Chapter 471: Holy Rakshasa

The abnormal sight sent Niu Youdao flashing over first. Everyone else immediately rose and flew after him, wanting to see what was happening. The moment Niu Youdao landed beside Yuan Fang and looked into the hall, he froze.

Yuan Gang was the last to arrive. He came up beside Guan Fangyi and the others, took one look inside, and likewise went rigid at the doorway with everyone else.

Chao Shenghuai still lay unconscious off to one side of the hall. No matter how great the disturbance around him, he did not move. He had been restrained. Unless someone released the restriction, he would not wake. But the real issue was not Chao Shenghuai, who had been left inside. It was the octagonal pavilion between the eight bronze pillars. The pavilion had now unfolded completely across the floor like a blooming lotus, exposing what had been sealed inside.

A chair.

A white-jade chair.

Under the refracted starlight within the hall, it gleamed brilliantly. Its carvings were exquisite, and it looked almost like a throne. Perhaps someone had once been meant to sit upon that chair. Perhaps the person seated there had been meant to sleep sealed inside the octagonal pavilion. And there truly was someone there. A completely naked person stood facing the throne, one hand resting on its back, her back turned toward everyone outside the doorway.

Her figure was slender and graceful, without a thread of clothing. Her waist was slim and supple, her hips full and enticing, her legs long, her skin snowy white. From behind, she looked like an alluring beauty.

Except that silver, armorlike bone seemed to grow across her back, arranged in the form of the character *fei*, “not.” Broad plates covered both shoulder blades, and a narrow fissure split each one. Silver radiance seeped from those two cracks, flickering with light.

Her hair was uneven and silver as liquid mercury. The fingers resting against the throne ended in five sharp silver claws. Hard bone armored her lean forearms and upper arms like sharply defined lines of muscle. The same was true of her long legs, giving her body a frightening beauty. The naked figure slowly raised her head while supporting herself against the throne. Her face still could not be seen.

“Hoh...”

A low, distant sound came from her upturned throat. No one knew what message it carried, but it struck directly at the soul. As the resonant sound spread, her silver hair began drifting without wind, disorderly strands swaying and tangling around her.

At the same time, the silver light in the two fissures over her shoulder blades grew brighter. Something seemed to be slowly emerging from them. The people at the doorway quickly saw what it was.

Two wings.

A pair of butterfly wings slowly grew from her back and spread open little by little, shedding an enchanting silver glow.

“Holy Rakshasa...” Guan Fangyi murmured with a tremor in her voice, voicing the same guess in everyone's heart.

From the moment they clearly saw what stood before them, everyone realized that this silver-haired creature should be the legendary ruler of the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm.

The legendary Holy Rakshasa.

And when those butterfly wings finally spread from her back, that conclusion became even harder to doubt. No one had expected it.

Not even Niu Youdao.

The legendary Holy Rakshasa had actually been sealed inside the formation eye of the grand formation. They had remained cautious the entire time, but after running all over the place without seeing anything, they had assumed that even if the legend were true, several hundred years had passed and the so-called Holy Rakshasa should long since have died. Not even in their dreams had they imagined it was still alive. More than that, it had been hidden inside the formation eye they had just opened.

All this time they had been thinking about finding the formation eye so they could open a path to life. Now they had found the formation eye and opened that path. They simply did not know whose path to life they had opened.

Their own?

Or had they broken the seal and opened a path to life for the Holy Rakshasa? To Niu Youdao, the grand formation had always felt relatively peaceful. It had not seemed like a formation filled with killing intent at every step, much less one designed to slaughter anyone who entered. So long as one did not force matters recklessly, the worst consequence appeared to be getting trapped. He had never seen any sign of a kill-without-mercy design. Only now did he realize he had been misled by that impression.

Hidden inside the formation eye that opened the Life Gate was a legendary monster said to rival a Nascent Soul Realm expert. And he had personally released it. Was this formation truly meant to open a path to life for the person who solved it? Or was it meant to drive that person straight onto a road of death? Niu Youdao glanced at the unconscious Chao Shenghuai lying inside the hall. He had no time to worry about that fellow now.

