Earlier, Jian Chou had already told Fu Chaosheng that within this spring’s source lay a mystical Eight Trigrams formation. From her words, it seemed she had a way to unravel it. But Fu Chaosheng had no idea that her understanding of formations had already reached such profound depths.

With just a single palm strike, countless spiritual lights emerged from between her five fingers, instantly casting into the narrow spring source like stones. Pop pop pop pop! As the light points struck, countless bubbles erupted from the spring source, as if it had suddenly begun to boil.

Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, the sound of water grew thunderous. The spring source, originally the size of a fist, after beginning to boil, shot forth a sheet of snow-white brilliance, its edges becoming increasingly ethereal. It was as if an illusory circle surrounded the spring source, devouring the hard rocky ground around it.

The narrow spring source actually began to continuously expand. Soon, it had already become like one of the wells they had passed through at various Prison Bureaus. The entire transformation took merely two breaths.

In a flash of thought, Jian Chou had already waved her hand, summoning the Kunwu Battle Chariot to carry everyone together as they plunged into the well. Swaying ripples spread outward, and in the blink of an eye they had vanished without a trace, with everything returning to its original state.

Moments later, they appeared on a completely new level. Gone was the desolate plain, gone were the countless rats and herds of cattle from before, gone was that enormous sinkhole. What met their eyes was luxuriant forest and ancient trees reaching toward the sky.

They had flown out from the trunk of a tree. Looking up, dense branches and leaves obscured the sky above. The entire jungle appeared incomparably dark and gloomy. Pale green moss covered the already aged and gnarled trunks and exposed tree roots. The surroundings were extremely quiet – not even the sound of birds could be heard.

Yet another dangerous realm. But Jian Chou didn’t look around much, merely suspending the Kunwu Battle Chariot in mid-air, as if anchoring a great ship between the ancient trees.

Gu Ling was still weeping.

“…What’s happening here?” Jian Chou hadn’t witnessed the previous battle with her own eyes. She walked over and also crouched beside the old woman, extending her divine sense to examine the other’s condition. She immediately sensed that oil-depleted, lamp-extinguished weakness.

Gu Ling’s sobbing grew louder: “It’s all my fault for not cultivating properly, for not having the ability to protect Grandmother. Grandmother was beaten by those monks because she was trying to save me…”

“Monks?” Jian Chou immediately frowned, raising her eyes to look at Zhang Tang and Chen Tingyan beside him.

“It was those people from the Snowy Domain Esoteric Sect.” The speaker was naturally Chen Tingyan again. Though this old woman and Gu Ling didn’t share deep bonds with them, everyone had traveled this path together. Even without much affection, seeing someone about to die inevitably evoked the sorrow of kindred spirits.

Chen Tingyan recalled the chaotic battle scene from earlier, his tone somewhat heavy. “Didn’t we encounter those Esoteric Sect people over there before? Later, when you mysteriously disappeared at the front of the sinkhole, Jian Chou, we fell into chaotic battle outside. As time dragged on, those behind caught up with us.”

“The ones who attacked Grandmother were two Esoteric Sect cultivators among them. But they had separated from the group – they weren’t with Zong Tu.”

Snowy Domain Esoteric Sect… Jian Chou’s heart sank upon hearing this. She naturally still remembered Zong Tu – the leader of that Snowy Domain Esoteric Sect group who seemed to belong to that Holy Son Jiye. But the situation with the Snowy Domain Esoteric Sect was also quite puzzling. That group of theirs had conflicting opinions.

Separated – but why had they separated? Jian Chou examined the old woman’s injuries. She was indeed very old, and even in her soul body state, she couldn’t conceal the wrinkles covering her face or her head full of silver hair. Now the wound on her chest looked as if someone had sliced it open with a knife to extract her heart.

Moreover, waves of obscure power flowed from her chest wound toward her neck and head. The old woman’s eyes had already become somewhat cloudy, but she could still see Jian Chou. When she noticed her reaching out toward her, she managed a weary smile: “Life and death are fated. How could they tolerate a mere Buddha Mother like me challenging the Esoteric Sect’s authority? That I could reach the City of Unjust Death and persist until now is already Buddha’s mercy… cough cough…”

“Grandmother…” Gu Ling’s tears fell patter-patter, and she could no longer speak a complete sentence.

Jian Chou’s outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, slowly clenched into a fist, and withdrew. Zhang Tang and the others nearby watched. They had all long known that the old woman didn’t have much time left. Just in the time it took to speak that sentence, her entire body had visibly withered.

“I grew up in the Snowy Domain from childhood. Below the mountains were all homes, but high on the snowy plains were ice and snow that never melted year-round. It was always very cold up there, but also always very beautiful…”

The old woman’s voice had become ethereal. She gazed at Jian Chou, but her eyes seemed unfocused, looking vacantly as if seeing some other scene through her… Regret, longing.

