Qiu Lang’s words drew the attention of many, but he seemed completely oblivious, his eyes focused only on Qian Li.
Qian Li was already blind with rage, not caring about the information in his words. At this moment, he finally felt that the father in his memories was truly dead. The man standing before him with the same face as his father was an Earth Ghost, his enemy.
Earth Ghosts, such disgusting things… should not exist.
The viscous blood dripping from his fingertips suddenly elongated like a sickle, piercing through Qiu Hong, who was blocking him. With Qiu Hong’s surprised look, Qian Li pushed him aside. The wedding venue was flowing with rivers of blood. This river of blood surged, seeming to respond to some kind of summons. Whether it was the blood left by Earth Ghosts or ordinary people, all obeyed the call, forming into blood-colored sickles that screamed toward Qiu Lang.
Qiu Lang showed no fear in his eyes, and even seemed to appreciate Qian Li’s Tianluowanxiang technique.
Unlike those who had only learned it halfway, and unlike the Zhao family members he had seen before.
Fang Hui, below, was also somewhat surprised, as if Qian Li’s growth during this time had been too rapid. The Tianluowanxiang he was releasing now was worlds apart from what he had displayed in the giant forest just after leaving Jidan over a month ago.
Qiu Hong had just stood up from the ground when he had to dodge the blood-sickling stabbing from behind. As he flew through the air, he glanced at Qian Li, who was charging toward Qiu Lang. This kid, worthy of having been enlightened by a Pilgrim, had some real abilities.
The surrounding Earth Ghosts flew forward one after another to block the blood sickles attacking Qiu Lang, working together seamlessly to take him away. Qian Li pursued relentlessly, killing countless Earth Ghosts along the way, but they could revive in an extremely short time and continue to block him.
“Qian Li!” Fang Hui called from behind, wanting him to calm down first.
Princess Chang Xi watched him leave again and lowered her head in sorrow.
*
The Bei Dou group left first at Ming Li’s request. The remaining three academy masters from Nan Que pursued them. Qu Zhuyue, with Tian Ji and Kai Yang, stayed behind to cover the retreat, letting Academy Master Tian Shu, Dan Xun lead the disciples away first.
Several people moved swiftly through the treetops, making their way toward the mountain gate of Nan Que. Yin Luo was carrying the severely injured fake Chen Zhou, whose star meridian power had been sealed. He occasionally looked down to check his condition, making sure he wouldn’t die on the way.
Fake Chen Zhou was coughing blood, covering the shoulder that Ming Li had pierced with her Circulating Qi Word Technique. As he was being carried by his collar by Yin Luo, his head hung low. At this moment, he let out a deep, chuckling laugh and said hoarsely, “You should be careful. Don’t look back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yin Luo felt a chill at the back of his neck, as if hit by a large block of falling snow. His body hair stood on end, and the protective star power was silently broken through by this cold intent. He only had time to glance back with his peripheral vision before a silver-white blade flashed across his throat, cutting through his skin and flesh.
Too fast!
Just as the cold light was about to sever his neck, it was blocked by a black fan bone. Yin Luo, who had been swiftly moving along the treetops, fell. Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask rushed forward with stern faces.
Under the moonlight, a silver-white humanoid water cluster snatched the fake Chen Zhou from Yin Luo’s hands. Fu Yuan, who had rushed over in an instant, caught the bloodied Yin Luo and immediately covered his slashed throat with the Yin-Yang Dual Meridian technique to stop the bleeding.
Everyone’s speed and movements happened in an instant.
Dan Xun and Black Fox Mask attacked the silver-white water cluster, but slicing it open was of no help. The fake Chen Zhou it was carrying also turned into a cluster of water, scattering on the ground and disappearing.
Yang Meridian Spiritual Technique: Materialization.
Only an expert specializing in the Yang Meridian could achieve this level.
Dan Xun looked at the puddle of water on the ground with a gloomy gaze. How long had the opponent been following them? They had been completely unaware the entire time.
At this moment, they received Ming Li’s transmission talisman, informing them that Cui Yaocen had been sealed in the mirage sea on the mountaintop and couldn’t escape for the time being.
With Cui Yaocen trapped in the formation array and unable to escape, the pressure and threat instantly decreased significantly. Dan Xun turned to look at Yin Luo. “How is he?”
Fu Yuan said, “Not good.”
Even though the critical strike had been interrupted, tiny transparent water bubbles continued to torment Yin Luo’s throat, preventing Fu Yuan’s healing technique from stopping the bleeding.
Dan Xun sent a message to Tian Ji, asking him to come and save Yin Luo first.
Since Yu Heng’s death, all matters involving Yin-Yang Dual Meridian healing techniques could only be handled by Tian Ji.
