Realm of the Night God

Seeing Yang Haoran's expression not quite right, the serpent demon's smile became somewhat forced.

"Underworld Envoy big brother, what's wrong? Your charming smile seems to have disappeared," the serpent demon asked cautiously.

"You didn't mention any of this before. Since you knew the malevolent spirit was sealed, yet you still wanted me to come alone, were you planning to leave me empty-handed? Without sensing Yin Qi, without sensing the power fluctuations of the restriction barrier, what's the point of me coming alone to this Shilin Town?"

The serpent demon chuckled awkwardly, her smile becoming more uncomfortable.

"Well... I... I'm here with you now, aren't I? With me here, I can definitely help you find the malevolent spirit. You have to trust me."

Upon hearing this, Yang Haoran didn't immediately respond. Instead, he looked at the serpent demon with a stern face.

The serpent demon felt a shiver down her spine under Yang Haoran's gaze, feeling nervous herself. She could sense Yang Haoran's anger at the moment, unsure of what he might do next, which made her apprehensive.

The atmosphere in the room became tense due to Yang Haoran's changing expression, making the serpent demon very uneasy.

However, what the serpent demon didn't expect was that Yang Haoran's smile reappeared shortly afterward, changing as swiftly as flipping a book.

However, rather than feeling relieved because of Yang Haoran's smile, the serpent demon felt even more tense. This smile from Yang Haoran felt somewhat cold.

"I'm glad I didn't fully trust you before and insisted on bringing you along. Otherwise, our deal would have left me with nothing," Yang Haoran said, smiling.

The serpent demon chuckled again, quickly reassuring, "What's done is done. Now that I'm here with you in Shilin Town, I'll definitely help you get what you want. I promise."

Facing the serpent demon's assurance, Yang Haoran smiled and then took out a box of cigarettes from a separate space.

"Care for a smoke?" Yang Haoran took out a cigarette and offered it to the serpent demon, asking.

"No... I don't smoke," the serpent demon declined with a smile.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Yang Haoran asked again.

"No... I don't mind," the serpent demon replied with a smile, hesitated for a moment, then added, "You've actually asked me these two questions once before."

Yang Haoran lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, then smiled and said, "I know, I'm just asking out of courtesy. You don't have to worry about it. Let's continue talking about the malevolent spirit. Where exactly in Shilin Town is it sealed now?"

The serpent demon didn't dare to have any ulterior motives and quickly replied, "It's sealed beneath the stone forest."

"Beneath the stone forest..." Yang Haoran muttered to himself, frowning as if contemplating something.

The serpent demon didn't dare to disturb Yang Haoran and waited quietly.

Yang Haoran took another puff of smoke, then looked at the serpent demon and continued, "How do you know all this?"

In fact, this was the question Yang Haoran most wanted to ask because he wanted to judge the truthfulness based on the serpent demon's answer.

If there really was a malevolent spirit sealed beneath the stone forest, it meant there must have been a great battle in the stone forest before. However, Shilin Town had always been very peaceful, and there had been no mention of any great battles or strange occurrences.

However, seeing the way the serpent demon looked now, he didn't seem to be lying, so he asked.

The serpent demon didn't know what Yang Haoran was thinking at the moment. Seeing Yang Haoran asking about this, she replied, "I know because I witnessed the entire process of the malevolent spirit being sealed."

Yang Haoran raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the serpent demon's words.

Seeing Yang Haoran showing interest, the serpent demon relaxed slightly, her smile becoming more natural.

"To be honest, Shilin Town used to be my hometown. However, it wasn't called Shilin Town back then, and there were no stone forests or residents. I was just a snake with awakened spiritual intelligence, not truly enlightened, nor capable of taking human form."

Here, the serpent demon took a sip of tea and continued, "There was a great battle here at that time. At that time, my understanding of this world was limited, and I didn't know the identities of both sides. Later, I learned that it was a great battle between a formation master and the malevolent spirit."

