After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 31

Qiu Fuxue stumbled to his feet, a portion of his spiritual energy surging through his limbs, making his body feel a bit unaccustomed.

A surge of blood welled up, reaching his throat and overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped the red stain from his lips and placed his hand on the carved stone door, aligning it with the bloodstains he had left before.

However, after half a quarter hour, nothing happened.

Qiu Fuxue’s gaze dropped to his palm. Perhaps his Spiritual Orb (靈丹) was too severely damaged; he was no longer able to harness its power.

It was a desperate, all-or-nothing move. He didn’t hesitate to tear open his back once more and dig out the Spiritual Rhinoceros (靈犀) hidden within.

Fortunately, with his current spiritual power, activating the Spiritual Rhinoceros to send a message was still possible.

“Master…”

Across a thousand miles, a ripple of spiritual energy came from the other side of the Spiritual Rhinoceros, and Yuan Lietian’s (原栎天) voice came through in time.

“Fuxue, how is the situation?”

Suddenly realizing this might be the last time he would ever speak to his master, Qiu Fuxue’s voice caught in his throat. He wiped away the tears in his eyes, steadying his breath as he said, “Master, I’ve found the location of the Moon Shadow Wall (月影壁), but my spiritual energy is too weak to break the seal.”

There was no sound from the other side. After a long moment of deliberation, Yuan Lietian sighed. “Fuxue, if you cannot use your Spiritual Orb, you can… simply allow your Spiritual Orb to enter the Moon Shadow Wall.”

“Spiritual Orb…” Qiu Fuxue murmured the words unconsciously.

His spiritual body was so battered that the power it could unleash was less than one ten-thousandth of the Spiritual Orb’s full strength. This was indeed the only option left—it was just the difference between dying sooner or later.

But if he were to do this, he wouldn’t be able to see whether he succeeded or not.

Qiu Fuxue’s hands stroked the Spiritual Rhinoceros. He glanced back at the Tribulation Cloud (劫雲) lying on the ground. Its power was nearly depleted, yet it dutifully maintained its barrier.

“I understand, Master.” A look of release graced his lips, and Qiu Fuxue felt an immense sense of ease wash over him.

At the Thousand Thoughts Sect, in a dimly lit room, Yuan Lietian sat cross-legged, anxiously listening for any sound from the Spiritual Rhinoceros.

“Master, I’m sorry. I can never repay your kindness in raising me…”

The spiritual energy fluctuations made the voice very faint. Just as Yuan Lietian was about to speak some words of comfort, he suddenly heard the sound of a sharp blade against flesh and bone.

The sound was exactly that of a spiritual core being extracted.

A smile he couldn’t control spread across his face. Just as he thought everything was foolproof and the deed was done, an ear-piercing buzz suddenly rang out from the Spiritual Rhinoceros, followed by a tragic scream and some indistinguishable words.

Yuan Lietian shot to his feet, his fingers trembling as he clutched the Spiritual Rhinoceros. “Fuxue? Fuxue! Are you alright?!”

A long time passed, and no sound came from Qiu Fuxue. The other side fell into a deathly silence, but the Spiritual Rhinoceros stone still glowed faintly, meaning the connection hadn’t been severed.

Yuan Lietian’s heart was in his throat. It was then that a deep voice sounded from the other side of the Spiritual Rhinoceros.

“He’s fine.”

Then, the faint glow vanished, and the Spiritual Rhinoceros was completely ground into dust.

An empty hall echoed with lewd moans, occasionally mixed with sounds of unbearable pain.

The frail man’s arms were raised high, his wrists tightly bound with red silk ribbons. Below, his body was completely naked, covered in scattered, chaotic purple marks and red welts.

His long, thick eyelashes were tightly shut, fluttering occasionally as if he was enduring immense suffering.

Jiufang Cangze’s  hands easily spanned the man’s slender waist, capable of snapping it with just a slight pressure of his palms.

“You never learn.”

He leaned in, whispering into the man’s ear, then viciously bit down on the wound left by his spear, Hengjiang

The sudden pain made Qiu Fuxue let out a whimper, but his beautiful eyes remained tightly shut.

