The strongest demon in the history, I am invincible in plundering the heavens
Chapter 22 - The Demon Emperor’s Heir’s Intentions! The Divine Ice Talisman!

Chapter 22   The Demon Emperor’s Heir’s Intentions! The Divine Ice Talisman!

Ye Ling glanced at the bottle and her face instantly lit up with joy. Inside the bottle was the Tongtian Hunyuan Pill—one of the treasures Su Ming had obtained early on. Nine pills, each radiating a celestial glow, lay quietly within the jade bottle.

Just one was enough to allow a cultivator at the Divine Sea Realm to break through their bottleneck instantly. While such celestial pills weren’t anything rare for Su Ming, they held immense significance for Ye Ling.

Su Ming had heard about Ye Ling’s background from Qin Yingluo. In truth, Su Ming never intended to kill Ye Chen. Keeping Ye Chen trapped in the Flame Abyss offered him no real benefit. Instead, he wanted Ye Chen to be freed and leave as soon as possible.

In Su Ming’s eyes, Ye Chen was like a treasure-hunting beast walking around on two legs. He was naturally blessed with luck and had a knack for discovering hidden treasures. Letting him go early would simply mean putting him back to work, benefiting Su Ming in the long run.

After some discreet investigation, Su Ming took notice of Ye Ling, the maid who stayed close to Ye Chen. He had someone observe her for a while and then made a decision—he would have Ye Ling handle this task.

Women like Ye Ling weren’t rare around sons of destiny. In many stories, they were often relegated to mere supporting roles. Had Ye Chen stayed in his remote hometown, Ye Ling would have remained a gentle, loyal companion by his side.

But he took her with him. As Ye Chen’s horizons and ambitions expanded, even unintentionally, he began neglecting Ye Ling. From what Su Ming had learned, Ye Ling was not doing well at the Cangyun Dao Sect. While no one dared bully her thanks to Ye Chen’s reputation, she was otherwise insignificant, with mediocre talent.

She could only watch helplessly as the man she admired shone brighter and brighter, becoming the center of attention—while she remained a nobody. This stark contrast began to change her character.

One should never underestimate a woman’s jealousy—especially when Ye Chen, day after day, went off to see Qin Yingluo while treating her as invisible. The sweet, gentle nature Ye Ling once had was long gone. And that was exactly what Su Ming wanted to exploit.

“Also, this is a spirit power pill for Ye Chen,” Su Ming said, handing her another jade bottle.

Ye Ling was puzzled.

“Your Highness, are you really going to let Ye Chen go?”

“Of course,” Su Ming said calmly. “Keeping him here does me no good. Wouldn’t it be better to let him leave sooner?”

“This…”

Ye Ling hesitated.

In her heart, there were still traces of affection for Ye Chen. But that affection had been tainted—mixed now with resentment and hostility.

Ye Chen had taken her from that remote town; they’d relied on each other. But in the end, he soared to great heights alone, leaving her behind.

At first, Ye Ling was genuinely happy for him when his name began to spread far and wide. But over time, more and more women appeared around Ye Chen. When he started flirting openly with beauties at Cangyun, that’s when Ye Ling’s heart truly changed.

She had assumed Su Ming sought her out to deal with Ye Chen. But now it seemed things were different. Still, Ye Ling quickly shook her head.

Whatever the Demon Emperor’s heir was planning, it didn’t matter. What mattered was—she had been given celestial spirit pills. With their power, she could break through to a realm beyond the Divine Sea.

She had followed Ye Chen for years, done everything for him, and gained nothing in return. But now, with just one decision, she had obtained the Tongtian Hunyuan Pill. Only she could understand the emotions that stirred within her. She bowed and quietly left the palace.

Clack, clack…

Qin Yingluo stepped out from the side.

“Ye Ling is a pitiful woman,” she sighed.

“Those who are pitiful often have something detestable about them,” Su Ming said indifferently.

“Ye Chen brought her out of that small town, gave her the chance to see the wider world. But in doing so, he also harmed her. If she’d stayed in that little town, she would’ve lived a simple life without all this suffering.”

“I don’t understand, Your Highness. Why don’t you just eliminate Ye Chen?” Qin Yingluo nodded in agreement, then asked with some confusion.

It was a question that had long puzzled her. She knew how much importance the Demon Emperor’s heir placed on Ye Chen. On his first day at the Cangyun Dao Sect, he was already inquiring about Ye Chen—that said everything.

Strangely, though Ye Chen had repeatedly shown disrespect toward Su Ming, he never seemed to provoke Su Ming’s killing intent. If Su Ming were someone magnanimous, someone who simply ignored such provocations, that might make sense.

But Qin Yingluo had been around him long enough to know—if someone truly threatened this man, he wouldn’t show mercy.

“Ye Chen will die eventually—but not now,” Su Ming replied. “We still have a game to play.”

He didn’t elaborate further. That vague concept of destiny and fortune was not something Qin Yingluo could understand. Hearing this, she wisely chose not to press the matter. After all, no matter what happened, she had already decided to follow Su Ming. Nothing else really mattered.

After brushing Qin Yingluo off, Su Ming turned his attention to the jade ring in his hand.

“Let’s see what our son of destiny has stashed away.”

He channeled his spiritual energy into it, and his consciousness instantly entered the ring. Within was a vast mustard-seed space—seemingly endless. A single glance revealed heaps of treasures and artifacts piled high.

“As expected of the son of destiny!” Su Ming exclaimed. “This hoard is astonishing!”

On the left were mountains of pills and elixirs. Some of the jade bottles were visibly ancient, clearly relics from forgotten ruins. On the right were dazzling arrays of magical artifacts, including several rare, ancient pieces.

In front were scrolls and jade slips containing various techniques—though most of them were of average quality. Thinking it through, it made sense. Ye Chen had surely kept the better techniques for himself.

What caught Su Ming’s eye most was a jade talisman floating at the center of the space. Pure white, palm-sized, and square-shaped—it rotated slowly in the air, even though it emitted no spiritual aura. Su Ming recognized it instantly.

The Divine Ice Talisman!

“Sure enough, Ye Chen failed to fully refine it and left it in the ring.”

Su Ming smiled with satisfaction.

This was exactly what he wanted.

The Divine Ice Talisman—one of the Twelve Divine Talismans, with unfathomable power. Leaving such a treasure in Ye Chen’s hands was a waste.

Let me give it a try, Su Ming thought to himself as his spiritual sense reached out toward the talisman.

The next moment—everything changed…