"Now, this empress is fair; I shall grant you all o ce: bee a sve or face destru." After dealing with the s, Huan Caiyi turned her attention to the Dukes. Among the hundred and three Duke Paces, there were dozens with Dukes in the Monarch realm.

  { I'm not sure how many dukes are in the Sn Profound Realm, so I'll choose a servative estimate. However, I do know that the number of Sn Profound Realm experts in the Illusory Demon Realm is greater than in the Sky Profound ti, but they don't have as many peak and te-level Monarchs. }

  "I will never submit! Little Demon Empress, you killed Duke Zhong! I will never five you, I want you to die an ugly de—" Duke Han, the uncle of Duke Zhong, roared in rage at Huan Caiyi, his eyes spitting fire, bzing with hatred.

  However, before he could finish his words, a golden fme engulfed him, burning him to ashes.

  The Dukes watched in stunned silence as Huan Caiyi ied Duke Han without a moment's hesitation, each of them sug in a deep breath!

  "I am willing to submit to the Demon Empress!"

  With Lin Guiyan's example, the other s' submission, and the brutal end of Duke Han seared into their minds, the Dukes felt powerless to resist. Relutly, they bowed their heads, choosing humiliation and submission over ruin, hoping to preserve their duke paces.

  Naturally, Duke Huai Pace wasn't afforded that mercy.

  "Take them all to the prison!" Huan Caiyi anded coldly, her gaze fixed on Duke Huai, his bodyguards, and Duke Ming. She then addressed the guardian s and duke paces, issuing her orders; "Demon King, take them with you and subdue the Helian !"

  "Yes, Your Majesty!" they all pledged, bowing before departing.

  The great elders and elders from their respective s were already on standby, waiting for the and. As soon as Huan Caiyi gave the order, they were swiftly mobilized, heading out to deal with the Helian .

  In the hall, Huan Caiyi was the only o. She walked slowly and sat ohrone.

  "How was it? Do you feel any joy?" Yun Wuji's voice broke the silence as he casually appeared beside her and asked.

  "...Perhaps a little," Huan Caiyi replied, not surprised by his sudden appearance. She remained silent for a long moment before answering.

  "Since you're in a bad mood, how about I cook something for you to lift your spirits?" Yun Wuji proposed with a smile.

  Back then, whenever he felt down, he would cook something delicious for himself.

  Good food is the best remedy for depression, which is why people often say that depression lead to obesity.

  "Really?!" Huan Caiyi excimed, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. She recalled the delieal he had prepared during her first week in his pace, a taste she would never fet. After that, this stingy bastard refused to cook anything for her again, so she leasantly surprised by his offer this time.

  "Don't get too used to it; this is an exception. Seeing you like this reminds me of myself," Yun Wuji chuckled, finding her rea cute. He instinctively reached out to pat her head but caught himself just in time and pulled his hand back.

  He had gotten so used to patting the heads of his disciples and his women that it had bee a habit.

  "Hmph! Stingy!" Huan Caiyi huffed, crossing her arms in feigned annoyance. Subsciously, her lips curled into a small smile as her depressed mood began to shift.

  ....

  In the days that followed, shog news spread throughout the entire realm:

  The Little Demon Empress didn't die! And it had all been a plot by Duke Huai Pace!

  Under her and, Duke Ming and Duke Huai were brought to the city's public square, where the Yun used the profound hao reveal all their crimes to the entire realm!

  Wheruth was unveiled, shock, fear, fury, and hatred filled every er of the realm. Even the guardian families and dukes who had fought alongside Duke Huai were stunned by the revetion. None of them had imagihat such a venomous snake had been lurking in their midst!

  Rebelling against the monarch is ohing, but betraying his realm and his people is another. No one would want to work with someone like that! Who knows when he might stab you in the back for the slightest gain?

