Ming Li tucked her hands into her sleeves and strolled toward Chen Zhou and the others.

Chen Zhou lazily lay on Fu Yuan’s back, watching Ming Li without paying attention to the slaves walking out. He said somewhat disapprovingly, “Why have you gotten shorter?”

Ming Li had grown tired of hearing this.

She lifted her face with a smile: “You’ve gotten thinner too.”

Chen Zhou reached up to touch his face, and heard Fu Yuan also say disapprovingly: “Like a bamboo pole. Unsightly.”

Black Fox Mask also said: “Your face is scarred too. Looks like it will leave a mark.”

“Leave a mark? No way, you must find a way to remove it,” Chen Zhou said discontentedly. “Being thin can be fixed with proper nourishment, but scars are unacceptable.”

No one asked Chen Zhou what he had endured in the sky pit, or how Ye Yuanqing and Wang Geng had tortured him, or what had happened back then.

All three knew that if they asked, Chen Zhou would certainly answer, but they were unwilling and afraid to hear him speak of those unbearable memories.

They continued talking as they walked back. The slaves didn’t dare approach Ming Li’s group, all avoiding them as they walked. Because Ye Yiyi had to support the unconscious Ye Fengming, she walked very slowly and was soon overtaken by Ming Li.

Ye Yiyi walked with great difficulty. A passing slave, after hesitating for a moment, came forward and indicated that he could help carry Ye Fengming.

The slave said, “Just give me an extra steamed bun.”

Ye Yiyi was stunned. She clutched her sleeve to wipe her tears and said chokingly, “I’ll give you… I’ll give you once we get out.”

As her words fell, several slaves immediately surrounded her, trying to help carry Ye Fengming.

Ming Li stopped and quietly watched Ye Yiyi walk away before asking Chen Zhou, “Senior Brother, what do you want to do?”

Chen Zhou looked up at Wang Geng hanging on the cliff face and said, “Kill him.”

Ming Li asked again, “Just him alone?”

Chen Zhou’s gaze moved upward, falling on the cave entrance, and he said, “Everyone who stands in the way of my return.”

So Ming Li changed her mind and nodded: “Very well.”

They strolled to the rock wall platform. Wang Geng clung to the iron chains, his head tilted up, with only one eye looking at Chen Zhou ingratiatingly.

Wang Geng’s life force was tenacious. Even now, he hadn’t fainted or died from blood loss. Although this was partly due to the low-level spiritual technique from the Spiritual Court Meridian that Chen Zhou had used earlier, his survival instinct was extremely strong.

For this reason, he was willing to do anything, such as calling himself “pig slave,” fawning over his former prisoner, smiling at Chen Zhou in an ingratiating manner, and frantically begging for mercy.

Wang Geng said, “Chen Zhou, I wronged you. I was too much before. Give me a chance, give me a chance to make it up to you!”

“From now on, I’ll be your beast of burden. I’m the pig slave, disgusting and inauspicious. Pull me up, give me a chance to compensate for these years! It was all Sacred Ye who made me do it. He’s the Sacred Pilgrim, the true master of the sky pit. I had no choice!”

Chen Zhou extended a finger toward Wang Geng. Having already tortured him once in Xian Chi, he was now tired of it. So amid Wang Geng’s increasingly shrill pleading cries, he used his last bit of star power to break the iron chain, listening to his screams as he fell down the cliff, shattering into pieces.

The scream was so agonizing that one could feel the approach of death and despair. Ye Yiyi couldn’t help but quicken her pace forward.

*

Most of the lanterns in the cave had been shattered during the previous fight. Now, the only illumination came from the densely flickering fire lines on both sides of the rock walls.

When Ming Li reached the cave entrance, she stopped, staying at the back of the group.

As Fu Yuan looked around at the fire lines in the cave, Chen Zhou said, “Before, I only saw them appear in the fire cave within the sky pit. They seem to be related to fire jade. The sky pit naturally produces fire jade that can store star power. These fire lines should be another manifestation of the star power devoured by the sky pit.”

Black Fox Mask asked, “So Tai Yi dominates the commerce associations through fire jade?”

Chen Zhou made an affirmative sound: “Because fire jade stores star power, as long as there’s enough quantity, it can do anything. So it’s a versatile material resource.”

