Chapter 36: Dragon Kui, That Person Is So Strange!

In the Demon-Sealing Tower’s thirteenth layer, Dragon Kui stood defiant, her fiery red garb a stark contrast to the demon horde before her. The delicate frailty once etched on her face had vanished, replaced by a razor-sharp killing intent. Her blood-moon eyes gleamed with cold resolve. Trapped in the tower for a millennium, she’d entered as a timid girl, fleeing demons with no means to fight back. Yet their relentless pursuit forced her to forge a second persona—a ruthless hunter, unyielding and lethal.

Over a thousand years, Dragon Kui had fought over nine thousand battles. Scenes like this were routine for her red-clad alter ego. “Anyone who blocks my reunion with my lord brother must vanish!” Her toes grazed the ground as her lithe form soared. Crimson arcs flashed, blood-hued clouds roiling, felling thirty demons in a heartbeat. But more surged forward. Though formidable, her power had limits, while the tower’s demons were endless. This assault, numbering thousands, was unprecedented.

Slash! She cut down a few more but her stamina was waning. Gasping, she fought while retreating toward the fourteenth layer’s entrance. The demons’ pursuit grew fiercer, and her wounds multiplied. Her second persona, tied to her inner strength, faltered as her energy drained dry. Reaching the entrance, she collapsed with a soft cry. The demons closed in, snarls echoing.

Blue-clad Dragon Kui’s eyes brimmed with fear. Then, she spied a sword in the corner. “Demon-Suppressing Sword!” She recognised it from centuries ago, when Shu Mountain’s patriarch used it to seal the Heavenly Demon Emperor. Demons dreaded it. Grasping at hope, she reached for it, but a searing burn scorched her palm. Clatter! The sword fell. Despair surged—she’d forgotten her ghostly state barred her from wielding it.

“Lord brother…” Her lips trembled, her face paling. Seconds passed—yet the demons didn’t pounce. Blinking, she looked up. The horde stood frozen, terrified, staring her way. “Hm?” Turning, she saw a figure behind her—a youth of sixteen or seventeen, clad in an ink-black robe with pearl-white inner lining, tailored to his lean frame. Half a head taller, his black hair was neatly bound, his features striking, a blood-red mark glowing at his brow.

He stood silently, not sparing her a glance. His clear eyes held an enigmatic blend of coldness and warmth, inscrutable. “Heavenly Demon Emperor!” His voice was icy, commanding. Dragon Kui doubted her ears—ordering the Emperor? Yet, the Emperor appeared, visibly tense, dispersing the demons before returning to the youth’s side, head bowed like a scolded child. The scene mirrored her father’s guards clearing crowds, but the Emperor’s fear far surpassed any guard’s.

Unbeknownst to Dragon Kui, the Emperor was petrified. Anticipating his master’s arrival, he’d warned all demons from the first to the eighteenth layers—any chaos would mean annihilation. The upper layers complied, earning his smug satisfaction, but the thirteenth layer’s demons had blundered, swarming the entrance and crossing his master’s path. The Emperor was mortified.

As the demons scattered, Li Qiye’s gaze softened, noting red hairs on the ground. The Emperor had mentioned a red-haired woman battling demons here. Glancing at Dragon Kui, he asked gently, “Are you alright?” To him, this frail girl must’ve been caught in the fray. He saw his younger self in her, once a bullied newcomer in the tower. Sympathy stirred within him.

But Dragon Kui’s face paled, and she fled without a word. Li Qiye watched her go, unsurprised. In the tower, trust was a luxury; only self-reliance ensured survival. He reached out, summoning the Demon-Suppressing Sword. “To the twelfth layer, Blood Demon Sky Pool,” he said coolly. The pool’s nurturing properties would aid the forging of his evil sword. He and the Emperor vanished into the twelfth layer’s entrance.

Moments later, Dragon Kui’s head peeked from behind a rock. “He went to the Blood Demon Sky Pool… The Emperor and demons fear him, obey him—are they allies? But… he saved me.” She sensed Li Qiye’s immense power and aloofness. He didn’t seem virtuous, yet his act wasn’t cruel. Biting her lip, curiosity about him bloomed.