Chapter 267- The Black-Bellied Demon Cultivator’s Senior Brother VS The Righteous Young Junior Brother (32) END
At first, Lin Yuan refused to accept the demon core, but after Ning Yizhou privately explained that he no longer had a demon core in his body, Lin Yuan finally agreed to take the former Demon Lord’s core. With its help, he advanced to the Nascent Soul stage.
Although Lin Yuan’s strength couldn’t compare to Ning Yizhou’s, with these two powerful figures in charge, the faction of demon cultivators advocating for peace naturally gained a significant boost in power.
While everyone was busy, Mu Jin secretly picked up the immortal-grade artifact that the Demon Lord had thrown at his lover earlier. However, upon picking it up, he found that the artifact no longer contained any energy.
No wonder it had dropped uselessly to the ground when thrown at Ning Yizhou. Based on Teng Gen’s earlier behavior in his spiritual sea, it was clear who had absorbed the energy from the artifact.
Teng Gen had been with Mu Jin for the last two worlds, always asleep within the system’s space. Now that it had awakened, it was clearly reacting to something unusual. Unfortunately, the current circumstances were not ideal for asking questions.
In the days that followed, Ning Yizhou officially became the new Demon Lord. To manage the affairs of the demon cultivators, he became increasingly busy. Mu Jin, meanwhile, obediently stayed within the grand hall, not wanting to meddle in the demon cultivators’ matters and inadvertently cause trouble for his lover because of his own identity.
Once Mu Jin was alone in the room, he began pondering the odd nature of the artifact the Demon Lord had used. Through the information they had gathered from the remnants of the previous lord’s followers, Mu Jin had already learned that the artifact had been sent by the Demon Lord. Could the Demon Lord have some connection with Ying?
With this thought in mind, Mu Jin quickly entered his spiritual sea to question Teng Gen about the matter. But the moment he returned to the spiritual sea, he was immediately bewildered by the scene before him.
A proud-looking black panther was lying comfortably on the ground, lazily rolling its paws. The key detail was that under its paws was a small black cat, already squashed into a ball and being forced to roll back and forth.
“Xiao Jin! QAQ” 003, seeing Xiao Jin finally appear, was so emotional that it looked like it was about to cry. Previously, this powerful being had always been asleep in the system’s space, never showing much personality, and 003 had thought it was very easygoing.
Who would’ve guessed that once awake and full of energy, this great figure would treat 003 like a toy? Not only was it tormented daily, but its fur was almost licked bald by the panther.
At this moment, 003 had no doubt that if Mu Jin had returned any later, it might have become the first bald cat in the entire system.
Although system forms could be freely chosen, 003 was very fond of its little black cat appearance. It adored the fluffy feeling and had no desire to become a hairless cat.
Watching the interaction between the panther and the cat, Mu Jin couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. He lightly coughed before respectfully addressing Teng Gen, “Senior Teng Gen.”
Teng Gen lifted his head and shook it at Mu Jin, saying, “There’s no need to be so formal. I’m Qiong Qi’s friend, and you’re his lover, so just call me by my name.”
Despite Teng Gen’s polite words, his actions didn’t change at all due to Mu Jin’s presence. Instead, he casually pulled 003 into his embrace with a paw, trapping the black cat tightly between his forelimbs and squinting his eyes in satisfaction.
When Mu Jin heard Teng Gen refer to him as Qiong Qi’s lover, he couldn’t help but feel a spark of joy in his heart. He nodded at Teng Gen and expressed the doubts lingering in his mind.
Without hesitation, Teng Gen explained, “You’re right. I’ve been in a deep sleep most of the time to avoid affecting the functioning of the small worlds with my power.”
“I woke up because I sensed the presence of the Ghost Plague Gu on that artifact. The artifact must have contained power capable of threatening Qiong Qi’s soul, which is why I intervened.”
“I can sense that the power isn’t very strong. At most, it could only injure Qiong Qi’s soul but wouldn’t be enough to obliterate it. You’ve likely noticed that in these two worlds, the degree of fusion between the evil consciousness and the Heavenly Dao is increasing, which is completely abnormal.”
“The Heavenly Dao isn’t so easily consumed. Otherwise, many more would fall during their ascension. I suspect there’s something else we’re overlooking.”
“However, after I absorbed the energy from the artifact, the opponent is likely even weaker. Their plan to attack Qiong Qi’s soul was to drain his energy, but now they’ve lost quite a bit of their own energy. I expect they will remain quiet in this world.”
After chatting with Mu Jin for a while, Teng Gen waved his hand to dismiss him. Mu Jin noticed 003 looking at him pitifully but could only offer an apologetic glance before leaving.
After all, if the great senior liked 003, there was nothing Mu Jin could do about it. He still needed Teng Gen’s help at crucial moments. Mu Jin could only secretly vow to negotiate with Jumang when they returned to the present world and make sure to compensate 003 properly.
Thus, the little black cat hung its ears in sorrow, not even noticing that the panther had slyly licked it several times.
Though Mu Jin had gotten the answers he sought from Teng Gen, he didn’t let down his guard. Even though Teng Gen said their enemy in this world should remain quiet, Mu Jin still couldn’t help but feel concerned.
He was especially wary of the Demon Lord since the artifact had come from him. It made Mu Jin wonder if in this lifetime, the Demon Lord might actually be the one possessed by Ying.
After a brief period of busyness, Ning Yizhou quickly took control of everything. Now that he was the new Demon Lord, it was impossible for him to continue collaborating with the demonic cultivators. However, since the Demon Lord had always harbored malicious intentions, Ning Yizhou had no intention of letting him off so easily.
