Inner Demons

The guard's cry startled everyone.

The old man who called himself a Land God frowned, brought his two fingers together, pointed them at the guard, and shouted, "The Sovereign is present, why the panic! Speak clearly, what has happened?"

The guard seemed more afraid of him than of the Queen. Trembling all over, he quickly knelt and kowtowed, stammering, "R-r-reporting to Your Majesty. A few days ago, the Silver-Armored General was ordered by the King to expand our territory, but accidentally strayed into a patch of mist. The General led his men through the mist for three or four days... unexpectedly, they ran into two malevolent stars. The General was killed in a single encounter, and now they are tracking the remnants of the army and have pursued them all the way outside the city—they are currently... currently... yelling insults outside the city..."

He mumbled and hesitated, not looking at his Sovereign or the old man, but instead at Ying Jueran and the other people seated.

Hearing this, the Queen of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom and the old man exchanged a look, and both their faces changed. They dismissed the messenger and had their attendants escort the other guests away, leaving only Ying Jueran.

A thought in Ying Jueran's mind grew stronger, on the tip of his tongue. But as he tried to grasp it, he saw the dazzling and gorgeous Queen step down from her throne, walk gracefully to his front, and take his hand.

Although Ying Jueran was a person of the martial world and had experienced the world of mortals, he had never been close to such a noble and beautiful woman. For a moment, he was captivated and cast the thought in his mind aside.

The Queen raised her hand and removed her veil, revealing her features more clearly. With bright eyes and white teeth, cherry lips and snow-white skin, she was truly a stunning beauty. Her eyes held a hint of seductive spring water, and her delicate brows were slightly furrowed as she looked at him and lamented, "I must let Young Master Ying know that my Yuan-Zhu Kingdom may face a great catastrophe. I fell in love with Young Master Ying the moment I saw you, and I only wished for you to be the Queen's consort, the king of this nation. But I never thought that two fiends would arrive at this moment to ruin my happy occasion. If Young Master Ying has feelings for me, when you see me in distress someday, will you lend me a hand, alright?"

Dazzled by her opulence, Ying Jueran's mind was completely muddled. He could only say, "Ah... weren't you going to hand us over to the people of Tufeng Kingdom?"

The Queen moved closer to him, holding his hand, her breath like an orchid, "If I were to hand anyone over, it would be those fools, how could I hand over a great man like you?"

Ying Jueran was utterly confused by her shameless words, and for a moment, he couldn't even speak, only nodding obediently, not knowing what exactly he had agreed to.

When he came to his senses, he found himself already outside the city—behind him was the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom with its roads extending in all directions, and in front of him was a field full of ditches, gullies, and uneven terrain.

Looking left and right, there were thousands of armored soldiers dressed in colorful, vibrant clothes. The Queen of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom had also changed into military attire, sitting on a throne carried by sixteen men, brandishing a short sword to direct her troops into formation.

He was among the Queen's personal bodyguards, and next to him was the old man who claimed to be the Land God.

The old man squinted his eyes, looked into the distance for a moment, and then withdrew his gaze.

"These people of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom suffer the pain of invasion by the Tufeng Kingdom, yet they don't think about how to drive them out; instead, they resign themselves to fate. Now, they've been attacked right at their gates and only then think about rising up in resistance—alas, it's a mess. They can't even tell friend from foe, so they've simply set up a target for themselves. Truly ridiculous and pitiful."

Once they left the city's White Jade Tower and were some distance from the Queen, Ying Jueran felt his mind gradually clear up.

Now, hearing the old man say such confusing, nonsensical things, he couldn't figure it out right away. He just frowned, "Weren't you working for that Queen? Why are you saying this now?"

The old man, however, said nothing. He just shook his head, offered a faint smile, and remained silent.

Just as Ying Jueran was about to press for an answer, he noticed the sky ahead slightly darken—he quickly looked up and found his view was obscured by two colossal figures!

