In their hearts, the Biluo Huangquan (Underworld) had long been the biggest brand name for the demon race in the cultivation world. Over the centuries, they had shouldered many “black pots” and been blamed for countless incidents.
But this was truly the first time someone had dared to blatantly splash dirty water on them right in front of the current Demon Lord and her second-in-command.
Shang Can’s lips twitched with a peculiar expression. She couldn’t help but steal a glance at Wan Shao and, as expected, found the Great Demon Lord’s face alternating between pale and flushed. She was clearly fuming with rage but couldn’t exactly jump up and curse; the sheer effort of restraining herself looked like it might cause white smoke to drift from her head.
After all, with Tianwaitian currently besieged by a horde of demons claiming to be from the Underworld, if these two genuine infiltrators from that very place were to reveal their identities, they would be completely unable to clear their names.
That being said, Shang Can had no intention of swallowing this loss. The fake Canzhe’s provocative display with the bell was meant to signal that she had taken control of the mountain’s warning system, but conversely, it also exposed her location.
Shang Can immediately wanted to rush toward the Morning Bell to catch the imposter off guard. However, as she instinctively tried to circulate her spiritual energy, she felt a sudden stagnation throughout her body. Her expression darkened instantly.
“Hey, Pei Chen.”
She knitted her brows, pushed through the crowd, and strode up to the Acting Sect Leader, who was frantically issuing orders to the disciples.
“The barrier to block demons from entering is useless, but the one preventing cultivators from using spiritual energy outside the arena is holding up quite firmly—” Shang Can found the situation increasingly absurd. She scanned the Tianwaitian disciples. “What’s the point of sending these disciples, who can’t even fly a sword right now, to patrol and guard the mountain?”
“I am not sending them to patrol.” The usually composed Acting Sect Leader’s face was slightly pale. He hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and telling the truth. “The spiritual energy barrier has indeed not been removed. You all can use immortal arts on the arena because the platform is constructed from spirit stones containing spiritual energy. I intend to send the disciples to fetch more spirit stones to hold out for a while longer while we wait for rescue from the elders in the Inner Mountain.”
“I won’t hide it from you all.” His voice trembled slightly. “I have already sent out a message. Except for the masters who went out to search for Canzhe, the seniors residing in the Inner Mountain have responded. But the demon onslaught is fierce; it’s not just here—Tianwaitian is being attacked on all fronts. The masters… might not be able to come immediately.”
“The array core for the spiritual energy barrier is right beneath the Morning Bell,” Pei Chen said, his voice dropping into a serious tone. “But given the intensity of this demonic energy, it is not something a cultivator unable to use spiritual energy can face head-on. Do not act rashly. The goal of the Underworld demons is not us; we only need to hold out until the Inner Mountain seniors break through and rescue us.”
As his voice fell, the cultivators looked at each other, seeing fear and unease in every face. The faint sounds of demon roars and beast howls drifted in from the distance, fueling the sense of helplessness.
Those gathered here were the younger generation of the immortal sects. Even if some possessed remarkable talent, they lacked experience. Compounded by the inability to use their spiritual energy, they felt a crushing sense of inadequacy.
Pei Chen held a high position and possessed great strength. Though called the Acting Sect Leader, since the actual Sect Leader had been in secluded meditation for thirty years, calling him the Leader was hardly an exaggeration. Hearing the grim assessment from his mouth, the young cultivators grew tense. Suddenly, some began hurrying toward the arena—the only place where spiritual energy functioned.
Where there was one, there were many. Cultivators moved toward the platform with varying degrees of anxiety and hesitation; within moments, the arena was packed. Chu Ming, frowning, put away his immortal slip and stepped to the front of the stage, loudly announcing that contact had been made with Qingyu to comfort the crowd. Only a few people remained standing below.
“The goal is not us?”
Having quietly listened to Pei Chen, Shang Can exhaled softly and spoke in a low voice.
“Can the dignified Lord Kunyao not perceive that the demonic energy is pointed directly here?”
Pei Chen pursed his lips. He studied Shang Can carefully, then glanced at Yun Duan, who stood silently beside her with sword in hand. He lowered his head apologetically and spoke in a voice that wouldn’t reach those on the arena.
“…Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist. To avoid mass panic, I had to say those words.”
“Demons use demonic power and are unaffected by the spiritual energy barrier; only we cultivators have cocooned ourselves…” Pei Chen shook his head self-mockingly. “If I said the demons were coming specifically for us, I fear some would… lose their composure.”
“But the seniors of the Inner Mountain are truly on their way to slay demons and save us. That is no lie.”
Pei Chen relaxed his brow slightly and said warmly, “I, Pei Chen, will do my utmost to protect this place. You all are dragons among men, and Lord Yushan and the Lord of the Clouds are even—”
“You’re thinking of them now, are you?”
He was cut off abruptly. Pei Chen blinked in surprise, but Shang Can didn’t even look at him. She turned to Yun Duan, who had remained silent the whole time, and tilted her head toward the arena.
“What are you doing coming down from the stage? We haven’t fought yet. Get back up there.”
