The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind

The person in her arms abruptly paled.¹

Han Shengyao’s thoughts raced. Following Lin Qianshuang’s gaze, she saw the Demon Emperor standing in the doorway, clutching the transmission note she had just sent.

“Holy Maiden, is boredom the reason you abandoned guarding the Demon Realm and left the Jiuchong Demon Palace? Now, you even have the audacity to seduce my favorite concubine. Are you intentionally provoking me?”

The Demon Emperor furiously hurled the transmission note at Han Shengyao’s feet, his gaze shifting to Lin Qianshang.

The woman in white regarded the two rivals with an impassive expression. A faint ripple stirred in her clear eyes. When she turned to Han Shengyao, her gaze held a profound sorrow.

Lin Qianshang’s demeanor had always been vibrant and straightforward, devoid of any hidden thoughts.

However, at this moment, a complex and enigmatic expression adorned her pristine countenance for the first time.

The Demon Emperor’s memory of that passionate night remained vivid, the ardor of his companion still lingering in his heart. Even a virtuous woman should have succumbed to his charm, unable to resist the allure of lingering love. Moreover, he had always treated the women he favored with utmost consideration and tenderness. How could she betray him and seek solace in another’s embrace, entangling herself with a woman who was still her superior?

The Demon Emperor’s gaze returned to Han Shengyao, his eyes narrowing in contemplation. A possibility surfaced in his mind.

Ruan Qianmei was with child, and Bai Wan was his cherished concubine, to whom he had personally promised the title of Demon Empress.

Could these mentor and disciple be attempting to manipulate him, forcing him to value the position of Left Protector by forsaking his status as Holy Maiden of the Demon Realm?

Or perhaps his Left Protector had been coerced by Han Shengyao and forced to comply with her.

Lin Qianshuang looked at Han Shengyao with deep and resolute eyes, and suddenly struggled out of her arms. She knelt down on the ground with a pale face and said, “Your Majesty, it’s all my fault. I fell in love with Master first. Please forgive Master, Your Majesty. Shuang’er is willing to leave the position of Left Protector for this!”

The Demon Emperor’s expression was stunned for a moment. Lin Qianshuang’s expression was very genuine, not like she was lying, but dead serious.

Bai Wan, who was hiding behind a tree, glanced at Lin Qianshuang with an unpredictable gaze.

For the first time, Bai Wan felt unable to fathom Lin Qianshuang. It was evident that she had deliberately lured Han Shengyao into kissing her in the Demon Emperor’s presence. Bai Wan had assumed that Lin Qianshuang intended to exploit the Demon Emperor’s affection for her against Han Shengyao. However, it seemed she had been mistaken, for Lin Qianshuang’s subsequent words were so astonishing that she had confessed her love before the Demon Emperor.

“Shuang’er, stand back. This matter does not concern you.”

Han Shengyao passed by Lin Qianshuang, who was kneeling on the ground, and approached the Demon Emperor at a leisurely pace.

Lin Qianshuang clutched the hem of Han Shengyao’s garment and looked up at her with trepidation, saying, “Master, do not go. What if the Demon Emperor intends to harm you? None of us are a match for him.”

Han Shengyao leaned down to caress Lin Qianshuang’s hair, her violet eyes brimming with a gentleness and serenity that Lin Qianshuang had never witnessed before. She replied, “I have long contemplated severing my bond with him. Rest assured, I will encounter no difficulties.”

Lin Qianshuang watched Han Shengyao’s figure as she walked towards the Demon Emperor, her face devoid of expression but her heart pounding with anticipation.

Finally, Han Shengyao had decided to end her ambiguous and harmful relationship with the Demon Emperor.

Without the Demon Emperor’s interference, she would no longer be entangled with Liang Jingxuan.

Having spent considerable time with Han Shengyao, Lin Qianshuang understood her temperament well. Liang Jingxuan could never be the man she truly desired.

Nevertheless, inexplicable emotions had developed between them.

Frustrated, Lin Qianshuang instinctively evaded this unwarranted query. She intended to complete her strategic mission and then depart from the Demon Palace.

She glanced at the system’s developed favorability interface and saw that Xiao Lanle’s favorability bar was already a blood-red negative horizontal bar, with exactly negative ninety percent written on it.

Looking at the negative bars, Lin Qianshuang secretly roasted Liang Jingxuan. He must have said a lot of “good things” to Xiao Lanle, otherwise Xiao Lanle would not hate her so much.

The Demon Emperor looked at Han Shengyao walking towards him, feeling that she had changed somewhere. Her temperament and divergent aura were vastly different, no longer as aggressive as before.

What made him feel uncomfortable was her gaze, which used to have a vague affection for him, but now it is calm and peaceful.

