chapter 66

She Felt Joy in Her Heart

The blood moon's radiance illuminated the entire mansion, and Zhan Yunwei quickly realized that the man sitting in the main seat, Wen Xun, was not the same as the one in her memories.

In the Mirage of Yue Zhi Heng, Wen Xun did not like to smile, but he was a good person. Even after becoming a demon, he stubbornly retained his human consciousness.

But the man before her, just by looking at his previously grotesque form, was utterly terrifying.

What had happened in the past eighteen years? How had Wen Xun turned into such a terrifying monster?

Zhan Yunwei couldn't help but glance at Yue Zhi Heng.

He didn't seem surprised. He appeared to have known all along that Lu Cun Wang was Wen Xun, standing behind him with his head lowered in a humble manner.

But Zhan Yunwei always felt that Yue Zhi Heng might stab Wen Xun in the back at any moment.

At times, she had to admit that, compared to anyone else, Yue Zhi Heng had more of the appearance of a villain.

However, contrary to her expectations, after three rounds of wine, Yue Zhi Heng had no intention of stabbing Wen Xun.

The Demon King Wen Xun put down his cup and swept his gaze across the many demons with hidden motives.

"Today, I've called you all here not just for offerings." He smiled leisurely. "You all must make a stand."

The demons exchanged glances.

Wen Xun continued, "Having been trapped in Du'e City for so many years, I'm sure everyone harbors some dissatisfaction. Since you're here, you might as well fight your way out of the barrier with me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the demons' expressions changed.

Zhan Yunwei observed their faces with some surprise. She had thought that all the demons were desperately trying to reach the Spirit Realm. But now it seemed that those demons who had lived for many years didn't want to leave Du'e City.

They looked terrified, as if Wen Xun wasn't asking them to go to the Spirit Realm, but was rather demanding their lives.

One of the Demon Kings couldn't help but speak up: "The City Lord's command prohibits us from leaving Du'e City rashly."

In the past century, there had been arrogant Demon Kings who, relying on their profound cultivation, attempted to leave Du'e City. But the moment they stepped outside, heavenly thunder descended from the skies and turned them to ashes.

Though the City Lord had not appeared in nearly a century, to the demons of Du'e City, he was equivalent to the Demon Dao itself and could not be defied.

Zhan Yunwei thought to herself: So, the reason the great demons do not leave Du'e City is not because the fragile barrier created by the Fang family can stop them, nor because they fear being eradicated by spirit cultivators, but because the City Lord forbids it.

Pei Yujing, the head of the Immortal Sect, had remained silent for a long time, his expression strange. "..."

The truth seemed to mock the efforts of the spirit cultivators all these years.

At this moment, chaos erupted within the mansion. The demons felt something was amiss. They feared Wen Xun, but they feared the City Lord of Du'e City even more. They began shouting to leave.

Wen Xun's eyes gleamed with evil, and he laughed maniacally. "I'm not asking for your opinions. Since you're all here today, whether you're willing or not, you must stay."

As his words fell, Zhan Yunwei keenly sensed a change in the atmosphere.

She had encountered a similar scene when she was fourteen. That day, the senior brothers and sisters in the academy were almost all refined and consumed, and Pei Yujing nearly had his sword bone extracted. Both of them remembered it vividly.

She immediately guessed what Wen Xun was planning and why he had progressed so quickly. He was clearly intending to refine all the demons in the mansion and devour them.

The two quickly retreated, distancing themselves by several feet.

The demons, now aware of the situation, quickly dodged, but those with weaker cultivation were trapped in place.

The world seemed to transform into a gigantic furnace, instantly refining these demons into black smoke.

The black smoke rushed into Wen Xun's body. Under the blood moon, he turned into his shadowy true form. The already terrifying monster grew even larger.

The once bustling mansion was almost entirely consumed by Wen Xun in the blink of an eye.

Finally, his gaze landed on Pei Yujing and Zhan Yunwei. Zhan Yunwei glanced at Yue Zhi Heng, whose expression was calm, and couldn't help but curse in her heart.

She finally understood what Yue Zhi Heng was planning. He had long since surrendered as the Ghost Lantern, and even if Wen Xun were to kill someone, it would be him who died last.

Once Pei Yujing had exhausted Wen Xun, Yue Zhi Heng would reap the benefits.

As the Demon King's true form closed in, Pei Yujing could no longer maintain his disguise and summoned the divine sword. At this point, he also realized the treacherous thoughts of the imperial dog of the dynasty. His forehead muscles twitched.

