Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 59.1

In the dense and secluded forest, several lithe, brightly coloured small deer were leisurely lowering their heads to drink from the pool.

The crystal-clear pool was like an emerald gem embedded in the forest, silently reflecting the surrounding beautiful scenery. All around the pool stood towering trees with flourishing branches that reached up to the clouds, their foliage interwoven densely, forming a thick, green canopy.

The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the treetops, like specks of golden fragments, occasionally penetrating this green barrier and scattering onto the ground, creating dappled patterns of light and shadow.

Lu Xiaoxiao, who was lying on the grass, sat up and leaned against a tree. Seeing the scene in the distance, she momentarily thought she was back in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, on the day she was chased by the Dragon Flame Tiger.

“Hiss~”

Just holding her body up to lean against the tree made her head ache intensely.

After closing her eyes to rest for a moment, Lu Xiaoxiao sensed the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth and realized that this place was indeed very different from the Human Realm.

The plants here were lush, like the ancient forests of the Human Realm, but the spiritual energy contained in the air was far inferior to the Human Realm. Normally, in a minor realm containing great opportunities, the spiritual energy should far exceed that of the Human Realm, as they only open once every few hundred or thousand years.

However, the demonic qi here was extremely dense. Over time, it could even cause human cultivators to suffer from splitting headaches, necessitating the use of pills and magic treasures that block out demonic qi to resist it.

Fortunately, the demonic qi in Dongchang City was already excessive, so most cultivators participating in the Sun and Moon Grand Competition had brought pills and magic treasures to counteract it.

Lu Xiaoxiao was naturally no exception. After taking a Barrier Breaking Pill, she could finally ease her headache and breathe normally for the next seven days. It was a good thing that their group was large; she had prepared over fifty Barrier Breaking Pills for Mo Siliu while they were outside.

Thinking of Mo Siliu, she wondered if her Senior Sister had successfully managed to take her out.

“Rustle~”

A sound of an animal moving through the grass and trees suddenly came from the distance.

Sensing the disturbance, Lu Xiaoxiao nimbly leaped onto a high, unidentified branch of the large tree beside her. The branches and leaves gently swayed but did not make any extra sound.

She stood steadily on the branch, her gaze sharp, piercing through the layers of green leaves and directly staring at the slightly shaking low shrubbery in the distance.

“Roar~”

A huge, ferocious beast suddenly leaped out of the bushes, heading toward the small deer drinking at the pool. It bit the deer’s neck with speed, accuracy, and ferocity, and blood instantly stained the pool water.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart jumped. That was actually a Nascent Soul stage Dragon Flame Tiger.

But why hadn’t it taken on human form despite being at the Nascent Soul stage?

She felt deeply strange about this, as normally, transformation was more beneficial for a demon beast’s cultivation.

Just as she was about to jump down from the branch and use her skill to slay this tyrannical Dragon Flame Tiger, another “rustling” sound came from the bushes in the distance.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s eyes narrowed, and she stared intensely at the bushes. Seven or eight more Dragon Flame Tigers, also at the Nascent Soul stage, slowly walked out. Their steps were steady and powerful, and their eyes flickered with a bloodthirsty, cold light.

What shocked Lu Xiaoxiao even more was that following this group of Nascent Soul stage Dragon Flame Tigers were more than a dozen Elite Core stage Dragon Flame Tigers. Although these Elite Core stage Dragon Flame Tigers were slightly weaker in strength, their sheer number meant that even she would have to expend some effort to deal with them if they attacked as a group.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiaoxiao quietly jumped onto the Primordial Sword while the Dragon Flame Tigers were drinking water and swiftly flew away in the opposite direction.

This place was strange in every way. The Dragon Flame Tiger was clearly a solitary animal, yet these twenty-odd beasts were moving together. Twenty-plus Dragon Flame Tigers, working together, would be a formidable force even for two or three Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators.

Furthermore, despite all being at the Nascent Soul stage, they hadn’t taken human form and were hunting like savage beasts, tearing at the small deer.

It was as if…

It was as if these Nascent Soul stage Dragon Flame Tigers had not yet gained sentience, and were being threatened by a powerful opponent, forcing these creatures, which should be solitary, to gather and live together.

The more Lu Xiaoxiao fled, the colder her heart became. This minor realm placed restrictions everywhere on human cultivators, but for the Demon Race, it seemed to offer inherently superior cultivation conditions.

If human and demon cultivators of originally equal strength stayed here for three months, it would only take half a month for the human cultivators’ speed of progress to be completely surpassed by the Demon Race. The humans would have to struggle desperately just for survival. In contrast, the Demon Race would advance by leaps and bounds, leading to a complete reversal of strength.

Lu Xiaoxiao travelled, concealing her presence, carefully moving through the branches and leaves at the top of the forest, avoiding the ferocious beasts within.

