Zanxing (Retranslated)

The Demon-Revealing Formation could only be created by a Symbol Formation Master. To become a Symbol Formation Master, one needed exceptional spiritual talent. In Duzhou, there are very few Symbol Formation Masters capable of creating the Demon-Revealing Formation. This had nothing to do with cultivation but rather with innate talent.

“Senior Uncle Gu,” Nie Xinghong exclaimed in surprise, “when did you learn to create the Demon-Revealing Formation?”

“Martial Uncle is different from you mediocre cultivators without talent,” Men Dong boasted proudly, “He spent the whole night working on this Demon-Revealing Formation.”

“But Martial Uncle, why did you create the Demon-Revealing Formation here?” Tian Fangfang asked Gu Baiying, “Do we have demons among us?”

Gu Baiying smiled faintly and replied, “Demons can conceal their demonic aura with secret techniques, but they cannot hide their demon core. Once a demon enters the Demon-Revealing Formation, their true form will immediately be exposed. If they don’t reveal their true form, they won’t be able to pass through this formation.” He stared at Rong Yu’s eyes and smirked, “Why don’t you come up here, Rong Yu?”

Rong Yu remained motionless.

A single step, a short distance, now felt like an insurmountable chasm that could not be crossed no matter what.

This normally humble, timid, and cautious cultivator said nothing. He stared at Gu Baiying, and after a moment, his expression turned unfamiliar.

Rong Yu tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a strange smile. He asked Gu Baiying, “When did you start suspecting me?”

“A long time ago, from the first time I saw you.”

This answer took Rong Yu by surprise.

“You certainly seemed odd,” Zanxing said, standing next to Gu Baiying and stroking Mimi in her arms. “The first time we met you, Mimi jumped on you, as if she really liked you.”

“You suspected me because the Silver Moon Lion was giving you a warning?”

“Not exactly,” Zanxing replied with a smile. “In fact, up until now, Mimi has shown no trace of being a Silver Moon Lion at all. She behaves more like an ordinary piggy cat. And my cat doesn’t usually get close to people.”

On Mount Gufeng, the various senior cultivators usually had to tempt the cat with spiritual fruits to get a chance to pet it. Tian Fangfang had been acting as the cat’s servant for a long time, yet Mimi still wasn’t that close to him. But this unfamiliar cultivator, ever since their first meeting, had Mimi eagerly burrowing into him.

“I believe it wasn’t giving me a warning but simply liked the smell on you,” Zanxing said.

Rong Yu squinted. “The smell?”

“If you’re a shark demon from the sea, you could be considered half fish. Cats like seafood, which is perfectly normal.”

Rong Yu’s expression instantly darkened, clearly feeling that Zanxing’s words had insulted his dignity as a shark demon.

“Don’t be upset,” Zanxing tried to mend the situation upon seeing Rong Yu’s face turn cold. “I understand you probably don’t like Mimi either. Every time she jumps on you, you look uncomfortable. It’s not about liking or disliking—it’s an instinct between natural enemies.”

“Just based on this?” Rong Yu sneered. “I didn’t expect the sects of the cultivation world to be so casual in their demon-catching methods.”

“It’s not just that,” Zanxing replied. “You always wear loose, long robes, covering yourself completely, not even a sliver of skin showing at your cuffs. Perhaps it’s because you still have some demon traits that haven’t completely faded. Also, you never sweat. Even in the heat of Li’er Country, you remain cool and fresh every day, because you’re not human.”

Rong Yu said, “This is simply absurd.”

Gu Baiying, seemingly fed up with Zanxing’s rambling, glanced at her and took over the conversation. “The first time I saw you was in the gambling den. A gambling parasite had infested your senior brother. The gambling parasite’s demonic power is weak, so it can’t harm people directly and can only confuse its host’s mind through parasitism. Therefore, the target the parasite selects must be someone with low cultivation and a weak will. I heard that the Liuli Sect sent both you and your senior brother this time, and your senior brother’s cultivation is much higher than yours. It makes no sense for the gambling parasite to abandon you and choose your senior brother as its host.”

“Maybe Tan Tianxin interfered,” Rong Yu said coldly. “If you want to eliminate a future rival, naturally, you’d remove the bigger threat first.”

At these words, Tan Tianxin, who was standing nearby, became furious and shouted, “I’ve said it before, I didn’t do such a thing!”

“It’s indeed a possibility, so I didn’t think much of it at the time,” Gu Baiying said calmly. “But Yang Zanxing’s Panhua Staff emitted a warning.”

“The Panhua Staff can expel evil and purify the heart, but a mere gambling parasite shouldn’t cause such a commotion. At first, I thought it was warning about the parasite, but later I realized it was actually warning us to pay attention to you.”

“All of this is just your speculation,” Rong Yu sneered. “It sounds ridiculous.”

“True, none of this counts as evidence.” Gu Baiying’s gaze fell on his face, and he suddenly smiled brightly. “That’s why at last night’s celebration banquet, I purposely went to your senior brother’s room to take a look.”

“The reason your senior brother wasn’t unable to get out of bed wasn’t due to being severely beaten, he was unconscious because someone was controlling him. I guess the reason you didn’t kill him is that once he dies and the command token shatters, the elders of the sect will be notified and immediately become suspicious and rush here, which could potentially expose your lies. Even with this body,” Gu Baiying surveyed him up and down, ” you didn’t completely kill him

¹ either, leaving a thread of his soul to occupy the body, so that you could completely bind together your demonic aura with him, making it impossible for people to seek out your traces.’ ”

The moon rose, hanging above the white jade palace, like a beautiful painting, cold yet enchanting.

Rong Yu slowly started to laugh.

He said, “It seems that not everyone in your cultivation world is a fool.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” a cultivator in the Starry Sky Terrace asked. “Is he a demon? Rong Yu is actually a demon!”

“Rong Yu isn’t a demon,” Pu Tao muttered, looking at the people on the steps. “His body has been possessed by a demon. A demon actually managed to infiltrate our ranks.”

Nie Xinghong folded his fan and stared at Rong Yu. “Were you the one who killed those girls in the city?”

The robed cultivator elegantly bowed. “Of course.”

“How could this be?” the king stumbled back a few steps. “The demon causing harm isn’t a Bixi spirit?”

“A Bixi spirit?” Rong Yu laughed as if he had heard a hilarious joke, bursting into laughter. “How could it be a Bixi spirit? Oh, I almost forgot, humans always have the same trick up their sleeves. When they can’t find the culprit, they just randomly pick a scapegoat to shoulder the blame. It was the same forty years ago, and it’s the same forty years later!”

“Forty years ago,” Princess Lizhu stepped forward, rebuking, “Who exactly are you?”

“Who am I?” Rong Yu asked slowly in return, then suddenly leaped into the air. The night wind lifted his robes and unraveled the hairpin on his head, and in an instant, his dark blue hair spread out like the waves of the sea in the Li’er Country’s night sky. His robes also widened with the wind, resembling the clouds and mist outside the window of a room in the Xian Xun Hai inn. Riding the heavenly wind, his appearance gradually transformed into that of a strange and stunning youth.

Footnotes

1. 
   
   

   Him refers to the host or the owner of the original body occupied by the shark demon