Chapter 819: Collapsing Painted Heart

Uh—

The smile on the East Sea Demon Emperor's face froze.

This little girl's diary... it's quite profound. It transcends petty interests and rises to the level of life itself.

Gu Xin'er came back to her senses, noticed the writing was visible, and quickly closed the small notebook. She offered a sweet smile: "Demon Emperor Yizhu, you've seen something embarrassing. I'm just documenting a beautiful life."

The East Sea Demon Emperor gave a polite smile. Awkwardly, she started chatting with the two of them. "By the way, Jiang Fan, that Hellish Desolate Beast said your little spirit beast took something from it. Where is your spirit beast?"

Jiang Fan put down his book and replied, "It's been temporarily adopted by a kind person." Thinking it over, he was fortunate that the little Qilin was in the underground world. Otherwise, it might have been captured by the Hellish Desolate Beast this time.

The East Sea Demon Emperor asked suspiciously, "It's such an important little spirit beast, aren't you worried it won't be well taken care of by someone else?"

Jiang Fan thought for a moment. He said, "It should... be fine, right?" If that female ghost dared to do anything to the little Qilin, she could forget about getting the Yin Marrow Tiger Talisman.

Underground world.

Ninth Layer.

"Jiang Fan!"

"Quick, take your spirit beast back!" Huaxin, her face drained of color, frantically fled. The little Qilin also scampered behind her, its four short legs churning as it ran. The rushing wind flattened its two small ears against its head, and its reddish-brown fur rippled backward like waves.

Despite running so desperately, it still clutched a blood-red spiritual ginseng in its mouth, refusing to let go.

Behind them, a ferocious ghost, formed from blood mist, roared repeatedly. "Huaxin! You let your spirit beast steal food everywhere! And now it's stolen from *me*! You've got some nerve!"

Huaxin turned her head, her face full of grievance, and said, "Blood Bone Ghost King, listen to my explanation! I have nothing to do with this gluttonous little thief. You have a grievance, but it has an owner; go find its master."

The Blood Bone Ghost King bellowed, "Nonsense! It steals things and then dives into your hidden space! And you say it has nothing to do with you? Don't you dare leave, I'm going to have a talk with you!"

Huaxin was utterly miserable! When she first brought the little Qilin back, she had been quite happy. After all, what woman could refuse such a cute, beautiful little spirit beast with innocent big eyes? She even, for a time, considered keeping the little Qilin for herself and never returning it.

But soon, the nightmare began. Since the underground world's teleportation array was closed, there was no need to worry about it escaping the Ninth Layer. So Huaxin didn't restrain the little Qilin; she let it frolic freely on the Ninth Layer.

Day one: It somehow brought back a century-old spiritual ginseng.Day two: It came back, mouth dripping with spiritual liquid, again, from who knows where.Day three: It returned from having a comfortable bath in thousand-year-old spiritual essence, again, from who knows where.Day four: In the Ninth Layer world, the remaining ghosts grew furious. They claimed their possessions had been stolen. At the same time, more ghosts had their homes pilfered.Day five: It escalated, devouring everything the complaining ghosts owned. If it couldn't finish, it would pack it up and bring it back to eat later.Day six: The ghosts, enraged, finally showed up at Huaxin's doorstep.Day seven: It ran to the secret lair of the Blood Bone Ghost King, one of the three most powerful ghost kings. It brought back a blood spiritual ginseng that the Blood Bone Ghost King had cultivated for twenty years and hadn't even dared to lick himself.

Consequently, the Blood Bone Ghost King, leading the plundered ghosts, ransacked Huaxin's home. Huaxin was left homeless and pursued across the entire world.

Fortunately, she had many tricks up her sleeve. After running for a while, she successfully shook off the ghosts. Seething with rage, she grabbed the little Qilin and exclaimed, "You little thief! Just like your master!"

At that moment, her hair was disheveled, her clothes askew, and she was panting. Her eyes, which had no whites, were wide with fury. The little Qilin opened its innocent big eyes and whimpered through its nostrils.

