Chapter 145: Snow Demon (Part 4)

Xu Qianyu’s fall from the cliff was incredibly fast. The wind howled, the trees rustled, the sound of mirage-like creatures singing echoed, and the sound of bubbles bursting filled her ears. For a moment, her consciousness blurred, but she quickly regained clarity.

When she opened her eyes, several wisps of cloud rose from the vast white expanse in her vision.

Xu Qianyu waited for a while, but the white mist still hadn’t dissipated. She realized something was wrong. Her vacant eyes focused, and just as she was about to rub her eyes with her hand, her wrist was suddenly gripped.

“There’s no need to be afraid. It’s normal not to be able to see,” a woman’s voice whispered in her ear, sending a chill down her spine.

Another woman’s voice came from her left ear: “This is the power of the Snow Demon. It will blind those trapped in the snowfields temporarily. It will disappear after a while.”

Both voices were kind, even somewhat respectful.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, as if she were indoors. Xu Qianyu sat in a chair, with a wisp of ghostly fire floating in front of her, likely the candlelight on the table. Xu Qianyu turned her head and used her spiritual sense to probe, her spiritual energy outlining the figures of two women.

The system spoke: “In front of you are two mirage-like beings… one is a thin woman, the other resembles a fox woman, probably attendants, not much of a threat.”

The system also described the surroundings. The place was as spacious as a human palace, but the pillars were made of white jade, the candelabras were coral, and the curtains were made of shark skin. Perhaps because the outside was pitch black, these elements were used to make the interior brighter.

“What is this place?” Xu Qianyu turned to the two attendants and asked, “Who told you to bring me here?”

The attendants said, “This is the Demon Palace.”

“The Demon King is getting married tonight, and he plans to take you as his Demon Queen.”

When Xu Qianyu heard the words “Demon King,” the non-existent sword wound in her chest seemed to throb. She gripped the hilt of her sword, feeling that Xie Yuzhen was truly mad.

The light flickered, and demonic energy surged forward. The two mirage-like figures suddenly retreated to the side.

Xu Qianyu’s gaze flickered. Sword energy shot out like a burning dragon. Xie Yuzhen tilted his head to avoid it, but the scorching sword energy still grazed his cheek.

“Your cultivation has improved again,” Xie Yuzhen paused, seemingly kindly reminding her, “but unfortunately, below the Wufu Cliff, the spiritual energy is thin. No matter how high your cultivation is, it will be suppressed.”

The area beneath Wufu Cliff truly lived up to its reputation as a burial ground for cultivators.

Being here was like sinking into the depths of the sea; the air and spiritual energy were inaccessible. Xu Qianyu tried to draw a symbol with her finger, but it always flickered and extinguished after a few strokes. Even the most basic method of drawing spiritual energy into her body was much slower than usual.

The situation was unfavorable for her.

She couldn’t see, so she had to rely on her spiritual sense to detect her surroundings. The demonic energy made her feel uneasy. “Stay away from me.”

“I’ve come to return your whip,” Xie Yuzhen said indifferently, pulling out a light red soul-snatching whip from his robes. Before he could hand it to her, the whip, recognizing its master, flew and curled around Xu Qianyu’s arm.

Xu Qianyu swung her arm back and struck him across the face with the whip, sending him stumbling back half a step.

The strike was full of pent-up anger and forceful. A deep gash appeared on Xie Yuzhen’s jade-like face.

Xie Yuzhen’s lips curled up, covering his right cheek, with a hint of grievance. “Being with you really means either being hurt or in pain.”

Aside from Xie Yuzhen’s voice, Xu Qianyu vaguely heard rustling sounds. It seemed like many demons and monsters were watching from outside the door. She asked Xie Yuzhen, “Are the Snow Demons working with you?”

She had just realized that the Snow Demon and the rabbit that appeared in the snow were all part of Xie Yuzhen’s setup.

“Yes, I’m the Demon King. Which demon doesn’t obey my command?” Xie Yuzhen readily admitted, taking advantage of Xu Qianyu’s blindness to observe her intently.

Xu Qianyu’s wooden sword was enveloped in a brilliant orange sword energy, which reflected off the candlelight on the table, making her eyes and lips glow. Her forehead’s vermilion mark turned orange. When her face was cold and stern, she truly resembled an unapproachable goddess statue.

