Lies of the Celestial Realm
"What happened?"
"Well, I need Heqi to use the Dust-Bidding Technique to help me identify whether a mortal in this palace is a demon."
"Although Tsurugi and I are acquainted, we haven't established a connection that would allow us to summon each other immediately. I can only go to the Demon Realm to pass on your message. This trip will take some time, but I can still identify your true form."
"Okay, Xiaobai, take Tianshu Xingjun to verify Ju Yue's identity immediately. Don't alert the enemy."
After completely concealing his own aura, Xiaobai immediately took Tianshu to the residence of the Juyue Taoist priest. On the way, Xiaobai told Tianshu everything that had happened in the past few days.
Tianshu asked, "I haven't smelled a single demonic aura along the way. If it really is a demon, I'm afraid its cultivation must be quite advanced."
"Yes, the master also has this suspicion. He is afraid that it is the work of Xie Yuan's old subordinates."
Under my feet, the entire Western Xinjiang Imperial Palace is as complex as a maze. The palaces, large and small, are brightly lit, and candles illuminate the dark night, and the palace roads are clearly visible.
But the further they got toward the Juyue Taoist's residence, the dimmer the candlelight grew. Until Xiaobai stopped in front of a somewhat desolate side hall, nearing the edge of the Imperial Palace.
There were no candles in any of the houses, only dim lanterns hung at intervals in the corridors outside. It was strangely quiet, and only the faint sound of the armor and swords of the Royal Guards patrolling the dark palace roads could be heard.
Xiaobai pointed to the side hall in front and said, "Master Ju Yue lives here, but it's a little too quiet. I checked the memories of the mortal emperor and found that although Ju Yue held no official position, Xiao Yan'an always treated him well whenever he stayed in the palace. Tonight, it's a little too quiet."
Tianshu stopped Xiaobai and stopped above the yard, saying warily, "Wait, Xiaobai, do you smell a faint smell of blood? It's a little faint, smell it carefully."
"I smelled it. It might not be obvious to the Star Lord, but it's too obvious to us demons. And the blood is suppressed by other smells, like the scent of incense and candles in a temple."
Tianshu immediately used his divine power to observe. Long chains extended from the palace in front of him, trapping countless dull and lifeless souls.
"Something is deliberately restraining the soul. There must be something else here. To be able to hide its aura so deeply from my divine vision, it must have an ancient artifact. The opponent's strength is definitely greater than that of the great wild monster. We must be more careful. First, identify the true identity of the alchemist, and then find the soul-binding object."
Entering the room where the alchemist lived, the pungent aroma of incense and candles hit him. Two large incense burners, filled with incense, stood side by side, emitting thick smoke that suppressed the smell of blood. However, Xiaobai still found mottled bloodstains, remnants of flesh, and bone fragments on the ground.
"In the past two hours, many people have died in this room. With the windows and doors closed and so much incense burning, this Taoist priest Ju Yue isn't afraid of suffocating himself to death."
"He's not a human, so of course he's not afraid of being suffocated to death."
Xiaobai followed the line of sight of Tianshu Xingjun and saw blood stains spreading from the hall to the bed behind the curtain. The so-called Ju Yue Taoist was holding a corpse with grotesquely twisted limbs, greedily stuffing it into his mouth. The corner of Ju Yue Taoist's mouth was torn and almost to the temples.
"He is indeed not a human being."
And in Tianshu's sight, the source of the soul-binding chains that could be seen clearly outside the hall came from Ju Yue.
"I've seen it. Ju Yue is a mortal. What lives inside him is the key."
"I can't see, Xingjun, what kind of evil spirit is living in his body?" Xiaobai asked.
"Fallen Angel Barrow."
As soon as Tianshu finished speaking, Ju Yue, who was stuffing food into his mouth behind the curtain, suddenly stopped, stood up abruptly, and then bit it off with one bite. The remaining limbs fell to the ground with a heavy muffled sound.
Ju Yue lifted the curtain, and the corner of his mouth healed quickly, and the blood stains on his body disappeared completely. He casually broke off a branch from the flowerpot and tied up half of his messy hair.
"My name is unlucky, old friend, you shouldn't mention it. Take your people and leave immediately. Don't meddle in other people's business. I'll pretend you were never here."
"How could you..."
Bai Yan continued, "How could I not be dead yet? Tianshu, the most worthwhile thing I've done in my life is becoming your friend. If I didn't know you so well, I really wouldn't be able to survive the sixty-four killing barriers in the wilderness."
"That's not what I meant, Barnyard Bulbul, I didn't betray you, really."
"I know that even when I was captured in your Star Lord's Mansion, I never doubted you. But, since you invited me, I had to come. From the moment we became enemies, each serving his own master, we were no longer friends. So, you don't need to worry about the past."
"Barnyard sturgeon..."
Baiyan immediately interrupted Tianshu: "Stop, there's no need to try to persuade me. You and I both know that even if I stop here, the sins I've committed will be punished by heaven and earth. There's no going back, Tianshu. I must avenge this vengeance, even if it's you who's standing in my way. Now, before we meet face to face, for the sake of our former friendship, please leave."
"Baiyan, I didn't mean to persuade you to plead guilty."
After saying that, Tianshu immediately brought Xiaobai back to Yuanli's bedroom.