“After tonight’s events, the western commerce associations and Tai Yi will not let this go. Once Ye Yuanqing is dead, the commerce associations will be leaderless, and disputes will arise. Add to that the many Tai Yi cultivators who will fight to the death to avenge Ye Yuanqing.”

Fu Yuan said, “He’s not dead yet.”

“There’s not much difference from being dead,” Chen Zhou said, glancing at Ming Li who was walking at the back. He frowned and asked, “Why are you walking so far behind?”

Ming Li was walking slower than they were, even though Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask weren’t walking very fast.

So Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask both turned to look at Ming Li.

Ming Li, her hands tucked in her sleeves, was holding her loosened braid and said, “I’m braiding my hair.”

The three of them: “…”

“Where’s Zixi?” Fu Yuan asked helplessly. “You should let him do it. You’re not good at this sort of thing.”

“He can’t come in here,” Ming Li said. “The sky pit devours star power, so he can’t come here in shadow form.”

“I heard from Cheng Jingbai,” Chen Zhou said. “They came to steal the Star Fragment Tablet to save Zixi. Did you get the Star Fragment Tablet? He specifically reminded me to tell you not to break the Star Fragment Tablet like you did with the Mirror of No Distance.”

“I got it,” Ming Li waved her hand, indicating that the Star Fragment Tablet was in her possession. “My junior brother… he’s different from before, but he’s still himself.”

Chen Zhou raised an eyelid and said, “We’ll find him.”

Ming Li smiled with curved eyes: “I will find him.”

She strolled to the front of the three and continued, “There should be many people outside now. Three of the Tai Yi Seven Stars remain, plus various disciples. This place is also close to Tai Yi, so reinforcements will arrive quickly.”

“Most importantly, there are the One Red Line, Qing Chuan, and Golden Silkworm commerce associations controlled by Ye Yuanqing, which include various martial academies and merchant guard teams.”

Earlier tonight, when Ye Yuanqing appeared to trap her on the street, it had already alarmed many cultivators. Various factions were watching the situation. Relations between the North and South had broken down, but no one expected opposition with the West as well.

Now, Bei Dou’s Qu Zhuyue and others were dealing with the sects and forces from the south. There was no dean-level figure from the west present, but there were many Bei Dou outposts, with various forces interconnected, making the situation extremely complex.

Three of the eight major commerce associations would make every effort to rescue Ye Yuanqing. The fourth, the Zhou Commerce Association, had become enemies with Tai Yi due to their young master’s situation and now stood against Ye Yuanqing.

Black Fox Mask said, “Roughly estimate how many people.”

Fu Yuan looked up at Ming Li, who had walked ahead, and said pensively, “Conservatively, half of the west’s cultivators.”

Among them were quite a few at the Life and Death Boundary, the Boundary Fulfillment of Seven Meridians, wielding Divine Martial weapons, specializing in a single meridian, or possessing divine miracle abilities, and so on.

“That’s quite a lot. A good fight ahead,” Chen Zhou gestured for Fu Yuan to put him down. Once on the ground, he held his injured shoulder and moved it a bit. “I’ve eaten so much fire jade, who knows what will happen to the star power I’ve accumulated once we get out?”

Fu Yuan said, “You’d better break through boundaries directly.”

“I don’t think that’s likely,” Chen Zhou said with slight regret.

Ming Li, walking ahead, said softly, “If the Ye siblings can’t control the commerce association people—”

By the time she spoke these words, she already had an answer in her heart. She swallowed the rest of her words and shook her head slightly, saying, “Then it will be a while before we can return to Bei Dou.”

Ming Li had already planned to send a sound transmission talisman to Bei Dou before the fighting started, hoping it would arrive quickly to inform her father not to worry.

At this point, she couldn’t think about what would happen if the Sacred Pilgrim’s flame continued to burn. Facing the people blocking the way outside and those who wanted to kill her, Ming Li had no choice.

*

The people outside the sky pit didn’t dare to enter. While waiting for those inside to come out, they had already broken into a heated argument—Tai Yi arguing with Bei Dou, the Zhou Commerce Association arguing with One Red Line and other commerce associations, plus some spectators and independent cultivators sitting on the fence.

