Chapter 466 - A Terrifying Enemy

“Endless streams of demon soldiers surged crazily from that vast lake like an incoming tide, and all four of the fierce ghosts that Lady Ying Ji had left for her Junior Brother—Xu, Xing, Yao, Jing—sacrificed themselves in the righteous path, carving out a bloody escape route down the mountain for everyone.”

“The resurgence of the Demon World was but a thought away in Shu Ci’s mind.”

With just a few sentences, Fang Geyu could almost smell the blood and desperation of that year in the mountains.

Yun Rong continued expressionlessly, “Everyone descended the mountain, and the mission was doomed to fail.

Junior Brother remained at the forefront of the group, but the looks of the followers behind him had turned from devout and respectful to dark, questioning, and resentful.”

“The awakening of Shu Ci lay like a nightmare on everyone’s hearts.

Even though a million demon soldiers were terrifyingly immense in number, the will of the people had been lost; most had given up their determination to continue fighting.”

“They began to feel cowardly, desiring retreat, urgently wishing to return to a corner of the Mortal World and live in peace.

But as long as the birth of a million demon soldiers wasn’t stopped, their numbers would continue to grow into billions.

No one wanted to be the first to show cowardice by descending from the battlefield without fighting.”

“They each harbored their own intentions, waiting for someone to lead the way out of the Demon World so that they could rightfully place the blame for abandonment on that person.”

“But I knew there wouldn’t be such a person,” Yun Rong said with her cold, thin lips, recounting the chilling tale.

“After setting up the mountain-sealing Barrier that night, Junior Brother ascended Taiqi Mountain alone.

Not a single evil demon from the million that infested the mountain ever returned to the Demon World.”

“For ten whole days and nights, he alone sealed and slaughtered those million demon soldiers at the lake’s bottom.

No one knew how he managed to seal up Shu Ci, who had ingested the blood of the Demon Lord, within such desperate straits.”

“At the time, Junior Brother was merely a Golden Immortal and hadn’t yet attained the level of Venerable Immortal.

It was an impossible feat, and I can’t fathom what he must have felt to have accomplished it alone.”

“When I breached the Barrier and found him on the mountain, I saw…” Yun Rong’s voice faltered slightly with emotion, “She had injured Junior Brother…”

“With the very golden willow sword he had forged with his own hands.”

Fang Geyu couldn’t help but recall Arao’s dream—a land drenched in blood, ruins collapsed, and Shu Ci emerging from behind, soaked in crimson.

In the dreamscape, it wasn’t Shu Ci who was stabbed through by Arao’s sword!

It turned out …

when Arao regained consciousness, she had said that the black cloak Yun Rong had personally draped over him was merely a means to cover the wound.

Otherwise, under the wrath of the masses, the grievously injured Heavenly Seal Sword Master would scarcely be able to contain the dreadful determination to subdue demons right there.

Fang Geyu’s feelings were complex.

He said, “What kind of Saint could trust and forgive her under such circumstances?

Even for a child he watched grow up, understanding each step taken was shrouded with difficulty, but from the moment her sword pierced his chest, even a Saint would be compelled to doubt her intentions, wouldn’t he?”

Under those circumstances, who could truly see with the naked eye whether her mind was being controlled?

In the dreamscape, Arao’s eyes had shown such lethal determination when she saw Shu Ci; hence, the gaze she wielded when stabbing him was equally terrifying.

Hence, the true misunderstanding wasn’t the night of matricide, nor the awakening of Shu Ci that brought forth a million demon soldiers.

Rather, it was that one sword stroke filled with murderous intent, which made one have to wonder if she had indeed turned and sided with the enemy.

Yun Rong said, “That’s why I greatly admire the traitor from the Xijian Sect who was capable of manipulating people’s hearts without the slightest error.”

Fang Geyu asked, “Do you have any clues about the identity of this traitor?”

According to Yun Rong, this traitor hiding on Bai Tuo Mountain indeed did not show any flaws in his actions and had a deep and infuriatingly intricate scheming nature.

But Yun Rong had come into this retrospective world with her memories, holding some advantage in this chess game.

Indeed, Yun Rong quickly said, “Back then on Taiqi Mountain, when Arao attempted to assassinate Zhisu in secrecy, the methods were brutal.

