Inner Demons

Chapter 185: A Meeting

It was at this moment that the door of the main hall of the Divine Dragon Temple was opened.

It opened a crack, and then a strong firelight shone through. Even on this overcast day, the firelight was still bright, like a long sword stabbing out from the temple door.

Then the door separated, and the long, fiery red sword turned into a fiery red fan—the figure inside was completely revealed to everyone.

The people in the opera troupe didn't really believe in this Divine Dragon Cult. They had traveled all over the country and had seen more of the world than the common people who were confined to a single city. However, even these actors stopped what they were doing when they saw this scene, and stood in a stunned daze.

A woman walked out of the main hall, wearing strange-looking armor. Flames surrounded her feet, but they did not burn the wooden door frame—as if the flames were completely obedient to her.

She had dark skin and a pair of eyes with thin, red pupils...

This, in no way, looked like a trick.

The dragon girl walked five steps out of the temple door, and the flames around her rose up with a roar, turning into a fire column several meters high. The astonishing and intimidating heat was finally completely released, and the air in the entire area became distorted. A wind started from the spot and spread in all directions. The sleeves of the actors who were standing frozen in shock flapped loudly, and even their wide-open mouths were filled with wind.

Someone whispered, "This... this is the Divine Dragon,"—and the actors on the stage immediately fell to the ground.

But they didn't seem to be doing it out of reverence, but out of fear.Then, the people who were not paying attention to the twenty-one thunderous gongs finally saw the strange sight on the stage. With the Divine Dragon Temple as the center, silence spread and diffused like the wind to a greater distance.

The noise quickly disappeared. The silence lasted for a few breaths, then slowly turned into a low buzzing sound—people were whispering to each other.

And at this moment, the believers of the Divine Dragon Cult finally played their part. They were excited, nervous, and proud as they told the people around them that this was "the Divine Dragon Crown Prince worshipped by our Divine Dragon Cult." Although they weren't very certain themselves, they successfully played the role of the instigators.

The rumor spread quickly through the crowd. Soon, some people began to kneel on the ground, just as they would worship the statues and sculptures in a temple, and one after another, others followed suit. Finally—

Tens of thousands of people, like harvested wheat, all knelt down at once, and a deafening noise rose again.

But this time, it was no longer haggling or scolding their children, but praise, admiration, and a terrified outpouring of the wishes in their hearts.

Li Yunxin narrowed his eyes and looked down at the platform. "See? This is the power of faith of my followers."

"The world is the easiest to deceive and fool." Yue Yunzi seemed to be unimpressed by this. He looked at the actors on the stage, then at the people who were kneeling below, occasionally looking up at the dragon girl on the stage, and said with a mocking tone, "They can't see true divine power, but they love these superficial tricks. It's just that you are using this kind of method to do this, which is really..."

"I just like this kind of exaggerated, crude, and vulgar style," Li Yunxin spread his hands. "I feel uncomfortable if no one praises me for a day."

Yue Yunzi smiled and ignored him, walking past him. A few days ago, he considered Li Yunxin a great enemy, but now he knew that he was not the Dragon's Son—and he believed that the dragon girl was Yazi. So his focus shifted from Li Yunxin to the dragon girl.

He walked past the kneeling actors, and scolded them to leave. The actors didn't know who this middle-aged man was, but they saw him standing and talking with the "Divine Dragon Cult Master," so they believed that he was also a "high-ranking and powerful" person. So they scattered in a swarm, staying away from the monster that didn't look friendly at all and even had scales—

To the people below the stage, she was a divine being, but to the people on the stage, she was a monster. The difference between fear and reverence is often just a matter of distance.

The platform in front of the main hall was quite wide, almost a small plaza.

Yue Yunzi slowly walked over, staring at the dragon girl, and said, "Lord Tongtian."

However, the dragon girl ignored him, just glanced at him sideways, and took two steps forward. The flames around her rose even higher, letting out a whooshing sound in the air. The people below the stage immediately let out a series of gasps. They felt that this was more beautiful than a magic trick, and this magnificent and mysterious scene was something they had never seen in their lives—it was worth it to be squeezed under this platform on such a muggy day, smelling each other's sweat.

Yue Yunzi was unconcerned and stopped about a dozen steps in front of the dragon girl. "Lord Tongtian wants power of faith? Then there is no need for this method—I have a better way to make those people bow down and worship you."

"I just don't know if Lord Tongtian already knows what I said to that child a few days ago. Lord Tongtian should know that—"

Yue Yunzi was talking to the dragon girl, repeating what he had promised Li Yunxin a few days ago. When he paused to catch his breath, he saw that Li Yunxin had walked over to them, his hands behind his back, listening with great interest.