Cheng Jingbai stood leaning against the wall inside the sky pit exit, listening to Dou Lanmin and the Tai Yi people shouting back and forth, “Why don’t you go in?” “Why don’t the people inside come out?” repeatedly.

When Zhou Xiang tried to enter, he stretched out his hand to stop her: “Don’t come in. Just stay outside.”

This hellish place—one should never set foot in it for a lifetime.

Zhou Xiang said in a tiny voice, “When I left, Ye Yuanqing, who was rushing over, discovered me.”

Lin Xiao and Li Bushuo both turned to look at her. Cheng Jingbai’s expression became slightly grave. Zhou Xiang continued in a small voice, “Zixi told me to leave. I was busy delivering the message, so I didn’t turn back.”

Zhou Xiang’s eyes reddened as she choked, “He won’t be in trouble, will he?”

She felt guilty and sad, lowering her head to wipe her tears.

Lin Xiao said in a gentle voice, “If he were in trouble, he wouldn’t be hiding over there waiting for his senior sister.”

Zhou Xiang looked in the direction Lin Xiao indicated. Beyond the forest, under the moonlight, there was a black shadow penetrated by moonlight. The branches and leaves at the treetops cut through the black shadow, standing quietly there, looking toward the direction of the cave entrance.

He was just a shadow that could be penetrated and cut through.

Cheng Jingbai had just walked out of the sky pit when he heard sounds from behind. Some sharp-eyed Tai Yi people had already clearly seen the person walking at the front and shouted, “Yiyi!”

“Young Miss!”

The first to emerge was Ye Yiyi. The slaves didn’t dare to walk in front of her, so she had to lead the way. The moonlight outside the cave was different from the fire line light inside. In comparison, the moonlight from the distant sky above was so gentle.

Ye Yiyi saw many people, both familiar and unfamiliar. Lou Star and Shen Star both looked at her and the unconscious Ye Fengming with worried eyes.

“Young Miss, how is Sacred Ye? What happened to your brother?”

“Where is Sacred Ye?”

“Why hasn’t Sacred Ye come out?”

“What happened to the Young Master?”

Too many questions overwhelmed Ye Yiyi. Shen Star protected Ye Yiyi behind him, blocking the commerce association people and others who rushed over: “She’s been frightened. Don’t all come forward. Step back!”

The crowd’s attention didn’t stay on Ye Yiyi for long before being attracted by the emerging slaves.

The iron chains on their feet had not yet been removed, making crisp sounds when they moved. The stench of years spent in the sky pit made many cultivators cover their noses. Some individuals looked in disbelief at the slaves walking out of the sky pit cave, unable to imagine what kind of life they had led inside to make themselves so dirty and so wretched.

Zhou Yi lowered his head, unable to bear looking. The Zhou family head, thinking that his son had lived with these people for five days during his disappearance, felt anger growing in his expression.

The slaves who came outside were also anxious and uneasy, not understanding why there were so many people. The wide road was full of people. As the slaves appeared, these people retreated continuously, instinctively making space for the slaves.

Seeing more and more slaves coming out from the cave entrance, Shen Star and Lou Star’s expressions grew increasingly grim.

There was only one reason why the slaves in the sky pit could come out—Ye Yuanqing had been defeated by Ming Li.

The One Red Line vice president wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, anxiously looking at Ye Yiyi and saying, “Young Miss, th-th-these are all slaves from the sky pit. How did Sacred Ye let them all out?”

Ye Yiyi wiped her tears and looked up at the people from the three major commerce associations behind Shen Star. She spoke with difficulty, “My father… severed his seven meridians. He is no longer the Sacred Pilgrim of Tai Yi.”

Upon hearing these words, the faces of the Western cultivators instantly changed.

The three Tai Yi Stars all looked at Ye Yiyi in disbelief. Zhong Anqi still hadn’t turned around. He stared at the cave in shock. His master had actually… lost?

“From now on, I will take over the commerce association,” Ye Yiyi took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice amid the silence. “The previous operation of the sky pit was improper. The method of extracting resource materials doesn’t need to be so extreme. The slaves weren’t treated as humans—”

Before she could finish, someone interrupted, “Since they are slaves, why should they expect good treatment?”

