Demon Lord (25): The one who really ate the dragon was the original owner, it had nothing to do with him!

Gu Juntian had prepared himself for death, but since he hadn’t died, he wasn’t going to actively seek it.

Especially because he could feel the deep sorrow emanating from Zhou Qinghao.

His little black dragon was in pain and needed his companionship.

If something were to happen to him now, it would be too cruel for the little black dragon.

Gu Juntian planned to have Zhou Qinghao take him to where his main body was, and then, in front of Zhou Qinghao, he would return to his main body.

This way, Zhou Qinghao wouldn’t be too heartbroken.

But Gu Juntian hadn’t expected that before he could even bring it up, Zhou Qinghao had already suggested going to the southernmost lands.

What was going on? Gu Juntian looked at Zhou Qinghao, wanting to ask.

But Zhou Qinghao wasn’t by his side.

After establishing the master-servant contract with the four Transcendence Stage dragons, Zhou Qinghao had already approached the Demon King of the Demon Abyss, whose strength was second only to his own.

A powerful divine sense pressed down on the Demon King, and Zhou Qinghao’s voice was calm: “Submit, or die.”

For many years, Zhou Qinghao had fought alone.

He didn’t trust others, nor did he feel he needed anyone’s help.

But now, he regretted it.

If he had subdued more subordinates and forced them to sign life-and-death master-servant contracts, making them protect him at all costs, then Gu Juntian would still be safe and sound.

Thinking of this, he decided to act immediately, starting with the Demon Kings of the Demon Abyss.

He knew that the endless stream of assassins sent to kill him had been orchestrated by these Demon Kings.

Today, they had waited outside the Demon Palace with ill intentions. If he had been at a disadvantage, they would have eagerly killed him.

Now that they had delivered themselves to his doorstep, it would be a waste not to subdue them.

“Haotian, don’t even think about it!” The strongest of the four Demon Kings roared and launched an attack at Zhou Qinghao.

The other three Demon Kings also acted at the same time.

Demon Lord Haotian wanted to force them into master-servant contracts—this was something they couldn’t tolerate. They had to resist!

Zhou Qinghao had anticipated this. He transformed into his true form and unleashed the most powerful technique from his inherited memories.

He was already stronger than these four, and after reaching adulthood, his strength had doubled!

The massive black dragon, accompanied by thunderous force, used his tail to send the three stronger Demon Kings flying.

The strongest Demon King received special attention—that tail strike was particularly heavy!

The Demon King who was sent flying also crashed into the weakest Demon King, who had feigned an attack and was preparing to flee, knocking him out of the sky.

The black dragon transformed back into the black-robed Demon Lord, and Zhou Qinghao spoke coldly, “It seems you all want to die.”

“I am willing to serve as Your Majesty’s vanguard!” The Demon King who loved food didn’t hesitate for a moment, flipping over and kneeling before Zhou Qinghao.

The strongest Demon King, who had previously been determined to kill Zhou Qinghao and become the Demon Lord, also reacted quickly, “Your Majesty, my loyalty to you is as steadfast as the sun and moon!”

They didn’t want to lose their freedom, but they wanted to live even more.

Zhou Qinghao let out a light scoff.

Of course, these people couldn’t possibly be loyal to him, but he believed in the power of contracts.

Seeing this, the fat demon cultivator and the thin demon cultivator didn’t wait for Zhou Qinghao to ask—they immediately volunteered to become his servants.

Although signing a master-servant contract with Zhou Qinghao meant they would lose their freedom and could never betray him, and if Zhou Qinghao died, they would die with him…

But Zhou Qinghao was too powerful, and as a dragon who had just reached adulthood, his lifespan was incredibly long.

Betraying Zhou Qinghao was already a death sentence, and Zhou Qinghao was unlikely to die before them anyway.

Signing the contract wasn’t a big deal.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t refuse and proceeded to sign master-servant contracts with each of them.

Because Demon Lord Haotian had always been reasonable and didn’t kill indiscriminately, when the Demon Palace incident occurred, most of the powerful figures in the Demon Abyss had come to watch the spectacle.

In addition to the four Demon Kings, there were also two Transcendence Stage experts who usually preferred to act alone. These two were also present.

Naturally, they didn’t escape Zhou Qinghao’s grasp and also became his subordinates.

After completing this, Zhou Qinghao glanced at the Body Unity stage experts of the Demon Abyss and the thirty-one dragons from the Dragon Clan.

Signing too many contracts would drain his soul energy, so he decided not to sign contracts with them. After all, they couldn’t escape.

Many of these demon cultivators were directly under the command of the four Demon Kings. By controlling the four Demon Kings, he effectively controlled them as well.

