Chapter 97

Countless cultivators swarmed towards the backs of Liuyu and Tanning. Jiufang Shaogeng, who had initially intended to follow closely, paused.

He also wanted to know what his elder brother had done to Yinshan Liuyu.

“What exactly happened? Why is Yinshan Liuyu in our home?”

Jiufang Shaogeng furrowed his brows.

Several elders of the Jiufang clan around him were also waiting for an explanation.

Yinshan Liuyu used to come and go frequently in the Jiufang household, but today was different. When Jiufang Qian ordered the mobilization of troops throughout Dachao, he also commanded that the residence be under strict surveillance inside and out. The eldest son was not a careless person.

Everyone was waiting for his explanation, but Jiufang Zhanghua just silently watched the figure outside the barrier.

It was as if the boundless ghost fire, which could burn everything, and the countless demons and ghosts that had been watching intently for a long time, were all there.

The entire Jiufang residence was like a cage, but the demon outside the cage was more violent and angry than those inside.

The tongues of fire licking at the barrier were just waiting for an opportunity. As long as Liuyu destroyed the remaining seven array eyes, the traps and mechanisms in the mansion would completely cease, and the demon would tear through the barrier and crush everyone to pieces.

Even knowing that the demon would not kill his way in immediately, just facing such anger would evoke a soul-shaking fear.

Was it anger?

Jiufang Zhanghua’s indifferent gaze roamed over his face, as if extracting a few traces of fear from those mad eyes.

He feared none of the people in the residence.

He feared Liuyu being hurt.

…How ridiculous! An ugly and vulgar demon, could he even love someone? Did he even deserve to understand what love is?

The malevolent thoughts filled with pain and resentment churned in Jiufang Zhanghua’s heart. Those filthy and vicious words of destruction almost reached his lips.

This was the only weapon in his hand that could directly pierce the demon!

Even if he were to be burned to ashes by this demon in the next moment, he would make the demon feel the same pain as he did!

“Young Master!” An elder of the Jiufang clan spoke with displeasure, “The family head is fully aware of everything that has happened. He is very displeased with your actions today and orders you to surrender all your personal guards and immediately enter the water prison to be…”

The sword light was faster than his words.

Jiufang Shaogeng stared at the jade sword piercing the elder’s heart, his pupils shrinking with irrepressible astonishment.

What shocked him even more was that none of the remaining elders in the courtyard reacted to this.

The jade sword that had pierced through the chest swiftly returned to Jiufang Zhanghua’s hand. Blood splattered, landing on his jade-like cheek, his chest heaving. The intense emotions caused an unnatural flush on his pale face.

He raised his eyes, staring intently at that ghostly green figure, his jaw clenched.

After a long time, he lowered his long lashes and spoke:

“This is a critical moment for the survival of the Jiufang clan. Father has locked himself away and cannot make accurate judgments about the situation. From now on, everyone in the Jiufang clan will follow my orders, and all will obey military law—”

“Shaogeng, how many cultivators above the eighth realm are there in the mansion?”

Jiufang Shaogeng looked around and saw that no one raised any objections. He hesitated and answered:

“…Ten.”

“Deploy eight to protect Father outside the secret chamber. The remaining two will lead all other cultivators to abandon the second and third array eyes and set up defenses directly at the fourth array eye. Make sure to stop Yinshan Liuyu there.”

There was no place safer than Jiufang Qian’s secret chamber.

Was this protection, or rebellion?

Everyone played dumb while understanding clearly that a change was coming to the Jiufang clan. Jiufang Shaogeng’s eyes flickered as his gaze swept over the elders and cultivators who had unknowingly taken their place behind his elder brother.

Demon Ghost Mo Lin!

The leader of the Twelve Generals of Xiandu, Xiahou Chi, and the head of the Xiahou family, called out to the sky:

“You have great courage! Before the Heavenly Pavilion, the truce oath still stands! You summoned ten thousand ghosts here, disregarding the oath as worthless. Do you intend to repeat the calamity of the Outer World Demons and make the entire Da Zhao your enemy?”

No matter how powerful the Nine Nether Demon Ghosts were, Da Zhao would never be livestock for others to slaughter.

