The Demon Lord's memory of those days was hazy, many details forgotten, leaving only cold, cruel facts.
Memories of his beloved were sealed away, leaving only vague shadows and occasional flashes of longing.
In countless moments, he was utterly certain that he and another person had done this thing. When he tried to recall the relevant scenes, his mind was a complete blank.
This was the seal placed by his father, powerful, masterful, and exquisite.
The Demon Lord did not hate his father; after becoming the Demon Lord, he understood the hardships of the previous Demon Lord even better.
The old Demon Lord had diligently guarded the Demon Realm for nearly eight hundred years. In the late stages of his cultivation, he encountered a bottleneck and, while attempting a breakthrough, accidentally went berserk.
Upon his death, without an heir, the Demon Sect would be masterless, the Demon Realm would surely fall into disarray and be unable to resist the encirclement by the Immortal Realm. All cultivators tainted by demonic energy would face the threat of death.
The old Demon Lord had no choice but to harden his heart and act against his son, pushing him onto the position of Demon Lord.
As for himself, after becoming the Demon Lord, the weight of responsibility pressed down heavily. He placed the interests of the Demon Realm first, and all other unimportant matters were not worth his attention.
For instance, the matter of his harem. The Demon Sect was the sole power in the Demon Realm and did not need to rely on marriage alliances for exchange of benefits. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had never considered marriage.
"So, if necessary," Jian Lin asked with hopeful eyes, "would you marry and have children?"
"Yes," the Demon Lord replied crisply. "It's just not necessary now. My plan is that when I turn four hundred, I will marry an outstanding woman with profound cultivation, have offspring, and nurture the next heir, completing all the duties of a Demon Lord."
Jian Lin was shocked but also understood. This was indeed the choice this man would make.
"Therefore, there's no need for you to be angry about such trivial matters," the Demon Lord continued. "I will handle the matter of Miss Jin properly."
The more Jian Lin listened, the more something felt wrong. It wasn't about Miss Jin. It was about the Demon Lord saying he would marry when he was four hundred. Then why was he upset now?
Did he actually like her?
"Lord Chongyuan," Jian Lin's heart pounded wildly, a surge of blood rushing to her head. She had to ask clearly, "What about me?"
"What about you?" the Demon Lord asked, glancing at her as he added wood to the fire.
Jian Lin eagerly leaned closer, tightly gripping the Demon Lord's arm. "If you're going to marry, what happens to me?"
The Demon Lord turned, looking deeply into her eyes, and paused before answering, "It depends on your fortune. If your cultivation is low, you will have long since reincarnated by then. If your cultivation is moderate, you can stay by my side if you wish, or leave if you don't. If your cultivation is profound..."
Jian Lin curled her lips. From the Demon Lord's expression, she seemed to see the answer, but she still shyly asked, "What about it?"
"I wouldn't mind marrying you and having an excellent offspring," the Demon Lord said casually, as if discussing the weather.
But Jian Lin was overjoyed. In two lifetimes, the Demon Lord was the first man to say he was willing to marry her. Ah, ah, ah, she was so moved!
Even knowing that he only had a little affection now, that he was just an unfeeling machine selecting a wife based on cultivation level, she was still deeply moved!
Jian Lin smiled until she felt dizzy, as if she were drunk. She gazed at the Demon Lord's handsome profile, her mind went blank, and she blurted out her thoughts, "Lord Chongyuan, can I kiss you?"
The Demon Lord's gaze flickered, his brow furrowed slightly. He said warily, "What do you want?"
"Just a little bit of intimate contact beforehand!" Jian Lin hugged the Demon Lord's arm, grinning. "Lord Chongyuan, you don't know how to make children, do you? You'll do even more outrageous things later. Let's try it now. What if you hate me touching you? How will you marry me then?"
"Firstly, you should focus on your cultivation. With such low cultivation, I absolutely will not marry you," the Demon Lord said, his gaze fixed on her hand, speaking matter-of-factly. "Secondly, I don't dislike you touching me, otherwise I would have thrown you to the other side of the mountain long ago. The conclusion is, you don't need to try."
"That's different," Jian Lin said, her eyes sharp. "Our usual contact has a purpose. Contact purely for intimacy, we haven't had that."
The Demon Lord frowned, finding this woman to be hot and cold. She had seemed uninterested in him before, so why was she so fervent now?
And this current fervor was different from the fervor when they first met. Nothing special had happened these past two days. She kept saying they should be friends, so why did she insist on a kiss now? What did it mean?
Jian Lin kept staring intently at the Demon Lord. Seeing him momentarily lost in thought, she seized the opportunity, steeled herself, and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek.
A tentative kiss.
Jian Lin pulled back, unconsciously licking her lips. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of strange swirling colors. The world disappeared, leaving only the handsome face of the Demon Lord before her. So this was what kissing felt like.
Caught off guard, the Demon Lord's pupils instantly widened. He abruptly turned his head to look at her, his eyes as deep as the sea.
In fact, they had both tested each other before. He had tried to guess her identity, and she had tried to seduce him.
Both had tacitly avoided it. Why had it turned out like this tonight?
The Demon Lord couldn't figure it out. As if bewitched, or perhaps to confirm something, he reached out, grasped Jian Lin's shoulder, and slowly leaned in, until their noses brushed and their breaths mingled.
