Chapter Fifty-Five: The Master of Courting Disaster

As Ning Xianyu drank, she drifted off to sleep, and soon began to snore.

The system complained in disdain: "Honestly, this body was once that of a handsome man, and look at the state you've reduced it to—what a waste of good resources."

At that moment, Xuanyuan Tunhan stood up and pulled the straw from Ning Xianyu’s mouth. He truly could not tolerate his own body sleeping in such an undignified position.

Ning Xianyu rolled over and happened to grab his arm, holding on tightly. She snuggled against him, giggling foolishly, "Beauty, your hand is so soft. Come, let me give you a kiss."

Xuanyuan Tunhan's expression froze; with his other hand, he pressed her head and pushed her away. But Ning Xianyu was anything but obedient. She rolled right back, this time draping a leg over him and possessively hugging his waist.

Xuanyuan Tunhan immediately felt as if he were crushed beneath a mountain. He knew he shouldn’t feel that way, but this woman, once asleep, was heavier than a boulder.

Cultivators who abstain from food absorb the energy of heaven and earth, and their bodies are supposed to be light. He knew his own physique well—he should not feel so heavy. Yet after less than half a month in her care, it was as if he’d been weighed down.

Xuanyuan Tunhan was stifled and annoyed, wanting to push her off, but she clung to him like an unshakeable plaster. The more he tried to move her, the tighter she held on.

"Damn it!"

Ning Xianyu muttered something in her sleep, hugging him even tighter and nuzzling his face.

The system was so frightened it didn’t dare make a sound in her mind.

"Host, you’re truly courting death."

She had managed to pin down the great demon lord. Across the six realms of Cloud Desolation, in heaven or earth, she must be the first.

Ning Xianyu slept soundly, thoroughly comfortable. She dreamed she was back in the modern world, sprawled on her big bed at home, hugging a life-sized pillow shaped like her favorite idol and sleeping blissfully.

How wonderful it felt—if only the persistent voice in her head would stop shouting at her.

Upon waking, she stretched languidly, then hugged her life-sized pillow and gave it a kiss, squeezing it a couple of times.

So soft, fragrant, and a little cool.

Why did the material feel different?

The lower part was fabric, soft and light, but the upper part was warm and fleshy, with a distinct coolness.

Fleshy?

Ning Xianyu’s eyes flew open. Heart pounding, she reached out with trembling hands to confirm, and instantly snapped awake.

She sat up in shock, only to see Xuanyuan Tunhan lying there, staring at her with wide, aggrieved eyes full of irritation and innocence.

“O-old, old, old…”

She had hugged the demon lord, touched him, and nuzzled him—in effect, she had all but molested the demon lord.

He would surely kill her for this.

For some reason, Xuanyuan Tunhan’s gaze looked a little resentful.

He straightened up, sat up, adjusted his robe, and then—

"Ah!"

Ning Xianyu was flung out again, overwhelmed with frustration. Whenever the demon lord got angry, he liked to throw people out. Wasn’t this, in its way, a kind of tsundere behavior?

Yi Tianling happened to emerge just then and was startled to see her tossed out.

He quickly turned away, awkwardly rubbing his neck, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

Senior Ning’s temper upon waking was truly formidable—throwing someone out first thing in the morning. Clearly, the two seniors had exerted themselves last night.

"Senior Xuanyuan, good morning."

Ning Xianyu forced a smile. "Morning. Out for a walk?"

Yi Tianling nodded. "Akali has never seen snow. I wanted to bring her a bucket of it."

Ning Xianyu found this odd. "Why not just take her outside?"

Yi Tianling replied, embarrassed, "Akali isn’t used to cold weather."

So that was it.

"You’re very thoughtful, but I think bringing her a bucket of snow is rather dull. Why not build a snowman in her likeness?"

Though she still felt that snow was best experienced firsthand, if Akali feared the cold, a snowman would be a nice gesture.

Yi Tianling's eyes lit up. "Senior, you’re right! I’ll do that right away."

The mountains all around were blanketed in snow. He picked the most prominent spot and began to build a snowman.

He was clearly inexperienced, floundering at first, covering himself in snow without much progress.

He considered using spiritual power, but thought better of it and decided to do it by hand.

Ning Xianyu longed to help, but now that she was inhabiting the demon lord’s body, the demon lord would never stoop to building a snowman.

So she suppressed her itching urge, folding her arms and maintaining the aloof demeanor of a master recluse, watching Yi Tianling’s efforts from afar.

"I want to build a snowman, I want to have a snowball fight," she yearned inwardly.

The system snickered, "Go ahead—if you break the demon lord’s character, I’ll salute you for your courage."

Ning Xianyu was dying to join in, but restrained herself.

"The demon lord is already grumpy in the mornings. If I provoke him further, he’ll explode. What’s up with his inner demon, anyway? Why doesn’t the Blood Origin Stone work?"

She was deeply troubled—why didn’t the Blood Origin Stone help, and why did Xuanyuan Tunhan’s inner demon persist?

The system said, "Do you know what you look like right now?"

Ning Xianyu ignored it, but it went on, "You look like an anxious old mother, forever worrying over her disobedient son."

Ning Xianyu sighed, "Have you ever heard the saying ‘old child, old child’? Some elders, as they age, become as moody and capricious as children—quick to turn on a dime, impossible to please."

The system burst out laughing. "If he knew you said that, he’d probably crush you. Wait—he’s behind you!"

Startled, Ning Xianyu turned around, and there was the demon lord, right behind her, watching Yi Tianling’s fumbling efforts.

“G-grandmaster…”

She hurriedly got up and respectfully made way for him.

Xuanyuan Tunhan didn’t move, just stood by the door for a while, then walked over to the Blood Origin Stone.

He touched it, but there was no reaction.

He tried to move it, only to find it still just as heavy, nearly impossible to shift.

He called Ning Xianyu over. "Come here. Move this stone over there."

Ning Xianyu knew he was looking for trouble, so she obediently complied, moving the stone as instructed.

Once she was done, she asked if that was sufficient.

Xuanyuan Tunhan hesitated, then told her to lift the stone.

"You see? He just loves to torment people," the system intoned.

Nevertheless, she smiled and lifted the stone, even shaking it up and down for his satisfaction.

The more she performed, however, the darker the demon lord’s expression became. At last, she set the stone down and meekly asked if that was alright.

The demon lord turned and walked away.

She stood there, baffled by his inexplicable behavior, but when he called her to follow, she scampered after him obediently.

Xuanyuan Tunhan didn’t go far, just made a circuit around the area, burying several magical implements. Once he activated them, he returned.

Ning Xianyu had no idea what kind of formation he was creating, so she simply did as she was told, digging where instructed and serving as manual labor.

Once the array was finished and they returned, Akali and Yi Tianling were playing by the snowman.

Yi Tianling’s creation was rather crude, but Akali was delighted—after all, this was the first man ever to build her a snowman by hand.

Ah, the air was thick with the scent of love.

Even before that sweetness had a chance to settle, a fierce gust swept through.

Ning Xianyu sniffed the air. That was the scent of the demon realm.