Reborn and in Love with the Demon Lord

[Bright, resilient, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted gong x Cursed, immortal, gloomy shou]

Jian Xianlai closed his eyes, opened them again, and was reborn.

In his previous life, he had faced few hardships. He was blessed with a handsome face and considered himself somewhat talented. He had barely suffered through cultivation, and ranked among the better cultivators of his sect.

Who could have guessed that his seemingly smooth path to immortality would be ruined by the sudden appearance of a fiend?

Xi Zhi Ge, the fiend, was a disciple of the Jinling Sect. Despite his name, meaning “lay down arms,” after falling into demonic ways, he took up his weapon and slaughtered the sect, stealing the Jinling Sect's divine weapon, the Thousand Mechanisms Array Breaker. He shattered the barrier upheld by the five great sects, allowing the barbarian demons to massacre the Five Spirits Sacred Land.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains whole. After his master and younger sister died, Jian Xianlai wanted only to die. The fiend killed him with a single sword strike, and with his dying breath, Jian Xianlai etched that face deep into his memory.

Reborn on the day he had gone to find a companion for his mortal-world cultivation trial, he met the young fiend again. Jian Xianlai flared up in rage... for a moment.

He couldn't beat him, so he'd have to use underhanded means.

With the resolve of “If I don't go to hell, who will?” he gritted his teeth, grabbed the fiend's hand, and shamelessly insisted they become cultivation companions. In truth, he planned to find a chance to kill him during the trial and eliminate the threat for good.

Who could have known that this trial would be fraught with danger at every turn? Before he even got the chance to strike, Jian Xianlai nearly lost his life, leaving him no choice but to cling to the fiend for protection.

Saving the world could wait. Zhi Ge, save me!

Later, when the fiend was suffering from a strange poison, Jian Xianlai was just as tormented. He repeated in his mind, “Hurry up and die, or I'll help you along,” then silently took off his clothes to help him detoxify with his body.

“Xianlai, Xianlai...”

The hand that usually wielded a sword clung tightly to him. Jian Xianlai was so dazed by the calls that he fled in disarray, clothes askew.

Things had taken a completely different turn from his previous life. He thought there might be a chance to change their fate, but disaster struck. The two were separated in an illusion, each believing the other had died.

With the fiend dead, Jian Xianlai put aside his mortal attachments and went into seclusion to cultivate. Years later, when he had reached great mastery, he had barely stepped out of seclusion when he was told the demons had invaded.

Again? He'd like to see what kind of monster was behind this this time

After the barrier fell, the five great sects stood ready for battle, only to discover that the fiend had abducted just one person.

In the Cloudtop City of Immortals, Jian Xianlai had barely opened his eyes when someone pulled open his collar. The person ordered expressionlessly, “Take it off.”

“...Huh?”

[Warnings]

1. Before being reborn, the gong had romantic entanglements, but they have no contact after his rebirth.

2. The shou has some humanity, but not much.

3. Though the blurb may give off a weak-gong-strong-shou vibe, the gong is actually powerful and very swoon-worthy. He is the genuine article, a beacon of righteousness.

A slow-burn cultivation novel. P.S. Jian is pronounced like “jian” in “jacket.”

Formal title: A Record of Immortal Travels

Theme: Fate brings people together, but what happens next is up to them