Chapter 77: Demon Lord (22)

Qian was held in Liu Sha’s arms, concealed by her enchanted artifact Illusory Realm.

At the very moment Huai You Nong fully regained his adult form, the system’s voice echoed in Qian’s ears.

【Due to the host’s interference, the target of the conquest has survived the death tribulation that was originally destined for him.】

【However, as a corresponding consequence, the host will now face her own death tribulation.】

【Since the target’s affection value has not reached completion, the host is currently unable to leave this world. If the host fails to successfully complete the conquest before dying, the conquest will be deemed a failure.】

【Failure will result in the annihilation of the host’s soul.】

This was the first time the system had ever mentioned the consequences of failing the conquest.

Blue specks of light flickered past Qian’s vision, and reflected in her eyes was Huai You Nong’s cold and indifferent profile.

In the blink of an eye, Qian seemed to see a vision of a world where Huai You Nong had not survived his death tribulation.

His body, collapsing and deteriorating, stood amid a sea of blood, surrounded by enemies eyeing him ravenously, waiting to tear him apart. On the face of the still-breathing but dying Demon Lord, cracks spread like a web from within, as if his very being was being shredded apart.

Another blink, and the terrifying image vanished.

The Huai You Nong before her now showed no signs of defeat. Overflowing with killing intent, he tossed an inner core toward her and gave Qian a brief, indifferent glance.

Once he returned to his adult form, his aura became overwhelmingly fierce and cold, making it impossible to feel any sense of closeness to him.

Qian grabbed Liu Sha’s hand, looking utterly deflated.

Her dad-bro was gone, and in his place was her bad dad.

The dazed child didn’t even react when Liu Sha fed her a demon clan inner core—she simply swallowed it down in one gulp.

It was just an ordinary, unremarkable inner core.

The demon realm’s alchemy was far less advanced than that of the cultivation world. Moreover, the demon clans were obsessed with slaughtering and devouring one another. To them, an enemy’s inner core was akin to an all-purpose pill in the cultivation world—capable of increasing one’s power and replenishing demonic energy, making it incredibly useful.

However, for Qian at this moment, the only effect of this inner core was temporarily pacifying the mutated Demon-Devouring Gu within her body.

Back at Xishan Temple, the Demon-Devouring Gu had already undergone a transformation, as the two Gu worms had fused into one.

The initial Gu was meant to consume demonic energy and, once fully developed, could even devour the blood, flesh, and meridians filled with demonic essence. In its early stages, it could still be suppressed by the host’s naturally cultivated spiritual energy. However, once the second Gu merged with it, their growth accelerated beyond control, and spiritual energy could no longer suppress them—instead, it only triggered further fusion.

Though referred to as “Gu worms,” they weren’t actually small bugs inside the body, as children often imagined. Once inside a demon’s body, they would dissolve and disperse, transforming into countless fine threads that merged with every inch of the host’s organs, blood, and flesh—becoming inseparable.

They would continuously consume the host’s body unless they were fed demonic energy. If provided with an external source of demonic energy, the Demon-Devouring Gu would prioritize consuming that instead.

On the way to Xishan Temple, when Qian was in unbearable pain, Huai You Nong had alleviated her suffering by feeding the Demon-Devouring Gu with his own demonic energy.

Feeding her a demon inner core served the same purpose.

As long as she was continuously supplied, the Demon-Devouring Gu would not immediately begin devouring its host.

However, this method was merely a temporary fix, akin to drinking poison to quench thirst—it only caused the Demon-Devouring Gu to grow faster.

This was the inescapable death trap Qian now faced.

Meanwhile, Huai You Nong sat in the inner hall of the City Lord’s Mansion, waiting.

Waiting for the captured demon clansmen to be brought in one by one.

The messages that Xin Kun had sent out at the first opportunity had all been tracked by subordinates from the Demon Palace. The recipients of those messages were caught as soon as they received them.

Within half a day, all those who could be captured were already kneeling before Huai You Nong.

As for those who had not been captured, the Left Protector was hunting them down—whatever fate awaited them would likely be no better than those now kneeling before the Demon Lord.

Qian had gained yet another collection of round, multicolored inner cores.