The demonic energy circulated endlessly through his body, its unchecked plundering giving life to the bewitching demonic markings while the spiritual core, which held his life force, withered until only the pistil remained.

The crimson liquid from the wound flowed down his body. Jiufang Cangze licked his bloody lips. “But thanks to you, I finally caught that Tribulation Cloud.”

Qiu Fuxue’s bound arms tensed, and his eyelashes fluttered.

As his anger subsided, Jiufang Cangze’s hand caressed the pale cheek with a hint of pity. “Qiu Fuxue, you won’t last until the next Red Moon. You’re of no more use. Tell me, how should I deal with you?”

Hearing this, Qiu Fuxue finally opened his eyes. He parted his cracked lips, his voice hoarse. “Jiufang Cangze… please, just kill me… I’m begging you…”

Smack—!

A flush of red finally appeared on his colorless face. Qiu Fuxue’s head was slapped to the side, and he struggled to breathe.

Jiufang Cangze’s face was grim, his eyes flashing with a terrifying emotion.

He seized the back of Qiu Fuxue’s neck, forcing him to struggle free from the silk bindings, ignoring how his curse-marked wrists were ground to shreds. Then, with a single motion, he threw him onto the ground.

His body was already numb; Qiu Fuxue could no longer feel which part hurt more.

A black boot sole came down on his face. Jiufang Cangze ground it in, then threw a simple longsword onto his body.

“Get up and fight me.”

The demand was completely unreasonable. Qiu Fuxue lay motionless on the ground. When Jiufang Cangze grew impatient, he suddenly kicked him in the face.

Fresh blood smeared his mouth and nose. His naked body rolled from the bed to the center of the hall. Jiufang Cangze followed the trail of blood, his voice full of rage. “Get up!”

“Cough…”

Qiu Fuxue struggled to his feet, reaching for the longsword. Just as his hand closed around the hilt, the spear, Hengjiang, swiftly swung at him.

He instinctively held the sword in front of him to block, but it was completely useless.

The meaningless fight ended when the longsword was shattered into pieces. The air in the hall was thick with the scent of bloodlust. Every corner was stained with Qiu Fuxue’s blood, with scattered bits of flesh in a few spots.

Hengjiang cruelly carved out his right eye, and along with it, the beauty mark was torn to a bloody mess.

Jiufang Cangze grabbed the dying man’s black hair. He had already ruined that face, but seeing the mangled mess did nothing to quell the frustration in his heart.

He raised his hand and struck the man’s face over and over, only stopping when it was beyond recognition.

Afterward, he felt a flicker of regret. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood from the man’s face and leaned down to kiss those horrific lips.

Jiufang Cangze’s eyes were bloodshot, as if they were glistening with tears. He held Qiu Fuxue’s mangled body tightly in his arms.

“Qiu Fuxue, you have failed me.”

That night, near the Immortal-Demon Barrier, a furtive figure cautiously stepped in.

He seemed to be looking for something but dared not stray too far from the barrier, so he lingered in the area.

“I apologize for not welcoming you sooner.”

A low voice echoed. Jiufang Cangze emerged from the shadows, carrying a person over his shoulder. A strong scent of blood filled the air.

The figure standing by the barrier had their face hidden by a black cloak, and their trembling outer robe showed how nervous they were.

Jiufang Cangze let out a contemptuous laugh, then casually threw the person he was carrying onto the ground in front of the other figure.

“Ten spirit stones. I’ll sell him to you. What do you say?”

Ten spirit stones couldn’t even buy a common iron sword.

The figure asked cautiously, “What do you mean?”

Jiufang Cangze tilted his chin up, his eyes filled with scorn. “I’ve simply grown tired of him.”

Then, he summoned his spear and, without a word, sliced off all five of the man’s fingers on the ground.

In a daze, Qiu Fuxue suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand, and he groaned as he furrowed his brows.

Jiufang Cangze retracted his spear and said to the figure, “He’s still alive. Pay up if you want him.”

The figure’s fists tightened under their sleeves. They silently pulled out ten spirit stones and threw them to Jiufang Cangze.

Jiufang Cangze grabbed the flying spirit stones and left without looking back.