They hadn’t been able to question him yet, but the fake Chen Zhou had been rescued, and they might even lose Yin Luo. Thinking of this, everyone’s expression turned grim.
*
Ming Li frowned when she sensed the disturbance on Bei Dou’s side and Qiu Lang’s side through the reaction of the formation array’s star lines.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Jingbai asked perceptively. “Which side is in trouble?”
Ming Li: “Someone has seriously injured my senior brother with Materialization.”
Cheng Jingbai said, “Is it serious? Need help?”
Ming Li raised an eyebrow at him, and Cheng Jingbai smiled, “I specialize in Yin-Yang Dual Meridian healing techniques. I can help with this.”
He could indeed reach there faster than Academy Master Tian Ji. Ming Li didn’t immediately agree, and Cheng Jingbai added, “At least we’re still in a cooperative relationship with Bei Dou for now.”
“If you still recognize Zhou Zixi as a Bei Dou disciple, we certainly wouldn’t harm anyone from Bei Dou.”
Ming Li then told him the location and watched as Cheng Jingbai rushed off in an instant.
Zhou Xiang pointed at Cui Yuanxi lying on the ground, “How do you plan to deal with this person?”
Ming Li walked as she spoke, “Initially, I thought about turning him into a puppet, but then I realized that was impractical. Puppets are fragile and require careful preservation. So I thought of another artifact technique similar to puppetry, called Dual Image.”
Zhou Xiang and the oilpaper sheath listened in confusion, turning to look at Lin Xiao, hoping this excellent student who had been undercover in a major sect for years would have answers.
Lin Xiao said, “The Dual Image artifact technique is specifically designed for cultivators.”
As he spoke, he reached out to catch a leaf and continued, “It connects a person’s star meridians to a carrier object, also known as an artifact spirit. As long as the star meridians are not broken, any damage you inflict on the artifact spirit will be fully transmitted to the original body.”
Lin Xiao closed his hand and opened it again, revealing the crushed leaf in his palm, “As long as the star meridians remain unbroken, even if you cut off this person’s hands and feet, or slice them a thousand times, they won’t die as long as you keep them barely alive and repair the artifact spirit. But their life and death are completely in your hands.”
After finishing, he noticed Zhou Xiang’s confused eyes, paused, and sighed, “Just think of it as making him like us under the connection of the artifact spirit, able to repair damaged physical bodies, but still feeling pain.”
Zhou Xiang nodded, “I understand now.”
Lin Xiao smiled slightly. Thank heavens, you finally understand.
Ming Li could only perform the Dual Image on Cui Yuanxi while she was still in Nan Que and could use the endless star power. As she raised her hand, black rune characters appeared on her skin. She selected the ones she needed to match the positions of the star lines on the ground, and an eerie black light surrounded Cui Yuanxi.
He was gradually completely covered in black. Within this blackness, eight star lines emitting purple light flickered, appearing respectively at his head, neck, heart, shoulders, hands, and feet.
These were the eight star meridians that Cui Yuanxi had awakened.
They moved slowly in circles, gathering toward the heart under Ming Li’s guidance.
Cui Yuanxi’s hair fell out in clumps. He woke up from the excruciating pain, coughing up large amounts of blood. The fallen black hair swirled and dripped into the blood. His hands involuntarily clawed at his skin, and the torn flesh also mixed into the blood.
The three Earth Ghosts listened to Cui Yuanxi’s screams from a distance, screams that could make even Earth Ghosts’ scalps tingle.
Lin Xiao sighed, “Strictly speaking, Dual Image has been banned on the Tonggu Continent as an evil technique for several hundred years.”
Zhou Xiang pointed at herself, “…So it’s an artifact technique suitable for us to cultivate, not something she should have learned, right?”
Oilpaper sheath: “Learning knows no bounds.”
Day had broken, and Nan Que’s meditation bell rang, though few people were listening attentively. It could no longer wake certain people who had fallen into eternal sleep.
The meditation bell also couldn’t soothe the screaming Cui Yuanxi. He had clawed off nearly half the skin on his face. His fingers, beyond his control, reached into his eye sockets. While tremblingly crying “no,” he pulled out his eyeballs and pressed them into the blood.
A full hour passed.
His flesh and blood connected and reshaped to form an artifact spirit.
It was a faceless humanoid doll.
Ming Li withdrew her hand, and the black light receded. Cui Yuanxi was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground, but due to the resilience of his Spiritual Court meridian, he couldn’t pass out.
The doll artifact spirit absorbed all the blood on the ground, turning blackish-red.
Ming Li picked it up by a strand of hair, somewhat disgustedly, “Evil techniques are just disgusting things, that’s why they should be banned.”
The Earth Ghosts: “…”
That doesn’t sound right coming from you!
