Chapter 99

When Jiufang Shaogeng regained his senses after the intense pain, he momentarily thought he had descended into hell.

If this wasn’t hell, then how could he be caught in such a cataclysmic blaze, as if the very mountains and earth were collapsing around him?

“…How could this happen… How is this possible…”

Covered in blood, he was barely helped to sit up by Miaoyi. He looked at the opponent above him, who was evenly matched in strength, his pupils slightly trembling, almost unable to believe his own eyes.

The last time Jiufang Shaogeng had seen this puppet general, he had personally witnessed Elder Zhongli repairing it.

When commanded to move, the overwhelming surge of energy it released was something only a Grand Master could possess, and the black flames emanating from it was even more mysterious, eerily similar to the boundless ghost fire of the demon Mo Lin, but stronger.

—The vitality of the heavens and earth, everything it touched would turn to ashes.

Jiufang Shaogeng had always been certain that if these two met, the demon Mo Lin would stand no chance of fighting back.

But now, what was going on?

Why was it that these two adversaries were in a deadlock, neither gaining the upper hand? The black flames, which should have immediately extinguished the boundless ghost fire, hadn’t fully demonstrated the power he had witnessed on the martial arena. It was as though—

It was as though it was being suppressed.

Why were the demon Mo Lin and the puppet general mutually restraining each other?

A piece of paper with hastily written words was handed to Jiufang Shaogeng:

[Surrender, second brother. Let’s surrender!]

He suddenly turned his head to look at Miaoyi, whose eyes were filled with tears. Her body trembled uncontrollably, her nature and position tearing at her from within. The string that had been taut within her broke when Mo Lin had blocked the puppet general’s black fire for them.

[The puppet general’s previous attack wasn’t aimed solely at Mo Lin! It was trying to kill us all—along with the Yinshan clan and the Nine Nether demons! Big brother still hasn’t obtained the Puppet Controller’s staff, which means our father has long been prepared for us!]

“I will beg for Liuyu. As long as we give up now and surrender, the Yinshan family won’t wipe us out. If we join forces with the Yinshan family to deal with the puppet soldiers, we might have a chance.”

The burn scars on the back of Jiufang Shaogeng’s body throbbed painfully, and sweat poured down his forehead. However, he had no time to care about that.

“What kind of fantasy are you having!? To fight for supremacy in the world—if you win, you’re above millions, if you lose, you’re dead. Miao Yi, do you not understand this basic truth!?”

The wind from the Qi flow stirred Miao Yi’s dark hair.

Being born into a noble family, she, of course, understood such principles. But at this moment, she didn’t understand what she was fighting for.

What emperor of the Divine Land, what unified world—she had never cared about any of that!

If fighting for power and influence would allow her to reunite with her brother safely, she would risk her life, even turn against former friends, and she would never retreat.

But if it was for power and status, and if she had to place her brother in danger, she would rather give up being a noblewoman than abandon her brother for fleeting fame or profit!

Jiufang Shaogeng, drenched in cold sweat, was about to rise to continue fighting when an unexpected figure appeared, casting out the Celestial Binding Rope and immediately tying him up.

“Miao Yi!”

He was severely injured and couldn’t struggle free. He looked at Miao Yi in disbelief, who had a stern expression on her face.

“Liuyu—”

The golden-clad girl turned around from the distance.

Since Miao Yi began practicing the Tianxian technique, she had never shouted so loudly. At this moment, her voice was hoarse, but every word felt like releasing pent-up frustration.

“If I become the head of the Jiufang family, and lead the entire family to surrender to the Yinshan family and the Jiuyou, could you… could you spare my eldest brother and second brother?”

Amid the shattered walls, the Jiufang family was in an uproar.

The mountain demon fighting the Jiufang family cultivators turned around when he heard the voice, and the figure beside him sneered.

“These Jiufang people are really flexible. When they’re in the upper hand, they shout for us to kill, but when the puppet soldiers are about to kill them all, they send the third young lady who is on good terms with the Empress Dowager to seek peace. They really take all the good things, the Empress Dowager must…”

“Fine.”

Liuyu, holding the jade sword, looked solemn.

“I agree.”

“The third young lady can’t!” Someone from the Jiufang family immediately protested. “This is just a temporary tactic of Yinshan Liuyu. What survival route? If she’s imprisoned for life, what kind of survival route is that…”

Liuyu was not that kind of person!

