The Surprise Prepared for Shang Xinyan

The accumulated wealth of generations from the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, gathering most of the rare treasures of the Qing Realm, was all stored here.

The only slight regret was that Gu Qingfeng knew his current strength was too formidable—most items from the Qing Realm were likely useless to him now.

But no matter, no one ever complained about having too much money. He might as well take everything.

However, the treasury of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom was simply too vast. Gu Qingfeng’s pocket dimension was nearly full, forcing him to discard many demons to make space before he could fit everything.

At this point, he realized he needed to expand his pocket dimension.

With a single command, he dispatched hundreds of divine-realm demons across the land to capture those possessing shadow domains. Once seized, their domains would be shattered to fuel the expansion of his pocket dimension.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

These three days kept Gu Qingfeng busy—expanding his pocket dimension by day and tending to his harem of demonesses by night. A hectic yet fulfilling schedule.

He had shattered nearly every shadow domain he could find, including Demon Pu’s.

Now, his pocket dimension had grown to the size of a city, providing ample space.

The only issue was that he couldn’t attend to all the demonesses—there were simply too many, and he was stretched thin. But it didn’t matter; they were all safely stored in his pocket dimension anyway. There was always time later.

On this day, he also received news about the Azure Demon Emperor through his subordinates.

That guy had been hiding in some remote corner to recover from his injuries. Now, it seemed his condition had improved, and he had begun making moves again.

The Azure Demon Emperor was cautious, only devouring demons in the borderlands of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, striking once before immediately relocating—never lingering, as if terrified Gu Qingfeng would come for him.

Upon learning this, Gu Qingfeng was exasperated. I’m waiting to break through to the divine realm here, and I’m in a hurry. I’ve already given you the green light—could you speed things up?

Truthfully, the Azure Demon Emperor was crucial now. Gu Qingfeng’s power growth depended entirely on him.

Not only did he possess a divine artifact like the Ten Thousand Demon Banner, but he also held the method to contact the sacred clan from the upper realm. Both were directly tied to Gu Qingfeng’s path to greater strength.

So, Gu Qingfeng’s plan was simple: push him step by step. Force him to devour demons, then use the Ten Thousand Demon Banner against him. After crushing his hopes, the desperate Azure Demon Emperor, with no other options, would have no choice but to summon the sacred clan. A flawless strategy!

The only problem was the Azure Demon Emperor’s current paranoia—he refused to believe Gu Qingfeng would ever spare him.

In his mind, the only reason Gu Qingfeng had let him live was to manipulate him into using the Ten Thousand Demon Banner, devouring demons, and then seizing it for himself.

Alas, this misunderstanding had slowed the Azure Demon Emperor’s progress to a crawl.

Gu Qingfeng had considered using force, but the Azure Demon Emperor was one of the rare, unyielding demons.

Even with his wife and child in Gu Qingfeng’s hands, the guy had endured.

Moreover, forcibly taking the Ten Thousand Demon Banner and recharging it himself wasn’t feasible. From the White Fox Queen, Gu Qingfeng had learned that the banner had long since recognized the Azure Demon Emperor as its master.

Divine artifacts had spirits—unless the owner died, no one else could wield them. And the banner was stored in the Azure Demon Emperor’s personal pocket dimension, accessible only to him.

On top of that, the Azure Demon Emperor couldn’t die before contacting the sacred clan.

This meant Gu Qingfeng couldn’t resort to brute force. He had to pressure him into acting on his own.

Against such a demon, torture would likely be ineffective. The only way was this slow, methodical approach.

But damn, it was too slow!

The Azure Demon Emperor hit one place and fled, avoiding major cities entirely, targeting only remote border regions where demons were few and weak. How long would this take?

Gu Qingfeng wasn’t in a rush for his own power growth, but his father-in-law couldn’t wait.

Every extra day meant another day of suffering for him, another day of heartache for Shang Xinyan. Neither was acceptable.

After much deliberation, Gu Qingfeng came up with a solution.

He would leave the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom with his demon subordinates.

Once he was gone, the Azure Demon Emperor would surely grow bolder, emerging to devour demons en masse and accelerate the process.

Though the Azure Demon Emperor was now a fugitive, Gu Qingfeng had no doubt that the former strongest in the Qing Realm still had spies in the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom.

After all, he had ruled this territory for over a thousand years.

So, news of Gu Qingfeng’s departure would inevitably reach him. Once he confirmed it, his hatred would ensure he wasted no time—he would gorge on demons, amass power, and seek vengeance!

To speed things up, Gu Qingfeng decided to temporarily leave the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom.

Besides, he missed his little wife back home.

Sure, he had his fun outside, but it was all just for show...

And it wasn’t like he’d been unfaithful...

Once decided, Gu Qingfeng summoned his hundreds of divine-realm demon subordinates and made a grand exit from the palace, parading through the streets as they headed straight for the Two Realms Mountain.

Countless demons witnessed Gu Qingfeng’s departure from the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom.

And of course, this news reached the Azure Demon Emperor lurking in the shadows.

On the first day after Gu Qingfeng left, the Azure Demon Emperor stayed put.

He suspected a trap. Even though he knew Gu Qingfeng had truly gone, caution prevailed.

By the second day, he could no longer sit still.

His hatred gnawed at him like ants devouring his heart, tormenting him ceaselessly.

The thought of his wife and daughter in Gu Qingfeng’s clutches, suffering inhuman torment, only deepened his agony!

Now, every time he closed his eyes, the symphony of that day and Gu Qingfeng’s words about Qinglin echoed in his mind.

He couldn’t endure another second. He needed to use the Ten Thousand Demon Banner to consume millions of demons and slaughter Gu Qingfeng!

On the third day—

The Azure Demon Emperor acted. Even if it was a trap, so what?

Gu Qingfeng was truly gone. Even if he detected the demon emperor’s movements and rushed back, the time lag would be enough to hide again.

Thus, the Azure Demon Emperor wielded the Ten Thousand Demon Banner and devoured an entire border town—tens of thousands of demons swallowed in an instant.

Afterward, he lay low briefly. When Gu Qingfeng failed to return, he repeated the process, consuming another demon city.

He hid again, repeating the cycle—though his periods of concealment grew shorter and less frequent. Clearly, he was growing reckless.

While the Azure Demon Emperor waged a battle of wits against thin air, Gu Qingfeng had already led his hundreds of divine-realm demons to the entrance of the Shadow Realm.

The procedure to enter the Shadow Realm was complex, known only to Shang Xinyan. But Gu Qingfeng was her husband.

Before leaving last time, she had shared an entry node with him.

Now, Gu Qingfeng stood before that very node.

He didn’t enter immediately. Instead, he glanced back at the five hundred divine-realm demons behind him and smiled.

I wonder if Yan’er will like this surprise?