White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 38 Turning Against Each Other in the Illusion
Upon hearing this, several disciples from Sanqing Mountain showed joy on their faces. Du Yun, who was carrying a basket on his back, quickly said, "Senior Sister Xiao, shouldn't we head back to the mountain now?"

“This tree demon has already attained enlightenment and dares to use our flesh and blood as a sacrifice. It is finished.” Xiao Qianli looked at the withered ancient pine tree. “There’s no rush to return to the mountain. Let’s retrieve its heartwood first, and then I’ll destroy the two demon spirits left here as well.”

"Two more demon spirits?" Zhao Qing asked in surprise, holding the jade pendant. "Shouldn't the original two demon spirits have escaped?"

"Haha, that's not necessarily the case."

Xiao Qianli's eyes revealed an eerie bloodlust as he swept them toward a certain spot. Instantly, two beams of blood-red light appeared, forcing out the two demons hiding in the shadows.

The pale-faced Flower Goddess asked in shock, "Are you a member of the demonic path or the esoteric sect?"

Compared to these mystical people, aren't we demons much closer to us?

Bai Wuxiang was forced to reveal himself. Although he fled immediately, he was not proficient in escape techniques and was still trapped in the demon's strange barrier.

"No matter what I am, neither of you demons can survive today."

Xiao Qianli slowly descended from the sky, the aura of the demonic sword in her hand growing stronger. She glanced at the two demons a few times, "Neither of you can kill Shao Ren, can you?"

The Flower Goddess laughed upon hearing this: "Humans eat beasts, and beasts that become demons kill people. This is the way of heaven and earth; what is right or wrong?"

Bai Wuxiang calmly replied, "The people I have killed were all those who deserved to die."

"You don't mean to rid the human race of demons, do you?"

"That's not quite it," Xiao Qianli said with a smile, stroking the longsword. "It's just that my demonic sword loves to devour blood and evil. If you two kill fewer people, I'll lose interest."

Only the malevolent resentment emanating from demons who have committed countless murders is the food my demonic sword truly craves.

As she spoke, her eyes fell on Bai Wuxiang, a hint of excitement in them. "Although I don't know your background, the depth of your demonic resentment is already comparable to that of a demon king in the Yuanzhen realm!"

"what?"

The Flower Goddess, who was standing nearby, was also startled when she heard this. She had never expected that this Wuxiang Village God could be compared to a demon king at the Yuanzhen realm!
Bai Wuxiang's eyelids twitched slightly. His true form was just a minor demon, barely qualifying as a minor Transformation Realm cultivator in their eyes, but the resentful spirits contained in the resentful spirit pearl within his body were indeed numerous.

This mysterious witch likely sensed the resentment he was emanating, which is why she said that.

"You flatter me. I am Wuxiang. I only ask that you lift the barrier and I will leave without further entanglement."

"Whether I let you go or not is irrelevant, but the demonic sword in my hand can no longer suppress my demonic desires." Xiao Qianli smiled and waved his hand. The sound of dragons roaring and tigers howling rose again on the demonic sword, and the murderous sword energy arrived in an instant.

"Pfft~"

Bai Wuxiang was instantly pierced by the sword energy, and his body went limp as if made of paper.

Xiao Qianli flashed to the side, grabbed the "White Faceless" from the ground, and sneered, "So it's a demon in human skin!"

Her demonic eyes scanned her surroundings, but she couldn't find any trace of him. "Wait, how could my demonic eyes not detect his movements?"

Those present became wary upon seeing this scene; this demon was far too eerie.

Du Yun, carrying a bamboo basket, sensed that something was amiss. He tightened his grip on the basket, and his back began to itch, so he reached out and scratched it.

This scratch, though seemingly insignificant, made Du Yun feel a dampness on his back.

He brought his hand back to his face and saw that his palm was covered in scarlet blood.

"Blood!"

Du Yun was startled and quickly turned his head to look, only to find that his bones were now exposed on his back!

The skin and flesh on his back had disappeared, leaving only the stark white spine and blood flowing down his thighs.

In a panic, he hurriedly took out various herbs from the bamboo basket, chanting incantations and hand gestures, and attached a patch of blue light to his back.

The blue light miraculously transformed into skin and flesh, but blood continued to seep out and flow from the skin and flesh.

He had no choice but to cry out, "Senior Sister Xiao! What's wrong with me? Senior Sister Xiao, save me! Save me!"

Everyone turned around at the sound and saw that Du Yun's neck was twisted behind his back. Although he was crying for help in a panic, his hands were tearing the skin on his chest and sticking it to his back.