Years ago, when the demonic scourge ravaged Shenzhou, the devastation was a hundred times more severe. Yet, the human race ultimately reversed the situation. Today, if this Demon Ghost truly intends to breach Xiandu’s Yujing, thousands of human cultivators will fight him to the death.

Ten thousand ghosts had already surrounded the entire Jiufang estate.

Mo Lin’s eyes were fixed on the mansion covered by the protective formation. His rugged brows pressed down over his gloomy green eyes, glowing like phosphorescence in the dark.

Without looking back, he held a white-feathered peacock in his pale, slender hand, rescued from the ruins of the Jiufang family’s beast stable, which had just been accidentally destroyed.

The white-feathered peacock, noble and pristine, was reared in luxury, feeding on young snakes, natural enemies of the serpent.

Mo Lin held the long neck of the white-feathered peacock, an image of a sharp beak breaking branches and chewing flowers involuntarily flashed in his mind.

He regretted it already.

He shouldn’t have agreed to Liuyu’s risky plan under her persistent persuasion.

No matter how meticulous their preparations were, it couldn’t change Liuyu’s current situation, alone deep within enemy lines.

Even if Xi Lihualian had given Liuyu the antidote to the Scatter Qi Pill, even if no one suspected the four-realm Tanning, even if he and Liuyu had sealed their own auras within artifacts to lend to Tanning, it couldn’t ensure Liuyu’s safety.

Besides the Scatter Qi Pill, Jiufang Zhanghua might use other means to ensure Liuyu couldn’t resist.

As long as Liuyu’s Qi Sea was sealed, the people inside the Jiufang mansion could do anything to her.

Even if he was the one accompanying Liuyu, he wouldn’t trust himself so much. How could he trust that foolish sister to accompany her?

Born into a family like Yingshan, yet only having the fourth realm!

How stupid must one be!

She had time to style her hair so elaborately, yet couldn’t improve her lousy cultivation level!

Veins bulged on his forearm as he resisted the urge to strangle the white-feathered peacock.

Letting the peacock’s feathers brush against the edge of the boundless ghost fire, Mo Lin squeezed out a few words through his teeth.

“Jiufang Zhanghua took my bride, broke the oath. From today, those uninvolved, retreat; those who obstruct, kill.”

Amidst the swirling ghost fire, a mountain ape behind him shouted:

“Welcome back the empress!”

The ten thousand ghosts chanted: “Welcome back the empress! Welcome back the empress!”

The entire sky above Xiandu Yujing echoed like mountains and seas, wave upon wave, distant as if the demonic mutterings from behind the clouds drifted into the Jiufang mansion.

Without needing the guards to report, Jiufang Zhanghua could imagine the chaos on the main house’s side.

Last night, the Jiufang family had murdered amid the chaos, burned the Nine Nether poetry books, incited hatred against the Demon Ghosts among the populace, then recruited and prepared to besiege Xiandu Yujing. It was indeed time to tear off the mask.

But Mo Lin hadn’t directly brought the ten thousand ghosts of Nine Nether into the Jiufang mansion.

The outer barrier wasn’t that indestructible; the true essence lay in the mansion’s internal traps and mechanisms.

Yet, he only calmly and rationally deployed his forces around the mansion.

As if waiting for the right moment.

… Was he waiting for Liuyu to cooperate from within?

A storm brewed silently in Jiufang Zhanghua’s long eyes.

“Entering the game personally, how dangerous, Liuyu, do you hate the Jiufang family to such an extent!?”

Before he could finish, a surge of Qi rushed in.

The death warriors in the courtyard quickly formed a formation to resist, but the momentum spreading from that four-realm girl was overwhelming, like a mountain collapsing.

… Unfortunately, her ability to control this power was really terrible.

“Do you understand you can’t get fat in one go!! How much momentum did you guys give me! Do you want to die!! Did any of you consider whether I could control this power!!”

Tanning, struggling to maintain control, her black hair whipped wildly by the wind, lost her composure and shouted at Liuyu in the inner chamber.

She felt like a juggler balancing bowls, with bowls hundreds of times larger than herself precariously balanced above her head.

Staggering as she barely managed the overwhelming power, any mistake would mean doom for her, Liuyu, and that damn Demon Ghost alike.

“No choice, time was tight. Finding another fool who wouldn’t make Jiufang Zhanghua suspicious wasn’t easy, sister.”

