Chapter 814: Preliminary Cooperation Test

Chapter 814: The First Test of Cooperation

Zhao Changhe, having let slip, clamped his mouth shut and turned his head to gaze at the snowy landscape in silence.

Ye Jiuyou glanced at him sidelong. "Is it pretty?"

Zhao Changhe simply refused to speak.

Ye Jiuyou grabbed him by the collar and snarled, "Speak! Weren't you just chattering away so glibly? Cat got your tongue?"

Zhao Changhe folded his arms, still looking away. "I guessed. Just a guess."

"Guessed? This era's Nether Abyss hasn't bred any dark creatures, and you've never seen one. Guess my ass!" Ye Jiuyou's energy erupted, and she slammed a palm into Zhao Changhe's chest.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhao Changhe didn't dodge and took the hit squarely. Even though Ye Jiuyou wasn't going all out, the gap in their raw strength was clear, and the blow sent blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He grunted but still said nothing.

Ye Jiuyou asked, "Why didn't you resist?"

Zhao Changhe countered, "Why didn't you go for the kill? With that little force, if you'll pardon my saying so, it's no different from flirting."

Ye Jiuyou was furious. "You really think I won't kill you because I want to ally with you against Ye Wuming, don't you?"

Zhao Changhe smiled. "I did think that before, but not after that blow."

Ye Jiuyou glared at him, her chest heaving with rage.

Zhao Changhe glanced at her. "Even a demon lord who doesn't need to breathe is panting with anger. I had to let you cool off somehow, or how else can we cooperate?"

"Let me cool off?" Ye Jiuyou sneered. "Fine. Gouge out your own eyes, and we'll talk."

Zhao Changhe said, "So you see, how could you ever be wanton? We're discussing such important matters as the true self—don't get hung up on trivial details..."

Before Ye Jiuyou could reply, he quickly continued, "Do you know that when I traced your origin, I found you weren't a primordial demon lord born at the dawn of creation?"

Ye Jiuyou was taken aback. Such a critical topic instantly diverted her thoughts. "Impossible! I was born as I am, representing chaos and annihilation. How could such a law be born later? Besides, I have no mortal parents. From my earliest memories, I coexisted with Ye Wuming as her opposite."

"Could it be that you are the evil corpse Ye Wuming severed?"

"Impossible." Ye Jiuyou remained adamant. "If that were the case, I would clearly know it myself, and the memories and cognition before Ye Wuming severed me would be shared with me. I would know that I am Ye Wuming."

Zhao Changhe frowned deeply.

Ye Jiuyou asked curiously, "What exactly did you see?"

"Regarding the karma of your birth, it's as if some supreme being is obstructing it—all blurry... Is it Ye Wuming? But I can see your battles with Ye Wuming, which means I can trace her. So why can't I trace your birth at all? If Ye Wuming deliberately concealed it, why would she? Is it something so unspeakable?"

Ye Jiuyou abruptly stood up and began pacing back and forth.

It seemed that what Zhao Changhe had traced was beyond even Ye Jiuyou's understanding.

Zhao Changhe watched her pace and couldn't help saying, "Hey, are you really among the top-tier demon lords? Because I feel your knowledge of many secrets is a hundred thousand miles behind your sister's."

Ye Jiuyou stopped and sneered. "Some secrets aren't necessarily tied to cultivation but to status. Status broadens one's horizons. Ye Wuming, as the Heavenly Emperor, controls the four directions, the four seasons, the five elements, life and death. Of course she knows far more than any other being. I can't take her place; I'm only fit to rule the Nether Abyss. Naturally, my knowledge can't compare to hers."

Zhao Changhe said, "So could it be that even when you raised your demonic flames and did the most villainous things, it was only to oppose her, while the opponent in her eyes might not be you?"

Ye Jiuyou's brows shot up.

Zhao Changhe quickly added, "But no... She cares about you a lot. I've encountered many ancient demon lords, but only when Yin Kui appeared, representing your presence behind him, did Ye Wuming show such concern. I've never seen her like that before. And only when you appear does she personally intervene to restrain you. Not even the Sword Emperor or Lie got that."

Ye Jiuyou's expression softened slightly. "The causal tracing you provided is of great value to my quest for truth. I think the effect I got from the Mirror of Truth and Illusion was far less than expected. Perhaps it's not that the treasure is fake, but that I'm not even clear about my own origins, so my direction might be off..."

