Chapter 44

Meng Jiaqi feels wronged.

In the plan provided by the elders, as a fox, she naturally possesses a charming quality, shuttling between truth and lies, keeping this group of sword cultivators in the dark from beginning to end.

But at this moment, seeing Qin Chuan, she belatedly realizes that she is the one being played, performing a one-person comedy between laughter and tears.

“Are you people free? Huh? Is it not good to have a fair fight?!”

Although she can’t win either,.

Meng Jiaqi and Qin Chuan cry, intertwined in each other’s emotions, almost turning the originally quiet street into an animal farm, ready to play a version of “Funeral in Dreams” with ghostly howls.

(T/N:Funeral in Dreams is from a book published by Nanhai Publishing Company in 2015).

Unfortunately, Zheng Weiqi, this woman, knows nothing about cherishing beauty and jade. Before the sobbing stops, she anxiously asks, “Miss Meng, what’s the matter? You said that the demons in the city only take essence and don’t touch the soul. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?”

Meng Jiaqi takes the rabbit from Ning Ning’s hands, tears in her eyes forming two shaky egg-shaped pouches. “I wanted to ask you the same! After the essence is taken away, at most, the body becomes weak and the limbs powerless. Resting in bed for a few days would be fine. It’s not as serious as you guys say, right?”

Zheng Weiqi nods thoughtfully, quickly exchanging glances with Ning Ning.

“But… the residents in the nearby city haven’t just had their essence taken.”

He Zhizhou scratches his head, somewhat puzzled. “Don’t you know? Many people had their souls taken away; most turned into mindless corpses, attacking and incapable of communication or thought—didn’t this rabbit imitate those people when we first met?”

For some reason, upon hearing the word “soul,” both Meng Jiaqi and the rabbit freeze.

“It’s what the elders told me to do.”

Qin Chuan shrinks into Meng Jiaqi’s arms, his two furry, long ears swaying as he speaks. When he talks, a small gap opens in his three-petal mouth, and his nose also moves along: “They said there was an epidemic outside, and almost everyone infected looks like that. As long as I act fierce, with both eyes dead, I can easily scare you guys.”

The rabbit pauses, explaining with some grievance, “The elders prohibit us from contacting outsiders and even going to the city. We can only collect essence on the outskirts. So we don’t know what the situation is like outside the walls of Jialan City.”

Zheng Weiqi is stunned. “Elders?”

After thinking for a moment, her tone finally softens: “It seems there are many misunderstandings between us that need to be cleared up. Can you two tell us what happened in Jialan City a hundred years ago?”

The surroundings become extremely quiet without wind.

Therefore, this brief silence seems particularly long, as if the entire Jialan City is embedded in a still-ink painting. Only the shimmering water ripples overhead indicate that time is still slowly flowing.

Meng Jiaqi glances timidly at them, hugging the rabbit in her arms. “You are unaware that absorbing souls is not the method of us demons… Only the eccentric demonic cultivators of the demonic race would enhance their cultivation by refining souls.”

“Demonic cultivator?”

Zheng Weiqi frowned. “I heard that after the Immortal-Demon War, the demon race completely disappeared, leaving no trace.”

“Perhaps that’s the case in the outside world, but our Jialan City sank to the bottom of the lake before the Immortal-Demon War.”

Meng Jiaqi seemed a bit fearful, her thin lips trembling slightly. “If there were demonic cultivators trapped with us at the bottom of the lake… wouldn’t it conveniently avoid that big battle?”

Everyone’s eyes were shocked.

Ning Ning was the most surprised.

What was Meng Jiaqi talking about? How could a demonic cultivator suddenly appear in the plot? This was completely different from the original story, which had no suspense in demon-fighting and leveling up!

It was the same when encountering the demonized Dragon Blood Tree in the ancient wood forest last time. Although Pei Ji faced a life-threatening situation, the plot never mentioned it.

As for the demonic cultivator mentioned by Meng Jiaqi, who sank to the bottom of the lake along with Jialan City—

It seemed that whenever it involved the word “demonic,” the original story skipped over it all.

Why was that?

She felt dizzy thinking about it, and Meng Jiaqi’s voice continued in her ears: “Three hundred years ago, the demon race was at its peak. Strong cultivators emerged among demonic cultivators, and seven demon lords were particularly powerful. They not only had violent temperaments but also practiced cultivation methods, each one stranger than the other. One of them, named ‘Xuan Ye,’ relied on devouring human souls and spirits, converting them into his own spiritual power.”

Ning Ning was even more bewildered.

Wasn’t it said that the demon race was completely wiped out? Where did this setting come from?

