bestfiction Chapter 112 The Mysterious New Marks in the Demon Palace
Chapter 112 The Mysterious New Marks in the Demon Palace
In the dead of night, near the forbidden area of the Demon Palace, a dark shadow flashed past like a black lightning bolt, bringing with it a gust of cold wind that made the patrolling disciples shiver. The disciples looked at each other, their eyes filled with terror. They knew that the peaceful days of the Demon Palace seemed to be coming to an end.
Soon, the library, which housed important texts, also began to show signs of disturbance. The books showed signs of being browsed, but there were no borrowing records; they lay scattered haphazardly, as if carelessly turned over by an unseen hand. An uneasy atmosphere began to permeate the Demon Palace; the newly discovered signs seemed to foreshadow an impending storm.
Upon learning of these unusual events, Dai Yao felt a growing unease. She had thought that after the traitor incident, the Demon Palace would enjoy a period of peace, but now it seemed that things were far from simple.
"Yaoyao, what do you think about these things?" The mysterious man's gentle voice rang in Dai Yao's ears, like a gentle stream flowing into her heart.
Dai Yao turned her head and met those deep eyes, like looking into an endless abyss, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. She lowered her voice and said, "I think there might be other problems in the Demon Palace. The previous traitor incident was more like a smokescreen to cover up a bigger conspiracy."
Upon hearing this, the mysterious man frowned slightly, like a ripple spreading across a calm lake.
However, when Dai Yao told the other disciples of the Demon Palace about her ideas, she was met with skepticism from them.
“Lord Yao, aren’t you overthinking this? The previous traitor incident has just ended, and now there’s talk of a new conspiracy…” A disciple spoke cautiously, his voice tinged with hesitation.
“Yeah, could it just be a normal accident?” another disciple chimed in.
Dai Yao couldn't help but feel annoyed. These people avoided her like the plague when she was wronged, but now that she's been cleared of suspicion, they're doubting her again. This is a huge double standard.
What troubled her even more was that the Blood Demon Elder was also dissatisfied with her.
“Your Excellency Yao, now that you have been cleared of suspicion, you should rest well and stop interfering in the affairs of the Demon Palace,” Elder Blood Demon said sternly. “Your actions will only make the Demon Palace more chaotic.”
Dai Yao argued forcefully: "Elder, I did this for the safety of the Demon Palace! Those unusual phenomena were definitely not ordinary accidents!"
"Enough!" Elder Blood Demon slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise making Dai Yao's ears ring. "I have already made myself very clear, you do not need to explain any further! This matter ends here!"
Dai Yao stared at the Blood Demon Elder's ashen face, her anger burning fiercely. She could feel her fists clenching involuntarily, her nails almost digging into her palms. She thought to herself, "Why are these people so stubborn? Do they really have to wait until something terrible happens in the Demon Palace before they'll believe me?" But she knew that a direct confrontation would only make things worse. Taking a deep breath, she suppressed her anger, gave the Blood Demon Elder a cold look, and turned to leave.
"Yao Yao..." The mysterious man reached out to grab her, but she gently dodged him.
"Don't stop me." Dai Yao's voice was cold, with a hint of determination. She strode forward, and her figure quickly disappeared into the night.
As Dai Yao walked, she struggled internally. She knew that searching for clues in the abandoned area of the back mountain might bring more trouble, but she was unwilling to give up so easily. She felt she had to do something; she couldn't just watch the Demon Palace fall into danger. Moreover, her intuition told her that the abandoned area of the back mountain must be hiding some secret.
Finally, Dai Yao arrived at the abandoned area behind the Demon Palace. It was a gloomy and desolate place, overgrown with tall weeds almost knee-high, which prickled against her calves as she walked. This place had long been forgotten by the Demon Palace, but Dai Yao keenly sensed something strange about the flow of energy here. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and maximized her perception. Sure enough, a faint but unusual fluctuation of energy, like a wisp of smoke, drifted erratically, appearing and disappearing. This energy bore a striking resemblance to the lingering aura on the traitor from before.
"Fantastic! I knew my intuition wouldn't be wrong!" Dai Yao thought to herself with secret joy. She carefully followed the direction of the fluctuating energy, passing through a thicket of thorns. The thorns occasionally snagged on her clothes, making a slight tearing sound; she could feel the resistance as the thorns cut through the fabric. She arrived at a hidden cave. The entrance was blocked by a huge rock, almost invisible without careful observation. Dai Yao became even more certain that a secret was hidden here.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind: "Your Excellency Yao, what are you doing here sneaking around like this?"
Dai Yao was startled and turned around to see that it was Zi Ling!
"Ziling, you... what are you doing here?" Dai Yao tried her best to act nonchalant.
Zi Ling looked at her suspiciously, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What are you doing in this desolate wilderness in the middle of the night instead of resting in your palace?"
Dai Yao's eyes darted around. "I...I can't sleep. Can't I go for a walk?"
"Taking a walk? Would you take a walk to a place like this?" Zi Ling clearly didn't believe it.
Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Dai Yao had no choice but to tell her what she had discovered. Upon hearing this, Zi Ling's face showed a shocked expression.
Dai Yao walked to the boulder, took a deep breath, and prepared to move it. Zi Ling also stepped forward, and the two of them pushed the boulder together. The boulder moved slowly, making a dull creaking sound that was particularly clear in the quiet night.
"Who goes there?!" A sharp shout shattered the tranquility of the night. A well-trained squad of demon palace guards appeared out of nowhere, each with sharp eyes that seemed to see through the darkness, exuding a strong killing intent.
The head guard captain, with a stern expression, pointed at Dai Yao and Zi Ling and shouted, "What are you doing sneaking around here! Surrender now!"
Dai Yao sensed something was wrong. Before she could explain, the guards had already drawn their weapons and attacked them.
"Damn, this is so unreasonable!" Dai Yao complained as she nimbly dodged the attacks. She could feel the wind whipped by the weapons whistling past her ears. She moved nimbly between the attacks, determined to teach these indiscriminate bastards a lesson.
Zi Ling wasn't idle either. She summoned her natal magic weapon, a longsword that gleamed with a cold light, reflecting a chilling gleam in the moonlight. She engaged the guards in fierce combat. Although her cultivation was inferior to Dai Yao's, her extensive combat experience allowed her to fight the guards to a standstill for a time.
Just then, a dark figure flashed by and joined the battle. It was the mysterious man. He moved like a ghost, his attacks were fierce, each move aimed directly at the guards' vital points, creating a sharp whistling sound.
"How are you? Are you injured?" the mysterious man asked with concern, his eyes filled with worry.
"I'm fine, be careful!" Dai Yao felt a warmth in her heart.
With the arrival of the mysterious figure, the tide of battle turned instantly.
"Stop!" an aged voice suddenly rang out. The Blood Demon Elder had appeared at some point, his face grim as he looked at the chaotic scene before him.
"Elder Blood Demon, you've come at the right time. These two are acting suspiciously..." The guard captain was about to complain when Elder Blood Demon interrupted him.
"Shut up, all of you!" Elder Blood Demon roared.
The guards looked at each other, stunned.
Dai Yao raised an eyebrow, a playful smile playing on her lips: "Elder Blood Demon, what are you up to?"
The Blood Demon Elder gave her a deep look and slowly said, "Envoy Yao, you'd better give me a reasonable explanation."
Just as Dai Yao was about to speak, suddenly, the guards' eyes became vacant, and they all stopped moving as if frozen in place, standing there dumbfounded. Dai Yao and Zi Ling exchanged bewildered glances; this action was utterly perplexing.
Immediately afterward, a powerful aura swept over them, and a man dressed in a magnificent brocade robe walked slowly towards them. With each step he took, an invisible pressure seemed to spread across the ground, and his entire body exuded an imposing aura. Before the man in the brocade robe appeared, Dai Yao noticed that the guards trembled slightly, seemingly filled with awe for this person.
Dai Yao was puzzled, but she keenly sensed that the visitor was not friendly.
"Heh, what a spectacular transformation," the man in the brocade robe said as he approached, his tone sarcastic. "Your Excellency Yao, you certainly have some skill."
“Brother, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want,” Dai Yao spread her hands innocently. “I didn’t do anything, I’m not taking the blame for this.”
"Hmph, still pretending even now," the man in the brocade robe sneered. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to!"
"Oh? Then I'd like to hear what I'm planning?" Dai Yao looked at him with a half-smile, a sly glint in her eyes.
Just as the two were locked in a tense standoff, Dai Yao suddenly sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of energy, like a thin thread extending from the direction of the man in the brocade robe. A thought struck Dai Yao; she guessed that this man in the brocade robe might be related to the secrets of the back mountain, or even the mastermind behind the strange events in the entire Demon Palace.
The mysterious man looked at the man in brocade robes with a hint of wariness in his eyes. He whispered to Dai Yao, "This person is not simple. You go and follow the fluctuations of his aura to take a look. I'll hold him off."
Dai Yao knew in her heart that now was not the time to get entangled with the man in the brocade robe; she had to find out the truth as soon as possible. So, she left with the words "We'll meet again," turned around, and left without the slightest hesitation.
"Stop!" the man in the brocade robe shouted angrily, but was stopped by the mysterious man.
"Your opponent is me." The mysterious man's tone was icy, and his eyes carried a hint of warning.
Ignoring the tense standoff behind her, Dai Yao silently followed the suspicious fluctuations in her aura and left. As she walked, she pondered: Who was this man in brocade robes? What was his connection to the previous traitor incident and the unusual phenomena in the Demon Palace? Could the mysterious figure hold him off? She knew she had to unravel these mysteries quickly, or the Demon Palace would be plunged into an even greater crisis. Her relationship with the mysterious figure had become even more unpredictable amidst this turbulent situation; whether they could join forces to uncover the truth and protect the Demon Palace remained to be seen.