Chapter 414: The Bitter Meat Ruse

Duan Fengyun and Yuwen Tuo were celebrating their victory wildly, while Ning Ke and the others arrived at the Demon Palace in a disheveled state.

Looking at the empty throne, Ning Ke asked the maidservant at her side:

"Where is the Demon Lord?"

The maidservant replied respectfully:

"Young Lady, the Demon Lord sensed that the Scar of the Sky is gradually loosening; he is currently in Seclusion, attempting to see if he can reach the Human Realm!"

Upon hearing the maidservant's words, Ning Ke was overjoyed:

"Can Demon Father reach the Human Realm as well?

That is wonderful; then we will have no more worries."

Hearing that the Demon Lord could reach the Human Realm, the three of them—Metal, Wood, and Water—also wore expressions of joy.

If the Demon Lord could reach the Human Realm, then Duan Fengyun's death would be at hand.

In truth, Ning Ke and the others should have considered that if the Demon Lord hadn't been suddenly occupied, how could he not have known about the situation on their side?

Even if the Demon Lord were cold-blooded, he would not sit by and watch brothers who had followed him for thousands of years die so miserably at the hands of Duan Fengyun.

Seeing that the Demon Lord was still in Seclusion, the group didn't know whether to leave or stay, and for a moment, they were at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, the Demon Lord, who was in Seclusion, sensed the return of the few and immediately opened his eyes.

The Demon Lord knew nothing at all about what had happened in the outside world.

Therefore, he still assumed that the five of them—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—had already captured Duan Fengyun.

The Demon Lord stood up immediately and walked toward the palace; he wanted to properly reward the five of them—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

His Five Great Protectors were indeed his right-hand men; without him having to take action, they had already eliminated his major threat.

The Demon Lord muttered:

"Xuanyuan Laoer, your disciple has already been eliminated by my Five Great Protectors.

Once my Demon Realm descends upon the Human Realm, I will find you, and our grievances of thousands of years should be settled then!"

The excited Demon Lord walked into the Demon Palace, but upon seeing the disheveled Metal, Wood, and Water, and the missing Fire and Earth, a bad feeling arose in his heart.

The Demon Lord sat upon his throne, looked at Protector Metal and the others with a serious expression, and asked:

"Speak, what is going on with you all?

Where are my Protector Fire and Protector Earth?

And where is Duan Fengyun, whom I ordered you to capture?"

The Demon Lord's gaze was fixed directly on Protector Metal, as if he wanted to see right through him.

Protector Metal, Protector Wood, and Protector Water all knelt on the ground with a thud and said:

"Demon Lord, we have failed you, and we have failed Protector Fire and Protector Earth.

The five of us stumbled at the hands of Duan Fengyun, and Protector Fire and Protector Earth both died at the hands of Duan Fengyun."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord stood up directly from his throne, looking at Protector Metal and the others with fury.

"What!

You are the dignified Five Great Protectors of the Demon Realm, my right-hand men, and you cannot even handle a single Duan Fengyun?

What on earth happened? Protector Metal, explain it to me clearly!"

The Demon Lord truly could not understand how his five protectors could fail to take down a mere Duan Fengyun, and even lose two men.

Protector Metal raised his head and said:

"Demon Lord, after the five of us became familiar with the Human Realm, we began searching everywhere for Duan Fengyun's whereabouts.

During the search, we ran into the Young Lady, and at that moment, Yuwen Tuo and Duan Fengyun happened to walk over as well.

In one-on-one combat, we were no match for Duan Fengyun and the Xuanyuan Sword.

Later, we used the Five Elements Must-Kill Array, but we did not expect that Duan Fengyun's Sword-Drawing Heaven-Slaying Technique had already reached the peak of Slash Heaven, and we were directly broken by him.

Protector Fire was executed by him, and then the Zhurong Fire in his hand devoured Protector Fire's primordial spirit.

To cover our retreat, Protector Earth blocked Duan Fengyun alone and also died miserably at the hands of Duan Fengyun. Demon Lord, you must avenge us!"

