How to Handle a Sickly Yandere Demon God - Chapter 34

The cultivators who had raised their defensive formations now had to block not only the heaven-shattering lightning capable of annihilating all things but also the raging crimson flames unleashed by the giant dog.

The sky was filled with clashing flames and lightning, colliding and surging back and forth overhead. The giant dog bore several gruesome wounds, bleeding profusely, yet it still commanded the flames, howling at the sky as if determined to tear it apart.

Beneath the giant dog, the unconscious woman lay peacefully, lifted gently by solidified flames. The chaos of the battle around her could not disturb her in the slightest. Her face, pale from blood loss and pain, now appeared exceptionally serene.

The scenes unfolding left everyone on the ground utterly dumbfounded, frozen in disbelief. Fang Zhiming, as if his soul had left him, muttered repeatedly, “Madness, this is sheer madness.”

After what felt like an eternity, the heavenly lightning finally ceased, and the clouds gradually dispersed.

Lin Yue’s originally fair cheeks were now completely drained of color. She looked up at the sky, then at Fang Zhiming, her voice trembling with a mix of excitement and lingering fear as she said:

“Exactly… one hundred and sixty-two bolts of heavenly lightning… Senior Sister has now reached the Unity stage.”

The giant dog’s body shrank slightly, becoming about half the size of a house. In its final moments of consciousness, it curled its tail around the woman’s delicate form, gently cradling her against its chest, ensuring it cushioned her fall before they both landed on the ground.

“One hundred and sixty-two… Oh heavens… Unity stage…? My god…” Qin Feng’s expression was dazed, his voice as if speaking in a dream. “Then Senior Sister, she…”

Could it be that she had surpassed even the Sect Leader and other Void Refinement experts, becoming…

“The number one cultivator of Kunlun.” Fang Zhiming’s eyes seemed to glisten with tears as he stumbled forward on shaky legs.

In the deep crater, the pitch-black giant dog curled into a ball, its massive head resting against its fluffy tail, forming a perfect circle. The woman lay on its tail, her head nestled against its neck. Her arms, now reduced to bare bones, rested unconsciously near its lips as she breathed softly and steadily.

Both the woman and the dog were severely injured. The dog’s body bore dozens of wounds deep enough to reveal bone, its fur torn and cracked. As for the woman, both her arms were stripped down to the skeleton.

Fang Zhiming hesitated, wanting to pull them out of the crater but unsure where to even begin.

In the end, Xu Yi used a spell to lift the two, or rather, the woman and the dog, and brought them to the Qi residence.

Their injuries were so severe that even the slightest jostling could worsen their condition. Xu Yi immediately sent a message to Gu Nuo and Yue Baiyin, summoning them for treatment.

At first, Yue Baiyin flatly refused upon hearing the destination was the Qi residence. But after Fang Zhiming described the perilous situation and Xiao Hei’s injuries, she relented and hurriedly agreed.

After cutting off the communication talisman, the two wasted no time. They packed hastily and rushed over, arriving before noon.

The heavy snow inside and outside Qingzhou City had mostly been cleared by Xu Yi and his disciples, finally revealing the ground that had been frozen for over a month.

The snowfall had finally stopped, but the sky remained overcast. Though the clouds had thinned slightly, the sun was still hidden.

Yet no one had the mind to dwell on this. For some reason, demons and monsters of all sizes, previously hiding in various places and afraid to show themselves, had inexplicably gathered in recent days, frequently causing harm. Xu Yi had no choice but to personally investigate the matter.

It was because of this matter that he happened to be not far from Qingzhou yesterday.

By the time Gu Nuo and Yue Baiyin arrived in Qingzhou, he entrusted Xu Xingxing to them and then hurriedly left with his disciples.

Fang Zhiming had wanted to follow, but Yue Baiyin forcibly held him back with a perfectly valid reason, he needed an assistant.

Lin Yue naturally stayed as well. She was deeply worried about Xu Xingxing and couldn’t rest easy. Moreover, her master Gu Nuo was there, and there were too many injured from that night, so she volunteered to stay and assist him.

Qin Feng immediately decided not to leave either, thinking it was a good opportunity to look after his senior sister and build their relationship. However, that very night, his master, Elder Xue, forcibly dragged him back under the pretext of cultivation.

Feeling resentful, Qin Feng took the recovering Cheng Zhi back with him. Accompanying them was Qi Danxuan, who had been on leave for a long time.

Qi Danxuan naturally didn’t want to return either, but her master had sent a message through Elder Xue, saying that if she didn’t come back, he would no longer acknowledge her as his disciple. He even told her to just get married already, why bother cultivating immortality?

The bluntness made Qi Danxuan’s face turn pale and then red with anger. Before even finishing the message, she shamefacedly went to pack her things.

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to weep and complain to the unconscious Xu Xingxing, though Xu Xingxing was completely unaware of it.

Strangely, Wu Sheng was nowhere to be found.

Everyone unanimously believed that, given the circumstances, he was likely in grave danger.

Xu Xingxing, probably because she had now reached the Unity Stage, recovered extremely quickly. She woke up after just two days of unconsciousness, and her spirits were remarkably high, nothing like someone who had nearly been struck dead by lightning.

However, her two arms were still skeletal. Perhaps due to the heavenly lightning, the flesh and blood that had been burned away were regenerating very slowly.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too painful, but the unbearable itching was maddening. She couldn’t scratch or touch them, making it impossible to sleep properly.

Later, she heard from Lin Yue that the heavenly lightning that night had struck a total of 162 times…

One hundred and sixty-two???

One hundred and sixty-two!!!

