Tome of Troubled Times
Chapter 819: Inner Demons

Chapter 819: Inner Demons

Papiyas remained hidden, and without him, the others might not even withstand two strikes from Zhao Changhe. Seeing his subordinates collapse lifelessly in an instant, Snow Owl decisively retreated, while the illusion beast disguised as Sisi vanished just as quickly.

Zhao Changhe thoughtfully watched the illusion beast fade away, making no move to pursue it.

Cui Yuanyang leaned closer and whispered, “Big Brother Zhao, are you really letting them go just like that? Why not pretend you’ll kill them all? Papiyas might step in to save them. Wouldn’t that force him to appear?”

“Nah, probably not. I wouldn’t expect ancient demon gods to have human compassion.”

“You’ve just insulted Big Sister Piaomiao as well; she’s also an ancient demon god, you know.”

Zhao Changhe glanced sideways at her. “She’s hardly warm-hearted.”

Cui Yuanyang teased him mischievously, “You’ve never felt her warmth personally, so how would you know that?”

Zhao Changhe stared at her blankly. Is that kind of warmth even relevant? No matter how rosy your skin is, the heart inside is just as dark.

Within their shared spiritual sea, Piaomiao’s voice sharply rose, “Cui Yuanyang! One more word and I’ll force you back in!”

Before Piaomiao finished speaking, Cui Yuanyang suddenly grew dazed, leaning heavily against Zhao Changhe’s chest, murmuring softly, “Big Brother Zhao, I feel so hot...”

Speechless, Zhao Changhe quickly caught her. Clearly, Cui Yuanyang could not remain in this illusory environment long; after only a few words, she had already succumbed to its beguiling effects.

Piaomiao seized the opportunity, swiftly reclaiming control over the body. She had graciously allowed the little troublemaker out, so if Cui Yuanyang could not handle herself, she had no one else to blame.

Yet, as soon as Piaomiao regained control, she instantly regretted it. She again found herself tightly wrapped in Zhao Changhe’s arms, her body flushed and strangely soft. She briefly wondered if Cui Yuanyang had genuinely been overwhelmed by the illusions or if she had staged the whole thing deliberately.

Piaomiao awkwardly struggled free from Zhao Changhe’s embrace, hastily redirecting the conversation to serious matters. “Either way, if we kill Snow Owl and the others, wouldn’t that severely weaken Papiyas’ forces? Wouldn’t he intervene to prevent such losses?”

Zhao Changhe gazed at her flushed cheeks, his heart strangely unsettled. He worried that further intimacy would lead their relationship down a perilous path.

He cleared his throat, focusing back on the topic at hand. “Think about it, Dark Oblivion was absorbed by Snow Owl, Underworld Guide died by my hands, Desolate Calamity was instantly slain by you... well, by Piaomiao. All three were Jiuyou’s direct subordinates. She didn’t even sigh at their deaths. In fact, she even continued on with our cooperation without batting an eye. Papiyas is undoubtedly colder than Jiuyou. In their eyes, these subordinates are merely expendable tools that can easily be replaced.”

Piaomiao softly questioned, “Is that truly how you view Jiuyou? She’d be angry if she heard you.”

“But it’s the truth, isn’t it?” Zhao Changhe sighed. “To be honest, the more I get to know her, the less she fits the villainous image I initially had of her, but even so, I doubt I’ve misjudged her on this point.”

Piaomiao silently agreed. Indeed, Ye Jiuyou seemed less malicious than her memories suggested, while Underworld Guide and Desolate Calamity deserved their fate anyway. It was actually better if Ye Jiuyou did not hold grudges; that would be rather detrimental to their alliance.

“Still, why didn’t you kill Snow Owl just now? Aren’t you being overly confident?”

“Perhaps. I just wanted more meaningful practice,” Zhao Changhe replied casually, then secretly transmitted his voice, “Actually, there’s a proper reason as to why I didn’t kill him yet. I need to track Snow Owl to find Han Wubing’s whereabouts. Wubing has been missing too long, and there’s been no news even from the Rankings of Troubled Times, which doesn’t make sense. A swordsman of his caliber couldn’t possibly remain silent for so long. I suspect he might be trapped here, and if he is, that definitely has to do with Snow Owl. He still carries Yue Hongling’s lingering sword qi. I can sense it and track him without him noticing. Of course, I can’t just tell them that, so I made them think I let them leave because I’m an arrogant prick.”

He had not anticipated that Yue Hongling’s encounter at Xiangyang would unfold with such significance here. Her protagonist-like fate felt even more genuine than any destiny arranged by the blind woman.

Piaomiao played along knowingly. “Then let’s continue exploring. This place is quite fascinating.”

