who caused havoc in Danyang City eight years ago—or rather, the remnant soul of a being possessing a fellow clansman to stir up chaos. We must be cautious.”

“He has another soul inside him?” Mujin was stunned, and Qingwu beside her also looked surprised. A remnant soul being able to inhabit such a demonic body while seemingly maintaining both their consciousnesses—this wasn’t just possession; it was practically impossible. How had he managed it?

The man laughed again, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. When he looked at Gu Xiyan, it was as though he were gazing at his prey, filled with greedy excitement. Mujin found it utterly repulsive, and her face turned cold. “Don’t look at my lady with that disgusting gaze. If you’re dead, stay dead—don’t linger around making me sick.”

With that, she immediately launched an attack. A long whip lashed out from her hand, and she unleashed her devilish aura without restraint. A crimson glow rose behind her, exuding pure brutality. Mujin hadn’t entered this state for a long time, but the sense of danger emanating from this man was undeniable, and it was directed straight at Gu Xiyan.

Gu Xiyan didn’t have time to stop her and quickly joined the fight. Her heart was still uneasy—she had acted a bit impulsively this time.

It had been eight years since the events in Danyang City, but the wounds left behind hadn’t faded with time. The memory remained a thorn in her heart. When she sensed that familiar demonic energy within Qu Lin’er’s body, she immediately thought of that mysterious figure and wanted to confirm it.

Over these eight years, Gu Xiyan’s cultivation had advanced rapidly, and her mastery of techniques had even surpassed many demons. However, the time was still too short—compared to these beings who had cultivated for centuries or millennia, her spiritual power was still lacking. The man before her was no weaker than her in technique, yet his spiritual power far exceeded hers. Without Mujin engaging him up close and disrupting his movements, she wouldn’t be able to contend with him.

Qingwu watched the battle unfold in midair. The man’s demonic power surged fiercely, and his movements were unpredictable. Even under the combined assault of Mujin and Gu Xiyan, he remained completely unscathed, while Mujin was often forced onto the defensive.

If not for Gu Xiyan’s sharp senses keeping her from falling into his illusions, they would have already lost.

After hundreds of exchanges, the man seemed to lose interest. He brought his hands together, and his wide sleeves billowed in the wind. Then, with a palm strike from midair, the sea of clouds beneath them churned and scattered entirely under his force. A surge of violent spiritual power tore between Gu Xiyan and Mujin, separating them by several meters.

Gu Xiyan now understood his intent and refrained from making reckless moves. Instead, she gathered all her spiritual energy into her dantian. Amid the raging winds and swirling clouds, the area around her remained eerily still. She heightened all her senses to their limit.

The next moment, she swung her sword to intercept an attack from the man who had suddenly appeared at her right side. The force sent her skidding several meters back, but she immediately counterattacked with a sweeping strike. The turbulent sword energy grazed his waist and blasted a deep chasm into the ground, causing the earth to crack and collapse.

The man stepped back and looked down at the bloody gash on his waist. His eyes gleamed faintly before turning cold.

“As expected of her reincarnation. Even as an ordinary person, even as a blind one, you can still display such formidable strength. I originally wanted to watch you struggle in helplessness a little longer, but now… it seems I can’t let this drag on. Otherwise, you might become a real threat.”

As he spoke, his figure blurred into an afterimage, closing in on Gu Xiyan in an instant. His demonic power surged into a deadly claw as he engaged her in close combat.

Mujin tried to intervene from behind, but the man repelled her each time, making the situation increasingly chaotic. The battle accelerated, until all that remained visible were alternating flashes of black and white colliding over and over. Mujin was drenched in sweat, desperately trying to find an opening to help.

Then, the two figures clashed directly, and Gu Xiyan was unable to withstand the overwhelming demonic force. She was sent flying.

Mujin immediately rushed forward to catch her, striking at the man with her palm before hastily retreating with Gu Xiyan. Seeing the blood seeping from the corner of Gu Xiyan’s mouth, Mujin’s eyes turned red with worry. “Are you okay?”

Suppressing the turbulence in her spiritual energy, Gu Xiyan shook her head. Her expression was grim as she said in a low voice, “We can’t win. If there’s an opportunity, we must leave immediately.” Then, she made a hand gesture to Qingwu, signaling her to find a chance to escape.

