After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The side hall remained unchanged, with the black coffin of the Nine Netherworlds lying quietly in a dark corner. The coffin lid was half open, and the characters carved on the inner wall flickered with an eerie light.

Zhou Ran did not step into the coffin, but stood still in front of the wooden lattice window.

The demon realm's sky was devoid of sun and moon; gray pillars of light poured down through gaps in the clouds, their impact icy cold.

He raised his left arm and looked at the faint black line pulsating beneath his skin.

He ruthlessly cut off his own escape route, also to protect the other party from being implicated by the emperor's son.

That memory was forcibly removed, leaving only an empty shell of acquaintance.

The wind, rain, heat, cold, and the other person's face and tone of voice at their first meeting were all swept away completely by the power of the law.

The soft sound of boots could be heard from outside the corridor.

Zhou Ran stood with his back to the door, and the person outside could be identified by his gait alone.

Huanyin pushed open the door and entered, her dark red dress trailing behind the blue bricks.

She stopped three steps behind him, her tone no longer languid and drawn-out as before.

"You cut off the road decisively."

Huan Yin got straight to the point.

"With the Underworld Granary nearby and Qin San guarding the gate, what outsiders hear is all the wisdom and decisiveness of you, the Demon Emperor."

But I saw through it all.

His voice paused slightly.

"Your knuckles trembled as you gripped the wooden table. I saw it clearly."

Zhou Ran did not turn around; his back was as firm as iron.

"The banner of the famous official has been completed with seven strokes, and only the last three strokes are needed to fix the coordinates. Reopening the passage now is like opening the door wide and dragging everyone on the other side into the water."

Huanyin stepped forward, closing in by half a step.

"I am fully aware of the inside story."

Her voice lowered.

"But by cutting off this path with your own hands, you are also extinguishing the hope of a living person who longs for your return."

Zhou Ran turned around.

Huanyin stopped two steps away.

His red clothes were stained with dirt and blood, his disheveled hair was draped over his shoulders, and the red light in his eyes had been suppressed.

The extraction of her natal musical notes and their replacement with the Primordial Black Blade severely damaged her foundation, causing her to lose all the pressure of being at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

She stared directly at the scarred body.

"You were truly ruthless when you stripped away the memories."

Huan Yin's words were piercing and incisive.

"I saw it all clearly. When the White Bone Pen was gnawing at your primordial spirit, you didn't even flinch."

She tilted her long, slender neck.

"Are you calculating the price of this karmic transaction, or are you simply looking to the future?"

Zhou Ran kept her lips tightly closed.

"I didn't think about any of it."

Huanyin exposed it for him.

"Without even a moment's thought, you directly sacrificed your own flesh to activate the bone pen, wrote a definitive conclusion to block the banner, and desperately protected the coordinates of Earth. That's all."

"Severing ties with a swift and decisive stroke."

Taking it one step further.

"I have seen the previous Demon Emperor Ye Futian abandon his son. When severing ties of cause and effect, he never looked back, and he abandoned everything cleanly without hesitation."

She raised her hand and extended a finger, tapping the back of Zhou Ran's tightly clenched fist.

"But it's different for you. After the flesh was cut off, you still had to endure the excruciating pain of the severed root. Your fingers have been trembling non-stop ever since."

Zhou Ran lowered his gaze.

The muscles on the back of my hand trembled incessantly. While half of the reason was the depletion of my true energy, the indescribable emptiness caused my meridians to flow backward.

"Illusory Sound".

"explain."

"I don't need your comforting words."

"Why should I appease anyone?"

Huanyin twitched her red lips.

"It's just to verify some details. You insisted on sealing off the back route because you were afraid of causing her death. This matter is extremely important, and you don't even dare to touch it."

The red-clad empress lightly circled behind him, her toes barely touching the ground.

Suddenly, she put her arms on his broad shoulders, her fingers reaching down from behind to lightly touch his collarbone.

Without using the pretense of aligning souls, without using the repair of the sea of ​​consciousness as a cover, all pretexts of scheming and testing were discarded.

Those hands truly embraced him.

Without the support of soul power or the activation of true essence to protect her body, she relied solely on the warmth of her pure female body to press herself against the Demon Emperor's hard, bony spine without any defense.

