Chapter 111: Hate and Love, A Thin Line

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"I think you're quite rude!"

Crossing her arms underneath her large breasts and turning her head away from the apathetic man, Shun Wen was beginning to look more and more like a chipmunk by the second.

"Yeah, is that so? If that's the case, then it does appear that I have conveyed my intentions quite well."

Taking a few cursory glances at the still sleeping beauties, Lucifer made sure to rankle the irritated elf woman just a tad bit more.

He had a hobby of annoying the hell out of people, and over the last half an hour that they've known each other, he personally designated her his target to pass the time. Of course, Lucifer needed no thanks; this was just what he felt should be done!

"Humph! Humph! Humph!"

So many huffs and puffs escaped Shun Wen's mouth that any onlookers would begin to think that she wanted to replace the engine of the Nightmare Express with her lungs.

"Humph!!"

With the greatest puff yet, it looked like Shun Wen was going to blow the house down. But contrary to those fabled expectations, she simply crossed her arms even tighter around her breasts and sat down next to the cultivating man.

"Umu? Are you not mad anymore?" Without opening his eyes, Lucifer asked this question.

"Mad? No... But you're still a jerk. Humph!" Inching a little bit closer to his right arm, Shun Wen went on to explain what she knew about the Nightmare Express and their destination.

For the train itself, it had been around for many millions of years, even said to be older than the strongest of Mahayana Realm Cultivators. It was also said that a great race of demonic dwarves once roamed the Nightmare Realm, and they were the ones who built the train and its cross-dimensional tracks.

The Nightmare Express ran on a type of fuel that made use of the high levels of evil energy present in the Nightmare Realm; thus, it could effectively keep on running forever. Then, there were the ones who controlled the train and led it through the tracks that it placed down on demand. Though the tracks themselves had their locations set in stone, they only appear once they are needed.

If not, then they will not show up, no matter what way one looks at where the tracks should be.

In a way, the Nightmare Express was a ghost train.

Back on the subject of the ones who led the train; it was not individual leading. Rather, it was what the 'Demonic Dwarves' and their gods were said to have set up during their era. Specifically, the 'train leaders' were more along the lines of 'household gods', meaning that they were bound to the Nightmare Express.

As for what exactly they were, no one really knew. But with the typical size of humanoids and the rough facial structure of elves, humans, and the like, people believed that they were either living beings that died and were then bound to the Nightmare Express by the dwarves. Or...

Life puppets.

Faceless, expressionless, monotonous, and emotionless—the train leaders indeed fit the bill of puppets. But for the life of a life puppet, well, that was a death even more cruel than extracting souls and creating household gods...

Forever trapped in their own minds, reveling in the most miserable moments of their lives, and still forced into indenturtude—life puppets were the epitome of the art of torture.

Then there was the destination of the Nightmare Express.

Being to the north of Raven's End and tens of thousands of miles in—the current destination of the Nightmare Express was the Nightsorrow Empire!

[Maximum Amount of Clone Essence so far - 22,345 Super Clone Essence]

[Current Clone Essence - 22,345 Super Clone Essence]

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As one could tell, Lucifer had already started his clone farm. In fact, from the very moment he woke up on the Nightmare Express, he sent out nearly 10,000 Clones in the Late Soul Realm, all of which were farming the hell out of the Northern Netherlands!

Although many of them were dying, the gains far outweighed the losses. So, even though Lucifer looked apathetic and detached, he was in fact quite overjoyed.

It was because of his pleasant mood that he turned toward the grumbling elf woman and said, "You asked for my name?"

Hearing this question from out-of-the-blue, Shun Wen's eyes brightened up and she smilingly said, "Yes! I would very much like to know your name!" Throwing those milk cannons all over the place, she practically offered them up to the raven-haired man with how close they were to his right hand.

But regardless of temptations that a married man like himself would not have, Lucifer peered right into the soul of the bubbly woman and said, "Lucifer. My name; it's Lucifer."

"Lucifer..." Suddenly stopping all that risque movement, Shun Wen got lost in his blood red gaze. Then, out of nowhere, she started to giggle. "That's too scary a name for such a big softie!" She laughingly said.

"..."

While watching the voluptuous elf woman hold her stomach and poke fun at what she most definitely saw as her taste of revenge, Lucifer once again reaffirmed his marriage within his mind.

'Women... way too much trouble... As a chuunibyou Lord once said: 'Just stick to the sword; women only slow the speed at which you swing it.'—truly wise words...'

Once again going back to ignoring the troublesome princess, Lucifer focused on the Void Law, also making sure to occasionally check up on the progress of his clones.

After a few minutes of understanding the Void Law just a little bit more, he looked toward the elf woman, only to see her still finding amusement in his suffering.

"..."

Lucifer figured this would happen, but seeing her like this still managed to tick him off a bit. "Well, you now know my name, so we're even," he said.

Zoning out the giggles of the annoying girl, he put aside the Void Law and focused his all into breaking down the wall that would lead him into the Golden Core Realm. Through this experience, he was able to feel his Core begin to change from a shiny gray color to a dull shade of gold. 'The breakthrough is close,' he thought.

"Hey! Stop ignoring me, Mr. Big bad evil man!"

Giggling off to the side with a hand to her mouth, Shun Wen made it her life's mission to get under the skin of the raven-haired man. She didn't know why she felt the urge to do this; she just wanted him to notice her more.

'Women really are something else...'

Sighing in exasperation, Lucifer lifted his chin off his bent knuckles and honed his cold, piercing gaze on Shun Wen. After causing her to stop her laughter with a casual glance, he leaned in close and left her pretty face less than an inch away from his. Upon stealing her gaze with the entirety of his existence, he stretched out his two muscular hands.

Thinking that something crazy was about to happen, Shun Wen's thoughts started to spiral.

...