"Demon, did you force the villagers to offer sacrifices of living people?
Why are you sneaking around like a turtle hiding in its shell?
Hiding inside, afraid to face me in battle!"
The other party did not show themselves, yet they had already broken his dragon transformation technique.
This made Ji Shiyou extremely wary, but he maintained a calm demeanor, provoking them with words.
He wanted to force them to reveal themselves, believing he would have a chance of winning in a face-to-face confrontation.
"Hahaha! You, a pear blossom tree demon, have quite a big mouth.
We are both demons, yet you call me a demon?
Little girl, looking at your demonic body, your cultivation is only a few hundred years.
By age, I could be your ancestor.
We are both demon cultivators, so it's tit for tat.
You dare to speak to me like this, you must have eaten the heart of a leopard.
Even if I don't come out, I can still subdue you."
Hearing Ji Shiyou's words, the person in the palace burst into laughter.
It was as if they had heard the funniest thing in the world, and then began to mock Ji Shiyou.
They mistook Ji Shiyou, who had swapped bodies with Mingyue, for a pear blossom tree demon.
Ji Shiyou's heart tightened. Listening to the tone of the other person's voice,
they were also a demon cultivator, and an ancient one at that.
They had likely cultivated for tens of millions of years, or else they wouldn't claim to be Mingyue's ancestor.
He was not a talkative person; he had only spoken so much earlier to probe for information.
Now that he knew the other party's methods, he would say no more.
He made a hand seal and cast a spell, and a white light enveloped the Spirit Devouring Whip.
The chains formed by the black light melted away like winter snow meeting warm sun.
The Spirit Devouring Whip flew up and returned to his hand.
Ji Shiyou flicked the whip and charged towards the palace gates.
Since the old demon wouldn't come out, he would break in.
In any case, he had to eliminate this demon today, so he would just fight.
But at this moment, those dozen or so resentful demons that were not sealed,
all floated over and lined up, blocking his path.
Ji Shiyou knew that the Spirit Devouring Whip would be useless against them.
So he formed a hand seal, intending to summon his core fire to refine the resentful demons.
However, before the core fire could fully form, he smelled a fragrance, like orchids and musk.
It surged towards him like a tide, and he cried out inwardly, "Not good!"
He had smelled this fragrance before in the broken temple and had fallen victim to it.
It was the intoxicating scent emitted by the resentful demons, though there had only been one then.
Now, with over a dozen resentful demons emitting it simultaneously, the fragrance was potent and instantly filled the entire barrier.
Ji Shiyou wanted to hold his breath, but it was too late.
The intoxicating scent was incredibly potent; as soon as one smelled it, it took effect.
Ji Shiyou felt dizzy and disoriented. The dozen or so resentful demons before him had multiplied into hundreds.
In his vision, hundreds of red wedding dresses were dancing.
On each wedding dress was a skull.
With their mouths agape, they cackled at him,
revealing fangs and sharp teeth, ready to tear him apart and devour him.
Ji Shiyou understood why the bones of the sacrificed women could not be seen.
It turned out that those women were thrown into the Azure Wave Pond and sent here.
They would be torn apart and devoured alive by the resentful spirits, leaving no trace.
After enduring such horrific torment, they would become vengeful spirits in red, their obsessions unquenched.
Then they would be made into vengeful spirits by the demon in the palace.
These vengeful spirits constantly devoured offerings, and those who aged would be promoted to resentful demons.
However, even if he understood all this, it was too late.
It was of no use, as he himself was about to be devoured.
He no longer had the strength to resist, and his consciousness was already blurring.
Just then, he seemed to hear Mingyue calling him.
He thought to himself, they say that before death, people recall the most important person in their lives.
Could it be that Mingyue, whom he detested so much, was the most important person in his heart?
Did he detest Mingyue?
It seemed he didn't detest her much, and even had a bit of liking for her.
Ji Shiyou's mind conjured up Mingyue's charming and naive appearance.
She looked a bit silly, a bit cute, a bit adorable, a bit... likable!
"Ji Shiyou, stop pretending to be dead!
If you don't make a move soon, I won't be able to hold on!"
Mingyue's angry roar echoed in his ears, startling Ji Shiyou.
He shook his head and opened his eyes.
He found his mind clear, the effect of the intoxicating scent had been dispelled.
Upon closer inspection, he saw Mingyue holding the Moon Reflecting Sword,
standing beside him with her back to him.
