Night had just fallen, the sky turning dark as lights began to illuminate the human world below.

Gan Ting shouted angrily: “Chase them! Find my brother and bring him back!”

The Qilin Guards scattered throughout Pingyao City, searching for Gan Mao’s whereabouts.

The Eastern Island Tianji and Nanshan Snow River cultivators also dispersed to search.

Yu Xiu said: “This is a serious matter. I’ll send a jade transmission to Master first.”

“I’ll go search for them,” Chu Yi said before vanishing with Flash Step.

All the Tianji disciples guarding the manor perimeter withdrew.

The path that had been crowded with people just moments before suddenly became empty. Ling Luo asked Yue Liangze: “Can you track them using Wusheng’s killing energy?”

Yue Liangze frowned momentarily, “No, the Death Mist Gate has severed the connection. We won’t be able to find them in the short term.”

Good then.

You can’t find them.

But I can.

Ling Luo turned and said: “I’ll go search as well.”

She knew what the Bone Demon wanted to do with Zhen Xianyu.

With a clear goal in mind, Ling Luo headed directly out of the city.

Outside Pingyao City, at the Shunyi River.

Ling Luo flew across the river on her sword before landing, looking back at the direction of the water’s flow. Beyond Shunyi River was Shunyi Town, once prosperous and flourishing, now a desolate place of the dead with vengeful spirits everywhere, overflowing with killing energy—a notorious ghost town.

Due to the multitude of wronged souls, Nanshan Snow River had established formations at Shunyi that could only suppress, not eliminate, the spirits.

People traveling along the mountain paths instinctively avoided that area. Anyone who entered by mistake, whether cultivator or mortal, rarely returned.

Ling Luo walked to the riverbank, bent down to scoop up some water with her hands, and then let it scatter back into the river.

After repeating this several times, she took out a bamboo tube, filled it with water, and stored it away before turning toward Shunyi Town.

As soon as she entered the forest, she could see mist barriers covering the mountains. Ling Luo poured the Shunyi River water from the bamboo tube into her hand, using spiritual energy to form a barrier around herself, keeping the mist at bay.

Most people never needed to enter Shunyi Town; being devoured by the mist in the surrounding forest was already beyond salvation.

Someone was buried beneath Shunyi Town.

Ling Luo wanted to take a look.

In her previous life, when she came to Pingyao City, the calamity caused by the Bone Demon had already been resolved, giving her no opportunity to get involved.

Now the timing was perfect.

The Bone Demon had gone to great lengths to steal Zhen Xianyu for this person, even disrupting North Court Moon Palace. Ling Luo didn’t care about his obsession; she was indifferent to everything now.

She passed through the forest mist and faintly saw the ghost town below, shrouded in yin energy. The full moon hung high, its silver light making the weathered buildings appear even more desolate and cold.

Ling Luo strolled down the mountain. Just as she entered the town’s main road, she heard a hesitant female voice: “Ling Luo?”

The voice sounded familiar.

Ling Luo froze, tracing the sound to its source. A window on a house to her left creaked open, and a somewhat disheveled head poked out: “Ling Luo!”

The voice was filled with the excitement of reunion.

Qin Yuan?

Ling Luo was stunned.

“Lingluo! Come in quickly!” Qin Yuan beckoned as ghostly winds swept through the street.

When the woman at the window looked over, the jade teardrops hanging from her ears gleamed beautifully in the moonlight.

Ling Luo immediately recognized her face but found her presence here incredible.

What was Qin Yuan doing here?

The wind wailed like howling ghosts, causing the dilapidated houses along the street to creak ominously. Whispering voices filled Ling Luo’s ears as the sounds of every human emotion surged around her.

Pairs of red eyes glared with malice from the darkness, surveying the street.

“Hurry inside!” Qin Yuan ran to the door to pull Ling Luo in. “Don’t let them see you, or you’ll fall into the evil spirits’ lair and never escape.”

In the moonlight, Ling Luo observed the person before her. She appeared to have been in battle, with bloodstains on her clothes and a somewhat disheveled appearance. Her sword was nowhere in sight.

“What are you doing here?” Ling Luo asked casually.

After joining the inner sect, she and Qin Yuan hadn’t spent as much time together as they had in the outer sect. Initially, things were fine, but once Ling Luo quickly mastered the sect’s core techniques and no longer attended regular classes, they gradually grew apart.

Personal disciples were indeed different.

Still, Qin Yuan would greet her during festivals, and they would dine together when they could meet. However, as both spent extended periods training outside in recent years, their meetings had become rare.

This was, in fact, their first encounter this year.

“Aren’t you here to dispel the mist barrier in Shunyi?”

Qin Yuan seemed confused by her question.

Ling Luo: “No.”

Just as she finished speaking, a loud crash shook the building as the closed door was smashed open. A massive cloud of black mist surged in, containing countless pairs of red eyes and emanating an evil aura.

