After driving Liu Shuang out, Yan Chaosheng poured a cup of tea and gulped it down.

His brows furrowed deeply. What did she mean? Was she deliberately teasing him, testing his reaction? His mind was in chaos, and the small confines of the Immortal Pavilion seemed to retain traces of her lingering fragrance.

Knowing it was impossible, what was the point of such provocation? He couldn’t understand her intentions, nor could he discern any underlying scheme.

Yan Chaosheng lowered his eyelashes, returned to the couch, and resumed what he had been doing before Liu Shuang’s interruption. He loosened his dark-colored robes, revealing the blood and gore where his heart-protecting scales should have been, fresh blood seeping out again.

His entire right arm, with flesh and scales sheared away, had not yet regenerated. Some wounds were deep enough to expose bone.

Without expression, he tossed away the empty jade bottle, his face calm.

Although he had spent three years in Kung Sang, he had received very few medicinal herbs. This bottle was from his days as a wild demon, exchanged with a wandering immortal.

It was the best thing he currently possessed, something Yan Chaosheng had never been willing to use.

Yet just now, he had used it to treat Liu Shuang’s scratch. Yan Chaosheng lay flat, put his clothes back on, and his mind was troubled.

For a demon without heart-protecting scales, it was equivalent to exposing one’s weakness to others. Though Kung Sang appeared peaceful, for someone like him, returning there meant facing countless dangers. Before then, his heart-protecting scales could not possibly regenerate. He not only needed to find a way to restore his cultivation but also find something to substitute for the scales to protect a demon’s most vulnerable part—the heart.

These concerns diverted his thoughts, helping him avoid thinking about Liu Shuang’s current face.

In truth, among the Eight Wildernesses, demons should care least about appearances, since beautiful people were everywhere. Yet demons were inherently shallow and dissolute. Just like when Yan Chaosheng first experienced romantic feelings in that forest, though the female demons looked down on his bloodline, they still desired him for his appearance.

This almost animalistic, disgusting promiscuity was something Yan Chaosheng could not eliminate. He was also a demon, possessing all the despicable nature that the Eight Wildernesses found contemptible and filthy.

Even now, Yan Chaosheng felt some embarrassment as he pulled the blanket over himself.

Snakes were naturally lustful…

Even fox demons’ bloodlines were not as promiscuous as snake demons’. Fox demons excelled at seducing others, while snake demons… Yan Chaosheng thought with a grim expression, he could hardly resist any temptation.

Yan Chaosheng remembered the forest where he grew up as a child. There was a large snake demon who consorted with people day and night, regardless of time or place, always creating strange odors.

Yan Chaosheng despised that lustful snake. He always felt that snake bloodlines shouldn’t be so filthy.

But the silver Ten Commandments Ring on his wrist shone brilliantly, a clear reminder of what he had just done.

He pressed his lips tightly together, never having hated his nature so intensely before.

His wounds ached. No matter how quickly demons healed, the process was extremely painful. The flesh could regrow, but the heart-protecting scales could not regenerate—perhaps in a hundred years, perhaps in a thousand. Yan Chaosheng didn’t know.

After all, no demon would be foolish enough to remove their heart-protecting scales.

His lips turned pale as he activated his demon eyes to check if anyone was nearby. Seeing no one, he finally allowed the bloody scent to spread throughout the room.

Yan Chaosheng remained vigilant, not daring to sleep all night. Before dawn the next day, he opened his eyes, barely managing to form a spell to habitually clear the bloody smell from the room.

He added layer upon layer of seals to his wounds.

Demons faced harsh survival conditions. From childhood, all demons knew not to expose their vulnerabilities to others.

When immortals showed weakness, they received sympathy.

But when demons revealed their vulnerable side, they would be killed or eaten.

When Yan Chaosheng walked out the door, his appearance was no different from usual. When he saw Liu Shuang and the Bai brothers, Liu Shuang was bidding farewell to Shao You.

Today she wore a blue dress. Without the Illusion Beauty Pearl, the ancient Chi Shui celestial mark naturally appeared on her forehead.

The ice-blue feather-like half-flower was noble and elegant. She rested her chin on her palm, her gaze following Shao You.

Yan Chaosheng sat down at a lower position, coldly listening to Bai Zhuixu’s polite farewell words. Yan Chaosheng resisted strongly, not sparing her a single glance.

Despite his blood surging and roaring, this irritating nature was forcefully suppressed by him, without showing the slightest loss of composure.

