Chapter 100

Murong Chi’s expression changed slightly.

His intuition told him that allowing the puppet general to swallow the demon lord was not a good thing.

But what exactly was wrong, he couldn’t pinpoint at the moment.

According to the Zhongli family’s reports, this puppet general possessed a black, anomalous fire more powerful than Mo Lin’s ghostly flames, and there were few in this world who could rival it. Apart from its difficulty to control, it had no other weaknesses.

So why would the demon lord throw himself into the trap?

A variety of intelligence reports flashed through Murong Chi’s mind.

Mo Lin, born in the first year of Zhao Ye, raised in the Colorless City, with nearly no defeat in the hunting grounds. After awakening the Boundless Ghost Fire, he was granted the Heavenly Ghost Laws. Together with Yinshan Ze, they burned down Colorless City and built the Demon Ghost City in the Nine Netherworlds.

He had risen from being a nameless slave to the peak of power, with a bright future ahead. Even if the Yinshan clan was defeated, he could retreat to the Nine Netherworlds to preserve himself. So why would he be so desperate?

Or was it that he was merely an irritable brute who wasn’t good at scheming?

Murong Chi’s expression briefly became vacant.

Unlike Jiufang Qian, who had become increasingly suspicious and reclusive as he grew older.

Murong Chi was born on the imperial throne and grew up on it. For security reasons, he had never left the Shen Gao Palace. Even though he had infiltrated the Tianyin Courtyard, which managed the Tianyin Cloud Sea, and obtained many pieces of information that ordinary people could not access, he knew that intelligence was just dead words on paper. It could never compare to the ever-changing nature of living people.

The reality, which exceeded the scope of the intelligence, cast a shadow over his heart. Murong Chi, with a stern face, tossed the puppet staff in his hand and formed a seal with his hands.

“Tiang Jia Thirty-One, kill.”

Delay would bring change.

The enormous puppet stood still for a long time, so long that Murong Chi almost thought it might stop obeying him.

But fortunately, just as the demons and spirits prepared to work together to encircle and kill him, that terrifying black eerie flame circled again. The puppet slowly lifted its foot, and the dark, abyss-like fissure on its face pointed directly at Liuyu.

“Empress!!!”

The mountain demon and other spirits immediately rushed forward to protect him, but they saw Liuyu shout fiercely:

“Move aside—!”

This black eerie fire was not an ordinary thing. Once a human or demon got touched by it, they would be drained of life and reduced to skeletons.

But to everyone’s horror, Liuyu faced the puppet’s attack head-on!

Boom—!

The eerie green flame that should not have appeared at this location illuminated everyone’s disbelieving eyes.

Fire covering the sword, jade forming armor.

Liuyu’s entire body and the jade sword in her hand were enveloped by the boundless ghost fire!

The qi surged, the sword cut through the stones and dust, the sword light, as agile as a dragon in the winding ravines, shone brightly like snow under the crimson blood moon, dispersing sword qi that could rival the Nine Realms.

Had it not been for the Green Fire Order, which Mo Lin had integrated into her Qi Sea when she was with him, strengthening the boundless ghost fire, Liuyu would never have thought of using this fire to protect herself in this confrontation.

Even so, when the puppet struck, Liuyu still felt a near-death sensation under the terrifying black fire’s siege.

She wasn’t sure if the weak ghost fire she held could protect her.

But fortunately, she had made the right bet.

Below, the Yin Mountain clan and the Nine Hells demons went through extreme emotional ups and downs in the briefest moment, almost thinking that after losing the Lord, they would also lose the Empress.

“Kill it!”

“Empress, kill it to avenge the Lord!”

The uninformed demons yelled and howled, and many of them rushed towards “Yin Mountain Ze,” trying to stop him.

Murong Chi controlled Yin Mountain Ze’s body, casually dealing with them, not really focusing on the battle, almost as if playing with a rare toy. He didn’t care much even if he got injured, as long as it wasn’t a fatal wound.

If the teacher saw this, what would his expression be?

Murong Chi had never seen Nan Gongjing lose composure.

The woman, who came from a humble background and climbed to the position of prime minister, didn’t have a dazzling appearance. She never wore flowing skirts or fine veils but was more fitting in official attire than any other court official in the kingdom.

