The Demon Lord Relied on His Imagination to Get Together with the Protagonist. - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

“Cen Letian! Stop!” Fuluo immediately shouted to stop him. “If you continue fighting, from this day forward, your Master will expel you from the sect, and we will never meet again in this life.”

Cen Letian suddenly froze, his sword almost slipping from his grasp.

The four words “expel from the sect” were his worst nightmare. Just mentioning them was enough to make his mind reel.

No, it can’t be, it’s not allowed!

Cen Letian nervously turned back: “Master, but I…”

Fuluo frowned and sharply commanded: “Your Master told you to stop!”

But it was already too late.

The Demon Lord was not so good-tempered or easy to talk to. Her promise to spare Cen Letian was out of respect for Fuluo. Now, Cen Letian’s defiance and continued troublemaking had already violated her taboo. She couldn’t possibly let him off lightly again.

“Your Master just begged this Venerable One to spare you, yet you are so ignorant, completely betraying Fuluo’s painstaking efforts,” Shi Zhihua said to Fuluo. “What’s the point of keeping such a disciple? Why don’t you let this Venerable One help you clean house?”

Shi Zhihua was also exasperated.

It was best for immortal artifacts not to recognize a master before gaining sentience. Once they did, it became extremely troublesome, detrimental to her collection, and unnecessarily complicated matters.

Immortal artifacts that had gained sentience were already difficult to manage. Encountering one like the Meridian Gate Bell, which was halfway sentient, was even more challenging.

She didn’t know the extent of this immortal artifact’s intelligence. It looked like it couldn’t transform, but it could understand some human speech, had its own thoughts and personality, and could even choose its master…

Shi Zhihua: “…”

However, there was one common solution for any of these situations—killing their master.

For someone like Fuluo, where the master did not endorse the immortal artifact, this method was rarely necessary. But Cen Letian was different. He actively forged a bond with the Meridian Gate Bell. In the future, even if she wanted to collect the Meridian Gate Bell again, she would either have to wait for both parties to voluntarily dissolve the contract, or kill Cen Letian.

Shi Zhihua was too lazy to waste more words and immediately chose the latter.

Fuluo knew exactly what was on her mind. She was instantly anxious, wishing she could personally go and knock some sense into her disciple’s head to stop him from being so foolish.

Fuluo urgently said: “If you still recognize me as your Master, stop immediately.”

“Master, as long as you don’t drive me away, you will always be my good Master, but…” Cen Letian suddenly looked viciously at Shi Zhihua. “But she is untrustworthy and will definitely not spare either of us. This disciple is determined to tear the Demon Lord into ten thousand pieces to resolve the hatred in my heart.”

Fuluo: “…”

No hope. Just wait to die.

Qing Lin saw the situation and knew that this Xianning disciple was likely doomed.

Firstly, the golden snake was an exceptionally powerful demon beast from their Demon Realm, its strength rivaling thirty percent of the Demon Lord’s. Secondly, the Meridian Gate Bell was timid. When facing the battle-hardened golden snake, which was also boosted by Di Hen Jie, it had little chance of winning. Not to mention the golden snake’s ferocity had greatly increased, and its demeanor was utterly arrogant.

It is often said that pets resemble their owners.

The golden snake’s personality was as fierce and proud as the Demon Lord’s. Once its demonic nature was fully unleashed, it showed no mercy, absolutely determined to bite the person in front of it to death.

The golden snake flicked its tongue. A spine-tingling hissing sound filled everyone’s ears. Its glittering golden scales swiftly streaked across the ground, kicking up dust for several zhang and forcing everyone to cover their noses and retreat.

Cen Letian dared not slack off for a moment. While using all his might to wield his sword in battle, he spun and dodged like a man consumed by bloodlust. The Meridian Gate Bell was attached to his neck, emitting clear, crisp sounds with his movements.

The golden snake became fiercer and fiercer with each attack. With the blessing of Di Hen Jie, it gradually merged with the immortal artifact. The dragon horn on its head was no longer just a decoration; its efficacy became increasingly powerful.

Later, the golden snake not only sprouted horns but also grew dragon claws and whiskers. The entire form of the snake shifted towards that of a dragon.

Qing Lin watched the battle from the side and couldn’t help but ask the Demon Lord: “Venerable One, will Di Hen Jie be removable later?”

