Chapter 228: When the Demon Emperor Swaps Out the Golden Glitter

In the Northern Border City of Tian Shuang Kingdom.

This place is managed by a sect called Han Lan Sect.

The closer one gets to the core of the Frozen Moon Cold River, the more intense the ice and the denser the spiritual energy. This border region, however, is a desolate wasteland that is both freezing and devoid of spiritual energy; powerful sects and great clans disdain it, and any sect established here is necessarily weak. Han Lan Sect is a third-grade sect, roughly on par with the recently exterminated Ling Yun Gate, and even inferior to the Dongjiang Gang.

Many years ago, Han Lan Sect's resources came from exploring the Frozen Moon Cold River. But as the border regions have been thoroughly exploited and the core remains inaccessible to most, Han Lan Sect is now poorer than in its early days, and the towns under its rule are equally desolate.

Regardless, it is still a regional warlord, holding a far better position in Great Qian than Ling Yun Gate did... This is a result of differing systems, but which is better is hard to say. After all, for Shen Tang to destroy Ling Yun Gate, she had to smooth over all connections at the commandery level before daring to act; whereas here, if any powerful sect or great clan wished to destroy Han Lan Sect, they would only need to consider whether Han Lan Sect had a powerful backer, greatly increasing the likelihood of its destruction.

The template of Tian Shuang Kingdom is more conducive to the rise of the Demonic Dao; indeed, many who claim to be righteous orthodox sects actually engage in acts of forcible seizure and plunder. The stronghold of the Nü He Huan Sect lies between Great Qian and Tian Shuang Kingdom precisely because their reach extends across both nations.

And now, the tendrils of the Yan Luo Hall have also reached here.

The initial conception of the "Ten Halls of Yan Luo" was not ten allies, but rather the Yan Luo Hall as the main body plus nine subordinate sects, spreading a net that reaches across the world. Whether Yuan Muyu can achieve this now is unknown; it would not be strange if it evolved into ten allies secretly allying for a specific goal.

If not for the many matters at hand, Lu Xingzhou would actually quite like to travel around Tian Shuang Kingdom; this region's template is closer to most cultivation novels, just a bit weaker.

This is the first time Lu Xingzhou has set foot in Tian Shuang Kingdom.

The far northeast of Tian Shuang Kingdom borders the Demon Domain, guarded by powerful sects. The border adjoining the Frozen Moon Cold River, however, has no defenses whatsoever, allowing the three of them to step into Han Lan City with ease.

Han Lan City is desolate, with few ordinary people living there; the vast majority of residents are cultivators with some cultivation. There are virtually no street stalls; desired clothing must be bought in shops, and ordinary garments are rare, with most being magical robes offering certain benefits.

Encountering some passersby hurrying along the road, Lu Xingzhou indeed found that others generally did not associate Long Qinghuang's golden glitter with the Demon Emperor; perhaps places with a heavier cultivation atmosphere also have more people in bizarre attire? Some even revealed greed.

Who would wear such a golden glittery outfit on the street... with a head full of dazzling jewels? The irony is that only part of this pile of jewels are magical treasures; the rest are merely shiny and good-looking.

"This Miss..." someone chuckled, approaching from the front and sides: "Is this your first time in Han Lan City?"

Long Qinghuang, expressionless: "And if it is?"

"Outsiders are unfamiliar with this place; do you need a guide? We brothers have grown up scrambling through this city and know every corner."

"Then... do you know which path in the city leads to the Underworld?" Long Qinghuang smiled slightly and suddenly struck, pinching the other's throat.

Even Lu Xingzhou hadn't reacted to her killing between those two sentences; by the time he saw her hand move, the man's neck was already broken.

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

The others nearby stood stunned in disbelief for a long moment, unable to imagine someone dying over just two sentences. Someone instinctively stepped back, trembling as they spoke: "T-this is Han Lan Sect's territory; y-you know he is..."

"Bang!"

With a sweep of her sleeve, the speaker lost several teeth.

Long Qinghuang said coldly: "Get lost."

No one dared to make a sound again; all fled, rolling and crawling.

Lu Xingzhou and his master both closed their half-open mouths.

"What?" Long Qinghuang said coldly: "Do you think I'm slaughtering humans and intend to avenge humanity?"

