My Master is Actually My Late Wife
The Seven Fiends Array, one of the most sinister ancient formations.
It requires the souls of over a hundred newborn children as sacrifices to forge the accompanying chains, rendering those within the array immobile, draining their souls until death.
Wan Cang glanced at the chains on his arm, the Resplendent Sword hovering in the air, pointing straight at the ground and smirked.
He finally figured out who set up the formation.
The one who inherits the position of Demon Lord is always the newcomer who kills the previous one.
But even after Wan Cang took control of the ‘core’ of the Demon Realm, he still wasn’t interested and turned to leave.
The chimeras appeared one after another, transforming into human-like limbs, chattering away, trying to persuade Wan Cang to stay.
The Demon Realm was already chaotic and couldn’t go a day without a ruler.
Surely, the new Demon Lord couldn’t be worse, right?
Might as well try to cling to this powerful figure!
So they went from ‘the previous Demon Lord treated us like doormats, used and discarded us.’ to ‘the new Demon Lord, you’re handsome and extraordinary. Surely you can lead us into darkness.’
The incessant talk was lively and bustling.
Wan Cang could have blocked out the noise but since the chimeras were inherently chaotic, they enveloped him in dense demonic energy as if wrapped in layers of gauze which was incredibly annoying.
He was forced to listen to the chimeras’ words.
The repeated descriptions of the old Demon Lord were nothing but brutal, greedy, lecherous and a coward.
Perhaps the old Demon Lord had lived too long and wasn’t quite clear-headed, relying on his power to be below the Immortal Lords but above all demons, causing trouble within the realm.
Commonly known as ‘a bully in his own backyard.’
One day, he’d enlighten a chimera to abduct a village girl just to stage a hero-saving-the-damsel act. The next day, he’d swallow her family whole in front of the girls, scattering the chimeras who completed the task…
His ideas were wild, his management chaotic, like a child playing house.
The old Demon Lord often acted out of line, leaving traces that couldn’t be wiped clean which led to repeated warnings from the immortal sects who discovered these clues.
But he never learned his lesson and continued doing as he pleased.
Until one day, Guo Qingchen’s Glacier Sword streaked across the sky like a meteor, flying from the distant Celestial Haven and landed straight at the entrance of the demon realm, the sword vibrating.
In an instant, cold light spread in all directions and a phantom shadow loomed in the sky.
Seeing this, the old Demon Lord appeared, crying and admitting his mistakes in front of the ice-blue longsword, kneeling on the ground.
He behaved himself for quite a while after that.
After the fall of the Supreme god, thousands of years passed, the continent fragmented and the demon race was confined to a corner where infighting was commonplace.
Occasionally, some would go out causing trouble and harming the people, only to be eliminated by the immortal sects.
At that time, the demon race’s reputation wasn’t so bad.
Later, their reputation became so terrible that even passing dogs would bark at them and everyone wanted to exterminate them.
Robbery, sudden deaths of mortals, missing cultivators… any malicious event was attributed to the ‘demon race.’
Wan Cang wanted to say they weren’t that idle but then he thought about it and realized it was the old Demon Lord in charge back then, so he let it go.
—That brainless fool with no sense of evil!
Back then, the old Demon Lord captured Wan Cang to refine him into medicine.
Halfway through, he suddenly changed his mind and forcibly stripped away part of Wan Cang’s soul, throwing him into the Ten thousand demons abyss.
It wasn’t out of kindness but to win a smile from the beauty in his arms.
After that, when he had nothing better to do, he would check if Wan Cang was dead or alive until he got busy with his indulgences and forgot about the insignificant ant-like person.
The Ten Thousand Demons Abyss has eighteen levels, with bones scattered everywhere.
Not to mention the usual evil spirits and demonized monsters, any villain with blood on their hands was basically shoved in here by the Demon Lords because dealing with them was too troublesome.
This is the largest filth disposal site and also a purgatory.
Wan Cang, as a mere mortal who had just touched the threshold of cultivation, had weak spiritual power and even his Resplendent Sword was taken away.
At first, he was afraid, trembling all over when his flesh was gnawed and couldn’t stop crying, until the first death came.
—He couldn’t die.
Due to the special nature of the place and his incomplete soul, he couldn’t end himself even if he wanted to.
He could only repeatedly experience the taste of death then mechanically open his eyes and move forward, climbing upward.
Wan Cang died so many times that he became almost numb.
Just when he was about to give up, perhaps that useless ‘fortune’ manifested and he found the Scrying Mirror at the bottom of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.
Legend has it that this is one of the creations left by the Supreme God.
