Chapter 112: Challenging My Friend?

Yin Zhaoxian's mind raced, desperately trying to figure out what to do.

He immediately dismissed the idea of shouting for help. Though it was only for an instant, he was certain his earlier perception was not mistaken: the woman before him was no ordinary person.

Unlike his old friend Ji Yuan or the elderly man he encountered at night, who were extraordinary immortal beings, this woman was clearly a ghost or demon. He feared that shouting would instantly cost him his life.

Forcing himself to act as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual, Yin Zhaoxian adopted his usual scholarly demeanor.

"Madam, it is improper for men and women to be in such close proximity. I, Yin, am already married and have no intention of taking a concubine. Please leave, lest you compromise the integrity of us both!"

Despite his fear, Yin Zhaoxian managed to calm himself and speak fluently. He avoided direct accusation, hoping the woman would retreat on her own, as this was, after all, the administrative seat of Jizhou, where she might have reservations.

Lady Hong posed enticingly but was slightly surprised to find that the scholar had not fallen for her charm.

'Rumor has it that those possessing noble righteousness are immune to evil enchantments. Is it true? I must break his righteousness first!'

With a change of thought, Lady Hong spoke in a soft, alluring voice.

"Master Yin, does your wife possess such a graceful figure as mine, or such beauty?"

Lady Hong stood up and swayed her body, placing one hand on her lower abdomen and lightly covering her lips with the other as she smiled at Yin Zhaoxian. An invisible pink mist diffused from her.

Yin Zhaoxian felt a burning sensation in his lower abdomen and his breathing quickened. Though his mind was clear, his body seemed to act against his will. He gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at Lady Hong.

"You, madam, are truly ill-mannered! Your parents raised you, yet you come here to debase yourself. I, Yin, am not the man you imagine me to be!"

This outburst was half genuine anger, half an outlet for his fear. As his voice rang out, a surge of noble righteousness suddenly flared from him, emitting a faint white glow.

Although this white light carried a sharp aura, it was still shallow. When it reached Lady Hong, she merely narrowed her eyes and waved her sleeve, dispersing it. Her patience also ran out.

"Hmph... interesting, Master Yin, let me tell you the truth..."

As Lady Hong spoke, she reached out and seized him. Yin Zhaoxian found himself floating in the air, drawn towards the shadowy figure opposite him. A long-nailed hand clamped around his neck, choking him.

Her arm rubbed against his noble righteousness, creating faint electrical sparks that caused Lady Hong a slight stinging sensation. She paid no mind, however, and brought her face close to the gasping Yin Zhaoxian.

"I don't even fear the City God of Chunhui Prefecture much. You, a mere mortal scholar, cannot escape my grasp. Hehehe... hohoho..."

Her seductive laughter grew hollow and hoarse towards the end.

Yin Zhaoxian's face alternated between pale and reddish-blue. He desperately clawed at the hand on his neck. As his noble righteousness clashed with the demonic energy, he caught a glimpse of a bloody, skull-like face.

Choking and gasping, Yin Zhaoxian's consciousness began to blur. Images of his wife and children appeared in his mind, as did his extraordinary friend, Ji Yuan, with whom he played chess.

"De... demon... monster... Master Ji... save me..."

At that moment, far away in an inn in Juntian Prefecture, Ji Yuan suddenly awoke. A white chess piece appeared in his hand, its surface entangled with flickering black energy.

"Master Yin!?"

Normally, Ji Yuan couldn't perceive the everyday changes of the chess pieces, but at certain critical junctures, he would receive a subtle spiritual connection. And this moment was clearly not a good one.

Concentrating his mind, Ji Yuan could even sense a faint, malevolent demonic energy from the chess piece, though the noble righteousness rising from it was far too weak.

'Master Yin is in grave danger!'

As Ji Yuan's best friend in this lifetime, the thought of his friend being in crisis with him unable to help filled him with extreme anxiety. Ji Yuan didn't even know what Yin Zhaoxian had encountered, only that it was clearly not ordinary.

'I must think of something, I must!'

Forcibly entering meditation, he manifested his conceptual landscape of mountains and rivers. He brought the chess piece into this landscape, noting that the other four pieces in the 'sky' remained safe.

Ji Yuan stood like a colossal, ethereal being, holding a gigantic star-like piece, frowning in deep thought.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the alchemical furnace atop a distant high mountain. His first thought was to replenish the chess piece with alchemical energy, but his second thought was of the Samadhi True Fire.

Whether the true fire in the furnace would be effective was unknown, and whether this white piece could withstand the true fire was also unknown. But Yin Zhaoxian was clearly in imminent danger, leaving Ji Yuan no time to ponder; he had to follow this sudden inspiration.

As if Dao merged with the world and moved with his thoughts, Ji Yuan, within his conceptual landscape, instantly appeared beside the alchemical furnace. Through its opening, he could see the raging true fire burning within.

