After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 23

Fifteen, with his body pressed against him, fell rapidly under the Soul-Breaking Bridge. Before Qiu Fuxue lost consciousness, the last thing he saw were Jiufang Cangze’s crimson, angry eyes.

The surroundings were pitch black. Qiu Fuxue’s eyelids fluttered as his consciousness returned.

…He was still alive.

He heard the crackling of burning wood. He opened his eyes a slit and found himself lying on the ground. In front of him was a burning pile of ghost fire, and the flickering flames shone on his face.

Moving his sore body, he suddenly noticed a strange figure standing on the other side of the fire.

Calling that thing a “person” would be an overstatement. Its limbs were as long and thin as a rope, and its serpentine neck was arched in a terrifying way, supporting a pitch-black head that swayed back and forth.

This appearance… it looked familiar.

Qiu Fuxue was startled and scrambled to his feet. His back bumped into something warm.

“Ouch—!”

A wail sounded in his ear. He turned his head and saw Fifteen rubbing his bright red nose, sprawled on the ground, wailing.

“Wuwuwu… it hurts so much! Qiu Fuxue, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Sorry,” Qiu Fuxue said, but he didn’t show any sign of remorse. He pulled Fifteen up, took two steps back, and pointed at the strange dark figure. “What is that thing? It looks a little like…”

“A Tribulation Cloud,” Fifteen finished his sentence. “Don’t be so surprised. He’s our savior!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Tribulation Cloud turned around. This time, there were no facial features on its head, and it swayed its long neck to get closer.

It turned out that the Tribulation Cloud had caught them when they fell under the bridge, which was why they were able to stand there unharmed.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Tribulation Cloud had been hiding there. Seeing that Jiufang Cangze had forced them under the bridge, it decided to lend a hand.

“…Stay away from me.”

Qiu Fuxue was afraid of the Tribulation Cloud’s appearance. The last time he fought the malevolent shadow left a deep trauma.

The Tribulation Cloud was stunned. It then transformed into a round, black cloud that floated in mid-air.

“Tsk,” Fifteen couldn’t stand it anymore. He went over and patted the black cloud, saying to Qiu Fuxue, “How can you be so ungrateful? He saved you, and you’re still disgusted with him.”

Qiu Fuxue had already expected that things would not go so smoothly. This unreliable person had dragged him onto a pirate ship, and now he was full of grievances with nowhere to vent.

He knelt down and patted the dust off his feet, saying in a huff, “What do we do now? I should have never trusted you!”

Fifteen hugged the soft Tribulation Cloud as if it were a pillow and scolded Qiu Fuxue. “At least I helped you escape the Demon Venerable’s clutches. If I hadn’t pulled you down, you would be back in Qingming Palace fighting for favor with that new little beauty!”

“Nonsense!” Qiu Fuxue glared at him furiously. He then turned to look at the sky, which was pitch black. With his current abilities, it would be almost impossible to climb back up.

“Okay, okay, don’t be angry.” Fifteen saw that he was genuinely upset and quickly tried to salvage the situation. “Don’t worry, everything is under my control.”

Then he patted the Tribulation Cloud in his arms. “What do you say, want to cooperate like we talked about?”

The Tribulation Cloud had no facial features, but Qiu Fuxue felt a gaze on him.

The black cloud ball bounced in the air as if agreeing with Fifteen.

Qiu Fuxue was full of doubt. “What cooperation?”

Fifteen raised an eyebrow, looking very smug. “I won’t tell you.”

Just as Qiu Fuxue was about to press for more information, the Tribulation Cloud suddenly rushed in front of him, bounced twice on his golden shackles, and then landed flat on the ground. A gloomy vortex door slowly appeared.

Qiu Fuxue was still trying to figure out what this thing was when someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned his head and saw Fifteen’s carefree face.

Fifteen gestured with his chin towards the vortex door. “Jump down.”

Qiu Fuxue hesitated to move. “What kind of hellhole is this?”

“The Demon Realm’s underground palace, of course.” Fifteen’s smile was cunning. “From what I know, the underground palace’s area covers almost the entire Demon Realm, and its only exit is in Qingming Palace. But the Moon Shadow Wall inside is connected to the power of the Nine Fiends, so we can escape from Qingming Palace with the help of the Tribulation Cloud. It’s better than being trapped here.”

“Qingming Palace?” Qiu Fuxue was very resistant to this place. “Are you sure we’re not just going back to walk into a trap? Besides, the last time the merfolk used me to threaten Jiufang Cangze to unseal the Moon Shadow Wall, it showed that the Nine Fiends couldn’t move freely inside.”

“No problem, trust me.” Fifteen pulled the reluctant Qiu Fuxue to the vortex door. “Although they can’t leave the Moon Shadow Wall, it’s no problem for them to send us in.”

Qiu Fuxue frowned, feeling that something was wrong. However, before he could think it through, Fifteen grabbed him with a sudden force and pulled him into the vortex.

In that instant, the world spun.

As they landed, Fifteen, with his agile movements, held him steadily.

“You’re welcome.”

Qiu Fuxue slapped his arm, showing no gratitude. “Put me down!”

“…Oh,” Fifteen said with a wronged expression.

Fifteen cast a spell, and a ghost fire flickered to life. Behind them was a boundless, pitch-black void, and in front of them was a stone wall.

Qiu Fuxue reached out to touch the patterns on it. It felt slightly rough, not like a wall, but more like a giant rock.

The demonic energy here was dense and gloomy. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling another kind of power acting up inside his body. It seemed to have melted into his flesh and blood.

Fifteen also placed his hand on the rock. After a while, he curled his lips. “I see.”

“What?” Qiu Fuxue was confused.

Fifteen retracted his hand and waved the ghost fire burning in his other hand. “The Gatekeeper Stone, one of the Nine Fiends. We’ve entered.”

Qiu Fuxue looked up at this “Gatekeeper Stone.” It was so tall he couldn’t see the top, not to mention the parts the ghost fire couldn’t illuminate. It would be no exaggeration to call it a mountain.

He reached out and pushed it, but it didn’t move at all. Fifteen laughed at his actions.

Qiu Fuxue glanced at him. “It’s more like a road-blocking stone. How do we get past it?”

“Of course, we…”

Mid-sentence, Fifteen suddenly fell silent. At the same time, the light went out, and a strong smell of blood filled the air.

In the darkness, Qiu Fuxue’s eyes widened. That familiar deep voice seemed to be right next to his ear.

“I found you.”

Suddenly, lights flared up all around. Qiu Fuxue instinctively closed his eyes from the glare. Immediately, his slender waist was grasped by a large hand.

A hot breath was sprayed onto his earlobe. He trembled and opened his eyes. A corpse with its eyes wide open lay at his feet.

Fifteen’s eyes were open, a large bloody hole in his chest. His Spiritual Orb, which had not yet stopped moving, lay alone to the side.

Jiufang Cangze placed his chin on Qiu Fuxue’s shoulder from behind, rubbing against him with a small smile. Then he extended a hand that was still dripping with blood and pinched his chin.

“Qiu Fuxue, you killed him.”

Qiu Fuxue stood motionless, as if frozen. A tear fell from the corner of his eye.