Gongs and drums packed the far Demon Palace, and rows of vivid red lanterns enhanced the Demon Realmâs sky.
The sound of music, emcee, and blessings pressed on, then gradually hushed. The vermilion silk glided around the Demon Palace, and the night dimmed.
Standing on the mountain, Xu Qingyue drew out the long sword he was holding behind him. His eyes were slightly red, and he couldnât help craving to charge into the massive, black Demon Palace to rescue his old friend.
âDonât be impulsive.â Chen Weiyuanâs muffled voice came from behind.
Xu Qingyue turned around and saw Chen Weiyuan pushing his wheelchair unhurriedly over. He was physically mutilated, with an unshaved beard, and in a sorry state. His slender, narrowed eyes peered at the radiant, colorful, distant Demon Palace. The thing he was looking at wasnât discernable.
However, the hand grasping the wheelchair was clenched tightly, and indistinct blood oozed out.
âNow that my soul is damaged, although I can barely recover a few points with the spirit pill, I still canât support it for too long. When the Primordial Demon Refining Array is deployed, it canât be without you.â
Chen Weiyuan said hoarsely.
âDonât do anything unnecessary and startle the snake. If you canât handle itâŠyouâll ruin the grand plan.â
Xu Qingyueâs eyes flushed, and he said: âThen am I supposed to just watch Daoist Ye suffer this humiliation, insulted and offended by his own disciple?â
Chen Weiyuan eyed the palace with icy eyes with a marginally distorted expression. In the end, he said, âQingyueâŠdonât move rashly.â
âThe formation isnât complete, and the people we have to wait for have not yet arrived. If you go over now, instead of saving Yunlan, youâll trap yourself inside.â
Xu Qingyueâs hand holding the sword kept quivering. âSo, are we really watching this happen?â
Chen Weiyuan clenched his teeth and shuddered a bit.
He slowly tasted a pinch of blood between his lips and teeth.
âYes,â he said with difficulty, âRight nowâŠwe can only watch.â
Standing outside Yuntian Palace, He Lanze watched the thunder and lightning descend in the sky with trepidation.
The entire Yuntian Palace was wobbling. This scene lasted for three days and nights. Since the day he came to Yuntian Palace to report on the Demon Palaceâs wedding banquet, he began to cross his calamity in the Yuntian Palace, the Lordâs residence.
He had never seen such cosmic thunder tribulation in his life. He was worried and irritated in his heart. He was afraid the Sect Master couldnât successfully overcome the Tribulation and feared he would be too critically wounded after the Tribulation and couldnât take action.
It was the seventh day of September. He Lanze looked to the west, the Demon Realmâs direction. An Immortalization Realm sword cultivator needed ten days to travel from the Eastern Continent to the Demon Realm. It was already too late now.
The guilt in his heart escalated.
He hated his strength anew.
What Senior Brother from Sky Sect, a supreme genius? Time and time again, he couldnât even protect the ones he loved.
Currently, at the Demon Palace.
Inside the bamboo building.
The red candle on the table burned noiselessly.
Every inch of his surroundings made him feel dazed.
Ye Yunlan was lying on the bed. His pure-white hair spread like snow, and his vibrant red dress was dazzling and beautiful.
He was drunk. The alcohol blushed his cheeks, and his golden eyes were clouded. He was soaked in incense for a few days, and his whole body was as soft as water.
The Demon Lord embraced him and leisurely stroked his cheek with his hand like brushing a piece of supple, steaming snow.
âWeâre married, Master.â
Ye Yunlan felt a little lost at this word.
The Demon Lord loved his bewildered expression and compliance. He bowed his head to taste him, those lips glowing with watery luster.
Yunlan allowed the kiss dazedly. The Demon Lordâs silhouette reflected in his eyes, and it slowly rippled and shone as if water was about to dribble.
The figure of his recollections steadily overlapped with the vague body in front of him.
Demon Lord: âWhat are you thinking?â
He shook his head, indicating that he wasnât thinking.
Yet, his brows were still mildly frowning, and his cheeks were flushed.
Demon Lord: âMaster lied to me.â
At this point, the other partyâs blood eyes seemed to exhibit a slight gloomy brilliance, overwhelming the contentmentâs initial color. It progressed into hostility and coldness that did not resemble a living person.
The pale and slender hand gently strangled his neck. The Demon Lord lowered his head, bit his earlobe, and muttered: âDonât lie to me.â
The deep darkness spread over.
He was a little out of breath and turned his head subtly, aiming to avoid it. However, the other party clasped his chin with his hand and kissed him deeper, not letting him escape.
The candle fire crackled.
The inseparable fragrance lingered in the room. He didnât know whether it was the outside flowersâ fragrance floating in or emitted from the inner roomâs depths, but he melted like hot snow. His slender fingers gripped the bedding tightly, then someone held him. His fingers were intertwined and interspersed.
The Demon Lord said hoarsely: âMaster is so warm.â
The roomâs shadows were like vines coating the window sills, intertwining into a net. It twisted, extended grotesquely, and formed a denser net to restrain his whole body. It made it difficult for him to cower away, and there was nowhere to escape.
Warm tears streamed from the ends of his eyes, soaking the white hair on his cheeks.
His wedding dress was chucked to the floor, and the pearl hairpin was flung aside.
He looked around at the known furnishings.
It was as if they were back in the Sky Sectâs bamboo building.
It was like being up in the clouds again or the surging sea.
