Chen Shuo's cold eyes flashed, and a murderous aura made the female vampire suddenly feel a choking pain in her throat. In the next second, an overwhelming sense of death washed over her.
It was the suppression of power, the suppression of bloodline. Even as a high-level vampire, a half-step away from becoming a Demon King, she had to bow her head at this moment.
The female vampire could no longer maintain her previous composure. She tried to struggle several times, but to no avail.
"My patience is limited. I'll give you three seconds to consider. If you still don't reveal Shen Xu's whereabouts, you'll never see tomorrow's moon," Chen Shuo said, his icy gaze devoid of any emotion.
"You... aren't you afraid that if you kill me... your friend will die too?" The female vampire was in agony, the bulging veins on her face making it impossible for her to maintain a human appearance. Her ugly form was revealed, with a green face and protruding fangs, no longer bearing any resemblance to her previous beauty.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One..."
"I'll talk... I'll talk!"
In the end, the fear in her heart overcame her reason. In this critical moment, she succumbed to her fear.
Chen Shuo withdrew his aura, and the female vampire finally had a chance to catch her breath.
"Don't waste time, speak quickly!"
"You're not a man at all!" The female vampire stared at Chen Shuo with resentful eyes.
Chen Shuo didn't care about others' opinions. Besides, in a practical sense, he couldn't really be considered a man, but rather a male ghost.
"You've had your rest, you've cursed at me, now it's time to tell the truth, isn't it? Where exactly is the person? You'd better not try any tricks, or you know what will happen."
Chen Shuo urged her, and the female vampire could no longer resist. She revealed Shen Xu's whereabouts: "He's enjoying himself in a brothel. He's doing just fine."
"..."
Chen Shuo's thoughts were in turmoil. He had imagined a thousand scenarios, all of them involving Shen Xu being subjected to inhuman torture, suffering unbearably, in a miserable state.
But who could have guessed? This guy was actually in a place of pleasure?
The title "Kidney-deficient Young Master" was indeed well-deserved.
Upon learning that Shen Xu was safe, the tension that had been building up in Chen Shuo suddenly released.
"Get lost. The master is in a good mood today and will spare your life. Go back and give your Demon King a message: don't play these low-level tricks again, or I'll dig three feet into the ground and won't let him off."
Chen Shuo waved his hand, indicating that the female vampire could scram.
But to his surprise, the female vampire, who should have fled, didn't leave.
She remained standing in place, looking at Chen Shuo with complex emotions in her eyes. "I really don't understand. You're clearly one of us, why do you help the other races against us?"
"I hope you can see the error of your ways and return to our vampire family. If we join forces, in all of Su City, no, in the entire world, we would have no enemies."
"Then you can have whatever you want - women, wealth, all at your fingertips, as you please."
"Isn't that what all men want most? As long as you come back to us, you can have everything you desire."
The female vampire spoke passionately about all this, but she was thinking too simply.
If she were trying to deceive an ordinary person, it might work, but for Chen Shuo, he had no such greed.
If he really wanted those things, he wouldn't need anyone's help at all.
With his power as a Demon Saint, he could sweep away everything with his strength alone.
He could obtain anything he wanted, but what he wanted was to be with Su Xiyan, day and night.
And his current life was satisfying to him - fulfilling but not busy every day, orderly yet relaxed.
This was the most comfortable state, and now they wanted to disrupt his rhythm. Chen Shuo would not allow it.
"I'll say it one last time. Get lost!"
Faced with Chen Shuo's firm response, the female vampire's spirit dimmed. She already knew the outcome.
Persisting further wouldn't yield any better results...
"Fine, you'll regret the choice you've made. The next time we meet, I'll let you know the consequences of being a traitor."
The female vampire left these meaningful words before her form shimmered and disappeared from the spot.
Looking at the emptiness before him, Chen Shuo withdrew his domain.
Heaving a long sigh, Chen Shuo felt quite helpless. He had only wanted to live a simple life, so why did he keep getting caught up in one storm after another?
The tree desires stillness, but the wind keeps blowing.
If he couldn't eliminate this Demon King, his future days would likely be controlled by them.
After returning to reality, Chen Shuo immediately discovered Shen Xu's whereabouts. At this moment, he was supporting himself with one hand on the wall and the other on his waist, stumbling with each step.
Especially with his head covered in cold sweat and his pale face, it was clear what state he was in.
When he saw Chen Shuo, he froze on the spot. The next moment, his old face turned as red as Guan Yu's, as if stimulated by something.
"Chen Shuo, why... why are you here?"
"You have the nerve to ask me that? Why do you think I'm here?"
Chen Shuo was furious. He had been worried about Shen Xu's safety and had come looking for him regardless of the consequences. But Shen Xu, on the other hand, was indulging himself in this place of pleasure, almost unable to extricate himself.
"You... let me explain... justify..."
Shen Xu wanted to say something more, but at this moment, Chen Shuo couldn't hear anything.
No matter what Shen Xu said, Chen Shuo only believed what he saw before him. Fortunately, that female vampire had no intention of harming Shen Xu, otherwise...
With Shen Xu's weak will, he would have been devoured completely long ago.
On the way back, Chen Shuo briefly "educated" Shen Xu, telling him to be more cautious in the future.
Although Shen Xu nodded repeatedly, Chen Shuo didn't know if he had really taken it to heart.
But Chen Shuo had done what he could. As for how this guy would behave in the future, it was hard to say.
Today's events had also sounded an alarm bell for Chen Shuo.
Protecting those close to him was also of paramount importance.
Now that they could find Shen Xu, they could naturally find other people close to him.
When he got back this time, he had to discuss this matter thoroughly with Su Xiyan.
He could protect Su Xiyan, but not necessarily others. He couldn't have these people following him all the time, could he?
How could life go on normally like that? For this reason, the only solution was to seek help from the Hunter's Association.
With their involvement, things might become a bit simpler.
After sending Shen Xu back, Chen Shuo left a mark on him. It was a tracking technique unique to those above the Demon King level.
As long as the mark was left on someone, even if they went to the ends of the earth, Chen Shuo could find them immediately. Unless they died, no one could remove this mark.
Leaving the mark was also to prevent the previous incident from happening again.

e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!

igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...