The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Memories came flooding back to Chen Dong like a tide. ’That’s right, I was captured by her—no, tricked by her!’

Chen Dong also recalled that when they had forged the Beast Taming Contract, he had vaguely glimpsed Liu Ling’s memories. That was why he’d had the thought of letting her trick him, suppressing his doubts even as they arose. To Chen Dong, Liu Ling was a pitiable creature. She had slain billions over countless eons, yet the Saint’s fluorescent glow around her was brighter than his own. More miraculously, there wasn’t a single trace of bloodstain on her.

From Liu Ling’s memories, Chen Dong could see that the lives she had saved outnumbered those she had taken by tens of millions of times. Perhaps it was because she had killed so many that she could never become a Saint. Or perhaps it was the influence of the Hongmeng Dao Artifact, rendering it impossible to deduce through divination.

But Chen Dong didn’t care whether the light around Liu Ling belonged to a Saint or an Asura. He just couldn’t bring himself to hate her, even though she had plotted to deceive him from the very beginning—including that Celestial Dao-level Beast Taming Contract.

’To traverse countless ages, all for a single obsession… isn’t that what cultivation is all about?’

But Chen Dong had still miscalculated. He hadn’t expected there to be four Divinity Transformation Stage Water Pythons in this Land of Extinct Demons. He had planned to break the Beast Taming Contract, then tell her that her method of clinging to an obsession for several epochs was wrong. He never thought he would just be sacrificed directly.

*Sigh*… Chen Dong sighed softly. ’Ever since I came down from the mountain, I’ve run into far more frustrating situations than pleasant ones. I’m still not strong enough!’

Then, to his utter astonishment, Chen Dong discovered something. ’My divine soul is here… so how is my physical body still moving?’

Moreover, that body wore an excited expression, dancing and gesticulating wildly while pulling Liu Ling over to thank her.

Chen Dong stared blankly and cursed inwardly. ’Damn it, Mu Qingzhu, you wench! Instead of saving me, you’re over there celebrating!’

Filled with rage, Chen Dong charged toward his own body.

But he passed right through it. Chen Dong came to a sudden realization. ’No, this is wrong. I’m still inside the memories!’

His own memories, Liu Ling’s memories, and the memories of the Demon Refining Pot—this place was a fusion of all three. Chen Dong habitually probed with his Divine Sense. Inside his soul-form’s sea of consciousness, there was nothing but the Creation Dao Light Pillar.

But this Creation Dao Light Pillar had not a single speck of fluorescent light… ’Wait, there *is* light!’ Chen Dong was stunned.

He didn’t rush to use the fluorescent light. Instead, he began to ponder its origin.

He suddenly recalled that when he had made contact with the Demon Refining Pot through Liu Ling, he had obtained a stroke of fortune from the Creation Dao. ’As expected of a Hongmeng Dao Artifact,’ he thought. ’Even brushing against it through a girl grants you good fortune.’

Without further thought, Chen Dong immediately activated the power of the Creation Dao.

Chen Dong’s divine soul shot out of the dark green Demon Refining Pot and slammed right back into his own joyfully celebrating body.

The first thing Chen Dong did was vent his fury via voice transmission. ”So, Mu Qingzhu, you wanted to come out for some air? Just stay put in your Jade Embryo. You won’t be getting another chance to come out!”

Mu Qingzhu was completely caught off guard. ”Y-you… How are you back?!”

”It’s my body! I can come and go as I please!”

Before Chen Dong could bicker any further, he saw Liu Ling before him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

’Did I scare her into crying? No, that can’t be it.’

Suddenly, the underwater world began to shake violently. The Demon Refining Pot, which stood like a sky-propping pillar, had started to move.

The sound of churning water filled Chen Dong’s ears. After a moment of shaking, a massive vortex formed on the seafloor. Fortunately, Chen Dong was a Golden Core Stage cultivator at the very least, so he could keep himself steady.

Once things calmed down, he saw Liu Ling hugging the Demon Refining Pot, sobbing uncontrollably. Her sorrowful cries shook the very depths of the water. ”Mother… Mother… Mother…”

An indescribable feeling washed over Chen Dong. The world he had been in was a fusion of three sets of memories. By emerging from it, he had also brought forth Liu Ling’s forgotten memories.

He had originally planned to use some special methods on her. But now? ’Forget it.’

The divine soul that had enlightened Liu Ling was the original Artifact Spirit of the Demon Refining Pot. After that soul vanished, Liu Ling had become the new Artifact Spirit without even realizing it. This wasn’t difficult to deduce. The Demon Refining Pot was a Hongmeng Dao Artifact; the Dao it contained was likely an existence even older and more profound than the Celestial Dao. Chen Dong couldn’t even begin to comprehend the Celestial Dao, let alone the Demon Refining Pot.

Besides, the Demon Refining Pot was an ownerless item. It was only natural that Liu Ling didn’t know she had become its Artifact Spirit.

Seeing this, he figured Liu Ling would probably never bring another living being here to be sacrificed again.

In truth, a Beast Taming Contract could never bind the Artifact Spirit of a Hongmeng Dao Artifact, even a Celestial Dao-level contract. It didn’t matter that she was currently in the form of the Demon Race. She was simply shackled by her memories, unable to unleash her true power, unable to see through the illusion, unable to comprehend the truth. She had willingly allowed her obsession to delude her, which was why she had been lost for several epochs.

Chen Dong sighed softly and began to swim toward the surface. As for the Hongmeng Dao Artifact, the Demon Refining Pot, he didn’t dare even think about it. It wasn’t something a mere Golden Core Stage cultivator could covet. Just knowing of its existence was enough to bring endless trouble.

It had taken him a long time to swim down, but the journey up was much quicker. Soon, he passed through the space where the Demon Refining Pot resided.

Suddenly, two figures leaped down and plunged into the water. The one in front had an anxious expression—it was Murong Qing. The one behind, looking slightly more relieved, was Zisang Jin.

When the space had trembled, the demonic energy suppressing them had vanished. Without sparing a second glance for the Dao Essence on the water’s surface, the two of them had dived straight in to find Chen Dong.

Chen Dong smiled with deep satisfaction. ’After a lifetime of cultivation, what more could one ask for…’