Chapter 126 The Ghost Soldiers, Part 11
After taking their seats in the third-floor private room, a dazzling array of top-quality spiritual teas and rare crystals for making tea fruits were laid out on the table. Xue Li and Qian Mo waited to one side, but seeing that the distinguished guests did not give them any attention, they only dared to fan them silently from behind.
"Brother Ghost King, I don't know how to address you yet." The red-haired man, as flamboyant as flames, kicked aside the tea that was in the way, placed his boots on the table, and addressed the person across the table.
Tea spilled halfway across the table. Xue Li could have stopped it, but she didn't act rashly. She let the honored guest kick it over before she went to clean it up and called the servants outside to bring fresh tea.
The Ghost King, who had been keeping his eyes straight ahead, glanced at Xue Li as she approached, because he smelled a very faint but extremely familiar scent on her.
After frowning and looking Xue Li over, the Ghost King replied, "Just call me King Guzhen."
Upon hearing the Ghost King refer to himself as "I," the red-haired man's eye twitched violently, and he almost lost his carefree smile. He quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, you're also searching for someone with golden eyes, isn't it for Yi Lian?"
"Who is Yi Lian?" King Zhen asked.
"You've never heard of the name True Lord of Doubtful Lotus?" The red-haired man couldn't help but wonder which remote corner of the world the person in front of him had come from, and he didn't bother to hide the contempt in his eyes.
Since the topic of Yi Lian had come up, the man couldn't help but say a few words: "Yi Lian is from the righteous path. Qingxuan Sect is considered a first-rank sect, but recently, because of that guy Ji Qing, its reputation has become extremely bad, and it was almost removed from the first rank. It was only thanks to Yi Lian's efforts that it was able to return to the first rank. Therefore, he has been very popular lately, and I didn't expect that there were still people who hadn't heard of his name."
"Phoenix Feather Demon Lord, you are a member of the demonic path, yet you praise the righteous path in such a way?" King Zhen pointed out mercilessly.
Phoenix Feather Demon Lord genuinely laughed, "What makes you say that? Are righteous people necessarily good people?"
The King of Poison remained calm, holding the cup between his two fingers but not taking a sip. He casually remarked, "I was being narrow-minded. That True Lord Jiqing is certainly no good person."
Phoenix Feather Demon Lord hadn't heard anyone address Ji Qing as True Lord in a long time, and was momentarily taken aback. However, his interest had been piqued, so he didn't notice the incongruity. He stopped laughing and shook his index finger. "Not so. Ji Qing can be considered a good person, or perhaps 'martial arts fanatic' would be more appropriate."
Those who follow the demonic path don't actually dislike True Lord Jiqing. Even after his fall, Jiqing was burdened with a host of infamy: possessing his disciple's body, stealing cultivation, bullying others, and being unworthy of being a master; there was also his fake ascension, his attempt to elevate Qingxuan Sect to a first-grade major sect, but his methods were so dishonest and unfair, which not only implicated the sects that had been kind to him, but also tarnished the reputation of the Three Martial Gods. His misdeeds were numerous, and he was unworthy of being called a human being.
Upon hearing Phoenix Feather Demon Lord speak of this, the Poison King crushed the cup in his hand into dust. The two courtesans behind him were startled and immediately stopped fanning themselves.
The King of Poison looked extremely pale. He noticed the probing gaze of the Phoenix Feather Demon Lord, but offered no explanation.
Phoenix Feather Demon Lord didn't think that King Zhen was angry about Ji Qing's matter, and he didn't even connect him with Ji Qing. After all, if he knew Ji Qing, he couldn't possibly not know about Yi Lian. Where would so many reclusive immortals who were out of touch with the cultivation world come from?
“But good people never have a good ending.” Feng Ling’s tone changed abruptly, her mouth smiling but her eyes extremely cold. “Good people are too boring. If it weren’t for Yi Lian specifically asking for his life, this Demon Lord wouldn’t even have the energy to kill him.”
The King of Poison pursed his lips, remained silent for a long while, and then asked, "So, the person the Demon Lord is looking for is Ji Qing?"
