Standing on the silver light formation, Meng Ruji was like a flying swallow, breaking through the cloud layers.

From the vast sea of clouds in the distance, her movements seemed extremely slow and her figure extremely small, no larger than the wisps of cloud stirred up in the layers. But the closer one got to her, the more one could feel the fierce wind around her, her speed so great that it lifted roof tiles from the pavilions she brushed past.

Nothing could stop her from reaching Jiētian Pavilion. Pressed against the outside of the room that had once imprisoned her, Meng Ruji flipped over and finally landed on the sky terrace.

The vast sky stretched endlessly. Cloud layers covered Zhuliu City below. The sky was approaching evening, the time of sunset. In the ten thousand miles of rosy clouds, Meng Ruji’s shadow, standing on the terrace, was stretched far into the distance.

Before her, in the center of the terrace, stood a Golden Staff flashing with golden light. Draped in the light of the evening glow, the Golden Staff appeared even more brilliant and dazzling.

A Golden Staff worth three hundred and thirty-three gold pieces looked imposing just by sight.

Meng Ruji thought this as she stepped toward the Golden Staff.

Taking one step, landing on the ground, a golden light rippled up. The formation appeared, trembling like a spider web, extending for ten thousand miles. As far as the eye could see, there was the light of incantation formations, like waves rolling to the horizon.

The formation Zhan Ye had laid with the Golden Staff on Jiētian Pavilion almost enveloped the entire sea of clouds.

His claim about drawing Nai River water into clouds to rain destruction upon the world wasn’t exaggerated at all.

“This formation is even more shocking than I imagined.” Mo Li’s voice was low. “He must have put considerable thought into laying this formation.”

“His lifelong wish – having the first chance to test it, naturally, he put thought into it.”

Meng Ruji spoke while walking toward the Golden Staff, but every step on the formation stirred ripples, making the entire golden formation undulate like lake water.

The golden light waxed and waned – perhaps even those below the clouds could sense it.

“This is notifying the formation’s creator that someone has intruded.”

“I know.” Meng Ruji understood clearly that Zhan Ye must know someone had entered the formation. The reason he hadn’t returned was that Mu Sui had used a life-risking method to hold him back.

Meng Ruji wanted to reach the Golden Staff faster, but each step forward was more difficult than she had imagined.

“The closer I get…” Meng Ruji said with effort, “The stronger the formation’s power, trying to stick my feet down…”

In Meng Ruji’s hands, the three silver pearls began rotating with light. The silver pearls’ technique light flickered with difficulty, resisting the golden light on the ground.

But the silver pearls’ power was truly insignificant before the Golden Staff. When Meng Ruji took her final step to reach the Golden Staff, there was a loud “bang” of explosive sound, and the three silver pearls instantly turned to powder.

Meng Ruji’s palm was torn open by the explosion, immediately bleeding, drop by drop, falling onto the formation.

Meng Ruji gritted her teeth, endured the pain, raised her hand, and grasped the Golden Staff.

The fresh blood on the Golden Staff appeared excessively bright and striking. The Golden Staff seemed to sense something and also emanated golden light in response.

Along with this, the formation on the ground also became brighter.

Meng Ruji placed her fingertip on the Golden Staff. In her mind was the path Mu Sui’s fingertip had traced across her palm. She replicated it stroke by stroke. When the incantation was complete, a thread of golden light from the Golden Staff broke through the sky, shooting straight up to the heavens. In an instant, the light faded and was contained within.

Meng Ruji gripped the Golden Staff, momentarily feeling it had gained warmth.

Meng Ruji turned the Golden Staff, intending to break this cloud-gathering formation, then take the Golden Staff to find Mu Sui. She believed he wouldn’t die, but if she went earlier, perhaps she could spare him some injury…

“This formation is strange!”

Mo Li, in her arms, suddenly shouted. His figure leaped out abruptly, still with hair black as ink and skin white as snow, but his expression now lacked its usual playful smile. He anxiously tried to push Meng Ruji’s hand away from the Golden Staff.

But before he could touch Meng Ruji, the Golden Staff blazed with light, and the entire formation seemed to come alive. The incantations on the ground transformed into golden threads that bound Mo Li, then dragged him toward the edge of Jiētian Pavilion.

Mo Li struggled to tear at the golden threads on his body, but severely injured, he truly had no power to resist.

After a brief moment of shock, Meng Ruji quickly reacted. She tried to withdraw her hand from the Golden Staff, but countless threads from the formation also bound her hand to the Golden Staff.

The threads pulled her hand, making her continue turning the Golden Staff.

The Golden Staff swayed, tracing exactly the formation-breaking method to destroy this cloud-gathering formation!

“There’s another formation beneath this cloud-gathering formation!”

Mo Li shouted, and golden threads immediately covered his mouth, continuing to drag him toward the sky’s edge.

