Chapter 1: The Haunted Forest of Demons (Part 1)

  Although Ding Lingxiu didn't dare to believe it, at such a close distance there was absolutely no way he could be mistaken, the person in front of him was indeed Zhang Shanyi without a doubt.

  One of his arms was tightly entwined by the water grass in the lake, and his whole body was swaying in the form of a big character in the dark tide of the lake. What's even stranger is that his body was in the deeper part of the lake, where it couldn't be seen clearly. But his face was exceptionally clear, as if it had been illuminated by a spotlight, his eyes didn't lose their luster, and his mouth opened and closed, as if he was still calling for help.

  Ding Lingxiu was astonished, but there was no time to consider these things. He had been holding his breath for a long time and felt that his eyes were starting to see halos, and his limbs were about to lose their strength. He couldn't care about the strange situation anymore and had to return to the lake surface to breathe immediately.

  He flipped over and treaded water, Ding Lingyu gazed at the light on the lake's surface as he began to swim upstream. Before long, he suddenly felt his right foot lose strength, and his entire body came to a halt, as if something was pulling him back. Ding Lingyu immediately sensed that something was amiss, and upon lowering his head to take a look, he found that his right foot had indeed been entwined by the water grass, rendering him immobile. Although Ding Lingyu's current predicament was extremely perilous, he did not struggle, for he was well aware that water grass possessed extraordinary flexibility and was generally quite dense; once someone underwater became entangled in it, they would only become more and more tightly bound the harder they struggled.

  He originally wanted to lower his head and untie the water grass wrapped around him, but he was worried that the water grass would entangle his neck. He had no choice but to raise his neck, slowly stretching out his hand, like taking off socks, to pull down the water grass from his legs. Although this action seemed simple, in such an environment, it was extremely laborious. Ding Lingxiu bit his teeth and used all his strength for every move he made. Because if he relaxed slightly, he might collapse completely and drown forever in the lake.

  After about another minute, Ding Lingxu finally broke free from the restraints of the water grass. At this point, he was shaking all over and felt that he had sweated out a large amount of liquid, all of which had merged into the lake water. The threat of death had forced Ding Lingxu to exhaust all his strength to swim towards the surface of the lake, this was no longer a conscious movement, but completely driven by willpower.

  As Ding Lingyu floated up to the surface of the water, she felt as if she had just gone through a life-and-death ordeal, and the entire world was vast and boundless.

  "Master Ding, are you alright? Hurry up and get ashore!" Zhang Shanyi anxiously shouted from the bridge, still holding a talisman in his hand, as if preparing to use it.

  "It's nothing, but there is someone below." Ding Lingxiu panted heavily on the water surface and waved his hand.

  Zhang Shanyi had been waiting on the shore for a full five minutes, and a normal person's breath-holding time was really at its limit. Ding Lingshu still hadn't come out. Zhang Shanyi didn't know what was going on underwater either, so he was worried about Ding Lingshu's safety and prepared to use the water-dividing charm to help him.

  "Isn't it a human-faced sparrow? Is it a human?" Zhang Shanyi was shocked.

  Ding Lingxiu wiped her face and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking slowly.

  "Zhang Zhenren, this person is very strange, looks just like you, or exactly the same."

  "What? You must be mistaken! I was just on the shore, how could I appear at the bottom of the water?" Zhang Shanyi became even more confused.

  "It's indeed... you." Ding Lingyu narrowed his eyes and said halfway through, as if he had thought of something, his eyes lit up, and then continued:

  "Zhang Zhenren, I know what's going on now. Hurry up and follow me to rescue people, there's not much time left, we have to hurry."

  "What? But I don't know how to swim!" Zhang Shanyi said helplessly.

  "Alas, okay." Ding Lingyu sighed and swam from the center of the lake towards the shore.

  Ding Lingxiu stepped ashore and suddenly felt refreshed and invigorated, with a warm sensation spreading throughout his body.

  "Although I don't know how to swim, I can use the water-dividing charm to help you." Zhang Shanyi said.

  "You... we've both come up and you're only saying this now, never mind for now. Besides, the time it takes to get the water talisman is not enough to save anyone. I'll just do it myself."

  After that, Ding Lingxiu took out the Hundred Ghosts Painting from his backpack. Zhang Shanyi's eyes lit up immediately, and he became terrified, trembling as he asked:

  "Master Ding, is this the Hundred Ghosts Painting?"

  "Yes." Ding Lingxiu nodded while flipping through the pages of the book.

