How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

It was already dark outside, and the silver moon hung high in the sky.

It only took three cycles to complete the cycle, and before I knew it, it had gone from dusk to the middle of the night.

The evil spirits on the stage had dispersed and returned to their respective dwellings, leaving the courtyard empty.

Qi Yuehong was the only one suspended above the stage, his eyes closed, his sleeves billowing. He remained in a cross-legged position in mid-air, facing the moon, quietly basking in the warm and tranquil moonlight.

Li Hu came down to the stage, clasped his hands in greeting towards the stage, and said...

"Brother Qi, are you perhaps cultivating while sitting here in meditation?"

"Hehe, once you become an evil spirit, your cultivation level is fixed, and you can no longer cultivate. I'm just reminiscing about the feeling I had before." Qi Yuehong straightened her legs, slowly landing from her levitating state, and then asked...

"Brother Li, is there something you need from me so late?"

"I would like to ask Commander Qi for his help in luring and killing Sword Immortal Li Hu," Li Hu said, clasping his hands in a fist salute and getting straight to the point.

"Slay an immortal?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuehong immediately frowned. "What brings you to this? Are you sure you can handle it?"

Li Hu pondered for a moment, then hesitated slightly. After all, he had never actually seen anyone kill an immortal, and he didn't have a clear understanding of the strength of the sword immortal Li Hu or any other immortals. He was completely unaware of the consequences of killing an immortal.

"I might be willing to give it a try."

Li Hu didn't explicitly state his confidence level, but paused before continuing, "However, the prerequisite is that Brother Qi is willing to help me."

He then pulled Yan Yang aside and began to introduce him to Qi Yuehong.

"This man is my junior sword cultivator. He knows how to set up an altar and perform rituals to invite immortals, which is the perfect way to lure immortals down to earth. Brother Qi, could you lend me some of your brothers so I can give it a try?"

"Setting up an altar to invite the immortals?"

Qi Yuehong, just like Li Hu, became interested. He had been a demon for a long time, so these methods, unique to mortals, were never within his consideration.

"Brother Li, if you can really do it, why not try my Moon Fairy before dealing with the Sword Immortal?" Qi Yuehong said tentatively after a moment's thought.

Li Hu was slightly surprised, but quickly regained his composure.

This Commander Qi actually planned to kill the Moon Fairy who appeared when he ascended to immortality before he could.

There is a long-standing folk legend that if an immortal kills his own evil spirits and extinguishes the impure energy he cultivated in the past, he can be promoted from a novice immortal to a more refined immortal lord, pure and without turbidity, and his Dao fruit will be enhanced, allowing him to advance further in the ranks of immortals in the Jade Capital.

Although Qi Yuehong had lived in the form of a moon ghost for nearly three hundred years without incident, he could not eat or sleep for a single day once the moon fairy hung above his head.

In their eagerness to kill the immortal, he was exactly the same as Li Hu.

"I assure you, Brother Li."

"If we can really kill Yue Xian, we will immediately set up another altar. I will personally lead these hundred brothers to deal with Brother Li's biggest worry. If we fail once, we will try twice, and if we fail twice, we will try three times, until we kill the Immortal Sword."

After thinking for a moment, Li Hu felt that this was a good idea. At least he could try his hand at Yue Xian first, to see Yan Yang's methods and to see with his own eyes how the evil spirits in this world deal with immortals.

"That's excellent."

The two hit it off immediately, and Qi Yuehong's long-furrowed brows finally relaxed, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Then kill Moon Immortal first, then slay Sword Immortal!"

……

"Come on, my little ones, let's not rest anymore!"

Qi Yuehong stood on the stage, and with a wave of her sleeve, a large number of evil spirits immediately emerged from various corners.

Even the evil spirits mostly retained the habit of sleeping, and had not lost any of their human habits. Various spirits and humanoid evil spirits emerged from their respective rooms, pigsties, flagpoles, and lanterns, and stood obediently under the stage, listening to Qi Yuehong's instructions. In an instant, things that walked on the ground, floated in the sky, and emerged from the ground were everywhere, and a cold wind blew all around.

Seeing that most of the evil spirits had arrived, Qi Yuehong continued to shout loudly, "Brother Li Hu has come from afar, arriving at our Limb-Severing Post just yesterday, and today he brings us some good news!"

"Commander, what good news is it?" the old ape who had been singing earlier asked first.

"Brother Li also has an apprentice who can perform rituals, draw talismans, and invoke the spirits!"

The moment the words "Invite the Immortals" were uttered, the evil spirits below the stage immediately became agitated. Some were excited, some were panicked, and they all wondered what Commander Qi's plans were for today.

