Chapter 581: Chapter 543: Mysterious Court Cave Mansion_2

Ning Feiyan didn’t need any verbal promises from Baili An. She looked at him deeply with a smile in her eyes, said those words, then gracefully rose and left.

The Golden Crow had set in the west, and night had arrived.

Outside the palace, it was a night of thunderstorms. The long corridor’s curtains floated and flitted in the wind and rain.

Baili An watched Ning Feiyan leave the Netherworld Palace. Outside the still-open palace doors, the Demon Lord and her shadow were cast askew upon the door and walls.

Amidst the sound of the wind and rain, the faint conversation between two people could be heard.

“How is Little White?”

“Your Majesty need not worry. The cat’s injuries have healed, and I shall take my leave first.”

The Demon Lord hummed softly. Moments later, she called Ning Feiyan back, “In two days, I shall head to Lanzhou. The cat will be alone in the palace, I ask Si He River Lord to take extra care of him. His appetite has been poor these days, and he’s been vomiting what he eats. He is quite frail. On my way back, I will search for local food from each province to bring him. Be careful not to let him lose weight.”

Baili An watched the torrential rain outside, silent.

It was the first time he had heard the Female Demon Lord speak so much at once.

Her words were filled with gentle entrustment, but little did she know, the one she entrusted was a venomous snake who constantly plotted against her.

His feelings were indeterminate as he heard Ning Feiyan’s tender, gentle voice, “Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to take proper care of the cat and not let him wander off.”

With a creak, the palace doors slowly closed.

The scene of the wind and rain was cut off outside the doors.

Soon, Baili An found himself engulfed in a warm embrace, her sleeves slightly damp as if they had been brushed by the drifting rain.

She had stood outside for a long time.

Two days later, as expected, the Demon Lord left the palace and started her journey to Lanzhou.

Clouds parted and the moon cleared, a night of bitter cold.

Inside the palace, Ning Feiyan was adjusting new incense, her sleeves fragrant, when she suddenly heard a faint noise outside the window. A window opened slowly, and moonlight filled the windowsill.

Unruffled, Ning Feiyan glanced at the small white cat under the moonlight. She gently pushed a cup of full tea from the table and said, “Drink this tea, and your cultivation will recover. I’ll also leave this cat form for you and give you a spell to freely transform between two forms.”

Baili An leaped from the windowsill and drank the cup of full tea; the tea, fragrant and pleasing, contained a faint scent of blood—Ning Feiyan’s blood.

As the tea soup entered his stomach, Baili An felt his limbs swell painfully, and his body began to undergo drastic changes.

In a few breaths, he finally transformed into his familiar human form.

He stepped barefoot on the cold ground, feeling quite cool all over, and frowned deeply.

Ning Feiyan glanced at him indifferently, then instructed Hong Zhuang, “Go fetch some clothes for him to wear.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Hong Zhuang emotionlessly stiffened her body and took a set of clothes from the rack, draping it over Baili An.

Baili An gathered the clothes and quickly tied the robe, saying, “Give me back the Bishui Life Jade.”

Ning Feiyan promptly returned the Bishui Life Jade to him, saying, “I have prepared several bottles of fresh blood inside for you to consume on the road, take good care of yourself, and make sure to return alive.”

Baili An secured the Bishui Life Jade, and distant sounds of chaos were already emerging—clearly her doing.

Baili An’s eyes half-closed, he could not help but voice his thoughts quietly, “With the Monarch’s Return Banquet imminent, aren’t you taking too much of a risk by making these moves right under the Demon Lord’s nose? Given that she was able to emerge unscathed from a dire place like the Bronze Gate, breaking through a millennium-old seal, her scheming is evident. I don’t think you’re a match for her.”

Ning Feiyan smiled, stood up, and personally reached for the Hook Jade hanging around his neck.

“Do you really think I’m unaware of the situation, lost in my own plot? I understand all that you’ve said, but it’s precisely because the Monarch’s Return Banquet is nearing that I only have this one chance. Erhe Zangxin’s cultivation is above mine; to defeat and replace him, I must be fully prepared, and the Xuanting Cave Mansion… is the opportunity I need right now.”

Knowing full well the danger, potentially leading to her ultimate ruin, her smile remained serene and calm, and her words exceedingly resolute. In an instant, her eyes, like dark ink, blazed with a resolute and proud light.

She said, “I will not admit defeat.”

How could he possibly persuade such a reckless gambler?

Following Ning Feiyan’s plan, Baili An quickly left the Royal City of Ming Continent, skirting around the perilous regions of the Demon World according to the route she had provided.

By the time he stealthily arrived at the Nine Snake Clan, half a day had passed.

And the Demon Lord, who should have been in Lanzhou fortifying the Barrier against the Malevolent Spirit, now dominated the Nine Snake Tribe with an utterly brutal, stern demeanor.

Her imperial robe fluttered fiercely; her enchanting eyes brimming with deadly intent, she stood above the Nine Heavens. With a mere flick of her finger, everything fell into utter silence.

Behind her were the lightning of All Heavens, and the storms created by falling meteors clashed in the clouds, sweeping through and exploding.

As her finger pointed down, the continuous mountains collapsed, the territory of the Nine Snakes began to be ruthlessly destroyed, cries of agony and curses filled the air, warfare blazed across the sky, and the defense arrays ignited one after another but could not stop the Demon Lord’s onslaught.

Baili An couldn’t understand—how had she appeared here in less than a day?

What about the Malevolent Spirit in Lanzhou? The Barrier?

Had she abandoned them?

Or was it that… in just half a day, she had quelled the myriad Malevolent Spirits of Lanzhou with thunderous methods?

Amid the war-torn chaos, with rocks flying and continual clashes, the Demon Lord seemed to slaughter without method, yet Baili An could sense the Demon Lord’s consciousness gradually spreading over the entire continent.