Lin Muchen was dazed by his kiss.
His fingertips traced her, and her cheeks flushed.
She said, "Don't you know it's wrong to kiss someone without their permission?"
The young man smiled. "There's no such rule. I've never heard of it. Besides, is this called a kiss? I just wanted candy. I didn't expect it to be sweeter than candy."
He was playing dumb! But even though he was playing dumb, Lin Muchen was helpless against him. The young man looked at her profile and suddenly asked, "You said you wanted me to help you get revenge. Who bullied you?"
Lin Muchen was still angry. "I don't want to tell you yet. Besides, you're no match for my enemy."
Whether it was the Demon Emperor or the Human Emperor, he was still worlds apart. A cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage wanted to avenge her? He wasn't capable of that yet.
Ling Qianhe snorted coldly and didn't press further.
...
Lin Muchen stayed in the Imperial City with Ling Qianhe. In the Imperial City, the Empress sent people to assassinate him, but he killed them wave after wave. His cultivation progress was terrifyingly fast. He always had a poker face, aloof and indifferent. Yet, with a wave of his hand, he could command the wind and clouds.
Initially, the Empress sent strong cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage to kill him, but he directly killed them back. The Empress refused to give up and sent more enshrined masters at the Soul Transformation stage, who were almost the pinnacle experts of the dynasty. Yet, Ling Qianhe still killed them. Even the Grand Tutor of the dynasty was shocked.
They finally decided to set up an altar and invite immortals to descend and slay Ling Qianhe!
The Imperial City was in turmoil. Lin Muchen hesitated about whether to flee with him, but she had a premonition that the person who would come might be an old acquaintance. The little system directly spoiled it for her.
"It is indeed your acquaintance."
"But also your enemy. It's a maid from when you were in the heavens, a woman named Zi Yanling. She's quite accomplished now; people in the mortal realm consider her a goddess. Back then, when she served you, she wasn't even qualified to fetch you foot-washing water."
The little system's tone was a bit strange. Lin Muchen understood as soon as she heard it. "I have a grudge against her?"
The little system giggled. "More than just a grudge."
"Host, you don't know, this one is truly cunning. The news that your true form wasn't human was inadvertently leaked by her."
"She stole your handkerchief and gave it to Xuanyuan Yuting. She even transformed into your likeness to seduce Xuanyuan Yuting, claiming it was your wish."
"Xuanyuan Yuting had just had his Human Emperor Token destroyed by you and was in a daze. He fell into her trap due to carelessness and was slept with by her."
"When he woke up and discovered the truth, he was in immense pain, feeling himself unclean and unworthy of you, which is why he went into seclusion for so many years."
"Zi Yanling obtained his primordial yang, and her cultivation greatly increased. With Xuanyuan Yuting in seclusion, she leveraged his influence, falsely claiming to be the Human Emperor's wife. She is now quite prominent in the Heavenly Realm."
"Of course, her prominence is entirely built upon your suffering."
"This time, she will descend with an avatar to slay Ling Qianhe, this demonic scoundrel, and achieve great merit, while also causing your mission to fail—this woman is truly wicked!"
The little system quickly explained the whole story to her, and then Lin Muchen heard herself grinding her teeth and saying, "She still wants to slay Ling Qianhe?"
"Wishful thinking! I'll make sure she never returns!"
However, even if the other party descended with a mere wisp of divine soul attached to an avatar, she would at least be at the peak of Tribulation Transcension. Ling Qianhe's current cultivation was no match for her.
Lin Muchen felt a headache coming on. Was there truly no other way? But this absolutely couldn't happen! She absolutely would not allow it! Her expression became grave.
Ling Qianhe pushed the door open and saw this scene. He saw Lin Muchen's extremely grave expression, her furrowed brows, and a hint of worry, clearly a difficult problem troubling the young girl.
"Are you worried about me?"
Lin Muchen looked at him and voiced her worries. "Everyone in the Imperial City says that the Empress and the Grand Tutor are holding rituals to invite immortals to descend and kill you."
"They say you've become a devil and are no longer a prince—that you've returned to wreak havoc upon the entire dynasty."
"Aren't you worried?"