Yuanli, who had been waiting anxiously in the hall, saw the two men return with heavy faces and asked hurriedly, "Why did you take so long? Could it be that Ju Yue is really one of Xie Yuan's former subordinates?"
Xiaobai hung his head in silence. After a moment of silence, Tianshu said, "It's not Xieyuan's old subordinates, it's a Fallen Angel."
"Fallen Angel? Like Cang Shen? If that's all, it would be much easier to resolve."
"Fallen Angels are divided into different ranks. Before becoming a Fallen Angel, Cang Shen was just a mortal who ascended to become a celestial soldier or general. With a shallow foundation, he naturally couldn't achieve anything significant, so he was easily dealt with. But this guy is the descendant of a celestial being. Before becoming a Fallen Angel, he was already an extremely outstanding celestial being. The divine power he deliberately concealed was on par with mine at the time."
Yuanli was extremely confused and frowned, asking, "How could such a god become a Fallen Angel and be imprisoned in the wilderness?"
"Because of patricide."
After hesitating for a long time, Yuanli asked tentatively in a low voice: "Are you talking about barnyard grass?"
"How do you know?"
"I once heard Yinsi mention a connection between him and you in the Netherworld... But wasn't he executed during the purging of Xie Yuan's followers in the Heavenly Realm? If Baiyan is here for other purposes, it's fine, but if it's with..."
Out of concern for Tianshu, Yuanli hesitated to speak explicitly, and spoke vaguely. But judging by Tianshu's expression, he must have understood.
Yuanli had heard from several underworld officials that, while Baiyan wasn't as intelligent or brave as his father, he was still exceptional among his peers. Furthermore, with his exceptional appearance and having been born a god, he and his close friend, Taohua Langjun, were the objects of adoration and pursuit by women from all walks of life.
However, just when Xie Yuan was killed and all his followers were strangled by the heavens, and peace returned to the world, Baiyan suddenly committed an act of patricide and almost killed his father.
Later, rumors spread that Baiyan's mother was a woman from the demon world.
As the rumors grew, someone started to say that the reason why Baiyan became a Fallen Angel and killed his father was that he was of demon blood and his brutal habits were difficult to change.
After that, the Heavenly Realm tried to capture the sturgeon for a long time but failed to find it. Until six hundred years later, it was strangled to death in the palace of Tianshu Star Lord.
They all said that it was the Tianshu Star Lord who set up a trap to get him captured. This story was once praised by the world and used to illustrate the rare friendship of a true friend, but now it is talked about with great regret.
"I don't know what version you heard, but don't worry about me. Just say whatever you want to say."
"Okay... okay." To ease the atmosphere, Yuanli smiled wryly, "I'm overthinking it. I'm overthinking it. When Xie Yuan was suppressed, almost all of his former followers were killed by the Heaven Realm. Even if there were some left over, or some new followers emerged, they're nothing but ants in front of Baiyan. How could there be any connection between the two?"
Tianshu lamented, "That was just a facade created by the Heaven Realm for the sentient beings of the Four Seas and Eight Wastelands, and the Six Realms. Back then, Xie Yuan was quite prestigious throughout the Six Realms and Eight Wastelands, with countless followers drawn to him. This directly made it impossible to completely eradicate him. At that time, Emperor Hengjin proposed the strategy of capturing the leader first. After Xie Yuan was suppressed, the Emperor personally dispatched and strangled the six great demons that followed Xie Yuan and imprisoned them. The Heaven Realm soldiers and generals even carried out this large-scale strangulation of the remaining demons for over a thousand years afterwards. Only then did those lesser demons and monsters believe that almost all of Xie Yuan's followers had been strangled, and they all thought they were lucky winners, keeping silent. In reality, Emperor Hengjin was completely focused on..."
Realizing he'd said something he shouldn't have, Tianshu quickly fell silent and continued, "After Emperor Hengjin strangled and imprisoned the six great demons, he disappeared. Those demon kings who escaped from the wilderness were no pushovers, so the Heavenly Realm could only arrest and imprison them under the banner of Hengjin. Those great demons from the wilderness that the outside world knew about being strangled were actually secretly imprisoned back in the wilderness."
"But those great demons originally escaped from the wilderness. If they could escape once, they should have realized that the wilderness isn't infallible. Since they're strangling them under the Emperor's banner, why are they just doing it for show in front of the Six Realms and Eight Wildernesses? Is this to sow the seeds of a crisis that could be triggered at any time in the future?"
"Because he knew that if Heng Jin didn't take action, his combat power wouldn't be enough to strangle them all. If the outside world knew of his failure to strangle them once, it would be completely exposed, and would damage the reputation of the Heavenly Realm as always victorious. However, the Savage Land is no longer the prison it once was. The Emperor of Heaven, with the help of the gods, has transformed it into a near-hellish existence. Each entrance and exit has sixty-four barriers created by different gods, and each barrier is infused with Weak Water. From the moment you are thrown into the Savage Land entrance, falling through each barrier until you enter the Savage Land, even a great demon king is basically half dead. Many demons can't even survive falling through all the barriers. I thought that with Baiyu's ability, he would eventually break through the barriers, but it shouldn't be so soon. You reminded me."
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