"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you have to believe me. I really am Ji Sen!"
"Fellow Daoist Su, I'm the real Ji Sen!"
The two Ji Sens drew their swords on each other, but neither dared attack. Instead, they turned to Zhou You and Su Tingxue for help.
"Right, I can log into my forum account!" Ji Sen hastily took out his phone. Its lock screen showed an anime character. He opened the Cultivation Forum app and logged in, letting Zhou You see the entire process clearly. Ji Sen no longer even thought about hiding his credentials.
The login succeeded. The account name was "Bamboo Shoots with Pork."
"You stole my account!" the other Ji Sen shouted angrily. He took out an identical phone, its lock screen also showing an anime character, and logged into the Cultivation Forum app.
The login succeeded.
The first Ji Sen's screen reported a login from another location, and his account was logged out.
"How do you know my password?!"
"I should be asking you that!"
The two Ji Sens argued endlessly, each accusing the other of being fake and begging Zhou You and Su Tingxue to tell right from wrong.
Zhou You and Su Tingxue were both stumped. They had been searching the house for anything unusual, and neither had noticed which room Ji Sen had entered last.
Was it the master bedroom?
Or the second bedroom?
Zhou You remembered Ji Sen entering the second bedroom, but had that been the last room? Had he gone into the master bedroom afterward?
Su Tingxue remembered Ji Sen entering the second bedroom, but now she was no longer sure. Had she remembered wrong? Had he gone into the master bedroom?
They barely knew Ji Sen and could not ask him anything deeply personal.
Since both Ji Sens even knew his forum account details, they could probably answer personal questions too.
This was tricky.
Su Tingxue activated her Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye, but still could not tell the real one from the fake.
Seeing the two fall silent, the real Ji Sen felt his heart slowly sink.
That was right. Zhou You and Su Tingxue had no way to distinguish the real one from the fake. He could not even prove his own identity.
Who was this impostor, and why did they know him so well?
If the two made the wrong judgment and took the fake for the real one, what was he supposed to do? Leave in disgrace?
Could that invisible monster have been beside him all along, watching his every move, learning everything about him, imitating him, killing Coalball-the only one who could see through it-and finally taking his place?!
The thought made Ji Sen even more afraid.
"You... what exactly are you?!"
Ji Sen opened his mouth, but before he could say those words-
The fake Ji Sen said them first!
That thing even knew exactly what he was thinking!
The fake Ji Sen took in every reaction from Zhou You and Su Tingxue.
These were normal reactions. Who would pay attention to every move made by a stranger like Ji Sen?
Even if they had noticed which room Ji Sen had entered last, faced with two indistinguishable versions of him, they would still doubt their own memories.
As for the real Ji Sen, his suffocating panic was palpable.
What exquisite negative emotions.
"Xiaoyao, which one do you think is real?" Zhou You turned to her. Since he could not tell, he might as well ask the Female Emperor's opinion.
For once, the fake Ji Sen showed a trace of nervousness.
It had kept a firm grip on everyone's emotional shifts from the start. Ji Sen was the most panicked and the easiest to control. Though Zhou You and Su Tingxue were bold and had not been frightened at first, they had gradually started feeling afraid too.
Only Chu Xiaoyao, a mere mortal without any cultivation, had never shown panic or fear. She was beyond its control.
She was even a little excited.
Chu Xiaoyao was circling the television with a screwdriver. It lit up without any power-what an amazing television. Su Tingxue herself had said there were no traces of spells. Weren't she and Zhou You curious about how it worked?
They had no spirit of discovery at all.
"Huh? Isn't the one who came out of the master bedroom the fake?" Chu Xiaoyao said casually. What was so hard to tell?
The fake Ji Sen was startled.
You don't have even the slightest doubt?!
"Don't believe her..."
Ignoring its protests, Zhou You punched the Ji Sen who had emerged from the master bedroom.
Su Tingxue hesitated briefly, but seeing how resolute Zhou You was, she immediately burned several talismans. "Swift!"
A cloud of smoke dispersed. The fake Ji Sen stood in place, completely unharmed.
Zhou You's punch had landed on its face as though striking a steel plate, sending a painful jolt through his hand.
The enemy was strong!
Far stronger than Mighty Warrior!
"I'll count that punch as punishment for my failure," the fake Ji Sen said coldly. This was its way of punishing itself.
Its voice shifted several times over that short sentence, while its skin changed freely like flowing water.
Zhou You hurriedly retreated, dragging the dumbstruck Ji Sen beside him along.
When its form finally settled, it had become a pitiful-looking girl next door.
But no one believed this was its true appearance.