The whispering from the street returned, a cacophony of laughter, anger, and wailing that hurt the ears.

Ling Luo drew her sword and stood protectively in front of Qin Yuan, whose expression grew tense as she said softly: “These evil entities are strange, with powerful killing energy. They’ve been chasing me ever since I fell into this town!”

“Why did you come here?” Ling Luo asked while using her sword to block the advancing black mist.

The mist split in two when cut, revealing countless blinking red eyeballs within, each filled with malice.

The black mist divided into seven or eight clusters, some pursuing Qin Yuan.

Dodging while answering, Qin Yuan said: “I’m on my worldly training this year, right? I heard about a ghost town near Pingyao City and decided to investigate. On the way, I met a villager asking for help—his son had entered the forest three days ago and hadn’t returned. Fearing the boy had encountered some evil spirit, I went into the mountains to rescue him—”

She rolled on the ground to avoid being caught between two mist clusters, unfortunately hitting a pillar and clutching her forehead with a yelp.

Ling Luo formed a sword formation around her, the swords of spiritual light protecting her from the black mist. Qin Yuan, teary-eyed and holding her forehead, said: “The mountain was filled with mist barriers. I had brought spiritual tools to dispel them, but they didn’t work. The forest grew darker, and no spells were effective. I accidentally slipped and rolled down the slope. When I woke up, I was already in the town.”

“This is the ghost town! As soon as I woke up, these evil entities started chasing me everywhere. They even swallowed my sword. I thought I was done for, but then I suddenly saw you… Ling Luo, did you also fall in from the mountain?”

“No,” Ling Luo said, “I walked in.”

Qin Yuan: “…”

Ling Luo focused on the black mist before her. Its power was immense, with overwhelming killing energy. Even the Shenwu sword, when touched by even a hint of the black mist, showed signs of corrosion.

Qin Yuan stood up, supporting herself against a pillar, and asked worriedly: “Can we get out of here?”

Of course, they could, but Ling Luo wasn’t ready to leave yet.

She tossed Yingxi to Qin Yuan.

“Huh? Why are you giving me Yingxi?” Qin Yuan asked in confusion as she caught the fan.

Yingxi had already opened, its blood-red surface fading to reveal the cherry blossom forest pattern.

“Yingxi will protect you and guide you out. You go first,” Ling Luo handed her the bamboo tube filled with river water. “The mist barrier can only be dispelled with Shunyi River water. With this, you won’t get lost again.”

Qin Yuan’s eyes widened in alarm: “Wait! You want me to go alone? How could I possibly leave you behind and go by myself!”

Ling Luo kept an eye on the black mist’s movements, raising her sword to block it: “Don’t worry about me. You’ve lost your sword, and your cultivation level isn’t high enough. It’s best to save yourself first.”

Hearing this, Qin Yuan became somewhat timid. She knew the gap between herself and Ling Luo. Holding Yingxi, she said weakly: “But Ling Luo… I’m scared to go alone.”

Ling Luo: “…”

“What are you afraid of? You have Yingxi!” she said impatiently.

Qin Yuan: “Yingxi isn’t a person!”

Just as Ling Luo was about to speak, the scattered black mist suddenly gathered into one massive cloud, so enormous it nearly filled the entire space. She retreated to stand before Qin Yuan as the black mist opened a giant mouth, rushing forward to swallow them both.

“Since you’ve come, don’t leave. Stay here with us!”

“Hahaha, die! Die!”

“Isn’t this what you wanted? Why pretend?”

“Hypocrite! Hypocrite! Utterly hypocritical!”

Different voices merged as a fierce wind blew through, making the house creak ominously. Qin Yuan held up Yingxi to defend herself while Ling Luo gripped her Shenru sword, releasing brilliant sword light to counter the black mist.

The killing energy in Shunyi Town was so powerful that even Nanshan Snow River couldn’t completely transform it, only suppress it—evidence of its extraordinary strength, beyond comparison with ordinary ghost towns.

Ling Luo raised an eyebrow slightly as she watched the red eyes in the black mist. She wasn’t disappointed; this place was indeed formidable.

As the black mist encountered resistance, its intensity increased. When thousands of ghosts howled together, the trembling house finally gave way and completely collapsed.

Ling Luo grabbed Qin Yuan and used Flash Step to escape the building’s perimeter, then soared into the void using the Wind-Riding Spell. The black mist, however, was persistent and followed them relentlessly.

Qin Yuan handed Yingxi back to Ling Luo: “You’re stronger than me! You go first! I’ll hold it back for you!”

Ling Luo didn’t look at the fan, forming hand seals as the black mist rushed toward them: “Celestial Stems, Ninety-Eight Paths, Fire Phoenix Descends.”