Ling Qianhe heard Lin Muchen say this. He shook his head, his face still maintaining its arrogant, indifferent demeanor, not showing the slightest bit of worry.
"What am I afraid of?"
"One comes, I kill one."
The young man exuded a powerful killing intent, truly spirited. But—
"What will you use to kill? The opponent is at least at the peak of Tribulation Transcension."
"And this woman is ruthless and by no means easy to deal with."
Ling Qianhe found it strange. "Who are you calling ruthless? My stepmother is naturally ruthless, but it doesn't seem like you're talking about my stepmother. Are you perhaps talking about that immortal? But how would you know a celestial sword immortal?"
Lin Muchen coughed. She couldn't reveal her identity yet, so she could only seriously try to rationalize. "She hates you so much that the person she invites will naturally be extremely ruthless, aiming to have you die in the Imperial City and never be reborn."
"Not all immortals in the celestial realm are upright and noble. Many are... scum, rubbish, and degenerates."
Her tone still carried a hint of intense resentment, yet Ling Qianhe remained confident. "I have my ways. No matter who comes, even if it's a true immortal, I'll make sure they never return!"
Lin Muchen still felt he was being a bit too boastful. The young man then strode up to her, leaning close to her face. He let out a slight hum, his tone extremely proud.
"Don't you trust me?"
His gaze seemed to have fireflies dancing within it. She looked into his eyes—he waved his hand in front of her, and Lin Muchen heard him say, "Every person I kill, I can absorb their cultivation."
"Those sent by the Empress and Grand Tutor are merely tools for my spiritual energy storage. Their lifetimes of diligent cultivation are all a stepping stone for me."
"My current cultivation can still break through. I haven't continued only because I fear my mental state might become unstable."
"If an immortal truly descends, I'm also very curious, can the immortal win against my sword?"
Lin Muchen suddenly realized something. "Are you practicing demonic arts?" Normal cultivation methods wouldn't be so rapid, nor would they leave fatal hidden ailments. "Aren't you risking your life—if you continue like this, you'll eventually fall into demonic ways..."
But the young man opposite her looked at her. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Only this way can I get revenge."
"You said, as long as I don't hurt you, it's fine."
"I swear, even if I fall into demonic ways, I will not hurt you."
"I will engrave your appearance and your aura in my heart. I will set a heart curse for myself. Even if I lose all consciousness when I fall into demonic ways, I will never hurt you."
"If I hurt you, I will self-destruct."
He said it so casually, but it was not easy to do. He needed to engrave the aura of the girl opposite him into every inch of his flesh and spiritual energy. His soul was imprinted with her aura, her face. That kind of pain was no less than heart-piercing agony. But only in this way could he ensure that even when he fell into demonic ways, he would instinctively not hurt her.
Lin Muchen could see the hint of ruthlessness and wicked amusement in his brows. His gaze slowly fell upon her face, and he reached out.
"You said you wanted the jade flute."
"I've found it."
Lin Muchen looked at the young man opposite her, the jade flute in his palm. She hesitated for a moment before sighing and accepting it. If there were a choice, she wouldn't want this young man to continue practicing demonic arts. Unfortunately, there was no other way.
She asked him, "Where did your cultivation technique... come from?"
The young man looked at her. "Do you want to learn it? Only I can cultivate it. From the moment I gained consciousness, that scripture seemed to be inscribed in my mind—at first, it was only a little bit at the beginning, and then it gradually emerged."
"It taught me how to plunder others' spiritual energy, how to convert demonic energy and malevolence from heaven and earth into my own use."
"As long as humans harbor greed, bloodthirsty evil intentions, as long as there is killing in this world, and evil aura, I can use this scripture to refine these evil energies and malevolent intentions, hiding them within myself."
"If this is a demonic art, then so be it. I don't care."
"I only want power. I only want powerful strength. I don't care where this powerful strength comes from!"
The young man's tone was stubborn. He wasn't afraid of falling into hell. The impact of countless malevolent thoughts on his body, the pain caused by the evil energy every second, also made him stronger. The sharpness in the corners of his eyes was like a cold blade's edge, and Lin Muchen looked into his eyes and sighed.
"After you kill the Empress and the Grand Tutor, if I ask you to abandon this path, to stop refining evil energy... would you?"
