Demons
Lin Yun ran his fingertips over the dusty spines of the books, but still couldn't find any worthwhile ones to read.
Silently, she gently pushed the scroll of "The Demon-Slaying Record" back into its original position; she really didn't want to read any more of the enchanting and scandalous history of the Immortal Venerable Qiming.
Even unofficial histories of the Demon Lord would be fine, according to my girlish heart.
Perhaps because Yun Wang was the only one who frequented the deserted library, her troubled appearance soon attracted the attention of the library's owner.
"Young friend, is it because you haven't found a book you like?"
From the depths of the ink-scented space came the crisp sound of jade pendants striking each other, and a middle-aged man in a gray robe descended from the pavilion.
"This junior is simply amazed by the vastness of the classic texts. The librarian is so generous in opening them up for free." She took a step back, putting some distance between herself and the man.
Lin Yun naturally had his own doubts: the Demon Lord had been destroyed, and the Demon Clan had been sealed away for several years. Wouldn't it seem strange to be interested in the Demon Clan now?
“I know the location of every book in this library like the back of my hand,” the librarian said with a smile. “You don’t need to worry. Although there are few people in the library, occasionally someone comes to look for some banned books.”
His frank words left Lin Yun speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond.
But then he thought that searching for them one by one would take too much time, so he said, "I want to see if there are any books about demons or demon lords."
"Oh," the man paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Of course I do, please follow me."
Countless golden threads flew from his sleeve, disappearing into the gaps between the bookshelves as if they were alive. The entire wall suddenly slid open, revealing the hidden bookshelves.
The man was picking and choosing books in front of the bookshelf, while Lin Yun stood a dozen feet away at the edge of the dark room, the sound transmission talisman leaving a blue mark on his palm.
"This is it." The man handed the book to Yun Wang. The cover was badly damaged, and Lin Yun Wang could only barely make out a few words: "The Demon Lord... Record."
She doesn't know how she managed to leave the library with the books in her pocket.
That person clearly concealed their true identity; their aura was different from everyone else they had encountered before.
Lin Yun sighed to himself: The strange people and strange things I've encountered lately are more numerous than the beauties in the unofficial histories of the Immortal Venerable Qiming.
Looking at the book in her hands, she decided to finish reading it today.
As night fell, the spring breeze made the window frames sway slightly.
Sang Zhao put down his teacup and saw the girl slam her forehead heavily against the sandalwood table. He asked in confusion, "Junior sister, what's wrong with you?"
She looked up, utterly dejected. "Now that I've finished reading, I can complete the book title."
Lin Yun closed the book and held it up to show Sang Zhao the cover: "The Love Story of a Demon Lord and Immortal Cultivator".
After saying that, she seemed to lose all her strength and collapsed onto the table, muttering softly, "Why make it so mysterious? I thought there would be some valuable information inside."
She read the book very carefully. Apart from the beginning, which described how the Demon Lord's demonic sword could summon karmic fire from the underworld, the rest of the book focused on the Demon Lord's youthful thoughts. Thinking that the content wouldn't always be like this, she read to the last page.
It's better to read the unofficial history of the Immortal Venerable Qiming. Although it seems absurd, at least it brings joy. This book, on the other hand, only leaves one feeling heavy-hearted.
"Senior brother, do you think the female cultivator in the story eventually found out that the Demon Lord loved her?"
Sang Zhao lightly flicked her head. "How would I know? But since the two are enemies, it's best for the Demon Lord to keep these feelings to himself."
But this is just a story, and Lin Yunwang's question was never voiced. Everyone would probably prefer a happy ending. However, even in the book, the two are not separated by race, but by a deep-seated blood feud.
The cultivators in the book probably knew that the demons liked her, and they would be disgusted by it. After all, looking at the female cultivator through the eyes of the Demon Lord, she remained steadfast in her fight to eliminate the demons and to ensure the survival of humanity.
Lin Yun shook his head, trying to shake off the strange emotions in his heart.
"A storybook is just a storybook. If any human cultivators actually know about it..." Sang Zhao's voice faded into the wind.
Yun ran her fingers over the scorch marks on the edges of the book, as if she had personally experienced a fiery inferno. In the towering flames, it seemed as if someone was softly humming a folk song from the northern frontier, the melody so gentle it didn't sound like a farewell.
Decades ago, the moonlight flowed like cold water onto the pages of a book, where the line read, "This love will eventually turn to ashes."
It took her a long time to come to her senses.
She noticed her ability to resonate was becoming stronger, but this wasn't a good thing. She had previously been able to actively use her ability to determine if someone was lying.
She can now sense the emotions left behind by others.
However, if this continues, the emotional waves left by others will directly affect her thinking and judgment.
Currently, Sang Zhao is teaching her how to use spiritual power to perceive things, and she is taking the opportunity to reduce her use of resonance ability.
But the two are ultimately different; one is about exploring the physical world, and the other is about exploring the divine.
This inexplicable resonance ability is still the most useful.
Lin Yun got up and pushed open the carved wooden window. The night wind swirled peach petals and extinguished the remaining candle on the table. She then recalled the strange stories that the tea drinkers in the teahouse had been talking about.
In the past month, many elderly people in the family have fallen into a coma.
"Senior brother, do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
The sun had barely moved three inches west when Yunwang and Sangzhao had already passed through twelve households with mud walls and thatched eaves. They found out that three of the households had common chills and fever, while the rest had the same condition as the village chief.
Both of them looked rather solemn. Although there was no conclusive evidence yet, they realized that the Demon Lord might really have been resurrected.
With heavy hearts, the two stepped out of the last person's house.
"Immortal, is my mother really..." The man in plain clothes chased after them to the fence, his eyes bloodshot, looking at them with pleading eyes.
