Fang Li was held in Xie Huai's arms.
His eyes closed, feigning sleep.
Right now, his entire body felt like it'd been ground to dust.
Everything from last night flashed through his mind over and over...
He'd finally managed to muster up the courage to take the initiative a little... After all, Xie Huai had waited for him for this long, so it was only right for him to take the initiative a little, wasn't it?
He couldn't let Xie Huai down!
But reality proved that his initiative wasn't needed at all...
Fang Li really couldn't figure out how such a proper, upright person like Xie Huai even knew about such things. Was this the self-taught prodigy of legend?
Most importantly, where did the agreed-upon protagonist shou go?
How come the one who was left within an inch of his life after their 'battle' was him?
But, after some more thought.
Who decided that Xie Huai had to be the shou? In the book, he didn't even like men at all, and when he'd been with Yan Sui, that had all been forced.
Even Xie Huai could become bent...
No, even he himself could become bent.
Was there anything that was still impossible?
Sure enough, he'd been poisoned too deeply by the original story. The original story was already over, he had to remember at all costs not to view people through old eyes.
Xie Huai gazed tenderly at the person in his arms, watching his eyelashes tremble faintly, his neat features suffused in a red flush. He lowered his head to touch the corner of Fang Li's lips, laughing softly in a low voice. "That I'm destined to scale the heights of pleasure with Your Excellency also counts as fate, doesn't it? Was Your Excellency satisfied?"
Fate?
Was the word fate supposed to be used like this?
Fang Li continued to pretend to be asleep. If we're really talking about fate, then I should be the one to...
Recalling his embarrassing state last night...
No way, he couldn't think about it anymore.
A faint smile surfaced in the depths of Xie Huai's eyes, and he considerately didn't "awaken" Fang Li. Only after a fond kiss did he let Fang Li go and get up to leave.
When there was no one left in the room.
Fang Li finally opened his eyes sneakily.
Forget it...
He'd even been able to accept a man. It wasn't that he had much of an attachment to the top or bottom position, and besides, as expected of the number one in the world.
Just once, and he'd broken through to Soul Formation.
With a few more times, wouldn't his cultivation soar at a breakneck pace?
Fang Li's expression was grave as he pondered briefly. Dual cultivation was also a type of cultivation, so how could it be considered a shortcut? He was the one who'd been close-minded in the past!
The world had thousands upon thousands of cultivation methods. There was no better or worse, just what was usable.
......…
Fang Li slowly got out of bed and dressed. Wearing long, subtly-patterned black robes, the fabric wrapping tightly around his body, Fang Li contemplated for a moment, tugging his collar upwards as he faced a bronze mirror, but... it still didn't cover everything. Normally, Xie Huai was so cool and indifferent, but once in bed, it was like he was a different person.
Like this, other people would be able to tell what had happened with just a single glance, wouldn't they?
Fang Li coughed lightly in embarrassment.
But on second thought, everything outside would be handled by Wu Yimei, and no one would be let in to attend to them during this period of time. It was basically a world of just him and Xie Huai, and the only one they had to see in practice was Wu Yimei. If they were only meeting Wu Yimei... Mn, Wu Yimei had already witnessed an even more terrible scene. There was a saying that when there were enough lice, they would cease to itch. Fang Li's mood suddenly became serene.
Fang Li summoned Wu Yimei to the study.
As soon as Wu Yimei entered the room, his gaze fell onto Fang Li, and his footsteps paused briefly.
There was a languid charm lingering in the corners of His Excellency's eyes, and there were marks remaining on his white neck. He sat there lazily in a contented manner, the contents of last night requiring no explanation...
Wu Yimei's heart couldn't help a bit of jealousy. Xie Huai could be this intimate with His Excellency, while he didn't even dare to imagine such a thing for fear of offending His Excellency...
But, as long as he could stand guard at His Excellency's side, to him, that was more than enough.
Wu Yimei inhaled deeply and pretended not to have noticed any of this, saying respectfully, "Greetings to Your Excellency."
Fang Li was very pleased with Wu Yimei's tact and said with a nod, "Has there been any movement on Fu Junling's side?"
Wu Yimei said, "The Thousand Immortals' Alliance intends to surround Hollow Ridge, but Fu Junling hasn't permitted it yet and has sent a message saying that if Your Excellency is willing to submit to the Thousand Immortals' Alliance and turn yourself in for punishment, and if all demonic cultivators surrender to the righteous sects' control, he is willing to spare our lives."
The corners of Fang Li's lips rose. "Ridiculous."
