Chapter 153 Calming the Storm (Part 4) (Two-in-One) No need to worry, one…
Qingzhu, or rather Ji Changying, had a slight ripple in her dark eyes as she glanced at Lin Feiran's hand that was supporting her, at her slightly furrowed expression, and at her focused brows.
The faint scent of plum blossoms still lingered at the tip of her nose, silently indicating where she had just gone.
His gaze followed the spiritual line backward and landed on a certain hall in the Xingzhi Palace.
It would take almost no effort to figure out who her sworn brother was, but how could that be possible?
Given Ru Xian's nature, how could he possibly be willing to form a contract with others to subdue demons?
Moreover, regardless of who is the contract master between Lin Feiran and Ru Xian, given her personality, she is most likely to be the one who suffers losses. Has she realized this?
But the facts are right before our eyes, and we have no choice but to believe them. What were their reasons for forming this bond?
With doubts arising in his mind, his usually gentle and smiling eyes lowered, and he gripped Lin Feiran's hand slightly tighter. Many speculations flashed through his mind in an instant, but he quickly dismissed them.
This was unexpected and completely beyond his expectations; he had to find an opportunity to ask him why.
While his mind was in turmoil, Lin Feiran had already steadied him and let go, leaning halfway out to look down, completely unaware of his unusual expression.
Beneath the city wall, the person fighting with Ping An was not the Prince of Qingping, but a middle-aged man with a huge build and a full beard. He had many crooked scars on his body and a string of sandalwood prayer beads hanging on his chest, each bead the size of a fist, totaling one hundred and eight beads.
"That is the patriarch of the Giant Bear Clan, King Putuo."
Qingzhu glanced at her expression, her eyes flickered slightly, and she placed a hand on her right shoulder to support her weight, gently explaining the situation to her.
"When you and Xuanzhen returned to the city, you were so focused on rushing inside that you didn't notice this place."
Although Prince Qingping was the first to challenge them, they were clearly prepared and intended to wage a war of attrition. Therefore, the first to engage in battle was not him, but rather one of the other leaders who had accompanied him.
Lin Feiran looked in that direction and saw three ragged, angry-looking cultivators on the right side of the barrier.
They initially wanted to wear down Ping An through a series of attacks, but after we saw through their plan, we had Ping An withdraw and Xun Feifei and I went into battle first. However, due to the rune, we were unable to unleash our full power.
"We barely managed to defeat King Kuofeng and Queen Xiyao, but Ping'an had no choice but to intervene. Although she had already driven King Gaoshan back, she still had to face King Putuo, making the outcome uncertain."
Qingzhu quickly explained the situation to her, then looked at the King of Putuo.
“Ping An and he are considered close relatives by collateral branches, but they lost contact a couple of hundred years ago. They are both skilled in talismanic arts and wield great strength, believing that one force can overcome ten techniques. However, with these talismans causing trouble, and having already fought several rounds, the situation is probably not optimistic.”
He looked at Lin Feiran, his voice low and gentle, which surprisingly made people feel more relaxed in this tense situation.
"You went to see the Lord? How is he? When will he be able to emerge from seclusion?"
The strongest among them is Prince Qingping, but he hasn't entered the fray yet. If this continues, we're bound to lose.
Lin Feiran, without suspicion, answered truthfully: "The situation is alright, but he still needs time to go into seclusion. Until then, we can only grit our teeth and drag it out."
Qingzhu's eyes flickered as she looked down and said, "To the Lord, this position may be important or not. Whether he is the Lord of the Demon Realm or not, do you think it makes a difference?"
Lin Feiran was somewhat surprised. She turned her head to look and saw that Qingzhu's face was completely calm.
“I have no rebellious intentions, only pure doubt. Although you value personal feelings, you value morality even more, and you are not a narrow-minded or biased person.”
"You're willing to put in so much effort, so you clearly feel it's more suitable for him to rule the demon realm. Why is that?"
Lin Feiran withdrew his gaze, looked down, and slowly gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand, saying only.
"Because he is strong enough."
Most demons are warlike, which inevitably leads to their desire to be above others. Otherwise, there would be no conflicts outside the demon capital, and the five races would not be launching a strong attack today.
While the tribes of the demon realm vary in strength, there is no insurmountable barrier between them. However, with him present, everyone's attacks will only be directed at the demon capital, thus creating an undercurrent of calm beneath the surface.