Shi Zhihua was completely unconcerned. She said: “Of course it will be removable. It is this Venerable One’s pet. It listens to everything I say. Even if it can’t be removed, it still recognizes me as its master.”

Qing Lin nodded: “That’s good.”

Cen Letian and the golden snake fought for who knows how long. Both sides were covered in wounds. Cen Letian was initially at a disadvantage, but in a short while, he gained the upper hand and unilaterally began pummeling the golden snake.

Shi Zhihua watched, utterly distressed.

That was her pet! She rarely laid such a heavy hand on it. This Cen Letian was truly leaving no way out. She would definitely make him pay later.

Tong Siqing had been observing the battle for a while. Seeing the tide turn, her expression gradually became serious.

Shi Zhihua rarely saw Tong Siqing look so serious, so she asked her: “What’s wrong, Siqing? Did you notice anything unusual?”

Tong Siqing said: “Cen Letian’s reckless fighting style, while seemingly turning the tables, is actually a desperate, do-or-die move. Even if he wins in the end, he won’t survive.”

This kind of fighting style would either lead to him becoming possessed (Zhuo Huo Ru Mo) or ending with the self-detonation of his immortal body.

So extreme, beyond saving.

Shi Zhihua looked over there…

Fuluo finally couldn’t bear to watch and approached the Demon Lord. She pleaded: “Venerable One, my disciple is truly ignorant. This is due to my poor guidance as his Master. I…”

Shi Zhihua was puzzled: “Is Fuluo Immortal Master perhaps still asking this Venerable One to spare him? Is this a joke?”

Fuluo remained silent. It seemed so.

Shi Zhihua also felt helpless: “There is actually such a kind-hearted immortal as you in this world.”

Tong Siqing shook her head and also advised: “Zhihua, he won’t live much longer. Why don’t you stop? Let him sever the Master-disciple bond with Fuluo Immortal Master, and then perish.”

“How can I stop?” Shi Zhihua asked. “We can’t stop anymore. Since things have come to this, even if I immediately recall the golden snake, I can’t stop a man consumed by bloodlust, let alone awaken his conscience. He is going to die anyway. He probably won’t even last long enough to speak to Fuluo coherently.”

The reality was likely exactly this.

Everyone fell silent.

Fuluo looked at Cen Letian as if in silent mourning, then sighed.

Shi Zhihua suddenly added: “However, his death means this Venerable One can take the Meridian Gate Bell. This Venerable One has no reason to spare him.”

Fuluo knew that she had no more bargaining chips to make the Demon Lord help her.

“Sparing him yields no benefit. The Meridian Gate Bell has recognized him as its master; it cannot be used by me. Keeping him would only be a disaster,” Shi Zhihua said, seeing Fuluo’s grief-stricken expression, and explained a few more words with a tinge of compassion. “A mad dog without an owner’s restraint can easily cause trouble, unless Fuluo you are willing to manage him for the rest of his life, otherwise…”

Before the Demon Lord could finish, Fuluo said: “Alright.”

Shi Zhihua: ???

Is this person foolish? How can there be such a fearless Master?

Tong Siqing explained from the side: “Our Masters in Xianning are very dedicated after accepting a disciple, taking care of almost every aspect of the disciple’s life. That’s why many Master-disciple relationships are so deeply affectionate…”

But Fuluo Immortal Master was still the most dedicated among the Masters of Xianning.

Perhaps the customs of the Demon Realm were different from Xianning, but this whole Master-disciple drama certainly astonished Shi Zhihua.

She asked Tong Siqing: “Siqing, what do you think this Venerable One should do? Should I spare him?”

Tong Siqing: “The defenses of our Yuyin Palace are ultimately weak. Xianning’s teleportation array can send me straight in, and even Senior Sister Bai Xian and the others can climb the walls in the middle of the night to enter. I think our Yuyin Palace needs a change in its defense forces.”

This meant she should spare him.

Shi Zhihua understood her meaning and agreed.

In the next moment, Shi Zhihua suddenly grabbed Fuluo, pulling her into the battle.

Cen Letian’s killing intent was raging. He suddenly saw two extra people in the fray: one was the Demon Lord Shi Zhihua, and the other was his own Master.

“Master, get out of the way!” Cen Letian barely dodged the golden snake’s attack, swinging his sword back to strike again, but his hand was definitely not as steady anymore. Since his attack range also covered his Master, he didn’t dare to strike carelessly, lest he injure his Master.

“Demon, why did you bring my Master in?” Cen Letian cursed. “If you have the guts, let her out!”

