The Demon Lord Relied on His Imagination to Get Together with the Protagonist. - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“No!”

How absurd!

Fu Luan quickly pulled away from her and distanced herself.

Her chest was heaving due to the overwhelming shock and continuous heaving. Finally, realizing she couldn’t break free by struggling, she set a trap, saying: “I can look at you, but I’m not used to looking at this face. Show me your true form/body.”

“Of course.”

The Phantom Mirror generously conjured the mirror’s true body in the room.

Fu Luan looked back. This was her room, and the mirror was still in its original position.

Since the mirror’s true body had appeared, things were much simpler. Fu Luan clenched her palms, thinking of a way to escape. As long as she shattered the mirror body, she could leave.

Shattering the mirror body wouldn’t essentially harm the Phantom Mirror. After all, it was an Immortal artifact. Even if it was broken into pieces, as long as the fragments were gathered, it could be “put back together.”

However, the moment it shattered, the Phantom Mirror’s power would surely be diminished, and she could use the opportunity to summon the Demon Lord and the others to subdue the Immortal artifact.

Fu Luan made up her mind, her knuckles white from the excessive force.

The Phantom Mirror was easily deceived, hardly distracted while gazing into her eyes.

The person in front of her was completely identical to her: features, appearance, the curve of the smile…

Being stared at by “herself,” with that “self’s” eyes filled with obsessive love, made Fu Luan’s scalp tingle and forced her to involuntarily tremble as she retreated.

This was far more terrifying than some formless demons.

Fu Luan felt her soul shivering.

As she retreated, the Phantom Mirror pursued, relentlessly closing in, step by step.

The other party’s goal was very clear, and she didn’t intend to chat any further, her hands becoming overly familiar.

Right, those hands were also her own, completely devoid of warmth.

Fu Luan was finally forced to retreat near the mirror body.

“Immortal Master,” the Phantom Mirror took one of her hands, affectionately lowered its head and kissed it. In the end, it raised its eyes and smiled at her: “Or, I could call you Master, after all, you were the one who picked me up.”

This was the biggest regret of Fu Luan’s life.

She frowned, turning her head away with a pang of heartache.

She didn’t want to speak.

“Throughout those long years, I waited for you day and night, watching you change and groom every evening, and fall into shallow slumber on the embroidered couch,” the Phantom Mirror’s eyes were full of long-held affection, its finger tracing a lock of her frosty hair. “Your white hair is also so beautiful. It truly makes me infatuated.”

Fu Luan had goosebumps all over. Because she didn’t want to make contact, she chose not to push the other party away, letting the improper familiarity continue.

The Phantom Mirror put the strand of hair to its mouth, seemingly wanting to taste her scent.

Fu Luan couldn’t bear it anymore and looked back at the mirror behind her.

It was then, while the other party had its head lowered, that she suddenly slammed her hand toward the mirror’s surface.

Fearing that the other party would discover and mimic her action, she didn’t use a spell, smashing it with her bare hand instead.

Even if it resulted in a bloody mess, she was fearless…

Fu Luan: !!!

The imagined pain of being stabbed by broken glass did not arrive. She swung at empty air!

Fu Luan’s full-force hand suddenly met nothing. The mirror’s surface could actually be passed through!

She had not anticipated this result at all. Her center of gravity instantly became unstable, and her upper body lunged toward the mirror.

The dressing table jarred her, fortunately stopping half of her body.

As if her abdomen had taken a heavy blow, Fu Luan’s breath hitched, but she managed to prevent her entire body from going into the mirror.

But…

Her upper body seemed to be trapped in the mirror and couldn’t come out.

Fu Luan: “…”

What kind of earthly suffering is this?

“Where did you hit yourself?” The Phantom Mirror stepped forward, its hand tracing her waist, saying tenderly: “Does it hurt?”

Fu Luan said in a low voice, her brows furrowed: “Get away.”

Scoffed at by her, the Phantom Mirror’s hand instantly dared not move.

Fu Luan managed to turn around with difficulty, glaring at her with resentment: “Are you playing the victim now?”