“Cough… When we were small, we always liked to climb up, wanting to see that sacred lake at the highest point of the Snowy Domain. The lake surface was vast, spread across the snow-white ice plains, and we couldn’t tell if it was reflecting the sky or if it had dyed the sky blue.”

“I remember, it said it was called ‘Qielan’.”

The sacred lake said it was called “Qielan”? Jian Chou didn’t quite understand. But with just those few words, that feeling of lofty, desolate coldness had already struck her face-on. She seemed to have become the old woman’s listener, so Jian Chou didn’t interrupt, merely quieted her heart and continued listening.

“Everything in the Snowy Domain was beautiful and clean. But only when grown did we learn what was hidden beneath that cleanliness… Six hundred years ago, during the Yin-Yang Realm War, the Buddhist sects wronged the three thousand sects of the Central Domain. We all bear original sin.”

Cloudy eyes were already filled with tears, rolling down the wrinkled corners of her eyes. Whether from the pain of her wounds or hatred for the truth she knew…

“This old body has mortal eyes and cannot discern Miss Jian Chou’s origins. But this old body knows that one day you will surely be extraordinary. If there comes a day when Miss can reach the Snowy Domain, please pick a bundle of blue kingfisher flowers for me and place them before the sacred lake…”

Jian Chou gazed at her, thinking of Holy Son Jiye mentioned earlier when Zong Tu had passed along word, and now the old woman’s seemingly simple request… She was nominally still a cultivator of the City of Unjust Death.

Only by being reborn as human would she have a chance to go to the Snowy Domain, but at that time, once immersed in the Rebirth Pool waters, who would remember those things? Unless she could establish connections with people from the two Buddhist sects would she have opportunity to seek a way to preserve her memory and fulfill the old woman’s request.

Jian Chou’s heart was very clear. The old woman seemed to vaguely guess at her origins and background, but didn’t ask outright. Just as with her and Fu Chaosheng – a tacit understanding, but not spoken aloud.

“If there’s opportunity to go there, Jian Chou will certainly fulfill Grandmother’s wish.” She finally sighed softly and smiled.

Upon hearing this, the old woman looked as if she had finally received the answer she’d been waiting for. She slowly curved her lips into a smile, struggling to turn her eyes toward Gu Ling, who was already crying inconsolably beside her, reaching out her hand.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Grandmother knows you’re very capable…” Her voice quickly became hoarse, gradually growing faint.

Gu Ling had just reached out her hand when the old woman’s arm fell limply. The next moment, a thick black qi burst forth from the wound on her chest, actually like some invisible monster, instantly devouring the old woman’s entire form.

Not even the slightest trace of deep white bloodstains could be found on the chariot’s deck.

“Grandmother!” Gu Ling’s hands held nothing but empty air. Seeing this, she cried out with a voice torn by grief, but it was already useless. That mass of black qi, after devouring the old woman, also self-destructed, quickly vanishing without trace as if it had never appeared.

The old woman’s injuries were naturally very clear to all of them, and they all knew recovery was impossible. Only that final burst of black qi, in its strangeness, had greatly exceeded everyone’s expectations, giving them all a bone-chilling feeling.

Jian Chou looked at the despairing Gu Ling, wanting to go comfort her with a few words. But Chen Tingyan across from her quietly shook his head at her, saying in a low voice: “Let her cry for a while first.”

Having depended on the old woman for companionship throughout this journey, suddenly losing such a pillar of support – how could Gu Ling’s heart feel good? Moreover, she still thought the old woman had died because of saving her. But in truth, even without Gu Ling, judging from the old woman’s tone earlier, she had already accepted her inevitable death.

“Snowy Domain Esoteric Sect…” Jian Chou repeated these words again, feeling quite uncomfortable in her heart. The old woman’s relationship with her truly couldn’t be considered very deep. Yet now, dying horizontally before her eyes had already made her feel so oppressed, so displeased…

Then what feelings must those predecessors at Yashan, those fellow disciples who perished in the Yin-Yang Realm War, have stirred in Fudao Shanren, or even in that Qu Zhengfeng who had betrayed and left the sect – whether junior or senior brother? Why had Qu Zhengfeng betrayed and left Yashan? The subtle relationship between Fudao Shanren and Master Hengxu? The details of that battle she had witnessed in the Ghost Axe…

The purple sword light that had ambushed Qu Zhengfeng from behind – whose was it? Everything, absolutely everything, surged up in her mind at this moment.

In Jian Chou’s mind appeared all the various sights she had seen while flying through the Nineteen Continents in that mysterious cavern, and she recalled the Nine-Headed Bird’s parting words. In the end, she said nothing.

Gu Ling cried for a very long time. Chen Tingyan came forward to comfort her, but though usually glib-tongued, he didn’t know what to say and only appeared awkward, finally turning to look at Jian Chou.

