Investigate the Demon Lord
Chao Du instantly understood who she was referring to and what You Zang meant.
"Let her go?" Chao Du frowned.
You Cang: "The Alliance Leader has indeed wronged her, but with the great calamity facing the cultivation world, she is now the most suitable candidate."
Chao Du remained silent. She understood that the other version of herself was the most suitable person to investigate the Demon Realm, but...
You Cang continued, "Sect Leader Xi, if it were suitable for you or me, neither of us would hesitate. This matter concerns the future of the cultivation world. If the cultivation world faces a calamity, none of us can remain unaffected. I think Chao Du understands the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' Why don't we ask her first?"
Chao Du was silent for a moment, then asked, "How long until the new sword testing competition?"
“Three months.” You Cang’s eyes were dark. “If they want to make a move again soon, the New Sword Trial Competition is the best opportunity. If that’s not possible, the competition can be postponed for the time being. But once it’s postponed, the cultivation world will be in a state of panic, and the various demon races under the Phoenix Clan will also become suspicious. The Demon Lord and the Ghost King may act ahead of time, and the situation may be even worse. Sect Master Xi, I’m entrusting Chao Du to you.”
Chao Du chuckled: "You really don't hold back when it comes to using people. You just tricked me once, and now you want me to persuade Chao Du to go undercover in the Demon Realm."
You Cang was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I was forced by circumstances, it wasn't my intention. If I could, I would also like to truly trust you and become your closest friend, if this crossing to the Western Regions is successful..."
"If she succeeds, will your trust in me increase?" Chao Du shook his head and smiled, his gaze somewhat cold. "Perhaps you have some misunderstandings. Right now, it's not that I need your trust, but that you need my trust. To put it bluntly, this world has nothing to do with me. Your constant scheming will only annoy me."
Yuzang: "…………"
Chao Du closed the communication jade slip again, and couldn't help but sigh. The difference between You Cang in the two worlds was quite significant. In her original world, You Cang trusted her completely and had never schemed against her like this. When she first didn't understand the complex relationships within the Immortal Alliance, she would stay up all night to explain those complex relationships to her bit by bit. If there were any plans that required her involvement, she would tell her the whole plan clearly.
She was careless, placing her trust in the Youzang of her original world directly on the Youzang of this world, and almost lost her life.
Speaking of which, did You Cang in this world learn to use an abacus from Fu Buci? Watching her use the abacus so loudly it shook the heavens, this Immortal Alliance should probably be called the Abacus Master.
Chao Du chuckled and shook his head, then couldn't help but sigh: Never mind, I won't argue with her. She's only doing this for the sake of the cultivation world.
When talking about the world of cultivation, Yan Ke's divination skills cannot be ignored.
Chao Du looked up at the bright moon, his brows furrowing slightly: Will this moonlight be stained with blood in the near future? When will the cultivation world face a great calamity? Can it be averted in advance? What exactly are the Demon Lord and the Ghost King planning over the past ten years?
She suddenly recalled the Ghost King's dying sigh before his death in her previous life: "It's a pity that the Book of Life and Death has not yet been completed, otherwise you would have seen the true immortals."
She led her people to search the Ghost King's lair, but they did not find the Book of Life and Death she mentioned. Perhaps the Ghost King knew he was going to lose, so he destroyed it in advance to prevent the cultivation world from obtaining it.
Could it be that in this world, the Ghost King has truly forged the Book of Life and Death?!
Chao Du gasped, a chill running down her spine: If she really mastered it, how powerful would the Book of Life and Death be? What would the true immortal she spoke of look like?
Chao Du couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and paced slowly on the crane's back: What should we do? Where should we start? Should we really send another Chao Du to investigate the Demon Realm?
As dawn approached, Chao Du returned to the Immortal Hidden Sect and could see from afar that another version of himself was still cultivating on the terrace of the small building.
