Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 47

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

When Lu Xiaoxiao woke up today, she finally realized her eyes were no longer completely dark. What came into view was the familiar ceiling of Tantai Jing’s room, and her heart was filled with boundless joy.

“Tantai Jing! My eyes are finally better!”

Her face was beaming with the joy of recovery. She got up to look for the person she had been thinking about, wanting to tell her the news immediately.

However, the person seemed not to be in the room. She searched the room barefoot but couldn’t find Tantai Jing.

Just as she was feeling dejected, the voices of Lu Wanbai and Wan Qingyi came from outside.

Wan Qingyi was pulling Lu Wanbai’s sleeve, trying to stop her from going further inside: “Why are you taking her with us to the library? She can’t even see the words.”

“Xiaoxiao has been cooped up in the courtyard all day; she needs to be pushed out more to relax. Even if she can’t hear, I can read it to her,” Lu Wanbai said, walking inward and dragging Wan Qingyi, who was holding onto her clothes, with her.

Before crossing the threshold, they saw Lu Xiaoxiao excitedly leap out of the door. The warm winter sun shone on her, and her clear eyes sparkled with vitality not seen for a long time. Upon seeing the two people before her, her smile instantly curved into a crescent moon.

She opened her arms and hugged Lu Wanbai, jumping up and down as she said: “I can finally see you again, Senior Sister! I’ve missed you so much. Thank you for your hard work and for taking care of me all this time.”

With her jumping, her dark, smooth hair swayed gently in the wind, bringing a small, exquisite little canine tooth hidden at the end of her hair bouncing with it, flashing with crystalline light under the sun.

Wan Qingyi forcibly pulled the two apart, abruptly standing between them, and said earnestly to Lu Xiaoxiao: “The one you should thank the most is Tantai Jing. She’s been busy taking care of you for months.”

“Oh, and you too. Thank you for constantly bringing snacks to my room during this time, although I’m not sure if they were meant for me,” Lu Xiaoxiao said, patting Wan Qingyi’s shoulder with a smile.

She paused, looking away, coughed twice, and said: “As for my Tantai Jing… I have my own way to thank her. I’m going to give her my most, most precious thing.”

“Ah? Your family’s…” Before Wan Qingyi could finish, she was interrupted by Lu Wanbai.

“Xiaoxiao, you absolutely cannot just give her the Chaos Origin Sword!” Lu Wanbai quickly stopped her: “Even if you must give it, it should only be after you are married.”

Lu Xiaoxiao wore a look of sudden enlightenment: “That’s an even better idea. Originally, I just wanted to offer myself to her. With your reminder, that seems a little lacking.”

“By the way, Senior Sister, I remember you reading me a book about magical artifacts a few days ago, I think it was called The Immortal Path Artifact Compendium. It wrote about how to make one’s natal artifact recognize a close person as a co-master. Can you find it for me again?”

Lu Wanbai looked troubled: “This is a sacred artifact passed down through generations of the Xuantian Sword Sect. You haven’t married her yet. Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”

“No, absolutely not. Furthermore, that method requires draining your essence blood. You’ve just recovered and need to recuperate well,” Wan Qingyi also stepped forward to persuade her.

After speaking, Lu Wanbai turned and walked away, looking like she wanted nothing to do with Lu Xiaoxiao’s request. Lu Xiaoxiao quickly chased after her, holding her arm and whining: “We are already so close; all that’s missing is the formality of marriage. And the Chaos Origin Sword is acting strangely; it only lets me touch it. It has already accidentally injured her twice since we met. I truly feel terrible about it.”

Lu Wanbai still ignored her. This method was too damaging to the body, and in this world, how many relationships remain constant? Cases of Dao Companions turning on each other over spiritual treasures and medicines are numerous.

Although she also thought Tantai Jing was a moral, kind-hearted, and powerful cultivator, and she and Lu Xiaoxiao certainly looked compatible standing together, if self-interest was involved, it would taint their pure affection.

The scene in the small courtyard suddenly changed. Initially, it was Lu Wanbai walking gracefully in front, with Wan Qingyi dragging her back. Now, it was Lu Wanbai walking determinedly forward, with Lu Xiaoxiao hunched over behind her, tightly gripping Lu Wanbai’s sleeve with all her might to prevent her from moving. Lu Xiaoxiao’s feet scraped hard against the ground, raising a thin layer of dust with every push.

