Inner Demons

In fact, at this very moment, Qiao Jiaxin, due to her contemplation of her past life and having received the power of incense and vows, finally gained a complete body and spiritual consciousness, re-condensing her form to become a Ghost Cultivator.

At this moment, this girl, who was just an innocent teenager a few months ago, had now become an Intent Realm Ghost Cultivator. Simply speaking of spiritual powers and means, this Qiao Jiaxin had become the most capable person among this group.

However, after she took shape, it was unclear what she was thinking—she only stared straight into the dense forest. Just as Ying Jueran finally couldn't resist trying to touch her, Qiao Jiaxin suddenly spoke.

"Go this way."

People heard her speak for the first time, and indeed, it was the first time she was able to speak.

After saying this, she didn't wait for anyone and strode straight into the forest. At this moment, people were surprised to find that the condensed facial features on her face were not scattered, only slightly blurred.

People hesitated for a moment about whether to follow. But they eventually realized that no matter what, it would be inappropriate to just leave, abandoning the "person" they had risked their lives to save earlier. Moreover, although Qiao Jiaxin acted strangely, she did not seem to have any harmful intentions. These people were all quite brave. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left the city, and they certainly wouldn't have decided on the spur of the moment to rescue the not-so-familiar Qiao Jiaxin from the hands of the "Taoist priests."

So, they followed her.

But after walking only a dozen steps into the forest, they found themselves lost.

However, the strange thing was that after a dozen steps, people slowly realized that they could still hear their companions' voices, but when they tried to find someone, they couldn't find them no matter how hard they looked.

It was as if the person was just behind the next tree. But when you walked around it, there was no one there. They could see human figures in the forest before, but now, they couldn't even see a shadow.

After walking another dozen steps, even the sounds were gone.

The people Ying Jueran brought were not good people; they had all traveled far and wide, almost all had lives on their hands, and they had experience.

They realized that they had encountered a "Ghost Wall" (a type of spiritual maze or disorientation).

Some had experienced it, and some had heard of it. But in such cases, people could usually escape; it just took time, so they were not very panicked.

Ying Jueran was not panicked either. He realized the abnormality six steps after entering the forest—he was walking with Yu Meng. But after Yu Meng turned a tree, he suddenly disappeared. At first, he could hear the slightly panicked whispers of the two girls. But soon, that sound also disappeared.

He knew that the first thing to do at a time like this was to calm his mind. Then, he needed to pinpoint his direction, look carefully, and walk slowly; there would always be a way to resolve it.

He walked for another quarter of an hour based on this, and finally walked out of this particularly dense part of the forest.

The area ahead suddenly opened up.

It was a flat meadow with wild grass barely covering the ankles. A shallow stream crossed the meadow, the kind of stream commonly found in forests, clear despite the dead branches and rotten leaves mixed in. There were no fish in the stream, but a few loaches were hiding motionless in the crevices of the stones at the bottom, and it was unknown if they could find anything to eat.

At the winding part of the shallow stream stood a stone tablet. The stone tablet had been there for countless years and was covered with thick moss. Ying Jueran felt that this sudden scene was a bit eerie. So he subconsciously tightened his grip on his saber hilt.

The leather rope wrapped around the hilt felt slightly rough, but it brought him a sense of security.

He cautiously walked forward a few more steps and could see the words on the stone tablet clearly.

Looking closely, they were vaguely the three words "Yuan-Zhu Kingdom."

Ying Jueran was not illiterate, so he felt that both the tablet and the name exuded a hint of evil. A whole sunny meadow suddenly appearing in the dense forest, and the grass was neatly cut, looking like it had been maintained by someone. There was also such a lonely tablet by the stream, inscribed with "Yuan-Zhu Kingdom"... He had never heard of such a place.

The area near Weicheng had been prosperous for thousands of years; the possibility of a "small country that was swallowed by history but remains unknown" was very small.

He thought for a moment and decided to slowly retreat.

But at this moment, he saw a person.

To be precise, he saw a group of people. People suddenly walked out of the forest behind the stone tablet—about fifteen or sixteen young women with long legs and slender waists, clustering around an old man with a white beard and hair. The old man had a rosy complexion, wore a brocade robe with patterns signifying blessings and longevity, and held a wooden cane carved with three bats bringing good fortune amidst auspicious clouds.

As soon as this group of people appeared, the meadow immediately filled with cheerful laughter and smiles. And these smiles were not for others; they were for Ying Jueran.