Qingwu pressed her hands against her spiritual energy, hesitating. She wasn’t sure whether she should step in, but leaving now felt like abandoning them.

At the next moment, Gu Xiyan charged forward once again and said in a deep voice, “Go!” She knew very well that she was the man’s target—if Qingwu and Mujin left, he wouldn’t stop them.

Qingwu gritted her teeth, but instead of retreating, she rushed forward alongside Gu Xiyan. “Only you can save Lin’er.”

Gu Xiyan frowned. “Reckless.” Her long sword clashed with the man’s transformed claws. Leaning back, she drew her sword and shot into the sky like lightning before diving straight down. At the same time, Mujin and Qingwu launched an attack from the sides.

The black-clad man remained unfazed, even carrying a hint of mockery in his eyes. He struck upward with his right hand, grabbed Mujin’s whip with his left, and kicked Qingwu away. Twisting his body, he coiled the whip around his arm, then kneed Mujin in the abdomen, forcibly snatching the whip from her hands.

“Ah Jin!” Gu Xiyan heard Mujin let out a muffled groan, and her heart sank slightly. Her arched brows furrowed tightly as she quickly analyzed the situation. In the next instant, she suddenly let go of her sword. The single blade in her grasp multiplied into layers upon layers of sword light before her.

The white blades enveloped Gu Xiyan like a curtain. Seeing this, the man’s pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately gathered his demonic energy to its peak.

The moment he struck, the flying swords surrounding Gu Xiyan instantly shot toward him. As they crossed paths around him, they merged into a single, enormous sword, slashing down like the opening of the heavens. Seizing the opportunity while he was momentarily restrained, Gu Xiyan teleported to Qingwu and Mujin’s side. With a swift wave of her hand, she opened a teleportation array in the sky, preparing for an immediate escape.

The man let out a sudden, piercing roar. A violent surge of demonic energy shattered all of Gu Xiyan’s sword qi. Compressing his energy into a single point, he transformed it into a black dagger that shot straight toward Gu Xiyan’s back.

If she dodged, the teleportation array would be interrupted, making it nearly impossible to escape. Gritting her teeth, Gu Xiyan shoved the two into the portal. Mujin shouted in alarm, “My lady, be careful!”

In the blink of an eye, the dagger pierced into Gu Xiyan’s back. Realizing he had struck too hard, the man panicked—Gu Xiyan couldn’t die yet! He reached out to save her, but a soft green glow suddenly burst from her back, colliding forcefully with the dagger.

Gu Xiyan merely spat out a mouthful of blood before stepping into the teleportation array and vanishing without a trace. The man was left standing alone, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked. He had truly underestimated her.

***

Meanwhile, in the Demon Realm, Ye Qinming was in seclusion, healing from injuries. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and opened her eyes with a deep frown, pressing a hand to her heart. Her expression darkened—had something happened to Gu Xiyan?

That feeling just now—it was unmistakably a sense of danger. Everything in the Demon Realm had been peaceful, so the sudden surge of anxiety couldn’t be her own. It could only be coming from the leaf of her true body she had placed in Gu Xiyan’s heart.

Unable to remain still any longer, Ye Qinming stood up and paced back and forth in the room, but there was nothing she could do.

Back on Zhuoguang Mountain’s peak, she had single-handedly faced six generals of the Heavenly Realm and held her own. Even when Tanlang and Tianshu wielded the Mirror of Rebirth, she had not faltered. But in the end, she had been delayed, and by the time she received word, the fire god and water god had already arrived at Zhuoguang, nearly costing Ye Qinming her life.

Fortunately, the battle had caused such a disturbance that Menghuai and Liangqu, who had been sent to find her, arrived just in time. They had fought desperately to hold off the fire god, allowing Ye Qinming to escape back to the Demon Realm. However, Menghuai and Liangqu had not returned—whether they were alive or dead remained unknown.

The situation in the Demon Realm was dire. Since Ye Qinming’s return, Taiyi had all but mobilized his entire army against them. In just eight days, the Demon Realm’s forces had retreated from the Netherworld and were now barely holding the defensive line at the Underworld Waters.