The demon race is different from the human race; everyone here is a cultivator. I believe that this peace is the balance that has existed here for many years.
The balance will be broken, and the demon realm will surely descend into chaos.
If the human realm is led by the Human Emperor, who pacifies the world and is considered the way of the king, then the demon realm, with its inherent nature, has little choice but to act tyrannically.
Qingzhu had known her for many years, so she quickly understood the unspoken meaning in her words. While she agreed with her to some extent, she felt more gratified.
What happens in the demon realm is none of his concern.
But Lin Feiran's mental state has grown much faster than he expected.
Every moment is so important, yet he neither saw nor accompanied them during these moments, and thinking of this fills him with regret.
It seems like he's always missing out on something.
Just as I was lost in thought, I heard her say something else.
"However, what you just said is also incorrect. Although I value morality, I have not cultivated myself to the point of being impartial."
I like it here, I like you all, and I can't just sit idly by if someone comes here and trespasses on my territory.
We met and became friends because of this city, and I think you all feel the same way; otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths.
Beneath the city wall, Ping An, her clothes tattered and her face bruised, stood up. The large gourd in her hand was covered in cracks.
An extremely terrifying shockwave rippled out, powerful enough to shake mountains and seas, and stir up waves!
In an instant, the magical purple furnace trembled violently, emitting a teeth-grinding sound. Moments later, it collapsed, and the barrier it had set up shattered into pieces, which were carried away by the wind.
The surrounding roof tiles were overturned, willow branches were broken, and those affected by the runes were also affected, rolling several feet away. The weak felt chest pain and their ears were ringing!
Qiu Tong was already weak all over, and when she was suddenly swept away by this spiritual energy, someone grabbed her right arm and stopped her from moving away.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Wei."
She thanked him, but then noticed that Wei Changzai's gaze was fixed on the sky, looking at the drifting runes.
"Is there anything unusual about these runes? Or do you recognize them?"
Qiu Tong asked.
These runes are of unknown origin, yet he seems unaffected, as if they were specifically designed to target the demon race.
"I've seen it before."
Wei Changzai looked around, his eyes filled with surprise.
Roughly speaking, there are at least a hundred of these runes, all of which are unfamiliar in style and he should not recognize them.
But a few lines happened to pass by, and their writing style was clearly no different from the strange runes he had previously carved in the city.
These runes were given to him by his master, who instructed him to inscribe them in the demon capital, Lan City...
According to Master, these records were made to repay a friend's kindness. Therefore, Master already knew about Qingping King's actions.
But he would never associate with the demon race. What is his purpose this time?
And then there's Ji Changying. He arrived in Yaodu a long time ago, so why hasn't he shown up yet...?
Wei Changzai's dark eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly looked up, seeing Lin Feiran standing high on the wall, and the man in blue standing beside her.
His usually straight brows furrowed slightly.
Seeing his worried expression, Qiu Tong stopped asking questions and instead focused her gaze on Prince Qingping.
He did not participate in the battle; he simply sat far away on his imperial carriage, his eyes smiling, confident of victory, and unconcerned about the passing of his aura.
Occasionally, he would turn around and speak to someone behind the curtain, as if there were someone else behind the curtain.
Qiu Tong steadied herself, remembering her sister's words, and unconsciously clenched her sword.
The incoming beads were extremely fast and powerful, appearing from a distance like a bright moon falling to the ground, before landing in front of me with a start!
Just then, a bolt of lightning suddenly shot up from the high wall, fell down to the city below, and solidified into a dark figure that caught Ping An steadily!
The prayer beads suddenly rushed towards her. She raised her red umbrella with her other hand, spun around, and touched the beads with the umbrella. Instead of resisting them, she used an extremely skillful and gentle force to deflect them!
The prayer beads turned around, but instead of attacking King Putuo, they returned to the group of 107 beads scattered in the sky, and quickly turned back into a string, hanging back in King Putuo's palm.
Amidst his thick beard, he quietly looked at Lin Feiran, clasped his hands together, and chanted a Buddhist prayer.
What do you two mean?
Lin Feiran helped Ping An up without saying a word. Only after escorting her to the side to rest did he look back at her, his gaze neither humble nor arrogant.
She held the umbrella in front, her eyes flickering slightly, but she spoke calmly.
"Envoy Lin Feiran, please enlighten me."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a sneer came from the side. It was the wolf clan chief, King Kuofeng, who had left the scene early.
