Chapter 23

If that is the case, then...
Of course, she eats well.
Sect Master Yu, hearing that his daughter seemed capable of foraging for herself, felt a weight lift from his heart and quickly looked over.
Zhu Changshu’s expression also improved significantly.
The master and his disciples were deeply concerned about whether their little one had been getting enough to eat.
However, thinking back to the mountain-crushing weight the child possessed when she first returned to the sect, they had already reached their own conclusions.
...No wonder she was so heavy.
That was an entire spiritual vein!
The little one was obedient and told them everything she had ever eaten, withholding nothing.
There wasn't much to say, anyway.
If she hadn't been afraid of making her father and her seniors feel even more guilty, she could have described it in even greater detail.
As it was, she merely hummed and hawed, glossing over her time as a poor child in the Demon City who could only scavenge for food. She focused instead on how she found delicious meals and how, guided by those mysterious auras that led her to food, she reminded herself to eat little by little, which was how she survived the most difficult period during her high fever.
This caused Sect Master Yu to make a mental note to discuss it later with the Great Elder, Ao Qing.
However, since there was no lasting damage to Yu Youyou’s health, everyone felt relatively at ease.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of miles away in the Demon City, the Red Flame Demon Lord was feeling anything but stable.
He had just been speaking calmly with Gong Miaohua.
The exquisite and beautiful Gong Miaohua was holding several letters, reading them while complaining unhappily, "Brother Wen is taking another concubine. They are all just gaudy, mediocre things."
She was extremely critical.
After all, Wen Shi had an excellent relationship with her; he had once admired her—no, he still admired her—and kept her in his heart at every moment.
Although Gong Miaohua had no romantic feelings for Wen Shi, she did not like him being close to other women.
Seeing that he was planning to take another concubine—and with the formal rites of a wife, no less—it was clear he valued this one.
She was very unhappy. Pouting, she said to the Red Flame Demon Lord, who was patiently blowing on her nourishing spiritual medicine, "Brother Wen says this girl from the Sun family has eyes as beautiful as mine, so he couldn't help but feel soft-hearted. Oh well, Husband, Brother Wen has invited us to attend his concubine-welcoming ceremony. The Wen family has always treated me well over the years; shall we go and see?"
Old Man Wen had always doted on Gong Miaohua, and Wen Shi was even more subservient, constantly trying to please her. Even after they both married others, Wen Shi only truly valued her in his heart.
For instance, even with a concubine-welcoming ceremony imminent, Wen Shi had written to her, confessing that since he had no fate to be with her, it made no difference to him whom he married.
He further claimed that in his heart, none of those women could compare to Gong Miaohua.
Seeing Wen Shi’s lingering infatuation, Gong Miaohua felt quite satisfied.
Although she was displeased by his impending marriage, the deep affection expressed in his letter made her feel slightly smug, and her red lips curled into a pleased smile.
The demons standing guard on both sides of the hall: ...
They could not help but cast their gazes toward the Red Flame Demon Lord.

The Red Flame Demon Lord, however, pretended not to notice. He patiently blew on the nourishing tonic until it reached the right temperature before handing it to his companion with a smile.
"You are carrying our child and suffering greatly. This is a tonic brewed from ten-thousand-year-old stalactites; drink more." His heart was entirely focused on her, and he did not comment on Wen Shi’s professions of undying love.
Seeing such magnanimity and tolerance, Gong Miaohua was moved.
She took the bowl of tonic and leaned softly into the Red Flame Demon Lord’s arms.
The latter held her close and said gently, "The demon vein meant to nourish our child is ready. Miaohua, carrying this child, it would be exhausting for your own body to provide all the spiritual energy. The demon energy within the vein will nourish the child, making your pregnancy easier and allowing our child to grow stronger through the infusion of demonic power."
By receiving strong demonic nourishment from the mother's womb, the child would be immersed in demon energy from the very beginning, making it more likely to awaken its bloodline and achieve a naturally powerful demon body.
The Red Flame Demon Lord’s gaze fell on Gong Miaohua’s belly, and he said with a tender smile, "Now that the various protective arrays have been set, even if you enter the demon vein, there will be no issues."
Gong Miaohua cultivated spiritual energy, which was completely different from the demonic energy they practiced.
Normally, a little ambient demon energy was fine, but if she were to enter a concentrated demon vein without preparation, it would be very easy for the demon energy to invade her body, clash with her spiritual energy, and ruin her meridians and cultivation.
Because of this concern, the Demon City had spent a long time setting up a massive protective array beneath the demon vein, designed to channel the demon energy only into Gong Miaohua’s womb while preventing it from invading her own meridians.
Because it was an exceptionally delicate and advanced array, it had taken a great deal of time, and it was only now ready.
Hearing this, Gong Miaohua said with emotion, "Husband, you are truly so good to me and our child."
She felt that the Red Flame Demon Lord cherished her dearly.
The Red Flame Demon Lord smiled and said, "If I am not good to you and our child, then who could I..." He was about to say something affectionate when he saw a man with demon markings rushing into the hall from outside.
The man hurried forward, panicked, and said, "My Lord, it is terrible! The demon vein, the demon vein..." After a long moment of panic under the Demon Lord’s bewildered gaze, he finally managed to say, "The demon vein has dried up."
