Inner Demons

Chapter 205: Chaos Dragon Palace

Although he managed to escape, he only circled within the White Tree Forest. The millennium-old Jiao Dragon bones were not made of ordinary material. As Li Yunxin held the unconscious Lady Hong and swept past the bones, he tested them—their hardness and toughness were astonishing. No wonder that vicious Jiao Dragon, despite its ferocity and stupidity, knew to avoid them. It must have suffered a great deal in this White Tree Forest before.

He was not only trying to evade the vicious dragon, but also to find Lingkongzi, who might have also been thrown into the water.

Lingtongzi's body was already a Human Skin Bag, and her soul was hidden in the Soul-Suppressing Sound Bell. If she were a person, she would be easier to find in the dimly lit water. However, her Human Skin Bag, though tempered, had no Spiritual Soul or Spiritual Power. It was uncertain whether it could withstand the pressure of a thousand meters of deep water. If her body was crushed and only the Sound Bell remained… finding it would truly be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He led the Jiao Dragon in circles in the White Tree Forest. The vicious dragon, realizing it was difficult to catch up with this cunning "little thing," simply darted out of the forest and followed Li Yunxin in the water above.

The Lord of Dongting’s description of the Jiao Dragon as brutal and foolish was an overstatement. Although they were not as intelligent and agile as great demons or humans, they were born of dragon energy and possessed a beast's instincts. Their intelligence was roughly equivalent to, or even slightly better than, that of an adult cat or dog.

This particular Jiao Dragon was a giant, dark beast. Its body was not covered in scales, but in a slippery, tough hide. The skin was scattered with white spots, as if the creator had accidentally splattered it with a few drops of titanium white while dyeing.

It had no claws, only a hornless dragon's head. It gradually realized that the "little thing" in the forest was looking for something. A hazy idea formed in its hazy brain—wherever Li Yunxin went, it would spray out a stream of thick, inky water, so thick it turned the entire area into a murky mess, making it impossible for him to see.

After chasing Li Yunxin and spraying for a while, it grew bored. It roared a few more times, dashed into the forest a few more times, then turned and swam away to an unknown destination.

Only then did Li Yunxin put down the unconscious Lady Hong, placing her on a thick rib bone that branched out from a spine.

With his eyesight, he had been circling for so long without seeing Lingkongzi's body—it must have been crushed.He also didn't see the Sound Bell that held her soul—it must have sunk to the bottom. Her body was gone, but her soul was protected by the magical artifact and had consciousness. What a terrible situation it would be for a conscious soul to be buried in the lake's silt for years, decades, or even hundreds of years?

Even though Li Yunxin was not a benevolent person, he was shocked at the thought of it. If he were ever to fall into such a state, he would truly rather die!

He set down Lady Hong and took out his folding fan from the water. His fan was naturally not an ordinary item; it did not get wet when it touched water.

Then he stared at Lady Hong's body for a while.

This carp spirit must have put a lot of effort into transforming into a human. Her body was curvaceous and indeed worthy of being called a beauty. But Li Yunxin was not very interested in such things. In both his past and present lives, he had a fine Human Skin Bag and had never experienced the feeling of being infatuated or heartbroken over one or several women.

On the contrary, he often made others sigh with sorrow.

What is not obtained through great effort is never cherished. He had grown tired of many things, and that feeling carried over into this life.

However, in this life, even though he remembered the past and knew his past thoughts, he still had a growing body. He knew from his past knowledge that sometimes matter also determines the spirit. His current body was full of vitality. Was it possible that he had no romantic thoughts? That was not very realistic.

The first time he saw Qiao Jiaxin, he felt a certain affection. It was hard to say whether or not a physical impulse was at play.

For ordinary people, this was a good thing to enjoy. But for him, it was a weakness and a vulnerability. Thus, he chose to abandon his original body and transform into this dragon body. Although he still looked like the Li Yunxin of the past and had human organs and meridians, it was completely different from a lustful teenager of fourteen or fifteen.

Therefore, he looked at Lady Hong's body like this for a while and then breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt absolutely nothing.

This wasn't to say he had lost a certain ability.

In fact, sometimes he would feel a sense of loneliness and walking the great Dao alone. But loneliness was a matter of the spirit, unrelated to the body. Sometimes he would wish for a person—it didn't matter if they were male or female, old or young, beautiful or ugly, good or evil—with whom he could feel comfortable and at ease.