Her belt torn by Jiufang Zhanghua, Liuyu had no choice but to untie her hair ribbon and secure her loose robe around her waist.

Stepping out of the room, the death warriors under Jiufang Zhanghua were already showing signs of defeat under the crushing green Qi.

Blood vessels in Jiufang Zhanghua’s eyes bulged as he stared at Tanning as if he wanted to bore a hole in her face.

“No, that’s not right,” he said, pretending to be calm, his brows like ice, “Since Liuyu can disguise herself to the point of being undetectable, so can others. You’re not Tanning. Who are you?”

Tanning seemed pained by his words, but the oppressive aura around her steadied slightly.

She pursed her lips for a moment, then forced a cold smile.

“Zhanghua, victory is joyous, and defeat is also pleasing. You taught me this. Are you questioning me because you can’t bear to lose?”

Her face, like jade covered in new snow, froze inch by inch. In a brief moment, his expression twisted subtly, and he said with clanging words:

“Yingshan Ze personally killed your father!”

“He did well!”

These four words burst from Tanning’s chest.

“You know nothing! My father was a brave and talented general but also a scumbag! He mistreated his subordinates, embezzled military funds, abducted my mother as a concubine, then ignored her. He beat and abused every one of his children, treating them like slaves he could dispose of at will! Do you think I understand you! Do you know why I like you!”

The “death soldiers” are those who maintain their master-servant relationship through poison or the feeding of curses.

There are also death soldiers who, for the sake of the same belief, are willing to die nine times but never regret it.

The noble families view the common people as ants and insects, today, the ant tries to shake the tree, testing the strength of the insect.

When the flow of Qi collides, it creates a murderous surge.

The once casual servants have now become vengeful ghosts seeking lives.

These death soldiers, secretly taken in and trained by the Yinshan family, and sent into various noble houses, are limited in number, but the sins committed by the noble families are like a raging fire that, with just a spark, could spread wildly.

“Those who violate the martial laws and rise against the upper class, ultimately bringing about chaos… it is the Yinshan family.”

In the highest library of the Lingyong Academy, a scholar in white robes murmurs softly in the wind carrying the scent of blood.

“Yinshan Ze has a good heart but lacks the means, while Nangong Jing has the means but lacks the foundation. The fact that these two people were allowed to marry without being stopped by the others was truly a disaster for all the noble families in the world.”

A loud rumble echoes from within the Ninefang family estate.

Ji Yu and the academy instructors turn towards the sound. His lips curve upward:

“I almost forgot, these two also gave birth to an even greater disaster.”

For the people of the Ninefang family, there is no greater disaster than Yinshan Liuyu.

The most secretive eight key points of the Ninefang family’s formations are known only to a few, even Ninefang Shaogeng can only recall their locations with the help of the elders who manage the secret mechanisms. Yet Yinshan Liuyu knows them as if she has them all memorized, as if aided by the gods.

In the blink of an eye, she has already broken through the first three key points and is heading straight for the fourth.

Tan Ning had just cut through a camphor wood tree when she heard the chilling sound of gears grinding. She exclaimed in surprise:

“I’ve really cut through it! I’ve truly cut through it!”

Liuyu surveyed the surroundings, alert:

“There are four camphor wood trees. Cutting just one won’t help. We need to cut at least three. They’re intentionally luring us deeper.”

“Heaven and Earth, Thunder and Wind, Mountain, Water, and Fire, Shocking Formation, Thunder Strike.”

As the chanting sounded, the heavens rumbled and thunder struck.

The camphor trees surrounding the water pavilion were immediately struck by three deafening bolts of lightning, forming a huge thunder formation, with flying leaves carrying the power of lightning, like sharp blades scraping bones. Any mistake would result in mutilation.

Tan Ning had never seen such a formation before.

But Liuyu grabbed her hand.

“Go this way!”

She was pulled by Liuyu, rushing into the thunderous, leaf-filled lightning formation. She could almost smell the scent of her hair burning from the lightning, but Liuyu, leading the way, kept guiding her through wave after wave of attacks.

“…How do you know?” Tan Ning stared at the back of Liuyu’s head in disbelief. “How do you know everything? No, your Qi Sea seal hasn’t fully been lifted, how can you be in the lead?”

A leaf brushed past Liuyu’s shoulder, instantly tearing her skin open. The burning pain caused sweat to form on Liuyu’s forehead.