With a low voice and a hand signal, he said, “Go.”

They knew nothing about the creature before them and had no basis for judging either its temperament or its intentions. Until Niu Youdao understood whether it was friendly, he had no intention of gambling recklessly. Better to avoid it first. Once they understood the situation, they could decide what to do next. Everyone backed away quietly, doing their best not to make a sound. Once they had retreated some distance, Niu Youdao signaled Guan Fangyi to take Yuan Gang with her.

The group immediately flew away at speed, intending to leave the palace city first.

Whoosh!

A streak of silver light swept over their heads. It passed so fast that it vanished almost before they could react. The speed startled everyone badly enough that, once they landed, no one dared continue forward. The silver-haired woman with wings slowly descended beside a pool, beating her luminous wings and scattering silver radiance. Fresh mountain water flowed continuously into the pool, which remained filled year-round. The silver-haired woman landed at the water's edge and leaned forward to look at her reflection. Her silver hair drifted wildly around her.

The tip of one clawed finger slowly touched her own cheek as she stared at herself in the water, almost as though grieving for the person she saw there. At last, everyone could see her from the front. Natural silver armor and hard bone protected the most vital portions of her body.

At first glance, her face was almost bewitchingly beautiful. It was narrow and oval, tapering to a delicate point. Silver hard bone armored her forehead and the bridge of her nose. Two fangs protruded below her lips, while silver markings traced across her cheeks.

Under the glow of her wings, those silver patterns seemed to flow like liquid mercury, adding an intensely uncanny, almost demonic beauty to her appearance. To the people watching, this was plainly the face of a demon.

Plink.

The clear sound of a falling droplet reached them. The Holy Rakshasa seemed to be crying. At the very least, everyone could clearly see tears flowing from her eyes. One tear fell into the pool and sent a ring of ripples spreading across the still surface. Niu Youdao and the others looked at one another. None of them understood why the Holy Rakshasa was crying. Was it joy from finally escaping after being imprisoned for several hundred years?

Still staring at her reflection, the Holy Rakshasa slowly turned one palm upward. A second tear rolled down her other cheek and landed in the center of her five-clawed hand. The tear glittered like crystal. Beneath the radiance of her wings, that single drop shone brilliantly in her palm.

“Who can tell me why I am shedding tears?”

“Who can tell me why my heart hurts?”

The voice seemed to come from empty space itself. Clear and pleasant, it echoed throughout the entire palace city.

The group looked around.

Only the Holy Rakshasa beside the pool was speaking. Her fingertips lightly touched the tear tracks on her face, confusion visible in her eyes, as though she were struggling desperately to remember something. The Holy Rakshasa could actually speak human language?

Everyone exchanged glances.

Yet no one could answer her questions.

At Niu Youdao's gesture, they slowly began retreating toward the right, testing whether the figure beside the pool would react. Once they confirmed she showed no response, they immediately turned and flew away.

“Is this my city?”

“I remember something... It seems to be my city. Why have you trespassed into my city?”

Even as they flew through the air, that clear voice continued echoing across the palace city and washing through their ears. A streak of silver crossed the sky. The Holy Rakshasa had again arrived ahead of them. She descended slowly onto the palace wall, wings beating behind her, facing the approaching group. She had started after them later, yet overtaken them in an instant. Forced to land urgently below, the group looked up. The Holy Rakshasa stared down at them. A fierce light gradually entered her eyes.

That strange voice, which seemed not to come from her mouth at all, echoed again.

“Outsiders. Why have you trespassed into my city?”

Her attitude was plainly turning hostile.

Everyone immediately grew tense.

Niu Youdao was still considering how to respond when Yun Ji suddenly called out loudly, “This is not your city!”

“Not my city?” Confusion appeared on the Holy Rakshasa's face high atop the wall. “Then whose city is it?”

