Chapter 156: Sure Enough, Not Very Intelligent

Yan Shu suddenly realized!

That was it! They had met far too early!

In the original book, the reason the Demon King was willing to consider Xiao Jihan a close friend was, first, that Xiao Jihan was an eighth-grade alchemist and artifact refiner, and second, because by the time they met, Xiao Jihan had already reached the Integration Stage.

Back then, Xiao Jihan was barely fifty years old. After the Demon King fought him, he said to the manager of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, who had embezzled Xiao Jihan’s money: "Show him respect whenever you see him in the future. He will certainly ascend before he turns a hundred."

The Demon King’s prediction was spot on; in the original story, Xiao Jihan ascended before he was a hundred, having cultivated for less than eighty years!

Whether between humans or humans and demons, only those of equal standing can be called friends. Otherwise, it is merely one side clinging to the other. There are exceptions, of course, but they are extremely rare.

But the current Xiao Jihan had only just reached the Spirit Severing Stage. In the eyes of the Demon King, who was at the peak of the Integration Stage, he was nothing more than an ant that could be crushed at any moment. Under such circumstances, expecting a friendship to blossom between them was nothing short of a fantasy. Even if the Demon King knew Xiao Jihan was an eighth-grade alchemist, to the wealthy and powerful master of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Xiao Jihan was merely an eighth-grade alchemist, nothing more.

Seeing Xiao Jihan’s phoenix eyes grow cold and a frigid aura permeate his body—as if he were about to clash with the Demon King at any second—Yan Shu hurriedly sent a telepathic message: "Don't be angry, don't be angry! If you get sick from anger, someone else will take your place!"

Xiao Jihan suddenly turned his head, looked at her, and asked coldly, "Who exactly do you want to replace me?"

He was so angry that he didn't even bother with telepathy.

Yan Shu: ... No, she had just said it offhandedly, a mere slip of the tongue. Was he a pickled-in-vinegar jar come to life?!

Yan Shu sighed and rubbed her forehead, transmitting: "That’s not what I meant. He is the master of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, a Demon King, and the person with the highest cultivation in the entire cultivation world. Offending him now will bring you no benefit."

"Furthermore, in the eyes of others, we are indeed just master and disciple. Your previous form of address was inappropriate, and he..."

Noticing Xiao Jihan’s expression growing even colder, she hurriedly smoothed things over: "Why bother arguing with him? Just think, he’s several thousand years old. Shouldn't we at least give the old man some face? Respecting the elderly and cherishing the young is a traditional virtue!"

As soon as these words were out, the temperature in the private room dropped significantly. Yan Shu initially thought it was the cold aura from Xiao Jihan, but when she looked up, Xiao Jihan’s expression had softened, while the Demon King beside him looked grim and icy.

He met her gaze, grinding his teeth as he said word by word: "This King... an old man? Respect the elderly?"

Yan Shu: ... It is too difficult to mediate a fight these days!

Because there was a difference of two major cultivation realms, the Demon King could hear their telepathic communication if they were close enough. Watching her expression, Xiao Jihan knew she had forgotten this fact.

She was often incredibly clever, able to deduce his dealings with Liu Zhiqing from the slightest clues, yet at other times, she was remarkably dense—the Haoyuan Pill and the Immortal Spirit Grass were perfect examples.

Xiao Jihan turned to the Demon King and said, "Shu’er meant no harm; she was merely worried that I might come into conflict with you, Your Majesty."

The Demon King looked at Xiao Jihan, then at Yan Shu, his eyes darting back and forth with the look of someone who had just discovered a great secret. Yan Shu sighed, rubbing her forehead—this guy really did seem to have a low IQ!

Yet, the Demon King was completely oblivious and blurted out his discovery: "You two, you really do have an illicit affair!"

At the words "illicit affair," both Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan’s faces turned black.

Yan Shu looked at the Demon King and said, "The relationship between Xiao Jihan and me is indeed more than just master and disciple, but it is certainly not the 'illicit affair' you speak of. I ask that you mind your words, Your Majesty."

The Demon King clearly didn't believe her: "There have long been rumors in the cultivation world that the two of you have an unclear relationship. Now, people in Yunzhou City are even coming forward to testify, claiming that it is precisely because of this affair that the Profound Heaven Sect is shielding Xiao Jihan and distorting the truth."

Testifying in Yunzhou City. She didn't have to guess to know who had released the news.

Xiao Jihan sneered: "Those two really won't give up!"

Yan Shu felt a headache coming on. She couldn't understand why some people were so eager to court death. You only have one life; why not live it well? Why must they be so stubborn about picking a fight with the male lead?

Even if she took a step back and assumed Qiu Shuoran and Sun Changfeng succeeded in ruining her and Xiao Jihan’s reputations, what would it gain them? Especially Qiu Shuoran; he appeared to be clever and insidious, yet his actions were like someone who had been lobotomized.

True, his sister was the Crown Princess of Yunzhou and would soon be the Queen, but while the Yunzhou royal family and the Profound Heaven Sect appeared to be mutually supportive, in the end, the royal family needed the protection of the Profound Heaven Sect far more. If they truly had a falling out, the Profound Heaven Sect would thrive even without the Yunzhou royal family—especially now that they held the inheritance of the Medicine King. But if the Profound Heaven Sect announced they were withdrawing their protection, didn't they realize what would become of the Yunzhou royal family?!

If they were lucky, another sect might risk offending the Profound Heaven Sect to take them in. If they were unlucky, the Yunzhou royal family would become a mere piggy bank for rogue cultivators. Did they not understand the principle that mortals should not fight with cultivators?

Yan Shu frowned. No, they must understand such a simple truth, yet they acted this way anyway. There were only three possibilities.

First, the Crown Princess doted on Qiu Shuoran to the bone, just as her senior brothers doted on her—regardless of right or wrong, she was willing to risk everything to get justice for him. But this was impossible; even if the Crown Princess were willing, the rest of the royal family wouldn't be.

The second possibility was that they overestimated their own importance, believing that without their resources, the Profound Heaven Sect would become destitute and decline, which gave them the confidence to openly challenge them. But this was also unlikely; the Yunzhou royal family hadn't produced a cultivator in centuries, and their contributions were already thin. The Profound Heaven Sect’s status in the cultivation world was maintained solely by the hard work of her senior brothers.

The last remaining possibility was that the Yunzhou royal family had already found a new backer and were using this incident to sever ties with the Profound Heaven Sect. The original book had mentioned this, but at that time, because of the original owner, the Profound Heaven Sect was already standing against the rest of the cultivation world, so the royal family’s actions seemed reasonable to everyone. But looking at it now, the truth was clearly not that simple.

It was a pity the original book didn't mention who the Yunzhou royal family eventually sought as their protector, or she could have caused some trouble to nip it in the bud.

Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan exchanged a look, both seeing the realization in the other’s eyes.

Yan Shu turned to the Demon King and said, "Thank you for the information, Your Majesty. We will handle this matter ourselves. Could you now explain why you were looking for me?"

At the mention of this, the Demon King turned serious. He looked at Yan Shu and said, "I have sought you out because I wish for you to help me refine my spiritual roots."

Refine my spiritual roots?!

Yan Shu was left speechless, looking at the Demon King with a complex expression. He actually believed such nonsense? The key was, even if he believed it, as a Demon King, shouldn't he have asked her to refine a disciple's roots first to verify the truth? Who starts by using themselves as a test subject?

The Demon King... he really did have a low IQ, didn't he?