When Wu Yimei had first heard these words, he had also been full of anger, but as the Great Sage's reincarnation, Fu Junling's cultivation was formidable and immeasurable. Right now, the Thousand Immortals' Alliance was both powerful and great in number, while most of the people of Hollow Ridge had scattered, aside from those few people he'd taken with him from the start. The demonic cultivators were like a platter of loose sand, no match for the Thousand Immortal's Alliance. It was no wonder that their opponents were so audacious.
But, naturally, there was no way they could agree to such a request.
Fang Li contemplated for a moment and said to Wu Yimei, "Have you managed to scout out Du Meng's whereabouts?"
Wu Yimei said respectfully, "This subordinate already knows where he's hiding."
Fang Li's gaze sharpened, and he slowly opened his mouth. "Good, keep a close eye on him. If there is any unusual movement at all, report it to me."
Wu Yimei said, "Understood."
As Wu Yimei left the study, he just so happened to see Xie Huai arrive, brushing shoulders as they passed by each other.
Wu Yimei scoffed coldly.
He could only watch as Xie Huai entered and closed the door.
Xie Huai headed straight for the desk, wrapping his arms around Fang Li's waist from behind, laughing softly beside his ear. "Why not sleep a little more? You're in such a hurry to get up?"
Fang Li's face reddened slightly, and he coughed lightly. "How come you're here?"
Xie Huai's pale, slender fingers slowly caressed Fang Li's wrist as he said mildly, "I came to inspect the results of cultivating."
Fang Li: "..."
Xie Huai lifted his hand and placed Fang Li atop the desk. He pressed close, lifting his eyes, and said in a grave and serious tone, "With the enemy close at hand right now, not a moment's negligence can be allowed. Cultivating mustn't be put off."
Although the reasoning was sound, but...
Fang Li felt his waist ache and said hesitantly, "If we cultivate too frequently, will that cause my foundations to be unstable?"
Xie Huai smiled faintly. "I had you take the Dragon-Bone Body Forging Pill. Your foundations have long been solidified, to ensure that you can withstand the efforts of cultivating."
Fang Li: ?
So, back then, you'd already planned this far?
Good heavens, taking that Dragon-Bone Body Forging Pill wasn't for nothing.
I never thought you were like this, Xie Huai.
Fang Li turned to run, but with a gentle tug, Xie Huai pulled him back, chin brushing lightly against his neck as he laughed softly. "My wounds still need a little more to heal. Will you help me?"
Fang Li's face was burning hot.
...…
Once that door had been opened, Xie Huai seemed to have become insatiable, dragging Fang Li along to cultivate together day after day, as if trying to make up for those nine years...
With all of their diligent cultivating, Fang Li's cultivation rose furiously, and he quickly broke through to the Void Refining stage.
One had to know, back then, even Yan Sui was only at Soul Formation, relying on the black jade talisman to remain unrivaled, but in truth, his cultivation level wasn't even as high as Fang Li's right now.
Xie Huai's wounds had also thoroughly healed.
Both of their cultivation levels had reached a bottleneck for now, only waiting to see when they could take that final step and reach the level of Unified Dao true immortals.
Today, the two of them were nestled together.
Fang Li suddenly began to wonder what Fu Junling's cultivation level was now.
Although Xie Huai had said before that Fu Junling had yet to become a Unified Dao true immortal, since he'd dared to make his identity public, at the very least, it meant that he had the confidence to make the Thousand Immortals' Alliance submit, so he must have some real ability. Simply throwing around the identity of a reincarnation wouldn't be enough to convince the public.
In the past, perhaps he'd still needed to bide his time, but now, nine years had passed... It was evident from how he'd been able to fight Xie Huai to a draw.
Fu Junling was also only a step away from becoming a Unified Dao true immortal.
And as an old monster who'd lived for tens of thousands of years, he would have countless tricks up his sleeves. Perhaps he would be able to break through at any time... At that time, he would no longer have any apprehensions.
A battle between Hollow Ridge and the Thousand Immortals' Alliance was certain.
Fang Li said, "We can't sit still and wait for death."
Xie Huai gazed at him with a smile, his eyes gentle and resolute. "Whatever you plan to do, I'll be by your side."
...…
Blackwater Lake was situated within a wasteland in Tuyan province. The land here was barren, beset with fierce winds and freezing sands year-round. It was completely inhospitable to common mortals, nor did it have any cultivation resources, so cultivators wouldn't come here at all. Thus, it was always desolate and deserted.
But beneath the cold, still Blackwater Lake was an enormous black underground palace.
There were countless demonic cultivators inside the underground palace.