Zhao Changhe said, "That's exactly why I brought this up. The consumption just now was too great; my divine soul can't hold out. If you're willing, let me study the Book of Time and Space more in the coming days, and I might gain even more."

Ye Jiuyou grabbed his collar again. "You want to watch me bathe again, don't you!"

The topic they had barely diverted came circling back, and Zhao Changhe could only shut up.

The implication seemed to be that if Ye Jiuyou wanted him to help trace karma, it would be like inviting him to watch her bathe... So Zhao Changhe had no idea how to respond to such a remark; anything he said would sound like he was taking advantage.

Although seeing her bathe was an accident, and not every important causal tracing involved a bath scene, who knew? Zhao Changhe recalled now that when he traced karma from the Qinghe Sword back then, he had also seen Piaomiao bathing... At the time, he thought she was a dead demon lord and didn't pay attention. But now that relations were involved, what was he supposed to do?

What kind of karmic entanglement was this?

The main point was: you female demon lords, could you please not conduct important matters while bathing, just because you have nothing to do while soaking in the pool?

Zhao Changhe struggled for a long time before finally forcing out, "Do you often do important things while bathing? Like sending voice transmissions to assign tasks, or killing someone from a thousand miles away? If it's only occasional, maybe it's fine... But if it's frequent..."

Ye Jiuyou also struggled for a moment before forcing out two words: "Frequent."

Yes, precisely because soaking in the pool left her with nothing to do, she would take advantage of her ability to transmit messages and fly swords across vast distances to get things done—just like modern people playing on their phones while on the toilet. So both Piaomiao and Ye Jiuyou had fallen into the same trap.

Probably if he traced Ye Wuming, there would be a similar trap.

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Ye Jiuyou said flatly, "I don't need you to trace anything. Your connection with the Book of Time and Space ends here. As for the book you were going to give me, now give me one more page of karma, and I'll read it myself."

Zhao Changhe silently took out the Karma Page and placed it alongside the Truth and Illusion Page for her to see.

Ye Jiuyou gently touched the two pages, sensing them. She didn't immediately try to snatch them. After all, at her level of cultivation, being able to touch these two pages of the Celestial Book would naturally allow her to comprehend the related principles. Whether she possessed them or not wasn't important, and there was no need to antagonize Zhao Changhe.

But before long, Ye Jiuyou's face turned pale and then green.

These two pages were as useless to her as toilet paper. Without a doubt, this could only be Ye Wuming's malicious interference, preventing her from reading them.

The pages on Zhao Changhe, nominally his, actually belonged to Ye Wuming. This was why Zhao Changhe had never been able to unleash the Celestial Book's true power—once again confirmed. But as the holder, Zhao Changhe could still use it at the most basic level, just as Ye Wuming couldn't stop him from using it to wipe his gun, and he could still use it for basic teaching and insight.

If Ye Jiuyou wanted to gain insight from it, she would have to take it from Zhao Changhe and become the holder herself.

This was one of the fundamental contradictions between Zhao Changhe and Ye Jiuyou. Once they fought over it, their cooperation would surely collapse. Ye Wuming was clearly confident, knowing they could never truly work together in good faith.

"What's wrong? Not working?" Zhao Changhe studied Ye Jiuyou's expression and asked cautiously.

Ye Jiuyou suppressed the urge to snatch the book and said coolly, "Ye Wuming is provoking us to fight. Since I know her game, no matter how much I want it, I won't play into her hands."

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then broke into a bright smile. "Isn't that simple? You want it, I don't give it—that's a conflict. But if I just give it to you outright, where's the conflict?"

With that, he tossed both pages over without a care.

Ye Jiuyou caught them, stunned. "You..."

"I've never been greedy about possessing the Celestial Book. Having it on me isn't necessarily a good thing... I told you, I refused to give it to you only because I didn't want to aid a tyrant and nurture a calamity. But since I've already promised to let you comprehend these two pages, I have to see it through. Cooperation requires a cooperative attitude. Besides..."

"Besides what?"

"You held back from taking the book, honoring our cooperation. So I can't let your honor go unanswered."

