Demon Lord (13): Although he was born with defects, he is indeed a dragon.

When Zhou Qinghao woke up, the first thing he saw was Gu Juntian, fully focused on refining pills.

Gu Juntian sat in front of the pill furnace, his attention fixed on it. He used his spiritual energy to control the flames of the furnace and added various spiritual herbs in a specific order.

Zhou Qinghao’s heart began to beat faster, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian like this was truly captivating.

Over the past few years, he had been dreaming more frequently, and in those dreams, he often saw Gu Juntian.

Back then, he had already liked Gu Juntian, but now, he liked him even more.

But… did Gu Juntian like him?

Zhou Qinghao’s heart was in turmoil.

He had always believed that the person in his dreams was himself, but last night’s dream made him realize that the person in the dream might not be him at all.

In truth, he should have realized it earlier.

The person in the dream was showered with love and adored by everyone—how could that person possibly be him?

He had once firmly believed that the person in the dream was himself, simply to weave a beautiful fantasy and ease his own pain.

But now, he could no longer deceive himself.

Zhou Qinghao transformed into his human form and walked toward Gu Juntian.

He wanted to ask Gu Juntian if he knew someone named “Jin’er,” or perhaps a dragon by that name.

He also wanted to know if Gu Juntian had approached him just to get his dragon core.

During this time, Gu Juntian had told him many things about the cultivation world and even said that he could eventually transform into a dragon.

But his current form… he wasn’t like an ordinary snake. On his true form’s head, there were two small protrusions.

With those two protrusions, he wasn’t exactly a snake but rather a flood dragon.

When Gu Juntian first saw him, he had drawn his sword to kill him, as if they were enemies. For a long time after that, Gu Juntian had also been unwilling to interact with him.

But ever since seeing his true form, Gu Juntian’s attitude toward him had changed.

Zhou Qinghao’s mind was in chaos as he strode toward Gu Juntian, but he was blocked by a formation.

Gu Juntian had mentioned that refining pills required complete focus and that he shouldn’t be disturbed, so he had told Zhou Qinghao not to come near.

Zhou Qinghao had agreed, but Gu Juntian, still uneasy, had set up a formation.

This formation was set up by Gu Juntian and was quite weak—Zhou Qinghao could easily break through it.

But if he did, would Gu Juntian be angry?

After circling the formation once, Zhou Qinghao calmed down a bit. He turned and left the palace, heading outside.

In the past, Zhou Qinghao could move freely through the Demon Palace, going wherever he pleased. But now, the palace was filled with formations, forcing him to tread carefully as he walked.

Although he had helped set up these formations, the control cores were all managed by Gu Juntian. He had no control over them and could only move through them slowly.

Previously, Zhou Qinghao hadn’t thought much of this, but now, his heart sank.

If Gu Juntian had no ill intentions toward him, it would be fine. But if Gu Juntian did have malicious intentions and activated these formations, he would be lucky to escape with his life—or at least suffer greatly.

No, that couldn’t be. Gu Juntian had been so good to him; he wouldn’t harm him.

Zhou Qinghao slowly made his way forward, taking a long time to reach the outer perimeter of the Demon Palace.

Previously, the outer areas of the palace had been in ruins, but now, they had been repaired. Some demonic cultivators even lived there, handling tasks for him.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao, the demonic cultivators all knelt in fear: “Greetings, Your Excellency.”

Zhou Qinghao ignored them. With a flicker of movement, he vanished from the spot.

In Haotian City, the fat demonic cultivator was at his residence, handling various city affairs.

Now, his residence had become the city lord’s mansion. Not only did he earn demon stones at every turn, but his status had also risen significantly.

Now, he was a trusted aide of Demon Lord Haotian!

The fat demonic cultivator was pondering what items to prepare to send to the Demon Palace when the thin demonic cultivator beside him suddenly spoke: “Who’s there?”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, the thin demonic cultivator had already launched an attack.

But his attack didn’t harm the intruder. Instead, he found himself bound by a surge of demonic energy, immobilized.

At the same time, Zhou Qinghao appeared before them.

The fat demonic cultivator quickly knelt and bowed: “Greetings, Your Excellency!”

After releasing the thin demonic cultivator, Zhou Qinghao sat directly in the chair the fat demonic cultivator had been using, his expression cold as he looked at him: “I have questions for you.”

“What does Your Excellency wish to ask?” the fat demonic cultivator inquired.

Zhou Qinghao’s voice was calm and steady: “I want to know about Dragon Island.”

In the past, he had always deliberately avoided learning about the outside world.

When Gu Juntian had spoken to him about Dragon Island, he had been curious but hadn’t asked any further questions.

This time, as he uttered the words “Dragon Island,” a wave of discomfort washed over him.

It felt as though he had been avoiding something.

Unconsciously, Zhou Qinghao’s aura of pressure began to weigh down on those around him.

The fat demonic cultivator was inwardly terrified, once again realizing the immense power of the Demon Lord.

He didn’t dare delay and began explaining the situation on Dragon Island

Although he lived in the Demon Abyss, he conducted business with the cultivation world and thus had a deep understanding of it.

Dragon Island was a major force in the cultivation world, and he was very familiar with its affairs.

