Chapter 597: Chapter 596: Offering Myself
"Hmph! You just wait. Sooner or later, I will grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes!" the Seven-Colored Demon Empress snapped.
"My dear master, you can barely protect yourself now," the Golden Silk Demoness mocked in return. "Forget about revenge. I’m sealing this place completely. You’ll never have a chance to escape!"
The Golden Silk Demoness immediately acted, sealing the chamber from the outside and making it impossible to open. Trapped within the cold, sealed room, Ye Fan and the Seven-Colored Demon Empress had no hope of escape.
At that moment, the Demon Empress turned weakly to Ye Fan. "You’re a fool. Are you prepared to die here with me?"
"I don’t regret it," Ye Fan said with concern. "By the way, are your injuries really incurable?"
The Seven-Colored Demon Empress had suddenly become so frail. Was this really the strongest expert of the Demon Clan? From the looks of it, she wasn’t. She was just too weak.
"This calamity is unique," the Demon Empress explained. "It is a tribulation of nine deaths and one life. I’m afraid I won’t be able to survive it." Her tone carried a forlorn melancholy.
Ye Fan asked, "But isn’t there still one chance at life? What is it?"
"The harvesting technique," the Seven-Colored Demon Fox said, her voice tinged with sorrow. "My Seven-Colored Demon Fox clan’s art. Only by harvesting can I survive!"
This was the warning her master, the Undying Demon Phoenix, had given her. Her emotional trial had arrived. If she couldn’t overcome it, death was certain.
Hearing this, Ye Fan immediately began to take off his clothes. "Then you can use me! Come on, I’ll sacrifice myself!"
But the Demon Empress cursed, "Get lost! This Queen doesn’t need you!"
Although she was very weak, the Seven-Colored Demon Empress refused Ye Fan without hesitation, perhaps because she believed Ye Fan was not the one meant to resolve her tribulation.
However, at that moment, the penetrating moonlight seemed to target the Seven-Colored Demon Empress specifically. She cried out in agony and collapsed, her body growing colder and her power weakening to an extreme degree. Ye Fan knew that if this continued, she would undoubtedly die. As a man, how could he stand by and let a peerless female demon perish like this?
So, he walked over to her and said, "Forgive my offense."
He then lunged forward and pressed his lips against hers. The Demon Empress tried to push him away, but she quickly discovered that she didn’t even have the strength. Unquestionably, Ye Fan had succeeded.
At this point, the Seven-Colored Demon Empress no longer resisted. She knew that only Ye Fan could save her, that only he could help her overcome this tribulation. She just hadn’t been able to let go of her own reservations.
Thus, the Seven-Colored Demon Empress succumbed to Ye Fan’s passionate advance. As the power from his body began to transfer into hers, combined with his methods, she felt her own scattered power slowly begin to gather. She hurriedly circulated her energy to recover her strength.
The process lasted for more than two hours. Afterward, Ye Fan lay beside the Seven-Colored Demon Empress, his body cold and weak. He had helped her resist more than half of her calamitous tribulation.
If not for the blessing of his powerful Ancestor Realm Bloodline, Ye Fan knew he would have frozen to death. Even now, his condition was not much better. He trembled uncontrollably, his lips purple. He had never expected the cold poison to be so terrifyingly potent. He had thought he could resolve it easily, but he had clearly overestimated his own strength.
At this time, the Seven-Colored Demon Empress also shakily pushed herself up. Although still weak, her complexion had already improved significantly. However, she glared at Ye Fan with utter fury, her eyes looking as if she wanted to devour him whole. It was a terrifying sight.
She raised a clawed hand but ultimately abandoned the thought of killing him.
"ARGH!" the Seven-Colored Demon Empress shouted coldly. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but she had no way to vent them. Instead, she grabbed Ye Fan’s hand and began transferring power into his body.
When the gentle energy entered his system, Ye Fan finally felt much better. His condition improved, and he no longer felt like a walking corpse.
"I’m sorry," Ye Fan said. "I only did it to save you!"
"Shut up!" the Seven-Colored Demon Empress snapped.
Ye Fan obediently fell silent. He had no choice; she was clearly furious. The Seven-Colored Demon Empress could only feel a sharp pain in... that place. But without a doubt, if it weren’t for Ye Fan, she would have collapsed long ago.
Then, Ye Fan said to her, "I will take responsibility for you!"
"You are not worthy!" she retorted.
"You’re right, I’m not worthy now," Ye Fan said. "But one day, I will reach the standard you hold in your heart! When that day comes, I will marry you, openly and honorably!"
"You will never be worthy!" The Seven-Colored Demon Empress was on the verge of losing her mind.
"I believe that day will come!" Ye Fan insisted.
Suddenly, the Seven-Colored Demon Empress moved, startling him. She grabbed his neck and warned, "I don’t want anyone else to know about this!"
Ye Fan meekly nodded. Besides, it wasn’t like he would go around bragging about such a fortunate turn of events. Satisfied, the Seven-Colored Demon Empress released him.
By now, her composure had mostly returned.
"First, let’s find a way out of here," she said.
"But isn’t the exit blocked by the Golden Silk Demoness?" Ye Fan knew this was a dead end. After what had just happened between them, communicating with the Empress had become even more awkward.
"You don’t need to worry about that. I have a way," the Seven-Colored Demon Empress said. "To others, this is indeed a dead end—a place my Demon Clan uses to seal powerful enemies. But what they don’t know is that I was the one who designed it!"
She strode forward. Ye Fan then watched in amazement as she began to press the patterns on the stone gate. He never imagined the designs could move; it was completely unexpected. When the patterns were rearranged into a new design, the imposing Immortal Mine Stone Gate instantly shattered.
Once the gate crumbled, they could see that the outside was, indeed, sealed by the Golden Silk Demoness.
"Stand back!" the Seven-Colored Demon Empress ordered Ye Fan.
Ye Fan obediently retreated. As he did, the Empress flexed her fingers, and a stream of purple energy appeared in her hand, wrapping around the seal that now blocked their path.
Meanwhile, outside, the Golden Silk Demoness had finally finished sealing everything. She was ecstatic, for from this day forward, the Demon Clan would be under her control. Of course, she still felt a tinge of regret. Ye Fan had been trapped in the dead end along with the Seven-Colored Demon Empress. Otherwise, if she had been able to harvest his power, her own strength would have soared, allowing her to quickly become a powerhouse on par with the Heavenly Dao. At that point, her power might have even surpassed that of the Seven-Colored Demon Empress.
It could be said that her plan had only been half-successful.
