Chapter 202 Exchange: I woke up and you were gone. How did you get here? ...
Beneath the gray-white high walls were two vermilion city gates. Xun Feifei and Bi Qing stood in front of the gates, while behind them were two squads of demon city guards.
The number of people doesn't seem small, but it's still far from enough compared to the hundreds of cultivators outside the city.
They were negotiating over the deaths of the Slender-Waisted King and others, but both sides tacitly agreed not to cross the boundary of the city gate.
Amidst the cacophony of cries and lamentations, the sound of light footsteps arose, and the city guards at the rear dispersed to both sides, bowing in salute.
Xun Feifei seemed to sense something and turned around with Bi Qing, then nodded and said, "Your Excellency."
From the gloomy shadows below the city, a tall figure slowly walked out. His wrists were bound with rings, and a slender willow branch was wrapped around his waist. As the hem of his robe opened and closed, the gilded rings on his legs shone and shimmered. All these symbols indicated his identity.
Ru Xian slightly raised her hand, walked to the front of the crowd and stopped, her eyes and brows carrying a hint of her usual smile, but it was not friendly or approachable, but rather like she was watching a play indifferently, with a touch of amusement and disdain.
When the crowd outside the city faced the two groups of guards earlier, they had shown a lot of arrogance, refusing to give an inch. But now, facing only Ru Xian, the leaders couldn't help but retreat three zhang to avoid the intimidating spiritual pressure, and then bowed in greeting.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
The demon realm is not as class-based as the human realm, but it still has its own set of rules where the strong prey on the weak. Even cultivators at the True Realm have been defeated by Ru Xian, so how could they dare to offend them to their faces?
Seeing everyone bow, Ru Xian's expression remained unchanged. He never cared about such formalities, nor did he feel any joy or pride from them.
His gaze swept slowly over the group of leaders, and he said in a soft voice, "Who demands that Lin Feiran pay for his blood debt?"
Upon hearing his question, the two leading elders exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking.
"Your Excellency."
An elderly man dressed in purple Taoist robes stepped forward, his face solemn and dignified. He immediately began to argue with Ru Xian.
"In the year the Lord ascended the throne, he said that any cultivator who wanted to seize the position of Demon Lord could challenge you as long as he defeated the envoy. If he defeated you, he could seize the position of the Lord of this realm."
The likes of King Kuofeng came here together. Although their motives differed, their actions were all in accordance with the rules. They were merely seizing the throne according to the agreement. However, the Demon Capital characterized this as an attack on the city. Is this inappropriate?
Furthermore, it's absurd that Lin Feiran, who is not of our kind, can sit in the position of envoy and oversee various tribes. And yet, she, a human, can use the pretext of punishment to injure tribal chiefs and even kill them..."
Before he could finish his accusations, Ru Xian looked up and stopped him from continuing his accusations with just one glance.
Once the old man calmed down, he repeated, "What I'm asking is, who wants Lin Feiran to pay for his blood debt? You?"
The old man choked, turned to look at the crowd, and licked his lips: "This matter..."
Ru Xian shifted her gaze, clearly uninterested in listening to him further. She even took another step forward, her eyes fixed straight ahead, only pausing slightly as she glanced at several esoteric Buddhist monks dressed in cloud-patterned robes.
The next moment, he spoke again, his clear voice like an irresistible tide, suddenly pouring into everyone's mind and shaking them, causing everyone's eyes to tremble and their heads to spin.
"What I'm asking is, who is it that wants the Demon Capital to hand over Lin Feiran so that she can pay for her crimes in blood?"
The once-boiling crowd fell silent again; Ru Xian's attitude towards this matter was self-evident.
His relatives, dressed in plain white, stared intently at him, their fists clenched. Finally, they couldn't help but spit out, "We should have known that from the moment you appointed a human as an envoy of the demon race, you were unworthy of the worship of the demons!"
As if a wisp of smoke turned its head to look, a terrifying spiritual pressure descended upon the person with a slight twitch of its fingertips, forcing the person to kneel on the ground as if it were a tangible force. The cultivators who tried to intervene were also forced back several steps!
Ru Xian rubbed her temples and let out a very short sigh.
He is currently in a special period and wishes he could stay in the room with Lin Feiran all the time. If he were not afraid that she would be hurt by rumors when she wakes up, why would he waste his energy on these people?
Arguing with others about right and wrong, distinguishing black from white, and clarifying the truth are things Lin Feiran would do, and he was happy to see her do them, but that didn't mean he would do the same when it came to him.