In the eyes of the young emperor, Nan Gongjing was like a towering mountain, radiating the fragrance of a reliable woman, much like a mother, but also a mountain that crushed him with no room to move.

The mockery of the palace maids and eunuchs came rushing through the poorly shut windows of the old palace. The young emperor, hysterically ordering for them to be dragged out and dismembered, was stopped by a single sentence from Nan Gongjing.

“In the court, we must maintain order. Criticism of the emperor will be handled by the palace rules. Your Majesty, harsh punishments will only cause the people to lose faith in the law. Please reconsider.”

She was always calm, rational, and restrained.

She never knew that a puppet emperor without real power, sitting on that throne, would mistake falling lightning for an invasion of rebels. When he saw those court officials bowing and listening to Nan Gongjing, he thought that with a single thought from her, he would be stripped of his fine clothes and reduced to a prisoner.

Why was Nan Gongjing not here!?

He wanted to see the fear in her eyes and make her understand the feeling of being at the mercy of life and death!

Blood poured from his seven orifices, and “Yin Mountain Ze” had a sinister smile on his face, looking like a seductive demon who crawled out of hell.

Chao Yuan flew forward, slashing with his sword, separating Yin Mountain Ze from the rest.

Chao Ming shouted loudly:

“The Lord is being controlled! This is not voluntary! Everyone, calm down!”

“I don’t care about that!” Lan Zhu wiped the blood from his face, his eyes fierce, “Our Lord’s fate is uncertain; we cannot just watch the Empress go to her death!”

The mountain demon also gripped his curved blade tightly.

“Seize the puppet staff and stop this unbeatable puppet! This is the only way for everyone to survive.”

Tan Ning, caught in the windstorm, looked at Yin Mountain Ze, who was bleeding from his seven orifices, and then at the young girl who was fighting the puppet, her green fire dimming.

With trembling fingers, she took out the jade slip, hoping to get help from Nan Gongjing, who was far in the palace tower. When she opened it, she saw a message from Nan Gongjing:

“If there is danger, abandon the clan leader, protect Liuyu. A great battle is ahead; do not hesitate. This is a military order.”

Tan Ning looked at the words and cried uncontrollably.

She didn’t want to choose.

Whether Yin Mountain Ze or Liuyu, she didn’t want to lose either.

Why must people die? Why couldn’t everyone survive?

Standing in this vast world, she had never seen everything around her as absurd as now.

The demons, who were not recognized by the human race, wanted to stand on equal footing with them. Ordinary people in chaotic times struggled to climb into the aristocracy. The aristocracy, scheming for years to become emperors, and the true emperor seemed like a madman driven insane by the aristocracy.

Desire gripped everyone, crushing them in the wheel of this chaotic era.

When would it ever stop?

Tan Ning looked in Liuyu’s direction, and in this moment, she felt as if she truly understood the thoughts of the Yin Mountain clan.

From the young emperor, to Wuse City, to the Jimo clan, and now—everything they did was to end all of this.

Tan Ning’s eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Chao Ming and Chao Yuan. She moved her lips, nearly choking on her words. She tightly gripped the jade slip, forcing herself to say:

“Mother said, abandon the clan leader, protect Liuyu. This is a military order. No disobedience…”

“Don’t even think about it!!!”

A loud shout from Liuyu echoed through the sky.

“Nobody can abandon my father! Chaoyuan, Chaoming! If either of you dares make any rash move, I will not forgive you!!!”

As soon as her words fell, black strange fire swirled like a dragon and struck Liuyu to the ground with a loud crash!

Having shaken off this tenacious enemy, Murong Chi immediately redirected his focus to deal with this side. Even though Yin Shanze had lost his value as a hostage, he was still a formidable figure at the Ninth Realm. Murong Chi needed to return to the royal capital before being surrounded, to move his physical body to a safer place.

“He wants to run!” the ghostly woman loudly warned everyone.

Chaoyuan immediately prepared to lead the pursuit, but the immense pressure of the black flames surged towards them, forcing everyone to retreat by several steps.

In that brief moment, Murong Chi controlled Yin Shanze’s body to swiftly climb onto the shoulder of a puppet general, commanding it to move quickly toward the royal capital.

