Mingming City

The City of Darkness is located in the heart of the Demon Realm. It took two Chaodus three days to catch a glimpse of the city while riding on white jade cranes.

Amidst the continuous rain, the city resembled a colossal beast, lying in wait for the opportune moment to devour its prey.

Another person on the river saw it from afar and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a huge city! It's bigger than any of the ones we've seen before! And it doesn't look like ruins!"

Chao Du also looked over: "After all, it was established by the previous Demon Lord and is now under the jurisdiction of the current Demon Lord. It should be the most bustling city in the Demon Realm, right?"

Another Chaodu asked in surprise, "Isn't this place full of ghost cultivators? I thought it was under the jurisdiction of the Ghost King."

“There are also many demonic cultivators.” Chao Du explained, “The Ghost King doesn’t like to meddle in these mundane matters and basically leaves them to the Demon Lord. The master and disciple have a very good relationship, and the demonic and ghost cultivators under his command also have a good relationship.”

Another Chao Du was stunned: "Wait a minute, the Demon Lord and the Ghost King are master and disciple?! I only remember that the current Demon Lord and the former Demon Lord were master and disciple, so is this Ghost King the current Demon Lord's disciple?"

Chao Du smiled and shook his head: "No, this Ghost King is actually the former Demon Lord Ling Wen. She has changed her name, appearance and gender. Now she should be called 'Chang Meng'."

Another Chao Du was greatly shocked: "I always heard that Ghost King Changmeng was a handsome man, but I never expected it to be her... So, if that's the case, Ling Wen was the leader of the Immortal Alliance, the Demon Lord, and the Ghost King? The only thing she didn't do in her life was become the Demon Emperor."

Chao Du nodded and sighed, "She cultivated immortality for a thousand years, became a demon for a hundred years, and lived as a ghost for decades. Even in death, she couldn't let people rest in peace."

"She really knows how to cause trouble..." another Chaodu couldn't help but complain, and then asked, "By the way, I've never really understood why she betrayed the Immortal Alliance back then. Some say it's because she suffered a qi deviation during her cultivation and couldn't hide it anymore; some say it's because she felt that becoming an immortal and ascending to heaven was fake, and her Dao heart collapsed and she fell into demonic possession; some say it's because she faced a bottleneck in her cultivation and wanted to change her path; and some say she deliberately fell into demonic possession to prolong her life. Which explanation is the truth?"

"Well, the real reason has to be asked of her herself, no, of all ghosts," Chao Du smiled. "But if I were to guess, I think it all boils down to her lifespan. When Ling Wen was the leader of the Immortal Alliance, her lifespan was nearing its end, but she encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation and couldn't break through it. Her friends were all dying, and she was unwilling to end it all, so she deliberately became a demon, seeking methods to extend lifespan by stealing people's lifespans or even changing their bodies. As for becoming a ghost later, firstly, the Immortal Alliance successfully defeated her and suppressed her body; secondly, I always felt that she deliberately gave up this body back then. When she fought against the Immortal Alliance, she arranged for her trusted confidants, such as Ling Ni, who was then her left protector, to leave in advance, and even transferred her own soul, leaving only a puppet-like body to fight the enemy. She didn't seem to intend to win at all."

Another, Asakawa, asked in bewilderment, "Why doesn't she intend to win?"

"Perhaps it was because she still felt some guilt towards the Immortal Alliance at that time. After all, her act of betraying the Immortal Alliance and voluntarily embracing demonic possession shattered the Dao hearts of many cultivators and inspired many to imitate her. In those years, there were many people who voluntarily embraced demonic possession." Chao Du shook his head and sighed softly. "Then she repaid the Immortal Alliance with her death, abandoning her physical body, her name, her appearance, and her past, cultivating only with her soul, and becoming the Ghost King 'Chang Meng'. But I feel that her purpose in abandoning her physical body was not just that. She always felt that the physical body had its limitations and that lifespan had its limits. She wanted to find a way to escape reincarnation and truly live as long as the heavens."

"To transcend reincarnation and live as long as the heavens..." another Chaodu murmured, sighing, "She really dares to dream. Well, what wouldn't someone like her, who has been an alliance leader, a demon lord, and a ghost king, dare to dream of? By the way, I heard that the reason why the demon lord Ling Ni respects her so much is not only because of their master-disciple relationship, but also because she saved Ling Ni's life and helped him get revenge. Is that true?"

“It’s true.” Chao Du nodded. “Ling Ni’s parents, in pursuit of wealth and status, swapped her fate and body with that of a young lady from a powerful family when she was just born. After the swap, she only had ten years left to live and was unable to cultivate. Her parents, feeling guilty, abandoned her. She was taken in by a small sect, but was often bullied by the children in the sect. Later, she and these children were kidnapped by Ling Wen’s men and used as medicinal ingredients.”

In the damp, dark cage, several children huddled together fearfully in a corner against the wall, while a thin, bony little girl with dry, yellow hair sat alone in another corner.

When Ling Wen came to select the medicinal ingredients, some of the children in the cage screamed and cried, some were so frightened they lost their voices, and some pointed to the little girl in the corner and "recommended": "Eat her first! Her flesh is tender!"

In an instant, all eyes in the room fell on the little girl.

Ling Wen glanced at her in the corner, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Unable to cultivate, your lifespan is at most ten years. Your fate is a bit bad. No, wait, your destiny seems to have been altered..."

The little girl trembled, tears streaming down her face, speechless with despair; she had become numb.

Ling Wen suddenly became interested: "Are you often bullied by them?"

