After Forcibly Taking The Beautiful, Powerful, And Tragic Demon Lord As A Concubine - Chapter 3

Yes, this was the third stage of Lin Xueqing’s plan.

Buying his life with money.

They say money makes the world go ’round, or as the saying goes, “money can make even the devil turn a millstone.”

While Ye Mingjing was no devil, and certainly didn’t care for the common gold and silver of the mortal world, he was still a Great Villain. To launch his villainous career, how could he not need natural treasures, spirit stones, and mineral mountains?

At this moment, Lin Xueqing couldn’t help but feel grateful for this “cannon fodder’s” exceptionally blessed family background.

Although this brat had no talent for cultivation and was audaciously lustful, he truly did have a magnificent lineage.

According to the setting in the book, the Alchemy Sect’s Lin family was one of the wealthiest families in the cultivation world.

The reason was simple.

In this cultivation world, medicinal pills were like rice, flour, and oil in the human world—they were daily necessities.

If you didn’t want to eat, you bought Fasting Pills.

To cleanse the marrow and refine the bones, you needed Body-Cleansing Pills.

To advance your cultivation realm, the amount of pills required was vast.

Just for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to form a Golden Core, they would need to swallow dozens of bottles of pills; the higher the realm, the more pills were required, as numerous as the hairs on an ox.

It was easy to imagine.

As a family of alchemists, the Lin family had controlled the pill market of the cultivation world for hundreds, even thousands of years.

Heaven knows how thick their foundation was!

In fact, the original novel mentioned later that the reason the Demon Lord Ye Mingjing was able to quietly develop such a massive force, with tens of thousands of subordinates becoming a dire threat to the nine righteous sects, was inextricably linked to his seizing of the Lin family’s thousand-year inheritance.

Therefore, it wasn’t difficult for Lin Xueqing to make a decision.

Rather than his whole family being thrown into a pigpen to feed pigs and having their thousand-year foundation plundered, it was better to respectfully offer the benefits and terms right from the start.

He may not have gone to university, but he knew how to do math.

Compared to the Lin family’s thousand-year legacy, the weight of the treasures he was promising now was easy to distinguish.

Of course.

Though these treasures couldn’t compare to the entire family estate, looking at them individually, they were still incredibly tempting.

Especially since Ye Mingjing was a sword cultivator.

As everyone knew, sword cultivators were poor!

A sword cultivator who hadn’t seen many spirit stones in his life was far too easy to coax; you didn’t even need hundreds of high-grade spirit stones—with just a few dozen, you could trick a crowd of sword cultivators on the street into risking their lives for you.

And although Ye Mingjing was a noble Sword Venerable, different from ordinary sword cultivators, he would certainly not remain unmoved in the face of such massive temptation.

And sure enough, when Lin Xueqing finished his promise…

The good news was:

Lin Xueqing had bet correctly.

After promising such a generous apology gift, the demonic qi on Ye Mingjing’s body indeed dissipated somewhat, and the blood-red color in those cold, clear eyes seemed to fade a little.

Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.

But the bad news was:

With only this simple verbal promise, the Great Demon Ye Mingjing did not fully trust him.

“Empty words carry no weight,” Ye Mingjing said after a brief silence.

Lin Xueqing had been waiting for those words. He immediately fumbled around his person and, sure enough, pulled out several spatial rings.

“Venerable One, please look.”

Lin Xueqing smiled flatteringly, fully displaying the skills he had mastered back when he was a salesman dealing with customers.

Though he was still not quite used to his identity as this profligate little cannon fodder and couldn’t distinguish the functions of these rings, Lin Xueqing knew how to bluff.

Having been a salesman, his tongue was top-tier when it came to deception. Truth was mixed with lies, making it difficult for anyone to tell the difference.

Lin Xueqing held the rings with a sincere and earnest attitude, saying, “I admit, I’ve truly forgotten exactly what is inside these rings. However, I suspect that any ring I would carry on me must contain good things that my mother treasures.”

“These rings are a gift to you, Venerable One. As for the rest of the apology gifts, there is no rush. Tomorrow, when I see my mother, I will explain the truth of the situation clearly. My mother is not an unreasonable person; she will surely repay you several times over.”

“Repay several times over? It seems the Lin family does indeed have quite a foundation,” Ye Mingjing sneered.