Wasn’t that fifty-four multiplied by three??!!

From Nascent Soul to Unity Stage??

Stacked three times???

So, even though the system had secretly elevated her realm behind the scenes, she still had to suffer every bit of the ordeal, didn’t she??

Then she grew so angry she couldn’t sleep at all.

She spent the whole night staring blankly at her skeletal claws, feeling irritable, furious, and utterly helpless.

When her frustration reached its peak, she started amusing herself. Giving in to a mischievous impulse, she stayed up at night, swinging her bare bone arms and singing opera in the corridor.

She frightened the servants of the Qi residence so much that they dared not enter the inner quarters. Those serving in the inner quarters rushed to the steward, begging to be reassigned.

Gu Nuo, with a dark expression, wrapped her arms into two large clubs, which finally reduced the servants’ complaints.

With even more time on her hands, Xu Xingxing started visiting Yue Baiyin frequently, sometimes not returning for entire nights. After all, Gu Nuo was busy treating other patients and had no time to bother with her.

Yue Baiyin’s residence was in the most remote part of the Qi estate, and for some reason, his mood had been consistently poor since arriving there.

Every time Xu Xingxing saw him, he wore a grim expression and paid little attention to her. Fang Zhiming ran back and forth between Gu Nuo and Yue Baiyin every day, barely exchanging a word with her.

At least she could see Xiao Hei there, so Xu Xingxing didn’t find it too disappointing.

However, Xiao Hei had not woken up since helping her withstand the heavenly tribulation that night.

Yue Baiyin had said that outsiders must not intrude upon another’s lightning tribulation. Fortunately, Xiao Hei was her life-bound spirit beast and could be considered as one with her; otherwise, it would have been life-threatening.

Considered as one…?

Xu Xingxing felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart.

She recalled the enormous pupils from that night, crimson yet clear, reflecting her battered form like glass. The undisguised heartache in them had instantly eased her taut nerves.

Sitting by the bed, she gently touched his paw over and over. Even though he lay right before her eyes, she still felt an intense longing to see him.

She didn’t understand why she felt this way. Just looking at him was like having a sun nestled in her heart, so warm it even flushed her cheeks.

On a whim, she transformed him into his human form. Propping her chin in her hands, she gazed at him for a long while, then couldn’t resist lightly poking the golden bell around his neck. Watching the spherical bell roll silently across his collarbone, she suddenly felt parched, and her face grew even hotter.

That sun-like warmth seemed to turn grainy, tickling her heart and slightly easing the pain and itch in her arm.

Xiao Hei was sleeping restlessly, his brows tightly furrowed as if trapped in a nightmare. Quietly, she channeled some spiritual energy into him, and sure enough, his expression softened considerably.

At first, she only transferred energy for the duration of a cup of tea each day. Even so, she felt utterly drained and was met with Gu Nuo’s sarcastic remarks and stern warnings.

Yet she persisted in her ways, much like a stubborn old woman who wouldn’t listen to her descendants’ advice.

As her body gradually recovered, she slowly increased the duration of energy transfer each day.

Half a month later, she could already sustain the transfer for nearly half a day without interruption.

But Xiao Hei still hadn’t awakened.

Xiao Ran, on the other hand, woke after just five or six days of unconsciousness.

Oh, Xiao Ran was that Nether Snake.

She was glad to see the Nether Snake recover, especially after the miserable state he’d been in. Naturally, Xu Xingxing was happy to see him healing well.

But that happiness lasted only until nightfall.

Because that very night, while the others were unaware, he slithered onto her bed.

In his serpent form, of course.

But when Xu Xingxing accidentally touched something smooth and cold in the middle of the night, she was so frightened she nearly ascended to the heavens on the spot.

Xiao Ran transformed into his human form and knelt by her bedside, weeping pitifully. He explained that he was just scared in an unfamiliar place and had instinctively sought out his savior. He begged Xu Xingxing not to blame him, saying he would be content even sleeping on the footrest.

Seeing the reddened corners of his slightly upturned eyes, Xu Xingxing recalled the pool of blood from before and her heart softened.

So the next day, she prepared a nest in the outer chamber, allowing him to return to his serpent form and sleep there after his treatments.

Xiao Ran was immensely grateful.

Yue Baiyin, who treated all spirit beasts equally, was naturally pleased and even praised her arrangement.

From then on, Xiao Ran clung to her daily. Clever and full of amusing ideas, Xu Xingxing happily spent her days with him.

This harmonious scene continued until Xiao Hei awoke.

By then, he had been asleep for over a month. Xu Xingxing’s body had mostly recovered, so whenever she had a spare moment, she would seize the opportunity to transfer spiritual energy to Xiao Hei, much like a dutiful IV drip.

For convenience during his treatment, she even began staying overnight in his room.

Apart from Gu Nuo’s intense reaction, everyone else seemed to take it in stride. Even Qi Rongli, who usually remained aloof from others’ affairs, offered surprisingly open-minded advice.

When Xu Xingxing praised Qi Rongli as a wonderful senior, Yue Baiyin responded with a disdainful eye-roll.

Xiao Ran appeared slightly displeased but showed little outward expression, quietly moving her resting spot closer instead.

Seizing moments when Xu Xingxing was exhausted from healing, she would stealthily offer warmth.

Like this late night, when Xu Xingxing collapsed asleep beside the bed after days of channeling spiritual energy to Xiao Hei, Xiao Ran gently draped her own outer garment over him like a devoted partner.

Just as she carefully settled the clothing, she lifted her gaze and met a pair of pitch-black, abyssal cold eyes.