Chapter Thirty-Six: The Masses Besiege the Demons

Junyang accompanied You Xiyue into the room to rest, while Ming Chenyu and the others sat in the second-floor corridor, waiting for Ming Yuyao to arrive.

A waiter bustled over, diligently bringing various teas and snacks.

Ye Linyi took a sip, raising his brows. “There’s even spiritual energy in this?”

Yan Qingye also picked one up to taste, and said matter-of-factly, “Naturally. Our little master spent a top-grade spirit stone for this.”

Ming Yuyao arrived soon enough. As she stepped onto the street outside Phoenix Guesthouse, she immediately spotted the group drinking tea in the corridor and, without any warning, leaped straight up to the second floor.

“Ming Second Sister, can’t you announce yourself before jumping up? You gave us all a fright,” Yan Qingye complained, wiping spilled tea from the table with some distaste.

Ming Yuyao seemed unbothered and laughed heartily, then looked toward Feng Qinghe. “So, this is Chenyu’s senior brother?”

Feng Qinghe rose and nodded to her. “Greetings, Second Sister Ming.”

“He’s even more handsome than our Chenyu,” she remarked.

“Second Sister!” Ming Chenyu looked helpless; his second sister had always been this unpredictable.

Feng Qinghe pressed his lips together and sat down again. “Have you discovered any news about the Demon Clan, Second Sister Ming?”

Ming Yuyao sat down beside Ming Chenyu, who casually poured her a cup of tea and handed it over.

“It seems the demon is acting alone. Many suspect it’s the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord,” Ming Yuyao said.

“The Thousand-Faced Demon Lord?” Ming Chenyu looked at his second sister in confusion.

She nodded, sipping her tea. “But I doubt it.”

“Why?” Feng Qinghe inquired.

She explained, “The Thousand-Faced Demon Lord acts swiftly and decisively. Someone with Fei Chao’s cultivation wouldn’t have simply had his neck bitten and his soul sucked out.”

“That’s true,” Yan Qingye agreed, nodding. “Even I might not be a match for the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord, let alone Fei Chao.”

“Is this demon attacking indiscriminately?” Feng Qinghe asked.

Ming Yuyao shook her head. “Apparently not. Only three people have died on the second and third layers of the continent, and all three had previously spoken ill of the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord. That’s why many suspect he’s the one responsible.”

“So there’s still some connection to the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord,” Yan Qingye mused, stroking his chin and curling his lips. “If that’s the case, why don’t I go out on the street and loudly curse the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord? Wouldn’t that bring the demon out?”

“No need for that,” Ming Yuyao said. “Someone’s already done it. All we have to do is wait for the demon to appear.”

“Who?” Yan Qingye asked curiously.

“Don’t tell me it’s my big brother?” Ye Linyi had a bad feeling.

“It is your big brother,” Ming Yuyao replied with a laugh. “He’s parading up and down the street right now. I imagine the demon will soon take notice of him.”

“My big brother’s a Celestial Immortal. Would the demon dare attack him?”

“Let’s place a wager and see,” Ming Yuyao said, glancing out toward the street and raising her chin. “Isn’t that your big brother right there?”

Ye Linyi followed her gaze and saw his older brother swaggering along, banging a gong and cursing the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord.

Ye Linyi wanted to call out to his brother, but Ming Yuyao stopped him. “Don’t shout. If the demon sees all of us together, it might not dare show itself.”

“Oh.” Ye Linyi sat back down.

Everyone kept their spiritual awareness trained on Ye Lin’s older brother, Ye Linsong.

Yuan Yibai suddenly stood up and headed toward You Xiyue’s room.

“What’s he up to?” Yan Qingye asked, watching Yuan Yibai’s direction.

Ye Linyi shrugged. “Who knows?”

Yuan Yibai knocked on You Xiyue’s door; as it happened, she hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

Junyang opened the door for Yuan Yibai.

He entered, sat down, and fell silent, as if unsure how to speak.

“You came in just to sit?” Junyang asked.

Yuan Yibai pressed his lips into a straight line and looked at You Xiyue. “I want to borrow the Yin-Yang Jade of Immortal and Demon.”

“What for?” Before You Xiyue could reply, Junyang interjected.

“If not, then… forget it.” Yuan Yibai clearly didn’t want to answer and got up to leave.

Unexpectedly, You Xiyue tossed the jade to him. “Just remember to return it.”

Yuan Yibai caught the flying jade, giving her a grateful look. “Thanks.”

After Yuan Yibai left, Junyang looked at You Xiyue in confusion. “You just lent it to him, little ancestor?”

“It’s no use to me anyway.”

“Even so…” Junyang still felt You Xiyue had been a bit rash. “I always get the feeling that guy acts a little suspiciously.”

“Hmm… Indeed,” You Xiyue agreed.

“Should I keep an eye on him?”

“As you wish,” she replied, not stopping him. Yuan Yibai did seem to harbor many secrets, and his connection to the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord was unclear. This request to borrow the jade likely wasn’t simple either.

“Alright.”

Junyang flashed to the rooftop of the inn and found Yuan Yibai’s room, keeping watch until evening.

As night fell, Ye Lin’s older brother Ye Linsong tossed aside his gong and drum and deliberately headed toward a sparsely populated hillside.

Feng Qinghe and the others followed discreetly from a distance.

Sure enough, halfway up the slope, a youth clad in black appeared, his body radiating demonic energy.

“You shouldn’t have spoken ill of the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord,” he said.

Ye Linsong only grew more provocative. “And what if I did?”

“Then you die!” snarled the black-clad youth, pulling a pitch-black pill from his storage pouch and swallowing it.

Moments later, his eyes turned blood-red, demonic energy surged, his hair bristled and streamed behind him, his teeth protruded past his lips, and black blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.

Ye Linsong frowned, summoned his weapon, and assumed a defensive stance.

Watching from afar, Yan Qingye shivered. “Why choose to be a monster instead of a good person? That demon is truly disgusting.”

“Go help him,” Ming Chenyu ordered, leaping to Ye Linsong’s side.

The demon youth showed no fear, laughing wildly. “I knew you wouldn’t be alone. So what?”

As he spoke, the surrounding grass began to twitch unnaturally, and darkness crept in from all sides.

Even the full moon in the sky was half-shrouded, then swallowed entirely by the darkness.

In an instant, a fierce wind arose, bringing with it the constant roar of beasts, growing louder and more numerous.

“We’re surrounded by demons!” Ye Linsong realized grimly.

Feng Qinghe summoned the Golden Phoenix Feather Fan, tossing it into the air and forming a spirit seal with both hands.

The fan shuddered and emitted a brilliant light, illuminating the space before them.

Yet the mass of demons showed no fear of the light, circling and roaring around the group, waiting to pounce.

Yan Qingye drew his Ascending Immortal Treasure Fan and struck at the nearest demon with a blade of wind. The creature was sliced in half, hit the ground, and melted into a pool of black liquid.

But just as he relaxed, the black liquid bubbled twice, then vaporized, rising into the air and lunging at his fan.

“Why won’t these things die?”