Chapter 838: Chapter 656: Strange Night Events (Part 3)

The Netherworld Palace stood cold and quiet, snow foam swept over the ancient red-lacquered railing of the Panlong Cloud Sea, half-rolled bamboo leaves rustled in the wind, producing a sparse sound, as a few palace attendants earnestly swept the snow along the corridor steps.

The Royal Palace was especially tranquil and silent in the morning, as the wind whipped up the snow, the howling sound startled the birds resting at night, inexplicably adding a touch of desolate eeriness to the majestic ancient palace.

A young Demon Clan girl, sweeping snow with her head down, suddenly screamed, dropping her broom.

The surrounding palace attendants gathered around, observing the snow she had swept away, underneath which… the frozen layers of blood slowly spread out.

Everyone’s face turned pale in an instant; the snow last night fell heavily, accumulating deeply. Within the bizarre snowstorm in the palace, in just one day, half of a gnawed corpse was unexpectedly revealed.

The body seemed to have been devoured by a wild dog, tattered and mottled, unrecognizable in appearance, yet the clothes it wore appeared to be the robe of a Demon Minister’s Inner Official.

The girl gulps down the icy saliva, after all, serving and cleaning in the palace, even as the lowest demon servant, she possesses the most basic psychological resilience.

The girl did not remain confused in panic, she lowered her voice and said: “This is the Inner Official, serving the Demon Lord, how could they appear here in such a state?”

Another attendant’s face turned white and grim, guessing: “Those who dare to kill in the palace are few, especially an Inner Official. Do you think it might be the Demon Lord…”

The crowd fell into silence.

After a long time, the girl spoke again: “Four… four days ago, the Demon Lord came out of the Netherworld Palace in a bad mood; it was said that he slaughtered four hundred fifty-seven Demon Beasts from Dong Mountain overnight, as if madly venting his fury.”

Another Palace Attendant glanced at her resentfully: “What are four hundred fifty-seven Demon Beasts? I remember the Demon Lord didn’t stop at one night of slaughter; at dawn, with a bloody aura, he went to the Eastern Netherworld, stirring up three thousand Fierce Ghosts, causing them to curse the land. In less than half a day, he fed those three thousand ghosts the Sword Talisman, intensifying his violent energy without any reduction. He then returned to the Demon State, dragging Lord Shu Ci from Qing Mountain for a day and night of battle, and now, no word has come from Shu Ci within the mountain, said to be a matter of life or death.”

“No, it can’t be?” The girl exclaimed in shock: “That’s the undying river Shu Ci! Though the Demon Lord’s cultivation is above Shu Ci, he couldn’t possibly have killed her, right?”

“Who knows?” An elderly Chuicang Palace Attendant bowed slightly, sighed: “Anyway, this old woman has served three generations of Kings and never have said that a Demon Lord is as mad as the current one. Although Lord Shu Ci can’t die, it is possible to revert her to original form and seal her in Houtu.”

The girl shivered: “Lord Shu Ci is Mohe, if the Demon Lord kills her like that, wouldn’t it cause upheaval in the Demon World?”

The old Palace Attendant laughed: “Why concern yourself with the affairs of these great figures? Just focus on sweeping the ground.”

“But…” Suddenly, a quiet small attendant examined the limbs on the ground and frowned: “Even if the Demon Lord has gone mad these four days, the bloody acts seem deliberately done far away from the palace, as if afraid to let anyone witness the brutal madness. Tong Mountain, East Ocean, Qing Mountain—each place is a land high and far away. The corpse we found, could it really be the Demon Lord’s doing?”

The group was speechless, unsure how to respond.

The young girl sighed; despite her youth, coming from the Demon World, her face showed no hint of sympathy for the corpse, only natural indifference in her gaze: “Let’s clean up the body quickly. Sweeping out such a bloody thing first thing in the morning is truly unlucky.”

If this Inner Official were alive, they would surely be revered by these low-born palace attendants, yet now, as a heap of rotten flesh, posthumous honor hidden away, they are nothing more than an ‘unlucky thing’ in their words.

Hurriedly cleaning up.

The wind and snow in the world suddenly ceased, like a black and white painting frozen in place.

A figure in crimson, blood trailing, traversed through the desolate and expansive snowy world, arriving languidly.

The wind quieted, snow congealed, in this frozen tableau, only the fluttering blood-red robe and the jingling struck of silver anklet shone brilliantly.

The palace attendants’ faces were all pale with fear, bowed down like pressed branches and swaying grass in homage: “Greetings, Demon Lord!”

In the peripheral vision, all was trembling, full of awe, filled with submission.

What they saw in the hand of Demon Lord, that blood-stained silver anklet, was clearly the adornment Shu Ci never parted with!

Observing the attire of the Demon Lord, it was bone-chilling.

Her long, mournful black hair danced wildly without wind, like madness or magic, the dignified black-golden robe she wore seemed missing, only thin inner clothing remained, its pale fabric stained thoroughly with blood, its original color unseen.

A beauty thus appeared, as if salvaged from bloodwater, violent in posture, within the monochrome snowy world, distantly observed, evoked a bizarre, morbid, scarlet allure.

At this moment, everyone’s mind held only one cold thought:

The Demon Lord, must be mad!

Might she also kill them?