Upon seeing the scene before him, Zhao Qing immediately realized something was wrong. He picked up the jade pendant in his hand and began chanting an incantation, but the jade pendant not only failed to activate under the incantation, but instead twisted strangely and turned into a small snake about a foot long!
The slick body of the spotted snake wriggled in his hand, startling Zhao Qing, who instinctively tried to throw it away.

"Close your eyes! Calm your mind!"

Xiao Qianli suddenly shouted, and it was like thunder in everyone's ears, causing them to subconsciously close their eyes and concentrate.

Zhao Qing suppressed his discomfort and the slippery feeling in his hands. He knew that his magic weapon could not possibly transform into a snake out of thin air; it was most likely an illusion.

But the scene before him and the realistic touch still shocked him. How skillful must the illusion be to pull everyone into the illusion?
The three disciples from Sanqing Mountain were chanting Taoist scriptures. The pure sounds echoed within their bodies, and their spirits gradually calmed down.

Under the moonlight, Xiao Qianli sneered, "Your illusions are so skillful; I underestimated you."

She immediately threw the demonic sword into the air, and nine ferocious-looking demonic beasts flew out of the sword, wandering around and searching for Bai Wuxiang's aura.

At this moment, the Flower Goddess decisively chose to help Bai Wuxiang, since the two could be considered to be on the same side. If Bai Wuxiang lost, she would most likely not be a match for this female demon.

A pale blue petal bloomed in the air, and countless specks of pollen drifted around. These pollen gradually transformed into flowers in mid-air, and then the petals fell with the wind. Thousands upon thousands of petals cut into the bodies of the crowd like a thousand blades.

Seeing this, Xiao Qianli sneered, "Overestimating yourself!"

With a mere flick of her finger, a burst of demonic light appeared, and a cloud of demonic mist surged forth, devouring all the petals and trapping the Flower Goddess within it.

At that moment, the man surnamed Fang below held a gourd, opened it, and a beam of white light flew out and spread out, instantly causing all the illusions in the eyes and on the bodies of the three people to disappear.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao Qianli also located Bai Wuxiang. With a swipe of her demonic sword, she severed his head. She summoned the severed head and said with a smile, "Demon sword, are you satisfied now?"

Zhao Qing also felt the jade pendant in his hand return. He was overjoyed and opened his eyes, only to be horrified to find that Senior Sister Xiao was holding the demon sword in one hand and holding up Senior Brother Du's terrified head in the other.

"Senior Sister Xiao! How could you kill your fellow disciple!"

Upon hearing this, both of them opened their eyes and looked over.

Du Yun was shocked to discover that the head on Senior Sister Xiao's sword was actually his own head!

Fang Xingwei was also shocked by the scene before him. He exclaimed in horror, "Senior Sister...you..."

Xiao Qianli was surprised by their reaction. Looking down, she was shocked to find that she was holding Du Shidi's head! She couldn't help but tremble, and the head rolled to the ground, its terrified eyes still staring at her with resentment.

"wrong!"

Xiao Qianli pointed her finger, and the nine wandering demon heads roared in unison. The powerful demonic sound rose up, making the bloodlust in her eyes even darker, and she suddenly saw through the illusion.

Without hesitation, she slashed out with her sword, shattering the head before her into a withered skeleton.

Du Yun and the other two also woke up from the illusion, and their faces did not look very good.

"Was that just an illusion? It felt so real!" Du Yun kept touching her neck, looking at her senior sister with lingering fear, a hint of unease still in her eyes.

"This demon's illusionary skills are terrifying!" Zhao Qing exclaimed, holding the jade pendant in his hand and recalling the snake-like sensation he had just felt.

"We were too careless. There are countless evil spirits in the world, and their tricks and sorcery are impossible to guard against," Fang Xingwei sighed.

“It was my carelessness.” Xiao Qianli’s expression darkened slightly. “I thought that with this demonic art, I would have the strength of a pseudo-Yuanzhen realm demonic cultivator and could kill anyone below the Demon King level.”

The Sect Leader is right. There is no being in the world who cannot achieve greatness. The path of the Great Dao is not for you to walk alone.

"What kind of demon is this?" Zhao Qing asked curiously, examining the bones on the ground.

Xiao Qianli sighed, "It must be a demon spirit that has become a white skeleton. It must have had some extraordinary encounter to cultivate such profound demonic arts."

"Looking at the bones, they do resemble human bones."

Fang Xingwei put away the gourd and hung it back on his waist, then looked at the scattered bones on the ground.

“This… skeleton… why does it look somewhat familiar?” Du Yun stared at the bones with a strange look. He kicked the bones over and discovered that there was a blue leaf pattern engraved on the spine of the skeleton.