Ye Yiyi opened her mouth, but saw the Qing Chuan president raise his hand to stop the person who had just spoken, saying in a deep voice, “Young Miss, have you forgotten that these slaves in the sky pit are all earth ghosts?”

At the words “earth ghosts,” the spectators were stunned.

Ye Yiyi seemed to have been hit with a hammer blow. All the words she was about to say stopped in her throat.

The Golden Silkworm Commerce Association president covered her nose, her red-painted eyes sweeping over the slave carrying Ye Fengming, and said softly, “Young Miss, Sacred Ye’s confinement of earth ghosts in the sky pit for useful work was a good thing. Now Bei Dou has first injured Sacred Ye and then threatened you to release the earth ghosts. We will not let this go.”

The Qing Chuan president said, “Now that we are all here, Bei Dou has absolutely no chance to harm you again. Young Miss doesn’t need to be threatened by Bei Dou to make decisions against your will.”

“Moreover…”

Ye Yiyi was left bewildered by their words, instinctively saying, “No, I…”

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly froze. Her fingers trembled slightly as her gaze surveyed the surroundings, realizing there were too many people. Everyone from Tai Yi and the commerce associations had arrived, along with those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to kill Ming Li.

This was outside the sky pit, not inside. There was no restriction on star power.

Could Ming Li still win? Could she get out alive?

As the Qing Chuan president said, once she walked out of the sky pit and was protected by the three Tai Yi Stars, she was safe, no longer threatened by Ming Li.

And she had no way to protect these slaves. They were earth ghosts!

“Young Miss,” Shen Star blocked her, looking gravely toward the cave entrance. “Step back first, or return to Tai Yi. Leave this to us.”

Before Ye Yiyi could speak, she saw the Zhou Commerce Association people suddenly approaching the Ye siblings. The Zhou family head said coldly, “Thinking of leaving now? I’m afraid it’s too late.”

The One Red Line vice president tried to mediate: “President Zhou, what do you mean? There’s no need. It’s all a misunderstanding…”

The Zhou family head said, “My son was confined in the sky pit by Ye Yuanqing and suffered for five days. I only need to make his children suffer for five days as well.”

Ye Yiyi looked at Zhou Yi in disbelief. Zhou Yi was also surprised by his father’s decision and hesitated to speak. The Zhou family head had already ordered, “Take the young master back to rest and recover. He is not needed here.”

Zhou Yi said, “Father…”

The Zhou family head, with his back to him, said coldly, “I don’t care how much you like Ye Yiyi, but I absolutely will not allow anyone to harm my child. Ye Yuanqing was able to confine you in the sky pit right under my nose. Who knows, one day your sister might suffer the same fate. Can you bear to see your sister become like these slaves?”

Shen Star stood in front of Ye Yiyi, facing the Zhou Commerce Association and others: “I’d like to see if President Zhou can take someone from my hands.”

The two sides were on the verge of battle, but at that moment, Ye Yiyi noticed everyone around her becoming tense. An intangible pressure subtly spread. She seemed to sense something and turned her head stiffly to look.

Ming Li had emerged with Ye Yuanqing’s Divine Martial Sword.

Due to the Wind-Stealing Bird released from her Thunderous Roar Meridian, she had heard the earlier conversation of the three major commerce associations. Her gaze swept over these people indifferently before settling on her junior brother in the distant moonlit forest.

Seeing that he was still there, Ming Li’s concerns eased somewhat.

Chen Zhou walked at the very back but could already see the moonlight outside the cave ahead, the forest, the road, and even the flowers and grasses beneath people’s feet.

For the first time in his life, he felt that moonlight was such a beautiful existence.

The previously chattering crowd instinctively fell silent, watching the four Bei Dou people walking out of the cave with various expressions.

As the last person stepped forward into the moonlight, star power tremors surged, lifting fallen leaves from the ground. Fierce winds swept through, making huge trees bow. People with insufficient cultivation levels hurriedly defended against this vast star power.

The Tai Yi and commerce association people all looked in shock at Chen Zhou, who had walked out of the cave and was standing in front of Zhong Anqi.

One step to life and death.

Under the pressure of star power, Zhong Anqi trembled and knelt before Chen Zhou.