GD Ch. 5

Chapter 5: Where They Went

“Those immortals detest anything tainted with devilish energy the most. If this dragon were to hatch, it would surely be scorned,” Hanzhu hastily interjected. She paused for a moment, then continued with determination, “But if the Heavenly Realm were to investigate, what would we do then?”

“I no longer belong to the Heavenly Realm. They’ve stripped away my immortal bones. Do they also intend to strip away my diabolic essence?” Zhuyou’s expression darkened as she tapped a finger on the eggshell.

Hanzhu trembled nervously. “But I do not wish to see you in danger, Mistress.”

“I am raising something of my own; how can that be considered endangerment?” Zhuyou glanced at her.

Hanzhu thought uneasily, It’s not even fixed yet, and she already considers it “her own thing”? She quickly added, “But what if it hatches into something treacherous?”

“Then it will be disposed of,” Zhuyou said casually, “A newly hatched dragon will listen to whatever I say. I can make it do whatever I want. With a dragon by my side, praising me all day long, wouldn’t that be interesting?”

Hanzhu felt aggrieved. “Am I not enough?”

Zhuyou didn’t give her any face. “You’re giving yourself too much credit.”

“But this egg won’t speak when it hatches. If you want company, you should find one that talks.” Hanzhu felt genuinely aggrieved.

Zhuyou’s fair hand caressed the dragon egg. With black garment against her fair skin, at a glance, she seemed to be made up only of black and white. She said, “Something personally taught will surely be obedient. It will say whatever I want it to say.”

Seeing persuasion wasn’t working, Hanzhu smartly added, “Mistress’ cultivation is profound and renowned throughout the Three Realms. It wouldn’t dare to misbehave.”

Zhuyou waved her hand dismissively. “Enough, go find out quickly what the Three Lords are up to. Don’t bother me while I’m hatching this egg.”

As Hanzhu left, she glanced back, wondering how a phoenix hatches its eggs and if it retains its true form. Come to think of it, she had never seen her mistress’ true form.

It was said that when this mistress was born, Mount Danxue was enveloped in myriad rays of light, as if colorful robes were spread across the sky, and all birds sang together. The newly born divine offspring was resplendent with feathers, the most beautiful among the Phoenix Clan.

How beautiful must her mistress’ true form be? Hanzhu’s thoughts were intoxicated even by just the idea.

***

In the Grand Hall, only Zhuyou and the silent egg remained, surrounded by silence. Zhuyou didn’t transform into her true form, but sat upright, circulating the spiritual energy within her body. 

As the spiritual energy circulated, her eyes stung, and before long, a drop of cold sweat slid down her forehead. The spiritual energy in her sea of consciousness was thin, as if it had been sucked away by something, clearly abnormal.

She had just come out of seclusion. She hadn’t done anything yet, and already so much spiritual energy was consumed. It was like she had secluded herself for a hundred years only to regress instead of progress in her cultivation. If other lesser devils knew about this, they would surely see her as a joke.

Zhuyou squinted slightly, her fair hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back, making her look like a person made of snow, if not for her somewhat reddened lips. She pondered carefully, whether it was an issue with the white jade disc in the Dragon Palace, or the marriage stone, or if someone had quietly done something in the background.

After much thought, there was nothing strange apart from this dragon egg.

While she sat cross-legged, the egg lay on the other side of the soft couch. It was quite unreasonable for just this one egg to share the couch with her, so Zhuyou initially intended to move the egg aside. But after a moment’s consideration, she refrained. Instead, she sent out a strand of spiritual energy, enveloping the dragon egg.

As soon as the spiritual energy touched the egg, it disappeared completely.

Zhuyou was momentarily stunned. Spiritual energy was born from qi, and she had never encountered an egg that consumed spiritual energy as food. This egg had quite the appetite.

On second thought, the illusion spell she cast in the Dragon Palace wasn’t very profound. As long as someone picked up the false “egg,” one could tell it was actually a piece of stone. However, since the Dragon Palace revered the egg in such a manner, it was unlikely they would touch it casually. In this case, who knew when they would discover that the dragon egg on the white jade disc had been stolen?

What an egg! Truly a once-in-a-lifetime find. 

She was increasingly curious about what would hatch from it. Would it be extraordinarily ugly, exceptionally beautiful, or just plain ordinary?

