Chapter 103: Inner Demon

Chapter 103: Inner Demon

He never imagined the Virtuous Consort would go to such lengths to make Yan Huaixuan cultivate the Heartless Dao.

Before he could keep watching, he felt his entire mindscape tremble.

Shen Lian immediately pulled himself out of that memory and saw a figure radiating white light sitting cross-legged in midair in the sky, while a dark red silhouette circled around that figure.

That dark red silhouette was wrapped in countless streams of demonic energy.

Shen Lian stood frozen for a moment. So this was the inner demon?

At that moment, Yan Huaixuan's soul form was seated with eyes tightly shut, lips pressed into a thin line. Shen Lian couldn't read Yan Huaixuan's state.

Before he could act, the inner demon noticed him first.

That face, identical to Yan Huaixuan's, slowly turned to look at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian's pupils shrank.

Though the two looked exactly alike, their auras were worlds apart. Yan Huaixuan's demeanor was cold and aloof, while this inner demon was sinister and eerie.

The inner demon's lips slowly curled up.

"Shen... Lian."

Shen Lian was about to draw Chen Xue, but realized he was inside Yan Huaixuan's world—he couldn't call forth any of his artifacts at all.

The inner demon had already left Yan Huaixuan and was rushing at Shen Lian.

Yan Huaixuan's eyes flew open. When he saw Shen Lian, he was also stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected Shen Lian to enter his mindscape.

And in that brief moment of hesitation,

Shen Lian had already been snatched away by the inner demon, dragged into the pitch-black depths of the sea of consciousness.

"Let him go!" Yan Huaixuan's gaze turned icy.

The inner demon's eyes darted. It wrapped its arms around Shen Lian from behind, one hand gripping the back of his neck, its face pressed against his ear.

"He walked right into my arms."

"To be honest, living inside you, watching you hold him every day—I've been getting jealous. I'd like to taste him myself."

At those words, Yan Huaixuan's expression shifted dramatically, and the spiritual energy in the entire sea of consciousness grew increasingly turbulent.

Shen Lian immediately snapped, "Yan Huaixuan! It's deliberately provoking you—don't take the bait."

Seeing that he had Shen Lian in his grip and the man still dared to warn Yan Huaixuan, the inner demon's eyes flashed with irritation. "Shut your mouth!"

The moment the words left its mouth, it dragged Shen Lian deep into the dark sea of consciousness—a region the inner demon had consumed.

Shen Lian was suddenly thrown to the ground. He let out a muffled grunt and looked up to meet a face full of malice.

Those eyes, identical to Yan Huaixuan's, narrowed as they locked onto him.

"You really are good-looking. No wonder Yan Huaixuan can't stop thinking about you."

Shen Lian pressed his lips together, his expression cold. No matter what the inner demon said, he stayed stone-faced.

The inner demon let out a low laugh. "What's the matter? I'm him, and he's me. Don't you like him? Why do you avoid me like the plague?"

A cold sneer crossed Shen Lian's face. "Who said I like him?"

The inner demon's eyes darted, a hint of malice flashing in them.

This pretty little thing had no idea—it was one with Yan Huaixuan. Of course, whatever it heard, Yan Huaixuan heard too.

Sure enough, Yan Huaixuan, who had already charged into the inner demon's territory, stopped in his tracks.

The inner demon smugly sent him a message: "Did you hear that, Yan Huaixuan?"

"I'm helping you, testing his feelings for you. But it seems he's saying he doesn't like you anymore."

But Yan Huaixuan only paused for a moment before coldly saying, "Come out now."

The inner demon narrowed its eyes. "The more you tell me to come out, the less I want to."

It looked down at Shen Lian's face, and its fingers brushed across his chin.

A cool breath swept across Shen Lian's cheek in an instant, and his body instinctively trembled.

But Shen Lian quickly turned his head, dodging the inner demon's fingers.

The inner demon's hand grabbed nothing. It clicked its tongue.

"Yan Huaixuan, this pretty little thing is cold as ice. But don't worry—I'll warm him up soon enough."

"If I'm not mistaken, cultivators can practice dual cultivation. Surely I, as an inner demon, can do the same?"

The moment it finished speaking, it saw Yan Huaixuan's icy eyes slowly filling with murderous intent.

"Touch him, and I'll kill you."

Excitement gleamed in the inner demon's eyes. The more Yan Huaixuan wavered, the easier it would be to exploit the opening.

"Yan Huaixuan, who are you trying to fool? I'm the root of your obsessions. Do you think I don't know what you want? Aren't I just fulfilling your desires right now?"

Shen Lian had just turned his face away when his limbs were pinned down and his entire body was slammed hard against the ground.

The inner demon pressed down on him, staring down at him.

Shen Lian's expression finally shifted slightly, but when he tried to summon his spiritual power, he found himself as helpless as a regular person inside Yan Huaixuan's mindscape.

He could only watch as the inner demon bound his limbs.

"Let go of me."

"Let you go? Not a chance," the inner demon sneered. "You know, I'm the root of Yan Huaixuan's obsessions. Everything I'm about to do to you is what Yan Huaixuan wants to do."

Shen Lian stopped struggling, his hand freezing mid-motion. He was slightly taken aback. "What did you say?"

"Don't believe me?" the inner demon whispered into Shen Lian's ear, its voice dripping with temptation. "Let me tell you—Yan Huaixuan came back to you not because he likes you, but because he regrets it."

"He regrets not having touched you back then."

"If you ask me, Yan Huaixuan was just too stupid. You've got such a great body, and he didn't cherish it back then. Later, when he saw others around you, he couldn't take it anymore."

Shen Lian's fingertips slowly tightened.

Just as a glint of triumph flickered in the inner demon's eyes, Shen Lian chuckled softly.

"You think words like that are gonna get to me?"

The inner demon froze.

Shen Lian's tone was languid, "Actually, my thoughts aren't much different from Yan Huaixuan's—after all, he's the number one genius in the world, so it's not like I'm getting the short end of the stick."

"And do you think I'd only ever go for Yan Huaixuan?"

"Someone like me—do you think I'm short on options?"

The inner demon's gaze slid over to Shen Lian.

A sweet smile replaced the coldness on Shen Lian's face.

"You seem way more interesting than him," Shen Lian's hands wrapped around the inner demon's neck, his gaze slightly lowered, as if about to lean in.

"Someone as cold and stiff as him is just plain boring—what a waste of a face like that."

"Now you're the interesting one."

The inner demon watched the lips offered up to him, his Adam's apple bobbing. He'd only meant to mess with Shen Lian, but now he'd stopped talking to Yan Huaixuan entirely. He rested his hand on Shen Lian's waist.

"How so?"

"What else would I mean?" Shen Lian lifted his eyes, brows curving like crescents, "I just like 'em rough."

The inner demon narrowed his eyes.

He stared straight at Shen Lian, "You little minx."

The corners of Shen Lian's eyes instantly reddened, his lips pressed together, yet his gaze drifted slightly away.

He looked humiliated and enduring, but also like he was getting off on it.

The inner demon's throat bobbed, "Yan Huaixuan's really blind."

"No, he's dumber than a pig," the inner demon couldn't hold back anymore and leaned in to kiss him.

The next second, a sword came from behind and lopped his head off in one swing.

As the inner demon's body disintegrated, Yan Huaixuan's figure emerged.