"I don't know the grudges between the two sides, but I witnessed the battle myself. The formation master sealed the malevolent spirit at the cost of his life. Because I was afraid, I left here and found another place to cultivate."

"The stone forest scenery area in Shilin Town today is not naturally formed but was left by that great battle, the work of that formation master. And beneath the stone forest is the restriction barrier, sealing the malevolent spirit. Back then, Shilin Town was still desolate, so apart from me, no one else should know about this."

The serpent demon stopped here because she felt she had said everything necessary.

Yang Haoran, meanwhile, was smoking and digesting this information.

As the cigarette burned out, Yang Haoran extinguished it and then spoke up, "I won't ask how many years have passed since this incident. What I want to know now is, can you confirm whether the restriction barrier beneath the stone forest is intact, and can you ensure that the malevolent spirit hasn't escaped the barrier?"

"Well..." The serpent demon's face showed a embarrassed expression. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "I... I can't be sure."

Yang Haoran's expression changed slightly. Sensing the situation wasn't favorable, the serpent demon hurriedly continued, "Though I can't be certain, I can take you to the original restriction barrier, and then you can personally confirm if the malevolent spirit still exists."

After a moment of thought, Yang Haoran nodded.

"Alright, but if I don't get what I want in the end, our deal won't be over. You'll have to provide something else to satisfy me," Yang Haoran stated firmly.

The serpent demon chuckled nervously, then nodded, "Of course, of course. I wouldn't let Underworld Envoy big brother lose out in this deal."

Although the serpent demon's words sounded pleasant, in her mind, she cursed Yang Haoran for being petty, unable to bear any loss despite being a grown man.

Of course, she could only curse silently in her mind; she wasn't foolish enough to say it aloud.

"Let's go. We'll head to the stone forest now," Yang Haoran said, standing up.

"Now? There are too many tourists at this time. Aren't you worried about causing a commotion? I don't mind, but if you're going to act now, I'll accompany you," the serpent demon spoke up.

"Going now doesn't necessarily mean we'll act now. Is it wrong to scout ahead?" Yang Haoran chuckled.

The serpent demon suddenly realized and said, "Alright, let's go now."

"Wait a moment," Yang Haoran suddenly stopped the serpent demon who was about to leave.

"What's wrong?" the serpent demon asked, puzzled.

"Don't demons have the ability to change their appearance? Change yours so we don't attract any unnecessary attention on the way," Yang Haoran suggested.

The previous incident was a good example. Yang Haoran didn't want to be followed by a bunch of annoying flies all the way, so he thought it would be best if the serpent demon changed her appearance.

And the ability to change appearances was unique to demons. Generally speaking, other races didn't possess this ability, except for some exceptional individuals, but how many of those were there in the world?

Becoming a demon was a very difficult process, from being an ordinary animal to awakening spiritual intelligence, then to cultivating into a demon. It was a long and dangerous journey, with a very low success rate.

However, once a demon became enlightened, not only would they possess powerful strength, but they would also enjoy various benefits. Among them, the most enviable was the unique ability to change appearances.

When they first arrived in Shilin Town, Yang Haoran hadn't paid much attention to the serpent demon's appearance. But after what just happened, he realized the necessity for her to change her appearance.

"Change my appearance? Is that really necessary, Underworld Envoy big brother?" the serpent demon asked reluctantly upon hearing Yang Haoran's suggestion.

"It's definitely necessary," Yang Haoran affirmed.

The serpent demon had no choice but to comply with Yang Haoran's request. With a flash of green demonic spiritual power, her appearance suddenly changed, becoming ordinary and unremarkable.

However, despite the change in appearance, her fiery figure remained unchanged, exuding a strong seductive aura.

"How's this? Is this acceptable?" the serpent demon asked helplessly, looking at Yang Haoran.

Actually, Yang Haoran wasn't entirely satisfied with the result. But seeing the serpent demon's helpless expression, he hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Let's make do with this. It's much better than before, at least," he said.

With that, Yang Haoran removed the restriction barrier, left the private room with the serpent demon, settled the bill at the teahouse, and headed towards the location of the stone forest.