Chapter 74

I’m like halfway through the teaser for Act Wild/Rough Play and now I’m tempted to tease another novel lol orz anyone interested in Winter Begonia?? I’m a peking opera fan(song not related to this) so it’s kinda making me drool

-Helli

Beneath the lake was an underground palace. It was not large, but the entire palace was made of white jade. Seemingly due tot he use of some array, the temperature here was extremely low, even the walls were covered with frost.

An ice coffin was placed at the very center of this underground palace.

Qin Yao stepped over slowly and kneeled down in front of the ice coffin. Holding the edges of the coffin with his hands, he looked down at the person within.

It was a man, and he appeared to be about thirty or so in age.

He had a face that was both handsome and heroic, with a tall and prominent nose with sharp brows. The lashes on his closed eyes made a faint shadow beneath his eyes, softening his sharpness, making him appear soft, as if he was deep in his slumber.

He was dressed in a simple long white robe that covered his whole body, and the dense head of black hair beneath him covered the bottom of the coffin in a wave.

When Qin Yao looked at him, his eyes were covered with tenderness and longing.

He did not say nor do anything, he just knelt silently beside the ice coffin, focused on the person within.

It felt almost as if he could spend the rest of his life looking at him, just like this.

On the third day, Qin Yao finally moved his lips:

“Master, I’ve made a mistake.”

“My heart actually moved for a demon.”

“I was caught in his tricks, I hesitated, and for a moment, I even thought of letting him go just like that.”

“For a thousand years, I still remember everything that happened, at every moment. I remember the horrors of those demons, I remember what you’ve taught me, and I remember every word you’ve ever said to me……I remember it all so clearly.”

“Everything I do, is what you’ve always expected of me.”

“I thought I could go on like this forever, and nothing could ever move me, but……”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please forgive me, I was wrong.”

“I will kill him.”

Qin Yao’s eyes were firm with determination. Solemnly, he dropped his head and landed a soft kiss on the back of the man’s hand. Then, he reached out to take off the piece of jade pendant that hung at his waist, carefully holding it in his hand.

Slowly, he stood up.

An obsession of a thousand years would not change because of a moment of his impulse. He could not disappoint his master. If he let that demon go, then he would be too ashamed to see his master ever again.

Besides his master, nothing else mattered in this world.

I must take the head of that demon in this battle, and I will bring it back to pay my respects to your spirit in heaven. You’ll stay by my side and watch over me, right?

Qin Yao held the jade pendant tightly in his hand.

…………………………

Gu Yan returned to Haiyun City the next day, and went directly to the mountain resort. He kicked everyone out, and shut himself behind its doors.

He went to the garden behind the very villa he had once stayed in. Everything here had changed completely.

The entire area around the demonic spring had been pried away, forming a circular pool around 10 meters in diameter. The area around the pool was framed with stone tiles pure black in colour. Strange, densely packed scribbles were inscribed on each of the tiles. As soon as one walked in, you could be able to feel the coldness of the area. The water within the pool looked extremely clear, but you were unable to see the bottom of it. All you could see at the bottom was deep darkness.

For the sake of expanding the area, the group of villas around the area had been demolished, and tall walls were now built around it, closing up the area tightly.

Tong Tong stood respectfully behind Gu Yan along with the plague demon and several other demons.

“My lord, the even though the foundations of the array is done, the construction on the other demonic zones are still incomplete. The strength of the Yang energy is strong recently, so it is not the best time for us to activate the array.”Tong Tong spoke carefully. She did not understand why Gu Yan would rush over so desperately, but if they acted rashly, their mission would just end in failure.

“You don’t understand.”Gu Yan said bluntly:”If we can’t get pass this level by today, there will be no next time.”

Even if the demonic spring, the array, and everything he had now was gone, it would not matter anymore. Killing Qin Yao is the most urgent task at hand right now, this will be a battle to the death.

If he died, none of these demons would be a match for Qin Yao, none of them will be able to escape from the humans’ plan for their extermination, the plan would end up a failure.

On the contrary, as long as Qin Yao died, the humans would not be able to stop him. He could find another place rife with demonic energy, and build another array. That would only be a matter of time.

Gu Yan had not wanted things to come to this step. If he could, he had wanted to open the boundaries behind Qin Yao’s back, then cleaning up these ignorant human cultivators would be no issue. But since he had been discovered, he had no other choice.

As a high-tier demonic general, Gu Yan had practically no rivals in the demon world, nor was he afraid of any human cultivator. But in the human world, his power was sealed, and he was being suppressed by the combined powers of heaven and earth, and was not fit to be the opponent of a human cultivator at the ascension stage. If he was careless, then there was a possibility he would end up dead.