The old man looked at him with a smile and floated towards him. The group of young women behind him also looked at him, either shyly, innocently, or curiously. They occasionally bowed their heads and whispered a few words, then giggled, and it was unclear what they were teasing about.

The sudden situation made Ying Jueran slightly stunned. And in that moment of stupor, the old man had already arrived in front of him.

He first bowed to him and said, "I am the local Earth God here. I apologize for not going out to meet you, Young Master Ying. How have you been, Young Master Ying?"

Ying Jueran slightly frowned and gripped his saber tighter.

The old man smiled again: "Young Master Ying can rest assured. You have now arrived in the territory of the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom. The Queen has asked me to invite Young Master Ying to a banquet. If you are worried about your companions, you need not be. They are already in the palace at this moment, meeting the Queen of the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom."

Ying Jueran took another step back and asked coldly, "Who exactly are you?"

The old man said nothing more. He just waved his hand.

The group of young women behind him immediately surrounded Black Saber, pulling and tugging at him with their hands. For a moment, the scent of perfume and powder covered his face and head; his eyes were filled with snow-white bosoms, seductive red lips, and silvery laughter.

These girls, who came from who knows where, were passionate and unrestrained. One even went behind Ying Jueran and lightly pecked his neck with her cherry lips. With this peck, Black Saber immediately felt an boundless scene of spring beauty and a unique, alluring charm. All his previous vigilance and caution were instantly thrown to the wind. He released his grip, allowing the girls to take his Black Saber away. The whole person felt like he was soaring through the clouds, supported by the girls, walking side-by-side with the old man, heading directly past the stone tablet inscribed with "Yuan-Zhu Kingdom."

But as soon as they crossed this stone tablet, the world before them immediately changed.

What was originally a towering forest now had no tall trees. A magnificent city appeared before his eyes. The roads in the city extended in all directions, and the road surfaces were all paved with white marble, exquisitely crafted. Looking at the buildings in the city, the roofs were covered with silver tiles and the bricks were made of white jade. Men and women in five-colored, brightly patterned clothes walked hand-in-hand on the city roads, all with kind smiles on their faces.

Black Saber Ying Jueran focused his eyes and looked far into the distance. He saw a six-story white jade pavilion standing at the center of the city's four main roads. The sounds of string and wind instruments could be faintly heard from the pavilion, even from here.

He was stunned by this wondrous sight, thinking that only the abode of a Celestial Being in the heavens could look like this.

His heart moved, and he looked behind him again. He realized that he was no longer on the ground—this city was actually floating in the sky. Innumerable trees, thick beyond description, supported this white jade city. Yet, there was no feeling of cold desolation at high altitudes; instead, there was only a harmonious and joyful atmosphere!

The old man saw him lost in thought, waved his hand to dismiss the girls, and said, "The Queen is waiting in the pavilion. Young Master Ying, please follow me—today is going to be a day of great joy."

Black Saber was now in a state of confusion, unable to figure out what was wrong with the current situation. He only felt as if a wooden stake had been driven into his head; he could only walk straight but couldn't think flexibly. So he smiled, allowed the old man to take his hand, and followed the four main roads toward the white jade pavilion in the city.

In a short while, the two arrived in front of the white jade pavilion. They saw a row of warriors in colorful armor standing at the door, naturally exuding an aura of prestige. Another official in a white robe ran out from inside the pavilion, and upon seeing Ying Jueran, he loudly called out: "Young Master Ying has arrived! Young Master Ying has arrived!"

Ying Jueran did not know how he was ushered through the door and straight up to the second floor.

Upon entering, he saw a Queen sitting in the center of the second floor.

This Queen was seated high upon a white jade throne, wearing a silver and gold threaded robe embroidered with a phoenix among auspicious clouds, draped in a green-patterned brocade cape made of padded satin. At first glance, her body glittered with precious light, like a celestial fairy. Her headwear was simple, with only a golden hairpin shaped like a thousand-petaled chrysanthemum holding up her entire head of dark hair. However, she wore a shimmering silver veil over her face, preventing people from clearly seeing her features.

There was a small table in front of the Queen. Plates and dishes were laid out on the table, filled with various delicacies. People were seated to the left and right sides, below the Queen. Ying Jueran looked and found familiar faces—Yu Meng and the two sisters, Wusu and Lili, were seated. His dozens of subordinates were also seated. With so many people sitting on the second floor, it did not feel crowded. Instead, the servants standing against the hall walls were constantly craning their necks to look at those people.