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, I’m begging you!”

“I’ve never asked you for anything before. Just make an exception and agree to this, please.”

Suddenly, there was a sharp rip.

Lu Wanbai violently wrenched free, her sleeve tearing with a snap. Lu Xiaoxiao completely lost her balance and fell face-first onto the hard ground with a muffled thud.

Wan Qingyi stood to the side, her gaze quickly passing over Lu Wanbai’s concealed anger, lingering briefly on her fair, jade-like arm, and then falling upon Lu Xiaoxiao, who was lying face-down, still clutching a piece of the torn sleeve.

She pondered for a moment, pulled out a copy of The Immortal Path Artifact Compendium from her robe, tossed it casually onto the ground, and then quickly hurried after Lu Wanbai: “Hey, Lu Wanbai, wait for me! I didn’t realize your name really suits you—you’re so fair!” (Note: Wanbai can mean ‘pure white’).

Lu Xiaoxiao waited until the two had walked far away, then slowly stood up, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and picked up the Immortal Path Artifact Compendium from the ground, muttering to herself: “If I had known it would be this easy, I wouldn’t have wasted all that effort.”

Lu Xiaoxiao anxiously flipped through the book, finding the chapter on Artifact Recognition. It read: “For an artifact to recognize a master, sincerity of heart is essential, requiring a blood oath and spiritual fusion. The master’s blood is the guide for the artifact’s spirit, and blood acts as the medium to forge a contract. Once this contract is established, the artifact will only obey the master’s commands, and others will find it difficult to wield.”

Lu Xiaoxiao looked further down, drawn to another passage: “If one desires the artifact to also recognize one’s Dao Companion, the two must be of one mind and possess a pure bond. During the artifact recognition process, the master may guide the Dao Companion’s spiritual energy to permeate the artifact, attempting to form a double contract. However, this method is extremely difficult. The artifact itself must also approve of the Dao Companion. Furthermore, this process heavily depletes mental energy and essence blood, and the success rate is genuinely low. The master and the Dao Companion require an unparalleled, unwavering emotional bond and tacit understanding to even have a chance of success.”

Lu Xiaoxiao picked up the Chaos Origin Sword and patted it, full of confidence: “We two are definitely of one mind. It’s up to you now. Be sensible. If you hurt my Dao Companion again, I won’t be polite.” After speaking, she became lost in the word “Dao Companion” again, giggling foolishly to herself.

The Chaos Origin Sword was compliant this time, remaining silent as she patted it.

Putting The Immortal Path Artifact Compendium away in her robes, Lu Xiaoxiao quickly ran back to the room, rummaging through everything to find something containing Tantai Jing’s spiritual energy.

She walked to the desk and picked up a brush: “No, no. This was merely used; it won’t contain Tantai Jing’s spiritual energy.”

She picked up a robe from the hanger: “Forget it. It was worn, but it might not contain spiritual energy.”

Lu Xiaoxiao was about to put down Tantai Jing’s outer robe when the sunlight suddenly hit the garment, reflecting a single glint into her eyes.

She held up two fingers and gently pinched a thin, long strand of hair: “It must have fallen from Tantai Jing’s body. Unrestricted by the Cloaking Pearl, this hair has reverted to its original silver color.”

“I have the Chaos Origin Sword, and now I have a strand of hair containing Tantai Jing’s spiritual energy. All that’s left is my natal essence blood. I just don’t know if the original owner ever recognized the Chaos Origin Sword as her master, or if recognizing it again will even work.” Lu Xiaoxiao suddenly felt she knew too little about cultivation. She didn’t know what it felt like after an artifact recognition, as the book didn’t describe it. But the Chaos Origin Sword had always been quite obedient. Perhaps it had already been recognized?

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll try it first. As long as Tantai Jing’s spiritual energy can enter, it should… be close enough.”

Worried that the process would make a mess of Tantai Jing’s room, she took the book and the strand of hair and returned to her small courtyard in the Yaoxia Palace.

This method was dangerous and allowed for no mistakes. After closing the door, Lu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and quickly set up a barrier.

