With that, the youth turned to leave. After hesitating briefly, Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at the group of people bound behind her and decided to go out first to see what was happening.

Walking out of the shed, sunlight poured down. Jiang Zhaoxue immediately saw endless yellow sand outside, with soldiers in Western Region armor surrounding the area tightly. She could tell at a glance this wasn’t Great Xia.

The people speaking gibberish earlier weren’t a coincidence. Jiang Zhaoxue could only reluctantly take out a Hundred Languages Talisman and slice it into her body. Then she heard a soldier beside her say, “Move along, follow the lord.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue moved forward, following the black-robed youth. Several soldiers immediately followed her, maintaining strict vigilance.

Wind and sand blew from the distance as their group headed toward a massive city ahead.

Jiang Zhaoxue surveyed her surroundings and roughly guessed this should be the Western Region area. She turned to look at a soldier beside her, probing, “Brother, where are we going?”

“Heaven Sacrifice!”

The soldier didn’t hide it, announcing loudly as if very proud.

Jiang Zhaoxue was somewhat curious. “Heaven Sacrifice? How do you sacrifice?”

“Using you!”

The soldier answered. Jiang Zhaoxue was somewhat surprised. “Using me? How?”

“Blazing flames will burn your body!”

At these words, Jiang Zhaoxue fell silent.

“After all this, it’s just an evil cult.”

These types of sects that sacrificed people also existed in the True Immortal Realm, basically treated as evil heresies.

Anything requiring human lives was uniformly classified as an evil cult in Jiang Zhaoxue’s book.

Seeing her silent, the soldier beside her thought she was afraid and began comforting her. “Don’t be too scared. Being chosen for the Heaven Sacrifice is your blessing. Those who sacrifice to heaven receive the true god’s favor. Afterward, you can enter the Ghost Dao and have an immortal body—that’s true longevity!”

“You even know about entering the Ghost Dao?” This truly surprised Jiang Zhaoxue. She looked up and down at the burly soldier before her. “What religion are you people exactly?”

“How dare you!” Another thinner soldier shouted, then began stuttering, “Y-y-y-you e-e-e-even e-e-e…”

“Can you stop talking like a mouse?” Jiang Zhaoxue found it headache-inducing.

Just as she asked, the youth’s voice came from ahead. “Eternal Bliss and Longevity Cult.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone around immediately became serious. The youth walked ahead, explaining patiently, “We worship the Eternal Bliss and Longevity Emperor. In life, we receive sacred water baptism. In death, we enter the Ghost Dao for eternal life, enjoying bliss forever.”

This time he spoke more, and Jiang Zhaoxue noticed his voice came from his abdominal cavity—he wasn’t actually speaking with his mouth.

Then she realized a second thing—

“Listen to his voice,” A’Nan said hesitantly, recalling, “doesn’t it sound a bit like Pei Zichen when he was seventeen?”

Jiang Zhaoxue made no sound, frowning with some uncertainty.

Remembering a person was simple, but remembering a voice wasn’t easy.

Though she could identify it was that person when they spoke, recalling what it sounded like from memory was quite difficult.

The only thing she could confirm was that Pei Zichen at seventeen was obviously much gentler than this youth before her. This youth was surrounded by dark energy, as if crawling out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, bearing heavy karmic killing, his voice much colder.

Jiang Zhaoxue crossed her arms and tapped her arm lightly, unable to determine if this similarity was coincidence or some cause and effect. But since the other party was willing to talk, that was good. She continued probing, “What kind of dao is your Ghost Dao?”

“After death, the soul doesn’t perish and doesn’t enter reincarnation. If the soul is washed by sacred water, it can enter the Ghost Dao.” The youth patiently explained, speaking quite logically.

Listening, Jiang Zhaoxue nodded, then asked curiously, “Young man, I’d like to ask—where is this place?”

“How can you not even know where this…”

“Da Yong Royal Court.” The youth ignored others, seeming not to find her questions strange. Almost whatever she asked, he answered. “An ancient Western Region nation with nearly seven hundred years of inheritance, two thousand li from Great Xia. Han people and Yong people live together, primarily nomadic, with prosperous trade. Were you sold here?”

The youth looked back at her, seemingly observing her appearance. “Didn’t the person who sold you tell you any of this?”

“No.”

Jiang Zhaoxue laughed awkwardly. “I… I’ve been locked up for so long, I don’t even know what year it is. What time is it now?”