After listening for a while, he said, "Interrupting. It's time to do some serious business."

Yue Yunzi frowned slightly. "I haven't finished speaking yet."

The dragon girl, whom he considered Lord Tongtian, finally paid attention to him—but not with the tone he had imagined, nor with the demeanor he had imagined. She suddenly shrieked, "Go away! You stinky Taoist priest! Don't block my way while I display my power!"

—This was very different from the Lord Tongtian Yue Yunzi had imagined.

He believed that the meticulously planned, interconnected schemes, which he had seen through but could still be called a brilliant plan, could not have come entirely from Li Yunxin.

He had previously mistaken Li Yunxin for Lord Tongtian and had dealings with him a few times. Although he now knew he was wrong, it also showed that the young man was not an ordinary person. It would be normal for such a person to be involved with Lord Tongtian and to create such a plan.

He felt that the young man's behavior was frivolous and reckless, so there must be a steady and mature Lord Tongtian... but the tone, words, and demeanor of this dragon girl were nothing like what he thought a Dragon's Son should be like?!

Yue Yunzi was stunned for a moment.

In that instant, a Talisman in his sleeve suddenly started to throb wildly, making a sharp noise that only he could hear. The Enlightened Master's face changed, and he immediately threw his doubts to the back of his mind—this was a Purple Talisman.

This kind of Talisman took a long time and effort to create. He had brought two with him. One had already been used, and now he only had one left.

This meant that someone else had used a Purple Talisman within a thousand miles—but this was not in his plan.

So Yue Yunzi smiled without a change in expression, grunted, turned around and left, going straight to the back of the hall.

Li Yunxin ignored him and walked straight to the front of the steps, looking down at the common people below.

He was silent for a short while, then suddenly raised his voice loudly. "All of you have already heard about my Divine Dragon Cult. And you also know about the things my Divine Dragon Cult has done in Weicheng recently. Then you should also know that my cult worships the Dragon's Son Chiwen."

He used Spiritual Power when he spoke, so his voice was loud but not harsh. The thousands of people on Taoxi Road and the tens of thousands of people on the outskirts could all hear his voice clearly. Those who couldn't hear him from farther away asked the people in front of them, and slowly, they also understood what he was saying.

Just this one thing—one person speaking on a stage, and tens of thousands of people could hear him clearly—was a divine ability that made people truly admire him.

Then they heard Li Yunxin on the stage say again, "However, there was a rumor that the Chiwen Dragon's Son of my cult is the Crown Prince of the Vast Sea Dragon Palace. We have not clarified this matter before, but today, on the day the Divine Dragon Temple is completed, we will announce the true god that our cult worships to the world—so that devout believers will not go astray in the future."

Li Yunxin's voice traveled far—and reached Yue Yunzi's ears.

At this moment, he was standing under the red corridor of the main hall of the Dragon King Temple and took out a Purple Talisman from his sleeve.

The mysterious true patterns on the Talisman had become flickering and uncertain, as if a lot of light was sealed within it. The Talisman was scorching hot. If a common person in the secular world held it, they would probably be burned to a pulp instantly.

Yue Yunzi, while listening to Li Yunxin's "nonsensical" words that were meant to deceive the people, frowned and let out a low growl: "By decree."

The seal was lifted. The true patterns on the Talisman became blurred in an instant, and the light contained within it was all released in a flash.

A blurry, greenish figure quickly formed in front of him. Yue Yunzi was slightly stunned when he saw this person, then immediately bowed and saluted. "Greetings, Sect Master."

This blurry figure was as tall as Yue Yunzi. One could vaguely see that he was wearing an eight-treasure purple gold crown and a flowing cloud sash robe. His face was blurred and indistinct, but his voice was very clear.

He couldn't see where the scenery behind him was, but Yue Yunzi knew that it wasn't any place in Langya Grotto-Heaven.

The person formed by this Purple Talisman was the Sect Master of the Daoist Orthodoxy Langya Grotto-Heaven, a Great Accomplishment Profound Realm cultivator, Kun Wuzi.

But why would the Sect Master of Langya Grotto-Heaven... the person with the most power in a sect, come to a place a thousand miles away from Weicheng?!

Yue Yunzi's doubts were quickly answered.

Kun Wuzi's phantom said, "We have already tracked the whereabouts of the Second Dragon Son Yazi. Five days ago, we fought with him, and now he should have entered the Qing Kingdom."

"I have come alone this time, but the Second Dragon Son Yazi's cultivation has already been restored to the Harmonious Integration Master Realm, and he is only one step away from returning to the Profound Realm. This time, our Daoist Orthodoxy has decided to eliminate this great demon. Therefore, this matter must be done quickly and discreetly, so as not to cause more trouble or alarm more great demons."

