Chapter 97: The Demon Race

"Qingyun, are we really bringing them along?"

On a mountain path, Qiao Xinyu drew close to Shen Qingyun and spoke in a hushed voice. Somehow, she didn't want these people to travel with them; it felt unsettling. Especially that true disciple of the Ghost Puppet Sect, Wu Shi—the way he looked at her made her especially uncomfortable.

"What, you don't want them with us?" Shen Qingyun glanced sideways at Qiao Xinyu's profile, and a sudden feeling rose in his heart—the sense of a young woman just beginning to bloom.

"It's not that." Qiao Xinyu shook her head slightly.

He cast a meaningful look at Qiao Xinyu, then withdrew his gaze and faced forward. He could sense that Wu Xier, Su Ye, and Qiao Xinran behind him were all somewhat ill at ease, clearly not as natural as when their own team moved alone.

All of this stemmed from those five team leaders who had gotten separated from their own parties.

With their strength, could they really encounter danger in this Ghost Valley? Yet they had taken the initiative to follow their group's footsteps. Shen Qingyun knew this but didn't refuse—a tacit agreement to let them travel alongside.

...

"Strange... have you noticed the black smoke around us is fading?"

Xing Wuque, at the very rear of the group, suddenly spoke, causing Ling Xiao and the others to change expressions and quietly tense up, alert to their surroundings.

This was something they had learned on their own in the Ghost Valley: any anomaly here could not be taken lightly. Because you never knew what might be waiting for you behind that change.

The fading of the black smoke was no exception. Since entering the Ghost Valley, the black smoke had pervaded every corner like a symbol. Now that this defining element was showing signs of thinning, they had no choice but to be vigilant.

The five team leaders noticed these subtle movements and nodded inwardly. That this team had made it this far with the weakest strength was no accident. Most of those who had fallen in their own teams had done so because of carelessness—a lack of vigilance toward their surroundings.

Yet after a long while, aside from the thinning black smoke rolling about, nothing else out of the ordinary occurred.

At that moment, Shen Qingyun gave a calm order: "Stay alert. Advance in the established formation."

A single sentence from Shen Qingyun instantly snapped Ling Xiao and the others' just-relaxed minds taut again. The two sisters moved in silent coordination into the center of the formation.

Ahead were Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun; to the left, Ling Xiao; to the right, Wu Xier; behind, Su Ye. With such protection, unless an opponent with absolutely crushing strength appeared, the two of them would never come to harm.

"So this is their formation?"

Xing Wuque and the others memorized Shen Qingyun's team formation, their hearts stirring. Prioritizing the protection of the weaker members—that was all they saw, nothing else special about it.

Prioritizing the protection of the weak—that was something very few teams could do!

"The aura around us has changed."

As Shen Qingyun's group advanced cautiously, Feng Chuxun wrinkled her nose at that moment, as if she had caught a whiff of something wrong.

The words had scarcely left her mouth when a force surged at them from ahead, like a great wind kicking up sand that stung the eyes. Shen Qingyun couldn't help squinting. When he opened his eyes, the surroundings had changed. The Ghost Valley filled with black smoke was gone, replaced by blue skies and white clouds.

At the tip of his nose, it seemed the fragrance of grass and earth still lingered.

"This place is..." Shen Qingyun murmured.

"Qingyun."

A soft call suddenly sounded from behind him, making his body go rigid.

He turned around, and a flicker of disbelief and longing like a swelling tide rose in Shen Qingyun's eyes. A figure in a white gauze dress reflected in his gaze. His pupils contracted slightly, and the ripples stirring in his eyes betrayed just how unsettled his heart was.

"Xiyue?"

Shen Qingyun's lips parted slightly, a hoarse, low voice emerging from his throat.

"Hmm?"

Before him stood that graceful figure in white gauze, her eyes clearer than the blue sky above. Hearing Shen Qingyun call her name, she tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment.

At the response, Shen Qingyun suddenly closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. "That's good... it's so good to hear your voice!" he said in a low voice, his tone brimming with contentment.

"But... I shouldn't be seeing you here."

Shen Qingyun's reluctant words drifted slowly outward: "So, I will definitely save you. Heaven-Suppressing Halberd, shatter all of this!"

As the words fell, a terrifying fluctuation erupted outward, and a shadow seemed to tear through space itself, appearing before Shen Qingyun. A dark red figure emitted a faint ripple—but that ripple was directed only at Shen Qingyun.

Feeling the message the Heaven-Suppressing Halberd conveyed to him, Shen Qingyun couldn't help but reveal a smile. "No need. Break this place open!"

The Heaven-Suppressing Halberd emitted another faint ripple, stirring this world around them. As if asking: this chance is rare—don't you want to look a little longer?

Shen Qingyun looked at it and couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. "If only I had enough strength to support you taking form. This trying to understand your meaning... it's too tiring."

The Heaven-Suppressing Halberd spun around, and a terrifying fluctuation erupted from it.

Shen Qingyun raised an eyebrow. This fellow—after all these years apart, it had actually developed a temper!

The Heaven-Suppressing Halberd released an awe-inspiring pressure, causing this world to tremble. Cracks climbed across the blue sky and white clouds, and in an instant, this "world" shattered with a thunderous boom!

