People in the Imperial Music Bureau: The Storytelling Demon Child Nezha

"Don't rush, don't rush, let me explain slowly. Shi Hao had just obtained the precious technique and hadn't even had time to fully comprehend it when suddenly, a series of noisy footsteps came from outside the forbidden area. It turned out to be several elders of the Celestial Race who had sensed the disturbance in the forbidden area and rushed over to investigate. These elders were all top experts among the Celestial Race, and their strength should not be underestimated. Shi Hao knew that if he were discovered, there would definitely be a fierce battle. He made a decisive move, hiding the jade slip close to his body, and used the Kunpeng Technique to transform into a stream of light, flying towards the depths of the forbidden area."

"After the elders entered the forbidden area, their expressions changed drastically upon seeing the fallen demonic hound. They immediately gave chase, with Shi Hao fleeing ahead and the elders hot on his heels. Just when Shi Hao thought he was about to shake off the elders, a massive light barrier suddenly appeared in front of him—it was a protective formation left behind by the ancestors of the Celestial Race. Shi Hao was trapped in front of the light barrier, with no way to escape."

"At this moment, several elders caught up and surrounded Shi Hao. The leading elder, his face grim, roared, 'You little thief, how dare you trespass into the forbidden area of ​​my Celestial Race! Today is your death day!' Shi Hao, however, showed no fear. He sneered and said, 'You are not qualified to kill me!' With that, he activated the precious technique he had just acquired, and his aura surged instantly. A breathtaking battle was about to erupt..."

Chapter 124 The National Treasure, Huaiqing Gives it to Li Qiye

Li Qiye stopped again, his gaze sweeping over the mesmerized audience below, a smile playing on his lips. He slammed the gavel down once more. "To find out how Shi Hao's battle will end, stay tuned for the next installment!"

A collective sigh of lamentation rose from the audience. One young man in fine clothes stamped his foot in frustration: "Mr. Li, you made such a terrible mistake!" Before he finished speaking, the carved window frames of the music and dance hall suddenly moved without any wind, and the hanging bronze wind chimes rang out in unison with a piercing sound.

Li Qiye frowned slightly and tapped the table three times with his fingertips. Strangely, the restless wind chimes fell silent again with the tapping.

But the audience could clearly see ripples spreading across the surface of the teacup on Li Qiye's desk—even though the teacup was not full!

That's all for today.

Li Qi suddenly stood up on the night of 07, his plain robe and wide sleeves fluttering even without wind. Several listeners dressed as江湖人士 (jianghu figures) in the corner exchanged glances, and the scarred man among them suddenly sprang to his feet, three dark beams shooting out from his sleeves.

Ding!Ding!Ding!

The dark light suddenly froze three feet away from Li Qiye, revealing three bone-piercing nails engraved with skull patterns.

Even more terrifying, the same eerie green flames that appeared on the surface of the nails were the same as those on the stone statues in the imperial tomb.

Remnants of the Witch God Cult. Without turning his head, Li Qiye flicked his sleeve, and the three bone-piercing nails shot back at an even faster speed.

Before the scarred man could even scream, a nail struck his brow, throat, and chest, and his body collapsed into a pool of foul-smelling blood.

The rest of the accomplices were about to flee when the gates of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue) suddenly slammed shut on their own.

Only then did everyone realize that the ground had somehow developed the same vascular patterns as the imperial tomb from the previous night, except that these patterns had a pale golden hue.

Now that you're here... As Li Qiye turned around, his eyes seemed to hold the shimmering stars. "Why don't you tell me where your master is?"

The youngest assassin suddenly bled from all seven orifices, knelt on the ground and roared: "In...in Yunzhou! The headquarters is..."

Before he could finish speaking, his skull suddenly exploded, and a centipede with a human face emerged.

Just as the centipede was about to fly out the window, Li Qiye pointed at it from a distance and turned it into dust.

When Wei Yuan led the night watchman through the door, he saw Li Qiye staring thoughtfully at a wisp of black energy in his palm.

The black mist twisted and struggled, vaguely forming a human face wearing a bronze mask.

Yunzhou...

Li Qiye clenched his five fingers together, and the black energy emitted a sharp whistle and dissipated. Does Lord Wei still remember the drought disaster in Yunzhou twenty years ago?

Wei Yuan's pupils constricted sharply: "Sir, you mean..."

The appearance of the drought demon is a lie; the real purpose is to raise poisonous insects through blood sacrifice.

