Chapter Eighteen: Demon

"Elder sister, I think I just heard Qingyun's voice," whispered Qiao Xinyu, nestled in Qiao Xinran's arms.

"I heard it too," Qiao Xinran nodded ever so slightly.

"Let me see if Qingyun is really here to rescue us!" Qiao Xinyu was just about to lift her head when Qiao Xinran pressed her down sharply.

"Don't look up—it's all an illusion!" Qiao Xinran whispered, "We've been yearning for Young Master Shen so much that we're hallucinating!"

"If you raise your head, the monster will devour you!"

"So if I don't look up, the monster won't eat us?" Qiao Xinyu asked innocently.

"No, it just means you won't realize when it eats you," Shen Qingyun interjected, his answer calm.

"Elder sister, I heard it again!"

Qiao Xinran kept her sister's head down, saying, "Don't look up, it's just a hallucination. We're longing for Young Master Shen, that's all!"

"Oh... So you miss Qingyun as much as I do, don't you, sister?"

...

Watching their reactions, Shen Qingyun was caught between laughter and exasperation. These sisters... They truly were endearing.

"Do you dare raise your heads and see if I'm an illusion?" Shen Qingyun asked, barely holding back a smile.

At his words, Qiao Xinran immediately said, "Don't look!"

Despite her warning, both sisters simultaneously opened a slit of their eyes.

When they saw that Shen Qingyun was indeed standing before them, smiling, the two sisters cried out in delight. Qiao Xinyu was especially exuberant, letting go of her sister and leaping to cling to Shen Qingyun, hanging from him like a koala. "It's really Qingyun! Wonderful! It's not an illusion..."

"But Qingyun, you smell so nice—like lotus flowers!"

Shen Qingyun's expression darkened, his brow twitching fiercely.

Luckily, Qiao Xinran still held onto her composure. She walked over, pulled her sister down from Shen Qingyun, and scolded, "How shameless! No sense of propriety at all!"

...

"Ha ha, I hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise!" The black mist cackled, "I can sense the power within you is more abundant than theirs. Heaven itself must be aiding me! You shall all become nourishment for me within this array. Ha ha ha..."

Only then did everyone realize, by following Shen Qingyun back, they had returned to the heart of the array.

"Shen Qingyun, what are you playing at? Are you trying to get us killed?" Zhou Weiqing shouted.

But before the other disciples could react, Shen Qingyun glanced at him coldly and said, "Did I ever ask you to follow?"

With a single sentence, he silenced everyone.

At that moment, Wu Qing stepped forward and spoke softly, "Brother Shen, thank you for saving me."

Shen Qingyun looked at her and blinked. Perhaps she cultivated some spell with enchanting properties—every word and glance brimmed with allure. Especially now, as she gazed at him with gentle, autumn-like eyes; in another's place, one might have been ensnared already.

But she met Shen Qingyun.

...

Qiao Xinyu glared at Wu Qing, gritting her teeth, cursing her inwardly, "Vixen!"

Even Qiao Xinran looked displeased, as if someone had come to snatch away her beloved toy.

Shen Qingyun's gaze remained calm as he lifted his head. "No need to thank me—it was only convenient. Besides, I never intended to save you."

Wu Qing's expression froze, disbelief in her eyes. Her father had told her: the Wu family's Dreamweaving Art could not be resisted except by someone whose cultivation far surpassed her own! Outsiders only knew it could induce sleep, but she had already used it on Shen Qingyun. Why didn't it work?

Just then, Shen Qingyun looked up at the black mist and said gravely, "You're not purely a demon."

The black mist writhed but did not immediately respond. Only after a long silence did its grating voice emerge. "Correct, I am not a pure demon!"

"But so what? Anything that feeds my power is good enough!"

Shen Qingyun raised the Sky-Suppressing Halberd, pointing at the mist. "What are you, exactly?"

"Haha, you've entered my array and still have the heart to question me?" The mist's voice was full of mockery. "If you have the ability, break the array. If you succeed, I will tell you! For you have the right to possess such power!"

Shen Qingyun's brow furrowed ever so slightly. From the mist's scattered words, he gleaned that this impurity was an external force, capable of attaching itself to any living being and greatly amplifying its strength.