"Does the commander intend to... execute immortals?" The old ape performing in the audience clearly guessed what was going on and quickly asked, bowing with his hands clasped.

"Not bad." Qi Yuehong flicked her sleeve, glanced around, and spoke in a firm and resonant tone.

"Slay! Immortals!"

The old ape was immediately alarmed, scratching his neck anxiously: "Why is the commander in such a hurry? Didn't he discuss it with everyone?"

He was clearly somewhat surprised; as one of the most senior evil spirits in the amputation camp, he was completely unprepared.

"Since ancient times, we have only ever seen immortals kill evil spirits. How can there be a case of an evil spirit killing an immortal? Commander, please think it over!" the old ape continued to admonish.

"Even the Jade Emperor has helped you cultivate the land, what are you afraid of?" Before Qi Yuehong could even speak, other evil spirits below the stage began to clamor.

"Hahaha!!"

Upon hearing this, all the evil spirits in the room burst into laughter. The old ape was used to boasting on stage, so everyone just thought he was a timid old fellow and no one took him seriously.

"Old Yuan, you are not a deity in disguise, so it's normal for you to have some reverence for deities."

The laughter gradually subsided at Qi Yuehong's signal. He then faced the old ape and said, "Immortals are not as terrifying as you might imagine. Otherwise, I wouldn't be alive today. You'll understand once you witness it for yourself."

"I have been waiting for this matter for over three hundred years. If it weren't for the chance encounter today, with Brother Li Hu introducing me to this person, I might have had to wait another three hundred years."

Qi Yuehong frowned as she stared at the old ape and said, "There's no better time than now. To avoid any unforeseen complications, my mind is made up. Let's start tonight."

"My men!" Qi Yuehong shouted loudly.

"Here!" the evil spirits responded immediately.

"Those who kill the immortal will be rewarded with fine wine and elixirs; those who retreat will be punished with three hundred strokes of the cane!"

"After the Moon Fairy finishes her rounds, she'll call all the immortals to a meeting and tell those immortals on the Jade Palace to open their dog eyes and see that we immortals who have transformed into demons are not to be trifled with!"

The evil spirits chanted their homage, and a suppressed atmosphere of fervor silently spread from the audience.

Seeing this, Yan Yang also began to prepare the altar and talismans for the ritual of inviting the immortals.

With Qi Yuehong's approval, the entire amputation ward is now busy with this matter.

Seeing that Yan Yang had already begun setting up the altar, changed into a yellow Taoist robe, and that the incense and candle offerings were being erected with the help of the surrounding evil spirits.

Seeing this, the old ape was still somewhat uneasy, and slowly approached Li Hu's side.

"Tiger Lord, you..." The old ape hesitated, clearly somewhat frightened.

"With a great battle imminent, it's only natural to be afraid. Old Yuan, you can stay behind me," Li Hu said to the old ape with a smile.

Li Hu was actually a little unsure of himself. He had been feeling uncertain ever since he successfully ascended to immortality but ended up as a demon. He had always lived in the human world and thought it was a simple world of cultivation, with things like Qi cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.

Before his ascension, he had only seen a handful of evil spirits, let alone any immortals. In the months since he became an evil spirit, everything he had seen and heard had exceeded his comprehension.

Although he had successfully cultivated to the point of ascension, it seemed that what he had seen was only a corner of this world.

However, seeing that Qi Yuehong was even more excited than he was, Li Hu felt that the matter of slaying the immortal shouldn't be as difficult as he had thought.

We can only take it one step at a time, and the most important thing is to get rid of the sword immortal, who is a threat hanging over our heads, and save our own lives.

Immortals, especially sword immortals, must eventually be killed.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Li Hu, the old ape could only sigh and silently retreat behind Li Hu, staring worriedly at Yan Yang, who was busy at the stage.

Yan Yang made a series of hurried arrangements, setting up a large table facing east on the stage, a large flag on the west side, and a long yellow banner on the north and south sides. On the table were incense, flowers, lamps, water, fruit, tea, food, treasures, pearls, and clothing, with all ten offerings.

With all the necessary preparations completed, Yan Yang took a bowl of water and began to sprinkle it around with bamboo leaves dipped in the water.

The ground and tables around them, as well as the faces and bodies of the surrounding evil spirits, were all more or less stained with the incense. Mixed with the smell of burning incense, an atmosphere of solemnity and holiness immediately appeared in the room, and the group of evil spirits began to discuss among themselves.

"See that? Mortals always have more tricks up their sleeves. This is practically inviting immortals! What if the immortals don't want to come?"

