The Demon Lord Relied on His Imagination to Get Together with the Protagonist. - Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Bai Xian: “…”

Qi Magu: “…”

After a long silence, the Celestial Venerable did not speak, so they dared not speak further.

“Siqing is my daughter after all. This Venerable One naturally has a way to find her whereabouts,” Saint-Scribe remained very calm. He opened his sleeves, smoothed his expression, and strode away. “The two of you, follow this Venerable One.”

Bai Xian and Qi Magu exchanged glances and quickly followed.

The Palace of Decadence and Lust was still a little far from the Scarlet Sky Realm. The Demon Lord and her group had traveled for a long time, let alone Saint-Scribe and his companions, who had no clue.

Celestial Venerable Saint-Scribe only knew that Tong Siqing was approximately somewhere northeast of the Palace of Decadence and Lust, but he didn’t know exactly where. Leading the two, he almost walked and searched the entire way, delaying their time even more.

During this period, Tong Siqing, Shi Zhihua, and Fu Luan were already preparing to break the nightmare.

Through these days of investigation, the people of the Demon Realm and the Xianning Sect worked together to find the cause of the nightmare and its connection to the Phantom Mirror.

The story goes roughly like this—

When the Demon Lord smashed the mirror, the remaining half piece flowed into the Xinglin Kingdom and was picked up by the then Eldest Princess of Xinglin, Wei Luan. After picking it up, she meticulously carved and decorated this half mirror, placing it in her bedroom every day, allowing it to be well-nourished within the Imperial City, gradually accumulating spiritual intelligence.

Later, the Demon Lord’s unfortunate subordinate, Yu Xi, was sent to Xinglin to find the mirror.

Without a word, he besieged the city and killed people, forcing the Eldest Princess to come out to negotiate. As a result of this encounter, Yu Xi was driven by lust, conceiving the idea of possessing her. He remained silent about the mirror. He had planned to force her to hand over the mirror after the wedding, but by a strange coincidence, Eldest Princess Wei Luan directly ascended to Immortality on the day of the wedding, becoming Fu Luan and leaving only the mortal body of “Wei Luan” in the mortal world.

It was also on that day that the Eldest Princess spoke to the mirror. Her intense emotions were captured by the Phantom Mirror, which unexpectedly gained spiritual intelligence and instantly fell in love with the Eldest Princess. Later, after her ascension, it took possession of that mortal body.

And Yu Xi was miserable.

He failed to marry the Eldest Princess and couldn’t find the whereabouts of the mirror. That night, while drinking to drown his sorrows, he accidentally started a fire, burning down half of the Xinglin Imperial City.

Afterward, he searched bitterly for a long time. Unable to find the mirror, he didn’t dare to return to report.

While they were discussing, Shi Zhihua still couldn’t help but curse the idiot: “He can’t even control a fire. What use is he?”

Qing Lin agreed: “Exactly. As the Venerable Lord’s confidant, no matter how drunk he was, he actually watched Xinglin burn with his own eyes.”

Tong Siqing interjected: “Is there a possibility… that the fire couldn’t be extinguished?”

Cen Letian asked: “How is that possible? Is there a fire in the world that cannot be extinguished?”

“The Daybreak Pure Fire,” Tong Siqing’s fingertip sparked a white tongue of flame, illuminating her eyes brightly. “Once the Daybreak Pure Fire is ignited, unless the igniter retracts it, it is very difficult to put out. This fire is even more powerful than the fire spat out by a phoenix.”

Cen Letian looked inexperienced: “Really? Immortal Saint Siqing.”

“Really,” Tong Siqing said. “You can activate your spiritual qi protective shield and try it.”

Try what?

Cen Letian didn’t quite catch on, but he obediently activated his surrounding spiritual qi as she instructed.

The next moment, Tong Siqing tossed the ball of fire from her fingertip onto his sleeve.

Cen Letian: “…”

Everyone: “…”

By the time he reacted, Cen Letian let out an “Aoo” and leaped three feet off the ground, frantically patting his sleeve.

But how could the fire on his sleeve be extinguished by patting?

The Daybreak Pure Fire was too fierce. Even though Tong Siqing controlled the size of the fire, the sleeve was still doomed. Cen Letian rolled on the ground and even jumped directly into the nearby fish pond and swam a circle before failing to put it out.

Everyone watched him jump up and down, their faces filled with indescribable expressions.

Cen Letian yelled: “It really can’t be put out, Immortal Saint, please stop!”

Tong Siqing retracted the flame: “Now everyone has seen it. Do you believe it?”

Everyone: “…”

Actually, no one intended to argue in the first place.

Cen Letian returned embarrassingly, one side dripping wet, and the other sleeve already burned with a break. The cut edge of the sleeve was blackened by smoke and fire.

