Ling Luo waited patiently. She was confident that she had intercepted Jiang Miao’s side of things, so Chu Yi probably had no opportunity, but she still asked him just to be sure.

But while she waited for Yue Liangze, she didn’t receive a reply from Chu Yi.

There was no moon tonight; looking up, the sky was dotted with stars.

Ling Luo and Yue Liangze flew on their swords toward Northern Court’s Moon Palace.

Halfway there, Yue Liangze saw her continuously fiddling with her jade communicator and asked softly, “Waiting for a message?”

She nodded, not hiding anything from Yue Liangze. She told him about Chu Yi teaching curse rituals to Jiang Miao at Primal Beginning, then added, “When I left Primal Beginning, I left Jiang Miao a spirit bird that recorded many curse rituals, which could teach her curse ritual techniques.”

Yue Liangze: “…”

How bold.

Ling Luo wasn’t afraid he would tell others, and continued to mutter, “But I’m worried my Senior Brother was also teaching her. My Senior Brother better not get involved in Moon Palace affairs; he can’t help much anyway.”

Just as Yue Liangze couldn’t stop her self-destruction, Chu Yi also couldn’t stop Jiang Miao.

She remembered that Jiang Miao was very grateful to Chu Yi, but didn’t have romantic feelings for him.

She was also a woman who wouldn’t choose love over her pursuits.

Yue Liangze said, “In terms of curse rituals, Northern Court’s Moon Palace is the most formidable among all immortal sects.”

“They are the most formidable, but she doesn’t know them,” Ling Luo said. “Neither the Palace Lord nor the Young Palace Lord knows any curse rituals. They rely entirely on people from outside the Northern Court to teach them, which is more embarrassing than killing the master of Qishan.”

If South Mountain Snow River had the most sword cultivators, then Northern Court’s Moon Palace was a paradise for curse ritual practitioners.

The first-generation Palace Lord of Moon Palace dominated the world with powerful and unique curse rituals, slaughtering all demons in the world, needing only to move a finger to be invincible.

“That day in Shunyi Town, when Prince Gan Mao inherited Zhao Lang’s identity in the illusion, he was trapped by the Moon Palace’s unique curse ritual called Moon Curse. No one mentioned afterward who cast that Moon Curse,” Ling Luo said. “Everyone focused on the relationship between Left White and South Mountain Snow River, completely overlooking this point.”

Yue Liangze thought she was right; the appearance of Moon Palace’s curse rituals in Shunyi Town was indeed strange.

Speaking of curse rituals, he couldn’t help but think of Northern Court’s first-generation Palace Lord.

She created countless curse rituals but ultimately died because of a curse.

Legend had it that this first-generation Palace Lord was cursed with a malicious curse called Severed White Head. Those afflicted could never meet their beloved in any lifetime.

No matter how many times they reincarnated, the two would forever retain that love.

One lives while the other dies.

One dies while the other lives.

One day, as the first-generation Palace Lord was appreciating flowers in the Western Sea’s Primal Beginning Cherry Forest, thinking of her beloved and wanting her to see this beautiful worldly scenery, she took her own life in the Western Sea’s Primal Beginning Cherry Forest.

This evil curse remains unsolved to this day, and no one knows who created it.

While Yue Liangze was lost in thought, Ling Luo finally received Chu Yi’s reply.

“?” Chu Yi was shocked. “How did you know I taught her curse rituals at Primal Beginning?”

“Did Jiang Miao tell you? Where exactly are you?!”

It was back when he had been blind, not recognizing the Moon Palace Lord, and only taught curse rituals as an apology after beating her.

Ling Luo: “You’re not teaching her anymore, right?”

“Of course not. After you called me to catch Tian Rong, where would I find time to teach her curse rituals?” Chu Yi replied with a cold expression. “Besides, it wasn’t what you thought when I taught her. It was an apology. Don’t tell others, or else everyone will know I once beat up the Moon Palace Lord.”

Ling Luo: “…”

I didn’t expect your first meeting to be like that.

