Chapter 47: Shadows Behind Shadows
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As the whisperings of joy faded into the night, darkness stirred under the stars of another world. A dense fog covered the entirety of the land, revealing an occasional claw from the sea of mists. The ground bulged up in some areas, like the pimples of an unclean man. With a muffled sort of pop, toxic fumes escaped the mud bubble with a hiss. No human could survive in a place like this, but yet, a faint glow could be seen coming from the mists.

Accompanied by the two glowing lights was the sound of moving mud. The deadly vapors and the ground seemed to shrink away from the oncoming shadow. Covered by a dark cloak, a tall figure emerged from the white mists. The glowing lights from earlier came from the two sockets of his face. 

He walked into the clearing of the deadly marsh and outstretched his hands. Green vapors poured out from his palms like a fountain. The green smoke formed a large circle around the clearing, replacing the white fog of the marsh. 

With a flick of his wrists, the green smoke grew thicker and taller. The ground shook violently. Suddenly, out from the middle of the clearing, a sharp stone spike erupted from the ground. Like fireworks, the stone peak soared up into the sky, bringing up the different strata of earth hidden underneath. 

Within a couple moments, an entire mountain peak had appeared from the ground. At the base of the mountain, surrounded by a thin layer of green vapor, was a giant cave. The cloaked figure strolled into the cave. 

Inside the cave was a giant palace hall. Giant, thick pillars supported the tall roof from collapsing and the entire room was illuminated by crystals that grew from almost every crevice. At the back of the hall was a tall throne covered with a soft, emerald fabric.

Within a few steps into the ominous hall, the cloaked figure suddenly shrank and poofed into a long slithering tendril of smoke. The smoke then slithered around the pillars a couple times before coiling itself on the emerald throne.

Once it coiled nicely on the seat of the throne, the smoke expanded outwards and dispersed, revealing its true form.

Resting his head on one hand was a wickedly handsome man. He was tall, well built, and had pale skin. He slid a long, slender hand down the side of his temples, past his lips, and down his neck and finally rested them on his lap. 

The man was dressed in soft robes of black and emerald, golden embroidery appeared on the skirts of his robes. A crown that resembled a tree with nine branches rested snuggly on his head.

Immediately, from the aura that the figure emitted was that of a tyrant. Cold, emotionless and unforgiving, one would tremble at the very sight of him. But his face was so intoxicating that one would sacrifice everything just to become his slave. 

After a couple moments of silence, the sound of scurrying feet echoed through the cave. A demon with protruding tusks and pointy ears ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Visible beads of sweat dripped from their chin and onto the black stone floor. Their eyes were the ones of a madman’s, bloodshot and statically moving around the room.

Once the demon was within the man’s view, it immediately dropped on all fours, presenting itself in the most humble way possible. 

The man peeked through his half-opened eyes. “You’re late.”

The demon’s body trembled with fear. “S—ss—s…”

“Speak properly.”

The demon whimpered like a hurt animal. “Sorry, master!” Its forehead was still touching the ground in a deep kowtow. The demon could see its own shivering state from the reflection of its own pool of sweat.

“Well? Any news?” The man’s voice was cold but at the same time, it was like a drug, one would never hear enough of it. It was more than intoxicating.

The cowering demon took a big gulp. Its heart is nearly beating out of its own body. “The mountain general wants to talk to your highness about it… He wouldn’t tell me a thing.”

“Oh?” The man on the throne sat up straight. 

The demon pressed their head deeper into the stone floor. Its teeth chattering away in fear. It immediately clasped its hands around its mouth, silencing the chattering. The demon looked at its own reflection in hopes that the man wouldn’t take notice.

Ignoring the demon, the man drew a circle in the air with his long fingers and a ring of green smoke appeared. Within the ring of smoke was a completely different scenery. It was one of a tall mountain covered with towering pine trees and lofty clouds. 

“Well? What did you want to tell me?” The man asked.

“I think it’s time, master. Time that we fight back.” A voice spoke from the ring of smoke.

“We?” The man asked. “You mean I? It’s time that I fought back.”

The cave was suddenly silent except for the chattering teeth of the demon servant.

“Sorry, master.” The voice apologized.

