Meng Ruji saw Mo Li again in the dungeons of the Land of No Reprieve.

Mo Li stood outside the cell, looking at her, somewhat speechless.

Meng Ruji was quite calm, wiping her face and standing up to follow Mo Li out of the dungeon.

After many days, the reason she was back in jail was quite simple.

After she had seized the Inner Core from Mu Sui and escaped, the poison from the Nai River water still wasn’t completely cured. She had rushed into an apothecary with the last few silver pieces in her possession and robbed their antidote pills for Nai River water poison.

But the pills cost eight silver, and she was short by a bit. Unable to make up the difference, she was arrested.

“Compared to last time, there are many more people in jail this time,” Meng Ruji told Mo Li as they left the prison. “The ‘neighbors’ are all people, quite a few are newcomers who don’t understand the rules of the Land of No Reprieve and got arrested. It seems the mortal realm is truly in chaos.”

“Mu Sui has already bought his life with a thousand gold and returned to the mortal realm.”

“I guessed as much.”

“Here, little green pills.” Mo Li handed the bottle to Meng Ruji. “He was your life-sustaining object. Now that he’s gone, you need to take medicine daily.”

Meng Ruji glanced at the pills in Mo Li’s hand: “No need anymore.” She touched the vine bracelet on her wrist. “That day at the apothecary, I only robbed the antidote for Nai River water poison, didn’t rob any little green pills. These past two days in jail, I haven’t taken any either, and I’m fine.”

Mo Li raised an eyebrow, his gaze also falling on the bracelet around Meng Ruji’s wrist: “Your life-sustaining object… he changed it?”

Meng Ruji thought of that day before their parting, when Mu Sui had pinned her to the ground. When he kissed her, his hand was also pressing against her wrist, gripping it tightly. Perhaps it was then… he had tampered with it.

“I don’t know how he did it, but it should be changed.” Meng Ruji gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath, “That bastard, if he’s going to leave, he leaves, but he still wants to be so thorough about it.”

Mo Li found it somewhat amusing, but looking at the weary soldiers of the Land of No Reprieve escorting prisoners to the dungeons one by one, his smile hadn’t even reached his lips before it was suppressed again.

“Come with me first. Tuzi and Ye Dahe are here too.”

Mo Li found Meng Ruji a guest room in the government office. Ye Chuan and Tuzi were already waiting inside. Seeing Meng Ruji being led back by Mo Li, disheveled and dusty, Tuzi’s lips trembled repeatedly:

“You didn’t keep City Lord Brother behind!?”

Meng Ruji glanced at him and sat down: “You were his life-sustaining object for so long before, don’t you know his personality? He’s a lost one, but asking him to give up his cause… I now think it’s impossible.”

Tuzi’s robust body collapsed onto the stool like a falling mountain, covering his face and beginning to cry: “What can we do then? City Lord Brother looks cold, but he’s very gentle inside. Doing this thing, he must be struggling internally too…”

Meng Ruji fell silent, while Ye Chuan beside them looked even more guilty.

Even with the weight of a great stone pressing on her heart, Meng Ruji still patted Ye Chuan’s arm: “Don’t blame yourself. Having one’s soul seized by a deity is something no one can resist. Things reaching this point now aren’t because you were possessed.”

Ye Chuan was speechless for a moment, finally only saying: “Miss Meng, in this time of crisis, if there’s anything I can help with, please just command me.”

“There is indeed.” Meng Ruji didn’t stand on ceremony and spoke directly. “I spent two days in jail and came up with some ideas. Ye Chuan, you and Tuzi, use whatever methods to raise money. Tuzi, go find the people from Zhuliu City, Mu Sui’s former subordinates, that Chensha and other business managers. Tell them I need money to return to the mortal realm to save Mu Sui.”

Upon hearing this, Tuzi nodded repeatedly with red-rimmed eyes: “Brother Chensha and the other managers will agree! When I lost money in Zhuliu City before, it was only because they saw me as City Lord Brother’s life-sustaining object that they let me mess around. They’ll help!”

Meng Ruji nodded: “Ye Chuan, you find other avenues. Mo Li has the soldiers of the Land of No Reprieve cooperate.”

Without wasting words, Mo Li immediately summoned a soldier to lead Ye Chuan away. Tuzi also left hurriedly.

“We can’t just sit and wait for death either,” Meng Ruji said to Mo Li, who remained. “Eight hundred years ago, when suppressing the Inner Core’s power, I heard you divine my fate. You can go to the mortal realm and enter people’s dreams, right?”

Mo Li raised an eyebrow: “I can, but I was injured some time ago. Now that Mu Sui has returned to the mortal realm and is no longer bound by the rules of the Land of No Reprieve, I can’t rashly enter his dreams to find him.”

