Chapter 105: The Crimson Lotus Demon

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Chu Youcai’s heart stirred. Gazing at the strangely familiar scene before him, he suddenly remembered something he had overlooked all along.

The Willow God had once told him that the greatest difference between demons and humans was this: once a demon successfully cultivated demonic arts, the Red Lotus Demon would take away the natal demonic lamp within its body.

Now, seeing the flaming red lotuses all around him, Chu Youcai instantly understood the danger he faced.

With difficulty, he raised his head and spotted a Red Lotus Demon in the distance.

The demon stood thirty feet tall, its enormous bell-like eyes bulging from their sockets.

The Willow God had once warned him to beware of the Red Lotus Demons of Hell.

Once provoked, these Red Lotus Demons could unleash terrifying consequences.

At that moment, Chu Youcai sensed the difference between the Red Lotus Demon and the King of Transmigration.

Although the King of Transmigration he had encountered earlier had been merely an incarnation, he possessed an elegant and refined bearing, along with the austere majesty of a superior. Whatever he said would become an irrefutable truth. Yet, in the end, he was still one who acted according to reason.

The Red Lotus Demon, however, had a savage, sinister gleam in its eyes and exuded an aura of bloodlust. It seemed the sort who would slaughter everyone in sight at the slightest disagreement, utterly without restraint.

By then, the Red Lotus Demon had reached Chu Youcai. Its voice boomed like thunder.

“You’re the newly ascended one?”

Chu Youcai nodded. Before he could speak, the Red Lotus Demon suddenly reached out and seized him.

Chu Youcai immediately felt as though something had been torn away from him. The countless stars above his head vanished, and his connection with the Purple Star seemed to have been wrenched from his body.

The sensation was excruciating.

It was as though something within his flesh had been forcibly ripped away—half of it torn out by sheer force.

Then the Red Lotus Demon said coldly, “Since you have cast your lot with the demon realm and willingly offer me your natal demonic lamp, I, the Red Lotus Demon, will naturally protect it well. Should your physical body perish, your spirit may once again condense into a natal demonic lamp. Return to this ghost realm and summon me, and after you pay the necessary price, I can help you reform your body.”

“Since you have offered your natal demonic lamp to me, I shall bestow a divine elixir upon you!”

With a movement of its hand, the demon produced a pill wreathed in surging demonic energy and placed it in Chu Youcai’s palm.

A diagram was engraved within the pill, resembling a River Chart formed from countless characters. Around it fell innumerable drops of immortal rain, making it appear dazzling beyond compare.

At a single glance, an endless desire welled up within Chu Youcai. He could sense that this pill was even more potent than the pool of blood containing countless vengeful ghosts.

The Red Lotus Demon said, “This is the River Chart Demonic Rain Elixir. When your demonic arts reach fifty years of cultivation and you encounter a bottleneck, taking this pill will increase your chances of breaking through.”

Chu Youcai’s spirits rose at those words. Breaking through to fifty years of demonic cultivation was exceedingly difficult—harder even than cultivating demonic arts in the first place. It marked a tremendous divide.

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If he could overcome that bottleneck, he would advance to an entirely new realm.

Chu Youcai immediately tucked the River Chart Demonic Rain Elixir into his robes.

Outside, Red Jade was already smiling excitedly as she hurried toward him.

“Brother Chu, you succeeded!”

Chu Youcai smiled and gently stroked her head.

“That’s right. Now let’s hurry back and save Miss Shangguan.”

Red Jade nodded, then turned to Feng Xiangru with an expression of reluctance.

“Father, I’ll come visit you in the future.”

“Mm,” Feng Xiangru replied.

He then turned to Chu Youcai and said solemnly, “Although Young Master Chu has successfully cultivated demonic arts, traveling through the human world is fraught with danger. Red Jade also told me that Chu Yuwei has the Yan Sect behind him. With such immense power, even the King of Transmigration would be unable to withstand its edge. Your difficulties in the outside world will therefore be even greater. You must raise your cultivation to ten years of demonic arts as soon as possible.”

He continued, “I will also cultivate with all my strength and advance to the level of Ghost King as quickly as I can. If I am later granted a position such as Infernal Judge, I may be able to help you within this ghost realm.”

Red Jade asked curiously, “Father, what level is a Ghost King? Is it very difficult to reach?”

