Zhao Yifan beside him had also fallen into an illusion, his face twisted in struggle.
But fortunately, the borrowed Thousand-Year Peachwood Sword at his side faintly emitted ripples of red light, helping him fend it off. At least he had not sleepwalked out of the Nine Heavens Azure Dao Lord's ring of clear light.
At the ruined temple gate behind them, the female attendants also emerged one after another, like puppets pulled by strings, filing out in their sleep.
At the front was a beautiful young matron with a graceful figure and noble bearing. She stretched both hands forward, muttering something about "Brother He."
This white-robed young matron must have been the Cai Family of Luoshui's young madam. She too had fallen into an illusion born of sinister thoughts.
Li Qingyun swiftly looked toward Wang Muyun's carriage. The curtain over its compartment trembled faintly, as though she were resisting the erosion of those sinister thoughts.
"A powerful demon must have arrived outside. It can actually obscure the Dao Lord's clear light and interfere with everyone resting in this ruined temple!"
Li Qingyun was shocked, and thunder intent immediately surged through his body.
"Summon Thunder and Lightning, evil spirits retreat!"
"Everyone, wake up!"
With his loud shout, a thunderclap crashed over the ruined temple, shaking all four directions!
The sleepwalking people seemed to break free from some nightmare. They suddenly shuddered and regained their senses.
"What happened just now? Why did I run outside? I nearly walked beyond the protection of the Dao Lord's clear light!"
"It's a demon!"
"Luckily, Dao Master Li of Lingbao Temple gave a shout that rang like thunder and shattered this strangeness!"
"Everyone, get into the Dao Lord's clear light! This demon is rather formidable..."
The awakened Four Seas Pavilion caravan and the Cai Family guards were pale with fright. They all thanked Li Qingyun, who stood poised in the air, then hurried into the Dao Lord's clear light.
"Fellow Daoist Li, thanks to your thunderous shout, otherwise Muyun would have nearly fallen prey to it as well!"
Wang Muyun also stepped out of the carriage. Her black hair fluttered in the wind as she bowed gratefully to Li Qingyun.
"No need for such courtesy!"
Li Qingyun returned the gesture with a smile.
Then Wang Muyun brought forth her Vermilion Dharma Pearl and suspended it above her head. Her figure flickered as she stepped into the clear light of the Nine Heavens Azure Dao Lord.
"Come on, come on. This demon is truly formidable. Senior Brother nearly had a terrible nightmare!"
Cold sweat covered Zhao Yifan, and his soul had yet to settle. Pulling Li Qingyun along, he squeezed into the protection of the Dao Lord Biluo statue's clear light.
At this moment, Zhao Yifan felt that only the Dao Lord Biluo—the most unfathomable Dao Lord in the history of the You Kingdom—could give him even a little sense of security.
The terrified crowd crammed into the Dao Lord's clear light and warily looked toward the outskirts of the ruined temple.
Darkness lay thick as ink, and the yin wind howled. Amid the endless wild grass, vast swathes of scarlet demon qi suddenly surged forth like a tide, closing in on the ruined temple.
Whoosh!
Wang Muyun raised a hand and sent out a brilliant sphere of light—an Illumination Spell. Its radiance dispersed some of the dense scarlet demon qi.
Peering into it, the crowd vaguely saw a monster with antlers like tree branches. It stood upright on two humanlike legs, its three eyes like ghostly green lanterns. Green vines resembling strange snakes with closed eyes grew across its body, making it seem both eerie and powerful!
"This is bad, there's a demon!"
"We're done for! Why would a Nightmare Deer Demon appear in a place like this?"
"..."
The crowd immediately cried out in despair, feeling calamity bearing down upon them.
The two elderly Attendants of Four Seas Pavilion revealed fearful looks and quietly edged backward, clearly intending to abandon everyone and flee alone.
"Everyone, don't panic. Though this demon excels at illusion and is impossible to guard against, it is not especially powerful itself. As long as we remain within the Dao Lord's clear light, it will find no opening and naturally retreat!"
Amid the chaos, Wang Muyun's dharma sense surged. Her crisp shout temporarily steadied the panicked hearts of the crowd.
At the same time, her eyes flashed like cold lightning as she glanced at the two unorthodox old men from the Four Seas Pavilion caravan.
