It wasn’t just Su Hongyu who was surprised.
As soon as Mu Qiuhan’s words fell, she heard Hua Ganglie’s voice.
“My Lord!”
Hua Ganglie looked as though he wanted to speak but hesitated, clearly disapproving of her decision.
Mu Qiuhan paid him no mind, instead glancing towards Shang Ningye.
The main person in question showed no reaction.
So, she softly hummed again, intending to prompt Shang Ningye.
Unexpectedly, Hua Ganglie mistook this as her speaking to him, and he began logically analyzing the current situation between the immortal and demon sides to Mu Qiuhan.
For the first time, Mu Qiuhan felt Hua Ganglie’s straightforward nature was rather displeasing.
She rubbed her brow, humming a few times perfunctorily in response.
Only after General Hua’s lengthy discourse was completely finished did she see Shang Ningye finally seem to snap back to attention.
Shang Ningye looked at the demon general, then back at Mu Qiuhan, appearing to assess if she had been influenced in that moment.
Shang Ningye had to admit, Hua Ganglie’s analysis was quite correct.
If they wanted to completely defeat the Taiqing Immortal Sect in one fell swoop, now was the best timing.
Shang Ningye’s heart sank.
Although the words she spoke were those of begging, Shang Ningye’s back remained straight, and her tone was neither humble nor arrogant.
This was likely the Taiqing Immortal Sect’s final shred of dignity.
“Do the words you just spoke still hold true?”
Hearing this, Mu Qiuhan softly raised an eyebrow.
She slightly curved her lips, though her fingertips unconsciously clenched at that moment.
“Naturally, it is true. A ruler’s word is law.”
Hua Ganglie was instantly stunned.
It seemed he had spent half the day analyzing, and his Lord hadn’t heard a single word.
He heard that white-robed woman softly say “Good,” and his Lord ordered him to assemble the troops and withdraw, setting off to return to the Demon Realm that very day.
Although Hua Ganglie didn’t understand, his years of trust in his Lord led him to execute this seemingly absurd decision without question.
Within the Nine Heavens of the Demon Realm, the red sun had already descended into the dark clouds but still shone brilliantly.
Shang Ningye propped her elbow, sitting silently by the window and watching the half of the sky dyed red by the fierce sun.
A wave of emotion couldn’t help but rise in her heart.
The Demon Realm was not like the Immortal Realm; this place was even less like the gentle winds and sunny days of the Taiqing Immortal Sect.
The palaces of the demon people were built in the center of Jialuo City. This place was perpetually scorched by the fierce sun, and with demon creatures rampant in the surroundings, it could truly be called a brutal land.
Shang Ningye had never set foot upon this land before, but the short few days had already allowed her to experience the difficulty of life for the demon people.
Since being brought back from the immortal sect by Mu Qiuhan that day, she had been placed near Mu Qiuhan.
Mu Qiuhan had sealed her spiritual energy using a magic artifact but was also worried her clan members might try to bully her, so she had placed her within her own sleeping palace.
Mu Qiuhan had allocated a few rooms of the vast sleeping palace for her.
For the past few days, they had lived separately, and Mu Qiuhan had been so busy that she could only be seen at night, so there hadn’t been any particular inconvenience.
As for the sealed spiritual energy…
Shang Ningye slightly lowered her eyes.
In the past, if she wasn’t needing to save someone, she usually didn’t use it much anyway.
Other than this, Mu Qiuhan had not restricted her movements.
The entire palace, and even the area outside the palace, was open to her.
The day before yesterday, Shang Ningye had tried leaving the grand hall while Mu Qiuhan was out, only to find that aside from a string of little tails following behind her, she hadn’t encountered any resistance.
She had lived in seclusion at the bottom of the Jade Dragon Abyss for many years, so she didn’t feel much difficulty adjusting to this kind of life.
She even felt that perhaps this couldn’t really be considered imprisonment.
Even if it was, if her sacrifice could allow the others at the Taiqing Immortal Sect to live a little more freely, it would be worth it.
The only thing that was a little unbearable was…
Shang Ningye glanced towards the direction of the sleeping palace’s main entrance.
See? Just after dusk today, that noisy woman was here again.
Shang Ningye heard Su Hongyu’s voice from a distance and subconsciously furrowed her brow.
Su Hongyu wasn’t coming in her direction; instead, she headed straight for Mu Qiuhan’s study.
Perhaps because her spiritual energy was sealed, Shang Ningye felt her hearing had become much sharper than before these past few days.
She clearly heard Su Hongyu’s charming voice ringing out from Mu Qiuhan’s room.
She was smiling gently, but the words she spoke were things Shang Ningye knew nothing about.
“Little Han’er, I hear there’s a grand gathering tomorrow night?”
Mu Qiuhan seemed to smile as well.
Her voice sounded faint and flat, making it impossible to distinguish any emotion.
“Calling it a grand gathering is a stretch. After the last battle, while the Demon Realm isn’t exactly devastated, it is in need of much rebuilding. I’ve told them to keep everything simple.”
Su Hongyu tutted twice, sounding dismissive.
Her voice was slightly lower than before, and Shang Ningye could only hear the general gist.
“I heard you’ve been sending people to search for this?”
The woman seemed to have taken something out.
Mu Qiuhan’s voice finally showed a trace of fluctuation.
Even from a distance, Shang Ningye could feel her excitement.
“Didn’t they say that Golden Lingjiao had already taken human form? What is this…?”