Everything was ready.

In the dark, quiet room, Lu Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and focused, slowly circulating her cultivation art, trying to adjust her body to its optimal state.

Gradually, streams of deep blue spiritual energy began to swirl around her body, slowly pulsing in the air.

Suddenly, she snapped her eyes open, quickly performed a hand seal, and silently chanted the spell to extract essence blood, guiding the strand of hair into her body, where it converged with her spiritual energy toward her heart. As the chant deepened, she felt the spiritual energy in her body gather into a thin stream of water, slowly flowing into her heart.

The process of gathering the spiritual energy caused intense pain. Lu Xiaoxiao’s delicate face contorted, her body began to tremble slightly, and large beads of sweat ran down her forehead.

She hadn’t expected the extraction of natal essence blood to be so painful, but thinking of the wounds on Tantai Jing’s hands, which felt like they were being scorched by fire every time she held the Chaos Origin Sword, she felt her own pain was insignificant.

Tantai Jing was the Dao Companion she had recognized for life. She absolutely would not allow her natal spiritual sword to hurt her again and again.

She gritted her teeth and persisted.

She examined her body internally, seeing the thin spiritual energy slowly separating the fist-sized natal essence blood located in her heart.

Her clothes clung tightly to her skin, already soaked with sweat beneath. Her face was as pale as paper, and her lips had lost all color from the prolonged suffering. Her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat that streamed down her eyelashes, blurring her vision.

After an unknown number of hours, a scorching stream of essence blood was finally drawn out from her heart, transforming into a brilliant crimson light that hovered in mid-air.

This time, she had forcibly separated half of the essence blood in her body. Natal essence blood contains the limitless cultivation and life force of a cultivator. Its brilliance was so intense it almost illuminated the entire cultivation room.

Lu Xiaoxiao braced herself against the floor, gasping for breath, trying her best not to let her shaky body collapse.

At this moment, the remaining essence blood returned to her heart. This process was even more painful than the separation.

She felt a deafening roar in her mind, tearing her spirit apart. It was as if a gigantic iron hammer fell heavily on her chest. Every beat of her heart was accompanied by severe pain and a feeling of suffocation, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Immediately, a sweet yet spicy taste surged into her throat, a metallic, bloody sweetness that sprayed out, staining her clothes.

Her originally pristine white dress was now tainted with spots of blood, looking like large patches of scattered poppies on a winter snowfield, particularly jarring. The bloodstains spread rapidly from her chest down to the hem of her skirt.

Lu Xiaoxiao could no longer support her body. She fell sideways onto the floor, her face reflecting boundless despair.

It’s just a blood recognition ritual. Why is it this difficult?

Did Wan Qingyi try to harm me?

Did she give me a fake book?

Or is she coveting the Chaos Origin Sword, just waiting outside the door for me to be injured so she can seize my sacred artifact?

After rambling with various thoughts, Lu Xiaoxiao stretched out her five fingers, struggling to reach The Immortal Path Artifact Compendium not far away. She shuffled inch by inch until it was within her grasp, seizing it and pulling it back.

According to the book, only the final step remained. If she infused the strand of hair mixed with Tantai Jing’s spiritual energy into the Chaos Origin Sword, the process would be complete.

Her trembling hand turned to the eighteenth page. She read it from start to finish, finding no difference in the method she used from what was written. But how could such unbearable pain be normal?

“Trash person writing a trash book.”

She weakly tossed the book aside and swallowed a large handful of healing pills.

As the medicine took effect, her body finally recovered slightly. Feeling her spiritual energy had restored about 50%, she struggled to sit up, contemplating whether to continue, and muttered: “Perhaps I should take my natal essence blood and ask Aunt Wan tomorrow.”

Just then, a gust of wind blew in through the window, flipping a page of the book until it stopped on page nineteen.

Lu Xiaoxiao glanced over and her eyes widened instantly. Her entire body froze.

She saw a small footnote on the second page: “Only for use by Dao Companions of the same human race, and preferably with compatible or coexisting spiritual root attributes. Use with clashing attributes is highly discouraged, as the loss to the artifact owner will be immense. The author of this book, Immortal Venerable Changyu, is not responsible!!!”

