After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 2

The dungeon of the Demon Realm knew no daylight. Only the faint, ghostly flame burning outside the cell cast a weak, flickering light.

Qiū Fùxuě’s spirit was a pure, flawless white lotus. He watched the subtle changes in its petals, keeping track of the passage of time. He calculated that he had been held here for seven days.

Propping himself against the wall with his hand, he weakly sat up. The movement, however, aggravated the wound on his chest, and fresh blood broke through the thin scab and began to flow.

Jǐufāng Cāngzé was a man with a small heart, holding a grudge and always seeking revenge. In the seven days he had been locked in this dungeon, countless brutal instruments of torture had been used on him—not to end his life, but to make it a living hell.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Leaning crookedly against the wall, every cough sent a trickle of crimson blood to his lips.

He was born a spirit being. From a young age, his master had only allowed him to consume flower petals and drink dew. He had never been exposed to any dark, corrupting energy. But in this treacherous Demon Realm, he would not be afforded the same kindness he had received in the Sect of a Thousand Thoughts.

“Ah, how pathetic.” A soft sigh echoed from the darkness.

Qiū Fùxuě tiredly closed his eyes, not bothering to look at the newcomer. His voice was hoarse. “…I’ve already been tortured for the day.”

Lún Líng sneered, passing through the cell door that was so impenetrable to Qiū Fùxuě as if it were nothing.

He walked up to the seemingly shattered figure and looked down at him. “You keep track well. But if I insist on torturing you one more time, what can you do about it?”

Qiū Fùxuě’s eyes were half-open, and his body trembled imperceptibly.

Since arriving here, he had never seen Jǐufāng Cāngzé, but he saw Lún Líng every day.

Lún Líng would always bring the other three Shadow Killers to torment his battered body with the cruel punishments of the Demon Realm.

For all four Shadow Killers to appear together just for one prisoner, it showed how highly Jǐufāng Cāngzé regarded him.

The suffocating demonic energy seeped into his limbs through his wounds, a heart-wrenching agony for a pure spirit like him.

Like a fish on a chopping block, Qiū Fùxuě progressed from his initial struggles to a state of numbness. He had realized he had no room to resist.

Just a few days ago, when he tried to take his own life, he was discovered. They pierced his collarbones with vines and left him hanging in the air for an entire night.

From the moment he was captured, life and death were no longer within his control.

Lún Líng was just following orders. Seeing a look of “fear” on the face of the once-arrogant Immortal Lord gave him a strange sense of satisfaction, so he stopped trying to intimidate him.

“Come with me. His Highness wants to see you.”

A summons from Jǐufāng Cāngzé was not a good thing.

Qiū Fùxuě remained seated, unwilling to move.

Lún Líng had already beaten him to a pulp, so he naturally didn’t expect him to get up on his own. He bound Qiū Fùxuě’s bruised wrists and dragged him out of the dungeon like a broken sack.

Leaving the dungeon, Qiū Fùxuě’s eyes were sensitive to the sudden light. It took him a long time to adjust.

Without the strength to stand, he could only let himself be dragged, leaving a long trail of blood on the rough ground.

At the Palace of a Myriad Demons in the Azure Abyss, Jǐufāng Cāngzé sat on the throne at the center of the main hall. His posture was wild and unrestrained, and his crimson eyes watched the person being dragged in with great interest.

A pure spirit, born from a lotus pond, was a rare and valuable commodity. Everyone wanted a piece of him, as refining his essence would significantly increase their cultivation.

In the middle of the hall, there was a gilded cage about ten feet tall, which looked as though it had been prepared specifically for Qiū Fùxuě.

“Immortal Lord Fùxuě, get up and have a look. Are you satisfied with the gift this lord has prepared for you?”

Qiū Fùxuě didn’t respond. However, a wave of tyrannical demonic energy forced him to lift his head, bringing the lavishly decorated gilded cage into his view.

The Demon Realm was mostly dark and gloomy. No one knew where Jǐufāng Cāngzé had gotten such a resplendent cage.

He moved his dry, painful throat. “There’s no need for the Demon Lord to use such a beautiful thing to imprison me…”

“This lord didn’t give you a choice.”

Jǐufāng Cāngzé casually waved his hand, and the vines binding Qiū Fùxuě vanished without a trace, replaced by dark-red demonic energy.

The gilded cage’s door opened automatically, welcomed its new resident, and then closed again.

Being hung inside such an ornamental object was not a pleasant experience.

Qiū Fùxuě looked down at his clothes. Although they were torn, they still covered him. Still, he felt a sense of shame, as if he had been stripped naked and exposed for all to see.

Jǐufāng Cāngzé didn’t give him much comfort. As he watched Qiū Fùxuě’s tense expression gradually relax, the tyrannical demonic energy suddenly swept into every inch of the pure spirit’s body.

“Ahhhhhhh!!”

In that instant, a miserable, painful shriek echoed through the vast Azure Abyss Palace.

Qiū Fùxuě’s entire body convulsed with pain. His two legs, hanging in the air, kicked wildly. His head was thrown back, and he screamed loudly, but he couldn’t escape the bone-crushing agony.

