Chapter 69: The Living King of Hell (Please add to your collection and follow the story)

The rat demon controlled the possessed constable, struggling desperately to escape. But Shanglu’s foot pressed down with unyielding force, pinning him so firmly that escape was impossible.

All the rat demon could do was let Shanglu grab its face and pull the furry "tongue" from its mouth. As before, the moment the furry "tongue" left the constable’s body, Shanglu immediately scattered its demonic energy, and it reverted to the form of a rat.

This rat was even fatter than the previous one. Its features had taken on a vaguely human cast, making it look bizarre and deeply unsettling.

Shanglu held the rat demon in her hand and continued her interrogation: "The same question as before. Will you answer, or not?"

"I..." The rat demon patriarch was about to curse, but the rat in Shanglu’s grip emitted a series of miserable squeals, forcing it to swallow its words.

The loss of its treasured descendant had already made the rat demon patriarch realize that Shanglu was merciless as the King of Hell—when she said she would kill them, she would, without the slightest hesitation or compassion.

So the demon changed its approach and began to negotiate: "If I tell you, will you let us live?"

"What right do you have to bargain with me?" Shanglu sneered, throwing the rat demon patriarch’s own words back at it.

"You..." The patriarch was furious, but the sound of its child’s agonized cries kept it from provoking Shanglu further. It could only plead anxiously, "I’ll talk, I’ll talk—just stop squeezing.

"In the past two days, many cultivators have been spreading rumors that a new secret realm has appeared in Mount Yunhua. We don’t know where the news came from, but everyone is talking about it—some even claim to have obtained treasures from the secret realm, though who can say if that’s true..."

Everyone is talking about a secret realm in Mount Yunhua?

Shanglu found this increasingly suspicious. It didn’t seem like a simple leak—it felt more like a deliberate campaign. Someone was using the news of a newly formed secret realm in Mount Yunhua to lure all the nearby demons, ghosts, and evil spirits.

But who was this person? And why were they doing it?

Starting from this line of inquiry, Shanglu asked several more questions. Unfortunately, the rat demon patriarch truly knew little. It only told Shanglu that in recent days, many demons and ghosts had arrived, all hoping for a chance in Mount Yunhua.

In truth, even the demons and ghosts weren’t sure whether a new secret realm had truly formed in Mount Yunhua. But they still came. If the rumor was false, it was just a wasted trip. But what if it was true? All the secret realms in the Ba Kingdom had been monopolized by the Witch Court—demons and ghosts couldn’t even dream of getting a share. If they were lucky enough not to be hunted down and devoured by the witches, they were fortunate indeed.

Only a newly formed secret realm—one not yet seized and developed by the Witch Court—gave demons and ghosts a real chance to try their luck. If fate smiled on them and they obtained an opportunity within the secret realm, even if it didn’t immediately boost their cultivation, it would be a great aid to future advancement and breakthroughs.

Cultivation was never easy. Whether human or demon, the pursuit of immortality and the great path demanded struggle. If there was a chance, one must seize it; if there was none, one must create it.

Fortunately, these demons and ghosts knew time was of the essence, so most went straight to Mount Yunhua without passing through Luoshui County. Otherwise, Shanglu and the others would have faced more than a few rat demons, shadow puppets, and eerie paper effigies.

As for this nest of rat demons, they had long hidden in the earth temple beneath the stage, posing as deities to steal incense offerings. This was how they gained spiritual awareness and, by chance, learned some peculiar sorcery.

They knew that if their deception was ever exposed, death was certain. They had always acted with utmost caution, keeping their existence a secret.

This time, upon hearing rumors of a new secret realm in Mount Yunhua, they could not stay idle and decided to try their luck in the mountains.

Yet, while secret realms offered opportunities and treasures, they were riddled with dangers and strangeness. These rat demons, accustomed to lurking in Luoshui County, knew well that Mount Yunhua was shrouded in thick mist, where anyone—man or beast—could easily lose their way and never escape.

By nature timid, the rats craved the benefits of the secret realm but feared disaster. So, before entering the mountains, they sought to gather information.

They approached Du Feng because he had previously asked around town—inquiring with traveling peddlers and local hunters and woodcutters—about conditions in Mount Yunhua.

The rat demons had overheard these conversations but hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Only after rumors of a new secret realm emerged did they recall Du Feng’s inquiries and seek him out.

Unexpectedly, their search for news brought them face to face with a living King of Hell, costing the lives of several descendants.

"If I survive this, I swear I’ll have my revenge—I’ll wipe out that person’s entire clan..." The rat demon patriarch swore silently.

Meanwhile, Shanglu pondered, "So, the paper effigies came for me because I investigated Mount Yunhua?"

With that in mind, he asked the rat demon patriarch, "Do you know if any of the demons or ghosts who recently arrived in the county are skilled in manipulating paper figures?"

To his surprise, the rat demon patriarch did know. "There’s a corpse handler from Chu who knows such arts, but he’s not a demon or ghost—he’s human, like you."

"What does he look like?"

"He always wears a black mask, so his face can’t be seen. He appears tall and large, but I think he pads his clothes with things to appear bigger. Oh, and he smells of death."

Shanglu pressed for more details, but learning nothing further, decided to end his questioning.

"I’ve answered all your questions. Will you let us go now?" The rat demon patriarch, seeing Shanglu relent, hurriedly begged for mercy. Though inwardly seething with hatred, it adopted a humble posture, knowing that revenge could only come if it survived.

But Shanglu’s only response was to squeeze his hand sharply, instantly crushing the fat rat with human-like features.

The rat demon patriarch let out a shrill, furious scream: "Ah—you damned human! I answered your questions! Why won’t you let us go?!"

"You are too vengeful. If I let you go, neither I nor my family would ever know peace." Shanglu tossed the dead rat to the ground, sneering, "Don’t think I don’t know you were already planning how to deal with my family in your heart."

Then, as before, he drew his knife and hacked the rat’s corpse into pieces.

Afterward, he strode to Constable Liu, intending to do the same and drag out the rat demon patriarch.

The miserable fate of its descendants convinced the rat demon patriarch that capture meant certain death.

It did not want to die!

And so, just as Shanglu was about to seal his acupoints, the rat demon patriarch transformed into a wisp of gray mist, shooting out from Constable Liu’s mouth in an attempt to escape.