GD Ch. 8

Chapter 8: How It Swallows Spiritual Energy

On the shark muslin hanging above the Grand Hall, the phoenix fire burned silently.

In the hall packed with demonic weapons, the fallen divine offspring and her maid stared intently at the beautiful dragon egg. The sound they heard just now wasn’t false. Could it be that the dragon inside was truly about to hatch?

Zhuyou gently picked up the egg. Somehow, her hands trembled slightly, as if her own egg was about to hatch.

The dragon egg was as cold as a handful of snow in the depths of winter, while Zhuyou’s hands were warm. The contrast of cold and warmth created a peculiar tension.

“What will the dragon look like when it hatches?” Hanzhu nervously stared, swallowing nervously.

“I don’t know.” Zhuyou looked at the egg for a long time, but didn’t see a single crack. Could it be that something inside was broken…

Surely it wasn’t the dragon?

She panicked and placed the egg aside with trembling hands, afraid that her warmth might cause it to melt. Although her hands were cold, they weren’t made of ice. Probably not cold enough.

Zhuyou didn’t fear entangling herself in any karma. Above the Nine Heavens, she had seized the Judgment Sword and severed the Binding God’s Cord. Devilish energy had flowed incessantly into her spiritual sea, surrounded by a chorus of condemnation and scorn. Her ears had buzzed with pain, her eyes had been veiled by a mist of blood. Walking toward the Abyssal Well, she couldn’t even see whom she had wounded or whose lives she had taken along the way. She had entangled herself in numerous karmic threads, perhaps more than she could ever resolve in this lifetime. But once she had succumbed to the darkness, why bother with the celestial order? Why bother with karma anymore?

She had merely been intrigued by the fragility and purity of the divine offsprings she hadn’t seen in ages. This dragon here was still in its egg, its alignment of good or evil dependent on her teachings. So, she indulged in this venture.

“I saw a little dragon in the Dragon Palace on his hundredth day, wearing that little red belly band,” Zhuyou nervously recounted. “He was such an adorable child, with chubby arms and legs and two tender horns on his head. Quite amusing.”

“Can they take human form right after hatching?” Hanzhu’s eyes gleamed with envy.

Zhuyou nodded slightly, even her breath restrained, afraid she might accidentally crack the egg. “Yes, just like phoenixes, they’re born capable of transformation.”

But one had to handle these eggs delicately, like incubating chicks or ducklings. Forcibly breaking the shell would only result in fragile dragon or phoenix offsprings, much like chickens or ducks.

“That’s great,” Hanzhu rubbed her hands together. “Should I go prepare some baby clothes then? I’ve never had children, and I don’t know how to care for them. Do dragons drink milk when they hatch?”

Zhuyou suddenly looked puzzled, then glanced at Hanzhu indifferently. “I’ve never given birth, so why do you ask me?”

Hanzhu had intended to say that Zhuyou had once been a celestial being and was familiar with dragon customs, but she quickly swallowed her words. Her mistress harbored a deep hatred for the celestial beings above and took being a devil in the underworld more seriously than anyone else. Calling her a former celestial being would seem like an insult.

Hanzhu shrank her neck, silently grateful she hadn’t voiced her thoughts, or she might have had to relocate her head.

The dragon egg had only made a sound moments ago before falling silent again, as if it were playing a joke on them. But Zhuyou didn’t joke around. She sat upright on the soft couch, looking stern. With her white hair and icy skin, her bare shoulders, arms, and legs adorned with diabolic markings, she appeared more like a devil than the unseen creatures of the underworld.

After a while, Hanzhu nervously cleared her throat again, the sound echoing clearly.

Zhuyou asked with suspicion, “Hungry again?”

“Hungry?” Hanzhu panicked inwardly. While she had cleared her throat, she certainly hadn’t intended to eat the dragon egg.

Zhuyou raised a slender index finger and pointed to some distant places. “These, those spirit stones, are for this egg.” The grayish spirit stones lay scattered around, some piled up like a miniature mountain.

“This egg absorbs spiritual energy too?” Hanzhu subtly retreated two steps, her pupils suddenly dilating.

Zhuyou nodded slightly. “On the day I brought it back, even though my spiritual consciousness had returned to my body, my eyes still couldn’t see. There was no extra spiritual power in me to suppress the poisonous mist in my eyes. Later, I realized it was this insatiable dragon egg stealing my spiritual power,” she added with a light sigh.

Hanzhu thought to herself, anyone who offended Mistress would inevitably face retaliation. Yet, this dragon egg has only received a light sigh, and it can still peacefully rest on the other side of the soft couch.

“How about getting some more spirit stones?” Hanzhu suggested, only then realizing that the spirit stones in the Grand Hall were probably depleted.

A sideways glance scrutinized her from head to toe. Naturally, it was her own mistress who cast that glance.

Zhuyou looked at the maidservant standing nervously by her side and asked, “How much of your spiritual power has recovered?”

Hanzhu hurriedly replied, “Unfortunately, Mistress, it’s less than ten percent!”

Zhuyou’s expression turned regretful. She bent her index finger and tapped lightly on the armrest, which was carved with several paulownia flowers. “Devils indeed act like devils, inconsistent and untrustworthy. I said I needed more spirit stones to get things done, yet they have not been delivered. How can I descend to the human world like this?”

Hanzhu dared not respond. The words seemed familiar to her, and suddenly, it clicked. Wasn’t this inconsistency and untrustworthiness the very principle her own mistress followed in being a devil?

“How long has Luo Qing been at the Heart-Questioning Rock?” Zhuyou inquired.

