“King of Light!?”
Li Qingshan found it to be absolutely absurd. If that mad woman could be known as the King of Light, then shouldn’t he call himself the buddha? He could not help but sneer a little.
The Green-winged Bat King gazed at the sky. The rain continued to pour down, and there was not a single star to be seen, no light at all. Even during daytime, the Demon domain had a black sun.
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“Sir, I know you look down on us lowly demonfolk, but there are still countless people who are loyal and upright people among demonfolk. The cult leader once told us, ‘Light lies in the hearts of all. You are the light of the Demon domain! Even if we all fall in battle, countless more will stand forward in the battle against evil!’”
Li Qingshan was taken aback. He was speaking from the bottom of his heart. His sincerity could not be feigned. Let alone the Demon domain, even in a regular world, someone like him was rare. He patted him on the shoulder. “Good on you. Take me to see your cult leader!”
Qian Rongzhi, I’d like to see exactly what you’re trying here.
“Yes, sir!” The Green-winged Bat King unfurled his cape and took to the air, passing through the rainy night like a bat, approaching the edge of the city.
The rumbling sound of rain was deafening. The foul water discharged from the city formed a great waterfall that poured into a great marsh, giving off a sharp stench.
The Green-winged Bat King nodded towards Li Qingshan behind him before rushing into the waterfall.
Li Qingshan followed closely. At that instant, a huge shadow filled his face and sharp shrieks made the air shake, completely deafening the rumbling waterfall.
“Bats!”
As it turned out, the black shadow was composed of countless bats. He raised an eyebrow and was about to clean them up
“Sir, please don’t harm them. They’re natural outlooks. Sigh, they were originally demonfolk too. They couldn’t survive on the surface, so they resorted to living in the drains, feeding off garbage, which gradually made them demonify.”
Perhaps that was why he was called the Green-winged Bat King. He possessed a special feeling towards these demonified bats. Just the deterring aura he gave off prevented the bats from attacking them, circling around them restlessly.
Li Qingshan also noticed that these bats all retained some human characteristics. There were both men and women, old and young, but their faces were twisted and non-human. However, in contrast, the Green-winged Bat King’s empathetic gaze made him intrigued and puzzled.
Passing through the thick cloud of bats, the view before him suddenly opened up. They appeared in a deep, spacious tunnel, which made him remember the complicated network of underground caves back then in the Green province.
However, these were all man-made, cut out from rock. The ceiling was over thirty metres tall. If he ignored the foulness and the ugliness of the place, this demon city was extremely grand, far more imposing than any city he had ever seen.
After entering the underground tunnel, the Green-winged Bat King eased up a lot. He introduced as he led the way, “Sir, this may be the Taotie’s dominion, but Demon God Jiazuo’s disciples and grand disciples presided over the construction of all the demon cities in the Demon domain. They’re most skilled in machinery. When they built the sewerage system, they used the excavated rock to construct the buildings. The cult leader has said that we demonfolk are actually very clever and very diligent. We were just brainwashed and are being used, obscuring our consciences.”
“Yep. That makes sense.”
Li Qingshan nodded, but he thought, Isn’t your conscience your demon heart? You instead seem more like you’ve been brainwashed and are being used. Your cult leader must have something else in mind, ready to sell you out at any moment.
There must have been some kind of great scheme at work!
“You said this is Taotie’s dominion. In other words, this is Demon God Taotie’s territory. No wonder you haven’t been suppressed.”
He was cautious towards all Demon Gods right now. Let alone Demon Gods themselves, even Heretic Gods were difficult opponents, which left him even more convinced that there was some scheme at work. Qian Rongzhi was a Demon Sovereign, so how was she able to stand up to them?
“Thank you for your concern, sir. This place has been extended and expanded countless times over the millennia, with sections caving in and abandoned. The layout of the place is complicated. It’s completely become a maze by now. On top of that, Demon God Hundun’s powers permeate this place. Without a guide, even Demon Kings can lose their sense of direction, becoming trapped here and dying in the very end. If the trash on the surface wants to find us, they’ll have to demolish the entire demon city and excavate several dozen kilometres of this place.
Li Qingshan immediately understood what the power that interfered with his divinations was. On top of that, the further he ventured into the maze, the stronger the power became, but there were still holes that he could make use of.
“What if you have people that get captured? Such as you.”
Green-winged Bat King said calmly, “I will immediately destroy my demon heart. And, I don’t actually know the main location of the headquarters either.”
The tunnel up ahead suddenly came to an end. It was a dead end that had collapsed due to a cave in. However, a great vermillion gate stood above the wide channel. The paint was speckled, and the door nails were rusted. There was a golden sun inscribed in the middle, except it had also become extremely faded under the wear of time.
Apart from the stone lions on the two sides of the entrance, there was nothing else in the surroundings. There was just the gate.
“Sir, we’re here.”
The Green-winged Bat King stood at the entrance, and the eyes of the two stone lions suddenly swivelled over, staring at him.
With a creak, the vermillion gate opened slowly. Li Qingshan gazed in, but all he saw was a chaotic swirl.
“Interesting.” Li Qingshan rushed ahead of him, stepping over the tall door sill and entering a temple.
Everything was submerged in the silent darkness. The candles burned silently, offering up balls of light.
Pairs of eyes gazed over, but they were only cautious, devoid of malice. When the Green-winged Bat King appeared, the balls of light gathered over.
An old man with a cane asked, “Bat king, is this the guest that the cult leader asked for?”
“Yes. Where is the cult leader?”
“She’s in the sacred hall holding a lesson for the children.”
A child tugged the corner of the Green-winged Bat King’s clothes. “Uncle Green-winged, is it still raining outside? What is rain like?”
“You’ll know once you grow up.”
The Green-winged Bat King rubbed the child’s head, about to talk to Li Qingshan, but he noticed that Li Qingshan had already vanished.
After entering the temple, Li Qingshan immediately grasped the traces of fate and confirmed Qian Rongzhi’s location.
Inside the sacred hall, thousands of candles flickered about, reflecting in the eyes of the children.
A person sat in the gentle candlelight and taught, “You’re all siblings. You need to love one another.”
The voice was obscure, like it came from a distant place. It was impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female, or their age, but it did possess a strange charm, directly pouring into the minds of the children.
“Cult leader, my heart feels horrible!” A child pressed down on his chest. His demon heart thumped violently, like it was about to rip apart. Two thoughts collided violently inside him.
However, when a hand grabbed his, the pain immediately vanished. It became very warm.
“You have to endure, understand?”
“Understood.”
“We’ll stop here for today. You can go. My guest is here.”
Li Qingshan entered the sacred hall and gazed coldly as the “cult leader”. His gaze passed through the veil, but he discovered it was still all chaos behind it, basically impossible to see her true face.
His eyes narrowed, and the profound light shone. Only then could he see her completely.
“Qian Rongzhi, what the hell are you up to?”
“Is it just you?” Qian Rongzhi seemed to be slightly disappointed. “Alright then. Welcome.”
“Skip the nonsense. Take me to Qingqi mountain immediately!”
Li Qingshan decided to ignore what she was doing now. Perhaps she was just being mad, insisting on making the world her enemy. Even if there was some scheme, the only people she would be harming were demonfolk.