Although she might be at odds with them, at such a life-or-death juncture, if Liuyu had any ulterior motives, she wouldn’t hide them. Since she agreed so decisively, she wouldn’t play any tricks!

Miao Yi finally felt a glimmer of hope.

As long as she controlled the Jiufang family, she wouldn’t have to be enemies with Liuyu, and the Jiufang cultivators wouldn’t die in vain. Her second brother’s life could also be preserved, and he wouldn’t die in this chaos.

As long as she…

The young girl, taking half a step forward, suddenly stopped.

Her brows furrowed tightly as she lifted her hand to touch her throat, a look of fear slowly appearing in her eyes.

“Tianxian · Seven Style · Dragon’s Roar and Tiger’s Howl—Return to One!”

This was not what she wanted to say; her vocal cords had uttered the words on their own!

Miao Yi’s technique swept away the strong Qi flow, piercing through the raging boundless ghost fire, and suddenly enveloped the figure in dark robes with black hair in midair. The previously surging ghost fire quickly reduced to zero, visibly shrinking, and fell heavily to the ground under the puppet soldier’s attack!

Liuyu’s heart almost stopped, and she immediately rushed towards him, but she heard Mo Lin shout loudly:

“Don’t come over!”

This puppet soldier’s black fire could only be resisted by him. No one else, even if a grandmaster were present, could stop it. With a little effort, this black fire could break through the opponent’s Qi shield.

Mo Lin spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly looked at Miao Yi, whose face had turned pale. He spoke in a deep voice:

“…She’s being controlled.”

Miao Yi immediately wrote in a hurry: “I can’t control my voice!”

Liuyu’s pupils contracted.

If what Miao Yi said was true, then her Tianxian technique was something Jiufang Qian had separated from his ancestors, and it wasn’t impossible for Jiufang Qian to control Miao Yi.

“Run! Miao Yi! Run as far as you can!” she commanded sharply.

Miao Yi quickly understood that Jiufang Qian could control her vocal cords, but he couldn’t control her thoughts and actions. As long as she ran far enough, she wouldn’t be able to help Jiufang Qian commit atrocities.

However, just as she leaped a few feet forward, she suddenly froze, like a bird shot from the sky falling to the ground.

Liuyu looked at Jiufang Shaogeng, whose pupils had turned blue.

Yao Bian Tianmu, Blood Control Technique.

Not only Miao Yi, but even Jiufang Shaogeng was under Jiufang Qian’s control.

When Jiufang Shaogeng locked eyes with Liuyu, he too realized this, and a sense of horror slowly spread in his heart.

“Scatter! Let Yinshan Liuyu come over. My elder brother has already gone to Jiufang Qian’s secret room. Once Jiufang Qian’s body dies, both his techniques and the puppet soldiers will fail. I’ll tell you the location of the secret room, you can send people—”

“He’s not in the secret room you know about.”

The demon opened the way, and Liuyu passed through the encirclement of Jiufang cultivators. She grabbed the young man bound by the Celestial Binding Rope.

At this moment, a small wound on her face dripped blood, like a blood tear falling down her cheek.

“My people might know the true location where Jiufang Qian is hiding, but it requires the cooperation of your elder brother. Now, immediately send a message to your elder brother. Miao Yi is under Jiufang Qian’s control, and my agreement with her can’t be enforced. If your elder brother refuses to cooperate, I will definitely, definitely have you torn apart.”

—-

In the underground passage, the aide looked at the little girl who was struggling to open the black iron door mechanism. In the air, the sound of arrows breaking through the air from the Qi formation could be heard, and their assassins were continuously falling.

Jiufang Zhanghua lowered his head and tightened his grip on the jade slip in his hand.

Shaogeng… Miao Yi…

“Young Master! There’s no saving them!”

The aide murmured in frustration.

“Those who achieve great things must be willing to make sacrifices. In the past, when the alien demons rampaged across the world, hunting down all the great talents of the land, when the entire Jiufang family fled, didn’t your father abandon his first wife to secure a slim chance of survival for the entire Jiufang clan?”

“Yes,” another advisor added, “Now is the best opportunity to weaken the Yinshan clan and the Nine Hells demons. We should save our strength here, wait for the patriarch to control the puppet general and stabilize the situation before making our move to eliminate him. Young Master, wait a little longer, don’t fall into the trap set by the Yinshan clan and these traitors!”