Xie Yuzhen thought to himself that if a creature of darkness like a demon were to touch such light, they would be reduced to ashes.

This thought, for some reason, excited him. After all, nothing in this world was interesting.

Especially now, Xu Qianyu looked like a cat with its fur standing on end. She was afraid but still holding firm, which gave him a twisted sense of amusement.

Xie Yuzhen trimmed the wick, making her appear even brighter, her beauty glowing like a jewel. “There’s no need to be afraid, I won’t harm you.”

“I know you want to see clearly, but I’m afraid I can’t cure your blindness right now. It’s for your own good, so you’ll listen to me.”

Xu Qianyu still wanted to probe, but before she could, he vanished, not giving her a chance.

Xu Qianyu, with the two mirage-like attendants following her, slowly made her way toward the door. The door was sealed with a barrier, and she couldn’t open it. But within the Demon Palace, there seemed to be a rabble of demons—creatures that had gained spiritual intelligence—whispering outside the door.

“Why did the Demon King choose a cultivator to be his Demon Queen?”

“She must be a cultivator with no resistance.”

“She smells so good.”

“Really fragrant; she’s a virgin.”

A tendril reached through the crack in the door, as if trying to see what she looked like.

Xu Qianyu, already agitated, didn’t wait for it to get closer. With a single sword strike, she severed the tendril.

The severed end was smooth and clean, and the severed tip of the tendril wriggled on the ground.

The demons, stunned by the severed limb, let out a chaotic scream. A wave of black clouds rushed into the pavilion, surrounding her.

“How dare you! Do you think this is the outside world?”

“This is the Demon Palace! Your spiritual energy will slowly vanish.”

The two attendants were shocked, but they had no power to stop her.

Cultivators naturally attracted demons, and the attendants worried that she would be at a disadvantage. Just as they were about to send a warning, Xu Qianyu’s sword energy flared with sharp intensity. Moments later, golden light erupted, casting the demons out of the door and windows.

Her hair fluttered slightly, her breath quickening. She calmed the killing intent on her sword and reached out to absorb the scattered spiritual energy from the black mist.

The remaining demons rushed to Xie Yuzhen, complaining that Xu Qianyu had killed many of them.

Xie Yuzhen, dressed in a robe made of black clouds with blood-red coral-like eyes, coldly said, “In the future, she’ll be the Demon Queen, standing on equal footing with me. If she killed them, so be it. You couldn’t even please the Demon Queen, and this is your fate.”

Besides, the more she consumed now, the less strength she would have left. This might actually be a good thing.

Hearing their Demon King’s words, the demons quickly retreated like a receding tide, making way for the pavilion.

Xie Yuzhen continued his return to the palace, but in the middle of the road, someone was waiting for him.

Lu You stood there in a sorry state, her pale face marked with scratches. Upon seeing him, her eyes brightened with tears.

Xie Yuzhen asked, “Why are you here?”

“The Demon Palace is my home.” Lu You hesitated. “It used to be our home, and I still want to be with you.”

Xie Yuzhen tilted his head, puzzled. Lu You clearly feared him. He had once let her go when he was in the mood, yet she had returned on her own, putting the leash back around her own neck.

Why were mortals so ridiculous?

But what could he do? He hated being manipulated and used. Every time he saw Lu You’s pitiful face, he was reminded of past humiliations, which soured his mood.

Xie Yuzhen said, “You’re reluctant to leave the Demon Palace?”

“Then stay and serve the Demon Queen as her attendant.”

Lu You’s expression collapsed.

The two mirage-like attendants dragged her away. Lu You cried out, “Let me go, let me go. Do you know who I am?”

She was pulled past the pavilions and buildings of the Demon Palace, a place designed to resemble human homes. It was entirely different from what she had planned in her past life, and she was filled with confusion.

The magic palace was no longer there…
Apart from her, no one knew that the Demon Palace had once looked different.

*
Xu Qianyu sat in front of the dressing table, playing with a comb. The two shen creatures had tried to persuade her to change her wedding dress, but to no avail. They had no choice but to use magic to attach the wedding dress to her body.

