Chu Xun went back inside to face the Fifth Fiend Lord.
“So, boy, have you given my offer a thought? Have you come to swear your fealty to me?” said the Fifth Fiend Lord, sounding rather magnanimous.
“Nope.” Chu Xun shook his head.
“What troubles you still? Tell me. Let me help you find a solution.” The Fifth Fiend Lord appeared rather patient and amenable as if he was really interested in recruiting Chu Xun to become one of his lackeys, “But beware, boy. Do not test my patience.”
“Of course, of course,” Chu Xun giggled, “What I wish to know is, if you’re the Fifth Fiend Lord, then how many more Fiend Lords are there in the Subterranean Devils Clan?”
“There is a total of five Fiend Lords that rule the Subterranean Devils. I’m the Fifth.”
“Does that mean that you’re the weakest of the five?” Chu Xun did not neglect to put up a disdainful scowl, “So if that’s the case, shouldn’t I be better off swearing my allegiance to the First?”
“Foolish boy. The Five Fiend Lords are not placed based on their powers, but by seniority. I’m the youngest and the latest to reach the rank of Fiend Lord. That is why I’m the Fifth.”
“You’re saying that your powers are on par with the First?”
“Naturally,” the Fifth Fiend Lord answered.
Chu Xun lowered his gaze to hide the suspicious glint in his eyes that could betray him. Too quick and too anxious was the Fifth Fiend Lord to reply, that he neglected to disguise how obvious he sounded when he tried to lie.
“All right, one more question. If you have other ways of escaping, then why would you still need the Key?”
“We can move faster with two exits. We Subterranean Devils have a very large army and only one exit is hardly conducive for logistics,” said the Fiend Lord.
It was all Chu Xun could do to keep himself from bursting into laughter. This demon is lying with a straight face with just as much cunning as a fox! Even as he was speaking to nothing but merely a snippet of the Fiend Lord’s aura, Chu Xun could almost hear him sniggering vilely at his own lies.
“Very well. One last question.”
“You’re a pestering nuisance, aren’t you? How you love to test my patience. Do you think I’m really hankering for your service?” grumbled the Fiend Lord with a tinge of annoyance and resentment. “I might cherish talent, but make no mistake: you should be more worried about your friends and family.”
Chu Xun’s stare swirled with cold fury. This was the second time the Fifth Fiend Lord had threatened the safety of his friends and family.
“Do you know what happens to the people who make such threats to me out there, Fiend Lord?” Chu Xun said with steely silence.
The black figure that was the doppelganger of the Fifth Fiend Lord stayed silent as if he was studying Chu Xun intently for seconds before he finally broke into guffaws, “Very good, boy. I have chosen the right man! For one moment there, you exuded a foul presence. The malice to kill.”
“And who do you think I thought of killing just now?” Chu Xun asked coldly.
“And you thought of killing me?” the Fifth Fiend Lord laughed in amusement, “you can wake up from that dream of yours. You might be powerful enough in the eyes of those out there, but you’re still a far cry from what I am.”
“Really?” Chu Xun sneered coldly. The short talk had given him enough time to recover a portion of his Hong Meng Immortal Qi, which he channeled immediately into the enchantment which he activated to begin the obliteration of the Fiend Lord’s doppelganger.
“ARGH!” the Fifth Fiend Lord roared with rage, feeling the threat, “don’t make this a mistake that you’ll regret, Devil! The Subterranean Devils will make landfall on Earth once more! You’d do well to remember that!”
“Really? Then you should come visiting in person!” Chu Xun teased, “just a bunch of wraiths and apparitions. That’s the best you can do, and yet you dare boast about escaping that barren and desolate world you live in. Best you shut your trap and sit tight in there.”
“I’m ordering you, Devil! Stop!” howled the Fiend Lord, “I’m coming out! I’m coming out and I’ll destroy every person related to you!”
“Go on dreaming, you senile fool. You would have already been here, standing right in front of us if you already have ways of escaping,” scoffed Chu Xun.
“Moronic. How else did I come here? And through what devilry did my best general and his demonic horde arrive this place?”
“Just a bunch of parlor tricks,” Chu Xun chuckled, “if my guess is correct, what is before me now is merely a sliver of your soul that you left here somewhere before your long incarceration. You must have embedded this fragment of your soul on some unknown item and this item has remained hidden until Di Yanjing found it and released you.”
“Piffle. Then what about Mo Yan and his horde? Are they just contrivances of some hocus pocus?” snarled the Fifth Demon Lord.
“Of course. You are now stuck in here so you might not have realized it yet. But that so-called demonic horde of yours outside has already been destroyed,” scoffed Chu Xun, “horde, you say? Your best general Mo Yan? They’re just nothing but some stupid parlor trick designed to hoodwink us.”
He went on without allowing the Fiend Lord to respond, “You had used a portion of your powers to create that fake Mo Yan and the two hundred demons, didn’t you? Otherwise, you would not be so weak that you can’t even escape this barrier enchantment of mine.”
“ARGGHH!” the jet-black humanoid shape charged at Chu Xun with rage, but it smashed into the wall of the barrier, causing the whole dome to shake.
“The Fifth Fiend Lord. Do you know I might have fallen for your ruse if I hadn’t noticed how your demons were gone without leaving any carcasses or remains? Just too bad that you’ve overlooked that important part,” teased Chu Xun viciously.
“I am the Fifth Fiend Lord of the Subterranean Devils Clan, Chu Xun. Harm me and I promise you will be reduced into dust when I emerge in the future,” growled the Fiend Lord with undisguised malice, his former composure and suaveness all gone.
