"No! Chen Jing, Lady Lotus, please don't kill him, I beg you..." The hall resounded with violent pounding at the door, the prohibition on the door trembling under each heavy strike.
Two cultivators from the Yun Family were already on high alert, hastily restraining the frantic Xue Xingzhi from battering the door. Yun Zhu frowned, "Xue Xingzhi, I had thought you were more reasonable than your wife. How can you be so confused too? We've told you, that's a demon, not your son!"
Having just restrained Xue Xingzhi, Wei Tinglan, who had revived on the side, clumsily crawled towards the door and started to beat on it.
She could not see with her eyes, only smell the overwhelming scent of blood, hear her husband's desperate pleas, the fear felt like a sharpened blade repeatedly scraping against her spirit.
The couple was confined in this room, denied exit and visitors, left to satiate their hunger with the cold remains on the table or gulp down the two spirit pills that were forced onto them to sustain their bodies.
No one informed them about the detailed situation, even mentioning their son's name garnered the response, "He's a demon". The two cultivators were reluctant to reveal any more information.
In such conditions, they could neither eat nor sleep, only to listen to the intense battles outside, witnessing wave after wave of cultivators besieging their son, their hearts in their mouths, their souls dwindling like candle wax under intense flame.
The spirit pills provided by the cultivators could nourish the body, forcefully boosting their vitality, but it could not console Wei Tinglan's frail spirit.
She screamed something unintelligible through her tears, which no one could make out anymore.
"Junior Brother," Yun Zhu said, "stop the lady before she hurts herself more."
The cultivator addressed as Junior Brother was about to reach out for Wei Tinglan, stopped in his tracks by Xue Xingzhi's furious roar.
"Get lost, don't touch her! Leave her alone!"
Yun Su turned back to see Xue Xingzhi's face distorted with anger, the handsome, refined merchant he had met was replaced with a haggard face, white-haired and looking at him with eyes teeming with venomous resentment.
Being a cultivator, Yun Su was usually venerated by mortals. He was used to admiration from dealing with demons and devils, but this was the first time he faced someone's hatred so bluntly, it felt like a hard blow to him.
He glanced at the array outside the house, where the demon crouched, not knowing how much fight was left in him. Despite being besieged for days, he still had the strength to struggle, the demon energy on him was still surging relentlessly despite being suppressed by Lady Lotus and countless incoming cultivators.
Many righteous cultivators had perished while trying to bring him down.
Yet, all they got was such hateful looks.
Yun Su turned back to see Xue Xingzhi shrugging off his elder brother's hand, stumbled over to Wei Tinglan, took her into his arms, gently rocking her like a child, whispering, "Tinglan, Tinglan, it's alright, don't be scared, I am here for you."
At this moment, this couple, who used to enjoy worldly wealth, seemed unspeakably pathetic. Yun Su was filled with a sense of absurdity and murmured, "Why? We... We were clearly here to exorcise demons and maintain the Dao."
Seeing Yun Su's state of mind disturbed, Yun Zhu immediately applied a mental-clearing tactic to his forehead and admonished, "Wake up!"
Yun Su shook all over and looked at his senior brother.
Yun Zhu frowned and said, "These two mortals are bewitched by demons and are entangled in their mental barriers, unable to distinguish right from wrong. As a cultivator, surely you won't be led by the nose by the emotions of mortals! If we don't kill the demon within this domain, it would allow the monsters from Wangye to ravage the world. Do you know how many more would lose their homes, family, and loved ones because of this?"
The mental-clearing tactic dispersed the doubt in his heart. His senior brother's words thundered in his ears, the uncertainty in Yun Su's eyes gradually receded, and he regained his firmness.
You're right, he can't just focus on this couple in front of him. They ventured into this realm bearing the safety of countless others.
"Senior brother, what should we do with them?" He asked.
They both looked at Mr. and Mrs. Xue, who were slumped on the ground. Xue Xingzhi had stopped banging at the door and peering outside. He was holding his wife, whispering sweet nothings to comfort her.
By this point, how could Xue Xingzhi fail to see that they were merely the pawns used by these cultivators against Xue Chenjing? He didn't understand this "thought power" mentioned by Lady Lotus, nor this "realm". Here was plain and simple the Xue Mansion, the place they had lived in all their lives.
But he knew that it must be because of them that their son was trapped here, besieged, unable to escape.
Xue Xingzhi whispered to his wife, using their local dialect that most couldn't understand, explaining their situation. Explaining how their longing for their child had turned into the blade against him.
