The Empress Begs for Forgiveness? I, the Villainous Overlord, Won't Pretend Anymore! - Chapter 19:

Chapter 19:

The Demon Lord’s Heavenly Tomb stretched endlessly, vast beyond compare.

Xu Ning followed the trail left by Yuwen Shuang, moving at a steady pace behind Long Lingtian for several days in a row.

Atop a volcanic summit, waves of heat blasted forth as magma surged. Violent spiritual energy filled the air.

Xu Ning and his group’s figures flickered and appeared at the scene.

Just a second ago, they were still in a freezing cold domain. The next, they were engulfed in fiery heat. The drastic shift made everyone extremely uncomfortable.

BOOM!

The magma in the crater churned violently, and a terrifying beast—over ten meters long and exuding the aura of a 9th stage Creation Realm—suddenly leapt from the lava, charging at them!

The beast looked like a cross between a fish and a dragon, hideously fierce. Its bulging muscles and blazing-hot body radiated temperatures in the tens of thousands of degrees, wrapped in scorching waves of heat—it was monstrous!

Zhou Shuxian and the other two women were so frightened their faces turned pale, but Xu Ning remained calm, hands behind his back, expression composed as he continued scanning for the trail left by Yuwen Shuang.

This was when the advantage of having lackeys revealed itself.

The imperial experts instantly took action. With a flurry of powerful divine abilities and spells, they blasted the incoming beast into dust.

As the beast died, a round, crystal-clear beast core—glowing like fine jade—floated into the air.

“A Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Beast Core!”

“This creature is an ancient beast that has been extinct in the outside world for years. Its core is unimaginably valuable!”

“What are you all staring at? A treasure like this naturally belongs to His Highness!”

The imperial experts sighed in awe, their eyes filled with greed and deep reluctance.

Zhou Shuxian’s eyes lit up. Her cultivation technique had reached a bottleneck, and she was just missing a fire-attribute treasure like this to break through.

Although her eyes were full of desire, she still respectfully offered the core to Xu Ning.

Sensing her longing, Xu Ning couldn’t help but smile faintly.

In the treasure vault of the Yuwen family, these so-called extinct ten-thousand-year beast cores were piled like cabbages.

“Keep it. A gift for you,” he said casually.

“Huh?” Zhou Shuxian’s lips parted in disbelief—she never expected Xu Ning to give up such a treasure for her.

Yao Ling’er added, “Just take it. Husband seems to like you quite a bit.”

Faced with such an open show of favor, Zhou Shuxian didn’t know what to do. Her cheeks turned slightly red.

She glanced at Xu Ning for confirmation. Seeing him nod, she softly replied and put the core away.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Her voice carried gratitude, and her impression of Xu Ning quietly shifted. On top of “gentle,” she now added another label—“generous.”

Watching their intimate exchange, Yuwen Rou couldn’t help but feel sourness rise in her chest.

His Highness is such a flirt… it hasn’t even been long, and he’s already flirting with her… she bit her lip, sulking silently.

Hearing Zhou Shuxian’s tone of gratitude, Xu Ning couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

So it’s true—poverty limits imagination.

What he saw as worthless junk, Zhou Shuxian regarded as a priceless treasure.

The dilemma of a rich second generation…

He stepped forward again, leading the group deeper into the Demon Lord’s Heavenly Tomb.

“Your Highness, um… you seem to know the way around here. Do you have a map?”

After that little interlude, Zhou Shuxian seemed to feel a bit closer to him and boldly asked.

The other two women, along with all the imperial experts, turned their eyes to Xu Ning.

Their biggest fear was getting lost in this chaotic world.

Seeing their worried faces, Xu Ning chuckled and said lightly, “The will of Heaven must not be leaked. Just follow me, you’ll be fine.”

Hearing the confidence in his tone, everyone let out a sigh of relief. As they watched his back, he suddenly seemed unfathomable—like a master strategist who controlled everything.

As if sensing their thoughts, Xu Ning shrugged.

I’m just following a treasure-hunting rat, that’s all!

…

On the other side, Long Lingtian had arrived beneath the tomb.

This place was covered in thick fog, as if a great civilization had once existed here. Remnants of palaces and ruins lay scattered everywhere, collapsed and broken, telling tales of former glory.

BOOM!

With one punch, Long Lingtian blasted apart a grotesque beast. Blood mist filled the air, and the residual shockwave kicked up violent winds.

