The Villainous Demon Lord’s Handbook for Success: Rebirth - Chapter 41

The faint scent of blood spread along her lips. Before Ning Fuyi could even exhale a full breath, a slap landed on her face, and she was forcefully pushed away.

However, even though it was a slap, the strength behind it felt like a mosquito bite, not painful in the slightest. Still, it succeeded in making her freeze in astonishment.

The woman who had just been unconscious had opened her eyes at some unknown point. Her clear, autumn-water eyes were filled with deep surprise and pure rage.

“What do you think you are doing?!” she demanded.

Ning Fuyi touched her lips, “You are not dead?”

“Who told you that I was dead?” Chu Qingqiu wiped the blood from her lips with her sleeve, using great force as if she wanted to scrub away every trace of Ning Fuyi’s breath.

Watching her actions, the panic in Ning Fuyi’s heart subsided, but her ears grew noticeably hot. She abruptly backed away from Chu Qingqiu’s side, muttering, “who told you to suddenly stop breathing? I only breathed into you out of necessity. It is not as if I wanted to do it.”

Chu Qingqiu’s disheveled hair hung down, obscuring half of her face behind her sleeve so her expression could not be discerned. Her voice was cold as she asked, “Did the Yunji Sect never teach you what Turtle Breathing is?”

When severely injured, one could utilize Turtle Breathing to heal, allowing the celestial meridians and vital energy to recover at the fastest speed.

“Of course, they taught it, but you could have at least given a warning before you stopped breathing,” Ning Fuyi grumbled. She sat down flat on the ground, shuffling a bit to the side to sit right next to Chu Qingqiu.

Silence stretched across the chamber for a long while before Chu Qingqiu’s voice suddenly drifted over, “I am sorry.”

Ning Fuyi felt somewhat surprised. To hear a word of apology from the mouth of someone like Chu Qingqiu was truly harder than climbing to the heavens.

“Forget it, it is nothing,” Ning Fuyi let out a sigh. “In any case, dying sooner or later is still death. You were right; there is no path forward anymore.”

After exerting themselves for so long, they were now completely slumped on the ground. Within the absolute silence of their surroundings, the exhaustion of her body finally caught up to her. Ning Fuyi was a mortal after all and had not yet achieved total fasting. As drowsiness assaulted her, her eyelids grew heavy.

She leaned back against the stone behind her, staring blankly at the two skeletons before her while she dozed off. Before long, her body tilted to the side, her head on the verge of hitting the ground.

A hand suddenly extended from beside her, catching her cheek. Ning Fuyi licked her lips and continued to sleep soundly within that palm.

Chu Qingqiu furrowed her brows as she looked at her, shaking her head.

“Truly a child’s disposition, capable of sleeping at any given moment.” Her eyes lowered, yet she did not withdraw her hand or wake Ning Fuyi up, choosing instead to let her sleep peacefully.

After an unknown amount of time, Chu Qingqiu’s hand grew numb. She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly leaned her body toward Ning Fuyi’s side, letting her rest against her shoulder.

The young girl’s breathing was regular, letting out very soft, tiny snores. The warmth of her cheek transferred through the clothing on her shoulder.

As Chu Qingqiu watched, her gaze shifted downward, landing upon those cherry-like lips. Those lips looked soft, and they had felt just the same when they touched.

She suddenly clenched her fist tightly until her palm throbbed with pain. Only then did she abruptly avert her eyes and close them to circulate her energy, allowing her cold body to gradually warm up.

About half an hour passed before Ning Fuyi woke up, the exhaustion throughout her body significantly reduced. She stretched her arms, shifting her head only to realize she was resting directly against Chu Qingqiu’s shoulder. Her movements froze for a brief second before she carefully lifted her head away.

Chu Qingqiu kept her eyes closed as she continued to circulate her energy, not uttering a single word.

Perhaps she had simply been unable to hold herself up while asleep. Ning Fuyi rubbed her nose, finding it unexpected that Chu Qingqiu had actually let her sleep instead of waking her up.

Regardless of the situation, a person only possessed strength once they woke up. Ning Fuyi let out a long breath, using the rocks for support to scramble up. She continued to pace around the rubble, attempting to discover some clues.

Chu Qingqiu opened her eyes, silently watching Ning Fuyi’s back. Having recovered a bit of immortal energy within her depleted body, she raised her hand. A faint light rose from her fingertips, drifting into the depths of the ruins before coming to a halt on a collapsed wall.

Afterward, she endured the intense pain throughout her body to stand up with great difficulty. However, her legs went soft, her body tilted, and she nearly collapsed.

“What is wrong?” Hearing the commotion, Ning Fuyi ran over to her from a short distance away. Seeing that she had actually stood up, she hastily grabbed her arm to support her back down, furrowing her brows as she said, “You are injured to this extent, so why are you still trying to force yourself?”

