The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 26

Nanshan, Cangyou Pavilion.

Cangyou Pavilion is situated at the peak of Nanshan, shrouded in celestial mist year-round, making one feel as though they have stepped into a fairyland.

Because the Cangyou Pavilion specialized in incantations and occult arts, the path leading to it was not easily found. The Pavilion would only open the main mountain-thoroughfare on grand annual occasions, such as during the selection of new disciples.

As for the disciples returning to the sect, they had to rely on their own abilities; they would take whichever path they could successfully break through.

Zhiming, however, did not indulge himself in unraveling the incantations laid down by unknown disciples as he usually did. He took a small path that led directly to the secret back door of Cangyou Pavilion a route known to very few.

Someone was already waiting for him at the secret door. Upon seeing him arrive, the anxiety on the person’s face eased slightly, and they hurriedly moved to meet him.

“Senior Brother Zhiming, why are you several hours late?”

Zhiming glanced reflectively behind him and lowered his voice. “Someone was following us. It took a great deal of effort to shake them off.”

The person immediately became as alert as if facing a great enemy. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know. They followed us the entire way.”

On the day Zhiming threw Zhuang Yi down the mountain, he had sensed that others were ascending.

When choosing that particular mountain, Zhiming had manufactured many supernatural phenomena: sounds like ghostly wailing, flickering willows-of-the-wisp, ubiquitous traps and mazes, and even released monsters like “human-bears” to serve as a barrier. This ensured that no one dared to climb the Nameless Mountain.

In other words, anyone who dared to come up was certainly not a character to be trifled with.

This matter was of great importance. As the leader, Zhiming could not ignore it. He immediately ordered the others to take Ye Yiran into hiding while he himself waited on the only path up the mountain. He had to see exactly who had come; if he could eliminate them, he would, and if not, he would have to employ an alternative strategy.

One look told him that things were dire: it was actually disciples from Beichen Mountain.

If the people of Beichen Mountain found out what they were doing, Beichen Mountain would likely swing its blade directly at Cangyou Pavilion.

Although they had the advantage of numbers and this was their home turf, Chen Li and Cun Ming were, after all, the first and second-ranked disciples of Beichen Mountain. If they couldn’t be silenced and instead managed to expose the sect, it would be disastrous.

In desperation, Zhiming decided to adopt the safest method destroying all traces of human presence on the mountain, including the mechanisms, the human-bears, and the sacrificial altar.

This was also what the Sect Master had instructed him long ago: once there was a risk of exposure, he had to burn his boats, hesitating for not a moment to abandon the original site. The most important thing was to protect the secret.

When Chen Li used the Soul-Burning Art to save everyone, Zhiming was nearby. After seeing them descend the mountain, Zhiming immediately activated the formation. Every trace on the mountain was wiped clean, and every surviving human-bear was killed by his hand, one by one.

After finishing this, he conducted a specialized patrol to ensure no clues were left behind before he felt at ease enough to rendezvous with the others and prepare for the next location. It was during this transition that he discovered someone was following them.

The tracker’s cultivation level was not low. Zhiming and his group were unable to shake the person off throughout their journey. To avoid exposing the second location, Zhiming had no choice but to order the others to stay at an inn.

This time, when Zhiming came to Cangyou Pavilion, that person still followed him. Only then did Zhiming realize that the person had been targeting him specifically all along.

He took several circuitous routes before finally losing the tracker. Only then, with his heart in his throat, did he ascend Nanshan, looking back over his shoulder with every step.

The mechanisms laid by Cangyou Pavilion on this mountain were ever-changing. Even if that person managed to feel their way onto Nanshan, they would not be able to enter the territory of Cangyou Pavilion.

Although Nanshan housed Cangyou Pavilion, others were permitted to climb the mountain to gather herbs or hunt; they simply could not enter the sect’s inner boundaries.

Therefore, even if that person saw him enter Nanshan, they wouldn’t necessarily associate Zhiming with being a disciple of Cangyou Pavilion.

But ideally, Zhiming hoped he had shaken the tracker for good and that the person hadn’t seen him ascend Nanshan at all.

