Forty Millenniums of Cultivation
chapter-862

“She thought that I knew nothing about the real reason for my mother’s death, and I’d been acting obediently, too, without showing any suspicion. But in secret, I climbed up step by step in the abyss of the Pantheon of Demons and finally crawled out of it, turning into an independent saintess.

“After I became a saintess, I was authorized to recruit my own subordinates and seek the support of those who were loyal to me. I also ran investigations in secret while carrying out the missions of the Pantheon of Demons. Finally, I discovered critical proof.

“However, the b*tch’s family is one of the most powerful in the Gold Crow Kingdom, and she was a reasonably good expert, too. I was no match for her at that time.

“For my revenge, I had to get stronger through whatever methods possible, and in order to get stronger, I had to gain access to a lot of resources. Of course, there were abundant resources that I could get from the Pantheon of Demons, but the b*tch would certainly have found out what I was doing.

“I was left with no option except to steal, to rob, and to trade intelligence for resources.

“Hehe. For several years, I pretended that I was loyal to the b*tch and regarded her as my real mother. She even entrusted two perilous, clearly ill-intended missions to me, but I completed them immaculately. In the second mission, I was even heavily wounded. Finally, she was more or less convinced.

“When I finished all the arrangements, she finally noticed that something was up, but it was already too late for her.

“I killed her without any trouble, but that was not the end of it. Her family was not the only one that was involved in my mother’s murder. My father knew a thing or two about it, too, but he simply turned a blind eye to the case!

“Since the moment my mother was killed, I made up my mind that I would kill all the demons that did her wrong before!

“I will not be a piece of meat on a chopping block like my mother was. I must climb higher, no matter the cost!

“Right now, I am a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, but what about the saintesses? And what about the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens? They are all puppets at the mercy of somebody else, are they not?

“In the Blood Demon Sector, the Pantheon of Demons is the heavens, and those who rule over the heavens are the twelve demon emperors. Those below the twelve demon emperors are all ants!

“I don’t want to be an ant anymore, even if it is named ‘Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens’! I want to be one of the twelve demon emperors, and even the queen of the entire Blood Demon Sector!

“I kept all my thoughts to myself and concealed my sharpness. I kept climbing upwards as a saintess in the Pantheon of Demons. As more and more missions were accomplished smoothly, my father, who had always ignored me, finally noticed me.

“He thought that my dream was to become the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens. Although I would simply be a puppet, he would still enjoy a lot of benefits if the puppet was fully under his control.

“Therefore, he devoted a lot of resources to me and began to support me. He also eliminated a lot of my competitors for me.

“But there is no way that he could have foreseen that my appetite will not be fulfilled just by being the ‘Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens’!

“Hehe. However, it seems that I am quite unlucky. A seemingly regular hunting task, as it turned out, has transformed me into a human being for reasons I do not know. Maybe there are more secrets to the mysterious drug that are not to be known by other people. That’s why the four superpowers are joining their hands to hunt me down!

“I don’t want to admit my failure. I don’t!”

Jin Xinyue’s face turned red in excitement, and her voice grew higher and higher, forgetting that she was speaking to a horrifying ‘old monster’.

She clenched her fists and smashed the wall of the cave hard. Broken stones flew everywhere, and bloody wounds appeared on her fingers while hot tears dripped down from the corners of her eyes.

She leaned against the wall of the cave helplessly and said frustratedly, “I’ve kept those words in my heart all this time. Except to my mother in my dreams, I have never told anybody else before. Today, I finally have the chance to speak freely. I can die without regret now.

“Just as Elder said, we don’t stand a chance against the Pantheon of Demons. Therefore, you might as well tie me up and throw me into the forest. I believe that the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders will find me soon after they smell the scent of my blood.

“As for you, Elder, I suggest that you do not show yourself any time soon. Since there is no telling how many secrets are linked to the mysterious drug, it is possible that the four demon kingdoms will attack you collectively the moment they discover you, and you won’t get a chance to explain.

“Therefore, I strongly suggest that you hold your temper and run as far away as possible. A great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is drawing near. It’s unlikely that the Pantheon of Demons will deploy a lot of forces to chase after you.”

After finishing her speech, Jin Xinyue took a long breath in relief and closed her eyes in silence. Tears were flowing down her face, and her lips were shivering, as if she had given up everything in hopelessness.

Li Yao observed her countenance with great interest for a long time. Suddenly, he started clapping his hands. The brisk applause echoed in the narrow and long cave.

