Inner Demons

Chapter 193: Emperor of Ye

"A million souls," someone sighed. The voice was sharp, with a tone that sounded both helpless and a little mocking. "So much effort has been put into him now; it will be difficult to replace him."

The rain was still falling, and the streets were still packed with people. Everyone was looking up at the clouds in the sky.

But at this moment, there was no longer the strange sight of Li Yunxin and Yue Yunzi fighting. The dark clouds were just dark clouds, with nothing unusual about them.

However, the Dragon King and a Profound Realm cultivator were still within the clouds, something the people didn't know.

And in this city of Weicheng, at the end of Old City Street, on the roof of the brush and ink shop that originally belonged to Yu Family's son-in-law, Wang Sheng, stood two "people."

One black and one white, both with long tongues hanging out.

They were none other than the Black and White Yama Kings.

When Li Yunxin first met the Twin Lords, the White Yama King's tall hat read, "Where does the Heart Demon that devours people come from?" and the Black Yama King's hat read, "Where does the second life go?"

But at this moment, the White Yama King's tall hat was inscribed with the character for "empty," and the Black Yama King's hat read, "also empty."

The White Yama King looked at the crowd in the pouring rain on the street, while the Black Yama King watched the sky with one eye and the Abandoned Palace beside them with the other, not speaking.The White Yama King then spoke again: "Tsk. If you hadn't made those promises to the Emperor of Ye back then, none of this would be happening today. A million souls... a million souls, all given to that young fellow, letting him use them to form a formation—and just like that, they're gone!"

The Black Yama King still didn't speak. After watching the eerie Abandoned Palace for a while, he said, "You were the one who benefited from the deal back then—that boy is here."

With that, without bending his knees, he leaped off the roof and disappeared into the air.

Upon hearing this, the White Yama King turned and saw Li Yunxin, his form concealed, standing under the eaves in the rain, looking up at him. When the Black Yama King vanished, he smiled and greeted him, "Have you come to inspect the results?"

The White Yama King looked up at the thick clouds in surprise. "You're not going to deal with Kun Wuzi anymore?"

"Thanks to your great help—he's now intimidated by me. He's unwilling and resentful, wanting to leave but not wanting to, caught in an intense psychological struggle," Li Yunxin said with a smile, bowing to the White Yama King. "If he comes to talk to me again later, I'll still have to borrow power from you."

Although he knew that Li Yunxin was only so polite and courteous when he needed something and was likely to turn his back on him afterward, the White Yama King still seemed very pleased with the flattery. He reached up and stroked his long tongue, letting out a sinister laugh. "Hehe. If I were you, you'd quickly defeat him. Why hold him back and not let him go? He's a Profound Realm master. If he has a single negative thought, he might turn around and defeat you instead!"

"This is a rare opportunity," Li Yunxin floated up to the roof and, following the White Yama King's gaze, looked at the people in the pouring rain on the street. They were looking up at the clouds, unaware that the person they were looking for was now beside them—watching them.

"Think about it. A Yue Yunzi is already a rare sight in Weicheng, let alone a Profound Realm—and a Great Accomplishment Profound Realm at that. Since he's here and willing to talk to me for so long, I must seize this opportunity to make things clear. If I can use him, I'll use him well."

"I've now offended both sides by killing a demon and a cultivator. Kun Wuzi sees that I'm not a normal person and shows some respect and curiosity towards me—but it's not enough. I need to get him on my side—or at least make people think he's on my side. This is indeed a risk... but if I don't take a risk now, it will be even more dangerous later. This tangled mess must be sorted out."

The White Yama King chuckled. "I love this attitude of yours. Hmm... If I ever see you fail to harm someone and get harmed yourself... Hehehe, that would be even more interesting!"

Li Yunxin laughed along with him. After they stopped laughing, he said, "I want to know about the Emperor of Ye."

A strange expression immediately appeared on the White Yama King's face. "Why are you so curious about that?"

"To prevent your investment from going down the drain," Li Yunxin's face still held a smile, but his tone was serious. "I don't know what a million souls mean to you. But you work so hard to reap souls every day, even arranging judges and ghost servants, so it's clear this is a lot of work. So I guess a quantity in the millions must be a little painful for you."

"Therefore, I want to know what kind of connection you have with that Emperor of Ye—for you to make such a big move."

The White Yama King didn't speak.

Li Yunxin simply sat down on the roof.

Moss grew in the cracks between the tiles, soaked in the rain, making it look even more vibrant and shiny. The heavy rain poured onto the roof, flowed down the tiles, and almost formed a small waterfall at the eaves. A few people were temporarily taking shelter from the rain under the eaves, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

He didn't sit down because he was tired—it was just a physical gesture to calm and relax himself after a period of high tension. He sat and pointed at the people under the eaves. "Look at them. Cultivators don't care much about them, and you don't either. But these uncared-for individuals, when they come together as a whole, are the key to my victory today."