Both were the size of a small hill, as tall as dozens of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom people stacked together.

One had a pair of flame-like crimson eyes, wore a white robe, and had a crown of white wings on its head pointing to the sky.

The other wore gray armor. Its eyes were unremarkable, but it dragged a hundred-sectioned wrought-iron whip behind it.

The two pressed forward with the heavy weight of mountains, looking down condescendingly at the Yuan-Zhu battle formation. Even though Ying Jueran was currently dazed and not fully clear-headed, and even though he had witnessed countless deaths and traveled widely—seeing such a terrifying sight truly made his legs weak and his mouth bitter. But he still retained the spirit of a martial arts practitioner, gritting his teeth—thinking about where he should flee if the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom were to be defeated.

While he was secretly making his plans, the Queen of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom had already shouted sternly with her sword in hand, "Who are the two of you, and why do you trespass against my Yuan-Zhu Kingdom?"

The white-robed monster spoke. Its voice was like thunder, yet strangely shrill, sounding extremely peculiar.

"You ignorant fool, how dare you trespass upon us! Don't you know this place was our 'Dojo' a hundred years ago?!" Having said this, the white-robed monster no longer hesitated. It leaped forward and pounced; with every stomp and step, it instantly killed or wounded dozens of lives.

The Queen also said no more. She let out a series of shouts, and the armored soldiers of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom threw ropes from their hands, trying to ensnare the monster and subdue it.

No one knew what the ropes in the soldiers' hands were made of. They looked thin, but were astonishingly tough. The white-robed monster initially charged into the military formation, darting left and right and causing countless casualties. But it was quickly caught by the ropes; for every five or six ropes it broke free from, fifteen or sixteen more came. As a result, its movements gradually became more restricted, and finally, its entire body was covered with ropes and soldiers.

Looking at it now, it was as if another white robe had been draped over its own white robe; it was pinned to the ground, and even twisting and turning became difficult.

Cheers erupted from the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom's military formation. Soldiers scrambled up the ropes, using weapons that looked like either knives or swords to stab at it.

Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, the other monster charged in.

It seemed the two monsters had intentionally acted this way—first, the white-robed monster was sent to test the ground and the rules of engagement. Only after it was firmly ensnared did the gray-armored monster make its appearance.

As it leaped out, the hundred-sectioned wrought-iron whip dragging behind it was violently swung.

The monster could swallow hundreds of people in a single gulp, and although its iron whip looked thin, laid flat it was as tall as a man—when it swept across with such forceful might, it instantly sent a large swathe of soldiers flying. The rope net on the white-robed monster loosened at a corner as a result. That monster seized the opportunity, let out another cry, suddenly stood up, and broke free.

The two monsters reunited and immediately displayed immense power, completely shattering the Yuan-Zhu Kingdom's military formation, causing countless deaths and injuries.

The Queen of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom saw the unfavorable situation and immediately ordered a retreat. But the armored soldiers were already terrified; their retreat was chaotic and disorganized, and the two monsters seized the opportunity to enjoy another bloody killing spree.

Ying Jueran was swept along with the retreating crowd.

They kept fleeing into the city while being pursued, but the two monsters still did not give up and chased them inside.

The common people in the city also grew restless and rushed into the streets to defend their homes. There were many people, but they had no discipline or weapons, so they simply relied on their sheer bravery to offer their bodies. This, however, truly slowed the monsters' advance, allowing the Queen, Ying Jueran, and the others to escape into the White Jade Tower.

The Queen said nothing, pulled Ying Jueran into the tower, dismissed her attendants, and lamented to him, "Young Master Ying, this great catastrophe is probably unavoidable. I hope Young Master Ying remembers what you promised me earlier. Should I fall into the hands of those monsters, I beg Young Master Ying to protect me."

Ying Jueran was still wondering—why did she only come to him for help?

Suddenly, he felt a violent tremor—the two monsters had finally reached the city center and pushed over the White Jade Tower.