After explaining the basics of Dragon Island, the fat demonic cultivator added, “Your Excellency, something major recently happened on Dragon Island. The Dragon Prince, who is doted on by the Dragon King and the elders, was injured by a demonic cultivator, and his dragon core was damaged. People in the Demon Abyss say that if that demonic cultivator hadn’t been killed on the spot, the dragons might have come here to cause trouble…”

“Tell me more about this Dragon Prince,” Zhou Qinghao said.

The words came out with difficulty, as if some force within him was resisting his desire to uncover the truth.

The fat demonic cultivator said, “The Dragon Prince is named Ao Jin, born a thousand years ago…”

A thousand years ago, a thousand years ago.

It was as if something exploded in Zhou Qinghao’s mind, and then a memory he had long forgotten—or perhaps deliberately buried—resurfaced.

He was inside an egg, able to feel the affection and care of those around him.

They eagerly awaited his hatching, and so he broke through the shell and emerged.

After breaking out of the egg, he saw a group of people.

Most of them were people he had seen in his dreams, and not far from him was another egg that had just hatched, containing a beautiful little silver dragon.

He liked that little silver dragon very much, and he also liked the people around him. He knew these were his family.

His instincts made him rely on and care for these people.

But the looks they gave him were filled with disgust.

He felt uneasy, wondering if he had done something wrong, and struggled to get closer to them.

Just then, the person who had been with him before he hatched suddenly grabbed him and soared into the air.

He felt uncomfortable, but he was afraid of displeasing the person holding him, so he endured it.

He coiled around the person’s wrist, trembling, and by the time the person finally stopped, he was dizzy and felt like his whole body was falling apart.

Instinctively, he nuzzled the person’s hand, trying to show that he was in pain, but the person roughly pulled him off.

Terrified, he curled his tail and looked at the person, only to see them cast a spell on him.

His memories were sealed, and then he was thrown away.

He had always thought he was a parentless little black snake, but in reality, he had a family.

He wasn’t a snake—he was a dragon.

Although he was born with defects, he was indeed a dragon.

No wonder, no matter how severe his injuries were, he could always endure and slowly recover.

He was a dragon!

As for why he had been unwilling to leave the Demon Abyss and had subconsciously avoided learning about the world outside… it was likely because he didn’t want to remember any of this.

His strength was immense, surpassing even the Dragon King. Logically, he should have remembered all this long ago, but he didn’t want to.

Just like how he had stubbornly believed that the person in his dreams was himself.

The fat demonic cultivator continued, “A few years ago, Ao Jin left Dragon Island to travel. During his journey, he met many people, including Gu Juntian, the closed-door disciple of the Qingyun Sect’s leader…”

Zhou Qinghao’s voice was calm: “Tell me about Gu Juntian.”

The fat demonic cultivator began to speak about Gu Juntian.

In the cultivation world, it was no secret that Gu Juntian was fond of Ao Jin.

He was utterly devoted to Ao Jin, catering to his every whim.

The fat demonic cultivator said, “That Gu Juntian is a prodigy, but I don’t know why he likes Ao Jin. Ao Jin is just lucky to have good parents. With his temperament, he would have been dead long ago otherwise…”

Zhou Qinghao sneered, “That Ao Jin is also blind.”

The person who had appeared in his dreams was always Ao Jin.

In his dreams, Ao Jin didn’t like Gu Juntian at all and was infatuated with someone else.

Wasn’t that being blind? Gu Juntian was far better than that person!

The Qingyun Sect had no grudge against him. Gu Juntian had initially come to the Demon Palace to kill him, likely to avenge Ao Jin.

Gu Juntian truly cared for Ao Jin—so much so that he was willing to throw himself against a stone wall to attack him.

“That Ao Jin is indeed worthless,” the fat demonic cultivator said.

Zhou Qinghao waved his hand and gave the fat demonic cultivator a few scales.

They were the scales of Demon Lord Chi Lian, which could be used to refine magical artifacts.

After handing over the scales, Zhou Qinghao disappeared.

The fat demonic cultivator waited for a while, confirming that Zhou Qinghao had left, then excitedly picked up the scales from the ground: “His Excellency is truly a good person! With these scales, we can refine two sets of armor!”

Armor refined from Demon Lord Chi Lian’s scales would likely be impervious to attacks from experts of the same level!

The thin demonic cultivator was also delighted and asked, “Why would His Excellency suddenly inquire about Dragon Island?”

“Maybe he wants to taste what dragon meat is like” the fat demonic cultivator said.

Demon Lord Haotian had been eating many demonic beasts lately—perhaps he wanted to try dragon meat.

Dragon meat was said to be the most delicious delicacy in the cultivation world. Legend had it that long, long ago, the reason the dragon and phoenix clans became mortal enemies was because some phoenixes secretly captured dragons to eat.

Dragon meat was also highly nourishing, said to increase one’s cultivation.

Soaking one’s body in dragon blood could also greatly enhance physical strength.

Of course, for someone of Demon Lord Haotians cultivation level, these things were of little use. But wasn’t he keeping a human cultivator?

Perhaps he wanted to use dragon blood to temper that human cultivator’s body.

That way, the human cultivator would be able to withstand the Demon Lord’s… activities.