“Senior Brother, your sleeve is broken. Do you want to go back and change clothes?” A disciple suggested. “I happen to have a clean set of disciple robes.”

Cen Letian coughed: “Good.”

“Even if this hypothesis is true, how many people in the world can use this fire?” Shi Zhihua countered. “At that time, Siqing was still studying in the Xianning Sect, right?”

Tong Siqing nodded: “Only Father Venerable and I can use the Daybreak Pure Fire in the world.”

Shi Zhihua pressed her index finger to her forehead and waved her hand: “Let’s continue to sort out the cause and effect of the matter, skipping this hypothesis. Saint-Scribe isn’t someone with nothing better to do who would go and set fire for someone.”

Su Rong picked up the previous topic and asked: “Why did the mirror disappear in Xinglin, but reappear in the Scarlet Sky Realm?”

Immortal Master Fu Luan said: “As an inanimate object, it cannot move. After attaching itself to my mortal body, it was even less likely to leave the Xinglin Imperial City.”

“Not necessarily. Although it is an inanimate object, after its cultivation improved, its movements would not be significantly hindered. Furthermore, since it occupied your mortal body, it should be able to move freely in human form, provided it stays within Xinglin City,” Shi Zhihua said. “It could at most move freely within Xinglin City, like a bound spirit, unable to leave Xinglin.”

Then why did it appear in the Scarlet Sky Realm?

The question circled back again.

Tong Siqing: “Did someone bring her here?”

Someone?

Who?

“It’s not necessarily a person,” Shi Zhihua looked in the direction of the Meridian Gate. “It could also be something else, like a mobile array, similar to that nightmare realm.”

That makes sense, everyone nodded.

The nightmare realm swallowed Xinglin and moved to the Scarlet Sky Realm. As a result, the Phantom Mirror could only move within the nightmare realm. As the nightmare realm expanded, it settled inside the Meridian Gate nightmare.

“Meridian Gate…”

Qing Lin suddenly said to the Demon Lord: “Venerable Lord, is there a possibility… that you don’t find this Meridian Gate very suggestive?”

Shi Zhihua: “Suggestive of what?”

“Among the Five Great Immortal Artifacts, one is named ‘Meridian Gate Bell,’ isn’t that very similar to this ‘Meridian Gate’?” Qing Lin said. “The naming of Immortal Artifacts has a certain logic. For example, the Emperor’s Spite Whip comes from the Old Dragon King of the North Sea. The Dragon Emperor died unjustly, leaving endless regret, and his horn transformed into the Emperor’s Spite Whip. Another example is the Phantom Mirror, where the illusion flickers, making it hard to distinguish between true and false…”

Although everyone didn’t know much about the Meridian Gate Bell, judging by the name, it must be related to the Meridian Gate, right?

Otherwise, why would the nightmare realm use the Meridian Gate as something akin to a boundary marker?

Shi Zhihua blurted out: “Then this Venerable One’s journey has truly been fruitful. Two Immortal artifacts can be brought into my possession.”

Xianning Disciples: “…”

Qing Lin: “…”

Su Rong: “…”

Tong Siqing: “…”

Venerable Lord, did you forget that you recently lied to the Xianning people that the mirror was lost!

Loose lips sink ships. Shi Zhihua suddenly regained her senses and quickly explained: “It slipped out.”

Tong Siqing hung on her, quickly covering her mouth.

Qing Lin let out an “Ah”: “Venerable Lord, what did you say?”

Su Rong looked “clueless” and asked: “Did the Venerable Lord just speak?”

Xianning Disciples: “…”

Everyone clenched their fingers, clenching their teeth until they cracked, their hair practically standing on end with anger. However, their Immortal Master Fu Luan did not speak, maintaining a detached demeanor, evidently not intending to compete for the Phantom Mirror.

Since their Master did not speak, everyone could only swallow their frustration.

The disciples were so angry they rolled their eyes, absolutely helpless against these despicable and shameless people from the Demon Realm.

The disciples communicated through secret mental messages:

“Don’t reason with the Demon Lord.”

“Exactly, how can a Demon Lord be trustworthy?”

“I was wrong to have any expectations for the Demon Lord. Everyone in the Demon Realm, from top to bottom, is too wicked.”

“Even our Immortal Saint Siqing has been led astray.”

“No, we must complain to the Celestial Venerable when we return. This is infuriating.”

“Can Immortal Artifacts command and allocate each other?” Fu Luan ignored the group of disciples she brought and walked around them to chat with the Demon Lord and the others face-to-face. “For an Immortal Artifact to be effective, it must either be activated by the possessor or recognize a master. Recognizing a master is fine. It doesn’t matter if the master is a mortal. But if the Immortal Artifact is possessed by someone else… this possessor must have very powerful cultivation to activate the Immortal Artifact and force it to do their bidding.”