He never needs to explain himself to anyone, doesn't care about slander, and can't give them the fairness they want.
He has always been open about his favoritism towards Lin Feiran. Even if she had actually done it, he would only say that it was good that she killed them when these people came to his door today. How could he possibly blame her for it in the slightest?
"However, since we've brought up Lin Feiran's matter, let's talk about it today."
Regardless of whether I am willing to be worshipped by you, regarding the matter of the envoy, when she ascended the throne, I also issued a decree that any ambitious young demon could come here to fight for the throne.
Everyone had a chance, but they all lost to her. Does that seem unfair?
So what if she's human?
In the demon realm, the strong are the strong. Even a stone, if strong enough, can rise above the weak.
"Haven't you all always thought this way? Why do you think it won't work when it comes to humans?"
There were also quite a few young cultivators present who had come to join in the fun. Many of them had fought with Lin Feiran before. Upon hearing this, they coughed, looked around, and silently lowered their heads.
"As for her ruthless killing of the likes of the Slender Waist King, if some people are blind, they should have seen it. When Lin Feiran was fighting with the four little kings, I was right beside her giving her guidance. If the four of them really died because of the fight, then it has nothing to do with her."
Regardless of the truth of this matter, you all think too highly of yourselves to use this as an excuse to coerce the demon capital into handing over people.
"The lives of the four kings, including the Slender-Waisted King, are not enough to exchange for her."
The cultivators in front remained silent, but the demons behind them began to whisper amongst themselves, their conversations forming a soft buzzing sound.
With a thud, a clear sound came from the crowd. In an instant, the spiritual pressure on the snake-clan youth was completely dissipated. An elder in green robes with a long beard stepped out, holding a vine staff, his narrow eyes slightly narrowed.
"I was present on the day Lin Feiran appeared, and I did see with my own eyes that the Venerable One was by her side, but you never got close. She was the one who made the move. Whoever made the move, we will hold them accountable!"
I am not here today to fight with the demons, otherwise I would not have stayed outside the city for so long.
My snake, wolf, bear, and dog clans are considered overlords in their own right, possessing all sorts of magical treasures, elixirs, and cultivation techniques. In your opinion, Lord, what could possibly be exchanged for her?
Hearing his words, Ru Xian's gaze sharpened slightly, fixing on him. After a moment, she chuckled softly, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What do you have?"
"Your Excellency has been stuck in the Divine Travel Realm for a long time. We have a copy of the Cold Food Festival Scroll, which can be described as a treasure of the human realm. With Your Excellency's comprehension, you will surely be able to decipher it, and breaking through the realm will be just around the corner!"
"Not enough," came the quick, light reply, like a hailstone.
"We also possess the cultivation technique 'The Record of Sky-Gazing,' a supreme technique that is unique in the world. If our Lord were to cultivate it, it would surely be like adding wings to a tiger!"
"not enough."
“We also have a herb called Yin Xue Cao, which we heard the Lord once sent people to search for.”
"not enough."
Like Xian, who had no desire for power, no interest in beautiful women, and no interest in magical treasures, the only thing that was similar to everyone else's was becoming stronger, and that was the only place they could start.
Offering three items would be an immense temptation for anyone in the demon realm, but...
The long-bearded old man frowned, his gaze darkening slightly: "Why don't you let the Venerable One propose what would be enough?"
Xun Feifei and Bi Qing immediately turned to look. They were both shocked by the generosity of the gesture and worried that the Lord might actually propose some kind of deal.
Her lips parted slightly, her right hand, bound with a gold ring, was raised slightly, and her eyes looked down with disdain.
"She gave me a sprig of winter plum blossom, do you have one?"
The long-bearded old man paused for a moment, then realized that he was being fooled. How could a single plum blossom compare to these treasures?
Forget about the exchange; he clearly made up his mind from the very beginning to protect it to the end!
His eyes blazed with fury as he shouted, "The four races have joined forces in this petition, and those with aspirations have stepped forward to lend their support. We only wish to ask the Demon Capital to hand over the culprit and give us justice. Since the Lord is determined to uphold justice, then I will plead with him to the death!"
This man was none other than the elder of the snake clan. He had cultivated for many years and possessed a profound realm. He boasted that he was inferior to Bi Xian, who was of low rank. As soon as he finished speaking, the vine staff in his hand immediately fell off and transformed into a pure silver snake spear, which swiftly attacked!