The little girl nodded shakily.

"Eat me," the little girl said. She was completely desperate; living was torture for her.

"I won't eat you, and I'll give you a chance to get revenge on them. Want to try?" Ling Wen asked with a smile.

The little girl slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with confusion.

"You can choose a body you like from among them and transfer your soul into it." Amidst terrified screams, Ling Wen said with a smile, "From now on, you can cultivate, your lifespan will be more than ten years, and you can trample those who bullied you underfoot."

"Can I...can I cultivate too?" Her eyes slowly brightened.

Ling Wen had the cage door opened and let her out, then gently stroked her head: "Yes, but not as a cultivator, but as a demonic cultivator. Are you willing?"

The little girl looked at her with admiration: "A demonic cultivator like you? Well, so be it. Anyway, those immortal cultivators only bully me."

It was a whim of the Demon Lord, but it gave her a new lease on life.

Through diligent cultivation and her intelligence and loyalty, she later became the only disciple Ling Wen accepted after he fell into demonic possession.

Ling Wen's gift to her as her apprentice was to find the family that had swapped her fate and body back then, lead her to slaughter the entire family, including her original parents who had changed their names and integrated into the family, and retrieve her original body and fate.

After that, Ling Ni became even more loyal to the Demon Lord, serving as the Right Protector and in charge of punishments. He often imposed horrifyingly severe punishments on those who betrayed the Demon Lord.

Ultimately, after the Demon Lord's "death," Ling Ni became the new Demon Lord, feared by all.

Another person, Chao Du, was deeply moved upon hearing this: "No wonder Ling Ni was so loyal to her!"

Chao Du also sighed, "Yes. Ling Wen even gave her a new name, 'Ni,' which means to reverse fate. Ling Ni even wanted to change her surname to the same 'Ling' as Ling Wen, but Ling Wen wouldn't allow it. She said that she was no longer a member of the Ling family, so Ling Ni gave herself the surname Ling, which sounds the same as Ling."

The two chatted about the past of the Demon Lord and the Ghost King, and soon arrived near the City of Darkness.

Chao Du sent a little bird out early in the morning to investigate: "There are guards at the city gate. We need to verify the identity of the demon cultivator. The entire city is shrouded in a magic array, so it's impossible to sneak in."

Another Asakawa took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: "Leave it to me."

A large, eerie green lantern hung high above the city gate, like the eyes of a giant beast. Two rows of heavily armed ghost soldiers stared at everyone who passed by, making Chao Du feel uneasy.

Another person arrived at the registration office at the city gate and gave himself the pseudonym "Mao Shi" when registering.

Mao Shi (卯时) is the time of sunrise.

Then she officially entered the city: This Mingming City was truly bustling, with people coming and going on the road, and the shops on both sides of the street were brightly lit, illuminating the strange shadows inside the shops.

The hidden early riser takes flight, overlooking the entire city from its high vantage point.

Little Bird said to another bird on Asahi's shoulder, "We've found the liveliest place. It should be a restaurant. Let's follow the early birds."

A moment later, the two arrived in front of a magnificent five-story building.

"The moon reflected in the water?" another Chaodu recited the restaurant's name.

Little Bird said to Du: "Let's go in and take a look. I feel there's a very strong formation inside the building. We need to be careful."

As soon as we entered the building, a cute little girl ran towards another person, affectionately calling out "Mother".

Another Asakawa was stunned: "Memories...? How did you get here?!"

Asakawa pinched her shoulder with her paw: "This is fake, an illusion, a reflection in the water."

Another Chao Du: "...Is it only something to look at, but never to be reached?"

But she still couldn't help but bend down and gently stroke the little girl's head: she hadn't seen her for so long, and even though she knew it was an illusion, she couldn't help but indulge in it.

Chao Du sighed softly and didn't stop her anymore. Ignoring the "Long Mingxuan" in front of him, he focused on having Xiao Niao get up early to investigate the situation in the building and pick a few people who looked like they had extraordinary identities to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Another woman took the little girl's hand and led her through the "moon reflected in the water": although she was reluctant to let go of her daughter's hand, she did not forget the purpose of her visit.

Another person walked slowly around the restaurant, observing the guests: most of the guests in this "moon in the water" had an unattainable illusion by their side, and some illusions could take form, while others could only be inferred from the guests' own actions, for reasons unknown.

"Sir, where are you going?" A waiter suddenly blocked her way.

Another woman, Chao Du, felt a pang of anxiety and instinctively wanted to protect her daughter. When she saw "Fu Yixi," she had a sudden inspiration and said, "This is my daughter's first time here, and she wants to take a look around."

"I see..." The waiter glanced at the empty space beside her, without any suspicion, and said, "Then please go ahead, but you can't go up to the third floor. Those are all important guests, and we can't afford to disturb them."

Another Chao Du nodded and led "Fu Yixi" to wander around the first and second floors, occasionally pretending to play with his daughter, but actually taking the opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversations of other guests.

"With the Demon Lord seriously injured, the Ghost King could no longer sit idly by and began to summon demon and ghost cultivators."

"Are they going to attack the cultivation world?" the man asked excitedly. "This time, we'll definitely take over the entire cultivation world!"

"From now on, the cultivation world will all be the territory of the Demon Realm!"

The two toasted each other.

Another group of people, including "Fu Yixi," moved to another place. As they passed a table, they suddenly heard someone say, "The Ghost King's newly crafted magic weapon is incredible; it's said to be able to reverse Yin and Yang!"