It was indeed a twist of fate. Hei Yu, who had always been smooth sailing, encountered an abysmal streak of bad luck after arriving in this world. No matter how hard Hei Yu tried to find the scattered fragments, he couldn't locate them.
Furthermore, due to the prolonged lack of sufficient demonic energy, Hei Yu gradually weakened. In the end, he had no choice but to find a local host to attach himself to. Thus, he found the then-renowned capitalist Wu Wan Lian Ye of Dong Yi. Hei Yu intended to leverage the latter's influence to track down the fragments while minimizing the loss of his own demonic energy, achieving a precarious balance.
With Hei Yu's assistance, Wu Wan Lian Ye's assets skyrocketed in just a few short years. He even built a golden villa called the Twilight Manor using gold, solidifying his position as a world-leading magnate.
However, Hei Yu soon discovered that Wu Wan Lian Ye had betrayed him. At the beginning of their alliance, Hei Yu had promised to offer his power to assist Wu Wan Lian Ye, and in return, Wu Wan Lian Ye was to dedicate himself to finding the fragments for Hei Yu.
Yet, after gaining everything through Hei Yu's power, Wu Wan Lian Ye began to slack off. While outwardly claiming to help Hei Yu, he secretly worked against him, even hiring Onmyoji to eliminate Hei Yu.
Upon discovering all this, Hei Yu was instantly enraged. His immense demonic power shattered Wu Wan Lian Ye's soul. Even after Wu Wan Lian Ye's death, the ensuing infighting among the wealthy who had carved up his fortune was also orchestrated by Hei Yu behind the scenes.
After this incident, Hei Yu lost all trust in humans. He transformed into a crow, using Wu Wan Lian Ye as a puppet. Leveraging Wu Wan Lian Ye's considerable influence and wealth, he established the Distillery, beginning his search for the fragments scattered across the world.
This was why, despite the Distillery being infiltrated by agents from numerous countries, Wu Wan Lian Ye, as its owner, remained indifferent, only dispatching Gin and a few others to periodically eliminate the moles. The fundamental reason was that Hei Yu's true objective was not the organization itself; its existence or demise held no significance to him.
With the revival of the Holy Lord, magic in the world began to stir once more. Unaware of the Holy Lord's true power, Hei Yu felt emboldened and arrogantly attempted to control this native demon to find the fragments for him.
What he didn't anticipate was that the moment he saw Bai Qi, the overwhelming and suffocating pressure almost made Hei Yu faint. However, there was no turning back. Subjugation was out of the question; even with another two hundred years, he wouldn't dare face such a monster.
Therefore, Hei Yu could only do his best to suppress his aura, trying his utmost not to be detected. For the rest, he prepared a ready excuse to deal with the situation, intending to at least get rid of Bai Qi first.
Unexpectedly, he was still exposed. By this point, Hei Yu harbored no thoughts of escape or resistance, only wishing that this demon would grant him a quick end.
Now, Hei Yu was held in Bai Qi's grasp. With a slight squeeze, Bai Qi could crush him. But Bai Qi did not do so. Not only did he refrain from killing Hei Yu, but he also released him.
"You... what do you want?"
Regaining his freedom, Hei Yu retreated rapidly, putting distance between himself and Bai Qi, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Bai Qi.
He couldn't understand. Shouldn't a native demon like the Holy Lord vehemently reject, even hate, an outsider demon like himself?
Why would he let him go?
Could it be that he was planning to torture him?
Bai Qi then produced a sheepskin scroll and placed it before Hei Yu, along with a feather pen and ink.
"This is... a slave contract? You want to sign a contract with me?"
Hei Yu recognized the items Bai Qi produced with absolute clarity.
Indeed, upon discovering Hei Yu's identity as an outsider demon, Bai Qi did not react like other native demons. If it had been the former Holy Lord, he would have crushed this pest without a second word. But Bai Qi was different.
As a successful businessman, how could he let go of a commodity without fully extracting its profit?
Killing Hei Yu was easy, but how to gain substantial benefits from him was the true art.
Of course, all this was done after Bai Qi obtained permission from Hei Qi's mother. If Hei Qi's mother had refused, Bai Qi would have crushed Hei Yu without hesitation.
The contract's terms were straightforward: Bai Qi would spare Hei Yu's life, but Hei Yu had to offer everything to Bai Qi, including his loyalty, possessions, and even his life.
It was extremely stringent; signing it was tantamount to selling oneself into servitude.
Naturally, facing the prospect of servitude to Bai Qi, Hei Yu could also choose a glorious death.
However, for Hei Yu, who had just survived the Era of Magical Decline, the coming days offered a rare glimmer of hope. To die now, no matter who it was, would be unwilling.
Glorious death versus clinging to life, Hei Yu made his choice in less than five seconds.
With determination, Hei Yu picked up the feather pen and signed his name on the contract parchment.
Thus, Hei Yu became the Holy Lord's servant.
After becoming a servant, before Hei Yu could even lament his fate, a stream of dark energy surged into his body, causing his emaciated frame to expand slightly.
"This is..."
Initially, Hei Yu didn't realize what was happening, but he quickly understood.
In his previous existence as an outsider demon in this world, Hei Yu was like an undocumented immigrant. His identity was not recognized by either the righteous or the dark energies.
Now, as Bai Qi's servant, Hei Yu had essentially obtained a green card for this world, becoming a part of it. As the favored son of Hei Qi's mother, Bai Qi was highly valued. Since Hei Yu had become Bai Qi's subordinate, the mother-figure, the dark energy, did not object to bestowing some of its power to strengthen Hei Yu.
As expected, after receiving the enhancement from the dark energy, Hei Yu's loyalty to Bai Qi instantly soared to infinite levels. Hei Yu had never experienced such motherly care before; it was intoxicating.
Immediately, Hei Yu rushed to Bai Qi's side and pledged, "Lord Holy Lord, from this day forward, you are my reborn parents. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west."
Some might wonder why Bai Qi, so powerful already, would take in a weak outsider demon as a subordinate, one with little combat prowess and requiring a portion of the dark energy's enhancement.
Their perspective was too narrow.
As a demon with ambition, how could Bai Qi limit his gaze to just this world? Once his mission to save this world was complete, Bai Qi intended to explore the Void. Hei Yu, being a creature from the Void civilization, would undoubtedly possess more knowledge of the Void than Bai Qi, a native demon.
To Bai Qi, Hei Yu was the stepping stone to his future entry into the Void.
Then there was the Distillery. After all, the Distillery was an organization Hei Yu had founded. If Bai Qi were to eliminate Hei Yu here, it could very well lead to chaos within the organization, and the agents hidden within would seize the opportunity to dismantle this international entity. It was better to maintain the status quo, let Hei Yu continue to control the Distillery, and then Bai Qi would control Hei Yu. In essence, it meant Bai Qi controlled the Distillery.