Chapter 52: The Storm Gathers

Consumed by jealousy and rage, Yuanchao’s deductions became ‘perfectly logical’ in his mind. This, he believed, flawlessly explained all of Yuange’s aberrant actions.

“Guards!” Yuanchao roared, his hand slashing through the air as he clenched the map, crumpling it within his grasp.

From the depths of the shadows, a lithe snake demon emerged, its features delicate yet sinister, its entire being radiating a chilling aura. It bowed deeply.

“What are Your Highness’s commands?” the demon asked, its voice a low hiss. This was She Can, Yuanchao’s most trusted strategist.

“Pass on my command!” Yuanchao’s eyes blazed with undisguised killing intent. “Assemble all warriors of the Earth-Rending Army and Gale Division! Announce that the human Immortal Sects are launching a massive invasion of our sacred Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain, intending to seize our sacred artifact!

“As the royal family of the Myriad Demon Kingdom, we must crush these ignorant humans into dust before Imperial Father emerges from seclusion!”

He had cleverly packaged his personal desires as a righteous act of defending their homeland.

She Can’s narrow, serpentine pupils flickered almost imperceptibly. “Your Highness,” he murmured, “should we not inform His Majesty first?”

“There’s no need!” Yuanchao interrupted him brusquely. “Imperial Father is in seclusion, and the military situation is urgent. By the time he emerges, the sacred mountain will have long been plundered by those human scoundrels. A general outside receives no command from the sovereign.”

“I will bear all consequences myself!”

He could not, and would not, wait.

This once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity had to be firmly grasped in his own hands.

She Can nodded, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. “Your Highness is wise. However… how should we explain this to Princess Yuange? She is currently at the Frost Iron Defense Line. If our army presses forward, it might cause a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” Yuanchao sneered, a cruel laugh escaping his lips. “She would welcome a misunderstanding! That wretch has long been colluding with the humans!”

He thrust the map he held into She Can’s hands.

After reviewing it, She Can gasped sharply, a vicious glint entering his eyes.

“Your Highness, I have a plan,” he whispered, his voice like a serpent’s hiss. “We should not only send out the troops, but also ensure the entire Myriad Demon Kingdom knows *why* we are deploying them.”

“Oh?” Yuanchao watched him with keen interest.

“We can secretly spread a rumor,” She Can’s lips curved into a venomous smile. “Let it be known that… Princess Yuange discovered the secret of the Three Lives Stone long ago. However, blinded by greed, she refused to report it to the Demon Emperor. Instead, she secretly conspired with that human ‘key’ to monopolize the treasure.”

“This grand deployment of human Immortal Sects to the Northern Frontier is not to wage war against our Myriad Demon Kingdom, but to rendezvous with Princess Yuange and assist her in seizing the treasure!”

“Once this news spreads, the charge of ‘colluding with the enemy and betraying the kingdom’ against Princess Yuange will be solidified. By then, even if His Majesty emerges from seclusion, he will only believe that Princess Yuange brought it upon herself. And Your Highness, you will become the sole hero who set things right and protected our sacred artifact!”

“Killing two birds with one stone, with righteous justification.”

“Good! Good! Good!”

Yuanchao’s eyes lit up as he repeated “good” three times!

He clapped She Can on the shoulder, roaring with laughter. “She Can, She Can, your treacherous mind holds more potent schemes than my twin axes!”

“It is my duty to alleviate Your Highness’s worries,” She Can replied humbly, though a triumphant glint sparkled in his eyes.

“Then it is settled!” Yuanchao declared, his decision final. “Immediately spread the news! I want the entire Myriad Demon Kingdom to know what ‘good deeds’ my dear sister has committed.

“At the same time, the army will set out at once, targeting Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain. I must seize the Three Lives Stone and capture that human ‘key’ before she does.”

“As you command.”

With Yuanchao’s order, a colossal storm began to brew, rapidly engulfing the entire Myriad Demon Kingdom, with the Mad Axe Palace at its epicenter.