“…We can’t let him make it back,” Liuyu said, her body aching from the intense pain as she crawled out from the rubble and stumbled forward.

“Once his body is protected by a puppet general, and with my father’s Ninth Realm power guarding him, it will be even harder to eliminate him.”

“Shanxiao, Chaoyuan, you two take your respective forces—the Nine Nether Demon Ghosts and Yinshan Sect cultivators—and attack the royal capital… infiltrate the Shen’gao Palace.”

Both responded in unison, “Yes!”

The dark clouds rolled in, and the red moon in the sky glowed blood-red. The demon ghosts moved through the swirling crimson clouds, heading for a bloody battle.

The royal capital of Zhongzhou gradually came into view.

A large group of refugee soldiers surrounded the area heavily. The general leading the Xuanwu cicada troops watched as “Yin Shanze” entered the Shen’gao Palace, then removed the black cloth that had covered his face, revealing his true identity.

It was indeed a member of the Murong family.

“The Great Dynasty of Dazhao has lasted a thousand years, and the Yinshan Sect, as subjects, defied their superiors and took the throne illegitimately. Even if they ascend to the imperial throne one day, they will be condemned by all!”

“Shut your damn mouth!”

Before the Yinshan Sect could speak, the impatient Lian Zhu shouted:

“Look well! The Nine Nether Demon Ghosts are the ones attacking your Shen’gao Palace today! Leading us is the Queen of Nine Nether, not your Dazhao’s ministers! Today, we will overthrow your Murong family’s rule—that is the will of the people! We are following the way of heaven!”

The ghostly woman blinked in surprise. “Lian Zhu actually knows how to say such cultured words?”

Shanxiao ruthlessly revealed, “He learned it from the Nine Fang family. The Nine Fang family stirred up public sentiment in the past, which made him pick up a lot of vocabulary.”

No matter where it came from, Lian Zhu’s crude yet reasoned words managed to make the opposition flush with anger, causing them to fall silent.

The general of the Xuanwu cicada raised his heavy sword.

“Punish the traitors—”

Shanxiao slowly drew his curved blade.

“Kill the emperor—”

The two armies shouted in unison. One was the last fading light of a fallen dynasty, and the other was the avenger who had broken through the Demon Ghost Wall.

The decaying great ship was slowly sinking.

The people struggling in the waves built a brand-new vessel.

Leaving behind the intense battlefield, Liuyu took step by step toward the deepest hidden enemy.

There were many cultivators lying in ambush inside the palace, but their strength wasn’t that strong. Even though Liuyu’s wounds were bleeding as she walked, she still managed to carve out a path toward the palace.

“Yin, Mountain, Liuyu, you really managed to kill your way here.”

Zhongli Lingzhao, who was leading the palace guards, blocked her path, looking at the blood-soaked girl in front of her. Her eyes stirred with emotions she herself couldn’t quite comprehend.

In the past, she had considered Yinshan Liuyu her mortal enemy, aiming to outshine her. She simply couldn’t accept being surpassed by someone with a similar background and talent.

But after receiving the news earlier today that Yinshan Liuyu was actually Jimo Gui, her mind had been in turmoil, and the chain of conspiracies laid out before her seemed endless. She was both angry at how Liuyu had manipulated everyone and admiring her ability and methods.

In the end, both anger and admiration turned into infinite loneliness.

The Zhongli family had fallen, and the Murong family would soon follow.

The victors and the vanquished—Zhongli Lingzhao didn’t have any grudges, but there was one thing—

“Do you want to save Yin Shanze?”

The girl with disheveled black hair slowly lifted her eyelids. Her eyes, black and smooth as pearls, reflected the figure in front of her.

“Don’t look at me with that distrustful gaze. After you leave, I will be the first in Lingyong. Dealing with the old men in this entire palace is no problem. Murong Chi used a red thread incense to control your father. I can help you, free your father from his control, but you need to promise me one thing…”

“Your grandmother has already committed suicide at Mang Mountain, and aside from that, everything else is negotiable.”

Zhongli Lingzhao’s face showed a moment of blankness.

“…What did you say?”

Liuyu slowly climbed the stairs. Blood loss drained her strength, and she needed to adjust her breathing to restore her Qi and circulate her veins.

