The Zhu Siyao before him was no longer the young girl he once knew.
Jiang Huai’s toes pressed hard against the ground as he shot backward like a bolt of lightning, attempting to put some safe distance between them.
At the same time, the Two Energies of Yin and Yang within him surged wildly, and the Protective Spiritual Light flashed to life in an instant.
“Your reaction’s not bad,” Zhu Siyao let out a soft, bewitching laugh.
The girlish crispness in her voice was gone, replaced by something twisted and seductive.
“But it’s too late!”
She no longer bothered to hide it.
The terrifying power belonging to an Outworld Heavenly Demon erupted like a broken dam, flooding out all at once.
A pressure far beyond the Golden Core Stage swept out from her as its center.
“Boom, boom, boom!”
The entire Secret Realm trembled violently.
The dark red sky looked as if it would start dripping blood, while the cracked earth shattered bit by bit, revealing the churning, viscous black Demonic Qi beneath.
The already-twisted dead trees seemed to come alive, transforming into countless Demonized Tentacles bristling with spikes.
They whipped and coiled toward Jiang Huai from all directions.
In just an instant, this area had transformed from a dangerous land into a true Forest of Demons.
“Who are you, really? Where is Siyao?!” Jiang Huai shouted in shock and anger.
The Two Energies of Yin and Yang around him became streams of black and white light, swirling around him like twin dragons, shredding the first few Demonized Tentacles that lunged at him to dust.
He formed a hand seal, and in an instant, a Yin-Yang Talisman imbued with purifying power took shape, blasting toward “Zhu Siyao.”
Looking at the demonized Zhu Siyao before him, excitement surged in Jiang Huai’s heart, a natural urge to hunt Outworld Heavenly Demons rising from deep within.
Yet when he saw Zhu Siyao’s face, his killing intent wavered, not knowing how to strike.
He didn’t have the means of the previous generation’s Yin-Yang Body; he couldn’t seal her away like the prior generation had sealed the Red Dragon, subduing the demon without harming the host.
“Who am I?” “Zhu Siyao” waved her hand lightly, and a solid, condensed black Demonic Shield blocked the Yin-Yang Talisman.
Both talisman and shield vanished in a violent burst of energy.
With a cruel, mocking smile on her face, she manipulated countless Demonic Shadows and tentacles to attack Jiang Huai from all angles, speaking with Zhu Siyao’s voice:
“I am Zhu Siyao. Or rather, this body is hers. I’m just making use of the darkness in her heart.”
This was the Outworld Heavenly Demons’ greatest advantage—who could claim their heart was truly free of shadows?
“Inner shadows?” Jiang Huai frowned slightly, feeling deeply troubled.
He gripped his sword tightly, using the black dragon pattern to send a message to Qin Qingyue, all while thinking of a countermeasure.
If he tried to escape now, Jiang Huai felt sure he could make it out, but what would become of Zhu Siyao?
Zhu Siyao gave a mad little chuckle. A touch of mania appeared on the girl’s face as she lightly stroked her thigh, grinning at Jiang Huai.
“I’ve liked you ever since I first met you, but you stole my mother from me, and I hated you for that.”
“But in the little world, I started to like you again. What a pity. I really like you as my ‘Daddy’—I’ve even secretly called you that at night, you know.”
“Every night, lying in bed, all I think about is you. Imagining you pressing down on me, imagining you treating me the way you treat my mother.”
Within her Sea of Consciousness, Zhu Siyao’s heart was full of despair as she listened to the demon lay her secrets bare before Jiang Huai, her face ashen.
‘It’s over, it’s over, it’s all been revealed.’ “It’s over, the past and the future are ruined.”
‘It’s over.’
Ignoring the Zhu Siyao trapped in her own Sea of Consciousness, the demon smiled at Jiang Huai and continued without shame:
“I envy Chi Lian, envy Su Yingman, envy every woman who gets to stay at your side openly and rightfully. I only act lofty on the surface. Deep down, I’ve longed for you so badly for so long. In fact, I’ve always wanted to…”
“Enough!!!” Jiang Huai roared.
These filthy words were not just an assault on his mind, laced with demonic tones, but also a wanton trampling of Zhu Siyao’s purity and dignity.
The Two Energies of Yin and Yang within him boiled.
A blazing Yin-Yang Rotation appeared before him, exploding outward and clearing the demons within dozens of meters.
Zhu Siyao chuckled again, completely unconcerned with Jiang Huai’s counterattack, dodging nimbly.
His attacks were swift and fierce; the Two Energies of Yin and Yang were naturally effective against Demonic Qi.
Each strike wiped out swathes of demonic creatures, and occasionally, he managed to break through the defense, leaving wounds on the body controlled by the demon.
But every time his killing blow was about to strike a vital spot—her heart, head, or dantian—he would instinctively hesitate or shift his aim ever so slightly.
“What’s wrong? Isn’t your swordsmanship fierce? Why don’t you kill me?” Zhu Siyao grinned at Jiang Huai, attacking relentlessly.
“Pu chi!”
A black blade of condensed Demonic Qi stabbed out from the shadows at his side, viciously piercing Jiang Huai’s shoulder and sending a spray of hot blood.
“Heh, feeling sorry for her? Can’t bear to hurt this body?” the demon sneered, controlling “Zhu Siyao’s” body to close in like a specter.
Her five fingers formed claws, Demonic Qi swirling at her fingertips as she lunged for Jiang Huai’s dantian.
“She really wants you to ‘die’ on top of her, you know!”
Jiang Huai gritted his teeth against the pain, twisting aside just in time to avoid a fatal wound, but a gash deep enough to show bone was cut across his waist.
Demonic Qi clung to the wound, trying to invade his meridians.
He hurriedly circulated the Two Energies of Yin and Yang to force it out, his face growing even paler.
He was completely constrained, while the demon fought without reservation, every move lethal, exploiting his reluctance to hurt Zhu Siyao’s body, and leaving more and more wounds upon him.
Blood stained his black robes red, his breath growing rough.
If not for his solid foundation, the inexhaustible Two Energies of Yin and Yang, and the protection of the Three Dragon Origins, he would have lost already.
He couldn’t fight properly.
The opponent controlled Zhu Siyao’s body, making it nearly impossible for Jiang Huai to land a decisive blow.
A muffled hum rang out, as if it came from the world itself.
At the direction of the Secret Realm’s entrance, the once stable, spinning Light Gate flickered violently, then suddenly dimmed and shrank, snuffed out like a candle pinched by a giant invisible hand—finally disappearing completely.
The Secret Realm space was now sealed shut, a barrier sturdy beyond compare separating inside from outside.
Zhu Siyao’s face broke into a cruel and delighted smile of success:
“Don’t even think about it, Yin-Yang Body.”
“I won’t let Qin Qingyue or Wu Zhaohua come save you, nor will I give you a chance, Yin-Yang Body.”
“Jiang Huai, you have no way out.”
“Take my advice. Do as I wish, take off your clothes, and give this little girl her final satisfaction. I might consider letting you die a bit more easily.”
Wonderful, wonderful.
The Yin-Yang Body finally ends with her in this generation.
Zhu Siyao licked Jiang Huai’s blood from her fingertips, her eyes blazing with demonic light.
Even fiercer attacks, like a violent storm, rained down on the already exhausted Jiang Huai.