C1462 I'll Give You a Way to Live

Yu Yuan was taken aback.

Could it be that Hu Caiyun's beloved was the demonic form that Huangyin had refined?

Was it possible that Huangyin, one of the Earth Demon Ancestors, had once courted Hu Caiyun in this very body?

What exactly was happening?

Yu Yuan vividly remembered Hu Caiyun mentioning that her partner also hailed from the Profound Sky Sect.

This individual had briefly ascended to the state of Primordial Spirit and had described the experience as a tragedy from the start.

He was dispatched by the three upper sects to battle in the outer realms, where he valiantly faced a Peak expert from another domain.

Hu Caiyun had indicated that the upper sects had other plans for his esteemed position, merely allowing him to occupy it temporarily.

Yet, the cost of this temporary seat was the complete annihilation of his physical and spiritual essence!

Hu Caiyun's departure from the Profound Sky Sect to become the Peach Madam of the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea was driven by her conviction that the upper sects had sacrificed her beloved, leading to his abrupt demise.

Her resentment extended to Han Miaoyuan, the sect master of the Profound Sky Sect and her former mentor.

After years of battling inner demons, her tireless efforts, and her subsequent alliance with the Divine Soul Sect...

All her actions were fueled by the hope of confronting Han Miaoyuan one day to question his treatment of her partner.

She had always been in search of answers!

Now, with Huangyin's revelation of this dark secret, Yu Yuan began to piece together the answer.

"The Earth Demons, like the Outland Devaputras, are of a similar rank. But to ascend as a Great Demon God, I must consume a mighty Primordial Spirit. Only by using it as nourishment and demonic energy can I evolve into a Tenth Level Great Demon God."

Huangyin watched the Dragon Slash Platform with a smile and continued, "Of course, this also requires relocating a piece of the Dragon Slash Platform from the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area."

"My approach is similar to Ann Jieshan of the Blood God Cult. I selected a promising youth from the Profound Sky Sect long ago. I've been by his side as he matured, gradually enhancing his realm. Throughout this time, my Devil Soul and his three souls have seamlessly fused, becoming indistinguishable from one another."

"Even Han Miaoyuan couldn't discern any clues at first."

"I merged with him, seduced him, and subtly influenced him until, eventually... he would fulfill my purpose."

"I led him to the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area to remove the two Dragon Slash Platforms that kept the ghosts and Earth Demons in check, shattering the divine law that prevented them from ascending to godhood."

"Any other ghosts or Earth Demons, even marginally stronger ones, would be immediately detected by the peak experts of the five great sects upon nearing the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, and they would nip the threat in the bud."

"Yet I, concealed within his body, had him undertake this task. I believed it was a foolproof plan, that nothing could go awry."

"After all, he had only recently ascended to the status of a Primordial Spirit..."

"Who would harbor suspicions against a newly elevated Primordial Spirit of the Profound Sky Sect? Who would doubt him?"

"Once he removed the two Dragon Slash Platforms and broke the seal, I would be poised to consume his Primordial Spirit and become the mightiest among the Earth Demons!"

Huangyin fell silent, the purple devil fire in his eye sockets growing more intense.

"I still underestimated Han Miaoyuan..."

He sighed with regret, "Right when I was about to act, Han Miaoyuan appeared, claiming there was an urgent situation. He ordered me to the Outland Star River to aid in a battle. As the sect master of the Profound Sky Sect, who would dare defy his command? Thinking I could return later to remove the Dragon Slash Platforms, I headed to the stars."

"And there, I met my end."

A wry smile crossed Huangyin's face.

He shook his head, filled with a sense of loss, "True to Han Miaoyuan's reputation, he was exceedingly shrewd. He must have been aware of my presence and, unable to rid himself of me completely, issued that command, leading the one I had merged with to die in the stars."

"My many years of plotting and all my preparations came to naught."

Speaking to Yu Yuan and Bai Gu, Huangyin, one of the Earth Demon Ancestors, expressed his lament, "Had I succeeded, I would have become the Great Demon God of the Earth Demon Clan before you."

His enduring respect for Bai Gu stemmed from the fact that he was merely a Demon God and not a Tenth Level Great Demon God.

Back in the day, he and the white bone might have been equals, but now, with the white bone's ascension to a Demon God, he was truly outclassed.

"Peach Madam seems to have misunderstood her master," Yu Yuan murmured to himself.

Han Miaoyuan had detected that something was amiss with his beloved. Without tarnishing the reputation of the Profound Sky Sect, he orchestrated a secret plot to eliminate her, even going so far as to risk his life taking down a Peak expert from a foreign realm.

Huangyin's painstaking arrangements were ruthlessly shattered by Han Miaoyuan, who emerged triumphantly from the ordeal.

Yet, why did Han Miaoyuan refrain from revealing the truth to Hu Caiyun afterward? He never disclosed to her that her beloved had merged with the Earth Demon Ancestor to the point where they were inseparable and beyond salvation.

"Madam Hu harbored a lifelong grudge against her master," Yu Yuan reflected.

After a brief pause, Yu Yuan couldn't help but inquire further, "Han Miaoyuan, why not offer her an explanation?"

Huangyin let out a soft laugh, his lips curving into a sly smile. "Because Caiyun and I shared a mutual affection, I covertly imparted to her the technique for refining the miasma cloud to boost her combat prowess. She was unaware that the method she used to refine the miasma was actually mine."

"She believed it was an epiphany she had while wandering the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea."

"Perhaps in Han Miaoyuan's eyes, she too had been seduced and mentally corrupted by me. Once she became utterly disillusioned with the Profound Sky Sect and modified her cultivation technique with the one I provided, becoming known as Peach Madam, Han Miaoyuan's suspicions only grew."

"By not personally executing his disciple who had become an Earth Demon puppet, Han Miaoyuan showed a measure of sentimentality," Huangyin elaborated.

Yu Yuan now fully grasped the situation. It dawned on him that Hu Caiyun's ability to integrate various toxic smokes into her being and enhance her strength was the result of practicing the secret method taught by the Earth Demon Ancestor.

Her name was Hu Caiyun, and she possessed a vibrant peach tree.

Her name bore a resemblance to the Colorful Lake where Huangyin originated. Perhaps the very spot where her peach tree flourished was directly above the Colorful Lake's surface.

Huangyin concealed himself beneath the earth in the Foul World. As he submerged himself in the Colorful Lake to enhance his powers, he would sometimes steal glances at her from below.

He would gaze upon that peculiar peach tree.

Whoosh!

A gray fox clad in human attire emerged abruptly from the fog at the rear of the Colorful Lake.

The gray fox's eyes blazed with demonic flames, clearly indicating its status as an Earth Demon.

"Master, the individual from Absence Relic has not committed to a decision. She mentioned she needs more time to consider and observe," the gray fox reported with reverence.

"Yu Zhu!"

Yu Yuan was taken aback once more.

"To consider is already a positive sign. I am quite pleased with this development," Huangyin said with a soft laugh, casting a glance at the Evil Cauldron. "Do you wish to see all the demons within become my lieutenants? Yu Yuan, I offer you a path to survival."

"If you can persuade Yu Zhu to sever ties with the Demon Palace immediately, to allow her lake to merge with the waters of the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea, transforming Absence Relic into another expanse of the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea..."

"I will return the cauldron to you and permit you to leave the underground realm with your life."

"How does that sound?"

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