The Transmigrated Male Lead Confessed to Me - Chapter 26 (Part 2)

The pages were blank.

At that moment, the black mist coiled around the book suddenly surged upward, rising rapidly into the air and forming a vague humanoid shape.

The shadow turned its head toward the person who had opened the book, then shrieked and lunged forward, raising a claw condensed from black mist.

Su Zhen blocked the claw with one hand and slapped its forehead with the other.

Dozens of golden rays flowed and coiled, binding its entire form tightly. The shadow struggled and shrieked, but its figure grew smaller and smaller, eventually shrinking into a mass the size of a fist.

Then, it was torn apart by the golden light.

Only then did Su Zhen retrieve the book.

Lines of text began to emerge on the previously blank pages. She lowered her head to flip through them, her gaze suddenly sharpening partway through.

Out of the corner of her eye, something dark flickered.

Xiao Yu silently placed a huanghuali wood armchair on the floor. “You might as well sit and read.”

Su Zhen: “……”

Even at her cultivation level, she could stand for months without issue. So why did this guy carry a chair with him?

Su Zhen gave a brief thanks and sat down without hesitation.

The book recorded numerous methods for strengthening the primordial spirit. In her previous life, they had been of no use to her, but now they were quite suitable.

She read as she refined her own spirit. Time passed unknowingly.

Su Zhen blinked and closed the book. “How long has it been?”

Xiao Yu leaned against a nearby cabinet, holding a book containing a collection of jokes in his hand, reading with great interest and even chuckling as he read.

“Hmm?”

He turned his head at her words. “By Human Realm time, a little over ten days?”

Su Zhen stood up and handed him the chair. “…Where did you get that book?”

Xiao Yu took the chair, which disappeared instantly. “I bought some newly published books in the Immortal City of the Human Realm a while back, but haven’t had time to read them. Want to take a look?”

Su Zhen shook her head.

Xiao Yu closed the book. “So should I congratulate you on reaching the third level of the Soul Transformation realm?”

Su Zhen smiled faintly. “You might want to hold off on that, Senior. The real show is just about to begin.”

They left the grand hall and entered a long corridor. On one side were iron-gray walls, while the other side was lined with translucent crystal windows, beyond which stretched a dark red sky.

In a corner of the Demon Realm sky, clouds churned like waves, blood-colored and imbued with a desolate, bleak air.

Beneath the crimson canopy roiled a vast sea of poisonous miasma.

Jagged towers and interwoven bridges loomed faintly in the purplish-red, almost black haze.

Above, dark shadows circled high in the sky. Scythe-winged demons patrolled the air, occasionally letting out piercing shrieks.

The two of them walked slowly through the corridor.

Su Zhen fished out the Bone-Regrowth Jade Crystal from her sleeve and tossed it playfully in her hand.

Xiao Yu watched her.

Su Zhen turned her head slightly. “Why are you looking at me like that, Senior? I’m not being greedy. I just thought they might do an inventory check. Since both of us entered, and you were probably registered as a Lower Seven Realm cultivator, we should at least take one item.”

“I didn’t think you’d lack something like that. And if I recall, they usually don’t bother checking, do they?”

“…That’s why I said ‘might.’”

Most of the time, they indeed didn’t check.

In her previous life, she had even chatted with the guards at the Secret Archive’s boundary gate. They couldn’t be bothered with such tedious tasks.

Moreover, according to them, even if someone managed to sneak in, it didn’t matter.

The Secret Archive was filled with scrolls and scriptures. If someone came seeking knowledge, no one would stop them.

Because the Demon God of Decrees never turned away seekers of knowledge, whether or not they were his followers.

As loyal followers, the Thousand Chariots Sect naturally upheld this doctrine.

Of course, if someone had bad luck and was caught by a cultivator from the Thousand Chariots Sect to be used in alchemy or potion-making, that was just unfortunate.

Besides, thinking of that book from earlier, this guy clearly knew about the Thousand Chariots Sect.

Su Zhen couldn’t help but ask, “Did you sneak in to learn from the Archive back in the day, Senior?”

Xiao Yu spread his hands. “The Secret Archive is a grand stage. If you’ve got the guts, come in. The Ācārya welcomes all. But once you’re inside, surviving is up to your own ability. Isn’t that common knowledge?”

Su Zhen couldn’t help laughing. “Best not to invoke his name… Wait, never mind. It doesn’t apply to you.”

He was a being on par with the Demon Gods, perhaps even superior, so calling a Demon God’s true name had no consequence for him.

For others, it could lead to terrifying outcomes. Forming too deep a connection with a Demon God could result in the soul rupturing, deviation of cultivation, total loss of reason, and eventually being corrupted into a demon by the poisonous miasma.

But such things were impossible for a Saint realm cultivator.

