Demon Lord (11): If you like a partner, you must pamper them even if it means crying!

Dragon Island, with its eternal spring-like climate, warm and humid, served as the stronghold of the dragon clan.

Dragons were treasures from head to tail, always coveted by cultivators. Thus, before they reached adulthood and their strength was still limited, they usually stayed close to Dragon Island.

Occasionally, when a young dragon left Dragon Island to explore the outside world, they would be accompanied by an adult dragon. After all, young dragons were extremely rare and precious.

The dragon clan highly valued their young, but the number of young dragons had been decreasing. Over the past thousand years, only one young dragon had been born on Dragon Island—Ao Jin, the only child of the Dragon King and Queen.

Ao Jin was born with four claws and was a beautiful silver dragon, making him deeply cherished by the adult dragons on Dragon Island. They treated him like a treasure, afraid he might fall if held in their hands or melt if kept in their mouths.

From the moment he was born, Ao Jin had never experienced hardship. When he left Dragon Island a few years ago to travel, he was even accompanied by two Transcendence-stage dragon elders specifically tasked with protecting him.

In the entire cultivation world, there were fewer than a hundred Transcendence-stage experts, yet two of them were assigned to protect him… During his travels, Ao Jin essentially had free rein.

Because of this, no one could have imagined that Ao Jin, after sneaking away from the dragon elders, would encounter a demonic cultivator who shattered his dragon core.

The dragons on Dragon Island were heartbroken. They gathered all the spiritual medicines they had and coaxed Ao Jin to take them, hoping his injuries would heal quickly.

Today, they once again tried to persuade Ao Jin to take his medicine: “Jin’er, take the medicine. Only then can your dragon core heal.”

“This medicine isn’t bitter. Take it quickly.”

“You’re about to reach adulthood. If you don’t repair your dragon core, you won’t be able to break through the constraints and ascend to five claws after adulthood.”

“Jin’er…”

…

Ao Jin refused to take his medicine, merely blinking his eyes as he looked at the people around him, asking, “Has the Vast Sea Sword Master come to see me?”

The Dragon King and the elders of the dragon clan felt a surge of displeasure upon hearing the name “Vast Sea Sword Master.”

Ao Jin’s heart was entirely devoted to the Vast Sea Sword Master, yet the Sword Master paid him no heed at all. They had long been dissatisfied with the Vast Sea Sword Master.

This time, Ao Jin had gotten into trouble because he had sneaked out to find the Vast Sea Sword Master, which only deepened their resentment towards him.

If it weren’t for Ao Jin’s poor condition, with all their attention focused on him, they would have already gone together to confront the Vast Sea Sword Master.

Unexpectedly, even though Ao Jin was injured, he was still preoccupied with thoughts of the Vast Sea Sword Master.

And what about the Vast Sea Sword Master? He hadn’t even come to visit Ao Jin!

The Vast Sea Sword Master was being utterly unreasonable, showing no respect for their Dragon Island at all!

The more the Dragon King and the elders thought about it, the angrier they became. Seeing their reaction, Ao Jin’s eyes reddened: “He hasn’t come to see me, has he?”

“Jin’er, he must be very busy,” the Dragon King comforted his son, wishing he could drag the Vast Sea Sword Master to his son’s sickbed.

“He’s not just busy; he simply doesn’t like me,” Ao Jin said petulantly. “He doesn’t come to see me, and neither does anyone else… Now that my dragon core is shattered, they ignore me? Where is Gu Juntian? Where has he gone?”

Ao Jin kept asking questions, and the Dragon King replied, “Gu Juntian and the others have all gone to find a way to help you repair your dragon core.”

Ao Jin had traveled to the cultivation world a few years ago.

As the Dragon Prince, his status was noble, and the people he befriended during his travels were also extraordinary.

Among them was Gu Juntian, the closed-door disciple of the Qingyun Sect’s leader, a top-tier sect in the cultivation world. Gu Juntian had achieved the Nascent Soul stage before even reaching a hundred years old.

Although Gu Juntian’s cultivation level wasn’t the highest, in the cultivation world, those who could reach the Nascent Soul stage before a hundred years old could be counted on one hand!

Gu Juntian wasn’t just talented in cultivation; he was also skilled in alchemy and artifact forging.

Even before reaching a hundred years old, he had already shown exceptional abilities in alchemy and artifact forging.

Given time, as his cultivation advanced and he grew older, he had the potential to become one of the top alchemists and artifact forgers in the cultivation world.

Naturally, the Qingyun Sect leader held Gu Juntian in high regard.

Before Gu Juntian reached the Nascent Soul stage, every time he went out to gain experience, the Qingyun Sect leader would personally accompany him, ensuring his safety at all times.

