Chapter 36 The Spirit of the Three Realms

Upon hearing that the demon was actually here, Sect Leader Yuan Hongchou rushed in to investigate. He saw Xiao Shuying's sword tip pointing towards the void, but there was nothing there. He scratched his head, somewhat hesitantly asking Su Yunyu:

"Immortal Venerable, look..."

I thought they had really captured the demon, but now it seems that Xiao Shuying hasn't recovered from her demonic possession.

Several disciples followed closely behind and rushed in. Seeing this perplexing scene, they all looked at Su Yunyu, who had the highest cultivation level.

Su Yunyu, seeing nothing at all, remained silent for a moment, then immediately and unconditionally trusted the credibility of the Son of Heaven, and asked Yuan Hongchou:

"Is there anything that allows the special entity to manifest itself?"

“This…” Yuan Hongchou pondered for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him, and he clapped his hands twice:

"There is a formation that allows those with higher cultivation levels to see special things. Immortal Venerable, you might want to give it a try."

As he spoke, he formed a hand seal and drew a formation diagram. While Su Yunyu was replicating it, the demon tried desperately to struggle.

Damn it, if he can't get out of here soon, he's going to die.

But no matter how much he struggled, it was all in vain. Just when the demon was exhausted, he suddenly felt the restraints on his body loosen. He looked up and saw a thin layer of sweat on Xiao Shuying's forehead, clearly indicating that he was at his last gasp.

Realizing this, the demon became arrogant and rampant again, desperately trying to break free from this strange restraint.

Xiao Shuying was clearly aware of this; he could not fully control his power, much less wield it freely.

Seeing that the demon was at risk of escaping, he knew that if he really got away, he would not be able to get out of the dungeon for a while.

Thinking of this, Xiao Shuying used her spiritual energy as a blade to secretly cut a gash in her palm, and a few drops of blood rolled down.

As expected, the demon's eyes lit up when it saw the blood. For a moment, it forgot everything else and only thought that the blood was fragrant, delicious, and rare in the world. All it could see was the blood.

Xiao Shuying breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the demon had successfully attracted her attention.

His blood, from the spirit of the three realms, is a great tonic for any creature, possessing a strange attraction, even to demons.

Just as the demon was about to eagerly reach down to lick the few drops of blood from the ground, Su Yunyu finished drawing the array.

Suddenly, a blinding white light burst forth, filling the entire dungeon. When the light faded, everyone turned to look—

Where the void had been, now lay a monstrous creature, its body entirely red, its face hideous, and its posture contorted as it lay prostrate on the ground!

Yuan Hongchou was immediately startled and took a step back, pointing at the demon:

"Such a despicable thing exists; he almost managed to deceive everyone."

Before the succubus could even lick the blood from the ground, Xiao Shuying stomped on her, causing her to cry out in pain. Just as she was about to unleash a torrent of curses, she felt several gazes upon her and realized she had been revealed. Realizing what had happened, she cried out:

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!"

"Shut up!" Yuan Hongchou roared in fury, first shouting as a red rope emerged from his sleeve, binding the demon, before bowing to Su Yunyu and Xiao Shuying in thanks.

"Many thanks to the Immortal Venerable and your disciple, for it was through their efforts that we were able to capture this demonic creature!"

Su Yunyu, detached from worldly affairs, said, "No need to be so polite."

Seeing that Xiao Shuying's face was somewhat pale, he changed his tone and asked:

Are you alright?

Xiao Shuying shook her head: "I'm fine."

It's just a few drops of blood loss; it's not vital heart blood.

Moreover, if it weren't for the demon incident, he wouldn't have known that he had special feelings for Su Yunyu...

Some disciples still had some doubts:

"Sect Leader, what exactly is this demonic creature?"

Yuan Hongchou first let out a long sigh, his gaze vacant as if recalling the past, then his eyes became complex, as if he were remembering something:

"It is formless and shapeless, yet it can affect a person's consciousness. Only the Hundred Yin Manual can achieve this."

The disciples chattered on, asking questions with curiosity:

What is "Hundred Yin Copy"?

"The Hundred Yin Manual was once the prized treasure of a prestigious family. Legend has it that it was unpredictable and possessed unique magical power. However, the news of it was leaked and it was targeted by someone with ulterior motives. As a result, blood flowed like a river that day, but the manual disappeared without a trace."

"You mean, that demon got its hands on that cultivation technique?"

Xiao Shuying glanced at the demon, who was now powerless to struggle. Seeing him barely clinging to life, her disgust intensified, and she immediately retorted:

“This demon’s cultivation level is low, and it cannot obtain the cultivation technique from among ten thousand people, so it is naturally not the first one to handle it.”

“Regardless,” Yuan Hongchou nodded and said:

"In the past, the cultivation world didn't really know much about the Hundred Yin Manual. Now that this demon has done this, it's not so mysterious anymore."

This technique is unique. The family that previously possessed it only treated it as a family heirloom and did not practice it. After the family was wiped out, the technique also disappeared, and no one knew that such an evil technique existed in the world.

Now that the culprit has been identified, Yuan Hongchou urgently summoned all his disciples to the main hall to announce the news. Xiao Shuying naturally left the dungeon and became an honored guest.

Once everyone in the hall had arrived, Yuan Hongchou threw the demon to the ground, ignoring its low, pitiful pleas for mercy, and directly announced the matter to everyone:

"Look everyone, these are the monsters that have been causing trouble in our sect recently!"