Liu Shuang was reluctant to part with Shao You. Having finally encountered him in this life, she hadn’t expected to separate again after barely a month.

Bai Zhuixu said, “Young Lord, it’s time to go.”

She boarded the immortal sword and looked back at Shao You. The blue-robed immortal bathed in sunlight, seemingly not expecting her to turn around, met her gaze directly.

Their eyes met without evasion, a perfect coincidence.

Just as Liu Shuang was about to smile at this moment of connection, Shao You coughed lightly and averted his gaze: “Safe journey, Immortal Lady of Chi Shui.”

Wo Jiang, beside him, smiled: “Little girl, after spending this time together, what do you think of our Young Master?”

“Shao You is exceptional, of course.”

Yan Chaosheng suddenly raised his eyes to look at her, his black pupils deep and inscrutable.

Wo Jiang: “Do you regret what you did last time you came to Kun Lun?”

Liu Shuang thought he meant when the original owner came and humiliated Shao You: “I certainly regret it.”

Wo Jiang chuckled, his smile growing more pronounced, his white hair and beard failing to salvage his originally dignified immortal appearance. Since she regretted breaking off the engagement with the Young Master, perhaps there was still hope for reconciliation. Just as he was about to say more, Shao You calmly interjected: “Master, your alchemy cauldron is about to explode.”

Wo Jiang hesitated, then let out a shriek, rushing toward his peach grove without even saying goodbye.

Shao You smiled at Liu Shuang: “Take care.”

Liu Shuang said, “Shao You, I’ll come visit you again in a while. By the way, I heard from Master Bai that the Four Seas Banquet will be held soon. Will you attend?”

He nodded slightly.

Liu Shuang was very pleased. It wouldn’t be long before she could see Shao You again. Once she returned and adjusted to life in Kung Sang, she would prepare a gift for him.

Bai Yuxiao impatiently urged: “Enough, enough, are we ever going to finish? Are we still returning to Kung Sang? She’s so long-winded. Brother, just indulge her then.”

Bai Zhuixu shook his head with amusement: “Young Lord, please sit firmly.”

He activated the immortal sword, leading everyone away as Liu Shuang waved to Shao You.

The young man in the immortal realm raised his eyes to watch her until their figures gradually faded into the distance. This scene overlapped with her previous life, filling Liu Shuang with emotion. The last time she had bid farewell to Shao You like this, she had been sitting in the golden crow-drawn wedding carriage, and afterward, she never saw Shao You again.

Last time was a permanent goodbye, but this time they would meet again soon.

Reuniting with old acquaintances one by one made her feel very secure and satisfied. Thinking of old acquaintances, she suddenly remembered a little one who was nearly dead, and quickly looked toward the thoroughly ignored Yan Chaosheng.

He sat at the other end of the immortal sword, his back to her, his gaze cold.

From the moment everyone had begun saying goodbye to Shao You, he hadn’t spoken a word. Now he seemed surrounded by low pressure, and who knew who had provoked him again.

Liu Shuang walked over and crouched in front of him, quietly asking Yan Chaosheng, “Where is the egg?” She tried to find out where Yan Chaosheng had hidden the Qing Luan.

It couldn’t be discovered by the Bai clan.

If Bai Zhuixu knew of Qing Luan’s existence, he would kill it. And if Bai Yuxiao found out, he would likely perform a live demonstration of roasting a demon bird egg.

But after examining every possible place on Yan Chaosheng where he could hide a demon bird egg, she still couldn’t see the Qing Luan.

Liu Shuang found it strange—surely he hadn’t quietly discarded it?

Yan Chaosheng turned to her: “Why do you care so much? Aren’t you continuing your reluctant farewell with Immortal Lord Shao You?”

After speaking, he seemed to realize something and suddenly fell silent, his gaze turning cold.

Liu Shuang was utterly confused. What did her farewell with Shao You have to do with asking about Qing Luan? She blinked, trying to negotiate with him gently: “Where did it go? My previous offer still stands—you save it, and I’ll give you cultivation power. How does that sound?”

Yan Chaosheng coldly replied without thinking: “I ate it.”

“Ate it! You ate it?”

His voice carried a hint of cold mockery: “It’s just a demon bird egg. You only now mention it—why put on such an act?”

Liu Shuang carefully searched with her divine sense and indeed could not detect any aura of a demon bird egg on Yan Chaosheng. She refused to give up, searching again and again with the same result. Liu Shuang’s mind went blank for a moment.