The surrounding aura arrows were dense, and Fang Fucang had no choice but to protect Mu Cangshui, staying within the same encirclement with the Jiufang clan’s people.

Hearing the words of the advisors, Mu Cangshui’s gaze swept over Jiufang Zhanghua’s face.

“How similar.”

The young man with a cold jade-like appearance slowly raised his head.

“You truly are the child most like your father. He dislikes you so much. It’s not just because you couldn’t practice the Jiufang family’s martial arts, but also for this reason, isn’t it?”

Because he knew his own dark and despicable side, he was afraid and rejected seeing this shadow in his son.

Jiufang Zhanghua’s eyelids twitched, and his pupils darkened.

“Who are you really?”

Mu Cangshui’s gaze fell on the thick black iron door, and she softly spoke:

“I’m just a failure who has survived until now for the sake of revenge.”

The lock mechanism made a crisp click.

Yue Niang stepped back a few paces under the protection of Yinshan clan’s cultivators, raising her head to look at the intricate golden patterns unfolding on the black iron door. Each pattern was an engraved groove, and at the center where the patterns converged was a small bloodstone.

Only Jiufang Qian’s blood could open this door.

—However, this bloodstone could not be so precise, so theoretically, close blood relatives of Jiufang Qian could also open the black iron door.

Fang Fucang drew his sword and stared coldly:

“Young Master, will you go on your own, or should we ask you to come over?”

The advisor angrily shouted: “A traitor of the Fang family, how dare you threaten the legitimate heir of the clan!”

They had eight eighth-level cultivators on their side; in a direct confrontation, the people of the Yinshan clan might not be their opponents!

Whether it was due to being around Liuyu for too long, Fang Fucang did not feel anything wrong with the words at first, but now, hearing them, he found them extremely jarring.

“Young Master,” Fang Fucang’s fingers tightened around the sword hilt, his body slightly bent as he prepared to strike, “What is your answer?”

His thoughts were like a raging storm.

The words of the advisors and Mu Cangshui tangled and tore at his mind. In the end, it was Liuyu’s heart-piercing analysis that drowned out all the other voices.

—The “self” you speak of is the self you’ve imagined, do you know who truly did these things?

—A demon you despise, yet he is the one you truly want to become. Jiufang Zhanghua, you live like a joke.

His chest tightened again, and Jiufang Zhanghua closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Get out of the way.”

“Young Master!”

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

The jade sword cut through his palm, and as his blood mingled with the bloodstone, he seemed to still hear Liuyu and Mu Cangshui’s voices echoing in his ears.

He would not abandon Shaogeng and Miaoyi.

He and Jiufang Qian were not the same.

Yue Niang wiped the sweat from her face and exclaimed with joy, “It’s open! The door’s open!”

“Step back,” Fang Fucang pulled Yue Niang, “We don’t know what other traps are inside, don’t get too excited.”

“There’s nothing left.”

Mu Cangshui’s figure passed through the crowd, stepping steadily toward the inner chamber behind the black iron door.

“The hard outer shell is to protect the fragile interior. To control the puppet general while simultaneously managing Shaogeng and Miaoyi is impossible for even the strongest to protect the physical body under such circumstances.”

“So, you wouldn’t store your body in an environment filled with traps, otherwise, the vibrations from the ground would trigger the mechanisms and cause them to go out of control, wouldn’t that mean you’d end up killing yourself?”

Mu Cangshui knelt before the black shadow, picked up a tea cup from the table, still warm, and sniffed it.

“Am I right… Jiufang Qian?”

The dark room only had a faint candlelight, and the oppressive, stagnant air filled the underground chamber. It felt like an unlit coffin, sealed away from the world above.

The black shadow slightly moved its eyes.

The faint candlelight made it difficult for Jiufang Qian to make out the visitor’s face clearly, but his eyes, like an eagle in the dark, impatiently sought to discern the true identity of this person.

No one should have known of this hidden underground chamber.

The cultivators guarding the outermost perimeter, the secret path leading here full of deadly traps, and the heavy black iron door that only he and his blood relatives could open — it should have been impossible for anyone to reach here.

“Who… are you?”

Jiufang Qian released too many mind threads, and the puppets on the ground, controlled by him, were unstoppable. Yet his own body hidden here was as fragile as glass.

Unable to move, he could only utter vague words.