Han Shengyao looked at the Demon Emperor and said calmly, “Ye Heng, do you still remember the first time we met when we were young? You were the first person who treated me well and made me feel the warmth of this world. But later on, my sincere treatment was trampled on by you mercilessly. Perhaps you have forgotten. When you were a child, you once stole your master’s pear blossom wine and confessed it to me, saying that when you grew up, you would try your best to overcome difficulties and make me Queen in the future. At that time, I was really an ignorant girl who believed your lies and waited for you for so many years.”

The Demon Emperor was a bit dazed.

As time seemed to rewind, like a century ago, beneath this towering sycamore tree, the former Demon Emperor had presented a little girl in red to him. Her features were exquisite and beautiful, yet her expression remained cold. He had assumed that she was the Demon Emperor’s new junior sister and had become infatuated with her appearance. He had frequently engaged her in conversation and attempted to win her favor. However, unbeknownst to him, she was in fact a saint from the Demon Realm, and he was forbidden from ever touching her. On one occasion, when he had overstepped his boundaries, the Demon Emperor had imprisoned him in a water prison for half an hour.

As he grew older, he became known for his flirtatious nature and his habit of showing mercy. However, he had never been drawn to women as strong as Han Shengyao. Furthermore, she constantly belittled him and found fault with him. He could only admire her from afar, unable to possess her.

When the Demon Emperor witnessed Han Shengyao confessing her past feelings, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. He replied, “If you recall your youthful affection for me, you could come to the Jiuyou Secret Realm and become my woman. However, I have no interest in women like you now. There are countless others in this world, and no matter how beautiful you are, I cannot tolerate you.”

Han Shengyao gazed at the Demon Emperor with icy eyes, snorted disdainfully, and retorted, “Ye Heng, your narcissism knows no bounds. I was merely recalling a foolish experience and marveling at how I could have fallen for such a beast. Without my guidance and support for decades, do you truly believe you would be seated upon the throne of the Demon Emperor? I no longer have any affection for you. Who will inherit the throne of the Saint? Only Shuang’er is worthy. She is the only one present. If you lay a finger on her, I will rally the forces of the Demon Realm and attack the Jiuchong Demon Palace, exacting a hundredfold retribution.”

A shadow fell over the Demon Emperor’s face as he recalled the sight of Han Shengyao kissing Lin Qianshuang. In the past, she had criticized his political decisions, but now even the woman he had once been infatuated with was being claimed by her.

If Han Shengyao had not been a woman, but rather the man he had once imagined, he would have torn her body into countless pieces and cast her into a pool of blood.

“I’ve declared that I will not permit you to relinquish your position as Holy Maiden. You harbor rebellious thoughts, and I shall no longer indulge them, even if they were intended as a jest. However, Qianshuang is already my woman. What concern is that of yours? I am aware that you possess a group of pets who refer to themselves as disciples, and I hold no interest in the connections you have cultivated with them in the past. Henceforth, cease your association with my Left Protector!”

The Demon Emperor cast a glance at Lin Qianshuang, who lay bewildered and confused to the side. He then taunted Han Shengyao, “I vividly recall last night when your disciple was still moaning beneath me. She seemed quite content. It is evident that we are deeply in love and should not allow you, who lack the respect of a teacher, to disrupt our bond!”

Upon hearing the Demon Emperor’s allusion to the events of that night, Han Shengyao’s expression darkened. A surge of demonic energy erupted from her body, assailing the Demon Emperor.

She no longer regarded the righteousness of the Demon Realm or respected the Demon Emperor’s status. At that moment, her sole desire was to sever the Demon Emperor’s straw-stuffed head and examine the vile contents within.

Unwilling to be outdone, the Demon Emperor advanced and unleashed a relentless barrage of palm strikes upon Han Shengyao. Consumed by a fire of grievance, he disregarded her status as a fellow saint and sought to teach her a harsh lesson, demonstrating his true might.

He demanded that she witness who the true wastrel was. He would prove himself capable of dominating the woman he desired.

The fight between the two, originally intended as a contest of wills, escalated into a life-and-death struggle.

Lin Qianshuang watched in dismay as two people who had once been close engaged in a fierce battle. Her initial expression of amusement vanished as she realized the conversation revolved around her. As they exchanged devastating blows, she rose to her feet in alarm.

Han Shengyao’s cultivation was that of a mere demon lord. How could she possibly defeat the Demon Emperor, who had achieved the rank of demon sovereign?

A sense of bewilderment washed over Lin Qianshuang. The Demon Emperor’s relentless assault seemed excessive, a departure from the conduct befitting a gentleman.

As Han Shengyao’s strength waned, the Demon Emperor gazed upon her stunning beauty with an inexplicable revulsion.