After a period of cultivation, Pei Yujing had made significant progress. The golden light of the divine sword was even brighter than before.

Wen Xun, having been a sword cultivator in life, showed a glint of strange excitement in his eyes and hoarsely exclaimed, "Is this the legendary divine sword?"

He didn't attempt to resist the divine sword head-on but instead transformed his demonic energy into a blade to gradually wear Pei Yujing down.

The boundless demonic energy was all his true form, and under the blood moon's blessing, Pei Yujing was injured. Zhan Yunwei had no choice but to summon the Star Formation to trap Wen Xun.

Wen Xun stared at the spiritual energy binding him. "A spirit master?"

The white spiritual energy confined him, but Zhan Yunwei soon realized why Wen Xun was the most formidable demon. Every time her spiritual energy shattered his form, the next moment, the demonic energy would reassemble, becoming an omnipresent shadow.

Shadows, demonic energy—these were intangible things. How could one kill them?

She tried to probe into Wen Xun's sea of consciousness. As soon as her spiritual energy reached out, it was met with countless thoughts, as though thousands of mouths were speaking at once.

She frowned, quickly withdrawing her spiritual sense. It was futile!

The demon king had already lost his sense of self. She could not find the consciousness that belonged to Wen Xun among the thousands of demons.

And now, the demon king began his counterattack.

In an Instant, Sword Qi and Demonic Energy Spread

For a moment, where the sword qi and demonic energy passed, trees and buildings collapsed, but there was one place protected by a barrier, temporarily intact.

Yue Zhi Heng sat on the high platform, coldly watching. Only at this moment did he raise his brows, and his figure vanished in the wind.

Pei Yujing immediately said, "Yangyang, don't mind me, go get the Hundred Kill Lu!"

However, Zhan Yunwei didn't even need to decide what to do. The moment Yue Zhi Heng disappeared, Wen Xun, who had been entangled with them, transformed into countless black shadows and chased after Yue Zhi Heng.

At this point, it was clear to everyone that there was something extremely important over there.

Without hesitation, Zhan Yunwei followed. "Senior Brother, keep up."

She felt the sensation of stepping on air beneath her feet—this was a teleportation formation. After vanishing beyond the barrier, Zhan Yunwei immediately saw Yue Zhi Heng standing under a massive stone tablet.

He had entered first, but his expression was dark and gloomy.

At first, Zhan Yunwei didn't understand what was going on. It wasn't until she watched as Wen Xun was stopped by the silvery-white light on the stone tablet, as if burned, that she saw the red-hot palm of Yue Zhi Heng.

She was already annoyed with him for being two-faced, and felt a bit schadenfreude. So, she deliberately asked, "Why doesn't Lord Yue go in?"

Yue Zhi Heng lowered his gaze at her.

The mockery in her eyes was so obvious that even if Yue Zhi Heng wanted to ignore it, it would be hard to.

He glanced at her and sneered. "I, Yue, have no such ability. Miss Zhan, perhaps you should give it a try?"

At that moment, Zhan Yunwei almost felt like she had returned to the second day after their wedding, when she was harmed by Yue Wujou and trapped in the Mirage of Floating Dream. Back then, she and Yue Zhi Heng had both looked at each other with disdain. Although she knew Yue Zhi Heng didn't mean to take advantage of her, she had been angry and humiliated, deliberately wronging him in an attempt to infuriate him.

At that time, Yue Zhi Heng had also sneered, saying that even if he was hungry and desperate, he wouldn't do such a thing to her.

Zhan Yunwei found it somewhat amusing, yet there was a tinge of bitterness.

Although Lord Yue's words had been so harsh, in the end, it was he who had charged into the killing formation without hesitation, bringing her back safely.

In that moment, Zhan Yunwei wanted to tell him, Lord Yue, let's stop arguing.

She wanted to tell him about her rebirth, to explain why she had trusted him up until now, as a way to exchange for the secrets Yue Zhi Heng had buried for two lifetimes.

But clearly, this was not the right moment to talk. Before she could speak, Wen Xun, standing in front of the stone tablet, suddenly seemed like a madman. His body rapidly expanded and he charged toward the stone tablet.

The backlash of white light almost consumed everyone in an instant, including Pei Yujing and Qu Lanyue, who had just arrived.

No one expected such a change. Instinctively, they moved away from the white light, fearing they would be burned to ashes.

Qu Lanyue cried out in pain.

Pei Yujing furrowed his brow and raised his divine sword in front of him.