His neck muscles bulged, his five fingers knocked on the table, and his eyes widened:

“Murong Cang! Is it you?”

The only person who could find this place and understand the Jiufang family’s secrets, apart from Murong Cang, who had helped mediate between the Jiufang and Zhongli families and personally supervised the construction of this mansion, was no one else!

Murong Cang lowered her eyes and lit two more candles, the dim light revealing the frost-like wrinkles on her face. She said:

“I thought my looks were gone, and you were still in your prime, but seeing you now, I can’t help but feel annoyed. However, I’m relieved that when we meet again, you are as much a failure as I am.”

In the silent darkroom, a slight tremor on the ground echoed.

The commotion was likely intense above, unimaginable to those below.

“It seems there’s no time to catch up.”

Jiu Fang Qian couldn’t accept it, unable to believe it.

His trembling pupils were fixed on the face of the person in front of him, where only those eyes remained as clear and bright as ever, the same eyes he had seen when he lifted the bridal veil on the night of his marriage to Jiu Fang Qian.

It was Murong Cang, the princess of the Great Zhao dynasty.

She was the aunt of the current emperor, who had married Jiu Fang Qian, the eldest son of the Jiu Fang clan, over a century ago. However, in a demonic calamity, she had willingly sacrificed herself to the outer evil demons in order to save the Jiu Fang family.

The Jiu Fang family had deeply appreciated her great favor and placed her tablet in their ancestral hall, honoring her alongside the past clan leaders. Jiu Fang Qian never remarried and kept three concubines, only to ensure the next generation of Jiu Fang heirs.

From birth to death, Jiu Fang Qian’s legally recognized wife had always been Murong Cang.

In the brief moment of eye contact, the tumultuous past of Murong Cang seemed to flow through her eyes.

After the year of Zhaoye, the women who had sacrificed to the evil demons regained their freedom, but the aristocracy regarded the demons’ offspring as remnants and sought to destroy them, even secretly killing those women to erase this shameful history.

Murong Cang changed her appearance and surname, escaping to seek the help of her husband, who, in the eyes of the world, was deeply devoted to her.

But before she could reach him, someone had already impersonated her, trying to take advantage of the Jiu Fang family’s protection.

Jiu Fang Qian killed her with his own hands.

Hiding in the shadows, Murong Cang saw him personally arrange her body and bury her.

Little did Jiu Fang Qian know that the woman in the coffin was not his wife. In truth, his real wife had altered her appearance, aging herself to look like an eighty-year-old to survive and be by his side.

— Born as a shame of the Jiu Fang family, she died as the glory of the Jiu Fang family. If you have hatred, my dear, seek your revenge in the next life.

A woman who had once borne offspring for the evil demons was like a living reminder of the past when the Jiu Fang family had sacrificed a wife to survive. How could the entire family tolerate her?

Many women who survived the evil demons’ captivity ended their lives in despair under such pressure.

But Murong Cang would not.

What shame? What face? A living person could not be killed by the eyes of the world!

Her past as a captive of the evil demons did not change who she was. Giving birth to demonic offspring did not mean she was inferior or deserved death!

She would live!

She could not wait for the next life. In this life, she would turn her century-long rage and hatred into the sharpest blade, ending her feud with Jiu Fang Qian!

The case table was overturned, tea spilling everywhere. Once young lovers, now at odds with swords and knives.

The cold gleam of a dagger reflected the anger and fear in the dying man’s eyes, as Murong Cang’s calm face rarely showed a storm of emotion.

She said:

“If you have hatred, come find me in the next life—Jiu Fang Qian, this sentence, this knife, I return to you.”

Jiu Fang Qian’s eyes widened with fury.

He had hidden in the Jiu Fang residence for a century, locking himself away, in the hope that one day, after eliminating all enemies who posed a threat, he could ascend to the imperial throne, seize control of life and death, and never again be crushed like an ant by an outer evil demon.

He could die in a battle between the strong, or in the pursuit of imperial power.

But how could he die here, in this dark underground place, in this pitch-black chamber, at the hands of a weak woman who couldn’t even harm a chicken?

He was on the verge of accomplishing his great goal, just one step away from seeing the light of day again!

The consciousness threads within the puppet staff were suddenly pulled back, and Jiu Fang Qian tried to make his body move again.