Originally, seven hundred years later, Qing Luan hadn’t died—it could still accompany Chi Yuan and fight alongside Yan Chaosheng.

But now, Qing Luan’s mother had shed blood tears and self-immolated, transforming into a celestial weapon for Yan Chaosheng, willing to be eternally enslaved as his instrument, yet he had immediately killed Qing Luan.

How could this be? Wasn’t Qing Luan supposed to become Yan Chaosheng’s right-hand assistant later? Could Yan Chaosheng bear to eat it?

She found it hard to believe and couldn’t accept it. Looking at Yan Chaosheng’s expression as he coldly observed her, Liu Shuang had a sudden insight and her gaze fell on the new pouch at his waist.

It was a colorful pouch shaped like auspicious clouds, strikingly at odds with Yan Chaosheng’s overall gloominess. The vibrant colors made it noticeable at just a glance.

As far as she knew, Yan Chaosheng never wore fragrance pouches or jade ornaments. He always carried only weapons and medicines.

Where did this pouch come from?

Moreover, when she visited Yan Chaosheng last night, his room had been simply furnished. Where could he have boiled and eaten Qing Luan?

Furthermore, Qing Luan was an ancient demon bird—even when swallowed into the Henggong Fish creature’s belly, its shell hadn’t broken. His claim of throwing it away would have been more believable; it was impossible that he had eaten it.

Having figured this out, Liu Shuang sighed in relief, though she remained puzzled. If he hadn’t eaten it, why was Yan Chaosheng lying to her with such a displeased tone?

Hadn’t he been quite happy last night when she mentioned Mi Chu?

“Did you put Qing Luan in the pouch?” Liu Shuang asked quietly. But why couldn’t she sense any trace of Qing Luan’s aura?

Yan Chaosheng looked up, his eyes still carrying a thin layer of coldness: “No, don’t be so clever.”

“Then where did the pouch come from?”

The pouch was so intricately beautiful that it couldn’t have been given by a female disciple from Kun Lun. Besides, with his unwavering childhood love, would he accept gifts from anyone else?

She crouched beside him, staring intently at the beautiful pouch, guessing that Qing Luan was almost certainly inside. What powerful, magical artifact was this that could conceal even a demon’s aura? It was worth noting that even Yan Chaosheng couldn’t mask his aura.

She stared at Yan Chaosheng’s waist, studying it for a long while until Yan Chaosheng practically squeezed out the words from his throat: “Is the Young Lord very idle?” His voice carried a hint of annoyance.

“Not idle.” She wasn’t necessarily fixated on staring at him; if she had that much free time, she’d rather cultivate.

Liu Shuang felt that since last night, Yan Chaosheng’s entire demeanor had become strange. After she extracted the Illusion Beauty Pearl, he recognized her quickly, then restrained her with the Ten Commandments Ring. Finally, he had bargained to let bygones be bygones, followed by his reaction when she mentioned that once she led Kung Sang, she would match him with Mi Chu. Even now, as they left Kung Sang, anyone could see his displeasure.

She had never witnessed such volatile emotions from him.

Since Yan Chaosheng was her future ally and a key figure in the survival of the two immortal realms, if he became emotionally unpredictable, developed a mental illness, and spoke carelessly, she would need to revise her plans early to prevent accidents.

Liu Shuang knew Qing Luan was destined to be his demon beast in the future. Though her heart had been crushed, her memories remained, and these recollections were still very affectionate. If not viewed as a demon beast, Qing Luan was also one of the few familiar acquaintances she had.

Liu Shuang hoped Qing Luan would survive.

But the question remained: what exactly was wrong with Yan Chaosheng? Was this future ally still normal?

Yan Chaosheng was in a foul mood.

Last night, Liu Shuang had proposed granting him a beautiful woman in exchange for letting go of past grievances with Kung Sang—a proposition he found utterly absurd. As a disciple who hadn’t even been accepted into the inner sect, how could she, as Kung Sang’s Young Lord, think he had the ability or courage to bear grudges against Kung Sang?

Yan Chaosheng hadn’t slept all night, partly due to his painful wounds, partly because of this statement.

What did she mean?

He couldn’t help but think far, almost immediately connecting it to the forest he had passed through in his youth, where many female demons coveted his appearance, desiring a romantic encounter with him.