“I’m not asking you to find him. Finding him would be useless anyway.” Meng Ruji tapped her fingers on the table. “My five guardians are still on Hengxu Mountain – Qing Rao, Shang Yan, Shang Lan, Xiao Yi, Xiao Bu. Think of a way to let me meet them in dreams.”

“Connect your dreams with those of the five of them?”

“Can you do it?”

Mo Li pondered for a moment: “I could before, but now I need some money to set up a formation and replenish my abilities.”

Meng Ruji was silent for a while, then stood up: “Good, now I have something to do too.” She turned to leave.

“What are you going to do?” Mo Li tilted his head to look at her, somewhat puzzled.

“A life of toil…” Meng Ruji sighed resignedly. “Earn money, of course.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Li smiled: “I don’t have a thousand gold, but I’m not so poor either. Previously, to hide my identity, I didn’t use the government office’s money, but now, gathering from each office, one or two gold is still available. The money for setting up the formation doesn’t need you to earn.”

Meng Ruji’s foot, which had just been about to step out the door, froze in mid-air. After a long while, she turned her head to look at Mo Li in disbelief.

Mo Li also smiled at her: “What’s wrong?”

Meng Ruji then took a deep breath: “Ever since coming to the Land of No Reprieve, I’ve been waiting for someone to say these words to me for a very long time…”

Speaking of this, Meng Ruji remembered the bitter past of earning money. She held back and suppressed the excitement in her heart.

“This is very good, very good. My life of toil has finally cracked open a little. If we continue like this, your lonely death, Mu Sui’s being a lost one – we’ll break them all!”

That night, Mo Li set up the formation. Meng Ruji looked it over and adjusted it for him: “This way it can achieve a greater effect.”

Mo Li raised an eyebrow, studied it for a while, then nodded repeatedly, praising her from the heart: “No wonder you were the Demon Lord. This is indeed good.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Mo Li sat at the formation’s center, then pointed to a position: “Mountain Lord Meng, take your seat.”

Meng Ruji sat as instructed, concentrated her mind, and regulated her breathing. After entering meditation, she quickly entered the chaotic dream world.

This time was different from all previous times. Meng Ruji felt as if some force was invisibly pushing her forward.

Her consciousness shuttled through deep and shallow mists, from the initial indistinguishability of heaven and earth to gradually showing some colors. Her ears went from silence to noise.

Gradually, Meng Ruji began to see firelight, the sky burned orange-red by flames, various mystical techniques colliding in the sky, children’s cries breaking through. Meng Ruji felt as if she had fallen into a battlefield.

People fled in panic ahead. A huge boulder carrying flames fell from the sky, heading straight for Meng Ruji.

Meng Ruji’s eyes widened slightly, instinctively about to block, but then she realized this was a dream realm. She stopped her movement and saw the boulder “rumbling” over her head, crashing heavily to the ground behind her.

After the thunderous sound of the flaming boulder, there was also a heart-trembling, eerie shriek.

Meng Ruji looked back to see a black monster pinned under the boulder. Behind the black monster, there were many more identical monsters approaching.

What were these…

The black monsters had no faces, only limbs, like walking shadows. They emanated waves of terrifying aura, the familiar malevolent energy Meng Ruji knew well.

These were…

“There’s a large group of Nether Monsters here!” A female voice rang out behind her, in a tone Meng Ruji recognized. “Shang Lan! Come quickly!”

Meng Ruji turned to see a short-haired woman commanding behind her. Her expression was stern, her face bearing dirty dust, but as if after being baptized by slaughter, her eyes had become more determined and bright.

“Qing Rao…” Meng Ruji murmured.

Qing Rao held twin swords – still the congratulatory gift Meng Ruji had given her when she first absorbed qi. Qing Rao was about to charge at the monsters ahead, but stopped when she saw Meng Ruji before her.

Amid war and fire, on the battlefield with countless Nether Monsters behind them, they gazed at each other across the distance.

Meng Ruji understood what “thinking by day, dreaming by night” meant. This was Qing Rao’s dream, but perhaps during the day, this was the mortal realm she faced every day.

“Qing Rao.” Meng Ruji looked at her calmly, then told her, “At this moment, you don’t need to fight the enemy.”

Qing Rao’s eyes widened, as if she couldn’t believe it at all: “Mountain Lord… how is this possible…”

Her consciousness wavered, so the entire environment trembled.

Meng Ruji walked toward her and touched her short hair: “It has been a long time since we met. You’ve all changed.”

With a “crack,” the scene shattered from above. The background felt like pieces of a broken mirror, revealing the gray chaos behind.

All colors turned into a mass of mist and merged into the chaos.

Meng Ruji looked calmly at Qing Rao before her, watching the expression in her eyes change from disbelief to gradual softness: “Mountain Lord…” She rushed forward and hugged Meng Ruji. “I missed you so much!”

Meng Ruji was stunned for a moment, then patted her back.