With this in mind, Zhou Qinghao looked at the four dragons who had signed the contracts first and activated the master-servant contract.

The four unconscious dragons woke up in pain and immediately realized what had happened.

They had actually signed a master-servant contract and had become controlled and subservient beings!

The Dragon King and the others were furious, wishing they could kill Zhou Qinghao, but they were no match for him to begin with, and the master-servant contract left them completely powerless to resist.

The four glared at Zhou Qinghao, but Zhou Qinghao simply took out a massive, flying carriage from his storage ring and said to the four dragons, “Clean yourselves up and prepare to pull my carriage.”

The Dragon King and the others couldn’t bear such humiliation. They wanted to resist, but under the control of the master-servant contract, they couldn’t even speak.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t pay them much attention.

He picked up Gu Juntian and placed him on the flying carriage, which was designed like a horse-drawn carriage but was adorned with pavilions and towers, larger than some small sects. He then set up various formations around Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian was too weak now, so they couldn’t travel too quickly. Zhou Qinghao planned to head slowly toward the southernmost lands, helping Gu Juntian recover along the way.

After settling Gu Juntian, Zhou Qinghao stepped down from the carriage and looked at the gathered demon cultivators, demons, and dragons. “Let’s move out.”

The Demon Kings and the many demon cultivators of the Demon Abyss had come here just fine, but now they couldn’t return.

They had no choice but to release their own flying artifacts and follow behind Zhou Qinghao.

In the end, they formed a massive procession.

At the front of the procession were four Transcendence Stage dragons in their true forms, pulling a carriage so large that it carried an entire palace.

Beside this carriage, dozens of dragons soared through the clouds, escorting it.

Following closely behind were five slightly smaller flying artifacts, belonging to the four Demon Kings and the fat demon cultivator.

The four Demon Kings were known for their extravagant travel arrangements, and the fat demon cultivator was extremely wealthy. Their flying artifacts were all unique and dazzling.

These five flying artifacts were either adorned with rare treasures, pulled by exotic beasts, or made from top-tier materials.

On their flying artifacts, many demon cultivators attended to them.

Behind them, scattered in the thousands, were other demon cultivators, each using their own flying treasures of various kinds. However, they were arranged according to their cultivation level, giving the procession a somewhat orderly appearance.

The strength of this procession was enough to sweep through the cultivation world.

Zhou Qinghao believed that with such a large entourage and generous gifts, the phoenix would be willing to give him its blood.

No matter what, he couldn’t accept the idea of Gu Juntian dying young.

This was his partner. He wanted Gu Juntian to live with him for hundreds of thousands of years!

Zhou Qinghao longed to see Gu Juntian, to be close to him, but he didn’t dare.

He sat on the roof of the carriage, letting the dry, cold wind of the Demon Abyss blow over him, while disdainfully eyeing the four dragons pulling the carriage.

These four dragons had decent cultivation levels, but they were covered in injuries, and one of them didn’t even have a tail. They looked anything but presentable.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao turned his gaze to the flying artifacts following behind.

The carriage he had brought out was something left behind by a previous Demon Lord. It was a top-tier magical artifact that could travel thousands of miles in an instant without needing to be pulled.

Moreover, the carriage had extremely high defensive capabilities. None of the flying artifacts behind could compare to it.

His partner deserved the best!

However, his carriage was empty, while the flying artifacts of the Demon Kings and the fat demon cultivator were filled with servants!

Zhou Qinghao even saw one of the Demon Kings having chefs prepare various delicacies for him on his flying artifact!

After a moment of thought, Zhou Qinghao leaped down from the roof of his carriage and boarded one of the Demon Kings’ flying artifacts.

Soon, he took some of the servants from that Demon King’s flying artifact and left, then boarded another Demon King’s flying artifact…

Zhou Qinghao took the best servants from the four Demon Kings and sent them to his carriage to take care of Gu Juntian.

The most delicious food should be for Gu Juntian to eat, the most beautiful songs should be for Gu Juntian to listen to, and the most captivating dances should be for Gu Juntian to watch.

Of course, the singers and dancers had to dress properly—no exposed skin!

After some thought, Zhou Qinghao began to collect various supplies and spiritual medicines. If he saw anything he liked in the hands of the Demon Kings, he would take it for Gu Juntian.

After searching through the storage rings of the Demon Kings and finding little that Gu Juntian could use, Zhou Qinghao disdainfully returned them. Then, with a flash, he appeared on the back of the Dragon King, demanding that the Dragon King and the Dragon Clan elders hand over their storage rings.