Ever since she had eaten Yun Duan’s sugar cakes, Shang Can had dropped her polite act. Pei Chen was stunned by her lack of restraint. To think someone would speak to the Lord of the Clouds like that…
“You aren’t going up, so naturally, I came down.”
As—as a match opponent, the Lord of the Clouds’ words weren’t wrong… but it felt strangely pointed.
Pei Chen’s heart stirred as he looked at Yun Duan. She remained calm and ethereal, her gaze fixed directly on Shang Can.
Shang Can felt a surge of anxiety, but she had no time to respond because—
“ROAR—!”
The sky-shattering roar of a demon beast erupted. The crowd suddenly realized that the arena was surrounded. Monsters emerged from the gardens, the trees, and even the corner towers. They were grotesque and terrifying, looking at the huddling cultivators like a meal on a plate.
Then, they shrieked and charged.
The Tide of Shadows
How many were there?
Shang Can spun, cutting down a bird demon. Before she could shake the blood from her blade, she used the momentum to thrust her sword into the chest of another beast.
She had lost count of how many she had killed. Most were low-level demons that couldn’t even take human form; individually, they were easy to handle. But the sheer number was staggering. The cultivators had to stay at high alert; a single moment of slack would be exploited.
Pei Chen and the Tianwaitian disciples guarded the path between the arena and the Inner Mountain, while Chu Ming and the Qingyu disciples formed a formation on the perimeter to resist the assault. The cultivators on the arena were frantic but stable; the wounded were moved to the center for medical treatment.
Shang Can stood on the path leading from the Outer Mountain gate to the arena, facing the fiercest part of the tide. Even with minimal spiritual energy, her sword strikes were sharp and lightning-fast; she alone relieved a significant burden for those on the platform.
And the person fighting by her side—even in the heat of battle, her movements were so beautiful one couldn’t look away. Her sword intent was as chilling and pure as snow. It was Yun Duan.
Dammit.
Shang Can gritted her teeth. Pushing down her unease, she moved two steps closer to Yun Duan and stole a quick look. She breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Yun Duan was still in her snow-white robes, not a drop of blood on her. She seemed to have plenty of strength to spare.
Shang Can had chosen not to stay on the arena because it was crowded with hundreds of people, leaving the space too cramped. Her fighting style was reckless and free-form; on the stage, she would have been restricted. Perhaps Yun Duan had the same reasoning, but…
But in her heart, Shang Can just wanted Yun Duan to stay safely on the stage. Ideally, protected by layers of cultivators in the very center, where not a single demon could get near her.
Yet Yun Duan stood stubbornly by her side, refusing to go up.
Shang Can’s blade spun, forcing back a group of monsters, and she reached Yun Duan’s side.
“Lord of the Clouds, do me a favor.”
Her hands never stopped moving, taking several demon lives in a single exchange, but her tone was light and casual.
“That—that Junior Sister of mine, you’ve seen her.”
“She’s on the arena right now. I… I’m not worried about her.”
Shang Can peeked at Yun Duan’s cold, immortal-like profile and tentatively said, “Could you… go up and look after her for me?”
This was, of course, a lie she had scrambled to put together.
She was referring to Wan Shao. As a flower demon, Wan Shao wasn’t actually restricted by the spiritual energy barrier, but because of that, she had to hide on the arena and pretend to be using spiritual energy to avoid exposing her true nature.
Flower demons weren’t great at combat. While Wan Shao wasn’t strong enough to clear out the invasion, she was more than a match for most of these monsters. If Yun Duan went up, Wan Shao could help look after her—it was better than Yun Duan being on the front lines.
Shang Can felt she and Yun Duan had at least a bit of rapport now. Yun Duan was the type who was cold outside but warm inside—responsive to soft words but resistant to force. If telling her to go up didn’t work, maybe a reasonable excuse would.
Shang Can added one more weight to the scale: “Consider it an IOU.”
Silence followed.
As if she hadn’t heard a word, the Wuyou sword continued to flow like water. Even without spiritual energy, it was a legendary weapon that cut through iron like paper. The sword-wielder was expressionless, her moves elegant and airy. Only after clearing a three-foot radius around them did she finally turn to Shang Can.
“Since Fellow Daoist Gong Shang is so worried about her Junior Sister,” Yun Duan’s brows were heavy, her thin lips pursed as her gaze fell on Shang Can before quickly darting away, “perhaps you should go check on her yourself.”
Shang Can thought, I am checking on her, she just doesn’t know it.
The sudden stiffness in her tone aside, the low pressure radiating from Yun Duan was now palpable even to a passerby. Shang Can sensed trouble. Yun Duan seems to really dislike Wan Shao… and did she just call me ‘Gong Shang’? I think that’s the first time she’s used that name.
Before she could dwell on it, Yun Duan returned to her usual self. As if the previous lapse were just a hallucination, she looked into the distance and said softly, “We can’t keep this up.”
“We must open the spiritual energy barrier.”
The topic turned serious. Shang Can cut down a demon and looked where she was pointing. In the distance, there was only a black mass; the tide of demons seemed endless. If it weren’t for the fact that these demons vanished shortly after being killed, there would be a mountain of corpses under their feet by now.
