Chapter Thirty-Nine: Don’t Tempt Me

Along the way, Ning Xianyu noticed something odd about these demonic cultivators. They kept inching closer to her, some even attempting to stick to her side. The scene had been unpleasant and nauseating, so Xuanyuan Tunhan had simply thrown them far away.

Now, seeing Saba approach again, Ning Xianyu grew irritated.
"Will you people ever stop?"
Why did they insist on crowding around her?
She was currently in the body of a man, cold and aloof—did demonic cultivators actually prefer this sort of demeanor?

But Saba, embarrassed, explained, "Ah Yuan, to be honest, we don’t know why, but whenever we get close to you, our moods become especially calm, and even our sleep is sweeter than usual."

Ning Xianyu sniffed herself. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

She certainly wasn’t carrying any tranquilizers, so how could proximity to her yield such benefits?

But Saba persisted, sniffing her again. "You don’t have any particular scent, but being near you just feels comfortable."

Someone else laughed and said, "If only you were a woman, then we could... ah—"
He didn’t finish his sentence before Xuanyuan Tunhan kicked him away.

Saba and the others were frightened into behaving, though they still lingered near Ning Xianyu, gazing at her with hopeful, pleading eyes—like little children wanting their mother’s embrace. Ning Xianyu felt thoroughly disgusted.

She found it strange herself. Was there something peculiar about the Demon Lord’s body that made it so alluring?

She checked again, but found nothing amiss.

Xuanyuan Tunhan, however, regarded her with a shift in his expression.
This woman was truly fortunate.
When he regained his body, perhaps he could finally resolve that matter which had vexed him for tens of thousands of years.

Ning Xianyu cautiously leaned closer to him for a sense of security, only to be rebuffed. "Stop seducing me."

What?

Who was she seducing?
Ning Xianyu couldn’t even explain herself. She was hardly trying to seduce anyone; those demonic cultivators clinging to her had nothing to do with her!

[Clearly it’s the Demon Lord’s body that’s seductive, yet he blames me—hmph.]

Xuanyuan Tunhan heard this, raised his hand, then after a moment, let it drop.
Forget it, it was his own body. There might even be unexpected benefits within; best not to strike.

They traveled for another day and at last arrived at the so-called Sacred Domain.

She had imagined that a place with such a lofty name would be grand in its architecture, but upon arrival, Ning Xianyu was utterly stunned.

The Sacred Domain resembled nothing so much as a child’s haphazardly built city—strange and unconventional in every way.
There were no city walls; the houses of the demonic cultivators were scattered everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, with varying orientations and colors—anything one could imagine, someone had actually constructed.
There were no straight, orderly roads either; instead, winding and twisting paths converged into a maze.

The most striking feature was the tallest castle at the city’s center, reminiscent of the castles of the Western lands, with round roofs and pointed spires. On its domed roof was painted a black beast resembling a Western dinosaur.

The system explained, [That’s not a beast. That’s the Saintess’s true form.]

Ning Xianyu was surprised. [The Saintess’s true form looks like that? Does the male lead know?]

The system chuckled. [Of course. When they first met, the Saintess used a miniature version of her true form.]

[Heavens, he has such peculiar tastes.]
A love that transcends species—remarkable.

Saba and the others carried the Fire Qilin and urged them to hurry to the front of the palace and line up.
But ‘lining up’ was just a chaotic crowd milling about.

Upon arrival, Ning Xianyu thought she could finally rest for a bit, but Saba and his group abandoned the Fire Qilin and rushed ahead, shouting,

"All of you, get lost! Make way for us!"

Ning Xianyu, munching on a fruit she’d snatched along the road, nearly spat it out in surprise.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a queue?
This was blatant cutting in line.

Saba and his group shoved aside the weaker ones, but soon encountered some tough opposition.
Words failed, and soon fists flew. Saba's group shouted their slogans fiercely, but their skills were lacking; within moments, they were defeated.

Undeterred, they ran back to seek reinforcements.

Xuanyuan Tunhan, irritated, drew his sword and, with a wave, began cleaving through the crowd as if chopping vegetables—anyone who approached was struck down.

Yi Tianling joined in, helping to clear the way.

Ning Xianyu blinked, hands clasped behind her back, and followed along, making it to the very front.

Xuanyuan Tunhan disliked crowds; seeing too many people lined up around them, he simply beat everyone in the immediate vicinity.

Once the Fire Qilin was set down, within a fifty-meter radius, only their group and the Fire Qilin remained.

Saba, quick-witted, took his broadsword and drew a crooked circle around them, declaring with swagger, "This is our turf! Anyone who steps in, dies!"

Outside the circle, demonic cultivators watched them with hungry eyes, but none dared approach. Some even gazed at them with admiration.

Demonic cultivators respected strength; at this moment, these few seemed to shine with brilliance.

Seeing them so ostentatious, Ning Xianyu considered whether they ought to just storm the Demon Palace and seize the Blood Source Stone outright.

The system told her she was too naive.

[Even if Xuanyuan Tunhan is formidable, now that he’s in a different body and suppressed by the harsh environment of the Demon Realm, he can only exert about twenty percent of his power.]

[There are many powerful figures in the Demon Realm. If you simply charge in, you’ll likely be crushed and scattered to the winds.]

Underestimating the Demon Realm would only end in a miserable death.

Ning Xianyu murmured, [So the Demon Lord teamed up with Saba and the others after careful consideration?]

[Most likely.]

[So the Demon Lord can be flexible and use strategy—I thought he’d just overpower everyone and grab what he wanted.]

The system laughed. [When you see the Blood Source Stone, he’ll definitely snatch it by force. But then you’ll just grab it and run, with no more worries.]

Xuanyuan Tunhan, overhearing their conversation, was annoyed.

What did this woman think he was?
He was strong, yes, but he wasn’t a brute who acted without thinking.
Did she truly believe the strongest in the Six Realms of Yunhuang only needed to fight to succeed?

For now, with nothing else to do, Ning Xianyu focused on chatting with the system.

[Where did you go earlier?]

The system sighed, [I went to sort out the plot, only to discover it had shifted dramatically, and was drifting farther and farther away—ah.]

[So what if the plot deviates? We’re not the main characters anyway; what does it matter if things change?] Ning Xianyu had never cared, so she didn’t see why the system should fret.

But the system replied, [If the plot deviates, we won’t be able to predict what happens next. We’ll lose our advantage of foresight. With your limited strength, how long do you think you can last?]

That gave Ning Xianyu an urgent sense that her head was precariously perched atop her neck.

[How does the plot deviate?]

Even so, it didn’t matter—if they found the cause and corrected it, all would be well. The only worry was if things veered so far as to collapse the entire world.