Chapter 79 Preparing an Iron Cage
A fight quickly broke out outside. Ning Qi judged from the aura that it was six against three.
Six demon guards and three cultivators.
Yan Chongyan's side quickly fell into a disadvantageous position, but reinforcements arrived even faster. Five or six more cultivators appeared on the roof, one of whom shouted, "Sect Master, let's leave quickly! The Demon God is on his way!"
"No!" Yan Chongyan said, "I haven't taken that girl away yet. I promised her I would protect her!"
Ning Xi could tell that his voice was closer, seemingly right at the door, but the demon guards held her back and called her name several more times into the house.
She ignored it completely.
"What girl or not!" the man said urgently. "She hasn't come out for so long, she must be doing it voluntarily. Just leave her alone, otherwise more people will be sacrificed."
“Yes,” the other cultivators echoed.
"That's absolutely right," Ning Qi thought to herself.
Yan Chongyan seemed to be struggling as well. After a long while, I could not hear his voice, only the "clanging" sound of swords clashing.
"Alright, let's retreat first!" Yan Chongyan finally shouted.
Ning Qi breathed a sigh of relief and secretly prayed that he could leave safely.
But just then, a powerful demonic aura rushed towards them, which could be clearly felt even inside the house.
It was Xiao Sui who came over.
"The demon god has arrived!" came a cacophony of voices, including those of demon guards and cultivators.
"Host, let's go out and check it out quickly," the system said. "The male lead is probably in danger!"
Ning Qi calmly got dressed, but only walked to the door without going out. The system was urging her anxiously in her mind.
"What if I go out and escalate the conflict, and they fight even more violently?" she asked.
The system paused for a moment, seemingly agreeing with her point, and continued to provide real-time updates: "The male lead only has seven or eight people on his side, while the villains have at least twenty. The male lead has almost no chance of winning."
"Yan Chongyan, what are you doing here?"
Ningxi pressed her hand against the door and heard Xiaosui's voice, which was so cold it could freeze a person.
Yan Chongyan's voice came from just a door away: "I've come to save that girl. She's in trouble because of our Huaguang Sect, and I can't just ignore her."
Ning Qi frowned. What kind of nonsense was this?
"In distress?" Xiao Sui sneered. "I remember she told you very clearly that she stayed here voluntarily."
"That's because you coerced me. Even now, I'm afraid to go out because of your threats!" Yan Chongyan said righteously. "You are a demon god, and you have too many ways to threaten people."
Ning Qi was utterly speechless. How could this person be so good at making up his own thoughts?
"The villain has launched an attack on the male protagonist!" the system announced.
Ning Qi could feel a powerful, murderous demonic aura rushing directly toward Yan Chongyan's face.
But the male lead is the male lead after all. Yan Chongyan reacted extremely quickly, raising his sword to defend himself. His body was impacted by the demonic energy and he took a few steps back, causing the stone bricks beneath his feet to shatter.
"Sect Master, let's leave quickly, don't get entangled with them," a cultivator said.
A burst of demonic energy struck him directly, slamming him into the floor tiles, leaving only a scream.
"Do you think this Demon Palace is a place you can come and go as you please?" Xiao Sui's icy voice rang out again.
“Xiao Sui!” Yan Chongyan shouted.
They both sounded very angry.
"The demon guards all rushed up, and these cultivators were just sitting around doing nothing. They were captured in no time, and two of them died. Only the male protagonist was somewhat capable; he was able to fight them to a standstill, and even seven or eight of them couldn't subdue him," the system said.
“Then he can escape.” Ning Xi removed her hand from the doorknob.
"Wait, the villain is about to unleash his deadly move!" the system said.
Ning Qi released his spiritual power and sensed the intense killing intent emanating from Xiao Sui. He raised his hand, and a hundred times more potent demonic energy emanated from his palm, condensing into a black sword, which he aimed at Yan Chongyan's vital points.
The immense pressure made Ning Qi's scalp tingle, even inside the room.
"Host! The male lead is in danger! You can't just sit idly by any longer!" the system shouted.
A series of images suddenly flooded Ning Xi's mind. She saw Yan Chongyan being pierced through the heart by Xiao Sui's sword, kneeling on the ground. As his life signs disappeared, the scene before her eyes was like being scorched by a great fire, turning into charcoal inch by inch, shattering before her eyes.
The whole world collapsed, and Xiao Sui was reduced to ashes along with it.
No, we absolutely cannot let the male lead die!
Ning Qi had only one thought in her mind.
Knowing that Xiao Sui wouldn't hurt her, and with the situation urgent, she suddenly pushed open the door and rushed out, quickly standing in front of Yan Chongyan.
The surging demonic energy came crashing down, shaving off the hair on her forehead, then stopped abruptly in front of her and vanished instantly.
The air fell silent for a moment, the severed strands of hair drifted down, and Ning Qi heard her own heart pounding.
Xiao Sui, suffering from the backlash of power, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest and staring at her in disbelief.
"I almost hurt you!" He gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage, his eyes bloodshot. "You risked your own life to save him?!"
"I..." Ning Qi opened her mouth and said, "Please let him go."
She just wanted to live a good life with him and didn't want the world to collapse because of Yan Chongyan's death.
But how can I say these things to Xiao Sui?
Seeing the Demon God injured, the cultivators' morale soared, and they began to desperately break free from the Demon Guards' restraints. At this moment, Xie Jingyan arrived with more than a dozen people to reinforce them, and the battle between the demons was fierce and evenly matched.
Yan Chongyan shielded Ning Qi behind him, but in reality, no demon guards would harm her.
Amidst the flashing swords and the clashing of blades, Xiao Sui stood between her and the crowd, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face contorted with pain, as he asked her, "You were only pretending to be friendly with me to save him?"
