Li Yanchu frowned slightly. “What happened?” Ding Rou’s chest rose and fell rapidly; she was clearly overwhelmed with fear. There was none of the ethereal composure expected of a Daoist priestess. “I encountered a demonic creature, it’s skilled in transformation. It took on my appearance, making it nearly impossible to tell us apart. One man and two women from the Daoist temple hall... were all killed by it!” Ding Rou said, still shaken. Li Yanchu raised an eyebrow. “There’s a shapeshifting demon in the ruins of Mount Jinting?” From what he understood, these demonic creatures were undoubtedly dangerous, but they usually lacked intelligence. They were reckless, brutish threats. And now, one had appeared that was not only dangerous, but capable of disguise? “That’s right!” Ding Rou’s eyes looked blank and hollow as she muttered, “It’s terrifying... You can’t even tell if it’s a human or a demon.” Her body trembled uncontrollably. That delicate, once-radiant face was now drained of all color, giving her a fragile, sorrowful beauty. Li Yanchu recalled that Zhu Fugui had mentioned Ding Rou had not been traveling with him, but had instead gone off on her own to explore the ruins of Mount Jinting. He hadn’t expected her to encounter something . Talk about bad luck. “Where is the demon now?” Li Yanchu asked. Ding Rou glanced nervously over her shoulder. “Earlier, it turned into my form and tried to kill me. I managed to wound it using a Daoist artifact hidden in my robes, only then did I escape. It’s probably chasing me even now!” Li Yanchu’s frown deepened. Suddenly, a figure swept past like a breeze. It was Ding Rou, also dressed in Daoist robes! It was as if the exact same scene had just replayed itself. This new “Ding Rou” flew over, her face lighting up with joy when she spotted Li Yanchu, but her expression quickly changed. “Fellow Daoist, be careful! The woman behind you is a demon in disguise!” this Ding Rou spoke urgently. Now, two Ding Rous stood before him! Each pointed at the other, accusing her of being a demon in disguise. One looked panicked and covered in wounds. The other was completely unscathed, her demeanor calm and icy. Li Yanchu had earlier used Qi Sight to examine the first Ding Rou’s aura and found nothing unusual. Now, he activated the Daoist Qi Sight again, and a clear radiance circled within his eyes. But to his surprise, the second Ding Rou also showed no abnormalities! Li Yanchu’s gaze darkened. Even Qi Sight couldn’t see through this deception!? Yet the Ding Rou beside him, the pale one, didn’t take the opportunity to strike. Instead, she nervously stepped a bit closer to him. “Fellow Daoist, don’t trust her! She’s the demon who killed the three disciples from the Daoist temple hall!” said the Ding Rou next to him. Meanwhile, the other Ding Rou had arrived, holding a horsetail whisk with a cold and composed look. “Fellow Daoist, be careful! Don’t be deceived by her lies!” Within this dim, eerie ruin of a Blissful Land, a strange and unsettling atmosphere was spreading. It was just like The True and False Monkey King[1]... Li Yanchu felt thoroughly fed up with this mess. Even Qi Sight can’t expose this transformation?! Without hesitation, he drew a Eight Trigrams Mirror! A white divine light shot forth, enveloping both Ding Rous at once. The Eight Trigrams Mirror was a common Daoist artifact used to break concealment and transformation spells. “Fellow Daoist, be careful! This demon is extremely cunning!” said the cool, composed Ding Rou who had just arrived. “Don’t trust her! She... she’s the demon hiding in this ruin!” But even under the Eight Trigrams Mirror’s divine light, neither of the two revealed any signs of illusion or transformation; everything remained unchanged! Li Yanchu’s gaze turned cold. Even the Eight Trigrams Mirror couldn’t pierce the mystery behind the two! “Impressive trickery...” Li Yanchu sneered. Suddenly, a surge of lightning rose violently from his body. “By Heaven’s pure yang, Five-Lightning Spell! Anything that dares not meet my gaze is nothing but a demonic heretic!” Lightning seemed to flicker in Li Yanchu’s eyes. The lightning arts was the purest yang force under heaven, and it was the ultimate bane of all ghosts, demons, and monsters! It was as if heavenly lightning had descended! The Ding Rou beside him showed no