Chapter 59 Signs of Fallen Demons "You are not in a position to negotiate with me now..."
The two raced ahead, and Simmons, without a sword, relied entirely on his legs to keep up, feeling as if his feet were on fire.
She was always observant, so she naturally noticed the change in Qiao Yanshen's emotions and didn't shout as usual.
Halfway through her run, her expression suddenly froze as she recalled the scene of the demon-sealing array breaking earlier. She immediately stopped, turned around, and ran in the opposite direction.
Qiao Yanshen chased after him all the way to the depths of the palace. There were many guards along the way. When they saw someone trespassing, even if they knew that he was an immortal, some of them, relying on their master's power, rushed forward and shouted: "You are not allowed to enter His Majesty's territory without permission!"
Its eyes flashed with ferocity, and it drew its sword, leaping towards the white-clad woman who had suddenly appeared.
Seeing this, several people behind him also gathered around.
The person on the sword didn't even raise their eyes, only a few blue lights suddenly pierced through and silently entered their bodies.
The next moment, a series of explosions echoed through the vast corridor, before falling into eternal silence.
Qiao Yanshen lowered his hand that was blocking Shen Lixia, glanced down at the bloodstains on his sleeve and body, but had no intention of performing a hand seal to clean them up. He continued to chase the dark figure, bypassing several palaces, and finally entered the innermost palace.
The place was filled with jewels and gold, so dazzling that it could outshine the sun even in broad daylight. A heavy, incense-scented aroma permeated the air, permeating almost every corner.
The royal family members are all busy with the covenant ceremony. Although Yue Qifeng and the others did not invite them, they could not refuse and shamelessly made their own appearance, so they let them sit down and exchange a few polite words.
The spacious room was now empty except for her, Shen Lixia, and the demon that was gradually taking on a human form.
"Senior Sister, I can walk by myself." Shen Lixia loosened her arms, seemingly regaining some strength. "I can protect myself, and I definitely won't be a burden to you."
Qiao Yanshen nodded and carefully placed her aside. Yu Fengying's divine sense returned to her hand. She didn't look towards the demons, but without hesitation, she swung her sword and unleashed a sword aura at them.
When he looked up, the person had already dodged the attack, nimbly leaping to the side, letting the sword energy destroy a large portion of the room's decorations. Qiao Yanshen's spiritual power surged, and the longsword in his hand sensed its master's emotions, its cold light flashing, covered by a blue light, eager to drink blood.
Upon seeing the other person's appearance, she was still taken aback—it wasn't the statue she had investigated in recent days, but a woman. If there was any resemblance to the statue, it was only in her eerie eyebrows and eyes and her malicious smile. Her eyes were blood-red, befitting the demon race's reputation for inducing evil and corrupting the world's wickedness, making her exceptionally sinister.
The woman chuckled lightly, "You're only at the Foundation Establishment stage, how dare you chase after me?"
After speaking, she glanced at Shen Lixia behind Qiao Yanshen with great interest.
"Even if her arrow did wound me, it wouldn't put me in a position where you could suppress me. However... I'm quite interested in this, and I wouldn't mind capturing her alive and dissecting her open—"
Before she could finish speaking, the sword was already aimed at her face. The woman dodged with ease, instantly releasing a powerful aura. The black energy within her had noticeably thinned, yet she still possessed the aura of a Golden Core cultivator. Qiao Yanshen's expression remained somber, unmoved by this. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed another sword strike imbued with immense spiritual energy.
Every move was filled with murderous intent, aimed either at the face or other vital points. The woman gripped her hand, and black energy transformed into a long spear, which she immediately used to block a sword strike.
Despite her gentle smile, the coldness in her eyes was no less than that of Qiao Yanshen, and a hint of surprise appeared at this moment.
"I've rarely seen such swift and skillful swordsmanship from you."
She had just been playing tricks on her, using only a portion of her strength to deflect Qiao Yanshen's attack and push her away. Then she leaped forward and flicked her arm with the tip of her spear, leaving a bloody mark on her arm.
Large patches of red spread out, mixing with the bloodstains from before. Her hair, which had been tied up in a bun, had come loose at some point, and her black hair fell down, draping over her shoulders, making the woman look like an Asura who had crawled out of hell. Her gentle face was hidden beneath her loose hair, and the spiritual energy flowing across her surface deepened, giving the demon woman the illusion that she and the woman should switch places.
