Inner Demons

Li Yunxin did not speak; instead, he looked at the seven brothers beside him.

He had just used many tactics and felt that these seven would likely go along with him—even if they were still hesitant and unsure about making a final decision, they would at least temporarily humor the Evil King and let him slip by.

However, he had not expected... that the words he had just spoken and the scene he had created had an incredibly good effect.

So good that the seven brothers were still emotionally stirred to the point of being unable to control themselves. They seemed to be trying to calm their emotions, but... they were not very successful.

When Li Yunxin looked at them, he saw that the Big Brother was staring directly at the Evil King with a pair of large, dark eyes, and flames were almost shooting out of them. He felt that his appearance was inappropriate and quickly lowered his head to hide his expression.

If only he were like this, it wouldn't be a problem. But the issue was... almost all seven of them were like this.

The Evil King had originally been staring fiercely at Li Yunxin. But now, looking at his god-sons, he saw that their faces all bore this expression—he immediately became suspicious.

The gaze of the great demon of the Profound Realm shifted back and forth between Li Yunxin and the seven god-sons, eventually frowning even harder. He reached out and pointed at the most simple and shy Old Seven, saying in a deep voice: "Old Seven, what's wrong with all of you?"

Then he glared at Li Yunxin: "What did this person say to you?!"

Thus, Li Yunxin realized that he seemed to have made a mistake... He had underestimated the seven brothers' feelings for "Old Devil Fulu."

He thought that since the seven sons had been the Evil King's god-sons for hundreds of years, even if he now made them believe he was truly an old friend of Old Devil Fulu, they would still be anxious and hesitant—only after weighing the pros and cons would they completely accept the path and fate he had arranged for them, and then consider how to take revenge and how to deal with the Evil King.

But he had forgotten something else—the emotions of demons are simple and intense. He had experienced it once with the Lord of Dongting, but now he was judging the actions of demons based on human emotions.

No matter why the seven sons had endured for a century under the Evil King's command—now that he had brought up the past, it was like heaven's thunder igniting earth's fire, causing all the resentment in their hearts to pour out!

This outpouring was so fierce that even the seven of them were almost unable to control themselves.

And now, the Evil King asked Old Seven such a question—

Old Seven no longer kept his head down. He stared at the Evil King with wide eyes, held his breath for a moment, and suddenly said: "We won't fall for your trick anymore!"

As soon as he said this, Li Yunxin sighed. He began to look at the Demon Kings behind the Evil King, estimating their strength. Then he examined the terrain of the cave to see if the retreat route he had planned upon entering, just in case, would be needed now.

But the next moment, he noticed another strange thing—the Evil King's demeanor was not right.

Logically speaking—under the premise that the Evil King had killed Old Devil Fulu and then taken the seven sons as his god-sons through some means—he should also be wary of the seven brothers. And being wary, he would more or less be prepared for "they might betray me." So, at a time like this, he should have a cold, sinister, or forced smile on his face, and realize, "Are these seven brothers actually preparing to revolt?!"

But the expression on the Evil King's face was merely astonishment.

This astonishment did not look feigned—a great demon of the Profound Realm had no reason to put on an act in front of so many minor demons.

What exactly... was going on?

He heard the Evil King ask in surprise again: "What are you talking about?!"

Then he looked at Li Yunxin: "Who exactly are you?!"

Since Old Seven had spoken those words, the other six brothers simply stopped concealing their feelings. The Second Brother scoffed, jumped out from behind the stone platform, and shielded Li Yunxin. He glared at the Evil King and pointed at him: "Hey, who do you think he is? Do you still remember who released you?! He is that Pangolin! You have deceived us so terribly before!"

Once the Second Brother opened his mouth, the other five brothers all glared angrily at the Evil King. The seven brothers stood in front of Li Yunxin like a human shield, fiercely protecting him, as if afraid that the slightest mishap would befall him.

Logically speaking... the Evil King should have turned hostile at this point.

But what astonished Li Yunxin even more was that, looking through the gaps between the seven brothers, he found the other party to be even more astonished.

This astonishment did not seem fake—a great demon of the Profound Realm had no reason to pretend in front of so many minor demons.

What on earth... was going on?

Then he heard the Evil King say in surprise again: "Pangolin?! Which Pangolin? Hey! You seven foolish boys, you don't believe your father's words, but you choose to believe this—"

He said this, his eyebrows raised, and he roared: "Who is this person?! How did he sneak in?! Guards!"

With this roar, hundreds of demons behind him responded in unison. But the Evil King did not want them; he wanted the serpent spirit Seven-Segment Brocade, who was guarding the entrance of the Trapped Sky Mountain cave earlier. The serpent spirit arrived quickly—she had probably heard the minor demons inside report, knowing that trouble had arisen.

After another roar from the Evil King, the serpent spirit hurried forward.