They were in human territory, so he who was unable to shake off these shackles would have a very low chance of winning against Qin Yao.

But what if they fought in his home territory? Then that would not necessarily be the same……

Here, the walls between the two worlds were weak, and the demonic spring was dense with demonic energy after having gathered it for thousands of years. Once it was released, it would be able to take off the shackles of his power temporarily, allowing him to undo the seals and exert his full strength!

Even though they did not have much time, even though he would still be weaker than he was in the demon world……As long as he could get rid of Qin Yao, everything would be worth it.

This was his only chance.

When Qin Yao finally thinks it through, he will come to kill him.

This battle was inevitable.

Gu Yan sent away Tong Tong and the rest of the other demons to wait here alone.

He did not need to eat, drink, sleep, nor rest, and he did not need to play the part of a human right now.

Gu Yan stood quietly by the demonic spring, looking down into its deep, dark depths……But he did not feel at ease. He clearly did not have to pretend any longer, so by his character, he should be feeling happy. But he only felt lost.

It felt gloomy. He had already gotten used to that life, he had gotten used to the way humans ate, drank, and slept; he had gotten used to the noise they made beside him.

It felt like this was how it was supposed to be.

Gu Yan laughed soundlessly. Had he gotten too into his role? So much so……That he felt like that was the real him instead.

It felt like everything he said to Qin Yao actually came from his heart.

That was why those words were able to leave his mouth so easily, as if it was just right, like they came from the depths of his heart.

And a small part of him……Could no longer understand what he should truly be like.

He felt tired, but only one of them could live today.

This was the third day, Qin Yao had finally come.

He fixed his clothes, and went outside.

Qin Yao stood at the doorway of the mountain resort, and raised his head to look within.

This place had changed.

It was clearly the afternoon right now, but the entire ten mile radius around the area was engulfed in gloom. Dark clouds floated overhead, but there was no rain nor thunder, they just floated heavily above his head like a piece of cloth, shrouding this entire area, isolating itself from the areas around it.

The demonic energy here was so dense it was almost visible to the naked eye. The negative aura was so dense that he could almost feel his throat burning if he tried to take a deep breath……All the flora in the area had already wilted, and the corpses of both birds and bugs were scattered all over the ground. There was even a squirrel dying on a nearby stone.

Here, all life was gradually fading away.

Qin Yao’s eyes were extremely cold. This is how demons are, only death and slaughter could be seen wherever a demon goes, they wanted to bring destruction to the human world. Just like here.

How ignorant did he have to be before this to believe Gu Yan’s lies?

This time, he wanted to get rid of this despicable, lie-ridden demon with his own hands; he wanted to watch him die with his own eyes, ending it all by himself!

Gu Yan stood outside of the walls surrounding the demonic spring, and looked at Qin Yao from afar. He smiled.

“You’ve come. How slow.”He actually had to wait three days.

No warmth could be found in Qin Yao’s eyes as he looked towards Gu Yan, only scorn and disgust could be seen on his face. This was the expression he held when faced with any demon, and Gu Yan was no exception either. It was just like the first time they met here.

At that time, this was how he looked at Gu Yan.

A dirty, ugly little demon.

He took a detour in the middle, but at the end, he still ended up here.

Gu Yan felt a little emotional, as well as lost, but he was grateful. He was lost, perhaps because he would lose a human cultivator who could run errands for him; Grateful, because the humans were just like he had expected them to be. They were all ruthless and fickle, as long as you were any harm to them, they would turn their backs on you ruthlessly. Facing a human like this, he would not feel any hesitation when he killed them. He was very happy.

With his sword in his right hand, Qin Yao looked straight at Gu Yan.

After coming here, and seeing all this, it only served to deepen his resolve, removing the last trace of hesitation he had within him. This was a demon both in and out, speaking not a single word of truth. Everything he had said to him was for the sake of deceiving him, so that he could seek the greatest benefits for himself.

He would not feel any hesitation either to kill a demon like this.

“You should be prepared.”Qin Yao’s voice was cold.

“Yes, and I have to say it’s thanks to the time you gave me.”Gu Yan raised the corners of his lips, and watched him with his two eyes that were as dark as ink.

“You, are, well, come.”With gritted teeth, Qin Yao enunciated each word clearly, and slowly. The veins started to bulge on his hand that wielded the sword, clearly showing the strength he exerted.

Both of them could see the determination in each other’s eyes.

Gu Yan’s fighting spirit was surging within his heart, and the fierce bloodthirst glowed red in his eyes. His nature as a demon was completely exposed! He wanted to kill this man who stood in front of him!

