... The torrent of time seemed to have washed over him. Though years had passed and he hadn't aged a day, the Demoness could perceive a profound weariness in his eyes.

It was clear he had endured considerable hardship during his absence. Seeing his gentle, smiling face stirred an impulse within the Demoness—a fierce desire to leap into his embrace, land a few solid punches on his chest, and scream, "You heartless wretch, you finally deigned to return and see your old mother? You dared to dive into the Great Void Tunnel for Wanyan!

Why didn't I have the heart to tear you to pieces back then?" Sob, sob, why did my heart feel so heavy, on the verge of tears? Was this a dream? How many times had this dream occurred already?

She couldn't recall... because two clear lines of tears were already tracing paths down her cheeks, and her heart felt as if it were being tightly squeezed. Lei Dong’s expression gradually sobered.

He stepped forward gently, planting his feet firmly on the ground, his gaze fixed on her face. He drew her into an embrace with infinite tenderness, wiping away her tears, and whispered, "Meimei, it was my fault. I acted too rashly.

I've caused you suffering all these years." "Lei Dong, you unfeeling bastard. You've come again to disturb my peaceful slumber and torment me." The Demoness couldn't help but bite down hard on his hand. He offered no resistance, allowing the slightly metallic tang of his blood to seep into her mouth.

"Silly girl, why are you crying?" Lei Dong allowed her to keep biting him, gently smoothing her raven-black hair, and murmuring softly, "Be good, stop crying now. In the future, I will be less impulsive in my actions; I will definitely think thrice before I act." "Waaah, it's not that I blame you for saving Wanyan," the Demoness whimpered, burying herself in Lei Dong’s chest. "In that situation, if it were me, I would have jumped in without hesitation too.

But... but I was terrified. My heart ached." The formidable, world-dominating Empress of the moment before had utterly vanished.

"I understand. I comprehend everything you're saying," Lei Dong soothed, his touch incredibly gentle as he wiped the crystalline tears from her cheeks and patted her back, speaking softly. "Now, everything is in the past.

I am back. You won’t need to toil so hard anymore. Come, give me a smile.

My Meimei, though she rarely smiles, possesses a beauty capable of toppling nations when she does." "Hmph, you truly are a scoundrel. Even in a dream, your sweet talk is so convincing." The Demoness’s eyes were hazy, a faint blush coloring her nearly perfect face, and the corner of her mouth curved into a devastatingly charming smile. "How dare you?

Who are you? How dare you embrace Her Majesty, the Demoness Empress?" The Son of Hell standing nearby stared in stunned silence for a moment before his eyes flared, and he roared out with aggressive fury. He simply could not believe that the Demon Empress, whom he revered as a goddess, was nestled against a strange man like a maiden newly experiencing love.

"Scum! Let her go, you are forbidden from bullying the Demon Empress!" The Son of Destruction bellowed in rage beside her. He had been entangled around her for nearly a millennium and hadn't even earned a proper smile from his goddess.

Yet, the moment this rascal appeared, he had her weeping and laughing uncontrollably. The Son of Destruction felt his heart shattering. "Exactly, exactly," a sour voice piped up from near the Son of Destruction.

The Empress of Sorrow, whose cultivation seemed to have advanced further, appeared nearby, speaking with a seductive air thick with jealousy. "I have followed the Master for thousands—no, tens of thousands of years, and I have never heard such sweet, moving, yet teasing words from his mouth. Master, you are truly biased." On the other side, the Fairy Canglan drifted out slowly from a spatial rift.

Though she spoke no words, her eyes, as deep as boundless stars, flickered with an unusual light, betraying her own inner turmoil. "Who are they?" Almost simultaneously, Lei Dong and the Demoness posed the question. The Demoness's gaze instantly sharpened, fixing intently on the immortal and the demon with a distinctly hostile expression.

Lei Dong, too, cast a cold glance toward the Son of Hell and the Son of Destruction. "I wasn't dreaming after all," the Demoness murmured, her delicate body trembling slightly as she looked at Lei Dong in disbelief. "You...

you really are back?" "Yes, I have truly returned." Lei Dong felt a rush of emotion; between their separation and the time spent in solitary cultivation within the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, tens of thousands of years had truly passed. It felt as if he were experiencing a completely different lifetime. "Hmph.

The moment I saw those two vixens, I knew this couldn't be a dream," the Demoness’s expression gradually turned frigid, her voice low and gentle, yet carrying a chilling menace. "Because in my dreams, foxes never appear. And you, every time you vanish and return, you always bring back some 'harvest,' don't you?" "Uh, ha, hehe." Lei Dong could only offer a dry laugh.

