As Painted Skin watched the smile freeze on her face, his words flowed even more smoothly: "The Demon Emperor says that for a man, a husband’s most important quality is a sense of responsibility. If he chooses to blame you, unable to protect even his own wife, then he is a coward. Such a man is not worthy of you."
"If he chooses to ignore those dead Kunlun disciples and your identity as an enemy of the demon race, he is also a coward, for he would be unworthy of Kunlun and the admiration of the many disciples of Yunshan."
"In short, Lord Yunshan is not worthy of you. Mortals are not worthy of you."
Chang Yao listened and began to applaud. "It turns out that besides being exceptionally shameless, you are also quite the silver-tongued orator."
Painted Skin: "..."
He gave a forced smile. "Mistress overpraises me. It’s all thanks to the Demon Emperor’s excellent teaching. If his Excellency hadn't put it that way, how could I have thought of so much?"
Chang Yao: "You mean the Demon Emperor taught you to be shameless?"
Painted Skin’s face soured instantly. "Watch your words! Is that what I meant?!"
Chang Yao took off the outer robe Song Jixue had left her, folded it carefully, and held it in her arms. During this, she asked calmly, "Is this the Demon Emperor’s intent?"
"Who else could mobilize ten thousand demons to besiege Wushan?" Painted Skin said with a hint of pride. "Coming to Kunlun tonight is not just to take you away, but also to serve as a warning to the various immortal sects."
To make the immortal sects even more wary and fearful of the Demon Realm. As long as they wished, they could attack any major sect at any time.
Few knew the secret that the Lady of Yunshan was a great demon. Or rather, those who knew were demons, not humans.
The Demon Emperor was one of them, but years ago, the two had an agreement not to interfere with each other. If the Demon Emperor used this to threaten her or cause trouble, Chang Yao would not make life easy for him either.
The other party had remained inactive only because they were wary of her strength.
Now, they couldn't help but take the initiative to break the peace; it seemed the Demon Emperor was getting anxious.
Chang Yao stood up, clutching the robe, and strolled out of the fire array. "Lead the way."
Painted Skin narrowed his eyes and smiled, his tone effeminate. "Mistress, this way please."
Wushan was besieged by an army of evil demons, drawing everyone's attention. As Yunshan rushed to provide support, orders were also dispatched to the remaining six peaks: low-level disciples were forbidden from being outside, high-level disciples were to remain on guard, and the remaining Peak Masters and Elders activated arrays to patrol for any anomalies in the mountains.
Chang Yao could see messenger birds trailing long blue tail feathers appearing and disappearing as they moved between the mountains of Kunlun to deliver news. These were spiritual birds summoned by incantations; even if seen, they could not be shot down or blocked.
A messenger bird flew out of the void and landed directly on her shoulder.
It was from Song Jixue: "Ten thousand demons surround the mountain. Return to your room immediately."
Chang Yao read it expressionlessly and did not stop her pace. Returning now would just be waiting for the Demon Emperor to expose her identity. She still wanted to stay in Kunlun for a few more years; the spiritual energy here was abundant and inexhaustible. In just three years, she had reached the late stage of God Transformation, waiting only for the final Heavenly Tribulation to ascend.
She couldn't let the Demon Emperor ruin things now.
Painted Skin laughed sarcastically beside her. "This Lord Yunshan truly knows how to dote on his wife. Even while he’s occupied at Wushan, he has the time to worry about the midnight dew, afraid the Mistress might catch a cold."
Chang Yao didn't respond, focusing on the path beneath her feet.
Painted Skin had a penchant for seeking death; the more she didn't react, the more he loved to provoke her. Still in the form of the maid, he carried a lamp at her side, his mouth never ceasing its chatter: "The Lord of Wujiu does not know, but the men of this mortal world are best at saying one thing while doing another. They are all vulgar people who only love you when you are young, gentle, and clever. Once your beauty fades, their eyes turn to some other fresh thing. This world never lacks young and beautiful girls. Even if he himself grows old and withered, his heart will forever be on some other pretty sister."