Junior Brother initially felt that the matter was brimming with doubts and had secretly conducted a thorough investigation with Palace Master Yin Baishuang of Cangwu Palace.”

“It emerged that Zhisu, with her demonic art of ‘Crow Kill,’ had been possessed by a Demon Seed and became the black shrine’s consort.

Upon unravelling the mystery, we also unexpectedly discovered that the fatal infant ghost that had been causing trouble in the Mortal World was actually Zhisu’s stillborn child.”

Fang Geyu was shocked: “Zhisu of the Xuanwu Palace was with child, despite being unwed?”

Yun Rong hummed in acknowledgment, “This fact was also highly astonishing to Miss Yin.

Zhisu had cultivated in solitude for many years without ever expressing fondness or love for anyone.

Furthermore, her strength was extraordinary; no man in the world could coerce her in the slightest.

Therefore, we suspect that she had secretly fallen in love with a man whose identity could not be made known to anyone.”

Fang Geyu: “What does this imply?

How could the great personage of Cangwu, ranked fourth, not even protect her unborn child?”

A fatal infant ghost was an extremely vile and malicious Blood Technique, where an infant is cursed and killed right as it forms in the womb and refined into a fierce ghost using the blood of the stillborn.

Such a birthed ghost carried heavy resentment and tremendous lethality, comparable to the deep malice of a hundred-year-old ghost.

For Ghost Cultivators, the value in nurturing such an entity is exceedingly high.

Not to mention, this was the child of one of the Four Shrines of Cangwu?

“Not just that.

When we found the child, it bore an immensely strong Demonic aura, something that was inherited from the mother’s body,” Yun Rong spoke with a grave tone.

Fang Geyu was silent for a while before he said, “So, the person Zhisu fancied…

was from the Demon Clan?”

With a hint of certainty, Yun Rong replied, “And it’s very possible that this Demon Clansman is the traitor in our Sect.”

Fang Geyu’s heart sank.

To hide the demonic aura so well that even the Sword Master failed to notice, meant this Demon Clan member was of high rank—akin to a Demon General in the Demon World.

Perhaps…

he could be one of the Six Rivers.

Yun Rong abruptly uttered a name with a cold tone, “The second river in the Demon World, Erhe Zangxin.”

“What?” Fang Geyu startled, recalling the tragic death of Ghost Feng Qing, who had been manipulated and fallen at the hands of others.

Ghost Feng Qing, also once a disciple of the upright and noble Immortal Sect, had been led step by step into the Demon Path by his own master, Chang Huijun, estranged from his wife and becoming a fierce ghost that plagued the Mortal World for three thousand years.

Chang Huijun, adept at calculating and manipulating hearts, who would have expected that the leader of a renowned Immortal Sect would be from the second river of the Demon World?

Since he could establish a world-famous Immortal Sect family in the guise of a member of the Demon Clan, he could naturally retract his claws and fangs to join the Thirteen Swords of Tianxi.

“Are you saying, the second river, Zangxin, is the one who had an affair with Zhisu?” Fang Geyu looked at her skeptically, asking, “Why are you so certain?”

Yun Rong smiled faintly, “It’s not me who’s certain of this, but Junior Brother.

With the Dark Department’s influence stretching across Sects in the Mortal World, he too has his swords hidden in the Demon World to gather information for him.”

Fang Geyu internally reasoned that if they could confirm that the second river was indeed the demon who had intimate relations with Zhisu, then the identity of Baili An’s hidden agent in the Demon World must be no less significant than one being below the Six Rivers.

What sort of celestial beings were these?

Each one more astute than the last.

“Yet, I feel that no matter how cunning and sly Erhe Zangxin is, without the cutting edge of the Demon Lord, he would find it difficult to overturn the mortal realm.

Rather than trying to catch such a rat in the gutter, we should think about how to eliminate the greatest threat at hand!” Fang Geyu said.

“Are you referring to Demon Lord Arao?” Yun Rong asked.

“Exactly.”

Yun Rong shook her head, “Merely destroying one head will not be enough to completely kill her.

Now, the speed of Arao’s cultivation growth is alarmingly frightening, and any rash action would only endanger Junior Brother.”

Her gaze was deep and resolute as she looked at Fang Geyu and said earnestly, “This world is far more dangerous than what you see on the surface.”

Fang Geyu: “…”