The pair of eyes, identical to her own, were filled with confusion.

Fu Luan was both shocked and angry.

“If you say I was kind to you, then you should not repay kindness with enmity,” Fu Luan tried to reason with her. “Let me go, and I will let bygones be bygones.”

The Phantom Mirror looked at her quietly: “But you were clearly thinking just now—to go back and call others to capture me.”

Fu Luan: ???

No way? This Immortal artifact is too much of a cheat. How can it eavesdrop on other people’s inner thoughts?

Fu Luan had nothing to say. She lowered her head in silence, somewhat resigned: “Then what do you want from me?”

The Phantom Mirror returned her question verbatim: “Then what do you want from me?”

Fu Luan didn’t know either.

She said: “But what you desire, I probably cannot give you.”

A hint of hope seemed to appear in the Phantom Mirror’s eyes, and its slender, beautiful eyes seemed to sparkle with light: “So, if you could give it, Immortal Master would satisfy me, right?”

Fu Luan was silent.

The Phantom Mirror continued: “It’s alright. As long as you have the intention, I will be satisfied.”

Fu Luan looked up at her.

A sense of compassion arose in her heart—Although this object is not human, its life has been difficult. Despite being an Immortal artifact, it wandered the mortal world, being resold as a broken object. Although she took it back to the palace, it had experienced much turmoil, and then stubbornly waited for her for so many years…

It was indeed—rare in its deep affection.

As an Immortal artifact that had developed intelligence, it should have been able to live freely, unbound by external things, yet she had inexplicably become its karmic burden.

She hadn’t expected that an unintentional act in the past would lead to such a bond.

Fu Luan sighed, her cold eyes slightly lowered as she gazed around.

The Phantom Mirror pursued her, pleading: “Master, just give me a reason to live, please. If I lose my motivation, my soul will surely dissipate.”

Due to her posture, Fu Luan’s back was tired, and her heart was also utterly exhausted.

In the past, Fu Luan would definitely stand by her words. If she couldn’t do it, she wouldn’t easily promise… But, she wasn’t a cruel person. Since the other party said so, if she could give her a reason to live, it wasn’t impossible.

So, her heart softened, and she inexplicably agreed to the other party’s request.

Fu Luan muttered with difficulty: “If I can give it, I am certainly willing to give it to you, but… I cultivate the path of heartlessness. If I give it… this many years of cultivation would be broken.”

Whether to give or not, the two were speaking in riddles, not explicitly saying it.

The reality was such, but both understood each other tacitly.

“It’s alright, I know,” the Phantom Mirror seemed satisfied, intending to stop. It slowly retreated a little, replying: “With just those words from you…”

Fu Luan felt relieved, her back aching slightly.

She relaxed her posture, leaning against the edge of the dressing table to rest.

Since her upper body was still trapped in the mirror, she could only lean backward against the edge of the table. Just speaking those few sentences had made her back sore and her neck muscles spasm.

Just when she thought the Phantom Mirror was going to stop and leave, the other party finished the second half of the sentence.

The other party said: “Since the Immortal Master said so, it means you also wish for this, doesn’t it?”

Fu Luan: ???

What nonsense is she speaking?

When did I agree?

This broken mirror selectively listened to her inner thoughts. It played deaf very convincingly when it was supposed to, had she not previously experienced its mind-reading ability, she would have thought it hadn’t heard her thoughts moments ago.

Fu Luan: !!!

The Phantom Mirror unceremoniously lifted her, causing her body to suddenly feel light, and she almost cried out in surprise.

Fu Luan subconsciously tried to grasp something, but there was nothing in the mirror. The only thing she could touch was the ornate mirror frame.

To decorate this mirror back then, she had ordered people to use various beautiful jades and gold ornamentation to fill the frame.

Now…

Fu Luan grabbed the mirror frame with difficulty, feeling a sense of loss: “Beast, how dare you!”

“Immortal Master, I know you cultivate the path of heartlessness, but the path of heartlessness guards against the affections of the people of the world toward you, and the bodies of all outsiders, except you,” the other party moved closer, whispering: “But I am not an outsider. I am using your mortal body, so it won’t break your path.”