  "It's said that the world has heard rumors of its existence, but I never thought it would appear in the Ding family." Zhang Shanyi looked at the Baigui Tu fragment held by Ding Lingxiu, sighing with emotion.

  Ding Lingxu was taken aback and didn't respond, because during the Wenchuan human-demon war, although his father Ding Lin was indeed fighting on the front lines, he hadn't used the power of the Hundred Ghosts Painting. And this Taoist priest had heard rumors of the Hundred Ghosts Painting appearing in the world, which meant that just like what his father said, another Hundred Ghosts Painting had really appeared in the world, and its holder was also one of the participants in the fourth human-demon war.

  What made Ding Lingxiu even more uneasy was that from Zhang Shanyi's words, it was not difficult to hear that there were already many rumors about this book of hundred ghosts in the Taoist community, and therefore, there must be many people who had been eyeing it for a long time.

  Ding Lingxiu thought to himself: From now on, when using the Hundred Ghosts Painting, he must be even more careful and cautious.

  The book page turned to the human face tree, Ding Lingxiu took out a porcelain bottle and dripped blood onto the book page, reciting an incantation to summon the underworld curse.

  A green light flashed by after finishing the incantation, and the human-faced tree appeared on the wooden bridge.

  Seeing Ding Lingxiu summoning the human-faced tree, Zhang Shanyi couldn't help but exclaim:

  "Yao mo of the demon level? Young Master Ding is indeed a young genius, actually possessing a yao mo of the demon level so quickly."

  "It's just luck." Ding Lingxu said humbly, while also having something in his heart that made him somewhat regretful.

  He had only known Zhang Shanyi for less than a day, and based on his current understanding of Zhang Shanyi, although he seemed like a positive and trustworthy person, he appeared to have a deep and complex personality. Their interactions were almost always brief and measured, with a sense of restraint that was not typical of someone of Zhang Shanyi's age. Now, revealing to him so quickly that he possessed the Qinglong Baigui Tu might bring trouble.

  The human-faced tree was also greatly shocked to see Zhang Shanyi, because this Zhang Shanyi's spiritual energy was much higher than Ding Lingxiu. Although the human-faced tree had already returned to the sacred domain and would no longer fear Daoists, she still instinctively retreated a little.

  "I don't know why the young master of spiritual refinement has called me out?" said the human-faced tree in a humble tone.

  The human-faced tree has a soft and pleasant voice, and since abandoning its demonic nature, the human-faced tree has become even more charming and gentle, with a bit of a virtuous wife and good mother's feeling, which can't help but make people feel affectionate.

  "Time is pressing, I'll get straight to the point. There's someone underwater right now and I need to hurry up and rescue him. One person can't possibly pull him out from the bottom of the lake on their own, so I need your help." Dīng Língxiū spoke quickly but clearly.

  "I understand, what do I need to do?" The tree-faced man looked embarrassed, "Spiritual Master, although I'm not afraid of water, my body will have a great buoyancy in the water. If it's to rescue someone who has just drowned, that might be possible, but diving underwater is impossible."

  "This I naturally know, can you become smaller?" Ding Ling Xiu asked.

  "Shrink? That shouldn't be a problem," said the Tree of Faces.

  "Alright, as long as you can shrink down. Now shrink and hide in my swimsuit." Ding Lingxu said without allowing any debate, at the same time putting the military dagger from his backpack behind his buttocks, preparing to enter the water.

  "Huh?" The tree spirit scratched her head, after all, she was also a female demon, and it was still difficult for her to get into the man's crotch.

  "Never mind, there's a cave behind, go in and hide. Saving lives is what matters." Ding Ling Shu urged.

  "Alright."

  The man-faced tree helplessly pursed its lips, shrunk to the size of a leaf, and jumped into the back pocket of Ding Lingxiu's swimsuit.

  "Zhang Zhenren, I'm going into the water to rescue people," said Ding Lingshu.

  "Alright, Master Ding must be extra careful. If you still can't come up in five minutes, I'll use the Water Separation Symbol to help you," Zhang Shanyi said.

  "Then I'll have to trouble you, brother."

  Ding Lingxiu was about to get into the water when Zhang Shanyi suddenly called out to him again:

  "Wait..."

  "What's wrong?"

  Zhang Shanyi handed Ding Lingxiu a talisman and said:

  "Just take it with you, might come in handy."

  "Alright."