Chu Yi: “Never mind that just get your ass back here immediately.”

“No,” Ling Luo flatly refused. “Senior Brother, if you miss me, just endure it.”

After reading this, Chu Yi was so angry he wanted to strangle her immediately. He wrote a long message and sent it, only to be notified it was deleted.

This time, Ling Luo had deleted him first.

The two were quite far from Northern Court’s Moon Palace; even flying on swords would take two days.

This consumed a lot of spiritual energy, so Yue Liangze said to Ling Luo, “Come here.”

Ling Luo raised her chin at him: “What for? Looking down on me?”

Yue Liangze knew she would respond this way and had already prepared his words: “You consumed a lot of spiritual energy earlier when splitting the mountain to open a path, got tired, and fell asleep quickly. You haven’t fully recovered yet. I might need your help when we reach Moon Palace, so I’ll carry you as we fly, and you can rest first.”

He said so much just to avoid Ling Luo’s misunderstanding that he looked down on her, while still wanting to take care of her condition.

After listening, Ling Luo extended her hand with an arrogant expression, the corner of her mouth curving up for an instant.

Yue Liangze carried Ling Luo as they flew on his sword toward Northern Court’s Moon Palace, past Northern Court City, straight to the sect’s gate.

In front of Moon Palace was a sea of flowers; behind were vast snow-capped mountains, where white and black met, majestic and solemn.

They arrived at night. In the night sky hung a beautiful full moon, its light illuminating the entire land. The sea of flowers in front of the sect’s gate was as tall as a person, with pale pink, blue, purple, and various other colors.

“I won’t go in,” Ling Luo got down at the sect’s gate, looking toward Moon Palace. “This matter isn’t simple. Once you go in, they’ll watch the Holy Sword Sect’s actions closely. You keep an eye on things inside, and I’ll help from outside.”

Besides, once she entered Moon Palace, Yun Shouxi would know where she was.

Yue Liangze had no objection to this.

Ling Luo made a hand seal and used a skin drawing spirit, turning into a small white fox that landed on his shoulder, waving its paw and pointing at Moon Palace with an arrogant air: “Let’s go! Without my permission, let’s see who dares to touch my half-disciple!”

As they walked, Yue Liangze asked, “Half?”

Ling Luo: “Half yours, half mine.”

Yue Liangze smiled silently, accepting this half-disciple along with her.

As they climbed the stairs, Yue Liangze seemingly casually asked, “What flower is carved below your left collarbone?”

The white fox turned its head in shock: “You can see it?”

Yue Liangze replied impassively, “I saw it by chance.”

It was when Ling Luo had leaned close to smell him; that he had glanced down for an instant.

Perhaps afraid she would overthink it, Yue Liangze added, “The flower is very beautiful, and I’ve never seen it before, so I’m just asking.”

Ling Luo was silent.

Just when Yue Liangze thought she didn’t want to say, the white fox’s fluffy, plump paw smacked his face: “It’s not beautiful at all! It’s an unlucky flower. You’d better not know about it.”

Yue Liangze reached out to grab the white fox, lifting it into his arms: “If it’s an unlucky flower, why carve it?”

Ling Luo snorted, “Don’t worry about it. It will disappear someday.”

A flower that only exists after death is not only unlucky but also inauspicious.

Every day when she looked in the mirror and saw this Bitter Karma Flower, it was like a silent reminder of the fact that Yue Liangze had once died.

Seeing she wouldn’t say, Yue Liangze merely made a sound of acknowledgment, but his gaze darkened somewhat. He realized he wanted to know everything about Ling Luo, without being refused.

This suddenly heightened possessiveness made him increasingly cautious in his interactions with Ling Luo.

Just as they entered Moon Palace’s gate, a disciple went to report that the Holy Sword Sect’s True Immortal of Danshui had arrived.

Then the Palace Lord sent someone to welcome them.

The person who came wasn’t wearing sect attire but a purple robe, with a jade crown binding his hair, his expression gloomy.

Meeting face-to-face, both were silent for a moment.

