Inner Demons

A normal person would be startled by this sudden turn of events, but these demons were different. When they saw Li Yunxin's face, they were stunned. Logically, these demons were originally scaly creatures and couldn't discern beauty or ugliness in humans. However, after gaining sentience and understanding of the world, and taking on human forms, their original nature was gradually erased and altered over decades, hundreds, or even thousands of years.

So, the first thought of those foolish demons when they saw Li Yunxin was, "What a good-looking person—he's not a monkey-faced thunder god at all!"

The great demon Tenth Prince, who was blind, immediately realized something was wrong when he heard Li Yunxin's words. He turned and hid behind the other demons, shouting, "Get him! Get him!"

It was only then that the demons came to their senses. They immediately brought out their various weapons and charged towards Li Yunxin.

The weapons used by these "Demon Kings" and "Demon Generals" were truly of all shapes and sizes.

Some threw a rusty anchor salvaged from a sunken ship at Li Yunxin's head.

Some wielded a steel dung fork, which came from who knows where, aiming for Li Yunxin's waist.

There were even two or three Qing Kingdom official-issue spears and halberds, and a few official waist knives and saber-like swords.

These weapons, however, were a perfect match for the demons' bizarre clothing and hideous, grotesque appearances.

He was a great demon of the True Realm, and the fan in his hand was his Dragon Palace and a Precious Scroll. How could it be an ordinary item?

With one sweep, he shattered the weapons into pieces. The demons, feeling a huge force coming from their hands, knew something was wrong and turned to flee. But Li Yunxin, first and foremost, hated being schemed against from behind. Secondly, he wanted to use this opportunity to establish his authority by killing. Thirdly, he was indeed giving in to the violent nature that had been suppressed for days. He moved like a galloping horse or a shooting star, catching up to the demons and using only the tip of his fan to pop their heads one by one!

The killing was so intense that the entire area of the lake turned into a crimson broth. The small shrimp and fish in the murky water, however, had a feast on the floating brains, broken pieces of meat, and bones.

After easily dealing with these small fries, Li Yunxin took a deep breath and went after the "Tenth Prince."

The water in the crevice had been stirred up by him, so he didn't mind the cold and foul water in the crevice. Although it still looked murky when he looked down, his sharp eyes could still see the faint light of the tiny electric sparks emanating from the demon Tenth Prince as he fled.

After chasing for a quarter of an hour, he realized that the crevice was actually deeper and wider than it appeared. The deeper he went, the wider it became, like a different Grotto-heaven.

Having slaughtered the Tenth Prince's subordinates, how could the Tenth Prince not know?

Seeing that he couldn't escape the killing god behind him even with the advantage of the terrain, and knowing that he was no match for him, he was both afraid and angry. He fled while saying, "My lord and you have no past grudges or recent enmity. Why are you coming to my home to fight me? I am not a timid person. I am a Jiao Dragon that has achieved the Tao in this Dongting Lake. If you push me too hard, I will reveal my hundred-foot true form and fight you, and we will both be buried at the bottom of this lake!"

The sound in the water was different from on land. It was muffled and rumbling, with an echo from the crevice. But the Tenth Prince's voice was loud, and Li Yunxin could hear it clearly.

He followed slowly, while taking out a talisman from his folding fan and lighting it to observe the surroundings. He replied, "Don't panic, don't panic. I just want to have a calm talk and make a friend. Why are you so scared, Tenth Prince?"

The Tenth Prince didn't believe his lies. Hearing his leisurely tone, without any sincerity to have a "calm talk," he became even more flustered. He knew his Traveling Palace was in the deeper part and there was not much room to maneuver. Therefore, he steeled his heart and said, "If you don't leave, I will use the Nine Heavens Thunderflame!!"

Li Yunxin immediately said, "Oh my, I heard that the Nine Heavens Thunderflame is an innate divine power of the Dragon Clan, specifically to kill Yin Spirits. Are you really of the Dragon Clan?"

The Tenth Prince heard the mockery in his voice, gritted his teeth, and his body suddenly tensed up. At this moment, the small electric sparks around his body all disappeared—they were all withdrawn back into his body.

But in the next moment, he let out a low roar.

A blanket of electric sparks woven into a net, connected to the two walls of this deep-water canyon, covered Li Yunxin!

