The Demon Lord and I: Frenemies - chapter 44

Chapter 44

In the blink of an eye, the boat shuddered violently with a muffled crash, and the deep green jade pendant shattered. Lu Hewei fell heavily to the ground, his beast claws gradually reverting to five fingers, his fangs returning to normal. Clearly, bestial transformation also had a time limit; once exhausted, its effects faded.

Chu Zaishuang was about to take a step when a metallic taste surged in her throat. Her face turned deathly pale as cold sweat broke out. She clutched at her clothes, doubling over uncontrollably. Her Sea of Consciousness had become a dead sea, her strength utterly drained, and she unexpectedly entered a weakened state ahead of time.

The combined strike of the twin swords had repelled Lu Hewei, but also depleted all of Chu Zaishuang’s spiritual energy.

No wonder Father only taught her single sword techniques; the moment she wielded both swords, her body was left parched, and now she was about to collapse to her knees.

Xiao Shi cried out: [He’s still moving!]

Lu Hewei, sprawled on the ground, his fingers trembling, had lost all beastly features, yet he struggled to rise. He lifted his gaze, a flash of hatred bursting in his eyes. Even without the power of a werewolf, he still possessed a werewolf’s ferocity.

This time, without Chu Zaishuang needing to call out, Xiao Shi’s voice fell silent on its own. Her mind quieted. With her Sea of Consciousness depleted, in the face of absolute crisis, she became absolutely calm.

What followed was no longer a battle, but utter chaos and brawling.

Neither had any spiritual energy left. They wrestled viciously on the deck, like beasts tearing at each other in a cage. No Elixir, no spells, no weapons-just the simplest punches and kicks. The grace of cultivators was gone, leaving only raw courage and ferocity, a fight to the death.

How strange.

She didn’t even understand why he hated her so much.

Whenever he pummeled her with his fists, she would kick him back a few times. If it wasn’t a contest of spells, it was a brawl. The rough scuffle reminded her of childhood, when she had fought with him over things in much the same way.

It was the little wet-feathered bird Chu Bingxiao had found, knocked to the ground by rain. Chu Zaishuang had played with it and wanted to let it go, but Lu Hewei deliberately squeezed it, laughing loudly as he did.

Children’s quarrels always seemed to come from nowhere. In the end, the elders arrived and separated the two, whose faces had both changed. Lu Hengzhou publicly scolded Lu Hewei, berating his son harshly, while Chu Chenyue and Su Tingyun said little, instead privately asking Chu Zaishuang what had happened.

Chu Zaishuang admitted, “I don’t like him.”

“Do you dislike him?”

“What’s the difference?”

“The opposite of liking is not liking, but dislike goes deeper-almost wishing to be rid of them.”

The young Chu Zaishuang thought for a moment and answered seriously, “Then I just don’t like him.”

Chu Chenyue pinched her cheek. “Shuang’er is a fair child.”

She merely didn’t like Lu Hewei, but Lu Hewei probably disliked her.

He always complained that the siblings wouldn’t play with him, sometimes even crying and sniffling. Later, he realized it was because she was indifferent to him, so he became sharp-tongued, picking on her cultivation, always looking for trouble, deliberately separating the siblings to assert his presence.

Waves crashed, and the deck rocked.

Chu Zaishuang was nearly knocked into the water by Lu Hewei. She fired her Sleeve Arrow to hook the mast, then grabbed the Cloud Brocade Rope and swung herself back. The arrow-tipped rope slithered like a snake, looping around the straight mast, then suddenly bent back, striking her opponent instead!

The Cloud Brocade Rope was astonishingly strong. Lu Hewei had thought she would fall into the water, but she reacted instantly, not only pulling herself back in midair, but dragging him down with her!

With a splash, water sprayed everywhere. The Rippling Water Technique exploded across the lake’s surface, and in an instant, everything fell silent.

Chu Zaishuang had just used all her strength, unsure if her spell had worked. She craned her neck to check on Lu Hewei’s fate, but saw only scattered leaves and broken branches. The person who fell in was nowhere to be seen.

Her body, now unsupported by spiritual energy, was on the verge of collapse. Chu Zaishuang staggered to her feet, trying to reach the door sealing the Magic Array before she lost consciousness. She took two steps toward the cabin, but couldn’t help glancing back at the water. Still, there was no sign of anyone, not even a cry for help.

