Chapter 125: Demonic Miasma and Monster

At this moment the red grew deeper, and the moon in the sky turned blood‑red.

All around was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and the hazy vision felt like a dream.

In the darkness it seemed as if pairs of strange eyes were looking over.

Heng Xian thought for a moment; returning to his room according to the hexagram posed no problem, but this monster had come to kill!

Senior Sister Lin had once risked everything to save me at Falling Immortal River; not going back to greet her would be hard to justify.

"Cang Lang—"

The meteoric copper sword left its sheath, and in a flash he rushed straight to the courtyard where Lin Shuyu had just been.

The courtyard was not far; he arrived in the blink of an eye, but upon entering, the scene inside had changed——

Where there had been clusters of peonies, now stretched sheets of bamboo, and the pavilion was gone.

It felt as if he had arrived in a completely unfamiliar place!

"Is this… an illusion spell?"

Breaking a monster's illusion spell is a required course for Tianyuan Sect disciples; Heng Xian right now formed a seal with his right hand, swept it across his eyes, and intoned: "Clear Bright Spirit Platform, dispel all falsehood."

"Hum——"

The view before him flickered, and a faint other building appeared, then immediately reverted to its bloody‑red original state.

Moreover, many strange things appeared——

Weird human‑face lanterns floated over, drifting while they laughed.

Their "hee‑hee" cackle was eerily creepy.

"Damn!"

Heng Xian cursed, brandished his spirit sword, and unleashed thirteen sword qi.

"Waaah……"

These lantern monsters couldn't withstand a blow; the sword qi swept past, splitting them in half, they shrieked, fell to the ground, and turned into clusters of green ghost‑fire.

For a moment a foul stench spread everywhere.

Heng Xian flourished his sword, looked around, and realized this monster's cultivation surpassed his own—he couldn't break its illusion.

"Heh heh……"

Just then, from the corners of the walls and behind the bamboo thickets appeared numerous disheveled women monsters wearing little red robes, with no feet.

They floated while extending their pallid, sharp claws.

Their appearance was indescribably terrifying.

"Sword Qi Eight Wastelands!"

Heng Xian leapt up; as his meteoric copper sword flashed, sword qi surged in all directions, howling.

"Pfft……"

A horde of the women monsters was chopped to bits, shrieking as they collapsed in a puddle of green liquid.

"This won't work."

Heng Xian flicked his finger, took to the skies on his sword, and shot straight upward.

But having flown only three zhang high, an invisible force shoved him back down.

"Whoo……"

By now the blood‑red hue deepened, and strange howls echoed throughout the interconnected buildings of the Ke family estate.

For a moment it felt as if he had entered the demon clan's ghostly realm.

Heng Xian was about to reopen the Profound Yellow Heavenly Hexagram when footsteps sounded nearby.

Heng Xian turned toward the sound and saw a wall ripple, then a figure burst out.

Ma Buying!

"Don't move!" Ma Buying also saw him, hastily sheathed his blade and shouted.

Heng Xian sheathed his sword: "Where did you come from?"

Ma Buying caught his breath, pointed behind him, and said: "Just now Tong Quezi came looking for me, demanding to know if I'd peeked at her bath; I was about to argue when this red mist arrived, then a swarm of lantern monsters appeared, we scattered in different directions and got separated—who knows how we ended up here!"

Heng Xian said: "This ought to be Senior Sister Lin's courtyard, but the illusion is so strong it seems to have shifted the location!"

Ma Buying shook his head: "This is the Demonic Miasma Realm, a tactic of a high‑level great monster; you think this is Junior Sister Lin's courtyard, but the directions may be completely reversed!"

Heng Xian nodded: "That makes sense; right now the priority is either to hide or to find others!"

Ma Buying said: "Better yet, we should go find others; staying together is safer, for this monster came suddenly with a mighty presence,

and the little monsters that appear can't be killed—slay one batch and another replaces it, growing stronger until in the end we'd be worn down to death; it's possible some junior brothers and sisters have already fallen victim!"

Heng Xian laughed: "Sorry, I've already been hit!"

Ma Buying stared: "You've killed lots of the little monsters?"

"Obviously!" Heng Xian pointed to the nearby green liquid and scorch marks.

No sooner had he spoken than seven white‑clothed, white‑faced men seated on benches floated out from behind the bamboo nearby.

