Chapter 111

Blood-red flags fluttered in the wind as twelve figures stepped out from the direction of the castle. They wore black armor, each chest bearing a blood-mark insignia similar to the one on Ling Xiao's forehead, though the colors varied slightly. The leader held a heavenly-painting halberd, its tip entwined with dark purple demonic flames.

"Your Highness, the Great Demon Venerable has been waiting for many years." The man's voice rang like metal striking metal, echoing across the wasteland: "Why bother entangling yourselves with these petty sect cultivators? Come with us back to the Double Demon Hall!"

Shi Ran gripped the Bingxi Sword tightly; the blood markings on the blade writhed like living things, resonating with the demonic qi within her. She could feel Lingxiao's hand trembling slightly—not from fear, but from suppressing the rampaging demonic qi inside him.

"The Twelve Divine Lords..." Lingxiao shielded Shi Ran behind him, his voice low, "Many years ago, I already drew a clear line with the demon realm."

"Draw a line?" the second Divine Lord—a seductive woman covering her mouth with a light laugh—said, "The demonic blood in your body won't agree. Just now, to save that little girl, you actually used pure demonic realm power."

Shi Ran's heart jolted. Only then did she notice that Lingxiao's pupils had completely turned purple, the blood markings on his forehead clearer than before, even beginning to spread to his cheeks. The immortal sect aura on his body was being devoured bit by bit by demonic qi.

"Master..." she whispered, not knowing what to say.

Lingxiao didn't turn back, merely giving her wrist a gentle squeeze: "I'll hold them off later; you look for a chance to escape."

"No!" Shi Ran shook her head violently, "I won't abandon you!"

The third Divine Lord—a dwarf-like old man—gave a sinister chuckle: "What a touching master-disciple bond. Too bad, little girl, you're merely a vessel prepared by that old fogey Yun Qingchen for him."

Shi Ran felt Lingxiao's fingers suddenly tighten, almost crushing her wrist bone. But the next moment, a gentle force pushed her back several zhang.

"Run!" Lingxiao let out a fierce shout, the Dragon Chant Sword leaving its sheath, sword light pouring down like the Milky Way, straight at the Twelve Divine Lords.

Heaven and earth abruptly changed color. The waning moon's light, drawn by the sword qi, transformed into three-colored pillars of purple, red, and cyan that crashed down. The Twelve Divine Lords obviously hadn't expected Lingxiao to strike suddenly; hastily forming a defensive formation, they were still forced back dozens of steps by this sword.

Shi Ran did not flee. Watching Lingxiao's lone figure as he faced the twelve demon-realm powerhouses, her heart felt clenched by an invisible hand. The Bingxi Sword hummed in her grip, its blood markings glowing with an eerie light.

"Master, I originally wanted to stay amnesiac a few days longer..." she murmured, her gaze turning cold as she recalled the sword technique Lingxiao had taught her: "Heart and sword as one, no self, no sword..."

The demonic qi belonging to Lingxiao inside her suddenly boiled over. Shi Ran felt an unprecedented force surge from her dantian, flowing through her meridians to her limbs. She no longer hesitated, leaping into the battle circle.

"Courting death!" the fourth Divine Lord sneered, swinging his massive axe down as she rushed forward.

Shi Ran neither dodged nor blocked, angling the Bingxi Sword upward in a diagonal thrust. At the moment the sword and axe collided, her inner demonic qi erupted, actually knocking the fourth Divine Lord back three steps. Everyone was stunned—except Shi Ran herself.

"Impossible!" the fifth Divine Lord exclaimed, "How could a mortal girl..."

Lingxiao seized the fleeting opportunity, the Dragon Chant Sword turning into a streak of light, thrusting straight at the fifth Divine Lord's throat. Just as he was about to succeed, the sixth Divine Lord suddenly hurled a bronze mirror; its surface flashed a blinding blood light, forcibly deflecting Lingxiao's sword momentum.