“Xuan Ye has already reached the Great Ascension Stage. The stronger his cultivation, the higher the requirements for souls. In the past, he only needed to slaughter ordinary people endlessly. However, after reaching the Great Ascension stage, the spiritual energy brought by ordinary human souls was like a drop in the ocean. So, he turned his attention to other high-level cultivators and… demonic cultivators.”

“Demonic cultivators?”

He Zhizhou seemed to understand something: “Jialan City happens to be a gathering place for demonic cultivators!”

Meng Jiaqi nodded. “Exactly. Back then, Xuan Ye approached the young city lord, attempting to use the position of a demon lord as leverage. He persuaded the young city lord to help him set up a Soul-Devouring Formation, slaughtering all the residents on the day of great calamity and refining their heavily resentful blood souls. In this way, his cultivation could progress rapidly, and he would be invincible.”

Zheng Weiqi said, “Since you collect essence for the young city lord, he must have refused.”

Until this moment, a very faint smile finally appeared at the corner of Meng Jiaqi’s mouth, seeming tired yet also filled with admiration and relief. “Exactly. You are not aware that three hundred years ago, the demon race was rampant, and the position of the demon lord was unattainable. Countless people and demons fought for it, and for the young city lord to refuse him for the sake of Jialan City was truly rare.”

She paused, a hint of sorrow appearing in her eyes. “Xuan Ye, seeing that persuasion was in vain, decided to resort to forcefully attacking the city. He was incredibly powerful, and Galan City had always prioritized commerce with very few skilled individuals. Only the young city lord and a few elders had the power to resist.”

Thinking this way, the destruction of Jialan City seemed inevitable.

After pondering for a while, Zheng Weiqi clenched the sword hilt and said angrily, “This is too arrogant! Can’t any righteous immortal sect lend a hand?”

“At that time, every place was in turmoil, and the immortal sects were already extremely busy. Besides, Xuan Ye only took less than half an hour to attack the city. Who would have time to come and help?”

Meng Jiaqi shook her head. “To quickly crush Jialan, Xuan Ye used water dragon techniques to aggressively attack the city. The young city lord and the elders set up defenses at the city gate, but unexpectedly—”

She subconsciously bit her lip, took a deep breath, and continued, “The young city lord’s spiritual power waned, and the formation was suddenly broken. He used the remaining energy to create the barrier above, and the conflicting spiritual forces affected the consciousness of Jialan City’s residents, causing them to lose consciousness temporarily. Xuan Ye, suffering heavy injuries during the battle, should have also been trapped at the bottom of the lake, and his whereabouts remain unknown.”

After this speech, it sounded like she was telling an extremely ancient story.

Ning Ning, after hearing it, felt a stir in her heart and whispered, “So, the current awakening of the demon race in the city is gradually happening. In gratitude for the young city lord’s kindness, they are following the elders’ arrangements to collect essence for him.”

She smiled and added, “Miss Meng, what method did the elders instruct you to use for collecting essence?”

Meng Jiaqi, still trapped in the shadows, shivered slightly at the words, almost reflexively contracting her pupils.

“It’s with this.”

She pulled out a blood-red rope from her pocket, and Zheng Weiqi exclaimed, “Soul-Locking Rope! This is something only demonic cultivators carry. How did those old relics get their hands on it?”

“Isn’t there still a missed demon lord?”

Ning Ning’s eyes darkened slightly, but her tone was still light with a smile. “Miss Meng’s story actually has two worth-examining points.”

Pei Ji glanced at her, lowering his eyelashes lazily.

“First, since the young city lord had the strength to severely injure Xuan Ye, why did the defensive formation suddenly fail? It could only be that someone other than him made a mistake, and knowing that he couldn’t support the formation any longer, the young city lord struggled, giving his all to attack Xuan Ye.”

“Second, Xuan Ye, as a dignified demon lord, if he wanted to attack the city, he must have been fully prepared. How could he come alone without any preparations? Since his helper was not by his side, it could only mean—”

Ning Ning raised her eyes and smiled. In her pitch-black pupils, stars seemed to fall. Meng Jiaqi slightly froze, and the rabbit in her arms looked even more bewildered, disbelief written all over its face.

“Hidden in Jialan City.”

Meng Jiaqi felt her scalp tingling, and the rabbit in her arms looked even more dazed, full of disbelief.

“Since you heard this story from the elders, they had ample time to fabricate lies. It’s easy to see that the real story should be like this.”

Ning Ning said, “Unable to manipulate the young city lord, Xuan Ye turned his attention to the elders. Miss Meng mentioned earlier that during the peak of the demon race, few would refuse the protection and gifts of a demon lord. Enjoying wealth and glory in the demon race was always better than laboring in a small city. Regardless of the process, they agreed to help.”