His unilateral decision to mobilize his loyal army, bypassing the Demon Emperor, sent shockwaves through countless tribes.

Meanwhile, the meticulously crafted rumor, concocted by She Can, was like a drop of potent poison, seeping into the already tumultuous political landscape of the Myriad Demon Kingdom.

“Did you hear? Princess Yuange is going to betray our Myriad Demon Kingdom for a human!”

“More than that! I heard she’s already colluded with the human Immortal Sects and plans to offer our sacred artifact from Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain to the humans as a pledge of allegiance.”

“No wonder the human army suddenly appeared in the Northern Frontier. They must be there to meet her. What a disgrace to the demon race!”

Within moments, the Myriad Demon Kingdom was ablaze with speculation and fervent indignation.

Tribes already harboring resentment towards Yuange now found an outlet, leaping forward to denounce her ‘treasonous’ actions.

Those loyal to the Demon Emperor and Yuange, however, were caught off guard by the sudden news. They attempted to defend her, only to find themselves utterly speechless, for Yuange had indeed grown close to a human, and the human Immortal Sects had indeed deployed their forces to the border.

All the ‘evidence’ pointed perfectly to the most malicious conclusion.

The storm had taken shape.

Innumerable eyes—greedy, furious, or skeptical—all turned towards the Northern Frontier, towards the icy expanse of the Frost Iron Defense Line.

Unaware of the tempest swirling around her, Yuange remained oblivious.

****

The snowstorms in the Northern Frontier seemed endless.

Within this boundless white landscape, the human military camp at the Frost Iron Defense Line lay like a crouching steel beast—silent yet resilient. Thick snow blanketed the tents, and only the clang of patrolling soldiers’ armor and the occasional light spilling from the command tent hinted at life within.

In stark contrast to this grim, martial atmosphere was a particular tent near the Qingyun Sect’s encampment.

Inside, the ground was covered by a plush carpet made from an entire snow fox pelt. In a corner, an incense burner diffused the calming aroma of a unique Myriad Demon Kingdom incense. On a small zitan wood table, delicate fruits and demon honey wine, unpalatable to humans, were arranged.

Yuange lay languidly on a soft couch, propped on one elbow, idly tossing a golden feather with her other hand.

Her amber-gold eyes pierced through a small gap in the tent flap, fixed intently on the brightly lit main command tent in the distance.

Her ‘prey’ was in there.

‘Tsk, how utterly boring.’

For days, she hadn’t found a single opportunity to approach Shen Zhaoqing. That woman, Tuoba Yanxue, guarded the camp like an impenetrable fortress, and Gu Chang’an’s sword intent, like a fiercely loyal hound, locked onto that tent twenty-four hours a day, leaving no blind spots.

‘This “hunting game”… it’s practically turned into “imprisonment by staking out.”

Yuange pouted, finding herself thoroughly bored, when suddenly, a hurried whooshing sound came from outside the tent, followed by the wary shouts of human guards.

“Who goes there!”

“Demonic energy! Be on guard!”

Immediately after, a dark figure, with an almost barbaric force, crashed through her tent flap, stumbling and rolling inside, bringing with it the scent of wind, snow, and blood.

“Princess!”

The newcomer was a falcon demon with tattered wings.

Lie Feng was one of her trusted confidants whom she had left in the Myriad Demon Kingdom’s capital. Now, he was covered in wounds, his aura chaotic, clearly having endured a brutal chase and forced a breakthrough.

The playful expression on Yuange’s face vanished instantly, a cold glint flashing in her golden eyes. She sat bolt upright.

“Lie Feng? Who did this?”

“It… it was people from First Prince Yuanchao,” Lie Feng coughed up a mouthful of blood, struggling to pull a jade slip burning with black demonic flames from his robes. He offered it with both hands. “Princess… hurry and leave! The capital… the capital is rampant with rumors!”

Yuange snatched the jade slip. The moment her fingertips touched it, a violent, familiar demonic energy belonging to her brother, Yuanchao, assailed her.

Her divine sense probed it, and the next second, her face turned ashen.