Rest In A Demon’s Embrace

If looks could destroy, the barrier which separated the small room from the hall would have been gone within a split second.

Completely undisturbed by the eyes focused in his direction, Jiang Yao himself looked at Mu Xiu, waiting for the other to announce the highest bid while Luo Xiao watched on anxiously.

Albeit flustered, the auctioneer on stage quickly recollected himself before speaking once more to the deathly silent audience. “Sold for ten Sky Grade spirit crystals…” he said.

And with those words, the auction moved on to its last item. There was a comparable lack of spirit in all of the participants as they bid for the last item, causing it to be sold at a lower price than predicted by the Thousand Golden Leaves Auction House.

Yet, Mu Xiu didn’t seem dispirited - after all, their auction house had suddenly obtained eleven Sky Grade spirit crystals in a day. That was around as much as the rest of the auction profits combined!

“And with that, the auction has concluded. We want to ask everyone to come to the distribution hall to present their tokens and pay for the items they have won,” Mu Xiu’s said, his voice echoing across the hall before he exited the stage. And, with that, the auction ended.

“Would you like to follow me to a private distribution hall?” Mu Bing’er asked with a bow as Jiang Yao stood up, his hand pulling Luo Xiao to his feet at the same time.

“Lead the way,” Jiang Yao said as he took Luo Xiao’s hand in his.

Mu Bing’er said nothing else before leading the way from the room. Unlike the rest of the auction participants who went towards the common distribution hall, the beautiful woman led the two men even higher in the building. They passed several flights of stairs before arriving into what seemed like a spacious hotel room.

It was decorated with an extreme artistic taste. Everything in the room was balanced perfectly and there were no extra decorations. Wide windows let the evening sunlight in, and there was a gorgeous view of Heavenward City laid out in front of them.

In the room, two elegant sofas faced each other and there was a round tea table between the two. In front of one of the elegant sofas stood none other than Mu Xiu.

“Greetings, your Highness,” Mu Xiu said with a bow before gesturing for Jiang Yao and Luo Xiao to sit on the other sofa, “Our Thousand Golden Leaves Auction House welcomes your esteemed selves, and we are thankful you paid us a visit.”

A slight approving hum was Jiang Yao’s response, and Luo Xiao sat down. While Jiang Yao felt completely at ease in the room, Luo Xiao looked around curiously, glancing at the decorations before his gaze was drawn towards the view of Heavenward City.

“Your Highness, would you like some tea?” Mu Xiu asked as he also sat down in front of Jiang Yao and Luo Xiao, looking at the two of them with both warmth and well-hidden apprehension.

After all, the Seventh Demon Prince was known to be extremely ruthless and cold. Anyone who stood in his way was met with a quick death.

“No need. We just want the items,” Jiang Yao said calmly as he leaned back into the sofa. With a slight wave of his hand, eleven gently glowing crystals appeared on the table, pure energy wafting off of them filling the room.

Those were the Sky Grade spirit crystals. It was easy to see that they were much better than Earth Grade ones, with their energy being one thousand times denser.

“Bing’er, bring the Elusive Mist Fruit and the pink crystal,” Mu Xiu said with a tactful smile as he gestured towards Mu Bing’er. The girl nodded before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

It took barely a minute for her to come back, holding two crystal boxes which were gently glowing. Inside those two boxes were the Elusive Mist Fruit and the mysterious pink dragon egg.

“Here are your items, your Highness,” the girl said as she placed the two items on the table for them to check and make sure that everything was in order.

Jiang Yao briefly glanced at the two boxes before flicking his sleeve, collecting them into his storage pouch. On the other side of the table, Mu Xiu looked through the Sky Grade spirit crystals after which he put them away.

“Our Thousand Golden Leaves Auction House is thankful for your visit, and we hope that you remember our hospitality,” Mu Xiu said, still smiling at the two of them and with that their exchange was finalized.

As much as Mu Xiu would have wanted to form some sort of connection between the Thousand Golden Leaves Auction House and someone with Jiang Yao's status, he wasn’t so stupid as to beg the other. Despite Heavenward City being merely a city on what was considered the outskirts of the continent, even they had heard rumors of how Jiang Yao liked to conduct business. Knowing that, albeit with reluctance, Xu Miu bid farewell to them and simply sighed as they exited the building.

“Bing’er, remember both of them well... Perhaps this will be the first and last time you’ll ever meet the infamous Seventh Demon Prince and his companion,” Mu Xiu said before closing his eyes. It was clear he didn’t want to be disturbed for a while. After briefly nodding, Mu Bing’er also left the room.

After the events that took place in the Thousand Golden Leaves Auction House, there was no way that Heavenward City wouldn’t be lively for weeks to come. Everyone was talking about the mysterious buyer in one of the individual chambers who had been beyond extravagant and bid a total of eleven spirit crystals!