"So, my friend, I need to know some details. Some details you might think are irrelevant are quite important to me. If there are things I don't know, they might become a fatal flaw in my next plan—when I say I'm afraid your investment will go down the drain, this is what I'm talking about."

"You'd be happy if I got outmaneuvered and took a loss. But you wouldn't be happy if I got killed."

"You've helped me so many times, and I'm grateful. But I also know that I didn't conquer you just with my looks—you must have other uses for me in the future. So I think since you've invested this much today... you should tell me a few things clearly. It's better to talk things through now than to part ways later."

The White Yama King listened to his words, was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly laughed. He laughed and pointed at the clouds above his head. "You, young fellow, are using the same tactics on me that you're going to use on him—this is what you meant earlier by 'at least make people think he's on my side,' hmm?"

Li Yunxin sighed. "Don't kid around. I'm serious. In a little while, that man will come back to talk to me. If I can't get what I need from you, then I'll have to... play my trump card."

The White Yama King's eyes widened—because of the phrase "don't kid around."

But he truly didn't know how to respond to him, nor was it appropriate to just leave in a huff. After a moment of silence, he pretended not to have heard the words. He thought for a moment, then sneered. "You've got this one all wrong. Do you really think I released a million souls just because of you?"

Li Yunxin was calm and composed. "I'd like to hear the details."

"Speaking of this, sigh," the White Yama King let out a long sigh. "First, you tell me everything you know. Then, I'll tell you some things. But there are other things that it would be better for you not to know right now."

"Fine," Li Yunxin didn't hesitate. After a brief thought, he began. "That night I saw you, you told me the method to seize the Dragon's Son's body. During that time, I felt something was a little off. That is... you seemed to value that Great Ghost very much."

—That was the night after the Qionghua Tower's Treasure Blossom Assembly.

The Great Ghost had eaten the Grand Artificer from Jinghua and had gone to the assembly in his skin. But it was discovered by Li Yunxin and Lingkongzi at the assembly and taken into Li Yunxin's sleeve.

At that time, the Great Ghost was only a Yin Spirit with a certain level of cultivation. Like all rogue Ghost Cultivators in the world, its obsession was incredibly strong. Although the obsession would slightly weaken as its cultivation level increased and its rationality would grow, at that time, this Great Ghost was only equivalent to a cultivator in the Illusory Realm. It could only harm ordinary people like Young Master Qin, who only knew how to use Talismans but not how to use them well.

Eating the Grand Artificer and going to the Treasure Blossom Assembly in his skin—Li Yunxin found it hard to believe it was a coincidence. So he took it away, intending to interrogate it to see if it was a ploy by Lingkongzi.

However, in the end, he had to believe it was truly a coincidence.

That Great Ghost... was the last emperor of the Ye dynasty, "Great Ye Emperor Zhaowu, Lu Zhengyang," who had held Weicheng for more than sixty years centuries ago!

The White Yama King had said it didn't harm people, but it had just eaten someone the night before.

Li Yunxin interrogated it for a long time before he realized there was more to the story.

According to the Great Ghost, because of some things in its past life, it had received a promise from the Yama King in a dream—that its "dynastic fortunes" in Weicheng would flourish until his own death.

Unfortunately, later, when the Qing Army broke in, massacred the city, and killed him in the Golden Hall, the Yama King never showed up—he had broken his word.

When the Emperor of Ye died, the Yama King came personally to reap his soul. Although Weicheng was a capital, it still had a population of 600,000. And at that time, the "Great Ye" dynasty had only been gone for sixty years—in many remote areas, people still believed that the world belonged to Ye. Moreover, a significant number of former officials and nobles still supported the Ye dynasty in Weicheng, just waiting for the day that the "royal army would reclaim the land," and the world would once again belong to the Lu family.

Therefore, when the Emperor of Ye died, the wishes of millions of people were attached to him. Although he couldn't become a great demon like Emperor Li, who was just one step away from the Supreme Indifference realm, it was more than enough for him to become a True Realm demon.

When the White Yama King came to reap his soul, the ghost of the Emperor of Ye questioned why the dignified Yama King had broken his word.

—However, the Great Ghost had forgotten what had led to the Yama King's promise in the first place.

But he remembered that after he questioned the Yama King, the White Yama King was also ashamed. He said, "It was a matter of timing and fate," and that since his lifespan had not been completed, it would now be made up with a spiritual lifespan.

The ghost of the Emperor of Ye was filled with the hatred of a fallen nation and the hatred of the Yama King's broken promise. He said that in his life, he was an emperor and could have reclaimed the country. Now that he was dead, even his people in the city were slaughtered because of him. How could it all be settled with a "spiritual lifespan?"

The Yama King thought for a moment and changed the terms. He said he would allow him to be the king of the underworld in Weicheng—that the entire hundred-li radius around Weicheng would be his ghost kingdom. And the souls of those who died in Weicheng would all be considered his subjects and would not be reincarnated. He could be emperor in this ghost kingdom for as long as he wished.

The Emperor of Ye was delighted to hear this. He thought, how is this different from the Celestial Emperor? It's just that his divine powers are fewer and his territory is smaller. So he agreed.

