Shawn Vaughn has never really been someone Lily Bai liked.
He’s way too obsessed with winning and losing.
His jealousy is off the charts.
Just because of the Twelve Heaven‑Bestowed rankings, he’s acted out of jealousy more than once toward Lily Bai.
For example, he throws his weight around just because his master is the top Heaven‑Bestowed Demon Slayer, bossing her around like she owes him.
Or he’ll talk behind her back, saying, “What’s so great about being a Rune Master? She’s only famous because of the Summers family,” or something like that.
......
But out of all Shawn Vaughn’s flaws, being stupid is definitely not one of them.
On the contrary, he’s actually extremely smart.
Would someone that clever really use such a dumb way to rescue someone?
What he did at the inn entrance just now? Seriously, it was so dumb.
Even if you’re catching a random demon beast, you wouldn’t just set up an array right outside its den and shout about fighting.
All it does is draw a crowd—totally useless.
Was he actually doing it on purpose?
No way.
One of the Demon Slayer Alliance’s main creeds is: mutual aid and watching out for each other.
His master, Harvey Yule, is the leader of the Demon Slayer Alliance. There’s no way he’d break the Alliance’s creed and set a bad example.
It must be that Damian Black did something to her, so Shawn didn’t see her handkerchief at first!
Then he got way too nervous and scared, so he lost control a bit.
That has to be it!
Maybe Damian Black already figured out her plan last night!
He really is a scheming snake!
......
Lily Bai guesses it’s probably because Baxa got captured—so today, Azure Flame and Damian Black took turns using Swiftstride, and they actually reached the area near Yellow Springs Volcano by dusk.
Instead of tossing her straight into the volcano, they stopped at a nearby town.
The town itself is full of shops and tidy houses—pretty normal compared to other towns.
But there’s something weird: way fewer people than normal. In broad daylight, it’s eerily quiet and packed with yin energy.
Most of the shops are open and there are people inside, but no one’s hawking their wares. It’s like they don’t care if you come in or not.
There are people on the street, but not many regular townsfolk—mostly cultivators, and even some demons and immortals.
Lily Bai even spots a type of person shrouded in heavy yin energy, wrapped head to toe in black robes—everyone gives them a wide berth.
Damian Black and the human-shaped Azure Flame lead Lily Bai into an inn.
The innkeeper shows them to a room on the second floor.
The room is way cleaner and more comfortable than expected, and there’s even a door to a jutting balcony outside.
Azure Flame and Damian Black come in and start talking via voice transmission.
Lily Bai pushes open the balcony door and steps outside.
The town is built halfway up a mountain, so the view opens up as soon as she steps out.
It’s a landscape she’s never seen before—nearby, jagged rocks with not a blade of grass; farther away, black clouds billow and thick yin energy hangs in the air.
“Legend says Yellow Springs Volcano is the entrance to the Underworld. For a thousand miles around, not a blade of grass grows, and sunlight can’t penetrate... Seeing this place—and all this yin energy—it’s probably true...” Lily Bai feels a pang of sadness.
If Yellow Springs Volcano isn’t just a legend, she really will be wiped out—body and soul.
Wiped out...
There would be no more Lily Bai in this world.
It’s a pretty depressing thought...
“Beneath Yellow Springs Volcano lies the Nine-bend Nether River. The Nine-bend Nether River leads straight to the Underworld.” Damian Black says from behind her.
Lily Bai turns to look at him.
“The Underworld has Eighteen Hells. The tenth is called the Hell of Blazing Flames. It can burn away souls—any soul, whether human, immortal, or god.”
He glances down at her and asks, “Are you scared?”