Great Demon - Chapter 97 Part 2

A moment later, Huoshu, who had been anxiously considering knocking the peafowl demon unconscious, suddenly saw a flicker of light return to Hanzhu’s once-blank eyes.

Relieved, Huoshu waved her hand in front of Hanzhu again, only to have her wrist suddenly grabbed.

“You’re awake?” Huoshu muttered, feeling like a worried mother. She had lived for so long but had never fretted over anyone like this before. If this peafowl weren’t Her Grace’s attendant, she wouldn’t have even bothered.

Hanzhu held her wrist and said, “I need to go to the Mortal Realm.”

“What for?” Huoshu blurted out before clamping her mouth shut. Realizing this was likely the Vermillion Phoenix’s command, she quickly changed her tone. “Then go. If you need anything, just tell me.”

“You’re coming with me,” Hanzhu said.

Huoshu originally wanted to refuse, but after considering that she still had a long life ahead, she hesitated for a moment before saying, “Fine. When do we leave?”

“Now,” Hanzhu hurriedly got out of bed and whispered, “Mistress is going to see the Demon King, and she won’t be able to free herself for a while. We’ll go to the Mortal Realm first to take care of something. This must be done in secret—we have to leave quietly.”

“Quietly? That works. Follow me—I have a hidden passage,” Huoshu said after a brief thought.

“Where?” Hanzhu immediately asked.

Huoshu pointed under the bed. “This whole place is full of rat tunnels.”

Hanzhu was silent for a long while.

***

Zhuyou had said she was going to see the Demon King, and she truly meant it. However, the way she went about it was far too ostentatious.

The Demon King’s palace was towering and grand, perched atop perilous peaks that stretched endlessly, with gilded halls sprawling across the mountains.

At the base of the cliffs, a rushing river flowed, its surface shimmering as if covered in golden sand.

The Vermillion Phoenix swept over the golden waves, her fire-laden tail feathers brushing the water’s surface. Though the flames did not dim, the river seemed to be dyed red, as if blood had been spilled across it.

The four-winged Vermillion Phoenix skimmed over the treetops and flew toward the vast palace complex, circling above as if patrolling.

Inside the palace, the demon attendants all looked up in astonishment at the dazzling sight of the Vermillion Phoenix. At just a single glance, their eyes burned with pain. Though their vision could not bear it, their souls seemed ensnared, longing to look once more.

As the Vermillion Phoenix let out a piercing cry, a wave of oppressive power crashed down like a tidal surge. The demons’ legs trembled, and they were forced to their knees.

Seated in the main hall, the Demon King had hair as dull as withered grass and a complexion deathly pale. Compared to her youthful form from long ago, she now looked as if she had one foot in the underworld. Upon hearing the cry of the Vermillion Phoenix, she suddenly coughed harshly, blood spilling from her lips.

A nearby maid hurriedly offered her a plain white handkerchief, enduring the immense pressure emanating from the phoenix as she asked anxiously, “Your Majesty, why has the Vermillion Phoenix of the Nine Heavens come here?”

“No… This one is not from the Nine Heavens,” Yueyin said weakly.

The maid hesitated in confusion. “How do you know, Your Majesty? Besides the Nine Heavens, where else could a Vermillion Phoenix come from?”

“The Devil Realm.” Yueyin lifted her frail arm and said, “Help me up.”

The maid quickly supported her, her heart filled with unease. “But isn’t the one in the Devil Realm—”

“The battle in the Devil Realm a century ago was not great enough to take her life. She survived, and the Devil-Suppressing Tower failed to contain her.” Yueyin spoke, her face still pale.

The maid, unfamiliar with the events of that war, whispered hesitantly, “Could it be… that she’s here to pledge allegiance to the Demon Realm?”

“She has no need to bow to anyone,” Yueyin said, her legs trembling so much she could barely stand. “The Demon Realm has been isolated for a long time, but we are not ignorant of the world outside. Do you know who shattered Shangxi City and sent it flying?”

“…It was her?” The maid’s voice shook.

“She has likely ascended to the peak of her power—now even the Nine Heavens can do nothing against her.” Yueyin took a step forward, cold sweat breaking across her forehead. She clenched her teeth, as if every movement was excruciating.

“Your Majesty, your legs!” The maid was on the verge of tears.

Yueyin shook her head. “It’s fine. If I don’t stand now, I will have to stand later anyway.”

Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted outside the hall, shaking the ground as if a mountain were collapsing.

Had the maid not been holding her firmly, the Demon King—who could barely stand—would have collapsed to the floor.

Dust billowed outside the hall, but in the next moment, the swirling smoke suddenly dispersed. The brilliant red wings folded, and the flaming phoenix instantly transformed into a human form.

Zhuyou stepped forward toward the massive eight-foot-tall palace doors. The stone statues of demon beasts flanking the entrance suddenly moved, bowing in unison before her. She stopped at the threshold, gazing across the hall at the Demon King, who was being supported by her maid.

The maid immediately averted her gaze, as if her eyes had been pierced by needles.

Yueyin bowed slightly and said, “I did not know Your Grace was visiting, and I failed to welcome you properly.”

This was Zhuyou’s first time in the Demon Realm. She had heard that the Demon King’s days were numbered, and now that she saw her in person, it was indeed the case. This demon had reached the limits of her cultivation, stuck at a bottleneck. If she could not break through within half a year, her time would come to an end.

