For two whole days and nights, the palace where the Demon King lived was extremely quiet. Not only was the Scarlet Sky Palace quiet, but the entire demon race was quiet.
Since the Tianji Sect leader finished his sermon, many high-ranking members of the demon clan have chosen to go into seclusion for a short period of time. Rong Lian is no exception.
Outside the pavilion, the setting sun slowly sank from the horizon. The mountains were lush and green in the shadow of the sunset glow, and the light shone on the surface of the pool beside the palace, casting a long and decadent line.
In the pavilion in the middle of the lake not far away, the servant looked back at the young man in white clothes who was sitting inside calmly, fanning the fire by the small stove, and felt uneasy.
"Sir, it's almost dark. Why don't we go back first? You are not allowed to enter His Majesty's bedroom without permission."
"Why are you replying? Can't you see that my soup is almost ready?" Lin Renyi looked nonchalant. He tested the temperature of the jade bowl with the handle of his fan and directed the people behind him, "Help me take this out and put it away. Be careful not to spill it."
Upon hearing the master's order, a thin layer of ice immediately condensed on the fingers of the demon maids standing on both sides. After cooling down, they slowly placed the soup bowl with a red bottom on the plate covered with red velvet cloth.
"Go and see if His Majesty has come out of confinement."
Lin Ren urged, then turned around, took out a bronze mirror, and began to tidy up his clothes.
He received news from the chief steward of the palace today and stayed here specially in order to meet the Demon King before he came out of retreat.
Originally, Lin Ren relied on his favor to secretly aim for the position of the Demon Queen. Unfortunately, the demon clan was suddenly attacked by the ghost domain, causing great damage to the entire clan. Rong Lian also had an unstable temper for a period of time, and no one dared to offend him.
Now, the righteous demon clan is about to go to war with the ghost realm again. If the war really starts, it will probably drag on for several years. After Lin Ren's family relied on him to rise to power, their ambitions have grown. Recently, they have been suppressed by the four major clans. At this critical moment, he must strive for enough benefits for his family.
In fact, he was a little nervous when he came here today.
Rong Lianxiu's mental method is the Qingqiu clan's top dual cultivation technique. For the Qingqiu clan, sex has lost more of the pleasure of intercourse and has instead become a pure means of cultivation.
As for Lin Ren, he was able to stand out from the numerous monster tribes not only because he tried his best to please others and carefully observed the preferences that Rong Lian inadvertently revealed, but also because his physique was a furnace cauldron physique suitable for dual cultivation.
To be honest, Lin Ren has always had an inexplicable fear of Rong Lian.
This fear was very abrupt. After all, in the eyes of many demon ministers, Rong Lian was an emperor who was wanton and domineering and never played by the rules. Although he was cruel, he was also easy to deal with. So those ministers criticized the demon king's bloodline while fearing his cruel methods, and reported on each other every few days.
But Lin Ren had been with Rong Lian for so long, and still felt that he had never seen through him. Even after they had practiced dual cultivation, Rong Lian never stayed in his bedroom. Supporting him to the top was more like competing with the four great families.
However, he had to do this.
Lin Ren sighed in his heart, feeling mixed emotions of worry and joy.
He was a weak cat demon, and his family's traditional bloodline was not as strong as those of the demon clans with deep roots. Without him, the family would have to return to the days of living under someone else's roof.
And there is also... ... Lin Ren does have feelings for Murong Lian, although it is not as good as the "love" that human cultivators often talk about, but he does like her.
When Lin Ren was bullied by his fellow demons and his innocence was tarnished, it was Rong Lian who saved him and gave him a place to stay. This is also why the demons are generally emotionally indifferent and double cultivation is just a joke, but he goes around beating up those who want to climb into the demon king's bed.
It's a pity that even though they have done the most intimate things, they still seem like there's a mountain between them.
Forget it, I'll just stay with him forever.
As Lin Ren was thinking this, he saw the servant running over hurriedly, so he quickly ordered the maid behind him to take the tray and follow him towards the bedroom.
"How is it?" he asked.
"In reply to your question, it seems that His Majesty has just come out of retreat and is now bathing."
Lin Ren was overjoyed, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
####
Rong Lian had indeed just come out of seclusion not long ago.
Thanks to the preaching, his state of mind, which had not changed for a long time, was loosened, and he successfully broke through to the state of out-of-body perfection.
His cultivation, which had been difficult to improve for so many years, finally improved, and Rong Lian was in a rare good mood.
He ordered his servants to prepare the bath. He took off his crown and threw it on the screen, then walked down the steps of the warm jade bath with bare feet, letting the boiling spiritual spring water cover his beautifully shaped muscles.
"Your Majesty, Young Master Lin requests an audience."
Just when Rong Lian was about to take off his crown, the demon servant holding a palace lantern knocked on the palace door.
Through the empty palace door, the sound of no spiritual power being used was very light. However, a great master like Rong Lian who was in the Out-of-Body Stage could hear it all.
"oh?"
The man stopped what he was doing, casually placed his hand on the edge of the pool, and gently tapped the jade bricks with his knuckles.