“Zhenshun thirteenth year,” the youth said as he led her into the earthen city, “the seventh year of Da Yong’s Zhaoming Khan’s reign.”

Zhenshun thirteenth year.

Jiang Zhaoxue calculated—that year after she helped Song Wuya with the ancestral altar sacrifice, Great Xia fell into chaos.

Crown Prince Song Wulan died, Song Wuya’s whereabouts were unknown, and finally Ye Wenzhi and others installed an infant as emperor with the cabinet governing, changing the era name to Zhenshun.

When they emerged from the Lingxu Fan’s illusion, it was Zhenshun eighth year. Now Zhenshun thirteenth year—that was indeed five years later.

The time was correct. The location didn’t matter much. The transmission jade token kept ringing incessantly—it seemed Pei Zichen, Shen Yuqing, and Mu Jinyue were all in the same time-space, otherwise they couldn’t transmit to her.

Though the process had some twists and turns, everything was moving in a good direction. Jiang Zhaoxue still breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as they were in the same time-space, whether through Pei Zichen’s Fate Servant contract or Shen Yuqing’s marriage contract, they could sense her presence and would naturally come.

The Fate Servant contract’s summoning distance was ten li. As long as Pei Zichen appeared within ten li, she could immediately sense and summon him.

She grasped the situation, so she didn’t plan to respond to them. Instead, she raised her head to observe her surroundings.

Western Region cities had a completely different style from Great Xia. Great Xia used mostly earth and wood, while the Western Region used mainly stone buildings.

The black-robed youth led her into the city. People around looked over, and seeing the black-robed youth, they immediately bowed respectfully in trepidation.

They walked to a plaza. This plaza was paved with white jade stone from the entrance. The black-robed youth led Jiang Zhaoxue through an arched gate into a spacious plaza.

At the plaza’s center stood a circular altar. A red carpet extended from the entrance all the way forward. Every zhang on both sides of the carpet stood people dressed identically to the black-robed youth. Following the red carpet forward, at the altar’s center stood a middle-aged man in a red cloak with naturally curly hair and ornate earrings. He smiled in Jiang Zhaoxue’s direction, spreading his arms and calling out loudly, “Ghost Dao eternal, bliss everlasting, all things mortal belong to our god.”

At these words, the commoners on both sides of the red carpet began kowtowing and shouting.

Ghost Dao eternal, bliss everlasting, all things mortal belong to our god.

These commoners looked varied, but clearly their circumstances weren’t good.

Some appeared to be elderly already terminally ill, some were mothers holding children. The suffering of all beings seemed gathered here.

“Let’s go.”

The black-robed youth led Jiang Zhaoxue up.

Jiang Zhaoxue followed the black-robed youth to the altar and saw the altar floor covered entirely in fresh blood. Fresh blood still dripped from the sacrificial table’s surface, looking extremely eerie.

Jiang Zhaoxue’s expression immediately turned cold. She saw the youth bow to the middle-aged man. “High Priest, the new offering has arrived.”

“A beautiful woman.”

The middle-aged man raised his head to look at Jiang Zhaoxue, his eyes carrying some lewd regret. “How did you become a sacrifice?”

“What else?”

Jiang Zhaoxue often encountered such gazes. She curved her lips. “Should I first enter this High Priest’s residence to serve him for a while, then come to be sacrificed after I’m no longer useful?”

“Nonsense!”

A black-robed woman beside them stepped forward and shouted, “How dare you slander the High Priest!”

“This is called slander?” Jiang Zhaoxue looked at the blood energy surrounding the middle-aged man and said coldly, “You’ve been wantonly killing innocents for years. For you, such a small matter—how could it be called slander?”

“This young lady seems to have some misunderstanding about us,” the middle-aged man said with a smile, not angered by Jiang Zhaoxue’s words. “We’re doing this to make everyone’s lives better.”

“By killing people?” Jiang Zhaoxue questioned, and discussions began below.

The middle-aged man said seriously, “This is sacrifice.”

“No god requires human sacrifice.” As soon as Jiang Zhaoxue spoke, people around showed expressions of both terror and anger. But Jiang Zhaoxue wasn’t afraid, only saying, “Only swindlers and evil cults would do such things.”

“You…”

“Young lady.” The black-robed guards behind the middle-aged man all became agitated, but the man simply raised his hand and everyone suppressed their anger.