“I’ll just wait till you appear next time,” sneered Chu Xun. When he retrieved Gao Mohan from the demons just now, there was blood when he killed them. Now that he thought of it, the blood could only come from the poor Elf younglings who were supposed to undergo the coming-of-age ceremony today. That the Fifth Fiend Lord could be so meticulous and brutal in his plans showed how dangerous he could be if he really broke free from the seals now holding him.
“I’ll tear you to shreds myself, Devil,” said the Fifth Fiend Lord testily, no longer seeking to hide his grotesqueries.
“Then let’s see who would turn into shreds first; you or me,” answered Chu Xun with frost in his gaze, “surely the destruction of just a portion of your soul could cause quite a blowback to your actual self, no?”
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Chu Xun immediately weaved several hand seals to activate the enchantment’s powers to fully destroy this doppelganger.
Completely destroying it would have not been possible if the Fiend Lord had not created the fake Mo Yan and his demonic horde. But in doing so, this doppelganger had weakened himself and although the enchantment would still need more work and power to kill, killing this double would still be doable.
“Allow me, boy,” a melodious voice came from behind.
Chu Xun jerked his head around and what he saw made his eyes shot wide. “It’s a she?! I thought I heard a man’s voice?!”
The Spirit of the Divine Tree was back on its – or rather, her – feet. Standing before him was a lithe frame of a lady bundled inside a pale green-colored set of light armor that showcased her every curve that made her figure perfect in almost every way, and her fine features and the fairy wings fluttering gently behind her only made her beauty more unworldly.
Chu Xun stared at her, lost and mesmerized. She looked exactly how he would envision a fairy to be.
“Tell me how to activate this enchantment,” said the Spirit, her euphonious voice singing like a nightingale.
Chu Xun quickly recovered himself and handed the Keystone to her and taught her how to use it.
“All right. Off you go. You’re needed elsewhere,” said the Spirit again, this time with a man’s voice.
A beautiful woman speaking with a coarse and raspy man’s voice made goose pimples popped on his skin.
“I’ll leave this to you then. I have to help the Sacred Maiden,” said Chu Xun who tore away without looking back, his Astral Projection speeding back to his physical body.
As he reopened his eyes, Chu Xun was still trying to get to grips with the mystery about the Spirit’s gender, although the more he thought about it, the colder he felt as he stifled a shiver.
“What is the Spirit actually?! Male, female, or a hermaphrodite?!”
As he waved a hand to undo the magic of his enchantment, the Flaming Qilin came storming towards him.
“You’re awake, good. Come and undo the rest of the enchantment. We need to deal with that swine Di Yanjing now.”
Chu Xun nodded and waved his hand again to dispel his enchantment.
The Flaming Qilin carried Di Danqing up and Chu Xun scanned the area with his Divine Sense, locating Di Yanjing immediately.
“Wait up,” Chu Xun’s hand came up suddenly before a grin spread across his face, “Come with me.”
Di Yanjing had the Sacred Maiden kept in the gaols of the Elves where two of his Immortal-level presbyters were keeping watch on her.
Chu Xun and his companions had their auras hidden as they crept near the entrance of the gaols.
They could hear chatter coming from inside. It must be the presbyters.
Inside the cells were Su Wei’er , Su Lianyi, and Yan Xin. The pair of presbyters were having a chat over goblets of fruit wine.
The cells were made of timber acquired from the Divine Tree; stronger and sturdier than even the strongest iron bars. Added with the fact that the captives were all force-fed the same poison as the Flaming Qilin earlier that prevented them from channeling their powers, the two presbyters were not in the least afraid that the captives might escape.
They were cousins to Di Yanjing – a pair of brothers named Di Ran and Di Ye – and as distant relatives to Di Yanjing’s main family, they did not enjoy just as much prestige and respect.
Di Ye already had enough to drink from the rosy-red flush on his cheeks as he stole furtive glances at the Su Wei’er and Su Lianyi.
“What do you say will happen to Su Wei’er and Su Lianyi after this, Brother?” asked Di Ye.
Di Ran glanced at the captives. “What else? The First Presbyter will execute all three of them to prevent any chance of an uprising once he has the full reins of the clan in his hands.”
“What a pity then,” sniggered Di Ye hungrily, “Su Wei’er’s one of the prettiest girls in the clan… What a real pity indeed…”
Di Ran stared at him for a beat before he too peered at Su Wei’er in her cell. He could not quite take his eyes off her either. “Indeed. Such a beauty, such a waste.”
“How about this, Brother? We can…” Di Ye gave his brother a knowing look laced with lust and wickedness.
“No,” Di Ran shook his head firmly. “The First Presbyter will punish us gravely for this.” Despite his best efforts to ward off the lust gnawing at him, Di Ran’s gaze was still on Su Wei’er’s enticing figure.
“Di Danqing would not have waited at all, Brother,” Di Ye grumbled, “we have been loyal subordinates of Di Yanjing, but we are still from the branch family. That means we’d never reap as much advantage from all these fracases as he would. I say we should steal what we can now before Di Danqing remembers about her.”
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Di Ran’s eyes gleamed with hesitation as he weighed in on the suggestion of his brother as desire filled his gaze.
The captives might not be able to channel their powers, but they have been fully awake enough to pick up every word the brothers said. Realizing how the men were ogling them disgusted both Su Wei’er and Su Lianyi.
“You’re right. We should steal whatever goodies we can find before Di Danqing gets it,” said Di Ran, his eyes so fiery with hunger that he made no attempt to hide his desire anymore.
“Then what are we waiting for? Di Danqing will surely remember about her once he’s done dealing with those intruders,” urged Di Ye.
“All right. Then let’s do some good by allowing the Sacred Maiden to experience the joy of being a woman before her death,” Di Ran grinned lasciviously as he took the keys with him to unlock the cell.