Chang Yao couldn't help but glance at him. The left side of the maid’s face returned a charming smile—that half-face was still beautiful, but it was a different face entirely.
The Painted Skin Demon was also known as the Ghost of a Thousand Faces. It had countless faces—hundreds or thousands for those with lower cultivation, and tens of thousands for those with higher levels. Some were given up voluntarily by others, while others were forcibly taken. To kill it, one had to find the face that belonged to the Painted Skin Demon itself.
Chang Yao asked, "Do you think your original face was beautiful?"
Painted Skin replied coquettishly, "Mistress, why ask such an impolite question?"
"It seems it wasn't beautiful, then." Chang Yao looked away.
Painted Skin snorted. "Don't think you can provoke me with such low tactics. No Painted Skin Demon would be so stupid as to expose their weakness to an enemy."
"Your original face was that of a man. Only a man understands a man best, because you share the same base instincts. Perhaps the reason you became a Ghost of a Thousand Faces and then a Painted Skin Demon after death is because you were foolishly obsessed with beauty, throwing your heart at young, beautiful girls until you were hacked to death by a riverbank, eaten and gnawed on by water ghosts in the icy water."
Chang Yao held Song Jixue’s robe with both hands, her eyes curving and her smile bright as she looked at Painted Skin. The latter, however, felt a deep sense of malice beneath that exquisite beauty.
After being stunned for a moment, Painted Skin recovered his fearless, death-seeking attitude, clapping his small hands and saying, "Mistress is truly amazing, even knowing how I died hundreds of years ago. To pay such attention to me, should I call Lord Yunshan a love rival?"
"There's no need for that. I was just thinking that since I know what you originally looked like, if you don't shut up, I'll send a portrait to my husband," Chang Yao said, appearing troubled. "If he sees me painting another man, he’ll be incredibly jealous. And if he finds out it’s a demon, he’ll probably bring Zhigui to come meet you."
Painted Skin: "..."
Damn.
Bringing Zhigui? Is that really necessary?!
Given that the Demon Emperor had warned him that the Lord of Wujiu was a ruthless character who would certainly do such a thing, and since she knew his true appearance, Painted Skin was flexible. He immediately shut his mouth and led the way obediently.
The black walls at the foot of Wushan were constantly closing in, and countless evil demons emerged from the walls, surrounding the edges of Wushan in a dense mass. The demonic aura was so strong it withered the grass and flowers, and the toxic miasma was spreading toward Yunshan and Dayin Mountain.
Chang Yao followed Painted Skin and realized he was surprisingly familiar with Yunshan’s paths and deployments, even precisely avoiding every patrol point and array. He led her to the apricot forest at the foot of the mountain.
The flowers and grass on the ground were in full bloom. The apricot forest of Yunshan was also a peerless sight; the pink and white trees stretched for ten thousand miles, nearly surrounding all of Yunshan.
Clouds obscured the moon, and even the stone lamps along the mountain path had been extinguished. The forest was incredibly dark. If they walked a bit further and reached the end of the apricots, they would be out of Yunshan.
Chang Yao walked slowly behind Painted Skin. This apricot forest seemed quiet and dim, but there were quite a few demons hidden within. The other party didn't seem intent on hiding their presence well, even deliberately revealing flaws as if in provocation. They wanted to see if this Lord of Wujiu, who had hidden her identity to marry into Yunshan, was truly as powerful as the legends said—powerful enough to make even the Demon Emperor wary.
Further down was a rather long flight of stone steps. Chang Yao stopped at the highest point and asked, "Where is the Demon Emperor?"