Ming Li turned to look at the three of them. “Which of you draws the ugliest?”
Lin Xiao and Zhou Xiang simultaneously looked at the oilpaper sheath. Zhou Xiang whispered, “Li Bushuo.”
Ming Li believed Zhou Xiang was telling the truth after seeing that the Earth Ghost named Li Bushuo was wearing a paper sheath on his head that only revealed two eyes.
“Please help me make it as ugly as possible.”
Ming Li sincerely requested his help.
Li Bushuo wanted to refuse but didn’t dare. Hesitantly, he accepted the doll artifact spirit, took out the paints he carried, pondered for a moment, and began to draw.
He felt he was putting his heart into it, with a bit of rebelliousness, trying to show that his drawing wasn’t ugly.
But Ming Li took it back and was very satisfied, praising him, “Well done.”
Li Bushuo: “…”
Thanks, if I didn’t know you wanted an ugly drawing, I would have been happier.
*
After daybreak, news of the disruption at the Nan Que wedding feast had spread throughout the entire southern region.
Zhu Que State was controlled by the Jiang Clan, and this was a good opportunity for them to rise.
Qu Zhuyue and the others were waiting for Ming Li outside the mountain gate of Nan Que. Jiang Ying’s star meridians were sealed, her hands bound, with Qu Zhuyue holding the other end of the rope.
She was furious, “This is your grudge with Nan Que, what does it have to do with me?!”
Qu Zhuyue smiled as she looked at her, “The grudge has nothing to do with you, but you need to return what you shouldn’t have taken.”
Jiang Ying caught sight of Qing Ying behind her and felt a chill in her heart, immediately raising her voice, “What shouldn’t I have taken? My star meridians are my own!”
Qu Zhuyue: “Do you dare say you never encouraged Cui Yuanxi?”
“I didn’t!” Jiang Ying had just shouted when she was intimidated by the pressure in Qu Zhuyue’s eyes.
Lying in front of a Heart Meridian expert at the peak was not a good idea.
Jiang Ying felt as if her heart was about to explode.
Qu Zhuyue still asked gently, “When Cui Yuanxi told you how to perform the Blood Nourishment technique and that it required sacrificing another person, did you try to stop him?”
No.
“Knowing that another person’s blood had to be completely drained to death to cure your reversed star meridians, did you hesitate or feel remorseful?”
No.
“Or rather… did you feel any gratitude toward the person who cured your reversed star meridians?”
No.
Jiang Ying’s face turned pale from her words. Looking at the circle of Bei Dou people, fear rose in her heart. Cold sweat trickled down her throat. She trembled and said with a shaky voice, “I’m very grateful to her…”
Qu Zhuyue smiled, “Are you grateful to Qing Ying, or to Cui Yaocen, or to Cui Yuanxi?”
Jiang Ying was seen through by Qu Zhuyue, drawing in a sharp breath. The pressure of her gaze nearly made her knees buckle and fall to the ground.
“No, that’s not it…” Jiang Ying wanted to continue defending herself, but fell silent when she saw Ming Li’s group walking out from the mountain gate. She knew her lies would be exposed once Ming Li arrived.
Jiang Ying was initially anxiously thinking about how to persuade them, until she saw Ming Li dragging a limbless person with iron chains, which scared her to her knees.
She couldn’t believe that the person without hands and feet, covered in blood, missing an eye, and unable to speak coherently while painfully wailing, was Cui Yuanxi!
Jiang Ying trembled as she looked up at Ming Li, who had walked in front of her. Wasn’t she the Pilgrim of Bei Dou? Wasn’t it said that Bei Dou’s Pilgrims were always gentle, kind, and averse to conflict?
…How could she go to such lengths!
Ming Li asked, “Where’s Yin Luo?”
Cheng Jingbai pointed at the person being carried by Fu Yuan and answered, “He won’t die.”
Ming Li: “Thank you.”
Cheng Jingbai: “You’re welcome. After all, when I arrived, Academy Master Tian Ji had already done most of the healing.”
Ming Li: “…”
So you weren’t the one who saved him.
Perhaps because they found Cheng Jingbai too shameless, Zhou Xiang and the others all walked away. Cheng Jingbai scratched his head and chased after them, saying irritably, “What do you mean by leaving me alone?”
Ming Li looked back at the four academy masters of Bei Dou and bowed her head, “I’ve worried you.”
The four nodded simultaneously, “Indeed.”
Ming Li smiled at their response. Fu Yuan asked, “What’s that ugly thing in your hand?”
“A Dual Image artifact spirit, for Qing Ying.” She carefully placed the ugly doll in Qing Ying’s hands. “I’ll take you to the Boundless Nation. If you get bored or unhappy on the way, you can torment this artifact spirit. It doesn’t matter if you tear it up; I’ll help you repair it.”