“Hehe… I almost lost half my life, and you write such important information on the second page! Tantai Jing is arguably half human, but she seems to have a Fire spiritual root, and mine is Water. Isn’t this textbook Water-Fire clash!!!”

Lu Xiaoxiao struggled to sit up with her injured body. She had come this far; no matter how low the success rate, she had to try.

Lu Xiaoxiao tried to focus her mind, carefully mobilizing her spiritual energy to guide the essence blood suspended in the air toward the joint between the hilt and the body of the Chaos Origin Sword.

As the essence blood touched the Chaos Origin Sword, a faint glow circulated, and a connection seemed to be established between the two.

Immediately, an intensely blinding light suddenly flashed, like the full blaze of the rising sun, instantly illuminating the entire room.

After the light faded, her fist-sized essence blood slowly flowed through the patterns on the blade of the Chaos Origin Sword, sinking deeply into it and disappearing.

“Such a bright light. I guess it must have worked?” Lu Xiaoxiao looked at the Chaos Origin Sword hovering in the air, a little uncertain.

Suddenly, the Chaos Origin Sword shot forward, its hilt nudging Lu Xiaoxiao’s forehead twice.

A girl’s voice entered Lu Xiaoxiao’s ear: “I am truly exasperated with you! It took you nearly a year to remember to recognize me as your master! If I didn’t find you reasonably pleasing, I wouldn’t have stayed with you this long.” The voice was clear and playful, sounding like a girl of sixteen or seventeen.

Lu Xiaoxiao sat stock-still, dumbfounded. She leaned her body slightly to the left, only to see the Chaos Origin Sword follow her movement, still pointing at her forehead.

“You didn’t mishear. It is me. I am a mighty sacred artifact. What’s so strange about having a sword spirit that can speak? Don’t be so surprised.” The hilt bobbed up and down toward Lu Xiaoxiao.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s lips moved up and down, finally uttering two words.

“Amazing!”

The Chaos Origin Sword circled her, seemingly sizing her up: “Alas, the Lu family is truly declining, to the point where the sect has been destroyed.”

Lu Xiaoxiao strongly disagreed with its statement: “That has nothing to do with me.”

“Well, if you put it that way, yes. You weren’t related to the Lu family to begin with.”

Lu Xiaoxiao was shocked: “You know that?”

“Yes. The original Lu Xiaoxiao died. I used my remaining spiritual energy to summon you, the future you, to take her place. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have needed so much of your essence blood to awaken.”

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoxiao’s gaze suddenly turned fierce. She grabbed the hilt of the Chaos Origin Sword, slammed it to the floor, and roared: “So you’re the one who brought me to this world that eats people alive! Do you know how many times I almost died?”

“Calm down, calm down. But you weren’t going to survive in your original world either. What’s so bad about being here? Didn’t you gain a very beautiful Dao Companion?”

Tantai Jing’s figure suddenly appeared in her mind. Thinking about it, it was true. If she hadn’t come here, she wouldn’t have met Tantai Jing.

Lu Xiaoxiao still pressed the sword: “Then, did the recognition ritual succeed just now? Will you stop hurting Tantai Jing from now on?”

Lu Xiaoxiao glared: “I’m talking to you! Do you want me to melt you down?”

“Tantai Jing is a demon. How can I, a sacred artifact, be wielded by a demon!”

“A half-demon. She’s half human too,” Lu Xiaoxiao retorted.

“Why don’t you go take a shower first? You’re covered in sweat and blood. You’re disgusting to a sword.”

Lu Xiaoxiao lifted her sleeve, smelled it near her nose, and couldn’t help but wrinkle her brow.

She sighed, dragging her exhausted body to the spiritual spring behind the courtyard, preparing to take off her clothes and clean herself.

The spiritual spring was surrounded by lush vegetation, and the water was crystal clear. It was left behind by the previous owner, and she hadn’t used it since she arrived here.

“Are you following me to the bath, too? Don’t you have any shame?”

“I’m a sword spirit, not a person. We’re not even the same species. Why are you shy?”

Lu Xiaoxiao knew how sword the Chaos Origin Sword truly was. Seeing it wouldn’t leave, she reached out, untied the sash at her waist, took off her outer robe, and threw it at the sword.