She was not flustered. As she elegantly walked, she looked at Li Yunxin through the gaps between the seven brothers. After a few glances, she reached the side of the towering Evil King and bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, please do not be angry. I knew this person was suspicious just now, and I intentionally let him in. Your Majesty, please hear me out—"

The Evil King was tall, twice the height of Li Yunxin. The serpent spirit was unusually tall among humans, but she only reached the Evil King's waist. After she said this, the Evil King frowned again and stooped down for the serpent spirit to whisper into his ear.

After hearing the Seven-Segment Brocade's whispers, his frown finally eased.

"Good, good, good," the Evil King stared at Li Yunxin, "So... you are actually a cultivator?!"

This time, it was Li Yunxin's turn to be astonished. But astonishment was just astonishment; he had never expected everything he did to go smoothly. Therefore, he only took a slight step back, moving a little further away from the seven brothers, and said: "I think the Evil King is mistaken. I am no cultivator. I am the same as everyone here—I am a demon, a monster, or a Yin Spirit, but definitely not human."

The seven brothers in front of him seemed a bit bewildered—they did not know why the Seven-Segment Brocade and the Evil King were saying Li Yunxin was a cultivator. Thus, they looked at each other again, and then all turned to look at Li Yunxin.

At this moment, they heard the Evil King laugh heartily three times again: "If you are not a cultivator, how could you see my True Eye?"

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the iron plate Li Yunxin had seen upon arrival flew out of the Seven-Segment Brocade's sleeve and into his hand.

At the entrance, Li Yunxin had seen the object was as tall as himself. Now, grasped by the Evil King's large hand, it looked only like a slightly large book. The Evil King held the magical treasure, and without him doing any visible action, he merely shook the "True Eye"—

The scene before their eyes instantly changed.

Their surroundings were no longer the Trapped Sky Mountain cave filled with firelight, but... a mountain ridge.

Not only did the scene change, but the season also seemed to have changed along with it. It was summer at this time. And the area near Weicheng was to the south, so the climate was especially hot. However, it suddenly became cool—even slightly cold.

Li Yunxin stood with the seven brothers, and in front of the seven brothers was a large bluestone. Next to the bluestone grew a crooked neck pine tree, and the pine needles on the tree were sparse and dark green.

The tall Evil King and the delicate serpent spirit stood under the pine tree, and behind them were rolling mountains. Judging by the time, it was already dusk—the sun was about to set, casting its last rays of light onto this world. The sunset glow turned everyone golden yellow, and the distant leaves also appeared much yellower.

This... must be somewhere in the North.

Li Yunxin was a little confused whether the Evil King had truly transported them to a certain place in an instant, or if it was an illusion.

If it was an illusion—he was a Painting Daoist. Among the three types of cultivators: Taoist priest, Sword Cultivator, and Painting Daoist, the latter was the most skilled in the Way of Illusion. However, even if Li Yunxin now mobilized the Spiritual Power in his body to find a flaw in the illusion, he found no clues at all.

Everything around him was incredibly real, without any trace of being deliberately fabricated.

But if it was the real world... where did the Evil King get such divine power?!

It must be... the scene created by the magical treasure in his hand called the "True Eye"!

The scene felt vaguely familiar. But Li Yunxin racked his brain and couldn't figure out where he had seen it.

While he was stunned, the Evil King already sneered twice again: "You are now inside my treasure; don't even think about escaping. Let me ask you, you say you are a demon, but how did you recognize my True Eye?"

The seven brothers were about to speak in front of Li Yunxin, but the Evil King was already impatient—it seemed that now that the crowd was isolated and only they were here, he no longer maintained his previous fatherly facade. The great demon of the Profound Realm waved his hand, and no demonic power or Spiritual Power could be felt—the seven brothers immediately froze, as if time had stopped for them. Then the Evil King waved his hand again, and the seven muscular demons were lined up and rolled down the mountain ridge.

Li Yunxin frowned thoughtfully as he witnessed this scene.

The serpent spirit chuckled from the side: "You... Debonair Jade-Faced Little Silver Dragon, I'm afraid you don't even know where you gave yourself away. Do you still remember the thing I asked you to look at when you entered the gate?"

"There was a hole in that iron plate, and a black spot in the hole," the Seven-Segment Brocade looked at Li Yunxin and sneered, "I asked you what you saw, and you said you saw an eye, probably a tiger's or a leopard's. But you didn't know—that is the 'True Eye'. Demons can only see a black spot, but only a cultivator who has practiced the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law can see the truth. You saw through it at a glance... If you're not a cultivator, what could you be?"

As the Seven-Segment Brocade said these words, the Evil King watched him with a cold stare, waiting to see how Li Yunxin would defend himself.

But... the two demons immediately noticed that the expression on Li Yunxin's face was not right.

