Chapter 124: Demon Realm Soul Seizure (Part 17)

Yu Chu asked, “Why is he in the sword?”
Yun Chu replied, “If I’m not mistaken, the Demon Domain’s master has entered a state of delirium. He might have gone mad and sealed his own son in the sword.”

Xu Qianyu twirled the sword, making light shine on the dragon’s shadow from different angles. “But if this was done by Fu Shao, why are there no sealing symbols? Fu Shao makes paper people, and paper people have runes; when we rescued Fu Lingsha earlier, there were also runes on the sand.”

Yun Chu asked, “Junior Sister Xu, what do you think?”
Xu Qianyu made her own guess: “Perhaps this wasn’t done by Fu Shao, but by Hua Liangyu.”
Fu Lingsha, who had been silently listening to everyone, grinding her feet on the ground, suddenly raised her chin and looked toward Xu Qianyu.

Yu Chu asked, “But if it was Hua Liangyu, why would she do this to her own son?”
“I don’t know,” Xu Qianyu said, “but Hua Liangyu has a special ability. When she stares at someone, she can seal them inside an object. I saw her demonstrate this ability on the warship, sealing two disciples into the ship’s wall.”

She raised the sword. “It looks very similar to this. From the outside, all you can see is a frozen shadow.”

Yu Chu asked, “But this sounds like a killing technique. Did those disciples die?”

“They did,” Xu Qianyu thought for a moment, “but I always feel that if Hua Liangyu can treat non-blood-related disciples as family, she wouldn’t treat her own blood relatives this way. The shadows of the others she sealed were all twisted and full of pain, but this little dragon seems to be in a peaceful sleep. If she normally kills people with a death knot, maybe she left a live knot here.”

Yu Chu immediately took out a magic tool and began tapping on the sword with a clink, “Then let’s try to get it out. Maybe it’ll wake up.”

Yun Chu, who had originally not been hopeful, saw the two of them start trying and, with his dustwhisk in hand, squatted down to offer guidance. “If it’s a talisman technique, it can be undone with another talisman; but for curse magic, you can’t solve it this way. Either you break the curse, or you need something with strong healing power.”

Xu Qianyu suddenly thought of something and took out two black and white wicks from the mustard seed golden pearl.

These were given to her by Luo Shui during the chaos before the warship capsized.
“These are the wicks from Luo Shui’s glass lamp!” Yun Chu, who was also a medicine practitioner, recognized it. He knew the healing power of the glass lamp. Even a simple glance from the lamp could heal injuries inflicted by demons. Using the full lamp would be far more powerful. The black and white wicks didn’t absorb other emotions, making them pure and incredibly healing.

Xu Qianyu said, “Hua Liangyu is a half-demon, so her powers can be considered a demon attack. I’ll try to use this to see if it can wake him up.”

Yun Chu stopped her hand, reminding her, “This item is precious. If it doesn’t work, it could be wasted.” He still found it hard to believe that Xu Qianyu would use something meant to save her life on someone she barely knew.

“If it doesn’t work, so be it. There’s still the black wick,” Xu Qianyu said nonchalantly, not hesitating to use something luxurious. She immediately picked up the white wick and placed it on the Fulong sword.

Everyone held their breath, watching a light fall. The light seemed to be absorbed into the sword, flowing along its blade. Something emerged from the white light, swaying drunkenly, and fell to the ground with a thud.

After a moment, the slender snake-like shadow puffed up, turning into a child of about four or five years old who sat up quickly. He had fair skin, red lips, and small horns on his head, with messy, deep blue hair. Rubbing his eyes, he said, “I’m hungry.”

“He’s alive! He’s alive!” Yu Chu and Xu Qianyu cheered as they grabbed each other’s hands, scaring the child into a stunned silence.

His large, round golden eyes scanned everyone’s faces, and he furrowed his brows, saying, “Who are you? Where did these barbarians come from, barging into my house?”
His eyes shifted to Fu Lingsha standing nearby, and he crawled over to hide behind her. “Sister Sha.”