Jiang Jun spoke first: “I am Jiang Jun, here on the Palace Lord’s orders to take True Immortal of Danshui to Listening Tower. True Immortal Bai Cang and people from the Three Mountains are all there.”

The white fox, held in Yue Liangze’s arms, craned its neck to look at Jiang Jun, only to be pressed back down by Yue Liangze.

Yue Liangze asked him, “Why are you here?”

Jiang Jun pressed his lips together and said, “It’s a long story. Let’s go to Listening Tower first.”

“I want to see Mu Xujing first,” Yue Liangze said. “Where is he being held?”

Jiang Jun gave him a look. “He’s imprisoned in Red Snow Gate, a forbidden area in Moon Palace for holding serious criminals. Without the Palace Lord’s permission, no one can enter.”

Yue Liangze said, “Then please request permission from the Palace Lord.”

Jiang Jun’s lips twitched slightly as he took out a moon communicator to send a message to Jiang Miao. After a moment, he received Jiang Miao’s response and turned, saying, “She has agreed. I’ll take you there.”

Ling Luo remembered seeing Mu Xujing returning with Moon Palace people the night they left Pingyi City. They must have gone to the governor’s mansion to take Jiang Jun away.

Because his secret learning of curse rituals had been exposed.

“Red Snow Gate is in the snow mountain range behind Moon Palace, past the snow line. The sky there is always gloomy and dark, without light, completely different from the eternal spring on this side of Moon Palace.”

As Jiang Jun led the way, he explained unhurriedly: “Red Snow Gate is under the jurisdiction of the Punishing Evil Division, which was taken over by Elder Xue Ming at the beginning of this year. Elder Xue Ming dislikes the Palace Lord the most and has no fondness for her son either, so being locked up in there, he’ll be flayed alive if not killed.”

Ling Luo thought to herself, aren’t you his uncle? How can you speak so calmly about him being flayed alive?

Yue Liangze asked for her, “Aren’t you his uncle?”

Jiang Jun rolled his eyes and replied, “And Elder Xue Ming is still considered his third uncle!”

Yue Liangze fell silent.

So it was family members going against each other.

The two people and one fox walked out of the exquisite courtyard buildings toward the majestic snow mountain range. The surroundings were shrouded in trees. After leaving the forest, the sky was pitch black, with beacon towers on the snow mountain all lit up for illumination.

On the way, Yue Liangze asked, “Do you know anything about the Qishan Sect Leader’s case?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t at Flower Building when it happened,” Jiang Jun said. “That day I went to Northern Court City on business and only returned to Moon Palace the next day.”

Seeing Yue Liangze looking at him, Jiang Jun added, “True Immortal Bai Cang arrived yesterday and has already inquired about what happened, and has also met with him and the Holy Maiden of Wushan.”

They walked to the front of Red Snow Gate, at the foot of the snow mountain cliff. Several guards wearing soft armor stood on either side of the stern iron gate.

The guards stopped the two: “Moon Palace forbidden area, no trespassing.”

Jiang Jun handed out a jade tablet: “By order of the Palace Lord, I’m bringing Holy Sword Sect’s True Immortal of Danshui to question Mu Xujing.”

The guard said expressionlessly, “Without Elder Xue Ming’s order, no one may pass.”

Jiang Jun’s face showed mockery: “Do you listen to Elder Xue Ming or the Moon Palace Lord?”

The guard showed no emotional fluctuation and continued to block the way, saying, “We are just following orders.”

Jiang Jun didn’t mind, turning to look at Yue Liangze and saying, “True Immortal of Danshui, as you can see, our Moon Palace—”

Before he could finish, Yue Liangze drew his sword, seeming ready to force his way in.

Jiang Jun was stunned, his eye twitching slightly.

He hadn’t realized in Shunyi Town that this Daoist Lord of Danshui had such a temper.

Seeing this, the guards also drew their swords, adopting a fighting stance, still guarding steadfastly.

A cold shout came from inside the iron gate: “Stop, let them in.”

The guards all sheathed their swords upon hearing this.

