45: Recommended by Si Deng, the eldest daughter of Xueying.

Then, a white-haired, cloth-robed old man, holding a lantern staff, strode into the Taoist temple.

This person was none other than Si Deng Elder, and as he walked through the temple, no one dared to stop him.

Moon Shadow Taoist also quickly rose to greet him: “Si Deng Elder, what brings you here?”

The goatee-bearded Taoist bowed and scraped respectfully to Si Deng Elder.

The cloth-robed Elder, holding the lamp, stroked his white beard and cast a sidelong glance at Moon Shadow Taoist.

“Let’s talk inside!”

“Elder, please!”

When Si Deng Elder entered the room and saw the unfamiliar face of Li Yan, he turned back to look at Moon Shadow Taoist.

“Who is this?”

Moon Shadow Taoist chuckled and said: “He’s one of us, Elder, all of us.”

“Without further ado, let’s begin.”

“I have something, Elder…”

Si Deng Elder sat down in a chair, and after only a few sentences, he began to feel drowsy, dozed off, and fell asleep.

Moon Shadow Taoist also sat down and fell asleep with his head on the table.

Seeing this, Li Yan immediately understood something.

He also pretended to lean against a pillar, closed his eyes, and feigned sleep.

When the three people in the room fell into ‘deep sleep’, Si Deng Elder’s Shadow Demon was the first to move.

As Li Yan expected, it was the Shadow Demon manipulating people’s memories, making them perform certain actions.

And the individuals themselves were unaware that they had been possessed by a Shadow Demon.

Si Deng Elder’s Shadow Demon rose from the ground, transforming into a black-haired old man.

If one didn't know, they would have thought the Shadow Demon and the main body were twins.

Shadow Demon Si Deng, with a stern face, said: “Everyone, wake up.”

Moon Shadow Taoist’s Shadow Demon also rose from the ground and materialized.

Li Yan, however, controlled his own Shadow Demon to listen in from the side.

Si Deng Elder merely glanced at Li Yan’s Shadow Demon, not suspecting anything.

In Shadow Demon Si Deng’s view, only Shadow Demons could control Cultivators, and no Cultivator could control a person.

Si Deng then proceeded to reveal their secret in front of Li Yan.

“That Secret Realm in Broken Sword Valley has appeared again recently!”

Broken Sword Valley?

Li Yan had just left Broken Sword Valley, so he was more than familiar with it.

Shadow Demon Si Deng continued: “If we can find Broken Sword Valley, we can find the Sacred Artifact of the ancient Demon Shadow Sect, the blood glass treasure lotus lantern!”

Got it.

That blood glass treasure lotus lantern was hidden in Li Yan’s Storage Ring.

Si Deng probably never even dreamed that this was the closest he had ever been to the ancient Sacred Artifact.

“If we can find the blood glass treasure lotus lantern and offer it to the Eldest Daughter of the Venerable, our status in Mi Mountain Shadow City will greatly increase!”

Shadow City?

Judging by his tone, there was a Shadow Demon city in a place invisible to Cultivators?

Interesting!

Li Yan found that the Shadow Demons had almost no defenses against him, because from ancient times until now, no one possessed by a Shadow Demon had ever successfully resisted.

He controlled his Shadow Demon to sit and listen from the side, and Si Deng Elder had no guard against him at all.

The Shadow Demons assumed that as long as it was a Shadow Demon, it was one of their kin, and there was no need to guard against their own kind.

Of course, very few Cultivators in the entire world could escape the control of Shadow Demons.

The reason Li Yan was an exception was due to the ‘Side Effect to Main Effect’ System; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to control Shadow Demons.

This also made it easy to understand why the Shadow Demons were so relaxed.

Looking at the entire Bugui Mountain, Li Yan was the only one.

At this moment, Shadow Demon Si Deng continued: “This time, your mission is to escort the Eldest Daughter to Broken Sword Valley to find the blood glass treasure lotus lantern.”