But the consciousness threads were not something that could be controlled at will. Despite using all his strength, the threads, which had taken hours to integrate into the puppet staff, could only retract at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Slow enough for him to watch the dagger approach.

The fragile woman, who could normally be killed with a flick of the finger, now made Jiu Fang Qian feel like a paralyzed old man. Even though every one of her movements was slow and easy to counter, he could only watch his wife, whom he believed to be dead, slowly strangle the life out of him.

Murong Cang!!!

All his schemes, all his ambitions, were being destroyed by her hands!!

In the moment the dagger pierced Jiu Fang Qian’s chest, Jiu Fang Zhanghua and Fang Fucang both moved at once, attempting to seize the puppet staff from his hand.

But Murong Cang sensed something and suddenly turned to Fang Fucang and Yue Niang, shouting:

“Run!”

The puppet staff was thrown through the air.

Though Murong Cang had no cultivation, she used all her strength for that throw.

Yue Niang released a blood net, snatching the staff from Jiu Fang Zhanghua’s grasp, hoping to save Murong Cang as well.

However, behind them, Fang Fucang acted without hesitation, grabbing them, while the cultivators of Yinshan and Jiu Fang almost simultaneously turned to exit the narrow passage.

Despite this, when a massive explosion rang out behind them, everyone was inevitably struck by the shockwave from the self-detonation of the Jiu Jing cultivators, instantly injuring them!

The air rushed back in. Fang Fucang, thrown to the ground, rolled several times, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Yue Niang peered out from his arms, frantically pounding on his shoulder, shouting:

“The puppet staff! Jiu Fang Zhanghua took the puppet staff!!”

After a long pause with no response, Yue Niang turned and saw that Fang Fucang had closed his eyes.

At least he still had breath left.

…But Grandmother Mu hadn’t made it out.

Yue Niang scrambled through the rubble, realizing only when her fingers were cut by sharp stones that even Fang Fucang, an eighth-level cultivator, was severely injured in the self-detonation, so how could the mortal Grandmother Mu have any chance of survival?

She was dead.

Yue Niang stood frozen for a moment, then instinctively looked at the unconscious Fang Fucang.

After a moment of dazed hesitation, Yue Niang immediately climbed out of the ruins. She turned, quickly confirming the remaining surviving cultivators of Yinshan.

“You stay here and protect the master. I’ll go after Jiu Fang Zhanghua!”

He must not take the Puppet Control Staff.

This was the young lady’s order.

The smoke drifted in the night air, and scattered household servants could be seen fleeing. Jiufang Zhanghua brushed past them and staggered toward the direction of the ongoing battle.

It was as if he could see the great calamity of the world today, with a strange red moon hanging in the sky.

The lingering pain and buzzing from the explosion echoed in his ears. Blood dripped from his earlobe onto his tattered clothes. His jade sword had shattered, and now he held a sword pin, trying to form a new sword, but the Qi Sea, struck heavily, could not flow smoothly.

The Puppet Control Staff was in his hands, and as long as he sent his mind into it, he could control the puppet general.

No matter if it was Shaogeng, Miaoyi, or Jiufang Clan, he could protect them.

He would… show Liuyu…

“Chao Xin炼·Nine Form·Blood Bind.”

Jiufang Zhanghua felt a great force bind his ankle, and in the next moment, he crashed heavily to the ground.

The golden Puppet Control Staff rolled to the feet of Yue Niang.

The panting little girl picked it up and ran, not daring to stop.

The young man who had fallen stood up, his noble and indifferent demeanor seemingly peeled away, driven purely by instinct, as he swung his sword toward Yue Niang.

A blood net filled the sky, crushing nearby trees into sawdust.

The blood-soaked figure seemed to have lost all sensation, his eyes darkened as they fixed on Yue Niang. The jade sword shattered and reformed again, staring relentlessly, like a twisted monster from the abyss.

Although Yue Niang practiced the “Immortal Artisan’s Opening,” her Qi Sea and blood were limited, and soon her face turned pale, and dizziness overtook her.

At that moment, Jiufang Zhanghua aimed to strike off her head.

A clear sword light split into dozens of sword marks in an instant, like the wind flowing back after the snow, elegant yet powerful. The sword technique came from the same school as Jiufang Zhanghua’s, but was far more refined and stronger, embodying the essence of elegant swordsmanship.

Falling, Jiufang Zhanghua caught a glimpse of a red clothing corner.