“What are you looking for?” The moment her words fell, she noticed the point of light in the distance. Without saying anything more, her body transformed into a streak of light that landed at that spot. She bent down to push aside the stone slab, pulling out a filthy Bai Lin from underneath.

Bai Lin’s breathing was weak. It let out soft whimpers, using its furry head to rub against Ning Fuyi’s arm, which filled her heart with pity.

Ning Fuyi held it tightly in her arms and returned to Chu Qingqiu’s side, handing Bai Lin over to her. Chu Qingqiu did not say much, merely fishing out another medicinal pill from her waist to feed it. With a gentle tap of her finger, Bai Lin vanished from sight.

“It will be alright, right?” Ning Fuyi could not help but ask.

“It will be fine. The White Tiger is a divine beast; it only needs to sleep for a while,” Chu Qingqiu said. She leaned back against the rock, as standing up just now seemed to have drained a great deal of her strength.

“If you knew you were injured, why put on a brave front? You could have just asked me for help,” Ning Fuyi said.

“I can manage on my own,” Chu Qingqiu replied.

“Look at you, always putting on those grand airs of a Divine Venerable, acting as though you do not need anyone and do not care about anyone. That is exactly why I used to hate you so much.” Since they could not escape anyway, Ning Fuyi’s mouth lost all its filters.

Chu Qingqiu remained silent, offering no rebuttal.

“There is nothing left here except for those two skeletons. Since they were an ancient god and demon, they might carry some clues on their bodies, but you refuse to let me touch them,” Ning Fuyi said, before suddenly adding, “How about I carry you over there so you can check them yourself?”

This time, Chu Qingqiu finally relented. A faint flush appeared beneath her eyes as she extended her hand toward Ning Fuyi.

Ning Fuyi froze for a brief instant before realizing her meaning, feeling a strange sense of being overwhelmed by the favor. Thus, she gripped her palm with her right hand while wrapping her left arm around her waist, lifting her up with a burst of strength.

Half-supporting and half-carrying her, she brought the woman before the skeletons.

Unlike Ning Fuyi’s complete lack of reservations, Chu Qingqiu first placed her hand over her chest, lowering her beautiful head slightly as she murmured a quiet apology for her disrespect. Only then did she extend her fingers, a white mist emanating from her palm as she brushed it over the garments of the remains.

“They were two women,” Chu Qingqiu spoke softly, her words slow and gentle. “One died from a sharp weapon piercing through her heart and lungs, and the other did as well.”

“I told you they slaughtered each other,” Ning Fuyi said.

Chu Qingqiu ignored her, her palm continuing to glide over the surface of the skeletons, “The member of the demon race was consumed by a powerful energy before death. If I am not mistaken, it must have been that divine sword.”

Ning Fuyi looked up. As if it had heard her words, the hilt of the divine sword tilted to one side, looking like a person cocking their head.

Ning Fuyi’s eyelids twitched, and she averted her gaze, “What about the god?”

Chu Qingqiu placed her hand on the skeleton’s chest, uttering another apology to her predecessor before parting her garments. Her eyes flashed as she felt something.

Her fingertips moved slightly as she pulled out the object she had touched. The sound of wind suddenly echoed beside Ning Fuyi’s ears, and the light before her eyes vanished instantly.

A clicking sound resounded, and the light returned. However, it was no longer the faint glimmer of the divine sword, but a bright and magnificent hall. Night luminous pearls illuminated the interior as though it were broad daylight, and the stones on the ground shimmered with a golden glow.

A woman stood upon the steps. Initially, only her back was visible. She possessed a tall stature and straight shoulders, filling out layers of luxurious garments. Her black hair was pinned up by several golden hairpins, with tassels of gemstones cascading from the crown of her head.

As if hearing the movement, the woman turned around slowly, her trailing robes sliding across the ground beneath her feet in a leaf-like curve. The moment her face was fully illuminated by the light, Ning Fuyi felt completely spellbound.

The beauty of that face was not something that could be described by terms like earth-shattering or breathtaking. She resembled the sun and the moon; simply standing there was enough to inspire reverence, making one not dare to look too closely.

Ning Fuyi’s grip around Chu Qingqiu tightened instinctively, loosening only when the person in her arms tapped her lightly.

“Goddess Tingfeng?” Chu Qingqiu spoke up, her voice echoing through the vast, empty hall.

The woman looked toward the two of them with surprise, her gaze full of scrutiny. She tilted her head slightly, observing them for a long while before stepping down the stairs one pace at a time.

“Who are you?” she asked softly. She then looked up to examine the grand hall, her gaze full of nostalgic attachment, “How long has it been since my death? How do you know my name?”

“This practitioner is Chu Qingqiu,” Chu Qingqiu said gently, holding the hairpin she had just pulled from the corpse. “This hairpin has your name carved upon it.”

“As for the Divine Fall, it has been over ten thousand years,” she added.