Painted Skin continued walking down without stopping, laughing as he heard her. "This is you asking me first, so I must answer, right? The Demon Emperor is naturally in our Demon Realm. You’ll have to trouble yourself, Lady of Yunshan, to walk a few more steps forward—"
Chang Yao didn't stand on ceremony. With a wave of her hand, a black shadow streaked out at extreme speed. When Painted Skin sensed the danger and looked back, he only had time to glimpse a gaping, bloody maw flying toward him, ready to bite off his head.
The evil demons hidden in the apricot forest emerged one after another.
A black eagle hanging upside down from an apricot branch swept past, barely reaching Painted Skin in time to shatter the phantom of the bloody maw. A scorpion transformation peeking through rotten leaves lashed out its long stinger toward Chang Yao’s vitals, but she grabbed it with her bare hand and yanked it forward, throwing it.
Amidst the scorpion demon’s cry of surprise, falling petals that hadn't yet hit the ground shattered, bringing waves of pink toxic mist. A slender figure flickered through the mist to appear behind Chang Yao, but as he lunged with a dagger toward her throat, he found the person in front of him had moved behind him even faster. In his shock, he caught a glimpse of a pale white hand clutching the scorpion's stinger and driving it into his shoulder.
The flower demon let out a muffled groan and stumbled back, the dagger falling to the ground as half his body went numb.
The black eagle, arriving a step late, met Chang Yao’s eyes, which were glowing slightly red. He fell straight to the ground, transforming into a human in a wretched state.
Painted Skin sucked in a breath of cold air. This speed was too fast; he hadn't even seen clearly when Chang Yao had moved. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
The toxic mist had not yet dissipated when the final hidden demon approached from behind Chang Yao with a sword. The swift defeat of his companions did not affect his emotions or judgment; instead, it made him increasingly excited. The long sword in his hand was full of nicks and appeared incredibly battered, yet it gave off an inexplicably sharp feeling, as if a mere touch would send a head rolling.
The small, thin figure of the Changping Sword Demon ran forward with his sword, madness in his eyes. He let out a piercing laugh and leaped into the air with killing intent, striking a blow toward Chang Yao. The Lady of Yunshan unhurriedly raised her hand, her slender jade fingers accurately pinching the blade that had kicked up a gale. She tilted her head, a faint mocking smile in her eyes: "Too slow."
As her voice fell, the long sword shattered into countless tiny blades that shot toward the Changping Sword Demon. The suddenly erupting demonic energy sent him flying, snapping several apricot trees.
The toxic mist cleared. Chang Yao lightly brushed off the petals that had landed on the robe in her arms. She looked up at Painted Skin, who was stunned on the stone steps, and smiled slightly. "I’ll ask you one more time: where is the Demon Emperor?"
Painted Skin couldn't help but swallow. He forced a dry smile. "Don't be in a hurry, Mistress. The Demon Emperor will be here in a moment. Just follow me a few more steps out of Kunlun..."
Chang Yao gave a light laugh. Her jade hand turned, and from a circle of incantations she traced, several black crows with sharp beaks and claws flew out, pouncing on Painted Skin. With a sharp screech, a crow snatched Painted Skin out of the maid’s body. Its claws brushed past his face, which he barely managed to dodge.
Wearing another human skin, Painted Skin shouted in rage, "Don't hit the face!"
Chang Yao waved her hand, about to wring his head off, when she felt a familiar aura accompanied by a fierce wind. A black wind swept up the fallen flowers on the ground and tore those on the branches to shreds. It was domineering and cruel. Varicolored feathers traced a line of fire, accurately piercing the hearts of the black crows and saving Painted Skin.
Painted Skin’s reaction was lightning fast; he immediately retreated while covering his face. "Young Master!"
The man clad in a profound robe had a head of flamboyant, beautiful silver hair. He arrived on a black cloud, lifting his head slightly as he looked down at the woman in the forest.
Chang Yao frowned. Seeing Fu Jin suspended above, she said calmly, "Are you going to leave on your own, or do you want me to make a move?"
The powerful demon before her—the noble Young Master of the Phoenix clan—was also her half-brother, Fu Jin.
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