Zhao Changhe quickly reminded her via transmission, “If you intend to impersonate Yangyang, avoid sounding so superior. You’ll blow your cover.”

Piaomiao reluctantly adjusted her tone. “Big Brother Zhao... I don’t think I can handle these illusions much longer...”

Zhao Changhe paused, speechless. Yo, how the hell are you able to impersonate Yangyang so well? Have you been practicing secretly?

Shaking off the thought, he gently placed his hand on Piaomiao’s forehead. “I’ll shield your mind slightly; these environmental illusions won’t trouble you now.”

Suppressing the odd sensation of being patted on the head, Piaomiao forced herself deeper into character. “Then... When we face Papiyas, will I be okay...? Big Brother Zhao, am I holding you back?”

Inside their shared mind, Cui Yuanyang exclaimed in disbelief, “What the heck? Why is your impression of me so spot-on? And why would you willingly say something like that?!”

Even Zhao Changhe felt momentarily confused. He genuinely couldn’t tell the difference between Piaomiao and Cui Yuanyang. At this rate, the question might no longer be how to separate their souls but whether they should instead be merged.

However, merging inevitably meant one consciousness would disappear, and two distinct memories would blend into a single personality. The ideal scenario had always been letting Piaomiao’s consciousness fade away, allowing Cui Yuanyang to reclaim her ancient memories, the perfect form of reincarnation awakening. Yet, after everything, could he truly bear to let Piaomiao vanish now?

He honestly could not say for sure.

Avoiding the dilemma for the moment, Zhao Changhe softly reassured her, “Don’t worry, silly. Big Brother Zhao will protect you. Even if it costs me my life.”

Piaomiao felt goosebumps run down her spine, and Zhao Changhe, feeling equally awkward, also shivered slightly. Both stood in embarrassed silence, unable to meet each other’s eyes.

Unable to bear the increasingly strange and awkward atmosphere, Zhao Changhe forcibly shifted his thoughts toward more pressing matters. Sensing Yue Hongling’s residual sword qi within Snow Owl, he realized Snow Owl had not moved far. Likely, he was still lingering nearby in order to observe them.

Curiously, he could not detect the illusion beast posing as Sisi at all.

These illusion beasts are really strange, even those that I chopped up and those blown up by Piaomiao. Honestly, it seems like they aren’t actual living beings but a combination of different soul bodies, scattered in space and void of any intent or meaning. Could it be that all these scattered illusions eventually just merge into Papiyas himself?

But if that’s the case, then hasn’t our entire act been meaningless from the start? Maybe Papiyas has already known about Piaomiao all along, in which case there’s no way he will ever show himself. Damn... If Piaomiao figures she was played like this, I can’t even imagine what her reaction will be....

Well, it’s better to keep this stuff to myself for now.

After a brief contemplation, Zhao Changhe suddenly turned toward the mysterious stone wall. Though undoubtedly dangerous, Yue Hongling had managed to escape it even before reaching the Profound Control Realm. Thus, he doubted it could overpower him at his current strength. Still, a momentary lapse seemed unavoidable. Snow Owl had been convinced the stone wall would impair Zhao Changhe’s combat readiness, and it was for a similar reason that he had avoided looking directly at it earlier. Now, with Snow Owl retreating further, he finally had a chance to test this wall himself.

Approaching the stone wall, Zhao Changhe found its surface exactly as Yue Hongling had described it. It was as smooth as a mirror and clearly reflected his own image. But in an instant, the reflection shifted into something else entirely.

At the time, Yue Hongling had said that she had seen him in the reflection. What she saw was every lingering embrace and sweet moment of affection shared with him. If she succumbed to these emotions and followed the “Zhao Changhe” within the mirror, her very soul would be drawn into its depths. This was Yue Hongling’s inner demon. The mirror reflected the singular flaw hidden within her clear and luminous sword heart. Yet she had managed to break free, thereby attaining Sword Heart Illumination.

It was not that Yue Hongling had conquered love; she had never detached herself from her feelings for Zhao Changhe. Rather, at that time, she had simply refused to be restrained by such emotions. She had always been unwilling to follow Zhao Changhe; she had always longed to wander the world freely. And it was this stubborn independence that made her simply impervious to the mirror’s lure.

That was the Yue Hongling of the days past, the Yue Hongling that was like the setting sun, unbridled and free. But if the Yue Hongling of now faced that mirror again, perhaps she would not fare as well as before. After all, this test had nothing to do with one’s cultivation...

And now, Zhao Changhe was seeing Yue Hongling as well.

It was the version of Yue Hongling from when he first met her, the Yue Hongling who had rescued him at his weakest and most helpless moment. He had sat behind her, watching her slender, valiant back and feeling the gentle sweep of her ponytail brushing against his cheeks as they galloped toward the Luo Family Village beneath the fading sunset.