His relationship with Yin Fidi and Canglan was complicated, too intricate to explain in brief. "Master, we have been together for tens of thousands of years! Who is this little Demoness who is only at the mid-stage of the Integration Realm?" Empress Yin Fidi pouted, asking with considerable pique, "Why have I never heard you mention her?" "Meimei, allow me to introduce you," Lei Dong, currently in his human form, felt the joy of reunion overriding much of the demonic corruption that sought to make him volatile and uncontrollable.

He spoke with gentle refinement. "These two are the Empress of Sorrow and Fairy Canglan. They are both...

uh, fellow Daoists." "Fellow Daoists? Dual Cultivation Daoists, perhaps?" The Demoness’s eyes pierced through the surface, instantly seeing the truth. She couldn't help but roll her eyes dramatically and glare fiercely at Lei Dong.

"You're already so old, and you still give me this much trouble." "Yin Fidi, Canglan, this is your Mistress, the Demoness Mu Yanmei. Come quickly and pay your respects," Lei Dong stated calmly. Although these two—the immortal and the demon—sometimes dared to act playfully in front of Lei Dong, deep down they held profound reverence for him.

After all, their Master was no ordinary powerful Demon Lord to be trifled with. Even the Three Demon Emperors of the Demon Realm paled in comparison; with a casual move, he had annihilated countless living beings. The United Expeditionary Army of the Three Realms and powerful entities like the Dark Demon Emperor had either been crippled or subjugated by him.

Though his tone was level, it carried an unquestionable command. The two women knew his temperament well and dared not show an ounce of arrogance or delay. They quickly approached, kneeling gracefully: "Yin Fidi, Canglan, pay respects to the Mistress." "Rise," the Demoness, long accustomed to command, naturally possessed more inherent majesty than the other two, even if her actual cultivation was slightly weaker.

Canglan? Yin Fidi? The Son of Hell and the Son of Destruction exchanged bewildered glances.

Fairy Canglan and Yin Fidi were renowned experts from the Immortal and Demon races. While not top-tier, they were certainly famous figures at the Integration Realm. Since when had these two submitted to a mere human?

Moreover, judging by the aura they faintly exuded, it felt awe-inspiring and unfathomably deep—their cultivation had clearly surged. But what sort of creature was this mysterious human? His aura was neither strong nor weak, appearing only as early Integration Realm.

While such strength might impress others, to the descendants of two peak experts, he was utterly inconsequential. Their own fathers commanded armies filled with experts of this level. "Your Majesty, Demoness Empress," the Son of Hell boasted, presenting his Hell Black Lotus as if it were a treasure.

"Why concern yourself with a human of this level? If you agree to marry me, this Hell Black Lotus will serve as part of my betrothal gifts. Our Hell Demon Emperor's house has no shortage of treasures, I guarantee you will have ample resources to reach the peak in the future." "What is a mere Hell Black Lotus?" the Son of Destruction scoffed, puffing out his chest.

"This one-and-a-half strand of Chaos Origin will be one of my gifts. My father is one of the three Marshals of the United Expeditionary Army of the Three Realms. After his victorious return, he acquired countless spoils.

Your Majesty, following me will not dishonor you. You should abandon this low-level human quickly." "Insolent!" The Empress of Sorrow’s delicate face turned pale with fury at their audacity to insult her Master. "You two wretches!

How dare you insult my Master! You deserve death!" "Empress of Sorrow, Yin Fidi, is it? I recall you being a Demon King under my father’s command.

What are you doing here? Submitting yourself to a human Master? You are disgracing the noble Demon Race!" The Son of Destruction hurled down his insults with overbearing arrogance.

"A mere piece of trash dares to slander my Master, Yin Fidi!" As was her right, the Empress of Sorrow summoned her Whip of Sorrow. With a flick of her wrist, the whip transformed into countless overlapping shadows, enveloping both sons of the Demon Emperors. The Empress of Sorrow was already a peak Integration Realm expert, continually pushing toward the Quasi-Saint level.

Never mind these two mere early Integration Realm princelings—even the Hell Demon Emperor himself would not intimidate her. Furthermore, one of the three great Demon Emperors had already met his end at her Master's hands. Her power was vastly different now.

How could two juvenile scions of the early Integration Realm possibly stand against her? Crack! Crack!

The sounds of the lash echoed. Her Whip of Sorrow, once fully unleashed, possessed tremendous power. The two princelings let out cries of unbearable agony.

"Lei Dong, don't cause trouble. They are the only sons of the Hell Demon Emperor and the Destruction Demon Emperor, respectively. If anything happens to them, those two Emperors will certainly not let you off," the Demoness warned anxiously.

"Also, this is the territory of Emperor Xingmiao. Emperor Xingmiao forbids fighting among Integration Realm experts within the Chaotic Star Sea." Lei Dong paid it no mind. He patted her shoulder lightly as a gesture of reassurance, then turned back and commanded, "Yin Fidi, kill them."