Jiu Youyue was deep within the Dead City. After the Evil Consort altered its path, she naturally had no idea of its current location.
But she had just tricked the Infant Spirit into heading to South Ridge City. Now, having contacted Chen Xi, she could have the experts from Jialan Holy Land go capture the girl—with that poker-faced loli serving as the guide!
The Infant Spirit didn’t entirely trust Jiu Youyue’s words. That woman had a habit of sending her on wild goose chases. But the temptation of a growth elixir was too strong to resist.
Of the Evil Consort’s three secondary bodies, only the Infant Spirit had a child’s form. She hated her pint-sized appearance. Everywhere she went, people looked down on her—literally. Jiu Youyue and the Faceless one often teased her about her height, fueling her deep obsession with growing taller and maturing.
South Ridge City was on high alert after the recent catastrophe, but as a Five-Star Mystic Venerable, the Infant Spirit faced no real threat there.
She might be timid as a mouse around the strong, but against the weak, she struck with iron fists—a classic case of bullying the soft and fearing the hard.
She slipped into the city without issue, only to find herself surrounded by a Mystic Saint and two Supremes.
Infant Spirit: ???
The poker-faced loli, shrouded in shadows, blinked in bewilderment at the three women towering over her in both cultivation and stature. She had no clue how this had happened. All she knew was that she was probably done for.
…
The Evil Consort had no idea that her rebellious stepdaughter Jiu Youyue had gone utterly mad, teaming up with Chen Xi and Jialan Holy Land to capture the Infant Spirit. For now, she was still accompanying Yan Zhen in his training.
Truth be told, instructing Yan Zhen was immensely satisfying. He grasped concepts right away, applied them creatively, humbly accepted corrections, and fixed his mistakes on the spot.
He was like an uncarved jade, growing more brilliant with every polish from her hands.
Under the Evil Consort’s guidance, Yan Zhen’s control over the Solar Essence Flame grew ever more refined. He even fused it with the Great Crimson Heaven Flame and his own High-Temperature Mystic Power Flame to create the Pseudo Heaven and Earth Incineration Art. This let him minimize collateral damage while stacking heat for formidable power—perfect for countering water and ice attributes.
That was what a genius looked like. A true genius!
The Evil Consort was thoroughly pleased. Even though she had rewritten his memories, the Flame Emperor’s talent and insight remained unchanged. He was still the same man.
Aside from a touch of lustiness and a fragile ego, he had no flaws. And those “flaws” only made him easier for her to control!
In other words, he was flawless.
As Yan Zhen descended from the sky, brimming with vigor and confidence, even the Evil Consort couldn’t help but smile faintly.
“Alright, Yan’er, come rest for a bit.”
The Evil Consort took out a silk handkerchief and gently wiped his brow. He wasn’t really sweaty, but the gesture had to be made.
As expected, the Flame Emperor ate it up, even nuzzling her hand. Adorable.
The Evil Consort smirked inwardly with satisfaction. She summoned a table and chairs, then brought out some tea and snacks for him.
A single pill could replenish his energy, but she didn’t go that route. Instead, she sat with him, eating together and occasionally feeding him bites.
Having satisfied him in the dream realm before, she hadn’t endured his intense stares at her chest these past few days. It felt wonderfully refreshing.
Still, she couldn’t stall forever. Sooner or later, the Flame Emperor would come craving more. If she kept making excuses, it might spark dissonance—after all, Chen Xi had always indulged his every whim.
Though she’d already cursed Chen Xi in her mind hundreds of times, the Evil Consort couldn’t resist doing so once more.
—All because that fool Chen Xi had spoiled the Flame Emperor rotten!
“Evil Consort Master, has Big Sis returned?”
“She has.”
“Can I go see her?”
“Jiu Youyue is in secluded cultivation. Better not disturb her.”
“Alright then. If she’s in seclusion, no helping it.”
His disappointment was plain as day.
A twinge of sourness rose in the Evil Consort’s heart.
“Yan’er, aren’t you a bit too attached to Jiu Youyue?”
Yan Zhen’s face flushed slightly.
“I’m not! It’s just been a while since I last saw Big Sis. I miss her, that’s all.”
It had been nearly half a month since he’d been brought to the Dead City. He’d only seen Jiu Youyue once—and spent a passionate night with her.
Young lovers parted for so long naturally yearned for each other.
The Evil Consort regretted not fully erasing his memories of Jiu Youyue. She’d left them as leverage, a threat if needed. Now, they were just tripping her up.
—That wretched girl only brings trouble!
“Once training ends, This Palace will take you to see her.”
“Really? Thank you, Evil Consort Master~”
Smooch. Yan Zhen’s lips, still dusted with powdered sugar, planted right on the Evil Consort’s fair, delicate cheek. Then he happily munched on his snacks.
The Evil Consort froze like a statue, her dark eyes widening. It took her ages to recover.
—Kissed? By that brat Flame Emperor… on the face?
She touched the spot, finding a smudge of milky-white sugar powder on her fingertip when she scraped it off.
Silently, she wiped the powder from her finger with the silk handkerchief. But oddly, she left the mark on her cheek untouched, acting as if nothing had happened—though guilt flickered in her demeanor.
She didn’t know that even Chen Xi would have given Yan Zhen a scolding glance for kissing her with a messy mouth.
Once he was full, Yan Zhen resumed training in high spirits. He summoned the Extreme Tyrant Sword and clashed endlessly with the Dual Knife Skeleton. Sword qi and blade gangs flew in all directions.
In his previous life, he’d mastered the Nine Swords Technique, comprehending its tenth sword, Severing the Horizon, as a fusion of all nine. He’d even created an eleventh, Shattering Heavenly Stars, to shore up the Flame Extinction Ashless Slash’s lack of piercing power.
After rebirth, during his time at the Inner Academy, he’d grasped the third sword. But he rarely used it, as it wasn’t all that useful.
By rights, he should have learned the sixth sword while training on Rain God Peak, using it to defeat Gu Tiange. But plans rarely survived contact with reality. He hadn’t had time for the sixth sword, and with his rapid cultivation progress, he didn’t need it to beat Gu Tiange anyway. Unwittingly, he’d neglected the Nine Swords Technique.
Now, Yan Zhen swung the Extreme Tyrant Sword mostly on battle instinct. Compared to a dedicated sword cultivator, he fell short—considerably.
The Evil Consort noted this flaw and pondered whether to prepare a greatsword Mystic Technique for him.
Sword Mystic Techniques were the most numerous of all, but greatsword ones were rare. Finding a suitable one wouldn’t be easy.
She dispatched a Mystic Power Incarnation from the White Bone Grotto-Heaven to the Scripture Pavilion. In half a day’s time, she actually found a fire-attribute greatsword Mystic Technique.
Once the incarnation returned and handed it over, the Evil Consort’s lips curved in a smug arc.
“Give this to the Flame Emperor, and his heart will be mine for sure. But I can’t just hand it over. He needs to ask for it himself.”
She schemed a moment, then deliberately let the Dual Knife Skeleton “slip” and get cleaved apart by Yan Zhen. As he crowed in triumph, she summoned a new Sword Cultivator Skeleton to continue the fight.
Both skeletons were at the Mystic Ancestor Realm, but the Sword Cultivator Skeleton easily suppressed Yan Zhen, leaving him on the defensive. Gone was his earlier ferocious momentum!
In a life-or-death battle, he’d ditch the sword here and unleash Wind-Thunder Crystal Fire to electrocute the foe. But this was training—abandoning the sword meant surrender.