Both of these situations are clearly very bad!

Tong Siqing quickly shook her head—encountering a powerful being capable of controlling an Immortal Artifact, or encountering an Immortal Artifact that has recognized a master, are both headaches!

Shi Zhihua opened her mouth, pouring another basin of cold water on everyone: “There is another possibility. The Meridian Gate Bell also developed spiritual intelligence, and by chance, found the Phantom Mirror. The two colluded, working together to bring disaster upon the mortal world.”

Everyone: “…”

Alright, they admitted, this situation is the most disgusting.

Su Rong asked weakly: “If we combine these situations, could it be that the Meridian Gate Bell recognized the Phantom Mirror as its master and is following the Phantom Mirror’s instructions?”

Everyone: “…”

Ahhh, just kill us now. What kind of mess is this?

“These few broken things, are they playing games now?” Shi Zhihua’s tone was not pleasant. “They are only a few inanimate objects. Can’t the people of our two realms work together to subdue them?”

Xianning, Demon Realm, working together…

The Xianning Sect disciples looked numb, not particularly wanting these words to be combined.

But they were already on the “pirate ship” and could not get off no matter what.

Before solving the nightmare, they absolutely could not break ties with the Demon Lord and her group.

Forget it, we must endure—

“To find out if it’s the Meridian Gate Bell, we can first search for folk legends about this object,” Qing Lin suggested. “Don’t underestimate the power of folk rumors. Amidst the truth and falsehood, there are always a few absurd facts.”

Shi Zhihua agreed: “Good, feasible.”

“Everyone, wait a moment,” Fu Luan suddenly turned around and asked her disciples behind her: “Where did your Senior Brother Cen go? Why hasn’t he come out yet?”

“Immortal Master—it’s bad—”

The disciple who went in with Cen Letian staggered out, shouting: “Senior Brother is missing!”

Missing?

He went to change clothes, and now he’s missing?

Shi Zhihua chuckled: “See? The Dream Master is getting anxious.”

What does this have to do with the Dream Master?

Everyone looked at her, puzzled.

Shi Zhihua spread her hands: “It must be that our previous hypothesis was close to the truth, and we accidentally poked the Dream Master’s sore spot.”

Fu Luan instructed the disciples: “Disperse and search for your Senior Brother Cen.”

Tong Siqing grabbed her: “Immortal Master, aren’t you afraid that your disciples will all disappear while searching? Then you’ll have to search for so many disciples alone. You’ll be exhausted.”

Fu Luan: “…”

The disciples about to accept the order to search: “…”

“Although the words are a bit inauspicious…” Shi Zhihua stepped forward, pulling Tong Siqing’s hand away from Fu Luan’s, and then said, “The fact is, the Dream Master is clearly anxious. It probably doesn’t have much ability. If it were someone with courage, it would have challenged all of us directly. But it only dares to hide and secretly eavesdrop, so it probably doesn’t dare to confront us directly. Therefore—”

Tong Siqing nodded: “Therefore, the more we disperse, the easier it is for the Dream Master to defeat us one by one.”

“Right, so Fu Luan, take care of your own disciples,” Shi Zhihua agreed. “Siqing, the few of us will split up to look for storybooks.”

Fu Luan frowned, waving her hand to call all her disciples back.

The disciples looked unconvinced: “Didn’t you say not to separate? Why are you separating right after saying that?”

“By spreading out, we can find useful information sooner,” Shi Zhihua added without turning her head. “But if you separate, you are just offering yourselves up as targets one by one.”

The Disciples: “…”

Infuriating! Infuriating!

They all clenched their back teeth, glaring hatefully at Shi Zhihua’s retreating back.

Fu Luan spoke up: “Alright, the Demon Lord is very correct.”

The Disciples: ???

Wuwuwu, Immortal Master, do you also look down on us?

Fu Luan seemed to have heard their inner thoughts. She asked indifferently: “When you sparred with your Senior Brother Cen Letian, could you defeat him?”

The disciples lowered their heads one by one: “Naturally, we cannot defeat Senior Brother.”

Fu Luan asked again: “Then where is your Senior Brother now?”

The disciples shook their heads in unison:

“Immortal Master, have you forgotten? Senior Brother is missing.”

“Senior Brother was captured.”

Fu Luan nodded, turned to leave, and left a single sentence: “Then wouldn’t separating also be courting death?”

The disciples looked at each other with tear-stained, aggrieved faces.

Fu Luan’s voice drifted back: “Knowing that, why aren’t you catching up?”

The disciples: “…Yes.”

In the end, everyone found a story related to the Meridian Gate Bell.

Because the Meridian Gate nightmare did not cover the entire Scarlet Sky Realm, Tong Siqing and the others were still able to hear the story at a tavern.

