A day later, Princess Dan's death became public. This happened exactly at the same time as Emperor Dan's demise arrived.
The empire was shaken.
Young Master Dan sent people to the castle to kidnap Yasenia, and he was successful. However, resentful Dan Family members who knew of Yasenia's existence sent assassins at the same time.
Young Master Dan, waiting in his office, received a message that shattered his world.
"Young Master Dan… Lady Yasenia has perished in an assassin attack. We've captured a few of the assassins—"
BOOM!
The messenger exploded into pieces of flesh, and on the table, Young Master Dan sat with a face so twisted that it almost failed to look human. "THEY DARE!"
He rushed toward the torture chambers, and once there, he appeared in front of the assassins with a terrifyingly dark aura of corruption around him. His eyes, completely black, showed that he had fallen for his Heart Demons.
Without waiting for anyone to speak, his hand shot forward, piercing the forehead of an assassin. Then, using a demonic technique, Young Master Dan absorbed the man's soul and had everything he recently experienced appear in his mind.
He saw the assassin sitting in front of Dan Family elders, who called Yasenia the source of calamity, and then saw the group go and kill his "guards," eventually killing the dragon girl.
"Hahaha!"
Young Master Dan's twisted smile made everyone around him hold their breath. They knew that if they attracted the attention of this demon, they would die without a single chance to resist.
"Source of calamity… My love, my wife… the source of calamity." Young Master Dan's hollow eyes burst with unending brutality. "I'll use your souls to bring her back… I'll use the empire, I'll use the world…" He looked up, the darkness peeling from his eyes, showing nothing but madness and insanity. "I'll use heaven itself to revive her!"
RUMBLE!
A single lightning bolt descended from the sky, but Young Master Dan waved his hand and shot a black, corruption wave upward.
BANG!
The punishment lightning was destroyed, leaving everyone trembling.
By his side, Yasenia and the three seniors raised their eyebrows. Yasenia spoke, her eyes full of curiosity. "Impressive. Princess Dan's heart demons made her basically my slave, while Young Master Dan has become the very meaning of obsession. If he had a chance to slaughter the entire Blue Pearl World to bring me back, he would gleefully."
Tatyana blinked and chuckled. "Wouldn't you do the same if you could revive one of your lovers?"
"I would," Yasenia answered without a shred of doubt. "However, I wouldn't do so gleefully. I know it is a ruthless and punishment-worthy action. Young Master Dan… he probably feels it's justified." She looked at Tatyana with a smirk. "My actions wouldn't be pushed by insanity, but selfishness."
Tatyana shrugged. "Is there a difference? In the end, your actions and his wouldn't be any different."
Yasenia hummed, thinking deeply on that sentence. "You… have a point."
She didn't deny it. After all, her actions would be unacceptable and unforgivable by all conceivable reasonings. The only one that holds is Yasenia's own subjective [family over everything else].
Even then, she chuckled. "It changes nothing."
Ao Xianlan sighed and placed her arms over Yasenia's shoulders. "You are quite dangerous, eh?"
Yasenia's tail wagged lightly, gently tapping against Ao Xianlan's legs. "You already knew it. Does it change anything?"
"No." Ao Xianlan smiled. "Because the hypothetical we are speaking about is completely removed from reality."
The dragoness nodded. The question was like asking, "What would you do if you were going to die an hour later?" The answers would be unhinged for the majority. However, would it ever become the truth? No, because the premise of the question itself was unrealistic.
Lady First commented, her eyes following Young Master Dan's actions. "I thought that he would charge into those old men's houses. After being consumed by his Heart Demons, his current strength is not much different from a Half Step Unification Realm cultivator."
Yasenia chuckled. "That would be a problem. How could the final boss I've prepared for my Feixue go into such a suicidal mission?"
Lady First hummed. "No wonder you chose to die. I was slightly confused, as I thought you'd manipulate Young Master Dan like you did Princess Dan."
Yasenia snorted. "Princess Dan was slightly… innocent. So, other than some light skin contact, she sought little else. Anything deeper didn't matter because a single sensual gesture would send her into an irresistible consciousness-losing climax. However, if I ever fall into his hands, I am sure that he will desire to have intercourse with me every passing second if possible. It's too annoying to find excuses or use illusions each time."
Ao Xianlan nodded. "You are right. Even giving this mortal an illusion with you is too good for him."
Tatyana agreed wholeheartedly.
The four continued observing Young Master Dan, and eventually, he came across the single clue that Yasenia left behind, which would push him to confront Luan Feixue.
He arrived at the site of the assassination and looked around with his dark, hollow eyes. His gaze fell onto some of Yasenia's torn garments, and then, he followed them into the carriage.