It wasn’t until Gu Juntian reached the Nascent Soul stage that the sect leader allowed him to travel the cultivation world alone. It was then that Gu Juntian developed a fondness for Ao Jin and began to orbit around him.

“Have they found a way yet?” Ao Jin asked.

“We’ll have to wait a bit longer,” the Dragon King replied.

Ao Jin asked again, “Father, can my dragon core really be repaired?”

The Dragon King replied, “Yes, it can. Don’t worry.” Not long ago, he had used his own blood to have someone perform a divination, which revealed that the little black dragon born at the same time as Ao Jin was still alive.

That little black dragon was in the Demon Abyss, and while they couldn’t pinpoint his exact location yet, they had already sent people to investigate. It shouldn’t be long before they learned of his whereabouts.

In fact, even without investigating, they would be able to sense the little black dragon’s existence once he reached adulthood.

Whenever a young dragon comes of age, all adult dragons automatically sense it.

This was something ingrained in their bloodline, meant to ensure they could rush to protect the young dragon and help it successfully mature.

They had already used a secret method to delay Ao Jin’s coming of age. Next, as long as they captured the little black dragon when he reached adulthood, extracted his dragon core, and allowed Ao Jin to merge with it, Ao Jin’s dragon core would not only be restored but also elevated to a higher level.

In this way, after coming of age, Ao Jin would most likely become a five-clawed golden dragon and might even lead the entire dragon race to ascend.

As for the cruelty of this act toward the little black dragon… the prophecy had long stated that only one of the two—the little black dragon and Ao Jin—could survive. In their eyes, the little black dragon should have died long ago.

The Dragon King began coaxing Ao Jin to take his medicine again, and this time, Ao Jin obediently complied.

The Dragon King was pleased: “Jin’er, your dragon core is recovering well.”

The Dragon King and the elders of the dragon clan had told Gu Juntian that Ao Jin’s dragon core was shattered and that he was nearing the end of his life. This was also the story they spread to the outside world.

However, in reality, Ao Jin’s injuries were not that severe; his dragon core only had a few cracks.

By consuming more elixirs and spiritual medicines and taking good care of himself, Ao Jin’s dragon core could be healed.

But the timing of Ao Jin’s injury was unfortunate—he was about to reach adulthood!

They had all hoped that Ao Jin would purify his bloodline upon reaching adulthood and become a five-clawed golden dragon. Yet, just before his coming of age, this incident occurred.

With a damaged dragon core, Ao Jin would likely only maintain his current level after adulthood.

This was something they couldn’t accept. After much deliberation, they came up with the idea of using someone else’s dragon core to repair Ao Jin’s.

However, carrying out such an act would be difficult to hide from the rest of the cultivation world. To protect the reputation of Dragon Island, they decided to exaggerate the severity of Ao Jin’s injuries.

Only by doing so could they justify digging out the dragon core of the little black dragon they had abandoned and using it for Ao Jin.

Exaggerating Ao Jin’s injuries also served to rally others, including Gu Juntian, to help them capture the little black dragon.

After coaxing Ao Jin into taking his medicine and eating some meat, the Dragon King and the others left.

Once they were gone, Ao Jin’s eyes flickered with thought.

In his dreams, he had seen Gu Juntian.

Since he was very young, Ao Jin had been able to see the life of his twin brother in his sleep.

He knew he had a brother. It was no secret that the Dragon King and Queen had once laid two eggs.

However, everyone else believed his brother was dead, but he knew otherwise.

Dragons have excellent memories, and his family had not tampered with his, so he had always remembered the little black dragon who was born after him.

His twin brother, born with defects, had been thrown into the Demon Abyss.

The incomplete and ugly black dragon suffered from hunger, cold, and constant beatings in the Demon Abyss, a pitiful existence.

Every time he dreamed of these things, Ao Jin felt a sense of joy and even superiority.

He enjoyed seeing his disabled brother’s misfortunes.

Because of this, Ao Jin never spoke of the things he saw in his dreams, fearing that if he did, his parents might feel pity and bring the little black dragon back.

He didn’t want a brother like that!

Ao Jin believed he was superior to the black dragon in every way, but over time, he began to realize he was wrong.

Although the details in his dreams were blurry and he couldn’t hear the voices clearly, he knew that the incomplete black dragon was growing stronger—far stronger than him.

This dissatisfaction gnawed at him.

His insistence on going to the cultivation world was not only to become stronger but also to gather information about that black dragon.

But becoming stronger was too exhausting, and he couldn’t do it.

He could only chase after the powerful Vast Sea Sword Master—if he could have a strong Taoist partner, then that little black dragon wouldn’t be a threat.

Unfortunately, the Vast Sea Sword Master didn’t like him.