It had been his first true glimpse of the jianghu, the moment since his transmigration where he felt the most helpless, most vulnerable, and most dependent upon another. That singular vulnerability had now magnified a thousandfold, unexpectedly flooding his heart and mind with a crippling sense of dependence and weakness, leaving no room for any other thought.

Inner demons surged, clouding his consciousness.

If Zhao Changhe were lucid at this moment, he would recognize this as the most perilous moment of his life.

Unfortunately, when consciousness waned, wisdom, capability, and willpower were nothing but illusions—far removed and utterly inaccessible.

Anyone predicting Zhao Changhe’s inner demons would assume they, like Yue Hongling’s, stemmed from romantic desires or attachments. None would have guessed that his true vulnerability was this kind of dependency; even Papiyas, who was certainly observing from somewhere, probably found this astonishing.

In his trance, Zhao Changhe saw Yue Hongling extending a hand toward him, as if to lift him onto horseback. Her voice was soft and inviting. “Come, sit here with your big sister.”

Unfocused and entranced, Zhao Changhe slowly began reaching out.

A single touch would spell doom. Either his soul would be drained away, leaving an empty husk, or his personality would be drastically altered, rendered forever weak and submissive under the dominion of inner demons.

Yet, just as Zhao Changhe’s hand trembled, sword qi erupted from behind him. At the same instant, an invisible ripple spread over his spiritual sea, piercing his soul like countless needles.

It was Snow Owl’s sneak attack.

Papiyas had appeared!

Their strike was precise, aiming to ensure Zhao Changhe’s death even if he managed to escape the illusion crafted by the stone wall.

From start to finish, the greatest trap had always been the stone wall itself. Everything else was but deception, feigning weakness and lulling Zhao Changhe into complacency, believing Papiyas’ domain was nothing but what it appeared to be on the surface and that the plain and visible stone wall posed no threat.

Yet, as the two assassins’ blades were about to make contact, Zhao Changhe, who had appeared dazed and trembling just moments ago, suddenly froze mid-motion. Clarity flooded back into his gaze, and spinning around, he unleashed a savage whirlwind of sword and saber.

Snow Owl barely escaped, tumbling desperately aside as the furious saber energy thundered overhead, obliterating a distant boulder into ash.

Simultaneously, Papiyas’ ripple dissipated harmlessly, its power rendered ineffective.

From all directions echoed a startled voice, incredulous, “You... were drowning in inner demons. How were you able to escape?”

A faint, mocking smile curved Zhao Changhe’s lips as he replied leisurely, “Why don’t you take a guess?”

Unseen by anyone, Zhao Changhe’s spiritual sea was bound tightly by a chain, a chain impervious to both Papiyas’ attacks and the strange properties of the stone wall.

This chain was none other than the Soul-Shackling Chain given to him by Ying Five. It was originally intended for the battle against the Frost Chi; it had been left unused then, and it was now employed here at last.

Yue Hongling had long since described the deceptive nature of this stone wall, so how could Zhao Changhe approach it just like that? He had faith in his power, but he was no arrogant idiot. Before gazing upon the stone wall, he had prudently bound his soul with Soul-Shackling Chain, and indeed, this precaution had now proved salutary.

At the same time, however, Zhao Changhe had not expected that when the illusions of the stone wall began to invade, another vast, ethereal aura would shelter his spirit. Even in the off-chance that the chain hadn’t done its job, this aura alone would have kept him somewhat lucid.

And even a sliver of lucidity was enough to grant him the strength to shatter illusions and suppress the rampant tide of inner demons. This was the safeguard granted by the qi veins of mountains and rivers to the sovereign of humanity. In other words, this was Piaomiao’s protective power enveloping Zhao Changhe. It was an aura that only appeared on a handful of people, including Xia Chichi and Zhao Changhe himself. And even if Piaomiao perished, this passive protection would still persist.

Zhao Changhe had no time for contemplation. With a thunderous shout, he thrust his sword fiercely toward the void before him.

Space ruptured, and the dimension shattered!

Whatever form Papiyas might take, surely such an attack would affect him. If Piaomiao now suddenly launched an ambush, they would surely have Papiyas cornered!

Yet, the shadow ahead wavered. River of Stars struck only emptiness. Papiyas’s presence was bizarrely intangible, elusive, resisting all contact. Meanwhile, Piaomiao made no move whatsoever to assist. Rather, Zhao Changhe caught from the corner of his eye Snow Owl thrusting a sword toward Piaomiao’s unguarded back.

Zhao Changhe’s heart sank. Piaomiao stood motionless, clearly ensnared within the stone wall’s illusions.

