Chapter 98

Blood slid down her forehead.

Her vision blurred by the blood, Liuyu had no choice but to wipe it away casually with her dirt-streaked sleeve.

The blow she had dealt to Miaoyi earlier had left her slightly dazed and dizzy, but she still managed to stagger her way out of the fifth chaotic stone mountain formation. She didn’t even allow herself a moment to catch her breath, heading straight for the next formation’s eye.

Where?

Where exactly?

The Jiufang family had gone to great lengths to steal him away and also saved the elderly lady of the Zhongli family. Such effort must mean they planned to use him as a trump card in a moment of crisis, so they would never allow him to stray too far from the Jiufang residence.

Or perhaps he’s inside the residence.

In that case, she would overturn the entire residence!

Even if it meant digging three feet into the ground, she would take back Mo Lin from her past life!

Meanwhile, Tan Ning, who was left outside the formation to guard Liuyu’s retreat, sensed something was wrong. When she turned around, she saw Liuyu, who had just broken the formation, suddenly tumble from the rubble!

“Liuyu!!!”

Two voices cried out in unison.

Tan Ning opened her arms and ran toward that direction, but was immediately knocked back by a surge of ghostly energy. When she regained her footing, she saw that the demon guarding the barrier had somehow appeared and caught Liuyu, who had fallen, in his arms.

He quickly fed Liuyu a pill to sustain her dwindling qi.

Liuyu lifted her eyelids, recognizing the figure before her through her blurry vision. Her first reaction was a slight frown.

“…It’s not time yet.”

She struggled, propping herself up on his shoulder to rise, and her focus shifted towards the direction of the sixth formation’s eye.

“You came too early. Wait a bit longer. There are still three formations left…”

Jiufang Qian was not someone to be dealt with lightly.

She had to ensure everything was foolproof, to ensure they could crush the opponent with absolute strength.

But at that moment, Mo Lin couldn’t hear a word she said.

Through all the battles, nearly dying, her clothes tattered and body covered in wounds, he couldn’t even embrace her without risking touching her injuries.

They had hurt her this badly.

“No need to wait any longer.”

Mo Lin’s voice was hoarse, his arm warm.

“I’ll break the remaining three formations.”

Liuyu’s hand, resting against his chest, curled slightly, and she stared blankly at his eyes.

Before she could object, Mo Lin gently wiped the bloodstain from her cheek and said:

“I’m not alone, Liuyu. You’ve been my armor, you’ve saved me, you’ve protected me in this life — this time, we will be invincible.”

A layer of glass-like haze seemed to fall over her vision, blurring that usually silent and gloomy face.

Liuyu swallowed the pain that rose in her throat. Amidst the chaos of blades and shouts, she softly spoke:

“Okay.”

The soft word, whispered with warmth, landed in Mo Lin’s heart, filling him with both pain and sweetness.

But when she looked up again, the face of the Demon Lord lost all tenderness and affection. He met Tan Ning’s approach, and the black scales at her waist immediately returned to his hand.

“Your mission is complete, Chaoming, Chaoyuan, protect the second young lady of your family.”

The twin brothers behind him responded in unison.

Tan Ning’s shocked gaze followed the demon in black, then she turned back in confusion.

“Who are you all working for? Why do you listen to him so much? Wait… what do you mean my mission is complete? Liuyu is gravely injured, where are you taking her? Stop!”

Tan Ning’s voice was drowned out by the surrounding battle.

Although the outermost barrier had broken, the residual power of the remaining three formation eyes still lingered. The Jiufang family’s elders ordered from above, and the three formations activated simultaneously:

“Kun formation, Earth element.”

“Li formation, Fire element.”

“Qian formation, Heaven element.”

A series of deep, rumbling sounds came from beneath the flowerbed.

The next moment, the earth trembled, and the plants and trees buried in the soil began to absorb large amounts of energy from the earth veins, rapidly growing and twisting at a visible speed, as if alive, swaying and writhing in the air.

The Li formation covered these life-like plants with blazing fire, while the Qian formation used the sky as a bow, launching countless golden arrows, precisely targeting the enemies who had invaded the Jiufang residence.

