The bottom of the Celestial Burial Pit was filled with a foul, stinking wind that was hard to bear.

Chu Hanjin instructed Mu Lianchun, “Senior brother, can you help by casting a barrier? I’ll try using spirit sensing.”

Spirit sensing was a technique created by Chu Kuang during the construction of the palace at the Celestial Burial Pit. Back then, the vengeful ghosts ran rampant, and many craftsmen either mysteriously disappeared or were killed while working. To solve this, Chu Kuang created a spell that connected the craftsmen’s souls so that if one of them suddenly lost connection, it could be sensed immediately.

This technique essentially linked the spiritual energy of living people.

Chu Hanjin was now using this method to confirm whether there were any other living beings besides them in the deep valley.

“Be careful, junior brother. I’ll set up a barrier to protect you, so focus on the spell,” Mu Lianchun said, as a soft glow emerged from his palm.

The barrier, made of spiritual energy, immediately attracted the attention of the vengeful spirits, like wolves smelling fresh blood after a long famine. They crowded toward the barrier, trying to break in and devour the living energy inside. Their heads pressed against the barrier, bulging eyes staring greedily, with drool dripping from their mouths.

Chu Hanjin traced a spell array on the ground with his fingers.

Golden light radiated from the center, spreading out like a web, creeping across the piles of bones and covering the entire valley floor. Slowly, a faint red line rose from the foreheads of each person present, glowing faintly after they were all connected.

Everyone looked surprised, but Chu Hanjin reassured them, “Don’t worry. This spell won’t harm your bodies. It’s only used to sense spirits and locate living beings.”

Once the red lines stopped intensifying, Chu Hanjin ceased the spell. “There’s no one else.”

He repeated, “Besides us, there are no other living beings.”

This confirmed it—Xue Wuya was already dead.

What had been a suspicion before was now undeniable proof.

Xing Jiangxin erupted in anger, slamming his palm into the massive puppet beside him. “I told you, alive or dead, we need to find him! Even if it’s just his body, we need to bring it out!”

His palm strike was so powerful that the iron-clad puppet, which had been nurtured for decades in talisman water, staggered and hurried off toward a nearby mountain of corpses.

Chu Hanjin finished the spell.

The vengeful spirits that had gathered around the barrier seemed confused now that the living energy had vanished. One ghost circled Chu Hanjin, sniffing him up and down, trying to figure out whether he was alive or dead.

But the next moment, it was kicked hard and sent flying.

“Ah!”

The ghost’s bones clattered to the ground as it collapsed. It quickly pulled itself back together into a humanoid form, glaring at the one who had kicked it.

Yue Lin stood nearby with a cold expression, raising an eyebrow slightly as he spoke in a low, calm voice:

“Scram.”

The ghost continued to glare, clearly upset about being kicked.

Normally, it would have rushed forward to brawl, but sensing danger, it hesitated and stayed back.

Yue Lin waved his hand, summoning a gust of wind that swept the ghost off its feet and slammed it to the ground.

“You dare talk back? Get as far away from me as possible!”

“…”

The ghost stood there for a moment, sulking, before angrily rattling its bones. After a few moments of frustration, it stomped off, muttering to itself.

Yue Lin’s moves didn’t involve spiritual energy, so they didn’t attract the vengeful spirits, but his childish antics made Chu Hanjin frown slightly.

—It was as if Yue Lin was silently mouthing the words “he’s mine” to the ghost.

Bullying low-level ghosts was truly shameful.

Nearby, a cultivator from the Hundred Families exclaimed, “Wow! That big guy is really strong!”

The “big guy” in question was Xing Jiangxin’s massive puppet, which at that moment was stomping through the pile of corpses. Its iron-like body crushed skeletal remains underfoot. It picked up random bones, and when it realized they weren’t Xue Wuya’s, it casually tossed them aside, smashing them to pieces as it moved along.

The Celestial Burial Pit was vast, with mountains of bones stacked everywhere. Mu Lianchun said, “We should start searching as well.”

Chu Hanjin began searching in one area, and Yue Lin followed closely behind. The chatty cultivator trailed after Yue Lin, talking excitedly. “Brother Yue Lin, do you know why Sect Leader Xing is so desperate to find the corpse, even at such great risk?”

“What’s the reason?”

“I heard,” the chatty cultivator said smugly, “that Xing Jiangxin’s four puppets were made using living people! Tsk tsk! Xue Wuya was his disciple, and his body was exceptional. He hadn’t even reached his prime before he died. Xing Jiangxin is now in a hurry to retrieve his body so he can use it to make another puppet!”

