217: I was just lying at home when trouble came out of nowhere!

Divine Son Peak returned to a deathly silence.

Su Chen lay sprawled out on his Thousand-Year Spiritual Silkworm Silk bed, feeling every pore in his body relax as he breathed in the air of freedom to his heart's content.

Without the iceberg Fairy's cold air that could freeze one's Divine Soul.

And without that crazy enchantress's charm that could drain one's marrow.

The world was so beautiful.

This was the retirement life he had always dreamed of!

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Great news!"

Just as Su Chen was drifting off to sleep, Seventh Elder Su Qi's booming voice struck the bedroom like a bolt of lightning from outside the courtyard.

Su Chen's eyelid twitched; he lazily rolled over and ignored him.

What great news could there be?

Don't bother me even if the sky falls.

*Bang!*

The bedroom door was violently pushed open by a massive force.

Su Qi rushed in with a glowing face, followed by two maidservants who were carrying a huge red sandalwood chest together, which was sealed with festive red paper.

"Chener!" Su Qi's voice trembled with excitement. "I knew it! You must have overexerted yourself for the Family's affairs recently and depleted your Primordial Yang!"

Su Chen: "?"

Su Qi didn't give him a chance to react at all. With a wave of his hand, he introduced the large chest with immense pride:

"Look! I traveled through all the major chambers of commerce in the Eastern Wasteland to gather these Saint Grade items for strengthening your foundation and nourishing your essence!"

"There's three-thousand-year-old Blood Deer Antler from the Northern Snow Plains!"

"Ten-thousand-year-old Black Tortoise Whip from the bottom of the South Sea!"

"And also..."

Su Chen's face darkened inch by inch.

He sat up in bed, staring intently at the chest emitting a thick medicinal scent, a surge of anger rushing from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

[I overexerted myself? I depleted my Primordial Yang?]

[Su Qi, you old geezer, are you afraid people won't know my kidneys are failing?!]

[Do I, the Divine Son of the Changsheng Su Family, still want my dignity?! How can I face anyone in the future? Will people point at my back and say, 'Look, that's the Divine Son of the Su Family who drained his kidneys'?]

Su Qi was still spouting off about the miraculous effects of each "supplement," his face beaming with the relief and pride of someone who had worried himself sick for the Family's Qilin Son.

"Enough, enough!" Su Chen interrupted him, unable to bear it any longer. Gritting his teeth, he said, "The Elder is very thoughtful. Leave the things and you can go."

"Hey! Chener, what are you saying? We are uncle and nephew..."

Su Chen took a breath and squeezed out a few words through his teeth.

"I. Need. To. Rest."

Only then did Su Qi stop resentfully, but the joy on his face grew even stronger. His eyes clearly said, "See, he really is weak; he even needs to rest."

He dismissed the maidservants and was about to say a few more words when his expression suddenly turned serious.

"By the way, Chener, there's another major matter. Your reputation is now echoing throughout the entire Xuanyuan Continent!"

Su Chen: "Oh."

"The Jiuli Divine Dynasty has gone mad for some reason and launched a war of extermination around Great Xia. Do you know about this?"

"Mhm."

Su Chen didn't even lift an eyelid.

None of my business. Let them fight. The more chaotic the better. Ideally, they'd turn the world upside down so no one has time to bother me.

"But the Great Xia Empress issued three imperial edicts yesterday, one of which was to announce to the world..."

At this point, Su Qi's voice rose an octave, and a fanatical light erupted in his eyes.

"...that you, Su Chen, the Divine Son of the Su Family, used a supreme Formation outside Tiandu City to slaughter a Clone of an Outer-Domain Heavenly Demon!"

Su Chen snapped his eyes open.

What on earth?

Slaughtered an Outer-Domain Heavenly Demon? How come I didn't know?

That woman Ji Hongxue, is she using me as a shield?

Before Su Chen could think further, Su Qi's next words almost made his Divine Soul leave his body.

"That's not all!" Su Qi was flushed with excitement, like a fanatical believer. "Right after the Great Xia Empress's edict spread across the world, the Nine Nether Demonic Cult also released an announcement!"

"The Saintess of the Nine Nether Demonic Cult, Liu Ruyan, personally announced to the entire world—"

Su Qi's voice was trembling.

"...that you, Su Chen, the Divine Son of the Su Family, are the designated next... Demon Lord of her Nine Nether Demonic Cult!"

*Boom!*

In Su Chen's mind, it felt as if a hundred thousand volcanoes had erupted simultaneously.

He froze completely, his expression hardening on his face as if a freezing spell had been cast on him.

Su Qi didn't notice his abnormality at all, immersed in the massive shock and an indescribable sense of pride.

"She said... she said that you and she have long since pledged your lives to each other and are deeply in love! As for the Yaochi Saintess, Ling Qingzhu... she's just a plaything for your leisure time!"

"The most ridiculous part is! That enchantress spent a fortune hiring storytellers across the continent to turn your 'love story' into a hundred and eight different versions!"

"Now every tavern and teahouse is singing 'The Overbearing Demon Lord and the Pretty Divine Son'! Our Su Family's entrance is currently blocked by Cultivators who have come to watch the spectacle!"

Su Chen slowly lowered his head, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.

He felt like he was about to explode.

Social death!

Absolute social death!

The salted fish persona he had painstakingly maintained for eighteen years was smashed to pieces by these two women working together on this day!

One roasted him on the halo of the Righteous Path!

The other threw him into the deep fryer of the Demonic Path!

How is he supposed to live?!

[Crazy! They're all fucking crazy!]

[You two lunatics who just want to see the world burn! I'm not done with you!]

[Slaughtering an Outer-Domain Heavenly Demon? Pledging lives? Demon Lord Reserve Candidate? I'll reserve your grandmother's leg!]

[And Ling Qingzhu is a plaything? It's over, it's completely over! When that iceberg returns, she'll probably freeze me and the entire Divine Son Peak into dust of the Universe!]

A sense of grievance and rage made Su Chen's body begin to tremble slightly.

No!

I can't swallow this!

He suddenly looked up, eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Su Qi, and said in an extremely serious tone, "Seventh Elder!"

Su Qi was startled by his appearance. "Chen... Chener, what is this?"

"The situation is urgent and widespread!" Su Chen's voice was hoarse, filled with a heavy sense of "having everything under control." "I need to go into seclusion immediately! To process all of this! No one is allowed to disturb me!"

Without waiting for Su Qi to react, he dashed to the desk and set up eighteen layers of Barriers, completely sealing off the bedroom.

Outside the door, Su Qi looked at the shimmering Barrier. He was stunned at first, but then endless relief and emotion welled up on his old face.

Look!

This is the Qilin Son of his Su Family!

Facing such earth-shattering changes, he didn't panic or get arrogant. Instead, he immediately chose to go into seclusion to reflect and strategize!

With such Heart-Nature, how could he fail to achieve great things!

But inside the Barrier...

Su Chen looked nothing like he was strategizing. Like a thoroughly enraged bull, he grabbed the diary on the desk.

He was going to write in his diary!

He was going to curse these two women who ruined his salted fish life from head to toe!