Normally, he didn't like outsiders to set foot in his bedroom. Even when they were practicing dual cultivation, he would always allow them to go to other young masters' bedrooms. There was no reason for anyone else to sleep here with him.
In the entire Chixiao Palace, the Demon King's bedroom was an absolute forbidden area. There were also some who were smart enough to break in, but they were all thrown into the underground demon tower to feed the dogs. Over time, no one dared to come anymore.
But Lin Ren—
Rong Lian had an impression of this person in the huge harem. A hundred years ago, he deliberately wanted to curb the power of the four major families in the court, so he ordered a furnace tripod from an ordinary family to create a gesture of exclusive favor.
Although Lin Ren doesn't seem to be very smart, at least the fact that he attracts hatred everywhere is in line with Rong Lian's wishes.
It just so happened that he was in a good mood today, so the demon servant who was anxiously guarding outside the door also heard the demon king's voice of approval, "Let him in."
The layers of palace doors opened, and the young man in white gave a look to the servant, brought the soup bowl over, straightened his back, and strode into the bedroom.
The demon servant looked at Master Lin's back and didn't react for a long time.
Only after the door was completely closed did he feel a little scared and relieved.
Fortunately, he had established contact with Master Lin not long ago. The demon servant knew very well that for so many years, even those favorite ministers were not qualified to enter the emperor's bedroom.
Maybe... ... the rear position that has been vacant for so long... may really be taken.
The demon servant thought so and turned around to ask several servants to leave the bedroom.
On the other side, Lin Ren, with anticipation, excitement, and a little uneasiness, placed the soup bowl steadily on the black carved sandalwood table in the bedroom, and whispered, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on coming out of retreat. This is the deer blood soup I just made. The heat is just right, and it's best to drink it after it cools down."
After he finished speaking, the entire bedroom returned to silence, so quiet that Lin Ren felt uneasy standing there.
After a long time, he finally heard the sound of water dripping, and a magnetic voice came from a distance separated by several walls, "Come here."
Lin Ren walked into the misty bathtub.
The man was leaning against the edge of the pool, his eyes slightly closed. The red marks at the corners of his eyes were the same color as the crown on his head. His perfect and somewhat enchanting face was faintly visible in the thick mist. The condensed mist slid down from his naked body and sank into the hazy water.
Lin Ren held his breath.
Even he, facing the charm of the Qingqiu Nine-Tailed Clan, still couldn't stop himself.
Rong Lian did not open his eyes, but waved his hand lazily, "Come here, help me untie my crown."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
For fear of angering him, Lin Ren quickly lowered his head and looked away.
He felt a slight tug in his hair and Rong Lian raised his eyelids.
On the water, the young man in white was kneeling beside the pool behind him, his well-maintained jade-like hands gently wrapped with a red hairband, his expression still as cold and indifferent as usual.
For some reason, when Rong Lian saw this scene for the first time, he felt inexplicably familiar, so familiar that his sea of consciousness ached slightly.
"Your Majesty, I..."
After Lin Ren took off his hair crown and put it aside gently, he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist by the person in front of him and was stunned for a moment.
The man's brows were tightly furrowed, large beads of sweat rolled down his head, and a rare expression of pain appeared on his flawless face.
This scene seemed to overlap with a fragment that had long since disappeared. However, Rong Lian searched through every corner of his memory and still could not find the source of this familiar feeling.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing—"
Lin Ren was horrified and was about to speak when he was pulled forward by an irresistible force.
“Hualalalalalal—”
Water splashed everywhere.
The young man in white who had just been kneeling by the pool was dragged directly into the pool, and the scalding hot water poured all over Lin Renyi's face.
He could feel that the force on his wrist had not been lifted, but was getting tighter and tighter, pulling towards that jade-like chest.
In the mist, Lin Ren saw that Rong Lian's pupils had turned cold and golden. A huge white nine-tailed shadow was looming behind him. He was so frightened by the pressure that he didn't dare to move at all.
In a trance, he heard a very light sigh.
"Aci..."
But this sigh mixed with pain was so light and so fast that it was almost an illusion.
Resign
It sounds like a person's name.
Just when Lin Ren was so stiff that he dared not move, the demonized Rong Lian had returned to normal.
He seemed to have no recollection of what had happened before. But perhaps in order to cover up his sudden loss of composure, he pulled the man out of the bathtub and exerted force on the hand on the young man in white.
Now, Lin Ren's wet clothes turned into shredded pieces of cloth.
The demons were very accepting of this kind of thing, so Lin Ren tilted his head back as his chin was pinched, and was forced to accept a long and predatory kiss.
This was the first time Rong Lian kissed him.
Lin Ren tightened his fingers joyfully and was about to put them on the other's neck when he was suddenly met with a pair of enchanting golden eyes that had not yet faded their icy coldness.
The man stopped moving, looking sinister.
In one hand he held a jade plaque engraved with a blooming lotus that Lin Ren was very familiar with, and his tone did not reveal whether he was happy or angry.
"Where did you get this jade token?"
####
Liu Yuan, it’s Liu Yuan again.
