Jian Lin admitted it was a spur-of-the-moment idea.
The black shadow was elusive, noisy, and truly resembled a mosquito. She exchanged for a mosquito swatter with the system, just to try it out, and it actually worked.
The demons exclaimed in unison, all looking up. How many unrelated people and demons were there?
For the four great demon tribes, tonight was supposed to be an important moment to open the spiritual脉 (líng mài) gate. Why had it gradually gone off track? Where had everything gone wrong?
A flicker of surprise flashed in the Demon Lord's eyes, which he quickly concealed. He went straight for the black shadow, standing before it and demanding, "Caught you. Will you speak or not? If not, I don't mind doing it again."
The black shadow twitched and trembled, constantly twisting and changing, gasping, "Lord Demon Lord, it's no use. The more you know, the more painful it will be. Listen to my advice, stop investigating."
"You don't have a mouth, but that doesn't stop you from being stubborn," the Demon Lord flashed over, bringing Jian Lin down. He tilted his chin, signaling, "Let him taste it again."
Jian Lin smiled sinisterly, raising the mosquito swatter and zapping the black shadow again. "Feels good, doesn't it? If you like it, we're not in a hurry, we have plenty of time to keep you company."
The black shadow curled into a ball, then slowly unfurled. Suddenly, its head turned, and with a face devoid of features, it looked at Jian Lin. "I recognize your voice. Who are you?"
Oh, right. Jian Lin had used the system to create a new face for herself, but she hadn't changed her voice. It was normal for the black shadow to recognize it.
"I am a vengeful spirit, killed by you, here to claim your life!" Jian Lin said sinisterly.
The Demon Lord, hearing this, glanced at Jian Lin impassively, as if understanding many things.
"You are not a ghost, you are human," the black shadow struggled, writhing in pain from the electric current, and suddenly laughed wildly. "Of course, it doesn't matter who you are."
"Still stubborn!" Jian Lin reached out and swung the mosquito swatter, zapping the black shadow again.
The black shadow trembled violently and laughed wildly. "You, you've mistaken the target. You, I can't tell you what you want to know, because..."
"Because you were cursed by Zhan San Dao," the Demon Lord said slowly, straightening up, and regretfully added, "You are not Zhan San Dao."
As the words "Zhan San Dao" were uttered, it was as if an invisible force gripped the black shadow's neck, constricting it until it became a thin line.
"I am not..." the black shadow struggled to speak. "I remember who you are. You are... Jian, Jian..."
Before the black shadow could finish, it suddenly turned into a pool of melting shadow and fell to the ground. However, both the Demon Lord and Jian Lin understood what it was trying to say.
The Demon Lord glanced at Jian Lin again. Jian Lin felt guilty and dared not meet his gaze.
Fortunately, there were still many things to deal with.
The Demon Lord turned to the altar and said to the other demons, "The black shadow is dead. I can help you continue to open the spiritual脉 gate. The only condition is that I replace the position of the Bear Tribe leader, and you must let me in together."
Jian Lin remained still. Suddenly, she heard the sound of pebbles rolling. She turned to see the Golden Core of the Bear Tribe leader. Perhaps it was too short a time, and the black shadow had not digested the demon core.
Demon cores were precious and not easily obtained. Jian Lin picked up the demon core and put it into her Qian Kun Bag, thinking that perhaps she could return it to the Bear Tribe leader's son.
Over there, the Demon Lord and the demons were negotiating.
The Bird Demon was clearly the chief leader. He asked the Demon Lord to give the three demon tribes some time to discuss.
The Demon Lord had no objections. The three demon tribes, along with the scarred bear demon, huddled in a corner to discuss, while the Demon Lord returned to Jian Lin's side.
The Demon Lord first glanced at the black shadow. After its death, it had turned into an imprint and merged with the stone, like ink soaking into stone. The Demon Lord looked for a long time, picked up a dyed pebble, and put it into his sleeve, then turned to stare at Jian Lin.
"Why didn't the black shadow recognize you at first?" the Demon Lord asked directly.
Jian Lin couldn't escape, so she had to answer honestly, "Because I'm using a fake face. It wasn't easy for me to escape from Guanlan Sect, so I had to be careful not to be caught again."
The Demon Lord stared at Jian Lin, silent. Suddenly, he reached out and pinched Jian Lin's cheek, asking in confusion, "What kind of illusion technique are you using? Why can't I see any flaws?"
That was set by the system. It was no wonder the Demon Lord couldn't see it.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Jian Lin grabbed the Demon Lord's wrist, her eyes watering from the pain. "Lord Demon Lord, this is real flesh, don't pinch! It's not an illusion technique!"
The Demon Lord let go, and indeed, Jian Lin's cheeks were red, not like a fake face.
"Then change back to your original face. I hate it when people play tricks on me," the Demon Lord commanded coldly.
Regarding this matter, Jian Lin had already consulted the system. Her face-changing was a function that came with the initial system. It could not be removed unless the system was restarted.
"Oh, I won't change. I used to be an ugly monster. I want to use this beautiful face now," Jian Lin said stubbornly, refusing to back down.
The Demon Lord sneered dismissively, "You're not particularly beautiful now either. You don't need to care about this."
