“Yan Zhen is such a big dummy!”
“Yeah, Little Zhen Zhen is a big dummy!”
“He got tricked by that bad woman.”
“Hmph!”
“Zhen’er…”
“Is Father Emperor going to turn that old witch into one of our aunts too?”
Though they all voiced strong objections, Yan Zhen stuck to his guns and decided to stay.
In the end, the women had no choice but to follow Master Chen Xi’s example and remain in the Fire Refining Starry Sky for the time being, keeping him company.
Yan Zhen wrapped an arm around Jiu Youyue’s slender waist and activated the Star Shifting Fire Seal. Amid a twist of space, they returned to the bedroom in the Demonic Flame Palace. The Fire Refining Starry Sky shrank back into the crystal pendant hanging around his neck.
As he walked to the wardrobe, Yan Zhen shrugged off his black pajamas and opened the doors. He pulled out the Divine Child robes that the Evil Consort had prepared for him and changed into them.
Since there were no long-trunked little elephant boxer shorts, he decided to go without!
Jiu Youyue sat on the edge of the bed, watching Yan Zhen change the whole time. When she saw he wasn’t even wearing boxer shorts, her heart fluttered with shyness, but her gaze stuck to a certain spot on him like glue—she couldn’t look away.
—Little Zhen Zhen, ahh~
Only when Yan Zhen, the commando Divine Child, turned around did the demoness snap out of it. She coughed twice and grumbled offhandedly,
“Dumb Little Zhen Zhen, you could’ve left, but you chose to stay.”
Yan Zhen shot the demoness a sideways glance.
“What, you unhappy about it?”
“Unhappy.”
“I’ll give you one chance to rephrase that.”
“…Fine, I’m happy.” After a long pause, Jiu Youyue said shyly, “Whether it was Little Zhen Zhen drinking that Forget Emotion Water before, or choosing to stay now, it’s so touching it could kill me.”
She gazed at Yan Zhen’s handsome face and murmured softly,
“Is a demoness like me really worth all this from you, Little Zhen Zhen?”
“Of course you are,” Yan Zhen said without hesitation. “I won’t abandon you, Jiu Youyue. As long as I’m here, the Evil Consort won’t hurt you.”
“You’re such a big fool.”
“Hmph.”
“Little Zhen Zhen is so cute~”
“I’ll find a chance to negotiate with the Evil Consort and get her to give you your freedom. If that doesn’t work, we’ll do it the hard way and seal her up… Never mind, let’s not talk about that now. I’ll go check things out first.”
Yan Zhen changed the subject.
“Even though I had Master remind the Holy Lord Master, and the Peacock Heavenly Monarch might show up any time, better safe than sorry. That guy’s an expert with poisons and hidden weapons—one slip-up, and we could get hit.”
“I’ll go with you, Little Zhen Zhen.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
One of them turned into brilliant starlight, the other into pure moonlight. Star and moon intertwined as they flew toward the entrance to the Dead City—Ghost Gate Pass.
By now, outside the Dead City, the Evil Consort and Jialan Fairy had been clashing for quite a while.
Calling it a clash wasn’t quite right, though. Jialan Fairy had fought fiercely at first, but afterward she’d shifted to passive defense. This made the Evil Consort think she had the upper hand at one point. But the longer they went, the more off it felt, stirring unease in her heart.
She glanced downward and saw not just Jialan Fairy slacking off— the forces of Jialan Holy Land weren’t pressing the attack either. The two sides stood off against each other about ten miles apart. From the start, there’d been no real engagement, just a few probing exchanges.
This left even the Dead City’s five God Marquises feeling something was wrong.
“What game are you playing, Jialan?” The Evil Consort shattered space with a palm strike. Under the cover of the spatial turbulence, she put vast distance between herself and Jialan Fairy. “Dragging this out like this—do you plan to use your holy land’s foundations against me?”
Jialan Fairy had lost all interest in fighting the Evil Consort. Moments ago, Master Chen Xi had sent her a message: Yan Zhen had recovered his memories but intended to keep lurking at the Evil Consort’s side to deal with the incoming Peacock Heavenly Monarch. She was to lead Jialan Holy Land’s forces in a swift retreat to avoid getting assassinated by him.
Wasn’t this reckless?
Jialan Fairy sighed inwardly but understood Yan’er was doing it for Jiu Youyue’s sake, taking such a risk.
“Evil Consort, hand over Yan’er right now, and I’ll withdraw my people. Otherwise, I’ll keep you tied down here. In the end, we’ll both suffer heavy losses, only for the Demon Domain Lord to swoop in and pick up the pieces. Neither of us can afford that.”
“Threatening me? I don’t buy it! If you want to waste time, be my guest! Worst case, I seal off the Dead City and hunker down. But with all your main forces here, who knows what might happen back at your holy land.”
“You don’t need to worry about Jialan Holy Land’s safety… Just hand over Yan’er.”
“Yan’er belongs to me now. Why don’t you ask him yourself—see if he wants to go back with you?”
Jialan Fairy’s beautiful eyes narrowed in displeasure.
“Yan’er is my name for him. You don’t get to call him that, Evil Consort.”
The Evil Consort sneered.
“You’re the enemy leader now. You’ve got even less right to call him that…”
Jialan Fairy was about to say more when she sensed a sharp spike of danger. A palm-sized peacock plume pierced silently through space, slipping into the space within a yard of her without anyone noticing.
For a Mystic Saint, an attack at that range was practically point-blank—too close to react!
But thanks to Yan Zhen’s warning, Jialan Fairy was prepared. She thrust out her hand at once, halting the peacock plume right in front of her palm.
In that instant, over a hundred more identical plumes burst through space, surrounding Jialan Fairy in layers before converging on her all at once.
The tips of the peacock plumes swirled with Law Poison—fatal to anyone below Half-Saint, and crippling even to those above.
“Child’s play with hidden weapons.”
Jialan Fairy formed the Vase Seal with both hands. A phantom of the Guanyin Jade Pure Bottle materialized around her, enveloping her completely.
Every peacock plume was blocked by the Guanyin Jade Pure Bottle, pinning one after another to its surface, unable to advance an inch.
The Law Poison at their tips was slowly purified, then turned against the attacker under Jialan Fairy’s control.
“Go!”
The hundred-plus plumes shot off like living things, homing in on their target.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of spatial blasts rang out. A figure burst into view in some disarray, coming to a halt at the edge of the battlefield overhead. He formed a tense standoff with Jialan Fairy and the Evil Consort.
The newcomer wore a revealing peacock dress and looked like a woman, but he was a man through and through, with a chest flat as a board. He was the only androgynous one among the Eight Divisions Heavenly Lords, titled the Peacock Heavenly Monarch—a Five-Star Mystic Saint.
He glared at Jialan Fairy with cold eyes, his face a mix of wariness and hatred.
“Long time no see, Jialan Holy Lord!”
