The next morning, we led the army to continue towards Xizi Kingdom.
However, a fierce gust of wind suddenly blew on the peaceful road, blinding us.
I squinted and looked ahead, and in the strong wind, I suddenly saw a red figure.
"Prime Minister Liu," I murmured, he had come.
The red figure gradually moved away, and I knew he was looking for me.
I turned back and said to Lin'er, "Elder, you continue to lead the troops to Xizi Kingdom and rendezvous with Liu Shinian and the others. I have an old friend looking for me."
The last time I went out of the city alone, I was ambushed. This time, I was going alone again, and the danger was immense. Lin'er hurriedly shouted.
"Demon King, you can't go, you can't go."
"I have to go, Elder, no matter what happens, continue to lead the troops forward."
After speaking, I charged into the depths of the strong wind, following the red shadow away. After I left, the strong wind stopped, but the Demon King's figure was nowhere to be seen.
The soldiers nearby quickly shouted, "Elder, the Demon King is gone."
Lin'er motioned for him to be quiet, then said to the general beside him.
"You and a few generals lead the army to Xizi Kingdom, I'll go find the Demon King."
"Elder, how can you go alone? I'll stay too."
"No, you must all safely escort all the soldiers to Xizi Kingdom. I will handle things here."
The generals were still very worried. Lin'er grabbed their hands and held them, saying earnestly.
"I entrust this to you. You must reach the capital of Xizi Kingdom safely. I'm leaving."
After speaking, he rode his horse to find the Demon King.
The crowd had no choice but to lead the army to Xizi Kingdom and then send people back to support the Demon King and the Elder.
Meanwhile, I followed the red figure into a forest. I looked around and knew he was here.
"Since you're here, come out!" I shouted.
At this moment, an elegant laugh came from the forest, "Hahaha."
Then, two figures walked out from the grass by the roadside. One was Prime Minister Liu, and the other was Jin Yulan.
However, Jin Yulan was different from usual. The usually gentle, refined, and polite noble young man's image appeared exceptionally special at this moment.
He was wearing silver armor, his expression was cold, his eyes were filled with killing intent, and he no longer held the elegant folding fan in his hand.
"What's wrong with Jin Yulan?" I couldn't help but ask.
Prime Minister Liu smiled faintly and said sarcastically.
"You still have the mood to care about others? Worry about yourself first. Someone saved you last time, but no one will save you this time."
"I know you want to kill me, so what?"
"You've got some backbone. Let me teach you a lesson."
Saying that, he flicked his fan, and a gust of wind sliced through the air, cutting the horse's mane. Blood splattered everywhere, the horse struggled a few times and fell to the ground, and I also rolled off the horse.
"You heartless villain, why did you kill my horse?"
"Don't you know what a show of force is?"
He smiled coldly, retracted his bone fan, and casually plucked a few leaves, sending them flying towards me. I dodged to the side and immediately drew the Dragon Roar Sword, slashing at him.
Instantly, a surge of cold sword energy rushed out, directly towards Prime Minister Liu. Prime Minister Liu raised his hand and waved his fan, creating a gust of wind that countered the sword energy.
My sword energy was no match for him, and it was broken through and rushed towards me. Seeing that the situation was not good, I had to dodge quickly.
He smiled faintly and retracted his fan, saying, "Alright, the appetizer is finished. It's time for the main course."
He walked to the side, making way for Jin Yulan. Jin Yulan walked forward woodenly, raising his right hand to his left eye.
Immediately, a five-pointed star light appeared on his hand, and then a crimson sword was pulled out from the starlight.
As the sword emerged, the surroundings suddenly darkened. In the darkness, the sword emitted a red glow all over.
When the red light dissipated, we heard mournful cries in the wind, both women's and men's.
I was startled and instinctively covered my ears.
Then, the darkness receded, revealing the bright sun again. I looked at the red sword in his hand and guessed that it was also an ancient divine sword like the Dragon Roar Sword.
At this moment, Prime Minister Liu heard a rustling sound from the grass. He waved his fan, and a strong wind tore through the weeds, revealing the person hiding behind the grass, who turned out to be Lin'er.
"Why did you come here!" I said angrily.
Lin'er was about to explain when Prime Minister Liu impatiently said, "You're in the way."
Then, he fanned a gust of wind to take his life. I rushed over and pushed Lin'er down, rolling to the side.
"Didn't I tell you to go to the capital? Why did you follow me?" I was both angry and worried about him.
Lin'er explained, "Where the Demon King is, I am. If the Demon King is in trouble, I, as an Elder, cannot escape responsibility."
I sighed helplessly and had to give up. I stood up and said to Prime Minister Liu.
"This is between you and me, and it has nothing to do with others. If you want me to fight Jin Yulan wholeheartedly, then don't hurt my people."
He pondered for a moment and agreed, "Fine, and it will also allow your people to see how much strength their Demon King truly possesses."
Saying that, I drew my sword and stepped forward.
Lin'er had only heard legends before, but today he saw the living Prime Minister Liu before his eyes, especially his red attire, which was truly stunning. He couldn't help but stare at him for a long time.