Li Yan secretly moved his fingers, signaling Moon Shadow Taoist to ask.

“Elder, what about the Su Family traitor? Are we still going to capture Su Chongyue?”

Si Deng snorted coldly: “You don’t need to worry about that. Compared to capturing a traitor, the ancient Sacred Artifact, the treasure lotus lamp, is our goal.”

“Understood.”

“Go prepare. Modify Moon Shadow Taoist’s memory so that he personally escorts her with his Disciple.

“The Eldest Daughter’s palanquin is about to arrive.”

“Alright, Elder.”

Moon Shadow Taoist’s Shadow Demon began to squirm, modifying Moon Shadow Taoist’s memory.

And all of this, of course, was done under Li Yan’s authorization.

Naturally, no abnormalities could be discovered by Si Deng Elder; Li Yan still wanted to continue to lie low among these Shadow Demons.

At this moment, Shadow Demon Si Deng looked at Li Yan: “Are you new? Your Shadow Demon looks unfamiliar, born not long ago, right?”

“Replying to Elder, I only awakened consciousness recently.”

Li Yan had completely integrated into this Shadow Demon role; he controlled his Shadow Demon to answer fluently without batting an eye.

Shadow Demon Si Deng looked Li Yan up and down, and he nodded with satisfaction.

“Very good, your main body looks very young, and your strength is good.”

“You are the youngest prodigy of my Shadow Demon Race. When we escort the Eldest Daughter later, I will let you show your face more!”

Shadow Demon Si Deng saw that Li Yan was very young, and he felt that this newborn Shadow Demon would surely have a bright future.

The Shadow Demon Race was never stingy with the younger generation.

They relied on mutual support by parasitizing Human Race Cultivators.

As an old saying goes, when you find one Shadow Demon, there’s actually a whole nest of Shadow Demons hidden in the city.

Li Yan had intended to act discreetly, but Si Deng Elder mistakenly thought he was a young talent among the Shadow Demons.

He even wanted to recommend Li Yan to the Eldest Daughter of the Venerable, so Li Yan could show his face in front of the Eldest Daughter.

“Elder, isn’t this inappropriate?”

Li Yan still wanted to refuse; he just wanted to quietly blend in with the Shadow Demon Race.

However, Shadow Demon Si Deng said righteously: “Moon Shadow Taoist was personally transformed into a Shadow Demon by me.”

“And you are Moon Shadow Taoist’s person, so you are also considered my Disciple’s Disciple.”

“I will not mistreat you; just follow my arrangements!”

Shadow Demon Si Deng was completely unaware that the harmless-looking Li Yan in front of him was actually a ruthless individual.

He lightly patted Li Yan’s shoulder: “Don’t be nervous, I will recommend you to the Eldest Daughter of the Venerable.”

“At this time, the Eldest Daughter should be here; follow me.”

Shadow Demon Si Deng put on a bamboo hat and covered his eyes.

This way, outsiders wouldn't be able to tell that the main body was sleeping.

The Shadow Demon controlled the main body, leading Li Yan out of the Taoist temple.

On this quiet forest path, Li Yan saw a group of women wearing veiled hats, following in front of and behind an immortal palanquin.

The immortal palanquin was suspended in mid-air, and through the black shadow on the white curtain of the palanquin window, one could vaguely make out a long-haired woman sitting inside the palanquin.

She!

Was the Eldest Daughter of the Venerable!

Before Li Yan even got close to the palanquin, he felt a cold aura emanating from it.

Si Deng Elder respectfully bowed to the palanquin and said: “Eldest Daughter, these people are the attendants for this journey; they will follow you to Broken Sword Valley.”

A low, cold female voice came from inside the palanquin.

“Understood. Lift the palanquin.”

At this time, Si Deng Elder once again respectfully recommended Li Yan to the Eldest Daughter.

“Eldest Daughter, this young man is a Shadow Demon who has just awakened recently.”

“Oh?”

The Blood Shadow Venerable’s Eldest Daughter was clearly interested in Li Yan.