Ji Wusi struck again. The sword light was razor-sharp. Another crack split open across the cocoon. This time, Ji Wusi didn't stop. He launched one powerful move after another. The fissures widened, too fast for the cocoon to mend itself.
Finally, it reached a breaking point.
With a muffled bang, the cocoon shattered into fragments.
Yang Yun slowly opened his eyes, his face pale. He fixed a cold stare on Yun Jin. This woman. She actually dragged Ji Wusi, that plague-bringer, into this mess!
Originally, after sealing himself in the cocoon, he had planned to wait for a moment of weakness in their guard to escape.
But Yun Jin first left that damned dragon watching him, and now, even Ji Wusi had been called in. She wasn't leaving him even a sliver of a chance. His Nirvana Art might be powerful, but even that needed time to work.
Last time, he hadn't even fully recovered his strength before he was forced into another Nirvana transformation. That opportunity had been completely wasted. He had hoped that last Nirvana could push him to a new level, but now, to save himself, he had used it again before even reaching his peak. And this time was worse.
His cultivation was still empty, yet the cocoon had been forcibly destroyed.
Yang Yun felt increasingly restless.
Did he really have to use the Nirvana Art again?
Even if he did... with these people watching, there was no way he could escape.
It would only waste another chance. Taking a deep breath, Yang Yun suddenly looked pitiful, his voice trembling slightly. "Who are you people? Are you trying to harm me just like her?"
He turned to Yun Jin, eyes filled with accusation.
He was gambling now—gambling that they weren't certain of his identity as a Demon Sovereign.
Yun Jin raised a brow. "Oh?"
Yang Yun quickly put on an expression of indignant grievance. "Tonight, the Tianxing Sect was attacked by the demons. Fearing for the sect's safety, I brought people to help. But just as we were about to kill a Mahayana-stage demon, she suddenly stepped in to protect it! After that, the demon began spouting nonsense, calling me the Demon Sovereign. I'm just a child! How could I be involved with the demons? The demon even claimed that a wounded Demon Sovereign would revert to a child's form—clearly slander targeted at me! I suspect she's in league with the demon. And you... you're probably part of this conspiracy too!"
As he spoke, Yang Yun looked warily at the others.
Truth be told, his acting wasn't half bad.
Yun Jin clicked her tongue in amusement. "The subordinates you brought had demon cores in their skulls, and when they died, they turned into demonic corpses. How do you explain that?"
"That's impossible!" Yang Yun's face darkened with fury. "You must've tampered with their corpses to slander me!"
He had made up his mind—no matter what, he would never admit to anything.
"Is that so?" Yun Jin's smile didn't fade. "Funny. With so many eyes watching, I wonder how exactly I could have tampered with anything. But that's not important. How about this? Can you explain why the Demon Sovereign's tracking orb pointed directly to you?"
Yang Yun retorted, "That orb was brought out by that demon. Since you're colluding with him, of course it would point at me. What's so strange about that?"
Yun Jin rested her chin on her fingers, amused. "So you're saying I orchestrated this whole charade, just to frame one child? For what, exactly?"
"How would I know!" Yang Yun snapped, stiff-necked and defiant.
Refusing to admit anything.
"Alliance Leader, it doesn't matter what he says. A proper investigation will give us the answer," someone spoke up.
The Demon-Slaying Alliance had a full system in place to investigate demons. With their tools and methods, even a Demon Sovereign wouldn't escape undetected.
Ji Wusi narrowed his eyes, then stepped aside, signaling for the investigators to proceed. Several cultivators took out specialized instruments and began an intensive examination of Yang Yun.
Yang Yun showed no fear. In fact, he seemed relieved. He used to worry about such thorough probes. But ever since he took that strange liquid, his aura had been perfectly concealed, not a single trace leaking out.
Yun Jin was aware that Yang Yun and his kind had special methods for hiding their demonic aura. Still, she remained silent for now.
She, too, wanted to see the outcome.
If the Demon-Slaying Alliance's devices could uncover the truth, then the problem wasn't too dire. A more meticulous search would eventually reveal the infiltrators.
But if they couldn't...
Then things were about to get very, very serious. After all, there wasn't much difference between a demon and a human in appearance. And if not even their aura could be used to tell them apart—
How many humans had already been replaced?
If they couldn't uncover the method of concealment in time...
The entire human race would be in grave danger.
Yun Jin quietly waited.
Over half an hour passed. Beads of sweat dotted the foreheads of the investigators as they finally stopped and put away their instruments.
"Well?" Ji Wusi asked.
They shook their heads.
"Alliance Leader, not a trace of demonic aura. No demon core, either."
Their brows furrowed.
No matter how many times they tested him, he appeared to be purely human. If he were truly a Demon Sovereign, his power should be more refined than any ordinary demon. But they hadn't detected a single clue.
"The Demon-Slaying Alliance's tools never fail. That demon must have been talking nonsense, falsely accusing an innocent," one of them muttered.
They had checked everything. This person truly wasn't a demon.
"In that case, my name is finally cleared," Yang Yun said, eyes filled with aggrieved innocence. "Fairy, will you let me go now?"
He looked at Yun Jin, his pitiful expression as if he had suffered a great injustice.
Yun Jin let out a soft sigh.
Ji Wusi's face darkened slightly, his expression grave.
"Alliance Leader, is something wrong?" one of the investigators asked nervously. "We were thorough. He really isn't a demon."
"That's the problem," Ji Wusi replied coldly. "It means the demons now possess a perfect method of concealing their aura. We must immediately investigate how far this method has spread. If it's already circulating among the demons, then the human race..."
He trailed off. He didn't want to voice the worst-case scenario.
But if things were as he feared—
Then the expedition to Qingxiao Pavilion would yield nothing.
And in Qingxiao Pavilion... across the human world...
How many demons were still hiding among them? How many demonic spies had already slipped through the cracks? No one knew.
"Alliance Leader, do you really believe what this girl said? But—" one of the investigators tried to argue.
Yun Jin smiled faintly. "Actually, there's another way to confirm things. Zhao Wuji, the former head of Tianxing Sect, has already been proven to have colluded with the demons. Before the attack on the sect, he poisoned the disciples and tried to dismantle the defensive formation. There is irrefutable evidence."
Zhao Wuji.
Ji Wusi's eyes flickered. He did remember that name.
"I'm fairly certain Zhao Wuji cultivated a demonic art. However, no matter what methods we used, we couldn't uncover it. If you're confident in your tools, why not test Zhao Wuji instead? He's already guilty of capital crimes. To verify the reliability of your methods, simply execute him. If the concealment breaks after death, we'll know the truth."
Yun Jin's voice was calm and measured.
"Once Zhao Wuji dies, if the disguise falls away, then we'll know whether your detection truly works."
===
I suddenly felt so stupid for the past two days. You know that feeling when your brain just lags behind, but your body feels… somewhat fine?
Because of the last cosmic event, I started feeling suspicious. And yes, when I checked, a lunar eclipse was happening again—or more precisely, a total lunar eclipse on September 8. I was left completely speechless =_=. My Yin constitution really feels the effects of these things.
At least this time it's not as bad as a while ago, when multiple cosmic events happened simultaneously over a long period. That was rough…