Who knew that after he agreed... what was originally a complete soul was immediately reaped in half by the White Yama King.

The remaining half became the Great Ghost that Li Yunxin saw—it was supposed to become a True Realm Ghost Emperor but only became a muddled, confused Ghost Cultivator of the Illusory Realm.

And this Ghost Cultivator, with some limited memories of its past life, instinctively hated everything related to Emperor Qing. The Grand Artificer from Jinghua was given a golden seal by Emperor Qing before he left, and the Great Ghost found him by following the imperial aura on the golden seal. Without a word, it killed him.

At the same time, this Great Ghost was hiding from the Dragon's Son who was looking for it. It happened to learn that there was a master from the Daoist Orthodoxy at the Treasure Blossom Assembly, so it went there in his skin, thinking that since the Dragon's Son was also a demon, he would definitely not dare to come and capture it there—the night of the Treasure Blossom Assembly, the violent wind and rain were the Dragon's Son searching for it throughout the city.

That night, the White Yama King told Li Yunxin that the Great Ghost didn't harm people—which was indeed the truth. This confused Great Ghost only remembered that it was still the ruler of Weicheng and that the people in Weicheng were all its subjects. It also felt guilty and remorseful about the city's massacre, so how could it eat "its people?" It only harmed the birds and beasts (see Chapter 95, "Big Livestock").

After he died for more than a month, a Taoist priest from the Daoist Orthodoxy came and sealed and suppressed the resentful Abandoned Palace with Daoist Arts, and this "Ghost Emperor" couldn't even go back home. The remaining memory and rationality quickly disappeared, and it eventually completely became a somewhat rational ball of resentment, and so it was for hundreds of years.

If an ordinary person were to ask it these things, the Great Ghost would not remember them. But Li Yunxin had other methods.

He had tried "hypnosis." He had done many similar things before—some things that people "completely forget" are actually hidden deep in their consciousness. As long as they can be awakened, it doesn't matter if they can't be remembered.

Li Yunxin treated this half-complete ghost as a chaotic memory to test, and the results were surprisingly good.

It was on that night that he promised to do the first thing for this unfortunate Ghost Emperor—

To undo the Daoist Orthodoxy seal that had suppressed his Abandoned Palace for hundreds of years.

And then, a few days later, on the night he reshaped the Chiwen Dharma Body, with the yang energy of Weicheng's 300,000 people, he also broke that hundreds-of-years-old seal!

The Ghost Emperor's rationality was restored because of him, and he was able to return to the Abandoned Palace, becoming his most solid ally. He first took in the soul of the old beggar and then summoned the ghost soldiers and generals who had been suppressed in the Abandoned Palace before, promising to repay him with a favor (see Chapter 114, "Participating in Creation").

So after that, the Ghost Emperor and even his subordinate Diwu Boyu became Li Yunxin's source of information and intelligence hub.

And the Ghost Emperor did indeed, grandly, repay this favor today.

After Li Yunxin finished speaking, he stopped to catch his breath and looked at the White Yama King. "I'm just curious, why did you make that promise to the Ghost Emperor back then? And after you already broke your word once, why did you harm him again?"

The White Yama King let out a long sigh and no longer smiled.

He turned in place for a moment before saying, "That Golden Peng's adopted daughter, Bai Yunxin, blocked someone outside Yeyuan Mountain. It wasn't because of your face, was it?"

"No," Li Yunxin replied. "It was because of the Ghost Emperor's face."

"Do you know why?"

"He wouldn't say. Or rather, he couldn't remember."

"Hehe. He truly couldn't remember." The White Yama King laughed in a sharp, high-pitched voice, but it sounded like self-mockery or a touch of helplessness. "The first time I promised him dynastic fortunes was because of that Golden Peng's adopted daughter. But as for the details... hmm, it's better that you don't know. And then Weicheng was massacred, and the Emperor of Ye was killed... in fact, it wasn't me who broke my word; it was indeed a matter of timing and fate. As for the details, it's also better that you don't know."

Li Yunxin rolled his eyes. "Then please tell me something I can know?"

"Sigh... The thing you can know is—my second act wasn't a breach of trust," the White Yama King's eyes narrowed as he smiled. "I said I wouldn't reap his soul and would not let him reincarnate. I said I would seal a hundred li of Weicheng for him, and the souls in the city would no longer enter the cycle of reincarnation—which of those did I not do?"

"I only reaped half of his soul so that he would forget some things and not become a great demon in the True Realm. And as for the souls of the dead, they indeed did not reincarnate—I only reaped them and took them to the Underworld!"

The White Yama King sighed again. "So you see—" The White Yama King finished his sad sigh and then looked at Li Yunxin slyly. "These million souls were given to the Ghost Emperor because of a past promise, not because of your face. If you really have a trump card, I suggest you use it as soon as possible—look, that Taoist priest is here."

Right beside Li Yunxin, raindrops quickly took shape, outlining a human figure.