Yue Liangze looked inside to see a young man wearing Moon Palace sect attire come out. A long sword hung across his back, tied with a black rope in a difficult knot, with a green spirit bead dangling from the end of the rope.

Jiang Jun whispered to Yue Liangze: “This is Wu Xu, Mu Jingyi’s son.”

Mu Jingyi’s wife was from Wushan, and Wushan descendants all followed their mother’s surname, so he wasn’t surnamed Mu.

Northern Court’s Moon Palace had three major family clans.

The Jiang family, the Mu family, and the Liu family.

The Liu family had died out a hundred years ago, leaving only the Jiang and Mu families.

Wu Xu appeared to be about the same age as Jiang Jun. Although he wore Moon Palace sect attire, he had the natural air of a noble young master who was superior to others.

He walked out from the iron gate, looking at Yue Liangze, his gaze measuring, pausing slightly when it fell on the black sword.

“The Holy Sword Sect’s investigation naturally deserves some face,” Wu Xu said politely, though his expression showed challenge. He stepped aside and said, “Please, this way.”

Ling Luo couldn’t help but want to laugh.

The Holy Sword Sect’s involvement at such a time was truly unwelcome.

Yue Liangze ignored Wu Xu’s provocation, sheathed his sword, and walked inside.

Mu Xujing was imprisoned in the deepest part of Red Snow Gate.

It was cold and dark there, most tormenting to one’s mind.

In the east, there was East Island Tianji’s Samsara Realm; in the north, there was Northern Court Moon Palace’s Red Snow Gate.

Though the methods of imprisonment differed, the torments were similar. Both involved being locked in a small, dark room, dragged into a formation for punishment at set times and then spat back out when the time was up, repeating day after day until the sentence was completed or death occurred.

Ling Luo remembered that Qing Shun had been sentenced to three hundred years of punishment in the Samsara Realm before he could die.

If Moon Palace handed Mu Xujing over to Qishan, with the crime of killing a sect leader pinned on him, he would suffer. Cui Huowu would use every means to torture him, making him wish for death.

The corridors in the snow mountain were long and winding, like wandering inside a ball with countless holes drilled in it. The path was covered with thick, slippery snow, making it impossible to know where the exit was.

Wu Xu led the way and said unhurriedly, “This Thousand Thread Path is extremely complex, a formation unique to Moon Palace that incorporates curse rituals. If one can’t find the correct route, they will be trapped here forever, walking until death without finding a way out. Once, a disciple killed a guard and escaped from the punishment room, only to be trapped in this Thousand Thread Path, unable to get out. He is still trapped in the formation to this day.”

He glanced back from the corner of his eye: “True Immortal of Danshui should watch his step and not take a wrong turn. It would be troublesome if you got lost and encountered that treacherous, murderous disciple.”

The white fox poked its head out from Yue Liangze’s arms, its fluffy paw pointing at Wu Xu walking ahead, then turned back its neck and made a slicing gesture, silently expressing: He’s very arrogant, do you want me to help you kill him?

Yue Liangze silently pushed the murderous-looking white fox back down, ignoring Wu Xu.

Wu Xu led the two to the end of the path. There was a long row of over ten punishment rooms, with Mu Xujing imprisoned in the last one.

He stepped forward to open the door, which made a very harsh creaking sound.

Inside was pitch-black. As the door opened, letting in light, Yue Liangze at the door could see a man inside with his limbs chained with iron. He had his head slightly lowered but raised it upon hearing the noise, only to turn away from the blinding light.

Wu Xu said, “You two have only half an hour. After half an hour, he will be punished again.”

Yue Liangze walked closer to the punishment room.

He set up a sound barrier outside to prevent others from eavesdropping, then made a fire ritual to illuminate the room. Under the light, Mu Xujing slowly turned his gaze to Yue Liangze.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw a familiar white fox poke its head out from Yue Liangze’s arms, waving its front paws at him fiercely: “You can’t even break a mere Muting Light Curse, all that curse ritual teaching was wasted, useless!”

Mu Xujing: “…”

A brutal reunion shock.