This man clearly had extremely high status. He smiled at Jiang Zhaoxue, only saying, “You won’t believe what I say. Only after you die and enter the Ghost Dao will you know how much we’ve done for you. Then your soul will prove to everyone how happy you are.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue swept her gaze over the altar and only then noticed this was actually a Soul Refining Array.

A Soul Refining Array would refine souls into puppets. If she truly died here, she would become a human soul controlled by this man. Whatever he wanted her to say, she would have to say.

“Come!” The man clapped his hands. “Place the offering on the sacrificial table—”

“Wait!”

As he spoke, a female voice suddenly erupted from the crowd. Jiang Zhaoxue turned to look and saw a middle-aged woman stand up, looking at Jiang Zhaoxue in disbelief.

Jiang Zhaoxue felt this person looked somewhat familiar. After gazing intently for a moment, she heard the other probe, “Immortal Master Jiang?”

“You are?”

Jiang Zhaoxue couldn’t quite recall. The woman became instantly excited, hurrying forward urgently. The black-robed guards immediately blocked her. The woman froze for a moment, then shouted loudly, “Immortal Master Jiang, it’s me, Pei Shulan!”

Jiang Zhaoxue frowned. Seeing she couldn’t remember, the woman grew anxious. “It’s me, Niannian’s mother. Do you remember Li Xiuji?”

Hearing Li Xiuji’s name, Jiang Zhaoxue froze, and the black-robed youth beside her also looked up.

Seeing Jiang Zhaoxue’s reaction, the woman quickly said, “Seventeen years ago in Taizhou, you personally gave my son Niannian the name Li Xiuji. Have you forgotten?”

At these words, Jiang Zhaoxue confirmed it completely and finally realized, “You’re Li Xiuji’s mother, Pei Shulan?”

“Yes, it’s me.” Seeing she still looked the same as back then, Pei Shulan’s eyes filled with reverence. Then reacting, she called loudly to the high priest above, “Lord Saguang, she’s an immortal! Please release her quickly!”

Hearing this, the crowd murmured. The middle-aged man called Saguang stared at Jiang Zhaoxue and said with interest, “So the young lady is also an immortal friend?”

“I wouldn’t call us friends,” Jiang Zhaoxue surveyed her surroundings before returning her gaze to the man, smiling slightly. “After all, I represent righteousness and you represent evil. With evil cult members like you who wantonly kill innocents, how can we speak of friendship?”

“So you’re an evil creature.” Hearing this, Saguang’s expression changed drastically as he shouted urgently, “Come! Capture that woman and this demon together and offer them to our god!”

“Wait!”

Jiang Zhaoxue raised her hand. “You say I’m a demon—how capable are you?”

“How dare you question the priest…”

“Why don’t we make a wager.” Jiang Zhaoxue used a voice everyone could hear. “Since ancient times, the righteous path undergoes heavenly tribulations and doesn’t fear mortal fire—only evil spirits fear fire. You say I’m a demon, I say you’re a fraud. Why not test it on the altar and let the people see who the real immortal master is!”

“Such arrogance.”

Hearing this, Saguang sneered coldly. However, people around looked toward Saguang.

These gazes carried doubt. Saguang found it difficult to back down for a moment. After thinking briefly, he sneered, “You said it—bring the fire rack!”

The altar had a ready fire pit. Their “sacrifice” methods seemed extremely varied, with death methods related to all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Seeing Saguang leap onto the fire rack, Jiang Zhaoxue touched down with her toes and also landed on it.

Seeing this, Pei Shulan’s eyes showed panic as she quickly said, “Immortal Master Jiang, don’t take risks! High Priest Saguang has the Three Flavors True Fire in his hands. Please come down quickly!”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at Saguang beside her.

This person’s cultivation wasn’t high, but to have Three Flavors True Fire, he must possess some magical artifact.

She had vaguely sensed an unusual “fire” aura from him earlier, which was why she used this method to provoke him. She didn’t expect to actually provoke something out.

She said no more, spreading her wide sleeves calmly. “Come. I am Penglai’s Zhenwu Yuanjun, with hundreds of temples, receiving offerings from the mortal realm. Today I can be tested by Three Flavors True Fire. If I am a true immortal, you all must burn incense today, otherwise disaster will surely come.”

Her words carried a spell as they fell. Beside her, Saguang snorted coldly, “Insignificant tricks.”

