Why did she say Puhua had mediocre talent?

Because he was born earlier than everyone else in heaven and on earth. When Shen Qiyuan and Liu Ruyi went up the mountain to cultivate, he was already over ten thousand years old. If he had talent, he should have ascended to the Nine Heavens and been deified long ago, yet year after year he remained on Qidou Mountain teaching later cultivators.

During their cultivation, he specifically targeted her and Shen Qiyuan. Other cultivators received tasks matching their divine power, but they were always given challenges beyond their level, facing nine deaths for every life. Though Puhua always said afterward that this was because he valued them highly and it could accelerate their growth, Ruyi would wonder—what if one of those times they hadn’t managed to endure?

Would two excellent cultivation prospects have died in some unknown place?

The day Shen Qiyuan became a god, Puhua unexpectedly gained an opportunity for deification. A disciple in Demon Execution Valley jokingly said, “Truly, when one person attains the Way…” Realizing the second half of the phrase was inappropriate, he didn’t finish.

But later, Ruyi discovered his corpse in Demon Execution Valley. Though there were demon claw marks on his body, examining the cause of death, it didn’t seem like he had been killed by demonic power.

From that moment on, Ruyi felt that Puhua might not be a gentleman.

Of course, once a teacher, always a father—even after becoming a demon, she wouldn’t expose her master’s shortcomings. In their subsequent encounters, she always held back somewhat.

However, Puhua showed her no mercy, repeatedly exploiting her restraint to slaughter demons and accumulate merit, until she finally turned against him in retaliation, forcing him to withdraw from the Ten Thousand Demons’ Den.

By all rights, with so much accumulated merit and having been a god for so many years, Puhua should have far surpassed the rank of Divine Lord and been approaching the position of Divine Monarch. Yet on the few occasions she’d seen him, his cultivation seemed quite lacking.

With such talent, Ruyi hadn’t taken him seriously at all.

But now she thought of the Demon King.

The Demon King of legend, supposedly possessing extremely profound demonic power, clearly had her divine bones, yet grew weaker day by day. In the Ten Thousand Demons’ Den, she was the one who handled everything, standing at the forefront. To put it nicely, she was highly valued, second only to one in ten thousand. But to put it harshly, she was just the Demon King’s enforcer.

Shen Qiyuan was right—since he assumed the position of Demon King, no one had fought with him anymore, meaning no one truly knew the depth of his demonic power.

If they were the same person, wouldn’t that make sense? After all, the Demon King was perpetually like a mountain shrouded in black mist, with no one having seen his true face.

Ruyi snapped back to attention and suddenly raised her wing to form hand seals.

“What are you doing?” Shen Qiyuan asked, puzzled.

“Dispersing that soul-aspect of mine,” she answered.

The fragile soul could not be preserved in either mortal flesh or the magpie’s body, and was dissipating at rapid speed. The Demon King in the ancient residence grew anxious, hesitated for a moment, then used a dagger to slice open his wrist.

Having Liu Ruyi’s divine bones, the blood flowing from his body could naturally be considered part of her original form, barely able to stabilize that soul aspect.

The soul-aspect, on the verge of collapse, gathered in the bright red blood. The Demon King, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly his ears twitched.

“Master,” someone called to him before the divine statue.

Frowning at the corpse on the stone bed, the Demon King reluctantly cast a barrier and swiftly withdrew from the ancient residence.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold, all the black mist around him dispersed. Puhua raised his compassionate brows and eyes, instantly appearing where his divine statue stood.

“What’s wrong?” He stepped forward, looking at the person standing before him.

Shen Qiyuan’s expression was extremely pained, his lips completely drained of color. “Have you ever done anything you regret?”

Puhua was startled. “No.” Then he asked, “What’s wrong with you? What do you regret?”

“Nothing.” He forced his mouth corners up slightly, as if hypnotizing himself. “There’s nothing to regret.”

Puhua understood, sighing lightly as he patted his shoulder. “Your master has already performed the ritual for her passing. Though demons have no reincarnation after death, being able to conclude can be considered liberation for her.”

Shen Qiyuan’s brow twitched, the pain in his eyes about to overflow, yet he forcibly suppressed it with his rationality.

He raised his hand and formally bowed to him. “Thank you, Master.”

Puhua had seen many such stubborn young people. The more rational he was now, the more painful it would be when he later saw the living corpse of Liu Ruyi.

Slightly curving his lips before smoothing them flat, Puhua patted his shoulder. “The Heavenly Gate will open in ten days. Prepare yourself well. With your talent, you could become a True Lord immediately upon ascending, and with some effort, a Divine Lord is not impossible either.”

Without a trace of joy in his eyes, Shen Qiyuan was like a marionette, his gaze downcast as he faintly acknowledged with a “yes.”

Puhua left hurriedly, and Shen Qiyuan also turned to leave the temple, exiting to board his carriage.

“Did you see?” he asked.

The magpie emerged from his sleeve, answering in a low voice, “I saw.”

Just as the Demon King had cut his wrist to save her soul-aspect with his blood, Puhua’s wrist was wrapped with a layer of white cloth.

“The demonic arts he practices were probably just learned from books and aren’t mastered, so he doesn’t even know healing techniques.” Ruyi pondered. “That is to say, when he seized the position of Demon King years ago, he probably used other methods.”

Due to the excess of cultivators, the demon race had been in decline two thousand years ago, and the royal position didn’t carry as much weight as it does now.

“Demons are creatures that seek benefit and avoid harm. To become their king, one must give them sufficient benefits.” Shen Qiyuan gently rubbed his fingers together. “What kind of benefits would those be?”

Ruyi suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “He gave me a divine bone!”

Shen Qiyuan refocused to see the little creature in his palm first jump up in excitement, then collapse in disappointment. “Why did he give me one from the leg?”

“Don’t worry.” He gently stroked her head. “There are still ten days.”

The little black eyes looked at him as Ruyi also extended her wing to touch his palm. “Don’t you worry either.”

If Puhua wanted to attack his heart, then during these ten days, he absolutely could not let his mind become chaotic.

Wind blew from the temple to Deity Worship Street, stirring the hair at He Tinglan’s temples.

She raised her hand to smooth it, once again saying to the person beside her, “It’s none of my business. I don’t want to get involved.”

The old steward’s face fell. “You’re also part of the He family. Can you bear to watch the Marquis lose his wife and son?”

Carrying her basket full of vegetables, He Tinglan coldly raised her chin. “If even the mighty Marquis loses his wife and son, what can a mere commoner woman like me do?”

“The old mistress has already inquired—that Liu woman gave you two shops, the two most profitable ones at that.” The old steward rubbed his hands together. “The old mistress wants to invite you back to talk, and you’d better settle the accounts at Treasure Study Hall while you’re at it.”

He Tinglan’s grip tightened. “I won’t go.”

The old steward grew slightly annoyed. “How can Second Miss be so stubborn? The money Liu Ruyi gave you—if you don’t spend it, it’s wasted. What’s the point of holding onto it like this…”

“She didn’t give me money for nothing—she paid me wages.” He Tinglan corrected with a stern face. “What I have now, every cent of it, was earned through my hard work. There’s no reason to spend it frivolously.”