Sheng Chou was a deeply calculating old man, and naturally, he wouldn't be easily dismissed by her few words. However, he couldn't help but stare at her with a displeased expression at her calm counterattack.
She truly seemed to be at the end of her rope.
He recalled the recent events around him, feeling that everything had been going awry and that he had suffered repeated setbacks. If that useless Yuan Dao hadn't died, this task wouldn't have fallen to him personally.
He couldn't understand what had happened in the short time after his departure that could have forced the cunning and cautious Yuan Dao to choose self-detonation in a mutual destruction.
The members of the Void Gate had been investigating this matter for a long time without finding any useful clues. Only a faint trace of Yin qi was left at the scene, leading some in the sect to speculate that Fengdu ghost cultivators had taken advantage of the "Newcomer Rankings" to secretly infiltrate and harm Yuan Dao.
But Sheng Chou was dismissive of this. He knew Yuan Dao's capabilities and background clearly. He would never die at the hands of a ghost cultivator. Even if, by some slim chance, a ghost cultivator could defeat Yuan Dao, Yuan Dao wouldn't have chosen such a decisive method to deal with it.
He had once wondered if Yuan Dao's disciple, Gu Chuhhao, who had turned into a flying zombie after death, had been there.
However, Gu Chuhhao was merely a flying zombie who had managed to transform using the Yin qi from the "Nirvana Pearl." Once he left the Du Sheng Taoist Temple, he shouldn't have appeared in broad daylight. His Yin Sha power would have significantly diminished, and he wouldn't have had the ability to threaten Yuan Dao, let alone force Yuan Dao into such a desperate situation.
Now that Yuan Dao was out of contact, the Void Gate was left with him alone to shoulder its burdens, especially with the recent string of incidents within the sect. It was a period of turmoil. That old fellow Tai Xuan seemed to have guessed that there was a spy lurking in the sect and had begun a thorough investigation. Without Yuan Dao to cover for him, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be exposed.
Therefore, he had to obtain the artifact that concealed his aura as quickly as possible so that he wouldn't have to sneakily use others' identities to appear in public.
"You say that slowly waiting to die is no different from being killed? No, there's still a difference..." Sheng Chou's eyes showed a hint of malicious amusement. With a flip of his sword tip, a cold glint flashed and disappeared, drawing a long, thin bloodstain on her cheek.
Gu Junshi had almost completely lost her sense of pain. Once all five senses were lost, this demon race puppet would be completely scrapped.
So, even though half her face was instantly covered in blood, she didn't even blink, as if the disfigurement and bleeding weren't hers. "You want to force me to speak through torture? Then you should know that your good brother Yuan Dao visited before, right? Do you think repeating the same methods will make me choose to submit?"
Her light and indifferent tone, even carrying a hint of mockery, caused Sheng Chou's pupils to contract.
"You know his relationship with me?"
"What relationship? Sheng Chou? Yuan Dao? Two fakes impersonating others..." She slowly smiled, lowering her eyelashes.
Sheng Chou's grip tightened, and the killing intent churning in his eyes erupted, his facial muscles twitching.
"How do you know this?"
He knew then that the demon race couldn't be as simple as Xiao Chenmu described. She had deceived Xiao Chenmu, and everything she said about her background, hardships, and innocence was all lies!
Seeing that he was already intending to kill her for her treasure, Gu Junshi changed the subject. "Who I am is not important. I'm going to die soon anyway; whether I die at your hands or slowly in this dark room, it's all the same. How about this, before I die, we make a deal. You have ulterior motives, and I want you to be even more malicious. Preferably, you can stir up the Void Gate until it's in chaos."
Upon hearing her words, Sheng Chou narrowed his eyes, looking at her with a strange yet unsurprised expression before he began to laugh. "Do you know what Xiao Chenmu and that old fellow Tai Xuan said about you? He said that although you are a demon, you are naive and simple, and you have never been scheming or malicious towards human cultivators. You were imprisoned and punished simply because your race is different from human cultivators. He believed you were innocent. Hahahaha... He should really come and see if the person he thought you were is the same as this... this demon race member filled with calculation and malicious words?"
She knew he was deliberately provoking her, but Gu Junshi was far more patient than him. She said coldly, "What he thinks is his business. If you want my Demon Concealing Pearl, I can give it to you. But I want to know your background and your true purpose for lurking in the Void Gate. I can die, but if you interfere with our clan's plan, you will get nothing, and you might even face misfortune."
