Inner Demons

But the old man shook his head and smiled in the dark. "I originally said I would leave in a month, but some changes have occurred now. This old man will leave now. However, you must know—retribution will come, and the Way of Heaven exists. When you stand between Heaven and Earth, you don't need to aspire to embrace the world, but you must live with an open heart."

"There is one thing you must also know." The old man looked intently at Li Yunxin. "Some people might have this illusion—that everything in this world goes according to their will. Calamities are surely resolved, and misfortunes surely turn into blessings, as if the world's destiny resides with them. So, their realm is a little higher, and their perspective is a little broader..."

"They think they are the chosen one of Heaven or fate."

"But many times, things are not that simple. The fortune you receive may not be fortune. You are also someone who likes to set up schemes; you should understand the thoughts of the people within your scheme. Fortune might be given by others. Since it can be given, it can also be taken away. There is a recent example—wasn't that Lingkongzi a darling of Heaven? Her former arrogance would not have been less than yours is now."

"You mean someone is helping me," Li Yunxin immediately said. "I know this. But why? What do the Daoist Orthodoxy, Demons, and the Mutual Aid Society want me to do?"

His words were urgent, one sentence closely following the next.

Because he saw the old man's body gradually stoop and weaken at a visible speed.

But the old man could no longer reply to him—he was like a withering tree.

Before Li Yunxin could utter another sentence, the old man collapsed softly, devoid of his previous divine power and aura.

The old man tried hard to open his eyes and look at him. His white hair lost its luster, turning into a dry, dead gray. His skin also began to shrivel, as if he had been wind-dried like a fish.

Li Yunxin understood the meaning in his eyes—neither of the two hypotheses he asked about was the answer. The old man was neither truly dead nor a clone.

He could not think of any other option.

Two breaths later, he could no longer support Old Man Su. The old man's body dried more and more, turning into a pile of flying ash that scattered and vanished into the night.

Li Yunxin did not know if it was an illusion—he saw a golden light shoot toward the sky from the dust. But the moonlight was bright now, and he was astonished, so it was possible he misread it.

A quarter of an hour later, the dust and smoke dispersed.

Only he was left in the room, standing in the moonlight that covered the floor.

When Old Man Su was present, Li Yunxin seemed powerless and irritable—he was trapped by the old man and could only obediently listen to the teachings.

Now that Old Man Su was gone, Li Yunxin's face still held the same expression of apprehension and suspicion as before. He used his divine powers to check if there might be any sophisticated arrangements or formations. He also fully utilized his hearing to listen to the sounds on the mountain and below. After doing all this and confirming that the mysterious Old Man Su had truly disappeared, he let out a long sigh.

The expression of apprehension and anxiety vanished from his face. He became calm. He even curved his lips into a slight smile.

The person who could understand this smile was not by his side now. So, his smile was only seen by the moonlight.

A moment later, he turned and sat down at the table, picking up the silver chopsticks to eat something.

This Ziwei Palace was built on the Lord of Dongting Mountain. Although magnificent and secluded, it was far from the mundane world. This meant either a large logistics team supplied everything needed here, or one simply endured in the grand and spacious palace.

It was clearly the latter now. Li Yunxin did not know how Lady Hong had managed to satisfy her appetite these days—when the Lord of Dongting left, he seemed to have taken all his soldiers, and even the fair and soft maids he had seen earlier were gone. Therefore, there were definitely no cooks.

Old Man Su's meals these days had been prepared by himself.

It was not that he rolled up his sleeves to cook with oil and salt. He had his "Dragon Palace." He and Old Daoist Liu both loved good food, and sometimes they would wander the streets. Li Yunxin had no particular concept of money in this world—he certainly did not lack it when he was with his parents. Later, when he went to the Dragon King Temple, he had incense income, and neither of them needed to buy cosmetics or fancy clothes. They also did not need to save money to buy land, so they spent it all on food.

Wherever he found a delicious meal, he would order an extra one—and he stored them all in his folding fan.

The food stored in the fan's space would not spoil. It remained exactly as it was when put in.

The green plums he ate when he went to see the ghost general Diwu Boyu in front of the Abandoned Palace were also taken out of the folding fan.