"Currently, there are only two cultivators above the True Realm in the Qing Kingdom, you and me. I will go north and you will go south. Together, we will intercept Yazi and make sure he does not escape and cause more trouble."

Yue Yunzi's expression froze on his face, and a feeling...

—that he himself didn't know how to describe quickly surged in his heart!

He had to almost bite his steel teeth to temporarily suppress that extremely complex emotion. He bowed again to the Sect Master and asked in a very cautious tone, "Sect Master, are you sure that is the Second Dragon Son, Yazi? I have never seen the true body of a Dragon's Son. What does the Second Dragon Son Yazi look like?"

"He did not show his one-hundred-foot true body, but only his God-Devil Dharma Body," the Grotto-heaven Sect Master Kun Wuzi replied. "You must remember. The God-Devil Dharma Body of the Second Dragon Son Yazi is that of a burly man covered in golden yellow hair, with a pair of black coral antlers on his head. He has blue eyes and thin pupils. When he transforms into a human, his body is slender. He likes to wear a yellow robe and a golden silk crown. Remember his appearance. When you see him, you must first fight him and hold him down, but do not underestimate him—"

Upon hearing this, Yue Yunzi's eyebrows furrowed tightly, and he even forgot to speak.

But Kun Wuzi just thought he wasn't convinced and advised again, "Rarely have cultivators like us fought with the Dragon Clan. Therefore, we only know that the bodies of demons are powerful, but after fighting with him a while ago, I realized that the bodies of the Dragon Clan are the most powerful of all demons. If you encounter Yazi, you must not underestimate him. Hold him down and wait for me to come."

And at this moment, Yue Yunzi heard Li Yunxin still speaking on the stage in front of the hall—

"...You have also worshiped him before. He is the Wei River Dragon King, the Dragon's Son Chiwen—this is the true god that our Divine Dragon Cult worships. We have not clarified this matter before, but today, I will tell all of you about the struggle that happened in Weicheng. This Taoxi Road was destroyed in that struggle. And the Yeyuan Mountain outside the city was also burned to scorched earth in that struggle."

"Things of immortals, you did not understand before, but today I will tell you all. That night, a demon committed a crime in my Weicheng, and the Wei River Dragon King, who protects this area, displayed his power to eliminate the demon. Then he fought with that demon on Yeyuan Mountain for three hundred rounds and killed it—the flames that filled the mountain were the divine power of the dragon girl San Hua, who serves the Wei River Dragon King—San Hua, come forward and let them see—the divine power she used to eliminate the demon."

"The Wei River Dragon King was greatly injured when he fought with the demon, which is why there has been a great drought for more than a month, with not a single drop of rain. Now that he has recovered some of his energy after recuperating for a while, he has passed down this Divine Dragon Cult—the purpose of which is for you, the people of the city, to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, such as paving roads and digging canals, to compensate those poor families who have had a difficult livelihood because of the mountain fire."

"You have already seen this dragon girl San Hua today. But if you sincerely believe in my Divine Dragon Cult and are grateful for the great kindness of the Wei River Dragon King for protecting the city, then you should sincerely pray and recite the name of the Wei River Dragon King, the Cult Master of my Divine Dragon Cult, at this very moment—if your heart is sincere, you may be able to bring a torrential rain today to benefit tens of thousands of people!"

After he said this, the people below the stage started to discuss it again, creating another wave of noise.

The Grotto-heaven Sect Master a thousand miles away also seemed to have heard the noise from Yue Yunzi's side. He then realized that the place where Yue Yunzi was was also not ordinary. So he asked, "What are you doing there? Are you in some kind of trouble and can't get away?"

Yue Yunzi didn't answer immediately, but let out a light breath.

He first thought that Li Yunxin was the Second Dragon Son Yazi, but he wasn't.

Then he thought that the fiery Yin Spirit with horns was the dragon girl Yazi, but... now he knew she wasn't.

So that means—

A child, a demon Yin Spirit from who knows where, with only the Illusory Realm...

Had been playing him for a fool all this time, and he hadn't eliminated them.

And now, they were standing on the stage impersonating the Wei River Dragon King—right in front of his face.

In his more than a hundred years of life, he had never suffered such a humiliation.

They must pay the price!

Yue Yunzi showed a smile and said in a low voice, "Just a few clowns fishing in troubled waters and stirring up trouble. Thanks to the Sect Master's words just now, I have a clear understanding of the situation."

"I will go and kill those demons now, and then I will help the Sect Master in your grand plan with Yazi!"