Lin Xueqing froze, suddenly feeling that Ye Mingjing’s attitude was a bit off. This tone didn’t sound like he was tempted at all.

Sure enough, a second later:

Ye Mingjing said coldly, “No wonder they were willing to use a box of top-grade pills to trade for me.”

Lin Xueqing: “…”

Oh my god.

Why was this great demon so difficult to handle?

Didn’t he already say he had the wrong person?

Clearly, Lin Xueqing’s rhetoric and promised benefits had not completely fooled Ye Mingjing. This great demon was still harboring anger—his resentment was incredibly heavy.

Lin Xueqing had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, “Venerable One, I know I was wrong in this matter. No matter how you punish me, it wouldn’t be excessive. But, I truly made an unintentional mistake. I sincerely loved Bao Bao and wanted to ask for her hand in marriage.”

“Who could have predicted the whims of fate? I actually mistook the famous Mingjing Sword Venerable for the benefactor who saved my life back then.”

“It’s all my fault, I know! But… humans are not saints; who doesn’t make mistakes? I am merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator, an ignorant commoner of the masses, and I’ve only just turned eighteen. Making a mistake is only natural.”

“So please, Venerable One, give me a chance to turn over a new leaf! If the spirit stone mines and spatial treasures I promised just now are not to your liking, please state your terms, Sword Venerable. What apology gift is needed to quell your anger? Please speak plainly, and even if I have to risk my small life, I will get it for you.”

“When did the Young Master of the Alchemy Sect’s Lin family become a ‘commoner of the masses’?”

After Lin Xueqing’s long speech, Ye Mingjing did not appear moved in the slightest. Instead, he spoke with a mocking tone:

“If you are a commoner, then what am I? A waste. A waste who was forcibly ‘married’ by a commoner.”

Lin Xueqing grew anxious: “You must not say that! How could you be a waste? You are the light of our righteous path, a hero who saved all living beings!”

“…A hero?”

“Exactly, a hero.”

Lin Xueqing said this with absolute certainty.

When he spoke, he tilted his head back and looked directly into Ye Mingjing’s eyes without flinching.

That was because those words were spoken from the bottom of his heart. There wasn’t a hint of falsehood.

“Blocking the Myriad Demon Array with your own body to save the citizens of an entire city; charging alone with your sword into the demon cultivators’ camp to take the head of the Ghost Venerable; leading your subordinates in a fierce battle for ten days and nights to reclaim the Spirit River, earning three years of respite for the righteous path… Venerable One, though I am young, it’s not as if I haven’t read books. I can tell right from wrong.”

“Oh.”

After a long silence, Ye Mingjing lowered his eyes, the corners of his lips curling into a shallow, mocking arc as he looked back at Lin Xueqing:

“But since you’ve read books, you should also know that the righteous and demonic paths have long since formed a ‘Qin-Jin alliance,’ as close as glue.”

Lin Xueqing’s lips trembled and muttered.

For the first time, the eloquent man found himself unable to argue back.

Yes, Ye Mingjing was right.

The current righteous and demonic paths were indeed indistinguishable from one another.

In fact, a hundred years ago, long before Ye Mingjing had become a complete invalid, the two sides had already signed a truce agreement.

And this was the root cause of Ye Mingjing’s tragedy.

During the war, Ye Mingjing was brave and skilled in battle, possessing great merit for slaying demons.

When the war ended, the Demon Lord—who had fought Ye Mingjing to the death on the battlefield and sneakily cut off Ye Mingjing’s right arm—became an honored guest of the Nine Righteous Sects.

Ye Mingjing was indeed a hero.

And he had indeed gone through fire and water for the sake of the righteous path, paying a tragic price.

But how could the Nine Sects ignore the feelings of the Demon Lord? How could they openly reward and promote Ye Mingjing, who had killed about a dozen members of that Demon Lord’s family?

The war had only just ended.

The righteous path had suffered heavy losses, and everything was waiting to be rebuilt.

Compared to the hard-won peace, what did a mere Ye Mingjing matter?

Thus, they said:

“Mingjing, we know you have hatred in your heart, but endure it a little longer. The people of this world cannot withstand even a bit more conflict. Wait until next year. Next year, once the righteous path has recovered, we will tear up the agreement and kill that scoundrel to avenge you.”

Ye Mingjing remained silent.