Fu Lingsha’s face was pale, and she staggered when he pulled her. “Do you remember how you ended up in the sword?”
“In the sword?” The little dragon said, “I only remember that my father and mother brought me here. They were arguing. My mother looked at me, and I felt like something sucked me in. Then I couldn’t see or hear anything. So, I was in the sword.”

He asked in a childish voice, “Sister Sha, where are Father and Mother?”
Fu Lingsha tightly held the little dragon, her face still cold. She didn’t answer his question but instead looked up at Xu Qianyu and the others, asking, “Did you really come to save us?”
“Otherwise? Do you think we came to kill you?” Xu Qianyu said, reading the ominous signs from Fu Lingsha’s pale, regretful expression.

At this moment, the cave began to tremble. Stones rolled down, and dust rose. It felt like some massive creature was approaching from the outside.

With a deafening roar, half of the stone wall was torn away, and the creature’s massive head emerged. Its head was enormous, like a bell, with a surface covered in rough, moss-like scales. It opened its mouth and exhaled a gust of wind like a hurricane, pushing everyone to the side.

Mud and sand flew everywhere. Yu Chu swung his Eight Immortals fan, and the red Shura Eye shot out, blocking the group.

But the creature was enraged, roaring furiously, and the Shura Eye shattered, sending Yu Chu crashing into the stone wall. Through the fading red light, Xu Qianyu saw a pair of enormous golden vertical pupils, cold-bloodedly staring at them.

It was a snake.

A giant python!

She thought of the page of paper that Shen Suwei had left her. He had said that there were giant beasts in the Demon Domain. This beast must be the one in front of them.

Xu Qianyu turned around and said coldly to Fu Lingsha, “You knew all along that drawing the sword would summon the giant beast! You deliberately led us here.”

Fu Lingsha, holding the little dragon, suppressed the fear on her face and said angrily, “I am the princess of the Demon Realm. Do you think I have a kind heart? I know you cultivators came here to kill my father. Do you expect me to lead you in without resistance? My life is already at its end. If I can drag a few of you cultivators to die with me, it won’t be a loss.”

The little dragon twisted its head in her arms and mumbled, “What’s this about? I just got out.”
Fu Lingsha lowered her head, showing a look of guilt. She hadn’t expected these cultivators to rescue the little dragon. Now, she regretted it:

Her father had once said that the giant beasts guarded the formation of the land, and if the sword was drawn, the formation would be destroyed, and the beasts would kill. He had used this to scare her away from coming, and she had dared not enter. It was only after the destruction of the Demon Realm, in despair and caution, that she resolved to take everyone down with her.

She hadn’t expected that death would come so soon and that the poor little dragon would be dragged into it.

Just as she was thinking, Xu Qianyu suddenly pushed both of them toward Yu Chu. Yu Chu immediately shielded them behind him and once again raised the Eight Immortals Fan.

Fu Lingsha looked at the small figures of the cultivators among the flying sand and stones. These foolish cultivators actually wanted to face the giant beast head-on. She lowered her head, unsure how to make amends.

Yu Chu trembled, turning back to remind her, “The ghost, that ghost, can you call them back to fight together?”
“What do you mean?”
Yu Chu said, “Your father wrote in the letter that with both dragons and phoenixes present, you can command the ghosts. Didn’t you know this?”

Fu Lingsha froze at his words, then pulled the little dragon’s hand and bit the fingers of both of them, mixing their blood in a symbol to draw a teleportation array on the ground. “Demon Realm army, listen to my command; quickly return to the Demon Realm!”

Ahead, the giant serpent lowered its head and opened its bloody maw. Xu Qianyu felt a ringing in her ears. When she opened her eyes again, the space beside her was empty. The serpent had snatched Yun Chu away and ascended into the sky.

Xu Qianyu was horrified. “Yun Chu!”
From below, she could see Yun Chu struggling, his silk fan rapidly growing, coiling around the giant beast, attempting to strangle it. But the serpent shook slightly, and the fan was severed by its scales, falling with blood and saliva from the serpent.
She cast a few more magic arrays, but they were shattered as well.