Zhuyou’s eyes curved slightly, her chin lifting as she spoke words that stunned everyone present.

“The Devil Lord’s three hun souls have become one. Does the Demon Realm wish to follow suit?”

Yueyin’s eyes widened in shock.

Zhuyou stepped past the threshold and walked slowly into the hall, her voice unhurried. “I know the Demon Realm has remained in seclusion for a long time, but Demon King, your lifespan is nearing its end. I imagine you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to break through. If you join forces with the Devil Lord, even the Nine Heavens will be within your grasp. By then, what sacred treasures or divine artifacts in this world wouldn’t be yours to claim?”

Her tone was leisurely, eerily reminiscent of the devil who had once ensnared Hanzhu’s mind—not entirely the same, but close enough to be unsettling.

Yueyin’s breath quickened, and she coughed violently, her once pale face turning red from the strain. Disbelief filled her eyes. “His three hun souls have already merged?”

Zhuyou looked at her calmly.

Enduring the pain in her eyes, Yueyin slowly lifted her gaze—her once bright irises now a lifeless gray—and stared at the Vermillion Phoenix. “Then, Your Grace… have you also allied with the Devil Lord?”

Zhuyou chuckled softly, as if the matter were of little concern. “Naturally. Otherwise, why would I have stayed in the Devil Realm for two hundred years, gathered his three hun souls, and even recovered his physical body?”

Yueyin remained silent for a long time. She had long heard that the phoenix maiden had fallen to the devil path and tirelessly worked for the Devil Realm, but she had never expected that it was Zhuyou who had gathered the Devil Clan’s three hun souls. Her chest heaved, her gaze flickering evasively. “But the Demon Realm has remained in seclusion for so long. I must not drag this realm into the mire.”

“How do you know this is a mire?” Zhuyou narrowed her eyes slightly.

Yueyin coughed twice before replying, “The Nine Heavens are the Nine Heavens precisely because no one can taint them so easily.”

“So, you would rather die than align yourself with the Devil Lord?” Zhuyou paused briefly before continuing, “But how do you know that after your death, this realm won’t be dragged into it anyway?”

Yueyin’s pupils shrank abruptly, her pale eyes trembling for a moment. She clenched her hand at her side and asked, “Where is the Devil Lord now?”

“When you’ve made up your mind, he will come to see you,” Zhuyou said slowly.

“Could he be in Shangxi City?” Yueyin frowned.

Zhuyou did not respond.

Yueyin gazed toward the palace gates, but from here, she could not see Shangxi City at all.

Zhuyou’s lips curled slightly. “I have borrowed a corner of the Demon Realm to house Shangxi City. I will return in a few days to check in.”

Just as Yueyin was about to speak, the black silk hem of the Vermillion Phoenix’s dress swayed, and in the next instant, her figure vanished from the doorway. Yueyin clutched her chest, coughing violently for a long while before finally squeezing out the words, “Help me sit down.”

The maid, deeply worried, carefully supported her step by step and asked in a low voice, “Your Majesty, will you agree?”

Yueyin shook her head. “I will think it over.”

***

The human world was in full bloom, peach blossoms and willows painting a picture of springtime at its peak.

Having left Shangxi City, Hanzhu and Huoshu were making their way toward Changming City, stopping anyone they could find to ask for the location of Qiaomu Manor. Yet, the people they encountered were all common folk who had rarely even entered the city, let alone heard of such a place.

“My lady, you’ve lived for so long, and you don’t know where this place is?” Hanzhu frowned.

“Do not call me ‘my lady.’” Huoshu looked uncomfortable.

“Huoshu, then.” Hanzhu corrected herself.

Huoshu sighed. “That’s not my real name either. I have a proper name.” But after living for so long, her original name had long been forgotten by others.

Hanzhu decided not to press further. Seeing Huoshu sighing in exasperation, she figured she wasn’t inclined to answer anyway.

The two demons wandered aimlessly like headless flies, failing to even find the city gates despite wandering for half a day. Just as they were about to stop and rest, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind them.

“Good thing I wasn’t counting on you two.”

Hanzhu gasped and turned around, only to see Zhuyou standing there with an expression of sheer exasperation, as if she couldn’t bear to look at them.

Zhuyou scoffed. “It’s a relief that you were under mind control earlier. Otherwise, even after half a year, I doubt you’d have found Shangxi City.”

Embarrassed, Hanzhu lowered her head and spoke slowly, “Mistress is wise and brilliant, which only makes my incompetence all the more apparent. Compared to you, I am as dumb as a pig or a cow, utterly ashamed of myself.”

Huoshu looked as if she had just seen a ghost. When she lifted her gaze, she caught Zhuyou nodding slightly and thought to herself, So, Her Grace likes to hear that kind of flattery.

“Let’s go.” Seeing no one around, Zhuyou concealed her figure and leaped into the air.

Before long, Qiaomu Manor came into view. While not particularly extravagant, it was certainly a grand household by mortal standards.

The manor’s main gate stood wide open, and a few guards dressed in short tunics stood at the entrance, swords in hand.

A tall and slender woman stood before the gate, seemingly inquiring about something.

As Zhuyou approached, she overheard one of the guards reply, “The Fifth Young Master has been away for some time.”

The woman suddenly turned around, her expression cold and distant. The golden ornament on her forehead shifted slightly—it was none other than Changying.