Nine Fang Shaogeng led the cultivators to hide within the Kun Formation, and through the massive, unmatched flowers, he glimpsed the figures of the two individuals.

“…Did you and your elder brother already know about this?”

Miaoyi, holding a jar of water, took a big gulp. She had just used several techniques that caused intense pain in her vocal cords, and it took her a moment to understand what Nine Fang Shaogeng meant.

“I ask you, is the matter of Yingshan Liuyu being Jimo Gui something that my elder brother already knew?”

Nine Fang Shaogeng grabbed Miaoyi’s wrist, anger boiling in his heart.

“He has always been clever, so it’s impossible that he didn’t know by now. Yet, he kept it from me and even secretly brought Yingshan Liuyu into the estate, hiding her in the side courtyard. What does he want to do? No, what has he already done, isn’t it?”

Miaoyi’s gaze kept shifting between the formation ahead and Nine Fang Shaogeng’s face, and she had to pull her hand back to write:

【I only found out about this on New Year’s Eve, but whether my elder brother knew or not, I really don’t know. And is this even the time for such questions, Second Brother! If the Nine Fang family estate is breached, neither you nor my elder brother will survive, don’t you think—】

“The Nine Fang family will never fall.”

Nine Fang Shaogeng no longer looked at Miaoyi’s writing and said firmly.

“As long as that puppet is there, the Nine Fang family will never fall. My elder brother has already led people to the secret chamber, killed father, and seized the Puppet Master’s staff. What are those monsters, Mo Lin and his army of thousands of ghosts, to us?”

Miaoyi was confused: 【But during the incident in Longduo City, didn’t that Celestial Armor Thirty-One lose control? How can we be sure we can control it?】

Nine Fang Shaogeng glanced at the board briefly.

“Don’t worry about it, these things aren’t your concern.”

Miaoyi, with her pure and innocent nature, wasn’t told that the Celestial Armor Thirty-One she had personally captured for the Nine Fang family wasn’t just a big iron lump, but actually a living evil spirit.

What she didn’t know was that after thorough research, the old matriarch of the Zhongli family had already found a way to suppress the evil spirit’s consciousness and completely control it.

This time, there would be no more loss of control.

It would become the sharpest weapon for the Nine Fang family.

This weapon would tear apart the alliance between the Nine You and Yingshan families, and make Yingshan Liuyu realize the price of deceiving them.

Nine Fang Shaogeng’s eyes remained locked on the two figures heading toward the center of the formation.

A ragged young girl was clinging to the neck of a dark-clad demon, curled up in his arms. Her eyes, clear as snow, discerned a path through the chaotic killing formation, and where she pointed, a flash of sword light immediately followed.

Sword light!

The dark-clad demon held a jade sword wrapped in endless ghostly fire!

Flames surged in Nine Fang Shaogeng’s eyes, and he almost wished to tear the two apart.

He had never gotten along with Yingshan Liuyu since childhood. Whether at banquets or in the academy, their encounters always ended unhappily. Nine Fang Shaogeng never imagined that one day he would develop feelings for a false identity of Yingshan Liuyu.

But it was no longer just feelings.

He even wanted to marry her—twice—only to be rejected both times!

The clues he had caught in her expression before now came together. No wonder Jimo Gui had always seemed hesitant to show affection toward him, no wonder she looked so incredulous when she heard his proposal.

He and his elder brother had even argued vehemently over Jimo Gui and Yingshan Liuyu.

It was absurd.

Yingshan Liuyu had played them both for fools to this extent!

Unforgivable.

Once he captured her, he would make her pay the price!

“Is everyone dead?” Nine Fang Shaogeng’s face darkened. “Is there still no news of the eldest son?”

“Second Young Master, the eldest son said before he left that the secret chamber is filled with mechanisms, and it will take time to break through…”

“How much more time! Are you blind! Or do you need me and Miaoyi to be dead before he can get the Puppet Master’s staff!”

“Second Young Master, please calm down…”

“Second Young Master!”

A cultivator standing on high guard suddenly spoke up.