Liu Sha stored them away for her as if they were just another set of snacks or toys.

Huai You Nong’s purge in the Northwestern City had come without warning, like a sudden storm. And when the storm subsided, the demon clans of the two northwestern regions had lost thirty percent of their numbers.

This was the first time since Huai You Nong became Demon Lord that he had undertaken such a large-scale massacre. His actions sent waves of terror throughout the entire demon realm, and even the cultivation world, upon hearing the news, no longer dared to send anyone into demon territory.

One of the key figures behind all of this—the Demon Realm’s young master, Qian—was enduring the most painful period of her life in Xin Kun’s City Lord’s Mansion.

Because the Demon Lord deemed the incompetent physician Han Qiu useless, he discarded him and instead brought in a renowned demon cultivator physician from the northwest—one with a fearsome reputation.

With this change in doctors, Qian fell into a nightmare of relentless medication.

The new physician, Xun Peng, was an esteemed guest of a demon city lord and general. When his benefactor was slain by the Demon Lord, this white-bearded old man—who clearly didn’t look like a good person—was promptly recruited by Huai You Nong.

Though he couldn’t remove the Demon-Devouring Gu, he could find ways to temporarily put it into dormancy.

Unlike physicians in the cultivation world, demon physicians often used body parts of other demons as ingredients in their medicine.

When Xun Peng cautiously suggested to the Demon Lord that he would require demon blood and flesh for his concoctions, Huai You Nong simply gave him a glance and said, “Take whatever you need. Just kill them.”

There were plenty of treacherous betrayers—Huai You Nong found it perfectly fitting to use them as medicine.

Xun Peng’s eyes gleamed with calculation. “If I require the demonic hearts of three Demon Generals…”

Of course, it wasn’t the Demon-Devouring Gu that needed them—he himself wanted them.

Huai You Nong gave a slight nod. “Go kill them.”

Xun Peng was delighted, but just as he was about to leave, Huai You Nong’s gaze suddenly fixed on him, dark and foreboding.

“You can take whatever you want,” the Demon Lord said coldly. “But if you fail to deliver results that satisfy me, someone will make medicine out of you.”

The newly appointed Third Elder from the Demon Palace cautiously advised, “Demon Lord, ordinary demons are of no consequence, but the Demon Generals… once one dies, there’s one less. In the last battle, eight of them were already killed—”

Huai You Nong cut him off with an icy voice: “Just a few Demon Generals. Do you think they are more important than my offspring?”

The Ninth Elder, Chang Chunjia, was also present, leisurely fanning himself with his new enchanted fan, pretending to be deaf and mute.

As a spy planted by the cultivation world, he was more than happy to watch the demons slaughter one another. Adding fuel to the fire would have been redundant—he certainly wasn’t going to stop them.

As a patient, Qian had witnessed firsthand how her new attending physician, Xun Peng, used all sorts of bizarre demonic body parts to refine medicine. She was already on the verge of having nightmares—how could she possibly drink such a concoction?

When Xun Peng approached with a bowl of medicine as thick and black as sludge, smiling ingratiatingly as he urged her to drink it, Qian instinctively backed away, hands clasped behind her. She looked just like a Snow White who had been given spoilers, recoiling from the poisoned apple her stepmother was offering.

She didn’t dare open her mouth, terrified that this scrawny, terrifying old man would seize the opportunity to force-feed her on the spot.

Xun Peng cursed inwardly. This little brat was impossible to deal with! She wouldn’t even take a single sip!

If she refused to drink, the Demon Lord wouldn’t get a good report. And if that happened, how could he obtain the materials he wanted? The high-grade demonic hearts he needed for cultivation were still out of reach!

But he didn’t dare to force her, so all he could do was coax her with a gentle tone.

The whole scene looked like an eagle trying to catch a chick.

“What’s all this fuss about now?” Huai You Nong’s voice rang out from the doorway.

Qian immediately turned and bolted toward him, lifting his robes and pulling them over herself, hiding directly within his clothing.

Huai You Nong: “……”

Meeting his gaze, Xun Peng’s expression was one of utter misery.

“Demon Lord, the Young Lord refuses to take her medicine.”