Wan Cang used his five senses as a price and his own flesh and blood as a vessel, to wield the Scrying Mirror with ease.
He then absorbed and refined half of the demonic energy in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons, reshaped his body, and killed all those who blocked his path.
He spent a full five years to return to the human world.
Even if he had to spend the rest of his life in the Demon Realm, it was better than that place, wasn’t it?
Now, the demons repeatedly begged Wan Cang to stay but he finally moved with a blank expression.
He first swung his sword, slicing through the eternal night then with two more strikes, he forcibly split the entire Demon Realm apart
The Demon Realm was immediately divided into four regions.
The opponents who were just fighting over territory vanished in an instant, turning to dust.
All the demons stopped and a single thought simultaneously appeared in their minds.
This new Demon Lord seems to have something special!
After Wan Cang sheathed his sword, he turned to see that the demons who were just shouting had mostly fled which inexplicably annoyed him.
He casually captured a group of demons, “Want to work for me?”
With those words, he had already transformed them.
He asked sincerely and the demons who had just gained human forms, learned their first action: kneeling, trembling with genuine fear.
The next day, the Demon Warlords in charge of the four regions appeared.
In the north, Qi Xiu, with a swing of his blood scythe, struck fear into all who heard of him. In the south, Song Wugui, with a giant axe hanging at the city gate, lined up the heads of troublemakers beneath it. On the east side, Li Xianshan, with just a pair of soul-stealing hands, could subdue anyone with ease…
As for Zuo Pei in the west, there’s no need to mention.
That fool couldn’t recognize his reincarnated self and was lurking in the shadows, plotting to take Wan Cang’s head!
Wan Cang never expected that the first subordinate he would encounter was Zuo Pei who had been the most reliable and efficient in the past.
Everything before and after his rebirth seemed like a joke on him.
The Resplendent Sword spun rapidly, splitting into hundreds and thousands of identical shadows, falling like meteors.
The chains on Wan Cang’s body clanged and shattered, disappearing.
“Break!”
Wan Cang stood in place, his five fingers clawing at the air and a certain figure in pink let out an “ouch” and suddenly fell to the ground.
It’s been ten years since his true self left and still with this flashy getup…
Wan Cang called out in a deep voice, “Zuo Pei”
Zuo Pei rubbed his butt, looked up at the person in front of him dressed in the attire of the Immortal Sect and muttered to himself, “How did the Seven Fiends Array lock onto the wrong person?”
He remained silent.
“You’re doing quite well.”
Wan Cang took a few steps forward, crouched down on one knee and smiled nonchalantly, “I rewarded you with the remnants of an ancient array and you learned it just to lock me up. You’ve really grown some skills.”
Damn, how does he know who gave me the remnants of the array!
Zuo Pei’s mind raced and he knelt down, trembling as he tentatively asked, “Lord?”
Wan Cang slapped him, “Heh”
Zuo Pei slapped himself a few times, “Did you take over the body of an Immortal Sect disciple?”
Wan Cang stood up, “Haha”
That demeanor, those words, that unpredictable vibe…
Right, right, if someone said an Immortal Sect disciple was impersonating his lord, he wouldn’t believe it.
This is the Demon Lord Wan Cang, the real one!
Zuo Pei scooted forward a few steps, eyes brimming with tears and hugged Wan Cang’s leg tightly, “Lord, I’ve missed you so much! These ten years have been so hard…”
“Don’t think about it yet.”
Wan Cang kicked Zuo Pei’s arm away, looking displeased, “You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to explain everything to me. If you can’t make it clear…”
The sentence was abruptly cut off, and Zuo Pei silently filled in the rest in his mind. If he couldn’t explain the cause and effect, he’d be slapped into oblivion, reverting back to chaotic, mindless demonic energy.
Whether he’d regain consciousness next time would depend on Wan Cang’s mood.
Zuo Pei shivered and started recounting from when Wan Cang fell ten years ago.
Damn it.
I’ve already died once. Do you really need to remind me?
“Get to the point.”
Wan Cang smacked Zuo Pei on the head, “Hmm?”
Zuo Pei didn’t dare to tremble now, afraid of displeasing his lord again, his body stiffened, “Half a year ago, someone in the Demon Realm claimed to be you. Not only did they look the same, but even their original demonic aura was identical.”
“The four of us demon warlords rushed in to fight and lost.”
“He ordered us to find a way to trap or severely injure the demon immortal Guo Qingchen.”
After hearing the whole story, Wan Cang found it utterly ridiculous but he also understood that the Seven Fiends Array was originally prepared for Guo Qingchen and his own corpse must be in the hands of that impostor.