“There’s movement at Mang Mountain!”

Mang Mountain!

His elder brother had not yet killed their father, and the puppet hidden in Mang Mountain had already been activated?

Nine Fang Shaogeng’s cold eyes flickered slightly.

His elder brother had already betrayed them within the estate, but their father remained locked in the secret chamber. What was he thinking?

Although the secret chamber was filled with mechanisms, it was by no means impenetrable. His elder brother had studied it for years and already knew the method to break in. With the Nine Fang family’s elite forces surrounding him, their father, despite being a Nine Realm cultivator, would have no chance of survival.

…But his intuition told him that their father was not such an easy opponent to defeat.

He must have some sort of backup.

What could that backup be?

Nine Fang Shaogeng was restless. He raised his head and saw the demon holding Yingshan Liuyu in one arm and a sword in the other, cutting through the frenzied flowers in the formation. His palm suddenly became damp with cold sweat.

Faster, just a bit faster.

Forget about whether their father was trying to kill them all by summoning the puppets. At least before the Nine Fang family tore itself apart, they needed to eliminate the strong enemies before them.

In the flowerbed, flowers and plants danced wildly, and the golden-threaded jade petals that Mo Lin had cut into pieces were swept into the air by the energy flow. They drifted over the rooftops of Yujing City, falling at the feet of the puppet, which had broken through the city walls.

Without hesitation, it stepped on the falling golden-threaded jade.

It was headed to the Nine Fang family estate.

To fulfill its mission.

The East Gate of Yujing City had already been destroyed by the black fire of Celestial Armor Thirty-One. Thankfully, most of the citizens had fled to the safer southern city under the evacuation orders of Lingyong Academy. However, the houses and streets between the East Gate and the Nine Fang family estate had turned to dust in the flames.

The fire wasn’t blazing hot, but cold and lifeless, as if it were a pale, dead body.

Wherever it passed, flowers and plants withered. Cultivators wrapped in black fire had no room to scream or struggle; they were instantly drained of life and turned into corpses; their bones scattered in the wind.

“… Can this monster truly be subdued by mere mortals?”

As Fang Fucang, carrying Mu Cangshui on his back, watched the scene from under the eaves, he felt a natural instinctive fear.

An old voice came from behind him, calm and steady:

“This black strange fire is indeed terrifying, but a hundred years ago, such demonic creatures were everywhere in Shenzhou, and yet they were still subdued by mortals. Do not fear. The demons may rise higher, but the Dao rises higher still. There will always be a way.”

Fang Fucang glanced back.

Although Mu Popo had no cultivation, when she spoke, she strangely had the power to calm the heart.

“Mu Popo, perhaps it’s best you don’t go to the Jiufang family residence after all?”

Fang Fucang truly didn’t understand why Nanguangjing had asked him to bring this old lady along. The place was clearly in the middle of chaos, and this elderly woman had no strength to protect herself. Wouldn’t it be courting death?

“From the time the evil demons ravaged the continent until today, from Colorless City to Nine Hells, and from Nine Hells to the Immortal City, Yujing.”

Mu Cangshui looked at the familiar residence with a slight smile.

“I am alive for this day. How can I fear such trivial winds and waves?”

An old man with a head full of gray hair speaking such words in such a situation was indeed surprising to Fang Fucang and the cultivators behind him.

Coming back to his senses, Fang Fucang snorted lightly.

“Truly, the older cannot compare to the younger… But you’re right, after this battle, the structure of Shenzhou will be decided. It’s either promotion and titles, or death in a desolate grave, a worthless life. What is there to fear in an unpredictable fate?”

Although his intention was simply to survive in this chaotic world.

But—

If he could witness the dawn of the next era, that didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

A group of them followed closely behind the Puppet General, breaking into the chaotic battle within the Jiufang family residence.

The moment Jiufang Shaogeng saw the Puppet General, his eyes immediately lit up. The Jiufang cultivators, who had been cornered by the demonic creatures, gazed up at the Puppet General with eyes full of hope, as if they had encountered a refreshing rain.

