Inner Demons

Chapter 139: Ghost Soldiers

At this point in the story, it was something mortals could see. But what followed, only the chicken demon could see.

He saw a ball of green light rise from the young Taoist priest's body, tremble in mid-air, and transform into a misty green Taoist priest. However, this Taoist priest was extremely ugly and had a short, stocky build. Yet the expression on his face was aloof and arrogant, as if he looked down on everyone.

The combination of the two was extremely comical.

Although the chicken demon could take human form and speak human language, he was not a human after all. He had intelligence, but it was like that of a child. Remembering the handsome appearance of his master, Li Yunxin, he forgot himself for a moment and cackled at the Taoist priest's soul, "So ugly! So ugly! What a short-legged ghost!"

The Taoist priest had originally only glanced at him, knowing he was a demon with intelligence, but hadn't paid him any mind. But now, hearing these words, he became furious. He slapped the back of his head, and immediately a small, misty green sword shot out of his mouth, which grew as it landed in his hand.

Then his left hand formed another seal, and he slashed at the chicken demon with his sword.

Only then did the chicken demon panic. He cried out twice and ran, with the Taoist priest's soul chasing after him.

Although the chicken demon's cultivation was shallow, he was a winged creature and had a physical body. The Taoist priest's magical power was also quite strong, but he had lost the support of a physical body and was under the scorching sun. As one waxed and the other waned, they chased and fled out of Weicheng before the Taoist priest's soul began to think of retreating. The chicken demon was also tired of being chased and repeatedly said, "Grandpa, don't chase, Grandpa, don't chase anymore! You're so handsome, be careful not to get your mouth twisted by running too fast!"

Hearing this, the Taoist priest finally stopped and just said to the chicken demon, "Next time I see you, you little demon, I will definitely kill you!"

Only after knowing the whole story did Li Yunxin realize that the chicken demon had dared to play tricks on him—it was clearly he who had been obnoxious first. Although wanting to fight and kill just because of a single disagreement was not what a virtuous master should do, from the chicken demon's description, the Taoist priest's soul was not a righteous person either.In fact… even the cultivators of the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect were mostly a bunch of potential mental patients.

He didn't take it to heart, just wanting to see which deity it was that could use the methods of both the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect.

So he walked to the front of that inn.

A lot of people had already gathered here, all talking about the miraculous events of yesterday. It was just that the puddle of foul-smelling liquid where the Great Ghost had been slain yesterday had not yet been cleaned up. The front of the inn was now unbearably smelly.

The owner had a worried look on his face, saying he had tried many methods—dousing it with water and burning it with fire, but that puddle of smelly water just wouldn't go away. Now the smell was getting stronger and stronger, and the guests in the inn were all asking for refunds and checking out, which made his heart ache so much that he had three canker sores on his mouth overnight.

Li Yunxin stood in the crowd and stared at the smelly water for a moment, and understood what it was.

That young Taoist priest… was very strong.

This smelly water was actually something similar to his Chiwen "divine status."

For a hundred years, people had believed there was a door god on this door. Even if they didn't firmly believe it, they would still think in their hearts, "ah, maybe there really is one"—and so a ghost or monster attached itself to it, accepting this faith. Over time—since people thought there was a deity on this door, and there really was a yin-spirit on this door, was this yin-spirit a real door god or a fake one?

In this ambiguous boundary, it became something similar to Chiwen's "void."

But for thousands of years, no cultivator had set their sights on this kind of thing—first, you had to turn yourself into a soul. But turning into a soul would damage your mind, and you would no longer be your "former self." Moreover, the process from a ghost to a ghost cultivator was a very long one, and a slight carelessness could lead to the soul being scattered.

And finally, this kind of thing, similar to a "void," was created by people's belief. It was not as stable as Chiwen's divine status.

Once no one believed in it, it would also disappear.

And today, that young Taoist priest had not only slain the Great Ghost attached to this void, but he had also directly dismantled the void—which was this puddle of smelly water.

But although it was dismantled, it wasn't that Li Yunxin had no way to deal with it.

He didn't know about other demons, but since he himself was Chiwen and his origin was somewhat similar to this "void," his understanding of it was a bit deeper. And this "bit deeper" was enough for him to comprehend some methods to accomplish this task. This was probably the innate ability of demons and divine beasts—some things could be understood through instinct, without needing to cultivate.

But he didn't act immediately, but waited in the crowd for a while longer.

More than half of all criminals can't help but return to the scene of the crime and mingle with the crowd to watch. Although this wasn't a crime, based on the chicken demon's description of that person, he would probably come back to see.

Unfortunately, he miscalculated this time.

He waited for half an hour, but he still didn't come.

However, this miscalculation seemed to give him a deeper understanding of that person.

But that person didn't come, but… something else did.

This street was called Gucheng Street. In fact, it used to be called "Gucheng Jie" (Ancient City Street). The name Gucheng Jie had been used for nearly two or three hundred years, until Weicheng, the old capital of the previous dynasty, was breached. At the end of this street was Weicheng's "Forbidden Palace."

The Forbidden Palace, as the name suggests, was an abandoned palace.

When the city was breached back then, the Qing army massacred the city for three days before sheathing their swords. And because the royal family of the previous dynasty resisted fiercely and stubbornly, causing many losses, after killing the emperor in the Golden Throne Hall and plundering the treasures, they set fire to the palace.

Unfortunately, this world was not just the Great Qing Dynasty. Although the cultivators said nothing about this, the royal families of other countries strongly condemned this atrocity—there were always disputes in the world, and countries always fought. In fact, the royal families and aristocratic families of various countries were all connected by marriage.

If a country was destroyed and even the royal family was not spared, wouldn't the world be in chaos?

The founder of the Qing Dynasty then beheaded the Valiant General who had ordered the massacre. But everyone knew that without the emperor's approval, who would have the guts to kill an emperor in the Golden Throne Hall and burn down the old capital. That Valiant General was also from a noble family, how could he not know the taboos involved?

However, a stance was ultimately taken, and the matter gradually subsided.

Because of this, the palace ruins had never been touched—it was treated as the mausoleum for the last emperor of the previous dynasty, who was first beheaded in the hall and then burned by a great fire, unable to be buried properly.

Therefore, this Gucheng Street, which led to the Forbidden Palace, slowly became Gucheng Jie.

Weicheng was a major city of its time, and it was once the capital of the country. Therefore, the people of Weicheng always seemed to have a special complex—"Back in the day, our Weicheng was the capital, for nearly a thousand years. That Jinghua has only been around for a few hundred years…"

Li Yunxin could understand this sentiment.

And now, under the bright blue sky, on this Gucheng Street filled with pedestrians…

A troop of yin-spirits arrived.

The one in the lead was a mounted armored soldier. His face was like melted wax, looking ferocious and terrifying, as if he had been burned alive. He held a large spear in his hand, with a black tassel on the spearhead.

Behind him followed five foot soldiers, all wearing armor. But the armor was covered in scars, as if they had been killed in battle. Their faces were also ferocious and terrifying, and they seemed to have been burned to death along with the mounted armored soldier.

This troop of yin-spirits just walked through the crowd on Gucheng Street in a grand and open manner. Every pedestrian they passed shivered, thinking someone was talking about them behind their backs.

But no one could see them.

***