The homecoming they wished for so long was not meant to lead their son into a dead end.
Wei Tinglan understood. She blindly grasped his hand, stroking his ring. Xue Xingzhi knew what she meant, and sighed softly, "Alright."
Xue Xingzhi, a lifelong businessman who had travelled everywhere and ran into all sorts of bandits and thugs, was not without means of self-defence. He had not expected one day he would have to use them on himself.
He raised his hand to gently touch Wei Tinglan's neck, and softly described their current situation in her ear.
"He hasn't really changed much from when he left. He's just gotten taller. You know my height. He's taller than me by half a head. His hair is as long as his waist, tied with a red string. His eyes look just like yours, as does his facial shape, while his nose, and lips, they resemble mine..."
Seeing that Xue Xingzhi and his wife no longer resisted, Yun Zhu and Yun Su let out sighs of relief. But looking at their weeping state, they couldn't help but feel a pang of reluctance.
However, exorcising demons often required sacrifices. Once the demon was successfully exorcised, the sect would send them home to recuperate.
Wei Tinglan, quietly leaning in Xue Xingzhi's embrace, had her eyes open, her pupils fading gray. Her eyes were indeed fragile, said to be the result of crying them blind ever since her child left home, cleansing her face with tears daily.
At this moment, the tears rolling down her eyes were tainted with threads of blood.
Regardless of how the two cultivators from the Yun Family explained that the person outside was not their son, these two would not hear any of it. The Xue couple saw them as detestable as demons, forbidding them to even touch.
The two cultivators had no choice but to grind spiritual pills and blend them with their spiritual power, enveloping the couple, trying to push the pill’s effect into the couple's bodies, attempting to alleviate their physical pain.
However, they soon realized something was awry - even the elixirs could not salvage the rapidly draining life-force of the couple.
Yun Su quickly squatted down, released a wisp of his spirit to examine their bodies from a distance, only to discover a small pin-size blood spot on both of their necks. A toxin was spreading within their bodies, and in contradiction, the elixir, which was supposed to promote vitality, increased the toxic effect.
Yun Su and Yun Zhu were immediately panicked and desperately searched their storage bags, hoping to find detoxifying pills. But it was already too late. The bodies of the two mortals in front of them were rapidly withering, black blood pouring from all orifices, they slumped together.
Bang –
Outside, an explosive sound suddenly erupted. The lotus petals that were slowly closing in on Xue Chenjing suddenly exploded into countless small fragments, scattering in all directions.
Lady Lotus was hit by one of the fragments right in between her eyebrows, her soul was severely damaged, and her figure shook before disappearing from the spot.
Above the solitary peak of the Carefree Sect, a woman sitting cross-legged spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, the lotus in her arms shedding its petals one by one.
This was her life tool; as long as the tool was intact, she would prevail, but if the tool is destroyed, so would she.
Underneath the complex palace garment, Lady Lotus’s body was as wilted as the lotus, visibly aging at a shocking speed, and her black hair turning white inch by inch.
She unbelievably looked at her wrinkled palm. How was it possible for Xue Chenjing to harm her? Even if he had gone through reincarnation, the power of the blood pact should still constrain him.
If he could harm her, then the Xue couple would be in danger, and the illusionary realm won't hold him in.
Lady Lotus raised her withered arm and pointed to the center of her brows, intending to enter the realm again with her soul. However, the damage to her soul and the constantly draining spiritual energy around her were not enough to support her soul to leave her body.
The ethereal body that allowed cultivators to be superior to the mortal realm was deteriorating, pulling her back to the earth from the clouds. Her vision started to blur, her hearing was regressing, and her breathing was becoming muddy. Lady Lotus had not experienced the bitterness of being human for many years, and at this moment, she filled with dread.
It seemed that even her thoughts have become sluggish as she descended to the mortal realm. She no longer had the heart to deal with the world's turmoil; the hatred and unwillingness that had been building for a thousand years were gradually forgotten as her memory faded.
In the past, Lady Lotus was in the vortex; she wasn't unaware of the Yi Family’s predicament then.
With the fall of the Ji Clan of Immortals, only the Yao, Jiang, and Yun houses remained dominant. The rising of the Yi Family became a thorn in their eyes, as Xue Chenjing said, even without him, they would have found another reason to suppress the Yi Family.
She hated Xue Chenjing, but even more so, she despised the three houses who ruthlessly eliminated the Yi Family. Only that back then, the three houses were too powerful and she was incapable of revenge.
