Chapter 85
Zhou Xuanzhi cooperated fully throughout the journey with Shi Yunzhou. He was now eager to know what had happened to his junior brother and what the Demon Clan's purpose was.
However, he did not go to Guancheng as he wished, but was instead taken to the Boundless Realm.
Within the Boundless Realm, there was not a trace of spiritual energy. The clouds above were thick, and the sunlight filtering through illuminated the entire land in a depressing purplish-red hue. The earth, obscured by the clouds, lacked its original color, and there was hardly any vegetation on the ground. A gust of wind blew, and sand from the ground was swept up, getting into people's noses and eyes, causing great discomfort.
The stench of rotting flesh and blood was nauseating, and large pools of blood were everywhere, with human bones and hair scattered all over the place.
The strangely-looking demons stood not far away, watching Zhou Xuanzhi, the cultivator. The spiritual energy emanating from him made the demons in the area very uncomfortable. Zhou Xuanzhi was certain that if Shi Yunzhou hadn't been beside him, the demons on both sides of the road would have rushed up and torn him to pieces.
A tall building could be vaguely seen ahead, seemingly a ten-story pavilion, surrounded by other buildings. These buildings were no different from those in the mortal realm and the immortal realm, except that they were all black.
It was only then that he noticed there were no buildings around, just low shacks everywhere. They probably lived in places like this. He remembered reading in a book that the Boundless Realm, where the demons lived, never rained, had no seasons, and the sun always hung in the sky without setting.
"The smell of cultivators is truly awful," the demons watching began to murmur, their voices loud and oblivious to those around them. But that made sense; in the eyes of the demons, they were now prisoners, and humans were merely food to them, so naturally they wouldn't care.
"It doesn't smell good, but it should smell better after a few days when his spiritual energy is all used up!"
"Having lived for two or three hundred years, my flesh is tough and not tasty. The best meat is from a newborn baby; that flesh is incredibly tender." The demon drooled as he spoke.
At this point, the demons couldn't contain themselves any longer. They were about to step forward to capture Zhou Xuanzhi when Shi Yunzhou, who was leading the way, glared at them. That one glare made the demons dare not move forward. Zhou Xuanzhi could hear the sound of a demon swallowing his saliva. "Once the Demon Lord no longer needs him, I will definitely eat him and taste the flavor of a cultivator."
"If only we could go to the human world, it's been so long since we ate children."
Shi Yunzhou didn't say a word the whole way, not even when Zhou Xuanzhi tried to talk to him.
“You haven’t said a word the whole way here, nor have you told me why you brought me here. Isn’t that a bit much?” Zhou Xuanzhi asked again.
Seeing that the other party still remained silent, Zhou Xuanzhi said again, "If you don't speak, then I'll have to guess for myself. Judging from your attitude, I'm very important to you. You or your leader want to see me, and you want to guarantee that I'm unharmed?"
At this moment, Shi Yunzhou spoke up, "I'm warning you not to say anything more."
The cold tone made it impossible to believe this was his former junior brother. Zhou Xuanzhi stared at his retreating figure and finally managed to ask, "Do you still remember..." He swallowed the words, needing to stay calm. He had risked his life to find out what had happened to his junior brother, not only to rescue him but also to figure out the demons' purpose and get the message out. Now, whatever happened, he could only endure it.
Shi Yunzhou led Zhou Xuanzhi around the tall building and into a low building next to it. The moment they entered, a stench of blood and decay assaulted their nostrils, accompanied by chilling screams. The further they went in, the stronger the stench became, and the louder the screams grew.
Moreover, the lighting here was poor, with only dim torches on the walls providing illumination; it seemed this was a demon's prison. The cells were small, without beds or tables, and some didn't even have a small window, just tattered rags and straw on the floor. Zhou Xuanzhi frowned the entire time; being locked up here was truly unbearable.
"You actually brought this cultivator back." A somewhat ugly man who emerged from the depths of the prison joked with Shi Yunzhou after recognizing Zhou Xuanzhi's appearance. A burly guard nearby also looked at Shi Yunzhou with disdain, and upon seeing the cultivator he had brought, he revealed a playful smile.
"I brought Zhou Xuanzhi back on the orders of the Lord. The Lord also instructed that he cannot lose a single hair without his orders." Shi Yunzhou was not angry at the unfriendly look in the other party's eyes, and his tone remained cold.
The order had already been given, and since they had already invoked the Venerable One's name, they couldn't afford to give Shi Yunzhou any more attitude. So they casually pushed aside the cell next to them and said to Zhou Xuanzhi, "Please, Cultivator Zhou."
The cell floor was filthy, but thankfully there was a ventilation window. Zhou Xuanzhi stepped inside. Because of the window, the smell wasn't too bad. It would have been even better if it weren't for the bloodstains and rotting flesh scattered on the floor.
But it's already pretty good; at least we've stayed with the demons for now.
After Shi Yunzhou left, the guards looked at Zhou Xuanzhi, who was standing under the air vent, and mocked, "How does it feel to be caught by your own junior brother?"
"It's okay to be angry. It won't be long before your junior brothers and sisters come in to keep you company, hahaha."
Shi Yunzhou remained silent, but there were others willing to speak. Zhou Xuanzhi turned to look at the two people outside, his tone calm, "It seems you are very confident. How can you be so sure that you can capture my junior brothers and sisters?"
His tone was so calm that it seemed the matter had little to do with him: "I remember when I arrived, I had already caught the mole you planted. You are doomed to lose!"
Hearing Zhou Xuanzhi say this, the man sneered, "You're already here, and you still have illusions about the outside world. Let me tell you, with the Venerable Lord here, we can even break into the Nine Heavens."
