The Princess Consort stiffened, her scolding falling silent.
She stood in the doorway for a long time.
In the end, she forced herself to walk forward, leaving only one remark behind.
"Of course I want him dead. He has to die."
"But... he can only die by my hand."
Chapter 26: The Handsome Demon Venerable
The Blood Rain Cult, the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
The Demon Cult's strictly forbidden grounds.
Normally, no one was allowed to set foot here, but today, everyone in the Demon Cult had gathered.
They stood beneath the towering flight of steps, gazing up at the grand, chilling Demon Venerable Pavilion, its doors thrown wide open.
The Demon Cult had Eight Great Protectors and two elders.
Of the elders, one was away, while the other was in secluded cultivation on Back Mountain, staking his life on a breakthrough!
Four of the Eight Great Protectors were also away.
The remaining four were all here.
One was Zhang Sheng, who stood inside the great hall.
The other three were the skeletal old man and the married couple.
They, too, stood at the foot of the steps, mingling with the crowd.
The skeletal old man's expression was cold and sinister, murderous energy churning behind him.
The husband's face was equally grim as he narrowed his eyes at the enormous palace.
Only the woman remained graceful and supple, wearing a lovely smile.
A faint fragrance wafted from her body.
It left countless men utterly entranced.
"What exactly is going on? Wasn't Zhang Sheng supposed to gather information? Why did he enter the hall by himself?"
The White Bone Elder knitted his brows, scrutinizing the woman warily as she swayed her water-snake waist.
A peach-pink flush colored her face.
"How would little old me know? Perhaps he's gone mad? A greedy snake will try to swallow an elephant. Maybe he wants to take that devil's treasures all for himself."
"Impossible!"
The old man spoke with ironclad certainty.
"I know Zhang Sheng very well. He may be a little greedy, but he's no fool. He would never do something like this."
"So, you suspect I tampered with him? I'm not one of those witch clansmen who abuse their bugs. I'm not capable of controlling him from afar like a puppet. All I did was put a little fragrance on the Sword Canon."
"That fragrance is a rare treasure. It aids cultivation, and even ten thousand gold pieces can hardly buy it."
"But it does have one tiny flaw."
"It amplifies the desires in a person's heart."
"If Zhang Sheng insists on assassinating the Demon Venerable alone and keeping all the treasures, you can hardly blame me."
"He has only his own greed to blame."
The woman wore an innocent, wounded expression, yet she sent a shiver down the White Bone Elder's spine.
"A woman's heart truly is the most poisonous thing. You're vicious."
"Thank you for the compliment. But it's not just my heart that's poisonous. I'm poisonous down below, too. One little touch from a man, and his whole body will rot until he dies. Want to try?"
"Oh, right. At your age, even if the spirit is willing, the flesh is probably too weak."
"You!"
The White Bone Elder trembled with rage.
Meanwhile, the smile vanished entirely from the woman's face.
"Enough. Don't reap the benefits and then pretend you're above it all."
"That devil is cunning and treacherous. He's already feigned injury several times, and he still has plenty of hidden cards."
"Isn't it good to have a pawn like Zhang Sheng, who has no idea what death awaits him, throw a stone to test the road? Or would you like to go and test it with him?"
"I..."
The White Bone Elder froze, then fell silent, swallowing the words on his tongue.
He stayed where he was.
Silently gazing at the palace above.
The woman was right. They had to remain utterly vigilant at all times, especially before that devil.
That was the law of survival in the Demon Cult.
Inside the palace.
Sunlight shone brightly, spilling into the hall.
Fang Yang sat on the throne in a black python-patterned robe, his face as pale as paper and blood lingering at the corner of his mouth.
Coupled with his handsome features,
he looked every inch a noble young lord in a world of turmoil.
Before him, by contrast, Zhang Sheng looked hideous and terrifying, waves of cold black energy radiating from his body.
The sword gleaming with inky light continued to circle him.
It only made his fury stand out more sharply.
It was over!
Every scheme had gone up in smoke the instant the Bell of All Life rang.
He had thought he had a chance to claim all the treasures himself.
Never had he imagined that this devil would act like a madman and ring the Bell of All Life outright.
Awakening everyone in the Demon Cult.
"Devil, why did you ring the Bell of All Life? Are you courting death?"
Zhang Sheng ground his teeth, still unable to fathom what was going through the other man's head.
Fang Yang merely smiled calmly.
Then he rose from the throne.
His black robe billowed.
He clasped his hands behind his back.
Though he looked terribly weak, as if a gust of wind could knock him over,
an unmistakable air of dominance still clung to him.
"If I didn't do this, how would I lure out you traitorous rebels? And how would I slaughter you?"
With that, he pressed his toes against the floor and launched himself upward with a thunderous rush.
He flew straight toward the top of the great hall.
Watching this, Zhang Sheng's expression shifted uncertainly.
By all reason, now that everyone in the Demon Cult had arrived, his chances of taking the treasures for himself had become exceedingly slim.
The correct choice would have been to join forces with the other Protectors and kill the Demon Venerable together.
They might even be able to rally the disciples.
After all, the Demon Venerable had been far too brutal and arrogant before.
Relying on his invincible strength,
he had lorded it over everyone in the Demon Cult, allowing no dissent.
Even though the Demon Cult had already boiled over with outrage.
The devil himself knew it, yet did not care in the slightest.
His strength was enough to suppress them all.
He did not care whether these people sincerely submitted to him or hated him.
They only needed to obediently do his bidding.
Thus, Zhang Sheng was absolutely certain that once everyone knew the Demon Venerable was truly injured, they would swarm him.
With that thought, he was about to withdraw from the hall and regroup with the other Protectors.
Just then, wafts of subtle fragrance drifted from the Sword Canon tucked against his chest.
They made the greed in his heart spread wildly like a venomous snake.
What if...
What if he could kill this devil outright?
Seize the key to the treasures and flee immediately?
Then he wouldn't have to split them with those people.
Greed swelled, and desire burned.
Now his eyes had turned red. Without the slightest hesitation, he too flew toward the top of the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
Before you continue