Inside the palace, Du Meng sat atop the highest seat, with all of his subordinates below. He held a winecup in one hand, a beauty in the other, the palace hall filled with extravagance and degeneracy.
The beauty was clothed in thin, diaphanous fabric, a cluster of grapes cupped in both hands, smiling sweetly at Du Meng, voice delicate and charming as a songbird. "Sect Master..."
Du Meng's frigid face was icy-cold as he gazed at the delicate, fawning beauty in his arms. Suddenly, he felt utterly drained of patience, hurling the winecup in his hand at the ground!
The beauty was immediately terrified into shivers, curled up in a bow as he furiously brought his head to the ground for fear that Du Meng would kill him in a moment of fury. Du Meng had already killed plenty before him!
Du Meng's subordinates were also on pins and needles as they said, "Please cease your anger, Sect Master, please..."
Du Meng's icy, sinister gaze swept below, then to the pleading, sobbing beauty, but he only felt his anger continue to rise.
Ever since Yan Sui had appeared, Du Meng had fallen short of him by a cut in every way. He hadn't turned traitor and colluded with Heaven's Summit in order to get rid of that brat Yan Sui just to end up where he was today. He'd intended to become the powerful demon lord with multitudes at his beck and call!
Back then, he had leaked information to Heaven's Summit and allowed the Thousand Immortals' Alliance to charge into Hollow Ridge, but Xin Hanzhou, that brat, had betrayed him, ruthlessly turning on him afterwards, saying things like how they couldn't possibly collude with demonic cultivators and immediately rushing forward to kill him.
If it was just Heaven's Summit, then that would be one thing. Xin Hanzhou couldn't do much about him, either. If it came down to it, they would just continue fighting, and the position of demon lord could still only be left to him. But who could've known that Xie Huai would turn around and become the number one in the world, pursuing him to the death without mercy!
He'd been chased around by Xie Huai to the point that he didn't even dare step foot back in his old lair and had no choice but to abandon the helm of the Zenith Sky Creed, hiding in this deserted corner of the world, not even daring to poke his head out in all these years.
Back in the day, he had also been a king on his own mountain whose might shook the earth. To think that he'd become a dog without a home, how despicable!
His days were already stifling enough, and now, a Great Sage had popped up, too.
Under the Great Sage, the righteous sects had all bowed their heads. These days, the Thousand Immortals' Alliance's influence was strong and vast, while the demonic cultivators had been beaten into a ragged mess. All of the demonic cultivators had to be extremely careful and discreet whenever they went out. Many of his own subordinates had already been killed by members of the Thousand Immortals' Alliance while going out to snatch resources.
Right, they'd heard that Yan Sui, that rascal, wasn't actually dead and had also returned.
All of the nets he'd tossed had come up empty, and he hadn't been able to reap any rewards at all. These days, he couldn't return to the Zenith Sky Creed, Hollow Ridge was his mortal enemy, and the Thousand Immortals' Alliance was close on his heels. The world was so vast, yet there was no place for him!
Du Meng was so angry that his eyes flashed with killing intent, his chest heaving.
With a crack, Du Meng squeezed the beauty's neck into pieces, tossing the corpse away coldly.
The other demonic cultivators in the room didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.
The Sect Master's moods had become more and more volatile, often killing at the slightest displeasure. They knew why the Sect Master was unhappy, but there was nothing to be done! They were also very stifled!
Rather than these days of hiding this way and that, being under the demon lord's thumb back then had been better...
Du Meng's eyes were incomparably cold and violent. He waved his hand, about to have a subordinate bring another beauty over, when suddenly, the palace trembled fiercely!
The ceiling of the palace was split open by a sword, the light of the sun suddenly spilling forth. Lake water began to rush in, drowning the entire palace in an instant!
Countless demonic cultivators flew out of the palace, only to see that they'd long been surrounded!
The color drained from their faces in shock, thinking that the Thousand Immortals' Alliance had come knocking.
But who could've known that on closer inspection, each and every one of those cultivators were surrounded with black mist, their faces full of killing intent. To think that it was also a horde of fiendish demonic cultivations.
And at the very front, stood three people.
Two of them, everyone recognized.
The red-eyed one dressed in black with a sinister expression was Wu Yimei.
The one in white holding a sword in one hand was Yuyi-jun, Xie Huai.
In between them stood a young man in black robes, his expression languid and carefree.
In conjunction with the rumors from outside, the young man's identity needed no explaining.
It was the demon lord who'd come back from the dead!
The crowd was overwhelmed with terror.
When he saw Xie Huai, Du Meng's pupils shrank. Before he even had time to think, he reflexively turned to run!