The memory started to crack, and a white light detonated in front of him. In the mist, he trembled and said: âEnoughâŠâ
The Demon Lord said, âNot enough.â
He shook his head in tears. The other party bowed his head and kissed his eyelids to remove the tears for him.
After that, he couldnât even make a sound.
His voice was so hoarse as if burned by fire. Only the sound of the chains in his ears was rattling.
In a trance, many colorful pictures passed through his mind.
He seemed to have regressed many years ago to the secret realmâs divine with flying sparks in front of him and heat waves sweeping across his cheeks.
He met the boy struggling to climb forward in the sea of fire and saw the boyâs resistant eyes.
He flew over, attempting to rescue the other party. But suddenly, the other party held him firmly and dragged him into the sea of flames.
The flames burned and licked his skin and body, wanting to melt him, let him perish in the fire, and become a handful of ashes, so they could be buried together.
It was early morning when he awoke again. Recognized furnishings encompassed him.
He blinked in confusion and checked the world outside the window, envisioning flowers and sunshine. But he only saw a large swath of red flowers, drenched like blood.
ItâsâŠthe Demon Palace.
âMaster, youâre awake.â
His body was still encircled, and he heard the Demon Lordâs low voice.
He didnât say anything and just shut his eyes.
The Demon Lord asked him gently: âDoes Master feel okay?â
He still didnât want to talk and kept his eyes closed.
His body had seemingly fallen apart. He was too tired to even lift his fingertips.
The Demon Lord: âThe work of a human furnace is not just one moment in time. I was beside myself with joy yesterday and forgot. I will restrain myself in the future, so I will not let Master suffer.â
Approaching his ears, he whispered: âMasterâs body is not in the best state and not used to this. Youâll know the joy if you experience it a few more times.â
He didnât want to know.
The Demon Lord asked again: âIs Master feeling hungry?â Then he touched his belly. The place was no longer flat but bulged. The Demon Lord murmured with a low laugh, âI forgot, you have eaten your fill and are full of spiritual energy, so you probably wonât be hungry.â
Ye Yunlan abruptly whispered.
His voice was extremely hoarse, and he had almost lost his voice.
The Demon Lord hugged him harder.
Ye Yunlan murmured: âI am yourâŠMaster.â
The Demon Lord was silent for a while. He held him and smiled.
âDid Master forget? The bond contract between you and me has been concluded, and now we are not only master and disciple but also dao companions and husband and wife. Weâll be in the same boat in life and death.â
They had become dao companions. In life and death, they would never be apart.
This was the most dignified ceremony in the cultivation world and the most intimate relationship that could be established.
To him, it seemed like an absurd and grotesque dream.
The things that were never completed in his previous life were actually completed in this life.
Seeing that he was silent, the Demon Lordâs arm holding him tensed gradually. He suddenly said:
âSince Master hasnât gotten used to the relationship between us, we will continue to get familiar with it for a while.â
The sunlight outside the window was obscured together with the vast sea of bright red flowers on the other shore.
Ye Yunlan was tugged and plunged into the ghostly shadows again.
âTheyâre starting to get noisy again,â said the Demon Lord. âItâs deafening. It only hushes when Master is here. Itâs warmer and quieter.â
He couldnât help but want to escape.
He was caught back again with just a few steps out. After that, the barely accumulated strength was spent.
The passing time was shattered. He didnât know how long he had been in the dark.
Maybe one day, ten days, or half a month.
Later, he became wholly accustomed to the other partyâs qi and used to the other partyâs spiritual power coursing through his body.
His incomplete Nirvana body absorbed the power passed on and unexpectedly produced a satisfying attachment.
When the darkness dissipated and daylight entered from the windowâs exterior again, he had gone from birth to death, then vice versa, repeatedly for an unknown number of times.
Only then did the Demon Lord finally let him go.
The other party lifted him up, had his clothes arranged, kissed him on the cheek, and held him to the mirror.
âMaster may not know how beautiful he looks now.â
The other party chuckled lightly.
He looked at the person in the mirror.
The manâs white hair was scattered, his eyes seemed to contain spring water, his cheeks were rosy, his chin was sharp, red marks spread to his neck, and his white shirt was like crumpled snow.
The Demon Lord took the wooden comb and leisurely helped him comb his hair.
âI never thought I could have a day like this with Master.â
Ye Yunlan looked blankly.
As if falling into a sweet dream.
The breath of the person behind him taught him a familiarity and nostalgia that made him want to snuggle.
The invisible black chains still bound his limbs, which dragged on the ground and meandered in the darkness.
The chain lying at the bottom of his heart was still unsolved.
But he was too tired to think about it.
Many things were pressing on his back, making it difficult for him to breathe.
The Demon Lord embraced him from behind.
âWhy donât you speak?â He said, âMaster usually called out so beautifully before. Whatever I told you to say, you would say. But now, why are you so silent?â
Ye Yunlanâs thin lips moved subtly, yet no sound came out.
Still, no words were verbalized.
The redness in the Demon Lordâs eyes slowly deepened. The coldness and hostility that didnât resemble a living person spread from under his eyes again. It was paranoia and madness.
The Demon Lord put down the wooden comb in his hand and walked to him, âMaster, look at me,â he said.
These days, Ye Yunlan was tossed around roughly. His body already had an instinctive reaction, so he looked up at him subconsciously. His golden eyes were soft and empty.
The Demon Lord reached out and pinched his sharp jaw.
âTell me, the me standing before you, what am I to you?â