Ning Qi shook her head frantically, wanting to rush over and tell him that wasn't true, but Yan Chongyan held her back, "Miss, I'll take you away!"
She looked anxiously at Xiao Sui, trying to break free from Yan Chongyan, but the system reminded her that only if she followed Yan Chongyan out of the Demon Palace could the male lead be completely safe; otherwise, he might be captured and killed by the villain.
Ning Qi could only follow the group of cultivators as they ran out of the hall.
The number of demon guards behind them dwindled, and one cultivator exclaimed with delight, "They've stopped chasing! It seems the demon god's injury has frustrated them!"
"Don't get cocky, let's get out of here first!" Xie Jingyan said.
The group fought and retreated while battling the demon guards. After losing four or five more people, they finally left the Demon Palace through the south gate before dawn and joined Xie Xiyue's group.
Xie Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Yan Chongyan. "Thank goodness. I thought the mission had failed again because you guys hadn't come out for so long."
"There were indeed some twists and turns," Yan Chongyan said.
Ning Qi looked around. This should be the woods outside the city of Shanghai. Under the moonlight, the large black trees looked like tall, thin, eerie figures, which looked quite terrifying.
It shouldn't be far to return to the Demon Palace from here.
Then, she heard the familiar, deep bird call again.
Are there corpse demons around here?
She didn't intend to reveal her abilities, since there were so many cultivators here anyway.
Sure enough, Xie Xiyue complained the next second: "More corpse demons are coming. Why are there so many corpse demons outside the Demon City!"
A corpse demon dressed in tattered clothes and missing an arm emerged from behind a tree, baring its fangs and charging towards the group. Yan Chongyan stepped forward and sliced off its head with a sword, only then realizing that it was wearing the attire of the Huaguang Sect.
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
“Those hateful demons, they all deserve to die!” someone exclaimed. “They turned our fellow disciples into corpse demons, forcing us to kill each other.”
"I will make them pay for their crimes in blood!" someone exclaimed indignantly.
"Everyone, we will definitely be able to find a way to resist the infection of the Corpse Demon and no longer be bothered by it," Yan Chongyan said in a calm voice, with a reassuring quality. "Now, let's leave the Demon Realm first."
Xie Xiyue and several other cultivators were preparing to activate the teleportation array when they suddenly saw Ning Qi beside them. Their eyes widened immediately. "Princess? No, you look just like the princess."
Yan Chongyan said, "I was able to escape this time thanks to this young lady who risked her life for me."
Xie Jingyan also looked Ning Qi up and down, and exclaimed in amazement: "You are exactly the same. You have endured humiliation and made great contributions by staying by the side of the Demon God. You can make any request you have. As long as I can do it, I will fulfill it for you."
Ning Xi glanced at the group and found their words really unpleasant. Who risked their life to save her? Who made a great contribution? What she wanted to do most right now was to rush back to the Demon Palace to comfort Xiao Sui!
But now that she was among cultivators, and given the antagonistic relationship between cultivators and demons, it was clearly inappropriate for her to say that she wanted to go back. She could only casually say, "I haven't decided yet."
"It's alright, go back and think it over carefully," Xie Jingyan said generously. Then Yan Chongyan led everyone through the teleportation array.
Ning Qi originally wanted to sneak away, but she was the first person to be pushed into the teleportation array by Yan Chongyan.
As the first rays of sunlight shone above the horizon, she inexplicably returned to the Huaguang Sect.
——
"Your Highness, are you alright?" the Right Protector asked, forcing himself to be brave.
Their demon god is currently suffering from internal injuries, but refuses to receive treatment and has come to the cave alone.
Outside the cave, everything was in a mess. Trees were split and rocks were shattered, as if an earthquake had struck. All of this was caused by the demon god, who was clearly in a terrible mood.
There was no sound coming from inside, so he gestured with his eyes to Zhizhi, who was looking a bit dazed beside him.
Zhizhi raised her head and said, "Your Highness, there must be some misunderstanding. Miss is not that kind of person. She would not act with you just to save Yan Chongyan. She likes you. You must believe her."
There was still no sound from inside the cave.
The Right Protector then said, "Yes, even if there is no misunderstanding, there are plenty of women. Next time, I will find another one who looks like the princess and give her to you."
Zhizhi quickly covered the right protector's mouth and whispered, "What are you exaggerating!"
The Right Protector pried her hands off and said inexplicably, "I was also comforting Your Highness. That woman was too cunning and deceived us all. Next time, I will definitely make them take the Truth Pill first, and only after questioning them and finding no problems will I present it to Your Highness."
Zhizhi said urgently, "Don't talk nonsense! Miss must have her reasons!"
"What hardship could make her risk her life to save other cultivators?" the Right Protector asked.
Zhizhi was too anxious to answer.
The two fell silent, anxiously awaiting Xiao Sui's arrival.
After a long while, a black figure appeared at the cave entrance. Xiao Sui walked out of it, his eyes still somewhat bloodshot, but the expression on his face had become very calm, like a stagnant pool.
His dark pupils swept across the branches and landed on the Right Protector. He said slowly, "Prepare an iron cage, large enough to hold two people."
Zhizhi's lips turned pale. "Your Highness, please don't do anything rash. You should listen to what Miss has to say."
“I will bring her back, lock her in a cage, and listen to her slowly,” Xiao Sui said.
Zhizhi felt a chill run down her spine as she looked into his dark, unyielding eyes.
She had never seen Xiao Sui with such an expression before, and she even began to pray in her heart that the princess would not return to the Demon Palace.
The Right Protector frowned. "Are you trying to hang yourself on one tree?"
"Get it done right away," Xiao Sui ordered.
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