For no reason, Zong Ci felt inexplicably irritated.
After returning from the mountain, he meditated all night and did not leave the room until dawn the next day.
According to the agreement, today is the time he and outer disciple Wang Bing had agreed to meet at the foot of the mountain.
For the first time, Zong Ci felt regretful.
If he had known that Liu Yuan was also coming to help and even instigated Wang Bing to ask him for help, he would never agree no matter what.
Who knows what evil plans the high-ranking officials in that ghost realm are planning? This feeling of the enemy being in the dark and me being in the light is not a pleasant one.
The sun has not yet risen, and the clouds in the distance are dyed red by the morning sun. Huge birds are circling and singing in the mountains. The red walls and white tiles of the fairy palace on the platform below have a sense of holiness that cannot be desecrated.
Gazing at the scenery from afar, Zong Ci took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, and his eyes inadvertently swept across the eaves of the Xuan room.
For some reason, after they parted the night before yesterday, he was vaguely concerned about the reaction of the Tianji Sect Master after he took his pulse.
Even though the disease is terminal and difficult to cure, it shouldn't be enough to scare Qian Yuexi, who has always been ethereal and would not show any fear even if everything collapses in front of her, right
He was just about to walk over to take a look, but before he had taken two steps, he saw Qian Yuexi sitting under the peach tree, looking straight towards him.
Could it be that she was waiting for him
Zong Ci was startled by this sudden thought, and quickly waved it away before bowing and greeting, "Master, good morning."
"morning."
Qian Yuexi responded softly, and suddenly asked, "Daoyou, are you going down the mountain?"
"Yes." The boy smiled, "I promised a friend to do a mission today."
At this point, Zong Ci suddenly remembered, "Speaking of which, it's time for the Sect Master to return to Tianshan. My trip will probably take several days, so it seems I won't be able to see you off."
Zong Ci had no idea why the leader of the Tianji Sect came into the world, and with his current identity he was unable to access information of this level.
But for some reason, when he thought that this man in front of him, who seemed as cold as a banished immortal but was actually as gentle as jade, was about to leave, he subconsciously felt a little unknown regret.
Qian Yuexi was silent for a moment about Zong Ci's guess. He neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he picked up the wine jug on the table, poured two glasses of wine, and pushed one of the glasses over with his spiritual power.
"Since this is a farewell, then fellow Daoist Zong, please have a drink with me."
As he said this, his fingertips beneath his white sleeves could not stop shaking, and he couldn't even hold on to the broken sword fragment.
"good."
Seeing the wine glass, Zong Ci did not refuse.
He had always liked drinking, but because he was suppressed too much by Qingxuzi in the early stages of his cultivation in his previous life, he felt some reflexive discomfort when he saw alcohol afterwards. But he still liked it in essence and would drink a little occasionally.
In particular, when he smelled the fragrance of the wine from a long distance away, Zong Ci felt that his thousand-year-old craving for wine was aroused.
He picked up the wine glass floating in the air, raised it with Qian Yuexi from a distance, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.
As soon as it entered his throat, the cold wine immediately turned into a rich and fragrant flame, burning all the way into Zong Ci's stomach.
“Good wine!”
Even someone as knowledgeable as him couldn't help but praise it, "It's thick but not greasy, fragrant but not vulgar, strong but not intoxicating, it's really worthy of being called immortal wine!"
Perhaps it was the alcohol that clouded his brain, for Zong Ci only reacted after he finished saying this.
Xianlao wine is the unique holy wine produced by Tianjimen. There is only one store that sells it.
In his previous life, when he accidentally entered Tianshan Mountain, Zong Ci had the honor of drinking it once, and he never forgot it and thought about it for a long time.
So here comes the question. He has never been to Tianjimen in his life, and the immortal wine of Tianjimen is not something famous all over the world.
Wouldn't it be embarrassing if the leader of the Tianji Sect asked him how he knew the name of this wine
Fortunately, Qian Yuexi didn't seem to notice this.
After Zong Ci finished drinking, he turned around and found that it was getting late. He was afraid that the leader of the Tianji Sect would find out something was wrong, so he quickly made a few polite excuses before the other party discovered his flaw and hurried down the mountain.
What Zong Ci didn't know was that after he went down the mountain, the man looked at his back in his consciousness and sat stiffly in the wheelchair for a long time, with an expression that was hard to tell whether he was sad or happy.
While they were chatting, within Qian Yuexi's wide sleeves, the fragments that were so damaged that their shapes could not be discerned suddenly moved.
Although it was so subtle that it could be ignored, it did, indeed, move.
If Zong Ci saw it, he would definitely recognize what the fragment was.
That was the supreme treasure of the Heavenly Dao that he had obtained from the Tianji Sect in his previous life, and it was also the divine artifact Tianwen that was shattered when he ascended to heaven to resist the thunder tribulation.
High-level magical weapons like this, which require a drop of blood and a soul stick to recognize their master, will show unique agility in front of their masters.
Even though Tianwen has been silent for a thousand years, it still remembers the appearance of its master's incomplete soul.
—Because that soul is the only light that emits color when everything in the world is covered with dust.