He had been eating the stored food these days. The meals at Wood South Residence were not the best in Weicheng, but they were the most popular. Old Man Su also enjoyed eating them—and this meal was the last of his stored supply in the fan. He slightly filled his stomach, feeling that this situation could not continue.

He did not know how long he would be trapped. But he could not just subsist on wind and dew forever. It was theoretically possible, but often people wanted to eat not because they were hungry. He was already in a less-than-optimistic environment. If he lost other pleasures, he would truly be restless all day long.

—This was what Li Yunxin was worried about when he sat silently at the table after Old Man Su "died"...

He spent a full fifteen minutes thinking about these things, as if the words Old Man Su had said to him earlier were just fleeting clouds.

Then, footsteps came from outside the door. Li Yunxin looked up and saw Lady Hong peering in with her eyes, one hand resting on the doorframe. He casually asked, "Have you eaten?"

Lady Hong gracefully walked in, her eyes sweeping across the room. "There was a lot of noise just now. I heard some of your conversation... you spoke very mysteriously. Has Old Man Su... left?"

She showed no intention of eating anything. Li Yunxin did not invite her to sit down. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I don't know if he's truly dead or a clone. But it's good that he's gone. I am uneasy with him here."

After he finished speaking, he ate and drank a bit more. Lady Hong consistently stood beside him, watching him silently.

There were no candles in the room, only the sound of Li Yunxin eating and drinking. Lady Hong stayed like this for quite a while, and Li Yunxin showed no sign of stopping, so she finally could not help but speak again. "I heard you talking about... Miss Yin. I heard a little and roughly figured out the context. You said Young Master Li harmed her and led the Ninth Brother to attack... is that really true?"

Li Yunxin finally looked up at her. He thought for a moment and stopped eating. "Do you care about this kind of thing too?"

Lady Hong wrung her hands around her dress, revealing a maidenly demeanor, and said stubbornly, "I just want to know."

Li Yunxin sat quietly for a moment, then smiled. "It's false. I deliberately left a flaw so that the clever people who think they know everything would assume it was my Heart Demon. See, it tricked him too—which means it will trick others."

Lady Hong was stunned for a long time after hearing his explanation.

It took her a while to say, "Then... then... if you deliberately left a flaw, why would you tell me this?"

Li Yunxin just smiled without speaking.

Lady Hong looked at him, as if trying to discern the truth from his expression. But who could possess the ability to look into Li Yunxin's heart through his face?

She finally gave up, only saying forlornly, "You speak so casually. I don't know if what you say is true or false. Your attitude—others might have the same idea if they saw it. But if I change my perspective... perhaps you said it precisely because you think others won't believe you."

Li Yunxin stood up and walked to the window, letting out a soft sigh. "Does it matter whether they believe it or not? It's my business in the end. Being without guilt in one's heart... ah, everyone says that. It just depends on how you act."

As he spoke, his voice gradually became deeper, as if his own words had triggered deep thought in his heart, leading to an emotional response.

But he quickly looked up again. "I have two things to do tomorrow. First, this palace is too quiet, and no one serves me. Coincidentally, some people in the lake are tired of living, so I will go catch them and see if I can find a good cook—what kind of cuisine do you like?"

Lady Hong did not know if he was joking or serious, so she did not know how to answer.

Li Yunxin then said, "But it's hard to say. Those things like to eat blood. And it's hard to start a fire underwater. Who knows what strange tastes they have. And there's another thing—this Old Man Su told me earlier that there was a way to open the restriction, but then he died. I think someone like him probably wouldn't lie. Perhaps there will be a major upheaval in the next couple of days. If the situation ever becomes dire and a river of blood is about to flow, I hope you're mentally prepared."

Lady Hong wanted to speak but hesitated. Li Yunxin immediately waved his hand, cutting her off. "Don't mention your business. Killing you to get out of the lake is too much trouble."

He did not know which of his words touched Lady Hong's heart—a mist suddenly covered the beauty's bright eyes, and she called out, "Young Master Li," again in a mournful tone.

Seeing her like this, Li Yunxin finally sighed. "I just don't understand why a Demon like you has this kind of nature. If anyone saw this scene now, oh, they would definitely scold me—scumbag. They'd say I'm completely rotten for ignoring your deep affection."

"But I'm feeling rather agitated today, so let's talk about this—sit down."

Li Yunxin pointed to the low stool by the table. Lady Hong blinked and sat down.