Once they went back to their hotel room, Jiang Yao locked the door before looking at Luo Xiao’s expectant expression. “Ah... You want to feel it for yourself, right?” he asked with a chuckle before flicking his sleeve. The crystal box with the dragon egg appeared in his palm.

“Here, you’ll pay me later for it,” Jiang Yao said as he placed the box gently on the table in the room. His hands formed two seals which he used to unlock the box, and his palm gently lifted the crystal cover, revealing the pink egg.

It was even more stunning up close, even Jiang Yao had to admit this. The pinkish-gold gemstone-like surface reflected the light gently and it even seemed to be glowing from the inside even though it was actually opaque.

Luo Xiao’s gaze was wholly focused on the egg as he took it into his hands. Surprisingly, it felt very heavy, much heavier than its size would suggest. For this reason, Luo Xiao had no choice but to sit down on one of the armchairs in the room in order to hold it. His fingers gently caressed the surface, feeling an inexplicable sadness overtake him once more.

“You said you could feel its life force...?” Luo Xiao muttered, glancing at Jiang Yao before his eyes returned to the dragon egg, and he pulled it closer to his chest.

“Yeah, it’s barely alive. Now that I can look at it up close, it’s probably lucky to have even lasted this long. No wonder whoever found it thought it was a gem,” Jiang Yao looked at Luo Xiao before sighing. “You’re still adamant about trying to save it, right?”

Luo Xiao only nodded in response. While he had no actual connection to the being inside the egg, he found himself unwilling to see it disappear just like that. Even someone from such a backwater place like him knew what status dragons held in the world, and seeing one in such a situation made him feel as if his heart was being torn apart.

“Alright, but I will warn you again, Xiaoxiao. If the dragon doesn’t manage to hatch even with your help, the backlash of the spell might cause your soul to suffer permanent damage!” Jiang Yao looked at Luo Xiao with a serious expression.

While he was always nice to Luo Xiao, Jiang Yao didn’t wish for his little lover to use the spell he had in mind. He had tried to think of a different solution, but the method he had in mind was the one with the least severe backlash that he could think of.

Luo Xiao looked away upon hearing Jiang Yao’s words, clearly unsure for a moment. His gaze wandered through the room for a moment before he focused on the crystal-like egg once more.

Who would save it if not him? He thought to himself, caressing the surface once more as determination passed through his eyes. “It’s alright.”

“You sure?” Even as Luo Xiao stated his choice, Jiang Yao tried to dissuade him. However, the man already knew that it would be useless - Luo Xiao’s expression said that he wouldn’t change his mind.

“Alright then. The spell I’m going to teach you is called Twilight’s Blessing. Twilight’s Blessing is a spell that a soul cultivator can use to create a bond with any creature as long as the right conditions are met. The bond is considered temporary and will dissolve automatically once the right conditions are met,” Jiang Yao said with a sigh as he reached over with his hand. His right index finger gently touched Luo Xiao’s forehead.

All of a sudden a stream of information flew in Luo Xiao’s head, settling down in his mind like a set of memories describing the spell and how to activate it. A few moments later Luo Xiao felt as if he knew the spell like the back of his hand. This was completely unlike reading it off a jade slip or a book.

“This is all I know about Twilight’s Blessing. I’ve never done it myself so it will depend on you, Xiaoxiao. But I’d still like it if you didn’t do such a thing…” Jiang Yao’s voice trailed off as he crossed his arms and simply observed.

Luo Xiao only nodded at those words, knowing that Jiang Yao had already given up on trying to persuade him.

Closing his eyes, Luo Xiao went over the information that he had just acquired about Twilight’s Blessing. It was relatively straightforward. However, there was a very big requirement for the two parties initiating the bond.

Both of them had to be willing for the bond to be created, and if either had hidden desires, the spell would immediately result in a backlash, harming both who participate in it. While it created a miraculous bond that could even save someone from almost certain death, the conditions it required formed such a long list that Luo Xiao gave up on even going through a tenth of it.

Luo Xiao took a long, deep breath after he went through everything pertaining to initiating the spell. He couldn’t make a single mistake! He had only one chance to cast Twilight’s Blessing.

With the dragon egg resting in his lap, Luo Xiao lifted his hands in the air with his eyes closed as he formed the seals of the spell. The golden soul sea in his Soul Palace stirred as threads of soul energy condensed around his hands and flowed into an intricate symbol. With each hand seal, the symbol became clearer, but Luo Xiao was already sweating from the difficulty of the spell.

It was his first time ever doing something as complicated as Twilight’s Blessing, and his soul energy was depleting rapidly. However, Luo Xiao didn’t give up so easily, and only a few moments later, the symbol in front of him formed completely.

Taking a long breath to stabilize his rapidly beating heart, Luo Xiao waved his hand gently, and the intricate symbol flew into the crystalline egg, disappearing within.