But now it didn't matter anymore. These three houses have already begun their march towards decline, with descendants now lacking ability. This time, they were all involved, no one could escape.
Lady Lotus relaxed when she thought of this. She slowly leaned onto the seat and in here blurred vision, she saw a figure sprinting towards her. "Yi Heng."
She lifted her hand with all her strength. Just before that figure reached out to grab her, the last of Lady Lotus's consciousness dispersed. Her soul had been severely damaged, and her spirit also rapidly dissipated between heaven and earth.
Yi Heng knelt before her, bent over in tears, "Mother!"
Inside the realm of thoughts, without the powerful help of Lady Lotus, the advantages of the righteous cultivators immediately weakened. Especially as the demon seemed to be in its final burst, its demonic energy surged dramatically.
Blood kept gushing from his heart, his veins popped beneath his skin, and his dark pupils gradually filled with red. His human facial features on his face began to blur as his mouth and nose began to extend, transforming into an animal face.
Underneath his floating robe, a fluffy tail extended out. The snowy tail-tip was tinted with raging red. As the tail appeared, the temperature inside the realm of thoughts elevated, and blue fox fires burst out in the air.
The formation that the cultivators jointly condensed was still pressing over his head, but the spiritual threads were being swayed by the fox fires.
Deep within Xue Chenjing's heart sea, the shadow of the nine-tailed fox was fully exposed, its colossal figure almost taking up his entire heart sea. Above that fox shadow, numerous entwined tentacles could vaguely be seen, binding its entire figure while wrestling with each other.
The nine-tailed fox was snapping at the tentacles winding around it, and Xue Chenjing's soul paralleled the agony, like being gnawed by a wild beast in his mind.
Among the demons, it was survival of the fittest. While Xue Chenjing could command the hordes of demons when his heart was consumed by fire, the moment he weakened, he would be devoured.
The system watched its task tree continuously grey out and the drop in goodwill presented a clear picture of the extent of Xue Chenjing's consciousness being consumed.
Now, the goodwill value has fallen to seventy percent.
The system anxiously spun around. However, it is a romance system, not some leveling up system, and was clearly out of its element. It flip through the mall anxiously while shouting, "Host, hold on!"
Perhaps it was because the system was too frantic, Xue Chenjing caught a glimpse of the system's task tree.
Whilst resisting the consciousness of the nine-tailed fox, Xue Chenjing asked distractedly, "Why is the goodwill… dropping? Ah Yi, she must be angry, she must be."
In that instant of distraction, Xue Chenjing’s spirit was pierced through by the claws of the nine-tailed fox, and part of his consciousness swallowed by it. Xue Chenjing watched as the affinity value plummeted in an instant.
Fifty percent of goodwill.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.
However, it didn't matter anymore, his consciousness was fading quickly, and his thoughts of Yu Yi faded along with it. Regardless of whose affinity it was, regardless of whether Yu Yi loved him or not, none of this seemed too important anymore.
Brutality stained his mind, the craving for human blood made his throat as dry as a desert.
Three more tails burst out behind Xue Chenjing. The four tails swept across the courtyard like sharp steel needles, severing trees and rocks. His body bent down, his fingers growing into sharp claws, ripping the lines of the array around him, tearing them apart.
The formation was broken, a large backlash of energy formed a violent wind, rushing towards the monks who had set up the array. His form was like a ghost, dragging the long fox tails, rushing towards the monks who were flung out, only wanting to rip open their chests, to quench his own parched throat with their fresh blood.
The surroundings suddenly began to shake, the sky torn apart, the collapsing buildings on the ground disappearing, revealing lush greenery amidst the mountains.
The scene in front of Xue Chenjing’s eyes shook, a large green tree appeared in front of him, a wish-made wooden slip hanging on a tree branch. Under the slip hung colorful silk ribbons, woven into the shape of a butterfly, swaying in the wind.
At that time, his memory hadn’t awakened, he was not afraid of butterflies, and had asked his mother to make him such a tassel.
Xue Chenjing stood stunned under the tree, he reached out his sharp nails and knocked down the wishing slip, flipping it over. The writing on it was familiar, written with colorful paint.
"My son, Chen Jing..."
He turned his head to look around at the colorful ribbons partially concealed by green leaves, the position of these ribbons forming an array, in the center of which sat two figures huddling together.
Xue Chenjing took a few steps there, his gaze finally realizing why this memory realm had torn open so suddenly when he saw the black blood dripping from them.
In his heart, the nine-tailed fox was still clamoring, continuously eroding his spirit. Stumbling and bumping, Xue Chenjing rushed towards the two, carefully called out, "Dad, mom..."