Just as the matter was successfully resolved, Yan Angao, who was among the disciples, glanced at the demon bound by red rope and cursed it under his breath, calling it useless. It was intangible and could still capture people.

She glanced again at Xiao Shuying, who was standing next to Su Yunyu, looking completely innocent, and her hatred intensified.

A plan immediately came to mind. He sent out demonic energy from his fingertips, which drifted towards Xiao Shuying.

This demonic energy was so pure and powerful that only Su Yunyu could probably sense it. However, when Feng Mingye fought him last time, he discovered that the so-called number one in the world was actually experiencing a decline in his cultivation.

Whether to feel regret or relief is hard to say, Feng Mingye was relieved this time. Su Yunyu's cultivation had regressed, giving him many opportunities to take action.

Therefore, this time, the demonic energy could not alarm Su Yunyu, and was gradually taking root and lurking in Xiao Shuying's meridians.

After doing all this, Feng Mingye shifted his focus, possessing the demon, and immediately changed the subject, venting his anger towards Xiao Shuying:

"You ordered me to do all this, and now you're playing the saint, sending me to my death? What kind of good thing is this!"

These earth-shattering words startled everyone who was about to leave. Xiao Shuying also looked at the demon with suspicion, and a strange feeling resurfaced.

If a person's words and actions are inconsistent and drastically different, what is the most likely explanation?

First Yan An Gao, now this demon—have they all been possessed by something...?

Upon realizing this possibility, Xiao Shuying was immediately alarmed. If he was truly possessed, then who would target him repeatedly?

Something is about to emerge, yet it remains elusive.

The demon continued its incessant chatter, wailing and crying out to heaven and earth:

"You've now cultivated demonic energy, yet you still pretend to be innocent! I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this!"

He spoke with great passion, then wept and complained to Yuan Hongchou:

"He ordered me to do it all! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

The disciples below exchanged bewildered glances. Yan Angao smirked inwardly, then used a wisp of demonic energy to control another disciple, urging him to jump out and ignite the battle.

"Whether or not they have ties with the demons can be determined by examining their meridians."

The situation was developing too bizarrely. Before Su Yunyu could even process what was happening, Yuan Hongchou had already begun examining Xiao Shuying's meridians, and his expression immediately darkened.

"It does indeed contain demonic energy, and it is extremely pure, not at all like something that has just been tainted."

An uproar erupted from the audience. Su Yunyu frowned, finding the situation extremely suspicious.

"My disciple's character makes it impossible for him to collude with the demons."

Xiao Shuying remained silent throughout, while Yuan Hongchou's expression was grave.

"Until the truth comes out, I'm afraid your disciple will have to go back to the dungeon for a few more days. Once the truth is revealed, we will not wrong anyone."

Su Yunyu wanted to refute, but he had no evidence to refute the demonic energy in Xiao Shuying's meridians and the demon's naked accusations.

But he knew perfectly well that Xiao Shuying couldn't possibly have any connection with the demon realm, and was about to first expose Xiao Shuying's demonic energy when System 111 said:

[Don't remove the demonic energy yet. Long Aotian needs to cultivate both spiritual and demonic arts. In any case, this demonic energy is beneficial to him.]

Su Yunyu paused, looking at Xiao Shuying. Seeing him also staring at her with an inscrutable gaze, she felt a pang of unease and could only offer words of comfort:

"Don't worry, I believe you won't do that. Wait a few days, and I'll investigate thoroughly."

“So,” Xiao Shuying’s voice was somewhat hoarse:

"I need to go back to the dungeon, right?"

"..." If there were evidence, it wouldn't be necessary, but there isn't.

Su Yunyu didn't know what to say, and could only repeat himself like a helpless scumbag:

"I believe you. Please wait a few days, okay?"

It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that I need time to find evidence.

Hopefully, Long Aotian won't misunderstand.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shuying lowered her gaze and simply responded softly:

"Okay, I'll listen to Master."

His gaze turned increasingly cold, saying he believed him, but all he did was send him back to the dungeon.

They even said to wait a few days, but it seems this matter will be left unresolved and ambiguous. Will there ever be a conclusion?

Moreover, he allowed demonic energy to exist in his meridians, which could potentially damage his spiritual energy.

Thinking of this, the little thorn in Xiao Shuying's heart was about to stir up a storm, poking at every inch of her heart. Her inexplicable emotions were like a ball of yarn, bulging and swollen.

It's okay, it doesn't matter if Su Yunyu doesn't believe him.

He won't just sit and wait to die.

When he looked up again, Xiao Shuying had regained his composure and allowed his disciples to take him back to the dungeon, this time on the grounds of possible collusion with the demons.

Meanwhile, Su Yunyu was somewhat uneasy, fearing a crisis of trust. She spoke to 111 in her mind's eye:

"Do you think Long Aotian will blame me for letting him go back to the dungeon like that?"

111, very insightful: [It's alright. Once you've found out the truth, reason with Long Aotian and appeal to his emotions; he'll understand.]

Su Yunyu felt a little relieved, but then suddenly remembered something and asked the system to quickly find him a cultivation technique suitable for the spirits of the Three Realms.

"When the truth comes out, I will offer up the technique, and then Long Aotian will definitely not blame me anymore."

Anyway, by then, it will be time for me to tell Xiao Shuying that he is the spirit of the Three Realms.

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Author's Note: I felt the logic was a bit flawed while writing, but as a sweet little story, logic is a good supplement. [dog emoji][dog head with rose emoji]