One of the shen creatures circled in front of her and applied flower decorations to her forehead.

Xu Qianyu turned her head. Her spiritual energy had almost been depleted, so she couldn’t move carelessly for the time being.

At this moment, the system reminded her, “Lu You is here!”

Xu Qianyu raised her eyes. The spiritual energy she had absorbed from the demon creatures had been used to enhance her vision, and she could now see a blurred figure in the mirror.

It was hard for her to imagine that the shadow silently helping her with her makeup was actually Lu You.

Lu You bit her lip, trying her best not to let her tears fall.

She had originally planned to shamelessly stay behind in the Demon Palace, hoping to have the opportunity to slowly win back Xie Yuzhen. But seeing this scene with her own eyes still struck her deeply.

The person sitting there had once been her! This wedding dress, adorned with pearls and gemstones, had never been officially worn by her but had already been worn by someone else.

And that person was the one she hated the most.

Xu Qianyu spoke: “Lu You.”

Lu You’s hand trembled. She truly felt she had no face to come here. After transforming, she hadn’t expected Xu Qianyu to recognize her. She finally couldn’t swallow her anger:

“Congratulations, Demon Empress. I didn’t expect you to have such fortune that the Demon King wouldn’t kill you, but instead took a liking to your beauty.”

Xu Qianyu remained silent.

“Are you really going to be with him? To lie beside a demon who cannot love? Just thinking about it is terrifying.”

Lu You forcefully pressed the phoenix crown into Xu Qianyu’s hair. Suddenly, Xu Qianyu grabbed her wrist.

“Let’s kill him together.”

Xu Qianyu didn’t speak aloud; the words were spoken through the secret transmission method of Penglai.

Lu You paused, doubting whether she had heard it wrong: “What are you saying?”

“You heard me,” Xu Qianyu said.

This plan had been devised by the system.

It said that Lu You possessed extraordinary luck and power beyond this world. To put it simply, while the Demon King was hard to kill, if Lu You made a move, it might be much easier.

“Isn’t the Demon King your target?” The Xu Qianyu in the mirror blinked and said in a calm tone that was chilling, “If you kill him, your mission fails. If you fail the mission, you can go back.”

Lu You felt a cold chill in her limbs, frozen like a statue. After a long while, she responded, “You… You really are reborn.”

“How about it?” Xu Qianyu asked.

“Impossible.” Lu You reacted strongly. “How could I possibly kill him? Besides, why would I want to kill the Demon King?”

“Do you still want to stay in this world?” Xu Qianyu picked up the comb and tilted her head. The dangling pearls from the phoenix crown brushed past the flower decorations on her forehead, and her expression was full of disdain. “As a servant?”

“Of course not!” Lu You said. “What do you know? What do you know? If the mission fails, the world will reset, and I’ll still be trapped here. I don’t want to repeat this. I don’t want to repeat this again. This world is too terrifying.”

From her chaotic words, it was clear that she was on the brink of a breakdown.

Xu Qianyu said, “Help me kill him, and I have a way to send you back.”

Lu You asked, “Why should I trust you?”

A mosquito flew out of Xu Qianyu’s hand. “I am Keyun, no, no, I am Fu Zhou. I am the author of the novel “The Demon Slayer.” Lu You, you are a character I created.”

“System? You really do have a system.” Lu You widened her eyes, then sneered. “I knew it, I knew it! There’s a reason for everything. You stole my luck!”

Xu Qianyu couldn’t be bothered to correct her.

“I’m not someone you wrote.” Lu You looked at the mosquito and said, “I am a transmigrator. I’ve traveled through many worlds, not just this one. She is the one you created.”

“She isn’t someone I created either.” The system stretched out a mosquito leg and wiped its sweat. “My book is dead; it’s fake, but this world is alive; it’s real… It’s hard to explain. In short, don’t you want to go home?”

Go home.

The thought that had seemed hopeless now revived in her heart, and Lu You’s expression grew serious.

This system was surely from the same world as hers. With just a few words, it had awakened her long-forgotten memories.

At this moment, two shen creatures opened the door: “The Demon King is ready. Please, Demon Empress, proceed.”

Lu You snapped back to reality, coldly grabbed the veil, and covered Xu Qianyu’s face with red.