Only his pair of blue eyes shone brightly, like eerie will-o'-the-wisps flickering above the River Styx.
She spun her spear, poised to strike and finish off her opponent in one blow. Suddenly, she appeared before him, a sharp pain shooting through her back as demonic energy gushed out like blood.
The woman's expression changed drastically. She instinctively turned around and saw that the young man had somehow moved behind her, his body covered in cold sweat, his hand still holding the bow, trembling slightly. Flames still burned on the magnificent dark red longbow, and the arrow had already pierced her flesh, the burning pain waiting for its chance to penetrate, viciously damaging the demonic body she had transformed into.
Before she could utter a sound of anger, Qiao Yanshen suddenly chuckled softly and said coldly, "Really not smart."
A soft sound came from beneath her, seemingly the condensation of icicles. Immediately, a chill rose up, like vines tightly binding her, instantly stripping her of all sensation and freezing her in place.
Caught between two enemies, the woman's gun-wielding hand was covered in shards of ice. Pale icicles clung to her body, blooming brilliantly like flowers that seemed to draw life from others.
Divine fire burned within her, its malevolent energy tearing apart every wisp of dark demonic energy.
Seeing that victory was assured, Qiao Yanshen dared not relax and thrust his sword straight at her face.
Shen Lixia wiped away the cold sweat, the light in her golden eyes dimming slightly. She could no longer control the divine fire, nor did she have any spiritual power. It was as if she had returned to her original state, her body completely empty.
The sword and spear clash just now damaged many of the palace decorations. However, since the male emperor is destined to die, these things are of no use to him.
In an instant, a familiar premonition surged up, making her stiffen. She opened her eyes wide, thinking, "Please, please don't let it be that line—"
"So far, so good."
That's it, really.
The thin ice shattered and crashed to the ground. Even the divine fire, though burned to ashes, had failed to achieve her goal; her spiritual power was simply too weak. The woman finished speaking softly, then, with her strength restored, she gripped the spear tightly, swung it backward, and then plunged it fiercely into Qiao Yanshen's left shoulder.
The spear tip pierced through the protective spiritual energy, like a chain nailing through flesh and bone. Qiao Yanshen suddenly lost his strength, and the Rain Sword slipped from his hand. Cold sweat poured down his face, but he bit his lip tightly, stubbornly refusing to fall.
Her face was deathly pale, and blood was gushing from her shoulder, winding down her arm in a horrifying sight. She had lost all her strength, and just standing up caused her excruciating pain, making her tremble uncontrollably.
The woman pulled out the gun tip, and bright red blood spurted out. A few drops fell onto her cheek and flowed down, prompting her to slightly raise her lips and stick out her tongue to lick it.
“You are the disciple of that True Monarch Mingji.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s strange. Just now, the pressure was enough to make an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator’s liver and gallbladder tremble, but you were still able to fight as usual.”
Qiao Yanshen raised his hand to call Yu Feng, but was stopped by the woman waving her gun.
"Move again and I'll break your arm."
Hearing this from behind, Shen Lixia struggled to sit up, her throat churning with blood, so hot it felt like tears were about to spill. She cried out into her sea of consciousness, desperately summoning the divine fire.
After uttering all the threats, the divine fire seemed to have been extinguished, completely submerged within her body. She could barely move an inch, unable to muster any strength to move forward. She reached for the token in her storage bag, but the demon waved his hand, and the entire bag was in her hand.
The woman seemed unafraid of any further tricks or that she had them cornered and unable to retaliate. Her spear transformed into mist and returned to her demonic form. She laughed and said, "Although I wasn't there, I've heard that a hundred years ago, True Monarch Mingji slaughtered millions of my clan's elite soldiers. It was truly a magnificent sight and must be a legendary tale of the human race."
She reached out and pinched Qiao Yanshen's shoulder with considerable force, her fingers sinking deep into the blood-soaked ground, but she didn't hear him scream.
"Since that's the case, I'll kill her as a form of repayment."
With increased force, Qiao Yanshen let out a muffled groan, and the woman's smile deepened.
"Here, the male emperor seeks immortality and has sacrificed thousands of commoners to me over time. I should thank him for his foolishness in believing my words to change the idols and erect memorial tablets. Although the power of the incense he receives is corrupted, the addition of human flesh and blood has also repaired much of the demonic energy I lost. Now that I have trapped those Nascent Soul True Monarchs, you and the people outside the palace will all become my nourishment."