Later, he contacted a demonic cultivator, sneaked out to inquire about the Demon Abyss, and was even ambushed by that demonic cultivator, leaving his dragon core injured.

However, the injury to his dragon core wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

His family planned to use the little black dragon’s dragon core to repair his own.

That little black dragon was going to die—how wonderful!

But before he could rejoice for long, he saw in his dreams that Gu Juntian was with the little black dragon, even roasting meat for it.

Gu Juntian was his—how could he roast meat for that little black dragon?

When he first woke up, he was furious.

But now, thinking back… Gu Juntian’s closeness to the black dragon must have been to extract its dragon core and help heal his injuries.

Gu Juntian loved him so much; there was no way he would fall for someone else.

That black dragon had never had anyone else by its side. Gu Juntian was the closest to it, so the black dragon must have liked Gu Juntian a lot.

If Gu Juntian were to dig out his dragon core, he would surely be in agony.

Ao Jin imagined the black dragon’s suffering and felt extremely pleased.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t realize that the person in the dream wasn’t him but his twin brother.

However, this time, his dream was clearer, which made him feel that something was off.

It didn’t seem like his dream at all?

Feeling puzzled, Zhou Qinghao instinctively nuzzled against Gu Juntian, whom he was coiled around, and soon, he stopped thinking about the dream.

Gu Juntian wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he was in his arms!

Zhou Qinghao was overjoyed. He flicked his serpent tongue and licked Gu Juntian’s face.

Gu Juntian helplessly pushed him away.

This little black dragon, full of lust but lacking the courage, only knew how to take advantage of him in his serpent form!

“Qinghao, if you’re awake, let’s continue setting up the formations” Gu Juntian said.

Zhou Qinghao lay back on the bed, pretending to be asleep.

“After we finish the formations, I’ll roast some meat for you. While setting up the formations, I can also tell you stories. Do you want to hear about my master? It’s quite interesting,” Gu Juntian said, gently stroking the little black dragon’s head.

Zhou Qinghao felt uneasy from the touch.

He wanted to coil around Gu Juntian and seek affection, but his body wouldn’t allow it…

Still, he was curious about Gu Juntian’s master’s story. Zhou Qinghao transformed into his human form and looked at Gu Juntian: “Let’s go, let’s set up the formations.”

Seeing Zhou Qinghao’s enthusiasm, Gu Juntian couldn’t help but smile.

He truly adored this little black dragon.

Once the little black dragon reached adulthood, he planned to take him to explore the cultivation world, enjoying delicious food and fun activities together.

Thinking this, Gu Juntian said, “Qinghao, in the future, I’ll take you to the cultivation world. It’s very different from the Demon Abyss—the scenery is beautiful, and there’s so much to eat and play with…”

Zhou Qinghao asked, “Can we go now?”

Zhou Qinghao loved the Demon Palace. After he killed the Demon Lord Chi Lian, the palace had recognized him as its master, becoming his lair.

Staying in his lair gave him a sense of security.

But he knew that Gu Juntian didn’t like the Demon Abyss.

Gu Juntian was a righteous cultivator and would undoubtedly prefer the cultivation world.

He was willing to accompany Gu Juntian to live there.

Gu Juntian said, “No rush, let’s go later.”

He had considered taking Zhou Qinghao to the place where his true body was, figuring out a way to return to it so he could better protect Zhou Qinghao.

But to return, he would either need to become stronger or die once—there was no other way.

If he died and returned to his true body, he wouldn’t wake up for a while. What if Zhou Qinghao reached adulthood during that time?

It was safer to stay in Zhou Qinghao’s Demon Palace stronghold.

They could set up more formations, and the treasures Zhou Qinghao had hidden in the underground palace could also be put to use.

Thinking this, Gu Juntian looked at Zhou Qinghao: “Qinghao, setting up the formations requires a lot of materials. I remember you have many demon crystals in your collection—let’s use them.”

Zhou Qinghao’s eyes widened, and he stared at Gu Juntian in disbelief: “No, you can’t touch my demon crystals!”

Demon crystals contained far more energy than demon stones. They were dark red or dark purple, appearing black in the absence of light, but with even a little light, they would shimmer with a beautiful red-purple glow.

He loved those demon crystals the most!

If they were used to set up formations, once the energy in the crystals was depleted, they would be useless!

Gu Juntian was too much, always eyeing his treasures.

This time, he absolutely couldn’t give in to Gu Juntian! He couldn’t let his partner push him further!

Not long after.

Zhou Qinghao held his treasured demon crystals, reluctantly setting up the formations as Gu Juntian instructed.

His little partner was determined to use up his demon crystals—what could he do?

The partner he had chosen, he had to spoil even if it made him cry!