  Ding Lingxiu took over the water-dividing charm and plunged into the icy lake again.

  Time was pressing, and after Ding Lingxiu entered the water, she frantically waved her arms and quickly swam towards the person entangled in the aquatic plants. The human-faced tree had been tightly grasping the thread in Ding Lingxiu's pocket since entering the water, because if she let go for a moment, the strong buoyancy of the water would cause her to float out.

  Ding Lingxiu was able to leave the Hundred Ghosts Painting on the shore with peace of mind, not entirely because he trusted Zhang Shanyi, but because he had made some secret arrangements on the painting beforehand. Before leaving home, he had stuck the Ding family's Secret Locking Symbol, the Locking Deity Symbol, on the back of the last page of the Hundred Ghosts Painting. Unless it was Ding Lingxiu himself who touched the painting, anyone else or any demon who tried to touch it would be trapped by the symbol's sealing net, regardless of their cultivation level. The only difference was that the length of time they were trapped would vary from one hour to a whole day, depending on their cultivation level. Even if it was just the shortest hour, it would still be enough for Ding Lingxiu to retrieve the painting. The only drawback was that Ding Lingxiu had not learned how to draw this Locking Deity Symbol, and he only had five of them passed down from his family, so he was always extremely cautious, avoiding others accidentally touching the Hundred Ghosts Painting.

  Ding Lingxiu dove back to the man's location, and indeed he was still bound by the water grass. Ding Lingxiu wielded his military dagger, cutting off the binding water grass with a few strokes. As Ding Lingxiu approached for a closer look, the man suddenly changed appearance, his face completely transformed into another person's, his mouth no longer moving, and his eyes rolled back white.

  Ding Lingxiu became even more convinced of his conjecture, that the man who looked like Zhang Shanyi he had seen earlier was actually an illusion created by Nei Que's magical powers. Nei Que had probably entered the body of this drowning man, but for some reason fell into the lake and couldn't escape itself. Conveniently, Ding Lingxiu had dived into the water, so it used its magic to make the man appear as if he was struggling and calling for help beside Ding Lingxiu, deceiving him into rescuing him.

  But Er Nai Que didn't know that even if he hadn't done so, Ding Ling Xi would still have saved him.

  After the water grass was cut off, the man actually continued to sink, Ding Lingxiu hurriedly hugged him, but also involuntarily sank towards the bottom of the lake. At the critical moment, Ding Lingxiu shook his butt.

  The person-faced tree in the crotch immediately swam out according to their pre-agreed signal, and its body changed back to its original shape.

  Ding Lingxiu was almost capsized by the suddenly enlarged human-faced tree, and he rolled over in the water. He flipped back, grabbed the human-faced tree, and put the man in his arms on the back of the human-faced tree.

  A man was carried by a tree trunk floating slowly up in the lake water. Before long, the drowning man was lifted to the surface of the lake.

  Ding Lingxu also floated up to the surface.

  Zhang Shanyi saw that Ding Lingxiu had actually used the buoyancy of the face tree to lift up the drowning man, and couldn't help but applaud with laughter.

  "Haha, Young Master Ding is indeed cleverer than ordinary people, and he's actually thought of a way to rescue us."

  "There's no way, at such a deep location, I don't have enough strength to lift him out."

  Ding Lingxiu walked to the edge of the bridge, and the human-faced tree also carried the drowned man onto the bridge.

  "What? Young Master Ding, didn't you say this man looked exactly like me? He doesn't look anything like me at all!"

  Zhang Shanyi stared at the man in surprise, without finding any resemblance between himself and the drowning person.

  "That's the Human-faced Sparrow's sorcery, it used its sorcery on me in order to make me save this man," said Ding Lingyu.

  "What? Is there a person-faced sparrow inside this man?" Zhang Shanyi immediately tensed up, pulling out a spiritual token from his backpack.

  "Yes, but it should have lost consciousness in the water and hasn't recovered yet. We should think of a way to force it out quickly." Ding Lingxiu said.

  "Little master, I won't be of much help with this demon-slaying business. Can I go back now?" The person-faced tree said softly, shaking its hair.

  "Thank you so much, Tree Sister. I'm truly grateful that despite being in a delicate condition, you're still willing to lend a hand." Ding Lingyu said with a bow.

  "It's nothing, young master. Thanks to you, I was able to return my soul to the sacred domain, and after I'm reborn into a demon body, my child will still have to rely on you for care." The human-faced tree said with a smile.

  "Alright, no problem."