Initially, when Tong Siqing suggested going to a tavern to look for clues, Shi Zhihua was somewhat skeptical.

Qing Lin helped explain to the Venerable Lord: “It’s like this. Every time we go to a tavern or some other place to look for clues, we usually come up empty. How can things in the world be so coincidental?”

Shi Zhihua smiled and gently tidied Tong Siqing’s hair: “You, you don’t know that in this world… many efforts are unrewarded. Sometimes, after putting in effort, it all ends up being an empty basket. Destiny is not determined by you. Even if you try your best, you can’t get the result you want.”

Tong Siqing looked into her eyes with a pure gaze: “Is that so? Wouldn’t the person who put in the effort be very sad?”

“Yes,” Shi Zhihua sighed, seven parts relieved and three parts helpless. “You just get used to it. After all, that’s what’s real. If everything could go smoothly, and every time things went as desired, wouldn’t that mean becoming the Master of Destiny?”

Tong Siqing asked: “Why can’t one become the Master of Destiny?”

Shi Zhihua didn’t know how to explain it to her.

It wasn’t about whether she wanted to be, but the reason why she couldn’t be and couldn’t achieve it.

If one could effortlessly gain the world’s fortune, who wouldn’t be willing?

But Shi Zhihua didn’t want to tell Tong Siqing about her helplessness. She deliberately pretended that she didn’t want it. She said—

“Because although the Master of Destiny has a good fate, they also bear a lot of burdens. If you think about how tiring she is, wouldn’t you not want to be that kind of person?” Although Shi Zhihua was saying this to Tong Siqing, it was somewhat of self-consolation. She looked up at the sky and said, “Being an unconstrained Demon Lord is also good. Fine wine, delicious food, beautiful companions…”

Tong Siqing interrupted her: “But being the Master of Destiny isn’t tiring, is it?”

Shi Zhihua: “…”

Her mood was instantly halted.

Why is Tong Siqing so serious! Doesn’t she know that digging too deep into some things can easily make her lose face?

Shi Zhihua could only vaguely gloss over it: “Alright, alright, yes, yes, not tiring, not tiring.”

Tong Siqing asked her seriously: “If it’s not tiring and not difficult, does the Venerable Lord want to be the Master of Destiny and try it out?”

Shi Zhihua subconsciously wanted to say no.

But—she sighed, deciding not to keep lying to Tong Siqing.

Even if it meant losing face, she still spoke her true thoughts: “Yes, why wouldn’t I? You don’t become the Celestial Venerable because you don’t want to?”

It was because she couldn’t. There was no way. She couldn’t achieve it.

The world was full of helplessness and difficulties. She could only sigh with longing.

Tong Siqing: “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that my Father Venerable is still alive… Hmm. My Father Venerable’s divine soul is immortal for ten thousand years. It probably won’t be my turn to be the Celestial Venerable.”

Shi Zhihua: “…”

Qing Lin: “…”

Su Rong was so scared she almost fell down on the spot. Immortal Saint Siqing! Please don’t ever say that in front of your Father Venerable!

At the same moment, when Celestial Venerable Saint-Scribe reached a market on the border of the Demon Realm, he suddenly had the illusion of being missed.

He stopped, pausing in front of a small stall.

Bai Xian asked: “Celestial Venerable, have you sensed anything?”

Saint-Scribe placed his hand over his heart and lowered his head slightly: “Siqing is thinking of this Venerable One. I sensed it. It is her.”

Saint-Scribe’s heart was filled with complex emotions. It must be that his daughter was having a difficult time and remembered his protection, wanting to return to Xianning with him.

It was his fault as a father for not protecting her well.

It was his mistake.

He let her suffer by following the Demon Lord Shi Zhihua.

“We must quickly find her whereabouts and not let her continue following the Demon Lord,” Saint-Scribe lowered his head, looking aimlessly at the small stall in front of him. “It’s just that I don’t know…”

“Demon Lord? Did I just hear you mention the Demon Lord?” The stall owner beamed. “What a coincidence. Half a month ago, a group of people passed by my small stall. Based on their clothes, they looked like important figures from the Palace of Decadence and Lust.”

Saint-Scribe concentrated, looking at him: “Where did they go?”

“Please don’t rush. Look at this porcelain doll. It’s something that caught the eye of the girl accompanying that important figure,” the stall owner smiled ingratiatingly. “The girl didn’t buy it at the time. Look—”

Saint-Scribe waved his large hand: “This Venerable One will buy them all.”

The stall owner: “Hey! Alright!”

Bai Xian: “…”

Qi Magu: “…”

You unscrupulous merchant, you’d better tell us something worthwhile after making our Celestial Venerable spend money for information. Otherwise, we will definitely beat you until you can’t find north.

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