Chapter 5
The one in trouble was not Lin Jichen, but the substitute that had appeared in the carriage.
Lin Jichen carried that young master Li while fighting and retreating. To be honest, he was no match for the demon in front of him, not to mention that he had a burden to bear.
When the demon blocked her path again, she finally couldn't bear it any longer. She used a magic spell to put the man into her storage bag. A person can only stay inside for a maximum of one hour, otherwise their life will be in danger. But there was no other way now. If he were still outside, he wouldn't survive even a moment longer.
"You're really that reluctant to let go of this person?" Lin Jichen looked at the person in front of her, completely bewildered. She understood the need to breathe deeply, but any man would do. In the past, most of the men she had encountered would have given up at this point, none of them had held on as stubbornly as she had.
"This has nothing to do with you. Hand him over."
Lin Jichen realized that this demon hadn't been ruthless towards him. He didn't know if she was worried about Young Master Li or didn't want to offend the immortal sect. In any case, he had to try to escape.
The two people found the location based on the talisman.
In the middle of the road lay a wrecked carriage, the driver lying on the ground with a smile on his face. Zhou Xuanzhi squatted down to check the driver's pulse and tried to wake him up with magic, but after several spells, the man on the ground showed no sign of waking up.
“You don’t need to do it anymore,” Shi Yunzhou’s voice made Zhou Xuanzhi stand up. His gaze followed Shi Yunzhou’s figure, and all he could see were people lying on the ground like the coachman. “They are lost in a dream.”
"Illusion Demons?" There are many who practice illusion techniques, but only the Illusion Demons can bring them to their full potential.
Shi Yunzhou shook his head. He had witnessed the Illusion Demon's abilities firsthand; someone must have learned illusion magic from it. Outsiders learning illusion magic could only use a compromise: putting people into a deep sleep, immersing them in a dreamlike state. The Illusion Demon, however, could actually make people immerse themselves in an illusionary realm.
Zhou Xuanzhi was anxious to find Young Master Li and Lin Jichen, so he returned to the vicinity of the carriage to search for their presence, but found nothing.
Shi Yunzhou searched among the carriage fragments for a long time and finally found a hairpin.
"They're still alive." Lin Jichen's scent still lingered on the hairpin.
Zhou Xuanzhi stood there looking around, but couldn't sense any barrier. Where was that person?
"If it's Huanmeng, they should be around here." They've searched the entire area, but Lin Jichen and Young Master Li are nowhere to be found. Even if the other party is a master, Lin Jichen could still send a message, but they received nothing…
Upon hearing his senior brother's words, Shi Yunzhou realized something was wrong.
Although the Illusion Demon isn't considered a top-tier expert in the demon realm, his mere presence is enough to wreak havoc. His illusions are so potent and difficult to defend against that they can easily incite people to kill each other.
"Is Lin Jichen alright?" Shi Yunzhou asked anxiously.
“She should be able to escape, if the other party isn’t a phantom demon.” He patted Shi Yunzhou’s hand on his shoulder to comfort him, “Don’t forget, she was your rival back then.”
The demons are all sealed in the Boundless Realm behind the Ten Directions Barrier. They can't get out no matter what. It's unlikely that the Illusion Demon is the one. I must have been overthinking it.
Lin Jichen, on the other hand, was already quite clear about his situation. He had entered an illusion, but this illusion was not created for him.
But she couldn't understand why letting these men and women be in this environment... ah, like this, would be good for this devil.
However, the female demon didn't give Lin Jichen a chance to continue thinking before she attacked.
The demon's fingernails were incredibly sharp; the surrounding pillars and trees were practically torn to shreds from the recent fight. There was only one way to escape the illusion now.
His spiritual energy surged within him, and he nearly vomited blood. His opponent was at the Nascent Soul stage while he was only at the Golden Core stage—the difference in strength was too great. At this point, there was no way anyone would come to his rescue; he could only fight for his life.
Having figured it out, Lin Jichen stepped forward with his sword, aiming straight for the female demon's face.
The demon's fingernail touched the sword so lightly that sparks flew between them.
When her first attack failed, the female demon immediately turned and aimed her sword at Lin Jichen's back. However, Lin Jichen deftly twirled his sword and held it behind him, causing the female demon's hand to collide with the blade.
Lin Jichen then turned around, drew her sword, and pointed it directly at the demon's brow. The demon was not to be outdone, and she reached out to meet the sword. The two clashed, forcing Lin Jichen to take a few steps back, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
Lin Jichen had barely steadied himself when, before he could even wipe the blood away, he summoned his zither. Although he was skilled in swordsmanship, he was a musician. If he couldn't win with his sword, he would win with his zither!
Just as the demon was about to strike, a zither floated up in front of Lin Jichen. He ran his hands across the surface of the zither, and the sound waves did not attack anyone, but instead spread outwards. The world was like a pool of water being blown by the wind, with ripples appearing.
"Are you from Tianyu Mountain?"
"yes."
Hearing the "yes" only fueled her anger. She charged at Lin Jichen like a madwoman, yelling, "Then die!"