Perhaps she hadn’t liked him at first, but because he always disliked her, she had no choice but to dislike him too.

The water’s surface was undisturbed.

The person she’d known since childhood had vanished, along with those fragile memories.

Inside the cell, Yao Wensheng was working on breaking the array when he suddenly heard the door open. He tried to cover the ancient script with his sleeve, but saw a familiar face. His voice was hoarse: “Shuang’er, what are you doing here? And in this state?”

The white-robed girl was covered in blood, her damp hair hanging in disarray, as if she had just crawled out of a mass grave.

“Medicine Elder, your voice is awful-like a broken gong,” Chu Zaishuang coughed violently. Her steps were unsteady, and when she brushed against the wound on her face, though she was covered in injuries, her tone softened. “Why do you still seem so energetic?”

Compared to the wounded Chu Zaishuang, Yao Wensheng was clearly full of vigor, a stark contrast to his unconscious state earlier. It seemed he had relied on his own constitution to detoxify.

This was good for them. Even if she collapsed, he would still be able to fight.

Yao Wensheng beckoned her over. “Come, come, I’ll teach you how to break the array. Once you let me out, I’ll heal you…”

Before he finished, the Wuwo Sword flowed smoothly, deftly passing through the sealing Magic Array and unlocking the mechanisms inside the cell.

With a click, Yao Wensheng felt the suppression lift. He stared in a daze for a few seconds, then realized what had happened and exclaimed, “Don’t tell me your father taught you this! He broke into my Alchemy Room the same way!”
“I’m sorry, I peeked too…” Chu Zaishuang whispered, “…I won’t do it again. Doing bad things brings retribution.

If she hadn’t been so curious, insisting on testing her guesses, she wouldn’t have ended up being kidnapped.

“How did you get so badly hurt? Not only is your spiritual energy depleted, but your Sea of Consciousness is unstable.” As the cell door opened and Yao Wensheng stepped out, he immediately checked Chu Zaishuang, discovering the abnormalities within her and scolding, “You’re not an Alchemist, yet you dare to take medicine recklessly?”

Chu Zaishuang replied, “…I feel like you’re the last person who should say that to me.”

After all, he was the one who often took medicine indiscriminately.

“Let me help you recover first. Once we’re back at the sect, I’ll use medicine to regulate your body. You’re resistant to medicine, so ordinary remedies won’t work. It’ll probably take more effort.”

Chu Zaishuang remained silent, too embarrassed to admit that she wasn’t actually resistant to medicine-she just always spat it out as a child, but the Medicine Elder was too muddled to notice.

Yao Wensheng moved his fingers, performing a Transformation Realm Technique called Hundred Herbs Sweet Return. This technique could detoxify and replenish energy, not only saving the caster but also healing cultivators within a certain range, pulling them back from the brink of death.

Golden light, warm and gentle, enveloped her like sunlight shining on all things. Chu Zaishuang felt her depleted Sea of Consciousness begin to function, spiritual energy filling her body once more, and she finally let out a long breath of relief.

“This can only temporarily ease your pain. Once the spiritual energy I’ve given you runs out, you’ll suffer again from the Elixir’s effects.” Yao Wensheng frowned, “Who refined this Elixir? Such fierce medicinal power-how could anyone let you take it recklessly? That person should be held accountable!”

“It was refined by Hong Li,” Chu Zaishuang hurried to explain when she saw his anger, “But she didn’t tell me to take it-I did it on my own…”

“Oh, oh, oh, so it was Hong Li.” Upon hearing his beloved disciple’s name, Yao Wensheng’s voice dropped and his expression softened, comforting her, “Then it shouldn’t be a big problem. She has much of my style; the Elixirs she refines definitely won’t kill anyone.”

Chu Zaishuang: “?”

Chu Zaishuang: “No, she doesn’t have the Medicine Elder’s style. She never eats random things.”

Elders are forbidden from randomly dragging their friends into trouble; Su Hongli is clearly more reliable than him.

The ship began to shake, causing the two to look up.

Yao Wensheng took the Yellow Gourd from his waist and said, “Let’s get out of here. This place is about to collapse.”

Chu Zaishuang followed behind him toward the bow, asking, “The ship is collapsing?”