"Don't pretend to be wronged! I'm not falling for that! Still crying! Stop crying. Alright, I won't be fierce with you anymore. I'm sorry, it's my fault. Come here, let me hug you. Don't cry, don't cry anymore, if you keep crying my heart will break. I'll take you to find something even tastier. Give me a smile."

The East Sea.

The sea surface was turbulent, with strong winds and high waves. Compared to the calm, azure South Sea, the East Sea appeared much more dangerous. However, wherever the East Sea Demon Emperor passed, the surrounding seawater immediately became as calm as a mirror. The seashell, like a small boat, glided freely across the sea surface.

Jiang Fan rubbed his aching eyes. He exhaled softly.

"Well, any progress?" the East Sea Demon Emperor asked, turning her head. Over the past four days, Jiang Fan had finished reading an entire stack of books. He read very quickly, practically flipping through the pages without pausing. The East Sea Demon Emperor didn't believe that reading in such a manner could lead to understanding any script.

"I've mostly grasped the scripts of the myriad races," Jiang Fan said tiredly, "but I haven't found what I was looking for." Although called the languages of myriad races, there were actually only about a hundred of them. Many races shared a common language. For example, the Sea Demon Race and the Continental Demon Race are different races, right? But their written script was actually the same. Therefore, there were only just over a hundred common languages. Of course, the word "only" was restricted to Jiang Fan's thoughts. If he said it aloud, others might think differently of him.

"Mostly grasped"? The East Sea Demon Emperor smiled without a word.

"Oh." Suddenly, she noticed a large ship anchored deep in the vast ocean. The ship's hull was painted with three flowing wisps of air. "Mount Sanqing?" The East Sea Demon Emperor frowned slightly, then sighed helplessly. "It seems Mount Sanqing already anticipated that I would disregard their warnings and go to the continent. They have people waiting at my East Sea Imperial Palace."

Jiang Fan looked up. He frowned slightly and asked, "Mount Sanqing?" The East Sea Demon Emperor hesitated, then said: "It's all in the past now, there's nothing I can't say." She briefly explained the sequence of events.

After listening, Jiang Fan heavily closed the book in his hands. "These scoundrels! They clearly know the Hellish Desolate Beasts are a common enemy to all races. It's one thing if they're too scared to come themselves, but they're secretly hindering us! Now I understand why the casualties among the myriad races were so severe a thousand years ago! People like them definitely contributed to that!"

He felt a sense of utter disappointment. After experiencing the calamity a thousand years ago, how could they still lack a broader perspective? Jiang Fan wouldn't have said anything if they were merely afraid of death and self-serving. But they actually prevented the Sea Demon Race from helping!

Seeing Jiang Fan express such indignation on her behalf, the East Sea Demon Emperor felt much better. She said, "You don't need to worry too much. What if I defy their warnings? My East Sea Demon Race also has backers in the Tai Cang Grand Continent; they wouldn't dare do anything extreme. They'll only make things difficult for us regarding spirit pills. All our Rank 4 high-grade spirit pills come from Mount Sanqing. This is how they can restrain us, and most other forces as well."

The East Sea Demon Race has backers in the Tai Cang Grand Continent? Thinking about it carefully, it wasn't hard to understand. Even the Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had a subtle connection with the Myriad Calamity Sacred Hall. The East Sea only had the Demon Emperor Yizhu, a woman. Whether it was the vast, boundless resources of the East Sea, or her personal charm, she would be an object of covetousness. For her to remain safe and sound, she ought to have some powerful backers.

"Senior Yizhu, do you need my help?" Jiang Fan asked. The East Sea Demon Emperor was a very good person. Moreover, she had incurred the displeasure of Mount Sanqing because of the continent. If Jiang Fan could help, he might as well.

The East Sea Demon Emperor gave a wry smile: "Help me? Sure, refine a Rank 4 spirit pill for me to try first."