Most of the items from the Demon Abyss weren’t suitable for Gu Juntian, but these people must have things that would be useful to him.

The Dragon King and the elders wanted to resist, but they couldn’t. Zhou Qinghao didn’t even give them the right to speak.

They were forced to hand over all their storage treasures.

Zhou Qinghao unceremoniously took them.

Not far away, the four Demon Kings felt a sense of relief upon seeing this.

Being forced to sign the master-servant contract and having so many of their possessions taken had left them quite unhappy.

But the four dragons from Dragon Island had it even worse.

When Zhou Qinghao had gone through their storage rings earlier, he had only taken about a tenth of their belongings before returning the rest to them.

As for these four dragons? Zhou Qinghao had taken everything they had!

Not only that, but Zhou Qinghao was also making them pull the carriage!

Compared to the four dragons from Dragon Island, they were actually quite fortunate.

The four Demon Kings, finding a strange sense of happiness in this comparison, stayed on their flying artifacts and couldn’t help but sigh.

Their progress was painfully slow. After traveling for most of the day, they hadn’t gone very far.

At this rate, it would take them at least several months to reach the southernmost lands.

Originally, they had beautiful companions and delicious food to pass the time, but now all of that had been taken by the Demon Lord.

They were truly bored…

And it wasn’t just the Demon Kings who were bored. The demon cultivators following behind also found the journey tedious.

At first, the lower-level demon cultivators were worried that they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the main group and would be deemed useless by Demon Lord Haotian, leading to their deaths.

However, the pace of the procession was so slow that even they could easily keep up.

But this leisurely pace of travel was unusual for them, as they were accustomed to constant fighting and killing.

After Zhou Qinghao arranged for servants and various luxuries for Gu Juntian, he returned to sit on the roof of the carriage.

He began to reminisce about the moments he had shared with Gu Juntian.

Although Gu Juntian had been cold to him at first, later on, he had treated him well and had been very indulgent.

Previously, Zhou Qinghao had thought that Gu Juntian’s kindness was just a ploy to lower his guard and dig out his core.

But looking back now, Gu Juntian must have already fallen for him by then.

So much so that while Zhou Qinghao was unconscious, Gu Juntian had secretly kissed him and signed a partner contract with him.

He wondered what Gu Juntian had been thinking when he signed that contract.

At that time, Gu Juntian must have already realized how dire the situation was—that the Demon Palace’s formation couldn’t hold off the four Transcendence Stage dragons.

Had Gu Juntian wanted to become his partner before dying?

Zhou Qinghao’s heart ached with regret, wishing he hadn’t misunderstood Gu Juntian earlier.

On the other side, Gu Juntian sensed the complex emotions coming from Zhou Qinghao and felt utterly helpless.

He had no objections to Zhou Qinghao taking him to the southernmost lands.

But Zhou Qinghao avoiding him like this was just too much!

After Zhou Qinghao brought him onto the carriage, he had turned and left. At the time, Gu Juntian thought Zhou Qinghao had other matters to attend to, so he didn’t stop him. But now, Zhou Qinghao kept sending things to the carriage without coming to see him…

How could this be?!

Not long ago, the little black dragon had been clinging to him relentlessly, but now he was actively avoiding him.

Gu Juntian turned to look at Ao Hong, who was sitting beside him eating.

The Dragon Clan elders and others had been assigned to pull the carriage, while the thirty-one younger dragons were flying around the carriage, with one staying to keep him company.

The one keeping him company was Ao Hong.

At the moment, the chef Zhou Qinghao had taken from the Second Demon King was diligently and tirelessly preparing all sorts of delicacies.

As an ordinary person now, Gu Juntian couldn’t eat much of these foods, so they all ended up in Ao Hong’s stomach.

Gu Juntian clutched his chest, feigning weakness. “Ao Hong, I’m not feeling well. My whole body hurts.”

Ao Hong replied, “Your Nascent Soul is shattered. It’s a miracle you’re even alive. It’s normal to feel pain. By the way, you used to call me ‘Elder Hong’ before. Isn’t it a bit rude to just call me by my name now?”

He was a Body Unity stage dragon!

Although his strength couldn’t compare to the Dragon King’s, his seniority was the same!

Gu Juntian had always been very polite to him before, addressing him respectfully as “Elder.”

Gu Juntian didn’t respond.

He didn’t need to. Zhou Qinghao appeared in the room and glared at Ao Hong. “He can call you whatever he wants!”

Who did Ao Hong think he was to criticize Gu Juntian?

If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Juntian needed someone to talk to, he would have thrown this dragon out long ago!

After scolding Ao Hong, Zhou Qinghao turned to Gu Juntian. “Where does it hurt?”