“This Venerable One cannot personally kill you, but that doesn’t mean your Master can’t. This Venerable One will just have her do it instead,” Shi Zhihua showed a fake smile, her words full of malice. “Your Master is reluctant to kill you, but… do you dare to kill your Master?”

The moment her words fell, a few strands of puppet silk emerged from Shi Zhihua’s sleeve, quickly taking control of Fuluo. Demonic energy instantly poured into her body through the puppet silk. Fuluo allowed herself to be controlled, wielding her sword to attack Cen Letian.

Cen Letian: !!!

Shi Zhihua reminded him warmly from the side: “Be careful not to injure your dear Master, okay?”

Cen Letian felt like he was being split in two. On one side, his blood surged with homicidal rage, while on the other, his blood rapidly cooled. His hands and feet trembled, terrified of accidentally injuring his Master.

Cen Letian was in despair, cursing Shi Zhihua’s shamelessness with a choked voice.

Shi Zhihua didn’t take it to heart at all. She laughed: “If I weren’t shameless, wouldn’t I be unworthy of my title as the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm?”

Cen Letian cursed a few more things, unhearable.

Shi Zhihua lightly cleaned her ear and added: “If this Venerable One were as upright as you Xianning folks, what would be the use of being the Demon Lord? Being a righteous gentleman is difficult, but being the Demon Lord doesn’t require observing these empty formalities and regulations.”

As she spoke, Cen Letian’s sword trembled. He clumsily twisted the tip, nearly injuring his Master.

A wisp of Fuluo’s frosty hair was cut off. Although her body was controlled, her expression was one of pity and complexity. Her eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words. She could only weep while being controlled by the Demon Lord.

Shi Zhihua said from the side: “Cutting hair severs love. In a typical household, braiding hair means marriage, and cutting hair means breaking off the relationship. Although your Master-disciple relationship is not like this, cutting hair is not a good omen. It means this Master-disciple relationship will not have a good ending.”

Cen Letian roared, veins bulging on his forehead. The tendons in his neck swelled from the excessive exertion, causing the Meridian Gate Bell to clang continuously.

Cen Letian: “You’re lying!”

Tong Siqing echoed the Demon Lord’s words from outside the arena: “During the Xianning Master-Acceptance Ceremony, there is a ritual of leaving hair to be put into a brocade pouch. If a disciple is expelled from the sect, that brocade pouch must be burned or retrieved. If the pouch is lost, cutting hair can serve the same purpose.”

Cen Letian still refused to believe it, desperately attacking, dodging, attacking, and evading… repeating the cycle, as if he were splitting apart.

The Demon Lord’s voice constantly lingered in his ears…

The Demon Lord said that Xianning had too many rules and too strict rituals, unlike the Demon Realm, where even Master and disciple didn’t need to strictly adhere to the rules. Whoever was stronger was obeyed.

The Demon Realm… could accommodate all the wolfish ambitions and foolish fantasies in the world.

The Demon Realm was also quite good.

You are about to be expelled from Xianning. In the future, have you thought about where you will go?

Cen Letian’s head was ringing. Perhaps the bell around his neck was too loud, causing him to have auditory hallucinations.

He even heard his own voice, as if a heart demon was tempting him, telling him, whispering in his ear.

The heart demon said, You are at the end of your rope. Why not stake everything on one last fight? Even if you become possessed, you must ensure both sides perish, so they too meet a bad end.

He heard his own faint rebuttal, seeming to say something, but he didn’t catch it clearly.

The heart demon’s voice became increasingly grating. Demons laughed and shrieked in his ear, while ancient Buddhas and sages chanted and murmured, seemingly trying to call back his sanity.

Cen Letian felt like he was about to die here.

His vision was no longer clear. He strained to keep his eyes open, looking ahead—

Ahead was his Master, her frosty hair like a waterfall, her smile as it always was.

The next moment, his Master suddenly stopped smiling. A streak of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Her body gradually sank down, falling silently.

In that instant of falling, Cen Letian saw the Demon Lord behind his Master showing a harsh, mocking smile.

“No!!!” Cen Letian completely lost it, scrambling to crawl over and support his Master, trembling and wailing. “Master! Don’t die! I beg you!”

The Demon Lord continued to mock him coldly: “Oh dear, an accidental slip-up, she’s dead. It’s all your fault for being incompetent. If you were strong enough, your Master wouldn’t have died.”

