Chapter 22 The Holy Son of the Demon Realm In the original book, the Lingyao Secret Realm is a...

In the original book, the Lingyao Secret Realm is a crucial plot point. And as everyone knows, whenever the protagonist goes to a secret realm, something bad is almost guaranteed to happen.

So this place is no exception.

With the opening of the Lingyao Secret Realm, any cultivator under the age of thirty and below the Nascent Soul stage can enter. Various sects will also send disciples into the secret realm for training.

In the original storyline, the male protagonist Jiang Zhihe would enter the secret realm with disciples from his own sect, and later discover traces of the demon race within the realm.

Yes, demons.

The demon race was already at odds with the righteous cultivators in various regions, and it was rumored that they were mostly bloodthirsty and cruel, which was despised by the righteous cultivators. Therefore, the demon race was driven to the wild and untamed lands in the north of the continent.

However, as the author of this novel, she still knows some of the real inside stories.

For example...

The demon race is actually divided into two factions.

One faction consists of those born to cultivate demonic arts, who choose to practice demonic techniques from the very beginning. Because of their practice of demonic arts, these individuals tend to be more unrestrained and unconventional in character compared to righteous cultivators.

One faction consists of those who have fallen into demonic ways. These are cultivators who started as righteous practitioners but later became demonic for some reason. The thinking of these demonic cultivators is very simple: they believe that everyone in the world has wronged them and deserves to die.

Most of the rumors about the demons' cruelty and bloodthirstiness were spread by this faction.

Therefore, even among the demon race, the Fallen Demon faction is not liked by most demon cultivators.

[According to the original plot, a split and coup occurred within the demon race. The fallen demons plotted to kill the current demon lord, intending to usurp the throne and launch a war.]

To ascend to the position of Demon Lord, besides killing the current Demon Lord, one must also kill the Demon Lord's son who has the right to inherit the throne, namely the Holy Son of the Demon Realm.

[The Holy Son of the Demon Realm was still in the Golden Core stage. Facing the pursuit of three Nascent Soul stage demon cultivators, he only managed to barely escape into the Lingyao Secret Realm using a magical artifact under the protection of the former Demon Lord.]

To ensure the complete annihilation of the Demon Realm's Holy Son, the Fallen Demon Sect dispatched dozens of demonic cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage to infiltrate the secret realm.

This was also the source of the later turmoil in the Lingyao Secret Realm.

Gu Xiaozhu walked through the bamboo forest with an umbrella in hand: "So you've talked so much, but you still haven't explained why I suddenly fell into the secret realm."

The system paused, somewhat embarrassed: "[Um... In the original storyline, because this Demon Realm Saint entered the secret realm before it opened using a magical artifact, and the subsequent demons did the same, it not only caused instability in the secret realm, resulting in random cracks, but also caused it to open prematurely.]"

Gu Xiaozhu understood: "So I'm the unlucky one, and this crack just happened to open right under my feet?"

The system's tone revealed a hint of pity: "Yes, host."

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her expression freezing slightly: "Wait, according to what you said..."

"Now, in this secret realm, it's just me and those... demons?"

The system paused for a moment, then realized with horror: [Holy crap...it really is!]

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

Heaven is going to destroy me.

Upon hearing this news, she immediately tensed up, gripping the umbrella handle tightly with both hands: "System, can you detect my current location? Or the surrounding environment?"

[It's alright! Host, don't worry! You're currently on the outer edge of the secret realm, and you still have that mid-grade defensive magic weapon. Those below the Nascent Soul stage can't harm you for now!]

Gu Xiaozhu: "So, is there anyone around me?"

This time, the system's voice hesitated considerably: "Um... there's no one within a 500-meter radius."

"A radius of 500 meters?"

[My current detection range is limited, but if the host wishes, I can expend some system energy to expand it.]

Gu Xiaozhu quickly stopped her, saying, "No need, no need, this is enough."

As she spoke, she glanced around cautiously.

[Host, there's a fairly secluded cave ahead. Shall we go there and hide for a while?]

This suggestion was agreed upon, so Gu Xiaozhu, holding the umbrella, carefully headed in the direction the system had indicated.

During this time, she also tried to use the communication jade pendant hanging from her waist to make a call, and unsurprisingly, it didn't work at all.

According to the system, the reason they couldn't contact each other was because the person on the other end was not in the same space as her.

Helpless, she had no choice but to give up.

Soon, the bamboo around her thinned out, and her view gradually opened up. She could even vaguely see the outline of the mountain wall in front of her.

Further ahead, she could even see the cave that the system had mentioned, half-hidden by grass and trees, and in front of the cave... a blood-red figure lying on the ground, looking as if it were dead?

Her steps abruptly halted, and the girl stood frozen in place.

"Th-what...what is that?"

[...]

[Host, I think we can find a different hiding place.]

After a long silence, the system spoke decisively.

But Gu Xiaozhu didn't reply. She just stood there, staring intently at the figure.

To be precise, it was a wooden plaque next to that figure, soaked in a pool of blood.

"This wooden plaque...it looks familiar." Gu Xiaozhu pondered for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck her. "I remember now! Isn't that wooden plaque the symbol of the Demon Realm's Holy Son?!"

The system also exclaimed in surprise: "What?!"

Is that thing the Demon Realm's Holy Son?

In the original storyline, although he was severely injured when he entered the secret realm, he could still move on his own with difficulty. It wasn't this bad!