Lin Jichen stopped fighting the demon and began dodging attacks, playing his zither while dodging. The demon's attacks were extremely ruthless, but he had lost his aim.
I wonder which senior brother from Tianyu Mountain owed me this debt of gratitude. If I find out who it is, I will definitely give him a good scolding!
The demones' slap had just grazed Lin Jichen's shoulder, the sharp pain causing her to pause in her zither playing. This pause caused a ripple in the surrounding scenery. The faster the zither was played, the larger the ripples in the barrier became, and the more enraged the demones grew.
This method proved effective, and Lin Jichen dared not slack off at this point.
Unable to find Lin Jichen anywhere, the two brothers decided to return and search for him together with Mingmo and the others. Just as they were about to leave, they sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy. After exchanging glances for a moment, they confirmed that the fluctuation originated from a Tianyu Mountain disciple using a musical instrument.
The fluctuations are getting bigger and bigger.
"Lin Jichen?" Although Shi Yunzhou didn't get along with Lin Jichen, he didn't want to see this person killed by him like this.
Zhou Xuanzhi's sword had already struck the point of fluctuation, and the fluctuation there increased even more with each strike, proving its effectiveness. Upon seeing this, Shi Yunzhou hurriedly drew his sword to help.
Lin Jichen, on the other side, naturally noticed the unusual spiritual energy fluctuations. It seemed that his reinforcements had arrived, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
But this demon is really persistent; several times she tried to attack the place that was about to be breached, but the female demon stopped her each time. More importantly, it seems that young master Li is about to give up.
Although the female cultivator's cultivation level was not as high as hers, she was still a formidable opponent. The female demon dared not be careless. When she saw the female cultivator glance at the Qiankun bag with her attention diverted, she found it somewhat amusing. She was actually distracted because she was worried about the scum inside the Qiankun bag. This was a perfect opportunity.
By the time Lin Jichen came to his senses, it was too late. The female demon slapped him on the chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, which landed all over the surface of the zither.
Lin Jichen wasn't exactly sent flying by a single palm strike, but he did stagger back several steps until he finally stopped against the courtyard wall.
"Didn't your master teach you not to underestimate your opponent in battle?" the female demon said, extending her long fingernails to aim directly at Lin Jichen's chest.
Lin Jichen endured the excruciating pain and dodged quickly. As he dodged, he played his zither. The zither, stained with blood, became much more powerful, and this time, cracks appeared in the world.
The female demon realized something was wrong this time. She turned around and saw that her barrier had cracked, but it was too late to fix it. Lin Jichen would not give her that chance.
The music continued to attack this spot, and the crack grew larger and larger.
The female demon rushed towards Lin Jichen, conjuring a sword with her five fingers together. Even from a distance, the sword's oppressive aura could be felt. However, this had no effect on Lin Jichen; she dodged the demon's attack once more. Just then, the barrier shattered completely.
When the female demon saw that there were still two men standing outside, she stopped fighting and turned into a wisp of smoke to escape.
Shi Yunzhou saw the fleeing figure and wanted to give chase, but was stopped by Zhou Xuanzhi.
After the illusion shattered completely, Lin Jichen released Young Master Li. Looking at the disheveled man, she recalled those unpleasant memories and wished she could beat the person in front of her to death.
"How are you?" Zhou Xuan asked with concern, since Lin Jichen was injured because of his junior brother's scheme.
Lin Jichen looked at Shi Yunzhou standing not far away, wiped the blood from her mouth and said, "It's nothing." She kicked the man lying on the ground, "He seems to have some problems."
Judging from Li Gongzi's complexion, he was in a very bad state while he was unconscious. Zhou Xuanzhi couldn't help but ask, "What happened to him?"
His disheveled clothes certainly sparked speculation, but what they were thinking was that Lin Jichen had beaten him up.
"I put him in my Qiankun bag, is there any problem?" she asked Zhou Xuanzhi, who was still taking Li Gongzi's pulse.
Upon hearing the words "put the person into the Qiankun bag," even Shi Yunzhou wanted to give her a thumbs up and say "Well done!" However, given that their relationship wasn't that good yet, he remained standing still.
Zhou Xuanzhi felt Li Gongzi's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. He then put a pill into Li Gongzi's mouth and said, "It's nothing serious, he just needs to sleep for a few days."
After finishing with Young Master Li, Zhou Xuanzhi turned to look at Lin Jichen and, seeing that she was still injured, asked, "How were you inside?"
The fight with the demon is another story, but the scene inside... I really wish someone who hasn't seen it before could see it. Lin Jichen shook his head: "It's a long story..."
It was at this moment that the people lying on the ground around them finally woke up. They opened their eyes, struggled to sit up, but couldn't figure out what had just happened or why they were lying on the ground.
Lin Jichen looked at the pale faces of these people. He had clearly seen them in the environment just now... and now they were all wearing their clothes properly. What was going on?