Li Qiye pulled out a piece of tortoise shell covered in blood from his sleeve. The Witch God Cult had spent twenty years burying 360 blood sacrifice sites in the Yunzhou ley lines.

The blood vessels on the tortoise shell suddenly began to move on their own, forming a map of Yunzhou's topography. Each of the 813 flashing red nodes corresponded to a village or town. The red light at the very center almost pierced through the shell, marking the capital of Yunzhou—Baidi City!

When Princess Huaiqing rushed over, she overheard Li Qiye saying to Wei Yuan: "...we need to borrow the night watchman's celestial compass."

Upon seeing the Empress's arrival, everyone hurriedly bowed, only to see Huaiqing walk straight to Li Qiye and take out a dragon-patterned jade pendant from his sleeve.

Sir, if you want the Heavenly Secrets Plate, why not use this instead?

The jade pendant shimmered with strange ripples under the candlelight; it was the Imperial Seal of Mountains and Rivers left behind by the founding emperor.

The hall erupted in uproar. An elderly minister immediately knelt: "Your Majesty! This is a national treasure!"

What is the real purpose of Chapter 125?

Li Qiye laughed: "Your Majesty has great courage."

The moment he took the jade pendant, the entire Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue) suddenly trembled violently, and countless ancient runes appeared between the beams and pillars.

Even more astonishingly, these runes began to echo the blood streaks on the tortoise shell!

As expected. Li Qiye ran his fingertip across the surface of the jade pendant, and the dragon pattern began to move. The true goal of the Witch God Cult was to use the power of the Yunzhou earth veins to open a passage to the Netherworld.

He suddenly tossed the jade pendant into the air, and the dragon pattern transformed into a three-foot-long golden light that hovered above everyone's heads. As Li Qiye formed a hand seal, a real-time scene of Baidi City appeared within the golden light: the people in the city went about their business as usual, but no one noticed that their shadows were all tilting in the same direction—towards the ancient altar in the center of the city!

On the altar, twelve priests wearing bronze masks were performing a bizarre dance. With each step they took, a wisp of black mist seeped from the cracks in the altar. This black mist intertwined in the air, gradually forming the outline of blood-red eyes identical to those of the previous night.

Three days later at midnight... Li Qiye suddenly coughed up a mouthful of golden blood, which floated in the air and transformed into a countdown hourglass, signaling the imminent opening of the passage between the two worlds.

Wei Yuan immediately turned and ordered his troops: "Send a message by carrier pigeon to the garrison in Yunzhou and evacuate them immediately."

It's too late. Li Qiye shook his head. The Witch God Sect had already laid down a bewildering array in Yunzhou, preventing any news from getting through. He suddenly looked at Huaiqing, "Your Majesty, would you be willing to put on a show with me?"

The next morning at court, the officials were shocked to learn that the Empress was going into seclusion to cultivate with the mysterious and powerful Li Qiye, who had suddenly appeared.

Even more shockingly, Wei Yuan immediately imprisoned Li Qiye in the Heavenly Prison on charges of colluding with the Witch God Cult!

When the news reached Yunzhou, the blood-red eyes on the altar in Baidi City visibly flickered. The black-robed man presiding over the ceremony sneered: "To cut off one's own arm, foolish!"

Deep within the prison, it was cold and damp.

Li Qiye sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding darkness.

His fingertips tapped lightly on his knees, and with each tap, a barely perceptible wisp of golden dragon energy seeped into the ground, spreading along the earth's veins towards Yunzhou.

"Sir, everything is ready."

In the darkness, a figure quietly emerged—it was Princess Huaiqing. She had changed into plain clothes, shedding her imperial majesty, and now resembled a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world.

Li Qiye opened his eyes and smiled slightly: "Your Majesty has come to see me off in person?"

Huaiqing shook his head and said in a low voice, "Sir, your journey to Yunzhou is fraught with danger. I...I am worried about you."

"It's alright."

Li Qiye stood up, his sleeves fluttering even without wind. "The Witch God Sect believes I am imprisoned, so their vigilance will surely be relaxed. This is the best time to infiltrate Yunzhou."

Huaiqing was silent for a moment, then took out a jade talisman from his bosom and handed it to him: "This is the 'Mountain and River Escape Talisman' left by the Great Ancestor. It can travel thousands of miles in an instant. Take it with you, sir, in case of unforeseen circumstances."

Li Qiye took the jade talisman, rubbed it between his fingertips, and smiled, "Your Majesty is quite generous."