“Her last wish before she died was to use her life to ensure the safety of her granddaughter.”

This was the first time Liuyu had seen Zhongli Lingzhao cry.

It was like a blow to the head, breaking the last bone of the Zhongli family’s fourth young lady. Her cold and aloof face finally cracked, and pain and regret crawled out from it. A mournful wail escaped from her throat.

In one month, her family was torn apart, and her loved ones were lost forever.

Zhongli Lingzhao had thought that when she looked up, she would see Liuyu gazing down at her with the expression of a victor. But instead, she met a pair of eyes full of sorrow, just like her own.

It was as if no one could feel this pain more deeply than she could.

Liuyu walked past her.

“…Aren’t you going to threaten me to help you?”

“You have no reason to help me.”

Zhongli Lingzhao stared at her retreating back and laughed bitterly.

“You’re wrong.”

“My mother has admired your father for many years. If Yin Shanze dies, she will be heartbroken.”

She dreamed of taking revenge on the Yinshan clan.

But the revenge she wanted was one that could reverse the decline of the Zhongli clan, a life-restoring kind of revenge—not one that merely sought to satisfy her pride by causing pain to her own people in order to harm the enemy.

Dead people cannot come back to life, so the living should no longer suffer.

Suddenly, she thought of something and her weary gaze shifted toward Liuyu.

“Did you know? The elder of the Yinshan clan once intended for my mother to marry Yinshan Ze, but if it weren’t for your mother interfering, perhaps the person now known as the eldest lady of the Yinshan clan would have been me.”

At that moment, such a topic seemed somewhat inopportune and absurd. Liuyu stared at her for a moment, then emphasized:

“If that were the case, there would be no you in this world.”

“And no you,” Zhongli Lingzhao coldly sneered as she wiped her tears away.

As Zhongli Lingzhao had said, probably because they had to deal with the Yinshan clan and the demon ghosts, the internal affairs of the Shen’gao Palace had fallen into her control quite easily.

The two of them stepped into the great hall, and with a flick of their sleeves, lit up the thousands of candles within.

On the throne of the Great Zhao Empire sat a slender and youthful boy. He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, tightly gripping a red thread that extended from his hand, branching out above the heads of everyone in the room.

At the ends of the red thread were bone joints and eyeballs formed from Qi flow.

“The red thread worm is colorless and odorless, crushed and mixed into the incense bestowed by the emperor, to create the Yinshan clan leader’s exclusive essence of all immortals. The powder of the red thread worm will blend into the Qi sea. Once consumed with the female worm’s Murong Zhi to control the Qi sea, the insect powder will flow through the meridians throughout the body, condensing into threads that tie every bone together,” Zhongli Lingzhao observed, watching the dense red threads overhead and the boy sitting on the throne, unaware with his eyes closed.

“Ten years of being a puppet emperor probably turned him into a madman. He even thought of such devious methods…”

“Dodge!”

Liuyu suddenly pushed Zhongli Lingzhao.

In the next moment, the figure of “Yinshan Ze” appeared like a ghost, instantly killing the palace guard behind Zhongli Lingzhao and throwing both of them out of the palace!

Outside the palace, a massive puppet stood bathed in the light of the red moon.

Back when she was with the Zhongli clan, Old Lady Zhongli never allowed anyone to see the process of creating this puppet. This was the first time Zhongli Lingzhao had witnessed this puppet named Tianjia Thirty-One.

What an overwhelming sense of oppression.

It felt like a monster that should not exist in the world.

Zhongli Lingzhao’s fingers gripping the sword-whip turned pale with fear, but the young girl beside her slowly walked toward the puppet.

“Mo Lin.”

Liuyu called out his name, and her voice cracked with emotion.

“Can you still hear my voice? Do you still… have consciousness?”

Zhongli Lingzhao stared at Liuyu in confusion.

Who was she calling?

Mo Lin? This puppet?

The jade sword lit a flame, but that green fire had already dimmed, almost reduced to a faint glow, unable to protect Liuyu anymore.

Mo Lin was swallowed by the puppet.

The last bit of green fire was about to be extinguished.

There was nothing in this world that could block this black abnormal fire. All resistance was useless.