"No... you said if humans don't provoke you, you won't start trouble; indeed, they provoked you first... but..."

"What?"

Lu Xingzhou said: "I suggested you change clothes to avoid conflict, yet you went straight to killing people."

"A mantis trying to stop a chariot; just crush it. What is there to ponder?"

"Let me analyze this for you... Generally, people assume that anyone daring to carry gold through a bustling market must have backing, so although some showed greed, no one dared to act. Anyone who dares is either a fool or has a strong backer. Judging from that man's last words, he was likely some second-generation scion of Han Lan Sect."

"Hmm, your analysis is correct. And then?"

Lu Xingzhou: "... Han Lan Sect will send someone to retaliate."

"Then kill them too."

"But wasn't your original intention to reduce conflict by changing your appearance?"

"Kill everyone, and there is no conflict."

Lu Xingzhou, stuffed with words he didn't know how to say, exchanged a wordless glance with A Nuo.

Then why change clothes?

As if guessing their thoughts, Long Qinghuang walked toward a clothing shop on the street: "I don't want constant conflict because I have business to attend to in the Frozen Moon Cold River; endless conflict is not a solution. Unfortunately, Han Lan City is not the Frozen Moon Cold River; even if they wanted to relay news of my presence there, it would take considerable time. So whoever provokes me, I kill, including you."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

A supreme-grade cultivator is simply domineering; even Gu Zhating isn't as domineering as you.

Seeing this golden-glittering woman enter, the shop owner trembled inside, stammering: "T-this, this customer, do you wish to buy ready-made garments or have cloth tailored?"

Long Qinghuang glanced around; there were indeed many ready-made magical robes, but she found none good-looking enough, not a single one glittering, and felt greatly disappointed.

"I want all the ready-made garments." Long Qinghuang casually tossed down several high-grade spirit stones: "Is this enough?"

This big sister actually isn't robbing... These spirit stones are large and of excellent quality, more than enough to buy clothes here that are at most fourth-grade.

The owner dared not speak more, immediately bowing and scraping: "I will wrap them up for you right away, customer."

"No need." Long Qinghuang waved her hand casually; a surge of qi swept through, and all the ready-made clothes in the shop vanished.

Turning to leave, she suddenly paused, as if remembering something, and turned to look at Lu Xingzhou and his master.

The master and disciple synchronously clasped their hands to watch; seeing her look over, they both grinned foolishly.

Long Qinghuang fell silent for a moment, then turned to ask the owner: "Where do I change clothes?" She finally remembered she wasn't here to shop, but to change attire.

The owner smiled apologetically and opened the fitting room: "P-please, this way..."

Long Qinghuang walked in, then snapped her fingers.

An invisible surge of qi enveloped the fitting room, making it impossible for anyone to spy inside.

A Nuo secretly asked Lu Xingzhou: "Run?"

Lu Xingzhou shook his head slightly: "Can't run. We can only wait... wait for Mr. Ye to discover we are gone."

"Just to let us judge the plant's age? I should have known not to tell her we were alchemists."

"Otherwise we might be dead by now; this big sister is not the reasoning type, very autocratic."

Just as they were whispering, Long Qinghuang's voice came from inside: "That child, come in."

A Nuo looked at Lu Xingzhou; Lu Xingzhou whispered: "Going in is fine; be sweet with your words. Such autocratic emperors love flattery, and 'children don't lie'..."

A Nuo rushed pitter-patter into the fitting room, only to discover that Long Qinghuang hadn't even taken off her outer robe after all this time, so she asked cautiously, "Sister, what's wrong?"

"I'm not used to having no one attend to my dressing."

A Nuo: "My master knows this business better than I do."

Long Qinghuang: "?"

A Nuo, however, circled Long Qinghuang twice, her eyes filled with admiring light: "Sister, you're so beautiful... you simply don't need to change into anything else."

Long Qinghuang, wanting to ask something but deciding against it, said, "So, you think this looks better too, right?"

"What I mean is, Sister looks good in anything you wear, because you're simply too beautiful. This outfit mainly draws attention; a more low-key one would be better. Even if Sister wore the most low-key clothes, you'd still be the best-looking." As A Nuo spoke, she untied Long Qinghuang's intricate sashes, showing no sign of inexperience at all.