Zhou Xuanzhi also noticed Lin Jichen's unusual behavior. Following her gaze, he saw the people who had stood up from the ground and asked, "I'll tell you about their situation in a moment. Have you seen them? What happened to them?"
She pointed to the people who had just woken up and said, "They're in a hallucination..." It might be a hallucination for her, but it might not be for them...
"They're inside... going through the motions of love, it's all very chaotic." Lin Jichen really couldn't figure out what was going on. Judging from the way these people looked, they had entered a dream, while he and Young Master Li had entered an illusion. What was going on?
"What will happen after they wake up?" Waking up with those memories is a problem that is neither too big nor too small.
"It seems like they don't remember at all." Shi Yunzhou looked at the people who got up, their blank expressions, but after a short while, they were all busy with their own things.
Seeing that they didn't seem ashamed, Lin Jichen said, "It's not like it's a good thing, it's better if they forget." He really hoped he didn't remember either, sigh.
"What is her purpose?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked, puzzled.
Who knows? Lin Jichen began to carefully recall what had just happened, and finally figured it out.
Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou walked towards her, and she murmured, "So that means Young Master Li and I are in an illusion, and they are both trapped in a dream, but..." She pointed to Young Master Li, who was still on the ground, and continued, "He and I did enter the illusion, and before he entered the illusion, he was already... not quite right."
"He was..." Lin Jichen thought for a moment before choosing his words, "...a real lecher. I used a stand-in to observe from the side, and I didn't notice anything at the time. It was only afterward that I realized something was wrong."
Zhou Xuanzhi was well aware of Lin Jichen's strength; if she said something was wrong, then there must be something wrong with it. He gestured for Lin Jichen to continue.
"At first I thought that I had entered a dream world from the moment I got on the bus, which caused all of Mr. Li's strange behavior. But look at the people around you, they are in a dream world."
If she were just a female demon, it shouldn't be possible; she couldn't possibly go to this extent.
"It's not a single method, so can it be understood as not being done by one person?" Shi Yunzhou said, looking at the people on the street.
Zhou Xuanzhi frowned as he looked at the scene on the street, remaining silent.
Lin Jichen recalled everything that had happened since he got on the bus. There was nothing unusual, and he didn't sense anything amiss.
"Young master... young master..." The coachman was now fully awake and was very worried when he saw his young master lying on the ground.
He didn't know how the young master, who was sitting perfectly fine in the carriage, ended up lying on the road. Why was the carriage shattered into pieces? And why was that maid standing with her master? Wasn't that man drunk? Could it be that these two men chased after them after waking up?
Upon hearing the coachman's voice, all three turned to look at the master and servant.
Seeing the three men looking at him, the coachman turned his head to avoid their scrutinizing gaze.
"Although I don't know the she-devil's purpose, she is very interested in this young master Li. She's even started to worry about his life or death." Lin Jichen said with certainty, "He also played a part in my survival at the hands of the she-devil."
"Him?" Shi Yunzhou preferred to believe that the female demon was killing these people to eliminate such scum, but he never imagined he would worry about the life or death of such a person. "You... he..."
Indeed, Lin Jichen was right about one thing: she survived because the female demon showed mercy. Given that she was from Tianyu Mountain, the female demon would have wanted to tear her apart, so that was the only possibility. But it didn't seem like it no matter how you looked at it, so the words that came out were: "What was she after?"
"It couldn't be because he's attracted to her beauty." Shi Yunzhou didn't even dare to imagine the scene: an ordinary person and a demon.
Although this young master Li looks respectable, his character is questionable; the female demon's judgment isn't that bad.
"Or maybe she has a grudge! She wants to take revenge herself?" This possibility cannot be ruled out. After experiencing so much in the human world, what hasn't she seen? It wouldn't be surprising if it really was for revenge.
"So how did this young master Li offend such a devil?"
Yes, the difference between a mortal and a demon is too great.
"Don't you think this matter is related to the Illusion Demon?" Zhou Xuanzhi thought for a long time and finally came to a conclusion. Although it didn't make much sense, there was no better explanation.
That illusion was really strange, and that female demon was also very strange.
“That female demon shouldn’t be able to master such an illusionary formation.” Although Zhou Xuanzhi rarely went down the mountain, he had read many accounts of what happened during the training of disciples who went down the mountain. Over the years, he had never seen an illusion like today’s.
In other words, it is very likely that it really is a phantom demon.
“Then it’s even less likely.” Shi Yunzhou interrupted their conversation. “The demon race has been absent from the mortal realm for six hundred years. Could it be that the Ten Directions Barrier has been broken?”
After that great battle, the Ten Directions Barrier was reinforced, and since then, all evil deeds committed by humans have been committed by demons. If a demon wants to come to the human world, it must break through the Ten Directions Barrier. However, there are immortal cultivators patrolling the vicinity of the Ten Directions Barrier day and night, and any unusual activity would have been reported to the various immortal sects long ago.
Listening to the three people's discussion, the coachman realized that his young master had gotten into serious trouble. He carried the still unconscious man on his back, wanting to leave quietly, but he had only taken two steps when the man in black blocked his way.
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