Feng Xiangru smiled faintly.

“It is an exceedingly lofty realm. But do not worry. No matter how difficult it may be, it will never surpass the difficulty Young Master Chu faced in cultivating demonic arts.”

He then pointed into the distance.

“When the King of Transmigration departed just now, he opened a spatial rift. You should leave at once.”

Red Jade nodded happily. She now gave Feng Xiangru one strand of her Thousandfold Blood Bond. As long as she entered the ghost realm, Feng Xiangru would be able to sense her arrival through that strand and reunite with her.

Red Jade then entered the spatial rift together with Chu Youcai.

The world seemed to plunge into darkness. When Chu Youcai and Red Jade looked around again, they found themselves back at their residence.

Dusk had already fallen outside, yet less than two hours had passed since he entered the ghost realm.

Chu Youcai quickly pushed open the door.

He found Yun Cuixian and the others waiting outside.

They looked at him with eyes filled with expectation and sorrow, their expressions indescribably complicated.

Yun Cuixian spoke in a hoarse voice.

“My lord, have you succeeded in cultivating demonic arts?”

From her tone, Chu Youcai realized that she already knew.

His heart jolted. Then he remembered that Yun Cuixian had once said that even if he became a demon, she would still remain by his side and protect him.

He could not help asking, “How did you know?”

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Yun Cuixian said softly, “My mother once…” She paused, then ultimately said, “My lord, saving Sister Wanru is what matters now.”

Chu Youcai nodded and entered the inner room. There he saw that Shangguan Wanru’s face had grown even paler, her condition far worse than before.

Yun Cuixian said, “Sister Wanru’s injuries are already extremely severe. My lord, you must place your palm over her dantian and circulate the magic within your body into it, protecting her dantian and allowing the energy to flow throughout her body. The treatment must continue for an entire hour, until all the injuries in her meridians have been expelled.”

Hearing that he had to place his hand over Shangguan Wanru’s dantian, Chu Youcai hesitated. It was, after all, an intimate place on a young woman’s body.

Yun Cuixian nodded.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. My lord, do not hesitate any longer.”

The Old Madam also said, “Young Master Chu, do everything within your power and leave the rest to fate. If you find yourself unable to continue during the treatment, do not force yourself.”

Seeing this, Chu Youcai no longer hesitated. He sat cross-legged on the bed, lowered the bed curtains, and pressed his hand against Shangguan Wanru’s dantian.

He unleashed all his demonic power, sending the strength of dragon and serpent surging from within him and pouring into Shangguan Wanru’s body.

He soon discovered that her dantian was severely damaged. It contained almost no true energy, only countless blood threads. His expression changed at once.

Had he returned any later, those blood threads would have turned into droplets of blood before breaking apart. By then, even the greatest immortal in existence would have been powerless to save Shangguan Wanru.

After filling her dantian with demonic power and protecting it, he slowly separated a thread of dragon-serpent energy and guided it toward the meridians elsewhere in her body.

It was a prolonged process, requiring at least an hour. Nothing could interrupt it, and every step had to be carried out with the utmost care.

At almost that exact moment, a dark figure flickered into existence beside the wall outside the house.

It was Black Seven, one of King Chu’s subordinates.

His eyes gleamed coldly as he stared into the room and muttered to himself, “After searching everywhere in vain, I have finally found the murderer who attacked my lord!”

“That murderer appears to be seriously injured and poses little threat. But I do not know how powerful Chu Youcai is. He defeated Chief Wu, so he must be no ordinary man. I must proceed with caution. If I can determine Chu Youcai’s true strength before capturing the murderer, I will have rendered a great service!”

After observing for some time, Black Seven sensed that Chu Youcai had remained in the room, treating Shangguan Wanru without pause. He could not help but sneer.

“She was injured by my lord’s cursed treasure. How could ordinary methods possibly heal her? This treatment must require his complete concentration, leaving him unable to stop. If I can force them to divide their attention, I can defeat them one by one!”

His gaze settled on Red Jade, who was practicing her whip technique in the courtyard.

“Nothing more than a ghost medium. The whip in her hand seems to be a powerful treasure, but there are not even any vengeful ghosts around her. She must be weak. I might as well begin with her.”

At that moment, his gaze turned as cold as ice.