After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 39

Inside the dimly lit hall, the doors and windows were tightly shut. The blood-splattered floor reflected a cold, metallic light.

A person with a festering body lay on the ground, struggling. Half of the flesh on his chest had been torn away by his own hands, and dark red demonic energy escaped from his mouth and nose along with his blood.

The hall doors creaked open, and light from outside poured in, elongating the silhouette of the newcomer before the door shut again.

“Fuxue… you’ve come…”

A hoarse voice spoke. The person on the floor could no longer be called a human; he looked more like a monster with limbs.

Qiu Fuxue (秋負雪) looked at him, his pale red eyes filled with cold indifference. “You took a spiritual core but have no spiritual body. Your own body has been corroded by demonic energy.”

“Cough, cough, cough…” Yuan Lietian (原栎天) struggled to move, leaving a disgusting puddle of pus behind. “Yes, I… I miscalculated…”

“You are not my master,” Qiu Fuxue interrupted him.

Yuan Lietian froze for a moment. His about-to-fall eyeballs strained to see the person in front of him. Suddenly, he burst into laughter.

“Qiu Fuxue! I gave you your name, your existence, and your reason for living! And now you’re betraying the sect and disrespecting your master and ancestors?”

Qiu Fuxue held the wooden sword horizontally in front of him, his two fingers running over the yet-to-be-bloodied blade. “The one who is about to betray the sect, is you.”

For days, Yuan Lietian had been tormented by the demonic energy in his body, and his mind was already confused. He had been calm a moment ago, but now he was extremely agitated.

He suddenly scrambled up, screaming. “You can’t kill me! If you kill me… how will you explain it to the Thousand Thoughts Sect (千念宗)?!”

“Since you know I’ve come, I assume one of the disciples tipped you off. But don’t worry, a person who colludes with demons and suffers a demonic backlash won’t live for long. No one will ever suspect how you died.”

Yuan Lietian’s expression was blank, as if he was trying to understand his words. “Hahahaha… Qiu Fuxue, Qiu Fuxue, your heart has turned rotten. I never taught you any of this.”

Qiu Fuxue’s brows furrowed. “Good and evil must be in balance. If I don’t learn evil from one person, another will always teach me.”

With that, he raised his long sword and pointed it at Yuan Lietian’s head. “Sect Leader Yuan, I’m here to send you on your final journey.”

The wooden sword, though not as sharp as a real one, was easily capable of severing a person’s head after being meticulously carved day and night by its master.

Yuan Lietian’s eyes widened, his two black eyeballs about to pop out. His headless body twitched once and then became lifeless.

It was hard to tell if he died with his eyes wide open, or if he simply couldn’t close them.

The lifeless body was quickly enveloped by demonic energy. In no time, it was reduced to a skeleton.

Qiu Fuxue shook the blood from his sword, but a little red seeped into the wood’s grain, adding a new color to its plain surface.

He pushed the door open, and sunlight fell on him, giving him a divine glow.

Outside the main hall, all the disciples of the Thousand Thoughts Sect were waiting on the stone steps.

Yuan Lietian had claimed to be seriously ill and had been in seclusion for days, but the demonic energy around the door was impossible to ignore. Many disciples, worried for their sect leader’s safety, wanted to break in and check on him, but they were strictly reprimanded by the elders.

Just as everyone was at a loss, Qiu Fuxue returned, along with the former sect genius Li Yun (黎雲). The moment they saw them, the disciples seemed to see a new hope for the sect’s future.

Qiu Fuxue looked down at everyone. In the crowd, there were three elders, but Dongze (東則) was missing.

The masterminds behind this conspiracy, which had been planned for over twenty years, were now clear.

“Everyone, the demon who harmed the sect leader has been eliminated.”

The moment the words were out, the noisy crowd immediately fell silent. They understood the meaning behind his words.

The sect leader had been killed.

Qiu Fuxue remained calm. “The sect leader’s soul has returned to the heavens, and he has passed the position to me. From now on, I will preside over the Thousand Thoughts Sect.”

Everyone looked at each other and began to whisper, as if who was the sect leader didn’t matter much to them.

As for the three elders (excluding Dongze), though they had not directly participated, they were privy to the truth. Their faces were solemn as they watched things move in a direction that was not in their favor. They held the truth but did not dare to speak.

“Nonsense!”

Suddenly, an angry shout pierced through the quiet murmuring, sounding exceptionally clear.

Dongze, his body emanating demonic energy, his skin stretched tightly over his clothes, awkwardly climbed the stone steps and charged toward Qiu Fuxue.

He shouted. “Qiu Fuxue is dead! What kind of monster are you?!”

Qiu Fuxue stood his ground, his eyes calmly looking at him. Without any explanation, he said flatly, “Elder Dongze, you have been possessed by a demon.”

Dongze reached out to grab Qiu Fuxue’s collar, but before his hand could touch him, a heart-wrenching pain shot through it.

He clutched his hand, yelling uncontrollably in front of everyone in the Thousand Thoughts Sect. “You filthy traitor! If you hadn’t colluded with that demon lord! How would my spiritual core have been affected by demonic energy?!”

Everyone gasped.

It seemed they had just learned a shocking secret.

Qiu Fuxue, however, didn’t show any reaction. His eyes were cold, as if he were looking at a corpse. “Going mad after being possessed is normal, but Elder, for the future safety of the sect, you must make a sacrifice.”

Dongze had schemed with Yuan Lietian for over twenty years and was now unwilling to fail and end up like this.

He looked ferocious, lunging at Qiu Fuxue before he could draw his sword.

Swish! A flash of cold sword light. The person who had been so aggressive a moment ago was now cut in half at the waist. A torrent of murky demonic energy instantly enveloped his body.

Li Yun stood beside Qiu Fuxue, holding up his blood-dripping longsword for everyone to see.

“The wicked are an unforgivable evil!”

Fighting demons was the mission of the Thousand Thoughts Sect since its founding. Dongze’s body, like Yuan Lietian’s, was corroded into a skeleton in an instant. The escaping demonic energy floated into the air and was purified by the sect’s barrier.

Seeing this, a disciple on the stone steps was the first to drop his sword, kneeling and bowing. “Greetings, Sect Leader!”

Everyone followed, and in a moment, blades clattered to the ground, drowned out by the powerful, collective voice.

“Greetings, Sect Leader!”

“Greetings, Sect Leader!”

Late at night, a candle flame flickered. Qiu Fuxue sat at his desk, diligently sorting through the mess Yuan Lietian had left behind.

He wearily rubbed his temples, then heard a commotion outside his door.

“…You can’t go in!”

The door was pushed open. A tall figure barged in, the guard behind him scrambling to stop him.

Jiufang Cangze (九方蒼澤) walked to the desk, pushed the official documents aside, and sat right on the table, looking like a rogue causing trouble.

“Sect Leader Qiu, you’re working so late. Would you like me to help you relax for a bit?”

The candlelight reflected in Qiu Fuxue’s eyes. He sighed helplessly and waved a hand at the guard. “You may go.”