Could it be another butterfly effect caused by a plot breakdown?

Gu Xiaozhu: "He wouldn't... be dead, would he?"

The system hesitated before speaking: "...It can't be that bad, can it?"

[This person was eventually part of the main cast, so surely they shouldn't have died so early, right?]

In the original story, the protagonist Jiang Zhihe and the Holy Son of the Demon Realm became friends after a fight. After learning the truth about the Demon Realm, in order to prevent the outbreak of war, he decided to help him return to the Demon Realm and reclaim the position of Demon Lord.

And so, this Holy Son of the Demon Realm became a member of the main characters.

Gu Xiaozhu now has two choices.

First, go check on the situation of the Demon Realm Saint and rescue him to prevent his death from causing the subsequent plot to completely collapse.

Second, believe in the plot and that the main characters won't die, then leave directly.

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

Based on her experiences so far, she really can't believe in the plot anymore!

Helpless, she hesitated for a moment, looked around again, and then cautiously stepped forward.

[Host is alright, I'm here! If there's any danger, I'll be the first to strike him with lightning!]

As she drew closer to the blood-red figure on the ground, which appeared to be dead, she grew increasingly nervous, her heart pounding wildly.

She gripped the umbrella handle tightly, as if that would give her a sense of security.

Finally, Gu Xiaozhu arrived in front of the man and saw the numerous wounds on his body, some of which were so deep that the bone was visible.

"hiss--"

She instinctively gasped, then quickly covered her mouth after realizing what had happened.

"System, system, is he really still alive?"

According to the tests, he still has vital signs.

"Um... so how should I save him now?"

She stood next to the man, momentarily at a loss.

She wasn't a medical cultivator, so naturally she couldn't cure illnesses or save lives.

However, because she had helped others deal with spirit beasts in the Valley of Healers, those people would give her some healing pills as a reward afterward, so she had quite a lot of healing pills and the like on her.

Thinking this, she first took out a small porcelain bottle from her storage bracelet.

The white powder inside was poured onto the person, and in no time, most of the person's external wounds were healed, although some deep wounds that exposed bone were not yet fully healed.

This time she dared to reach out and grab the man's clothes, and tried to drag him into the cave.

After all, the injury was really frightening. She was afraid that if she reached out and pulled, the already barely held-up skin and flesh would tear apart.

[Host, host, I'm here to help you!]

As soon as the system's electronic voice finished speaking, Gu Xiaozhu felt a sudden lightness in her hand. The person in front of her had become much lighter, and when she pulled, it felt like she was pulling a large doll.

This also reminded her of the time when she reunited with the system. She was choked by that demonic cultivator, but the system miraculously allowed her to breathe and made her originally unbreakable skin fragile, allowing her to pierce it with a hairpin.

After easily pulling the man into the cave, she quickly ran outside, took out a bottle from her storage bracelet, and poured the liquid inside onto the pool of blood on the ground.

The blood and the liquid in the bottle reacted instantly, making a "sizzling" sound, and then quickly evaporated completely.

Gu Xiaozhu looked at the empty bottle in her hand with a complicated expression, and couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.

This thing was given to her by one of the medical cultivators from the Valley of Healers, who said it would be convenient to destroy the evidence later.

She originally thought she wouldn't need it, but since it was someone else's kind gesture, she accepted it.

But I never expected that she would actually use it! And so quickly!

After making sure the bloodstains at the entrance of the hole had completely disappeared, she picked up the wooden sign from the ground.

The wooden sign is rectangular, with an intricate gold and silver border around it, and a large golden character—Teng—is written in the center.

After putting away the wooden plaque, she pasted two more concealment talismans on the edge of the cave. Still feeling uneasy after activating them with spirit stones, she placed spirit stones on the ground at the cave entrance and then used powder that could connect spiritual energy to link the spirit stones at each point. A small concealment array was thus successfully created!

[Host, you're simply a genius!]

Gu Xiaozhu smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "After all, I designed these formations. If I know the basic principles and have enough materials, even if I am not a cultivator, I can still copy some simple formations."

[Don't be so modest, host. You've put a lot of effort into designing each formation and even created basic logical rules for it. That's quite impressive!]

After all, not everyone can dedicate so much energy to the world they create.

Gu Xiaozhu returned to the cave, where the person was still lying motionless. His face and clothes were covered in blood, making it impossible to discern his features.

She squatted down, first took out a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills, poured out one pill and put it into the man's mouth, then placed the bottle of Rejuvenation Pills and the wooden sign she had picked up earlier next to him.

Finally, he quietly retreated to the other side of the cave, leaned against the stone wall, and sat on the ground holding an oil-paper umbrella.

The cave wasn't very deep, but it was quite spacious. Because no fire was lit, the entire cave was pitch black, with only a few rays of light filtering through the vegetation at the entrance.

"Tick-tock"

"Tick-tock"

The cave was completely silent until Gu Xiaozhu heard the dripping sound coming from somewhere.

The tension in my nerves finally began to ease, and the fatigue that followed washed over me. My eyelids started to tremble and close from time to time.

[Host, if you want to sleep, then go to sleep. I'll help you detect your surroundings! I'll call you immediately if anything happens!]

Perhaps it was the promise made by the system, or perhaps the sound of dripping water in the quiet environment was too hypnotic, but her eyes eventually closed slowly.

Consciousness fell silent.