fear; instead, she drew strength from the thunderous aura, letting it wash away the fear in her heart. Her gaze was steady and unwavering. But the second Ding Rou, the one who arrived later, subtly turned her head away, unable to meet Li Yanchu’s blazing eyes. The Jiaoslayer was drawn, and a brilliant arc of saber light flashed. And the Ding Rou standing behind Li Yanchu, the one with the composed gaze and the first one he saw, was sliced cleanly in half at the waist by the saber. With that, blood burst out in a violent spray. Ding Rou stared at him in disbelief, her face filled with shock and confusion. “Why!?” Li Yanchu’s strike had been too fast. Ding Rou hadn’t even died yet; her beautiful face now drenched in blood, which was a gruesome and tragic sight. Li Yanchu remained expressionless.“Drop the act. This strike wasn’t meant to kill you.” His voice was cold. Then, the severed Ding Rou suddenly grinned, and a sinister smile spread across her face. Her body began fusing back together on its own; but oddly, her upper and lower halves had swapped places, twisting and contorting back into place with an unnatural, bone-cracking sound that made one’s scalp crawl. “Such a bloodthirsty Daoist... Aren’t you afraid of killing the wrong person?” This “Ding Rou” gave a seductive smile, her voice dripping with allure. But Li Yanchu’s face stayed cold and unmoved, and in his eyes, lightning surged once more. “Where exactly do you come from? What really happened back then at the Blissful Land of Mount Jinting?” The fake Ding Rou gave a flirtatious smile. “You won’t answer my questions, yet you dare question me? Truly, you know nothing of pity or tenderness toward a beautiful woman.” “You demonic fiend! You dare take my form to deceive others? You deserve death!” The real Ding Rou shouted angrily. With a sharp flick, her horsetail whisk lashed out. A streak of white light surged forward, enveloping the fake Ding Rou in a silken beam. But the fake Ding Rou twisted her body and instantly vanished, reappearing several zhang away. “Such a prim and proper Daoist priestess... With that cold demeanor of yours, how do you expect to win over this young Daoist Master’s heart? Weren’t you already smitten with him long ago?” Her voice carried an unspeakable charm, and it sounded seductive and teasing. Unlike the earlier innocent, pitiful facade, this version of her exuded a mischievous, sultry allure that stirred the senses. Ding Rou’s face flushed red, then quickly turned cold. She began chanting a spell, preparing to strike this glib-tongued and cunning demon. But then, her body suddenly stiffened, and her limbs stopped obeying her commands. The fake Ding Rou smiled seductively and began to loosen her own robes, and to Ding Rou’s horror, her own hands moved in sync, undoing her clothing as well. She was a proper Daoist priestess, and she was young, beautiful, and pure. But she had never so much as touched a man, let alone disrobed in front of one! As the outer robe slipped off, a flush of deep embarrassment rose to her cheeks. The fake Ding Rou twisted her body, exuding a powerful heat and an irresistible, intoxicating sensuality. The scene was both enticing and deeply disturbing. “Enough!” Li Yanchu snapped. With a shout, he struck out with his palm. Boom! The spot where the fake Ding Rou had been standing was instantly blasted into a deep crater! At that moment, both Ding Rous floated lightly into the air, moving with identical, graceful movements. Two sets of clothing fell to the ground at the same time, and a flush of embarrassment rose on Ding Rou’s cheeks. But Li Yanchu stepped in front of her with his eyes averted, shielding her from view. Though honestly, it didn’t make a damn difference who he looked at. “Young Daoist priest,” the fake Ding Rou said with a seductive smile, “In a ruin , no one cares if you kill someone. Why bother putting on this act? Wouldn’t it be better to just enjoy yourself for once?” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel-fire.ɴet 1. "The True and False Monkey King" is a famous episode from the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. It tells the story of the Six-Eared Macaque, who takes on the appearance of Sun Wukong and joins the pilgrimage to the West alongside the real Wukong, leading to a conflict over who is the true Monkey King. ☜