Zhan Yunwei had always thought that Zhan Shu Jing was the most unlucky one. Today, she realized who the real unlucky one was.

Behind her, a powerful suction force pulled at her, a familiar sensation that made her instinctively reach forward, trying to grasp something.

Yue Zhi Heng subconsciously grasped her hand.

The white light, where their fingertips touched, burned his fingertips, wrist, and forearm, almost corroding his flesh to the bone.

Zhan Yunwei looked up at him and then realized, "Lord Yue, let go!"

He remained silent, unwilling to release her hand, as if struggling with the stone tablet.

Zhan Yunwei watched as the flesh on his arm almost peeled away, revealing his bone. A part of her felt joy, but her nose became sour.

She knew that if this continued, Yue Zhi Heng's hand would be ruined. Gritting her teeth, she released spiritual energy from her fingertips, forcing him to let go.

At the same time, Qu Lanyue sensed the danger and took a step forward, placing the Killing Seal on Yue Zhi Heng's back.

Zhan Yunwei clearly felt Yue Zhi Heng pause for a moment. His eyes seemed to be clouded by a red mist, and, finally, as she wished, he released her hand.

The White Light and Its Effects

Where the white light passed, everyone, except for Pei Yujing, was burned.

The black energy on Wen Xun's body was mostly evaporated, and he disappeared near the barrier, vanishing into who knows where. Qu Lanyue saw Pei Yujing chase into the stone tablet, and only then did she press the unsealed talisman onto Yue Zhi Heng's body.

She leaned against a towering tree nearby, looking at the burn marks on her own body, and sighed, "What are you doing, Lord Yue? Are you still conscious? It's obvious that the damned stone tablet only harms us, not her."

That last attack had nearly wasted all their efforts.

She wasn't sure if the talisman was applied in time, but Zhan Yunwei could feel whether or not Yue Zhi Heng would truly abandon her.

Yue Zhi Heng looked at his arm, covered in wounds, and remained silent for a long time. He closed his eyes. "I'm used to it."

Qu Lanyue: "…"

She never expected that to be his reason, but it was both sad and almost laughable. Anything could be disguised, except love.

But for people like them, the love they gave seemed hardly rare to others.

Qu Lanyue said, "Don't worry, Miss Zhan isn't weak. The stone tablet doesn't mean any harm to her. Since Pei Yujing also entered, I believe she's fine."

Yue Zhi Heng sat on the side, tending to his wounds, and didn't look at the stone tablet again.

It was clear that this stone tablet was designed specifically to prevent people from entering.

Qu Lanyue tossed a stone at the stone tablet, laughing. "I knew the world was full of injustice, with people ranked in all sorts of ways, but I never imagined that one day even a stone tablet would discriminate. What's this? Only good people can enter?"

The white light not only didn't harm Pei Yujing but also allowed him to chase after it.

It didn't make sense. If it were truly so powerful, it shouldn't have harmed her or Yue Zhi Heng.

Yue Zhi Heng, now calm, didn't bother with her rambling. His eyes were thoughtful. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the forbidden land of Duer City. After all these years, even if there's still spiritual energy here, it's no longer able to distinguish people. It probably relies on their aura."

Qu Lanyue took a long while to understand what he meant. She sighed inwardly, mocking herself.

A sacred land, no wonder.

As for Wen Xun, he was a complete evil spirit. As for herself and Yue Zhi Heng, thinking back to what they had been secretly doing for the past ten years—one suppressing the Yin soldiers from behind the scenes, the other being the leader of the Yin soldiers—it was no wonder the forbidden land didn't acknowledge them.

It made sense now that the forbidden land hurt them.

Qu Lanyue said, "When Miss Zhan comes out, do you want to explain yourself?"

Yue Zhi Heng sneered. "Explain what?"

Qu Lanyue thought, fine, better not say anything. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

She said, "When they come out, they'll probably have the Hundred Kill Lu. I don't believe that thing can kill the Spirit Emperor. If it were that powerful, Dongfang Jibi and the original Dao Lord wouldn't have died. We should at least make an attempt to grab it, or else before the Yin soldiers are fully trained, we're all doomed."

Yue Zhi Heng thought the same.

Qu Lanyue glanced at him and suggested, "Should I just stick the Killing Seal on you directly?"

Yue Zhi Heng was silent for a long while before replying, "Mm."

It was better than explaining why he suddenly went mad. He'd rather lose an arm than explain why he saved the person who had "killed" his sister.