“What’s the rush, my dear old general? I had fun watching those people fight amongst themselves. You should have seen the old man’s face when his own disciple stabbed him! Hah!” The man grinned, showing his snow white teeth and two long canine teeth.

“So I should wait then?” The voice asked.

“Yes…” The man replied, his eyes narrowed to a menacing look. “Those old fools above are still watching me. But not for long… Once I regain my full power, none of them will be able to defeat me!”

The man swiped his hand at the ring of smoke and the scenery dissipated into the air. 

“Has the octopus come back yet?” The man asked.

“Y—yes.” The servant replied.

“Where is he? I don’t see him.”

The demon gulped. “The He Luo King is um… not available to meet your highness at this moment.”

The man on the throne simply stared down at the demon kneeling in front of his throne. He pursed his lips and a tendril of green smoke flowed down the stairs from his mouth. The green smoke circled around the demon and poised upright like a serpent ready to strike.

“Please, master, mercy! Mercy!”

The man smirked.

A cry of terror echoed out from the cave.

The man stepped down from his throne and picked up the corpse of the demon with two fingers. He held it an arms length away from himself as if he was disgusted by the cadaver. With a “tsk”, the man tossed the corpse to a corner of the cave where it fell on the top of a pile of skeletons.

“I hate it when they do that.” The man said to himself. He returned back to his throne and rested his head on his right hand. 

“Whoever isn’t dead out there, bring me that octopus!” His voice boomed.

Within a few moments, the sound of scurrying feet once again sounded in the cave. This time, two demons carried a smelly, half-dried body into the cave of black stones.

“What the hell happened to you?” The man covered his nose with a finger.

No response.

The man stood up from the throne and stepped down closer to the body. The once massive He Luo King was now nothing but an animal in the eyes of his master. 

“I take it that you failed to capture him? And what of the portal?” The man stared deep into the He Luo King’s eyes.

“I see… so he was there as well. He did survive that incident. I thought I had lost him.” The man smiled. “Another one that will work for me…”

Without hesitation, the man strolled out from the throne room, leaving the two servants and the half-dead He Luo King in confusion.

With a flick of his hand, the man summoned the ring of smoke once again. 

“Master? You called?”

“Plan’s changed. Prepare to exterminate them all. And do enjoy yourself.”

“Yes, master!”

The man suddenly pointed upwards to the darkness above. “You old lot tried to seal me away? Soon I will revert to my full power and none of you will be able to stop me! I will tear down that heavenly palace, or my name isn’t Xiangliu!”

He pointed at the ground with two fingers. Instantly, green lightning emerged from his fingertips and struck at the ground. The ground shook from the force of the lightning. A huge crack appeared on the ground and water gushed out from it. 

The man turned his head back towards the cave and with a smile, he said, “Tell the others to come along, single file, one at a time.”

As soon as he finished, a bird’s cry rang out through the thick mist of the marsh. 

“Excited for the party? Me too.” Xiangliu laughed hysterically. He slowly turned back to face the watery cracks in the ground and jumped.

Under the cover of the night, a man stepped out from the depths of the cave. Dressed in black and emerald, he outstretched his arms and took in a deep breath of air. 

“Ah… the human realm. The smell of an upcoming disaster brings joy to my blood!” Xiangliu exclaimed.

He took another step out from the cave and surveyed the surroundings. His eyes narrowed at a dozen wooden tombs erected at the mouth of the cave. 

“This is new… Oh! It’s the old man and his dead disciples! Hah!” Xiangliu gracefully covered his smile with a hand. “Honestly, I feel really bad for you after seeing you die like that. How about I give you a second chance? How does that sound?”

Xiangliu put a hand up to his ear as if listening for an answer. “Great! You didn’t say no, so it must be a yes!”

Xiangliu pursed his lips and a tendril of smoke came out from his mouth. The green smoke seeped into the graves before him. 

“Don’t worry, they will give you the ability to move again! Just not at your own will,” Xiangliu smiled. “My perfect little army, ready to take down the world for me!”

The dozen tombs exploded with a loud bang. A piece of a tombstone landed at Xiangliu’s feet.

“Oh? What’s this?” The man picked up the piece of stone. “Signed, unfilial daughter, Murong Zi?”

Xiangliu’s eyes widened in excitement. He stuck out a long, red tongue and licked his lips. “How interesting…”

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