But to his surprise, Xie Huai didn't move.
It was black-robed young man who acted!
A black stone halberd appeared in the young man's hands, and he struck with the force of lightning, cutting off Du Meng's path. Like a phantom, his figure appeared in front of Du Meng in the blink of an eye.
Du Meng 's eyes chilled, and he had no choice but to block with his blade, but the black stone halberd carried a gargantuan, thunderous weight and was impossible to block, causing his feet to sink halfway into the ground. Although they'd only exchanged a single blow, Du Meng realized in an instant that his opponent was at least his equal and even outmatched him by a cut. On a normal occasion, having a match would have been fine, but right now, Xie Huai was stalking behind him like a predator, so drawing out the battle would only lead to death.
His gaze fell onto that unfamiliar face as he looked at the black stone halberd in his opponent's hands.
It was the demon lord's spirit weapon.
Then, this was the demon lord Yan Sui.
How vile!
A disbelieving expression appeared on Du Meng's face. Even if he really had stolen a body to return to life, how could he have re-cultivated so quickly?
Fang Li's expression was ice-cold. Strike after strike, he gave Du Meng no chance to catch his breath at all!
Du Meng turned to run, but Xie Huai in his white robes blocked his path with an indifferent expression.
There wasn't a single path of retreat!
In front of him was the demon lord, and behind was Xie Huai.
It was a dead end.
Du Meng was also the decisive type. With things at this point, he finally accepted his fate and sneered, "If you're going to kill me, then do it. What need is there to fool around?!"
He'd had enough of these stifling days!
Du Meng's subordinates had also been surrounded under Wu Yimei's command, and seeing this scene, their hearts chilled. Yuyi-jun and the demon lord had struck together today, and even the Sect Master had been beaten without a chance to resist, so what could they do?
When they recalled the demon lord's previous cruel and cold-blooded methods and how he'd handled traitors... despair appeared on their faces. Would it be better just to end themselves and get it over with? Or else they'd be skinned and have their tendons pulled out and their souls refined...
Fang Li glanced at Du Meng lazily, and the corners of his lips rose as he said leisurely, "This lord is still missing a Right Adjutant. Are you willing?"
Du Meng was dumbfounded.
Fang Li wasn't here to kill him?
Back then, he'd been to one to betray him. Besides poisoning him, he'd also leaked information to the Thousand Immortals' Alliance. With Yan Sui's vicious, cold-blooded, vengeful nature, he would still spare his life?
He fixed his eyes on Fang Li, his brows knit tightly, as if trying to discern whether or not he was telling the truth.
But Fang Li didn't intend to give Du Meng too much time to think. He said mildly, "If you're not willing, then I'll kill you."
Du Meng: "..."
If he didn't submit, the only road left was death.
Now this was Yan Sui's style.
Du Meng looked at the person before him hatefully. In his centuries-long life of doing as he pleased, the last time, he'd fallen at this person's hands, and this time, he'd fallen at this person's hands yet again.
How unwilling he was.
But one had to submit to reality. If living was possible, who would want to die?
Du Meng slowly knelt on one knee and lowered his head, speaking in a heavy voice. "I accept Your Excellency as my liege."
Fang Li smiled and nodded.
His indifferent gaze swept over the other demonic cultivators behind Du Meng.
As soon as they saw that even the boss was kneeling, they looked at each other and swiftly sank to their knees in unison!
If they didn't kneel today, they would die. Besides, it wasn't even the first time they'd been subdued by the demon lord. Last time, Yan Sui had killed until they'd submitted. Back then, there'd still been plenty of people who were unwilling to submit, causing rivers of blood to flow and many lives to be lost... The stubborn ones had more or less all died back then.
This time, everyone was very familiar with it!
The crowd exclaimed in quick succession, "We accept Your Excellency as our liege!"
...
Three days later, atop Hollow Ridge.
Fang Li was clothed in a set of intricately patterned black robes. Xie Huai was beside him, personally helping him tie his belt and smoothing out the wrinkles around his collar. He fell silent for a few moments, then asked slowly, "You've made your decision?"
Fang Li smiled faintly and said carelessly, "Even if I don't become the demon lord, the world will still call me a devil, so I might as well."
He sure didn't care how the world looked at him. As long as Xie Huai trusted him, that was enough.
Fang Li looked at Xie Huai warmly, his eyebrows raising. "What about you? Are you really sure?"
Xie Huai gazed at him, then suddenly smiled.
This was the person he'd fallen in love with, who knew where to draw the line between what he would and would not do... He could face anything without fear and cut down foes without hesitation, and he could also treat the weak with mercy, kindness, and tenderness.