Xun Feifei was about to step forward to intercept, but then caught a glimpse of pale purple in her peripheral vision. So she stopped and raised her hand to press down on the jade chime.
"We don't need to take action."
With a clang, the silver spear collided with a bronze spear. Seeing Ru Xian himself make his move, the elder's brow twitched, and he immediately withdrew, retreating several steps.
He immediately formed a hand seal, his body becoming as supple as a snake, narrowly avoiding the charging spear. Then, a jade plate spun from behind, its spiritual light pouring down and enveloping him.
Everyone recognized this magical artifact, which was called the Mountain-Suppressing Jade Pendant. It was incredibly hard, and even if mountains collapsed and fell on it, it would be difficult to break through it with a single crack.
But only for a moment.
The next moment, the golden-white robe opened and closed again, the stagnant wind rose again, the spear returned to its original form, and it crashed straight into the shrouding spiritual light.
The snake elder was not afraid. He spun his silver spear, his five fingers shifting, and another spell was cast. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes. In a place unseen by the crowd, a strange mist seeped from his sleeve and spread like hail!
The esoteric sects had already prepared a backup plan to deal with him!
Everything happened so fast that before anyone could get a good look, the man was already nailed to the city wall.
Amidst astonished gazes, as if treading on the indestructible fragments of the jade plate, he slightly bent down, raised his fingers, and the thin mist that had not yet dispersed was gathered in one place, condensing at his fingertips.
He looked down, lost in thought.
This was a kind of aura he had never seen before. It was neither mist nor cloud, contained no spiritual essence, and had a faint gray hue. Just by standing on his fingertips, it exuded a chilling desolation that even he could not bear.
It seems to be absorbing something.
He immediately flipped his fingers into a palm, and a beam of light swept across, dispersing the eerie mist.
He turned to look at the crowd and said softly, "The one who will make Lin Feiran pay for his blood debt is this kind of person."
...
"With that, the Venerable One's figure disappeared from everyone's sight, leaving behind only a blood-soaked, mangled corpse."
Biqing recounted everything she had seen and heard, her words filled with admiration: "That is the Mountain-Suppressing Jade Pendant, a spiritual treasure that flowed out of your Pilgrimage Valley. Elder Snake relied on it to roam the Demon Realm, but I never expected that he couldn't even withstand a single blow."
"Your Highness's cultivation must have improved again; breaking through to a higher realm is just around the corner!"
Lin Feiran stood aside, listening quietly, and then looked at the grief-stricken relatives below the city, feeling a mix of emotions.
She lowered her eyes slightly and asked, "Why is the city so quiet and deserted? When I passed by today, I saw that every house was closed and shut, as if no one lived there. Are they in the city... or have they gone outside the city?"
Bi Qing paused, then hesitated and remained silent.
Lin Feiran continued, "If it's just because of the death of the Slender Waist King and others, then it's only related to me. The people in the city come from all over the world. Even if a small number of them hate me, most of them will just stay in the city."
Where did they go? Besides the deaths of the four kings, is there anything else I don't know?
Lin Feiran spoke gently, but every word hit the nail on the head. Bi Qing scratched her head in deep thought, while Xun Feifei remained silent, only turning around to glance at her.
"In your eyes, I shouldn't be a fragile person," Lin Feiran sighed softly. "Then let me ask you another question. On the second day of my slumber, I sent a message to everyone in the Demon Capital like a hailstorm. What was the content of that message?"
Bi Qing gasped, secretly admiring Lin Feiran's questioning skills. She turned and paced back and forth, saying, "Actually, you already know about taking the blame, so it wouldn't hurt to tell you. But it's precisely this later matter that the Lord forbids us from mentioning."
Bi Qing didn't quite understand either. These people could talk about handing over Lin Feiran, but why couldn't they mention the other thing?
Lin Feiran nodded: "Then I'll go ask him."
What do you want to ask me?
As soon as she finished speaking, a sound like whistling came from behind. The three of them turned around and saw that he had already landed gracefully, his gaze fixed on Lin Feiran's face.
"I woke up and you were gone. How did you get here?"
Author's Note: Others: What exactly can Lin Feiran offer you?
Like a wisp of smoke: Could you give me "Lin Feiran"? You could find another one exactly the same, maybe you could consider it.
Others: ...A tyrannical ruler! The demon race is doomed!
P.S.: There will be more tomorrow.
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