Noticing that the spiritual energy emanating from the woman in front of her had deepened in color, almost turning from dark blue to pitch black, she raised an eyebrow and withdrew her hand.
Qiao Yanshen finally couldn't hold on any longer and knelt down. His pierced hand was too weak to even touch Yu Feng.
The woman's spear reappeared in her hand. "You want to fall into demonic ways? It's a pity. Although I would love to see Mingji Zhenjun's expression upon hearing this, I cannot leave any future troubles."
She raised her gun to stab, when suddenly a loud shout rang out: "That's it!"
A sword aura, carrying raging flames, pierced through the magnificent palace walls and slashed fiercely towards her.
The attack came too quickly, and the woman couldn't react in time. Her body was instantly torn to pieces by the sword energy, her skin and flesh scattered, leaving only a blurry black shadow that quickly turned into an amorphous mist.
Not far away, Yue Qifeng and Yun Zhixiao, though still somewhat weak, did not hesitate. One charged forward with his sword, while the other channeled his spiritual power into his flute, playing a passionate melody.
The voice clearly contained power, all of which was channeled into Yue Qifeng's sword, causing her to swing it down. Another sword aura mercilessly attacked the black mist.
However, the black mist did not weaken any further; instead, it flickered twice like a mirage before returning to its original state.
The demon's body is formed from demonic energy; it is the physical form of the demon race. However, the true life and death of a demon does not lie in this, but in its core. It cannot attain immortality or ascend to heaven, yet it is perpetually reborn because it is extremely difficult to eradicate completely, and it often manages to escape.
Simmons rushed over and helped Qiao Yanshen up.
The demons were no longer a threat, and Qiao Yanshen and Shen Lixia were both in poor condition, especially the former, who was in dire straits. The three who arrived then ignored her and focused all their attention on the two injured people.
Seeing this, the black mist tried to escape, but a sudden suction force, carrying a chilling aura, grabbed her tightly and dragged her backward.
She looked back in alarm and saw Qiao Yanshen, whose left arm was being lifted by Simmons to stop the bleeding, staring at her through his messy black hair.
With his still-strong right hand raised, his slightly open fingers curled and closed in an instant, and the black mist, as if bound by chains, suddenly moved closer to Qiao Yanshen.
A deep blue luster shimmered between her fair fingers, and the tips had turned black.
"How dare you touch my true form... Wait! What do you want? Don't kill me, I can tell you some secrets."
She sent a telepathic message to him, and Qiao Yanshen paused in his actions, replying, "What secret?"
"You put it down first—"
"You are not in a position to negotiate with me now."
After saying that, she tried to pull the black mist over again.
At this moment, Simmons was focused on her left arm injury, and Yue Qifeng and the others were also taking care of Shen Lixia. No one noticed the movements of Qiao Yanshen's hands.
"Humans believe that demons are born from all kinds of evil thoughts in the world, but in fact, the earliest of all demons originated from Luochuan... No, no, Luochuan, I remember now, why do you have the aura of Luochuan on you? Luochuan has clearly collapsed long ago, and the power of the demon race has been diminished as a result, so why—"
Before she could finish speaking, her voice suddenly stopped, and her body twisted and solidified. Qiao Yanshen clenched his fist, and the black mist turned into a line of pitch black, disappearing into her palm.
"That's enough."
Qiao Yanshen sighed softly, then could no longer resist the dizziness and collapsed uncontrollably.
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The author's note: This is a foreshadowing, and the reason why the senior was able to touch the other party's true form will be explained later.
Qiao Yanshen wasn't actually a particularly kind person. She simply didn't refuse or express her own requests, and she would usually agree to requests that didn't involve her personal interests. So, her initial impression on Shen Lixia was that of a "good-natured person." But she wasn't weak. She didn't kill anyone in the previous incident because of sect rules, but now, knowing that these people were all going to die, she showed no mercy. In the end, she didn't kill the demons because she felt they would still be useful.
So she is actually the type who is warm on the outside but cold on the inside, but beneath the coldness there is warmth, which is only directed at one person.
I've been slowly writing it lately. Although my writing skills aren't quite there yet, I'm trying my best to depict the progress of their relationship in a slow and gentle way... I personally prefer slow-paced romances, so they're still a bit far from confirming their feelings for each other. I hope to capture those little details between the lovers...! I think it's quite cute.
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