With that, Saguang closed his eyes. “Come then.”

Hearing this, people beside them immediately lit torches beneath them.

Flames blazed up. Jiang Zhaoxue let the flames reach her body, but these flames couldn’t even touch her garments.

The fire tongues licked at her hem repeatedly, then extinguished. Saguang beside her was the same.

“An immortal…”

Someone murmured below. Seeing this, Saguang gritted his teeth and formed a seal with his hands. The flames on Jiang Zhaoxue’s side suddenly shot skyward, like red peonies blooming in Luoyang’s fourth month, opening magnificently.

Yet within those layered flame petals, Jiang Zhaoxue sat smiling throughout, even taking out her transmission jade token to play with on her knee.

Seeing this, everyone couldn’t help but be shocked. Some showed reverent expressions, stammering, “An… an immortal…”

With that, one after another people began kowtowing. Beside her, Saguang saw this and knew he’d encountered a tough opponent. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Fellow daoist, you still have time to leave now.”

“Leave?”

Seeing him dare to boast at this time, Jiang Zhaoxue couldn’t help but laugh. “What gives you the right to make me leave?”

“If I use Three Flavors True Fire, fellow daoist, I’m afraid not even your bones will remain.”

Saguang warned. Jiang Zhaoxue generously raised her hand. “Please proceed.”

Saguang’s expression stiffened. Jiang Zhaoxue continued, “If you don’t use Three Flavors True Fire, it proves you don’t have it—you’re just a fraud!”

“Fine…”

Saguang was so angered by Jiang Zhaoxue his chest heaved violently. He said furiously, “Heaven has a road but you won’t take it, hell has no gate but you insist on coming. Since you want death, I’ll let you have it!”

As he spoke, Saguang’s hand seals rapidly turned. Jiang Zhaoxue watched coldly, observing his movements. She saw as his seals turned, a green bead floated out from his body. Jiang Zhaoxue felt the bead was somewhat strange. Before she could react, she saw the bead rush fiercely toward her. Jiang Zhaoxue raised her hand and swatted the bead away with her fan. The bead crashed into the fire pit, and in that instant, Jiuyou Realm spiritual power exploded violently. Green flames shot skyward. Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes flew wide in shock, then she was instantly engulfed by the flames!

“Immortal Master Jiang!”

Seeing this, the restrained Pei Shulan cried out in terror. Beside her, the black-robed youth’s pupils also contracted, his fists clenching in secret, but he made no sound.

The commoners all stared blankly as the green flames completely swallowed Jiang Zhaoxue. Saguang stood happily from the flames, laughing loudly, “Demon, did you really think you could escape Three Flavors True Fire? Did you really think you could escape the true god’s wrath?! Seeking death…”

Before he finished speaking, the flames exploded instantly, completely engulfing Saguang in fire.

Then everyone stared blankly as a figure appeared in the firelight.

Jiang Zhaoxue sat within the flames, surrounded by talismans. Ice-blue and jade-white light swords spiraled around her. She stood from the flames, looking at Saguang screaming and rolling madly in the fire. “Jiuyou Nether Fire? Where did you learn that?”

“Kill her—”

Saguang shrieked, realizing his death was near. He raised his hand pointing at Jiang Zhaoxue. “Demon! A demon that defiles the gods! Kill her! Offer your lives to the true god, achieve immortal bodies, enjoy eternal bliss!”

As he spoke, Saguang lunged toward Jiang Zhaoxue with all his might. Hearing “eternal bliss,” all the surrounding black-robed attendants rushed fiercely at Jiang Zhaoxue!

Jiang Zhaoxue held talisman papers between her fingers, her eyes cold as she looked up. The instant Saguang lunged, magnificent sword qi pierced through the crowd rushing toward her. Behind Jiang Zhaoxue, space tore open in an instant. Someone arrived with ice and snow, pulling her back behind him. Together with the flying sword, they simultaneously blasted away all the people lunging at them.

The scent of pine and cypress scattered before Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes along with a red hair-binding ribbon, accompanied by a youth’s voice—cold yet still maintaining some politeness. “Dare to advance again, and your life and death are your own concern!”

“Run!”

Someone shouted, and all the surrounding black-robed attendants quickly scattered. Pei Zichen didn’t pursue, only gripping his sword and staring fixedly at their surroundings, afraid any accident might occur that could harm Jiang Zhaoxue.