"What?!" The Red Flame Demon Lord’s face, which had been full of tenderness, changed drastically.
He stood up abruptly, pushing the beauty in his arms to the side.
"What did you say?!"
"The demon vein—the entire demon vein—it has dried up." Such a thing was a bolt from the blue for the Demon City, something that could shake the foundations of the entire city.
After all, the reason the Demon City was built in this location, and the reason it could supply all the demons within the great city with the energy for cultivation, was that it was built upon a massive demon vein.
Although there were many other demon veins beneath the city, this one was the most concentrated and was the city’s greatest reliance.
For it to suddenly dry up, with not even a trace of demon energy left—clean as if a dog had licked it—it meant half the city's energy was gone. How could the demons not be thrown into a panic?
The Red Flame Demon Lord thought of even more.
This was a massive upheaval for the entire city. He went to the location of the demon vein himself.
What he saw and heard made his heart turn cold.
When they said it was dried up, it was truly dried up.
That vast, seemingly endless supply of energy—so terrifying that even he, a demon of the Mahayana realm, found it daunting—was completely gone.
Looking at the empty space where the demon vein had been, the Red Flame Demon Lord took two steps back, bracing himself to keep from collapsing.
"How could this be... When did this happen?!" Such a vast and immense demon vein could not possibly disappear without a sound.
Moreover, looking at the traces where the vein had vanished, it was clear it hadn't disappeared recently; it had been dry for quite some time.
Yet, for so long, no one had noticed until now. The Red Flame Demon Lord turned and glared at the demons responsible for monitoring the vein.
The demon lowered his head and said uneasily, "Because we were preparing the array for the Lady, the demon vein was already suppressed by the array, and no energy was flowing out. We simply assumed it was because the array was converting the energy."
Because the array they were building for Gong Miaohua—the one meant to allow her to enter the vein safely—was so powerful, they hadn't noticed the problem with the vein itself.
Now that Gong Miaohua was ready to enter the array to nourish the fetus, they had gone deep into the array to observe, only to find the area completely empty, without a single drop of demon energy left.
Gong Miaohua indeed no longer had to worry about demon energy corroding her.
But...
"Useless trash!" the Red Flame Demon Lord cursed, his handsome face turning iron-gray.
He looked with a grim expression at the demon vein, one of the roots of the Demon City, and closed his eyes. As a powerhouse, he managed to control his emotions, and after a moment, he said coldly, "I cannot blame you. Who could have imagined that right under the noses of every demon in the city and under my own watchful eye, someone could silently infiltrate this place and steal the demon vein without triggering a single alarm?"
What kind of powerhouse must it be to deceive his senses?
After grinding his teeth for a moment, he murmured, "I fear the intruder is not friendly." To dare to steal the Demon City’s vein meant they did not hold him in any regard; this was likely a supreme powerhouse.
A demon hesitated, wanting to speak.
"What? Did you think of something?"
"My Lord, could it be the Ancient Sect seeking revenge..."
The Red Flame Demon Lord and his wife had almost starved the daughter of the Ancient Sect’s leader to death. That Sect Master Yu had left in a rage—they had all seen it that day—and he hated them deeply.
Now that the demon vein had dried up, appearing to have been stolen, there were many who held grudges against them, but the only ones they had offended recently were the Ancient Sect.
"It cannot be them. That man surnamed Yu is only in the Mahayana realm; he is not capable of this. Furthermore..." The Red Flame Demon Lord looked at the vein, examining it closely, and said softly, "The vein was not damaged, nor was it relocated; it was forcibly drained dry... The Ancient Sect only cultivates spiritual energy and does not practice demonic arts. Unless that man surnamed Yu wants to die, how could he possibly absorb demonic energy?"
For someone who cultivates spiritual energy to absorb such vast amounts of demonic energy would be pure suicide.
Thinking of this, the Red Flame Demon Lord felt a chill run down his spine.
A powerhouse capable of bypassing his divine sense to drain a demon vein—that would be a peerless demon lord!
It was an enemy he could not defeat.
"Let this matter be. Do not mention it to anyone else." Although this demon vein was exceptionally important, there were other veins in the city that, when combined, could still sustain the city’s operations.
The Red Flame Demon Lord could not afford to provoke such an unknown demon lord, so he chose to settle the matter quietly.
As the lord of the city, no one dared to refute his words. Only one person asked in a low voice, "Then, the nourishment for the Young Lord..." The Demon Lord’s bloodline needed to be nurtured in a demon vein from the moment of conception to be truly exceptional.
Now that this vein was dry, how would the child in Gong Miaohua’s womb get the demonic energy he needed to grow?
The Red Flame Demon Lord’s expression flickered for a long time before he slowly said, "I wanted to be a good husband; it would not be in vain for Miaohua to be with me... But so be it. It is all for the child. I believe that no matter what happens, Miaohua will be willing."
He raised his hand, dispelling the array that had hovered over the demon vein, and took a deep breath. "It was Miaohua herself who said she loved the child we share the most. It is time for her to make a sacrifice."
After saying this, a smile returned to his face, and he walked home without looking back.