The ghostly flames from the surrounding ruins were extinguished by the black strange fire, and the demonic formation that surrounded them was effortlessly torn apart by the Puppet General.

His steps were slow, as if strolling leisurely.

But every step he took brought a terrifying pressure.

Jiufang Shaogeng, however, was not afraid. He excitedly said:

“Finally, he’s here! This damn Puppet General has finally arrived! Quick! Kill the demon Mo Lin! Destroy his legion of ten thousand ghosts—”

Before he could finish, two more cracks sounded faster than the Puppet General’s movements.

Before Jiufang Shaogeng could recover from his excitement, the entire view was overtaken by blazing green ghost flames.

The demon Mo Lin was holding a jade sword covered in boundless ghost fire, carrying an overwhelming killing intent, and cutting a path through the swirling flowers towards him.

“Yao Bian Tian…”

He didn’t even have time to chant the incantation. Jiufang Shaogeng and the surrounding cultivators were engulfed by the fire that burned everything, their hair, the skin on their backs, all instantly scorched by the limitless ghost fire, the burning pain spreading rapidly, making it feel as if they would die.

The woman, Miaoyi, who was pressed under him, screamed:

“Second Brother!”

Jiufang Shaogeng couldn’t utter a word.

Mo Lin’s eyes were like torches, his chest still seething with anger, the heavy breaths causing Miaoyi’s tears to pour down as she dragged Jiufang Shaogeng backward.

But the formation had collapsed, and there was no way to retreat.

The ghost flames filled the sky, and the petals of the golden threads and jade flowers were licked by the flames, turning into ash with a touch.

In another dark room, Jiufang Zhanghua, who had finally broken in, was stunned as he looked at the empty black room, his pupils freezing with cold.

Jiufang Qian was not here!

“Eldest Young Master! All the formation points in the residence have been broken by the demon Mo Lin and Yinshan Liuyu! Under the siege of the demons, we can’t break out! What should we do? Please give instructions!”

Jiufang Zhanghua didn’t even listen to the subordinate’s report, still staring at the chaotic but empty dark room in a daze.

After a moment, he turned around.

The crafty rabbit has three burrows. This dark room wasn’t the real hiding place he had left for himself. There were other secret rooms in the residence!

“Eldest Young Master! The demon Mo Lin seriously injured the second young master, and the third young lady was also slightly injured. The Puppet General has arrived, but has not yet moved. Should we go support the second young master?”

Support?

At this moment, the only one who could support Shaogeng and Miaoyi, and fight against the demon Mo Lin, was the Puppet General.

But Jiufang Qian, who controlled the Puppet General, had no reaction.

Was he waiting for Mo Lin to kill his traitorous children before making a move, so that he wouldn’t have to bear the infamous reputation of killing his own flesh and blood?

Anger made Jiufang Zhanghua tremble, and just then, footsteps were heard from outside the door.

“I know where your father is.”

Jiufang Zhanghua instantly cast a sharp gaze and found that the intruders were Fang Fucang and an old woman.

He frowned deeply:

“How did you find this place?”

This dark room was hidden in the flower forest, surrounded by a maze. Without someone to guide them, even the servants of the residence wouldn’t know the way. How did these outsiders find it?

Mu Cangshui chuckled lightly:

“Jiufang Qian is a crafty rabbit with three burrows. Although this place is tightly guarded, in times of true crisis, Jiufang Qian wouldn’t hide here. I can find where your father is hiding, but it requires the bloodline of the Jiufang family to open the secret door.”

“… Who exactly are you?”

She said this, which meant she must have some connection with their family.

“Does it matter to you?”

Under Mu Cangshui’s aged appearance, her calm, clear eyes were like mirrors.

“Your brother and sister are hanging by a thread, and the demon Mo Lin can take their lives at any moment. If you want to save them, I can help you save them. That’s all.”

Jiufang Zhanghua was silent for a moment, then a staff member whispered in his ear:

“Eldest Young Master, this may not be a bad opportunity. The family head is standing by, wanting to eliminate the second young master and third young lady. Why should we risk rescuing them? We can just stay here and watch the tiger fight from the mountain. After the family head eliminates the demon Mo Lin and those from Yinshan, we can move against the family head. Isn’t this the best plan?”