Gu Juntian had feigned weakness to lure Zhou Qinghao out, and as expected, Zhou Qinghao had appeared.

Gu Juntian smiled and said, “My heart hurts because you won’t come to see me.”

Zhou Qinghao was stunned.

Ao Hong instinctively shivered—this was way too cheesy!

Gu Juntian continued, “Qinghao, have you been avoiding me because you’re disappointed in me? I’m just a cripple now, unworthy of you…”

“I’m not disappointed in you!” Zhou Qinghao immediately replied.

Of course, Gu Juntian knew that Zhou Qinghao wasn’t disappointed in him. In fact, he knew that Zhou Qinghao was avoiding him out of guilt.

But saying this would make Zhou Qinghao stay.

He had grown used to the little black dragon clinging to him and couldn’t stand the idea of his little black dragon avoiding him.

“Then are you upset that I destroyed the Demon Palace? Or that I ruined your treasures?” Gu Juntian asked again.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t hesitate. “I’m not!”

In fact, he hadn’t even thought about those things earlier.

He did enjoy collecting shiny objects, as well as demonic stones and artifacts that could make him stronger, but none of that could compare to Gu Juntian.

At this moment, he even felt that he should have given all the treasures of the Demon Palace to Gu Juntian earlier. If he had, maybe Gu Juntian’s injuries wouldn’t have been so severe.

“Then stop avoiding me,” Gu Juntian said. “If you avoid me, it hurts me.”

Zhou Qinghao also felt pained when he couldn’t see Gu Juntian. He nodded. “I won’t avoid you anymore.”

“Then kiss me,” Gu Juntian said, pointing to his lips.

Zhou Qinghao immediately came to Gu Juntain’s side and kissed him.

Gu Juntain couldn’t help but laugh.

His little black dragon was really too adorable and too loving towards him.

He had destroyed the Demon Palace, yet his little black dragon didn’t mind at all and even kissed him in return.

Beside them, Ao Hong felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn’t help but look at Gu Juntain with an accusatory expression; “Gu Juntain, he has just reached adulthood…”

Gu Juntain replied, “He’s already a thousand years old, and I’m not even a hundred yet!” This Ao Hong, who had never been happy about the original owner’s interactions with the underage Ao Jin, now even objected to his interactions with Zhou Qinghao, which was a bit of a mood killer.

Just as Gu Juntain thought this, he saw Zhou Qinghao grab Ao Hong and throw him out.

Zhou Qinghao hadn’t acted against Ao Hong earlier because he sensed that Gu Juntain didn’t dislike Ao Hong.

But now Gu Juntain was somewhat annoyed with Ao Hong!

Without a second thought, he took action against Ao Hong, whom he found displeasing.

After throwing the dragon out, Zhou Qinghao felt a bit guilty and instinctively looked at Gu Juntain—Gu Juntain and Ao Hong were old acquaintances, would he dislike him for doing this?

Gu Juntain thought Zhou Qinghao did quite well: “Qinghao, why don’t you ask everyone else to leave, so we can talk alone.”

He had a lot to say to Zhou Qinghao and also wanted to get intimate with him, and it wouldn’t do to have a crowd watching around them.

Zhou Qinghao also wanted to talk to Gu Juntain alone.

He asked everyone else to leave and set up two isolation formations.

Seeing this, Gu Juntain hugged Zhou Qinghao and kissed him.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t dare to move, letting Gu Juntain kiss him.

Previously, even when Gu Juntain had the cultivation level of a Nascent Soul, he was very fragile to Zhou Qinghao. Now that Gu Juntain had no cultivation at all, Zhou Qinghao was afraid that even a sneeze from him might send Gu Juntain flying.

Gu Juntain kissed him for a while but found that Zhou Qinghao showed no reaction at all, which made him feel somewhat defeated.

This was going too far!

Wait, wasn’t he like this with Zhou Qinghao before he reached adulthood?

Although Gu Juntain felt a bit frustrated, he knew that Zhou Qinghao was acting this way because he was afraid of hurting him.

Letting go of Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntain asked, “Qinghao, how did you know that the Dragon King and the others came to find you to dig out your inner core?”

Zhou Qinghao was startled by Gu Juntain’s question.

He and Ao Jin were twin brothers, and they had a mutual connection. He had learned about this in a dream.

But he couldn’t tell Gu Juntain that.

Zhou Qinghao said, “I don’t know how it happened, but I didn’t even have a dragon form before. However, upon reaching adulthood, I directly transformed into a five-clawed dragon, received the most complete inherited memories, and those dragon clans naturally submitted to me. During my adulthood, I also saw some things related to the Dragon King, such as him throwing me into the Demon Abyss and wanting to dig out my inner core.”