Jin Yulan wasted no words, drew his sword, and unleashed a sword energy that rushed directly at me. I immediately sent out a sword strike, and our sword energies collided with a loud explosion, "Bang!"
Then, wind and dust rose, leaves swirled, and Jin Yulan leaped into the air with his sword, slashing at me from the mist.
I swung my sword to meet him, and our swords clashed with a "clang." From the point where the swords connected, black shadows suddenly emerged.
I quickly withdrew my sword and kicked him. He grabbed me and threw me forward.
I landed sideways and immediately charged at him with my sword. He swung his sword at me, and our swords collided again, generating several black shadows that wrapped around my sword.
Lin'er watched for a long time, feeling that this sword was very similar to the legendary Scarlet Blood Sword. He guessed, "Could this be the Scarlet Blood Sword?"
I asked in confusion, "What is the Scarlet Blood Sword?"
Lin'er explained.
"I once saw a description of the Scarlet Blood Sword in my uncle's miscellaneous books. The book said that the Scarlet Blood Sword was the sword of the ancient divine general Mo Zhidu.
The book also said that this sword was crimson all over, and its blade gradually developed spiritual energy from killing countless people. In later battles, it generated evil wishes and devoured the resentment of those it killed, turning it into the black energy within the sword."
Prime Minister Liu saw that although the person before him was not strong in martial arts, he was knowledgeable and generously told us.
"That's right, this sword is the Scarlet Blood Sword."
I quickly asked Lin'er, "Is there any way to break this sword?"
Lin'er shook his head and said, "The book didn't say, only that it is a fierce sword."
"Alright, fierce sword or rotten sword, let's see if I can break it."
I immediately leaped behind Jin Yulan and struck him with a sword. Jin Yulan dodged to the side and stabbed me in the left abdomen.
"Demon King!" Lin'er shouted in horror.
"Noisy." Prime Minister Liu, unseen, waved a gust of wind towards Lin'er.
"No!" I shouted, and then threw the sword in my hand. The sword landed in front of Lin'er, creating a gap in the wind for him, and then was blown away by the wind.
"Prime Minister Liu, you broke your promise."
I rebuked him angrily.
Prime Minister Liu laughed heartily, grabbed the Dragon Roar Sword with a casual flick of his hand, and then threw it back to me, saying, "Too noisy, I don't like it."
Although Lin'er did not truly understand Prime Minister Liu, for thousands of years, he had been the embodiment of justice and courage in people's hearts.
But the Prime Minister Liu he saw now, capricious and playing with people, was a complete villain. It was hard to imagine why the world had defined him as a god of justice.
I took the Dragon Roar Sword and looked down, only to find that the wound inflicted by the Scarlet Blood Sword was stained with several wisps of black energy.
I endured the pain and swung my sword. Jin Yulan mercilessly slashed at me and then quickly turned and cut my arm.
Then, with a kick, he sent me flying, and then leaped into the air, stabbing at me with his sword.
At this moment of life and death, the Ten Thousand Ghost King immediately rushed out, intending to repel Jin Yulan.
Prime Minister Liu looked intently and said faintly, "Meddling." Then he waved a gust of wind to disperse the black energy of the Ten Thousand Ghost King.
Jin Yulan followed suit, stabbing his sword into my left chest.
Instantly, countless black energies flew out from the sword and drilled into my wound, crawling from left to right and wrapping around my Dragon Roar Sword.
Prime Minister Liu saw that I was motionless and guessed that I was probably dead. He said to Jin Yulan.
"She seems to be dead. Let's go."
Jin Yulan reached out to retrieve the Scarlet Blood Sword. At this moment, a black energy shot out from the sword and cut his finger.
Prime Minister Liu said.
"It seems the Scarlet Blood Sword likes this corpse. Let's come back after they have absorbed her soul."
Jin Yulan then withdrew his hand and left with Prime Minister Liu.
Lin'er watched them leave before running over and crying, "Demon King, Demon King."
He wanted to approach me but was blocked by the black energy. If he rashly reached out, he would also be devoured by this black energy.
He suddenly remembered what was written in the book: if one is injured by a sword, one can remove their clothes and wrap the sword to save the person.
With this thought, he quickly took off his clothes and wrapped the sword, then summoned the Shadow Guards to carry me to Xizi Kingdom.
By this time, Xizi Kingdom was in its final stages. The capital had been breached, tens of thousands of Xizi Kingdom soldiers were imprisoned, and the Xizi Kingdom's West Palace had also been occupied by Liu Shinian and others.
After that, the great general rushed for several days and finally arrived at Xizi Kingdom. After entering the city.
Liu Shinian led the Twelve Star Generals and the Twenty-Four Mountain Masters out of the city to welcome them. However, they only received the Black Mountain Army, and the Demon King and the Elder were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Liu Shinian and the others, Xi Yang immediately dismounted and reported.
"My lords, we encountered a strange wind on the way. When the strange wind dispersed, the Demon King also disappeared. The Elder, in order to find the Demon King, specifically ordered us to come to Xizi Kingdom to rendezvous with you."
