Chapter Two: Taming the Malevolent Spirit—Handled on Your Behalf
Page 1/3
Inside Hell
The young princess had acquired an intriguing treasure and was eager to demonstrate it personally to the gathered fiends.
At this moment, she was holding a mysterious artifact—no one knew where she had stolen it from—and was playing with the ghosts.
One after another, the fiends shot out of Hell with a whoosh, soaring all the way up to the Ninth Heaven.
The spectacle was grand and exhilarating beyond measure.
Behind her, a heavy, dark hem swept silently across the barren ground, exuding gravity and authority: “Yuan’er, what are you doing?”
Xiao Miaoyuan immediately concealed the immortal artifact in her arms, giggling foolishly: “Father, they’re so much fun to play with.”
The fiends were speechless.
His hollow eyes fixed upon her, radiating overwhelming majesty and pressure as he demanded in a deep voice, “What have you taken? Show me.”
The little bundle stiffened, her small face pitiful: “I haven’t taken anything.”
He said no more. With slender fingers raised lightly, an invisible mystic force flowed from his palm toward her, summoning an artifact into view.
“Ding-ling—” The immortal device landed in his hand, emitting clear, crisp chimes.
The little one’s expression turned urgent as she reached out to snatch it back. “Father, that’s mine! I haven’t finished playing yet!”
His tone was cold. “Where did you get it?”
“I…”
“Summon them!”
“G-ghost servants at your command—”
“Where did the young princess go today?”
“Um…”
He raised his hand; his transformed palm, like a magnified dark shadow, gripped tightly around the neck of a fiend, lifting him up with a cold snarl: “Speak!”
“I-I-It was… to the Tenth Layer of Hell.”
“Father?!”
“Who gave it to her?”
“A celestial lord who was cast down as punishment.”
“You let her go in alone?”
“Ghost servant…”
“Damnable!”
With a sudden crush of his palm, the fiend’s soul shattered and scattered.
In that instant,
All ghost servants vanished into the darkness,
Or rather, dared not appear.
The little one, flustered, stared with wide violet eyes and said, “I’m not talking to you anymore, Yan Yi.”
Such impudence—to address him by name.
He scowled, quietly ordering, “Return to the palace. Do not appear here again.”
“Why should I?!”
Without a word, he swept his broad black cloak, using his shape-shifting skill to send her back to the palace.
In just a moment,
Several pale, misty figures resembling celestial lords appeared, their faces grave but their demeanor respectful: “Prince Yan Yi, just now on the Ninth Heaven, several hellish fiends appeared…”
“His Highness sent us down to investigate—what exactly happened?”
Page 2/3
Yan Yi’s brow furrowed, his complexion cool and polished as jade, voice icy: “Nothing serious. Just some unruly fiends trying to escape. I have already punished them. Please inform Prince Yuheng that no major incident occurred.”
The celestial lords frowned. “Then please ensure your fiends are kept in check, Prince Yan Yi. The Ninth Heaven is not a place for just anyone to wander!”
“Of course. Farewell.” He vanished from the Underworld.
Seeing this,
The celestial lords’ expressions soured. One scoffed, “Prince Yan Yi is truly the first in history to slight his lord so blatantly.”
“Ha, who else in this vast cultivation world can rival our prince but him?”
“Enough talk. Let’s return; there are matters in the Demon Realm to attend to.”
“Hmm, let’s go.”
…
Inside the palace
Gazing at the tightly shut black palace doors, the wallpaper and paintings carefully concealed, his brows darkened, words unspoken.
He stepped forward, an invisible black light enveloping him as he passed through the door.
On the soft bed, a silk quilt was draped to form a modest tent.
He approached, voice deepening: “Was he the one who gave you this artifact? The one who taught you to do this?”
No response came from beneath the covers.
His tone grew colder. “Is it more enjoyable because it’s someone else’s treasure? Or more trustworthy because of someone else’s words? How could you be so convinced?”
Still no reply.
His brows knitted tighter as he waved his hand to pull back the quilt with a chilling command: “Answer me!”
