At this moment, Lu Ning felt her vision go dark as she looked at Su Yuexi.
The woman stood there with a gentle smile on her face, having already bundled her own disciple into a sack.
“Su… Sect Leader Su.”
Lu Ning’s voice carried a hint of a tremor.
She tried her best to make her expression appear more sincere.
“We… we were allies who fought side by side back in the Great Wilderness Dynasty. If there is something on your mind, we can communicate properly. There is no need for this…”
“Allies?”
Su Yuexi looked as if she had heard a hilarious joke.
She let out a soft giggle, covering her mouth, though her eyes — which were usually as gentle as water — were filled with mockery.
“Sect Leader Lu, have you misunderstood something?”
“The reason I worked with Gu Qinghuan was to repay the ‘enlightenment’ you gave me all those years ago. It certainly wasn’t to be some ally of yours.”
“Moreover…”
Su Yuexi walked slowly toward Lu Ning.
She reached out with her slender jade fingers and gently tilted Lu Ning’s chin upward.
“Sect Leader Lu showed such magnificent power outside Heaven’s Capital not long ago, severely wounding that unfathomable expert of the Great Wilderness Dynasty with a single palm.”
“That kind of elegance truly made me yearn for more. I was filled with admiration.”
“It’s just…”
Su Yuexi’s tone shifted.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, like a fox scrutinizing its prey.
“I suspect that world-destroying power was merely a final radiance before the end — some kind of secret technique you forced yourself to use, wasn’t it?”
“With your current Golden Core cultivation, you don’t even have the right to run away from me.”
“Forget about me, you can’t even defeat my useless disciple right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been nearly ‘revenged’ upon by her.”
“Sect Leader Lu, am I right?”
Su Yuexi’s voice was very soft, but Lu Ning’s heart instantly sank to the bottom of an abyss.
Seeing Lu Ning’s face turn pale and the flash of panic in those cold eyes, Su Yuexi’s smile grew even more brilliant.
“It seems I hit the mark.”
Su Yuexi released Lu Ning’s chin and instead began to gently stroke her cheek.
Her movements were extremely tender.
“Sect Leader Lu, you don’t need to be so nervous. I bear you no ill will.”
“I am simply curious.”
“I am curious to see what kind of sight the former titan of the demonic path would be, now that she has fallen into such dire straits.”
As Su Yuexi spoke, she turned her gaze toward Hua Lingyue, who was bundled up like a sack with only her head exposed and her eyes blindfolded.
“Lingyue is usually a mischievous girl, but this time she blundered into a stroke of luck and delivered an unexpected grand gift to her master.”
“Master! You… you can’t do this!”
Although the blindfolded Hua Lingyue couldn’t see, she could clearly hear their conversation.
Was her master… was she really going to do something to this Great Demon?
“Shut up.”
Hearing those words, Hua Lingyue’s body trembled violently.
She didn’t dare say another word.
Su Yuexi turned back, satisfied, and fixed her gaze on Lu Ning once more.
Her eyes grew distant, as if she were lost in a long-forgotten memory.
“Sect Leader Lu, do you remember?”
“Many years ago, there was also a young girl who was as helpless as you are now. She knelt before you, begging piteously just to be allowed into your sect.”
“Unfortunately, back then, you felt that even giving her a single look was redundant.”
Su Yuexi’s voice was light, as if she were telling a story that had nothing to do with her.
However, Lu Ning could sense a deep, bone-piercing resentment hidden beneath that calm tone.
‘It’s coming.’
‘I knew it would be like this.’
This woman was still brooding over what happened all those years ago.
Lu Ning sighed inwardly.
She knew that if she didn’t give her a satisfactory explanation today, the consequences would be severe.
Things had reached a point where more excuses and disguises were useless.
Lu Ning took a deep breath and met Su Yuexi’s gaze, which appeared gentle but hid a sharp edge.
She no longer appeared panicky, nor did she try to use clumsy acting to get by.
She simply looked at Su Yuexi quietly, a hint of complex emotion surfacing in her clear eyes.
“Sect Leader Su…” Lu Ning spoke slowly, her voice cold.
“I was in the wrong regarding what happened back then.”
“It was my mistake for not having the eyes to see. I missed a one-in-a-10,000-years genius of the demonic path like you.”
“If I had taken you under my wing and taught you carefully, perhaps the Heavenly Demon Sect would have gained another demonic titan by now.”
“This was a loss for my Heavenly Demon Sect and my own personal fault.”
“For this, I apologize to you.”
After speaking, Lu Ning bowed slightly to apologize.
She said these words with absolute sincerity because they were the truth.
In the game Immortal Demon Era, Su Yuexi’s later achievements were indeed enough to make anyone take notice.
Not only did she break the Hundred Flowers Heart-Eroding Curse within her body, but she also cultivated both immortal and demonic paths.
Her cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds until she eventually became a power capable of rivaling the three major leaders of the righteous path.
