Chapter 83
I never imagined that so much would have happened just because I arrived a day late. I've seen villages ravaged by the demons along the way. Murong Jing asked, "Did Madam Wu escape on the way to be brought before the sect leaders?"
Lin Jichen nodded, "That's right, the two people who brought her out died even more tragically." After this incident, Yan Yue Sect will probably not appear in the Immortal Sect Gathering for some time, and it will be quite difficult for these disciples to go down the mountain for training in the future.
"Then, what happened to Senior Brother Zhou?" Gu Qingci was a little worried. Had Shi Yunzhou betrayed him? Zhou Xuanzhi was his senior brother; he couldn't possibly lay a hand on his senior brother!
At this point, Lin Jichen lowered his head and said after a long while, "After Junior Brother took Senior Brother Zhou away, we contacted Huanhai and learned that Huanhai had also been in turmoil recently. Junior Brother failed to seize power and was being hunted down by Wei Maitong. Just then, the Demon Clan opened Guancheng, and Junior Brother entered Guancheng to escape the pursuit..." What happened in between was unknown to everyone, except that the person who came out of it in the end was no longer Shi Yunzhou.
“When my junior brother was wandering in the mortal world before, he was somehow tainted by demonic energy. He was a child who was not even ten years old at the time,” Lin Jichen sighed and continued, “My junior uncle removed the demonic energy from him, which took a lot of effort, but he has been doing very well ever since.”
Lin Jichen scratched his head, completely baffled.
"So you saw it, right?" Murong Jing asked.
Lin Jichen looked up at Murong Jing, wondering how he knew when he hadn't said anything. Seeing the puzzled look on the other person's face, Murong Jing said, "You just said that Madam Wu used her palms when she fought you, and that the wounds on your body are from a sword."
“Indeed, I saw everything,” Lin Jichen admitted. “I tried to stop him, but I failed. I couldn’t beat Shi Yunzhou; his power had increased dramatically.”
"Is that really so?" Lin Jichen's injuries were not fatal. If it were done by someone who had lost their mind, they would not have held back and would have killed him with every move.
Lin Jichen stood up and looked at her injuries, somewhat puzzled. She asked, "When did I say that Shi Yunzhou had lost his mind?"
He hasn't lost his mind and can still assist the demons? Another traitor? Before Murong Jing could even ask, Lin Jichen gave the answer directly, "He has lost his memory and is now like a puppet. Judging from his appearance, this should be a mission given to him by the demons."
After the demonic energy was removed from Zhou Xuanzhi and Shen Junning that day, the two indeed regained consciousness. The demonic energy was deeply rooted in their souls, and since they discovered it early, the removal of the demonic energy had little impact on them. However, they still could not use their spiritual power.
They still had some recollection of what had happened before, and they couldn't figure out where they had been tainted by the demonic energy. Madam Wu had never appeared before, and they hadn't approached her location, so it couldn't be from her.
Then, disregarding their current physical condition, the two insisted on finding the source of the demonic energy, leaving Lin Jichen with no choice but to drag his exhausted body to their side.
She watched the two people in front of her chatting happily, and their energy levels didn't seem like they had just had their demonic energy removed. She really wanted to ask them how they had recovered.
Completely exhausted, Lin Jichen asked breathlessly, "Can we take a break, you two? You're not feeling well either, there's no need to push yourselves so hard." With that, he found a large rock by the roadside and sat down.
Zhou Xuanzhi and Shen Junning looked at each other and found a place to sit down, but both of them had very serious expressions.
"Are you afraid of losing face? Don't worry, you haven't done anything," Lin Jichen joked.
Having spent a lot of time with Lin Jichen, Zhou Xuanzhi naturally knew she was joking, and couldn't help but laugh, "Junior Sister Lin, has something come to mind?"
Lin Jichen shook her head. "What can I think of? I just feel that these peaceful days are about to end, and my strength is too weak." She looked at her hands. The little devils she fought in the capital were the demons' test of Guancheng. They wanted to know if Guancheng could go anywhere he wanted. Why didn't she think of that back then?
Hearing Lin Jichen's words, Zhou Xuanzhi also fell into deep thought. After his time in the capital was over, he and Shi Yunzhou went to Guancheng. If they had been more careful, would they have discovered any traces of the demons' presence?
Speaking of Shi Yunzhou, I wonder how he is doing now. He hasn't replied to my messages lately. Should I go to Huanhai to see him when I feel better in a few days?
"I heard from Junior Brother Zhou that he entered Guancheng after the incident in the capital, but there..." They probably couldn't find anything there. It was their first time entering Guancheng, so what could they possibly find that was unusual?
"When we went in, we were surrounded by some demons. Later, it was a powerful demon named Huan Suifu who came to our rescue," Zhou Xuanzhi replied. "As for anything unusual, we really didn't find anything."
At this point, Lin Jichen's story was interrupted by Murong Jing, "Are you sure that the person Senior Brother Zhou is talking about is Sui Fu?"
Murong Jing seemed to recognize the demon, and Gu Qingci beside him had the same expression. Lin Jichen thought about it carefully and confirmed, "It's this name. Is there a problem?"
“Senior Sui Fu,” Murong Jing suddenly said loudly, “Since you are here, why don’t you speak?”
"Has the monster surfaced? Isn't that the monster from Guancheng?" Lin Jichen wondered when she saw a white-haired man walk in from outside. When she saw that chest, she was certain that it was a monster, since ordinary people really wouldn't dare to dress like that.