“Master…”

Yin Shanze turned around, spread his palm toward Yue Niang, and smiled gently.

“Leave it to me.”

Yue Niang stared at the suddenly appearing young man in red, the red moon above shining brightly on Yujing, illuminating the fragrant plum grove. The young man’s celestial and jade-like appearance in the shadow of the moonlight was so beautiful it seemed like an immortal from the heavens.

This was the young lady’s father.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yue Niang handed the Puppet Control Staff to him.

Yin Shanze, holding the staff, stepped toward the direction where Liuyu and the others were.

“…Master… Master! Master!”

Jiufang Zhanghua suddenly surged, Yin Shanze’s sword technique leaving deep bone-deep wounds on his body. Combined with the close proximity to Jiufang Qian’s self-detonation earlier, his organs were injured. Now, when he opened his mouth, blood poured out like a fountain.

He knew he didn’t have much time left.

“Are you just leaving like this? Whether to scold me or kill me! Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Yin Shanze did not pause his steps, continuing to walk ahead.

With Jiufang Qian’s mind threads lost, the puppet general temporarily ceased its movements. All around the ruins, there were corpses either charred or drained of life.

It was as if an eternal, unquenchable ghostly fire surrounded the puppet general, attempting to melt the Kunwu Iron embedded in his body.

In contrast to the ferocious fire, Mo Lin’s face was terrifyingly pale.

Yue Niang called out for the young lady, and Liuyu turned toward the sound. Her furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

“Father?”

Jiufang Zhanghua, however, stared at the back of Yin Shanze, a sudden realization flashing in his mind. His muscles tensed like a bowstring, and he shouted:

“Liuyu! He’s not Master!!”

As the words left his mouth, Liuyu felt the air around her freeze for a moment.

The next moment, the air began to stir again, and clear, flowing sword light surrounded her from all directions. Even though Liuyu was prepared, she was still forced to hurriedly react, flipping over and falling to the ground in a disarrayed tumble.

Liuyu quickly got up, looking in disbelief at Yin Shanze, who was attacking her.

With just this sword strike, she could tell this person was either disguised or the real Yin Shanze.

— But had been controlled by someone.

Liuyu suddenly turned to look at Yue Niang.

“What happened? Didn’t Jiufang Qian die?!”

Yue Niang was equally confused, not understanding how things had turned out this way.

“He’s dead, I saw him die with my own eyes! Master saw it too! How could he not be dead?!”

… It wasn’t Jiufang Qian controlling Father!

The jade sword in her hand left a trail through the rubble, and the young master of the noble family approached slowly. His steps were calm and unhurried, but when he raised his head, she saw blood flowing from his seven orifices, his lips pale with not a hint of color.

Soul Binding.

Liuyu’s pupils trembled, and immense fear gripped her heart.

The Soul Binding was still in place, but her father was being forcibly controlled. The only result from dragging this out would be—

At that moment, a jade slip flashed, and a message from Shentuzhang came through.

[Young lady, Zhongli Xuansu has committed suicide at Mang Mountain. Before dying, he left a letter stating that the puppet generals’ matter was coerced by someone, and he did it reluctantly, hoping to exchange a name and a secret for the life of Yinshan Clan’s granddaughter, Zhongli Lingzhao.]

Liuyu slowly raised her head and looked at the figure before her.

The mist that had lingered for both her past and present life now vanished, and she pierced through the illusion of human hearts, finally seeing the truth.

“…Prince Shao, Murong Chi.”

In extreme shock, Liuyu found this truth so absurd that it made her smile.

“It was you.”

In her previous life, when she was fleeing, there were two occasions when she was cornered by the immortal family’s forces, and both times, she managed to escape thanks to the Xuanwu sent by Prince Shao. So, Liuyu had never thought twice and always believed that Prince Shao Murong Chi was aligned with the Yinshan Clan.

But she had overlooked one thing.

Murong Chi, who could establish his own army by using the common people while being constrained by the control of the aristocratic families, was no puppet simply acting on emotions.

Liuyu finally understood why the Yinshan clan fell so quickly in her past life, and why Nangong Yao died so easily in the central region.

Murong Chi could not kill the aristocratic clans.

But the Emperor could kill his own subjects.

When Nangong Jing learned of the changes in her past life, he might have already vaguely guessed this possibility. That’s why he ordered Nangong Yao to retreat from the royal territory — to lure out the person who had been hiding beneath the surface.