The demon race had also been fragmented before, but then Chonghua appeared and unified the entire demon race in just a hundred years, making them submit to him. If he were a cultivator or an ordinary person, his life would have been the envy and admiration of countless people, but he was a demon.
"You really admire Chonghua." These words were sincere, without a trace of sarcasm. But to the demons, it was a different story. The large demon pounded angrily on the cell door, shouting, "How dare you address our Lord by his name!"
The ugly demon blocked the big man's way. "He's already here, so just bear with it for a couple of days. When the Lord has time, we'll have plenty of time to test how tough his mouth really is."
"It seems I can enjoy a couple more days in peace." Zhou Xuanzhi finally found a relatively clean spot, lifted his robe, and sat down.
Seeing the person sitting calmly and composed on the ground, the big guy felt very uncomfortable. In the past, who hadn't trembled at the mere mention of their name when they came here? He didn't know how this guy dared to do it. "Don't be so arrogant. We've already got your artifacts. What can you do now?"
A divine artifact? It really is related to divine artifacts. But I still don't know what they'll use them for. He looked up at the burly man, a puzzled expression on his face. "You demons actually dare to dream of using our immortal sect's divine artifacts? Do you even know how to use them? Can you use them well?"
When the big guy heard such mockery, he tried to retort but was pushed aside by the ugly guy, who gave him a warning look. The big guy lowered his head and stopped talking.
The ugly man looked at Zhou Xuanzhi and said, "You are not qualified to know yet. When the time comes, even the gods in heaven will not be able to stop it. Get ready to reunite with your master!"
"Reunite with my master? I never dared to dream of that before. If Chonghua can really let me see my master, I will be extremely grateful to him." The Demon Clan's schemes are truly grand. Let's see if we can find out all of their plans.
After hearing Zhou Xuanzhi's words, the man sneered, "Then you just wait!" and then pulled the big guy away from there.
Looking at the tiny air vent, Zhou Xuanzhi fell into deep thought. First of all, he was brought here on Chonghua's orders. Logically speaking, he was just a minor cultivator, while Chonghua was a Demon Clan Venerable. There was no reason for him to bring him in, which also meant that there was no reason for him to bring Shi Yunzhou in.
Since he kept Shi Yunzhou alive, it proved that Shi Yunzhou was useful to him, and so was he. What did he and Shi Yunzhou possess that would make Chonghua go to such lengths to obtain them from the Demon Clan?
Shi Yunzhou's father was a demonic cultivator, but the person in charge of the Illusionary Sea had long since become Wei Maitong, which didn't make sense; and the same was true for himself. His identity was that of a member of the Zhou family in the capital, but two hundred years had passed, and he had no connection with the Zhou family anymore.
Aside from all that, what else is there? Zhou Xuanzhi really couldn't think of anything.
Upon entering the Boundless Realm, he could tell that Shi Yunzhou wasn't doing well in the Demon Realm; the demons didn't seem to like him. Thinking of Madam Wu from the Yan Yue Sect, Zhou Xuanzhi suddenly sensed something was amiss.
Demonic energy entering the body can drive someone insane, turning them into someone like Madam Wu. But I've never heard of anything that can change a person's mind. What exactly did Chonghua do to his junior brother?!
He turned to look outside the cell; the guards were far away and seemed unwilling to acknowledge him. He would need time to find out the whole story.
He didn't know when the demons planned to make their move, nor whether the message would even get through. Thinking this, Zhou Xuanzhi's face almost blended into the shadows. He told himself there was still a chance; Chonghua wanted to see him, there was still a chance!
After leaving, Shi Yunzhou went straight to the back hall where the Demon Lord Chonghua was.
The interior of the rear hall was not the typical black color of the demon race. If it weren't for the abundant demonic energy here, one would almost think it was the residence of an elder of a celestial sect.
Upon entering, one sees wooden floors, several round pillars, and even a display shelf serving as a partition, upon which are placed books, ornaments, and even vases for arranging flowers. A gentle breeze stirs the sheer curtains, and there's even a courtyard outside. It's unclear what method the Demon Lord used, but the sunlight streaming in feels the same as in the human world—no longer a purplish-red, nor does it carry any sense of menace.
This is where the Demon Lord rests. Chonghua came from the human world and transformed his residence into a human-like one, and the demons did not object.
However, the Demon Lord wasn't there. Shi Yunzhou turned a vase on the antique shelf, and the ground nearby split open to reveal a downward staircase. After Shi Yunzhou went down the stairs, the mechanism returned to its original state.
The underground was still brightly lit, and its layout was the same as above ground. Anyone who didn't know better would think that a woman lived underground. Shi Yunzhou rubbed his nose; the faint scent of incense in the air made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"You've arrived?" The voice came from the direction of the bedroom. Shi Yunzhou looked towards the bedroom and saw a handsome young man with a refined and scholarly demeanor. He was wearing the kind of cloth shirt that students often wore and even looked somewhat thin.
"Your Excellency." Shi Yunzhou knelt down and placed his right hand on his heart.
"Get up, have you brought the person back?" No one expected that Demon Lord Chonghua would be like this. When he went to the human world, no one would think that he was Demon Lord Chonghua. Everyone would think that he was a student.
Shi Yunzhou stood up, looked up at Chonghua, and saw the magic array behind him. Shi Yunzhou didn't know what the complex array depicted, but there was a burning alchemy furnace in the center of the array, and no one knew what was being refined inside.
"He's already been imprisoned, awaiting questioning from the Lord." Shi Yunzhou was very respectful to Chonghua. If Zhou Xuanzhi saw him like this, he'd probably be furious.
“Well done. Let him wait inside for a few more days.” As he said this, Chonghua’s gaze remained fixed on the burning alchemy furnace.
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