Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 35 Another Demon Lord

As darkness fell, twilight arrived.

The soldiers who had been waiting outside the city for a long time finally arrived at the imperial carriage of Princess Hongyu.

A dozen or so carriages lined up in front and behind, guarded by thousands of imperial guards, with a procession stretching for several miles. It was quite a grand spectacle.

No one expected that there was a man with an effeminate appearance inside Princess Hongyu's carriage.

If people find out, rumors will probably start spreading immediately.

But the maids in the carriage seemed not to see the man at all, each sitting quietly with their heads down, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Chen Ye probably never imagined that the young master Jiang Shiyue, whom he was about to scheme against, was actually sitting in the same carriage as Princess Hongyu.

Princess Hongyu was sixteen years old. She had exquisite features, and her skin was as white as snow, accentuated by her gold-embroidered red robe. However, her eyes were as calm as still water, and her whole being seemed empty, devoid of any life.

Jiang Shiyue was unaware that she had offended anyone; on the contrary, she looked very unhappy.

"Junior sister, you always have such a long face, who are you trying to impress?"

Princess Hongyu's eyes flickered slightly, as if she had regained some vitality. Hearing what the man said, she said indifferently, "Senior brother, if you can't stand it, you can go and complain to Master. Besides, you have the ability to fly, there's no need for you to suffer by riding in a carriage."

Jiang Shiyue snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "Junior sister, you've been living a life of luxury since you were little, you don't know the hardships of others. If you can ride in a carriage, why bother flying yourself? Don't put on airs in front of me, not long ago, you were nothing more than a vessel used for possession."

"I've raised you for over a decade and put so much effort into you, only to wait for the day you're slaughtered. It's no different from raising a pig. Do you really think that just because your master has agreed to take you as a disciple, you can be on equal footing with me? The Great Soul Cleansing Array for Infant Spirits may not be effective. In the end, won't your soul still be swallowed by your master and scattered forever?"

Princess Hongyu's expression remained unchanged despite hearing these threatening words.

Indeed, she was merely a vessel prepared by the cultivator for possession, a fact she had known since she could remember.

Faced with Jiang Shiyue's sarcasm, Princess Hongyu simply replied, "Is Senior Brother hoping that Master will fail in his advancement so that he can possess me?"

Jiang Shiyue's expression immediately changed. How could he dare to accept such a remark?

If this gets back to his master, he'll probably be skinned alive.

He could only grit his teeth and say, "Don't even think about sowing discord. Once Master succeeds in his advancement, you'll be useless. You made a complete mess of this collection of young boys and girls, and I'll be the one to clean up the mess."

"Once this matter is settled, I will have my master send you to me. Then I will show you what it means to wish you were dead."

Princess Hongyu did not refute him, but simply looked at him quietly.

Jiang Shiyue felt that Princess Hongyu's eyes were like those of a dead person, and being stared at by her always made him uneasy, but he did not dare to actually make a move against Princess Hongyu.

Jiang Shiyue's master needs young boys and girls as sacrifices to help him break through the Tongxuan realm and advance to the Huashen realm. Success or failure is uncertain; if he fails, he will directly possess Princess Hongyu's body.

In other words, Princess Hongyu's physical body cannot be damaged in the slightest. Even losing a single hair would be a consequence that Jiang Shiyue could not bear.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Shiyue turned around and transformed into a wisp of mist, flying out of the carriage.

This is truly outrageous. Jiang Shiyue only wants to return to Cui County immediately to kill a few people and vent her anger.

Princess Hongyu then withdrew her gaze, returning to her lifeless, withered state.

The wheels rolled on, continuing their journey towards Cui County.

From the bumpy dirt road to the hard bluestone road, the once silent procession outside the carriage became lively, with gongs and drums being beaten and loud announcements being made.

For the first time in over a decade, this bustling place has welcomed its true master.

Magistrate Cui was already waiting at the city gate, but he was turned away before he could even see Princess Hongyu.

The princess went straight to the magnificent mansion, then, feigning exhaustion from the journey, refused to see any guests. Although the powerful and wealthy people of Cui County had waited in vain all day, none dared utter a single complaint. They left lavish gifts and offered their best wishes for the princess's health.

After everyone had left, Princess Hongyu had changed into a light, thin robe and sat on the soft bed.

The moonlight outside the window was beautiful, but Princess Hongyu had no heart to appreciate it until a dark shadow swept past and landed in the room.

