Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 489: Reclaiming Yun Zhen

The paths in the forest were crisscrossed, and it was difficult to tell the direction. Add to that the heavy rain, and it was even more difficult to find the way. Moreover, Ji Anni was riding on a horse without a saddle, and she had to hold on to the horse's neck tightly to avoid falling off. She had no energy to recall the location of the cave she had visited.

She thought she must be lost, but strangely enough, Ji Anni always felt that there was a demonic spirit guiding her. About half an hour after leaving the White Tiger Gate, just when her body was about to be frozen by the rain and cold wind, she finally saw a familiar scenery in front of her.

"Ghost King Cave..." Ji Anni unconsciously murmured these four words and slid off the horse. Looking around, there were only deep caves and hard rocks. There was no place to tie the horse, and there was no rein at hand, so Ji Anni simply let the horse go and let it go wherever it wanted.

Facing the dark cave entrance, Ji Anni took a deep breath. A cold wind blew from behind her, and she was soaked to the skin, her teeth chattering.

Dark clouds were overhead and the rain was pouring down. Standing at the entrance of the cave, the light was so dim that one could only see four or five steps away. If one walked deeper, one would probably not be able to see one's hand in front of one's face.

There was no fire or materials to start a fire in the heavy rain. Ji Anni knew that once she entered the cave, she would face many difficulties. But she did not hesitate. After roughly wringing out the rainwater from her clothes, she bravely walked into the depths of the cave.

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't afraid, but as long as she thought that Yun Zhen was waiting to see her inside, she could overcome any fear. "Yun Zhen, if you are alive, why did you tell me that you are dead... Do you have any difficulties..." Thinking back to the scene of parting with Yun Zhen, she still felt heartbroken.

After walking about twenty steps, it was pitch dark. Ji Anni was very careful with every step she took, but she was not lost, because there was a force pulling her and leading her to the depths of the cave.

I don't know how long I walked. In the darkness, all my senses became dull. Not only could I not see, but I couldn't hear either. Although I could still step firmly, I felt like I was walking in the void.

I could vaguely feel the demonic energy getting heavier, as if an invisible giant hand was covering my mouth and nose, making it difficult to breathe. Even so, Ji Anni still did not retreat. There was only one belief left in her heart, which was to find Yun Zhen - Fox Demon Queen, please bless me to see Yun Zhen again.

As soon as she thought of this, Ji Anni felt a gentle airflow coming from her chest. The airflow quickly flowed through her body, dispelling her coldness and fear. When Ji Anni came to her senses, she found that her body was emitting a soft light. The center of the light source was exactly where her heart was.

Looking down, one can vaguely see a semicircular sphere at the heart - this is the half fox bead that Ji Anni absorbed, and it is the soul power that brought her back to life.

"Fox Demon Lady, rest assured, I will definitely fulfill our promise and will not waste the life you gave me." Ji Anni placed her hand on her chest and whispered a wish. After a while, she regained her spirits and continued to move forward. With the light emitted by her body, she could finally see the road under her feet clearly.

Ji Anni quickened her pace and walked towards the direction that attracted her somehow.

Finally, she saw a faint blue light appear at the end of the darkness.

Could that be where Yun Zhen was? Ji Anni ignored her tiredness, lifted her skirt, and ran towards the blue light.

The blue light was emitted from a square space, like a room with four bare walls. In the room there was a platform three feet above the ground, on which sat a dark figure.

Because the blue light in the room was too weak, Ji Anni couldn't see what the black shadow was. But her heart suddenly started beating violently, and it told her clearly that the black shadow was Yun Zhen!

"Yun Zhen..." Ji Anni held back the tears that were about to flow and rushed towards the black shadow.

However, a flash of light suddenly appeared before her eyes, and Ji Anni didn't know what had happened.

The next moment, she was already gripped by an iron-like hand around her throat. Her back was against the wall, her body hanging in the air. Not to mention speaking, she could barely even breathe.

"Who are you?" the black shadow asked.

What a familiar voice! Ji Anni completely forgot that she was in danger and was so moved that she almost cried. She opened her mouth desperately, trying to call Yun Zhen's name, but her neck was almost broken and she almost fainted. She stared at Yun Zhen infatuatedly, her eyes full of joy of reunion. But Yun Zhen's expression was completely the opposite. He looked at Ji Anni coldly, his eyes full of strangeness, contempt and vigilance.

Yun Zhen's face was very close. His handsome eyebrows and tightly pursed thin lips clearly looked like Yun Zhen. But the aura, or soul, emanating from his body was like that of another person.

"Yun, Yunzhen..." Ji Anni tried her best to finally utter these words.

After hearing the name, the black shadow's hand weakened a little. "Are you Zhao Ji?"

