Such a Pure Demon Emperor

"Let me reinforce your Demon Emperor's palace with a powerful barrier array—so strong that not even ten thousand troops could break through. How about it?"

...

I've got elders and juniors depending on me—please, be merciful. Once I remove Azure Flame's talisman, can you let me go home?

The Demon Emperor suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Lily Bai looked at him.

"If you keep your mouth shut, I won't kill you today," Damian Black said.

"What about tomorrow?"

Damian didn't answer, his gaze turning dangerously cold.

"Got it! I get it! I'll shut up now!" Lily Bai pinched her own lips and fell silent.

Every extra day alive is a win.

I'll worry about tomorrow when it comes.

They didn't bother Lily Bai to find the Dragon's Nexus herself.

Instead, they took her straight to a mountain not far from Wildlands City.

On the mountain sat a manor, shaded by green trees, with white walls and black tiles—very picturesque.

This mountain was itself a Dragon's Nexus.

Lily Bai headed straight for the manor.

"Don't go over there," Damian stopped her. "Do the extraction right here."

Lily Bai paused. "You'll have to unlock my seals first! Otherwise, how am I supposed to cast the spell?"

Damian finally unlocked her seals, letting her use her spiritual power again.

Lily Bai summoned her Rune Staff and had Azure Flame sit cross-legged.

"Miss Azure Flame, you've had this talisman in you for quite a while—the cold has seeped deep into your organs," Lily Bai said gently. "Removing it might hurt a bit."

Azure Flame nodded. "Go ahead."

She seemed completely unfazed.

Lily Bai added, "Actually... it's not just a little pain. It's more like organ-ripping agony. And it'll last about half an hour. You should prepare yourself mentally."

"Okay." Azure Flame remained utterly calm.

Lily Bai took a deep breath, set up a spell array around her, drew on the Dragon's Nexus energy, and began the extraction.

It had to be excruciating.

After just a quarter of an hour, Azure Flame was drenched in sweat.

When it was finally out, she collapsed instantly.

But the entire time, she didn't make a single sound.

Now that's what you call tough.

Lily Bai said admiringly, "Miss Azure Flame, you're amazing! Your Majesty, Demon Emperor, you have pure yang spiritual power—if you pass some to her, it'll help her recover."

Damian Black asked, "How come I never heard about this 'pure yang spiritual power'?"

"Oh! That's just what us Rune Masters call it. Basically... it means you're still a virgin, so your primal yang is intact."

Damian's face turned dark. "How do you know?"

Lily Bai grinned. "I can see it! Us Rune Masters can open our Heaven's Eye!"

Damian stopped talking to her, sat cross-legged behind Azure Flame, and began transferring energy.

Then Lily Bai noticed—his ears were actually red!

Ha!

Such a pure Demon Emperor!

If she weren't counting every extra day of survival, she honestly would've gone over and flirted with him.

The two of them were busy healing.

Lily Bai didn't try to escape while she had the chance.

She couldn't get away in Thousand-Caverns Mountain, so there was no way she'd escape now.

Besides, even if she ran now, she couldn't get past the Wildlands Tribulation Thunder Array.

If she really wanted to escape, she'd have to get out of the Primeval Demon Wilds first.

But how does one leave the Primeval Demon Wilds?

That's something worth thinking about...

As Lily Bai was lost in thought, her attention was drawn to the manor.

At the manor gate, a stone was engraved: White Cloud Manor.

There was a barrier surrounding the manor.

It looked ordinary enough, but once she activated her Heaven's Eye, she realized it was anything but.

It was actually a grand killing array, made by merging several large formations together.

Each layer of the killing array triggered the next, fitting together seamlessly.