The sky had already darkened.

The clear night was free of dust, moonlight like silver.

Su Zhuyi and Qin Jianglan had searched for a long time in the depths of the barrier but still hadn’t found the legendary Jianmu Tree.

Su Zhuyi had been to this place before, and she had seen that tree. Yet now, she was like a headless fly going in circles, never finding the right location.

Last time had been a chance encounter—there was the calling of the earth-bound spirit, little phoenix, and the Jianmu Tree had actively sacrificed itself, allowing her to communicate and meet with it. Now that none of these conditions existed, their active search proved quite difficult.

Qin Jianglan had already taken Su Zhuyi’s hand, telling her not to be anxious.

Su Zhuyi just had a premonition—she thought the Jianmu Tree might already be dead.

She wasn’t particularly anxious in her heart, just felt heavy and uncomfortable in her chest.

After walking forward for a long time, just when Su Zhuyi felt they probably wouldn’t find it, Qin Jianglan suddenly said, “This way.”

“Did your spiritual consciousness capture something?”

Su Zhuyi had also spread out her spiritual consciousness, but she hadn’t sensed anything.

If there was anything special, it was that tonight’s moon was particularly round.

“A trace of weak aura—I’m not certain either.” Qin Jianglan gripped Su Zhuyi’s hand tightly. “Let’s go take a look.”

Following that aura, he moved forward. Before long, they saw an enormous deep pit.

The pit showed signs of charring, and aside from that, there was nothing else.

Weeds grew abundantly around the pit, and the trees were exceptionally tall, but within the pit, there was nothing—not even a single weed had grown there. Only a scent of decay remained.

Su Zhuyi stood frozen in place, her hand trembling slightly in Qin Jianglan’s tight grip.

“This is where the Jianmu Tree once existed?” She had thought the Jianmu Tree had withered and died, expecting to see a massive dead tree fallen on the ground. She never imagined there would be nothing here, as if that tree had been reduced to ash by some tremendous force and completely erased from this world.

The Jianmu Tree was gone.

Su Zhuyi was fundamentally heartless—whether the Jianmu Tree lived or died couldn’t touch her nerves. But now, the Jianmu Tree’s fall made her think of herself.

Was this the consequence of violating the Heavenly Dao’s rules?

If the path of reincarnation didn’t succeed, and the changes she made grew larger and larger, she—this anomaly—would also be ruthlessly erased by the Heavenly Dao, just like this tree, leaving no trace of existence.

Not just her.

But also the person standing beside her.

And the people she had desperately saved.

Su Zhuyi’s complexion paled somewhat, but she couldn’t show weakness. She was a great demoness—how could she be frightened by a tree’s death? Qin Jianglan was standing there perfectly fine, so she couldn’t be cowardly either.

Su Zhuyi said in a low voice, “It seems the Jianmu Tree has fallen. Using it to draw out the Xirang won’t work—we’ll have to think of another way.”

“Where exactly is that little thing hiding?” Su Zhuyi’s brows furrowed, utterly furious at that slippery Xirang.

Of all places to burrow, it had to burrow into her mouth, and now she couldn’t extract it at all.

Perhaps thinking of the Xirang made her too angry. Su Zhuyi’s gaze turned sharp, her overly radiant face becoming imperious due to her undisguised anger, like burning fire, like a thorned flower.

But Qin Jianglan knew that she put on this fierce appearance because she was still somewhat afraid.

He didn’t expose her.

He only gripped her somewhat cold hand tightly and placed it in his sleeve.

“Sigh?”

“Dead is dead.” Qin Jianglan said calmly, “The Jianmu Tree is legendarily the bridge connecting the human realm and divine realm. Since there are no longer gods above, its destruction is reasonable.”

In other words, as long as someone underwent tribulation and ascended, the Jianmu Tree would still appear.

Unfortunately, they could no longer use the Jianmu Tree to draw out the Xirang.

What other methods were there?

Su Zhuyi suddenly had an idea.

The Xirang was inside her body—if she directly entered the Liuguang Mirror, wouldn’t the Xirang go in too?

But she immediately dismissed this thought.

Su Zhuyi didn’t possess that kind of sacrificial spirit.

Having her sacrifice herself and fall, with her primordial spirit living in that mirror, she couldn’t do it.

Anyway…

She wouldn’t do such a thing until the very last moment. Qin Jianglan had finally managed to come out—if she went in again, what kind of situation would that be?

If going in could truly succeed, that would be fine. But if she went in and failed again, that would truly be a joke. Anyway, living one day at a time, while she was alive, she wouldn’t think about sacrifice.

“Should we go back now?”

“I’ll go down and look, see if I can still find a trace of remnant soul.” Qin Jianglan manifested the Liuguang Mirror and flew into the deep pit.

The death energy in the pit was, for him now, a great tonic that could enhance his strength. Even the Liuguang Mirror could benefit from it.

Su Zhuyi waited beside him. After waiting for a while, she suddenly felt a warning in her heart.

That heart suddenly clenched, as if someone had grabbed it and crushed it viciously.

…

At the barrier, Su Qingxun lay on the ground convulsing, slowly writhing like a maggot.

She was covered in blood, with countless poisonous insects drilling out from within her body, densely piling up in thick layers beneath her.

Yet she felt no pain at all. She was laughing.

Her giggling laughter sounded particularly eerie under the cold, clear moonlight.

Those poisonous insects drilled out of her body and crawled onto the unconscious Miaoshe Shiqi. The ruby-like curse insect at his brow trembled slightly, seeming somewhat uneasy.

The barrier and sword formation imprisoned Miaoshe Shiqi, preventing his escape and keeping others from entering.

But Su Qingxun wasn’t just anyone else.

She was the mother curse raised by Miaoshe Shiqi. The insects in her body had close connections with the cursed insect at his brow—they originally belonged to one entity.

Qin Jianglan didn’t dare let Miaoshe Shiqi die.

Miaoshe Shiqi himself didn’t want to die either.

“I don’t want to die either.” Su Qingxun looked up at the bright moon overhead, poisonous insects continuously pouring from her mouth, yet she still grinned wickedly, looking terrifying and grotesque.

“You fear love curses, fear his death.”

“If he dies, what will happen to you?”

Which curse master under heaven had ever met a good end?

Those who raise curses are ultimately devoured by curses.

“Miaoshe Shiqi, he doesn’t dare kill you—I’ll kill you!” Su Qingxun’s eyes contained murderous intent, like an evil ghost. Her body contained vast amounts of spiritual energy and baleful energy—gifts from the evil tree.

It had given her almost all the power it had accumulated, just to let her gain sufficient strength for the curse insects within her to devour their master.

The evil tree held nothing back.

Because it understood that what it lost now would be repaid a thousandfold later.

Once Miaoshe Shiqi died, that man would probably go mad and become demonic. His resentment would help it ascend to heaven in one step.

“Master, I will avenge you.”

With a “pop” sound, the red dot at Miaoshe Shiqi’s brow seemed to be bitten and crushed. Countless cursed insects killed each other, while Miaoshe Shiqi’s body became their battlefield.

He only awakened for an instant.

Then he entered eternal darkness.

Curse insects devouring their master—the almost inescapable fate of Miaojiang curse raisers. Who would have thought it would come so early?

In the depths of the barrier.

Su Zhuyi suddenly burst into tears.