Chapter 40: A Riot of Demons, Part 33

Shen Xiao finally understood—Madam Xu intended to use this method to protect the people of Qingshan City.

“But you can't hide those girls forever. Sooner or later, you'll have to return their freedom. What will you do then?” he asked.

Madam Xu looked down at Xu Xiangyun in her arms and replied slowly, “My original plan was to hide the girls while quietly disposing of those demonic puppeteers. Furthermore, if they truly do refine their pills using living people, and cannot find the girls they want in the city, perhaps they’d simply leave and search elsewhere for their alchemical materials. But... I miscalculated their intent, underestimated their greed.”

Shen Xiao finished her thought for her without waiting for her to speak. “You used the guise of a fox demon to hide the girls, but now they’ve set their sights on the fox demon, wanting to hunt it for its demon core!”

Madam Xu gave a contemptuous, cold laugh. “They want my demon core? They're not worthy—a gang of fleas and vermin, nothing more.”

“Fleas may be insignificant, but eradicating them completely is no easy task,” Shen Xiao said gravely. “Madam Xu, as long as those demonic puppeteers remain in Qingshan City, the girls cannot return. You may hide them for a year, but could you hide them for a lifetime?”

Madam Xu frowned. “Don’t think I don’t understand your reasoning. Over the past year, no matter how many puppets I destroyed, it was useless. It’s as if some hidden eye watches over these puppets in Qingshan City; whenever one is lost, it’s immediately replaced!”

“What you’re describing is likely the ‘Mother Eye,’” Shen Xiao said, furrowing his brow. “I’ve heard tales of demonic cultivators gouging out one of their own eyes, refining it into a demon artifact, and placing it miles away. From then on, they can see events from afar—this is the Mother Eye. The Mother Eye can spawn countless ‘Child Eyes.’ As long as a Child Eye is affixed to a puppet, the puppet can then perceive and transmit everything it sees and feels to the distant demonic cultivator. Madam Xu, if you wish to eradicate these fiends, you must find the Mother Eye.”

Madam Xu pondered a moment. “What you say is not without merit, but I have never seen such a thing in Qingshan City. If it truly exists, where could it be hidden?”

Shen Xiao asked, “That merchant surnamed Wu, who covets the demon core—have you investigated him?”

Madam Xu frowned. “You mean Wu Qingchu? He is indeed peculiar. I’ve caught several demonic cultivators disguised as servants at his side, but he himself is just an ordinary human. His household is unremarkable, holding only some jewels and silks.”

Clearly, Madam Xu had already investigated Master Wu, but found nothing.

“The Mother Eye must be hidden somewhere in Qingshan City. Even if we must dig up every inch of earth, we must find it!” Shen Xiao declared solemnly. “Otherwise, this city will never know peace!”

Madam Xu, hearing this, looked at him deeply. “You really are unlike any other cultivator.”

Shen Xiao raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

“Cultivators always yearn for the Spirit Mountain. Why would one stay behind meddling in mortal affairs?”

“In my view, if a cultivator cannot rid the world of evil and protect the innocent, what is the point of cultivation?” Shen Xiao replied.

A faint smile curved Madam Xu’s lips. “Shen Xiao, have you ever considered—what path is it that you truly follow? If your goal is to vanquish evil and protect the good, why are you so fixated on reaching the Spirit Mountain? Is there evil there? Is there goodness?”

She continued, “Good and evil—they're right here by our side.”

Shen Xiao was momentarily stunned.

“I’ve cultivated for a thousand years. I, too, once thought I would ascend to the Spirit Mountain, transcend to the realm of immortals. But in the end, I chose to remain. Do you know why?” Madam Xu asked.

Shen Xiao shook his head.

Madam Xu smiled faintly, her gaze drifting to the distance. “Enough. Today, I’ve played some tricks on you all. Go and check on your companion. Both she and Yun'er have attracted the eye’s attention. Now, with me here, Yun'er is safe. But as for your friend... I fear she is in grave danger.”

Shen Xiao and Lin Yuan’s faces changed at once!

In the next instant, the two spun around in unison and sprinted toward where they had last left Shi Xianyu!

Madam Xu watched their departing figures and murmured, “I was the one in the wrong. Let me help them this once.”

As her words fell, her form suddenly shot up—within moments, she transformed once more into a three-meter-tall fox-faced, human-bodied demon, cradling the unconscious Xu Xiangyun as she followed after Shen Xiao and Lin Yuan.

Whether human, demon, or beast, all three moved with preternatural speed. Yet, even at their swiftest, they arrived a moment too late.

In the clearing of the forest, only an empty bridal sedan remained—there was not a soul to be seen.

Lin Yuan's expression darkened. “I left my scent... now, it’s gone.”

Being a beast, his scent should have deterred wild animals and lesser demons in the forest, yet now he could not even detect his own trail, much less determine which direction Shi Xianyu had vanished.

Madam Xu said calmly, “These demonic cultivators are adept at erasing scents. That’s why I always act preemptively—once a girl is abducted by them, she is seldom recovered.”

Lin Yuan clenched his jaw, refusing to give up, searching the area for any trace.

But just as he turned, silver flashes shot in from all directions!

“Careful!” Shen Xiao shouted.

Lin Yuan dodged aside, but Madam Xu could not. To protect the girl in her arms, she spread her nine tails in a shield around them. The silver darts struck her fur, yet did her no harm.

But in the next instant, a torrential “silver rain” descended, thousands of darts aiming to pierce Madam Xu from all sides!

Though her nine tails blocked much of the attack, the sheer number and density meant that a few found their mark, striking her back, shoulders, and elsewhere!

With a cry of pain, she let go, and Xu Xiangyun tumbled to the ground. As Madam Xu reached to pull the darts free, she realized that each was strung with talisman paper painted with eyes. When she pulled out the darts, the talismans clung stubbornly to her flesh!

The eyes on the talismans seemed to come alive, burrowing deep into Madam Xu’s body!

“Aaahhh!” she howled in agony.

“This is bad!” Shen Xiao cried in horror. “Tear them off—those eyes want to parasitize you!”

He and Lin Yuan tried to rush to her aid, but more darts came flying, forcing them to dodge. Only then did they realize they had been surrounded without noticing.

Eight puppets stood in the shadows, clad in black robes, their frames slight, each with a white paper bearing an eye plastered over their faces. Slowly, they began to close in—

Lin Yuan roared in fury, lunging forward and smashing one puppet with his paw! The puppet’s body crumpled easily, as if made of paper—yet as it fell apart, it strangely reassembled and staggered forward again.

“Careful! Don’t touch the puppet’s eye!” Shen Xiao pulled Lin Yuan back, hurling a fire talisman. “These aren’t the surveillance eyes from before—they’re parasitic! They’ll turn us all into puppets!”

Fire worked wonders against the puppets, but Shen Xiao was hopelessly outnumbered—seven puppets still glared hungrily at them.

Just then, a furious bellow erupted behind them. The fox demon unleashed wave after wave of azure foxfire, ghostly and cold, instantly igniting all seven puppets!

Boom!

They turned to dust and ash.

Shen Xiao and Lin Yuan turned to look—the fox demon had revealed her true form, a crimson nine-tailed fox, towering as tall as a bell tower, standing amid the mountains. On her back, shoulder, and brow, three blood-red eyes gleamed!

The nine-tailed fox threw back her head and howled, then rode the clouds toward Qingshan City!

Shen Xiao’s face went deathly pale. “No! She’s been seized by the Mother Eye!”