Those dozen or so resentful demons were less than three feet away from them,
frantically battering a white light screen, the radiance from the Moonlight Pendant that was blocking them.
However, the Moonlight Pendant's radiance was thin, and it looked like it wouldn't last much longer.
Mingyue's face was full of tension as she desperately channeled her cultivation into the Moonlight Pendant.
In her heart, she cursed her bad luck, feeling as if she were possessed by the god of misfortune.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have gone looking for trouble at the foot of the mountain.
On impulse, she had helped the villagers solve the problem of the Great Immortal of Azure Wave.
That was the job of immortal sect disciples who considered themselves righteous, wasn't it?
She was just a demon, why would she get involved?
She had eagerly thrown herself into the murky waters, only to be inexplicably pushed into the Azure Wave Pond.
Fortunately, she hadn't been torn apart by the vortex or drowned.
Reaching the bottom of the pond, she saw Ji Shiyou had fallen victim to the intoxicating scent,
surrounded by resentful demons, about to be torn apart and devoured.
She quickly released the pear blossom fragrance to counteract the intoxicating scent.
However, her cultivation was too low to deal with even one resentful demon.
With over a dozen before her, she was terrified and wanted to flee.
But if she fled, Ji Shiyou would die.
Most importantly, their bodies were currently swapped.
It didn't matter if Ji Shiyou died, but what about her body?
To protect her own original body, Mingyue drew her Moon Reflecting Sword,
guarded Ji Shiyou, and hacked wildly at the resentful demons.
Clearly, she was no match for them.
Just as a resentful demon lunged at her, biting towards her,
the Moonlight Pendant, which had just recognized her as its master, sensed her life was in danger.
It emitted a moon-like radiance, repelling that resentful demon.
Mingyue immediately abandoned her attack and channeled her spiritual power into the Moonlight Pendant,
forming a light shield that enveloped herself and Ji Shiyou, blocking the resentful demons outside.
However, facing the attacks of over a dozen resentful demons simultaneously, and with her low cultivation,
the defensive light shield emitted by the Moonlight Pendant was precarious, threatening to dissipate at any moment.
Mingyue, in her desperation, shouted at Ji Shiyou, while thinking to herself:
This guy's intoxicating scent has already cleared, why is he still lying on the ground pretending to be dead?
Is he deliberately being lazy and watching me make a fool of myself?
While Mingyue was tense and lost in her thoughts,
she felt the Moon Reflecting Sword in her hand suddenly fly out, like a dragon.
It spewed out ten feet of sword light, piercing the resentful demons outside the light shield into a string.
Then, a scorching flame appeared, engulfing them.
Demonic roars echoed within the barrier.
Fortunately, Mingyue was protected by the Moonlight Pendant at this time.
Otherwise, she would have been tortured terribly.
"Don't you ever announce yourself before wielding your sword?
Honestly, you'll scare me to death sooner or later?"
Mingyue knew without a doubt that it was Ji Shiyou's doing.
She turned around and said unhappily, not forgetting to give him a glare, her expression naive.
"Why did you come down?
I won't do that again."
Ji Shiyou was somewhat embarrassed. Although Mingyue was currently in his appearance,
her demeanor overlapped with the image he had just conjured in his mind.
Thinking that he had just been contemplating having a bit of liking for Mingyue,
he felt like a child who had done something wrong and was caught red-handed, feeling flustered and uneasy.
"I don't know who pushed me down.
Where is that Great Immortal of Azure Wave? Why are there so many resentful demons here?
Let me tell you, if it weren't for me,
you would have been dead for sure. Consider this whip my reward for saving you."
Mingyue's sharp eyes spotted the Spirit Devouring Whip on the ground, and her eyes lit up.
Without waiting for Ji Shiyou's agreement, she picked it up and put it into her storage bag.
"He should be in the palace. We'll know if we go in and take a look."
Looking at the money-grubbing Mingyue, Ji Shiyou shook his head.
A whip was nothing to him; as long as Mingyue was happy.
He didn't explain anything else, nor did he answer Mingyue's hundred questions.
He pulled Mingyue and pushed open the palace doors, walking inside.
"I'm rich!"
As soon as they entered the palace, Mingyue immediately broke free from Ji Shiyou's hand.
She started shouting, jumping and skipping.
"Come back.
It's dangerous!"
Ji Shiyou shouted urgently.