Sang Zhao forced a smile and reassured him, "Of course there is. The elixir will be delivered to your home tomorrow." This was true; he had already sent a telepathic message to the Jingyin Sect this morning.
According to the sect leader, the Rejuvenation Pill will be delivered to Panlong City tomorrow.
They stood side by side, gazing at the horizon, where the purplish-blue twilight clouds were visibly devouring the last rays of dawn. The wind whistled through the grass, making a sound like a sob.
"Tell me, how many elderly people have been buried before they could live to see you and me?"
Silence spread like ink dripping onto rice paper, while wisps of smoke rose from distant chimneys, enveloping the two in a tranquil yet eerie atmosphere.
"I have no idea."
This question doesn't need an answer from anyone, nor can anyone answer it.
At this moment, neither Sang Zhao nor Lin Yunwang expected that along with the Soul-Returning Pill came Liu Xubai, the young master of Xuanji Pavilion, and Fan Qingdu, the regional governor of Tianyuan Palace.
It was another early morning, and the moment the jade cup containing the Resurrection Pill hit the ground, the sword at Sang Zhao's waist suddenly trembled.
Following the sound waves, the two found the Resurrection Pill. Before their fingertips even touched the cup, they suddenly saw the reflection of the double pupils on the surface of the medicine bottle, pressing the entire city into some kind of celestial array.
The bustling noise on the long street suddenly stopped.
The vendors stopped hawking their wares, the children stopped playing, and even the women washing clothes by the stream in the distance stopped what they were doing and stood up straight. For a moment, all living things looked up at the Milky Way that appeared in the sky.
Who is this person? How could he possibly manipulate the heavens? A storm of emotions surged within Lin Yun.
The flying boat passed through the flowing clouds, and the emblem of Xuanji Pavilion and the seal of Tianyuan Palace on the bow complemented each other.
A group of people leaped to the ground. Leading them were Liu Xubai and Fan Qingdu from the inner city of Qiling City. Behind them, the yellow-robed disciples had formed a demon-subduing array that quietly enveloped the surrounding area, with array patterns flowing across the ground like golden snakes.
"Why are there two people from the inner city?" Sang Zhao wondered.
Little did they know, Mingqi had already reported this matter to the Immortal Venerable Qiming.
Lin Yun recalled the description of Qiling City in the "Announcement Record":
Qiling City, built upon spiritual veins, is a place brimming with spiritual energy and a pilgrimage site for cultivators. Its magnificent palaces and pavilions were all forged with the essence and blood of the first generation of cultivators. Modern cultivators spend their entire lives only to catch a glimpse of the four inner city departments: the Tianyuan Palace, which governs celestial phenomena; the Xuanji Pavilion, which connects to creation; the Tiangong Workshop, which forges divine weapons; and the Guicang Tower, which houses all laws.
The three offices and twelve guards of the outer city were merely there to guard the mortal realm on behalf of the inner city.
Now it seems that, just as the book says, Qiling City has many talented and extraordinary people, who even have the ability to change the world.
Lin Yun glanced at the officials who had rushed over, their faces a mixture of fawning smiles and bewilderment, but his eyes showed no surprise.
She leaned closer to Sang Zhao and whispered in his ear, "Senior brother, I'm sorry."
Before she finished speaking, her slender fingers had already picked up the jade cup containing the Rejuvenation Pill. "This is an item of the Jingyin Sect, and should be returned to Jingyin."
Sang Zhao knew what she wanted to do, so he waved his hand, signaling her to go ahead and do it.
With permission granted, she turned and went to the home of an elderly person who had fallen into a coma to distribute the revival pills. She didn't want to see those people being insincere; she just wanted to save them quickly, as their families were still suffering and praying.
The elixir trembled slightly in the cup, reflecting the dim yellow light of the paper lanterns along the way.
Lin Yunwang traversed the city's streets and alleys, always followed by Dao Xuanqing's figure. After placing a pill into an old woman's mouth, she suddenly turned around and said, "Lin Yunwang, disciple of the Jingyin Sect."
The young man nodded slightly. "Qiling City, Governor Fan Qing."
Looking into his eyes, which were covered by a veil, Lin Yunwang finally swallowed the words "Don't follow me" back down her throat.
She ran towards the houses further inside.
As the deep blue sky was about to swallow the last glimmer of light on the horizon, Lin Yunwang finished delivering the medicine to the last family.
"Hoo..." Lin Yun wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, looked at the silent Fan Qingdu beside her, her throat tightened, and she tried to purse her lips to relieve her dehydration, and asked, "Where does Envoy Fan intend to go?"
His gaze was drawn to the last rays of light at the edge of the sky. The spring breeze swept across the sword at his waist and the runes on his outer robe, dispersing the silent atmosphere.
He didn't utter a single word until it was completely dark.
"Don't you know where to go? Young Master is with my senior brother. If needed, I can take you there." This was the first time Lin Yunwang had met such a sullen person.
Where do you want to go?
"Me?" Yun Wang was somewhat surprised, not expecting him to ask her the same question. She stared at him blankly, a petal quietly falling onto her shoulder. "Naturally, I'm going to find my senior brother to meet up."
After that, we'll go to the Jingyin Sect.
Fan Qingdu frowned slightly, as if he didn't like the answer. "Where do you want to go? It's not about where you want to go."
Hearing his question, Lin Yunwang was even more surprised and subconsciously shook her head. She quickly realized that this answer was inappropriate, so she said, "Jingyin Sect."
This wasn't the answer she had in mind, but it was the most appropriate response at that moment.
The town envoy then regained his calm and composed demeanor.
Lin Yun didn't know how to start a conversation with him, so she brought up a few topics, but he simply nodded or shook his head in response, so she didn't say much more.
A sense of tranquility flowed between the two until they arrived at the castle lord's mansion.
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