“You scorn me? I will break your legs, sever your hands, and reduce you to a mere pig, forever imprisoned within the Jiuchong Demon Palace!”

With a surge of his palm, the Demon Emperor sent Han Shengyao flying to the ground, where she coughed up a mouthful of blood. A magical artifact, the Cosmos Orb, materialized in his grasp.

As a faint fragrance permeated the air, the flames of jealousy and the unyielding desire to annihilate consumed his every shred of reason.

He approached the red-clothed beauty on the ground and swung the Cosmos Orb at her hard.

At this moment, Lin Qianshuang launched the magic sword condensed in her hand and deflected the Cosmos Orb in the Demon Emperor’s hand. She rushed forward to protect Han Shengyao, and the demonic energy in her hands formed a barrier in an attempt to stop the Demon Emperor’s magical weapon. She was injured by a burst of demonic energy, and she and Han Shengyao were thrown away together.

Lin Qianshuang felt her internal organs being twisted together. She swallowed the blood that overflowed from her mouth. She spit out the magic core in her body and used all the magic energy to push it towards Han Shengyao and said: “Master, leave quickly and go find the place in the Demon Realm you want to go to…”

Hearing her disciple’s voice, Han Shengyao suddenly woke up. She looked at the blood oozing from her disciple’s body, and the Demon Emperor who was forced to show his true strength and was approaching them step by step and had lost all reason. Her eyes were deeply focused.

Just now, she had also been bewitched by a force, causing her to lose control. This was all very wrong; someone was backstabbing them. Han Shengyao barely used her demonic qi to maintain her shaky form and suddenly remembered that when she went to the closet to rescue Xia, there seemed to be a faint scent of ecstasy. She reached down to her waist and a scented pouch fell from her body, which contained the hallucinogenic Ghost Spirit Grass.

This seemingly non-existent hallucinogenic aroma—if not deliberately prepared, who could have avoided it?

Han Shengyao’s eyes were cold as they looked straight towards Xia, who was on the side. His gaze was icy and piercing as he looked back at her, with no trace of respect on his face.

“Master, do you remember what you promised Shuang’er? If you die at this moment, then you have broken your promise.”

Lin Qianshuang grabbed Han Shengyao’s hand and anxiously said. She saw that Han Shengyao wanted to be by her side.

The Demon Emperor’s demonic energy was out of control, and no one could stop him. Han Shengyao was seriously injured. If she wanted to protect her, it would be a dead end.

Lin Qianshuang devised an escape route in her mind, intending to use the sword technique as a decoy to escape in her original form.

Gripping Han Shengyao’s shoulder tightly, she felt the blood seeping from her skin almost drench her collar. Biting her lower lip, she endured the pain coursing through her body and said, “Go, you go! Master, the Demon Emperor’s target is you. Trust me, the Demon Emperor cannot harm me.”

Han Shengyao glanced at her weakened disciple and the rampaging Demon Emperor. She was also aware of a hidden presence watching them with malicious intent.

Resolving herself, she chose to stay by Lin Qianshuang’s side.

Seeing Han Shengyao’s reluctance to leave, Lin Qianshuang’s heart sank. She could no longer hold out, and the barrier formed by the condensation of demonic energy was slowly fading.

With a deafening crash…

The Demon Emperor completely shattered the barrier and strode menacingly towards the two women on the ground.

In that instant, Lin Qianshuang collapsed utterly, her eyes dimming as she sank into unconsciousness.

As Han Shengyao reached for her magical weapon, she was abruptly shoved with great force, tumbling into a swirling vortex formed by a teleportation array.

As she was consumed by the vortex, Han Shengyao caught a glimpse of Bai Wan standing nearby, a smug and triumphant expression adorning her youthful face.

Bai Wan? What was she doing here?

Did she set up this formation? How could she know such a profound spell formation?

Han Shengyao stared at Bai Wan in astonishment, only to witness her lifting the unconscious Lin Qianshuang from the ground.

Bai Wan cast a sinister gaze at her and said, “Han Shengyao, you are truly fortunate. Initially, I intended to eliminate you at the hands of the Demon Emperor, but I never anticipated that Shuang’er would sacrifice her life for you, compelling me to alter my strategy.”

Han Shengyao’s eyes narrowed as she uttered in a low voice, “Who are you, exactly?”

“That is not something you need to know.”

A crimson light flickered in Bai Wan’s eyes as she gently caressed Lin Qianshuang’s slumbering face, a smug expression etched upon her countenance. With the demeanor of a victor, she turned to Han Shengyao, a provocative smile playing on her lips. “You will meekly surrender yourself to the frigid depths of the Jiuyou Secret Realm, where you shall remain imprisoned for a decade. Your disciple shall become my charge.”