GD Ch. 20

Chapter 20: What Purpose Do You Serve?

Light as a whisper, with a hint of innocence, yet the tone was cold, far from childish. So delicate, like threads of a lotus root, liable to break with a tug.

Zhuyou lowered her eyes, focusing on the black dragon coiled around her wrist. Her consciousness extended along the snow-covered pine trees, only sensing a few mundane creatures yet to awaken their senses.

Changying blinked, her golden pupils elongated, unsettlingly so.

Zhuyou couldn’t help but doubt her dragon. Besides this dragon, no one else could send her message via telepathy, yet Changying had no trace of spiritual power, nothing suggesting she could speak.

Strange. She had never encountered such an odd creature before. Regardless of whether in the human world or above the Nine Heavens, Changying was unlike typical divine offsprings.

A strange feeling surged within her. Intuitively, she felt she should know what this thing was, yet she… truly had no idea.

The unknown always breeds worry, but she didn’t want to show any weakness in front of a newly hatched dragon. She had experienced being possessed and faced the Execution Platform without much fear.

Her eyes flickered as she suddenly grasped Changying’s head, forcefully channeling a thread of spiritual power into it, too quick for the dragon to even swallow. After the spiritual power entered, she found her mental space extremely narrow, devoid of anything. Following it down to the dragon’s waist, she found no sign of a spiritual sea.

If this dragon doesn’t even have a spiritual sea, how can it send messages through telepathy?

“Say one more thing for me to hear.” Zhuyou withdrew her spiritual power, lightly flicking Changying’s head with her index finger.

Changying averted her gaze, avoiding the subject.

Zhuyou snorted inwardly. Such a small dragon couldn’t escape her scrutiny. Though Changying truly didn’t have a spiritual sea, she had indeed spoken in her ear.

“Other people’s offspring are very obedient, can’t you learn a bit?” Zhuyou used two fingers to force Changying to open her mouth, revealing two still quite tender dragon teeth.

Changying shook her head, but couldn’t shake Zhuyou’s hand off. With her mouth still open, her saliva was almost dripping. Zhuyou quickly closed her mouth and pressed her jaws shut when she saw the dragon about to drool.

Changying’s eyes were cold. Though she didn’t speak, she seemed to be trying to please Zhuyou, lowering her tail and swaying it lightly, the movement so slight it seemed perfunctory.

What a dragon, able to judge the situation and even learn to wag its tail to please people.

Zhuyou lowered her hand, pretending not to see, and continued straight ahead along the row of pine trees. “You need more, you say? If you can’t even transform, you won’t even have a place here in the future.”

Unfortunately, her goading was useless. Changying still didn’t speak, whether out of exhaustion or feeling cold. She coiled in Zhuyou’s hand, unmoving. 

The words of the female disciple in the tavern echoed in Zhuyou’s ears, saying snakes hibernate in winter.

Dragons and snakes were naturally different, but whether such a small dragon needed to hibernate in winter, she really didn’t know.

Zhuyou braved the wind and snow. While others struggled step by step, she effortlessly walked through the ten-inch deep snow.

Along the way, there was a row of collapsed wooden houses, seemingly blown down by the wind, with no one inside. The houses were empty as if the residents had packed up and left long ago.

She didn’t want this dragon to freeze to death for no reason. It would be a huge joke if a divine offspring froze to death in the human world. “Don’t you dare die. Once we get through this snow, I’ll feed you until you’re full.”

At these words, Changying immediately lifted her head.

Zhuyou suddenly felt like she was being deceived by this little creature. To think she could deceive people at such a young age, she really wasn’t a proper dragon.

Entering the wooden house, she evenly distributed a thread of spiritual power to keep the dragon warm. Her consciousness sensed a few cultivators heading in their direction.

She wasn’t particularly worried. Even if ten more like them came, they couldn’t defeat her.

Those people were getting closer and closer to the dilapidated house as if they were coming to claim territory from her. She didn’t really want to resort to violence now; blood on this snowy ground would be too conspicuous.

Among those people, one had a slightly strange spiritual aura. It was not very pure, but unless you paid close attention, you wouldn’t notice.

After consuming a mouthful of spiritual power, Changying moved again, looking lazy as she leaned softly against Zhuyou’s arm.

Zhuyou pinched her jaws shut, preventing her from opening her mouth. “You seem to enjoy that,” she chided sarcastically.

Changying blinked. After every meal, she became exceptionally well-behaved.

Zhuyou chuckled, suddenly feeling that this dragon was meant to be with her. After all, Changying was so much like those carefree creatures in the Devil Realm. Such a dragon was meant to turn into a devil. There was nothing more satisfying than pushing an ignorant divine offspring into the abyss with one’s own hands.

The immortals in the Heavenly Realm couldn’t stand devils, right? If such a dragon were raised by a devil, who knew how they would react?