If such a person had truly entered the demonic path, her achievements would definitely not have been inferior to Gu Qinghuan’s.
Therefore, Lu Ning’s apology wasn’t entirely a hollow gesture for the sake of survival.
Su Yuexi was clearly stunned upon hearing this.
A flicker of surprise crossed her gentle eyes.
She had imagined countless reactions from Lu Ning.
The woman might have continued to be stubborn, she might have made empty threats, or she might have begged for mercy.
But she never expected this demon, who was arrogant to her very bones, to admit her mistake so calmly and even bow her head in apology.
This caused the resentment that had been bottled up for years to dissipate significantly in an inexplicable way.
However, she quickly suppressed that strange emotion.
She looked at Lu Ning, the corners of her mouth curling into a playful arc.
“An apology?”
“Sect Leader Lu, you don’t think a light apology can simply wipe away what happened back then, do you?”
Her voice became playful again.
“You made me lose face and suffer humiliation in front of all the cultivators of the Northern Region. This debt can’t be settled with a simple ‘sorry’.”
Su Yuexi’s gaze swept over Lu Ning’s body without restraint.
“However…”
Her tone shifted as a clever light danced in her gentle eyes.
“Seeing how sincere you are, I can give you a chance to compensate me.”
Lu Ning’s heart stirred.
She knew there was a turning point.
“Please speak, Sect Leader Su.”
“It’s very simple.”
“Since you said you missed out on a demonic genius like me, why don’t you make up for that regret now?”
“From today onward, you will stay here in my Hundred Flowers Valley and personally guide my cultivation in demonic techniques. How does that sound?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t mistreat you.”
Su Yuexi’s fingertips gently brushed over Lu Ning’s lips in an ambiguous gesture.
“I will treat you as my most honored guest and give you the best of everything in this world.”
“I will have you live in the most magnificent palaces, wear the most beautiful clothes, and eat the most precious spirit fruits.”
“I can even accompany you every day, just like that good disciple of yours…”
Su Yuexi’s voice was like a devil’s whisper, echoing softly in Lu Ning’s ear.
Hearing this, Lu Ning felt her scalp go numb.
This woman wanted to keep her in Hundred Flowers Valley like a caged canary!
“I appreciate Sect Leader Su’s kindness.”
Lu Ning took a deep breath, forcing down her fear.
Her face regained the composure and calm belonging to the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
“However, there are still many matters within the Heavenly Demon Sect waiting for me to handle. It is truly inconvenient for me to stay here for long.”
“As for guiding your demonic cultivation, I will certainly visit you personally to fulfill today’s promise when the opportunity arises in the future.”
Lu Ning tried to use this retreat-to-advance method to gain a slim chance of escape.
She didn’t believe Su Yuexi would truly disregard everything to force her to stay.
After all, her identity as a Great Demon was still significant.
“Sect Leader Lu, have you still not figured out the situation?”
Su Yuexi’s brow furrowed slightly.
For the first time, a hint of displeasure appeared on her gentle face.
“My Hundred Flowers Valley isn’t a place where you can come and go as you please.”
“You seem to have forgotten that in your current state, you don’t have a shred of strength to support your selfishness.”
Su Yuexi’s words were light, yet they carried a domineering aura.
In the next moment, the terrifying pressure belonging to the peak of the late Great Transcendence stage swept toward Lu Ning.
Lu Ning’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
Just as she was about to reach her limit, the feverish sensation caused by the medicinal pool finally erupted completely.
An indescribable desire instantly shattered all of her logic and reason.
Lu Ning’s body suddenly went limp, and she collapsed forward.
Su Yuexi was quick to react, catching her in her arms.
An alluring blush had bloomed on Lu Ning’s cheeks at some unknown point.
Her originally cold eyes were now shimmering with moisture, filled with a blurred, hazy light.
She moved her body unconsciously, letting out a few faint sounds.
In this state, she looked like a moving painting, ready to be plucked.
Looking at the “Great Demon” in her arms, who had become exceptionally seductive due to the effects of the lust poison, Su Yuexi’s gentle eyes flashed with amazement and obsession.
She reached out to gently stroke Lu Ning’s burning cheek, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness.
“Sect Leader Lu, look at this. It seems your body is much more honest than your mouth.”
“It’s telling me that it likes it here very much. it doesn’t want to leave.”
As Su Yuexi spoke, she picked Lu Ning up in a horizontal carry and walked toward a jade bed carved from 1,000-year-old warm jade deep inside the cave dwelling.
“Don’t worry. I will take very good care of you.”
She placed Lu Ning gently onto the jade bed.
Then, she leaned down and spoke slowly while looking into those dazed eyes.
“Sect Leader Lu, if you want the antidote, you’ll have to beg me properly.”
“Just like how I knelt before you all those years ago, bow that noble head of yours to me.”
“And serve me well…”