“You’re so cruel! Fine, fine.” The Chaos Origin Sword hurriedly retreated back into the room to dodge.

Only then did Lu Xiaoxiao feel safe taking off her clothes. She casually threw them into the air, cast a fire spell, and watched them instantly burn to ashes.

Then she carefully stepped into the spring. The warm spring water instantly enveloped her body, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort.

She closed her eyes, feeling the spiritual energy in the spring slowly flow into her body, nourishing her body, which was damaged due to the excessive loss of essence blood.

So, I never performed the recognition ritual for the Chaos Origin Sword before. It was able to sever Yan Gengshen’s arm without recognition. Now that it is recognized, won’t the Chaos Origin Sword be even more powerful? I don’t know if the infusion of Tantai Jing’s spiritual energy succeeded today, but although it cost a lot of essence blood, it’s not a bad thing overall.

As Lu Xiaoxiao thought, she unknowingly soaked for nearly half an hour. The nourishment from the spiritual spring certainly eased her pain, but her face was still pale, showing a hint of weakness. The body she had recovered over three months had reverted to her injured state in a single day.

As she stepped out of the spiritual spring, she still planned in her mind to let Lu Wanbai and Wan Qingyi come and experience it another day.

But before that, I must bring Tantai Jing here first…

Just as Lu Xiaoxiao finished dressing and tying her sash, the Chaos Origin Sword spoke: “You were so severely injured just now, but now your face has suddenly flushed slightly, though your lips are still pale. You must be thinking about your half-demon Dao Companion again.”

Lu Xiaoxiao was so mortified she was about to speak, but she was interrupted again.

“Oh, come on. I’ve been with you for a year. It would be strange if I didn’t understand you. I know what’s on your mind better than anyone except Tantai Jing.”

“Can others hear you talking?” Lu Xiaoxiao asked, pinching her temples. This guy looked like it couldn’t keep its mouth shut.

Chaos Origin Sword: “They can hear if I want them to, and they can’t if I don’t. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t bother spreading your little business. It’s not a big deal anyway.”

Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart relaxed slightly.

“No more talking. Tantai Jing should be looking for you soon. Time is short, so I’ll transmit the Xuantian Sword Technique to you first,” the Chaos Origin Sword suddenly said seriously.

With that, the Chaos Origin Sword darted through the air like a swimming dragon, tracing an arc, and finally its hilt pressed straight against Lu Xiaoxiao’s forehead.

A faint glow emanated from Lu Xiaoxiao’s brow, and a text of the Xuantian Sword Technique, complete with illustrations of human figures, appeared in her mind.

The Xuantian Sword Technique has three moves. With Lu Xiaoxiao’s current Golden Core stage cultivation, she can only use the first move, “Xuantian Breaking Dawn.” “Flowing Cloud Severing Peak” requires the Tribulation stage, and the final move, “Star River Reversal,” requires the Body Fusion stage.

Lu Xiaoxiao hadn’t heard of anyone reaching the Body Fusion stage since she came to this world, and she secretly felt this sword technique was quite unreliable.

Along with the sword technique came a Xuantian Body Forging Art, also divided into three layers. The book in her mind stated that achieving the third layer would allow her to defeat a Tribulation stage cultivator bare-handed.

Chaos Origin Sword: “Are you scared? Is the cultivation art I gave you amazing? What was that Purple Qi from the East Art you were practicing before? I don’t even want to mention it—it’s something people read only in the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“……Then, how long will it take me to reach the Body Fusion stage where I can practice the third layer, as the book says?”

Chaos Origin Sword: “Who are you looking down on? With me here, at most 700 years, you’ll reach the Body Fusion stage. I guarantee you’ll be number one in the world. Others can’t even touch the threshold of Body Fusion in a lifetime.”

Lu Xiaoxiao: “Then how did Lu Mingyu die?”

“Uh, I was asleep for several hundred years, wasn’t I? I never even met Lu Mingyu.”

“Tantai Jing must be looking for me. I need to go home and eat. Please feel free to go wherever you want to play now.”

“You’re in this state? And you’re still thinking about those things?”

Lu Xiaoxiao’s forehead was covered with dark lines. She gritted her teeth and shouted: “Get lost!”