sonovelo Chapter 707: The Secret of Mount Shu
Chapter 707: The Secret of Mount Shu
Chapter 707: The Secret of Mount Shu
It was often said that one should treat evil with as much hatred as one has toward an enemy.
Perhaps no form of justice was as pure as that embodied by the Crimson Executioner—it was a sword of unwavering justice.
Whether it was crushing petty villains with ease in the past or facing invincible demonic foes now, the Crimson Executioner always expressed its fighting spirit without hesitation, caring only whether something was evil and not how powerful it was.
Its motto might as well have been, "Just go for it."
When this "Jiang Yuebai" appeared before Chu Liang, the Crimson Executioner vibrated wildly, signaling to him that this person before him had killed countless innocent souls.@@@@
If the Crimson Executioner could speak, it would probably say something like, "I can't take it anymore! Just let me give her a little poke! A little stabby stab..."
Even so, Chu Liang took his time observing.
If it had been anyone else, he might have drawn his sword immediately. But this was Jiang Yuebai. He concentrated with all his vitality, qi, and spirit to examine her, but he found there was nothing out of place, He couldn't bring himself to act recklessly against Senior Sister Jiang.
That was until something changed—Jiang Yuebai turned to him for help. That was when Chu Liang became certain that this Jiang Yuebai before him was an imposter.
Senior Sister Jiang appeared gentle, but she had an incredibly strong will. No matter the dire circumstances, she would never show such a helpless expression.
She also knew that he always carried Tuntun with him, and with her intelligence, she would never have asked him for a solution.
The real Jiang Yuebai would have turned away and said, "Take out the Heaven-Devouring Bug, and I'll keep you safe while you work."
The imposter's actions were a bit over the top; they were trying too hard to conceal their intent.
After a moment of thought, Chu Liang realized that despite being capable of rendering him unconscious and casting an illusory technique he couldn't see through, the imposter had not killed him. This meant that they were not after his life but something else. Given the current situation, it wasn't hard to guess what it was.
The imposter wanted the Heaven-Devouring Bug.
The imposter had probably already searched Chu Liang's enchanted storage tools, but Tuntun was in the White Pagoda, cocooned in hibernation. He was the only one who could take her out.
Who would want the Heaven-Devouring Bug...? Chu Liang wondered.
Immediately, an answer came to mind. The demons?
He could easily confirm that theory with a test. If the Demon-Slaying Sword stabbed with exceptional ferocity, it was a demon. If it didn't react as intensely, then it was human.
Either way, a stab was necessary.
And thus came the crisp sound of the sword piercing through the imposter's chest.
When Chu Liang pierced Jiang Yuebai with the sword, she abruptly disappeared and transformed into a white fox hair that fell to the ground. Chu Liang felt his surroundings change with the flickering of light and shadow. The cave was gone. But amidst a deafening rumble, it seemed that even Chu Liang was being transported somewhere.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an empty stone chamber. A black incense stick burned in the corner of the private room, its spiraling smoke curling through the air. As the scent reached his nostrils, his entire body froze. His limbs refused to move, and his qi was completely suppressed.
It turned out that everything he saw earlier, including Jiang Yuebai, had been nothing more than an illusion.
He then saw two people standing before him.
One was a woman dressed in a simple white gown. She had exceptionally long, smooth hair that cascaded down freely. Her gaze was icy, her demeanor refined, yet her naturally seductive features carried an unmistakable hint of allure.
The other was a towering humanoid figure, standing over one zhang tall. He wore a golden mask that concealed his face and a flamboyant robe that billowed around him. In his hand, he held a scepter adorned with feathers and furs from countless demonic beasts, exuding an air of primal dominance.
Chu Liang could see his reflection through the gold mask on that towering humanoid figure. He was lying flat on the ground, with a black stone mask affixed to his face. The mask seemed to carry a powerful seal, suppressing his divine sense and cutting off his connection to the outside world. Together with the effects of the black incense, it created a dual layer of control, leaving him utterly restrained.
At this moment, Chu Liang was just a mortal who could not move at all. His condition was pretty much the same as the current Qi Lin'er[1].
"You certainly are ruthless, striking your beloved with such ferocity," the woman remarked. Her tone wasn't harsh, and her voice sounded soft and gentle.
But Chu Liang knew she was far from a virtuous figure.
