Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 84 - Search for the Demon (1)

Forty years ago, the human and demon races had not yet engaged in a great war, and the Three Realms were relatively peaceful. Although Li’er Country had a secret realm, the spiritual energy in Duzhou was abundant at the time, making secret realms not particularly rare. Therefore, the secret realm in Li’er Country was not highly sought after.

Lizhu took a seat beside the king, her gaze turning distant. “Back then, as a princess of the Lin Kingdom, I came to Li’er Country with my attendants for a political marriage and became the queen of Li’er Country.”

At that time, tourism in Li’er Country was not yet developed due to the local secret realm’s lack of special advantages. Very few cultivators visited the area. During the early period of Princess Lizhu’s marriage, everything was peaceful, and she shared a respectful and loving relationship with the old king. Although those days were long past, a trace of sweet nostalgia appeared on Princess Lizhu’s face as she recounted them.

“However, starting from the third month after my marriage, young women in the city began to be murdered continuously,” Princess Lizhu’s expression grew solemn. “Just like what you witnessed tonight, the victims were completely drained of their blood. The king increased the number of city guards patrolling day and night, but it yielded no results. Women kept being killed, and the demon was extremely brazen. The king even invited cultivators skilled in exorcism, but they couldn’t find any trace of the demon.”

“Later,” she paused, “the demon entered the palace.”

“Entered the palace?” Pu Tao exclaimed, “But wasn’t it said that even the cultivators skilled in exorcism couldn’t find any trace of the demon? How did you know it entered the palace?”

Princess Lizhu remained silent for a moment before answering, “Because at that time, I always felt like someone was spying on me in the shadows.”

The old king at that time was still a young man, as handsome as the golden statue by the coast. He was busy with state affairs every day, leaving Princess Lizhu alone in the side palace. Often, she felt as if someone was watching her from behind. Initially, she thought it was just her imagination, until one night, Princess Lizhu woke up from a dream to find that the window of her bedroom had been pushed open a crack. Through the gap, she saw a murky, yellowed eye staring fixedly at her.

Princess Lizhu’s scalp tingled with fear.

She called for guards and ordered them to stand watch at the door of her bedroom day and night, trying to catch the demon. However, there were no traces of the demon afterward. But the feeling of being spied on in the dark remained unchanged, driving Princess Lizhu nearly mad.

“Does that mean, Your Highness, that the demon targeted you?” Zanxing couldn’t help but ask, “During this time, did anyone else fall victim?”

Princess Lizhu shook her head. “No, so my husband and I both believed that the next target of that demon would be me.”

During that period, strange occurrences frequently took place in the palace of Li’er. People would hear the cries of monsters at night, teapots would float in mid-air on their own, trees in the courtyard would drip blood in the dead of night, and maids would feel a tap on their shoulders when walking, only to find nothing when they turned around. In short, it was like a haunted house, leaving everyone on edge.

“And then?” Men Dong nervously swallowed, “How did you catch it?”

“My husband invited a renowned master to exorcise the evil spirits for me. The palace was covered with exorcism talismans, and a demon-slaying formation was set up inside. If the demon came, it would surely be trapped in the formation and dispersed.” Lizhu said.

“The demon-slaying formation is not something anyone can set up,” Rong Yu whispered as he held onto Mimi, “My master once said that only specialized Symbol Formation Masters can set it up.”

“That’s right,” Pu Tao nodded, “Moreover, forty years ago, when the Three Realms were still at peace and there hadn’t been a major conflict between humans and demons, the demon-slaying formation was considered a very cruel method of exorcism. Unless it was an extremely heinous demon, cultivators wouldn’t easily resort to using it.”

Tan Tianxin snorted, “After killing so many people, how is it not considered heinous? In my opinion, the demon-slaying formation should have been used long ago. Unfortunately, our Chihua Sect doesn’t specialize in symbol formations. Otherwise, setting up a few demon-slaying formations would have trapped the demon within three days, leaving it with no way out. How could it continue to wreak havoc in the mortal realm?”

“You’d better listen to the princess first,” Nie Xinghong said as he waved his fan. “And then? Were those symbol formations effective?”

Princess Lizhu looked into the distance, as if recalling, “After those symbol formations were set up, the strange occurrences in the palace indeed stopped. However, my husband still worried about my safety and had my personal guards stay by my side at all times. One night, as I was returning to my chamber, I heard shouts from outside, saying that the demon had been captured.”

“Did you see the shark demon?” Mu Cengxiao asked.

Princess Lizhu remained silent.

She still remembered that night.

Li’er was hot all year round, with no distinction between seasons, seemingly every night was a summer night. On that particular night, the weather was clear, with the moon hanging in the night sky, and cicadas chirping incessantly in the trees. She heard the nervous shouts of the soldiers in the front hall, feeling worried, she picked up her bow and arrow and ran into the front hall, only to see the demon trapped in the middle of the demon-slaying formation.

It was a silver shark demon.