He had experienced such frivolous teasing many times.

Could Liu Shuang also…?

He gritted his teeth, unsure whether he felt more cold mockery or humiliated anger at that moment. Most demons possessed beautiful appearances, and many with weak spiritual power even relied on seduction arts to survive.

But Yan Chaosheng had never considered taking that path. Even during his most difficult times, he had gritted his teeth, risen, and killed a leopard spirit that coveted him. Liu Shuang was truly shameless and licentious. It was one thing for demons to be dissolute, but as an ancient immortal clan member, how could she speak so flippantly?

What a notion—to offer him a beautiful woman.

When he arrived this morning, he had resolved not to let her have her way. Licentious immortals were even more callous than demons. Though he hadn’t entered the immortal gate, he knew one’s spiritual heart should remain firm.

However, this statement that had troubled him all night seemed forgotten by her. As they left Kun Lun, he watched Liu Shuang reluctantly bid farewell to Shao You, her gaze so sincere. When Wo Jiang asked if she regretted anything, she immediately said she did.

Regret what? Regret dissolving the engagement with that person?

Yan Chaosheng couldn’t help recalling the Eight Sufferings Valley, when he carried her to the Ghost King’s Tomb and shielded her from the ghostly qi, the name she had called out then. Yan Chaosheng suddenly found it laughable. If that was the case, why had she spoken to him that way last night?

So when she eagerly asked him where the demon bird egg had gone:

Yan Chaosheng coldly said, “It’s dead.” Don’t come bothering him; he wouldn’t save that demon bird egg anyway.

He still didn’t understand why she cared so much about a demon bird egg. Had their demon race offended her somehow? She didn’t spare either the living or the dead. He would find an opportunity to discard that troublesome bird egg soon.

He thought Liu Shuang would believe him because demons’ auras were difficult to conceal. Few artifacts in the world could completely mask a demon’s aura. Even he was often recognized at a glance. If the demon bird egg wasn’t truly gone, she would surely detect its aura on him.

Initially, she did believe him—shock, disbelief, bewilderment, and sorrow crossed her face one after another.

He almost thought she would say something, but unexpectedly, after thinking for a while, she stared at him, her gaze finally settling on his waist.

“Did you put Qing Luan in the pouch?”

Yan Chaosheng hadn’t expected her to figure it out. He was momentarily surprised. The pouch at his waist was made from Qing Luan’s feather. Before dying, it understood that its child’s appearance would cause a great commotion in the world, so it left its most precious demon feather to cover the egg’s aura. Even he hadn’t expected Qing Luan’s feather to have such an effect, let alone Liu Shuang.

Suspicion rose again in Yan Chaosheng’s mind. How could she be so certain the demon bird egg was in the pouch? And why did she instinctively assume he hadn’t killed the egg?

He gazed at her sharply.

The young woman’s long eyelashes drooped slightly as her gaze slowly moved from his chest downward, finally lingering around his waist. Only then did Yan Chaosheng realize that to conceal the demon egg’s existence, she had moved extremely close. If not for ancient immortal clan etiquette forbidding it, there was a moment when he felt the young woman might reach out and take the pouch.

Without the Illusion Beauty Pearl, she had now fully restored her appearance. Yan Chaosheng hadn’t looked at her last night, but now they were so close. If he hadn’t been deliberately provoking her earlier, creating a tense atmosphere, Yan Chaosheng might have thought they were whispering secrets behind the Bai immortals’ backs.

Her bewitching eyes naturally held a soft, intense gaze. When focused, it was as if only the person before her could enter her sight. And now, these enchanting eyes were fixed on…

Yan Chaosheng gritted his teeth: “Are you very idle?”

“Not idle,” she shook her head, but her eyes still didn’t move away, even adding a hint of curiosity.

Curious… what was she curious about, looking at that place?

Heat surged upward, and Yan Chaosheng wanted to cover her eyes. Such shamelessness! Last night, she had indeed meant this.

However, what made him freeze was that the lustful demon bloodline within him began to boil uncontrollably under her gaze. Yan Chaosheng despised the discovery that, being looked at this way, his already bad mood was evolving in an even worse direction.

His mind went blank, then he almost violently threw the pouch into her arms: “If you want it, take it! Just stay away from me!”

She caught the pouch, quietly opened it for a peek, and murmured: “So it was here after all. Then why did you say you ate it?”

Yan Chaosheng’s face turned cold, refusing to speak with her.