Husband, Eh!

Xuan Yuan Back Mountain was blanketed in peach blossoms for miles, like a sea of pink flowers adorning the mountainside.

A gentle breeze swept up the petals, sending them dancing through the sky. The intoxicating scent of peach blossoms lingered beneath everyone's noses.

Yet Yan Ruyu, Qin Yao, and the other demons had no mind to appreciate such a picturesque sight.

They were shaken by the words Lu Zhou had spoken.

They had expected that since Lu Zhou had come looking for Pang Bo, he likely already knew Pang Bo was being possessed.

But they had never imagined that Lu Zhou even knew who was possessing Pang Bo!

And that he would make such a declaration about it!

"Everyone, withdraw!"

"Young Master Lu, please come with me!"

Yan Ruyu spoke up. Lu Zhou's words had shaken her, and she wanted to speak with him privately in depth!

Lu Zhou nodded and followed her into Xuan Yuan Back Mountain.

As for the Black Emperor, that third wheel, Lu Zhou told it to go frolic with the demon girls on its own.

Yan Ruyu led Lu Zhou toward a resplendent mountain peak. Flecks of rosy light shimmered there, and a pavilion hung high in the air.

Along the way, Lu Zhou said to her,

"The title 'Young Master' doesn't suit me very well. Some of my male friends call me Lu Zi, while my female friends call me Husband. You can call me that too!"

"Hus... band? What does that mean?"

It was Yan Ruyu's first time hearing such a form of address, and she did not understand its meaning. She carefully studied Lu Zhou, then glanced at his face, which looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, and said,

"You haven't even come of age yet, have you? You're not old!"

"I came of age long ago. It's just that I also consumed the same Saint Fruit Pang Bo once ate. More than a dozen marks were erased from my Wheel of Life, returning me to the appearance of a youth!"

"So that's how it is. No wonder I sensed such vigorous vitality and blood qi from you!"

She nodded, her voice still as lovely as celestial music.

But Lu Zhou could tell that she seemed to be pondering something.

By then, they had arrived at the pavilion atop the mountain.

From afar, misty clouds and rosy radiance blurred their figures. For a moment, they truly looked like an immortal couple about to ride the wind away.

"You're thinking about your ancestor? Or about nourishing the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart?"

"You know about that too?"

Yan Ruyu was startled again. A hint of shock appeared in her beautiful eyes as she looked at Lu Zhou.

She had not expected that Lu Zhou even knew she wanted to find a sacred artifact brimming with vitality and vigorous blood qi to nourish the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart.

Lu Zhou felt incredibly mysterious to her. Suddenly, she had the illusion that she had no secrets at all before him.

"In this world, I wouldn't dare claim to know everything, but there are indeed quite a few things I know!"

"For instance, I know that the Azure Emperor isn't dead yet!"

"What? That's impossible!"

Yan Ruyu refuted him instinctively.

The Azure Emperor had already vanished for ten thousand years. She did not believe he was still alive.

If the Azure Emperor were still alive, how could he possibly watch helplessly as the Eastern Wasteland Demon Court he had founded with his own hands collapsed?

How could he watch helplessly as his descendants were bullied?

"There's nothing impossible about it. He really is still alive, but he isn't far from death either. His condition is terrible now. He's muddle-headed and has already lost himself—"

"Where is my ancestor?"

Before Lu Zhou could finish, Yan Ruyu impatiently pressed him.

The ancestor she spoke of was naturally not that old bastard currently occupying Pang Bo's body, but the Azure Emperor.

"You've heard of the Desolate Pagoda, haven't you?"

"Of course. Could it be that my ancestor is trapped inside the Desolate Pagoda now?"

Lu Zhou nodded and said to her,

"To this day, the Azure Emperor remains the last person in this world to attain the rank of Great Emperor. Needless to say, he was powerful. In my view, he surpassed the many Great Emperors throughout history."

"But what did becoming a Great Emperor matter?"

"One would still grow old, and one's lifespan would eventually run dry!"

"Even ordinary cultivators dream of becoming immortals, much less those Great Emperors. Naturally, the Azure Emperor was no exception!"