The faint starlight fell gently on her eyebrows and eyes like gauze, but she was completely unaware of it, having entered a state of deep concentration.
According to the message from her clone, she didn't seem to have noticed that her main body had left these past few days. After thinking about it, Chao Du decided to tell her and the others about his experience in the Bijin Sea: growth and maturity are not only about progress in swordsmanship, but also about broadening one's horizons and tempering one's Dao heart.
She flew towards another chariot, which seemed to sense her presence, opened its eyes, looked up at her, smiled, and waved.
Chao Du landed beside her, and she smiled shyly, "I'm learning your cultivation method, but I'm also easily distracted, hehe."
As the other man spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and brushed his fingertips across the man's brow, asking with concern, "You rarely frown like this. Is something on your mind? Can you tell me?"
Chao Du remained silent. The Demon Realm was truly dangerous, and spying there was a near-certain death. She would rather go herself... However, she had no demonic energy, making it difficult for her to infiltrate the Demon Realm. Going there rashly would only alert the enemy.
"Let me guess, could it be related to Long Mingxuan?" another Chao Du guessed. "You two seemed a bit off at the banquet that night. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him these past few days."
Asawa: "...It has nothing to do with him. He... well, let's talk about it later."
"What could be causing you such distress?" another Chao Du asked curiously. "What in the world could possibly be troubling you like this?"
Asahi sighed and remained silent, while the other Asahi kept urging, "Tell me quickly, it would be good for me to broaden my horizons, and maybe I can help you with your worries?"
Asahi couldn't help but smile bitterly: she could indeed help him share his worries, but... these worries were far too dangerous.
"Tell me!" Another Asahi shook her sleeve, and Asahi reluctantly told her what Yuzo had said.
"So, you need me now?" The other Chao Du widened his eyes slightly, smiling with mixed feelings. "There's actually something in this cultivation world that only I can do?"
Chao Du looked at her with mixed feelings and reminded her again, "The Demon Realm is extremely dangerous."
Another Chao Du paused for a moment, then laughed lightly, "I know you're worried about me, but with the great calamity facing the cultivation world, I'm the most suitable person. As You Cang said, 'If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' If the cultivation world is finished, even if I'm in the Immortal Hidden Sect, I won't be able to see such a beautiful moon, right? I just really didn't expect that my place to use my skills would actually come from my demonic possession. What do you call this, 'misfortune and fortune are intertwined'?"
Asawa: "You think this is a blessing?"
The other Asawa looked at Asawa and smiled, "I only know that if it were you, you would definitely not refuse, and I want to be you."
Asawari: "...I understand. In that case, I'll go with you."
Another Chao Du exclaimed in surprise, "But you are full of pure spiritual energy, and your sword contains heavenly lightning. Demonic cultivators will definitely be able to see through you at a glance. How are you going to get there?"
Chao Du snapped his fingers, and two small birds, one pink and one blue, landed on the shoulder of another Chao Du. Looking at them, Chao Du sighed softly, "My main body needs to cultivate and accumulate spiritual power, so I can't go with you. I'll have my clone take the Thousand-Pound Sword and accompany you, pretending to be an early riser. The two birds are invisible and don't need to talk to anyone, so they shouldn't be easily exposed. Gathering information is mainly your responsibility, and protecting your safety is mine."
Another person named Chaodu's eyes lit up, and he happily asked, "Great! When shall we set off?"
Asawari: "Now?"
Another astronaut cheered, "Now!"
Chao Du summoned the white jade crane, and another Chao Du, carrying two small birds, gracefully landed on the crane.
Asaka looked at her and said, "Be sure to be careful!"
Another person turned back to the ferry, smiled with a crinkled eye, and said, "Don't worry!"
Another Chaodu, accompanied by two small birds, rode on a white jade crane. With Chaodu and the stars watching them go, they flew all the way from Gray Wasteland to the Demon Realm.
After they left, Asahi held his head, his head throbbing: almost all the remaining spiritual energy had been given to that clone. How long had it been since he had felt so exhausted?
