Chapter 41 Illusion

It was late at night, and everyone had already rested. They were all conserving their energy for the next morning's harvest, and no one would venture out into danger at such a time. Therefore, Yao Jin and Po Jun did not set up any barriers when they were talking.

This resulted in their entire conversation falling into Leng Dandan's ears. She suddenly realized that this woman was the bitch she had always hated.

Women have a sixth sense, and from the first moment they met, Leng Dandan inexplicably disliked this woman.

She hated that she had attracted her senior's attention, and she also hated the cleverness in her clothing.

Now, Leng Dandan has finally confirmed the reason for this annoying situation.

"Dan'er, are you still there?" The person on the other end of the communicator couldn't see the screen. After recounting what had happened during the day, Qiao Shi hadn't received a response. She didn't believe Yao Jin was still alive, but she felt Leng Dan'er was being overly cautious. "Dan'er, you're just too cautious. Now that that little bitch is dead, and you're with Meng'er, you must seize this opportunity..."

With a snap, Leng Dandan unilaterally cut off the communication device.

Her heart was in turmoil, a barrage of information almost overwhelming her brain—the Mirror of Origin was here, the Demon King was in the secret realm, they wanted to resurrect the Demon King, and that bitch was actually the Demon King's subordinate!

Since it concerned the Three Realms, Leng Dandan was shocked and immediately wanted to return to the cave to tell her senior brother the news. However, as soon as she turned around, another plan came to her mind.

She was determined to expose this vile woman's true colors, and she had to do it in front of her senior brother and everyone else.

next day

Almost at the break of dawn, figures flew out of the cave like shooting stars or flying swords, soaring into the clear blue sky.

As darkness falls and yang rises, the first ray of sunlight often embodies the profound Daoist principles of Yin and Yang, and it is said that some cultivators have gathered the morning light for years before finally achieving enlightenment and ascending to immortality.

Cultivating Taoism, isn't it just about seeking longevity and ascension to immortality?

These disciples all understood this point, and at this moment they all used their best skills to pick the morning dew, which looked quite impressive from a distance.

This scene presented a completely different picture to Yao Jin's eyes: a group of people chasing the golden crow, playing a game of cat and mouse, which was extremely amusing. If the Demon Realm had not fallen hundreds of years ago, perhaps many generals would be playing with her right now.

Recalling the past, Yao Jin couldn't help but purse his lips.

"Aren't you going, young lady?" Meng Ji came to Yao Jin's side at this moment. His eyes were full of scrutiny, but when Yao Jin turned her head to look at him, he put on a harmless smile.

"Why didn't Master go?" Yao Jin suppressed her desire to play with the others, wanting to see Meng Ji's spirited figure, and asked this question as she turned to look at him.

Meng Ji smiled faintly, "It would be unfair of me to take action."

That's the truth. With Mengji's spiritual power, he could gather all the morning light in one move, leaving these people with no chance.

Yao Jin, however, found him arrogant. His eyes darted around, and he gathered his strength in his feet. "Master has not yet seen my skills. Why don't you watch from here and see if I am qualified to be your disciple?"

Just as Yao Jin couldn't resist showing off, a female voice rang out from the side, "It seems that Senior Brother has taken on a precious disciple."

Leng Dandan smiled gently and came to Yao Jin's side. She took Yao Jin's hand affectionately and tidied her clothes with concern. Finally, she tied a bell to the tassel at Yao Jin's waist. "This is my gift. I forgot to give it to you after my senior brother accepted it from you yesterday."

Leng Dandan is now an elder, so it's perfectly normal for her to bestow gifts upon her disciples.

The long tassels and golden bells clashed together, producing a crisp and melodious sound, and it looked absolutely beautiful.

Yao Jin glanced at the bell. "What's this?"

"This is a mustard seed, used for storing things. The space inside can hold 100,000 cubic meters of things. It's for you to use in the morning." Leng Dandan's smile grew even more gentle. She had been pampered since childhood and possessed many treasures. This mustard seed was a top-grade magic artifact, something ordinary people could only dream of.

"Junior sister has gone to so much trouble." Meng Ji nodded slightly.

Seeing that Meng Ji did not stop her, Yao Jin accepted that this behavior was normal. She loved luxurious things, knew about treasures and could appraise them, so of course she could tell that the mustard seed was no ordinary item.

If it were an ordinary item, Yao Jin would naturally not want it, but this mustard seed had a novel appearance, and she had no reason to refuse at the moment, so she shook the bell and smiled.

"Go ahead," Meng Ji said with a smile, clearly seeing the girl's eagerness to try.

Yao Jin lightly touched the ground with his toes and flew to the side of the group.

A woman mingled among the group of boys. She was as graceful as a swan, her black hair fluttering in the breeze. As she rose and fell, the hem of her clothes fluttered, and a light tinkling sound came from her body—the sound of tassels striking bells, which was incomparably melodious. As the girl occasionally used her internal energy to rise and fall, her figure quickly became an afterimage, and in the end, she outshone the rest of the group.

"What superb kung fu!" someone cheered.

Yao Jin found a long-lost sense of exhilaration in the speed of the race. Hearing this, he was even more eager to show off. With a few light taps of his feet, he stepped on the back of one of the disciples and leaped up like a sharp little leopard, plucking the brightest ray of sunset.

"good!"

Cheers erupted as the young woman captured the morning rays of dawn, the beautiful light flowing from her fingertips with a captivating charm.

