Inside the Yan King's Manor.

Led by servants, Wei Wuya and his companions soon arrived in the backyard. After the servants excused themselves, Bei Mingxue chuckled:

"Seeing the Yan King again feels like a lifetime ago. His aura is even more terrifying than Master's. I'm afraid... he's not far from the Sixth Realm Celestial, is he?"

Wei Wuya nodded in agreement:

"After the battle at Goddess Palace, Master lamented that the Yan King's strength was not inferior to Ye Xiangnan of Martial Emperor City, second only to Xiang Qianqiu, and a notable existence below the Sixth Realm.

This level has already surpassed Master, and is only half a step away from the Sixth Realm. Once he ascends to the Immortal Realm, there will be a separation between immortals and mortals between us."

"It's truly unbelievable that there is such a remarkable man in the world, who has cultivated to the peak of the Jianghu in just a few years."

"If the Yan King swallows the Central Plains and the world submits, then he will be the Emperor of the Central Plains. The mere Jianghu cannot accommodate such a True Dragon Son of Heaven. Master said that the Yan King has the potential of the Chu's founding emperor!"

Song Zhilun, the Imprisoning Heaven Demon Venerable, who had been silent all along, chimed in:

"This is also why the Palace Master is so determined to submit to the Yan King. The Yan King is like the founding emperor of Chu thousands of years ago, blessed by the heavens and possessing great destiny, and should not be opposed.

Looking at the forces that have opposed Chen Yuan over the years, almost none of them have had a good ending. Although the Heavenly Demon Palace has the foundation of an Immortal Sect, it cannot contend with such an existence.

Therefore, when Xiang Qianqiu previously invited our Palace's Immortal Ancestor to assist in ambushing Chen Yuan, the Palace Master chose to refuse, saying that the Ancestor was in seclusion.

In reality, it was just unwillingness to forge too deep an enmity with Chen Yuan.

As expected, in the battle at Goddess Palace, Chen Yuan's great backer revealed some of his figure, a genuine Earth Immortal powerhouse, an existence that even my Heavenly Demon Palace Ancestor cannot match.

Each and every one of them is a Great Divine Power wielder!"

"So terrifying!"

Wei Wuya sighed softly.

What Wei Wuque, the son of Wei Jinfeng, said back then was very true. To be born in the same era as Chen Yuan is both their greatest fortune and their greatest misfortune.

Looking at the previous Hidden Dragon List geniuses, they were all suppressed by Chen Yuan. Now, they have been directly excluded from being compared to him because Chen Yuan's current opponents are the top three experts on the Heavenly Ranking, Immortals above the Sixth Realm!

"Saintess."

Song Zhilun suddenly stopped, looking at her with a solemn expression, making Bei Mingxue feel a little strange, and subconsciously smiled and asked, "Uncle Song, why are you suddenly so serious?"

The Heavenly Demon Palace's Holy Son and Saintess are both disciples of the Palace Master, and the Four Demon Venerables are seniors who watched them grow up. She and the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable are as close as mother and daughter.

But her relationship with the other Demon Venerables is not bad either. Usually, they address each other in this way to show closeness.

"Do you know why the Palace Master brought you here this time?"

Bei Mingxue frowned:

"Isn't it to let me see the Yan King's demeanor?"

"Hehe, of course not. The Yan King's demeanor is known throughout the world. Why would you need to see it in person?" Song Zhilun shook his head.

"Then what is it?"

Bei Mingxue suddenly had an ominous feeling in her heart.

"These words should not have been spoken by me, but after all, Master watched you grow up and couldn't bring herself to say them, so she asked me to open this mouth. This time, bringing you here is for a marriage alliance."

Song Zhilun turned around, put his hands behind his back, and said in a deep voice.

"Marriage alliance?"

"Marriage alliance!"

The former was Wei Wuya's voice. He frowned, disliking such matters from the bottom of his heart. For the dignified Heavenly Demon Palace to need the Saintess to form a marriage alliance was simply laughable!

But thinking that the other party was Chen Yuan, the words at the tip of his tongue were ultimately swallowed back.

It wasn't because he didn't get along with Bei Mingxue, but because he was clear about the current situation of the Heavenly Demon Palace and roughly guessed some of the Palace Master's thoughts.

The latter was Bei Mingxue. Although she had deduced this matter from Song Zhilun's previous words, she still harbored a glimmer of hope in her heart.

She felt that the Heavenly Demon Palace, as an Immortal Sect, had never had a precedent for marriage alliances since ancient times, but when Song Zhilun spoke the words, she knew that it was difficult to reverse.

It wasn't that she hated Chen Yuan. In fact, she had only met Chen Yuan twice, including this time, and her understanding of him was all through rumors in the Jianghu.