Rich demonic qi permeated the surroundings.

"Kill them!"

Ma Buying drew his spirit sword first and, in a flash, charged forward.

Heng Xian likewise drew his meteoric copper sword, tapped his foot, and darted into the midst of four of the "white‑faced bench men."

His long sword sliced the air as he slipped past them.

"Thud thud……"

The four white‑faced bench men hit the ground, their benches shattered everywhere, and a sour stench washed over.

Not far away, Ma Buying managed to kill one white‑faced bench man, but was immediately surrounded by two others, prompting him to shout: "Junior brother, that's brutal—I admire your attack power, come help!"

Heng Xian made a hand seal with his right hand, the meteoric copper sword flew and swirled, swiftly cutting down.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The last two White-Faced Bench Men collapsed.

Ma Buying wiped his sweat: "We can't stay here any longer; pick a place and run out!"

Heng Xian hardly thought, pointing at a clump of bamboo: "There!"

Ma Buying blinked: "How do you know?"

Heng Xian couldn't be bothered to answer, he rammed into the bamboo, his vision blurred, and he found himself in another alley.

Ma Buying followed him out: "Whoa, we really got out, what's next?"

Heng Xian pointed to a servant's outhouse.

"This route… is excessive!" Ma Buying stared for a moment.

"Let's go!" Heng Xian patted him.

The two dove into the outhouse, and when they reappeared, they were already in another courtyard.

Before they could steady themselves, a sword wrapped in a fierce sword aura came down upon them.

"Senior Sister Lin, it's us!"

Heng Xian swung his sword to block it.

"Clang!"

The sword aura was flung aside, a figure landed on the ground—it was Lin Shuyu in white as snow.

Looking at the two, she couldn't help but wonder: "How did you find this place?"

Ma Buying pointed at Heng Xian: "Junior Brother Heng Xian seems to have studied the demonic miasma a bit—how embarrassing, I just introduced him!"

Lin Shuyu looked at Heng Xian: "Then can Junior Brother Heng tell where we are now? I also ran out of the courtyard and lost my direction."

"The urgent task now is to meet up with the other senior brothers and sisters and protect the junior brothers and sisters of lower cultivation."

Heng Xian glanced around; it was similarly a courtyard, but filled with peach trees, dense with lantern monsters, woman monsters, and the "White-Faced Bench Men" blocked by a sheet of talismans, unable to pass.

He glanced at the divination answer and said: "Senior Sister Lin resides in the North Annex, I and Senior Brother Ma reside in the South Cross Courtyard, Senior Sister Tong, Junior Sister Xiao, Junior Sister Ye Ling'er, and another junior sister reside in the East Courtyard."

Bai Ziqing, Xu Wei, Zhao Ying, and others reside in the West Grand Courtyard.

"So this place is almost certainly the corridor between the four courtyards!"

Lin Shuyu and Ma Buying couldn't help but look at him with new respect: "Junior Brother Heng, you're talented!"

"I've done some research on the demonic miasma!" Heng Xian said offhandedly, lifting his foot to walk east: "First we'll fetch the people from the East Courtyard, then rendezvous at the West Grand Courtyard!"

Lin Shuyu and Ma Buying immediately followed.

As he walked, Heng Xian said: "Senior Sister Lin, your guess is correct, but things aren't that simple."

Lin Shuyu frowned slightly: "The demonic qi appeared suddenly, rather than descending all at once; the difference is significant."

"It can be inferred that the demon was originally in the manor, so Uncle Ke isn't just lying—he's deceiving us!"

Ma Buying's expression turned grave: "Deceiving us, luring us into the demon's trap? The matter has blown up—disciples of the Tianyuan Grand Sect aren't so easily fooled!"

Heng Xian shook his head: "Saying this now is a bit empty; why hasn't Uncle Song appeared yet?"

Lin Shuyu said: "Perhaps Uncle has already appeared, battling the demon at the heart of the miasma!"

As they spoke, they had already left the talisman's range, and swarms of demonic creatures howled as they lunged.

"You guys hold them off!"

Heng Xian ordered, then strode to a wall and shouted inside: "Ye Ling'er, Xiao Qiyun, if you hear this, head toward the sound—no matter what you see, crash over!"

"(End of chapter)"