17.2

The Wuchang Saint? The great demon master who led nine other demon masters and built the formation here? Ji Yunhe had read historical documents praising the Wuchang Saint, but she had never seen anything about him having a relationship with the jade phoenix... But these things were not for her to dig into right now.

Ji Yunhe only felt confused. If the one being held here was the real jade phoenix, then who was the one that had broken through the seal and escaped? That one also called herself Qing Ji. The cat demon, Li Shu, should be her old acquaintance, but when he saw her, it did not look like a case of mistaken identity. While Ji Yunhe pondered, Changyi spoke.

"She is not a demon."

Changyi looked at the woman in the center of the pool.

"There is no demonic aura on her."

"Then what is she?"

"Seems... she is just some emotion cast out by the original host."

"Huh?"

Ji Yunhe had read in a book that powerful demons sometimes stripped out emotions like great sorrow and great joy to help them maintain inner stability and keep their cultivation from damage. Some demons just throw it away while others would bury it in a fixed place. These discarded emotions usually dissipate into thin air. However, the extra stubborn ones sometimes linger and take form. People called them demonic attachments.

It would look identical to the original demon, but with no magic power. The attachments recorded in the books did not live long because they had no real life, and always disappeared with the passage of time. Ji Yunhe never thought they could be so solid...

She looked at the wreckage all around them. Although it had no demonic power, its body was still very strong. In bird form, it could cause physical damage to its surroundings.

"This offshoot of a demon is a little too powerful."

"Hrm, perhaps the emotions of the host were too intense, or too many were tossed into the pool and it simply built up over the years."

Of course, Ji Yunhe thought. The jade phoenix was imprisoned here for a hundred years. The woman circled around twice, muttered a few words to herself, then burst into tears again.

"Why? Why? Ning Ruochu! Why did you betray me? Why did you imprison me?"Her tears fell into the pool, stirring up a wave of ripples that overflowed the shore and moistened the ground.

Then a cloud of black smoke rose and she transformed back into the giant bird. But this time, it no longer attacked Ji Yunhe as if it had forgotten her existence. Instead, it went on a frenzy. It flapped its wings ferociously and kept pecking out one deep pit after another with its beak on the ground. Golden earth and dust spewed everywhere. Ji Yunhe covered her mouth and nose and took two steps back.

"Let's retreat first, and come back when she calms down," Ji Yunhe said while looking at the frenzied bird.

Ji Yunhe placed him back on the ground. Changyi was a little confused.

"Am I too heavy? Are you tired?"

"No no no, not heavy." Ji Yunhe smiled at him purposefully.

"Changyi, you want to get out, right?"<

"Yes."

"It's just that if we want out, we must take care of that possessed demon. But you have no demonic power, and I have no spiritual power, and she is so big… It would be very difficult for us to get past her, right?"

"Yes."

"So, if I have a solution, would you like to try it?"

"I'd like to hear it."

"You go and seduce her a little. Pretend you love her and make her..."

Changyi immediately frowned and cut her off, "No." Such a stern rejection, Ji Yunhe was a bit surprised.

"No, I'm not asking you to actually do something to her..." Ji Yunhe lowered her head and peeked at his huge lotus tail. Although... she did not know exactly how these fish people "did things" either...

Ji Yunhe cleared her throat and recollected her thoughts.

"What I meant was to coax her verbally, untie the knot in her head. These demonic attachments will quickly dissolve once their grudges are broken, and it would be a good conclusion for her..."

"No."

Once again a righteous refusal. Ji Yunhe was puzzled.

"Why not?"

"I don't lie and I don't cheat." Looking at this honorable face of his, Ji Yunhe paused for a moment.

"But… well-intentioned lies?"

"There are no well-intentioned lies." Changyi's tone was very firm.

"The so-called good intentions are just a form of self deception." Ji Yunhe held her forehead.

"Then what do we do? I go coax her myself?" She glared at Changyi with a bit of frustration, but he met her gaze with eyes as pure as water. Ji Yunhe suddenly could no longer say a single word encouraging him to deceive.

Yes...

It had come to this...

She would have to go do it. Ji Yunhe touched her chest and thought to herself… wrap it up, change the hair, lower the voice, roll up the sleeves...

Let's get on with it then.

"If I guessed correctly, the exit is most likely in that pool."

The demonic attachment was so hostile toward demon masters that it immediately came out and attacked Ji Yunhe after she touched the water. To get out, they would have to dissolve this bird. But how do they dissolve such strong emotions...

A woman was betrayed by a man and her heart broken...

Ji Yunhe pondered while she squatted down to carry Changyi on her back like before. She scooped up his tail and walked away from the chaos, but her mind remained there.

What could mend a broken heart? Ji Yunhe felt like if this had happened to her, and some guy betrayed and abandoned her, she would immediately go out and find another one. Out with the old, in with the new. But where in this Ten Square Formation could she find a man to comfort that bird...

Wait. Ji Yunhe paused her steps and looked at the sturdy arm holding her neck. No man... but a male fish… here's a big one!