“This must be a danger premonition,” Gu Juntian said.

In the world of cultivation, many people could sense danger and even see related visions.

Zhou Qinghao was a dragon, so it was normal for him to have such strong premonitions.

You should know, some gifted individuals could even divine the future!

At this moment, Zhou Qinghao remembered something that had always bothered him: “When I came of age, I also saw you with the prince of Dragon Island. Do you like him?”

Gu Juntian didn’t expect Zhou Qinghao to have “seen” this as well and quickly responded, “I swear, I don’t like him at all!”

Hearing Gu Juntian’s words, Zhou Qinghao felt relieved and realized he might have been a bit unreasonable.

Gu Juntian might have liked Ao Jin in the past, but now, he surely likes him.

They’ve even signed a soulmate contract!

So what if the Dragon King and the others valued Ao Jin more? Gu Juntian loved him!

Zhou Qinghao really wanted to wrap Gu Juntian up and nuzzle him, but he couldn’t do that.

To him, Gu Juntian was like a piece of tender tofu; the slightest carelessness could hurt him.

Moreover, even though Gu Juntian appeared calm and composed, having suffered such severe injuries and lost the Nascent Soul he had painstakingly cultivated, he must be in great pain at this moment.

He shouldn’t add to Gu Juntian’s burdens.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao said, “Don’t worry, I’ve found a way to cure you from the inherited memories of the dragon clan. As long as we go to the far south and find the Phoenix, you can be healed.”

Zhou Qinghao went to the far south to heal himself?

Gu Juntian asked, “How do you plan to treat me?”

Zhou Qinghao replied, “Phoenix blood has the power to rebirth and nirvana. I plan to offer the dragons outside to the Phoenix in exchange for their blood.”

Gu Juntian: “…” As a Phoenix, he didn’t want the dragons outside; he only wanted the little black dragon in front of him!

Of course, the key point wasn’t this, but that Zhou Qinghao wanted his blood.

“I will definitely get the Phoenix blood. Even if they don’t agree to the exchange, with so many people I’ve brought, I can force them to comply!” Zhou Qinghao added.

Gu Juntian: Zhou Qinghao also wanted to fight him?

Seeing Gu Juntian silent, Zhou Qinghao assured him with a firm expression, “You will get better!”

At this moment, Gu Juntian spoke up, “Qinghao, do you know how a cultivator like me, who has lived for less than a hundred years, knows so many intricate formations?”

Zhou Qinghao didn’t know.

Gu Juntian asked again, “Before you came of age, I had already defeated four dragons at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Do you know how I did it?”

Zhou Qinghao still didn’t know.

Gu Juntian coughed lightly, “Qinghao, do you know why I’m not afraid of death at all?”

Zhou Qinghao remained clueless.

Gu Juntian explained to him, “Actually, I am the Phoenix you wanted to find. I was too bored living alone, so I created a body from my own flesh and blood and used this new body to explore the cultivation world…”

Zhou Qinghao looked at Gu Juntian in shock.

Gu Juntian patted his head, “You know the rest. I fell in love with you at first sight and wanted you to be my soulmate… The dragon and phoenix clans have a feud, and you must have seen our grievances in your inherited memories. Are you still willing to be my soulmate?”

“Willing!” Zhou Qinghao didn’t hesitate. Of course, he was willing to be Gu Juntian’s soulmate, whether Gu Juntian was a human cultivator or a Phoenix, he wanted to be with Gu Juntian.

Wait, Gu Juntian was the Phoenix, the one who loved to eat dragons…

Actually, it was nothing, as long as Gu Juntian didn’t eat him.

They had already formed a soulmate contract, so Gu Juntian definitely wouldn’t eat him.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao asked, “Do you want to eat dragon meat? I’ll get some for you?” There were plenty of reserves outside!

Gu Juntian was helpless, “That won’t be necessary…”

Then, Zhou Qinghao thought of something else, “Gu Juntian, you used to chase after Ao Jin all the time, did you want to eat him? Should I go catch him for you to eat?”

Gu Juntian used his mouth to cover Zhou Qinghao’s mouth.

He had no interest in eating sentient beings!

He never wanted to eat dragons!

It was the original owner who really ate dragons, it had nothing to do with him!

While the two were being affectionate, the cultivation world was in an uproar.

The Demon Lord Haotian from the Demon Abyss had captured four Tribulation Transcendence stage experts from Dragon Island to pull his chariot and was heading towards the cultivation world with four Demon Kings!

Was he planning to conquer the cultivation world?