Fu Luan naturally knew this.

But… the path of heartlessness requires both body and mind to remain unbroken.

“The body is not considered breaking the path. The mind…” The Phantom Mirror caught her thought and gave a sorrowful smile. “As for the mind, would you fall in love with me? If you don’t fall in love, what is wrong with it?”

Fu Luan was speechless.

She had never encountered an object so skilled in sophistry.

The Phantom Mirror lifted her skirt, slowly kneeling down in this posture.

The other party looked up at her reverently, separated by the mirror surface, gazing into her eyes.

Fu Luan’s voice was devoid of warmth: “Does it absolutely have to be this way?”

Phantom Mirror: “You promised me.”

Fu Luan was completely emotionless, her attitude utterly cold: “If your wish is granted, will you be able to extinguish your self-will and revert to an inanimate object?”

Phantom Mirror: “I would have no regrets, even in death.”

“Then, come,” Fu Luan voluntarily separated her knees, her knuckles clutching the mirror frame. “Don’t break your word.”

The person who looked exactly like her finally lowered its head reverently.

Fu Luan clutched the mirror frame tightly.

At the same time.

The few people from the Xianning Sect were in a panic.

“We can’t go on like this. We must find the Immortal Master as soon as possible.”

“That thing is an Immortal artifact. How can our Immortal Master defeat it?”

“Isn’t our Immortal Master cultivating the path of heartlessness?”

“After we find her, I will definitely smash that filth,” Cen Letian cursed. “If it breaks my Master’s path of heartlessness, I will make sure it is relegated to the animal realm!”

Tong Siqing was also frantic.

She knew that the path of heartlessness required guarding both the body and the mind. Immortal Master Fu Luan was indeed heartless and desireless, but the Phantom Mirror was not a simple character. If the other party used some tricks to bewitch Immortal Master Fu Luan, what would happen!

Tong Siqing blamed herself for not keeping a better watch on Immortal Master Fu Luan, allowing someone else to snatch her away.

After so long, the few of them had absolutely no clue how to rescue her.

Even more challenging was that the Phantom Mirror, as an Immortal artifact, could very likely create small nightmare realms. If they couldn’t find a connection, it would be very difficult to locate Immortal Master Fu Luan.

Shi Zhihua saw the foolish disciples and couldn’t bear it anymore. She asked: “Do you have any personal belongings of Fu Luan’s? Preferably hair or something else…”

She hadn’t wanted to ask this initially because these people were cultivating the path of heartlessness, and most of them were male disciples. Surely no one would have Fu Luan’s personal belongings.

But Shi Zhihua didn’t expect that in the next second, many disciples would pull out items.

A group of disciples took out various items they had collected:

“Venerable Lord, this is the sachet I accidentally picked up the other day… it belongs to the Immortal Master. It has a strand of her hair inside.”

“Venerable Lord, there was a period when our Immortal Master was shedding hair. I ‘accidentally’ picked up one strand.”

“What a coincidence, I picked one up too, and I happen to have it with me.”

Tong Siqing: “…”

Shi Zhihua: “…”

Others: “…”

This sect is truly something else.

In the end, it was Cen Letian who took out the most important item. He unfolded a cloth handkerchief, inside which lay a red string: “When Master was dressing up as the bride, she untied her hair tie and asked me to keep it. I wonder if we can find the Immortal Master using this item.”

Shi Zhihua took it: “Possible.”

In the next second, the Demon Lord performed a technique. A monstrous demonic energy forcibly tore a space, revealing the small realm within.

Shi Zhihua walked in with her back to the crowd: “Everyone, follow me.”

The moment the small realm was breached, Fu Luan also let out her last drop of sweat.

She weakly gripped the mirror frame, her palms hot with sweat, but everything she touched was the icy cold jewelry decorating the mirror frame. After so long, it still hadn’t warmed up.

Fu Luan let her hands drop, finally being lifted out by an external force.

“Someone is coming outside,” the Phantom Mirror wiped away her fragrant sweat and then straightened her skirt. “Wait for me to repel the external enemies, and I will definitely fulfill my promise.”

