Tang Dynasty: Inherit the Evil Sword Immortal and destroy gods and demons with one thought!-Chapter 43 - Dragon Kui, The Great Demon King Eats People!

Chapter 43: Dragon Kui, The Great Demon King Eats People!
In the Demon-Sealing Tower’s twelfth layer, at the Blood Demon Sky Pool, Li Qiye sat cross-legged, hands forming seals. Before him lay the Demon-Suppressing Sword, its luster gone. “Condense!” he commanded. Evil qi surged, obeying, flooding his sea of consciousness. There, a black sword-embryo gleamed, razor-sharp, its edge honed as qi poured in. A single mental slash could silence gods and demons. The tower quaked, countless demons cowering, mistaking it for a new terror.
Huff…
Li Qiye reined in his aura, the sword’s radiance fading. His evil sword was complete, his power doubled. He was a step closer to freedom. Yet, he frowned. Something was missing. Across the pool, Dragon Kui waited behind a boulder, lost in thought.
Splash
…
Water stirred, her eyes lighting up. He was done. For the next hour, no demons would dare approach, letting her cultivate safely.
This routine had become habit. She awaited his arrival daily, watched him leave, and once felt oddly hollow when he was late. Was it the pool’s allure? Or the safety his presence brought, shielding her from demons? She wondered. Slipping into the pool, she hid, only her face above water, eyes darting guiltily. “The demons obey him—he must be the tower’s master. Am I… stealing from him?” she murmured, cradling her cheek.
A magnetic voice interrupted. “Of course it counts. Everything here is mine. Why use my things without asking?” Li Qiye emerged, arms crossed.
Whoosh!
Dragon Kui froze, retreating like a startled rabbit, pressing against the pool’s edge. “I… I didn’t know it was yours…” Her face flushed, her lie clumsy. Amused, Li Qiye teased, “Ignorant the first day, the second, the third…?” Her cheeks burned brighter, mortified. He’d known all along.
Smirking, he asked, “You’re a sword spirit?” She nodded. “Do you know who I am?” She shook her head. Without another word, he tossed her the Demon-Suppressing Sword. Catching it, she gasped—it no longer burned, its glow faded, nearly mundane iron. Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed, his smile sly. “Remember, I’m a demon king who devours sword spirits. I’ve eaten this sword. Guess who’s next?”
Dragon Kui’s heart raced.
I am!
Panicking, she scrambled for shore, knowing fully well she couldn’t escape Li Qiye? With a glint in his eye, he raised a hand. She yelped, materialising before him. Evil qi enveloped her. Near tears, her clothes flashed red, her second persona emerging, but her power was nothing to his. Consciousness fading, she succumbed to the qi, which, rather than harming, cocooned her gently.
Li Qiye’s sword, though complete, lacked a vital spark. Now he understood: it needed a spirit. A soulless sword, however strong, was dead. Forming a sword spirit was arduous—even the Demon-Suppressing Sword’s spirit was a crude slurry, unlike Dragon Kui’s near-human essence. He sought to probe her origins and nurture his sword with her spirit, and in the process, elevate her too.
At Chunyang Mountain’s Ziyun Peak, veiled in mist and lush with bamboo, a sacred site reserved for Patriarch Lü Dongbin, a purple-haired girl sat atop its summit. Hands sealed, purple light pulsed from her palms, piercing the sky. Her vast power bathed the mountain, rippling across the Central Plains, undimmed. It rivalled Gou Mang’s awakening, yet she sighed, cradling her cheeks. “My divine power’s still too weak, only nudging Qingyin closer… they call it Qingming here.”
“It’s Brother’s power—hope he senses it. Did I help him… like…” Sitting on stone, breeze ruffling her purple hair, her clear eyes glimmered with nostalgia.