Xu Qianyu threw a magical artifact toward the serpent, and the light rings exploded like stars, but they couldn’t injure it at all.
She remembered her senior brother’s reminder on the paper. He had said, “Don’t provoke it, avoid it.” Since he had said so, it meant they couldn’t defeat this beast.

Behind her, Yu Chu’s round eyes looked at her, full of trust. If she were to run with Yu Chu and Fu Lingsha, it could be seen as acting within her means.

She looked up and saw that Yun Chu seemed to have given up struggling, hanging limply like a puppet, his hair floating in the air, his expression unclear.

Her senior brother had warned her to be careful around Yun Chu, but during their journey together, she could sense that he was a living person just like her. Besides, he hadn’t done anything wrong to her.

Watching her fellow disciple die in front of her, it seemed that she couldn’t do anything.
Xu Qianyu gripped her wooden sword, took out the Demon Slayer charm, and tapped her foot, flying into the sky.
Yun Chu’s pupils constricted.

In his eyes, the approaching girl’s red ribbon floated in her hair. He incredulously looked up. Xu Qianyu had already pushed the Demon Slayer charm in front of her. The giant serpent opened its mouth wide in the golden light and let out a deafening roar.
Xu Qianyu felt the air trembling violently. In the gusty wind, all her movements were heavily obstructed. As she pressed the three stacked charms onto the serpent’s face, she struggled to use her sword to sever Yun Chu’s robe.

But the serpent lowered its body and shoved the falling Yun Chu back onto its back. Yun Chu crashed heavily onto the backward scales, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, the serpent’s tail swept across the ground. Yu Chu, seeing the attack approaching, almost couldn’t hold onto the Eight Immortals Fan and closed his eyes, shielding Fu Lingsha and the others. But the attack didn’t land on them.

The tail passed above their heads, and another person’s magic array blocked the flying sand and stones.
Yu Chu turned around to see the young man forming a seal, his glowing face illuminated. “Senior Brother Su…”

Su Mingyu said, “You encountered danger; why didn’t you contact us through the wooden plaque? Fortunately, I heard it from the plaque. Those two are also on their way.”

Yu Chu replied, “I thought, since we can’t even fight, there’s no need to involve you.”
Su Mingyu, who always wore a gentle smile, now had a serious expression on his face. “Yu Chu, when it’s time to ask for help, you must ask. You shouldn’t distrust your fellow disciples!”
Saying this, his figure flashed, and he flew like a whirlwind to Xu Qianyu’s side. With his long sword, he spun it in a flourish and thrust it toward the giant serpent’s eye.

Xu Qianyu had escaped several times from the serpent’s mouth, but her face and body were already covered with scratches from its scales. The serpent suddenly turned and heavily struck another person. She saw that Su Mingyu had barely escaped and asked, “Senior Brother Su, are we going to die?”

Su Mingyu, holding his long sword, politely answered in the blood mist, “Don’t worry. Since we’re fellow disciples, we won’t leave you in danger alone. I’ll fight with you to the very end. Please trust me.”

Xu Qianyu was stunned. She thought back to the time when they were practicing swordsmanship in the cocoon, and Su Mingyu had so politely given her advice, asking her to wear the disciple robes. At that time, she had felt like an outsider, deeply insecure, and had only masked herself with arrogance.

It was only now that she truly felt she had integrated into this group. It seemed that her past life never had such moments when she had companions she could rely on. She felt warmth spreading through her body, and a surge of power flowed into her hands.

On the other side, a magic array appeared. Blood-soaked Yun Chu was riding the giant serpent, his forehead glowing with the celestial eye, peering into the fate. He shouted from afar, “Come and fight, Xu Qianyu, aren’t you so powerful? Afraid of dying?”

Xu Qianyu’s heart stirred, and she suddenly lost her focus. She had thought that Yun Chu looked down on her, but now she realizes he actually thought she was powerful.

In the mirage, You Yin watched as Shen Suwei spat out a mouthful of blood and couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart. “Are you alright? You don’t need to give me any more spiritual energy.”

Shen Suwei wiped his lips with the back of his hand and said indifferently, “There is miasma in the mist. The longer we stay here, the more dangerous it becomes.”