But when had such a power arisen in the continent?

"Very well. If I break this array, you must keep your promise."

"Haha, I am true to my word!"

Shen Qingyun drew a deep breath, his face free from joy or sorrow. Turning to the Qiao sisters, he said, "Stay close to me."

He had intended to use the full might of the Sky-Suppressing Halberd to forcibly destroy the formation, but doing so would unleash spiritual energy far beyond what these Qi and Foundation cultivators could withstand.

So Shen Qingyun chose a gentler approach.

The Geng position...

...

As the earth trembled and spiritual energy surged in violent waves, those at the center—Fang Qiyang and the others—suffered intensely. Piercing tinnitus and dizziness nearly sent them sprawling.

They wanted to chide Shen Qingyun, but could not—because the array was broken.

"Impossible! How could such a method exist for breaking the array?" The voice within the black mist shrieked in astonishment.

Shen Qingyun slowly raised his head, gazing at the mist. "Now, tell me everything."

"Haha, don't you know evil men cannot be trusted?" The voice paused, then resumed with mocking laughter.

Shen Qingyun's expression remained indifferent; clearly, he had anticipated this.

"Enough. If you have no value, you have no reason to exist!" Shen Qingyun spoke, his tone calm.

"You want to kill me?" The mist's voice was incredulous, tinged with disdain. "You think you can kill me?"

Its laughter grew even more grating, seeming to carry sonic attacks that could pierce eardrums.

"I am at the Manifest Spirit realm. This black mist is my manifestation. Do you think you, or any of you, could shatter my spirit form?"

"What!"

...

Everyone was stunned, never having imagined their opponent would be a Manifest Spirit cultivator!

The Manifest Spirit realm was high enough in the sect to serve as a deacon elder!

"So what?" Shen Qingyun's lips curved, his eyes unconcerned. Manifest Spirit or not, one strike would suffice!

With the Sky-Suppressing Halberd slung across his back, he strode towards the black mist, step by step. To the disciples of Cangyun Sect, he appeared as a war god, bearing endless solitude, sworn to break through the heavens.

Only when he reached beneath the mist did Shen Qingyun lift his gaze, violet light swirling in his eyes. In that instant, he saw through the black mist, piercing it directly.

One strike—to break the heavens!

Shen Qingyun leaped; the ground collapsed beneath him. Mouths fell open in awe—could this be the power of a Qi-stage cultivator? With a single leap, his strength rivaled half of theirs!

As Shen Qingyun landed, the black mist began to dissipate unsteadily. Its shrill cries rang out, "Ah... Impossible! Who are you, to possess such power?"

"Impossible! I cannot lose!"

"Wretched brat, you've forced my hand!"

As the voice faded, the mist stopped dissipating and began to spread outward.

"Experience my Demon Domain, boy! I will make you nourishment for my Demon Domain!"

Shen Qingyun's mind was tranquil; he had already learned all he needed.

Demon—what was its true nature? Or was it native to this continent?

Gurgle, gurgle...

A boiling sound rose in their ears, and the thick scent of blood invaded everyone's nostrils.

"Ugh..."

Soon, someone couldn't help but retch. The reaction spread—many began to vomit.

To Shen Qingyun's surprise, the Qiao sisters, Wu Qing, and Fang Qiyang managed to endure, though their faces were pale as paper.

The Sky-Suppressing Halberd radiated a dark red glow as Shen Qingyun tapped it against the ground. The halberd emitted a low hum, and instantly, the gurgling and blood stench faded away.

"Impossible! How could you break my Demon Domain?"

When normalcy returned, the depleted black mist wailed once again.

Shen Qingyun ignored it, instead lowering his gaze to the Sky-Suppressing Halberd, thinking, "It seems I can't use it again soon. Unlocking so much of its power this time—at my current cultivation, I can't fully control it!"

With these thoughts, Shen Qingyun rapidly formed seals with both hands, channeling the halberd's momentum. Thunder clouds gathered overhead.

Even those far away in Yueyang City saw the thunder clouds, and faint thunder could be heard in the distance.