Unfortunately, the egg remained silent. Since arriving in the Devil Realm, it hadn’t even twitched once, as if it had turned into a lifeless egg.

Oh well, she couldn’t rush things or force the dragon out of its shell.

***

Zhuyou rested for two days. During this time, she occasionally infused the egg with spiritual energy. If the egg hadn’t absorbed it all, she might have thought it was dead. 

As a divine offspring, she had already gained the respect and allegiance of many devils even before her seclusion. Anyone who dared to defy her would be stabbing themselves in the back, asking for trouble.

However, the Grand Hall had been abandoned for a hundred years, so the serving maids had all left. Devils were naturally free-spirited. Once their master left, they wouldn’t stay obediently behind. Although Zhuyou didn’t particularly enjoy interacting with people, she found it unsettling to have no one to talk to.

Before her seclusion, the dozens of lesser devils in her hall were lively and charming, always chattering away. They could praise even a single strand of her hair, and there was nothing they couldn’t flatter as long as they could see it.

Zhuyou opened her eyes, first looking toward the ceiling adorned with translucent curtains and hanging pearls. After confirming that her vision was still intact, she reached out to pick up the dragon egg she had placed on the satin pillow.

Outside, there was a rustling sound, indicating someone was tinkering with something.

It probably wasn’t Hanzhu. That girl was likely still out gathering information and wouldn’t have the energy to mess around at the entrance of the hall.

Zhuyou furrowed her brows and pressed her temple. The dragon egg in her arms was icy cold and as stiff as a rock, even stiffer than a stone.

Suddenly, someone outside softly exclaimed, “After Your Grace’s seclusion for a hundred years, I could feel the overwhelming spiritual energy even from outside the hall. Truly, Your Grace is remarkable!”

The words were as insincere as they got. Most of Zhuyou’s spiritual energy had been devoured by this dragon egg, yet they spoke of overwhelming spiritual energy.

Though insincere, Zhuyou loved hearing it. She could tell who it was from the voice alone. It was the fallen lotus demon.

An inherently pure lotus had fallen into darkness; it was quite amusing. This lotus demon was called Hongqu—Red Lotus. It was originally red and delicate, quite charming when submerged in water. 

Before Hongqu embraced devilhood, she had once been in love with a scholar who fell into the water. Unfortunately, that scholar was ungrateful. After passing the imperial examination, fearing that people would find out about his affair with a demon, he brutally snapped her stem, tore her petals, piled her up, and burned her to ashes.

And so, the lotus demon who managed to survive ended up falling into darkness.

With a lift of Zhuyou’s hand, the tightly closed doors of the hall suddenly swung open.

It was pitch black outside. The scorching sun was nowhere to be seen, and the moonlight was out of sight. The wind, carrying yellow sand, swept into the hall without restraint, enveloping the demon weapons and weapons strewn across the floor.

The lotus demon, dressed in a vibrant red gown, looked delicate as if she might be blown away by the wind. Behind her, she dragged a burlap sack, its contents unknown but appearing weighty.

As soon as the door opened, Hongqu struggled forward with the burlap sack. She glanced into the hall and immediately spotted Zhuyou reclining casually on the soft couch.

Zhuyou casually lifted her eyelids, her gaze falling on the burlap sack Hongqu was dragging. Inside the burlap sack, something collided with a muffled sound, as if it contained a bag of rocks. There seemed to be some spiritual energy inside, perhaps spirit stones.

She never expected that the first gift she received upon her return would be a bag of rocks. It was absurd.

Hongqu dragged the burlap sack into the hall. Before she could even praise Zhuyou, she heard Zhuyou ask, “What did you bring?”

“Spirit stones.” Hongqu hurriedly untied the tightly bound mouth of the sack and shook out its contents. The pieces varied in size and even in color, with some being clear and translucent while others were slightly cloudy. They were indeed spirit stones.

“And what use do I have for these spirit stones?” Zhuyou glanced over, pretending to be indifferent. In fact, they were quite useful, but there was no need for the lesser devils to know that.

Hongqu, naturally charming, became even more so after descending to devilhood. Every move she made seemed innocent, yet there was a hint of seduction. She smiled and hurriedly explained, “The Three Lords instructed me to bring these. They said they were borrowing spirit stones from you, and if you returned to the hall, I should bring them back.”

