Chapter 553 - 560: Acting Separately

She Yi was furious. In his view, the powerful shouldn’t deign to bully juniors.

Song Wanning, however, wasn’t surprised at all.

Gong Ye had been abandoned by the Snake Clan. Having struggled for so long to claw his way back up, he naturally wouldn’t let anyone from the clan off easy.

Furthermore, given the chance, he might even retaliate against the entire Snake Clan, plunging them into a state beyond redemption.

And now, she was one hundred percent certain Gong Ye would return to the Snake Clan.

’After all he’d gone through to achieve this, how could he not go and flaunt it in front of his enemies?’

’How could he possibly feel satisfied without seeing the regret on their faces?’

’In that case, all I need to do is wait.’

"She Yi, do you have a Pill Recipe and the Medicinal Herbs for refining Demon Cores?"

Song Wanning asked suddenly.

The senior’s descendant was likely injured. She needed to prepare some Demon Cores in advance so that the person could recover as soon as she rescued them.

If she could refine Yin Pills, then Demon Cores would naturally be no problem either.

"Huh? I’ll take a look!"

With that, She Yi began to rummage through his storage pouch. After a bit of searching, he pulled out a book and several common Medicinal Herbs.

"I bought these right after I learned to take human form. It’s a shame I have no talent for Alchemy, so I just ignored them afterward."

He handed the items to Song Wanning, unsure of what she intended to do.

After all, Song Wanning wasn’t a true member of the Demon Race, and he knew that better than anyone.

So, it never even crossed his mind that Song Wanning intended to refine Demon Cores.

In the Demon Race, Demon Cores were extremely precious. To perform Alchemy, a Demon Cultivator first had to cultivate to the point of being able to take human form. Then, they had to go through a long period of exploration and possess an extremely high talent for Alchemy. Only then was it possible to refine Demon Cores.

This resulted in a very small number of Demon Cores, so many Demon Cultivators simply chewed on raw Medicinal Herbs.

The effect was naturally much worse than that of Elixir Pills.

Song Wanning took the items, flipped casually through the book, and put them away once she had a general idea.

A day passed quickly. For the next half-month, She Yi’s luck was absolutely terrible.

Every time he went out, he was beaten and humiliated in all sorts of ways.

To make matters worse, Song Wanning specifically instructed him to go out daily, serving as a punching bag for Gong Ye to vent his anger.

She Yi didn’t want to do it, but Song Wanning could actually refine Demon Cores, which not only helped his injuries recover but also accelerated his Cultivation speed!

In the end, for the sake of the Demon Cores, he "surrendered."

Finally, after She Yi had been beaten almost numb, Gong Ye agreed to go to the Snake Clan to see those old geezers.

But just as they were about to set off, he noticed that the Snake Demon accompanying She Yi had changed.

The original Snake Demon was a woman, but now it was a man. Moreover, his Cultivation was higher, and the look he gave Gong Ye was not very friendly.

Gong Ye recognized him quickly.

"You’re She Jiu?"

She Jiu was merely a rank among the clan’s most talented members.

He had a vivid memory of this person. The She Jiu of the past was like the bright moon in the sky, making the original owner of Gong Ye’s body seem like filth in the mud by comparison.

’But what about now?’

’Isn’t he now crushed beneath my foot?’

A mocking smirk played on Gong Ye’s lips. He felt incredible.

’This kind of power-fantasy story... this is the script I was meant to have.’

’Once I get back to the Snake Clan, the looks on those old geezers’ faces will be priceless.’

"Greetings, Demon King..."

Song Wanning’s clone bowed to Gong Ye, his face full of reluctance. The repulsion and jealousy were practically written all over it.

But this was exactly what Gong Ye loved to see, and his mood brightened considerably.

He didn’t notice anything wrong.

"Here. You can pilot the Flying Magical Treasure in a bit."

Gong Ye casually tossed out a Flying Magical Treasure, ordering She Jiu to do his work for him.

His contemptuous and smug expression was enough to make one’s teeth grind with hatred.

A flash of humiliation flickered in the eyes of Song Wanning’s clone. Swallowing his anger, he accepted the task and became Gong Ye’s "chauffeur."

"By the way, what about those two women from before?"

Gong Ye suddenly brought up Song Wanning and the Fox Demon.

She Yi’s expression remained unchanged as he gave his prepared answer. "That clanswoman was originally intended as an offering to the Lord Demon King. But since you were not interested, I let her leave!"

"Brother Jiu was away on a mission before. Otherwise, he would have come over from the start."

"As for that Fox Demon, she was a friend of my clanswoman. She hoped to find a backer in the Hundred Demons Palace, but I chewed her out and sent her packing."

Gong Ye was always surrounded by women and was long past the stage of being interested in every beauty he saw. So, over the past half-month, he hadn’t given Song Wanning or the Fox Demon a second thought.

Hearing this explanation, he was mostly convinced.

After all, countless women wanted to climb into his bed. It was entirely plausible that those two were up to something and had been driven off by She Yi.

He quickly put the matter out of his mind and proceeded slowly toward the Snake Clan.

Meanwhile, Song Wanning’s main body was hiding some distance from the Hundred Demons Palace, with the Fox Demon at her side.

Her original plan had been for her clone to impersonate Gong Ye and enter the confinement area directly. But with several people disappearing and only She Yi left behind, Gong Ye would surely realize something was amiss.

She Jiu’s disappearance would also arouse the Snake Clan’s suspicion, which in turn would alert Gong Ye that something was wrong.

Therefore, her clone had to accompany Gong Ye back to the Snake Clan. Only then could she find an opportunity to rescue the person.

While monitoring Gong Ye’s situation through her clone, she was also searching for Medicinal Herbs to begin refining the Illusion Demon Pill.

Although the Fox Demon had her Illusion Technique, her own Cultivation wasn’t high enough. So, she prepared to refine an Illusion Demon Pill for the Fox Demon to take.

When the time came, all they needed to do was deceive the guards’ eyes to enter the confinement area.

Gong Ye was incredibly powerful, and who knew what traps the Hundred Demons Palace might contain. Rescuing the person without alerting anyone was the best approach.

...

「The Snake Clan.」

The Clan Leader and the elders were waiting for Gong Ye’s arrival.

They were both pleased and apprehensive to learn that Gong Ye was willing to return for a visit.

But mostly, they were scheming.

"Clan Leader, when Gong Ye returns, we must give him a good talking-to."

"We’re all members of the Snake Clan. He awakened his bloodline, but instead of thinking about giving back to the clan, he ran off to start his own faction! He has brought us nothing but shame!"

"That’s right! And this time, the Tiger Clan has gone too far, trying to snatch our territory. He must help out!"

"Exactly!"

The elders all spoke as if it were a matter of course, as if Gong Ye were still that young boy from the clan, subject to their every whim.

The Clan Leader’s brow furrowed upon hearing this, and he barked coldly, "Fine. Then you tell him!"

’With Gong Ye’s current strength, who would dare to bring it up?’

’I certainly don’t dare.’

His dissatisfied gaze swept over the elders, who immediately fell silent. Not one of them was willing to bring up the subject.

The Clan Leader’s mood grew colder the longer he looked at them. ’These people are so selfish. They all know the danger, yet they expect me to order Gong Ye around. Are they hoping I’ll get myself killed?’

"I’m telling you, when Gong Ye gets back, you’d better have a good attitude. Whoever provokes him can bear the consequences themselves!"

’I’m still planning on playing the emotional card to win him back!’

’I can’t let these idiots ruin it!’