Chao Du, holding onto the railing and wall, slowly moved into the room. He first took out a long jade box large enough to hold the sword, poured in the remaining bottles of Lotus Moon Soul-Nourishing Dew, and then soaked the Qingyu sword in it.
Then, she calmed her mind and began to meditate, accumulating spiritual power as quickly as possible.
At sunrise, her other clones who had previously remained in the Immortal Hidden Sect announced on her behalf that she was going into seclusion to cultivate, and that Chao Du, who was making rapid progress, was also going into seclusion to break through.
...
In the evening, another Chaodu arrived in the Demon Realm together with "Chaodu".
Although it is called the Demon Realm, ten years ago, many of the cities and landscapes here belonged to the cultivation world.
After flying for another half hour, a city appeared in the sight of the two chariots. The hazy starlight caressed the ruins with pity, and a faint sound like a wolf howl came on the wind, adding to the desolation.
Chao Du sighed, "Yun Deng City, when it was bustling, was ablaze with lights like clouds."
Another Chao Du said sadly, "Now all that's left is overgrown weeds. Do you think there will be any survivors?"
"It's difficult." Chao Du shook his head, then his eyes suddenly sharpened. "In the city, there's such strong demonic energy. What is that huge mass?"
“You have such good eyesight…” The other Chaodu struggled to make out the large mass Chaodu was referring to for a while before he could make out what Chaodu was referring to: a dark gray mass in the middle of the city, almost blending into it, but it seemed to have some undulations? “It looks like a living thing?”
Asakawa: "Okay, let's go take a look. Conceal your presence and aura, and don't act rashly. Be careful not to alert them."
Bai Yuhe led the two of them to fly over the vicinity of the large unidentified object in the city, hovering back and forth.
Asahi sent "Early Rising" to patrol the city and search for survivors who were virtually impossible to find, while he stayed on another Asahi's shoulder to observe the large, unidentified object together. It looked... a bit like a dog lying on its side.
Another astonished person exclaimed, "What a huge monster! Is that its head? It's as big as a building!! It crushed all the houses around the street!"
Asakawa sighed softly, "I wonder how much it ate to grow to this size. Hush, it's moving..."
The enormous, dark gray demonic hound twitched its nose, then opened three pairs of blood-red eyes, gazing greedily at the sky. Then, pair after pair... countless eyes opened from its body, and in an instant, it was as if countless blood flowers bloomed on its body, with eyeballs darting about inside each flower.
These eyes eagerly gazed at the sky, their gazes sweeping across the heavens inch by inch, as if searching for something.
Another chuckled and asked in a very low voice, "Have they spotted us?"
Chao Du: "It seems so. We only concealed our presence and aura, but dogs have a keen sense of smell and can detect scents. They came back early this morning. There are no survivors or other demons or demonic cultivators in the city. Let's go!"
The white jade crane instantly flapped its wings and soared into the sky, shooting off like an arrow with a whoosh. Behind it, one could vaguely hear a mournful sound like a wolf's howl, sending chills down one's spine.
Another person looked back and saw that the giant demonic hound had stood up, countless eyes staring in the direction they had left, and then flew out from its body!
They formed a large cloud of "blood mist," and another person, Chao Du, felt a chill run down their spine, repeatedly asking, "What do we do? They're catching up! Oh... scatter!"
Chao Du looked back and said, "Its main body has a keen nose, but its separate eyeballs don't have noses. We've flown so far that they've lost their target and can only scatter around that area hoping to find us. They can't find us."
Bai Yuhe moved with lightning speed, and soon the giant demonic hound and the terrifying "blood mist" behind him grew smaller and smaller.
The other one, Chao Du, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, then realized he was covered in a cold sweat: "That was terrifying... It could actually find us by scent, but I don't have any scent on me, do I?"
