Chapter 413: Murderous Intent Arises in the Demon Lord's Palace

After dismissing the ministers, only Lingxiang and Guihua remained in the hall.

Lingxiang knew that the Demon Lord certainly did not believe a single word of her argument with the Grand Secretary just now; otherwise, he would not have specifically kept the two of them behind.

But she was very innocent, too. After all, she hadn't told a single lie; it was just that the order of her words was open to debate. Furthermore, concealing things couldn't really be considered lying, could it?

The Demon Lord tapped his fingers in silence. Guihua's face showed nervousness, but Lingxiang looked perfectly composed.

Guihua was nervous, firstly because in Lingxiang's words, she had a suspicion of dereliction of duty, and if the Demon Lord blamed her, she would inevitably face punishment; secondly, there was some intelligence she hadn't yet reported, and if the Demon Lord found out, it would be another offense.

Hmph! She knew that getting involved with this little demoness would never lead to anything good!

As for why Lingxiang was composed, it was because of her personality; having been spoiled by the Elders of the Yuanqing Sect since she was small, she feared nothing. As the saying goes, "a scar the size of a bowl is all that remains after the head is cut off"—at worst, she would die, and living was fine too; what was there to fear?

Although she said that, when the time truly came, she probably wouldn't be so calm. Didn't she get a fright the last time she faced the Demon Lord?

Yet, Lingxiang was the type to "forget the pain once the wound has healed." At this very moment, she was still thinking about how to deal with the Grand Secretary when she got back!

One was trembling with fear, shrinking into a ball while reading the situation; the other was absent-minded, completely unconcerned about her current plight. The two formed a stark contrast, like painted faces on a stage.

Just as the two were occupied with their own thoughts, a guard hurried into the hall, and after a bow, said urgently:

"Reporting to the Demon Lord, the Tiger Gate at Taodushan has been re-established. The two door gods, Shentu and Yulei, have already entered meditation with their divine Qi, and Fengdu has also sent ghost soldiers to guard both sides, and also..."

The guard hesitated, and seeing that the Demon Lord remained silent, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.

"According to reports from scouts, a group of Taoists has arrived in the Underworld, and the leader seems to be wearing the Taoist robes of the Yuanqing Sect..."

The Demon Lord stopped his tapping, glanced at the guard with a scrutinizing look, and then looked at Lingxiang.

Lingxiang's brows tightened upon hearing this, but she returned to normal in an instant.

Admittedly, the departure of Wumin Jun had weakened the Demon Realm's forces significantly, but now was not a good time for a counterattack. Those old men in the sect would not be reckless, unless...

Unless the people who came had snuck down the mountain behind their master's back. Could it be Long Qi? Had Zhanli and the others found him?

It wasn't impossible. Long Qi had always been reckless. Thinking it over, there was no one else but him.

But before Zhanli left, she had repeatedly urged him to plan carefully; why had they come now?

Moreover, it was said to be a group of people; who else could they be?

Lingxiang naturally wouldn't think of Xin Yi and the others; after all, she had never counted on them. To Lingxiang, helping those people was merely fulfilling her duty as a daughter to make up for what her mother had done.

Mo Zun Boyan took in Lingxiang's expression completely. He moved, and in an instant, he was in front of Lingxiang.

"You seem to know who has come." The Demon Lord's tone was icy. "Was it premeditated, or were you waiting to see?"

Lingxiang was startled, thinking to herself that it was bad. She blamed her own carelessness, focusing only on guessing and forgetting her current situation.

"What is the Demon Lord talking about? Why don't I understand?" Lingxiang replied, forcing herself to stay calm.

Mo Zun Boyan's eyes narrowed, a cold light suddenly appearing in them as he stared fixedly at Lingxiang.

Guihua, on the side, saw this and knew the Demon Lord was angry. She secretly rejoiced in her heart: The dead girl doesn't even know she's at death's door. Fine, let me send you on your way; it will make up for the disgusting treatment I've suffered these past few years.

"Demon Lord, please listen. There were originally one demon and one spirit boy in Shiyang Hall. I don't know if they went out of the city to play or what, but they haven't been seen back yet. Your subordinate has searched for a long time but found no trace of them. I fear that..."

Guihua deliberately left half the sentence unsaid. On the surface, she seemed to be worried about their safety, but anyone could hear the implication in her words—that she was saying those Taoists were led here by Zhanli and Adao.

This meant it had everything to do with Lingxiang, as everyone knew those two were obedient to Lingxiang; without her orders, they would never have left.

Lingxiang glanced at Guihua and sneered, "General, you might as well just say I am the mastermind. Why beat around the bush?"

"Princess, you joke. Your subordinate is just concerned about the safety of those two boys. After all, outside the Demon Domain is not like the capital; if they bump into people from the Fengdu Ghost Market, it won't be easy to settle." Guihua spoke words of concern, but the expression on her face was sinister and triumphant.

But Lingxiang did not buy it.

"Then what else can be done? After all, you are a dignified General of the Demon Realm, and I am a mortal; I can't order you around, can I?"

Although she didn't say it explicitly, it was tantamount to admitting that she, Lingxiang, had sent those two out.

Lingxiang had intended to muddle through and take the opportunity to use the Demon Lord's hand to teach Guihua a lesson, but this time, her calculations fell through.

Just as Lingxiang wanted to use the matter of the pill ingredients to cover it up, before the words could leave her mouth, her throat was gripped by the Demon Lord.

The instantaneous pain made Lingxiang forget to struggle. By the time she reacted, her face had turned bright red from suffocation.

"Don't think that because I indulge you, you can be lawless. As long as I am willing, I can kill you right now." The Demon Lord said expressionlessly, his eyes full of murderous intent.

If it were usual times, Lingxiang would naturally be afraid. Although she always had an attitude of "living or dying is fine," she was also extremely protective of her life. But when she was truly on the verge of death, she became extremely calm instead.

"What is there to fear in death... I only fear that the Demon Lord cannot kill me at all..." Lingxiang endured the pain. "No... it's not that you can't kill me, but that you cannot kill me..."

"I cannot kill you?" The Demon Lord's eyes were sinister, and the force in his hand increased by a few degrees.

Lingxiang only felt everything go black before her eyes, but her mind was very clear. Her mouth opened for a long time before she managed to spit out three words: "Heaven... Returning... Pill..."

That's right, the reason Lingxiang was fearless was that she relied on the Heaven Returning Pill.

In this world, the only person who knew the Heaven Returning Pill Formula was Lingxiang. If Lingxiang died, no one would be able to refine the Heaven Returning Pill ever again. And the reason Mo Zun Boyan had gone to such great lengths was precisely to bring Tumi Xianzi back to life.

But how could Boyan know that the Heaven Returning Pill had no power to bring the dead back to life, and Lingxiang had never told anyone about this.

The Demon Lord's eyes flickered. He stared fiercely at Lingxiang, and seeing her eyes grow unfocused, he finally let go.

Lingxiang fell heavily to the ground. The sudden freedom caused her chest to ache as if it were about to burst, but she still gasped greedily for air.

Although Guihua was afraid, seeing Lingxiang in such a sorry state, she felt a burst of joy in her heart. But before she could be happy for too long, she heard the Demon Lord order:

"Those bugs are too much of a nuisance. I order you to go and clear them out immediately."

Guihua left to carry out the order. Lingxiang was shocked, but she didn't know how to stop it.

At this moment, the Demon Lord ordered the guard again: "Move the Princess's belongings to Yinxu Hall. I will supervise her personally."