Yue Lin raised an eyebrow with interest. “Is that so?”

“Absolutely, a hundred percent true!”

The conversation caught Chu Hanjin’s attention, and he glanced back.

The chatty cultivator grinned awkwardly and asked, “What do you think, Lord Yue Zhao?”

Despite searching through the piles of corpses, Chu Hanjin’s robes remained spotless. Straightening his sash, he said solemnly, “Sect Leader Xing’s puppets were his close friends in life, who willingly offered their bodies to him after death. Contracts were signed before their passing. Their bodies were retrieved after they died, not by killing living people to make puppets. Such rumors shouldn’t be spread.”

The chatty cultivator scoffed, “Of course Lord Yue Zhao, being part of the Six Great Sects, would defend them. Even if it were the truth, Lord Yue Zhao would never admit it.”

Yue Lin shook his head. “Not necessarily. I believe that what Lord Yue Zhao says is certainly the truth.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“If there’s only one honest person in the world, it would be Lord Yue Zhao.”

“…”

No one else would dare make such a bold statement, but somehow, Yue Lin did.

Just as Chu Hanjin was about to stop the meaningless chatter, a sudden roar echoed from nearby.

The “big guy,” Xing Jiangxin’s massive puppet, had encountered something and slammed its palm against its own forehead. Its iron arms, having been soaked in talisman water, were strong enough to crush steel. The force of its strike flattened its own forehead, causing one of its eyes to pop out of its socket as it screamed in pain!

But instead of stopping, the puppet kept slamming its head harder and harder, until it had nearly crushed half of its own skull!

“What the heck?” the chatty cultivator exclaimed, mouth agape.

This was the flaw with puppets. They only knew how to attack, not think, making them rather clumsy.

Seeing his puppet self-destruct, Xing Jiangxin panicked. “Xia Sheng!”

His voice seemed to reach the puppet.

Xia Sheng regained some sense, its remaining eye rolling around in its socket. Instead of returning to Xing Jiangxin, it turned and stormed toward a cluster of vengeful spirits. Grabbing one ghost, it began tearing it apart. The other spirits, enraged by the attack, screeched and started fighting back.

Xing Jiangxin paled. “I didn’t order it to attack the spirits! Why? Why isn’t it under control?”

As Xia Sheng was beaten to a pulp, Xing Jiangxin shouted, “Run! You idiot! You can’t win—don’t you know how to run away?! Why just stand there and let them beat you?!”

Xia Sheng, now in a frenzy, was subdued by the talisman controlling its mind. It patted its head and started stomping back toward the group, leaving deep footprints as it walked.

But behind it, a massive swarm of vengeful spirits followed, like a black cloud of locusts.

“The spirits are being drawn over,” Mu Lianchun said with concern. “Maybe we should head back up? It seems like we won’t be able to explore the Celestial Burial Pit today.”

Venerable Liu Ming, standing nearby, let out a light snort. “Still as timid as ever, Sect Leader Mu.”

Mu Lianchun’s eyes instantly reddened. “What did you say?!”

Liu Ming flipped his palm, summoning a spell. Five rotating rings of cold light formed in his hand, each ring made up of thousands of swirling swords. Upon closer inspection, the rings appeared like a dazzling glow, but in reality, they were a deadly sword formation.

This was the legendary Ten Thousand Sword Array from Mo Fa Sect!

Mo Fa Sect was known for its focus on external martial arts, such as swords, spears, and other weapons, as opposed to internal techniques like cultivating spiritual energy. Most disciples could only form one or two rings in their lifetime, but Liu Ming had achieved five levels of the sword array—meaning he controlled a total of fifty thousand swords!

Mu Lianchun shouted in anger, “You want to show off in front of me? Fine! But not now! Put that sword array away!”

Liu Ming, proud and defiant, ignored him. The sword array whistled as it prepared to launch, filled with killing intent, aiming at the vengeful spirits in the abyss.

Mu Lianchun was furious. “Are you going to stop or not?!”

Liu Ming said lazily, “If Sect Leader Mu is so scared, you’re free to leave.”

Mu Lianchun, realizing the situation was getting out of hand, looked desperate. “Do you even know who’s buried in the Celestial Burial Pit—”

A sudden gust of eerie wind blew through, causing the surrounding spirits to flinch in terror, scattering to the sides.