After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly heard the sound of clashing weapons ahead, like metal striking stone.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart tightened. She quickly urged her body forward, transforming into a streak of light. As she closed the distance, the sounds of weapon clashes grew louder, mixed with bursts of animal roars and human shouts. The air was filled with a thick smell of blood.

When she finally reached the edge of the battlefield, the sight before her made her gasp.

Not far away, seven human cultivators were encircled. They held various magic treasures, fiercely battling a group of large, blue-furred Profound Frost Beasts whose bodies shimmered with an eerie blue light. The Profound Frost Beasts were spewing cold air from their mouths, and every attack carried the power of frost capable of freezing all things.

Standing in the distance were three Demon cultivators, watching the spectacle with keen interest, occasionally pointing and gesticulating on the side.

Lu Xiaoxiao focused her gaze. All seven human cultivators were at the Elite Core stage, and the group of Profound Frost Beasts was led by one at the Nascent Soul stage, with four Elite Core stage beasts surrounding the humans. The battle was already reaching a fever pitch, and the leading cultivator was someone she could consider an acquaintance: Lin Yizhi.

After Lin Yizhi used her sword to repel a Profound Frost Beast, she turned and urgently said to the Demon cultivators watching the show: “Rong Zong, you are a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. This minor realm is extremely strange. Please help us force these Profound Frost Beasts back. I, Lin Yizhi, will surely reward you heavily after the deed is done.”

Rong Zong sneered and said to the two demons beside her: “Although these Profound Frost Beasts haven’t gained sentience, they are still our kin. How can we kill our own kind, right?”

“Exactly, exactly,” the two demons echoed on the side.

The three were already waiting for the two sides to fight it out, planning to kill the Profound Frost Beasts for their cores after the seven human cultivators died. So why would they interfere now? They secretly thought Lin Yizhi was ridiculous for actually believing Yan Gengshen’s talk of future co-existence between the Human and Demon Races.

One of the human cultivators said indignantly: “Miss Lin, these three demons have probably already decided to kill us and steal our treasures. Why bother talking to them?”

Lin Yizhi knew this, but at this point, she was at a dead end. Pinning her last hope on the three demons made her feel somewhat ridiculous herself.

Just then, the cultivator who had been speaking eloquently suddenly turned pale, her body stiffening in place. Before she could react, a Nascent Soul stage Profound Frost Beast suddenly rushed out of the shadows, instantly piercing through her chest.

The cultivator’s eyes were filled with terror. She opened her mouth but could only let out a faint gasp before her body weakly collapsed. Blood stained the Profound Frost Beast’s horn.

The Profound Frost Beast did not seem satisfied. It lifted her corpse and charged toward Lin Yizhi, whose heart immediately sank.

The formation, already barely held together by seven people, was now broken. The remaining six people were like fish on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.

If she had known this would happen, she should have listened to Chu Jiawen’s words that day and not gotten into a big argument with her, coming here to participate in the Sun and Moon Grand Competition. Now, she hadn’t gained the spirit stones, and Chu Jiawen wasn’t speaking to her.

But regret was too late now. As soon as the Profound Frost Beast got closer, she would self-destruct and perish with it, perhaps giving the remaining cultivators a chance to live.

The Nascent Soul stage Profound Frost Beast was getting closer to Lin Yizhi, and the three demons grew more excited, as if the spirit stones and magic treasures of the people before them were already within their grasp.

Just as Lin Yizhi desperately closed her eyes and channelled the spiritual energy in her body to self-destruct, a white flash of light passed before her eyes in the nick of time, and an unprecedentedly powerful force surged through the air.

The Nascent Soul stage Profound Frost Beast in front of her was instantly cleaved in two by an invisible force. Its massive body crashed to the ground like a kite with a broken string, kicking up a cloud of dust. Then, a large amount of warm blood gushed from the wound, quickly staining the grass beneath their feet, and a pungent smell of blood permeated the air.

Lin Yizhi stood stunned. All five Profound Frost Beasts had fallen. Seeing Lu Xiaoxiao slowly walk toward them, holding the Primordial Sword, she realized it was a human cultivator and immediately sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for saving us. I am deeply grateful,” Lin Yizhi said, holding her sword and cupping her hands toward Lu Xiaoxiao.

“Don’t mention it. Speaking of which, we are acquaintances,” Lu Xiaoxiao said. She walked between the two halves of the Profound Frost Beast, used the Primordial Sword to retrieve a beast core, and put it into her storage ring with a look of distaste.

Lin Yizhi said nothing. Lu Xiaoxiao’s name had long spread throughout the Human and Demon Realms, not because she easily won first place in the Sun and Moon Grand Competition, but because of her relationship with Tantai Jing of the Demon Race’s Hook Mountain, which everyone knew about.

There were those who envied her and those who scorned her.