She couldn't say she hated him, but it was also impossible to say she liked him.

She wasn't a nymphomaniac; she wanted to become a powerful woman like Feng Jiuge.

"Is a marriage alliance necessary?"

Bei Mingxue was silent for a moment, wanting to fight for it.

"The Palace Master doesn't want you to refuse. The current situation in the world is already clear. Ye Xiangnan of Martial Emperor City in the East Sea and Chen Yuan have a secret alliance, and they will most likely support him to ascend.

Although Wei Jinfeng and his son in Liangzhou are strong, their alliance with Mount Wudang is not solid. They only have the same goal of guarding the Central Plains border.

Apart from Buddhism, Chen Yuan is the most likely to become the final victor.

Since ancient times, Buddhas and demons have been incompatible. Buddhist doctrines and the Heavenly Demon Palace are irreconcilable. If Buddhism wins a great victory, then the Heavenly Demon Palace will have a very difficult future and can only support Chen Yuan to ascend.

However... Chen Yuan's momentum is already established, and the Heavenly Demon Palace is only supporting him now, not providing timely help, but only icing on the cake. The Palace Master wants to strive for more benefits.

You need to understand that some sacrifices need to be made."

Song Zhilun's tone was always calm.

Bei Mingxue took a deep breath, nodded, and said:

"Understood. Bei Mingxue respectfully obeys the Palace Master's orders!"

It wasn't that she didn't want to resist, but Song Zhilun's words had already reached this point, leaving her no room to resist. In the face of the entire Heavenly Demon Palace's interests,

What could a Saintess count for?

She was just an item that could be sacrificed at any time.

There was no sorrow, no anger. As a member of the Demonic Sect, she should have the awareness that interests come first. Besides... being with Chen Yuan wasn't an unacceptable thing.

It was just that she really found it difficult to face the fact that her former opponent was about to become her bedfellow.

"Thank you for your hard work..."

Song Zhilun was silent for a long time before uttering these three words.

"Hehe, it's nothing. I heard that many people want to become the Yan King's woman but can't find a way in. Even Feng Jiuge once lowered her status but was rejected by the Yan King.

Perhaps I, Bei Mingxue, am not worthy of the Yan King's eyes..." Bei Mingxue smiled faintly, accepting it quickly. Since she couldn't resist, she might as well think about what position would be comfortable in the future.

Wei Wuya remained silent, because he was just a Holy Son now and it wasn't his turn to make decisions. All he could do was maintain his previous acquaintance with Chen Yuan,

So as not to displease him.

If one is strong and the other is weak, it's normal to lower one's head.

It's just that in the past, those who lowered their heads were the enemies of the Heavenly Demon Palace. Now, they had finally encountered an existence even more powerful than the Heavenly Demon Palace.

......

......

"This King has heard that the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable of the Heavenly Demon Palace and the Holy Maiden Bei Ming are as close as mother and daughter..."

Dongfang Sheng paused, and his mind instantly recalled some rumors about Chen Yuan, saying that he liked married women, but the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable had never been married.

He thought Chen Yuan wouldn't be interested, but he didn't expect this person's predilections to become more and more...unique.

"The Yan King's request is indeed a bit embarrassing, but... it's not impossible for me to agree. I can go back and discuss it with the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable and see if she..."

Before Dongfang Sheng could finish his words, Chen Yuan was suddenly stunned. He didn't expect this guy's brain circuit to be so clear and he had completely misunderstood him.

He immediately said:

"Friend Dongfang has misunderstood. Chen's meaning is that the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable and the Holy Maiden Bei Ming are as close as mother and daughter. This King really can't bear to separate them. This matter should..."

"I understand."

Dongfang Sheng nodded.

Although Chen Yuan's request was a bit unexpected, for the sake of the Heavenly Demon Palace's interests, it wasn't unacceptable, but it was a bit difficult to deal with the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable.

The Heavenly Demon Palace's Four Demon Venerables had all made great contributions to the Heavenly Demon Palace. If they were sent out as goods, it would inevitably make the people below feel uneasy.

After all, they were different from Saintesses like Bei Mingxue.

"Friend Dongfang..." Chen Yuan really wanted to ask him what he understood. Why was the smile on his face so strange? It was simply detrimental to his brilliance!

"Actually, the Yan King can also see my intentions. Indeed... the Heavenly Demon Palace's submission to the Yan King is only icing on the cake, not providing timely help. The people below are still a bit worried.

The Ancestor also has some concerns, so I had no choice but to say such words about a marriage alliance, hoping that the Yan King can understand."

"This King understands."

"I can make the decision regarding Bei Mingxue. She can be left in the Manor now, but afterward, the Yan King must make her a concubine. This can be considered as taking care of the Heavenly Demon Palace's reputation.