Though it’s true that more than a few Immortal Venerables have died at the hands of the Demon God. Those were serious battles, and they lasted a long time.

Xiao Yu looked off into the distance. “Actually, before I came to the Demon Realm, I already knew that the Demon God of Decrees was rather unique. Not only does he not mind people entering his territory, he even allows others to use his power. Even without a Demon God’s contract mark, as long as—”

“One meets his requirements.”

Su Zhen finished the sentence softly.

In truth, her former self hadn’t really needed to bear the Demon God’s seal. With her talent, she could have steadily reached the Golden Immortal realm even without that power.

But at the time, she simply wanted more.

So she chose not to resist, no longer suppressing her own desire.

Su Zhen forced herself to stop reminiscing. “Senior, what exactly did you do earlier to let me preserve my body inside the mystic path?”

“It’s a bit complicated. To sum it up, I wrapped you in a shield formed by my spiritual power, but it also had to let the spiritual web pass through you. I couldn’t just break the web or we’d have been thrown elsewhere.”

Su Zhen already understood the general principle. “I figured you wrapped your spiritual power around me. I’m just curious how you managed to avoid disrupting the web?”

“Well, that’s a long story.”

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment. “Well, it involved a few medical cultivation theories. See? It came in handy after all.”

Su Zhen immediately understood.

This guy had just been talking about sneaking into the Archive to learn techniques, and now he was putting it into practice.

But…

It must have been many years ago that he chased down a medical cultivator just to steal their techniques, right?

A strange feeling arose in Su Zhen’s heart.

“Thank you, Senior.”

She suppressed her turbulent thoughts and sincerely expressed her gratitude. “Since you’ve been here before, you must know about the Bone-Regrowth Jade Crystal.”

“Mm, I know. And since you were so calm, I figured you had plans to come in and reconstruct your body. But…”

Xiao Yu’s expression relaxed slightly, then furrowed again. “At first, I also thought it best not to interfere, but the moment I saw your body start to take damage, I just… couldn’t stand it.”

“You couldn’t stand it, Senior?”

“Yes. Just a horrible feeling. I couldn’t bear to watch.”

Xiao Yu rubbed his forehead. “Maybe I just can’t stand seeing you hurt in front of me.”

As he spoke, he sighed, seeming a little embarrassed. “But I swear, next time, if you tell me not to act, I’ll seal myself off if I have to. I won’t…”

“It’s not that serious.”

Su Zhen interrupted him helplessly. “For someone like you, even if you mess things up, you can always fix them. No need to take it so seriously.”

She simply took out the food she’d bought earlier.

Xiao Yu had barely taken a bite before praising it repeatedly. “Is this lamb face meat? Does their family have some secret recipe?”

“The wine from that place shows some craftsmanship. It’s not our place to ask for the details, but… Senior, didn’t you think earlier that I only knew how to buy sweets?”

“My mistake. You’ve got great taste in food, better than me.”

Su Zhen was still munching on the sugar cake he had bought. “Can’t say that for sure. These cakes are quite good too, they just melt in your mouth…”

She seemed to have bought them in her previous life as well.

But for some reason, they didn’t seem to taste quite like this.

Was it the difference in the cook… or in her state of mind?

Su Zhen couldn’t tell for sure. After a moment’s thought, she simply brought up the earlier matter.

“Senior, when I said you were my disciple, it was just to deal with them. I originally thought you could just stay silent. Even though you didn’t seem to mind, I still…”

“Didn’t you teach me spells? That makes you my teacher.” Xiao Yu cut her off. “I don’t feel wronged at all.”

Su Zhen blurted out, “Even though I’m only in the Soul Transformation realm? It doesn’t make you feel ashamed?”

She knew Xiao Yu clearly didn’t care about seniority or etiquette. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let her call him by name the moment they met.

Still, comparing their cultivation levels, today’s events were admittedly rather absurd.

Su Zhen said, “If, even for a moment, there was any displeasure in your heart, then I apologize to you. Don’t bottle it up.”

Xiao Yu shook his head slightly. “I understand what you mean. But no, because…”

For a moment, Su Zhen thought he would say, ‘Because it’s you, no matter what realm you’re in, I wouldn’t feel ashamed.’

However—

“First, when it comes to anything related to you, the word ‘shame’ doesn’t exist in my vocabulary.”

He spoke slowly, “And more importantly, even if it weren’t you, even if it were some random Soul Transformation cultivator I didn’t know, if they taught me spells and things I didn’t know, then they’d still be worthy of the title ‘Master.’”

Su Zhen was slightly shaken.

It might sound like common sense coming from someone else, but given this man’s identity, status, and abilities, hearing such words from him was truly unexpected.

Meeting his sincere, clear blue eyes, she suddenly found it all a little unbelievable.

—Why did this man always manage to say things that startled and impressed her in such unexpected ways?