Ye Jiuyou felt a strange sensation in her heart. She didn't reply, instead directly attempting to comprehend.

After a moment, she shook her head. "It's useless. These pages have been completely occupied by Ye Wuming. Even if thrown into another dimension, they would still belong to her... She won't leave such an easy loophole."

She hesitated for a moment, torn between keeping them in her own pocket or returning them to Zhao Changhe. In the end, she handed them back. "Take them back. Keeping them with me might cause more trouble."

"Oh." Zhao Changhe didn't stand on ceremony and naturally put them back into his ring.

The atmosphere fell silent. Both felt as if something had shifted between them, though they couldn't quite put it into words.

Perhaps Ye Jiuyou had never imagined sharing a treasure so naturally with anyone—as if yours was mine and mine was yours, tossing it back and forth without either caring who held it...

Although this treasure had become useless due to Ye Wuming's interference, and a usable one might not have allowed such a gesture, Ye Jiuyou admitted that this feeling was unique.

At the very least, their cooperative relationship had passed the first test. For a demon lord known for chaos, this was truly unbelievable.

Ye Jiuyou knew she couldn't trust anyone, and no one had ever trusted her. This experience of "you honor me, so I won't betray you" had never happened in two epochs.

But in truth... she knew her own cooperation wasn't entirely sincere.

She still wanted to kill Zhao Changhe—after their cooperation ended. Otherwise, the karma of their marriage contract would eventually cause trouble. Already, the karmic ties were growing too deep; even her body had been seen. It couldn't go on any longer.

Is that really worthy of you?

“Since... you can’t use it...” Zhao Changhe paused for a moment, then asked, “Do you need me to continue?”

It was another question like “Do you want me to watch you bathe?” Night Youhun’s mind was in turmoil, and she really didn’t want to dwell on it. She waved her hand and said, “Let’s talk about it later. Let’s discuss the specifics of how this cooperation will proceed.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. “What are your thoughts? First, let me remind you: if Night Nameless can spy on us, it might not necessarily be through the Heavenly Book. Even if we toss the book elsewhere and discuss in private, it could still be like plotting right in front of her.”

Night Youhun said, “I can block her. She can’t penetrate my barrier silently and spy on me.”

Zhao Changhe said seriously, “I suggest you don’t think that way. After Night Nameless merged with the Heavenly Book, her methods might surpass what you once knew of her.”

What she has on me isn’t just the Heavenly Book—her eyes might be here too.

Zhao Changhe didn’t say this outright. So far, he hadn’t broached the topic with Blind Girl, unsure if she knew he’d guessed it... Xia Longyuan had once hinted at learning the Wang family’s technique to expel the foreign, and he’d been silently practicing it, but he wasn’t sure if Blind Girl knew. As long as he could avoid revealing it, he would.

Night Youhun didn’t care. “Then let’s plot right in front of her. After all, you’re not enough of a threat to Night Nameless yet—you still need to improve. Even if she hears, she can’t stop your progress unless she kills you in advance...”

She paused, a faint smile curling her lips. “I wonder if she’d be willing.”

Zhao Changhe turned his head. “It’s not about willingness, only about timing.”

Seeing his slightly proud demeanor, Night Youhun almost laughed but instead said, “If you want to improve further, I suggest you go to a place. It’ll be useful for me too.”

“Where?”

“The Demon Realm, where Mara dwells.” Night Youhun said leisurely, “I still suspect the Mirror of Truth and Illusion he gave me has issues—I need the real thing. And he has karma with you; you need to end this matter. This will be our first formal cooperation. What do you think?”

Zhao Changhe asked in surprise, “Speaking of which, since you could snatch the mirror back then, why didn’t you just kill him? At that time, his avatar was blown apart by my arrows—he must have been badly injured.”

“Just as Night Nameless can’t kill me or Piaomiao, I might not be able to kill a demon of the human heart like Mara. As long as the human world exists, he exists—that’s a fixed law of the Heavenly Dao. Even if I could kill him, at best I’d absorb Mara’s will and become Mara myself... I don’t want that. I haven’t even figured out my own true self; adding another trouble would only harm me.”

Zhao Changhe nodded in understanding.

Don’t call Night Youhun chaotic—she was crystal clear on this. The temptation of “absorbing Mara” wasn’t something just anyone could resist. Only those who clearly knew what they wanted could achieve such cultivation that even Night Nameless feared.