From the river of blood stepped a tall man with blood streaming from his eyes and tattered clothes. He held a long blade in one hand, gazing up at the sky as if deep in thought. After a moment, he spoke in a low, gravelly voice, “Are they all still alive?”

Someone asked, “Who is this?”

“Who… who is this???” Mu Lianchun’s voice cracked, trembling. “Liu Ming, you recognize him, don’t you? This is your Mo Fa Sect’s former sect leader! During the great battle between immortals and demons, he single-handedly slew countless demons with that long blade. When he was surrounded by a horde of demons, he continued fighting even after his core shattered to save his closest friends. The only question he asked after being rescued was: Are they all still alive?”

…Are they all still alive?

Liu Ming’s arrogance vanished, his expression stiffening as if the life had been drained from him.

“One of the people he died saving was your father! Liu Ming, I ask you—do you dare fight his spirit now?!”

The sword array in Liu Ming’s hand immediately dissipated.

But the former sect leader had already sensed the spiritual energy, mistaking it for a demonic presence. He nodded, raising his long blade and charging forward with the same heroic vigor from the past.

“I told you not to provoke the heroic spirits of the Celestial Burial Pit!” Mu Lianchun’s voice was filled with agony.

Because at the bottom of this pit lay the souls of the loyal and righteous!

With the sudden surge of spiritual energy, the entire pit was illuminated as if by daylight.

Chu Hanjin unsheathed his sword and said, “The Celestial Burial Pit has restrictions. Thankfully, the vengeful spirits are bound to the pit, so if we can escape, we’ll be safe.”

With that, he started moving toward the exit, but his path was blocked by the sect leader’s long blade. His voice was resolute as he said, “As long as I’m here, no demon shall take a single step out.”

The wind howled as the deadly blade energy swept toward Chu Hanjin’s neck, icy cold like a frozen lake. Chu Hanjin raised his sword to block, but the force of the strike sent him stumbling back. The former sect leader leaped into the air, ready to strike him down again—

“Clang!” A sharp sound rang out, the light from the blade even brighter than before.

At some point, Yue Lin had unsheathed the massive sword on his back. The black cloth fell away, revealing a long sword with red and black markings, etched with runes. One side resembled a sword, while the other resembled a blade, both sides glowing faintly. As the massive sword was drawn, the surrounding vengeful spirits let out terrified shrieks and scurried away.

But the former sect leader remained unfazed and charged forward!

The two weapons clashed, blade meeting sword.

Yue Lin’s massive sword cleaved the long blade clean in two.

Standing among the bones, Yue Lin gripped his massive sword in one hand, his voice cold and commanding: “He’s not a demon.”

The former sect leader seemed not to understand, staring blankly at Yue Lin.

“He’s not a demon. Please return,” Yue Lin said as he ran his hand over the sword’s edge, a cold, bright gleam flashing in his eyes. “If you try to hurt him again, I fear I’ll have no choice but to destroy your soul.”

The former sect leader paused, as if he had understood, then turned and stumbled away in another direction. He could no longer distinguish between the living and the dead, and mistook the living for demons. He grabbed a cultivator nearby and, without even looking, tore him in half amid the poor man’s screams. The heroic spirits that had emerged now surrounded the Celestial Burial Pit, forming an impenetrable barrier like an iron cage.

“Ahhh!”

Liu Ming was stabbed by the former sect leader and clutched his bleeding abdomen, stunned. Xing Jiangxin’s puppets were torn apart, howling in agony, while Lord Bao Yang, struck in the waist by a sword, in a fit of rage, transformed his fan into a long bow, shooting thousands of arrows.

—In an instant, blood flowed like a river, mimicking the horrors of the ancient battles.

Mu Lianchun, fending off a horde of vengeful spirits, grabbed Chu Hanjin by the shoulder and shoved him into a hidden chamber:

“Junior brother, hide in here!”

Just as Chu Hanjin was about to speak, his forehead hit the wall, and he felt another shadowy figure pull him into a cold embrace:

“Don’t go out.”

The sword hilt slammed against the door, “bang,” shutting out the bloodbath and chaos outside.

The room instantly became eerily quiet.

So quiet it sent shivers down one’s spine, a stark contrast to the earlier tension.

“…”

Chu Hanjin tried to move forward, but a pair of cold hands grabbed the back of his neck. With practiced ease, they pulled him back into a tight embrace, and the warmth of the body pressed against him radiated through.

Yue Lin leaned in close to his ear, his voice like a soft breath:

“Don’t go out.”

His tone was icy, “Let them fight.”