He drew a wisp of alchemical energy and injected it into the white piece to temporarily stabilize it. Just as he was about to roll it in the furnace, he abruptly paused.

Ji Yuan uttered a sound: "Chì~"

As the Daoist incantation fell, the profound yellow clouds, which had gathered around the furnace since the self-generating chess game began, appeared. After careful consideration, Ji Yuan drew down a wisp of profound yellow energy to envelop the white piece.

'Master Yin, hold on!'

Without further hesitation, he resolutely cast the white piece into the alchemical furnace.

The white piece shot through the Samadhi True Fire within the furnace. It ignited almost on contact, and simultaneously, the flames and the profound yellow energy created a streaking light.

The profound yellow energy and the noble righteousness emanating from the piece collectively resisted the myriad true fires. The chess piece emitted a dangerous creaking sound, unable to bear the strain.

Ji Yuan's scalp tingled upon hearing this. Seeing the dire situation, he quickly pulled and guided the white piece from the other end, letting it fly out of the other opening. He dared not let it remain in the furnace for long.

In just that instant, the chess piece had become incredibly hot in his conceptual realm, and fine cracks appeared on its surface. However, a faint aroma of wine wafted from it, gradually restoring the piece's roundness, easing Ji Yuan's anxiety somewhat.

Ji Yuan's quick operation in his conceptual realm, happening in a flash, did not translate into a small stir in Chunhui Prefecture, Jizhou, a faraway place...

Yin Zhaoxian had been feeling the torment of suffocation and the terror of the demon, but suddenly, all that became trivial.

For a moment, he felt as if he had plunged into a cauldron of oil, as if countless arrows pierced his heart, as if lightning struck him, as if he was consumed by raging fire. The agony made his consciousness muddled.

Physically, Yin Zhaoxian instantly became incredibly hot, his skin turning as red as a cooked shrimp.

"Sizzle..."

Lady Hong was about to lean in and forcibly absorb Yin Zhaoxian's yang essence and scholarly energy, but at that moment, she was scorched and let go.

Before she could react in surprise, the dark scene before her eyes transformed into a reddish-gray light.

BOOM~~~~

A surge of ethereal flame shot up from Yin Zhaoxian, piercing through his clothes, the room, and other solid objects. It also swept over Lady Hong, who had no time to be astonished.

A flash of red-gray flame.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh~~~~~~~~"

A woman's shrill, agonizing scream echoed through the area.

"Bang~" "Bang~" "Bang~"...

Crashing through the inn room door, smashing through the opposite guest room, breaking through the inn wall... Lady Hong, already half-scorched as she was flung, directly crashed her way out of the inn.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Lady Hong's hoarse voice trembled, her rage and fear barely contained. She had been caught off guard and couldn't react, tricked by a mere scholar. Monstrous demonic energy surged with her anger.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh~~~~~~~ Yin~ Zhao~ Xian~~~ I'll have you dead~~~~!"

"Insolent demon!"

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

From the direction of Miao Si Fang, the furious roar of the Chunhui Prefecture City God resonated like a great bell, a sound wave that most mortals could not perceive, rolling forth!

Lady Hong glared hatefully at the inn, where a faint illusory heat and smoke still rose. Coupled with her uncertainty about which powerful expert was assisting Yin Zhaoxian, she gritted her teeth in bitter hatred and finally waved her sleeve, flying out of the city.

"Daring demon, stay!"

Two night patrols, who were in the middle of the road, drew their blades, their ghostly lights directly aimed at Lady Hong. She neither dodged nor evaded, directly grabbing the spectral blades with her bare hands, and then lifted the two ghost officers and flew away with them.

Releasing them mid-air, she instantly slashed dozens of times with her long nails, dismembering the two ghost officers. Lady Hong then inhaled, drawing all the yin energy into her mouth.

"Wretch~~~~!"

Amidst the furious roar, a golden light, mixed with the power of incense offerings, struck, colliding violently with Lady Hong's powerful demonic energy, erupting in a clap of thunder.

Lady Hong grunted, enduring the blow, and shot out of the city. In an instant, she flew ten li and vanished into a hill.

Almost the next moment, the Chunhui Prefecture City God, accompanied by the chief officials of the Yin-Yang and Merit-Demerit Divisions, materialized from void to reality, but could not detect any trace of the demon's escape at the hill.

"That fiend enrages me greatly! Enrages me greatly!"

Though the City God roared in anger, his heart was filled with apprehension and doubt.

Da Zhen had always been peaceful, and Jizhou was particularly known for its tranquility. Yet today, such a bizarre demon had appeared in his jurisdiction, and even after being discovered, it had managed to retreat calmly. Had it just appeared, or had it simply gone unnoticed before?