Logically, when a building collapses, there should be flying debris and broken tiles, and the people inside would surely be injured or killed.

However, what Ying Jueran saw was not such a tragic sight.

It was very strange—it was as if, at the moment the tower collapsed, the sky curtain of this world was crumpled by an invisible giant hand. The scattered fragments instantly became distorted, as if everything he had seen before—the soldiers, the city, the clothes, the cups, and even the Queen—were all paintings on a massive canvas. Now, the giant hand had pulled the canvas away, and they all lost their normal appearance.

As those scenes were withdrawn and became distorted, a layer of veil in Ying Jueran's mind was also pulled away.

Memory and clear reason suddenly returned to his mind. Ying Jueran's eyes snapped wide open, and he realized—

He had returned to the real world.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the sky. He had a habit of determining the time by the sun in the wilderness. Earlier, when he first saw this patch of grass, he subconsciously looked up at the sky. The sun was still in the east then; it was morning.

Looking at the sky now, the sun was still in the east. Even the cloud shaped like a gold ingot that he had seen earlier had only stretched into the shape of a small boat.

Not much time had passed.

The sunlight was dazzling, and he immediately sat up. He felt his Black Saber within reach, supported himself with his hands, and sat up, but felt a wave of soreness throughout his body.

After his eyes adjusted to the slightly dimmer light in the forest, he saw a large number of people lying scattered on the ground. Yu Meng was among them, Wusu and Lili were among them, and all his subordinates were among them.

There were two extra people.

One was dressed in gray, with a shifty, rat-like look, resembling a street urchin. The other was a white-robed youth. The youth was not bad looking, with handsome features. However... when he spoke, he showed two large buck teeth.

It was the youth who was speaking to Ying Jueran, and he said it with a smile, "You people are quite lucky. If we had arrived any later, you would have all melted into pus."

Ying Jueran found the two men's faces familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't recall where he had seen them. He simply frowned tightly, gripping his saber, "Who... are you, sirs? What just happened?"

The youth chuckled. With that laugh, a blush even appeared on his face.

"I am Daoist Tuzki, the White Dragon Emissary under the Wei River Dragon King Li Yunxin." Then he stepped back slightly, "This is Daoist Shuke, the Green Dragon Emissary under the Wei River Dragon King Li Yunxin—he is my Senior Brother. As for you, we have met before. Do you remember those two Taoist priests? In the alley in Weicheng? You had an old man with you too." (Note 1)

Although Ying Jueran had regained his clarity, his mind was still somewhat numb for some reason. Listening to the youth's words, he thought for a long time but couldn't quite recall the details. The youth simply smiled and stared at him.

The shifty-looking man walked forward, "Junior Brother, stop teasing him."

Then he said to Ying Jueran, "Come and see what happened just now."

After he spoke, he stepped aside. Only then did Ying Jueran see the object behind them.

There was a large rock behind them. The rock was man-height and looked familiar. Ying Jueran quickly realized that the outline of this rock was identical to the stone stele inscribed with "Yuan-Zhu Kingdom" that he had seen earlier.

However, there were no carvings on this rock, and due to its age, wind, and sun exposure, it had become hollowed out.

A tree had grown inside this hollowed-out rock. The tree was curled up by the rock, and its trunk grew twisted and crooked. On a thick, horizontal branch of this tree, Ying Jueran saw a large spider web. The snow-white web was originally woven very densely, with paths extending in all directions. Its form resembled the White Jade City of Yuan-Zhu Kingdom that he had seen earlier.

But now, half of the spider web was torn and ruined, as if someone had ripped it. And on the web—a dense multitude of colorful, vibrant small spiders were scattering in frantic escape. In the center of the web was an egg sac wrapped in layers of spider silk. Within it was crouched a large spider, about half the size of a palm. This spider was especially brilliant in color. Though injured, it was now trembling on the sac, yet it kept pointing its two front claws in Ying Jueran's direction, as if it wanted to say something to him.