Ying Jueran initially thought that those servants were hungry and coveted the food on the tables in front of the people. But upon closer inspection, he found that they were not looking at the food in front of the people... but only at the people themselves.

But this thought flashed across his mind like a fleeting shadow and quickly disappeared.

He saw the Queen beckon to him and say, "Give Young Master Ying a seat."

Ying Jueran did not know how the Queen knew his name. But seeing the happy and intoxicated expressions on the faces of Yu Meng, Wusu, Lili, and the rest of the group, as if they were lost in a tender paradise with no thought of returning, he also relaxed and walked to the Queen, where he sat down.

The banquet immediately began.

First, courtesans performed dances, and then serving girls brought hot wine and hot dishes.

When three rounds of drinks were over, and the dancers and musicians had withdrawn, the Queen on the main seat finally put down her chopsticks and sighed softly.

This sigh went straight into Ying Jueran's heart, making him feel both loving and pitiful, wanting only to share the beauty's worries. He cupped his hands, stood up, and asked, "Why does Your Majesty sigh?"

The Queen did not answer him. Instead, the old man sitting next to her, who called himself the Earth God, first asked Ying Jueran to sit down, then stood up, bowed to everyone present, and said, "We have invited all you heroes to my Yuan-Zhu Kingdom for a difficult matter."

"My people of the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom, tens of thousands strong, live and work in peace, avoiding conflict with the world. We have thrived in this Fuyuan City for hundreds of years, and although there have occasionally been conflicts with neighboring cities, we have never been at a disadvantage."

"However, a few years ago, another country came to this vicinity, called the Tufeng Kingdom. Originally, we lived in peace with the Tufeng Kingdom. Who knew that a great disaster would occur later?"

The old man's gaze swept over everyone in turn. He cleared his throat and continued, "The people of the Tufeng Kingdom are all lazy and inherently cruel and terrifying. Every spring and summer, they reproduce. When they reproduce, they come to our Yuan-Zhu Kingdom. They only select healthy and beautiful men and women, abduct them, and drug them. Then, they cut open their bodies and bury the infants born after ten months of gestation by the Tufeng Kingdom women inside."

"The infants then begin to eat from the inside of our people. They eat the person until they are an empty shell, then break out, which is a horrible sight."

"Our Queen has sent troops to fight them several times. However, the people of the Tufeng Kingdom are skilled at flying, and we cannot harm them at all; we can only destroy their old nests. But a few days later, they rebuild again. After several attempts, the people in our country were in dire straits and full of grievances, and it was no longer wise to continue the fight."

"Finally, an alliance was signed with the Queen of the Tufeng Kingdom. It was agreed that every spring and summer, our Yuan-Zhu Kingdom would select dozens of physically strong citizens and send them to the Tufeng Kingdom, and they would not invade our territory. Now, it is the time to send people over. But our Queen loves her people like her own children; how can she bear to send people away? Therefore, she sighs like this."

Upon hearing this, Ying Jueran was instantly furious. He slammed the table and said, "How can there be such an atrocity? Has Your Majesty invited us to ask for our assistance to fight the Tufeng Kingdom? Your Majesty need not worry—we jianghu martial artists value righteousness the most. Since we have encountered this matter, we are naturally bound by duty!"

The old man chuckled upon hearing his words. He bent over and leaned close to Ying Jueran, his eyes curved into crescents, and said, "Young Master Ying is righteous."

"But inviting all of you here was not for conquering the Tufeng Kingdom. The people of the Tufeng Kingdom dwell high in the heavens; we have no way to deal with them. Instead, since our Queen is reluctant to part with the citizens of our Yuan-Zhu Kingdom—wouldn't it be a solution that satisfies both sides to ask all of you to go in place of our people!"

Ying Jueran was stunned upon hearing this. A hint of an ominous premonition surged in his heart. Then, he looked at Yu Meng, Wusu, and Lili across from him.

He had sat down earlier, staring only at the Queen and not conversing with the others. Now, with a slight shock, he remembered the people who had come with him and finally realized that the smiles on their faces had not changed since he entered the hall until now, and they hadn't touched the food and wine in front of them.

A thought was about to burst out of Black Saber's muddled mind, but it was unable to break free. Then, he heard the Queen on the main seat say, "Since Young Master Ying has no objection, let's settle this matter. The people of my Yuan-Zhu Kingdom will never forget Young Master Ying's great kindness in the future. Come, men—"

But before the Queen could finish speaking, a guard in brightly colored armor suddenly ran in from outside the door, continuously shouting, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

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