"He discovered the immortal artifact known as the Desolate Pagoda and wished to use it to evolve an Immortal Realm. In the end, he disintegrated his own body, built himself a Yang Tomb and a Yin Grave, and sent his primordial spirit into the Desolate Pagoda, where he lost himself in the process of deducing the Immortal Realm."

"The Desolate Pagoda vanished over a year ago. No one knows where it is now. Do you know where the Desolate Pagoda is? Please tell me. Ruyu would be endlessly grateful!"

As she spoke, Yan Ruyu actually gave Lu Zhou a respectful bow.

She did not suspect Lu Zhou was deceiving her, because some of the things he had mentioned earlier were simply impossible for outsiders to know.

The mystery surrounding Lu Zhou made her feel that he was unfathomably profound.

Even more so because she had seen fragments regarding the Azure Emperor and the Desolate Pagoda in certain secret texts passed down through her family.

Those fragments were nowhere near as detailed as what Lu Zhou had just said.

Yet when the two were put together, Yan Ruyu was almost certain that what Lu Zhou was saying was most likely all true.

Her ancestor might truly not be dead. He had merely disintegrated his imperial body, while his primordial spirit had entered the Desolate Pagoda.

Lu Zhou reached out and held her arm. In that instant, he felt as though he were holding a piece of soft, creamy white jade.

A delicate fragrance carrying the scent of lotus flowers entered Lu Zhou's nose, refreshing his mind. It was likely Yan Ruyu's natural body scent.

He smiled at Yan Ruyu and said,

"You don't need to be so polite with me. Since I came specifically to find you and brought up the Azure Emperor, I won't hide anything from you!"

"You don't need to search for the Desolate Pagoda either. Even if you found it, you still wouldn't be able to save the Azure Emperor!"

"Saving the Azure Emperor doesn't have to be so troublesome!"

"It doesn't have to be so troublesome? Is there some way to save my ancestor easily?"

"Young Master Lu... Hus—Husband, please tell me how I can save my ancestor?"

She had instinctively wanted to call him Young Master Lu again, but then remembered what Lu Zhou had said earlier.

"The title 'Young Master' doesn't suit me very well. Some of my male friends call me Lu Zi, while my female friends call me Husband. You can call me that too!"

Yan Ruyu knew that everyone had their own preferences and taboos.

She thought that since Lu Zhou had deliberately mentioned it just now, perhaps the title "Young Master" was one of Lu Zhou's taboos.

She felt it was merely a form of address. Since Lu Zhou liked it, and since she was now asking him for help, she would go along with his wishes. She also hoped this would bring her a little closer to him.

At that moment, nothing in the world mattered more to her than her ancestor.

If her ancestor could return to the world, then as the Demon Princess, why would she have to live such a miserable life, hiding from place to place?

"Eh!"

Lu Zhou smiled. He answered with an "eh," clearly delighted.

As for tricking Yan Ruyu into calling him Husband, his thick-skinned self did not feel the slightest shame.

Yan Ruyu regarded him suspiciously, unable to understand why Lu Zhou had suddenly smiled so brilliantly.

Before she could think further, she heard Lu Zhou say,

"To save the Azure Emperor, the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart is the key. I want to ask, where is the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart now? I have a way to use it to awaken the Azure Emperor's primordial spirit!"

"The Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart is in my possession. How can it be used to awaken my ancestor's primordial spirit?"

Hearing Yan Ruyu say this, Lu Zhou understood. It seemed the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart had not yet been placed inside Ye Fan's body for nourishment.

Just as he was considering this, a series of dog barks rang out in the distance.

They were mixed with furious curses.

"Damn it, you heavenly bastard! What dead dog dares steal this Daoist's Demon Emperor's Essence Blood?"

"Ahhh, damn it... dead dog, let go of this Daoist! Let... let go! Ow, this Daoist's ass!"

"Hahaha, good bite! Bite harder! Come on! You wicked Daoist, you usually do far too many immoral things. Now you're being chased and bitten by a dog—this is karma!"

"What the hell? You rabid dog, why the fuck are you biting me?"

From far away, Lu Zhou heard Ye Fan's voice.

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