Zhuyou released her slender white fingers and rubbed Changying’s forehead. The dragon’s head, covered in black scales, remained as smooth as ever, still lacking horns. Suddenly, she felt discontent again. “What purpose do you serve?”

In response, Changying’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Meanwhile, the mortal cultivators drew nearer. As they pushed open the creaking, weathered door, they stood transfixed for a while.

The howling wind, accompanied by biting snow, infiltrated the decrepit wooden dwelling. Jars and bottles littered the floor, clashing against the corners of tables with a muffled thud. Seated atop the worn wooden table, a figure cloaked in black turned reluctantly toward the open entrance. A dark floral veil adorned with intricate patterns billowed in the gusts, enveloping her sleeves. Zhuyou’s ink-black hair whipped across her face, her discontent palpable.

The onlookers remained speechless, bewildered by the sight before them, unlike anything they had ever encountered.

Zhuyou raised her eyes slightly, her white hand covering her other wrist, partially concealing Changying.

Upon exiting the tavern, she had deliberately subdued her spiritual energy, ensuring the mortal cultivators would detect no irregularities in her cultivation. Such feigned ignorance was a skill she had mastered.

On the Execution Platform, when she succumbed to devilhood, not even the immortal rope could contain her. Her bones shattered, and agony wracked her body, rendering her unable to stand. Yet, devilish energy surged forth, shattering the chains binding her arms into oblivion.

The day she entered the world, the sky danced with auspicious clouds and crimson hues. Conversely, on the day she embraced devilry, darkness cloaked the heavens. 

Sinister clouds rolled, and a chilling wind moaned. Birds cried out in alarm, and the finest parasol tree atop Mount Danxue found itself engulfed in a shroud of black qi. With a thunderous crack, it was charred in an instant.

Embracing her transformation, she spread her wings and descended into the Devil Realm, seamlessly merging with other devils.

While chaos gripped the Heavenly Realm, the Devil Realm erupted in celebration, as if welcoming a long-awaited triumph. They presented her with an array of demon weaponry, along with a bounty of exquisite wines and brews. Scores of beauties awaited her every whim.

Yet, she neither outright rejected nor indulged in their offerings. Her demeanor struck a balance, neither too aloof nor too approachable for the devils.

The devils—greater and lesser—were delighted. They didn’t find her aloof demeanor strange at all; after all, devils should be like this, not oppressed by those immortals, treated as lowly as dirt.

Furthermore, the Phoenix Clan had always been revered for their unparalleled beauty and noble stature as the leader of all birds. With bones of immortality, they were naturally perceived as delicate and aloof.

Zhuyou knew well that devils were always carefree, with daytime promiscuity being quite common. After careful consideration, she simply took in a dozen beautiful maidens as attendants, letting them serve in the Grand Hall.

Serve they did, but without any hands-on activities.

Now that she was in the human world, she naturally knew how to blend in with these human cultivators. Lowering her cultivation and restraining her demeanor should make her appear less conspicuous.

The disciples of the immortal sect standing outside the door were dressed identically to the group she encountered at the congee shop. Zhuyou’s eyes shifted, and sure enough, she spotted Jing Kexin mingling among them.

Jing Kexin wore a pleased expression. With a face devoid of heavy makeup, she looked somewhat innocent.

The dragon coiled around Zhuyou’s wrist moved slightly, turning her head to look outside with an indifferent expression.

Zhuyou sighed inwardly. She really didn’t want to encounter this Third Lord. Jing Kexin was truly shameless. She was like clay—dirty and sticky, clinging to everything.

The few outside barely came to their senses, momentarily unable to distinguish whether the figure sitting at the table was human or immortal. If she were human, they had never seen someone so beautiful.

However, the person in black inside didn’t seem to have particularly high cultivation, seemingly on par with them.

Jing Kexin smiled sweetly, tiptoeing behind the crowd to peek inside. “I told you there was someone here.”

Zhuyou felt a bit regretful. The mortal disciples were all standing in front of Jing Kexin, unable to see her blatant expression.

Jing Kexin licked her lips, her eyes slightly narrowed, desire burning within them, her gaze intense.

The dragon coiled around Zhuyou’s wrist moved, rising halfway like a snake. Its golden eyes gleamed, its bloodied mouth slightly open. In an instant, the disciples outside were overwhelmed by ringing in their ears, as if they had been deafened.

Before they could even hear clearly, their minds and souls were shaken, as if struck by a heavy blow.

The mountain suddenly trembled, and the ice on the lake outside the wooden house cracked with a creak.

Zhuyou was briefly surprised, her heart pounding suddenly. Quickly, she covered Changying’s mouth. “How protective of you. Why were you not born as a guard dog instead?”

After saying this, two teeth rubbed against her fingers but didn’t bite down, feeling almost coquettish.