“No, Qiandu Island is about to collapse. I sensed a fluctuation in spiritual energy as soon as I came out; this place won’t last much longer.”

She was stunned. “Qiandu Island is collapsing?”

“That’s right. Once the Island Lord dies, the island will disintegrate. If we don’t hurry and leave, we’ll be swept into the Chaos outside and torn apart by the storm.”

Yao Wensheng suspected that Lu Hengzhou sealed himself here intending to destroy everything if he lost.

Killing a High-Level Cultivator isn’t easy, but throwing one who can’t use techniques into the Chaos-even if they survive, they’ll be severely weakened and unlikely to return to the island.

*

At the Array Core, the cultivators of Qiandu Island were utterly defeated.

Lu Hengzhou, as their leader, faced the many White-Robed Cultivators. Now, his hair was disheveled, looking like a fiend, his face twisted in a vicious grin as he laughed heartily, “Chu Chenyue, do you really think you’ve won? I want to see how long the Qionglian Twelve Islands can last without Qiandu Island and without Yao Wensheng!”

“Just wait. You killed me today, but sooner or later, someone like me will come to kill you! Then you’ll realize just how wrong you were!”

The Qionglian Twelve Islands would not remain peaceful forever; there would always be those who couldn’t stand them, stepping onto this land again.

In the blood rain, cultivators fell.

Chu Chenyue tore off the Tingyun Luoyue Token, her face cold as she ordered, “Notify the Vice Sect Leader to break open the Qiandu Island grand array. The Medicine Elder may be trapped inside.”

Qiandu Island now only allowed exit, not entry. Outsiders would find it hard to break in and rescue anyone; no one expected Lu Hengzhou to drag someone down with him before dying.

*

In the sky, the Yellow Gourd grew enormous, able to carry several people.

Yao Wensheng tossed it into the air, letting it expand into a massive yellow cloud. He leapt onto the gourd’s green vine, then used a Wind Element Technique to lift Chu Zaishuang, placing her behind him as he flew upward on the artifact.

The wind howled, and beneath their feet stretched endless green Herb Fields, while above, the sky was a pale blue with white clouds. Yet in the distance, the horizon was dim and blurred, the clouds shredded by some strange force, just as when Lu Ge disappeared.

That force was slowly spreading, converging on the small building at the center of Qiandu Island. Everywhere it touched turned into hazy mist. Warm sunlight, light clouds, tender grass, floating algae-all gradually faded, losing their forms completely. Even the birdsong ceased, leaving only dead silence.

If Qiandu Island had once been vibrant with color, now it was fading, like a ruined cloth, torn into strips and finally ground into dust.

Chu Zaishuang’s eyes trembled as she gazed at the phenomenon, fearfully asking, “What’s happening?”

“Lu Hengzhou is dead. The spiritual energy will dissipate, and the Chaos from outside will flood in. No plant can survive.” Yao Wensheng explained, “Actually, outside the Qionglian Twelve Islands, it’s always like this. You rarely leave the islands, so you’ve never seen it.”

She stared at the gray-white world. “It’s always like this outside? No plants, no sound, not even a hint of color?”
Chu Zaishuang had read about history in books, but had never seen it with her own eyes.

“Do you know why, back then, we didn’t name ourselves something like ‘State’ or ‘Valley,’ but instead chose the name Qionglian Twelve Islands?”

“Why?”

Yao Wensheng gave a bitter smile. “After the great war, aside from the worlds created by High-Level Cultivators, there was nowhere suitable to live. Those of us who survived were like people stranded on isolated islands, shrouded in the Chaos from the shattered Flower Mirror. Even though we knew there were others far away, they were just similar isolated islands, unable to connect with each other. So we called ourselves the Qionglian Twelve Islands.”

The shattering of the Flower Mirror was irreversible; even if they defeated their enemies, the world was left broken and desolate.

No matter how powerful a cultivator was, faced with this vast Chaos, they were as insignificant as dust, able to move only within the tiny space their own power allowed.

Chu Zaishuang was left speechless.

The giant gourd kept rising, carrying them out of the formation. Qiandu Island grew smaller and smaller, like shards of ice on the water, its edges crumbling and dissolving one after another into the Chaos.