Ji Anni, hanging in the air, hugged the Ghost King's hand and nodded weakly.

Only then did the Ghost King let go and threw Ji Anni to the ground.

Before Yun Zhen handed his body over to the Ghost King, he begged the Ghost King to take her in if Zhao Ji was ruthlessly expelled from the palace. Although the Ghost King did not agree, he remembered Yun Zhen's last wish.

As soon as Ji Anni landed, she immediately lay on the ground and coughed violently. Everything that had just happened was enough to make her feel the opponent's strength. In front of Yun Zhen who had turned into a ghost king, Ji Anni's life seemed as insignificant as an ant.

"Don't you recognize me?" Ji Anni asked sadly. The joy of reunion was immediately swept away by a deeper sadness.

"The Yun Zhen you knew is dead." The Ghost King looked down at Ji Anni who was curled up at his feet.

"Dead?" These two short words were like a sharp sword piercing Ji Anni's heart. Yes, Yun Zhen was dead. The Yun Zhen in front of her was just an empty shell, without Yun Zhen's soul.

Yun Zhen once told Ji Anni about his past.

In order to avenge his father and his father's concubine, the young Yun Zhen used a forbidden technique, cursing the concubine's child to die early and offering his own body to the Ghost King as a price.

The reason why Yun Zhen repeatedly let Yuan Rong live was to keep Yuan Rong alive to deal with the awakened Ghost King in the future.

The reason why he didn't kill Yuan Rong was that he wanted to use Yuan Rong to kill himself who was resurrected as the Ghost King.

"Were you driven out of the palace by the Emperor so quickly that you came to me for help?" The Ghost King sneered, his expression full of contempt. He had no good feelings towards humans.

Ji Anni shook her head, remembering Yun Zhen's instructions before he disappeared. Don't dream that Yun Zhen is still alive, don't dream of resurrecting Yun Zhen. All she can do is accept the fact that Yun Zhen is dead and face the Ghost King again.

Thinking of this, Ji Anni raised her head firmly, met the ghost king's cold gaze and said, "I am not here to ask you to save me, but to ask you to stop the rain. If the rain does not stop, the foundation of the entire dynasty will be soaked by the rain."

"Stop the rain? What can you ask me for?" The Ghost King didn't even look at Ji Anni. Ji Anni was the descendant of Xue Lan and Taizu. Although she didn't look exactly like Xue Lan, the expressions between her eyebrows always revealed some similarities. The Ghost King would never admit that seeing Ji Anni reminded him of Xue Lan.

"Tell me what I have to do to make you stop the rain?" Ji Anni grabbed the ghost king's clothes and raised her head stubbornly. "As long as you say it, I can do it!"

"You're right, I want Xue Lan to be resurrected, can you do it?" The ghost king angrily kicked Ji Anni away. Ji Anni rolled to the wall, her whole body aching as if it was falling apart.

Covering her abdomen where the pain was the most severe, Ji Anni slowly straightened her upper body, staring fearlessly at the Ghost King's indifferent back, and roared like a curse: "Xue Lan is dead, but Ghost King, you borrowed Yun Zhen's body to revive. If you are obsessed with a dead person, you might as well die - give Yun Zhen back to me!"

"You!" The Ghost King was so angry that he grabbed Ji Anni's clothes and kicked her into the air again.

Ji Anni held the Ghost King's hands with both hands, and her feet kept moving in the air. But the Ghost King's power was too strong, and she had no room to resist at all.

Just when Ji Anni thought she was going to be killed, she suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings.

"Cang Ghost?" Ji Anni stared at the Goshawk that swooped down on the Ghost King in surprise.

The Cang Ghost kept flapping its wings at the Ghost King's eyes, and the Ghost King had no choice but to abandon Ji Annie and wave the Cang Ghost away with his hands. When the Cang Ghost saw Ji Annie fall to the ground, he immediately rested on Ji Annie's shoulders, spread his wings, screamed angrily at the Ghost King, and protected Ji Annie behind him.

"Cang Gui, you traitor!" The Ghost King roared, and the earth in the cave shook.

If the Ghost King had not taken into consideration that Cang Gui was Yun Zhen's most loyal Shikigami and had once brought him half of Xue Lan's fox bead, he would have torn Cang Gui in half long ago.

"Cang Gui, why are you here?" Ji Anni opened her eyes wide in surprise and muttered to herself, "Yun Zhen is not dead... Yun Zhen is still alive, he must not be dead..."

If Yun Zhen died, Cang Gui would also disappear. Since Cang Gui was still alive, Yun Zhen must still be alive somewhere in this body!

The stubborn Ji Anni almost collapsed. She stared at the Ghost King with tears in her eyes and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Give Yun Zhen back to me..."