She glanced outside the formation.

“Then you go in front!”

Tan Ning: “Ah? That’s not what I meant—”

Before Tan Ning could explain, Liuyu waved her hand and directly threw Tan Ning toward the second camphor tree. In her flurry, Tan Ning drew her sword to chop at the tree, but behind her, Liuyu stumbled and fell heavily.

Yao Bian Tianmu, Fifth Form, Blood Control Technique.

A drop of blood from the leaf earlier was sent to Ninefang Shaogeng’s eyes. His face turned as white as paper, his teeth gritted in hidden hatred.

If it weren’t for the old wounds left by the demon ghost Mo Lin, his Blood Control Technique should have been able to capture Yinshan Liuyu’s soul and make her lose her consciousness. But now, it only made her stumble!

“I’ve chopped it! Chopped it! Only two trees left—”

Tan Ning helped Liuyu up, using her position to block the surrounding flying leaf thunder Qi. She looked toward the next camphor tree, which was the closest.

“It’s too far, we can’t reach it,” Tan Ning said, looking outside the formation, where the Ninefang family’s cultivators were waiting to encircle them. “We’ve broken through one formation eye, but there are still four left. With so many people, how could just the two of us manage!”

As if to prove her point, the jade sword in Tan Ning’s hand shattered with a sound.

Her tears froze as they fell among the flying jade shards.

When they entered the Ninefang family estate, Ninefang Zhanghua had searched them and taken away all their jade objects. Liuyu had sealed her powers within this sword, telling her to keep it in her Qi Sea.

Once the sword shattered, she could no longer use her powers. How could she fight her way out with nothing?

“We can do it.”

Liuyu grabbed her hand, her eyes glowing with determination as she gazed at her.

“You are Yinshan Ze’s daughter. You’ve inherited the sword techniques of the Yinshan family. With me by your side, you can do it.”

In the distance, Ninefang Shaogeng watched as the jade sword shattered. The furrow in his brow finally relaxed.

Without that jade sword made from divine jade, Tan Ning would never be able to chop down the camphor trees.

“Yinshan Liuyu is truly foolish. Does she not know how strong Tan Ning is?”

Ninefang Shaogeng sneered as he looked at the rarely seen scars on the young woman in the formation, a dark and oppressive desire for cruelty rising in his heart.

The more she struggled, the more stubborn she was, the more he wanted to crush that rebellious spirit of hers, to see her burn with fiery eyes, her body powerless to resist.

“Open the full formation, we must capture Yinshan Liuyu here.”

An elder beside him said:

“Second Young Master, this formation is made of killing moves. It can trap and kill hundreds of cultivators. If we open the full formation, we may not be able to capture her alive…”

“Don’t you see how familiar Yinshan Liuyu is with this formation?”

Ninefang Shaogeng snapped irritably:

“Alive means just leaving her breath intact. Don’t you understand?”

He still couldn’t understand how Yinshan Liuyu knew so much about the Ninefang family’s underground mechanisms—it was as if she had seen a ghost.

Ninefang Shaogeng stared at the chaotic formation, where the thunderous Qi blades became denser, closer, and faster, closing in on the two women running ahead.

A cruel smile appeared in the young man’s eyes as he watched coldly.

Admit defeat.

Give up.

How long can you last with just the two of you?

The golden-robed girl moved swiftly through the lightning blades, her eyes as bright as sword light.

“The Way of Heaven—”

The voice of Tan Ning overlapped with the voice of the golden-clad girl.

A smile suddenly froze in the boy’s eyes.

“The Fourth Level—”

Flying sand and moving stones, a weak but palpable flow of energy from the stone surged as the two of them recited together, transforming into golden threads that shattered the surrounding thunder blades filled with murderous intent, briefly creating a path.

Jiufang Shaogeng had seen this technique before.

Although these golden threads didn’t transform into the faceless golden body like he saw the first time, he still recognized it.

“Grass, wood, all are soldiers.”

He looked in disbelief at the figure amidst the chaotic stones and howling wind.

Just like when he first saw Jimo Gui.

The energy flow formed by the golden threads, under Tan Ning’s control, rushed toward the third Fusang Tree, whose thick branches creaked slowly with signs of breaking.

But it still didn’t break cleanly.