He only asked: “When can the medical cultivator arrive?”

“Wait a little longer.”

That wait lasted ten years.

Ye Mingjing did not wait for a medical cultivator, nor did he see the righteous path tear up the agreement.

What he received instead was news of the Sword Sect’s eldest disciple and the Demon Lord Xiaotian becoming Dao companions, forming an alliance.

The Sword Sect’s eldest disciple, Ye Mingxue.

She was from the same lineage as Ye Mingjing and they had grown up together. Though they had no blood relation, they were like siblings.

The night before her wedding, she came to visit Ye Mingjing.

“Senior Brother, are you… alright?”

Ye Mingjing did not speak.

Ye Mingxue covered her face and wept: “I’m sorry, Senior Brother. It’s my fault, I’ve failed you.”

Ye Mingjing said: “As long as you have a clear conscience.”

Ye Mingxue felt deeply ashamed and heartbroken, unable to face Ye Mingjing. Thus, she left a bottle of high-grade pills and departed in a hurry.

Then another ten years passed.

The Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder, the Xuanji Sword Venerable, passed away.

The only person in this world who protected Ye Mingjing—his master—was also gone.

No sooner had the Xuanji Sword Venerable left than someone set their sights on Ye Mingjing’s cultivation grounds.

“This place is rich in spiritual energy and is most suitable for cultivation. Senior Brother Mingjing, your Golden Core is already destroyed; staying here is futile. Why not vacate this place and find another blessed grotto to settle in? As for this location, Senior Brother Sun is currently on the verge of a breakthrough; it would be best for him. Senior Brother Mingjing, do you have any objections?”

“None.”

Ye Mingjing said: “Only, the medical cultivator the Sect Leader promised me many years ago—when will they arrive?”

…Naturally, he still couldn’t wait for them.

Ye Mingjing was forced to move to a corner of the Sword Sect.

A place of barren hills and bitter waters, where spiritual energy was thin.

He remained indoors all day, for decades.

Until a hundred years after the truce of the Great War between Good and Evil, the world had changed.

It seemed there was no longer a Ye Mingjing in the world.

As a result, a spoiled, eighteen-year-old youth from the Alchemy Sect somehow suddenly dug out a hidden family record.

The record not only detailed the historical nuances of the Great War but also included an illustration. The drawing used exquisite brushwork to depict the number one beauty of the cultivation world back then—and even now—Ye Mingjing.

The profligate youth was instantly struck by his beauty, his soul haunted by dreams of him.

He cried and threw tantrums, insisting on marrying the beauty into his home. He was even bold enough to ignore his mother’s refusal and secretly run to the Sword Sect with dozens of boxes of pills to propose marriage.

The Sword Sect’s managing disciple received him.

The profligate youth, with eyes gleaming and gesturing wildly, described the Ye Mingjing he had seen in the hidden record.

The managing disciple felt puzzled: “Our sect has no such person.”

The youth grew anxious and said: “Nonsense! He was the once-in-ten-thousand-years genius of your Sword Sect, a Sword Venerable at the age of twenty-one!”

The managing disciple took out the sect’s register and searched carefully: “There truly is no Ye Mingjing.”

Left with no choice, the youth pulled out his precious hidden painting and said: “Look, he looks like this. Do you recognize him now?”

The managing disciple took one look and realized: “Oh, it’s that useless person in the back mountain who eats for free!”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you wanted to marry him, why go through all that trouble?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t need that many pills; one box is enough. If one box is too much, as long as you take him away and free up the space for us, we’ll even give him to you for free.”

“…”

Thinking of these details now, even though his life was hanging by a thread, Lin Xueqing’s heart felt a pang of sorrow.

Ye Mingjing, oh Ye Mingjing.

Everyone said you later chose to fall into depravity.

They said you were cruel and terrifying.

But who ever thought about how you lived through those hundred years? How much grievance did you suffer?

“Venerable One, I…”

“In addition to the spirit stone mines and spatial treasures you promised, I want a medical cultivator who can heal me.”

What?

He agreed?

His life was saved!

Suddenly hearing this good news, Lin Xueqing’s eyes, which had been somewhat moist, snapped wide, instantly bursting with unprecedented brilliance.

But before the word “good” could escape his throat, the next second, he heard Ye Mingjing speak leisurely once more:

“I give you three days.”