Chapter 13 : Who are you

Upon entering the underground palace, the ominous and evil spirit aura intensified, especially deeper within, where the evil spirit energy soared to the heavens.

The demon hunters’ expressions grew serious, knowing that the evil spirit causing chaos in the Yanyue Villa was likely located here.

Living people who enter such a place are subject to great restrictions. The demon hunters felt the icy and demonic energy seeping into their bodies, requiring all their effort to fend off, which slowed their progress.

Meanwhile, the bride and groom ahead moved swiftly, forcing the demon hunters to keep up with all their might to ensure they didn’t lose them.

They followed closely through the winding, dark passages, and eventually the bride and groom’s pace slowed. They arrived at a palace within the underground complex.

The demon hunters cautiously hid outside the palace, not daring to rush in, and peered inside with great care.

What they saw made their hearts tremble slightly.

The reason was simple the furnishings and layout of the palace, as well as the grotesque carvings on the pillars, were identical to what they had seen in the underground chamber of Yanyue Villa, the very room with the altar and bridal garments.

Here, too, was an identical altar.

However, instead of bridal garments, the altar held a black stone coffin exuding an evil aura.

After entering, the bride and groom began to devoutly kneel before the coffin on the altar.

The red veil on the bride’s head had been lifted. Upon seeing the surroundings, his face was filled with terror and panic, his eyes darting around as if seeking a way to escape and call for help.

However, his mouth was still sealed by a spell, rendering him unable to shout for aid.

What made him even more desperate was that the two bridesmaid were incredibly strong, holding him down and forcing him to kneel like livestock before the altar.

The onlookers outside were filled with horror, an unprecedented sense of impending doom overcoming them. They instinctively feared the stone coffin on the altar.

“Is there something inside the coffin?”

“Don’t know, it might be the evil spirit causing the chaos in Yanyue Villa.”

“Could it be the thousand-year-old corpse demon from the Longquan Underground Palace?”

The demon hunter who spoke these words was filled with despair, and the others turned pale with fear.

If it were the thousand-year-old corpse demon from Longquan Underground Palace, not only would they all die here, but the human world would once again be plunged into disaster.

When the thousand-year-old corpse demon emerged from Longquan Underground Palace, countless demon hunters were killed or injured. They paid a huge price to seal it but did not eradicate it completely.

They were unwilling to deal with such a terrifying and evil spirit demon.

But… what if?

The structure of the underground chamber in Yanyue Villa was too similar to Longquan Underground Palace, not to mention that this underground palace, from the guarding stone beasts at the entrance to the grand door, was identical to Longquan Underground Palace.

They even suspected it might be a conspiracy by Yanyue Villa.

Yanyue Villa must have done something, perhaps deliberately setting up a trap to lure them in and offer the demon hunters as sacrifices to whatever was in the coffin…

The flesh and blood of demon hunters would be a great supplement for the evil spirit, consuming their blood and flesh to strengthen itself.

Seeing the figures of the kneeling bride and groom, it was clear they intended to use the bride as a sacrifice.

The more they thought about it, the more despairing they became.

Even if the stone coffin did not contain the thousand-year-old corpse demon from Longquan Underground Palace, the terrifying evil spirit, it emanated suggested that its level of danger was still high, beyond their capability to handle.

Just as the demon hunters were overwhelmed with fear and despair, the stone coffin on the altar began to tremble without warning.

Upon noticing the movement of the coffin, the people who were kneeling in reverence showed expressions of joy. Yue Shaohua quickly signaled for someone to drag the bride forward.

The stone coffin on the altar shook for a moment, and the lid slowly lifted, hovering above the coffin.

Yue Shaohua’s face revealed ecstatic delight. He once again knelt in devotion, gazing at the stone coffin on the altar with excitement , exclaiming, “Master, I have brought the sacrifice. Please enjoy.”

The bridesmaid forcefully dragged the struggling bride forward. Yue Shaohua, no longer displaying the affection from the wedding, seized the bride and, with no hesitation, threw her toward the stone coffin as if tossing livestock.

Chen Qingfeng, standing at the entrance, finally took action. He removed the green feather he wore and hurled it forward.

The green feather transformed into a streak of light, wrapping around the bride disguised as Chen Qingzhe.

“Retreat!” Chen Qingfeng swiftly formed hand seals.

“Stop!”

Seeing the offering being intercepted midway, Yue Shaohua roared in anger. His eyes bulged like copper bells, and his handsome face was marked with black veins. Without hesitation, he struck out with a palm toward the group of demon hunters at the door.

The black wind from his palm surged toward the demon hunters like a demonic force.

Other members of Yanyue Villa bore similar black markings on their faces, like some evil sigils. Their mouths and nails grew long like those of zombies, and they rushed at the demon hunters with terrifying speed.

The remaining Chen family disciples quickly summoned their green feathers to block Yue Shaohua’s attack.

Seeing these people’s transformations, the demon hunters confirmed that they were no longer living beings but had become some form of demonic creatures. They stopped hiding and began to fight.

The battle was fierce, and the demonic creatures, no longer concerned with capturing Chen Qingzhe, allowed him to escape.

Chen Qingzhe fell to the ground, tore off his bridal attire, grabbed a sword thrown to him by a Chen family disciple, and joined the fight with a roar.

Although Chen Qingfeng, Xu Xiujue, and Zuo Lingshuang were engaged in battle, they kept a close watch on the stone coffin on the altar. Seeing it tremble violently, their hearts were in their throats, fearing the emergence of the demon within.

Before the demon from the stone coffin could appear, they were startled by the sounds of vibrations coming from all directions.

