Chapter 2

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In Chapter 2 of The Demon in the Mirror, we finally catch a glimpse of our male lead, the all-powerful, ancient, green dragon, whose brief appearance in this chapter seem to hint at the numerous hijinks and hilarity that will soon ensue. As a Xian Xia novel like Once Promised, The Demon in the Mirror requires much more imagination and world-building than The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful and I Don’t Like This World, I Only Like You, so please feel free to pose any queries, or doubts in the comments section below, and hopefully I’ll be able to offer a proper explanation in response.

Chapter 2: Empty Coffin (Part 2)

Xi Feng continued slashing and chopping as she advanced into the black swamp, whilst Xiao Huo took on the happy job of gobbling up all the demon corpses left in Xi Feng’s wake. By the time Xi Feng and Xiao Huo were halfway across the black swamp, Xiao Huo was already stuffed to the brim.

The handful of menacing animals and demons that were originally growling now readily retreated into the shadows, no longer daring to attack Xi Feng. Xi Feng continued treading on the forest path, keeping her eyes shut as she utilised her sword to clear the way forward. It was only when Xi Feng felt the dense, thick miasma begin to disperse when she decided to re-open her eyes. Swiftly surveying the surroundings, Xi Feng concluded that they’ve managed to cross the length of the black swamp, and have finally arrived at the opposite end.

Xi Feng leapt onto the shore, transforming the sword back into a flute in one swift motion before proceeding to hang the flute back on her waist.

Xiao Huo gently caressed his round, protruding tummy, and belched out a few thunderous hiccups before pointing forward, “There. The scent of Lady Yin is rather special – even though we’re currently next to this huge, black swamp, her scent is still extremely distinguishable! She’s definitely not an ordinary mortal.”

“Yin’s parents did mention that Yin had always been different from other villagers ever since she was young – animals and beasts never shied away from approaching her, and often brought her large amounts of food and sustenance, as though she was their child. And even though Yin’s parents were hunters, the animals and beasts never seemed to hold this against Yin.”

“But she’s most definitely a mortal.”

“Yes. She would, however, most likely possess the ability to study cultivation and eventually ascend to the Heavens as an immortal.”

In the distance, a flock of birds suddenly took to the sky from within the forest. The flock appeared to have been forcefully startled by another being, and were flitting about mindlessly in all directions.

Xi Feng paused momentarily and looked at the flock. Discerning wisps of the scent of a mortal human being amidst the overwhelming gusts of demonic auras, Xi Feng increased the speed at which she moved in hopes of locating Yin as soon as possible. After all, no matter how different, or special Yin was, she was only a mortal, and a prolonged stay in a mountain populated with demons will inevitably sap her life force and expedite her death.

With Xiao Huo’s keen sense of smell, it was not hard for Xi Feng to locate a mere, stray mortal.

The forest atop the cliff was extremely dense and dangerous, but Xi Feng wasn’t bothered in the slightest, and continued traversing through the forest, only stopping when she reached the entrance of a cave.

Perking up his ears, Xiao Huo listened intently to the minute sounds being emitted from within the cave before taking taking a few, deep inhalations. “She’s insid….”

However, even before Xiao Huo managed to complete his sentence, Xi Feng had already grabbed him off her shoulder, causing Xiao Huo’s face to darken immediately. “Don’t you da….”

Once again, before Xiao Huo managed to complete his sentence, he found himself hurtling into the cave at extraordinary speed – it was evident, that the person who had launched him into the cave hadn’t taken their friendship into account at all.

“Xi Feng!! Your singing truly sucks!” Xiao Huo howled in anger as he shot into the cave.

Bam!

Xiao Huo’s body expanded into a huge, blazing ball, easily illuminating the interior of the cave. The bats residing within the cave screeched and bared their fangs at Xiao Huo in protest, but to no avail – the moment they neared Xiao Huo, they were immediately scorched by his blazing body, and writhed about in pain.