The crack in the tree’s trunk was even healing.

Her strength alone wasn’t enough, just a little more, just a little more!

Tan Ning hurriedly looked at the girl behind her. Liuyu’s cultivation had only recovered by thirty percent, and this power was far from enough to block these relentless flying leaf thunder blades!

She shouted towards Jiufang Shaogeng:

“Yin Mountain Liuyu is Jimo Gui! Jiufang Shaogeng, are you going to kill her!!”

It was as if he had woken from a dream.

Jiufang Shaogeng was struck by those words as if they were a blow to the head. He snapped out of his daze from the “grass and wood are all soldiers” move and saw countless flying leaves being swept by the storm, crashing toward the golden-clad girl.

His body moved faster than his thoughts, and Jiufang Shaogeng instinctively pushed an elder beside him.

The elder, who hadn’t expected the young master to act so suddenly, stumbled and almost fell into the lake!

“Second Young Master!”

The elder turned back, staring in shock at Jiufang Shaogeng, who also stared at his hand in disbelief.

…Impossible.

How could Yin Mountain Liuyu be Jimo Gui!

How could she be Jimo Gui!!

Jiufang Shaogeng suppressed his chaotic thoughts and immediately shouted:

“Why are you all frozen! Open the formation! Not the full opening!”

But with one wrong thought, the situation was no longer under his control.

…The third Fusang Tree had already been cut down by the stone sword Tan Ning had refined, though he didn’t know when she had done it.

Tan Ning had only understood the “grass and wood are all soldiers” technique superficially, but at least the method of refining stones into swords and refining jade energy was similar, so she could quickly integrate it.

Three of the four Fusang Trees had been cut down, and the fourth formation eye shattered with a loud bang!

Liuyu, standing at the formation eye, pressed her hand to the ground, lightly closed her eyes, and absorbed the faint earth pulse energy from deep within the formation.

Thirty percent… Forty percent… Fifty percent…

The shackles of the Soul Separation Curse were gradually weakening, and the suppressed energy sea was slowly filling.

Jiufang Zhanghua, who was deploying troops outside Yujing City, coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He looked at the blood in his hands and, amid the noise of his strategists, lifted his head to look at the three-story pavilion in the middle of the mansion—

The remnants of the endless ghost fire passed through the air, leaving a long tail.

His vision distorted, and the air boiled.

Jiufang Shaogeng had just given the order to attack while unprepared when he suddenly felt a scorching heat surge from behind him.

So fast.

This demon’s speed was unreasonably fast!

A chill crept up Jiufang Shaogeng’s back, and without thinking, he leaped into the lake in front of him.

The next moment.

The cultivators who followed him into the lake looked up and saw the surface covered with green fire. Even with their energy shields, they could still feel the intense flames mixed with a terrifying fury.

Run!

They had to retreat to the protection of the formation!

Everyone desperately struggled to climb ashore, barely paying attention to Liuyu and Tan Ning. By the time they climbed back to the shore, Jiufang Zhanghua realized that he had fallen behind.

And even without turning back, he could feel a gaze so intense it seemed to strip his skin and break his bones.

“Formation fully open… You’re good… Jiufang Shaogeng…”

That gloomy, deep voice, like an evil ghost chasing his soul, suppressed the killing intent, controlled the hatred that wanted to tear him apart, slowly drew closer.

“The wounds you left on her… I’ll return them to you tenfold, a hundredfold…”

Jiufang Shaogeng’s scalp went numb, and he gritted his teeth as he ran frantically toward the shrinking formation, as if death had already gripped his throat.

“Miaoyi!!!”

The sound of collapsing tiles echoed, and ahead, the voice of a young girl’s chant rang clear:

“Tianxian – Seven Moves – Dragon Roar and Tiger Howl—Return to One.”

The ghost fire that had been trailing Jiufang Shaogeng’s tail abruptly extinguished.

In that brief instant, the energy sea within Mo Lin was suddenly emptied, both demon and ghost energy vanished, completely resetting to zero.

It wasn’t until two breaths later that it returned to normal.

But two breaths was not a short time for a master; at least Jiufang Shaogeng had rolled into the formation’s boundary in the nick of time.

He collapsed to the ground, looking up at the towering figure above him, as though he had narrowly escaped death.

Just a little more.

He almost died at the hands of that demon.