Chu Linfeng was exhausted, gasping heavily, lying flat on the ground in a star-shaped position, clenching his fists and pounding his chest. “The three of us should join forces and fight him;
why are we so passive? His attacks always come out of nowhere; it’s making my heart hurt.”
You Yin said, “The mirage is a manifestation of Fu Shao’s consciousness. A person’s emotions are the most unpredictable, and the hidden killing intent is unfathomable, which makes it so tricky. To solve the puzzle, you find the key. To break the formation, you find the formation’s focal point. I guess we’re waiting for the focal point to appear, aren’t we?”
Shen Suwei replied, “You’re right.”

Tiny raindrops began to fall from the sky, landing softly on the leaves.
As they moved deeper into the mist, the spiritual energy became thinner, and the miasma grew more intense. Shen Suwei’s senses were stronger than those of ordinary people, and he could almost feel the painful, distorted memories.

As a child, Fu Shao stood in the courtyard, and Hua Liangyu lifted his face. “Does your right eye hurt? It looks a little red.”
Fu Shao turned his head. “It’s nothing.”

Hua Liangyu withdrew his hand, his fingertips rubbing together awkwardly, unsure if his actions were too rash. “Oh.”

Fu Shao stood in the courtyard, watching Hua Liangyu’s back as he disappeared.
His right eye became increasingly red, and his pupil gradually disappeared. After several days, a red crystal-like object, resembling a mature fruit, fell from his eye socket into his hand. Fu Shao carefully placed it into a box.

This object was something Shen Suwei had seen before—it was the “Eye of Shura,” a magical artifact that would later come to be known as such.
At that same place, he offered the box to Hua Liangyu.
By then, his right eye was already wrapped in silk and hidden beneath his hair.

The two of them were separated by the falling rain. Hua Liangyu stood with his back to him, his expression cold, full of anger. “I don’t want it; take it away.”

Fu Shao said, “Senior sister, aren’t you lacking a personal magical artifact?”
Hua Liangyu’s fingertips trembled. “Do you think I would want the artifact that you exchanged your eye for?”

Fu Shao replied indifferently, “I’m a freak who survived in the miasma forest. My blood has already been poisoned by the curse, so it doesn’t affect me. You don’t need to feel guilty.”
Hua Liangyu said, “You’re like this; it’s a bit scary.”
“…It’s true.” Fu Shao held the box, lowered his head, and asked, “Does my affection for you also scare you?”

Hua Liangyu didn’t know how to respond. Perhaps she found the confession of her junior brother, whom she had raised since childhood, to be too absurd. Without saying a word, she turned and left.

“Then what kind of person do you like?” Fu Shao added, “The people you associate with outside are all top cultivators and powerful figures. Is that the kind of person you like, someone who can command the winds and rain?”

These words struck Hua Liangyu. She paused and then said, word by word, “I like self-loving, strong people.”

Fu Shao stood still for a long time, a self-deprecating smile forming. “I see.”
The raindrops swirled into a vortex shape, carrying a murderous aura, distorting the air, and tearing the rainy night scene apart.

The mist reassembled into a beautifully arranged banquet table.
Fu Shao, who had one eye covered, sat at the head of the table, with the box containing the “Eye of Shura” placed on the table. The other people at the table were unexpectedly familiar:

There was a pair of well-dressed siblings, an elderly man in white robes with long hair, and a middle-aged Taoist priest with a long beard who was performing hand gestures to pour wine for everyone.

Fu Shao said, “The deal is done; money and goods are exchanged, so why must you meet me? Is there a problem with the Eye of Shura?”
The elderly man laughed. “I’ve heard that this magical artifact was made by you, young brother. You’re so young, yet able to create such a powerful artifact. It’s a shame to sell it so cheaply and only make one transaction.”

You Yin’s gaze fell on the glazed lamp held by the female cultivator, confirming again. “This is Yin Xiangjun and Luo Shui Yuanjun!”

Shen Suwei said, “The two beside them are the Grand Elders of our Penglai and Elder Yi from the Magic Palace.”