—He didn't look like someone who had fallen into despair and found himself exposed.

He had been frowning and contemplating something. Now, after listening to the Seven-Segment Brocade's words, he frowned and remained silent for a while, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Then he slowly turned around and scrutinized his surroundings. After a very long time, an expression of surprise and uncertainty finally appeared on his face. However, this expression was fleeting—it became even stranger and more complex.

The Evil King and the Seven-Segment Brocade... did not know what that expression meant.

Only Li Yunxin himself was clear.

He... had stumbled upon a treasure.

And he had solved a mystery that had existed in his heart for more than a dozen years!

It was in this place, and it was this thing!

The Evil King disliked his pretense, his eyes widened, and he said in a deep voice: "You arrogant bastard, are you still thinking about how to escape? I'll cut off your hands and feet here, and see if you'll speak the truth!"

After saying this, he pressed his fingers together and pointed at Li Yunxin!

With just that one point, Li Yunxin, the Dragon's Son of the True Realm... could not move his hands or feet at all!

Any cultivator would be flustered when encountering this situation. Not flustered because they were trapped, but because they couldn't feel any Spiritual Power or demonic power at all. It was as if their body was suddenly separated from this world, and they had just lost contact with it!

But this kind of panic did not appear on Li Yunxin's face. On the contrary, he rolled his eyes and looked around. After confirming that he really couldn't move, he laughed heartily: "Good, good, good! Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous! It truly is such a treasure!"

The Evil King ignored him. With a gloomy face, he hooked his finger and pulled Li Yunxin over. Without saying more, he conjured a thick-backed saber from out of nowhere in his palm and violently swung it—

With a slicing sound, Li Yunxin was chopped into two halves!

He was cut at the waist, and his lower half fell to the ground. But he still seemed to be restrained; even blood could not flow out. The Evil King chopped him once and sneered: "Heh heh, does it not hurt or itch? I'm telling you, I have restrained you with my magical treasure and severed your five senses—when I release this restraint, I guarantee you will be in so much pain that you'll wish for death! Now, quickly tell me everything about yourself truthfully—my magical treasure is still here, and perhaps I might be merciful and reattach your body!"

Li Yunxin only rolled his eyes to look at the half of his body that had fallen away, and he also chuckled: "It really doesn't hurt. But... Evil King, this method of yours might be effective for deceiving your subordinates, the demons. To use it against me... Heh! You are a great demon of the Profound Realm; wouldn't it be easy to kill me? Why bother to restrain me first and then chop me up?"

"Let me guess... could it be—that this is just an illusion? In reality, you can't do anything here, so you can only use this method of severing the five senses to scare people? If you ask me... I think I'm still where I was before."

The Evil King's eyes widened, and he spat at him: "Pah! Do you know that my treasure is—"

But Li Yunxin interrupted him. He stared directly into the Evil King's eyes: "Just listen to me. Listen to me for a little while; perhaps you will have a pleasant surprise. Tsk tsk... For such a treasure to fall into your hands, and you can only use it to scare people, don't you think it's a waste of natural resources?!"

The Seven-Segment Brocade listened to him speak, and her frown grew deeper. She tugged at the Evil King's waist: "Your Majesty, don't listen to his nonsense—he is tricking you—"

Li Yunxin sneered again: "Nonsense? You took the treasure left by the Painting Saint, bound it with two iron plates, displayed it in broad daylight, and used it to scare people... and you actually think you are profound and powerful?!"

As soon as he said this, the Seven-Segment Brocade immediately fell silent.

Even the Evil King fell silent.

"Let me down," Li Yunxin said to the dumbfounded Evil King, "I originally came to harm you. But now I have changed my mind. Let me down—and I might tell you how to properly use this treasure."

At this point... the hostility and majesty on the Evil King's body were completely gone.

Perhaps he was deeply affected by what Li Yunxin said and had been thinking about this matter for too long—about how to correctly use this magical treasure. Thus, he was stunned for a long while before asking: "Do you really know..."

"Wu Song Nu Da Kai Di Mao—one of the Eight Treasures Ancient Scrolls left behind by the Painting Saint!" Li Yunxin glared at him, "Am I right?!"

The Evil King finally waved his hand subconsciously.

Thus, Li Yunxin regained his senses—just as he had expected, the previous "severed five senses" and "being chopped in half by the Evil King" were all just illusions.

He was still standing in the same spot.

He looked around again and sighed deeply.

"Wu Song Nu Da Kai Di Mao... Wu Song Nu Da Kai Di Mao... So that's what it was talking about," he repeated twice to himself, "What kind of local dialect is that."

—When he was very, very young, his parents mentioned this painting when teaching him about the Way of Painting.

One of the Eight Treasures Ancient Scrolls left by the Painting Saint.

Now... it had fallen into the hands of the Evil King.

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