Su Hongyu seemed quite pleased with herself, and her voice involuntarily rose a few octaves.
“Naturally, I have my ways.”
Shang Ningye heard Mu Qiuhan fall silent for a moment. When she spoke again, there was a touch more solemnity in her words.
“What is it you want? Last time, while at your clan’s territory, my priest even promised several cities.”
The two spoke in low, murmuring tones for a while, and Shang Ningye could no longer clearly hear their conversation.
Her gaze involuntarily darted towards the window, looking in the direction of Mu Qiuhan’s study.
The window of that room had originally been open as well, and from her position, she could just make out the figure of the person inside.
But now, the person who had been sitting at the table had moved, their figure no longer visible.
A trace of irritation suddenly rose in Shang Ningye’s heart.
She tried to shift her attention to the storybooks Mu Qiuhan had sent over a few days ago, attempting to suppress this bothersome feeling in her heart.
However…
Shang Ningye lowered her head, staring at the open booklet in front of her.
She stared for a long time but couldn’t make sense of what the long and short sentences in the book were even saying, so she let out a long sigh.
She closed the book, attempting to circulate her cultivation method to enter meditation, but then suddenly remembered that her entire spiritual energy had been sealed away, so she sighed again.
Su Hongyu finally emerged from the room.
Shang Ningye stared at her flamboyant figure for a long time. She didn’t retract her gaze until that vibrant red had completely vanished from the pavilion.
The sunset before her was suddenly blocked by someone.
Shang Ningye turned her head and saw that Mu Qiuhan had arrived at her window without her knowing.
Mu Qiuhan looked to be in a very good mood; her eyes curved when she spoke to her.
Shang Ningye’s tightly pressed lips couldn’t help but relax slightly at this moment.
“Are you still getting used to staying here these past few days?”
Mu Qiuhan asked her gently, as though she were a guest she had invited.
Shang Ningye couldn’t help but wonder if Mu Qiuhan had spoken to Su Hongyu in the same manner just moments ago.
A trace of impatience suddenly flared within her, and she turned away from the window.
But she forgot, this was the Demon Lord’s territory after all.
Seeing her leave without a word, Mu Qiuhan unexpectedly pushed open her door and followed her inside.
She looked at the person sitting alone in the room, lost in thought, and asked with a touch of amusement, “What’s wrong? I first heard you sighing all day, and now you’re sulking? Who are you angry at?”
Seeing that Shang Ningye didn’t answer, she reached out and softly touched her temple.
“I heard someone say you went for a walk in the city the day before yesterday. Why haven’t you gone out again these past few days? Were you frightened by that demon creature that suddenly appeared?”
Mentioning what had happened in Jialuo City that day, Shang Ningye truly felt a lingering fear.
That day in the city, she had been at a stall, looking at the various kinds of crystals.
The Demon Realm was rich in crystals; those abundant in spiritual energy were mostly taken by demon cultivators to aid their cultivation, while those less abundant were crafted into various ornaments or artifacts.
Because their methods of cultivation differed, Shang Ningye hadn’t seen these colorful things in the immortal sect before, so she had lingered at that stall for a while longer.
She was about to ask the price of one of the items when the stall owner suddenly vanished.
While Shang Ningye was wondering, a large, pitch-black bird suddenly swooped down from midair.
Shang Ningye shifted sideways and barely managed to dodge.
Looking closely, she saw it was a demon creature.
The crow-like creature had a ferocious face and a sharp horn growing from its head. It looked bony and emaciated, as though it had withered until only its wings remained.
It was about to swoop towards the stall again when a blast of black demonic energy from behind struck it.
It flapped its wings wildly, fell from the air, and turned into a pile of black ash before Shang Ningye’s eyes.
Shang Ningye stared intently at the pile of ash at her feet.
The demon creature didn’t look as though it had intended to harm her, but rather was after that pile of crystals.
Why was it necessary to kill it completely?
She turned, wanting to question the small group of people who had been following her like shadows, but suddenly remembered that this was no longer the Taiqing Immortal Sect.
Even she herself was a prisoner of the demon people; what right did she have to blame others?
Shang Ningye thus returned to the sleeping palace feeling sullen.
Mu Qiuhan had likely heard about what happened outside the palace a few days ago.
Now, seeing Shang Ningye remain silent, she gently comforted her, saying, “The creature you encountered that day was a Night Wing.”
She explained, “While it isn’t considered very difficult for demon cultivators to handle, for ordinary civilians, it’s quite troublesome.”
Shang Ningye suddenly looked up.
“I saw that day it only wanted to snatch some spiritual stones to take back; it didn’t seem intent on harming anyone. Why did your people kill it?”
Hearing this, Mu Qiuhan sighed.
“Night Wings originally lived in Pingshan outside Jialuo City and kept to themselves, not interfering with the city’s residents.”
“But a few days ago, people from the immortal sect attacked the Demon Realm and completely destroyed the crystal mines in those mountains. The Night Wings lost their food source and had no choice but to come into the city to search.”
“Crystals are also a source of income for the city’s people. In the few days since I returned, I’ve already heard of several incidents where civilians were injured due to conflicts over crystals. So, this particular demon creature’s death isn’t entirely unwarranted.”
Upon learning that it was actually due to the immortal sect that these demon creatures were willing to risk their lives to enter the city and steal, the words Shang Ningye had been about to speak were swallowed back down.