There, a perfect copy of Yasenia's corpse lay headless and almost completely naked. The marks on the body were more than those of a fight, as if some wicked people did something unthinkable.
The already powerful Heart Demon fed Young Master Dan images that would send anyone spiraling out of control. This snuffed out any chance Young Master Dan would have at recovering from the Heart Demon.
His mind was completely consumed, and the only objectives in his life were now two: Revenge and resurrecting Yasenia.
Tatyana and the other seniors observed closely. It was rare to encounter someone who fell so deeply into a Heart Demon. Of course, even if they observed it, detecting anything from him was impossible.
If it were that easy, the mystery around Heart Demons would've been solved eons ago instead of continuing to be one of the unsolved Heavenly Mysteries.
Yasenia rubbed her chin and glanced at Tatyana. Tatyana instantly noticed Yasenia's gaze, and her red eyes moved to meet Yasenia's. "What's wrong?"
The instant shift of attention made Yasenia stifle a laugh. She stretched her arms and hugged her adorable Mom. "Nothing. I just love you lots and lots."
Tatyana blinked and then hugged Yasenia back. "I love you, too."
"...Luan… Feixue?"
The hoarse, demonic voice of Young Master Dan echoed in the empty carriage. He was holding a red-colored letter, the words in it going along the lines of:
"Dear Dan Family, Young Master, how is my present? I didn't know what would make you suffer the most, but I guess sending a few men to break your little lover before sending her to the underworld is a nice start. My revenge against your family just started, so I hope you like it.
Signed, Luan Feixue. The last survivor and ghost of vengeance that will make your family disappear."
If it were before seeing Yasenia's corpse, Young Master Dan might've reacted slightly rationally and detected that there was something off in the assassins' memories.
However, now? He lost it.
"LUAN FEIXUE! LUAN FAMILY!"
Past conflicts, present heartbreaks, heart demon whispers, and the recent loss of family members all mixed into one giant bag of torment that pushed Young Master Dan even deeper into the quagmire of his insanity.
His strength exploded further, becoming comparable to a Level 1 Dantian Spiritualization Realm, while still being a Half Step Unification Realm cultivator.
Yasenia muttered. "That's interesting. His strength can increase further explosively. Yet, his realm is stuck. He will need to breakthrough before the Heart Demon draws more Heavenly Energy to feed his meteoric rise, right?"
"Yes." Tatyana smiled. "It's quite easy for people consumed by Heart Demons to gain strength. The exchange is sanity and cognitive abilities. The Heart Demon, if it can, will push Young Master Dan to become a mindless monster that knows nothing else but to cause terror in the land. This, in turn, will give birth to further Heart Demons. Remember that the energy of someone who has been consumed by one makes it easier for others to awaken their dormant Heart Demons."
"So…" Yasenia summarized it. "A Heart Demon is like a mind-plague that feeds on Heaven itself?"
"That's a good summary." Ao Xianlan smiled. "Those with weak minds and souls will be consumed, and those with strong hearts have natural immunity to them."
Young Master Dan jumped and moved quickly, arriving at the house of the Dan Elders. There, he started a massacre. Anything that came in his way was sliced down by his sword, and eventually, he slaughtered almost everyone.
Luan Feixue, having known about it, had people nearby to make sure that any people who escaped his maddening slaughter would be killed.
The reason she knew was not that Yasenia told her. Instead, she deduced it when her spy informed her about Yasenia's "death."
After two years of clashing in the open and in the dark with those in the Empire, she was quite knowledgeable and could easily predict Young Master Dan's end.
Luan Feixue looked at everything happening and used a talisman. "Start. The Dan Family has lost every single pillar. It's time for this vermin to disappear."
The command spread out, reaching many units spread out throughout the Empire. It didn't matter if they were Dan Family members living in an isolated duchy or those who lived independently.
Everyone who proudly used the Royal Dan Family surname actively was attacked and killed.
Blood flowed all around the empire, corpses of thousands quickly stacking up in various corners of the continent. As a family with a long lineage, there were naturally tens of thousands of descendants.
Each main branch was attacked by a noble family; the power gap between them was inexorable.
Then, Luan Feixue stepped forward toward the crazed demon, giant sword in hand. The broadsword was the weapon she had learned from her Master, who gave her a chance to live again, and it would be the weapon that would cut down the final thread from her past and liberate her.
"Dan Rulong! Luan Feixue is here to finish our conflict. The only ones left in the world from the Dan and Luan families are you and me. A pitiful man consumed in his Heart Demons, and me. Now, face me."
"LUAN FEIXUEEEE!"
Dan Rulong howled; his bestial roar exploded out with black aura threads. No one could resist the pressure, except Feixue.
With a powerful leap, Dan Rulong jumped toward Feixue, his body enveloped in an aura of corruption and slaughter.