Qing Ying exerted all her strength to close her fingers, gripping tightly the doll she had been given.
Ming Li then handed Shi Fei and the Divine Wood Bow to Qu Zhuyue, “Bei Dou urgently needs these two items. With Shi Fei, Father’s recovery will be faster.”
She still didn’t like the Divine Wood Bow very much.
Qu Zhuyue asked, “You’re not returning to Bei Dou? He should be the one among us who most wants to see you.”
“Now is not the time,” Ming Li said. “If I don’t return, others won’t turn their attention to Bei Dou.”
Everyone understood this reasoning.
But they couldn’t help worrying about Ming Li being alone outside, especially now that she only had Single Meridian Full Boundary.
Fu Yuan said, “Master, you take Shi Fei back to Bei Dou first. I’ll go with her to the Boundless Nation.”
Academy Master Tian Ji was about to nod in agreement when Ming Li said, “You should look for news of Senior Brother first. I’m just taking Junior Sister to the Boundless Nation, and won’t stay long. With Xiang An’ge in the Boundless Nation, even if someone has plans against me, they wouldn’t dare act there. So I’ll be fine.”
Finding Chen Zhou’s whereabouts was also urgent.
Fu Yuan frowned at her words. They had just reunited, yet they had no time to stay together, each having to depart again to carry out their respective missions.
Qu Zhuyue finally said, “Let’s leave it at that, then. All of you, be careful.”
After sunrise, they separated, heading in different directions.
Ming Li held Qing Ying’s hand, gripping a rope and an iron chain with her other hand. Behind them, Jiang Ying’s voice had been sealed; she could only be seen opening her mouth in terror with no sound coming out.
Cui Yuanxi, without hands and feet, lay prone on the ground being dragged along, suffering yet still unable to resist craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the person walking ahead with her back to him.
*
Close to nine in the morning, Black Fox Mask carefully climbed over the wall into his courtyard. He washed away the smell from last night and bought Liniang’s favorite steamed buns on his way back.
Usually, Liniang would sleep until noon before waking up, so he was just about to quietly open the door when he heard a creak. The window was pushed open from inside, and a beauty who had already dressed and made herself up sat by the window, looking up at him and saying dejectedly, “Tell me, have we reached the stage of growing tired of each other?”
Black Fox Mask: “…”
He silently withdrew his hand that was about to open the door and walked toward the window, but was stopped by Liniang, “Don’t come over.”
Black Fox Mask obediently stood still.
Liniang said, “Even if I asked you what you did last night, you certainly wouldn’t want to tell me the truth.”
She cupped her face in her hands, speaking coquettishly, but her eyes were serious, “I’ve told you before, I hate those who have secrets but don’t tell, deliberately becoming cold and hurting the other person, making them think they’re no longer loved, leading to separation. Yet they believe their concealment and coldness are for the other’s good. Later, when the misunderstanding is cleared up, they even expect sympathy because they were cold and hurtful due to those secrets.”
Liniang spoke quickly, but Black Fox Mask caught every word.
“If I like you, even if I suddenly found out one day that I was your father’s killer, I would tell you. I wouldn’t hide it, much less deliberately become cold to hurt you, because I like you, so I wouldn’t want to hurt you at all.”
Black Fox Mask said seriously, “I’m an orphan who respects my master as a father. Theoretically, you couldn’t be my father’s killer, and I couldn’t be your father’s killer.”
Liniang widened her eyes at his words, angry, “Don’t speak! Let me finish first!”
Black Fox Mask’s eyes softened for a moment, and he nodded with a smile on his face, looking at her.
Liniang said earnestly, “If you’re like those written in books, having unspeakable difficulties, going out every night to deceive me, being with other women, waiting for me to discover it and be heartbroken enough to leave you, only to explain the misunderstanding later… even if there were a thousand misunderstandings, once cleared up, I still wouldn’t like you anymore.”
Black Fox Mask’s expression paused. He walked toward her and handed her the breakfast he’d bought. Despite her words, Liniang still needed to eat. She sniffed the bath scent on him, took a bite of the steamed bun, and with puffy cheeks said, “You bathed before coming to see me. You’re hiding something.”
Black Fox Mask said, “Because there was a smell of blood. I was afraid you’d find it disgusting.”
Liniang froze. “You killed someone?”
Black Fox Mask said, “Many people.”
Liniang: “Wh-what kind of people?”
Black Fox Mask said, “Enemies.”
Only then did Liniang breathe a sigh of relief and grabbed his hand, “You’re not hurt, are you?”
Black Fox Mask leaned against the window, shaking his head. He gently cupped her face and smiled, “I won’t hide things from you, nor will I deliberately become cold to make you sad. When this is all over, would you be willing to… come north with me?”