Zhang Tang was a cold-faced, heartless bureaucrat – in his view, a death or two meant nothing. There had even been people at court who cursed that even if his entire family died before him, he wouldn’t bat an eye.

As for Lihan beside them, or rather Fu Chaosheng… No matter from which identity he started, there was no possibility of offering comfort. Here, only Jian Chou was suitable.

But what could she say? Jian Chou crouched down, only stroking Gu Ling’s disheveled hair. After a long time, she finally spoke, her voice somewhat strained: “There’s still a long road ahead. You can’t just keep crying forever like this.”

Growing up, or rather maturing, was generally speaking a very painful thing. More growth perhaps meant more hurt. But this was an individual matter – others couldn’t interfere too much. Some faced the departure of loved ones, some faced their own powerlessness, and others faced betrayal by friends and lovers turning against them…

Jian Chou thought back a moment, closing her eyes briefly, but said nothing more. She stood up and returned to the compass platform. Little Marten whooshed onto her shoulder, pulling the Dijiang Guyu from its mouth to hold in its arms. One large and one small pair of eyes blinked at what lay ahead, making incomprehensible chittering sounds.

“This level should be the Eighth Level Blood-Sucking Hell. From the looks of it, flying creatures should appear. We still need to travel, so please everyone rest and regulate your breathing where you are. I’ll first pilot the chariot and scout ahead.”

She spoke aloud. Everyone had no objections. Especially Chen Tingyan, whose sharp eyes had discovered Jian Chou’s current cultivation level – he was absolutely flabbergasted, completely unable to believe his own eyes.

Jade Nirvana! After disappearing once, she had actually achieved Jade Nirvana! This was absolutely fatal! This cultivation speed was simply too frightening.

Could it be… that something fortuitous had happened during her disappearance? Chen Tingyan’s heart suddenly grew curious, but with the stone-faced Zhang Tang on his left and the moody, kill-happy Lihan on his right, he really didn’t dare ask more.

Calculating back and forth, he felt that having one Zhang Tang was already eyesore enough. Now this Lihan standing on the chariot somehow made him feel very uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t pinpoint. Perhaps it was because throughout this journey, this Lihan had never actually traveled with them?

In any case, this was a dangerous element. Chen Tingyan mentally categorized “Lihan” as such, then moved back to Gu Ling’s side, offering sporadic words of guidance and comfort.

The road ahead was still very long. The Kunwu Battle Chariot traced a deep white light as it traveled through this dense, vast jungle, extremely agile. But the excessive silence gave everyone a very uneasy feeling.

But at this moment, Jian Chou’s heart was very calm. Whether it was because Little Marten had shown its might on the seventh level, frightening the demon beasts and monsters of this Animal Path level, they encountered no attacks along the way. It seemed all dangers lurked in the shadows but dared not emerge.

“Ao ao wu wu!” This marten is still the most formidable, right? Little Marten proudly leaned against Jian Chou’s shoulder throughout the journey, completely contrary to its species’ habits by holding its tail high with extreme pride.

Fu Chaosheng’s gaze swept across Little Marten but quickly returned to rest on Jian Chou: “The Snowy Domain Esoteric Sect contains many different factions. Is Fellow Daoist Jian Chou contemplating this matter?”

Contemplating… What she was contemplating was naturally not just the old woman’s death, but also the causes and consequences of these events, and the information revealed in the old woman’s words.

Yashan, Kunwu, the two Buddhist sects, the two Yin-Yang sects… What roles did they each play? Jian Chou truly wasn’t very clear. She only glanced back at Fu Chaosheng and said lightly: “Just contemplating the distinction between good and evil, the differentiation between righteousness and wickedness…”

For that instant, Fu Chaosheng almost thought she was talking about him. But he quickly realized she was probably referring to those events from six hundred years ago.

Because of his Universal Twin Eyes, he had occasionally glimpsed and understood this matter crystal clearly. Who had truly schemed against whom, who had wronged whom, even who on the Extreme Domain side was the real culprit… He knew it all like the back of his hand.

But… Fu Chaosheng’s gaze met hers directly without avoidance, carrying a hint of scattered, subtle evil qi, completely frank and without the slightest concealment.

“What does Fellow Daoist Jian Chou consider to be righteous, and what evil?”

“…” Jian Chou suddenly fell silent, turning back to look at him and naturally meeting his gaze. But at that moment, several traces of bewilderment actually flashed through her eyes.

In a flash of memory, it was again Yashan’s lonely peak and cold moon, beside the Returning Crane Well. She had received that lightning message from Fu Chaosheng asking after an old friend’s wellbeing, when Qu Zhengfeng had also been beside her. He had asked an almost identical question to Fu Chaosheng’s current words:

“Demonic evil? What does Junior Sister consider to be demonic evil?”

She still remembered being unable to answer, so Qu Zhengfeng had laughed heartily and left, never looking back again…