The gentle breeze would no longer blow across the island. No one would ever again see the endless Wandering Zero Flower fields, nor would anyone sail a boat to enjoy the scenery and taste tea at sunset. The pavilions draped in light gauze would vanish, the dazzling array of Spiritual Herbs would be devoured, and the next day there would be no sunrise to illuminate all things. The next day, there would be nothing left on the island at all.

She stared blankly at the scene, suddenly unable to say a word, left only with a powerless ache.

This was a destined ending. She knew the Lu father and son could not remain, but watching the beautiful Qiandu Island vanish still brought a surge of sorrow.

“Does it make you a little sad?” Yao Wensheng sighed. “So many Herb Fields disappearing- even if we win, it feels like losing. I don’t even know what we’re fighting for. Once it’s over, there’s nothing left. It was like this after the great war, and it’s still like this now.”

The world cultivators could survive in was already so small, yet they still fought each other. Nothing had changed to this day.

Chu Zaishuang nodded.

“But no matter how difficult things get, there will always be something left behind.” Seeing her silent and dejected, Yao Wensheng, his stooped figure moving, suddenly took something out and comforted her, “Children shouldn’t be so gloomy. Come over here, I have something fun to show you.”

Hearing him call her, Chu Zaishuang walked over and looked into the cauldron at the Spiritual Herbs. “This is…”

Inside the verdant cauldron was water and soil, like a miniature landscape of the island. Except for the smaller scale of the Herb Fields, it was identical to the real Qiandu Island. Here too were Wandering Zero Flowers, elegant pavilions, and boats floating on the water. It looked like a toy to amuse children, only about the size of a palm.

Yao Wensheng said, “It wasn’t easy to set foot on Qiandu Island, so I had to take something with me. I just finished collecting seeds from the island and casually shaped this scene in the cauldron. It’s all conjured from Spiritual Herb seeds.”

Chu Zaishuang’s eyes widened. “When did you collect the seeds?”

Their departure from the island had been so perilous. She hadn’t even noticed when the Medicine Elder had time-right under her nose-to pick Spiritual Herbs!

“As soon as the gourd rose into the air, I started collecting. Otherwise, it would have been such a waste.” Yao Wensheng pointed at the gourd’s mouth, which was inhaling, “It can absorb Spiritual Herbs on its own; I don’t need to go down and do it myself.”

Lu Hengzhou had always guarded against him, afraid he would cultivate unique Spiritual Herbs. He had tried every means to set foot on the island, only to end up captured after everything fell apart.

Chu Zaishuang held the green cauldron, examining it carefully, and suddenly said, “I remember seeing this before, when I was being treated at Thousand-Gold Peak.”

She recalled that there had been many bonsais in the Medicine Elder’s room, not only with tender green plants but often with pavilions and towers nestled among them.

“Yes, those were made by me too. Whenever I feel regret, I shape a scene like this.” Yao Wensheng looked down at Qiandu Island, watching as the island completely disintegrated, and said wistfully, “Of course, those places have disappeared forever as well.”

He said kindly, “This one is for you. Keep it as a memento. If you ever don’t want it anymore, just dig out the seeds and you can plant Spiritual Herbs again.”

Chu Zaishuang gazed at the exquisite little island in the cauldron, unable to bear the thought of damaging the miniature landscape. Somehow, it felt as if she were holding the Qionglian Twelve Islands in her hands, afraid that if she wasn’t careful, she might shatter it.

She lowered her eyes, put it away carefully, and said softly, “So it’s true that not everything has been taken from me.”

The gentle breeze, the birdsong, the fragrance of flowers-what she had taken for granted in the Qionglian Twelve Islands-were all the fruits of their utmost efforts. Just like the miniature landscape, the real Qiandu Island had already perished, leaving only a beautiful illusion in the cauldron.

Whether it was her parents or the Medicine Elder, after seeing through the world’s cruelty, they could still build a peaceful haven. That was giving everything they had, with nothing more left to give.

She looked toward the Chaos that had swallowed Qiandu Island. In the mist, there was no place to stand; only atop the gourd was there still safety. There was no wind, no sound, as if floating in a vacuum. So this was what lay outside the island-an endless loneliness.

She had thought destruction would be a violent explosion, tearing the world apart. She hadn’t known that destruction was a void, where even the world itself ceased to exist.

There was nothing left. Everything had returned to zero, and even the meaning of “world’s end” had completely vanished.