Yun Ji answered, “It belongs to Shang Song. This is Shang Song's imperial retreat!”

“Shang Song?”

The Holy Rakshasa lowered her head and pondered.

After thinking for a while, she murmured, “I seem to have heard that name. Who is Shang Song?”

She looked directly at Yun Ji as she asked. Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang exchanged a glance. Why did it feel as though this demon's memory was damaged?

Yun Ji called back, “Shang Song is your master! Li Ge as well. They were both your masters. We are friends of your masters.”

She had clearly noticed the problem with the Holy Rakshasa's memory too and was trying to muddle through it. Unexpectedly, the Holy Rakshasa's voice turned cold the instant she heard those words.

“Master? Who is worthy to be my master? You are deceiving me!”

Everyone's hearts sank.

They had just been reminded of the pride buried in the bones of this butterfly-demon sovereign. They also realized Yun Ji's words might have made matters worse.

Yun Ji immediately lowered her voice and spoke to those around her. “We can't all be trapped here. Sorry. I'm leaving first. Perhaps I can draw her away for you.”

The instant she finished speaking, silver light flashed directly in front of them. Niu Youdao and the others were startled and scattered backward. The Holy Rakshasa had descended from the palace wall.

In the blink of an eye, she stood directly before Yun Ji. It had happened too fast for anyone to react. Yun Ji slowly raised her head and met the demon's gaze at close range. Then, cautiously, she tried to retreat one step.

The Holy Rakshasa said, “You are deceiving me.”

“I am not deceiving you. I'll show you something. Then you'll understand.”

As Yun Ji spoke, her throat moved. She spat a golden pearl into her palm. It was none other than the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl she had swallowed not long before. Niu Youdao and the others, who had been slowly retreating, exchanged glances. They understood Yun Ji's intention. She wanted to use the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl's power to influence the Holy Rakshasa and create a chance to escape. Niu Youdao gave the three beside him a look.

All three nodded faintly.

They understood.

If the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl truly affected the Holy Rakshasa, everyone would seize the opportunity and flee immediately. Red light gradually blossomed from the pearl in Yun Ji's palm. Wisps of blood-colored cloud gathered within the glow and drifted toward the Holy Rakshasa opposite her. The Holy Rakshasa simply stared. The blood-cloud wisps slowly wrapped around her body. Her expression did not change in the slightest. Yun Ji, on the other hand, seemed to be affected by the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl herself and shook her head forcefully.

The Holy Rakshasa raised one hand. Her claw closed around Yun Ji's palm, enclosing both her hand and the pearl. Two claws dug into Yun Ji's flesh. With a scrape, the Holy Rakshasa pulled the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl into her own hand and took it away.

“This thing makes me somewhat uncomfortable. You showed it to me. Is it mine?”

The moment the pearl left Yun Ji's hand, it lost the guidance of her spiritual power. The blood-red radiance and drifting crimson clouds instantly collapsed back into the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl. Niu Youdao and the others were speechless. The Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl had no effect whatsoever on this butterfly-demon sovereign. Their plan to seize the opportunity and escape had completely failed. Then Yun Ji suddenly attacked.

She punched straight toward the Holy Rakshasa's chest with her full strength, taking advantage of the creature's lack of preparation and plainly intending to kill her in one blow.

Boom!

The punch landed solidly.

It truly did catch the Holy Rakshasa off guard.

Violent force burst outward.

As the Holy Rakshasa staggered back, her body twisted. One wing behind her swept sideways with the howl of a gale and smashed into Yun Ji.

Bang!

Yun Ji flew away like a kite with its string cut. A mouthful of blood sprayed through the air. But just before her body struck the ground, the woman slammed one palm downward.

Stone slabs shattered.

Soil erupted.

Yun Ji twisted and shot directly into the earth, using earth escape to disappear without a trace. A streak of silver light flashed past like a meteor.

Boom!

The Holy Rakshasa plunged into the ground after her.

[End of Chapter 471]