He pointed a finger, his eyes cold: "In the vast demon realm, when has it ever been the turn of a human child to make decisions? Have you ever seen a member of the demon race in the human officialdom!"
He looked up at the sky.
"This is what Ru Xian did, this is his willful act! Do you really want to be trampled on by a human?!"
The once clear blue sky was now filled with carriages and palanquins, all of which had rushed here upon hearing of the event from various tribes of the demon realm.
The curtains and wings unfurled, almost blotting out the sky and the sun, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the gaps, casting a brilliant glow on the shady city walls.
He asked in a hoarse voice, but no one answered in mid-air.
The slender-waisted queen standing beside him had a chilling gaze and a very hoarse voice. She only said, "Don't waste your energy. Our actions are no different from a rebellion. Before the dust settles, who dares to answer you?"
King Kuofeng was furious.
"How could I not dare? Ru Xian has always been arrogant and has never taken anyone seriously."
At that grand banquet, he dared to search my son's soul, rendering him mentally impaired and unable to cultivate. Has he never done anything arrogant towards you?
Are we just supposed to be angry but dare not speak out?
The sky remained silent, save for the sound of celestial horses and phoenixes flapping their wings in the wind.
King Kuofeng looked at Lin Feiran, having naturally heard of the "renowned reputation" of this human envoy.
She was dressed in plain black, her expression calm, standing tall. There were still many scratches on her robes, but this did not make her look disheveled. On the contrary, it added to her imposing aura!
He failed to recognize that the person in front of him was the "princess" who had come from afar to marry into the family at the grand banquet. He was filled with resentment and shouted angrily.
"The Demon Lord has run into trouble in his cultivation and his realm has regressed significantly. I want to see how he will come out to protect you!"
Upon hearing this, a slight commotion arose among both the resting demons in the surrounding area and the various tribes silently watching the battle from above.
"What went wrong with the Demon Lord's cultivation?"
The disheveled man who was drinking looked up and his gaze fell on Lin Feiran, but he asked the question to the person next to him.
The young man, protected behind him, hadn't been greatly affected and was even more convinced that he was a master. He quickly said, "I don't know either, but it's utter nonsense. It's impossible for the Demon Lord to make a mistake."
Someone nearby wondered, "If there really is no problem, why haven't they shown up yet?"
Given the Lord's protective nature, he would have appeared as soon as Ping An was injured...
There were many different opinions, and with this news, everyone's attention was focused on the city gate, and those who wanted to sneak away stopped in their tracks.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lin Feiran's expression remained unchanged, and he was not even provoked by King Kuofeng. He simply raised his hand slightly to signal to his opponent.
"please."
The slender-waisted king looked around, then glanced at the Qingping king, and said to the Putuo king.
"Old Bear, it's time to cut her down! We must never let that human brat interfere in the affairs of our demon race and act arrogantly in front of everyone!"
Her voice was rather hoarse, but it reached the ears of every demon very clearly.
The demon race already had objections to Lin Feiran's position as envoy, but since Ru Xian always went her own way, many people had no choice but to suppress their dissatisfaction.
The discussion intensified immediately.
The King of Putuo, standing in the center of the crowd, simply chanted a Buddhist prayer and looked at Lin Feiran.
"The human sage has been kind to me, enlightening me to Buddhism. I promised him that I would not kill humans indiscriminately. The same applies today; I will not lay a hand on you."
The Slender-Waisted King was stunned for a moment, then immediately stepped forward to stop him, and whispered, "What are you doing? You've already made your bold statement, are you trying to make us lose face?"
King Putuo simply clasped his hands together and said loudly, "Although I will not fight, I cannot leave empty-handed today. In this way, I will be 'satisfied'."
Lin Feiran had never heard of the "Satisfactory" technique before. As she was pondering it, she saw the Slender-Waisted King raise his head and smile, retreating with an air of certainty. Immediately, she became wary and gripped the Golden Wave Sword in her hand even tighter.
Putuo King took three steps forward, put his hands together, and a pure gold weighing instrument appeared between the two of them.
The scale has a claw-shaped pan hanging on each side, and a fist-sized pure gold weight in the middle, connected by a straight gold bar with no markings.
"Back when humans and demons were fighting each other, that human sage used this small golden scale to defeat me and force me to kneel before him."
After the defeat, I returned to the central part of the demon realm and settled there. Yinuo no longer went to the human realm, but continued to cultivate this method that suited her.