He let out a long breath, kicking aside the mangled corpse in his path and walking deeper into the ruins.

Sure enough, in the palace behind the beast, he found a litter of slightly dazed beast cubs.

“Ancient beast cubs… if I bring these to the auction house, they’ll sell for sky-high prices. This haul is huge!”

A greedy glint appeared in his eyes. He completely missed Yuwen Shuang behind him, blinking her beautiful eyes, filled with longing as she stared at the fluffy cubs.

People—especially women—had no resistance to cute, furry creatures.

Yuwen Shuang was no exception.

“These little guys are so adorable. Lingtian, can you give me one?”

She hesitated but eventually spoke.

Long Lingtian frowned, a hint of impatience in his tone, “Shuang’er, these are ancient beast cubs. They still carry violent instincts and are impossible to tame. You won’t be able to handle them!”

“It’s better for me to take them to auction—we’ll earn a fortune in spirit stones!”

Ancient beast cubs were worth a fortune, all those sparkling green spirit stones. He had no intention of giving any away.

Now that the Yuwen family had been destroyed and Yuwen Shuang had lost her family background—and with her mediocre cultivation talent—she was just a pretty face.

Women like her… he could have as many as he wanted.

He didn’t want to waste resources and time on someone like her. If not for some lingering use and past sentiment, he’d have kicked her away long ago.

Hearing Long Lingtian’s words, Yuwen Shuang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

She never thought he would reject her—and with such irritation in his voice!

These past days, they’d faced many dangers together, and she had contributed a lot.

And yet, Long Lingtian hadn’t shared a single treasure with her. Even when they found a thousand-year ice essence that was critical for her cultivation, he refused to give it to her!

“Lingtian, can’t you even agree to this one small thing?” she said, eyes rimmed red, her voice filled with sorrow.

Long Lingtian frowned, clearly annoyed. “Shuang’er, don’t be unreasonable. I need resources to raise my cultivation. Otherwise, how will I help you get revenge on Xu Ning?”

That righteous-sounding yet utterly selfish excuse finally broke her.

All the cold treatment and injustice she had suffered these past days came flooding out.

“Long Lingtian, have you forgotten who took you in when you betrayed the Long family and had nowhere to go? Who stood up for you when everyone else opposed you? Who gave you resources to cultivate?”

“We swore eternal love… You promised you’d only love me in this life! Then you told me you actually liked Yao Ling’er—did I say anything?”

“When you went to snatch that bride, I knelt in front of Ancestor for three days and nights before he agreed to help you! When you were locked in that dungeon, I risked everything to steal the key and save you!”

As Yuwen Shuang dragged out his dark past, Long Lingtian’s face turned darker by the second.

“That was all in the past. People move up in the world—don’t bring up old matters!”

He snorted coldly. The aura of a peak 9th stage Creation Realm cultivator surged out, intimidating Yuwen Shuang so badly that her face went pale, and she stumbled back two steps.

“You… you…”

Tears the size of pearls streamed from her eyes.

“If you want to follow me, then do so. But don’t cry and act pitiful, trying to steal my treasures!”

Long Lingtian’s tone turned icy, “Of course, I’m not forcing you. You’re free to leave.”

With that, he turned and flew into the sky without a second glance.

If Yuwen Shuang didn’t still have some value, he’d have kicked this ungrateful woman aside long ago!

High above in the sky, a grand tomb loomed. Dragons and phoenixes were carved into its surface, with four bold characters etched in powerful strokes—

Demon Lord’s Tomb!

Staring at the tomb, greed blazed openly in Long Lingtian’s eyes.

Xu Ning, just wait. I’ll soon have the power to crush you!

Watching him fly off without the slightest hesitation, Yuwen Shuang couldn’t hold back her sobs.

Free to leave? How nice that sounds.

Without the Demon Lord’s token, she had no way of escaping this place!

Forget the chaotic spatial pathways—just the beasts along the way were enough to kill her!

She knew very well—Long Lingtian had said that only because he was certain she wouldn’t dare to leave!

“You really see someone’s true colors in hardship. I see clearly now… Long Lingtian is just a thankless, heartless bastard!”

“Revenge? What a joke! You think you can defeat Master?”

She muttered to herself, suddenly realizing that Xu Ning—that true devil—was a thousand times better than a hypocrite like Long Lingtian.

Clenching her teeth, she still chose to follow Long Lingtian.