Shen Qingyun simply watched the "world" fall apart, sensing that the figure behind him was also crumbling and dispersing. He held himself back from turning around. He was afraid—afraid that if he turned, he would weep.

After the "world" shattered, Shen Qingyun locked his sharp gaze on what lay ahead. There, stood a figure—from every angle, it was a person.

Except that his pair of purple eyes gleamed with an eerie, bewitching light.

"Who are you?" Shen Qingyun spoke, his tone carrying unprecedented gravity.

"Unexpected—there's actually an anomaly who escaped my illusion so quickly." The figure spoke, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"If you won't speak, don't blame me for making a move." Shen Qingyun said. The Heaven-Suppressing Halberd at his side seemed to enter a state of readiness, capable of slaying the figure at any moment—just waiting for Shen Qingyun's command!

The figure showed no sign of panic, and said calmly: "You may have escaped my illusion, but they haven't. If you kill me, then they won't survive either."

Hearing this, Shen Qingyun fell silent; a moment later, he looked at him. "What do you want to do?"

The figure hidden in the darkness seemed quite satisfied with Shen Qingyun's reaction, and for the first time answered his question directly: "Me? I don't want to do anything. It's just that you've had bad luck—running into me just as I woke from slumber."

"Answer my question seriously!" Shen Qingyun's brows knit tightly. He had just tried to discern the figure's features, only to find that with his own ability, he couldn't!

"So hot-tempered? Fine, then I'll get a bit more serious too. I am of the Demon Race. As for my purpose... it began five hundred years ago."

Shen Qingyun's heart chilled. Five hundred years ago? The Demon Race? A race he had never heard of.

Shen Qingyun seemed to see the man smile in the darkness, yet still couldn't make out his face.

"If it began five hundred years ago, then why are you trapped here in this Ghost Valley now?" Shen Qingyun stared straight at him and asked.

"Because I had only just awakened then, and my power hadn't fully recovered. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been sealed away until now by a few petty marquises."

As he spoke, Shen Qingyun could hear the deep helplessness in his voice.

"And your purpose? What is it?"

"That, I can't say. If you knew too much, I'd have to kill you."

The figure said: "I still want to see light in you, so you can't die."

"Light?"

"Indeed—light. If it weren't for the light you cast that illuminated this place, I wouldn't have awoken from my slumber."

Looking at him, Shen Qingyun narrowed his eyes. If he understood correctly, the "light" the man spoke of was the radiance he had released when he used Dawnbreak.

"Since you won't say anything, then you're of no use." Shen Qingyun's tone gradually turned cold. He shouted: "Heaven-Suppressing Halberd!"

The Heaven-Suppressing Halberd was ready at a moment's notice.

In the darkness, the figure seemed to take half a step back, saying in a rush: "You really are no fun. Didn't I already tell you—if you kill me, they won't live either! They're your companions, are they not? Don't you care about their safety at all? They're still trapped inside my illusion!"

The moment the words fell, a sword light appeared abruptly, driving straight at the figure in the darkness.

The sword light plunged into the darkness and vanished; whether it struck, there was no knowing. But the surprised voice of the figure in the darkness followed: "Someone actually managed to break through my illusion as well!"

The corner of Shen Qingyun's mouth curled up. "You didn't really think that shoddy illusion of yours could trap everyone, did you?"

The second to break free from the illusion was none other than Feng Chuxun.

The figure fell silent, then spoke again after a moment: "You're right. My strength is lacking now, and the illusion is indeed somewhat crude—it can't hold everyone."

"But those two girls, however, seem to have sunk completely into my illusion!" In the darkness, the figure raised a hand, pointing at the two sisters.

Seeing this, Shen Qingyun's gaze turned dark. Besides them, everyone else could break free of the illusion.

But that was easy to understand. Everyone present was an inner disciple of their respective sects. They had all passed through the Heart-Questioning on the Heavenly Ascension Path; their Dao hearts were already fully formed. Even if this illusion, shaped from a person's innermost desires, trapped them, their Dao hearts would quickly react and help them shatter it.

Unfortunately, the two sisters had been promoted directly to the inner sect—they had never undergone the Heart-Questioning on the Heavenly Ascension Path. How could they have formed Dao hearts?

Before such an illusion, they were like ordinary people. Utterly defenseless!

Shen Qingyun said: "Then we'll just wait and see."

"I'd be glad to."

The figure in the darkness smiled, his gaze drifting now and then to the two sisters.

...

Qiao Xinyu's gaze was dazed, a trace of confusion mingling in her eyes as she looked at the scene before her.

Wasn't this the front of the Mission Hall of the Cangyun Sect?

"Wasn't I in the Ghost Valley? How did I end up back at the Cangyun Sect?" Qiao Xinyu murmured. "Where's Brother Qingyun? Where's Sister?"

"Brother Qingyun! Sister!"

Qiao Xinyu called out loudly.

"Xinyu, what's wrong?"

Hearing Shen Qingyun's voice from behind, joy lit up Qiao Xinyu's face and she spun around abruptly. In that instant, the delight that had not yet fully bloomed on her face suddenly froze stiff.