How could Meng Ruji not understand? She realized almost the instant the golden threads bound her hand!

This was a cloud-gathering formation – Zhan Ye planned to draw Nai River water into clouds, but this wasn’t entirely a cloud-gathering formation. Beneath this formation was another formation. Destroying the cloud-gathering formation would activate the other formation!

That formation was Zhan Ye’s true scheme!

With a “crack,” the golden threads binding Meng Ruji’s hand broke the cloud-gathering formation. In an instant, the golden light on the formation seemed to be tainted by black lightning, inch by inch, all the gold turning into terrifying black.

The entire formation was corrupted from the center outward.

The golden threads on Meng Ruji’s hand were corroded and disappeared by the black lightning. Meng Ruji was finally able to release the Golden Staff, but the next moment, where Meng Ruji stood, the ground beneath her feet suddenly collapsed into a huge black opening.

Amid rumbling sounds, the Golden Staff fell vertically into the opening.

As the Golden Staff plummeted into darkness, that dark opening was like a giant mouth standing in the air, absorbing the entire Jiētian Pavilion building, the bricks and stones below, and the mountain itself.

The clouds and wind of the Wuliu realm couldn’t escape either.

Naturally, neither could Meng Ruji.

Her body was dragged by enormous force, completely out of control as she fell downward. But just as she was about to be swallowed by darkness, her waist tightened – someone pulled her up.

The person who came wasn’t Mu Sui, nor wasn’t Mo Li, but…

Zhan Ye.

He was somehow injured. Where his face already bore scars, a new scar was added. Blood flowed from his head down to his jaw, just like the day she had killed him in the mortal realm.

The fierce wind from the black opening pulled at both their clothes and hair. In the rushing, howling wind, Meng Ruji grabbed Zhan Ye’s collar and said through gritted teeth with hatred:

“Double formation! You knew I would come to break the formation!”

“Yes.” Zhan Ye didn’t avoid the topic at all. “The cloud-gathering formation, drawing Nai River water into clouds, was to kill them. The second formation, the Heaven-Fall Formation, using malevolent energy to make the Wuliu realm collapse from within, was also to kill them.”

Zhan Ye understood her, understood her too well.

He knew she would come to break the formation, no matter what method she used.

So he simply told her what he planned to do, then waited for her to walk into his trap.

He wanted her to…

“You wanted me… to personally destroy the Wuliu realm!”

Zhan Ye looked at Meng Ruji, his eyes full of madness: “Yes.” He grinned. “I want you to personally kill people.”

He wanted to block all her retreat paths.

To push her onto the road he had planned.

In this instant, emotions she hadn’t felt for many years surged up in Meng Ruji’s chest.

She felt anger, even anger to the point of nausea!

All her blood seemed to be crashing against her heart and brain. Her breathing became rapid, and her forehead began to ache violently.

The desire to kill almost eroded her reason.

But even in this situation, there was a voice in Meng Ruji’s heart that slowly grew louder, louder and louder until it filled her ears, making her unable to hear any other sound.

She heard herself shouting to herself:

“Saving people is far more important than killing!”

“This isn’t a dead end yet!”

“If it’s a formation, it has a formation core!”

“There’s no technique that can’t be broken.”

Meng Ruji looked at Zhan Ye. She didn’t smile, didn’t rage. In Zhan Ye’s moment of triumph, she slid her arm down and moved her fingers slightly.

Zhan Ye’s money pouch fell into her palm.

At this moment, Zhan Ye was completely unprepared for her theft.

He was somewhat stunned, and just then, a formation light blazed in Meng Ruji’s palm. A golden light sword powered by the silver in the money pouch struck directly at Zhan Ye’s heart!

Zhan Ye was forced to release Meng Ruji and retreat a zhang backward.

But Meng Ruji didn’t press her advantage. She turned and leaped toward the dark void.

“Meng Ruji!”

Zhan Ye’s eyes widened in shock. He reached out to stop her, but it was too late.

He only saw Meng Ruji like a peregrine falcon, diving into the irreversible abyss without hesitation.

Zhan Ye wanted to pursue, but he knew that one inch further, and he too would be absorbed by the formation’s power.

This was a formation the deity had taught him. Zhan Ye knew that unless the Wuliu realm was completely consumed, this Heaven-Fall Formation wouldn’t stop.

He couldn’t save Meng Ruji.

He should leave, should depart from the Wuliu realm…

Zhan Ye’s figure stopped, stopping one inch before the darkness. Only his robes fluttered, pulled by the fierce wind from the darkness…

But in this instant!

Another figure, like another falcon, brushed past Zhan Ye, swift as a fleeting shadow, charging straight into the darkness that seemed to devour heaven and earth.

Equally resolute and decisive, equally without hesitation.

As if they had never considered returning from the abyss…

Fixed several typos and adjusted some small phrases~