His pupils suddenly contracted as he recalled seeing a similar mark on his bones in the illusion, a mark he had healed with the Qing Sheng Transformation Technique.

"No, it's an illusion! It's an illusion!"

He felt a shiver run through him, reminding himself that it was just a hallucination, and that he was alive and well.

He quickly touched his body. Thankfully, it was warm; he was still alive! He shouldn't scare himself unnecessarily!

Du Yun comforted himself for a while before raising his head to look ahead. "Senior Sister Xiao, the evil spirit has been defeated. Shouldn't we return to the mountain now?"

"Yes, it's been over a few months since we came out." Xiao Qianli smiled, picked up the demonic sword, and once again slashed the flower goddess in the demonic mist, revealing a wanton smile on his lips.

But this scene made the group of people, who were still shaken, feel uneasy.

"Senior sister, since there are no more great demons, why don't you seal this demonic body?" Zhao Qing suggested.

"There are many dangers in these mountains. It would be safest to seal it after we leave this mountain." Xiao Qianli thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Looking at his senior sister, who was shrouded in demonic energy, and the nine demon heads surrounding her, Du Yun felt a vague unease in his heart.

Fortunately, the senior sister had remarkable composure and seemed to have truly not been misled by the illusion, leading them all the way out of the mountain.

The four of them arrived at an inn in the mortal world, intending to rest for a day before returning to the mountain.

At night, Du Yun meditated and regulated his breathing for a while, and then fell asleep without realizing it.

"roar~"

A deafening roar jolted him awake. Du Yun hurriedly opened his eyes and found himself still in the mountains, with the moon in the sky a blood-red hue.

The senior sister, exuding a murderous aura, had just slain the giant tree demon. A smug smile played on her lips as she turned around. Though she smiled at them, a chilling glint flashed in her eyes.

"What...what's going on...? Didn't I already leave Yunze Mountain? How am I still here?"

"Kid, still acting like a fool!" A sudden voice rang out. "Your memories just now were just me letting you know in advance that your senior sister has fallen deeply into demonic possession. After killing us, the next one will be you three junior brothers!"

"You are... that skeleton demon?"

Du Yun was shocked. He looked at Xiao Qianli, who had already come to the human skin in the arena. Just as he remembered, Xiao Qianli picked up the human skin and sneered, "So you are a demon in human skin!"

"Don't you understand yet? Your dear senior sister is now a wicked demon, and she wants to sacrifice the three of you to the sword!" The evil voice rang out again.

"Is this...is this real or fake?" Du Yun was terrified. He turned his head to look at the herbs in the bamboo basket, but subconsciously sensed a malicious gaze behind him.

Looking back, he found that his senior sister, Xiao Qianli, had just turned around, with a faint, cold smile on her lips.

“Senior sister… she said she has cultivated to the eighth level of the Supreme Dustless Heart Sutra. But I remember Master said that this sutra requires one to have no worldly thoughts left in one’s heart. Senior sister… she’s lying! From the moment she fell into demonic possession, she never intended to let any of us here go!”

"Kid! I'm hiding in the shadows right now. If we want to survive, the only way is for us to join forces!"

The evil voice rang out again.

"Alright, I'm willing to help you! Even if I die at the hands of demons, I don't want to die in my senior sister's demonic sword, my soul imprisoned and never to be reincarnated!"

Du Yun replied fiercely in his heart.

So, while Xiao Qianli was searching for the location of the demon, Du Yun secretly took out the Demon-Slaying Nail, a magic weapon passed down from his master. He silently recited the incantation and, when Xiao Qianli was completely unprepared, suddenly activated all his magic power. With a whoosh, the Demon-Slaying Nail pierced through Xiao Qianli's body.

He immediately clutched his chest, his face contorted in pain, and said, "Junior Brother Du! You're using this Demon-Slaying Nail against me? Do you really think of me as a demon?"

Xiao Qianli channeled his inner energy, extracted the Demon-Slaying Nail from his body, and looked at him with emotionless, bloodshot eyes.

Du Yun's expression turned uneasy, and he hurriedly shouted, "Junior Brother Zhao! Senior Brother Fang, do it quickly! Senior Sister has completely fallen into demonic possession! She's going to kill us all!"

Upon hearing this, the other two were instantly jolted awake, each taking out various magical artifacts and becoming vigilant.

Xiao Qianli was not angry. She simply raised her sword and swung it, causing the blood-red barrier to open suddenly. She said coldly, "You may all leave."

"Whoosh~"

The Flower Goddess in the mist and Bai Wuxiang, hidden under the shadows of the trees, instantly vanished in a phantom escape.

The three people trapped in the illusion were instantly paralyzed, unable to stand, and fell to the ground in a dizzying spin.

(End of this chapter)