Chapter 181
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Chapter 181: Power Struggle
Deep within the land of the demon race in the Western Region, there seemed to be no difference from the demon regions in the cause and effect of the mortal world.
A fierce wind whipped through, carrying dust and spreading it across the earth. Towering cliffs sheltered ancient trees, and thick magical mist enveloped the sunlight filtering down.
The air was filled with a chilling scent of blood, and a desolate atmosphere pervaded the vastness. In the distance, a magnificent city rose proudly, the heavy palace structures exuding the glorious and noble aura of a royal domain. The familiar outline of Mo City came back into Ming He’s view.
Compared to the absurdity in the cause and effect of the mortal world, this nine-level palace before her bore a deep and sharp aura, much like a fierce beast lurking in the darkness, squinting its eyes lazily at the outsiders, its gaze icy and bloodthirsty.
The demon race, Mo City, and the Shura Hall were surprisingly much more imposing than the scenery in the cause and effect of the mortal world. Thousands of years had seemingly transformed the land, along with a shift in those who held power.
This was quite natural.
Ming He and Qin Chu Yi concealed their forms and presences as they stood in front of the Shura Hall. After exchanging a glance, a mutual understanding appeared in their eyes.
Thousands of years ago, the Demon Lord of the demon race had been forced into seclusion. The Right Envoy of the demon race, Gui Jing Yao, dedicated himself to deep cultivation, showing little interest in the administration and power struggles of the demon race.
In the cause and effect of the mortal world, the power of the demon race fell into Qiu Sheng Tian’s hands, and when Ming He and Qin Chu Yi infiltrated the Shura Hall, that presence was absent.
What they truly needed to confront were merely Shi Cheng Sui and Wang Yun Ping, who were below the Human King stage.
Now, however, the situation had changed.
The current demon race saw a young Demon Lord who had held power for several years. Following Xin Ming Zhu and Mu Xuan Ye, two ruthless figures who once dominated the leadership of the demon race, the faction was gradually beginning to regain its strength and power, making them far from negligible.
Mu Xuan Ye, Left Envoy of the demon race, once the junior sister to Xin Ming Zhu, stood at the pinnacle of the demon race. After leading them into battle, she was suppressed alongside Fu Yao and Qing Long until she returned a few years ago.
Over the course of a thousand years, the situation had indeed undergone a dramatic transformation. Compared to past glories, it was as if the world had turned upside down.
After Mu Xuan Ye’s confinement, Zhou Yi, the Right Envoy, succeeded her power, but his abilities paled in comparison to Mu Xuan Ye’s and could not control the young Demon Lord, leading to a standoff between the two.
Once Mu Xuan Ye was rescued by Fierce Killer, the power dynamics shifted into a three-way balance, albeit one with a clear hierarchy, with the young Demon Lord emerging as the stronger side.
She had concealed her strength for many years, and upon revealing her true power, she would likely achieve overwhelming success. If Mu Xuan Ye hadn’t returned in time, she might have truly become the Mistress of the demon race by now.
As a descendant of the Demon Lord and with a royal bloodline, her demonic energy was oppressive, and her temperament and skills were exceptional. She had always hidden her power in darkness.
At this point, even with their combined efforts, Mu Xuan Ye and Zhou Yi could do little to stop her gradual reclamation of the authority of the Demon Lord.
They could not defeat her and were unwilling to submit to the once-dismissed young Demon Lord, so in their desire to hold onto power, they were willing to go to great lengths, including colluding with foreign races.
Ming He smiled slightly at the connections she pondered, feeling that it all had nothing to do with her. The Four-direction Compass indicated that Nineteen was within the Asura Palace.
All they needed to do was bring Nineteen back to the battlefield of the heavens; the power struggles were truly unrelated to them.
Qin Chu Yi, however, held a different view.
The woman in vibrant red attire blinked, her sparkling eyes bright and radiant. With a slight shift in her thoughts, she smiled at Ming He, “Which direction is Nineteen, Friend?”
Ming He furrowed her brow slightly. They had silently infiltrated the Shura Hall, where towering palaces surrounded them, while the cold walls of the court loomed behind.
However, numerous powerful allies from the demon race lurked within, and the pressure emanating from them instilled a heavy sense of oppression in Ming He. This was not the cause and effect of the mortal world; it was a real, heavily guarded royal city of the demon race.
Fearing detection by the demon race’s strong, she executed the Breath Control Technique to perfection, merging her form with the environment and silencing her presence to the utmost, which naturally weakened the abilities of the Four-direction Compass.
She only knew that Nineteen was in the Asura Palace but had no idea where exactly it was located.
The Asura Palace was certainly different from the Shura Hall.
The Shura Hall was a complex of palatial buildings, while the Asura Palace was just a single palace, symbolizing the Demon Lord’s authority and status, the very place where Mu Xuan Ye had once been on the verge of claiming power.
The Asura Palace.
Ming He furrowed her brow and sighed deeply, openly sharing her thoughts with Qin Chu Yi. Qin Chu Yi’s gaze sharpened, a glint of calculation flickering in her eyes.
Meeting Ming He’s bright, expectant gaze, Qin Chu Yi gently stroked her hair, her eyes reflecting a hint of regret and longing, as if mourning the disappearance of the rabbit ears. Her voice softened as she suggested, “Let’s split up and look for Friend Nineteen.”