Pei Chen had said to hold out for “a while,” but at least an hour had passed. Cultivators on the arena were starting to flag from exhaustion, yet there was no sign of rescue.
“Then I’ll go open it,” Shang Can said firmly.
As she turned to leave, Yun Duan reached out to stop her. Her tone was light but brook no argument: “Together.”
…This was a nightmare. Since they were kids, whenever Yun Duan made that face, it meant her mind was made up. No matter what Shang Can said, she wouldn’t budge.
Shang Can was ten thousand percent unwilling, but knowing Yun Duan as she did, she couldn’t find the words to dissuade her. She even felt a misplaced sense of nostalgia.
The situation didn’t allow for hesitation. Shang Can gripped her hilt tightly as if to suppress her anxiety. “If you can promise not to act recklessly and stay behind me, then we go together.”
Yun Duan nodded without a second thought. “Fine.”
Whether that quick agreement was a good sign or bad, Shang Can didn’t know. She brushed away her stray thoughts and shouted toward Chu Ming: “Lord Yushan, hold the line! We’ll be right back!”
Chu Ming looked over and immediately caught her meaning. After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded heavily. “Do not push yourselves, Fellow Daoist!”
He should say that to Yun Duan. Preferably three times a day with a megaphone, Shang Can grumbled internally. She signaled to Yun Duan, and both retreated simultaneously.
Having decided on their destination, Shang Can stopped engaging the demons. She kept Yun Duan behind her, using her lightness techniques to retreat onto the arena, planning to cut through it toward the Morning Bell.
The crowd on the stage was dense. Their arrival caused a small commotion.
“It’s the Lord of the Clouds!” “Thank goodness we have her…” “Are you injured? Let me heal you!”
What a waste of breath. Instead of talking, remember the trouble you caused her today and go practice more later to lighten her social burden, Shang Can thought, her face turning cold. She wasn’t angry for being ignored; she just felt annoyed.
Besides, injured? If Yun Duan got hurt, it would be a disaster. Shang Can had been watching her like a hawk, and she hadn’t seen—
Ssh.”
The person who had been obediently following her despite the crowd suddenly let out a soft hiss. Shang Can stiffened and stopped dead.
She turned and saw Yun Duan’s exquisite face tightening with a slight frown. Her left hand tentatively covered her waist.
Shang Can watched as the snow-white robes beneath Yun Duan’s hand were slowly soaked by a blooming dark red—like a small, bloody flower suddenly growing on an untainted white field.
Her mind went blank. She yanked the pouch from her waist, fumbled for a moment, lost her patience, and threw it aside with trembling teeth. She tore the left sleeve from her own garment and pressed the makeshift bandage against Yun Duan’s waist, leading her outward.
Yun Duan was hurt.
Yun Duan was… she wasn’t supposed to get hurt.
Not now… not here!
Shang Can practically pulled Yun Duan into her arms, forcefully pushing through the crowd. The person in her arms didn’t resist. Suppressing her frantic emotions, Shang Can mentally recited a healing incantation several times until she finally felt the wound beneath her hand slowly begin to close.
It was only a temporary fix.
The bloodstains on the white robes were impossible to remove. The surrounding cultivators hadn’t yet realized what happened, but they were suddenly drawn to a refreshingly sweet, heart-cleansing fragrance emanating from Yun Duan’s blood. It was followed by an incredibly dense wave of spiritual energy.
The crowd froze. The demons, however, reacted instantly.
The monsters, which had been unorganized and chaotic, all turned their heads. With a ferocity several times greater than before, they swarmed. They didn’t care if they stepped on their own kind; they bared their fangs, saliva dripping, their eyes filled with human-like greed and hunger. They were staring only at Yun Duan.
The… The Flawless Immortal Body…”
In the crowd stunned by the sudden development, someone spoke. The voice was timid, filled with unbelievable shock.
The cultivators finally reacted as well. Gazes laced with all sorts of emotions landed squarely on Yun Duan. Shang Can tensed her shoulders, blocking Yun Duan behind her. Her free hand instinctively gripped her hilt. As she listened to the whispers rising from the crowd, her eyes grew darker and darker.
“—The legendary natural immortal material… even her flesh and blood are filled with spiritual essence. Consuming it can drastically boost one’s cultivation. Like a living elixir of cultivation, a supreme constitution beloved by heaven and earth…”
“…The Lord of the Clouds is actually… a Flawless Immortal Body?”
Demon tide in front, a crowd behind. The spiritual barrier was still up, and there wasn’t even a place to take Yun Duan to hide.
Whether in terms of the setting or the timing, the exposure couldn’t be worse.
Shang Can bit her tongue hard, using the pain to drive away the sense of powerlessness.
Fine.
The familiar sweet scent lingered at the tip of her nose. It didn’t smell like ordinary blood, but it was blood. When swallowed, it would wrap around the throat, thick and metallic.
Yun Duan’s warmth was within reach, but Shang Can felt her heart sinking into a cold lake, forced to face the terrifying memories hidden beneath the water.
What “supreme constitution beloved by heaven and earth”—
To Shang Can, it was nothing but a bitter tragedy.