“It’s been about two hours,” Hanzhu counted on her fingers.

“Two hours…” Zhuyou murmured, as if to herself. “That’s too long. The soul in the Crystal of Law is likely in trouble.”

Hanzhu froze. “But that’s a fragment of the Devil Lord’s soul. Even if it’s just a fragment, the power attached to it surpasses that of other devils. How could anything happen to it?”

Zhuyou thought of the current fate of the once powerful Devil Lord who could command the winds and rain, feeling a tinge of regret. “The three souls are connected in the dark. If one of the three souls is fortunate enough to reincarnate, the child born after ten months will likely be a fool with incomplete souls. To ensure the child’s spiritual aptitude, the other two souls might sacrifice their own power and eventually disappear.”

“But the soul in the Crystal of Law…still holds memories of the Devil Lord. How can you say it will disappear?” Hanzhu interjected anxiously.

“Indeed. Who are we to say it will disappear?” Zhuyou nodded with interest. “That’s why the Second Lord refuses to leave the Heart-Questioning Rock. He can’t let that fragment of the Devil Lord’s soul disappear.”

Hanzhu fell silent, unable to fathom her own mistress’ thoughts.

Zhuyou waved her hand dismissively. “Go and tend to the lotus in the flowerpot for a while.”

As soon as the words “tend to” were uttered, Hanzhu’s serious and nervous expression cracked slightly.

“Go quickly. It’s the one you personally placed in the flowerpot, don’t mistake it,” Zhuyou added hastily. With that, she lowered her head again to look at the dragon egg, thinking she had sacrificed too much for it.

But it was inevitable. The devil’s domain was harsh; not seeing the sun and moon was one thing, but everywhere was filled with yellow sand. The devils were also inherently lazy, always resorting to deceitful means in their business dealings, ultimately leaving everyone penniless and destitute.

This dragon egg would have to endure hardships with her.

Luckily, she still had this hall, erected by the devils, or else she would have had to scavenge in the desert and wander the seas.

***

The lotus in the flowerpot by the side of the palace gate had been mistreated, almost squeezed dry.

Hanzhu squatted by the flowerpot, plucking the petals of the lotus while silently apologizing in her heart. This was what her mistress had instructed, but it wasn’t her intention. As she pondered, she finally realized she had someone backing her up, so she plucked the petals even more vigorously. After all, this blame wasn’t hers to bear.

After a while, the voice of the lotus demon outside the palace gate echoed again. Compared to last time, her voice trembled as if she were on the brink of collapse.

The dark-clad mistress sitting on the soft couch waved her hand, and the palace door opened on its own.

As soon as Hongqu stepped over the crimson threshold, she fell to her knees with a thud, tears streaming down her face. “Please spare this humble life, Your Grace.” Her cries reverberated throughout the entire Grand Hall as if she intended to collapse the roof with her wailing.

Zhuyou felt somewhat annoyed. With another flick of her finger, the wide-open hall door closed shut, cutting off the wailing that echoed around the hall.

“I can spare you, but you must do something for me,” she said, willing to negotiate.

“Your Grace, please command, and I will obey,” Hongqu said, bowing her head. As she lowered her head, she glanced discreetly at the flowerpot containing her true form.

Hanzhu had already stopped plucking the lotus petals when Hongqu entered. She raised her chin, indicating that it was none of her business.

Zhuyou pursed her lips. “Go to the Heart-Questioning Rock and tell the Second Lord that in your eyes, I’m nothing but a fool obsessed with spirit stones, committing all sorts of evil deeds and even daring to use my true form to threaten you. Such a fallen divine offspring can never be wholeheartedly aligned with the Devil Clan.”

Hongqu was bewildered by Zhuyou’s words. Though she had said similar things before, being caught red-handed was embarrassing. “I… I…”

“Weren’t you quite eloquent earlier? Why suddenly become tongue-tied?” Zhuyou pretended to be concerned, and a hint of sincerity even seeped through her slightly furrowed brows.

“Your Grace, I understand my mistake!” Hongqu hastily replied.

“Considering you’re a devil, it’s understandable that you have two faces, but if you don’t help me convey the message, I’ll still sever your roots,” Zhuyou said earnestly.

Hongqu hastily agreed and scurried away.

After a while, only Zhuyou, her maid, and the motionless dragon egg remained in the Grand Hall.

As the hall door closed, a gust of wind carrying yellow sand rushed toward the soft couch.

The ink-colored beads on the silver hair of the person sitting on the couch swayed slightly. Without even moving her hand, the incoming sand was immediately diverted to the sides.

It was only then that Hanzhu asked, “Why did you have her say such things to the Second Lord?”

Zhuyou didn’t intend to explain much, but seeing Hanzhu’s eager and inquisitive expression, she had to say, “By having the lotus demon speak ill of me to Luo Qing, it makes me appear isolated. Secondly, it urges him to hand over the spirit stones sooner. Thirdly, Luo Qing will know that I already knew about his visit to the Heart-Questioning Rock. If he went into the rock, I naturally can guess what he did inside. He can’t hide anything from me, and to protect that fragment of the soul, he can only rely on the lotus demon to invite me over.” Zhuyou leaned back, looking a bit more relaxed.

Hanzhu suddenly understood, “But what if the Second Lord doesn’t invite you?”

“Then I’ll have to barge in, but that might lower my status a bit,” Zhuyou said with a hint of concern.

As soon as she finished speaking, the dragon egg standing on the side made a creaking sound.

Zhuyou turned her head and saw a hole the size of a fingertip cracked open in the eggshell.