Zhongli Lingzhao suppressed her aura and slowly stepped back.

“Block her!”

Murong Zhi immediately noticed Zhongli Lingzhao’s movement and ordered with a seal.

However—

Tianjia Thirty-One stood still like a wooden statue, not moving at all.

Murong Zhi was greatly shocked but had no time to think about why. He immediately rushed toward Zhongli Lingzhao to stop her.

He could not let her destroy the red thread, nor could he let her harm his physical body!

“You can hear me?”

The once silent heart seemed to begin beating again. Liuyu couldn’t believe it and stepped forward, getting closer to the puppet with an eerie aura.

However, as she raised her foot, the puppet instead took a slow step back.

Murong Zhi did not give the order! This was its own reaction!

The black abnormal fire that entangled the puppet twisted like a dragon, and the flame was less than half an arm’s length away from Liuyu.

But Liuyu didn’t retreat. Instead, she moved closer to the flame that could easily kill her.

“Mo Lin!”

The huge body made creaking sounds, as Kunwu iron clashed with bones.

Liuyu raised her tear-streaked face, and tears dropped onto the blue stone ground.

“Does it hurt? I know it must hurt, how could it not? But you have to endure, endure until you can break free, endure until you can control this abnormal fire, so I can hold you.”

Liuyu took a step closer.

The cold and powerful black abnormal fire, just as it was about to lick her fingertips, visibly pulled back.

The strange, harsh sound grew louder, and strange, indistinct growls echoed from the puppet’s empty body.

It was like a trapped beast struggling in fury.

It was also like a warning, warning her not to approach so recklessly.

But Liuyu was no longer afraid.

If Mo Lin couldn’t successfully subdue the puppet, how could they save Yinshan Ze? Not to mention the demon ghosts and the Yinshan clan cultivators outside, they couldn’t withstand a single strike from this black abnormal fire.

Fate had already marked her clan’s downfall. She and Mo Lin had gambled with their lives and time across two lifetimes to resist, pouring all their strength into this struggle.

Tonight, it was either life or death together.

Liuyu moved toward him again.

The cold black abnormal fire suddenly surged, wrapping around her body like a storm, close enough that Liuyu could almost smell the scent of death. At this moment, she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of unwillingness and resentment.

In her past life, Mo Lin had nearly given up everything to bring about this reincarnation. From then until now, surviving numerous dangers to reach this point—how could she be content? She would never be content!

“Mo Lin! Answer me! Can you hear me? Answer me! Who am I?”

The storm stirred by the black abnormal fire shot into the sky, spiraling and blowing away the dark clouds above. Even the dim red moon was cleared by the powerful storm, becoming a little clearer.

“…Liuyu.”

The black strange fire spread out.

From beneath the heavy iron armor came a disjointed, awkward voice, not at all like Mo Lin’s usual tone. It seemed to come from somewhere deeper, farther away, low and hoarse, like a sigh.

Two strands of mental threads intertwined, and the long passage of time was enough to cause one to lose all rationality.

But in the chaotic, storm-like memories, he still managed to find the words—words from a long, long time ago, so long that he could no longer pinpoint the anchor, unable to tell when they emerged or why they had to be spoken aloud.

“Liuyu, the golden-thread jade of the Nine Nether has not opened, and you didn’t stay behind.”

“I can’t find you… no matter what, I can’t find you.”

The cause and effect were forgotten, leaving only the emotion from back then, scorching a scar on his heart. Whenever touched, it still ached faintly.

Liuyu watched as it slowly knelt down.

She desperately tried to hold him, but he was too large, and she could only barely grasp a single knuckle. Her heart felt like it was filled with endless sorrow.

“I’m here.”

“You don’t need to search for me. I am here, I will always be here.”

Was it an illusionary dream or a hallucination before death? Mo Lin couldn’t tell.

He only felt like he had walked a very long, long road. He knew no one would be waiting for him at the end of the road, but he still had to keep walking.

Because.

Because—

The memories of this life rushed in like a warm current, washing away all the regrets and missed opportunities from his past life.

Her smile.

Her kiss.

Her open love and sincere response, crossing over countless dark, sticky nights.

Perhaps it was for this moment that he had lived until now.