Mu Jin initially thought that once his lover became the Demon Lord, the demonic cultivators would naturally give up on collaborating. However, he was surprised to quickly receive news that the Demon Lord still wanted to cooperate with Ning Yizhou and even brought quite a few sincere gifts.
Mu Jin thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to meet the Demon Lord and confirm his suspicions. So, he suggested to Ning Yizhou that even if they didn’t agree to the collaboration, meeting with the Demon Lord would be a good way to gauge his intentions.
It wasn’t out of place for the current Demon Lord to request such a meeting before agreeing to cooperate, so Ning Yizhou and the Demon Lord soon arranged to meet at the border between their territories.
The moment Mu Jin saw the Demon Lord, he could sense that this person had indeed once been possessed, but that trace had now disappeared. The person standing before them was undeniably the true Demon Lord.
His strength and cultivation were formidable, nearly on par with Ning Yizhou’s. Cunning and deceitful in nature, he subtly conveyed that he hoped to continue working with Ning Yizhou to fight against the human cultivators.
Mu Jin remained quietly by Ning Yizhou’s side, not interfering with his lover’s decisions.
Even when Ning Yizhou, with a smiling face, nodded at the Demon Lord and agreed to collaborate, suggesting they work together to attack the human cultivators’ stronghold, Mu Jin didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise.
Seeing Ning Yizhou smiling at the Demon Lord, Mu Jin, fully understanding his lover’s nature by now, silently lit a candle in his heart for the Demon Lord, who left feeling so satisfied.
After the Demon Lord left, Ning Yizhou, having made the decision on the spur of the moment, looked at Mu Jin, who hadn’t reacted, and curiously asked, “Xiao Jin, I agreed to work with the demonic cultivators, aren’t you angry?”
Mu Jin shook his head in response and said, “Why would I be angry? I trust that Senior Brother doesn’t truly intend to cooperate with them. I believe that Senior Brother must have his own reasons for saying that, and I trust him completely!”
Although Ning Yizhou had already anticipated this answer, he couldn’t help but feel deeply moved. He pulled the small figure beside him into his arms and pressed a kiss to Mu Jin’s soft lips.
Ning Yizhou felt that having such pure love in this lifetime was, without a doubt, the greatest happiness he could ever experience.
A month later, the demonic cultivators and demon cultivators mobilized in large numbers, advancing together toward the human cultivators’ main stronghold. By this point, the human cultivators had already fully detected the movements of both factions, and the three armies faced off against each other.
The Demon Lord, seeing the sheer size of his forces combined with those of the demon cultivators, believed they had already gained the upper hand over the human cultivators. Feeling smug, he thought that the new Demon Lord was even more foolish than the last. He was confident that once they defeated the human cultivators, he could easily extract greater benefits from the demon cultivators.
However, just as the battle was about to begin, the demon cultivators suddenly turned their weapons toward the demonic cultivators. Countless spells and treasures rained down on the demonic forces, who were completely unprepared for the betrayal and immediately suffered heavy losses.
To make matters worse, the human cultivators also began their assault, joining forces with the demon cultivators to encircle and eliminate the demonic forces. The Demon Lord himself was caught off guard by Ning Yizhou’s sudden attack, leaving him gravely wounded.
The ancient strategy of “capturing the leader to break the enemy” remained as effective as ever. Ning Yizhou understood this well. The head of the human cultivators, the leader of the Qingliu Sect, quickly arrived and joined Ning Yizhou in defeating the Demon Lord.
After the Demon Lord was killed on the battlefield, the demonic cultivators immediately lost their leader and were thrown into disarray, quickly falling apart. The infamous demonic cultivators, notorious for their killing intent and evil deeds, were slain by both human cultivators and demon cultivators.
As for the demonic cultivators who only carried an aura of darkness with little bloodshed on their hands, neither the demon cultivators nor the human cultivators pursued them to the end. Once the powerful figures from the Demon Lord’s faction—those who often instigated conflicts—were eliminated, the remaining captives, whose numbers were relatively small, were released.
After this ordeal, the demonic cultivators became the weaker faction. Their territory was already small, and since they required demonic energy, not spiritual energy, for their cultivation, their resources and environment weren’t coveted by the demon cultivators or human cultivators. This entire conflict served as a warning to them.
Of course, this overwhelming victory was the result of Ning Yizhou’s prior coordination with the Qingliu Sect, leading to successful cooperation between the two sides.
On the battlefield, Mu Shaoyuan, Mao Kun, and Luo Kangde, the Peak Lord of Chuan Yu Peak, were all overjoyed to see Ning Yizhou unscathed. They were even more shocked to learn that Ning Yizhou had become the Demon Lord and had reached the Nascent Soul stage.
Luo Kangde was filled with pride—after all, he was the master of the Demon Lord, and it was incredibly impressive to share that with others. He was even more pleased when his loyal disciple brought him many gifts. Luo Kangde was only at the Nascent Soul stage, but the resources that fell through the cracks from Ning Yizhou’s hand as a ruler were more than enough to benefit him for a long time.
Demon cultivators are skilled at collecting rare treasures and finding rare spiritual beasts. After discussing with Mu Jin, Ning Yizhou arranged for a collaboration between the human and demon cultivators. Demon cultivators would provide human cultivators with more rare treasures and help them find high-quality spiritual pets suitable for carrying. In return, human cultivators would open more secret realms to the demon cultivators and share more resources with them. This mutually beneficial agreement naturally pleased both sides, and relations between the two factions greatly improved.
In front of everyone, Mu Jin and Ning Yizhou officially became Dao Companions and received everyone’s blessings.