After a brief pause, she tightened her grip on Ming He’s hand and suddenly met her gaze, her expression turning serious and solemn. “In truth, the power struggle within the demon race may not be entirely unrelated to us.”
Qin Chu Yi pulled Ming He into a shadowed corner, her eyes glimmering like stars in the darkness as she spoke deliberately, “Sometimes, calculating the hearts of others is a necessity.”
“Xiao He,” Qin Chu Yi called out softly, addressing Ming He for the first time in this manner. Her delicate profile, bathed in moonlight, radiated an unspoken tenderness. Her tone, though serious, carried a gentle warmth, like a Senior Sister guiding her Junior Sister:
“The demon race is currently locked in a three-way standoff. The Left Envoy and Right Envoy initially sought alliances with foreign races, and their reasoning is not without merit.”
“Because that young Demon Lord chose the human race.”
The revelation struck Ming He like a thunderclap, leaving her momentarily dazed. A flicker of understanding and surprise stirred within her.
She lifted her gaze, studying the woman in red before her, whose radiance seemed undimmed even by the quiet night. Once again, Ming He felt the weight of the Young Master of the Ancient Clan’s responsibilities and wisdom.
“The Demon Lord commands the demon race and intends to form an alliance with the human race to jointly resist foreign threats,” Qin Chu Yi continued, her gaze shifting from Ming He’s face to the shadowed palace walls behind her. “The human race will assist her in gradually consolidating subtle forces to ensure her safety.”
“This plan began many years ago, when the Demon Lord first approached the Qin Clan.”
At the time, the Imperial Palace still harbored foreign spies, and the young Demon Lord trusted only Qin Huang Mountain. Later, when Qin Chu Yi inherited the position of Young Master, this secret matter fell into her hands.
“About five years ago, the long-voice guardian under Mu Xuan Ye learned of this, so the visible ties between the human race and the Demon Lord were severed.”
Five years ago.
Ming He’s breath hitched as she recalled the snow-covered peaks of Snowfall Peak. The memory of that bamboo paper filled her heart with a lingering sense of loss and solitude.
The connections had been cut off on the surface.
But were they still in contact secretly?
“Yes,” Qin Chu Yi nodded in confirmation. “Even though the human race controls the entire Tianwu Continent, the land of the demon race is governed by strict order, and outsiders cannot easily interfere.
It’s only natural for the Demon Lord to consolidate her power, but if the demon race were to discover this, it could provide them with grounds to criticize her.”
Though the human race’s assistance to the young Demon Lord was minimal, relying mostly on her own cunning and methods, it still violated the demon race’s long-standing taboos.
“Moreover, when tensions escalated on the battlefield of the heavens, the Imperial Palace had to devise a strategy to counter the foreign races within the Tianwu Continent, so on the surface, we severed ties with the Demon Lord.”
“Later, with the foreign races eliminated and Mu Xuan Ye weakened by your strike, the Demon Lord’s growth accelerated remarkably, allowing her to quickly take control of the situation.”
“Now, she is only one step away from fully mastering the demon race.”
The demon race is naturally endowed with strong physiques, but their preoccupation with various matters inherently limits their cultivation speed.
Ming He, now twenty-five, had reached the pinnacle of the Human King stage. Yet, many Human King stage cultivators were not her age; some were in their thirties, others in their hundreds, their progress influenced by talent and dedication.
This was the unique advantage of the human race.
But the demon race could not afford the same luxury.
Most of their cultivation relied on the accumulation of demonic energy and time. No matter how extraordinary the Demon Lord’s methods, she was still younger than both Mu Xuan Ye and Zhou Yi, leaving her unable to defeat them without the human race’s support.
“So Friend Nineteen is here to assist the young Demon Lord?” Ming He pondered, blinking at Qin Chu Yi, her eyes reflecting a thoughtful curiosity.
Qin Chu Yi chuckled softly. “In a way. Friend Nineteen saved the young Demon Lord’s life when she was younger.”
That proud and cunning Demon Lord had chosen to act now, subduing the Left Envoy and Right Envoy rather than passively observing their struggle.
“So we don’t need to be overly cautious about the powerful figures of the demon race,” Qin Chu Yi noted. After all, many of them were also content to watch from the sidelines.
She withdrew her hand from Ming He’s head, her laughter carrying a sense of ease. “Now, we just need to find Friend Nineteen.”
They would assess how far the conversation between Nineteen and the Demon Lord had progressed and act accordingly.
Ming He nodded, exchanging a glance with Qin Chu Yi before leaping into the air, gliding across the palace rooftops as she diligently searched for Nineteen.
The Asura Palace, the Demon Lord’s residence.
Could it be the same palace she had seen in the cause and effect of the mortal world?
Ming He recalled the girl in white from that vision, her figure gliding through the endless night. As she approached the secluded palace, she sensed the aura of the Four-direction Compass.
Is Nineteen in this palace?
She halted, slipping through an open bamboo window and blending into the shadows. Step by step, she followed the aura’s guidance, gradually hearing the sound of flowing water and the soft breaths of a woman.
This aura—
Ming He’s brow furrowed as a thought struck her: Could Nineteen be in her grasp?
Her emotions surged, and she tightened her grip on the Jing Ying Sword, charging forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a white figure approaching from the side of the hall door, seemingly about to pass through. Without hesitation, she pressed the sword to the person’s neck and pulled her into the shadows.