Her chin rested against his shoulder blade, the ends of her hair brushing against the side of his neck.

Her voice was slightly breathless, and her warm breath went straight into her ear canal.

"Don't try to shoulder all the burdens of a huge mess by yourself."

"Don't always be the one to risk your life."

The arms that were wrapped around her chest suddenly tightened.

"If you are going to your death, I will see you off."

Zhou Ran did not raise his arms, nor did he struggle or dodge; his body remained fixed in place like an iron stake.

The gray line on my left forearm throbbed violently a few times before returning to a steady, stable pulse.

Outer corridor.

The bloodthirsty soles stepped into the three-zhang boundary, abruptly stopping the footsteps.

Red eyes pierced through the crack in the door, taking in the two people leaning against each other in the side hall.

The woman in red hugged Zhou Ran's spine from behind, and the gray light from the window blended their silhouettes into one.

The bloodthirsty steps did not advance an inch further.

Her front teeth crushed her molars with all her might, but she managed to twist her ankle and turn back.

The long spear blade scraped against the bluestone floor tiles, making a sharp, piercing sound.

She stepped back ten paces and stood still.

His right arm hung limply, and he could only grip the gun barrel tightly with his intact left hand.

The force was so great that it ruptured the scabbed area on the tiger's mouth again.

Hot, blood dripped down the gun handle and splattered onto the stone surface.

They stood still for a few more breaths.

Bloodlust suddenly loosened his five fingers, steadied the long spear on one shoulder, and strode towards the sea of ​​blood defense zone.

The darkest corner at the deepest part of the corridor.

Jiuyou leaned against the stone pillar, his deathly aura penetrating to his very bones, his breath becoming deathly still.

The scenery inside and outside the hall can be seen in its entirety.

Huan Yin's unrestrained embrace of the man, the restraint of turning back from outside the Bloodthirsty Gate, and Zhou Ran's frankness of neither refusing nor hiding.

She pressed her back firmly against the stone pillar, drawing in the bone-chilling coldness emanating from the stone wall.

Close eyes.

The words carved on the inner wall of the black coffin suddenly appeared in my mind: This coffin is for the burial of only one person.

The inscription, dating back three thousand years, bears the name of Ye Futian.

A few nights ago, I had her smooth it out by hand and replace it with the name Zhou Ran.

It all happened in a flash.

Jiuyou lifted his eyelids, and a corner of his black robe disappeared into the shadows of the long corridor.

Silent and without a trace, leaving no abnormality.

Inside the side hall.

Huanyin withdrew her arms and took a half step back.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

The red-clad empress smiled, her smile devoid of any scheming or calculation, solely seeking a moment of unbridled pleasure.

"I'm gone."

She swayed as she walked out of the hall, and as she reached the threshold, she tilted her chin slightly and uttered a haughty remark.

"If you remember that woman's appearance in the future, you don't need to inform me."

"I have no interest in arguing over a trivial, long-forgotten matter."

The woman in red disappeared outside the door.

Zhou Ran stood alone in front of the lattice window.

The gray lines on my forearm bounced steadily, one after another.

The official who wiped out the name will surely return, and the ultimate killing formation in the future will definitely surpass that mere law flag.

The silver eyeliner that the Moon Emperor had placed in his sea of ​​consciousness remained motionless.

His gaze was fixed on the gray line on his forearm.

As long as this last thread of life continues, one day he will personally forge a path back and flatten the insurmountable barrier!

Zhou Ran suddenly turned around and strode back to the long table.

He pushed open the main hall door with both palms, and with a loud "boom," his feet landed firmly, creating a deep crater.

His left arm was wrapped in cloth and hung around his neck, while his right hand held the Taihuang Black Blade firmly!

Outside the door, Mingcang, Qin San, Gu Ji, and Xiao Rou all looked up at each other, their eyes burning with fervor.

Zhou Ran strode towards the first throne.

"Effective immediately, all four regions are fully prepared for war!"

His voice was slightly hoarse, yet it carried an unwavering and terrifying courage that resounded throughout the netherworld.

"Before our formidable enemy can launch a counterattack, I will restore every single pattern that was eroded by the Primordial Blade with my blood!"