Li Yunxin sighed. "Your father and I were enemies back then. So, I used some schemes against an enemy and the enemy's helper to gain my benefit. I accidentally provoked you as a result—instead of you just walking along the road, and me jumping out to deceive you of your wealth, sex, and feelings. Although it was not entirely honorable in the end, they are two different matters."

"These days, you always want to figure out—whether I like you, and whether I have you in my heart." Li Yunxin smiled. "Girl, right now, the spring is bright and all is peaceful. Perhaps I would quite like this feeling of being cared for and noticed. But the problem is—there are a bunch of people outside who want to kill me, you know."

"So, at this crucial moment—I am thinking every day about how to save my life, and you are thinking every day about testing whether I love you or not. Let's put it this way... even if I loved you originally, I can't love you now. If I truly want to love someone—as I said before—it has to be someone who I also find interesting and surprising. This person is synchronized with me and complements me. She is my partner, my teammate, not someone who comes to distract me."

He said all this in one breath, and Lady Hong stopped crying.

Li Yunxin thought for a moment and spread his hands helplessly. "There is another layer; you can think about it carefully."

"You initially thought I was a pretty good person. Then you came and told me that killing you would allow me to leave the lake. Setting aside our subjective feelings, think about the nature of this matter—it is not just a stubborn little girl coming to manipulate and torment someone, but... wanting me to have another Heart Demon."

"Cultivation is a serious matter, little girl." Li Yunxin slightly leaned down to look at her. "If anyone else dared to mess with me like this, the grass on their grave would be three feet high by now."

After saying this, he flew out of the window on a cloud—leaving Lady Hong to sit alone in the room in a daze.

Meanwhile, Li Yunxin sped close to the lake surface for a while and saw a white wake in the water below rapidly approaching. He knew it was Li Shan. Li Shan was a Manifestation Realm Demon of the water tribe, but he did not have Daoist Arts, unlike Cultivators who had the power to fly to the sky and burrow into the earth. He was just incredibly fast in the water, almost as fast as Li Yunxin flying on a cloud.

Li Yunxin had other plans in mind and wanted to resolve the matter of the water tribe in the lake as soon as possible.

Seeing Li Shan emerge from the water, he reached out and grabbed him, pulling him onto the cloud, and asked, "Why haven't I seen you? Where did you go?"

The White Eel Demon hurried to speak—he looked a little flustered, seeming to want to say something like "things are not good." But he looked at Li Yunxin and quickly swallowed the words, forcing himself to remain calm. "Gr-Great King... a formidable figure has arrived outside the lake!"

Li Yunxin was slightly stunned at first, then asked normally, "The Dragon's Son?"

Clearly not—Li Shan was flustered and did not clearly hear what Li Yunxin said. He continued, "It is the sworn daughter of the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, the Great Demon named Bai Yunxin!"

He thought that after saying this, his Dragon King's face would show some shift. But he did not know that his Dragon King had already clashed with that terrifying Bai Yunxin during the Illusionary Realm—they were "old friends."

Therefore, Li Yunxin just smiled languidly. "Oh, her. What is she here for this time?"

Li Shan had just found this new master and felt that he was more highly regarded than when the Lord of Dongting was around. Thus, he really wanted to "achieve great things"—he was truly worried that this Dragon King would not understand the situation and would ruin his future. So, he quickly said, "Great King, you don't know—that Bai Yunxin has a maid by her side who is extremely favored by her. It is said that whatever she says, Bai Yunxin listens carefully. This is truly extraordinary... saying she's a maid, but how is she different from a sister? But does the Great King know who that maid is?"

"—It is the daughter of that Old Turtle Demon of the Cauldron Forging Valley in the lake!" Li Shan said this, sighing in fear and hatred. "Now that Bai Yunxin has come to Dongting, it is for the matter of the Great Monster's flesh in the lake—she is coming to get the meat for her sworn father! We originally thought that woman could not enter, so we let those fellows mess around, thinking it would save effort if they all gathered in one place. But now... Great King..."

Li Shan's voice trembled slightly as he said this. "That Bai Yunxin has entered the lake!"

As soon as he said this, Li Yunxin, who had been calm, suddenly grabbed him and pulled him in front of him, demanding, "Entered?!"

"How did she get in?!"

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