What did she mean?
Our clan?
Has the demon race truly crawled back from the abyss? What do they plan to do? Do they intend to invade the twenty-eight heavens of the cultivation world as they did over a thousand years ago?
Seeing Sheng Chou fall into deep thought and a serious expression, Gu Junshi knew she was halfway there. The more conspiratorial she appeared, the more Sheng Chou would believe her words.
Because he himself was of ill intent, blending in and fishing in troubled waters was exactly what a furtive person like him would enjoy.
Sheng Chou quickly regained his composure. He now knew that this woman was not only two-faced but also impossible to coerce or persuade. She was willing to sacrifice herself for their so-called grand plan of the demon race. However, she had now loosened her grip in this seemingly impregnable situation. He should seize this opportunity. He lowered his expression and asked seriously, "Will you really give me the Demon Concealing Pearl?"
The Demon Concealing Pearl was a high-grade treasure possessed only by royalty among the demon race. He had heard of its effects: it could conceal the aura of any race, making one's origin and cultivation undetectable.
The thought that she carried such a coveted treasure made Sheng Chou's blood surge with excitement.
But he wasn't foolish. Words were not enough. Especially for villains like them, going back on their word or changing their minds was something they were adept at. Therefore, he needed a foolproof guarantee.
Gu Junshi looked at him, her enchanting purple eyes seeming to draw souls into them. She said, "I swear by my inner demon. But don't you dare try to deceive me with lies. I am of the demon race; I have my ways of discerning truth from falsehood. If you lie to me, even if I die, I will destroy the Demon Concealing Pearl along with me, and then you will get nothing."
Meeting her confident and determined gaze, Sheng Chou did not hesitate for long. There was no loss for him. He knew it didn't matter if he told her the truth because he had already decided to kill her after he obtained the Demon Concealing Pearl, leaving even her reincarnated soul no room to escape.
Even if the demon race came to investigate, they wouldn't find any traces leading back to him.
This demon girl was still too young. No matter how experienced she appeared, she couldn't scare him. Even if the demon race showed signs of resurgence, they were merely a group of defeated strays from a thousand years ago, making clandestine moves from the shadows. The current cultivation world was still dominated by the major sects.
Sheng Chou said, "It's fine to tell you. I am Qi Qi, a Fengdu ghost cultivator. My plan to come to the Void Gate is not as grand as your demon race's schemes. I have been lurking in the Void Gate for years, waiting for this year's Newcomer Rankings. Once the top ten disciples are decided, I will infiltrate the Dragon Island Secret Realm to retrieve something."
Gu Junshi could confirm that he was not lying, but she was also certain that he was hiding something.
"Dragon Island Secret Realm? What do you want?" she asked again.
Sheng Chou defensively retorted, "This doesn't seem to be within the scope of our trade."
If he didn't say, Gu Junshi would analyze it herself. "The Dragon Island Secret Realm is said to be the place where a Qing Sheng True Dragon from the thirty-two heavens accidentally perished. It formed its own realm and could only be opened by the Void Gate's Qing Sheng Seven Talismans. The Dragon Island Secret Realm is scattered with the Qing Sheng True Dragon's spiritual treasures, and the island itself has been nourished by the Qing Sheng True Dragon's immortal energy for years, naturally growing many spiritual treasures of heaven and earth."
She recounted the origin of the Dragon Island Secret Realm with great detail. Sheng Chou remained noncommittal, unaware of the purpose behind her reciting these obvious facts, until she, as if piecing together clues, arrived at a conclusion.
"Since you are a ghost cultivator, many things inside are treasures for spiritual cultivators, but they might not be of great use to you. So, what you want isn't... the True Dragon's Eye, is it?"
As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Sheng Chou's face. It was just a guess, but although his expression remained unchanged, his pupils involuntarily contracted, and his gaze shifted downward.
Through these subtle micro-expressions, Gu Junshi knew she had guessed correctly.
Sheng Chou's painstaking effort to enter the Dragon Island Secret Realm must have been for something more than a mere magical artifact. Ghost cultivators and spiritual cultivators had different cultivation techniques, and thus, their needs and desires also differed. His ambitious goal was indeed the "True Dragon's Eye."
According to legends, the "True Dragon's Eye" was a treasure capable of seeing into the future or the past. It could take a person's consciousness through time. In Gu Junshi's modern understanding, it meant allowing one's soul to travel to a specific point in time.