Xi Feng listened intently to the ruckus within the cave, and tutted aloud, “Ah, these pesky demons – how brave they are! Refusing to run for their lives even though the cave’s already on fire.”

Upon hearing the noise outside the cave, the bat demons gathered into a single, big flock and flew outwards in a rage.

The squeaks and screeches within the cave grew louder with every passing minute. Xi Feng slowly stretched out her arm, and leisurely swiped her hand on the leaves of the tree next to her. The morning dew had yet to evaporate fully, the fine beads of dew clinging stubbornly onto the leaves – now, the same, tiny beads of dew slid fluidly into Xi Feng’s outstretched palm, gradually merging into one, single droplet.

Xi Feng muttered a spell under her breath, and flicked the water droplet upwards.

Bang.

The petite droplet instantaneously absorbed the surrounding rays of light as though it was a piece of cotton soaking up water; within moments, the droplet managed to coalesce all the light within the Heavens and Earth into its minuscule body, and hung in front of a cave like a fiery, smouldering Sun.

The bats within the cave remained obtusely unaware, and continued to barrel out of the cave. As a result, each and every single bat was blinded by the blazing light emitted the water droplet and collapsed onto the ground, blood dripping down their tightly shut eyes.

Xi Feng, who had been keeping her eyes safely covered with her hands up till this point in time, raised her hand. With a snap of her fingers, the minuscule water droplet exploded mid-air, and the light originally contained within returned to the Heavens and Earth.

Lowering her head, Xi Feng glanced at the black clusters of bats that lay on the ground. Alas! Although the bats looked extremely plump and juicy, Xi Feng didn’t have a habit of eating bats.

What a pity.

Xi Feng carefully leapt across the bats that were groaning on the ground, and made her way into the cave.

Xiao Huo was nowhere to be seen. However, Xi Feng wasn’t worried about Xiao Huo in the slightest; after all, if Xi Feng truly had to worry, she would be more inclined to worry about the demon that resided in this cave, as it was at high risk of being devoured by Xiao Huo, who had an insatiable appetite and ginormous stomach.

“Xiao Huo? Xiao Huo? Where are you? Hurry on out and illuminate the cave for me.”

But, no matter how many times Xi Feng hollered his name, Xiao Huo staunchly refused to make its appearance.

With a cold smirk, Xi Feng yelled aloud, “The hanging white clouds float, the relaxed birds run, looking for worms, one worm, two worms, three…”

“Stop singing!!!” Xiao Huo emerged from the darkness instantaneously upon hearing Xi Feng’s devastating tune, and resumed his usual position on Xi Feng’s shoulder. “It’s so horrible!”

“Oh.”

With Xiao Huo serving as a source of light, Xi Feng managed to make her way out of the cave in no time, and finally arrived at the forested area where the flock of birds which she had seen had been residing earlier before taking to the skies.

However, it was obvious to the naked eye, that the forested area before her had been heavily interfered with. At first glance, the trees that remained unfelled in the forested area appeared to be part of a magical formation – and, right within the center of the magical formation, lay a sole female youth.

The female youth was clothed entirely in red, her long robes spreading out on the ground beneath her as though she was a crimson, blood red rose in full bloom – the sight was eerily beautiful and yet, oddly terrifying.

“It’s Yin.” Xiao Huo whispered into Xi Feng’s ear. “And this… is a blood formation.”

“Ah? Blood formation? The demon that did this sure vested a huge amount of effort into setting up this formation.”

Blood formations are extremely unorthodox, and most persons – even those with great power – rarely attempt blood formations, as the sole purpose of blood formations is for the release or destruction of immensely powerful seals.

And… any demon, or entity, that was sealed by a spell so formidable, and so potent, that it required a blood formation to release it, would definitely possess a power so destructive that it would be able to obliterate the world with ease. As such, release of such a demon, or entity, would most likely result in such demon or entity turning on the caster of the blood formation.