However, he never expected that this person’s methods would be even more ruthless than Nangong Jing had anticipated.

He had managed to control the Yinshan Ze and, at a critical moment, used Zhongli Lingzhao as leverage to control the Tianjia Thirty-One.

In her past life, Murong Chi had worked with Jiufang Qian to eliminate the Yinshan clan and secretly supported her in fighting against the Jiufang clan, which eventually led to the destruction of the Jiufang clan by the demon Mo Lin.

He hid behind the scenes, effortlessly destroying two major aristocratic clans.

Like a mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the yellow bird behind, the world believed that the puppet emperor sitting in the royal territory was controlled by the aristocratic clans. But this cicada, with its fragile body, harbored the heart of a tortoise.

At this moment, upon hearing Liuyu’s words, Murong Chi suddenly changed color, as if about to vent his years of suppressed frustrations. He shouted angrily:

“The emperor is above all living things! What aristocratic clans? What demons? They should all be subjects crawling beneath the emperor’s feet. You dare defy him? It is only right to kill you!”

“Tianjia Thirty-One, kill them!”

The consciousness thread already infused into the Puppet Controller’s staff began controlling the staff again, releasing the terrifying black flames from the puppet general that had been dormant for a long time.

Whether they were from the Jiufang clan, the Yinshan clan, or any of the countless demons present, upon witnessing this, all of them felt a deep, instinctual despair.

Such power was beyond what mortals could overcome.

Jiufang Zhanghua, weak and barely conscious, lay in Miaoyi’s arms, a low laugh escaping his chest.

There was nothing wrong with it.

Let them all die together. Perhaps he would be afraid alone, but if the whole family died together, it wouldn’t be so scary.

Jiufang Zhanghua’s gaze turned to the demon in black.

There was nothing Mo Lin could do that he couldn’t. He too was helpless, unable to save the one he loved, just as he couldn’t save himself.

“Yue Niang.”

Mo Lin, amidst the storm raised by the puppet general, turned his gaze toward the young girl hiding behind Liuyu.

“This puppet general obeys Murong Chi’s control because his consciousness thread overrides the puppet’s. If the puppet’s consciousness thread is enhanced, could we reclaim control over it?”

Yue Niang, suddenly questioned, lifted her dazed face.

“The theory makes sense… but how can consciousness threads from different people merge? And with the Puppet Controller’s staff activated, the heart-protecting mirror on the puppet general is closed. You can’t insert your consciousness thread through that passage…”

“Then what about from the inside?”

In the storm, Mo Lin’s green eyes emanated an unyielding calm.

“Is there a way to penetrate from the inside?”

Yue Niang had never considered this approach, but after Mo Lin mentioned it, her eyes lit up.

“Of course! It’s definitely possible! But even if the consciousness threads from two people could merge, memories and thoughts will inevitably blend together. This puppet, forged by the demons, doesn’t have a good consciousness thread. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“What do you want to do?” Liuyu asked, her eyes teary, tightly gripping Mo Lin’s wrist. “No matter what you want to do, you can’t.”

No one understood the dangers of the puppet general’s consciousness thread better than she did.

It not only contained the memories of her past life but also the long years that had worn away all of Mo Lin’s consciousness.

When these two merge, who will consume whom, and what will remain, no one could predict.

The worst possibility was that Mo Lin would become like the person she last saw in her spiritual sea—ignorant and unaware.

Apart from his obsession with protecting her, nothing would be left.

“Trust me.”

Both of them were covered in wounds. Mo Lin gently held Liuyu’s hand, which had been stopping him, and gazed into her eyes before kissing her fingertips.

“As long as it’s for coming back to see you, I fear no enemy.”

Before his gentle words could fade, a violent surge of energy suddenly pushed Liuyu aside.

“Mo Lin!!!”

In the shocked gazes of Murong Chi and Jiufang Zhanghua, the ghostly figure of Mo Lin actually condensed his boundless ghost fire into a layer of armor and, like a meteor, slammed it into the puppet general’s abdomen, leaving a crack in the demon’s skin. Before the crack disappeared, Mo Lin’s entire body willingly allowed itself to be consumed by it!

Jiufang Zhanghua’s blood surged as he stared wide-eyed.

He actually—

For the Yinshan clan, for Liuyu, he actually went this far!