However, she had never truly witnessed the specific functions of the "True Dragon's Eye" and couldn't be sure of its capabilities.
"Whether it is or isn't has nothing to do with you. I've already told you my identity, background, and purpose. It's just some personal matters, and it won't clash with your demon race's grand plan, will it? Hurry and give me the Demon Concealing Pearl!"
Gu Junshi knew that Sheng Chou wouldn't reveal anything else. He clearly saw her as a dead person.
It was true that Mu Nanxue possessed the Demon Concealing Pearl, but she did not. She surmised that Sheng Chou, a ghost cultivator, likely had no experience with the real Demon Concealing Pearl. Therefore, since he was so eager for it, she could fake one for him. Regarding the oath of the inner demon, she had only said she would give him a "Demon Concealing Pearl," not that the one she had was genuine.
This was why one must be vigilant when asking others to swear by their inner demons. There were countless loopholes in wording that could be exploited. More importantly, the cultivation technique she practiced, the "Dao of Ruthless Cultivation," did not generate inner demons, so she was not afraid to swear by them, as they would never be realized.
As for the consequences Sheng Chou would face after happily receiving a fake Demon Concealing Pearl, that was none of her concern.
Upon receiving the "Demon Concealing Pearl," Sheng Chou felt a peculiar energy flow from the black bead. He tried using it on himself, and it quickly responded, filling his face with delight.
It must be the real "Demon Concealing Pearl."
Since he had obtained what he desired, he looked up, his sinister eyes fixing on the demon girl. He drew his sword and, without a word, stabbed her directly in the heart.
The tip of the sword went in more than halfway. Then, he twisted the sword, unleashing a surge of violent spiritual power. Blood splattered. He shattered her heart and destroyed all her meridians and bones.
The demon girl looked at him. Even with her heart and entire skeletal structure crushed, she still stared at Sheng Chou with a chillingly calm expression.
Her gaze seemed to say to him, "I'll be waiting for you below."
Her face was covered in blood, her skin paler than a vengeful spirit, yet she smiled before she died. Sheng Chou felt a chill run through his body, almost making him lose his grip on the sword.
She was clearly already dead.
But Sheng Chou was terrified by a dead person.
He gritted his teeth and, relying on the Demon Concealing Pearl, activated his ghost cultivation techniques to destroy the demon girl's soul. However, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't sense her soul.
His face turned pale, and he stumbled back a step in panic.
No, it couldn't be. Where was her soul?!
—Where did it go?!
Could it be that she had made arrangements long ago, and this—
Damn it, he'd been tricked!
The demon corpse before him was just a puppet!
He had merely killed an abandoned puppet of the demon race!
Sheng Chou glared hatefully at the lifeless puppet corpse of the demon girl, turned, and fled rapidly.
Not long after he left, a nine-tailed fox darted out from the shadows. It landed before the corpse, which lay tragically on the ground like a mashed mass of flesh. It sniffed the air with its wet nose, a strange light flashing in its fox eyes. Its nine tails swished, like a solitary cloud under the moon, and it vanished in a purple beam of light.
The events in the dark room were discovered not long after, and the news of the imprisoned demon being killed spread like wildfire.
Xiao Chenmu, kneeling solemnly before the grand stone steps of the main hall, looked dejected yet insisted on begging his master to spare the demon girl imprisoned in the dark room.
Just then, a figure rushed into the Treasure Grand Hall, and from within, his third junior brother's voice reported to their master.
He said gravely, "Master, that captured demon imprisoned in the dark room... is dead. Pierced through the heart with a sword, her meridians and bones shattered."
The voice echoing from the vast hall was crystal clear. Xiao Chenmu heard every word, and it struck him like a heavy blow, leaving his mind blank. He knelt there, stunned, almost losing his balance and collapsing.
He said... who died?
His eyes were bloodshot. He pushed off his knees and slowly stood up.
Who had been killed?
Tai Xuan was also surprised. While he felt it was a pity that this demon had died like this, he admitted that he had harbored a killing intent towards her anyway. Firstly, a demon with ulterior motives who refused to speak the truth and even incited his eldest disciple to plead for her—a demon's death was insignificant.
He raised his gaze and saw Xiao Chenmu, his mind in a daze, rising from the steps and rushing away eagerly. His deep eyes darkened.
Chenmu, he was truly too disappointing.
It was one thing to be swayed by emotions, but he had fallen for a demon girl!