Taking children’s lives, coercing subordinates to do things…
What a joke.
He only needed a glance and his four subordinates would quickly kneel.
Why would he need to threaten?
That impostor really didn’t grasp the essence!
Wan Cang thought about how the four demon warlords, including Zuo Pei, were so respectful and convinced by that impostor and he sneered coldly, “Useless”
The hand he had withdrawn paused in mid-air for a moment.
For some reason, he suddenly recalled the details he had missed in his past life, when he mistakenly thought Guo Qingchen had left him again and he was too emotional.
—That indistinguishable voice
Wan Cang frowned, “That imposter, has he ever tried to enlighten a Chimei?”
“Lord, that imposter hardly ever made a move.”
Zuo Pei quickly adjusted his address, maintaining his kneeling position and suddenly slapped his forehead, “I remember now, the time he beat the four of us, he caught a Chimei and swallowed it whole!”
The power of the demon race comes from demonic energy but after all, blood still flows through their veins.
No matter what, they wouldn’t resort to swallowing a Chimei whole.
Unexpectedly, this imposter has quite the heavy taste.
Wan Cang slightly lifted his chin, signaling Zuo Pei to stand up and speak.
The latter dusted off his sleeves with a light pat, chuckling, “Didn’t expect that after ten years, Lord still cares for me the most!”
“Don’t get it wrong.”
Wan Cang raised an eyebrow slightly, “You’re too short when kneeling and it’s uncomfortable for me to keep looking down.”
He was patient enough to explain this time.
Zuo Pei knew well that his lord had a capricious nature.
He remained unfazed, clenched his fingers in the air, retrieving the compass that served as the eye of the Seven Fiends Array and eagerly moved closer to Wan Cang, “You asked like that earlier, do you suspect something?”
More than suspect, it’s blatantly suspicious!
Wan Cang’s eyes darkened, silently rubbing the hilt of the Resplendent Sword in his hand.
His uncle and aunt, after taking what little inheritance was left, used the money to send his cousin to private school but did not treat him the same.
All the knowledge Wan Cang learned was from eavesdropping outside the private school when he was young, giving him a clear understanding of himself.
—I am practically illiterate!
Therefore, in his past life when he had nothing to do, he would flip through books, naming the Chimei one by one, and collected a library of books, learning about the various secrets of the immortal sects
Transforming the Chimei requires consuming the Demon Lord’s essential power.
The old Demon Lord was unwilling to act, fearing a decline in his own strength.
But for Wan Cang, it was as ordinary as eating and drinking.
He still hoped for some kind of commotion to remind himself he was alive.
The noisy Chimei became the first choice.
That impostor must have used some trick to wield power with a corpse and delay showing up in person, likely due to unfamiliarity with control.
As for why not transforming the Chimei, the target was directly aimed at Guo Qingchen.
Wan Cang thought of the myriad sects of the Immortal Gate with their tangled web of interests and there were certainly those jealous of Guo Qingchen’s talent.
A look of disdain flashed in his eyes.
That idiot is probably an Immortal Gate disciple pretending to be a demon, acting less straightforwardly than I do!
Wan Cang was internally mocking, planning to continue asking Zuo Pei about the impostor when he suddenly sensed a strong surge of spiritual power from the room behind him.
Guo Qingchen had awakened.
He could even predict that person would force himself to act energetic, regardless of his poor condition and head out to find his two disciples.
Truly a good master with a tough mouth but a soft heart yet I deceived him once again.
The humming of the Glacier Sword grew louder.
Wan Cang made a decisive move, piercing his own dantian with a reverse grip and extracted the newly formed core.
Clenching his five fingers, he suddenly exerted force, crushing his own golden core with his bare hands in an instant!
If he didn’t do this, how would he explain to Guo Qingchen his breakthrough to the Immortal’s spiritual power
He just wanted to stay by that person’s side a few more days. What was wrong with that?
—Even if it meant taking on the identity of ‘Zhu Hong’
Wan Cang’s face twisted, his already blood-soaked fingers pressed against his abdomen, unable to stop the large flow of blood seeping through his fingers.
He slowly knelt down, blocking the door with his body, his voice hoarse, “Leave Hua Changzhou and get out now.”
“Master?!”
Zuo Pei was utterly shocked, momentarily forgetting to follow orders, “Even if the demon immortals see, at most I can fake my death to escape, why do you have to…”
Wan Cang didn’t even glance at Zuo Pei, the corners of his blood-stained lips inexplicably lifted, “What demon immortal?”
“—That’s my beloved.”