Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 461 - 400: The Slave Mark’s Punishment

The Demon Lord’s soul body was instantly obliterated by a strike of Divine Power. His eyes widened in terror, refusing to close even in death!

’I won’t accept this!’

Before his soul completely dissipated, the Demon Lord detonated all his Magic Power, attempting to drag Sang Luo down with him. A massive, mountain-sized phantom of a Nine-tailed Fox flew out from her body, shielding Sang Luo completely. At the same time, it opened its maw and swallowed the Demon Lord’s soul body whole.

BOOM!

The exploding Demonic Qi, along with the Nine-tailed Fox’s phantom, shattered into shimmering specks of starlight.

Sang Luo reached out to touch the scattered starlight. The motes of light landed on her face, cool to the touch, as if... a little fox were gently licking her cheek.

The Demon Lord’s soul body had completely vanished.

His crazed laughter faded on the wind.

"I understand now... So that’s how it is... You’ve been discovered. You’re a dead woman!"

’What?’

A massive vortex radiating terrifying energy slowly appeared behind Sang Luo. An indescribable fear surged through her heart. She clutched Little Treasure tightly, trying to flee, but the vortex’s pull was too powerful to resist. She couldn’t move an inch!

At the last possible moment, Sang Luo let go of Little Treasure and was instantly swallowed by the black hole.

"Mother!" Little Treasure burst into tears, trying to rush into the vortex to get her back.

A hand grabbed him and pulled him into an embrace. "Young Master, come with me."

He Luan, who had appeared out of nowhere, took Little Treasure and vanished.

No sooner had they gone than Quan Jin arrived, a step too late.

He picked up a jade bracelet from the ground. The seal at its center was engraved with Little Treasure’s name on one side and his nickname on the other. It was a birthday gift Sang Luo had made for him with her own hands.

Shortly after, Minos and Fei Yuan arrived as well.

Minos sensed the residual energy of the Annihilation Black Hole. Placing his right hand over his heart, he sighed sorrowfully. "So this day has come after all."

He had "seen" this day coming years ago, but he never expected it to arrive so soon. Sang Luo was an intruder from beyond spacetime, and the Heaven and Earth Laws would not permit her existence.

The Time Rule could help her evade the Laws’ pursuit, but it couldn’t guarantee she would escape this calamity.

Fortunately, none of them sensed their partner marks disappearing. At the very least, the Annihilation Black Hole hadn’t erased her from existence.

The one to thank the most was the Divine Venerable. He had given his entire cultivation to Sang Luo and even left a life-preserving ward for the child in her womb, allowing her to survive this deadly tribulation.

"Before his ascension, did Divine Venerable Yan also foresee that Luoluo would face this tribulation?" Minos asked, looking at Fei Yuan.

Fei Yuan replied, "He possessed a Rule Power that allowed him to peer into fate, much like your Time Rule. Back when I was in despair over my uncured Poisonous Gu, he told me that I would one day meet a benefactor—a female."

He hadn’t believed it at first, but after meeting Luo’er, he knew that old fox hadn’t lied. He had met the one person he would cherish for the rest of his life.

"No wonder he gave his cultivation to Luoluo. I was lamenting the Divine Venerable’s passing. With him, the world’s last Ancient Divine Beast has perished, marking the true end of the Primordial Age." Minos sighed, his feelings a mixture of relief and regret.

"But there was no need for him to be so determined to die. If he just wanted to give his cultivation to Sangsang, that’s one thing, but he didn’t have to throw his life into the bargain. His own lifespan wasn’t exhausted; he could have easily lived for another hundred thousand years," Quan Jin said with a frown, his heart full of doubt.

"Yes, you’re right. If that old fox only wanted to help Luo’er counteract the pursuit of the Heaven and Earth Laws, he didn’t need to sacrifice himself." A flash of sorrow crossed Fei Yuan’s sharp, phoenix-like eyes.

He paused, then asked the other two, "Do you want to know why Yan chose to ascend, dissolving himself back into the world without even leaving a body behind?"

Quan Jin shook his head.

Minos thought for a moment before speaking. "I heard years ago that the Divine Venerable wished to return to the world. Later, Luoluo forcibly awakened him with a Rejuvenation Pearl. Now, things have just gone back to how they were... I’ll venture a guess: the Divine Venerable was determined to die and didn’t want Luoluo to use a Rejuvenation Pearl on him again. Is that why he didn’t even leave a body behind this time?"

Fei Yuan shook his head. "Have you ever heard of life substitution?"

Quan Jin looked startled. "A life for a life."

The Demon Clan had many sinister Forbidden Techniques, so he was aware of the concept; he had even witnessed it himself. It was mostly used by people trying to break a curse or escape a fatal predicament by finding a scapegoat to die in their place.

But he had never heard of anyone voluntarily dying for someone else.

"That old fox did so much for Luo’er and the child, yet he didn’t leave her a single word. He didn’t want her to feel guilty and try to bring him back..."

「Back then.」

Yan had summoned Fei Yuan back to Qingqiu to inform him of a painful secret.

Fei Yuan was terrified upon hearing the news, and it took him a long time to compose himself. "Is Luo’er really the legendary Hongmeng Yin Body?"

Yan nodded. "Yes. I’ve sensed an aura on her that is similar to Wan’er’s."

Fei Yuan was plunged into endless terror. Having followed Yan for many years in his youth, he had heard of the Hongmeng Yin Body before. Yan had even written an ancient tome on the subject, which Fei Yuan had once read.

Every bearer of the Hongmeng Yin Body had been short-lived and met a tragic end. It was a heavenly scourge, a curse... with no exceptions!

Yan closed the book in his hand. "Ever since Wan’er passed, I have spent all these years searching for a way to break this fate. I have imagined, more than once, whether I could have resolved that fatal outcome if I could only go back."

"Eventually, I found a method: a life for a life. By having another person bear the curse, the fatal outcome can be averted."

Princess Ji Wan’s death was already set in stone, and Yan had been powerless to change it. He did not want to lose someone again.

"It doesn’t say it has to be your life! We can just find someone else!"

How could Fei Yuan not understand his meaning? He slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his tone sharp and severe. "You are an Ancient Divine Beast! The Beast World needs you, the Divine Venerable, to watch over it! The child in Luo’er’s belly will need your care after it’s born! I can be the one to give my life for Luo’er."

"And what about your two little phoenixes? Don’t you want to see them grow up?"

Yan smiled at him, silencing Fei Yuan with a single question.

Fei Yuan clenched his fists, his expression a mask of conflict before it hardened into grim resolve. "The children can be raised by someone else. I..."

Yan shook his head. "You still have a long path ahead of you. You are destined to take my place one day. As for me, I am in my twilight years. My time is short."

Fei Yuan’s phoenix-like eyes widened in disbelief. "How can that be? Master, your lifespan—"

Right in front of him, Yan unfastened the top of his robes. A dark red mark appeared, starting at his neck and spreading onto his chest. It looked like a winding chain, trapping a fox-shaped sigil within it...

"A Slave Mark?!"

Fei Yuan was stunned. "How is that possible? Who put it on you?"

"Princess Ji Wan of the Red Fox Clan."

"Why?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Yan’s eyes before he shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "I promised her back then that I would only ever love her in this lifetime."

If one day he betrayed her and fell in love with someone else, he would die from the Slave Mark’s backlash.

...