Night Youhun continued, “Otherwise, why would Night Nameless bring in an outsider like you? Only someone like that can break free from the fixed mold of the Heavenly Dao. In the battle against the Dao Lord, without you, Yu Xu and the others could have resisted all they wanted to no avail—likewise, that’s why I value you and cooperate with you.”

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “You want me to kill Night Nameless?”

“Of course.” Night Youhun suddenly smiled. “Oh, right—it seems you don’t want to kill her, you want to...”

Zhao Changhe interrupted, “I don’t know. Let’s talk about Mara first.”

“Fine.” Night Youhun surprisingly didn’t continue teasing and said seriously, “To be honest, Mara and I once cooperated... You sabotaged the collaboration between my subordinates, An Mie and Yin Kui, and the Heavenly List assassin Snow Owl. I haven’t settled that score with you yet. That Snow Owl wasn’t mine—he was Mara’s. But at the time, Mara and I had different goals.”

Hearing this, Zhao Changhe couldn’t help glancing at Night Youhun again. This woman was truly restless—she wanted to revive the Spirit Clan’s land. As for different goals, Mara and Snow Owl were likely after the Eternal Heavenly God Axe, which Night Youhun probably had little interest in; she was just helping an ally seize it.

Given their current relationship, it wasn’t the time to ask about major matters like the Spirit Clan’s land—even if he asked, Youhun wouldn’t say... Fortunately, he hadn’t caused any harm to the Spirit Clan back then, or this cooperation wouldn’t be possible now. Even so, Sisi must be very dissatisfied with Youhun. That could wait.

“Snow Owl raised fish with sword energy—was that derived from Mara’s inner demons?”

“More or less. Don’t ask me why a swordsman did that; I’m not interested either.” Night Youhun said leisurely, “I only know where Mara’s Demon Realm is, also called the Heaven of Self-Mastery. It’s very dangerous inside. Dare you go?”

“You mean, you want me to go alone?”

“If I or Piaomiao go with you, or if your wives come and swarm in, what value would that have for your improvement?” Night Youhun’s expression turned cold. “So of course you go alone. If you die inside, the cooperation ends—you’re not worthy.”

Zhao Changhe looked at her for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. “Actually, you’re a bit conflicted, aren’t you? Deep down, you kind of want me dead, so the fact that I saw you naked will just blow away with the wind.”

Night Youhun’s brows shot up, but before she could speak, Zhao Changhe cut her off. “I’m actually quite willing to go alone... and since Snow Owl is connected to Mara, I have even more reason to go. This might involve a long-lost friend—I must go.”

Night Youhun’s words were choked back. She said coldly, “Then why aren’t you going? What are you still talking about here?”

Zhao Changhe said calmly, “But before that, I need a few more days to study the Book of Time and Space... I skimmed it just now and saw some stories, but it didn’t deepen my cultivation insights—it was like reading for nothing. If you don’t want to trace your own karma and don’t want me to touch this page, then let Piaomiao hold it.”

“Why should I give it to Piaomiao? Besides, I still need to trace my own karma.”

“...Then you’ll have to bear with it and let me look at it a few more times.”

Night Youhun was expressionless.

From afar came Piaomiao’s voice: “What thing for me? Look at what?”

Night Youhun twitched the corner of her mouth, her voice turning amiable: “Piaomiao, do you want the Heavenly Book? Want to hold it for a while?”

Piaomiao drifted over. “Since when did you become so kind?”

Night Youhun said, “Don’t worry, there’s absolutely no trick. Even if you don’t trust me, you should trust Zhao Changhe, right?”

Piaomiao looked at Zhao Changhe, still a bit embarrassed, but she did trust his character. She didn’t know how to face him after last night, but starting with something as serious as the Heavenly Book to ease the awkwardness wasn’t a bad idea.

So she asked, “Is she telling the truth?”

Zhao Changhe had no choice but to say, “It’s true.”

Actually, Piaomiao had already seen it... no big deal...

Piaomiao nodded. “Since King Zhao vouches for it, it’s fine. I’d like to see the Heavenly Book too.”

Night Youhun pulled out the Heavenly Book, revealing a smile that said, “It’s not about scarcity, but about fairness.”