Both of Gu Yan’s hands turned into claws, and like a bolt of lightning, he rushed straight towards Qin Yao!

Qin Yao had long been prepared, how would he be so easily hit by Gu Yan’s attack? With a casual stride to the right, he evaded Gu Yan’s strike! With a swing, his sword left a huge gash in the ground. In just the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged more than ten blows! And neither of them were able to hurt each other!

Gu Yan was a high-tier demon. The differences between the body of a demon and a human was not huge, but generally, they still had their differences. The nails on his fingers were both sharp and long, and his height was also considerably taller. His movements were as fast as light, there was simply no way one could even catch trace of him. All he left behind were trails of afterimages!

Qin Yao maintained his position, standing still and occasionally raising his sword. Even if he struck, he would end up missing Gu Yan each time!

After testing each other several times, the two were almost glued together for a moment.

Gu Yan snorted and a glint flashed past his eyes. Suddenly, he swung his hand and threw something over!

Qin Yao raised his hand to cut it, but suddenly, his pupils shrunk. He quickly put his blade away, but the aura of his blade had already been sent out, and was about to cut that thing in half! Qin Yao gritted his teeth and sent himself forward, taking the hit of his own attack, holding the pendant tightly in his hand!

How could Gu Yan let go of such a good opportunity? At the same time as when Qin Yao did that, he clawed at Qin Yao’s back, piercing into it deeply! And threw Qin Yao out fiercely! Taking with him a shred of flesh and blood!

Qin Yao’s back landed on a large tree, and he spat out a mouthful of blood after taking two consecutive blows at once, but his hand that held the pendant still did not loosen! This was what he gave Gu Yan……For him to actually give such a precious thing to Gu Yan. He gave it to a demon, and this demon……Threw it away just like this, for him to……cherish it so little.

Qin Yao’s eyes turned red as the killing intent bubbled within. He was too lazy to even wipe off the trace of blood at his mouth.

He wanted to kill him! No matter what the cost!

A strong light suddenly burst out from Qin Yao’s body! The sword in his hand hummed, and his pale-coloured right iris turned black. A horrifying aura was spreading out from him, creating a barrier that caused the demonic energy to sizzle as it dispersed.

Gu Yan’s face changed. He realized at once that he could not let Qin Yao finish his move! Immediately, he came in front of Qin Yao, and was just about to make a fatal blow on him!

However——Before Gu Yan was even able to land a hit, he realized that he was a little late. His claws were not even a centimetre away from Qin Yao’s chest, but he could not move further.

Qin Yao had grabbed Gu Yan’s wrist. He had slender fingers that seemed weak, but they contained an extremely terrifying amount of power. He had to use all his strength to defend himself from the blow of a high-tier demon!

A demon actually managed to stop a demon by force?

At this moment, Gu Yan realized that he was going to lose. He thought he was fully prepared, but he still underestimated Qin Yao. This was a terrifying human cultivator, the strength he himself had was even more terrifying than that of his sword or cultivation. It was so powerful that it was invulnerable.

Gu Yan turned and tried to escape.

But he was too late.

He could not get his hand away, while Qin Yao’s sword had already reached his throat.

Gu Yan’s pupils shrunk. He revealed a smile, he had lost.

Even if he had been preparing for so long, he still lost. But he did not feel quite as reluctant to accept this fate than he had expected, it just felt like everything was coming to an end. It was time for the ending credits to play, the story was over, everything was as it should be. Because this was how the demon world always was, endless killing, and then more. The day you lose is the day you die, there is no such thing as mercy between demons. It was quite a pity, he had stayed in the demon world for a thousand years, and death never came, but it was coming now.

Death was just fate, these were his thoughts.

Gu Yan closed his eyes and felt the coolness of the blade at his throat, waiting for that fated moment.

He could feel Qin Yao moving, and a chill was sent to his neck. But——it stopped!

A light shone violently. The jade pendant that hung at Qin Yao’s waist suddenly burst open, and a gush of white light burst our from Qin Yao’s sword! And it entered Gu Yan’s body!

Gu Yan’s eyes widened in confusion.

He watched as Qin Yao dropped his sword, and looked at him both with disbelief and shock, as if his soul would be sucked away at any moment.

Gu Yan did not understand what had happened, but he knew that this was his only chance. Without any hesitation, he sunk his claws into Qin Yao’s chest! Drawing a splatter of blood!

It was like Qin Yao did not feel anything at all, he did not try to dodge, he just looked at Gu Yan in a daze.

His pale lips trembled, as if he could not believe what he just saw, but he had to.

“Master……”