“You can’t escape.”

The sound of the wind whistling through the robe, surrounding the youth whose body was as tense as a drawn bow.

The moment Jiufang Shaogeng met those eyes, it was as if he had been pulled into a sticky, dark swamp, feeling as though he were about to bid farewell to the mortal world.

“Jiufang Shaogeng, I will always, always watch you. As long as you let your guard down for a moment, I’ll come and take your worthless life.”

Jiufang Shaogeng looked at the edge of the formation beside him and moved a little further in.

Not far off, Miaoyi, who was guarding the fifth formation eye, exchanged a look with Liuyu.

Tan Ning turned to Liuyu and said:

“Please, tell me Miaoyi is on our side. I really can’t fight anymore.”

Liuyu’s robe had been torn by thunder blades, and even her jade-like face was covered with shallow bloodstains.

Her lips were pale, and she gasped softly, saying:

“I also wish, but things don’t always go as planned.”

The hundred cultivators of the Jiufang clan stood behind Miaoyi.

The young girl, surrounded by everyone, was no longer the same companion who shared a desk with Liuyu at Lingyong Academy, nor the young lady who used to enjoy sneaking meals at the Yinshan clan’s estate.

She was Jiufang Miaoyi.

The third young miss of the Jiufang clan.

No words, no apologies or exaggerated monologues, the two of them simultaneously moved like arrows released from their bows!

“Tianxian · Fifth Formula · Cloud-Piercing and Stone-Crushing.”

“Tian’s Way · Second Formula · Wind Blade Qi Sword.”

The sound surged like water, countless stones and tiles shattered as they resonated with the sound waves. Tan Ning felt as if her internal organs were about to burst from the force of this strike.

But soon, Tan Ning opened her eyes and was startled to realize that the sound waves that had made her heart ache in pain had suddenly calmed, and in the air before her, countless invisible wind swords formed.

They were dense, like an arrowstorm poised to strike.

Tan Ning slowly began to process what Liuyu had told her earlier—

The Qi of all things.

It can be refined.

At this moment, with Liuyu’s current strength at seventy percent, she couldn’t normally refine the wind blade Qi sword. However, she was extremely familiar with Miaoyi’s every move.

Cloud-Piercing and Stone-Crushing, which resonated with the sound waves in the air, allowed each wave directed at Liuyu to send a surge of Qi to her, compensating for the sealing of her Qi Sea.

Miaoyi was slightly stunned.

The Way of Heaven… Is this the new technique Liuyu has comprehended?

The next moment, the Qi swords surrounding Liuyu’s body shot out, suddenly raining down like arrows, piercing through the cultivators waiting below in formation.

The formation’s core, which had been carefully protected, was exposed.

Miaoyi immediately activated another technique:

“Tianxian · Seventh Formula · Dragon’s Roar and Tiger’s Howl—Return.”

As her command fell, Liuyu immediately felt the Qi within her body stagnate.

Then, like a river flowing backward, the Qi in her meridians suddenly reversed, and the reversed Qi collided violently in her veins, forcing Liuyu to close her Qi Sea.

One could refine the opponent’s Qi.

One could reverse the opponent’s meridians.

Now, neither Liuyu nor Miaoyi dared to use any more techniques, and both were forced into close combat.

After years of cultivation at the academy, the two were well-acquainted with each other’s moves, even in hand-to-hand fighting.

“Why are you crying?”

Seeing the tears in Miaoyi’s eyes, Liuyu’s pale lips curled into a faint smile:

“The third miss of the Jiufang clan is now the backbone of the Jiufang clan. She should remain calm in the face of any crisis. How can you be crying in the middle of a battle?”

Miaoyi looked at the battered girl before her, her eyes misted over with tears, which refused to fall.

Her lips, which never spoke except when chanting spells, moved slightly.

“Liuyu, do you know how the Jiufang clan’s military path technique is refined?”

With tears in her eyes, Miaoyi spoke with a choked voice:

“The eyes are gouged out, replaced by the eyes of our ancestors; the vocal cords are cut, replaced by the voice of our ancestors. This is what is known as the Heavenly Eye and the Mouth of Heaven, the true way to revive the Jiufang clan’s military path technique. It is not a cultivation method, but rather, it treats us as mere vessels to carry the techniques of our ancestors!”