Ying Jueran immediately took two steps back, recalling the pristine white streets, the colorful Queen, and the colorful armored soldiers. A wave of disgust and annoyance rose in his chest, and he nearly vomited.

The rat spirit Shuke smiled and said, "This colored spider is venomous. Having gained cultivation, its venom is even stronger. Earlier, all of you were bitten on the neck by the spider and could no longer move your bodies. Your consciousness, however, was stolen by that female demon."

"Look up at the web again. Look over there."

Ying Jueran turned his head to look in the direction he was pointing.

He saw a tree at the edge of the grassland. Insects buzzed and flew around the tree, but he couldn't clearly see what they were.

The rat spirit said, "Those are Black-winged Earth Wasps. They don't build nests or collect honey; instead, they live a parasitic life. In spring and summer, they look for large, plump earth bees, sting them into unconsciousness, and lay their eggs inside their bodies. When the larvae hatch, they first eat from inside the colored spiders' bodies. Once they've emptied them out, they fly away. As the saying goes, one thing subdues another."

"These colored spiders had drugged you... probably to hand you over to the earth bees for egg-laying." Shuke pointed to the large spider in the center of the web, "But it's strange. Everyone else was close to being poisoned to death, but you were shown mercy. Did this female demon say anything to you?"

By this time, Ying Jueran knew that the gray-clothed man and the white-robed youth were not ordinary people. After calming down a little, he also recalled the circumstances of meeting the five demons in the alley that night. His mind was slightly eased—he was looking for Li Yunxin, but here he had met two of his Emissaries; perhaps Li Yunxin himself was nearby. Although Li Yunxin's speech and demeanor were full of startling evil energy, he seemed to bear no ill will toward him; on the contrary, he seemed to value him highly.

Ying Jueran didn't know why such a figure would value a mortal, but he knew that, at least for now, he should be out of danger.

He then remembered the two things the Queen had said to him.

She wanted him to look after her after the "city fell."

Thinking about this made him feel a rush of annoyance in his chest, and he couldn't help but avert his gaze, no longer looking at the bowing large spider. Instead, he looked around and said to Shuke, "There was also an old man."

He then meticulously described the old man's appearance and asked, "What kind of creature was that? He claimed to be the Land God here."

Shuke and Daoist Tuzki exchanged a glance, then looked back at Ying Jueran: "Never seen him?"

"We lived here before we met Lady Sanhua in Weicheng. We knew about this colored spider, and we knew about the earth bees. But we have never known of any Land God here. Were you poisoned and mistaken?"

Ying Jueran was stunned for a moment and then said nothing more.

But he felt that he had not been mistaken—everything that had happened could now be matched up point by point. Only the old man was missing.

He still remembered what the old man had said to him in the battle formation. It sounded nonsensical and completely out of context, but the impression was deeply etched in his mind.

Seeing that he remained silent, Daoist Shuke assumed he was genuinely mistaken. He then pointed to the large colored spider: "In the past, we wouldn't have bothered with this. But she happened to kidnap our Junior Sister Jiaxin today, so we couldn't let her off lightly. Junior Sister Jiaxin said that you rescued her. Now that we know—"

Before he could finish, he saw Ying Jueran suddenly act on an impulse. He raised the Black Saber in his hand and slashed violently, shattering the hollowed-out rock into pieces. He shouted, "Hmph! What a fiend!"

Fragments of rock scattered; the tree was also split into two by his slash, and the spider web was completely torn apart. The large spider was nowhere to be found, unknown whether it was killed by the slash or had escaped.

The rat spirit couldn't stop him in time and gave a wry smile, "You can't kill her like this. She's not an ordinary creature. Well, if she's escaped, so be it, as long as Jiaxin is safe."

"Wake up all these people—I will take you to meet the Order-Holding Elder and Lady Sanhua."

[Note 1] For the meeting between Black Saber and the five demons, see Volume 2, "

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!