The two old men immediately froze, fear and respect appearing on their faces. Obediently, they walked back.
Biyou Palace's prestige was immense. As cultivators of unorthodox and heterodox paths receiving the Four Seas Pavilion's support, how could the two of them withstand Biyou Palace's wrath if they fled in the face of battle now?
The scarlet demon qi pressed closer to the Dao Lord's clear light. Within it, the enormous branchlike antlers appeared and vanished, while a low, threatening growl sounded out.
The tidal demon qi tentatively touched the clear light, only to ignite. Yet the Dao Lord's clear light was also being consumed rapidly!
Wang Muyun had already moved to the very front of the crowd. The Vermilion Dharma Pearl hovered above her head, and with another turn of her fair wrist, she took out a bronze mirror dharma artifact. Facing the Nightmare Deer Demon, she shouted sternly:
"I am a disciple of Biyou Palace, and I hold the Demon Suppressing Mirror in my hand. If you know what is good for you, retreat now and everyone will be at peace. Otherwise, even if I die and my Dao vanishes, I will grievously wound you! Once the elders of my sect arrive, where can you flee with wounds upon you? You will soon be destroyed as well..."
As she spoke, she swept her sleeve. Seven or eight paper swallows, folded from talismans and seemingly alive, flapped into the boundless night sky.
This was a spellcraft technique combining a cultivator's control of objects, illusion transformations, spirit attachment, and more. Wang Muyun wielded it with considerable proficiency!
"As expected of Biyou Palace, the strongest sect in the You Kingdom. Even one disciple sent out at random knows countless arts and possesses many means to protect the Dao!"
Li Qingyun watched the paper swallows fly away, unable to hide the envy on his handsome face.
He had only just joined Lingbao Temple. After exhausting all his possessions, he had obtained merely a single Thunder Seal spell.
Yet over the course of this night, Wang Muyun, this disciple of Biyou Palace, had displayed all manner of methods, revealing remarkably strong all-around combat ability.
If she abandoned all these "burdens" before her and fled for her life alone, this Nightmare Deer Demon would not be able to stop her.
Seeing Wang Muyun's actions, the humanoid, branch-antlered Nightmare Deer Demon hesitated somewhat.
However, as it looked at the nearly hundred "meat humans" within the Dao Lord's clear light, their scent of flesh permeating the air and their human aura so enticing, it ultimately could not bear to leave just like that.
The more humans demons devoured, the stronger their demon power became. What was more, most of the cultivators and martial wanderers in this ruined temple possessed far more "human aura" than ordinary mortals. Eating them would be an even greater tonic.
"You choose ten meat humans and offer them to me. I shall turn and leave at once. Otherwise, I shall eat all of you..."
Hidden within the scarlet demon qi, the Nightmare Deer Demon stated its terms in a strange accent.
"Dream on! Either leave now, or I will perish with you like jade and stone!"
Wang Muyun refused without hesitation. Her Daoist robe billowed in the night wind, and her black hair drifted about her, making her already tall and graceful figure appear even more striking, filled with awe-inspiring righteous majesty.
"You seek death!"
The Nightmare Deer Demon flew into a rage. The vines on its body twisted and writhed like snakes as it strode forward several paces. The scarlet demon qi immediately crashed like a tide against ring after ring of Dao Lord clear light!
Crackle! Pop!
The demon qi ignited beneath the clear light and burned into a blazing fire, but the Dao Lord's clear light rapidly dimmed as well.
At the same time, an invisible strange force violently surged through the air, battering the clear-light barrier from every side and squeezing the Dao Lord's clear light out of shape.
Several unlucky guards and martial wanderers were immediately exposed beyond the clear light's protection. Terrified, they hurriedly backed away, trying to squeeze back inside its circle.
But their expressions immediately stiffened, their eyes becoming vacant and misty. Once more, they fell into layer upon layer of illusions created by the Nightmare Deer Demon, then walked stiffly toward it.
"Summon Thunder and Lightning, cleanse the demons—wake up!"
Thunder rumbled through the night sky again.
Li Qingyun formed the Thunder Seal with his fingers, and thunder burst from his tongue. Strands of electric thunder intent flowed across the youth's figure, as fresh and upright as a spring tree and jade pine!
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