The golden dress slid down, revealing a belly-band underneath...

A Nuo was stunned for a moment, thinking to herself, Why do you humans wear this kind of thing too... Actually, just wearing this is much better than before.

It truly was beautiful. A Nuo had always thought demons were just those green-faced, fanged, hairy ghost-things she'd seen before. For the first time, she learned that even a dragon could have such jade bones and ice skin. It was strange; if everyone's aesthetic differed, why did you demons transform into the form humans liked most?

Now, Long Qinghuang trusted A Nuo's taste very much: "Pick one for me?"

As she spoke, a huge pile of clothes floated automatically around them, spinning.

A Nuo scratched her head, thought for a moment, and picked out a pale yellow dress for her, a style that was fresh and elegant.

Actually, A Nuo herself liked this kind of "little white flower" look; she had thought Pei Chuyun's pale green maid outfit looked very good before, except A Nuo couldn't be green.

Unfortunately, while A Nuo could help take clothes off, it was very hard to help put them on; she was too short to reach. Holding up the dress, she jumped twice, her little face turning red from the effort, which made Long Qinghuang unable to help but laugh: "Forget it, forget it, I'll do it myself."

Seeing her take the clothes and dress herself, when clearly she knew how to do it anyway, why insist on someone else helping... A Nuo pouted almost imperceptibly, but on her face she still wore a look of envious admiration: "Does Sister usually have many people attending to her?"

"At least three, one on each side, plus someone responsible for trailing the dress hem."

A Nuo: "..."

"Should the crown be removed?"

"Yes, for low-key... Actually, so many treasures and ornate decorations forced on you only make things cluttered, failing to show Sister's own transcendent beauty. Sister herself is the most brilliant laurel wreath."

Long Qinghuang, knowing full well this child had a suspicion of flattery, still felt a sense of comfort in her heart. How many lies could a child tell?

She took off her hair ornaments; not knowing how to do any other hairstyle, she simply let her hair hang loose.

A Nuo seemed to see a waterfall cascading before her eyes, like black satin, lustrous and smooth.

She dared swear that even if she had entered the room with a belly full of plans to flatter, when the moment came, not a single word was false; it was all from the heart. This sister was truly, truly beautiful...

There was even a strange thought surging in her heart: Even her master feared this Demon Emperor greatly, and she herself had been very frightened by her pressure at the start, but the more she interacted, the more inexplicably she felt close, even privately thinking this sister was more beautiful than all the sisters she had ever seen.

Shouting came from outside the door: "Where is that demon woman!"

Long Qinghuang, who had just been laughing with A Nuo as if bathed in spring breeze, suddenly turned cold.

The entire clothing shop felt the bone-piercing pressure, as if a divine dragon had descended from the sky, its massive claws pressing down on the entire Hanlan City, ready to crush the whole city into powder in the next moment.

The fitting room door opened, and Long Qinghuang walked out slowly.

"Clang-clang-clang"—the sound of a large pile of weapons dropping to the ground. Everyone, including Lu Xingzhou, stared dumbfounded at the woman who had emerged.

They knew she would look beautiful in normal attire, but even Lu Xingzhou hadn't expected her to be this beautiful. It was a dimensional strike from the "Dragon and Phoenix" kind against ordinary species, coming from biological instinct.

And yet, though the fresh and simple pale yellow dress was on her, somehow it carried the majesty of an imperial dragon robe. With a glare from her phoenix eyes, dragon majesty arose, making people's legs go weak and only wanting to kneel.

Yet it precisely added to the desire for conquest in men's hearts, making them even more curious what it would taste like to ravage such a noble and majestic woman. This natural charm was like the "Maiden's Profound Art," able to hook the gaze and soul of the opposite sex onto her, even causing them to lose their train of thought briefly.

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PS: Not my brother... The protagonist just criticized a name; it's not like I actually wrote a yuri story. Even this triggers a bunch of people's "trigger points." Miss Qingli isn't as robotic as you guys; I don't know whether to be angry or laugh.

Honestly, whether yuri itself is a trigger or not is another matter; I wouldn't write it anyway. But getting so agitated over such a teasing joke, don't you really think your reaction is absurd...

(End of this chapter)