There were fish and shrimp in the water. When they touched the electric net, they didn't even have time to become unconscious. They were directly turned into a puddle of ashes mixed with murky water. Li Yunxin was truly surprised by this sight. The huge electric net was a result of the Tenth Prince's power, not a magic tool or spell!

After unleashing the lightning, the Tenth Prince revealed his true form. With the help of the electric light, Li Yunxin saw his true form—it was indeed a huge dragon-like snake body, with a long dorsal fin that ran almost the entire length of his body, which flashed in the murky water with the help of the lightning...

It really did look like a dragon!

In this instant, the electric net had already enveloped him.

But Li Yunxin...

He didn't dodge or evade!

When he saw the Tenth Prince's "divine power" and the appearance of his true form, he had already guessed what it was.

Therefore, he laughed loudly three times, "Good, good, good. I will show you what a true Nine Heavens Thunderflame is!"

He didn't avoid it. He just let out a cold snort and revealed his divine demon form. He then opened his eyes wide and roared, "Lightning, come!!"

Nothing happened in the water, but a huge dark cloud immediately gathered in the sky above this area of the lake. As soon as the cloud formed, there was a deafening crack, and a thick bolt of lightning directly struck into the Dongting Lake!

The lightning was incredibly powerful. As soon as it entered the water, the surrounding lake water was evaporated into steam. In just a blink of an eye, it struck into the crevice where Li Yunxin was!

When the Tenth Prince heard Li Yunxin's roar, a thunderous sound also rang in his heart. Earlier, someone had just told him that a great demon of the True Realm had come to the lake and hoped to get rid of him. When he saw Li Yunxin just now, he suspected that the True Realm demon had come to his doorstep, so he turned and fled.

Later, he realized he couldn't escape, so he wanted to scare him away with his "Dragon Clan" identity.

Who would have thought that...

This one was actually a member of the Dragon Clan?!

He didn't have time to feel bitter in his heart, only thinking about how to resist and then beg for mercy. However, how could an ordinary demon withstand Li Yunxin's Nine Heavens Thunderflame?!

With a huge crack, a smell of burnt flesh filled the crevice. The Manifestation Realm peak demon, the Tenth Prince, didn't even have time to groan. His huge body was struck into a hard stick and he fainted immediately!

He didn't know how long he was unconscious. When the Tenth Prince opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his nest or in the water grass forest.

He was thrown on an island, or rather, a small reef protruding from the lake. The scorching sun shone brightly overhead, and he was naked, as dry as if he were about to smoke.

But in reality, he couldn't "open his eyes" to see. He was blind. In the water, he could rely on the electric sparks all over his body to sense things. On this land, he was truly in the dark.

Just as he was about to run towards a place with water vapor, he heard the killer's voice, "I knew it—it really is you."

Having experienced his methods, the Tenth Prince didn't dare to speak or move. He just lay obediently on the large rock, only hoping that a cloud would drift by to block the sun, so he wouldn't dry up so quickly.

He then heard Li Yunxin say, "You can generate electricity. And you have such a long fin on your belly—it can indeed deceive people. But unfortunately, I have seen one before. Not only have I seen one... I've also had close contact with one."

Li Yunxin paused, and said with a sarcastic laugh, "So you are actually an electric eel, impersonating a Dragon's Son to deceive people, aren't you?"

The Tenth Prince was exposed and knew that he had no way to escape, so he simply gave up. He said mournfully, "What is an electric eel? My true form is a White Eel. Now that I have fallen into your hands, and you are a great demon of the True Realm, a natural Dragon's Son divine beast, you can kill me or torture me as you wish!"

"White Eel?" Li Yunxin frowned. But then he said, "Ah, an eel—well, it seems you are an invasive species. But I won't mind that. First, what is your name? Second, are those Su family members in Su Town on land really your friends?"

The Tenth Prince originally didn't know why Li Yunxin had come after him. However, sometimes demons fighting and competing for territory didn't need a reason. Now that he saw that he wasn't going to eat him right away, he thought he was going to be dragged ashore and tortured in the sun. This was a common method among demons, simply because "I feel like it."

But he didn't expect this Dragon's Son to first ask for his name and then about the Su family.

The Tenth Prince felt a glimmer of hope.

He hurriedly said, "To answer you, my lord, I am a demon under the command of the Lord of Dongting. After taking human form, I took his surname. My name is Li Shan."