Fu Luan thought to herself that there was no need.

I might as well hang myself.

The people outside were all looking for her.

This time, the Phantom Mirror was finally willing to “hear” her inner voice.

She looked at her with deep affection. After a long, long while, she leaned in for a final kiss.

“My wish is fulfilled. I will return to being an inanimate object and no longer disturb you, Immortal Master,” the Phantom Mirror said. “Thank you for your grace, Immortal Master. I cannot repay your kindness, and I even repaid your virtue with enmity… Wei Luan has nothing to offer in return. After death, I dedicate the physical body of the Phantom Mirror to you, to be commanded by you.”

Fu Luan weakly draped the back of her hand across her forehead, her voice soft: “Don’t use the name Wei Luan.”

“It’s not that I stole the name,” Wei Luan said. “Immortal Master, have you forgotten? I am the Immortal artifact, the Phantom Mirror. You gave me intelligence, and my human form is also your likeness. My name… is naturally yours too. That day, you spoke to your reflection in the mirror, and you bestowed a name upon me.”

After bestowing the name, the person and the object mutually fulfilled each other. The Phantom Mirror helped her ascend to Immortality, and she left her mortal body to the other party, granting it a new life.

It was only now that Fu Luan understood why she had left her mortal body when she ascended.

Because she had never harbored the thought of ascending to Immortality, she hadn’t researched these things. When she ascended, she thought… all people who ascend leave their mortal bodies behind.

It turns out it wasn’t an intentional act by her, but a bond in the unseen world that left behind the mortal “Wei Luan.”

No wonder after she ascended, all her dark hair turned frosty white, distinguishing her from her past self.

Let it be, let it be…

Fu Luan didn’t want to think any further and just leaned to the side without speaking.

Just as she closed her eyes, a group of people rushed in frantically.

“Master!”

“Immortal Master!”

“Immortal Master Fu Luan…”

Everyone froze in place.

Even though they had guessed it beforehand, everyone was still shocked when they saw two identical people in front of them.

One person had frosty white hair, and the other had a full head of dark hair.

Other than that, the two were exactly the same.

The dark-haired Immortal Master Fu Luan had a knife hanging by her neck, looking as if she was about to harm herself.

“Master, you mustn’t!”

Cen Letian pounced to grab the knife from her: “Don’t do anything foolish!”

The real Fu Luan: ???

What is this foolish disciple doing?

Cen Letian cried and said to Wei Luan: “Although the Phantom Mirror shamelessly forced you, you are still the Immortal Master we respect in Xianning. Your disciple will absolutely not tell any outsiders about this. Please, don’t think of taking your own life.”

Wei Luan pushed him away, turning the knife toward herself, straight into her flesh and blood… instantly drawing a bloody mess.

“No!!!”

The disciples of the Xianning Sect knelt on the ground, calling out desperately for her to stop.

Fu Luan stood up, looking at everyone with some helplessness: “She is the Phantom Mirror. Don’t stop her.”

Cen Letian’s eyes were red. He stared intently at Fu Luan: “Mirror Demon, since you have already obtained our Immortal Master, why can’t you let her go?”

Fu Luan: ???

Shi Zhihua also stepped out: “Mirror, it’s pointless to be so extreme. Since you have succeeded, why transform into her image and force her to kill herself in front of you? You are truly too hateful toward her.”

Fu Luan: “…”

It was only then that she realized everyone had misunderstood. The difference in her and Wei Luan’s hair color was misinterpreted by everyone as a deliberate act by the Phantom Mirror.

Because the Phantom Mirror was cunning, everyone thought this was a conspiracy.

She, with her stern and upright nature, would naturally commit suicide after being disgraced, and the Phantom Mirror could then logically take her identity and continue to live in the world…

Truthfully, this possibility was quite plausible.

If she weren’t the person involved, she would probably think so too.

Fu Luan was speechless, feeling both exasperated and touched at the same time. Everyone had been so thoughtful, considering her feelings and worrying so much that they had truly complicated the matter.

It seems this Wei Luan should be kept for now.

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