"What are you?!" Su Tingxue demanded sharply, realizing this was a Transformation Technique-one even her Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye could not see through.
This was definitely not something anyone at the Qi Refining Stage could handle!
The girl ignored Su Tingxue's words and simply stared at Chu Xiaoyao. Anyone else would have felt their skin crawl under that gaze.
Chu Xiaoyao feared no one except her homeroom teacher, and immediately glared back.
"Interesting." Along with her appearance, the girl's voice had changed, becoming gentle and endearing.
Creating and absorbing negative emotions was what she did best and enjoyed most. It had worked every time, yet she had failed with Chu Xiaoyao.
She could not see through her at all.
How could a mere mortal possess such composure?
Chu Xiaoyao of the Carefree Sect, is it? I'll remember you.
Sword light flashed, and a Spirit Sword pressed against the girl's neck. Ji Sen stared at her with resentment, his body trembling and his eyes bloodshot.
"Where's my Coalball?!"
If her answer was wrong, Ji Sen would run her through!
The girl gently pushed the Spirit Sword aside and smiled faintly. "You still haven't realized?"
"Realized what?"
"Woof!"
The girl suddenly barked, sounding exactly like Little Black Dog.
Ji Sen went blank. Amused, the girl barked twice more.
"Woof, woof!"
"Still haven't realized? I am Coalball."
Ji Sen froze, a sense of absurdity sweeping through him.
There had never been anything invisible. She had turned into Coalball, eating and living with Ji Sen, barking at empty spaces to make him think something was there and grow increasingly paranoid.
All this time, he had seen Coalball as his only hope, hoping she could protect him.
Yet Coalball had been the source of danger from the very beginning.
"You... when did you turn into her?!" Ji Sen stared fixedly at the girl. When had she replaced Coalball? How had he failed to notice a thing?
The girl burst out laughing, amused by his stupidity. "What do you mean, when? Coalball was always me. I've been her since a year ago."
Coalball was a person in a dog's skin, watching his every move. Those eyes had not been unusually intelligent animal eyes-they had been human eyes. And he had known nothing about any of it!
This had continued for an entire year, all to gain his trust and make him believe something invisible lurked beside him.
At the thought, Ji Sen could not stop trembling. His face twisted into something between laughter and tears as he teetered on the brink of collapse.
The girl could not help licking her lips. Yes, yes, yes-that was the expression she wanted to see.
That expression was so delicious. She could watch it forever and never tire of it.
Wasn't seeing that expression the very reason she had spent a year by Ji Sen's side?
She had thought that when Ji Sen sought help on the Cultivation Forum, the Cultivators he brought would be frightened too, producing negative emotions that would further whet her appetite.
Ji Sen's negative emotions were the main course, and those of the Cultivators he brought were dessert.
Though Zhou You and Su Tingxue had not been frightened at first, leaving her without a shred of negative emotion to collect, she had fortunately confused them by turning into a fake Ji Sen. Their resulting uncertainty had finally produced some negative emotions.
Yet that Chu Xiaoyao had not produced even a trace of negative emotion throughout the entire affair.
She was not appetizing at all.
Chu Xiaoyao's presence had spoiled her carefully prepared feast and ruined her appetite.
"Absorbing negative emotions... I understand now. You're from the Demon Alliance!" Su Tingxue had figured everything out. Only members of the Demon Alliance would stop at nothing and use every possible means to collect negative emotions!
A bead of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
No one in the Demon Alliance was easy to deal with. Even its weakest members were at foundation establishment.
Those with higher cultivation were troublesome even for her master.
Ji Sen abruptly turned toward Su Tingxue, snapped out of his daze by the words "Demon Alliance."
"Am I, or am I not?" The girl giggled and leaped toward the balcony window.
"Little sister from the Carefree Sect, you can call me Lian Yi. We'll meet again."
Chu Xiaoyao covered one eye and revealed an enigmatic smile.
"You think you can get away?"
Lian Yi did not understand. She flipped away and vanished into the darkness.
Su Tingxue did not pursue her. Rather, it was already a tremendous stroke of luck that the enemy had let them live.
"What does she mean, can I get away? How ridiculous."
Lian Yi blended into the darkness as she flew over the city. Chu Xiaoyao was unfathomable, and her parting words left Lian Yi faintly uneasy.
Hadn't she escaped without any trouble?
Lian Yi looked back several times but found no one following her.
"I've always been the one playing with people's minds. To think someone would turn the tables on me one day." Lian Yi laughed at herself, deciding Chu Xiaoyao had been bluffing.
"Come down. I have a few questions."
Flames formed a chain and bound Lian Yi.
The Red King had made his move.
Before you continue