Don't accuse me of bullying the weak. The mystery of the Chengxin Technique lies in its ability to break through stone without regard to cultivation level.
I once used it to fight against a Saint of the Returning to Truth Realm from the Demon Clan, and because of my strong will, I barely won by one move.
He never lost a fight after that.
I will spare your life and let it decide. If you lose, you will have no choice but to obey my orders from now on.
Lin Feiran looked at the golden scale, then glanced at the expressions of the others, and his gaze slowly fell on the face of Prince Qingping. A guess suddenly arose in his mind.
They might be doing it on purpose, with the aim of making themselves obey orders in the future.
But why is that?
Lin Feiran's gaze fell behind Prince Qingping; there must be another person inside that carriage curtain.
She pondered for a moment, then asked, "What would be satisfactory?"
King Putuo raised his hand, and the golden scales slowly flew away.
"There are two golden plates on the scale. They will take our hearts and souls out and weigh them on the plates. At that time, the central weight will shift. Whichever side it moves to will lose."
Lin Feiran slung the golden umbrella behind her back and asked slowly, "What if I win? Will you still let me do whatever I want with you?"
Putuo Wang paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course, the transaction is fair."
The Slender-Waisted King laughed loudly from the side: "You can't possibly beat him. How old are you? You haven't even grown your hair yet. How can you compare to the heart of a demon king?"
Lin Feiran, however, was not swayed by this provocation and instead focused on weighing the situation.
The crowd was unaware that she had formed a demon-taming decree with Ru Xian, a powerful and domineering contract that could not be controlled by such a magical treasure.
Even if we lose, we won't end up being controlled by them.
Moreover, the other side has a Prince Qingping, but they only have one person who can fight. Rather than being worn down by repeated attacks, they might as well accept the challenge first and take a gamble.
"I agree, then I'm satisfied."
She agreed very readily, which surprised even the King of Putuo. But since both sides had agreed and he was absolutely certain, he stopped thinking about it and formed a hand seal to activate the scale. The claw-shaped plates on both sides of the scale came off and pierced the hearts of the two men like a pair of sharp claws.
The moment it touched, the claws vanished, disappeared into the chest, and slowly dragged something out.
The surroundings were completely silent. Even the disheveled man sitting in the distance was holding his breath. Of course he knew what this was, and that was why he was so nervous!
The sharp claws dragged a viscous substance from the chest of the King of Putuo; it was his soul. The soul was formless, and the moment it left his body, it transformed into what he had been thinking about day and night.
A perfectly round and smooth relic.
When the relic was placed in the golden plate on the right, the golden scale immediately tilted to the side, and the weight in the middle slid straight to the left to maintain balance.
His soul was already inside the plate, but Lin Feiran's sharp claws were still embedded in his chest, as if they had grabbed some enormous creature and could not be pulled out for a long time.
The moment the claws left her body, her mind and soul began to change drastically.
A small sword, a meat bun, a strand of long hair, a cloud, a bright moon, a snowflake, a sprig of plum blossom, a feather...
Such rapid changes can be overwhelming.
Finally, it shrank and collapsed, transforming into a golden stone the size of a pill, with everything before seemingly integrated into it, its form no longer visible.
With a soft thud, it was tossed into the golden plate; it was pitifully small.
Those watching intently around them murmured under their breaths. King Slender Waist and King Broad Wind burst into laughter, pointing at it, unable to utter a single word.
Among those present, only the King of Putuo and the disheveled man frowned, their faces showing no trace of sarcasm.
A barefoot heart is like pure gold, lighter than a feather and heavier than a mountain.
The words of that wise man from back then still seemed to echo in his ears. When King Putuo looked up at Lin Feiran, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
On the golden scale, a golden stone the size of a pill was placed on the left plate. Amidst the laughter of the two people beside it, it gradually sank down, as if crushed by a mountain, lifting the Bodhi Heart on the right high.
Their laughter gradually cooled, and when they saw the weight move to the right but still fail to balance the scale, they could no longer laugh.
With a clink, the Bodhi Heart Soul was thrown into Lin Feiran's palm, and the Golden Scale also flew towards her, obediently landing on her wrist.
Lin Feiran was still nervous, thinking it would be a fierce scene, but she didn't expect that the outcome would be decided in an instant.
She looked at the object in her hand, raised her eyebrows, and looked at the King of Putuo, still somewhat incredulous.