“After all these years, why haven’t you come to see me in dreams… I asked the others, and they all said they dreamed of you, dreamed that you woke up from Xuejing Cliff and returned to Hengxu Mountain! But I never dreamed of you… This time I finally dreamed of you…”

Her words carried a sobbing tone. Meng Ruji felt some heartache, but still suppressed her emotions:

“This time, it’s not you dreaming of me. I came to find you.”

“Find me?” Qing Rao was stunned, releasing Meng Ruji and looking at her sadly. “Are you going to reincarnate? Coming to bid me a final farewell? I won’t be able to dream of you anymore? I don’t want that!”

Meng Ruji smiled bitterly: “I was wrong. You haven’t changed at all.”

“Qing Rao, first let go of the Master.” Another somewhat cold voice came.

Meng Ruji looked up to see Shang Lan had also arrived. The other three guardians stood behind Shang Lan, looking at Meng Ruji with trembling in their expressions.

Beside them, Mo Li stood with arms folded, smiling and winking at Meng Ruji: “I pulled those four out of various chaotic dreams and already explained the situation. The one hugging you was running around in many dreams and couldn’t be caught, but you ran into her.”

Qing Rao rubbed her eyes and turned to look at the other four people. She blinked: “What’s going on?” She seemed to be struck by lightning. “Did the Nether Monsters destroy Hengxu Mountain? Are you all dead?”

“You’re so stupid.” Xiao Yi scorned Qing Rao.

Shang Yan helplessly smiled and came forward to pull Qing Rao away, explaining gently: “The Master previously went to a secret realm in the world. Now knowing our predicament, she summoned us to dreams to help us.”

Qing Rao was stunned, then looked at Meng Ruji: “So… I’m not dreaming… It’s the Master?”

Shang Lan glanced at Qing Rao, then stepped forward. She looked at Meng Ruji and performed Hengxu Mountain’s ritual, suppressing the choke in her voice: “We respectfully welcome the Master.”

Behind her, the four guardians also bowed: “We respectfully welcome the Master.”

“Stop with these empty rituals.” Meng Ruji also suppressed the hundred emotions in her heart. She gently lifted Shang Lan, letting her rise and meet her gaze directly. “Going through such trouble to meet you in dreams isn’t because I know your predicament and came to help you, but because I need you to help me.”

Shang Lan’s expression became serious: “Master, please command us.”

“The deity intends to destroy the world. You’ve been fighting her for some time and surely know this.”

Upon hearing this, all five people’s expressions grew solemn.

“A few days ago, there was a…” Meng Ruji paused, then finally firmed her tone, “…person. His name is Mu Sui. He returned to the mortal realm from the Land of No Reprieve and should join forces with the deity to destroy the world.”

“I know him!” Qing Rao immediately said. “Yesterday! Just yesterday, when I was slaying Nether Monsters at Lu Mountain, I saw him! I fought with him!”

Meng Ruji was stunned.

She hadn’t expected that after Mu Sui returned to the mortal realm, he would so quickly begin participating in Mo Yi’s world destruction plan.

Didn’t his body have two conflicting malevolent energies? Wouldn’t he rest a bit?

Xiao Yi and Xiao Bu immediately asked Qing Rao: “How was his martial arts?”

“Was he difficult to deal with?”

“Difficult! Very powerful! I was no match for him at all.”

As Qing Rao said this, Shang Yan beside her was nearly dying of anxiety: “Why didn’t you send word back from Lu Mountain? I should have come to find you…”

“Weren’t there also many Nether Monsters on your side? Besides, I figured I was fine anyway, because yesterday I thought I was going to die at his hands, but…” Qing Rao frowned, somewhat puzzled. “My disciple wanted to save me and called out to me, then he didn’t attack. He just turned and left.”

Meng Ruji raised an eyebrow: “Your disciple called you Qing Rao?”

“Called me Honored Qing Rao.”

Meng Ruji’s eyes drooped slightly.

She thought, Mu Sui said her words were useless, but…

Hadn’t he remembered very clearly the names she had mentioned in passing!

“Master.” Shang Lan observed Meng Ruji’s expression. “Do you and this Mu Sui have… some history?”

“Yes. I need you to stop this, Mu Sui. Whatever he wants to do, find a way to prevent him from succeeding.”

The five people looked at each other.

Mo Li coughed beside them. Meng Ruji glanced at Mo Li, knowing that the formation supported by those two gold pieces probably didn’t have much time left.

“There’s no time to explain in detail today. From now on, you five must maintain communication. No matter what, one person must rest well every night and sleep to meet me in dreams, informing me of the situation in the mortal realm. I’ll also find a way to return as soon as possible.”

The five people bowed in acceptance: “Yes.”

Meng Ruji nodded. Her body was already beginning to fade in the chaos. She finally patted Shang Lan’s arm.

“With the mortal realm in such chaos, you haven’t changed much. I’m truly fortunate.”