Hong Ling's shy reaction startled Ye Yun, causing him to tighten his grip on the unicorn's horn involuntarily.
"Ah..."
Hong Ling cried out in pain. Her already limp body, now utterly drained of strength, slumped against Ye Yun.
Just then, a handsome man named Lan happened to pass by. He glanced at the commotion, tutted, and shook his head.
"Excuse me, please continue. I saw nothing."
"Uh... you misunderstand, we're not..."
"No need to explain. We men understand!"
Lan Ao Tian grinned and gave him a knowing look.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Miss Xing Wu."
With that, he vanished like the wind before Ye Yun could say another word, as if not wanting to disturb them.
Ye Yun's face darkened. Why did this guy make him want to punch him so badly?
While he was brooding, Hong Ling's suppressed moans came from in front of him.
"Mmm~ Elder Ye... you... you're being too rough."
Ye Yun finally remembered he was still holding Hong Ling's unicorn horn and quickly released it.
"I'm truly sorry. I was too careless just now."
Once the horn was released, Hong Ling finally began to recover, but her face was still flushed, and she was panting.
She reached up to her heaving chest, trying to calm herself down. Finally, she wiped away tears from the corner of her eyes.
Her pitiable and endearing appearance only amplified the urge to tease her...
After several deep breaths, Hong Ling looked up and shook her head.
"It's not Elder Ye's fault. It was me, for not explaining clearly at the beginning."
Ye Yun probably never imagined that for the unicorn of Hong Ling's Black Horn tribe, only a lover could touch it.
However, Hong Ling had no intention of explaining. She continued, "Then Elder Ye, do you have any other requests?"
At this point, Ye Yun had no further demands. He smiled faintly and said, "No more. The matter is perfectly resolved, and I should be leaving the Demon Realm now."
After speaking, he paused and added, "However, Senior Yu will remain here to temporarily assist you in stabilizing the demon race's order. Is that alright?"
While it was called assistance, it was largely for supervision, a fact Hong Ling understood clearly. However, she had no objections.
Hong Ling nodded gently, "No problem, I will obey Elder Ye's every command!"
After saying this, she seemed to recall something and paused for a moment before unable to resist asking, "Um... Elder Ye, can we meet again?"
Ye Yun was already at the peak of the Dao Cultivation realm, his next step being the Sage realm. If he successfully ascended afterward, he and she would truly be worlds apart...
Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of loneliness. Although their actual interactions were not extensive, each encounter was unforgettable.
Hearing her question, Ye Yun smiled faintly.
"Though the world is vast, if fate wills it, we shall meet again."
With these words, Ye Yun turned and left.
Hong Ling, however, felt a pang of disappointment. Gazing at his receding back, after a long while, her face hardened with determination.
"Elder Ye, one day, I will catch up to you!"
...
The affairs of the Demon Realm's demon race were now completely resolved.
After this experience, Ye Yun genuinely missed Lin Xue Yan and the others.
"Ah... I really want to return to the Ancient Dao Sect quickly. I wonder if Ling Xin's injuries have healed, and if Xue Yan and the others are unhurt..."
Since he had disciples, he felt increasingly like an anxious father, worried about them if he couldn't see them for even a minute.
Speaking of which, after a passionate reunion with them, it would be time to formally attempt the Sage realm and prepare for the crucial ascension.
However, before that, there was still one place Ye Yun had to go...
"Before I return, I should prepare a gift for Xue Yan."
Ye Yun sneered and immediately adjusted his return course, heading in another direction.
In the Heavenly Nether Hall of the Nine Nether Immortal Palace.
Xing Wu sat on the throne with her legs crossed. Before her knelt a blue-robed youth, who was none other than Chen Feng, the former young sect master of the Nine Nether Demonic Sect!
Without even looking up, she meticulously played with her delicate fingers, her voice drifting leisurely, "Chen Feng, the Nine Nether Immortal Palace is now a continental overlord, its strength and reputation on par with the major Immortal Palaces. I have fulfilled the oath I made with your father. From this moment on, all those in the Nine Nether Immortal Palace, including the enslaved Dao Cultivation realm cultivators and others, shall be under your sole command. I shall depart and have no further ties with the Nine Nether Immortal Palace. Do you have anything to say?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Feng was ecstatic. This esteemed lady was actually gifting him the now flourishing Nine Nether Immortal Palace?! To him, who had always yearned for power, this was the greatest news imaginable. He felt even more strongly that his father had died... died wonderfully! Otherwise, such a momentous occasion, uniting an Immortal Palace, would have had nothing to do with him!
He quickly knelt and kowtowed repeatedly to Xing Wu. "This junior has nothing to say. Thank you, my lady, for your benevolence! Thank you, my lady, for your benevolence!"
Chen Feng's gratitude towards Xing Wu was as boundless as a surging river, never-ending. He was unaware that as he was overflowing with gratitude, the power of the oath bound to Xing Wu dispersed. She had promised the Nine Nether Sect Master to make the Nine Nether Demonic Sect prosper, and having accomplished this and passed it on to his direct descendant, the oath was now fully fulfilled.
A smile played on Xing Wu's lips, signifying the formal completion of her agreement with the Nine Nether Sect Master. She then lightly tapped her fingers on the seat and shifted the topic. "Speaking of which, to retrieve my sword initially, I heard you slaughtered over a thousand people from the Lin family?"
Chen Feng paused, bewildered as to why she would bring this up, but he nodded and replied, "Yes, junior acted purely for your sake, to prevent irrelevant individuals from learning of this matter. Thus, I eliminated those ants."
Hearing this, Xing Wu raised an eyebrow, lowered her gaze to him, and said calmly, "Did you truly act for my sake? Yet, I heard that from the beginning, you were quite taken with the appearance of Lin Xue Yan from the Lin family. You intended to use this opportunity to destroy the Lin family and then capture her as a slave. Afterward, with your father's tacit approval, you both flagrantly used my name without my knowledge and committed the act of massacring an entire family. Is what I say incorrect?"
Xing Wu had killed his father because the latter was not entirely honest. While she didn't mind provoking enemies, acting under her banner and doing things that might draw powerful enemies to her was something she could not tolerate.
Xing Wu's tone was gentle, but Chen Feng's face turned pale, and he trembled in fear, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy. "My lady, I was wrong! Please spare my life!"
Everything was as she said. After all, under normal circumstances, even the Nine Nether Demonic Sect wouldn't dare to unilaterally massacre the Lin family, who were affiliated with the Ancient Dao Sect. It was precisely because of her formidable reputation that they had been fearless at the time.
As Chen Feng kowtowed frantically, Xing Wu smiled faintly, tapped the seat twice with her fingers, and then stood up, walking towards the hall entrance. "There's no need to be nervous. It's all in the past, and I didn't dwell on it."
Reaching the entrance of the grand hall, Xing Wu turned to look at the still kneeling Chen Feng and chuckled, "From now on, that throne is yours. Hurry up and enjoy it."