He felt relaxed when he was with Old Daoist Liu. But it wasn't the feeling he was looking for. What Li Yunxin wanted...

If he were to use the words from his previous world, in a more artistic and pretentious way, it would be a "soulmate." Someone whose soul and thoughts were highly compatible and complementary to his own. He wanted such a person. Before he met such a person, he would never compromise himself.

He rambled on to himself in his mind like this... and finally let his gaze fall on his folding fan.

After entering the Honghua City, he learned that there could be such a vast space inside, rather than a narrow place that might drive him crazy. For some private and secret reasons, he had never stepped into it before, but now he had to go in and find out. In such a dangerous and unfamiliar environment, using his Traveling Palace as a dwelling was indeed a wise choice.

But even today, Li Yunxin still felt that this thing... was very strange.

It had a bizarre feeling of being out of place with the real world. There were Immortals and demons in this world—but after all, they all evolved from the people and animals of this world. But what about the so-called "Traveling Palace" and "Dragon Palace"?

Is it a divine ability?

It felt different from any divine ability he had ever felt.

This was one of the reasons he had been cautious with this thing before. But now that the opportunity had arrived...

Li Yunxin took a deep breath, lifted Lady Hong, and plunged into his folding fan for the first time.

The "palace" of the Lord of Dongting looked almost the size of Dongting itself. Li Yunxin didn't know if he could reach every place he could see at the time, but at least there were no obvious boundaries. And he had thought that since he was already a True Realm, he should have a "Dragon Palace." Since it was a Dragon Palace, it might not be luxurious, but at least... it should be decent.

But what he saw was completely different from what he had imagined.

The world was a vast expanse of whiteness. There was no distinction between up, down, left, and right, and no boundaries were visible. Some things were floating in this vast chaos—half a basket of green plums, a pot of wine, a dozen dull-faced ghosts, two scrolls of books, half a candied figurine, a slender sword...

In short, the scattered small objects that Li Yunxin had previously collected into his folding fan were now floating in this mist.

When he took things out of his folding fan before, it was like a person taking things out of a pocket. He would put his Spiritual Power or hand inside, and he would always have a feeling. So he could grab it and take it out.

—A person doesn't know what his pocket looks like inside.

Li Yunxin only knew that there was space "within the Traveling Palace" before, but he only saw its true appearance today. After seeing it clearly, he felt a sense of doubt. The appearance of the "Traveling Palace" was not entirely based on the owner's wishes, but directly reflected the things he valued most in his heart, or his most unique characteristics.

No one told him about this kind of thing. He could only figure it out and guess slowly. So the appearance of this Traveling Palace was probably not entirely based on his own wishes—at least not at first.

But in any case... he wasn't a heartless person, so why did it look like this inside?

He sighed and decided to try to make some changes. But at that moment, he heard a soft gasp.

Li Yunxin's eyes moved down. He first saw the snow-white, delicate skin, then the flat collarbone. Then he saw Lady Hong's face—she had opened her eyes at some point and was looking at him.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a while. When Li Yunxin let go, Lady Hong floated gently in the white chaos. The next moment, a red glow flashed on her body, and she was wearing the same red dress they had first met in on the night of the ghost wedding.

He was silent for another moment and said, "The Lord of Dongting may have already left Dongting. Before he left, he threw you to me—"

Lady Hong didn't speak, just stared at him blankly.

Li Yunxin cleared his throat: "Even earlier, he was roasting you—on a tree branch. I didn't know it was you at the time because I really couldn't sense any Spiritual Power. If this isn't just a simple case of domestic violence, but is related to my previous affairs..."

"It's not because of you." Lady Hong finally spoke. Her voice, however, was not as calm as she appeared. Compared to Li Yunxin's tone, there was more emotion in her words. "But I'm still very happy. You came to Dongting."

Li Yunxin was slightly taken aback and frowned: "I have my own business—"

But he was interrupted by Lady Hong. The fish spirit seemed to not care about his explanation at all: "It's not what you think. My Lord Father, although... alas. But in fact, that tree branch you saw was a Jianmu Branch. That pile of fire was his Red Tail Fire. I am a Ghost Cultivator's Yin Spirit and always fear the Yang Qi. Lord Father refined the Jianmu Branch into my body, and in between, he mixed in his Red Tail Fire. This way, even though I am a Ghost Cultivator, I am not afraid of those things. It's just that to you... alas."