The boy who was stepped on by Yao Jin was a disciple of Buzhou Mountain, named Shen Hao.

All of this happened too quickly. Shen Hao only felt a force on his back, and then his face slowly turned red amidst the teasing and laughter of the people around him. He wasn't angry, but just chased after the girl, saying, "Junior Sister, be careful."

They were all young people, and even in a competition, they naturally had endless fun together.

Amidst the laughter and commotion, Meng Ji stared intently.

Leng Dandan moved closer to him, covering her mouth slightly, "Senior brother, she seems to have demonic energy about her."

Yao Jin certainly wouldn't be so foolish as to reveal her cultivation technique. With her level of skill, even if she used lightness techniques, no one would notice. But the problem lay in the mustard seed that Leng Dandan gave her. It was sprinkled with the medicinal powder that Po Wang had given her before. There wasn't much, but it was enough to make people think she was a demon.

Leng Dandan wanted just that one moment. Of course, she wanted to expose Yao Jin, but her past interactions with her senior brother made her uncertain. What if? What if her senior brother would protect his wife?

Although given her senior's character, this might be extremely unlikely, Leng Dandan thought about it all night and decided to choose the safest method.

The powder given by Po Wang was no ordinary product, and many disciples in Zhai Chen had already noticed something was amiss.

Whispers broke out—"It seems like there's a demonic aura about it."

Who is it?

The disciples searched around, and finally, without prior agreement, their gazes fell upon the girl who was still picking morning dew.

Suddenly, a roar came from afar, its momentum was overwhelming, and it was filled with a strong demonic aura, which immediately confused everyone.

"It's the Demon King." Meng Ji frowned instantly. He reached out to summon Shuanghua, but his natal sword did not appear for a long time. Only then did he remember that Shuanghua had been given to his wife.

But in an instant, he used his hand as a blade to create sword energy in the air, drawing a barrier in the blink of an eye, and said, "Disciples, return quickly."

At this command, all the disciples turned around like weary birds returning to their nests, and their figures quickly landed back.

Yao Jin was still suspicious after smelling the familiar scent, but since everyone was returning to the original path, she didn't want to stand out, so she also turned back towards the barrier.

She rushed the furthest when picking morning dew, but fell behind the others on the return trip due to her doubts, and now she is at the very back.

Xu Zhao was the first to return behind Meng Ji. Inside the barrier, he was responsible for counting the number of people, "Fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four..."

But when he counted to the end, only Yao Jin was left. He found it strange. Excluding the Immortal Lord, there should be fifty-six people left. Where was the one person?

As Xu Zhao pondered this, he murmured to himself, "That girl is fifty-five, so what about fifty-six?"

There was no time to think. An overwhelming wave of demonic energy swept in, the oppressive force in the air so thick it was impossible to dissipate. The once picturesque secret realm instantly became a deserted island. Xu Zhao forced himself to withstand the oppressive force, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Miss, quick, come in quickly."

Everywhere you look, there is only scorched earth.

Yao Jin sped back through the air, his gaze suddenly fixed on a glowing green grass—a Body Tempering Grass!

She lowered her upper body and changed the direction of her steps.

In other words, it was a slowdown, a step too slow.

The barrier was about to close—the Demon King was no ordinary demon. To ensure everyone's safety, Meng Ji had set the barrier to close much faster. Originally, the disciples could have safely returned to the barrier with all their might, but Yao Jin was a step too slow.

"She was indeed acting strangely. Everyone was rushing back, but she seemed to be lingering, doing something." Leng Dandan didn't know what Yao Jin had seen, and that she was a moment too late to return to the barrier, but this was a good opportunity, so she spared no effort in talking about Yao Jin's unusual behavior.

The demonic energy pressed down, and visibility was extremely low in the surrounding area.

In the pitch-black environment where the sun and moon were indistinguishable, Meng Ji remained silent for a brief moment.

Should we wait, or not?

Is it better to risk everyone's lives for one "person," or to sever the life of that one "person"?

The other disciples stood behind Meng Ji, their hearts filled with anxiety as they gazed at the dark, oppressive demonic energy. One of them couldn't help but say, "Master! We should close the barrier. That woman is too strange. It seems... there was demonic energy emanating from her just now..."

Xu Zhao scolded him, "Shut up! The Demon King has come out, how do you know that demonic energy isn't his?"

The group of people were still too inexperienced to do something like "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."

Xie Shou and the others waited. They were so well protected by the immortal sect that they didn't feel any real fear of the Demon King. They only knew that they were afraid and that they might die.

Xie Shoujiang put his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Faster, faster!"

From a distance, Yao Jin couldn't hear clearly; her eyes were fixed on the Body Tempering Grass.

It was such a pleasant surprise; how could she miss it?

Yao Jin reached out to grab it, and just as her hand was a step away from the Body Tempering Grass, the disciples in the golden shield opposite her suddenly jumped up. She squinted at the cultivator who jumped particularly high; it was Xie Shou. He was waving his hands and muttering something.

What is it?

Yao Jin spent some of her attention trying to decipher his stubbornness—"Get out of the way, there's danger behind you!"

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Author's Note: Thank you for the nutrient solution, my darlings! [Let me see!] I will work harder to fill my draft box and strive for daily updates in October!

I really can't wait to write about my daughter returning to the Demon Realm and witnessing the epic battle, hahaha!