Chapter Twenty-Three: The Final Fate of the Three Demons

At dawn the next day, people discovered three bizarre-looking men entangled together in a most indecent state: one effeminate fellow’s mouth and rear were stuffed with the private parts of the other two men! The sun had already climbed high in the sky, yet the three naked men slumbered on, oblivious to the world. Someone must have reported the scene to the city guards, for soon soldiers arrived, forcibly separated the three, and took them away.

In the infernal realm, Leng Tian and Duoming sat atop a mountain peak.

“She was beautiful. We were both orphans, taken in by the Bloodsworn Alliance as children, subjected to inhuman training until we became killing machines. To be a true assassin, one must first learn to be devoid of emotion,” Duoming said, taking a swig of wine. He gazed over the endless grasslands below, his expression tinged with sorrow. “The final test was to kill your closest friend. My opponent was Yuxin. By then, we had already fallen in love. I could not bear such an outcome. I wanted to escape with her, but she refused. Taking advantage of my momentary lapse, she seized the knife and drove it into her own chest.”

“She knew neither of us could escape. Only by dying could one ensure the other’s survival. She traded her life for my freedom, but living without her is worse than dying with her. Before she passed, she entrusted me with a task: to find her lost younger sister. All these years, I have lived as one already dead, numb to the world.”

Leng Tian listened silently to Duoming’s tale, moved by the caprices of fate. His own past lives came to mind, leaving him quietly melancholic.

“Did you ever find her sister?” Leng Tian asked, concerned.

“In this vast sea of people, it’s no easy feat,” Duoming replied, glancing at him. “Could we be friends?”

“Aren’t we already?” Leng Tian replied with a smile.

A strange light flickered in Duoming’s eyes. “If you ever want to leave, just say the word. To live well is the greatest comfort you could give her. Don’t forget what you promised—you still haven’t fulfilled it. To sink into despair would only betray her love for you.”

With these words, Leng Tian vanished from the mountaintop.

In the royal prison, on the third underground level, the gloom and damp pressed upon the spirit. The air was thick with the stench of mold, and on either side of the narrow corridor were rows of cells forged from black iron. The Three Demons had been locked together in one such cell.

Though the three were now awake, their eyes were dull and lifeless. Wisps of gray mist seeped up from the damp earth, curling into their bodies. The fog grew denser, until the entire sealed cell was filled with its oppressive presence.

This was the place where the Skylark Kingdom’s death row inmates were confined. Every cell was hermetically sealed. Once imprisoned here, one was left to rot—so much so that the remains of the dead accumulated in over a hundred cells.

That morning, the Three Demons had been taken away. Investigation quickly revealed their residence; on the hand of the painted man, the authorities found jewelry belonging to a missing consort, and the missing consort herself was discovered in their quarters.

When the emperor learned of this, his fury knew no bounds. That his own consort had been defiled by three lowly martial artists was an intolerable humiliation. He immediately ordered the castration of the three men, and the consort herself was secretly executed. Afterward, the Three Demons were thrown into the death prison. Having been forced by Leng Tian to ingest a potent concoction, their minds had been seared into idiocy; they felt nothing, not even when their manhood was taken from them.

Three sinister cackles echoed through the underground prison.

Leng Tian made his way to the residence of the Three Demons, curious to see if they had left anything behind. To his surprise, a crowd had gathered outside.

He turned to a nearby martial artist and asked, “Excuse me, what has happened here? Why are so many people gathered?”

“You don’t know?” the man replied, gesturing at the residence. “Three fellows, no one knows how, managed to abduct one of the emperor’s consorts and even dared to violate her. The emperor was enraged; all three have been thrown into the death cells. The house has been seized and posted for sale.”

Leng Tian thanked him, a wry smile creeping across his face. It seemed the capital’s security was rather lacking if even these three could come and go as they pleased. What a disgrace for Skylark’s royal city!

Then a thought struck him: why not buy this residence? He had more than enough wealth, and with some time before the duel between the Sword Saint in White and the Dreamchaser, it would serve as a fitting base.

Without delay, he sought out the officers at the scene and explained his intention. The soldiers gave him a curious look and led him before a richly dressed middle-aged man, to whom they relayed his request.

Facing the man, Leng Tian’s instincts told him this was a formidable expert of the True Martial Realm. The man sized him up and asked in a neutral tone, “Are you certain you wish to buy?”

“Yes,” Leng Tian replied. “I wish to purchase this residence.”

“Very well. Ten thousand taels of gold, and it’s yours,” the man said with a playful smile. It was a hefty sum, and Leng Tian’s unassuming appearance had piqued the man’s curiosity, prompting him to name such a price.

“Where shall I pay?” Leng Tian responded without a change of expression.

The man’s smile faltered, and he gave Leng Tian a strange look. “Come with me.”

Moments later, the man left with his squad of soldiers. Leng Tian stood in the empty courtyard of the residence. “This will be my home from now on. Let’s bring the others out to see it.”

He closed the gate and summoned Huo Wu and the others from Purgatory. The five of them found themselves standing in a courtyard.

“Brother, where are we?” one of the group asked.

“This is our new home. I’ve bought this mansion,” Leng Tian announced.

The news left them momentarily stunned.

“That’s wonderful!” Xiao Ke was the first to cheer, bouncing with delight.

“Come, let me show you around,” Leng Tian said, leading the five on a tour of the entire estate.

They also explored the underground palace, where Leng Tian brought out the treasures he had stored in Purgatory. The dazzling, mountain-like heaps of jewels drew gasps of astonishment. Huo Wu and the other young woman’s eyes sparkled as they picked up one gem after another, unable to part with any of them.

“Big brother, where did you get all this money?” Yan Long exclaimed in shock. Such wealth was more than he could spend in several lifetimes.

Zhi Xuan picked up a sapphire the size of a fist and sighed, “I could live my whole life on the sale of this alone.”

Martial Dao Extreme Edge, Chapter 23—The Final Fate of the Three Demons—End of update.