Then he kissed her lips, a brief, chaste, close, still, and then retreating kiss.
This time, the swirling colors in Jian Lin's mind all exploded into fireworks, shattering her senses.
She unconsciously licked her lips with her tongue and murmured to herself, "Ah, it's not sweet..."
Whoever told her that a first kiss was sweet was wrong. It wasn't sweet at all.
The Demon Lord cleared his throat, pulled back, and said lazily, "Mm, not sweet, not interesting, right?"
Jian Lin blinked, gradually regaining her senses, and instinctively denied it. "What? Of course it was interesting, incredibly interesting."
A smile flickered on the Demon Lord's lips. "Oh? Then tell me, what was so interesting?"
Jian Lin choked. She had been in a daze at the time and couldn't say anything.
Oh dear! She had made a mistake due to lack of experience. She was going to die!
Jian Lin, annoyed, gritted her teeth and said, "Give me another chance, and I'll write you a thesis!"
"Opportunity knocks but once," the Demon Lord stood up abruptly, stepping back two paces away from Jian Lin. "In the wilderness, under the open sky, you behave yourself."
"What do you mean?" Jian Lin also stood up, pointing at him. "Mo Chongyuan! What do you take me for? I think you're the one who's dirty and vulgar!"
The Demon Lord suppressed a smile and retorted, "If you weren't dirty and vulgar, how would you know I am?"
Jian Lin picked up a stone from the ground and angrily threw it at him. This scoundrel had ruined the atmosphere of her first kiss! Damn him!
The next morning, the two of them set off and queued at the gates of Daliang City. This time, there were no incidents, and they successfully entered the city.
Walking through the long city gate tunnel, Jian Lin couldn't help but exclaim "Wow" at the scene before her.
If the demon city was bizarre and strange, then Daliang City was completely in line with her understanding of prosperity and flourishing.
The main streets were level and wide, paved with fine bluestone slabs. Tall buildings rose on both sides, adorned with various flags and signs, a colorful and bustling sight.
Looking at the pedestrians on the road, Jian Lin could tell that cultivators and mortals were roughly fifty-fifty. Although their statuses were vastly different, they were all busy with one thing: conducting business and trading for money.
In those people, Jian Lin seemed to see her original parents. They must have come here to do business. It made her sigh with emotion that she could be here today.
"What are you spacing out for? Let's go," the Demon Lord called to her and walked ahead.
"Where are we going?" Jian Lin asked.
Before the Demon Lord could answer, a bell suddenly rang in the sky. Following the sound, with a rumbling noise, a tall building suddenly rose into the air. Upon closer inspection, it was a pleasure boat setting sail into the sky.
"That's the pleasure boat we're taking," the Demon Lord tilted his chin, gesturing to her. "It departs every three days. We'll stay here for three days, and then we'll take that boat to Guanlan Sect."
Jian Lin watched the flying boat ascend and said happily, "We get to stay in Daliang City for three days! That's great!"
She thought they would leave immediately after dealing with Miss Jin's matter. Now it seemed she had time to explore Daliang City.
So, after finding a place for breakfast, the two of them headed straight for the Golden Scale Mansion.
Finding the Golden Scale Mansion was not difficult; they could ask any street vendor. Soon, they arrived at the east of the city and saw a grand courtyard from afar.
The outer walls of the Golden Scale Mansion were painted vermilion. Jian Lin walked closer to examine them, noticing gold flecks mixed in. A faint medicinal scent emanated from them. She knew without guessing that there must be some expensive materials inside.
"It's Jiurong Grass, which calms the spirit and dispels evil. It's a commonly used herb by Daoists for alchemy," the Demon Lord explained to her.
Good heavens, what others used for alchemy, the Golden Scale Mansion used to paint its walls. They were truly wealthy and powerful, she had to admit.
Turning a corner, they reached the main entrance. Looking up, they saw green tiled roofs and flying eaves, with a vermilion main gate, magnificent and imposing, showcasing the style of a wealthy family.
Jian Lin leaned closer to the Demon Lord and gritted her teeth, whispering, "Lord Chongyuan, compared to the Golden Scale Mansion, who is richer?"
Jian Lin had only seen two rich people: the Demon Lord and the Golden Scale Mansion.
"If we're talking about the amount of spirit stones, the Golden Scale Mansion wins," the Demon Lord replied proudly, raising his chin. "If we count various magical treasures, then of course I am superior."
Jian Lin showed an envious look. They were both amazing, only she was the poorest!
The two of them stood at the gate, murmuring to each other. The guards at the Golden Scale Mansion couldn't stand it and shouted loudly, "You two over there, what are you doing? How dare you act presumptuously in front of the Golden Scale Mansion!"
"We dare not," the Demon Lord replied loudly. "I am Lin Yan. Miss Jin asked me to come today. Please inform her."
The guards exchanged glances and looked towards the gate. Someone reported, "It's Lin Yan. Steward Qiao, please come out and see."
"Let me see," a thin, shrewd middle-aged Daoist emerged from the gatehouse. He had a handlebar mustache and a very arrogant demeanor. "Lin Yan, is it? Come in. Our young lady has been waiting for you for a long time!"