Chao Du laughed and said, "Of course you don't have it, but dogs can smell scents that humans can't. This demonic hound's nose is not to be underestimated. Although it's terrifying, if we can make good use of it, it will actually provide an opportunity to defeat it... I'll write it down first and give it to the Immortal Alliance along with other intelligence later."
Another half day passed, and another city appeared in the sight of the two chariots, a city with a ghostly aura.
Having learned from his experience, Chao Du had the white jade crane hover in the distance and sent early risers to patrol the area outside the city walls.
With his eyes open early, Chao Du saw: "There are demonic cultivators gathered here. Maybe we can gather some information. Besides, there's no need to check identities to enter."
Another Asawa silently encouraged himself: "I'm ready!"
Asawa: "Okay, relax, don't be nervous, I'm here. By the way, put on a mask and put away the necklace that conceals demonic energy."
The two charioteers prepared themselves, put away the white jade crane at a distance, and headed towards the city gate. The three characters "Snow Moon City" carved on the city gate were broken and splattered with blood from ten years ago.
Another Chaodu stared blankly at the inscription on the city gate: "Snow Moon City... I remember it was known for its elegance, a gathering place for painters and musicians, but now it has become like this..."
Her gaze shifted to the city gate, and her eyes widened instantly: "That shop sells human skin and rice meat?!"
Chao Du reminded him, "The demonic cultivators won't be surprised by this. Quickly, just walk forward naturally; someone is watching you."
The other Asakawa secretly clenched her hands in her sleeve, trying to appear relaxed and indifferent to her surroundings as she walked forward.
But the further she went, the more alarmed she became: the things the demonic cultivators in this city sold were truly outrageous.
Besides the two items I just saw at the rice and meat shop, there were bloody medicine figures displayed at the entrance of this pharmacy—perhaps they were all cultivators in the past—as well as various medicines: supposedly a longevity potion made from a hundred hearts, a secret medicine that could turn people into puppets, and so on.
Further on, the stall was filled with cages containing all sorts of strange and grotesque monsters... but why do some of them look like humans?
Another Chaodu couldn't help but take a second look. A person covered in demonic markings walked out of the shop, baring bloodshot teeth, and enthusiastically introduced, "This is no ordinary demon. It was made from cultivators captured ten years ago! Such good stuff is becoming increasingly rare. Once it's gone, it's gone!"
Another Chao Du shook his head, suppressing the urge to vomit, and continued walking forward. Ahead was a restaurant where several demonic cultivators were drinking.
Another Asakawa caught a glimpse of the menu by the door, and after realizing what the dishes were made of, he immediately pressed his hand to his mask and almost vomited on the spot.
Asawari: "Although this place is more suitable for gathering information... let's come back later."
Another Chao Du nodded with difficulty and continued walking forward. He saw a shop selling magical artifacts. Inside were various musical instruments such as zithers and pipa, as well as various protective magical artifacts, but these things were obviously not made by demonic cultivators.
Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be traces of black blood on the string that hadn't been wiped clean, and couldn't be wiped off at all...
Another man, Chao Du, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and told himself that he had to avenge them as soon as possible.
Then, forcing himself to walk back to the restaurant where the demonic cultivators were drinking, he made a great effort to get back to the place.
A humanoid puppet approached and asked what they wanted to eat.
Upon seeing the puppet, another Chaodu immediately recalled the puppet medicine sold at the pharmacy. Could this puppet have once been a cultivator in Snow Moon City...?
Chao Du reminded them, "Let's order first, just pick two dishes."
Another Asakawa, suppressing his nausea, recalled the menu he had just seen: "...blood wine, cold-dressed heart and liver."
The puppet nodded and noted it down. A moment later, it brought over a pot of wine and a plate of food with traces of blood.
Another woman lifted the lid of the wine pot and glanced at it. A fishy smell wafted out, and the blood-red wine swayed gently, looking more tempting than she had imagined... But when she thought about what it might be made of, she made up her mind not to taste a drop. She just pretended to eat with her chopsticks and listened attentively to the conversation around her.