"Your Highness, you have disappointed us greatly." the chief Divine Lord sighed, "For a mere vessel, is it worth it?"

"She is not a vessel." Lingxiao's voice icy, his sword intent growing ever sharper, "She is Shi Ran!"

Shi Ran's eyes grew hot. No longer restraining the rampaging demonic qi within her, she poured all her strength into the Bingxi Sword. The blood markings on the blade resonated with the pattern on Lingxiao's forehead, two sword qi intertwining in the air, actually temporarily forcing back the Twelve Divine Lords' encirclement.

But the good fortune did not last. The seventh Divine Lord suddenly produced a bone flute and blew it; the piercing flute sound, like a blade, stabbed into Shi Ran's eardrums. She clutched her ears in pain, her inner demonic qi immediately going haywire, a mouthful of fresh blood spraying onto the Bingxi Sword.

"Shi Ran!" Lingxiao, seeing this, disregarded his own safety and turned to come to her rescue.

"Watch your back!" Shi Ran cried out.

The eighth Divine Lord's iron chain had already coiled around Lingxiao's neck, while the ninth Divine Lord's poison needle pierced his back. Lingxiao let out a muffled groan, dropping to one knee, the Dragon Chant Sword driven deep into the ground barely allowing him to steady his stance.

"Master!" Shi Ran's eyes nearly burst, wanting to rush over, but the tenth Divine Lord blocked her.

"Little girl, the game is over." the tenth Divine Lord laughed sinisterly, his long whip coiling like a venomous snake around her waist, "Come with us to the demon palace; this delicate appearance truly arouses pity…"

Shi Ran felt a wave of nausea; she could no longer conceal the fact that she had regained her memories. She fiercely bit her finger, quickly pressing it to her forehead, "Seven-Colored Fire Lotus!! Lend me your strength!"

As Shi Ran summoned it, a fiery red lotus suddenly bloomed on her forehead, its markings like flowing blood; as the lotus opened petal by petal, she erupted with a tremendous force that directly sent the Twelve Divine Lords flying.

"Brahma!" a dragon's roar rang out, a black giant dragon suddenly appearing above the demon realm; Shi Ran stood upon Brahma, looking down at the Twelve Divine Lords immobilized by the Seven-Colored Fire Lotus, "Tell the Demon Lord, my master is the venerable Wanshan Jun, disciple of Qingchen Xianzun, one of the seven sect masters of the world, who has devoted his life to exterminating demons and upholding the Dao—he is certainly no whatever prince of the demon realm; you lot are spouting nonsense, so watch yourselves!"

Don't be fooled by Shi Ran's imposing words as she stood upon Brahma; in truth she was terrified to death. That strike just now, she used the power of the fire lotus, but the fire lotus is also nourished by her spiritual energy—these days her efforts have amounted to nothing, her blood reserves depleted. If these Divine Lords were angered by her and swarmed her, she wouldn't have a second chance.

Having said that, Shi Ran cautiously commanded Brahma, "Hurry, hurry! Don't look back!"

Brahma didn't know where to go at the moment, so he flicked his tail, sending these two ancestors out of the demon realm for now.

Lingxiao was gravely wounded, yet he clung to one thought: "When… did… you… remember…?"

Shi Ran didn't want to answer, instead countering Lingxiao, "And Master—when did you learn of your own origins?"

Lingxiao coughed, fell silent for a moment, then said, "Just… when I first stepped into the demon realm…"

He and Xiao Muyu, upon stepping into the demon realm, those dead memories revived—he is the child of Han Ying Xianzun Su Wuhen and the Ninth Son of the Demon Realm, Huiying; his mother hated him for his demonic blood, never ceasing to wish she could slay him; his father feared his power, wishing to kill him as soon as possible!

He ought never to have been alive in this world!

Shi Ran sat beside Lingxiao; a breeze lifted her hair, twining around his heartstrings, hearing her say, "That came later than mine, Master, so this is our first secret between us!"