Huaiqing said seriously (Qian Dehao): "Compared to the country and its people, a mere talisman is nothing."

Li Qiye nodded and said no more. He simply waved his hand, and the ground beneath his feet rippled like water. His figure gradually sank into the ripples, as if merging into the earth.

"Take care, sir," Huaiqing said softly.

Before he finished speaking, Li Qiye's figure had completely disappeared.

-top-

Yunzhou, Baidi City.

The night was deep, and the city was silent.

Chapter 126 Li Qiye: Summon the Witch God? Did I give permission?!

On the streets, the people were already asleep, but no one noticed that their shadows were twisting strangely and converging toward the ancient altar in the center of the city.

On the altar, twelve priests were still performing a strange dance, and with each step they took, the black aura on the altar grew thicker.

The man in black robes stood in the center of the altar, holding a beating heart in his hands—the heart was as black as ink, and with each beat it was accompanied by a low roar, as if it came from the underworld.

"Soon...almost soon..." the man in black robes chuckled hoarsely. "Once the passage between the two worlds opens and the Witch God descends, this mortal realm will be ours!"

However, at this moment——

"boom!"

The ground beneath the altar suddenly cracked open, and a beam of golden light burst forth from the earth, shooting straight into the sky!

The man in black robes suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking sharply: "Who's 813?!"

As the golden light faded, a figure in white stood in mid-air, his expression serene.

"Li Qiye?!" the man in black exclaimed in shock. "Weren't you imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison?!"

Li Qiye smiled slightly: "Can a mere prison hold me?"

The man in black robes' expression changed drastically, and he shouted sharply, "Stop him!"

The twelve priests stopped dancing at the same time, turned around in unison, and their eyes beneath their masks burst forth with eerie green flames.

They raised their hands to form hand seals, and in an instant, countless black wisps of energy transformed into chains that coiled around Li Qiye!

Li Qiye neither dodged nor evaded, but simply raised his hand lightly, and a golden light bloomed from his fingertip—

"break."

"boom--!"

The golden light exploded like the blazing sun, the black chains of energy shattered inch by inch, and the twelve priests coughed up blood and staggered backward!

The man in black robes was terrified. He hurriedly bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the black heart in his hand: "Please, Lord Witch God, descend!"

His heart pounded violently, instantly swelling several times its normal size, transforming into a gigantic black shadow that slowly opened its scarlet eyes!

"Li Qiye..." the dark figure growled in a low voice, "You're courting death!"

Li Qiye stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "A mere clone dares to be so insolent in front of me?"

Before he finished speaking, he took a step forward, his figure moving like lightning, instantly appearing in front of the shadowy figure, and raised his hand to deliver a palm strike—

"Destroy."

"boom--!"

Golden light pierced through the shadows, and the entire altar collapsed with a roar!

(ahae) The man in black robes collapsed to the ground, his face filled with despair: "No...it's impossible..."

Li Qiye landed in front of him, looking down at him: "Tell me, where is the headquarters of the Witch God Cult?"

The man in black robes grinned maliciously: "You won't get away with this..."

"Not going to tell me?" A golden light flashed from Li Qiye's fingertip, and he directly touched the center of Li Qiye's forehead. "Then I'll see for myself."

"Ah—!" The man in black robes let out a shrill scream as memories flooded into Li Qiye's consciousness like a tidal wave.

A moment later, Li Qiye withdrew his finger, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"I see……"

He looked up into the distance, where the deepest part of Yunzhou was a desolate mountain—the true headquarters of the Witch God Cult was hidden there!

-

At the same time, Beijing.

Huaiqing stood on the high platform of the palace, gazing towards Yunzhou, holding a broken jade talisman in his hand.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

The palace maid beside him asked cautiously.

Huaiqing was silent for a moment, then said softly, "It's nothing."

She gripped the jade talisman tightly, her gaze deep and intense.

"Sir...you must return safely."

Deep in Yunzhou, amidst the desolate mountains shrouded in black mist, stands a majestic ancient bronze palace.

The path in front of the hall was paved with white bones, and eerie green will-o'-the-wisps floated in mid-air, as if countless eyes were watching the intruder.

Chapter 127 Li Qiye braves the air to meet the enemy, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Li Qiye arrived through the air, his white robes fluttering in the wind.

His gaze calmly swept into the depths of the ancient hall, where a chilling aura was awakening.

"Now that we're here, why hide?" Li Qiye said calmly.

boom--.

The ancient temple gates burst open with a roar, and twelve figures slowly emerged.