Ling Qianhe looked at her. "Didn't we agree that I would avenge you?"
"You think I'm not strong enough yet, so I'll find a way to become stronger." If he disbanded his cultivation and became crippled, who would protect her?
Lin Muchen silently looked at his stubborn and proud eyebrows. His face was incredibly beautiful, yet it held a sinister and indifferent expression. He was as cold as a thousand-year-old black ice. Only when he looked at her did a trace of human emotion surge within the depths of his obsidian-like pupils.
"I will protect you."
The girl remained silent. She said, "Will you not kill innocents indiscriminately?"
The young man's lips curved slightly. "I can't control myself."
She then fell silent.
...
The little system was a bit anxious. "Host, your mission in the lower realm is to stop him from becoming a demon... He's already practicing demonic arts, how did he still end up on this path..."
"If the celestial realm discovers him, they will definitely seal him and never let him out for all eternity."
Lin Muchen pondered for a moment. She asked the little system, "Didn't you say that if he died, he would become a demon?"
The little system let out a hum. "Yes. He is still alive now... but he practices demonic arts, and the celestial realm has discovered him, so they will want to kill him. The moment he dies, he will immediately transform into his true form, becoming uncontrollable and lawless."
The little system sighed. "It seems that no matter what, he has no way out."
"He's going to destroy this world."
Ling Qianhe went to cultivate. Lin Muchen slowly rubbed the table in front of her with her fingertips. She thought to herself, is there really no way?
The little system hesitated for a moment. "It's not that there's no way... Actually, Host, I've thought of a way, but it might be a bit cruel."
What did she mean by "a bit cruel"? "Tell me. I'll listen."
The little system hesitated before stammering, "Your true form is a phoenix, right? Phoenixes can undergo nirvana—that's why Helian Lanyan snatched your spiritual veins and gave them to that Azure Sparrow."
"Because you can undergo nirvana anyway. Every time a phoenix undergoes nirvana, it's like crossing a tribulation, and its cultivation increases exponentially."
"If... if you were to forge your phoenix feathers into a long sword and pierce his heart."
"And then use your phoenix wings as daggers to skin him."
"And seal him."
"Then commit suicide."
"His newly born demonic body would be gradually purified by your phoenix nirvana power."
"You would sacrifice your own body and die with him once."
"Then be reborn together with him."
"After rebirth, he would have a new body, no longer contaminated by demonic energy, and could exist cleanly in this world."
"But doing so... he would surely hate you to the bone."
"When he wakes up, the first thing he'd probably want to do is kill you..."
The little system's voice grew quieter and quieter. "That's why I said... this method is a bit cruel. Or else... you could have a child with him to comfort him before you make your move?"
"Would that make him feel any better?"
Lin Muchen was almost amused to the point of anger. "You want me to dismember him? That's even more ruthless than someone who draws out his spiritual bones and severs his spiritual veins. Am I insane to do that? Don't even think about it. What kind of ancient, abusive, deeply loving trope is this? I'm not a lunatic. Killing him myself, am I that heartless?"
"Don't mess around. I would rather die than agree to this method."
The little system knew the host's stubbornness. Once she said she wouldn't agree, she would never do it.
Lin Muchen paused and continued, "Besides, what do you mean by 'have a child with him to comfort him'? This should have been... a natural progression of mutual affection."
"I haven't even had children with Qianhe younger brother yet. Having a child with him—dream on, he wishes!"
She was still puffing out her cheeks angrily. "If he dies, he dies. Why are you all fussing so much about him?"
"They call him a devil, but he hasn't done anything yet. He's just seeking revenge for himself and his pitiful mother, and they want to dismember him?"
"They also call me a demoness, so let them all come and kill me!"
The little system couldn't bear to watch. "Host, please don't blindly protect him."
"This is the plot setting... He's a world-destroying demon. How can you be soft-hearted towards him?"
"If this world collapses, you'll be solely responsible!"
Lin Muchen snorted. "I'm not blindly protecting him."
"I'm not soft-hearted either. I just feel... with that face, I can't bring myself to do it."
"This person, whether human or demon, I will protect him!" She would find another way. Until then, no one would touch him! Nor would they dare to harm him under the guise of eradicating demons!