Soon, they realized what it was, a swarm of puppets pouring in from other underground passages.

These puppets were all from Yanyue Villa. During the day, there were no living beings in Yanyue Villa, and even the puppets had vanished. Now they found that these puppets had become the minions of this underground palace, their vast numbers making one’s scalp tingle with horror.

Seeing this scene, everyone felt a pang of despair.

Fortunately, Jiang Shiqiu and Ji Yu were not far from the palace gates. As the puppets were about to surround them, Jiang Shiqiu raised his hand, and countless black threads emerged from his slender, elegant fingers.

Wherever the black threads passed, all the puppets were effortlessly torn to pieces.

Seeing Jiang Shiqiu successfully fend off the puppets and prevent them from attacking from all sides, the demon hunters finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, their relief was short-lived.

While they were engaged in combat with the demonic creatures, the stone coffin on the altar suddenly erupted with a thick, terrifying black mist, which quickly enveloped the entire palace, swallowing all the demon hunters present into the black fog.

Everything happened so quickly that the people had no time to react, and in the blink of an eye, the scene fell into silence.

—

When the black mist descended, Ji Yu knew she couldn’t avoid it. She quickly grasped the golden bead tied to the red string on her wrist. When the bead encountered the evil spirit force, it emitted a gentle golden light, enveloping her within it.

The black mist was like a nightfall, swallowing up the darkness of Yanyue Villa, silent and still.

Ji Yu stood in the darkness, realizing that everyone else had vanished. Not only the demon hunters but also Jiang Shiqiu’s presence was absent.

Or perhaps they had not vanished but were separated into different spaces, each one isolated. Ji Yu’s heart sank slightly, but her expression remained calm, her composure intact. Although Jiang Shiqiu’s absence surprised her, it was not her primary concern.

Suddenly, she tilted her head slightly and swiftly threw the golden bead from her wrist. The bead’s light intensified, transforming into seven beams of golden flames, with one beam directed toward a specific spot in the darkness.

Ji Yu swiftly formed hand seals with both hands and commanded, “Fasten!”

As the golden flames passed, they dispelled the darkness and revealed the hidden monsters within.

It was an extremely strange creature, very similar to the monsters in the reliefs on the pillars of the palace. It was not a human being, but probably some kind of ghost.

The golden flames acted like sickles, cutting through the bodies of the ghostly creatures and eliminating them.

Ji Yu continued to direct the golden flames to exterminate the monsters hidden in the darkness.

The seven beams of golden flames spread out in different directions, aggressively killing the ghostly entities and preventing them from advancing.

The golden flames, being of utmost yang and rigidity, affected even the black mist as it passed through.

However, controlling such a powerful artifact was extremely difficult, not only requiring precise mastery but also consuming a tremendous amount of magical energy. In a short time, Ji Yu’s forehead was dotted with fine beads of cold sweat, her face growing increasingly pale, and her energy visibly depleting.

By the time she had completely eliminated all the ghostly creatures from the darkness, Ji Yu was at her limit.

At this point, only one beam of golden flame remained, hovering neither high nor low in front of her, guarding the last bit of purity around her.

Ji Yu stood there with her arms hanging limply, her body unable to bear the strain. Spiderweb-like bloodstains began to appear on the fingertips hidden within her sleeves, spreading outwards.

This was a sign of her body beginning to collapse.

Once the bloodstains covered her entire body, her form would crack like a clay statue, turning into fragments, and she would undoubtedly die.

Despite this, Ji Yu remained calm, observing the surrounding darkness.

Suddenly, her gaze sharpened, and she acted without hesitation.

The last beam of golden flame attacked the darkness ahead with overwhelming force. The golden flame quickly dispelled the darkness and also illuminated the person walking out of the darkness.

As the ferocious golden flame was about to engulf him, the person casually extended his hand and lightly tapped, causing the golden flame, which could devour all demons and ghosts, to stop in its tracks, obediently hovering at his fingertip.

He looked over with a smile, dressed in crimson brocade, with a face of beauty and dark hair. The gentle golden glow of the flame seemed to cast an ominous blood-red light on him, making him appear even more enigmatic and unpredictable.

Ji Yu watched him calmly, her fingers trembling slightly as she performed the hand seals. The bloodstains on her hands had already spread to her wrists, merging into her sleeves.

Jiang Shiqiu’s gaze wavered as he took a few steps toward her.

He firmly grasped her hand, a frown of displeasure on his face, and said coldly, “My wife, you really… do not care for yourself, don’t you know it pains me?”

Not only did he speak of his concern, but he also pulled out a jade vial from his sleeve, pouring a white pill from it and placing it directly into her mouth.

Ji Yu, taken by surprise, was forced to swallow the pill. She panicked slightly, asking, “What is this?”

Jiang Shiqiu replied, “A poison.”

Seeing her gaze fixed on him, the panic in her face quickly disappeared, and Jiang Shiqiu smiled. “Don’t you trust me, my wife?”

Ji Yu responded truthfully, “If you wanted to kill me, you could do it at any time. Why go through all this trouble?” After a pause, she added, “Besides, I already feel much better.”

The pill dissolved instantly, and the feeling of weakness and exhaustion rapidly vanished. She found her body feeling unusually light for the first time.

Jiang Shiqiu still held her hand, watching as the bloodstains on the back of her hand began to fade, until her skin was once again flawless and white. He nodded in satisfaction.

He said softly,”My wife, don’t be so stubborn next time. It pains me.”

Ji Yu looked at him with a complex expression and finally couldn’t hold back her curiosity, asking, “Who are you?”