Moreover, the Demon Realm had been without a ruler for a thousand years. Ye Qinming’s strength was no longer what it used to be, which only worsened the growing internal conflicts that had been temporarily suppressed by the war.

Guiche and Feidan supported Ye Qinming, believing she should remain the Demon Emperor. However, Jiuying opposed them, arguing that she had lost both the power and the right to rule. The situation had become tense, with neither side willing to back down.

Ye Qinming’s gaze darkened as she forcibly pushed Gu Xiyan’s image out of her mind. Gu Xiyan had her own fate to follow, just as Ye Qinming had her own path. She had only been meant to walk a part of the journey with Gu Xiyan—everything beyond that, they would have to face on their own.

“Your Majesty.” Guiche’s deep voice rang from outside the hall. 

Ye Qinming quickly composed herself. “Come in. Don’t call me ‘Your Majesty’ anymore,” she said as she sank into her chair, gesturing for Guiche to take a seat as well. “As of now, I am no longer the Demon Emperor.”

“The position of Demon Emperor has never been given to anyone else, so you are still this Guiche’s liege.”

Guiche wore a ghostly mask, making his appearance somewhat intimidating. His tone remained as eternally cold as ever.

“How is Your Majesty’s injury?”

Ye Qinming nodded. “It’s no longer a concern.” Before she left, Gu Xiyan’s blood had indeed helped her greatly. Realizing she had thought of Gu Xiyan again, Ye Qinming frowned in slight frustration.

“And Your Majesty’s cultivation?” Guiche’s greatest worry was Ye Qinming’s current strength. Among the Four Great Demon Kings, Jiuying was the most obstinate and ambitious. Back then, he had been the strongest of the four, second only to Ye Qinming. In the Demon Realm, he had never suffered a defeat—except at her hands. Now, Jiuying’s desire to claim the throne stemmed from his refusal to acknowledge the current Ye Qinming.

Ye Qinming said nothing. Instead, she slowly raised her hand, and a dense mass of spiritual energy gathered in her palm. Within moments, it transformed into a miniature world where the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—rapidly cycled through in succession, only to fade away into nothingness after a dozen breaths.

A flash of surprise passed through Guiche’s eyes. “Your Majesty?”

Ye Qinming withdrew her hand and shook her head. “My cultivation has plummeted. Though my techniques remain intact, my spiritual power is far from what it once was. I’ve regained a considerable amount since returning to the Demon Realm, but the hidden injuries left from my thousand years in the Abyssal Prison of Demons won’t heal anytime soon. Jiuying is stronger than me now.”

Guiche lowered his head, his aura darkening. “He refuses to submit to you. The Immortal Realm is pressing us harder with each passing day, and the Demon Realm is barely holding on. If he ignores the bigger picture and insists on seizing the throne now, the Immortal Realm will surely exploit the opportunity to strike.”

Ye Qinming remained silent for a moment before stepping outside the hall. Guiche followed closely behind her.

As Ye Qinming gazed at the scenery before her—similar to the human world, yet distinctly different—she murmured, “Guiche, the Demon Realm is actually more beautiful than the human world. It’s just a pity that so many demons fail to see it.”

“Your Majesty?” Guiche was puzzled by her sudden remark.

“If he wants to be Demon Emperor, then he should prove his strength. The Demon Realm has always revered the strong. Don’t bring the schemes of human emperors into our world.”

Guiche’s eyes flickered with understanding before he nodded solemnly. “Yes, I understand.”

Author’s Note:

Here it is—that so-called fleeting thought. The ultimate tsundere moment.

Green Tea: Your life and death are at the mercy of my thoughts. You… you have to live well, you’re not allowed to die.

White Lotus: Okay.

Green Tea: If you stay alive, I’ll let you climb the tree.

White Lotus: Okay.

Green Tea: Why are you so calm? Shouldn’t you be excited about climbing the tree? Do you have some other little demon spirit?

White Lotus: …

(Rewind scene—inside, White Lotus is nodding frantically.)

(T/N: Since Qinming is a tea tree, climbing a tree here implies…  you know… being top.)