"Lord Demon Lord, your mouth is too sharp," Jian Lin suddenly leaned closer, introducing her beautiful face to the Demon Lord. "Where am I not beautiful now? Look at my big eyes, my perfectly sculpted nose, my full lips, my pointed chin, my fair and tender skin. There isn't a single flaw."
The Demon Lord's eyes were filled with disdain. He once again, unwillingly, pinched Jian Lin's face, trying to find any flaw.
Jian Lin cried out in pain. Xiao Li, perched on the Demon Lord's shoulder, watched the spectacle. Fortunately, the demons came to a conclusion, interrupting the Demon Lord's investigation.
"Lord Demon Lord," the Bird Demon walked over and spoke, "we agree to let you in, on the condition that you promise not to touch the dragon bones. The dragon bones are the lifeline of our demon race, and no human is allowed to contaminate them."
Jian Lin, covering her stinging cheeks, rolled her eyes furiously from behind. These words were so hypocritical.
If the dragon bones were the lifeline of the demon race, why did they slaughter the Bear Tribe and want to open the spiritual脉 gate?
If no humans were allowed to contaminate them, then they shouldn't have agreed. Why not just stop the Demon Lord from entering? The Demon Lord had profound cultivation; if he wanted to touch the dragon bones, those demons couldn't stop him.
The demons were clearly out of their minds, wanting to take a gamble. They would rather risk opening the spiritual脉 gate than choose to keep it safely closed.
In short, they were too greedy, which made them lose their reason.
"I promise you, I'll just go in and take a look," the Demon Lord said calmly, hands behind his back. "I will not contaminate anything."
Who would believe that? Jian Lin muttered to herself. It was like a man saying, "I'll just kiss and hug, I won't go all the way," what's the difference?
If you invite someone into your room, you're really clueless.
Jian Lin was happily complaining when the demons and the Demon Lord had already reached an agreement.
He placed the true jade pendant on the altar. The scarred bear demon stepped forward. The four demon tribes simultaneously channeled their demonic power, activating the altar and opening the spiritual脉 gate.
The demonic powers converged, and the runes on the altar flashed with spiritual light. After confirming the key was valid, the runes began to spin rapidly. A beam of light shot out and projected onto the mountaintop. The mountaintop had some mechanism that refracted the formation onto the spiritual脉 gate. A giant coiling dragon appeared, its eyes wide with fury, exuding an imposing aura.
Jian Lin unconsciously looked at Xiao Li. She saw that Xiao Li's eyes had somehow turned golden again. She stared intently at the coiling dragon on the gate, lost in thought.
Jian Lin sighed softly. Just as she was about to reach out and take Xiao Li down from the Demon Lord's shoulder, the cave suddenly began to shake violently. She instinctively hugged the Demon Lord, stabilizing herself.
This tremor was more intense than any before, with small stones falling intermittently. Jian Lin's heart was in her throat, filled with the terrifying imagination of the cave collapsing and her being buried alive.
After an unknown period of shaking, just when Jian Lin thought the cave was about to collapse, the spiritual脉 gate creaked and slowly opened.
The stone gate was heavy. With every inch it opened, it trembled for a long time. Finally, it opened a gap about one person wide, and the stone gate stopped moving. The cave gradually quieted down.
It seemed as if a distant, heavy sigh echoed from the depths of the earth. The space behind the stone gate was as dark as ink, the gap like the eye of hell.
The demons stood at the front, but facing the opened spiritual脉 gate, not a single demon dared to speak or move.
Legend had it that the spiritual脉 was the dragon bone. In reality, a thousand years had passed since the last time the gate was opened. The oldest demon among them, the Bird Demon, was only a little over five hundred years old.
He had heard about the spiritual脉 from his father but had never seen it himself. What if, behind the gate, there was a powerful and terrifying beast? Would their rash entry be a suicide mission?
Faced with the fear of the dark unknown, humans and demons were the same.
However, the Demon Lord was indifferent. In the silence, he took a step towards the spiritual脉 gate, ready to explore.
The Demon Lord's movement startled the Bird Demon. He suddenly shouted to stop him, "Wait, Lord Demon Lord, you shouldn't be the first one to go in."
The Demon Lord stopped, turned back indifferently, and impatiently urged, "Then hurry up."
The Bird Demon was the most proud. He puffed out his chest and strode forward. "I'll go in first. This is the honor of our Bird Demon tribe."
Jian Lin remembered Hong Qu's words. The Bird Demon had declared himself the master of the spiritual脉, and in this regard, he was indeed very concerned about his reputation.
The other demons did not argue with him. The Bird Demon took the lead, entering the spiritual脉 gate and disappearing into the darkness.
Next were the Lion Demon and the Tiger Demon. Only the scarred bear demon was left alone. He cast a hostile glance at the Demon Lord and Jian Lin, then disappeared into the darkness.
Jian Lin stepped forward last, standing beside the Demon Lord, nervously gripping his arm, and trembling as she whispered, "Lord Demon Lord, there's something I have to say. Whether my face is real or not is not important. I have a sincere heart for you, you can't be angry with me because of this."
The Demon Lord glanced at her sideways, snorted, and said, "You look so ugly when you're guilty."
Jian Lin wasn't falling for the taunt. She hugged the Demon Lord tightly. "So what if I look ugly? You're not allowed to leave me behind anyway."
The Demon Lord couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He stepped forward, and Jian Lin clung to him like a Siamese twin, entering the dark and silent gate together, falling into the unknown abyss.