Seven golden phoenixes descended from the void, crying out and spreading their wings above the two women. Their long golden wings and trailing tail feathers showered golden flames below. Working in perfect coordination, they forcefully surrounded the black mist, igniting roaring flames.

The golden fire and black mist intertwined as cold and heat collided, creating explosions of sparks that resembled golden fireworks in the sky.

Qin Yuan was amazed by the spectacle.

So powerful.

Such a large-scale spell cast without chanting incantations.

She had studied for years but couldn’t even memorize the incantations completely.

With the black mist contained, Ling Luo took Qin Yuan’s hand and turned: “Let’s go.”

But after just a few steps, she stopped. From the town center, a massive golden sword radiance swept across the entire town, accompanied by what sounded like a dragon’s roar, making the ground tremble.

Even Ling Luo had to raise her hand to shield her eyes from the blinding light.

She was too late.

The Bone Demon had already made his move.

“Ling Luo!” Qin Yuan covered her eyes with one hand. “What’s happening? Whose sword energy is this? It’s so powerful I dare not even look!”

Golden light enveloped Shunyi Town, and after the brilliant fluctuations, the world was inverted.

The world of overcast clouds and moonlight was turned like a page, revealing blue skies and white clouds. Under this new sky, the broken and desolate buildings and streets regained their former prosperity.

The two women gradually lowered their hands that had been shielding their eyes as they heard the bustle around them.

“Brother Shu, your mother is calling you home for dinner!”

“Wasn’t yesterday payday? Why didn’t you bring a single coin back? Are you hiding it?”

“Mother, I don’t want to go to school! No, no, I just don’t want to!”

“Go tell your father then!”

“Is Tailor Song home? I’ve brought more clothes!”

“…”

Qin Yuan stared at the broad daylight. The collapsed building was now perfectly intact, with a row of flowerpots on the windowsill, and small white flowers blooming in the warm sunlight.

A mother holding her daughter’s hand walked past them, and Qin Yuan could even smell the scent of baked pancakes on them.

The once gloomy and empty street, where only evil spirits had roamed, was now full of life.

Qin Yuan pressed close to Ling Luo in fear, clutching Yingxi tightly and lowering her voice: “What’s happening here?”

“Have we fallen into some kind of illusion?”

“More or less,” Ling Luo looked toward the highest point in the town center. “Someone has disturbed the forbidden array in Shunyi Town, triggering the protective mechanism that restores the town to its former time, trying to hide the center of the array.”

Qin Yuan was stunned: “Are there other people here besides us?!”

Ling Luo walked toward the town center.

Qin Yuan hurriedly followed.

Ling Luo said: “You can just stay over there. You don’t need to follow.”

Qin Yuan shook her head repeatedly: “No, I’m afraid to be alone. Very afraid.”

But the deeper they went, the more dangerous it became.

Ling Luo thought for a moment but ultimately didn’t stop her, allowing her to follow.

It was noon, and the streets were crowded with people—some returning home, others heading to shops and inns. Children sent out by their parents to buy things ran through the streets.

“Ling Luo, where are we going?” Qin Yuan curiously observed their surroundings while speaking. “This looks very similar to the illusion in the Heaven-Devouring Tower.”

It felt completely real.

“I’m going to the Zhao family,” Ling Luo pointed at the tallest building in the town center. “They have the Life-Commanding Tower, which can operate the formation.”

After passing a few houses, they saw the Zhao family’s main gate.

Qin Yuan hesitated and said: “Ling Luo, don’t go.”

“Why shouldn’t I go?” Ling Luo continued walking.

“I have a bad feeling. Please don’t go. Let me go instead. Tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll find it for you. Just don’t go in there.” Qin Yuan looked up at her.

Ling Luo didn’t take it seriously, assuming Qin Yuan was afraid of the Bone Demon. But she wasn’t afraid.

There was no one guarding the entrance to the Zhao residence. Two large begonia trees were planted on either side, their branches covered with pink and white blossoms.

As Ling Luo stepped through the doorway, she said: “If you’re scared, just wait outside. I—”

A golden sword light pierced through her heart at a speed she couldn’t detect, pinning her at the entrance.

Pain spread throughout her body, causing Ling Luo to frown, her lips trembling slightly as her eyes widened.

She slowly reached up to cover her chest, her hand covered with glaring blood.

The sword light mercilessly withdrew, and Ling Luo groaned, collapsing against the flower tree.

A soft sigh came from behind her, and Qin Yuan slowly approached, saying softly: “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Her long black eyelashes trembled as Ling Luo looked up at her.

Qin Yuan crouched beside her, gently stroking her cheek: “Even though she’s dead, her sword intent remains in the world to eliminate all demons. You’re different from before. After being reborn, even the tiniest trace of demonic energy marked in your soul will be mistakenly killed by this sword intent.”

The woman’s eyes overlapped with the eye that had watched her from the sky.