The person who entered walked lightly and silently, but as soon as they entered the room, they couldn't wait to say, "Princess, I'm back!"

As cheerful as ever, Lan Shi skipped and hopped over to Princess Hong Yu's side.

The withered princess finally showed a slight smile, reached out and hugged Lan Shi in her arms, removed the veil from her face, and then carefully removed the withered leaves stuck to her hair.

No one knew how far Lan Shi had run among the treetops and rooftops, her clothes were all disheveled. But Princess Hongyu didn't mind at all that Lan Shi had dirtied her new clothes, and gently tidied up her younger sister who was only a few years younger than her.

Only after Lan Shi had washed his face did Princess Hongyu ask, "How did things go?"

Lan Shi quickly said, "Your Highness is incredibly insightful. The matter in Cui County has become such a big deal that it has finally attracted cultivators. The little immortal who was rumored to be in Cui County a few days ago wasn't just bluffing; he really has real abilities. I almost got captured by him."

Princess Hongyu quickly asked, "Are you injured?"

Lan Shi said smugly, "No, no, I'm quite clever. But this guy is really something else. It didn't take long for him to realize that I had deliberately instigated him to get into a fight with Jiang Shiyue's people..."

Lan Shi recounted her meeting with Chen Ye, and Princess Hongyu listened attentively, her brows sometimes relaxing and sometimes furrowing. Only when Lan Shi mentioned that she had returned to Hengdao Inn and seen the message from the Qinghe Sword Sect did Princess Hongyu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"The Qinghe Sword Sect has finally arrived."

Hearing the change in Princess Hongyu's tone, Lan Shi hurriedly asked, "Princess, is the Qinghe Sword Sect really that powerful? That young man doesn't seem very old, and even if he is a cultivator, his cultivation level is probably not high. Can he really deal with those demons?"

Princess Hongyu shook her head and said, "I don't know, but we can't just sit here and wait to die."

Although Jiang Shiyue called her junior sister, Princess Hongyu didn't know much about cultivation, since she had only used a body to possess someone else before. She had only heard of the Qinghe Sword Sect after secretly inquiring about it for a long time; it was rumored to be a very powerful immortal sect.

Princess Hongyu didn't know exactly how powerful it was, but it was her only hope.

From the time she could remember, Princess Hongyu knew that she was not in control of her own destiny. That demon used the harem as his training ground, using the imperial court's fortune and resources to cultivate himself.

For many years, Princess Hongyu had been cautious and prudent, winning the favor of that old devil, which was how she managed to save her life.

Now that the demon's lifespan is nearing its end, if he cannot advance to the Nascent Soul Realm, he will have to possess another body to be reborn. Taking advantage of the demon's seclusion and arduous cultivation, Princess Hongyu ordered the magistrate of Cui County to collect young boys and girls. On the surface, it was to collect blood food for the demon's training, but secretly she had the magistrate of Cui County raise the banner of the "Qinghe Sword Sect".

They only hoped to attract so-called righteous cultivators so that they could slay demons and monsters.

However, even Princess Hongyu herself was not sure whether the Qinghe Sword Sect could achieve this.

When Lan Shi mentioned Chen Ye, he added, "Princess, he left a message at Hengdao Inn, saying he wants to duel with Jiang Shiyue in seven days. What should we do?"

Princess Hongyu asked, "Can you still find him now?"

Lan Shi shook his head. Chen Ye had left long ago and hadn't left any contact information, so how could he be found?

“This doesn’t make sense. He didn’t leave any contact information, so why would he ask you to steal the county government’s documents? And how would you give them to him after you steal them? Also, why did he choose to meet seven days later? Is there anything special about that date and place?”

Lan Shi shook her head again; how could she possibly guess what Chen Ye was thinking?

Princess Hongyu pondered for a long time before asking, "When you returned to the inn, did you not see the martial arts practitioners he had injured? Nor did you find their corpses?"

"No, we haven't seen a single one. Jiang Shiyue's men and the inn's staff are all gone, not even a body. Could they have been captured alive by him?"

“Even if it’s about taking hostages, why would they need to take away more than a dozen people? They’ve disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead. This cultivator from the Qinghe Sword Sect…” Princess Hongyu clenched her fists and said in a trembling voice, “He’s probably a demon who kills and creates corpses.”

(End of this chapter)