Those who envied her naturally did so because a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator had won the favour of a Great Ascension stage expert, ensuring a smooth path to immortality.

Those who scorned her considered it shameful that she, a Young Sect Master of the prestigious Profound Heaven Sword Sect, knowing her own sect was destroyed by the Demon Race, would rush to serve a demon. She was considered a disgrace to the righteous immortal sects.

In short, she didn’t have a positive image, and the fact that the Profound Heaven Sword Sect hadn’t recruited a single disciple yet had a lot to do with her.

Although Lin Yizhi didn’t have as many thoughts as the others, she also kept her distance from Lu Xiaoxiao.

Seeing Lu Xiaoxiao pick up the dead cultivator’s storage ring, Lin Yizhi opened her mouth but did not speak. Although she felt it was improper, leaving it here would be a waste, and since Lu Xiaoxiao saved them, it was somewhat reasonable for her to take it.

Lin Yizhi glanced behind Lu Xiaoxiao, asking with a sliver of hope: “Fellow Daoist Lu, I wonder if Chu Jiawen is with you?”

The minor realm appeared suddenly. She had tried to fly toward Chu Jiawen’s direction, but the scene was too chaotic at the time, and she failed to find her.

Lu Xiaoxiao looked at the bloody, ragged group of people. She took out a healing elixir from the dead cultivator’s storage ring and tossed it to them.

“No, we’re not together. It was too chaotic at the time, and when I woke up, I was alone. Have any of you seen my Senior Sister, Lu Wanbai? She wears a green dress, has a serious expression, an oval face, and a pair of apricot eyes. There should also be a little girl next to her, almost as tall as my shoulder,” she said, extending her palm to gesture below her shoulder.

The group exchanged glances and all shook their heads. Lu Wanbai had won first place in the Sun and Moon Grand Competition, so they wouldn’t have failed to recognize her.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaoxiao withdrew the Primordial Sword with some disappointment. She looked around, preparing to continue her search forward.

Lin Yizhi saw that the three demons who had been lurking were long gone the moment Lu Xiaoxiao appeared. Seeing Lu Xiaoxiao about to leave, she quickly said: “Wait! Fellow Daoist Lu, we are all human cultivators. Since we have all been trapped here, why don’t we cooperate until we leave this place?”

Lu Xiaoxiao stopped, turned, and looked at the six women, examining them from left to right and then right to left.

Her inner critique consisted of eight words: Average strength, not as good as Senior Sister.

Lu Xiaoxiao gave a nervous chuckle: “I think I’ll pass. I need to find someone, and our paths aren’t very convenient together.”

One of the female cultivators quickly said: “We can help you search for your person. There is strength in numbers.”

“It’s alright, that would be too much trouble for you. I feel quite embarrassed.” Lu Xiaoxiao turned to leave after speaking. She considered that she had already rejected them tactfully enough and hoped they would take the hint and stop talking.

“Wait! Doesn’t your Profound Heaven Sword Sect recruit disciples? I’m joining!” Seeing Lu Xiaoxiao already taking out the Primordial Sword and about to leave on her sword, the female cultivator quickly called out.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s foot paused, and her motion to depart on her sword instantly stopped. She slowly turned around with a stiff smile.

Half an hour later, a group of seven people travelled through the forest on their swords…

Lu Xiaoxiao flew in front, raising her hand to her forehead, and asked: “Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? And I see that two of you already seem to belong to sects.”

“It’s fine! We were originally rogue cultivators who joined the Sun and Moon Alliance. I am unilaterally dissolving my relationship with the Alliance right now!” the two female cultivators said in unison.

The group gave their names to Lu Xiaoxiao, but Lu Xiaoxiao only remembered the names Bai Shitao and Lin Yizhi. Bai Shitao was the cultivator who declared she was immediately joining the Profound Heaven Sword Sect.

Lu Xiaoxiao admired her somewhat; her thick skin was comparable to her own back in the day.

Bai Shitao: “Fellow Daoist Lu, no, Sect Master… have you noticed that this minor realm seems a bit off?” Bai Shitao was a little unaccustomed to changing her address after suddenly joining the Profound Heaven Sword Sect.

Lu Xiaoxiao felt uncomfortable hearing her call her “Sect Master.” She secretly mused that once the Profound Heaven Sword Sect was rebuilt, she would definitely pass the position of Sect Master to Lu Wanbai, otherwise, where would she find time to be with Tantai Jing? She also figured Tantai Jing wouldn’t want to stay at the Profound Heaven Sword Sect anyway.

“It is indeed strange. You all must have felt it, too.”

Bai Shitao frowned deeply: “I once read a book that documented a place in the Demon Race called the Lan Cang Demon Territory. It is extremely suitable for the survival of the Demon Race and opens once every hundred years, offering great opportunities when demons enter.