Phoenix Feather Demon Lord chuckled, "Yes. He has the same golden eyes as the person you're looking for, like the sun. Isn't that a coincidence?"
King Zhen's pupil-less eyes slowly closed, his teeth clenching tightly. Sure enough, he knew this demonic cultivator was looking for Qing'er. Not long ago, he had been planning to capture Zhen Su, but upon leaving the underground palace, he encountered a group of righteous cultivators who had come to punish him, as well as demonic cultivators who claimed to want to cooperate with him. By chance, he overheard someone close to Feng Ling reporting that the whereabouts of the golden-eyed man had been found, and that Mr. Bai of the Earthly Fiend Academy had extended an olive branch, but required Feng Ling to meet him personally.
The Poison King agreed to Feng Ling's request for cooperation and escaped from the underground palace in time. The demonic cultivators were unaware that he had already found the golden-eyed youth, so they used the excuse of wanting to investigate as well, and thus followed Feng Ling to the underworld.
"Why is that white peacock so unfriendly?" Feng Ling was getting quite impatient as Mr. Bai hadn't appeared for a long time.
As if on cue, Cao Cao appeared. A moment later, Mr. Bai pushed open the door to their room, turned his back to bolt it, then looked up, a charming smile on his face, and said, "Lord Fengling, please forgive my lateness."
"The person you're looking for has returned."
When Zhen Su entered his room in the Earthly Fiends compound, he felt so exhausted that even his internal energy cultivation was sluggish, as if he were stuck to something. He quickly cast a cleansing spell and lay down on the bed.
"Only one day..." Masaki felt as if a long time had passed since he set off on this mission. So much had happened in such a short time... So many lives were lost behind the scenes in Yilian Village, which weighed heavily on his mind. But what worried him most was the Poison King.
She wondered if her "departure without saying goodbye" would cause the ten petals on the Poison King to go out of control.
But he couldn't think of a way to go to that distant underground palace to find the Poison King...
As Shinjuku pondered, his brow furrowed so deeply it almost formed a "川" (river) shape, and then he fell asleep, his brow remaining furrowed even as he drifted off to sleep.
Just a short while after falling asleep, Shinjuku "woke up." Surprisingly, he was fully aware that he was dreaming, but he was unable to move his entire body.
Could it be a demon, or perhaps a malevolent spirit?
When the evil spirits were around, he was finally free from the torment of these low-level spirits, but now that he has lost the evil spirits, he has no one to suppress these troublesome three corpses...
This dream was also strange; it was pitch black and desolate, unlike the previous dreams where he would dream of the King of Hell, dressed in dragon robes, embracing him like a child. This time, there was nothing in the dream, he could not perceive anything, yet he was perfectly lucid.
Masaki stared at the deathly silence before him, as still as a sweltering summer night, and felt a surge of irritation.
He couldn't fall asleep, and he couldn't turn over. He felt as if some heavy object was pressing down on him, and he couldn't even curl up his little finger.
But from some point onward, Shinjuku suddenly felt the heaviness on his body become tangible.
Specifically, what does it feel like? For example, he could feel the force on his waist and abdomen was particularly heavy, but the touch was unusually soft, unlike the bony weight pressing on his wrists.
However, the pressure on his wrists disappeared in no time. Instead, it felt as if a fish tail was gently and slippery sweeping across his chest and collarbone, leaving watermarks in its wake. Although there was no wind, it brought a slight coolness that went straight to his heart and raised goosebumps all over his back.
After lingering for a while, the fish seemed unsatisfied. The moist sensation extended all the way to his neck, touched his Adam's apple, and continued upwards, from his chin to his lips, and then to the tip of his nose. After pausing for a few breaths, it landed on his eyelids.
At that moment, a deep, mellow male voice entered Shinjuku's secondary palace.
"Open your eyes."
Staring blankly into the void, Masakatsu felt his heavy eyelids suddenly lighten, as if a weight had finally been lifted from them. In his dream, Masakatsu closed his eyes, and then, in reality, he opened those eyes, as luminous as the setting sun—
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Author's note: Yes, I experienced sleep paralysis.
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