At the table in front, someone was talking about their relationship problems. He said he fell in love at first sight with a demonic cultivator named "Han Yu," but the demonic cultivator had a terrible reputation. He was afraid that if he wanted to confess his feelings, the other party would want to capture him to make medicine. His two friends advised him to give up.
The people at the table on the right seem to be merchants among the demonic cultivators, discussing the prices of their goods and how much they made or lost on this trip.
The people at the table on the left all looked worried. Someone sighed, "Where are we going to get so many fresh hearts these days? The batch from ten years ago is long gone."
Another Asaka glanced at the fresh hearts and livers on his plate, still stained with blood. So these are...?
"But the sect leader won't care. If we can't find one, he'll use our hearts!"
"Sigh, when will the Demon Lord attack the cultivation world again?"
"Shh, haven't you heard? The Demon Lord went to the Azure Gold Sea a couple of days ago, returned severely injured, and almost died there!"
The demonic cultivators at the table immediately perked up and asked this demonic cultivator to talk about the Demon Lord's injuries.
This well-informed demonic cultivator embellished the story of the battle between Chao Du and the Demon Lord in the Azure Gold Sea, leaving the other demonic cultivators both astonished and terrified.
"A sword immortal has appeared in the cultivation world, capable of severely injuring even demonic cultivators. What are we going to do?"
Another smug voice replied: "That's exactly what we want to do—fear them!"
On the way to the Demon Realm, Chao Du had already told the other Chao Du about this. The other Chao Du expressed strong dissatisfaction with her leaving without saying goodbye and demanded that she be taken along next time.
Then someone at the other table chuckled softly, "Don't worry, even if a sword immortal appears in the cultivation world, it's useless. I heard that the Ghost King has forged an incredible magic weapon. The cultivation world won't have another decade. By then, all those cultivators will be our prey!"
"The flesh of cultivators is still the best!" someone licked their lips and laughed. "Once you've tasted it, you can't forget the flavor."
With a crisp "snap," another pair of chopsticks broke in Asakawa's hand, and several people immediately looked at her.
Another Asakawa: "...These chopsticks aren't very sturdy."
"What, looking for trouble? Trying to renege on your debt?!" The boss threw back the curtain, holding a cleaver, and strode over menacingly. He slammed the cleaver down on the table where she was sitting and said viciously, "If you dare to renege on your debt, you'll become food in my restaurant!"
The other Chao Du, not wanting to attract attention, quickly said, "No renege on the debt, no renege on the debt, settle the bill, how much?"
The shopkeeper looked her up and down and sneered, "Thirty-five copper coins would have been enough, but now you have to leave the bracelet on your wrist!"
Another Asakawa glared at him through the mask: "Don't push your luck!"
"So what if I bullied you?" the shopkeeper sneered. "You started this whole thing. You're so weak and you still dare to cause trouble. I'm only being merciful by giving you a pair of bracelets. Do you think this is the world of immortals?"
Another Asakawa gritted his teeth and whispered in her ear, "Take off one of the bracelets."
The other Asakawa was surprised and puzzled.
Xiao Niao's gaze sharpened: "Then go and fight him. He's no match for you. With your demonic energy, you'll be in your element in the Demon Realm. Use it boldly, and fight when you need to."
Another person, Chao Du, had a sudden flash of inspiration and immediately took off the bracelet.
“That’s right…” The shopkeeper smiled and reached for the Ice Marrow Tranquil Bracelet, but his wrist was grabbed by another person and twisted in the opposite direction. A shrill scream immediately echoed throughout the street.
The diners at the next table were also stunned: "How is she so amazing?"
"Such powerful demonic energy! She's hiding it so well!"
"The boss has bullied the wrong person."
"Hehe, let's fight! Let's fight!"
The other man released his grip, intending to continue teaching the boss a lesson, but saw him retreat in terror, clutching his deformed wrist and repeatedly kowtowing, saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong! I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness, please have mercy and let me go this time!"