Jin Xinyue suddenly opened her eyes. Dazed, she asked, “Elder, what are you—”

“Your acting skills are not half bad. It was natural and flawless.” Li Yao complimented sincerely. “Even I was tricked by you without me knowing it and believed ten percent of what you just said!”

Jin Xinyue was stunned. “Which ten percent?”

“The ten percent where you said that you would climb upwards whatever the cost with the goal of becoming the queen of the Blood Demon Sector,” Li Yao replied.

There were a few tears on Jin Xinyue’s eyelashes. She asked, not entirely satisfied, “What about the other ninety percent?”

“I understand the ninety percent in the following way,” Li Yao said casually. “Firstly, you seemed to be outspoken enough to tell me your miserable childhood, but it was partly meant to win my sympathy and partly to highlight my importance to you, which is apparently even higher than your father’s and equal to your deceased mother’s.

“For a lone man who has just woken up from a prolonged hibernation, I might grow slightly protective of you, mightn’t I?

“Secondly, you exaggerated the invincibility of the Pantheon of Demons on purpose. You said that ‘below the twelve demon emperors are but ants’ ostensibly for yourself but in fact for me to hear. You naturally knew that I would not be happy being below anybody and being regarded as an ‘ant’.

“You pointed it out on purpose so that I would realize the immitigable conflict between me and the Pantheon of Demons!

“At the end of your speech, you said that there were more secrets to the mysterious drug and even asked me to run as far away as possible. It is clear that you were implying that I would not get away in any case now that I am already involved. The Pantheon of Demons will not let go of me even if I do not want to be its enemy!

“Vast as the Blood Demon Sector might be, every place is under the twelve demon emperors’ control. Where exactly can I run?

“Oh, right. You also mentioned that a great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is drawing near. In other words, you were telling me that, despite the Pantheon of Demons’ capability, their greatest enemy is the Heaven’s Origin Sector, and they are bound to show loopholes when they were fighting a strong enemy. I should seize the opportunity and counterattack the Pantheon of Demons, shouldn’t I?

“You appeared to be telling me your miserable experiences sincerely, but in fact, your every word was reminding me that there is an irreconcilable disagreement between me and the Pantheon of Demons. Even if I do not want to piss the Pantheon of Demons off, I will not be able to get away. Since the great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is coming close, it is the best chance for me to curb the enemy before I am curbed. Otherwise, when everything was settled, I won’t stand any chance to reverse the situation at all.

“However, if I really make up my mind to fight against the Pantheon of Demons, I will naturally need the help of you, a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons who knows the details of the Pantheon of Demons.

“I did not misunderstand what you meant, did I?”

“You are truly wise!” There was not the slightest fear or embarrassment on Jin Xinyue’s face, at least none that Li Yao could tell. She kneeled down obediently and said with respect, “Elder, you are wise enough to distinguish the meaning between my lines so quickly. I was wondering how I should explain it to you!

“In fact, for normal beginning-level demons, it is not a bad idea to be recruited by the Pantheon of Demons, but your capability and spirits resemble those of a dragon soaring in the high sky. How can you be trapped in a small pond?

“An unparalleled expert such as Elder has every reason to be the master of the Blood Demon Sector, no, the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector! Therefore, the contradiction between Elder and the Pantheon of Demons is definitely unresolvable. I don’t think you need me to point it out for you, Elder.”

“As I recall, your words were different before you found out that you were being hunted by the Gold Crow Kingdom,” Li Yao said coldly.

“At that time, I thought that I could return to the Gold Crow Kingdom and gather a lot of secret arts and files on genes for you, Elder, and I certainly did not want you to have conflict with the Pantheon of Demons so quickly,” Jin Xinyue replied unhurriedly. “But now, the situation has changed. It is only reasonable that I think of new plans. Although you must’ve thought everything through with your wisdom, I think I can be of assistance to you if I can help you analyze the mess and save a few braincells for you, Elder.”

Li Yao scoffed. “However, why do I feel that you are manipulating me?”

Jin Xinyue hesitated and said, “I want to say that I am not manipulating you for my own survival at all, but I believe that it would be an insult to your wisdom if I claimed that I am purely admiring your charisma. It is the instinct of every creature to struggle for survival. Right now, every other avenue of escape is a dead end, and I can only clutch one of your leg hairs hard, hoping that you can pull me out of the hell when you soar into the sky and dominate the world. It is quite understandable, isn’t it?”

Seeing that the woman was so blatantly shameless, Li Yao was rendered speechless. He was not willing to play the word game any longer. Pondering for a long time, he raised his eyebrow and asked, “In your opinion, can we fight against the Pantheon of Demons with just the two of us?”