“Someone followed you?” In the secret chamber, only a single candle was lit for illumination. The limited glow made the chamber feel even more cold and desolate.

Liu Shuo stood in the shadows, his facial expression unreadable.

Zhiming surveyed the surroundings, puzzled as to why a row of bookshelves had suddenly appeared in the secret room. Caught off guard by Liu Shuo’s voice, he quickly lowered his head. “Yes.”

“Who was it?”

“This disciple’s cultivation is mediocre; I could not tell.”

“Useless.” Liu Shuo flicked his sleeve and sat in a chair. “Fortunately, there is a shadow location. This time, you must be careful.”

“This disciple understands.”

“Additionally, the selection meeting for the General Coordinator of the Righteous Path will be held at our Cangyou Pavilion in a few days. There is much to do. Be sure that no one with ulterior motives takes advantage of a loophole. For now, all of you stay over there. You don’t need to come see me again for the time being.”

“Yes.”

As Zhiming walked out and the door to the secret chamber closed, someone emerged from behind that row of bookshelves.

The person wore a mask, making it impossible to know what kind of face lay beneath it.

“Yu Chu has a woman’s soft heart. You, on the other hand, are more reliable.”

“Those who achieve great things have always been cold-hearted people.”

“That is true. In this world, only your heart is as hard as a stone.”

Liu Shuo felt that this “compliment” was not particularly pleasant to the ear, but he didn’t intend to argue.

People of the Demon Realm didn’t understand how to give praise; they only knew how to hack people with blades.

“How much longer is needed?” Liu Shuo asked impatiently.

“Half a year at the least, a year at most. For someone like you, time is the easiest thing to spend, is it not?”

Xi Xiao laughed wildly. The mask seemed to have grown onto his face, forming a sinister upward curve.

Time was indeed easy, but the waiting was what felt interminable.

The moment Zhiming arrived at the inn, Zhiwu rushed up with a tearful face. “Senior Brother, that girl refuses to eat.”

Zhiming slapped Zhiwu on the top of his head. “Do you have to trouble me with such a trivial matter?”

After saying this, Zhiming impatiently tried to push Zhiwu aside, but Zhiwu acted as if his feet had taken deep root in the ground and refused to be moved.

“Senior Brother, that girl won’t listen to reason or threats,” Zhiwu whispered his final words as faintly as a mosquito’s hum. “I’ve run out of options.”

Zhiming initially wanted to scold him, but he held back and followed Zhiwu to Ye Yiran’s room.

Ye Yiran was leaning against the bed, her face looking terrible. Two people stood to her left and right.

When the two saw Zhiming and Zhiwu arrive, they cupped their fists and took their leave as if Ye Yiran were some kind of terrifying beast.

“Do you think not eating is going to threaten us?” Zhiming said maliciously.

Ye Yiran didn’t speak. Her gaze drifted lightly toward Zhiming, unmistakably saying: It can.

Zhiming was already irritable, and now provoked by Ye Yiran’s defiance, he actually placed his sword directly against her shoulder, saying gloomily, “Are you not afraid that I’ll just kill you?”

“The sacrifice of a living soul to heaven… depends on being alive.”

Ye Yiran spoke slowly and calmly.

Zhiming glanced at her and noticed her hands were shaking violently. He suddenly burst into laughter, his voice sharp as if dipped in poison:

“The sacrifice of a living soul to heaven doesn’t depend on being ‘full of life’; it depends on being alive. As long as a single breath remains, you are alive.”

Ye Yiran had been struggling to maintain her composure, but hearing this, she felt her scalp go numb with fear and burst into loud sobs on the spot.

She choked out, “Just because of my… my… birth date, I deserve to die?”

No one answered her.

But someone had the answer in their heart.

No one is born “deserving” to die, but someone wanted her dead.

Zhiming retracted his sword, trying to suppress the emotions churning in his heart. He violently kicked Zhiwu. “What are you waiting for? Go get the food!”

Zhiwu, feeling wronged, scurried away in a flash.

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