A fickle ghost tucked its hands into its sleeves, its lower body floating in mid-air, and whispered to the other evil spirits around it.

I don't think there's any need to doubt it.

A plump, fancy rat wriggled its body and clung to the head of another evil spirit. It was now about the same height as the Impermanent Ghost and interjected,

"I see that this person is skilled in Taoist magic. He is drawing an authentic Taoist edict and is walking in the steps of the Big Dipper. However, he is muttering gibberish that I can't understand. But it does look like the real thing."

Having received an irrelevant reply from the rat, the Impermanent Ghost glanced at the altar and said nothing more.

"Speaking of which, Wuchang, I've never seen a deity in my entire life." Once the flowery mouse started talking, it didn't stop, continuing to ask, "You've lived so long, have you ever seen one?"

"Never seen it before," the Impermanent Ghost replied aloofly.

"This is quite a novelty today. The commander seems to have a great interest in Tiger Lord and this mortal. It seems we'll get to see something interesting today." The fancy rat glanced at Li Hu standing next to Qi Yuehong from afar, rubbed its two short forelegs together, and its slightly trembling paws betrayed its nervousness.

"I've heard that immortals are all strangely shaped, with horns on their heads and tails behind them, looking much like us evil spirits. I wonder what the Moon Fairy will look like?"

The fancy mouse looked up at the sky, where a full moon shone brightly, as clear and cold as ever.

His question is exactly the question in the minds of all evil spirits at this moment.

Impermanence did not answer, nor could it answer; it simply gazed silently at the altar, its entire body tense.

Excitement, fear, suspicion, curiosity.

It wasn't just the old ape who harbored unusual feelings towards this ritual; these evil spirits weren't all transformed immortals, but also included many naturally born wild monsters.

They were born evil spirits, had no understanding of immortals, and could not even imagine what immortals looked like. They couldn't help but feel worried about what might happen next.

Yan Yang took a mouthful of rice wine, spat it onto the black iron sword in his hand, reached out and used the tip of the sword to pick up a talisman, and muttered some incantations.

"Osmanthus blossoms float like jade, filling the streets in the first month of the lunar year. The night is cool and clear. The faithful believer Yan Yang respectfully burns incense and devoutly invites you!"

"The Moon Palace, the Taiyin, the Jielin Emperor, the Nine Spirits and Wonderful Colors, illuminate the entire universe."

"Please, ride the cloud-borne crane and depart from the celestial palace!"

Yan Yang circled the center of the altar three times to the left and three times to the right, brandishing his longsword stained with talismans, and shouted a second time:

"A second invitation: Descend to the mortal realm in your rainbow-colored robes!"

He slashed through the air with his longsword, lit the talisman with the candles on the altar, and pointed it at the bright moon in the sky.

"Thirdly I beseech your pure light to bathe the altar! May you ride the phoenix and crane, swiftly descending the jade steps!"

As Yan Yang recited the last sentence, a sudden gust of demonic wind swept around, and the talisman written in cinnabar rose into the sky amidst the heat wave, burning to ashes.

The ashes were blown far away by the wind, leaving only silence around the stage.

It was eerily quiet.

After about ten breaths, Yan Yang maintained the posture of pointing his long sword directly at the moon. After the wind stopped, nothing happened.

Gradually, the evil spirits began to stir up trouble.

"What are you doing, kid? If you waste my time like this, I'll skin you alive!"

"Ha, this is much better than the old monkey's opera singing and bragging."

The less powerful evil spirits could no longer contain themselves and began to complain or laugh.

Only a few experienced evil spirits remained silent, staring intently at the moon in the sky.

Qi Yuehong was the same; he had his hands behind his back, playing with a moon pearl in his hand. Unlike the commotion of the little demons, hatred gradually appeared on his face.

Hatred towards Yuexian.

"Buzz—"

A piercing, sharp ringing sound suddenly appeared in the ears of all the evil spirits in the area, causing them to frown involuntarily, yet they did not know the source of the sound.

The evil spirits around the altar covered their ears in anguish and looked around.

But then, to their horror, they discovered that the temperature around the altar had suddenly dropped, and the bowl of water on the wooden altar had become icy cold in a matter of moments and was slowly freezing.

In just a short while, all the chirping of insects and birds around us disappeared, as if they had all frozen to death.

This sudden, bone-chilling cold felt as if it would freeze one's bones to pieces.

Yan Yang realized something was wrong. In a panic, he dropped his longsword, stumbled back a few steps from the altar, and ran towards Li Hu, shouting:

"She's here! She's here!!"