Lún Líng silently watched the man struggling in the gilded cage, then bowed to Jǐufāng Cāngzé from the lower part of the hall and turned to leave.

Now, only Jǐufāng Cāngzé and Qiū Fùxuě remained.

Jǐufāng Cāngzé did not hold back the demonic energy he was pouring in. Within half an hour, the man in the cage went silent and stopped struggling.

Perhaps his throat had been ruined from screaming. The prisoner’s lips were slightly parted, and strands of fresh blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, splattering onto the brilliantly polished cage walls. From a distance, it created a strange, eerie beauty.

Sensing that Qiū Fùxuě had reached his limit, Jǐufāng Cāngzé temporarily stopped releasing the demonic energy. The dark-red markings on his forehead intensified, and his blood-colored eyes opened, staring at the crying, blood-soaked canary below.

Qiū Fùxuě was caught between consciousness and unconsciousness. He felt as if his body and soul had been torn in two, put back together, and repeated over and over until his shattered consciousness was ground into dust and scattered across the heavens and earth.

“What does the taste of demonic energy feel like?”

A low voice rang out, sounding both distant and near. Though he couldn’t lift his head, he could feel it—Jǐufāng Cāngzé was standing right in front of him, separated only by a gilded cage.

“Ugh…”

“…Kill me.”

Qiū Fùxuě’s lips parted slightly, but he felt a painful tearing in his throat and couldn’t make a sound.

After a moment of gasping, the demonic energy receded. He regained some strength, but the scenery around him spun rapidly, undergoing a dramatic change.

The once-empty hall was suddenly filled with demons. He even recognized a few; they were the souls of those who had died by his sword in past battles.

Each demon had a twisted expression. They huddled together, whispering and occasionally pointing at the gilded cage.

Jǐufāng Cāngzé folded his arms, observing his reaction with an expressionless face. He tapped his finger on his chin, as if thinking seriously about something.

Being seen in such a pathetic state by those he had once defeated, Qiū Fùxuě lowered his head and remained silent, as if by ignoring them, their jeers and whispers would cease to exist.

The Demon Lord was displeased with his calm demeanor. His brow furrowed into an arc. He waved his sleeve, and the demons in the hall suddenly vanished. The illusion changed again.

This time, standing before Qiū Fùxuě were his master, Yuán Lìtiān, and the four elders of the Sect of a Thousand Thoughts.

Compared to the terrifying demons, these figures had a much greater impact on Qiū Fùxuě. Surrounded by feelings of shame and fear, he felt utterly mortified.

The Sect of a Thousand Thoughts had placed so much hope in him. Yet, not only could he not repay their kindness, but he had also committed an unforgivable offense.

He had no face to see his master and the four elders.

“Master… Fùxuě is useless… I’m sorry…”

His hoarse voice carried a sob. His body trembled uncontrollably. Seeing that this method was effective, Jǐufāng Cāngzé seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.

“Qiū Fùxuě, look at you—you can’t even protect yourself. How can you talk about protecting the common people?”

“I offered to trade you for the survival of the Sect of a Thousand Thoughts, but your master didn’t even bat an eye. Don’t you hate him?”

Hate…

His spirit body had just been subjected to a surge of demonic energy, and his mind was clearly not clear enough to distinguish between illusion and reality.

Qiū Fùxuě struggled to lift his head and looked at his master, seeing the disappointment on his face. In that instant, his heart felt as if it had been torn in two.

How could he hate?

His master’s kindness to him was as vast as a mountain. He had taught him to devote himself to the Way and had never taught him about the troublesome emotions of love and hate. He only knew that his duty was to kill all demons and bring peace to the world.

Every one of Qiū Fùxuě’s thoughts was laid bare under the demonic energy. Jǐufāng Cāngzé, who had always lived only for himself, was at a loss for what to do with such a foolish mindset.

Frustration flashed in his crimson eyes. The illusion dissipated, and the gilded cage suddenly tightened. The hard walls cut through his flesh, eventually melting into his battered body.

“Ugh… Ah…!”

It felt as though his wrists and ankles had been broken. On the verge of despair, Qiū Fùxuě squeezed out a faint moan from his throat. Now unbound, he fell to the ground, like a white lotus that had been ravaged and crushed into the dust.

In a place no one noticed, the gilded cage that had just vanished had transformed into four shackles, firmly locking his wrists.

A sharp pain came from his scalp. Qiū Fùxuě tiredly opened his eyes, and a pair of seductive, arrogant features magnified before him.

“Qiū Fùxuě, I have all the time in the world to play with you. Don’t you dare die on me so easily.”

The Demon Clan was bloodthirsty, and the immortal sects had been their enemies for ages. Qiū Fùxuě couldn’t remember having any deep-seated grudge with Jǐufāng Cāngzé. If it were just to avenge the dead demons, he could have just given him a swift death. Why torment him to such an extent?

With this thought, a terrifying idea entered his mind.

A pure spirit body was an excellent ingredient for refining medicine.