No matter what kind of situation he was in, he would hold fast to his heart. He wouldn't do things that he shouldn't, nor would he lose himself.
What was important was him as a person, not his identity.
Since that was the case, then even if he was the demon lord, what did it matter?
And this time, no matter when or where, Xie Huai would stand by his side.
Xie Huai grasped Fang Li's hand and smiled faintly. "This isn't the first time I'm accompanying my lord there. What is one more time?"
Their eyes met, and they laughed.
Inside the great hall of the demonic palace.
Wu Yimei stood on the left, Du Meng on the right.
Behind them, the hall was filled with demonic cultivators.
Just like nine years ago.
Those who could enter the great all were all demonic cultivators who'd made a name for themselves. The crowd below whispered amongst themselves, each and every one of them sighing in their hearts.
In the past, they'd had no choice but to surrender to Yan Sui after being forced by his cold-blooded methods. Although they'd accepted Yan Sui as their liege, they'd still been somewhat unwilling in their hearts. Later, when Du Meng had begun scheming in secret, many of them had betrayed Yan Sui.
But who could've known that after Yan Sui's death, they wouldn't be able to live the good life of freedom, either? If they weren't being beaten by Xie Huai into scurrying like mice, then they were being chased around by the Thousand Immortals' Alliance into fleeing like dogs.
Hollow Ridge had scattered like sand, while the Thousand Immortals' Alliance was like the sun in the midday sky.
Everything had turned upside-down.
Their days were even worse than before.
They'd already been in dire enough straits, but then the demon lord had actually come back to life and found them. Originally, they'd thought they were dead for sure this time.
In the past, they had all witnessed Yan Sui's cruel and cold-blooded methods... Forget betraying him, even failing to obey an order or failing to carry out a task would result in being cut into pieces and sent to a miserable death!
At the time, more than a few people had been prepared to end their own lives, but who could've known that not only would Fang Li not kill them, he'd even leave them a way out. As long as they submitted to him once more, everything could be buried in the past!
Who would dare not to submit?
The crowd's gaze swept over the front of the great hall. Two figures, one white and one black, entered slowly. Immediately, the entire hall fell into dead silence, so that even the drop of a pin would be heard.
His Excellency and Yuyi-jun sat down hand in hand.
This scene seemed to overlap with that of nine years ago, only that time, Yuyi-jun was still His Excellency's plaything, at the mercy of His Excellency's whims. This time, they stood together adoringly, shoulder to shoulder.
Most importantly...
Not a single person today dared to look down on Yuyi-jun even the slightest.
This was the number one in the world!
Although the Thousand Immortals' Alliance now had the Great Sage's protection, they had His Excellency! And they also had the number in the world, Yuyi-jun, Xie Huai. Since that was the case, did they need to fear those Thousand Immortals' Alliance folks?
Perhaps even a battle with the Great Sage wasn't out of the question!
Although their hearts were still full of fear and awe toward the Great Sage—after all, the Great Sage was the only Unified Dao true immortal in the world in the last ten thousand years, an existence akin to a god in their hearts, and even thinking about him would inspire fear and the desire to submit... But the Great Sage hated demonic cultivators most of all, and the Thousand Immortals' Alliance was their mortal enemy that they were destined to fight to the death with. They had no choice. They couldn't possibly allow the Thousand Immortals' Alliance to control their fates.
Now, only by following His Excellency and Yuyi-jun was there hope of standing against the Thousand Immortals' Alliance!
Speaking of which, it was His Excellency who was really impressive!
Putting aside his seizing of Xie Huai, he'd actually managed to get Yuyi-jun to submit. Now, His Excellency was able to make use of Xie Huai, causing the Thousand Immortals' Alliance to be short the power of the number one in the world. They were fully impressed!
And His Excellency had also been able to spare them and forget past regressions, allowing them a place to belong.
More than a few of them had lost all dissatisfaction and were a bit heartfelt in their submission.
Wu Yimei's bearing was respectful.
Du Meng's expression was complicated.
Although each had their own thoughts, when the two of them made eye contact, they knelt in unison and said in a clear voice, "We humbly welcome Your Excellency's return!"
The demonic cultivators behind them also knelt to the ground as one, the chorus of voices rising like a tide. "We humbly welcome Your Excellency's return!"
Fang Li's gaze swept past the countless demonic cultivators below. He turned back and glanced at Xie Huai and saw that Xie Huai was also looking at him, eyes warm and resolute, and he couldn't but smile at him.
Xie Huai smiled back.
This time.
He would stay by Fang Li's side, hand in hand, never to be split apart again.