"As for the Su family on land, in human terms, they are considered friends. But I am not very familiar with them. I just often enjoy their offerings. The offerings are not good things either—they are all pigs, cows, and sheep. The meat is tough and hot, and it's not pleasant at all..."

Li Yunxin ignored his rambling. He sat on a reef, staring at the naked and comical-looking Tenth Prince Li Shan, and said, "How did you, a blind person, become friends with people on land? What do they usually ask you to do?"

Li Shan hurriedly said, "As you can see, my lord, this little demon did not deliberately make friends with those people on land. My eyesight is not good, and I never liked going ashore. I only liked those murky currents. But one day, a man from the Su family came to this Dongting Lake in a boat, threw down many sacrifices, and called out my name, asking me to come out and meet him."

"I was planning to cause some waves to capsize the boat and eat the people and livestock together. But that day, I was very bored, so I decided to go and see. I heard the man say that he had a dream that night where the Yama King told him that there was a White Eel in Dongting Lake that had achieved the Tao and had a chance to become a dragon. If he made this connection with me and offered sacrifices every year, his descendants would be blessed."

"I knew this person was talking nonsense. But he mentioned the Yama King's dream. If it wasn't for the Yama King's dream, how would he know I was here? So I talked to him with a bit of doubt."

"It turned out that the man even knew that there was a Vicious Flood Dragon in this Dongting Lake. At that time, this little demon didn't know about it..."

Hearing this, Li Yunxin frowned and interrupted him, "What was that man from the Su family's name? Su Zhizhang? Or his father?"

The eel demon Li Shan was stunned for a long time before he remembered the name of his "friend" Su Zhizhang, who had died a few days ago. He quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no. It was a long time ago—more than two hundred years ago. That person was Su Zhizhang's ancestor, who was originally a fisherman."

Li Yunxin's eyes lit up, "Keep going. Tell me everything in detail. If you miss anything and I find out, I will skin you alive."

Li Shan shivered and quickly said, "Don't worry, my lord, this little one will tell you slowly. After we talked, I thought this little person was interesting. It just so happened that a few years ago, I saw a passenger ship passing by. The people on the ship were writing poems and singing songs on the deck at night, and some cosmetics were dumped from the ship, which was very annoying, so I sank the ship and took it to the bottom of the lake."

"There were a few boxes of treasure on the ship, which were useless to me. After getting to know each other, I brought a box of treasure from the bottom of the lake to him. After that, the man became rich. His descendants also grew more and more, and that's how Su Town came to be."

When he said this, Li Yunxin knew that the eel demon was telling the truth.

Earlier, Lady Hong had told him about Old Man Su, saying that his ancestor was a fisherman in Dongting Lake and came across a considerable amount of wealth—which matched what Li Shan said.

He then heard Li Shan continue, "As for what he asked me to do, he didn't really ask me to do anything. The man told me there was a Vicious Flood Dragon in this Dongting Lake, and he told me that I could claim to be the Vicious Flood Dragon that had achieved the Tao, the tenth Dragon's Son in the world. I could use this name to gather the demons of Dongting Lake and become a local demon king."

"Hey, my true form can use lightning, and I have a long fin on my belly. If I reveal my true form in the murky water, I really do look like a member of the Dragon Clan, so I did what he said. This wasn't meant to blaspheme the Divine Dragon! I only claimed to be the Dragon's Son here in Dongting Lake. How would I dare to talk nonsense outside of Dongting Lake?"

"The ancestor of the Su family, a fisherman, actually knew that there was a Vicious Flood Dragon in the lake," Li Yunxin said slowly. "And then, his descendants are now asking you to help them kill his own father. And then... someone else asked you to kill a great demon who entered Dongting Lake—was this also requested by the Su family?"

Li Shan could tell that Li Yunxin's tone was unfriendly, so he panicked. He stammered and said, "...Yes."

"So, do you know about Old Man Su?" Li Yunxin asked the question he wanted to get to the bottom of today. "The old man that Su Zhizhang asked you to kill. You said you were friends with Su Zhizhang, so you must know his father."

(Note 1): Eel—the eels we eat in eel rice were called White Eels in ancient times. The electric eel in the text is native to South America and has degenerated eyesight. It looks similar to an eel but is very different and not even in the same class. There were no electric eels in ancient China, so there was no ancient name for them. Therefore, the term White Eel is used.

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