  Ding Lingxiu once again chanted the Mingyu curse, and the human-faced tree transformed into a green light that merged into the book. The drop of blood that had summoned the human-faced tree flowed into the circle at the bottom right corner of the page.

  Seeing the blood flowing slowly into the circle, Zhang Shanyi couldn't help but feel a little curious, so he asked Ding Lingshu:

  "What's this? Young Master Ding, what does this blood flowing into the bottom right corner of the Hundred Ghosts Picture mean?"

  "Zhang Zhenren doesn't know that the demons and monsters subdued in this Hundred Ghosts Painting will have their souls and demonic forms return to the Holy Domain. The azalea blood is a medium for them to use their demonic forms in the mortal world, and the longer they need to stay, the more azalea blood is required. When I use the azalea blood to summon them, it will flow into the circular symbol at the bottom right corner of the page and become the Lingque currency that they can freely use in the Holy Domain," said Ding Lingshu.

  "Oh, so you're saying the demons and monsters in this Hyakki Yagyo are somewhat similar to being employed by you?"

  "It can also be said that after their pages are filled with the blood of cuckoos, they will undergo a transformation in both human and sacred realms, and their magical powers will greatly increase."

  "This hundred ghosts diagram is indeed mysterious and unparalleled, I have broadened my horizons."

  "Alright, Zhang Zhenren, for now let's focus on saving people first. Also, we need to think of a way to lure this intruder out."

  "Alright. Since this inner demon hasn't woken up yet, I'll directly use the Ghost-Expelling Talisman to drive it out, and then subdue it." Zhang Shanyi said as he rummaged through his backpack for the talisman.

  "You mustn't, the power of the talisman is too great. If the person inside struggles excessively, they will undoubtedly die."

  Ding Lingxu had just finished speaking when an unexpected discovery left him stunned:

  This man actually had a handgun tucked into his waistband.

  "How could he have a handgun? Is he a cop?" Ding Lingxiu said.

  He was afraid he had made a mistake, so he reached out and felt the waist of his pants, and found that it was indeed a pistol. He turned over the pocket inside his chest and found a police badge.

  "This... this is definitely trouble. He must have been patrolling around here and got possessed by the evil spirit. That's why he jumped into the water. What a tough guy, still trying to make a comeback even in death. If those who came before us had his courage, we wouldn't be needed here." Zhang Shanyi said.

  "It should be like this, but now we've sneaked in for nothing. I think it won't take long before someone comes looking for him." Ding Lingxiu furrowed his brow, feeling very troubled.

  "It doesn't matter, let's hurry up and drive this intruder out, subdue it and that's OK," said Zhang Shanyi.

  "Alright, since it's like this, let's hurry up and take action. Can you perform CPR?" Ding Lingxiu asked.

  "This... will."

  "You come then, I'm not good at this."

  Zhang Shanyi felt a bit embarrassed, slowly inserting his slender hand into the drowning policeman's clothes, rubbing it helplessly.

  "Your face is red! You're not a woman." Ding Lingxiu said helplessly as he looked at Zhang Shanyi's embarrassed expression.

  "If he were a girl, I wouldn't be blushing." Zhang Shanyi said with a pout.

  Ding Lingxiu was speechless.

  With rhythmic pressing, the lake water mixed with turbid **was sprayed out of the drowning man's mouth. The man also seemed to have regained consciousness and coughed several times.

  "This won't do, you need artificial respiration." Ding Lingshu said, scratching his head.

  "What? How can that be? My first kiss is at stake!" Zhang Shanyi was shocked and hastily waved his hand.

  "The first kiss can be kissed again, but when a person is dead, can you revive them?" Ding Lingxiu said seriously.

  Zhang Shanyi's expression was solemn, but looking at the man's critical condition, he had no other choice, so he steeled himself and pinched the patient's nostrils shut with his long fingers, wrapping his entire mouth around the man's lips to give him artificial respiration.

  After about two minutes, the man seemed to have a pulse again and coughed several times.

  "Hehe, people all say that the feeling of a first kiss is something one will never forget in this lifetime." Ding Lingyu leaned against her chin and smiled slyly.

  "That's right, I won't forget for this lifetime." Zhang Shanyi looked disheartened.

  "I remember the feeling of our first kiss was both nervous and exciting, what about you?" Ding Lingxiu's mouth corners were suppressing a smile.

  "I think it's genuine leek and egg flavor." Zhang Shanyi glared at him.