He had encountered this person before in the Deep Pool of Dreams. She was none other than Caiyi, the Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills—one of the Seven Great Demon Kings of the demon race.
She was a figure whose name had left a mark in the history of Mount Shu.
"That's your second question."
"Yes," Chu Liang confirmed.
Though it felt like a waste to ask about such trivial gossip at such a critical moment, his curiosity got the better of him.
"That's correct." Caiyi nodded. "I stayed on Mount Shu for a few years and left behind a child. One of his descendants... is who you now know as Daoist Yan."
"Senior Aunt Yan is like a mother to Senior Sister Jiang, which makes you something like Senior Sister Jiang's great-grandmother," Chu Liang said, a sudden grin spreading across his face. "And her great-grandmother is my great-grandmother. No wonder you saved my life—we're practically family!"
"Don't act like we're close." Caiyi shook her head, amused by his sudden shamelessness. "You only have one question left."
"Then tell me how the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda of Mount Shu was lost. Even the past sect leaders didn't know the truth. I want to understand what really happened."
"Hmm..." Caiyi hesitated for a moment before responding. "More than five hundred years ago, I hadn't yet taken charge of the Verdant Foxhills. I had only just comprehended the Great Dao of Myriad Forms, which allowed me to transform into anything in the world. Then I received a mission from the Demon God Temple. The Great High Priest tasked me with infiltrating Mount Shu to find an opportunity to rescue the Demon God.
"So, I transformed into an ordinary human girl and created a situation where a Mount Shu disciple would save me, allowing me to follow him back to Mount Shu.
"That disciple's name was Yan Renjie."
When she mentioned the name, her eyes glimmered faintly.
It was as if she could see the spirited young man from five hundred years ago—dressed in black, a mischievous smile on his lips, wielding his sword to drive away the lesser demons.
"The potential I displayed was impressive, so I was given the chance to remain on Mount Shu to cultivate. This allowed me to search for a suitable candidate. Coincidentally, the Mount Shu disciple who saved me was of half-demon lineage."
"I approached him and found a way to reveal to him that his mother was being suppressed within the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and that her life force was on the verge of being extinguished."
"Was seducing him also part of the plan?" Chu Liang asked cheekily.
"Of course not. The original goal was just to get close to him and earn his trust. Somehow, things just... progressed to that point," Caiyi answered truthfully.
She paused for a moment, then glared at him. "There's no need for me to tell you all this anyway."
Chu Liang smiled faintly as his imagination began to run wild.
A demon at the level of an Eminent One disguises herself as a gifted young girl, meets a youth whose mother is of non-human origin and burdened with a tragic fate. The two of them eventually get together...
This storyline seems strangely familiar.
Should the next scene be them joining the Assembly of Immortal Sects, only for her demonic identity to be exposed and hunted by the righteous path?
The youth would then face countless trials to resurrect his lost love.
Obviously, Caiyi had no idea about the imaginative storm brewing in Chu Liang's mind.
She continued, "Following the Great High Priest's instructions, I told him that the Divine Ruins Monastery held the key to unlocking the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and saving his mother. He truly risked countless dangers to reach the monastery and eventually obtained the key he was searching for."
"The Heaven-Devouring Bug?" Chu Liang asked.
"Indeed. The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is a legendary artifact that fell from the immortal realm. Only the Heaven-Devouring Bug could possibly destroy it. I ventured with him into the Divine Ruins and found the only other Heaven-Devouring Bug in existence...
"We used the Heaven-Devouring Bug to burrow into the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. He went to save his mother while I seized the chance to find the Demon God. By then, the Demon God's essence had already been mostly worn away by the pagoda..."
Hearing this, Chu Liang couldn't help but marvel, Even after nearly three thousand years of suppression, only half of the Demon God's essence had been depleted. A ninth-realm existence is so powerful.
Chu Liang thought he could easily predict what would happen next, but in the end, he was far too naive.
Caiyi continued, "At that time, although my true cultivation level had reached the eighth realm, I still underestimated the power of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. I combined my strength with the remaining essence of the Demon God, but even then, we couldn't break open the cage within the pagoda. Just as I was about to fall into despair, an unexpected figure appeared and lent us their aid."
"Hm?" Chu Liang perked up, his curiosity piqued. There is more to the story?
He couldn't help but ask, "Who?"
Caiyi replied, "Baize."
1. He's dead, so he cannot move, but he is special, so his body is kept there. ☜