Glancing at the expression of great curiosity and interest etched on Xi Feng’s face, Xiao Huo slapped Xi Feng’s ear and howled, “Get your act together! You’re a demon catcher, for God’s sake!! When the demon or entity is released after the breaking of the seal, its first target will most definitely be you!”

Xi Feng shuddered upon hearing Xiao Huo’s words of caution, and immediately transformed her flute into a sharp, double edged sword. With one hand grabbing the hilt of the sword, Xi Feng advanced towards the center of the blood formation.

The moment Xi Feng reached the periphery of the blood formation, various beasts howling in anger, “Get lost!”

In response, Xi Feng pressed on towards the center of the blood formation at an increased pace. The moment she sunk one foot into the blood formation, the blood formation began to shift and churn. A huge gust of wind swept Yin’s long, red robes upwards, and blew the clothes about in all directions, as though Yin was trapped within a raging sea of blood. An extremely strong, metallic scent of blood wafted into Xi Feng’s nose.

“I see……”

Xi Feng turned her gaze towards the unconscious, red-robed female youth that laid in the centre of the blood formation. She now understood the reason why the demon insisted on bringing Yin to the current forested area – Yin’s peculiar and unique physique made her an ideal candidate for the critical key necessary for the activation of the formation.

But, why did the demon request for Yin to be first buried underground, instead of directly seizing Yin and bringing her to the forested area?

Filled with endless doubts, Xi Feng swung her sword towards the gathering sea of blood that was advancing towards her, and successfully carved out a blood path for herself.

The metallic scent of blood grew even stronger. Xi Feng gauged that the activation of the blood formation (and the spells therein) was already half complete. The demon that had cast the blood formation didn’t seem to have any intention of challenging or confront Xi Feng head-on, and appeared to be singularly focused on completing the blood formation and destroying the seal.

Grabbing hold of a small wisp of wind, Xi Feng utilized the wisp of wind to penetrate and scour all corners of the blood formation in order to determine the demon’s whereabouts. Only by locating such demon could Xi Feng unravel and crack the blood formation in the shortest possible time.

But, that demon had hid himself extremely well, and Xi Feng’s searches didn’t produce any results.

All of sudden, the blood formation began to rapidly shift and churn, and the intense metallic scent of blood started to dissipate outwards from the center of the blood formation, towards the surrounding forested area. This time, not only did new, additional flocks of birds take to the sky; Xi Feng could also hear the distant howls and roars of uneasy beasts within the forests.

Furrowing her brows, Xi Feng continued to press on with her search, before finally landing her gaze on the immobile, unconscious red-robed female youth. Realization dawned on Xi Feng. Without a moment’s hesitation, Xi Feng sped towards the youth with lightning speed, her sword in hand.

However, right before Xi Feng’s sword was about to pierce Yin’s heart, a small ball of black smoke jolted out from Yin’s body. With a flourish, Xi Feng fluidly changed the direction of her attack, and swiftly launched her attack on the small ball of black smoke.

Possessing an uncanny instinct for escape, the small ball of black smoke leapt to the side, and the tip of Xi Feng’s sword only managed to graze the edges of the small ball of black smoke. The demon let out a small yelp of pain. However, before Xi Feng could do anything further, the blood formation begun to explode. Xiao Huo’s heart sank, “Shit!”

Unable to hold himself back any further, raucous laughter erupted from the small ball of black smoke. “It’s coming out! The seal, that had remained intact for 100,000 years, has finally been broken by me!”

“100,000 years?” A piercing chill shot up Xi Feng’s spine. 100,000 years ago, the Mortal Realm hadn’t even existed! [1] Now that this ancient, all-powerful demon has been released and reborn, would his curiosity about the Mortal Realm be piqued? If so, even a short visit, or a quick stroll, by this ancient demon in the Mortal Realm may spell great disaster for the ordinary human beings!

