Chương 79: True Identity

She waited in a small clearing. Standing in the center of it, she looked out into a distance, facing towards the city.

Both Ming Yue and Xuan Yin hid in the tree's branches, watching her in the outskirts of the clearing. Minutes later, a figure emerged from the trees, arriving at her feet. She cupped her hands and bowed to the mysterious person. Wearing a cloak over their head and body, neither girl could discern anything about them. They could only deduce that whoever this person was, it was the mastermind behind all of this.

A dark aura seeped from Miss Ling's body as it encased her before dissipating, leaving a completely different person. The feeling that she emanated now was different, almost foreign. Ming Yue was shocked as was Xuan Yin, as they looked at her.

She still resembled a human but her aura was unlike that of a cultivator. It was a dark red color, bloody and menacing. Her hair was no longer black but in the same color as her aura. The only thing that stayed the same from her disguise were the scars on her body, numerous and in a variety of sizes. Her face was also similar but had additional markings on them. They were tribal like and made her seem more intimidating.

Could she be a demon?

The thought of it crossed their minds but Ming Yue could not believe it. After all, the changing of ages had brought about cataclysm, splitting the three continents off. Humans, Demons, and Beastmen were split for thousands of years now.

"Could it be that the continents are connected again? Has a war already broken out?" she thought.

Her thinking was interrupted by Miss Ling's conversation with the hooded figure, who started off the conversation in anger.

"Ling Xue, why did you let those two idiots fight so early?! It almost ruined my plans!" his tone was cold and unforgiving as he chastised her.

"I apologize, my lord. This lowly one did not think that the Yong and Shi Patriarch would be so brazen to act without my knowing", she looked down, not daring to face her master.

"Agh, all of this would not have happened if that girl had done her job and brought the young master of the Shao here. Then there's the two other girls she brought back, I'm guessing one of them is responsible for tracking you the other day. Did she see your true form?"

"No, I was still disguised when I heard her outside."

"Good. They probably still think that you are behind all of this. If they were to know that you are a demon, that would greatly complicate things. Those two have already made things worse with the Shao Family. Hmph, I might as well use them."

"So she was a demon!" both women were shocked especially Ming Yue. Have demons already infiltrated the Human Continent?

They stopped thinking about this and continued to listen in.

"Ever since that Azure Soul Lord appeared in the capital and revealed the truths of the world, the entire country has been tense. I have to infiltrate the Capital City and find out the situation of the other two continents. Originally, the Shao Patriarch's son would be the best vessel to house my soul but now he isn't here. I will have to settle with one of those girls", he spoke to her, updating the plan as he continued to think.

"Yes, master", Ling Xue replied before turning back into her previous form.

"Ugh", the hooded figure groaned as he dropped to his knees.

"Master!" she hurried to him and helped him stand.

"That show I put up earlier has weakened this body, I only showed a fraction of my power and it is already beginning to wear it down. It will not last long before it disintegrates", he grimaced in pain as he spoke. His hood pulled back as Ling Xue supported him, revealing his face.

Again, they were shocked to find that the true mastermind was actually the Zhao Patriarch or rather, it used his body. If this was the case, then the true Zhao Patriarch has already died, his mind and soul erased by the new owner of his body. Furthermore, when he had "showed his true cultivation" to the other patriarchs, that was not some technique but the demon's soul increasing its power. It was no wonder, the meridians were damaged and his bod seemed so weak.

"If you have the chance, I want you to subdue the smaller girl with the long staff. From what I remember, she is a pretty well known person. She has ties with the president of the Jade Dragon Pavilion, Tang Guang. Now go back, tell them to attack in a week by then the preparations will be done" he ordered before looking off into the sky.

"It shall be done" Ling Xue nodded her head with a resolute expression before leaving her master.

Minutes later, he sighed before talking to himself.

"Over a thousand years have passed since then. I wonder if my clansmen are still there. Will there be a home left for me in the demon continent?" he looked dejected as these thoughts took over his mind.

He has spent over a thousand years in the human continent, stuck after the catastrophe happened and unable to return. Like many others, he was always hopeful that he would return and took over human bodies to stay alive. But after such a long time, many demons had perished under the hands of time, destined to die without their family.

He too was about to give up, until he found himself at the Youth Dragon tournament. He watched as the Lord of Azure Souls came and reinvigorated him with news of the other continents. He began to hatch a plan, to infiltrate the royal palace and take over the body of a high ranking official. Once that was done, he could find out more information about the continents and hope to return home. He had to start somewhere and took over the body of an unfortunate soul, the Zhao Patriarch.

He stopped thinking these thoughts and reminiscing about his clan, dashing away from the clearing and back to the city.

Meanwhile, Ming Yue and Xuan Yin waited in their spots, trying to absorb all of this information. After so long, there were still demons who lived among humans. Neither could wrap their heads around the Zhao Patriarch being the mastermind. Even though it was not really him, just the sight of him speaking and revealing it was a surprise to them.

They were at a dilemma now. What could they do to solve this?

If the Zhao Patriarch's body was to break, the demon's soul would lock onto someone else's body. From what he said before, he would need to weaken Ming Yue to take her body, so his soul must not be very strong. Transferring into so many bodies will have taken its toll on him.

"Let's go back first", Xuan Yin spoke first before Ming Yue agreed.

They left the clearing and dashed back to the Zhao Estate, still somewhat shaken from before. That night, they discussed ways of disrupting the demon's plan but none of them could stop him completely. In the end, he could easily take another body and start over again. That was their biggest problem. Neither had a method to deal with the soul nor did they have experience. One week was too short for them to really think of a way of dealing with his soul. At best, they could trap it using some treasure or formation. But to do so, they would need to find something that could hold it.

After hours of thinking, Xuan Yin had thought of something but felt unsure as to whether it would work.

"It could work..."