"You were first killed by him through another's hand, became this Ghost Cultivator. Then you suffered so much and were left by my side—he took all the shrimp soldiers and crab generals in his palace with him, didn't he?" Li Yunxin sighed. "He actually still says... it's for your own good."

Lady Hong was silent for a while in the vast white chaos, a smile appearing on her lips—but Li Yunxin couldn't tell if there was a hint of bitterness in it: "How can you tell true from false? Young Master Li said before that he adored me, but it turned out he was lying to me. He said he was lying to me, but now he has personally come to Dongting. Young Master Li can say that he was forced to, that he came for Lingkongzi. But how do I know that the lies you speak of aren't true?"

"Ah... Young Master Li doesn't have to defend himself. Some things, once said, you don't know if they are true or not, so it's better not to say them. Living in this world—no matter how you live—is nothing more than deceiving others and yourself together."

Lady Hong said this and slowly began to smile. But she still stood there respectfully.

Li Yunxin listened quietly, was silent for a moment, and then frowned.

"You are doing something very dangerous," he said in a low voice.

Starting with such a sentence, he felt that he could finally regain his composure.

"I am naturally cold-hearted. I don't know what it means to be good to someone, and it's difficult for me to give an appropriate response to the kindness of others."

"Some people like to receive kindness and gratitude from others from the bottom of their hearts. But for people like me, being treated kindly by others makes me feel uneasy. This uneasiness and awkwardness make me feel both psychological and physical discomfort, so I don't really like... to be friends with people. Let alone with your kind of foolish kindness."

"If one day I am good to you, it means that I must have a request from you. You have already learned your lesson last time. This time—if you still think that I am good to you, that I have a place for you in my heart, that I have a change of heart and came to Dongting to save you, then you must be careful." Li Yunxin looked at her. "I will use any possible means to eliminate the threats around me and the factors that make me uncomfortable. Even if you are truly in my heart, it means... you have become a tribulation. If I want to Transcending Tribulation, the method is simple. I will set up a trap, put you in it without you even knowing, and you will die while shouting with happiness."

"Now I'm here to tell you. You think your father did some good things for you and left you here. You also think that I might still have a place for you in my heart and came for you. But the reality is—your father once again used you as a tool. He treated you cruelly, trying to arouse my pity. Then he left you here, wanting you to become a pawn again."

"And my appearance here—I did plan to come and find you after the matter was over. But I came to find you only to say the following words to you."

"—If I were you, I would stay away from people like me. The pain I give you will be a hundred times more than the possible happiness I give you."

"A moment later, I will send you to Jun Mountain. Although this Dongting has been sealed, it's so big that you always have a place to go—don't ever appear in front of me again."

Lady Hong looked at Li Yunxin and was silent for a while. After a moment, she finally frowned and sighed: "You can even say such things. Do you... want to hurt yourself like this so that I won't be sad or regretful in the future?"

Li Yunxin said no more, turned around, and was about to leave his "Dragon Palace."

But Lady Hong hurriedly said softly, "Okay, okay, I won't say any more. But you can't drive me away. There is a reason for me to stay in this Dongting. If I leave, there are some things you won't be able to do."

Li Yunxin had already turned his back to her. After a while, he asked, "In this Dongting right now, is there anything you can do that I can't?"

Lady Hong let out a soft sigh. Then she said, "Has Young Master Li seen the Jiao Dragon in the lake?"

"I have."

"I also heard from Lord Father that Young Master Li designed it so that Bai Yunxin would kill Lingkongzi—just because the Golden Peng's goddaughter mistakenly thought that Lingkongzi had killed you and Young Master Nine. Does Young Master Li know why?"

Li Yunxin frowned: "Why what? This is a trap I set. Of course, I know why."

"Ah. Young Master Li." Lady Hong smiled and sighed. "That Bai Yunxin, she is said to like to eat dragons. And that Young Master Nine is only a Manifestation Realm demon. Wouldn't it be easy for the True Realm Bai Yunxin to catch him? Why didn't she truly eat him for a thousand years? Has Young Master Li ever thought about it?"