It appeared that the figure before them was indeed the spirit of one of the corpses, the goddess who owned the divine sword. Yet, it was a mystery why a shred of her soul still remained inside this tiny hairpin after ten thousand years.

“Over ten thousand years,” the goddess lowered her eyes, her gaze drifting.

“Goddess, do you know if there is any other exit from this divine hall?” Ning Fuyi asked.

“And who are you?” The goddess seemed to notice Ning Fuyi only just now, an unexpected look appearing in her eyes. In the next instant, she materialized right in front of Ning Fuyi, reaching out to hook her chin, only to be blocked by Chu Qingqiu’s instinctive intervention.

The goddess’s hand paused mid-air. She looked at Ning Fuyi, then at Chu Qingqiu, the corners of her lips curving slightly, “Interesting.”

The more Ning Fuyi looked at her, the stranger she felt. She wanted to ask what was so interesting, but the goddess spoke to herself again, “Do you wish to hear a story?”

“No,” Ning Fuyi answered flatly and decisively.

“I was the Goddess of Mount Zhaoyao from birth,” the goddess gazed into the empty space. “From a young age, I was restrained by over a dozen aunts who demanded that I protect Zhaoyao and shelter the world.”

Ning Fuyi nearly rolled her eyes. Since she was determined to tell it anyway, why bother asking in the first place?

“However, during my youth, I did not enjoy hiding away in these mountains. I often slipped away to the mortal realm for amusement, which was how I met Molan,” she said with a smile. “Do you know who Molan is?”

Chu Qingqiu shook her head, but Ning Fuyi remarked that she had heard of the name.

Seeing both of them turn to look at her, Ning Fuyi parted her lips before saying, “The ancestor of the demon race, Jun Molan.”

“Yes,” the goddess nodded, turning her back with her hands behind her. “At that time, I did not know she was a demon, and she did not know I was a god. We often met in the mortal realm to enjoy ourselves. Over time, mutual affection blossomed between us.”

Ning Fuyi raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“It was only later, when I donned armor to slaughter demons and met her in the mortal realm, that I realized she was the monster spoken of by the world. At that time, the two of us fought for three days and three nights. In the end, she was no match for me and was captured back to the divine hall, imprisoned within the dungeon.”

“I did not wish to kill her, yet the world pleaded with me, begging me to execute her to exchange for peace under heaven. I still could not bear to do it, so those pleading individuals lined up like a vast river, forcing my hand by threatening suicide at the base of Mount Zhaoyao.”

“It was only when people truly began to slit their own throats, turning the once-beautiful Mount Zhaoyao into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood in an instant, that I finally brought her to this place.”

“I still did not wish to kill her, but I knew I was the last god in the world. A god is meant to protect living beings and eradicate demons.”

“So you killed her?” Ning Fuyi spoke with indifference.

“No,” the goddess looked at the divine sword in her hand. “She tricked me into fighting her, then seized the opportunity while I was distracted to grab the divine sword and plunge it into her own chest.”

Chu Qingqiu’s shoulders trembled slightly in her embrace.

The goddess let out a long sigh, which sounded sorrowful, yet not entirely so.

“She fulfilled my path. I have no regrets toward the world.”

There was no need to speak of the subsequent events; it was certain that the goddess had used her hairpin to end her own life afterward.

Both Chu Qingqiu and Ning Fuyi fell into silence. Ning Fuyi had never expected such a story. It was deeply lamentable, yet left one with nothing to say.

“One range of mountains, then another range of mountains. The mountains are distant, the sky is high, and the misty waters are cold; my deep yearning turns the maple leaves a brilliant red,” the goddess recited, finally tossing the sword to Ning Fuyi.

“This sword is named Xiangsi. Since you pulled it out, it belongs to you.”

The moment the sword landed in Ning Fuyi’s hand, the divine hall from the memory began to collapse once more. The goddess smiled at them as her supple skin visibly withered and sloughed off, ultimately turning into a skeleton that collapsed silently.

“Be careful!” Chu Qingqiu barked, pulling Ning Fuyi backward. However, the surrounding ground had completely caved in, and the footing beneath them suddenly turned to empty space, causing their bodies to plummet abruptly.

Countless pieces of rubble struck her face, rendering Ning Fuyi completely unable to open her eyes. In her dazed state, someone held her tightly within a protective embrace. Following a violent jolt, brilliant sunlight flooded her senses.

“Divine Venerable Chu Ling! It is Divine Venerable Chu Ling!”

“Ning Fuyi! Yiyi!”

“Quick, quick, quick, everyone clears a path!”

Innumorable shouts made her head spin. Ning Fuyi struggled to sit up, but the pair of arms holding her seemed to be tightly locked, leaving absolutely no room to move.

Ultimately lacking the strength to struggle further, her hand went limp, and her face buried itself into a fragrant embrace as she drifted into a deep sleep.

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