The Demon Lord said thoughtfully:

"Sword-Drawing Heaven-Slaying Technique at the peak of Slash Heaven!

This Duan Fengyun truly has talent like a demon!

Wait a moment, you just said that in one-on-one combat, you were no match for Duan Fengyun and the Xuanyuan Sword?

How is this possible?

It is not as if I haven't seen the Xuanyuan Sword in Duan Fengyun's hand; that sword of his only looked like the Xuanyuan Sword, but it lacked the slightest bit of divine power.

Is what you are saying true or false?"

Ning Ke stepped forward to defend them:

"Demon Father, what Protector Metal says is true.

Duan Fengyun used some unknown method to actually activate the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand.

Now he also possesses a Xuanyuan Sword identical to Yuwen Tuo's.

Two Xuanyuan Swords have appeared in the Human Realm; Demon Father, will this have an impact on our plan?"

The Demon Lord nodded after hearing this and said:

"Indeed, it is not easy to deal with the appearance of two Xuanyuan Swords in the Human Realm.

But the current Xuanyuan Sword is not the same Xuanyuan Sword from thousands of years ago.

In my eyes, the current Xuanyuan Sword is just a piece of scrap metal."

"Oh, Demon Father, what do you mean by that?

We clearly saw that the Xuanyuan Swords in the hands of Yuwen Tuo and Duan Fengyun possessed immense power."

The Demon Lord shook his head and said:

"I cannot tell you about this matter; in any case, you only need to know that the current Xuanyuan Sword is of no use to me."

The Demon Lord looked at Ning Ke, staring intently as he asked:

"Ning Ke, Protector Gold and the others escaped under the desperate cover of Protector Earth.

Then how did you get out?

Do not tell me you are the same as Protector Gold and the others; I can see that your condition is much better than theirs."

Ning Ke looked at the Demon Lord, knowing that she certainly could not deceive him today, so she confessed the truth.

"Reporting to Demon Father, your daughter returned alive because of Yuwen Tuo.

After Protector Gold and the others left, Duan Fengyun wanted to kill me and Shuxiang, but Yuwen Tuo blocked Duan Fengyun for us and made Duan Fengyun spare us."

The Demon Lord feigned confusion and said:

"Oh, logically speaking, Yuwen Tuo already knows that we captured his mother and caused him to be separated from her for eighteen years.

That he would now actually plead with Duan Fengyun for your sake—it seems Yuwen Tuo is still deeply in love with you."

Ning Ke shook her head and said:

"Demon Father, the grievances between Yuwen Tuo and me have all been settled.

Now he stands on the side of the Human Realm, and I stand on the side of our Demon Realm; he and I are fighting for our own sides, and the next time we meet, it will be with weapons drawn!"

Looking at the resolute Ning Ke, the Demon Lord laughed loudly:

"Good, worthy of being my daughter, knowing to stand on Demon Father's side at a time like this.

But Demon Father does not agree with what you just said; I want you to return to Yuwen Tuo's side.

Yuwen Tuo and Duan Fengyun are critical to whether we can open the Nine-Five Array, so you must keep an eye on these two until we complete our great undertaking."

Ning Ke shook her head and said:

"Demon Father, that is already an impossible task.

Not to mention Duan Fengyun, now that Yuwen Tuo knows my identity, he is already very resolute.

Furthermore, with Duan Fengyun behind the scenes fanning the flames, for me to try to approach them again is no different from a fool's dream.

I expect that before I could even say a word, I would be killed by Duan Fengyun."

The Demon Lord laughed:

"My good daughter, do not worry.

How could Demon Father let you take risks? Based on my understanding of Yuwen Tuo, he certainly will not just let go of his feelings for you like that.

Feelings are always a stumbling block on the path to success for humans, and Yuwen Tuo is no exception.

So I believe that as long as you return to Yuwen Tuo's side, he will definitely believe you.

It is just that you might have to sacrifice yourself a little!"

Ning Ke looked at the Demon Lord and guessed:

"Demon Father, do you mean a bitter-flesh ruse?"