How had it happened that while he freed himself from inner demons, Piaomiao succumbed instead? Only moments ago, she had guarded him from afar, so how was she the one now ensnared? She was a pinnacle expert of the third layer of the Profound Control Realm, and her resolve was supposedly ironclad and devoid of worldly desire!

It seemed that Piaomiao did, in fact, harbor hidden demons, and they were no small matter. She was no longer the detached and desireless entity she once was. In this place, her very nature became her greatest weakness.

Zhao Changhe had no chance to strike again at Papiyas. Dragon Bird shifted swiftly, clashing fiercely with Snow Owl’s sword and knocking it aside. Without hesitation, he seized Piaomiao, intending to retreat.

“Get away from me!” Piaomiao suddenly turned, palm blasting viciously into Zhao Changhe’s chest.

The stone wall could not devour her soul, but it had unleashed the depths of her suppressed inner demons. Her nature had twisted, warped utterly by hatred. She had transformed into nothing but a slave of vengeance.

The worries voiced merely days before had proven prophetic!

In that instant, Zhao Changhe manipulated his muscles to mitigate the blow, forcibly absorbing the impact. He heard a slight crack in his ribs, a telltale sign of a fracture. Stifling a groan, he rode the force of her strike backward, dragging Piaomiao several li away with him.

“King Zhao, stay right there!” Papiyas and Snow Owl surged forth like lightning, instantly arriving behind him. “Who would have imagined that the famous King Zhao, who always meticulously calculates every eventuality, would overlook his closest companion. Haha... Just give up! You might escape alone with your spatial arts, but fleeing with her is nothing but a pipe dream!”

Wordlessly, Zhao Changhe swung around, unleashing Army Breaker to momentarily obstruct his pursuers. Then, he plunged onward. Ahead, the illusion beast still in Sisi’s form blocked his path. Meanwhile, the corrupted Piaomiao he dragged beside him was raising another deadly palm, poised to thrust at his heart.

Fleeing with Piaomiao was akin to keeping a dagger ready to pierce his side at any moment. Zhao Changhe had never imagined Piaomiao would become the source of calamity. He had initially planned to wield her as a lethal weapon against Papiyas, yet now she had turned into a potentially fatal liability.

From supreme confidence, the situation had swiftly spiraled into a deadly, encircling siege. Death stared from every corner.

He knew full well that Piaomiao was beyond his power to defeat even under normal circumstances, let alone in such close quarters and while forced to take relentless attacks from a demon god whom he might not even be able to best even in the best-case scenario.

Zhao Changhe inhaled deeply, and his eyes turned steely and resolute.

The greater the peril, the fiercer his fighting spirit.

Abandoning Piaomiao was absolutely out of the question. He had never chosen to forsake a comrade, and this was even more so not going to happen now; this body belonged to Yangyang. He could never abandon her here.

But first, Piaomiao’s condition had to be dealt with. Being physically overpowered was a problem but not a critical one right now; the fact that he was holding her hand gave him options.

With a thought, the Heavenly Tome sprang forth from his ring, firmly interposing itself between them and absorbing Piaomiao’s devastating blow.

Impervious to any force beneath heaven, the Heavenly Tome flawlessly negated Piaomiao’s assault, the force sending them both drifting backward once again. At that same instant, the Soul-Shackling Chain escaped Zhao Changhe’s spiritual sea, slipping deftly from his left hand into Piaomiao’s wrist and swiftly binding her spiritual sea tightly, completely sealing her consciousness.

Piaomiao glared viciously at Zhao Changhe, then stubbornly struck again. But this time, her blows landed with negligible impact.

After all, Piaomiao was essentially a being whose true cultivation lay in her soul. Her body was merely Cui Yuanyang’s body, and its formidable cultivation was purely a mass of energy accumulation that had to be controlled by the soul. Once her soul was restrained, her strikes against Zhao Changhe’s sturdy physique had as much impact as a child’s fists striking a rock.

Zhao Changhe’s explosive internal energy surged through his fingers, infiltrating Piaomiao’s meridians and sealing her acupoints. A moment later, her body grew limp, thoroughly robbed of strength.

Meanwhile, Papiyas watched in stunned disbelief. Who could have expected that the infinitely more powerful Piaomiao would be captured within a mere heartbeat? Even if Piaomiao was dazed and failed to evade the chains in time, the swift reversal was simply too shocking.

Blood seeped from Zhao Changhe’s mouth as he endured the sharp pain of fractured ribs, all the while adjusting his stance to carry Piaomiao on his back. With a furious sweep of his saber, he rent apart the illusion beast blocking their path and charged ahead, fleeing desperately.

Inside Piaomiao’s locked spiritual sea, Cui Yuanyang, who was just innocent collateral damage and likewise bound tightly, watched quietly.

Her eyes were filled not with fear amid the chaos, but with gentle nostalgia.