Huai You Nong reached out and yanked the child from his robes. It was only then that Qian realized she had chosen the wrong person to seek help from—she had practically thrown herself into the tiger’s den.

Like any strict parent who finds their child refusing to take medicine, Huai You Nong wasted no words. One hand held the child firmly while the other picked up the medicine, preparing to force-feed her.

Qian struggled desperately in his grasp, showing unprecedented resistance to the bubbling, foul-smelling concoction.

No child would willingly consume something like this.

“Do you want to die?!” Huai You Nong scolded. “You are a demon. Not only must you consume these refined demonic essences, but even if they were living demons, you should devour them!”

“If you’re this weak, how do you expect to survive in the Demon Realm?”

Qian burst into loud wails, and in the instant her mouth opened, a spoonful of medicine was poured in.

“Pfft—cough, cough, cough!” The child choked and coughed violently, clutching her mouth with an expression of utter revulsion.

Yet, despite her reaction, her demonic instincts—especially her Heavenly Demon bloodline—rejoiced as her body eagerly absorbed the medicine’s essence.

Huai You Nong roughly wiped the spilled medicine from her lips and tossed the bowl to Xun Peng.

“If she refuses to take it, that’s your problem. Can’t you figure out a way to refine medicine she’s willing to drink?”

Xun Peng struggled to keep his face from twisting in frustration: “……”

How was this his fault? He’d been refining medicine for a hundred years! Every demon took their medicine like this!

The Demon Lord led his subordinates back to the Demon Palace.

Naturally, Xun Peng followed. He had collected a considerable amount of “medicine” from the northwest, yet every attempt to make the Young Lord drink it had been an uphill battle.

Aside from the Demon Lord himself, not even Liusha or Luoye could make Qian obediently take her medicine.

To avoid ingesting strange substances, Qian waged daily battles of wits and strategy against the palace residents, discovering countless hiding places within the Demon Palace.

Once, she hid inside the Shifang Mountain painting and stashed it under Huai You Nong’s bed. Since no one dared to search beneath the Demon Lord’s bed, she successfully remained hidden for two days. The entire palace was turned upside down looking for her, and it wasn’t until Huai You Nong returned that she was finally dragged out.

On another occasion, when Huai You Nong was away for several days, Qian managed to find the secret passage in his chambers that led to his secluded cultivation chamber. Crawling through it, she ended up in the cavern where a hybrid Azure Armor Beast was locked away and hid there for several days.

The moment Huai You Nong returned, he was informed that the child had gone missing. His first thought was that some leftover enemy had infiltrated the palace to abduct her.

After an exhaustive search, he finally noticed an anomaly in the mechanism within his chambers and suspected that Qian had accidentally entered the secluded cavern. That was how he eventually found her.

When he finally discovered her, she was hiding beneath the belly of the Azure Armor Beast hybrid, filthy and reeking.

Had she not started crying from the pain, Huai You Nong would have been tempted to make her cry himself.

Because she had gone days without medicine, the Demonic Parasite Gu that the medicine suppressed had begun gnawing away at her.

“If you don’t want to die in agony, drink your medicine.” Huai You Nong sat beside her.

Liusha also coaxed her, “Young Lord, Xun Peng has altered the formula many times already. This is a new medicine he and Han Qiu developed together. Just give it a try.”

Sniffling, Qian took a sip. The fishy scent mixed with the bitterness of the herbs assaulted her senses.

Liusha watched in relief as she finally took her medicine voluntarily. Holding her in his arms, he carried her off to get cleaned up, but she fell asleep halfway through.

When he handed the child over to the waiting Demon Lord, Huai You Nong did not immediately take her. Instead, he gazed at the sleeping child in silence.

“Liusha, tell me—” his voice was low and contemplative, “is she truly my child?”

“She is clearly a demon, yet she is nothing like a demon.”

“So weak… Without protection, she would never survive in the Demon Realm.”

“If that’s the case…”

Liusha’s heart pounded in fear. For a moment, he almost believed the Demon Lord intended to dispose of the Young Lord for failing to meet his expectations.

But after a long pause, Huai You Nong finally reached out and took the sleeping child into his arms, murmuring his final words.

“If she weren’t my child, if she had been born in the Mortal Realm or the Cultivation World… that would have been much better.”