  Following this, the Little Demon Empress ahe execution of Duke Huai Pace's entire lineage, eradig eighteen geions. Every persoely reted to Duke Ming by blood was killed, except Duke Ming, his son, and his two grandsons.

  The guardian families and duke paces united, sparing no effort in carrying out this ruthless extermination.

  When Yun Wuji learned of this, he was genuinely shocked. He had always thought of himself as ruthless, but pared to Huan Caiyi, he realized he had a long way to go.

  He couldn't bring himself to wipe out aire family just because a ferovoked him. Yun Wuji never judged aire group based oions of a few, like in the case of the USA; just because millions might believe milk chocote es from brown cows, he would not assume that education is illegal there.

  After news of Duke Huai Pace's destru spread, many more monarchs flocked to submit to the Little Demon Empress, no! She is the Demon Empress now. Most of them had secretly sided with Duke Huai, but after witnessing his pace's cruel end, they hurried to pledge their loyalty, because they were afraid of being implicated.

  Lu Zhanfeng, Bai Jinghong, Tang Luanli, Xiao Qingshan—the 'Four Absolutes of the Southern Sky'—Qing Zheng, the lord of the sed rgest city in the Illusory Demon Realm's Sky Demion, Bai Guiming and his twin brother Bai Guihun, among others, were among the many who submitted to her.

  In the following period, Huan Caiyi focused much of her time oifying the realm, managing the guardian families and duke paces, and iing the newly 'loyal' subjects who had submitted to her.

  And every day she would take time to torture Duke Ming! She made him be raped by his son and grandsons, dogs, cats, pigs, horses, goats, and more! After his ass became numb to this, she burned his soul with fire, skinned him alive, and deboned him. She even cut off his flesh and forced him to eat it! When he became numb to pain, she killed his son and grandsons in the most cruel ways in front of him!

  "It's getting b..." After t Duke Ming today, Huan Caiyi felt no satisfa, oiness. She left the torture chamber, summohe torturers, and hahem the book Yun Wuji had given her. She ordered them to ti Duke Ming and to make sure he wouldn't die until his natural lifespan ended.

  After returning to the pace, she flew to the Yun . When she arrived, she spread her senses; however, after a while, her brows furrowed... she couldn't detect Yun Wuji's aura.

  "Your Majesty!" At that moment, Yun Qinghong hurriedly flew toward her. Looking at Huan Caiyi's mature body, he felt quite strange. After more than 150 years of iing with her, he was so used to her loli appearahat he couldn't get aced to her mature form in such a short time.

  "Patriach Yun, where is Yun Wuji?" Huan Caiyi nodded and asked.

  "I don't know. Lord Yun Wuji mentioned he had something to take care of and would be gone for a few days," Yun Qinghong replied, shaking his head as if anticipating her question. By now, everyone among the guardian families and duke paces khere was somethiween the Demon Empress and Lord Yun Wuji, so Yun Qinghong wasn't surprised when she asked about his whereabouts.

  "...Alright," Huan Caiyi muttered, frowning once more. Where did this guy run off to? Wasn't he the one urgio attack the sacred grounds of the Profound Sky ti? She shook her head, before nodding to Yun Qinghong, and the.

  "You Majesty wait! Before leaving, Lord Yun Wuji instructed me to remind you not to raining on the formation," Yun Qinghong called out as he saw her turning to leave.

  "Alright," Huan Caiyi replied before departing.

  ...

  Meanwhile, on a mist-shrouded mountain peak in the Azure Cloud ti. T pirees loomed oher side, their branches swayily in the breeze, adding a whisper of life to the quiet. led at the foot of one sut tree was a nameless tomb.

  Yun Wuji approached the grave with quiet steps. He k before it, l himself onto one knee as he spoke in a soft, geone. "Long time no see, master... Another year has passed by yet again."

  Yep, Yun Wuji had left the Illusory Demon Realm and traveled across the vast o to return to the Azure Cloud ti, because today is the anniversary of his master's death.