Zhuyou understood. It was indeed those three who had taken her spirit stones. She caressed the egg in her arms and said, “Couldn’t you have put them in a mustard seed? Why go through all this trouble to drag them over?”

Hongqu softly replied, “The Three Lords said that if they were put in a mustard seed, you wouldn’t even spare a glance. Once treasures are placed in a mustard seed, they’re never seen again. It’s better to bring them like this.”

Zhuyou nodded slightly. With a wave of her hand, the heavy bag of spirit stones collided with the demon weapons covered in yellow sand. The weapons clattered, and the large weapon rack nearly toppled over.

The sound startled Hongqu, causing her to shrink her shoulders and discreetly rub her hand, which was marked red from the burlap sack.

After rubbing the dragon egg for a while, Zhuyou had to place it on the ground again. Continuing like this would exhaust her spiritual energy. Being drained was tolerable, but if she went blind again, that would be unacceptable. She raised her eyes expressionlessly. “What do the Three Lords need the spirit stones for, and where are they now?”

Asked about this matter, Hongqu hesitated. She pondered for a moment, then solemnly closed the hall door before speaking, “It’s said that the Devil Lord’s soul has the opportunity to reincarnate, so the Three Lords went to the Mortal Realm. But it’s unclear how much of it is true and how much is false.”

Zhuyou sneered. “Are they so sure that the Devil Lord’s reincarnation will be in the Mortal Realm?”

It was a valid question, one that Hongqu couldn’t answer. After racking her brains, she finally mumbled, “The Devil Lord’s physical body and one-third of his soul are still in the Devil Realm. The Three Lords said that they must retrieve the remaining two-thirds of his soul to awaken him. The Third Lord calculated that one part of his soul has fallen into the Mortal Realm.”

The Third Lord referred to the lascivious and scheming Jing Kexin, who had tried to lead Zhuyou astray with her. Zhuyou chuckled, “She’s able to figure it out?”

Hongqu lowered her head, Listening to the increasingly harsh words, she just timidly raised her eyes.

Who in the Devil Realm wouldn’t know about the grudge between Jing Kexin and Zhuyou? After all, Jing Kexin had been hanging outside the Grand Hall more than once, and one of those times was voluntary.

Zhuyou mocked, “Even if that part of the soul reincarnates as a human, it won’t have the memories of the Devil Lord, nor will it carry devilish energy. How could they find it? Do they really think they’re divine seers? The Three Lords are too impatient.”

Hongqu plucked up her courage and approached, looking fragile and gentle. She obediently squatted beside the black-robed esteemed devil.

Zhuyou remained expressionless, but she leaned back slightly, wondering why the lotus demon suddenly came so close.

Hongqu whispered softly, “The reason the Three Lords are so anxious is because they heard that the Heavenly Realm is going to repair the Devil-Suppressing Tower.”

Zhuyou’s eyes darkened. “The Devil-Suppressing Tower? When did the Three Lords go to the human world?”

“It’s been about a year,” Hongqu replied softly.

Zhuyou waved her hand to indicate that she understood. She had initially wanted to dismiss the lotus demon, but after some thought, she beckoned with her finger.

The lotus demon, who had risen, obediently squatted down again. “Do you have any other instructions, Your Grace?”

Zhuyou’s eyes shifted, and she glanced down at the egg on the satin pillow at her feet. She suddenly had an idea to let the egg absorb someone else’s spiritual energy as an experiment. “Pick that up for me. Carefully.”

The egg, radiant and colorful, sat quietly on the satin pillow with tassels in each corner, looking luxurious and splendid.

Hongqu’s pupils quivered slightly. Could this be the illegitimate egg mentioned by the lesser devils? Trembling, she reached out to pick it up. But in a moment of carelessness, she was caught off guard by the coldness of the egg. With a shake of her hand, the egg rolled away and thudded against a golden pillar.

The entire hall trembled from the impact.

Zhuyou’s eyes widened, and she immediately rose from her seat.

Hongqu felt like crying but had no tears. Shouldn’t a phoenix egg be scorching hot? Why was it so cold? She didn’t know whether she should pick it up or not. She trembled as she said, “Th-this… This won’t be cracked, will it?”