After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 32

Inside the Qingming Palace study, Jiufang Cangze  sat at his desk, attending to his duties, but his chaotic mind refused to settle.

During this time, Du Xiaoshuang  came to see him a few times, tearfully complaining that Jiufang Cangze was spending less time with him, but he was harshly driven away.

Jiufang Cangze had to admit it: although Qiu Fuxue  possessed no great power, he genuinely held a special place in his heart.

A soft knock sounded at the door. Jiufang Cangze, without looking up from his memorial, simply said, “Enter.”

Lun Ling  quietly entered, his expression grave. He knelt on one knee and bowed. “Your Holiness, your subordinates were incompetent. The Tribulation Clou has escaped.”

Unlike the other Nine Fiends, the Tribulation Cloud had no physical form and could change its shape and aura at will, making both its confinement and recapture incredibly difficult. To this day, Jiufang Cangze still hadn’t found a way to kill it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jiufang Cangze said, setting down his memorial and looking up. “I have already broken through the barrier’s restriction. No matter where he flees, to the ends of the earth, I can bring him back.”

He had drained all of Qiu Fuxue’s spiritual energy, finally allowing himself the freedom to travel through the barrier, though he was still far from his peak.

Lun Ling acknowledged him but remained kneeling on the floor.

Jiufang Cangze glanced at him. “Is there something else?”

“Your Holiness…” Lun Ling hesitated. “Your subordinate just returned from the outside and saw… Qiu Fuxue was hung on the wall of Sunset City… he had already breathed his last.”

Sunset City was at the foot of Snowy Mountain, where the Thousand Thoughts Sect (千念宗) was located. Jiufang Cangze froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

“So he died. He had no more value in living anyway.”

Lun Ling continued, “But his Spiritual Orb was removed, and the Thousand Thoughts Sect is spreading rumors, claiming that Your Holiness killed him.”

Jiufang Cangze’s fingers on the desk unconsciously tightened. He forced himself not to care. “Have I not been wrongly accused of enough crimes already? This one makes no difference.”

Lun Ling had followed him for years and could tell that his master genuinely cared about Qiu Fuxue. Mustering his courage, he tried to continue advising him, but was waved away.

“You may leave. Do not worry about such useless matters. The important thing now is to find the whereabouts of the Tribulation Cloud.”

Silence returned to the study, but Jiufang Cangze’s heart could not find peace.

He silently stared at the pile of memorials before him. He found an excuse to pursue the Tribulation Cloud, crossed the barrier, and instantly arrived in the mortal realm.

At the foot of Sunset City, Qiu Fuxue’s body had already been taken back by the Thousand Thoughts Sect, who had also issued a stern warning that they would make the Demon Clan pay a heavy price.

People came and went before the city gate, a mix of ordinary mortals and cultivators who had traveled to the Thousand Thoughts Sect. Jiufang Cangze concealed his aura and stopped beneath the city gate, looking up at the dried bloodstains on the wall.

A spiritual body that used its Spiritual Orb was no different from a mortal. He couldn’t feel any spiritual energy from the blood on the wall.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a hollow emptiness in his heart.

It was like a master staring blankly at an empty, blood-stained golden cage after having personally strangled his meticulously pampered canary.

As he was lost in thought, Jiufang Cangze suddenly felt a familiar aura flash behind him. He turned sharply and, though the movement was swift, he still managed to catch a glimpse of the small black mist.

His desire for slaughter surged. His crimson eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “So he’s run here.”

Jiufang Cangze followed the Tribulation Cloud’s aura all the way to a mass burial ground outside the city.

The place was filled with countless ghosts and spirits, which the Tribulation Cloud used to mask its presence. The moment he landed, Jiufang Cangze lost its trail.

The tip of his spear, Hengjiang, angrily scraped the ground, leaving a mark. Jiufang Cangze strode through the corpse-strewn field. Without paying attention, he was tripped by an arm sticking out of a grave mound.

He steadied himself and looked back furiously. A white cloth covered the corpse, and what was strange was that the cloth was very clean and neat. It didn’t look like it had been thrown there; it looked like it was about to be taken away.

But Jiufang Cangze had no mind to consider the strangeness of the corpse, because on the arm that had tripped him, he saw the fragment of a cursed seal.

“Qiu Fuxue…”

He wasn’t taken back by the Thousand Thoughts Sect?

His crimson eyes clouded with a sinister expression. Jiufang Cangze knelt down and was about to touch a corner of the white cloth when a murderous sword intent struck from behind!

“Buzz—!”

The blade passed right in front of his eyes. Jiufang Cangze tilted his head to dodge the fatal blow. The only person in the world who could be called his rival, Qiu Fuxue, was dead. The rest were just insignificant amateurs.

Having missed its first strike, the blade quickly returned with a second wave of sword energy. Jiufang Cangze dodged again, and in that moment, their positions swapped. A youth in a flowing white robe now stood before Qiu Fuxue’s remains, his face filled with righteous fury.

Jiufang Cangze raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing him with interest. “And you are…?”

He thought for a moment, and a faint impression came to him. It seemed there was a small, useless brat who was with Qiu Fuxue the first time they fought, though he was a bit taller now.

The youth’s swordsmanship was fierce, but he didn’t attack Jiufang Cangze again. “The one who will take your life!”

“You’ve certainly got the ability for that,” Jiufang Cangze sneered. He lifted his chin, his gaze falling on the body covered by the white cloth. “Did you bring him?”

The youth did not answer. He suddenly swung his longsword at the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that formed a natural barrier.

While Jiufang Cangze’s vision was temporarily obscured, the youth quickly bent down, picked up Qiu Fuxue, and retreated.

But this small trick had no effect on Jiufang Cangze. He swung his spear and caught up to the youth in an instant.

Sparks flew from the clashing blades. The youth was struggling against the overwhelming power and had his hands full just fighting, all while needing to protect the body of the lifeless person in his arms.

After a series of struggles and skirmishes, a corner of the white cloth on Qiu Fuxue fell away, revealing his intact eye. But it was dull and lifeless, half-open and unseeing.

Jiufang Cangze was intentionally toying with the youth, but as he swung his spear, his eyes suddenly met that unblinking, dead gaze. His heart sank.

He didn’t kill Qiu Fuxue, nor did he remove his Spiritual Orb.

The Demon Lord, who never flinched at killing, found himself instinctively wanting to justify his actions upon seeing a corpse.

The youth, who was finding it hard to cope, seized upon the other’s momentary distraction. He threw his longsword into the air and chanted a spell. Dark clouds swirled in the sky, and a semi-translucent gate slowly opened.

The youth carried Qiu Fuxue and flew inside. Jiufang Cangze snapped out of his daze, his gaze fixed on Qiu Fuxue. Without a moment’s hesitation, he flew in after them.

Beyond the gate, the world was a boundless white, where everything was one and the same. There, the primordial spirit of the Great Wasteland, a lotus, fell from ink and was reborn from snow.