Startled, the little bundle’s eyes reddened as she sat up, long hair flowing over her shoulders and chest, revealing a pale, wronged yet defiant face: “What do you want me to say? I told you, the treasure was just borrowed for fun! You never gave me anything!”
“Do you think such a treasure is just for borrowing and playing?”
“Why not?!”
“Have I ever said I won’t give you what you want? But you take what belongs to others!”
“What do you mean ‘take’?!” The little one, angry, jumped off the bed, transformed a small stone tablet in her hand, and stood on tiptoe to argue at his height: “That was given to me by that celestial lord!”
“Why would he give it to you?”
“Because I promised to make his stay in Hell a little better.”
He chuckled lightly.
Only then did the little one realize she had spoken too freely, revealing her thoughts. She protested with some regret: “What’s wrong? This is a fair exchange—courtesy requires reciprocity.”
“Who taught you these things?”
“Lady Meng Po did. What’s wrong with that?”
“Stay away from her in the future.”
“Why?”
“With what she’s teaching you now, I could punish her a hundred or a thousand times over.”
“No!!” The little bundle stretched out her thin, short arms, blocking his path. “You must not punish Lady Meng Po! She still has many… many folk tales to tell me.”
His expression darkened; his lowered right hand began to transform.
Before Xiao Miaoyuan’s wide eyes, a warm current enveloped her petite body, gently returning her to the bed.
Only moments later,
A sturdy barrier descended, completely isolating her from the outside world.
“Stay inside and rest assured. I have to go down for a while.”
“I don’t want to!! I want to go out too!”
Page 3/3
“…”
“Father?!”
“…”
“Fa—ther?!”
“…”
“Bang—” She transformed and struck the barrier directly.
“Bang bang bang—”
“Bang bang bang—”
The barrier remained intact, not a trace broken.
She lowered her head in dissatisfaction, letting her exquisite violet hair cascade down her back, murmuring softly.
With such little cultivation, she was no match for the barrier—how could she break it?
…
Tenth Layer of Hell
The fiends whispered, “Prince Yan Yi—”
“We pay respects to Prince Yan Yi.”
“Leave. I want to speak with him alone.”
“Yes—”
“Prince Yan Yi?” The celestial lord imprisoned by the celestial chains, fallen into demonic exile, raised his eyes and suddenly smirked recklessly. “What’s this? Prince Yan Yi wants to experience life in the Tenth Layer of Hell too?”
Yan Yi’s expression turned cold. He raised his hand, waving his broad black robe toward him. Instantly, the bell-like artifact appeared suspended before his eyes. “Is this yours?”
“Indeed. But… wasn’t it with the young princess? Why, did she not want it?”
“She is mine!” His dark, empty pupils radiated a fierce, chilling pressure. “Do you understand that?”
“I do. What exactly does Prince Yan Yi want to say?”
That little bundle was his daughter, born millions of years ago with a cultivated Torora flower spirit. Across the myriad heavens and the three realms, who did not know?
That had caused quite a commotion at the time, all for this little sickly girl.
“Do you know you gave her such an artifact? Are you hoping to use me to confront Yuheng?”
Bai Yan stiffened, raising his brow with a smile. “What does Prince Yan Yi mean? It’s merely a trinket for escaping from prison. Nothing as you say.”
“Nothing? It indeed allows cultivators to escape Hell, but also to ascend to the Ninth Heaven. I suppose you understand its use better than I.”
He chuckled softly, lowering his head, silent.
“Yuan’er is inexperienced and playful. I will make amends to you for her promise.”
“As for this artifact—” His eyes flashed with icy, dark menace. His right hand transformed into a phantom and grasped the artifact in midair.
With some force, his shape-shifting crushed it, shattering it into dust and vanishing without a trace.
“I handled this personally for you!”
His pupils contracted slightly, gaze heavy as he looked at him.
Yan Yi withdrew his hand, flicked his sleeve invisibly, turned, and coldly strode away.
Only leaving behind this: “No need to imprison him. As long as he does not leave the Tenth Layer, let him be.”
“Yes—”