“Only by killing my father can my second brother and I escape being treated as vessels. My eldest brother abandoned the Yinshan clan and returned to the Jiufang clan, not only for himself but to save me and my second brother.”

All three of Jiufang clan’s sons were born to concubines.

When a child made a mistake, the blame was placed on their mother. Miaoyi often made mistakes when she was young, causing her biological mother to be locked in a water prison, bearing old injuries.

Later, their older brother, who was not particularly close to them, returned to the Jiufang family.

He came up with plans for them, allowing them to stand on their own. His mother had died young, and when the younger siblings made mistakes, he took the blame and bore the punishment.

“…So, everyone in the world can kill them, but I cannot. Everyone in the world can abandon them, but I cannot abandon them!”

Liuyu was pinned down by Miaoyi, and before Miaoyi’s fists could land, her scorching tears fell first.

After a long pause, amidst Tan Ning’s frantic and chaotic attacks, Liuyu gently reached up to touch Miaoyi’s wet face, speaking softly:

“I understand.”

Miaoyi looked at Liuyu, muttering:

“Do you… do you not blame me?”

“No, I don’t.”

The bright sunlight reflected in her eyes, and Miaoyi, through Liuyu’s gaze, saw a soul lost and full of despair, and she also saw someone with their gaze suddenly full of determination.

“Because—I too have someone I can never abandon.”

Before Miaoyi’s guard was fully raised, the girl she had pinned down suddenly sprang to her feet.

Bang—!!

A headbutt, filled with such force that it made her head spin, collided unexpectedly with Miaoyi’s skull.

Miaoyi, sent flying several meters, rolled on the ground, her vision flashing in and out. She felt dizzy, her stomach churning violently.

What… what kind of move is this!

How could Liuyu use such a crude and unrefined move!?

“Second… brother…”

Dizzy and staggering to her feet, Miaoyi vaguely saw a figure resembling Jiufang Shaogeng. She took a few unsteady steps, then remembered she had to stop Liuyu from destroying the formation core.

She turned, muttering vaguely:

“Tianxian, seven…”

Before she could finish, Jiufang Shaogeng rushed up and grabbed her collar, pulling her toward the center of the estate.

“Big brother can’t suppress her Soul-Binding Curse! We can’t stop her from breaking the fifth formation core! There are three more to go, and that demon is waiting to strike—”

Crack, crack.

The sound of formation cores breaking filled everyone with dread.

Jiufang Shaogeng looked back, only to see the blood-soaked girl in golden robes disregarding all the formation mechanisms and, with a speed like that of a spirit, heading straight for the core of the formation.

The level of skill was so astonishingly proficient, it was as if she had seen and studied it a thousand times in places unknown to others.

Or perhaps, somewhere in the unseen, some deity truly was protecting her.

Jiufang Shaogeng turned his gaze towards the sky, focusing on the protective array.

The golden barrier had developed faint cracks, slowly expanding as the boundless ghost flames burned and the sharp, spiked limbs danced around it. A subtle infusion of demonic and ghostly energy seeped into the air.

Angry and murderous faces pressed against the barrier, shouting and banging, like monsters eager to break free.

Jiufang Shaogeng couldn’t help but swallow.

If there was something protecting Yinshan Liuyu, it was definitely not a deity.

—It was a group of evil spirits.

At the moment the protective array of the Jiufang residence shattered, deep within Mang Mountain, behind Yujing City, at the martial training ground forged by the Jiufang clan, the massive puppet general lying in wait began to stir, releasing a surge of energy.

The next moment, black strange fire spiraled around it like a hurricane, shooting straight into the heavens.

Not far away, an elderly lady sitting in a wheelchair waved her hand, signaling to be pushed closer to the black strange fire.

In the presence of this fire that could calm all things in the world, the old lady took out her smoking pipe and lit the tobacco with a wisp of black flame.

“This might be the last pipe of smoke I’ll ever have. But really, there’s nothing special about this damn fire lighting my smoke.”

As she exhaled smoke, the old lady took a sip from her wine cup, then said leisurely:

“Don’t blame this old woman for being cruel. If I can use you to exchange for my sweet granddaughter’s life, then I suppose you died for a reason.”

“In your next life, remember to be born into a good family, one where you are cherished and loved. Don’t be an evil spirit forgotten by the world again.”