It had a magnificent silver fish tail and the upper body of a human, with long blue hair cascading to the ground. Its scales were mottled and incomplete in some places, with dirty black blood stains in some areas.

It seemed that someone was approaching, and the shark demon turned to look at Princess Lizhu, who then saw his face clearly. His face was also covered with growing silver scales, looking somewhat fierce and terrifying, with eyes as deep blue as the Western Sea.

Seeing Princess Lizhu, the shark demon trapped in the middle of the demon-slaying formation struggled violently and lunged towards her menacingly. The demon-slaying formation was arranged with thousands of talismans, which turned into golden light, intertwining like a fishing net to trap the shark demon within. As the demon leaped upward, his body touched the talisman formation, causing a burst of green smoke, making him roar hoarsely in pain before falling back to the ground.

Princess Lizhu felt inexplicably frightened.

“Lizhu, don’t come any closer!” the king shouted at her, brandishing his sword. “This shark demon intends to harm you. Move away quickly!”

Princess Lizhu took a step back.

Later, she often wondered if, on that night, she hadn’t taken that step back, would the king have survived? Would she have not endured these years of hardship?

But the past couldn’t be changed. Princess Lizhu’s retreat that day seemed to enrage the shark demon. No one saw clearly how the demon escaped from the demon-slaying formation. By the time they regained their senses, the king had already been knocked down by the demon. The demon’s claws pierced through his chest, staining the king’s snow-white robe with crimson blood.

The palace guards rushed forward upon seeing the king in distress, and they killed the already injured demon. But it was too late to save the king.

And then later.

“After the king’s burial, the courtiers invited a master to destroy the soul of the demon, and the demon disappeared from the world. Not long after that, I discovered that I was pregnant.”

As a princess from a foreign land, she had tragically lost her husband shortly after marrying into this kingdom. She gave birth to a prince and raised him, navigating through various struggles and conflicts to safely support her son to the throne. It was not an easy task, but she managed to do it.

She had thought that those nightmare-like past events would eventually erode away like stones on the coast, leaving no trace behind. However, several decades later, the nightmares unexpectedly resurfaced.

“So, do you believe that the recent tragedies in Li’er Country are the work of the same shark demon?” Gu Baiying asked.

Princess Lizhu came back to the present from her reminiscence, looked at everyone, and said, “That’s what puzzles me. After the demon was slain years ago, the courtiers specifically invited the master who arranged the demon-slaying formation to come and destroy the demon’s soul. The master once said that the demon’s soul had scattered, and it could no longer exist in the world. In the forty years since then, Li’er Country has indeed been peaceful. If it weren’t for the fact that the women killed this time were drained of blood just like forty years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed like this.”

Everyone fell into silence. Although demons had long lifespans, Princess Lizhu had witnessed the demon being slain with her own eyes. Moreover, since the exorcist had the ability to set up the demon-slaying formation and destroy the demon’s soul, it was certain that the demon should not have escaped. Besides, if the demon had really escaped, it wouldn’t have waited forty years to come back for revenge.

“Fellow Cultivator Gu, what do you think?” Nie Xinghong politely asked for Gu Baiying’s opinion.

Before Gu Baiying could speak, Tan Tianxin couldn’t wait to speak, “There’s no point in guessing. It’s better to catch the mischief-making demon first, then we’ll know if it’s the same shark demon.”

“Easier said than done,” Pu Tao interjected, “Li’er Country is neither too big nor too small, and the demon is cunning. Even Fellow Cultivator Nie and I couldn’t find it following its demonic aura today, let alone catching it.”

Tan Tianxin smirked confidently, “But it’s just catching a demon. For us from the Chihua Sect, it’s nothing but a trivial matter.” With that, he deliberately glanced at Gu Baiying.

Gu Baiying ignored him.

Tan Tianxin then boasted again, “Before I left, I casually grabbed a few artifacts from the sect’s storage room, and one of them happens to be the ‘Thousand-Mile Demon Toad.'”

“What is a Thousand-Mile Demon Toad?” Pu Tao asked.

“It’s a treasure, a toad that specializes in devouring demonic energy. If there’s a demon nearby, even if the demonic energy is very weak, this toad can track it and devour it. The next morning, all we need to do is release this toad, follow it, and we’ll surely find the demon’s lair,” Tan Tianxin said confidently. “Once we find it, regardless of whether it’s a shark demon or not, we can make sure its soul disperses once again!”

He spoke casually, with a hint of pride in his words, as if he were deliberately showing off his possession of valuable spiritual treasures.

Zanxing commented, “A Thousand-Mile Demon Toad? Sounds like a travel frog.”

But the king of Li’er Country, upon hearing this, was overjoyed. He stood up and bowed deeply to everyone, “Is it true? In that case, won’t the demon have nowhere to hide? I, on behalf of the people of Li’er Country, express my deepest gratitude to all of you immortals. Once you capture the demon, I will definitely offer generous rewards as thanks.”