The breath froze for a moment.

The voice of Yue Niang suddenly interrupted their discussion:

“Now is the most vulnerable moment for Jiu Fang Qian! He has split a portion of his consciousness to control the puppet general, and his physical body is in a state where it can be slaughtered at will. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! What are you waiting for?”

Fang Fucang, who had been eagerly waiting for Jiu Fang Zhanghua’s reaction, felt disappointed.

He wanted to see how this usually poised and refined young master would choose between the safety of his younger siblings and his own.

Indeed, upon hearing about Jiu Fang Qian’s condition, Jiu Fang Zhanghua’s expression changed slightly.

Yan Yue Niang had received the true teachings of Old Lady Zhongli from the Zhongli clan. If what she said was true, it made sense why the puppet general had been so obedient during the test in the martial arts arena, unlike the uncontrollable one seen earlier at the Shentu residence.

So this was it.

It turned out that the current Tianjia Thirty-One could only be controlled smoothly by his father’s dispersed consciousness threads.

He looked up at Mu Cang Shui.

“Please lead the way, Senior.”

As the adviser spoke, the words that Liuyu had said to him in the side courtyard surfaced in his mind.

She was wrong.

He only wanted a place to belong, and only wanted to protect his family.

He would prove to Liuyu that he was not heartless or ungrateful. To protect his family, he would sacrifice everything. He would do better than Mo Lin, showing her what she had missed.

Below the ground, under Mu Cang Shui’s guidance, they moved deeper into Jiu Fang Qian’s hiding place through the winding secret passage.

Above the ground, the surging green ghost fire and the cold, calm black exotic fire clashed violently.

Holding the unconscious Jiu Fang Shao Geng tightly, Miao Yi slowly opened her eyes, staring in disbelief at Liuyu and… the demon lord who had almost killed them earlier.

“Liuyu…”

Liuyu, with pale lips, turned away and interrupted her:

“Save your tears, we’re not here to save you and your annoying brother.”

The obsidian-like pupils reflected the image of the puppet general.

The worst had happened.

Yue Niang had told her that the Xian Gong Kai Wu (A book of Immortal Crafts) mentioned that if a living person created a puppet general, and if distracting thoughts could not be eliminated, the puppet would require part of its creator’s consciousness to control it and suppress its own awareness.

They had used Kunwu Iron Hammer to implant into his body, but that wasn’t enough.

They had to completely control him, manipulate him, and make him their puppet—a blade soaked in blood.

Cold anger burned in her chest as she looked in that direction, her hand tightly gripping the jade slip containing the command she had just sent to Shentu Xiang:

“Go to Mang Mountain, capture Zhongli Shi Old Lady Zhongli Xuansu alive.”

Looking at the two contrasting yet equally powerful exotic flames in the air, both Jiu Fang clan cultivators and the ghostly demons of Jiu You couldn’t help but stare in astonishment.

What was that?

What kind of terrifying power was this?

The heavens were split into two distinct halves, and either one seemed capable of burning all things in the world to ashes.

Perhaps he was born for destruction.

That’s why, as a boy, he was chosen by the heavenly ghost laws, and even after death, the outer demons gave him a chance to return to the mortal world—to accomplish his mission of overturning order and reopening the gates of heaven.

Both demons and evil spirits were beings rejected by the world.

But fate had also secretly nurtured another person in this vast world. She gave him hope, gave him a new place to belong.

He would not allow anyone to destroy the world she treasured.

The heavens darkened, and the wild wind howled.

The flames erupted in a rolling explosion, the flow of energy draining at an unimaginable rate.

Mo Lin’s bones creaked under the unbearable pressure, his teeth clenched as he growled:

“I don’t care where you came from, or what hardships you’ve suffered…”

Through the two exotic fires, the eyes in the black mist stared directly at the demon with its distorted and contorted features—deadly silent, without any emotion.

“If you don’t wake up now, even if I’m the one who brings you pain, I’ll crush you myself.”