The Demon Lord laughed heartily:

"Correct, it is a bitter-flesh ruse.

Demon Father suspects that you and Yuwen Tuo worked from the inside and out to trap and kill Protector Fire and Protector Earth.

After returning to the Demon Realm, Demon Father subjects you to severe torture, and finally, through Shuxiang's desperate rescue, you manage to escape from the Demon Realm.

Shuxiang, don't you agree?"

The Demon Lord turned to look at Shuxiang, and Shuxiang immediately knelt on the ground and said:

"The Demon Lord's strategy is truly brilliant. Given Yuwen Tuo's feelings for the Young Mistress, seeing the Young Mistress suffer such heavy injuries, he will surely feel pity, and then the Young Mistress can once again infiltrate their ranks.

It is just that the Young Mistress might have to suffer a lot this time!" The Demon Lord cast his gaze toward Ning Ke and said:

"Ning Ke, this time you must sacrifice yourself.

Once the Five Divine Artifacts are in hand, the Nine-Five Array is activated, and the Scar of the Sky is opened, Duan Fengyun and Yuwen Tuo will be yours to dispose of.

How about it, my good daughter, are you willing to go once more?"

Since childhood, Ning Ke had been instilled by the Demon Lord with the ideology of revitalizing the Demon Realm and unifying the Demon Realm, Human Realm, and Demon God, so now, upon hearing the Demon Lord's words, she naturally would not refuse.

Ning Ke nodded and said:

"Good, then I shall follow Demon Father's words; Ning Ke is willing to infiltrate Yuwen Tuo's side again.

But I also hope Demon Father keeps his promise: after the great undertaking is complete, leave Yuwen Tuo and Duan Fengyun for me to dispose of."

Regarding Yuwen Tuo, this intention of Ning Ke's was entirely to preserve Yuwen Tuo's life.

Once the Demon Realm occupied the Human Realm, Yuwen Tuo and his group of resistance fighters would inevitably be purged.

By doing this, Ning Ke could preserve Yuwen Tuo's life and prevent him from being purged.

As for Duan Fengyun, Ning Ke purely wanted to kill him with her own hands.

Ning Ke blamed everything on Duan Fengyun; if not for Duan Fengyun, so many things would never have happened between her and Yuwen Tuo.

Without Duan Fengyun, two of the Demon Realm Five Protectors would not have been wiped out, and their Demon Realm's strength would not have been so greatly diminished.

【Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to catch up on chapters lately; it has many sources, and the audio reading voices are great. It works on both Android and Apple.】

Therefore, Ning Ke felt extreme hatred for Duan Fengyun and wanted to tear him into ten thousand pieces with her own hands.

The Demon Lord laughed loudly:

"Demon Father keeps his word; once my Demon Realm's great undertaking is complete, Demon Father will leave both Duan Fengyun and Yuwen Tuo for you to dispose of.

However, you have just experienced a battle, so rest for a while first.

As for the bitter-flesh ruse we just discussed, let's talk about it again tomorrow!"

Ning Ke was, after all, the Demon Lord's daughter, and the Demon Lord was still very considerate of her.

Let her rest well before starting to push the bitter scheme.

Ning Ke and the others nodded and headed separately toward their respective lodgings.

As for Yuwen Tuo and Duan Fengyun, the two of them, having drunk to their heart's content, each found a room to rest in.

At this time, in the Diren Tribe of the Beihai Heart, Chen Jingchou was still trapped in the illusion set by Guyue Xianren.

Looking at Duan Fengyun and Yuwen Tuo before him, Chen Jingchou felt as if his entire being was about to explode.

Chen Jingchou wished he could eat their flesh and drink their blood.

Driven by the hatred in his heart, Chen Jingchou passed through the illusion set by Guyue Xianren step by step, and in these steps, Chen Jingchou also improved his own perseverance.

Finally, relying on his perseverance, Chen Jingchou thrust Sword Fifteen into the chests of Yuwen Tuo and Duan Fengyun; in that instant, the entire illusion shattered, and Chen Jingchou successfully passed the test of Guyue Xianren.