Chapter 10: Gently Coaxed

Of course, Bu Xiwei wasn’t some fragile little bird dumpling. An explosion of this magnitude wouldn’t even graze her, let alone harm Yu Xiu, whom she was protecting.

Icy blue spiritual energy instantly enveloped Yu Xiu from behind, covering her with no blind spots.

An explosion like this—even occurring right under her nose—was nothing Yu Xiu needed to fear.

It was only strong enough to destroy the physical body of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. A Half-step Golden Core cultivator with deep reserves like Yu Xiu wouldn’t be seriously injured, even if she did nothing to defend herself.

Not to mention, Yu Xiu herself possessed exquisite magical techniques, as well as a vast collection of spiritual artifacts, talismans, and formations.

But in this moment, feeling the thoroughly secure and meticulous protective layer surrounding her—when she hadn’t even had time to activate her own defenses—and seeing the small figure in front of her unhesitatingly block all possible harm…
Faced with such resolute protection, how could Yu Xiu’s heart not be moved?

She could clearly sense the intense tension and fury emanating from Bu Xiwei, to the point where it felt almost tangible.

All of it—because she was worried about her safety.

Bu Xiwei was truly about to explode with rage.

How long had it even been since they’d met in this life? And yet some shameless bastard had dared to make a move on Yu Xiu right in front of her?!

The evil cultivator’s body was blasted into countless fragments, scattered across several zhang of space, leaving the area in total disarray.
Visually, it was even more horrifying than when Bu Xiwei had crushed the Han family’s Golden Core evil cultivator earlier.

Back then, her methods had been brutally efficient—she had squeezed the Golden Core cultivator into a shower of blood.
But the thing inside this cultivator’s abdomen lacked that kind of power; it could only blow the body into chunks, leaving blood, flesh, bone, and sinew vaguely discernible.

Recalling Yu Xiu’s blind eyes, her ravaged meridians, and the numerous old injuries she’d suffered in her past life, Bu Xiwei could barely suppress the killing intent bubbling inside her.
Kill! Kill them all!! Kill all these eyesores!!!

Against the crimson curtain of blood and gore, the little bird dumpling’s once-glossy black eyes had turned a haunting blood-red.
Faint crimson cracks began to appear across her ultramarine and gold feathers.

Just then, a fair, slender hand gently touched her.
Yu Xiu reached out, cupping the little bird dumpling in her palm. She released her own spiritual energy, carefully channeling it into Bu Xiwei’s feathers in an attempt to soothe her.

Bu Xiwei’s condition at this moment was strikingly similar to the early stages of Qi Deviation.
Whether righteous or demonic, when a cultivator became too obsessed or suffered extreme disruption to their spiritual circulation, they risked falling into this unstable state.
Once that happened, they would lose all reason, becoming nothing more than a rampaging corpse driven by destruction—with almost no chance of recovery.
It was incredibly dangerous, both to themselves and everyone around them.

Yu Xiu didn’t know whether this small gesture could bring Bu Xiwei back to her senses.
But the other had helped her multiple times already, and this episode clearly wasn’t unrelated to her. Yu Xiu accepted this debt of karma.
To a Soul Formation cultivator like Bu Xiwei, her spiritual energy was barely a drop in the ocean.
But it was all she could offer.

There was no cure for a cultivator’s Qi Deviation.
Besides doing their best to escape and avoid being caught in the crossfire, there was nothing others could do.

And yet, what surprised Yu Xiu—though not entirely—was that once the little bird dumpling felt her spiritual energy, Bu Xiwei rapidly stabilized.
The crimson cracks on her feathers faded instantly, and her eyes regained their original glossy black shine.
As if nothing had happened.
Like a miracle.

Bu Xiwei stared in stunned silence for a long while before she finally realized she was being held in Yu Xiu’s palm.
Before she could even feel happy about such intimate contact, she suddenly turned and glared at Yu Xiu.

“Yu Xiu!” Bu Xiwei’s tone was furious. “What did you just do?!
You think you’re powerful now?! You haven’t even formed your Golden Core, and you dare to touch me—a mid-stage Soul Formation cultivator?!
What right do you have to control me?! Just mind your own business, isn’t that enough?!
When you saw something was wrong, you should’ve run! Do you even realize how dangerous that was?!
One mistake and you could’ve died right then and there!”

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became.
She could no longer maintain her bird dumpling form. Stepping out of Yu Xiu’s palm, she reverted to her human appearance.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared fixedly at Yu Xiu’s face. Her voice trembled with sobs and hoarseness.

“I am the Demon Lord! The one and only Demon Lord in this world!
Do I need you to protect me?!
If you… if you get hurt again because of me like before… what am I supposed to do?!”

“…”
Yu Xiu fell silent.

This Demon Lord… it seemed she had never even tried to hide the fact that she was a reincarnator.
Just as she herself had said—there was only one Demon Lord in the world.
Yet right now, standing before her and on the verge of tears, she looked more fragile than a mortal child.

Yu Xiu gently pressed her lips together.
They had only known each other for less than an hour in this life, and yet this Demon Lord had already cried twice in front of her.

Recalling the times Bu Xiwei had helped her—their seamless cooperation, the figure that had shielded her without hesitation—Yu Xiu let out a quiet sigh.
In her eyes, Bu Xiwei was indeed ruthless, violent, and domineering, yet she had never shown her any malice.
In fact, quite the opposite—Bu Xiwei’s goodwill seemed to saturate every gesture.

Yu Xiu wasn’t the type to judge others solely by first impressions.
People’s relationships didn’t have to be so one-dimensional.

Reaching out again, Yu Xiu very gently, very gently, stroked the top of Bu Xiwei’s head.

“The Demon Lord is already so powerful,” Yu Xiu said softly, “so why is she still such a crybaby?”