Bound to Mary Sue, I am against involution in the world of immortal cultivation

"The performance is over...?"

The innocent and poor disciple who had truly imagined Ling You's sadness was frightened to a great extent.

"Is it all acting? From the beginning till now?"

"What else?" Ling You saw through their thoughts and found it a little funny. "I'm not acting... You can't really think that I can be caught so easily, right?"

Can't you run away if you can't fight?

Ling You straightened his messed clothes and his gaze fell on the direction where Fan Ning disappeared. He didn't know what he remembered, but his eyes suddenly became gentle.

In front of Fan Ning, he always reserved his emotions, hoping that she could see it, but also hoping that she didn't want to know anything.

But there is no such concern in front of other people.

Ling You smiled, letting the wind from behind mess up his long hair. His eyes, shining with tiny glint, were hidden beneath the flying hair. "Although I can't imagine anything that could put Fan Ning in such a dilemma...but if one day, this situation really arises."

"No matter what choice she makes, I can fully accept it, because - I will kill myself before she does."

I have become a bargaining chip and am powerless.

Fan Ning had suffered enough in the past, so in the future, there should be no ropes to bind him.

-

"Isn't it time to tell you now? Former Demon Lord," Fan Ning was led to a deep cave. He frowned and found a clean place to sit down. His eyes gradually turned cold. "Seeing these things always brings back some bad memories..."

The former Demon Lord stood before her, looking down at the face that never seemed to show weakness. He deliberately repeated her previous words in a sarcastic tone: "The soft-hearted lose first. It seems that my useless younger brother has finally done a good deed for his beloved brother."

"When you say this, do you ever think of your past failures?"

"—in a cave like this."

When he appeared here, Fan Ning's brief change in eyes was not ignored by him. Almost instantly, he felt the other party's dislike for such a position.

"Loser?" Fan Ning looked up in surprise, seemingly amused by the word. The corners of his mouth curled up in a cold arc, "No, I've never been a loser."

"There's really nothing worth discussing about the cave's past, but if you insist on listening, there's nothing to hide." Fan Ning was very cooperative. "It's just that we killed three people."

"The wicked are lost in the mire of desire, while the world belongs to the clear and bright."

Fan Ning smiled, and raised her leg slightly, "It's getting a bit boring to continue this topic."

"Don't you want to know? The secret about Ling You."

The former Demon Lord finally regained his composure. He looked at Fan Ning, who seemed to be very easy to talk to. He was not at all corrupted by the candied fruit in front of him. He even asked back, "Will you answer honestly when I ask you?"

"How is that possible!" Fan Ning slapped her thigh, revealing a hint of surprise when she heard this. Then she said, "If your young and handsome brother had begged me softly, I might have agreed without hesitation. But your words—are a bit too old-fashioned."

"You must not take good care of yourself. You look so old."

"..."

"Stop using these useless words," the former Demon Lord's mouth twitched, looking like he wanted to get angry at the person in front of him, but he quickly forced himself to calm down. "Do you think you can still do whatever you want now?"

"I now know exactly what the abyss is," he said, his tone changing as he threatened, "If all the cultivators in the world knew the reason why they couldn't ascend... do you think you could still stay out of it?"

"They already know, right?" Fan Ning's expression vanished. She looked at the former Demon Lord as if he were a clown who thought he had grasped a sharp blade. "Your target has been me from the beginning, so it's obvious that someone promised you something."

"You took me away. Wanting to know the secret was fake. Delaying time was real."

Fan Ning's expression was indifferent, but his words were sharp enough to hit the nail on the head, "When I leave, what's waiting for me outside should be a circle of monks."

"You've amused me," the Demon Lord didn't expect the man before him to say such a thing. He looked seriously at Fan Ning's expressionless eyes, then suddenly grinned, "Actually, there's another way."

"As long as you are willing to tell me the method to absorb the abyss, I will lead everyone in the Demon Realm to fight a bloody battle for you. Then, you will be the Saint of the Demon Realm. When I become a god, no one will be able to take you away from me."

"Demon Realm?" Fan Ning didn't move from his seat, only raising his eyelids. "Why do I remember that the current Demon Lord should be me?"

"My territory isn't something anyone can steal so easily," the Demon Lord waved his sleeves, his face brimming with pride. "Jiang Xue, who was willing to side with you, wasn't obedient enough and has been eliminated by me... Guess who would be willing to disobey my orders for you if this news gets back to the Demon Realm?"

"I can't control you, but it's easy to deal with them."

"Jiangxue...is dead?"

Fan Ning raised his head and looked at the former Demon Lord. After a pause, he sighed as if out of pity and continued to ask, "Was he in pain when he died?"

"He was tormented and tortured until he breathed his last."

"He's been your subordinate for quite some time, and you didn't leave him any room for maneuver... You said I was the most cold-blooded and heartless person, but in my opinion, you're more worthy of that title than I am."

"He's just a traitor. Dead is dead. The friendship between me and him was completely exhausted the moment he chose to betray me," the Demon Lord sneered, accepting the accusation without a trace. "Why did he die... Jiangxue should have hated you."

"I still remember the way he fawned in front of me when he was little. Humph, it's all my fault that he has come to this point."

Fan Ning didn't comment, but his gaze shifted for a moment, fixed on a specific spot, and he asked calmly, "Is that so, Jiangxue?"

"Or should I call you Lin Zhenfeng now?"

"What—" The former Demon Lord turned around in surprise when he heard the familiar words.

The entrance of the cave was blown by the wind and was still empty.

cheated.

The moment he realized this, he clearly felt something sharp, silver light pressing against his vitals.

"It's not good to let your guard down," Fan Ning said quietly, "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."