Hearing this, Liu Shinian frowned, vaguely feeling that something was wrong. The people behind him also sensed that something was amiss.
Gui Ye suddenly remembered that they had seen Prime Minister Liu in the Demon Hell. At that time, Prime Minister Liu had unleashed a giant gust of wind that broke through the Demon Hell and let them all out.
With this thought, he leaned over to Ye Changfeng and whispered, "Could it be Prime Minister Liu?"
Ye Changfeng frowned. According to the soldiers' description, it was very likely that the strange wind was related to Prime Minister Liu.
Before there was any evidence, Ye Changfeng still signaled him not to tell everyone. Gui Ye understood and did not mention it again.
The crowd welcomed the army into the city and arranged accommodations for them, and then planned to personally go and search for the Demon King and the Elder.
Just then, a Shadow Guard came to report to Xue Ruyi. Xue Ruyi then told everyone about it.
"Everyone doesn't need to search anymore. The Demon King and the Elder are on their way."
Liu Shinian asked with some confusion, "How do you know?"
Xue Ruyi said.
"My Shadow Guards just reported that they have found the Demon King and the Elder and are bringing them here."
"That's good, that's good."
So, everyone waited in the palace for a night before someone reported, "The Demon King and the Elder have arrived."
Everyone's spirits immediately lifted, and they rushed out to greet them. Upon arriving outside the city, they saw the scene they least wanted to see.
Lin'er was leading the way on a tall horse, and behind him followed a carriage with three or four people sitting in it.
As the carriage approached, Yan Wushuang anxiously asked, "Elder, where is Muye?"
Lin'er pointed to the carriage and replied, "The Demon King is here."
Then, the three or four people in the carriage got up and entered the carriage, lifting a person out from it.
The person was covered entirely by a large black cloth, and only the hand that fell out showed that there was a person lying on it.
Everyone asked in disbelief, "This, this is the Demon King?"
Lin'er could only nod sincerely.
Liu Shinian's heart suddenly trembled, as if he saw Xue Ji die before his eyes again. He staggered back a few steps and shouted.
"No! No! No!" Then he turned and ran away quickly.
Xue Gucheng couldn't believe it. He wanted to step forward to take a look but was stopped by Lin'er.
"Don't touch her. The Demon King is seriously injured and poisoned. If you touch her, you will also be infected."
Hearing this, everyone immediately made way for them, allowing people to carry Muye to Xizi Kingdom for treatment.
Ye Changfeng reminded them at this time.
"Liu Shinian's reaction just now was so strong. I wonder where he ran off to?"
Xue Gucheng guessed that Liu Shinian must have been stimulated by thinking of Xue Ji, so he said, "I'll go find him."
Then he drew a belt and threw it into the sky. The belt rose with the wind and flew forward.
Xue Gucheng followed the belt all the way out of the city and found Liu Shinian by the river not far away.
At this moment, his face was ashen, his expression was dejected, and he was holding his sword and staring blankly at the water surface.
Xue Gucheng walked up and patted his shoulder, saying, "Muye is not dead."
Liu Shinian seemed not to hear him, showing no reaction at all.
Xue Gucheng knew he didn't believe him, so he explained, "Muye is only seriously injured. I suspect it might be the person who asked her out in Nanhai City."
Hearing this, Liu Shinian finally came to his senses and looked at Xue Gucheng, asking.
"Muye is really not dead?"
Xue Gucheng affirmed, "Not dead."
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. He suddenly thought of Xue Gucheng's guess. If the person who injured Muye was indeed the person from Nanhai City.
Then wasn't that Prime Minister Liu? If that were the case, why would Prime Minister Liu want to kill Muye?
He put away his sadness and said to Xue Gucheng, "Let's go back."
"Not sad anymore?"
Liu Shinian laughed and replied, "Not sad anymore."
Xue Gucheng smiled slightly, feeling a little helpless, and then took him back to the palace to see Muye.
Scarlet Blood Sword:
An ancient divine sword, its previous owner was the Divine Race's Left Guard General Mo Zhidu.
Legend has it that ten thousand years ago, during a great war, Mo Zhidu fought fiercely with the demon general Twelve Nights and was beheaded, dying in the Wei River.
Afterward, because the Scarlet Blood Sword had consumed too much blood, it gradually developed demonic nature.
Every time it killed someone, it would absorb resentment and store it in the sword. Later, it passed through many hands, but because of their insufficient resolve, they were all backlashed.
Since then, no one dared to use it. It could only be sealed in a person with pure and yang nature. After generations of sealing, it was finally passed into Jin Yulan's hands and sealed within his body.
Scarlet Blood Sword, an ancient divine artifact, capable of large-scale damage. Its ultimate moves are "Dance of Myriad Demons" and "Tormented by Evil Spirits." Because of its bloodthirsty nature, it became a demon with one sword.
Therefore, it ranks sixth on the list of the Ten Great Demonic Artifacts, with a terror index of ★★★★.