Asakawa also said, "Let's stop here. We're mainly here to gather intelligence, so we can't attract too much attention."
The other one nodded and snorted coldly, "I'll let you go this time!"
The shopkeeper quickly replied, "Thank you so much, sir! Consider these two dishes a gift from me! It's my honor that you came to my shop! What else would you like to eat? I'll go and make you a few more dishes!"
Another Chao Du waved his hand mysteriously, put on the bracelet, and left the shop. He continued walking forward. Ahead were clothing shops, inns, a shop run by ghost cultivators that sold ghosts, and even a tea stall.
Does the game "Demon Realm" have a tea shop?
Another Chaodu couldn't help but take a closer look at its menu and found that it really was an ordinary tea stall. However, the existence of a tea stall in the Demon Realm was not ordinary in itself: after all, not many demon cultivators would like to drink tea, right?
She then observed the few people chatting and drinking tea at the tea stall: from the owner to the customers, they were all white-haired, seemed to know each other well, and their demonic aura was very weak... This meant they hadn't harmed too many people.
Her gaze lingered on them for a while, and one of the old men turned to look at her, smiling as he asked, "What, never seen a demonic cultivator drinking tea before?"
The other Chao Du sensed that he meant no harm and smiled, "I haven't been a demon for long, and this is indeed the first time I've seen a demon cultivator drinking tea."
Several elderly people laughed happily. One of the grandmothers waved to her and said, "Come and sit down. I'll treat you to a drink today. It's rare to see a new person like this."
Another person hesitated for a moment before sitting down: these old people actually looked quite kind, and the tea in their cups really didn't seem to have any demonic energy; it was unbelievably normal.
The old lady poured her a cup of tea herself, handed it to her, and carefully examined Chao Du, judging, "She should be able to drink it."
Another person took a small bite, and the old lady asked with a smile, "How does it taste?"
Another person, Chao Du, truthfully replied, "I couldn't taste anything... This tea is a bit weak?"
"It's not that the tea is weak, it's that you're deeply possessed by demonic energy." An old man beside her looked her up and down, his gaze landing on her bracelet. He said knowingly, "You used a magic item to conceal your demonic energy?"
Another Chaodu nodded, looking around at the old man in surprise: "You all seem to have only a shallow level of demonic possession?"
"After all, we don't really want to become demonic cultivators, we just want to live a few more years." The old woman chuckled as she sipped her tea. "None of us have ever killed anyone, we just occasionally 'borrow' a few years of life from others."
Another old man nodded and said, "We used to be cultivators too, we can't do things like killing people and refining corpses... Sigh, although there's no point in living, we really don't want to die."
Several people nodded in agreement and sighed, and someone else said:
"However, I heard that a sword immortal has emerged in the cultivation world. He severely injured the Demon Lord a couple of days ago. When that sword immortal comes, we're all probably doomed."
"I don't think so. Although the Demon Lord was defeated, the one who truly reigns supreme in the Demon Realm is that Ghost King! Even a Sword Immortal might not be a match for the Ghost King. Moreover, with the victory of the cultivation world this time, it's easy for them to lower their guard and underestimate their enemy. If the Ghost King takes the opportunity to make a move... the cultivation world might repeat the mistakes of ten years ago."
"Sigh, it was so tragic ten years ago..."
As they chatted, they reminisced about the past, while another woman, Chao Du, listened with a cup of tea in hand, until a tiny, invisible blue bird gently landed back on her shoulder.
The pink bird spoke up: "I had someone scout out this city early this morning. This street is the only lively one, and there aren't many demonic cultivators. Let's move on to another city and continue our scouting. I'm more interested in what that person in the tavern mentioned about the Ghost King's newly forged magic weapon. Why don't we go directly to Mingming City? There are many ghost cultivators there, and we might have more information about the Ghost King."
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