As for the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable... I'm afraid it won't work for her to marry over. I can't force her, but it wouldn't be a big deal to have her come over to be Bei Mingxue's guard for a period of time.

As for the rest, it all depends on the Yan King's methods."

Dongfang Sheng tried his best to make things clear, hoping that Chen Yuan would understand the details. It wasn't that the Crimson Purgatory Demon Venerable couldn't be sacrificed, but her reputation needed to be taken care of.

"This..."

Chen Yuan frowned, wanting to refuse, but he couldn't open his mouth. The Heavenly Demon Palace wanted to have a deeper relationship with Chen Yuan, and he also hoped to completely tie the Heavenly Demon Palace to his chariot.

In this way, the Heavenly Demon Palace would spare no expense to block Buddhism from advancing eastward.

If he refused, there would inevitably be a thorn left in both sides' hearts.

"Very well, let it be as Friend Dongfang says..."

"Crimson Purgatory has a miserable life experience and a strong personality. Yan King... please bear with her." Dongfang Sheng was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.

After all, she was an old subordinate who had followed him for more than a hundred years, and he didn't want her to be treated badly.

Chen Yuan smiled but didn't agree.

He just nodded vaguely.

After that, Chen Yuan and Dongfang Sheng had friendly talks on some deeper levels of cooperation. Although the other party kept saying that he needed to go back and ask the Ancestor to make the decision,

Both sides actually knew that the Heavenly Demon Palace definitely wanted to cooperate with Chen Yuan. Dongfang Sheng himself could completely make the decision; he was just looking for an excuse.

After a round of mutual flattery, Dongfang Sheng proposed to leave.

But Chen Yuan didn't agree and still hosted a banquet for the other party before letting him leave.

The Heavenly Demon Palace had come with four people, but only two left. Bei Mingxue was being married off and would stay in the Yan King's Manor from now on.

And Wei Wuya was half a hostage left by the Heavenly Demon Palace and half because he also wanted to stay by Chen Yuan's side to train, hoping to learn something from Chen Yuan.

In short, the conversation between Chen Yuan and the Heavenly Demon Palace was relatively pleasant, and he also officially extended his hand into Xuezhou, something that even the Sima family had never done.

The next few days passed peacefully.

Chen Yuan met Bei Mingxue a few times, but there was no substantive relationship between the two. It was something both sides understood, but Chen Yuan wasn't interested in indulging in romance right now.

He just carefully asked what Bei Mingxue had taken from the Yuan Kong Realm.

The answer he got was a map.

"What map?"

Chen Yuan became interested. In his opinion, the resources of the Heavenly Demon Palace's Saintess were definitely not comparable to those of two rogue Grandmaster cultivators. The fact that she had deliberately concealed her identity to compete must have been for something important.

Even at this current level, he was still somewhat suspicious.

Upon hearing this, Bei Mingxue walked to the desk in the study and, based on her memory, completely drew the map. As for the complete map, it had naturally been handed over to Dongfang Sheng.

However, she had only received some resource rewards, and apart from that, there had been no other movement, so she knew that the thing she had obtained didn't seem to be that valuable.

"Yan King, please take a look!"

"This seems to be a secret of the Heavenly Demon Palace, right?" Chen Yuan didn't rush to look at it but asked with a smile.

In his view, the map probably wouldn't be of any use to him now. Even if it was a secret realm, the resources inside were no longer anything to him.

He was just a little curious.

Bei Mingxue looked at Chen Yuan and said with a faint smile:

"Master has betrothed me to the Yan King. From now on, Xue'er is a member of the Yan King's Manor, and I know who I should be loyal to. The Yan King can ask anything. Whether it's a secret of the Heavenly Demon Palace or not, Xue'er will hold nothing back."

It had to be said that Bei Mingxue's words were very beautiful. Although Chen Yuan wasn't interested in some of the Heavenly Demon Palace's secrets, he felt quite comfortable hearing her say this.

Bei Mingxue was sensible!

She knew which side her butt should be facing now. Whether it was intentional or not, at least she had made the effort to show her attitude and wasn't the kind of stupid woman who couldn't understand the situation, whom he despised.

"I understand your heart."

Chen Yuan patted her hand. Before, he really wasn't interested in Bei Mingxue and just thought of keeping another person in the harem. Now, he suddenly became a little interested.

After saying that, a touch of shyness appeared on Bei Mingxue's beautiful face, and she unfolded the map and placed it in front of Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan carefully examined the map, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Because he couldn't understand the writing on it. It was completely different from the mainstream writing in the Central Plains and somewhat resembled the divine patterns that had once appeared on his body.

As for the map, he also didn't quite understand it and could only vaguely perceive that some of it was similar to the current terrain.

"Does the Heavenly Demon Palace have any interpretation of this map?"