The nine-tailed fox's bloodthirsty desire surged in his heart, his eyes were red, his vision was covered by a twisted layer of blood, his hands were growing into sharp claws. As they were about to turn beast-like, a light touch could tear the clothes and scratch the skin.
Xue Chenjing knelt beside them, unsure of what to do. He sat momentarily, then, crying, he bit off his sharp nails, rubbed the blood on his hand, and gently held his mother's hand.
The beast-like features on his face seemed to recede, the fine fur on his temples fell off, his cheeks regained their smoothness, and his eyes and eyebrows returned to a human form.
Xue Chenjing had to suppress the nine-tailed fox's control over him with all his strength before daring to hold his mother's hand, placing his face in the still warm palm of her hand.
"Mother, I'm sorry, I let you touch me, I let you touch me..." He buried his head in her soft palm, his fingers sliding down her eyebrows, caressing her erect nose and then falling onto her lips, he wept uncontrollably. "Mother, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Xue Chenjing's spirit further broke down, clothes torn, as though there was a gaping wound on his back. The expanding skeleton pulled open his flesh, something seemed to burst from his body.
Six fluffy long tails sprang out from behind him, foxfire at the tips of the tails made the air boil.
Clusters of foxfire spread from him, rolling the mountains and forests into a sea of fire. The multicolored threads under the wish notes curled and melted, and the wooden notes along with the mountain forest turned to ashes.
When the flames reached high into the sky, Yu Yi was sitting on the back of her crane senior brother, holding a palm-sized sphere in her hands. This sphere was made of tiny pieces of wood, like the panel material of the Emperor's chariot, shrunk a thousand, even a hundred times to form this small ball.
On the sphere, one could still see the engraved lines of the nine-headed bird, naturally, this nine-headed monster bird has also shrunk a lot, small as a sparrow.
Earlier, when the nine-headed bird lost its master's trace, Yu Yi commanded it to fly to Wangye.
By the time the Emperor's chariot disassembled, they were already within the realm of Wangye, already able to see the Moon-Touching Palace.
Moon-Touching Palace is built on the Emperor's Dwelling Mountain, from where the Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree was dug. Behind the Moon-Touching Palace, is the seal of the demons in Wangye.
Now the seal above Wangye has cracked, in the endless wilderness there is a crack winding down from the sky.
Through the crack, one can vaguely see a tall tower, a shining light at the tip of the tower, clear to see even in the daytime.
Darkness lingers beneath the tower, oppressed by the brightness at the tower tip, no matter how much it roils, it can't break free.
Yu Yi, this moment, is between the Moon-Touching Palace and the place where the flames just shot into the sky, the ball in her palm suddenly rolled, the nine-headed bird poked out its head, squawked hastily and disappeared again.
She understood the nine-headed bird's message, that its master was present in the place of the grand fire in the woods.
Yu Yi immediately commanded the crane angel to turn around and rush towards it.
The blazing fire engulfed the forest, spreading rapidly, the air was scorched to the point that breathing was painful, as a dual spirit root of Thunder and Fire, even she found it difficult to breathe in such sinister red fire.
However, Chen Jing was in it, perhaps because they connected on a spiritual level before, there was a slight telepathy, once here, she could faintly sense him.
Yu Yi braved the raging fire, using her sword to cut through the flames, and rushed unhesitatingly into the heart of the fire.
Amid the burning, boiling flames, she faintly saw a figure crawling on the ground. The sprawling fox tails and the spine bent like a beast made him look inhuman.
But Yu Yi clearly heard a familiar crying voice.
Yu Yi contained her breath, cautiously approaching the figure.
The fox tails hanging on the ground suddenly parted, sweeping away the surrounding flames, revealing the man hidden behind the light.
To say he was human would be far from the truth. He bore more semblances to a beast than a man, his figure practically completely animalistic, save for his profile which retained a slight resemblance to humanity.
Yet in the mere fleeting moment she caught sight of him, his face was already fully succumbed to the beast within.
But Yu Yi had seen the face swallowed by the beast, and she screamed out loud, "Ah Qiu!"
The one being called abruptly turned his head, a pair of blood-red eyes sparkling with a bloodthirsty glow in the fire.
At the same time, Yu Yi heard the familiar sound of the system shriek, "Master! Hurry! Take the heart fire while you still have a bit of consciousness! Oh my God, it's the female lead, it's Ah Yi! The nine-tailed fox will devour her!"