Cen Letian’s remaining sanity was insufficient to maintain a rebuttal.

He heard the heart demon’s voice ring out in his ears again—

The heart demon said, Let both sides perish. Your Master is gone. Why maintain the facade of a Xianning disciple?

If you become a demon, who can contend with you?

Cen Letian paused—the string in his mind suddenly snapped.

Shi Zhihua retreated with satisfaction, smiling at Tong Siqing: “It’s done.”

What was done?

Su Rong didn’t understand, but she saw Tong Siqing nod at the Demon Lord, and Qing Lin also nodded.

Su Rong: ???

What did they just do? Why can’t I understand?

Tong Siqing went forward, hoisted the Fuluo Immortal Master off the ground, and then knelt down to offer a cloth to wipe the blood off the “deceased” Fuluo.

Su Rong: ???

Wait… she’s not dead after all?

Fuluo didn’t take the cloth from Tong Siqing, instead quickly wiping away the blood with a worried look towards the side…

Not far away, a fierce wave of demonic energy erupted around Cen Letian, replacing Xianning’s sacred light a clear sign of falling into the Demonic path.

He had become possessed.

“Whether he goes completely mad still depends on fate,” Shi Zhihua said to the worried Fuluo. “After all, this Venerable One rarely sees cases of fallen immortals. I didn’t pay much attention to these things in the past. My subordinates say that most Xianning people who fall into the Demonic path wander off in a daze to find a corner somewhere and don’t come to Yuyin Palace to see this Venerable One.”

Fuluo nodded: “Thank you, Demon Lord.”

Forcing Cen Letian to become possessed and stop was much better than him self-detonating and dying.

“You must understand this clearly. Once he falls into the Demonic path, he will be considered a person of the Demon Realm and will be subject to this Venerable One’s suppression,” Shi Zhihua said, a hint of a smile in her voice. “I don’t know where the rumor came from that falling into the Demonic path grants a massive boost in cultivation. Some people actually believe it.”

Perhaps folk tales and novels misled everyone. It was said that desperate immortals or ghosts, the moment they fell into the Demonic path, would often experience a surge in cultivation, directly slaying their enemies, which was very satisfying and romantic.

In reality, it was not so. Falling into the Demonic path merely changes one’s allegiance. An immortal’s original cultivation remains the same. As for ghosts, it’s just that their malicious energy dramatically increases the moment they become demons, making it easier for them to take revenge and vent their hatred.

This situation was passed around until it became the classic “transforming into a demon to seek revenge” trope, leading many onlookers to believe it.

After Cen Letian fell into the Demonic path, the heart demon’s echo was still in his ear.

The last phrase lingering in his ear was “If you become a demon, who can contend with you?”

This made him firmly believe that his first action upon becoming a demon should be to seek revenge on the Demon Lord.

The good news was that he could still maintain basic sanity. Perhaps his hatred was so absolute that it prevented him from instantly going completely mad.

But there was bad news.

As he rushed over aggressively, he saw his “deceased” Master chatting with the Demon Lord and her group.

Cen Letian instantly froze.

He couldn’t even walk anymore.

Shi Zhihua saw him coming and gave a mocking smile: “Look who’s here. Isn’t this this Venerable One’s new, simple-minded subordinate?”

Cen Letian: ???

Who is your subordinate?

Qing Lin crossed her arms and explained to him: “An immortal who falls and becomes a demon must report to the Yuyin Palace and be subjected to the Demon Lord’s control.”

Cen Letian: ???

On what grounds? Who said that?

“All demons are under the Venerable One’s control, especially fallen immortals,” Qing Lin said. “Other integrated clans might still harbor rebellious thoughts, but you won’t. Don’t ask me why; it’s the rule of the Heavenly Dao. Just as the Demon Clan cannot kill the Royal Family, fallen immortal demons must be absolutely loyal to the Demon Lord, or they will suffer the wrath of Heaven.”

“You will suffer the wrath of Heaven.” Shi Zhihua returned his own words to him. “Who was it that wanted to tear this Venerable One into ten thousand pieces? Come and try to tear me apart.”

Cen Letian: “…”

“Heaven’s Dao has its cycles. When you used your Royal Family status to constrain this Venerable One, did you ever foresee today?” Shi Zhihua gave a fake smile and looked at him. “Now, it’s my turn. Let this Venerable One think about how to torment you to vent my frustration.”