She had thought Yan Qige would seriously injure her, but just as his hand touched her waist, he suddenly reached out to embrace her waist, gently pulled her into his arms, and spun around with her to land in another corner of the room. When Yusang looked back in shock, she discovered that where she had just been standing now stood an old woman in coarse cloth clothing, holding a bamboo basket in one hand and the octagonal Soul Sacrifice Plate in the other. Yusang subconsciously and quietly felt for her sleeve and the qiankun pouch at her waist—indeed, the Soul Sacrifice Plate was no longer there.

“For a mere mortal to possess such cultivation and perception—truly formidable,” the old woman said. As she spun around, several phantom blades shot rapidly from her sleeves, moving extremely fast and glowing with green light.

Yan Qige pushed Yusang half a step behind him, reached out to gather power, and shattered all those phantom blades. At the same time, he summoned the Soul Collector lantern and leaped up, quickly forming finger positions and chanting incantations. With the incantations, strong winds began blowing outside the house, lifting the dead branches and withered grass from the ground to beat against the windows with crackling sounds. The house also swayed back and forth, with roof tiles and stones falling continuously, as if it would collapse with a thunderous crash at any moment.

“Get out quickly,” Yan Qige said, his hands never stopping their movements as he turned his face slightly to remind Yusang. Only then did Yusang come to her senses, glancing at him hurriedly before running out of the house.

The moment Yusang exited, the wooden door slammed shut with a heavy sound. She stood against the courtyard wall, squinting through the violent wind to watch the house. She could see spiritual power clashing and creating flashes of light inside, with various sounds of breaking and shattering mixing chaotically. With a tremendous roar, the house rose from the ground, swept up into the towering storm.

Yusang was blown by the strong wind until she couldn’t stand steadily, having to shield her face with her hands to prevent sand from blowing into her eyes. When she found a corner with gentler wind to lean against and looked up at the risen house again, an explosion sounded from the air. Enormous flames splashed outward from above, and mud bricks, stone walls, and broken furniture fell from the exploded house body in the air, all aflame.

“Yan Qige!” Yusang’s heart tightened, and she seemed to unconsciously call out a name loudly, while seeing a broken-legged wooden table blazing with fire falling toward her.

“Be careful.” Just as Yusang was frightened and didn’t know what to do, Yan Qige’s calm and composed voice sounded in her ear. Then someone embraced her waist from behind, protecting her as they turned around. After a crashing sound, Yusang opened her eyes, and Yan Qige released his arms. She turned back to see that broken table behind Yan Qige, shattered and scattered on the ground two meters away, with debris everywhere around them.

Yusang stood up straight, still shaken, and looked Yan Qige up and down. Although his clothes were stained with much dirt, he had no injuries. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, saying, “You scared me to death. I thought you…”

…

…

“Thought I was killed by that old demon hag? Not everyone is as useless as you, being possessed by her for so long without knowing it.” Yan Qige looked at Yusang with disdain.

A surge of anger rushed through Yusang. Just as she was about to retort, she seemed to remember something and swallowed her words back. Since he mistakenly believed the Soul Sacrifice Plate had possessed her, it saved her from worrying about being discovered.

Yan Qige paid no attention to Yusang. He turned aside and lifted the Soul Collector lantern, raising it higher before forming finger positions and chanting incantations toward it. The lantern glowed, and a gray soul shadow rose from its center.

“Ziyue.” Ling Mingran, who had disappeared earlier, appeared from a corner when that scattered soul emerged, gazing sadly at the shadow-like form floating in the air.

“His soul has been confined too long and was shattered by demonic arts. What you see now is just his soul’s fragmented shadow—he can’t hear your words,” Yan Qige said, holding the lantern and turning to look at Ling Mingran. He extended the lantern toward her, seemingly wanting her to see more clearly.

“Young master, your magical arts are superb. You must have a way to save him. I beg you to act,” Ling Mingran knelt on the ground, her beautiful eyes full of pleading.

“Heaven’s principle of reincarnation, karmic connections—because of you two, so much evil has been caused. Someone must bear the consequences. I can reconstruct his soul and send him into reincarnation, but you must pay a price. Are you willing?”

“I… I…” Ling Mingran looked at Yan Qige in confusion.

“Think about it. You know how to find me.” Yan Qige neither forced nor comforted her. With a wave of his hand, he put away the lantern, turned around, and signaled Yusang to leave.

Coming out of Red Pearl Village, when passing the old locust tree, Yusang stopped. Yan Qige halted and looked at her, saying, “What’s wrong?”

“If not for the Soul Sacrifice Plate, it would have surely achieved some success in cultivation. What a pity.”

“It lacked sufficient fate. Let’s go.”

Yusang pursed her lips and followed Yan Qige, saying with some resentment, “You’re mortal—without cultivation, you naturally have three souls and seven spirits, plus powerful magical arts. One lifetime is only a few decades. How would you know how difficult it is for plants and animals to cultivate human form and develop souls? That requires millions of years of waiting and memory.”

“Who told you I was born with such abilities?” Yan Qige glanced at Yusang sideways.

“Then tell me—you’ve only lived for about twenty years, yet with such a big temper, who would dare bully you?”

“The world is vast with all manner of wonders. For someone who’s lived a thousand years, your horizons are only this much. What an achievement.” Yan Qige said, opening the purple compass to find direction and leading the way forward.

“What about that Soul Sacrifice Plate? Where is it? Let me have a look,” Yusang ran a step to catch up with Yan Qige and asked.

“Such harmful things—I’ve already destroyed it.”

“Destroyed?” Yusang’s heart skipped a beat. She looked incredulously at Yan Qige, who was closing his eyes to gather power. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered something and quietly stopped half a step behind him, turning to feel around her waist. The colorful shell he had given her by the Red Pearl River was still at her waist. She took it out to look—where was any colorful shell? It was a palm-sized octagonal Soul Sacrifice Plate.

Yusang was greatly alarmed. If this was the real Soul Sacrifice Plate, then what had fought with Yan Qige and been destroyed was merely an illusion.

“Princess of the Yuwen clan, since you found me, you will take me away. I’m no match for you. Since this is so, I might as well help you switch the real for the fake and stage a performance to deceive Yan Qige’s attention. I’m willing to be taken back to the Fengjian clan by you, but you will regret it in the future,” the Soul Keeper Elder’s voice sounded low in Yusang’s ear, carrying a hint of amusement.

“I only want you to return to where you should go and complete the mission you didn’t finish back then. I will never regret it,” Yusang said quietly, turning her fingers to leave a spell mark on the Soul Sacrifice Plate, then storing it in her waist pouch along with the other soul artifacts she had collected, saying nothing more.

Yan Qige took out the purple compass and began searching with Yusang for the fish demon occupying Ling Mingran’s body. Before sunset, they found a patch of wasteland where the compass needle began spinning rapidly. Yan Qige gave Yusang a meaningful look, and she understood they needed to set up an array here to capture the demon.