The old shaman had no choice but to use his personal connections to invite eight demon immortals. At the cost of his own life, he divided the crystallization of his lifelong cultivation—the Shaman's Spirit—into eight portions, giving one to each demon immortal. The Shaman's Spirit was the most cost-effective tool for demon cultivators to transform into human form. For a demon cultivator to achieve this, it would typically require at least eighteen hundred years, but with the blessing of the Shaman's Spirit, this time could be halved.
Of course, this was a transaction. The price the eight immortals paid was to seal Mujige for four hundred years, after which he could be unsealed. The old shaman had estimated that by the time the four hundred years passed, Mujige's demonic nature would likely have been worn away by the demon immortals' demonic energy. When he emerged then, he would be a normal person.
As for the eight immortals, after four hundred years of cultivating their sealed demonic nature and with the blessing of the Shaman's Spirit, they could transform into human form on the day of their unsealing, thus achieving their ultimate goal as demon cultivators. It was a win-win situation.
This plan received Nurhaci's approval, and Huang Taiji also chose to remain silent. In any case, he wouldn't live to see four hundred years later, and as long as Mujige was sealed, that would suffice.
Thus, the old shaman directed soldiers to dig nine holes on a cliff face of Juhua Mountain, forming a sealing grand array. Mujige's coffin was placed in the center, with the eight demon immortals positioned in the eight cardinal directions.
This seal lasted for four hundred years.
During this time, Mujige, unable to bear the loneliness, frequently used shamanic spirit communication to lure people from Niuxing to his rescue. However, they were all repelled by the eight demon immortals and their subordinates. Those who remained stubbornly defiant were killed and buried beneath Juhua Mountain as a warning to others, all infamously known as "Liaodong Yebushou" (Night Patrolmen of Liaodong).
After reading the diary, I took a long time to recover, finally pulling myself out of the story. I never imagined that magic and demons truly existed!
However, one point differed from what Yaoyao had told me in my dream.
Yaoyao had asked me to take her "corpse" to the crematorium to be burned to ashes, so that she could enter the underworld for reincarnation.
But Song Lei's diary clearly recorded that after the sealing period expired, Yaoyao could indeed come back to life, although she would become an ordinary person without any magical powers.
Who was telling the truth?
Checking the time, it was already two in the morning. I decided to enter dreamland with this new information, hoping to see if Yaoyao or the eight demon immortals had anything else to say.
After washing up, I went to bed. My mind was a bit restless, and I tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.
Strangely, however, this sleep was exceptionally peaceful. My dreams were filled only with vast seas, sandy beaches, and grasslands—picturesque and soul-stirring scenery, with not a single human figure appearing.
Upon waking in the morning, I guessed that someone had prevented Yaoyao from entering my dreams.
After thinking for a while, I decided to visit Jiuxian Cave again. At the very least, I had to see her "corpse" to determine the truth of this information.
Even if the eight demons were guarding the place, it wouldn't matter. Song Lei had mentioned in his diary that those eight demons were also under seal, and their demonic energy followed a pattern of "strong at night, weak during the day." This meant they were very powerful at night but less so during the day, especially at noon when their demonic energy was almost negligible. That would be the perfect time to enter the central cave.
The diary contained a diagram drawn by Song Lei of Jiuxian Cave. The central cave was sealed by a stone door with a large bronze lock. He had also drawn the appearance of the key and mentioned that the key was in the temple below—of course, this was information Song Lei had obtained during his lifetime. I suspected that after Song Lei's attack, the key had long since been moved.
However, this key looked somewhat familiar. It was thin and long, and near the head of the key was a double-fish shaped ornament. I felt like I had seen it somewhere before.
Suddenly, I remembered!
Wasn't this Shen Xingyue's hairpin!
Heavens, the key to opening Yaoyao's sealed location had been so close to me, and I never knew!
I could even surmise that Shen Xingyue had deliberately left the hairpin behind yesterday, giving me an opportunity?
It was a shame that I couldn't seize the opportunity when it was presented!
It seemed that if I wanted to save Yaoyao, I would have to seek out my "fiancée."