These attendants fled extremely quickly. After this brief upheaval, among the surrounding commoners, Pei Shulan was first to react. She led by kowtowing, calling out loudly, “Greetings to Zhenwu Yuanjun!”

Once Pei Shulan called out, the commoners rushed to kowtow, crying out in unison, “Greetings to Zhenwu Yuanjun!”

“Greetings to the immortal!”

Their voices rose one after another. The flames were silently extinguished by water transformed from Shen Yuqing’s light sword. Jiang Zhaoxue straightened her posture. Pei Zichen finally turned sideways and raised his hand. Jiang Zhaoxue took his hand and stood, descending lightly from on high.

A beam of heavenly light fell just then, its radiance falling upon her alone.

Shen Yuqing arrived at the gate with Mu Jinyue. He had been chasing after Pei Zichen all along.

Pei Zichen had the Yuan Luogong to open space for short distances, while he at Great Ascension stage could shrink the earth to an inch. Though carrying an extra person, they were fairly matched.

Only in the final moment did Pei Zichen reach the summoning range of the Fate Servant contract. Though he let his sword qi go first, his physical body ultimately couldn’t break through limits, arriving a moment late.

Yet it was just this moment—by the time he reached the entrance and looked up, he only just saw this person upon whom radiance fell alone.

She held Pei Zichen’s hand, sweeping her gaze over all the commoners. Though raising her voice, her tone remained quite casual. “No need to continue bowing.”

She raised her hand to stop everyone, her smiling eyes exceptionally bright. “I’m here today only to tell you—there are no immortals in this world who require human lives as offerings, nor is there a Ghost Dao of eternal bliss. Don’t listen to evil dao’s nonsense. If your hands are stained with the scent of blood, you’ll fall into hell forever afterward, unable to turn back.”

The commoners repeatedly agreed, continuously kowtowing and praying.

Shen Yuqing stood at the entrance, staring at the young man and woman above, his breathing slightly rapid.

Mu Jinyue looked at Shen Yuqing worriedly, unable to help saying, “Master, are you all right?”

Shen Yuqing didn’t say a word.

Jiang Zhaoxue sensed Shen Yuqing had arrived but didn’t come forward. She turned in puzzlement to see Shen Yuqing standing in the distance with unstable breathing, silently watching her. That gaze was too deep, too heavy. He seemed like a vicious beast bound circle by circle in chains, staring at her, beseeching her.

Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t know why she would have such associations and couldn’t help feeling puzzled.

But she had no time to investigate deeply. She only nodded at him, then called out loudly, “Everyone go home. Don’t stay here anymore.”

Hearing this, the commoners dared not linger and fled in panic.

Those black-robed guards were clearly all trained fighters who had already fled when Pei Zichen arrived, including the youth who initially brought her here.

In moments, only Pei Shulan still knelt on the ground in the plaza. Jiang Zhaoxue descended from the altar and stepped forward to help Pei Shulan up. “Madam Pei.”

At this time, Shen Yuqing seemed to have steadied his emotions and came behind Jiang Zhaoxue with Mu Jinyue.

Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at him before turning to look at Pei Shulan who was speaking, inquiring, “We haven’t met in many years. How did Madam Pei come to be here? Where is Master Li?”

Hearing this, Pei Shulan smiled bitterly. “It’s a long story.”

With that, she looked at the sky and actively invited them. “Immortal Master Jiang, it’s not easy to meet. My home isn’t far. Why don’t we return to my residence to talk in detail?”

These words made Jiang Zhaoxue pause, slightly hesitant.

She had just destroyed this altar. If she left with Pei Shulan, she feared bringing trouble to Pei Shulan.

Seeing her hesitation, Pei Shulan immediately understood and quickly said, “Immortal Master Jiang needn’t worry. Later I’ll bring a carriage to the altar’s back gate. You can board from the back gate, and afterward when others ask, I’ll say you already left. My husband and I have operated in this area for many years with many friends. We’ll give some silver to smooth things over and it will be fine. Taking a step back—”

Pei Shulan smiled. “If they truly want to implicate me because of Immortal Master Jiang’s connection, I’ve already exposed my acquaintance with you earlier. If something truly happens, wouldn’t it be better for Immortal Master Jiang to stay at my residence to protect me rather than leaving my family to face it alone?”

Pei Shulan made sense. Jiang Zhaoxue steadied her mind and smiled. “Then I’ll trouble Madam Pei.”