Beads of cold sweat began to form on Xi Feng’s forehead. Her first priority now, was to ensure her own survival. Without a moment’s hesitation, Xi Feng turned around and began to exit the blood formation at a rapid pace whilst internally cursing the small black demon for his stupidity.

As the demon that had been sealed within the cliff began to stir, an all-powerful, mighty demonic aura exploded from within, causing the various demons and beasts residing on the cliff to flee in panic. Not a single demon, or beast, dared to remain and challenge the ancient demon – it was as though they would be decimated the moment they strayed anywhere near the ‘territory’ of the ancient demon.

Holding her breath, Xi Feng watched as the crack in the cliff gradually began to widen. Ah – with such a strong, domineering demonic aura, it’s little wonder that the ancient demon was sealed away.

But who was it? Who possessed such great abilities and power 100,000 years ago, to be able to seal the ancient demon away?

Did the small black demon actually think that it could be the master of such a powerful demon?

Just wait and see – the ancient demon is bound to turn on the small black demon, and devour him with no difficulty at all. Stupid black demon.

Xi Feng continued to swear at the small black demon under her breath. It was only after some time had passed when she belatedly realised that she should really be worrying about herself – after all, compared to the small black demon, as a mere, fragile mortal, she was in far greater danger.

As Xiao Huo was also being uncharacteristically silent, Xi Feng turned to look at her shoulder – only to discover that Xiao Huo was nowhere to be found.

Coward!

The ancient demon trapped within the depths of the cliff gradually awoken. Every slight, minute move that it made seemed to cause the entire mountain to shudder correspondingly.

“It’s coming out!!” The black demon could hardly contain his glee, his greedy, ravenous gaze pinned on the crack in the cliff, where the ancient demon was due to appear. His voice trembling in excitement, he instructed, “Come out.”

Boom – –

The mountain rocks shattered into tiny fragments, and blinding rays of green light burst forth from a mirror that had been placed at the bottom of the cliff. A huge, green shadow emerged from the mirror and shot towards the Heavens at breakneck speed, the gusts of wind generated by its rapid flight forced Xi Feng to take multiple steps backwards.

Xi Feng tilted her head upwards and scanned the skies. The green shadow swam and lingered amidst the sea of clouds, its figure causing the Heavens and the Earth to shake, the Sun and the Moon to lose its glamour, and all surrounding beasts to retreat in fear.

When the green shadow finally commenced its descent, Xi Feng’s heart sank. I’m so dead – I’m going to be gobbled up by this ancient demon as an appetizer, before he embarks on his main course.

It was only when the green shadow neared did Xi Feng realize, that the ancient demon took the form of a green dragon.

The green dragon’s body was tremendously immense, and extremely long – to the point that Xi Feng was unable to see its tail when she stood face-to-face with the green dragon. Its gaze was solemn and dignified, and it possessed an air of nobility and gravitas which differed from the sinister, foreboding aura normally projected by evil beings. The green dragon perched erect atop the cliff, and inspected the frail and tiny living beings beneath it.

The small black demon stepped forward in excitement, its tiny body showcasing an absolute lack of fear for the huge green dragon before it, and hollered aloud, “I’m the one who released you from the seal! You’re going to have to heed my instructions and listen to me from now on!”

The green dragon lowered its head slowly, and stared at the small black demon severely, “You’re the one responsible for the destruction of the seal?”

The small black demon beamed with pride, “Yes!”

“Do you know, who was the one responsible for sealing me into the cliff?”

“Who?”

The green dragon responded in a slow voice, “Me.”

“……”

“So, you forcefully released me from my self-imposed seal and forcibly woke me up… may I ask, why?”

“……” The small back demon was at a loss of words.

Xi Feng was unable to repress herself any further, and let out a short, loud, hoot of laughter.

[1] In this novel, at the present time period, there are six Realms currently in existence, the Mortal Realm being one of them. At the start of the universe, however, only two Realms had existed; the remaining four Realms had simply developed / formed with the passage of time.

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