The King of Putuo was even more shocked. He thought that no matter how strong the will of the White-Clad One was, there would be several rounds of back and forth, but he did not expect to lose so decisively.
"...I lost."
Lin Feiran asked, "So this means I've won? And now, you're at my command?"
"Yes... From now on, if summoned, I will not dare to disobey."
The situation reversed in an instant. The Slender-Waisted King's eyes widened, and he immediately turned to look at the Qingping King, only to see that he was also somewhat surprised, and even stepped down from his carriage and came towards this place.
The surrounding area immediately erupted in excitement.
Without hesitation, Lin Feiran raised his hand and said, "In that case, I invite the King of Putuo and the King of Qingping to fight."
"The envoy has a good temperament and was able to defeat the King of Putuo."
Prince Qingping arrived with a smile, seemingly unconcerned about what she had just said.
King Putuo closed his eyes, and the 108 Buddhist beads hanging on his chest swirled into the sky. Under the dazzling light, a spiritual light suddenly rose in his hand, and he clapped his hands. The force was so great that the residual wind he generated could blast the rock behind him into dust!
For a moment, sand and stones flew everywhere, hair was scattered, and sleeves bulged under his robe, but he still stood there, unmoved, and even after pausing for a moment, he leisurely walked forward again.
"However, he is no match for me. Even if you let him fight me a hundred or a thousand times, the result will still be the same."
A faint crackling sound came from the breeze; upon closer listening, it was the sound of the wrist bone of the King of Putuo breaking.
"You..." King Putuo was shocked, "We are allies!"
King Qingping smiled and said, "But you are being controlled by the enemy now. What else can we do but subdue you like this? Fortunately, we are allies, otherwise we would have taken your life long ago."
The King of Putuo's eyes were dark and gloomy. A sound of something breaking through the air came from above, and one hundred and eight Buddhist beads came down like stars falling to the ground, almost impossible to avoid!
King Qingping laughed and said, "King Putuo, I don't know if this was done under orders or out of your own will? Either way, I can only apologize to you. After all, the method of pleasing her was proposed by us, as we wanted to bring her to our side, which you originally did not want."
For this reason, I will spare your life.
He formed a hand seal with one hand, a flame igniting between his brows. The hand seals shifted, and a burst of spiritual light suddenly shot out, shattering all one hundred and eight Buddhist beads. Grayish-white dust immediately rained down from the sky, striking the leaves and creating a rustling sound like falling rain.
For a moment, all was silent.
Not only were Ping An, Xun Feifei and others stunned, but even the King of Putuo and the King of Xiyao were shocked. Looking at his face through the white dust, it was as if they were seeing it for the first time.
Looking from behind the city gate, Qiu Tong's face was full of disbelief, yet for a moment, she understood.
Only by becoming this strong could he emerge unscathed from the encirclement of his mother and the others, and only then could he command the utmost respect and obedience from the clan elders.
But when exactly did he become so powerful?
Amidst the rustling sound, Prince Qingping walked up to Lin Feiran, dusted off his robes, and smiled faintly. His handsome face still showed some signs of age.
"You can't beat me. Instead of risking your life here, why don't you ask the Demon Lord to come out and fight me?"
Otherwise, how would the demons know that I, King Qingping, also possess the qualifications to govern the demon realm?
As soon as she finished speaking, an irresistible spiritual pressure swept over her. Lin Feiran immediately gripped the hilt of her sword. Under this immense pressure, she could even hear the bones in her body creaking.
Her knees bent slightly, but she lifted him up so that he could look her in the eye.
In the silence, the sound of swords being drawn could still be heard.
Lin Feiran drew his sword, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
When faced with an almost insurmountable enemy, a person will instinctively tremble, sweat will break out on their back, and their heart will pound like a drum. It is the instinct that originates in their blood telling them to run away immediately.
But there are always times when you can't escape.
She held her sword in front of her and said, "Envoy Lin Feiran, please give me your guidance."
A wisp of white wind blew past, its strands landing on the sword. In the silence, Lin Feiran heard a sound like hailstones.
He asked, "What's the situation outside?"
The spiritual energy flowed along the spiritual threads, flashing with a faint light. Lin Feiran looked at the crowd watching the battle in mid-air, which resembled a dark cloud pressing down on the city, only revealing a few rays of light.
She said, "Just refine the pills, there's no need to worry, I'll take care of everything."
Author's note: Sending love
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