Sui Fu came to the opposite side of Lin Jichen, greeted him, and said, "I know his master. When I saw him come in, I wanted to say hello to him."
To be honest, Murong Jing didn't trust the person in front of him. The past few days had made him feel that Murong Jing must still have secrets he wasn't telling, and Lin Jichen hadn't been telling the truth either.
"Then why didn't you discover that the demons entered the capital through Guancheng?" Murong Jing asked, watching Sui Fu press closer.
Sui Fu found the other party's suspicion amusing and retorted, "So you suspect I'm a spy sent by the demons?"
"No, I just want to know why?"
Sui Fu shook his head and sat down next to Lin Jichen. "It seems you don't know what's inside Guancheng, you only know it's a prison."
Murong Jing found this statement somewhat inexplicable. Guancheng had been a prison since ancient times; he couldn't find it on any map of the world, yet it was omnipresent.
“Guancheng is very large; the three coastal states combined are only about the same size as Guancheng. As long as the demons enter Guancheng silently and leave immediately, no one will know that demons have been there,” Sui Fu explained.
Murong Jing knew he had no evidence. Although he still had doubts about Sui Fu's explanation, he didn't want to openly antagonize him since none of the sect leaders suspected anything. He bowed his head and apologized to Sui Fu, "I'm sorry, I was in a hurry and offended you, senior."
Sui Fu waved his hand to indicate that he didn't care. Instead, he looked at Lin Jichen beside him and said, "Little girl, why don't you continue? I'm very interested in knowing what happened next."
Zhou Xuanzhi didn't notice anything amiss at the time, nor did he think Sui Fu was unusual. So after this lead went cold, no one could think of any other clues.
It was at this time that they encountered the demon race...
Three demons, covered in blood, appeared before the three. Sensing something was wrong, the three immediately stood up to defend themselves. Since Zhou Xuanzhi and Shen Junning couldn't use their spiritual power, Lin Jichen stood in front of them.
As a musician, Lin Jichen summoned his zither, knowing he couldn't afford to be careless at this moment.
The demons are only interested in ordinary humans, not cultivators. Judging from their appearance, they must have eaten people in the nearby towns.
The demons were in a bad mood upon seeing the three cultivators. They had just finished eating when they encountered their mortal enemy, and without saying a word, they drew their swords and started fighting.
Lin Jichen told the two people behind her to hurry back and call for reinforcements, but the demon's attack was too fast. A single slash was already in front of her. She ran her hands across the strings of her zither, and no matter how much force the demon used, it couldn't bring the slash down.
Seeing this, Zhou Xuanzhi felt he couldn't let his junior sister stand before him, so he drew his sword, wanting to help Lin Jichen. But Shen Junning stopped him, throwing out a talisman that flew high into the air and exploded like fireworks.
"I have already informed the sect. You need to protect yourself now. Junior Sister Lin thinks so too." As he spoke, he threw out a talisman, which formed a magic circle that protected the two of them.
Lin Jichen was currently entangled with two demons. As a musician, she used her zither to move swiftly and skillfully, holding off the two demons so they couldn't touch her, which put Zhou Xuanzhi at ease.
Shen Junning's talismans were very useful. The demon saw two cultivators hiding behind a female cultivator and assumed there were two people, thinking he might as well have an extra midnight snack. However, he couldn't break the formation no matter what he did. How could a mortal possess such a powerful formation?
Lin Jichen had quickly dealt with one of the men when the others looked over and saw the frail female cultivator strangle her brother with a zither string, which enraged them. They abandoned the two men hiding in the formation and rushed straight for Lin Jichen.
Zhou Xuanzhi and Shen Junning breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing Lin Jichen fighting alone made them feel a little awkward.
Just as the two were about to go out to help Lin Jichen deal with one of the people, the two demons suddenly stopped. They looked in the direction of the woods and suddenly knelt down, trembling.
Lin Jichen knew there might be others there, so he immediately retreated to Zhou Xuanzhi and Shen Junning's side and said to Shen Junning, "Senior brother, you go back first to meet the reinforcements. The people coming are probably not simple."
How could Shen Junning leave now? He looked at Zhou Xuanzhi and said, "Junior Brother Zhou, you should go back."
"Junior Sister Lin and I are from the same sect. If we join forces, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive."
Just like their Qingxu Sect, although they cultivate different paths, they always have a few techniques that can be used together. Shen Junning nodded, thinking of this: "You must be careful."
Then Lin Jichen protected Shen Junning as they left, and the demons didn't react much to Shen Junning's departure. Just as the two were wondering what was going on, the person in the shadows finally appeared. But when the two saw the person's face, they were both stunned.
"How could it be him?" Lin Jichen couldn't believe it; the person was Shi Yunzhou.
Shi Yunzhou's eyes were ruthless, as if he didn't recognize the two of them. Demonic energy sprouted demonic patterns on his face, and his black and purple clothes gave him an eerie, otherworldly air. His fingers had also changed; the tips had turned into sharp, black, bone-like thorns.
"Is he Shi Yunzhou?" Lin Jichen saw the shadow of Shi Yunzhou in him, but his appearance and aura were exactly like Shi Yunzhou's.
Zhou Xuanzhi looked at his junior brother with a face full of heartache. What had happened during this time? How did Shi Yunzhou become like this?
Shi Yunzhou looked at the two men with icy eyes. He lowered his gaze and looked contemptuously at the two men who were kneeling down. His tone was full of disdain. "Take down that male cultivator, and I can pretend I didn't see you go out to eat people."
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