Zhang Tang left again.

Before leaving, the gaze he cast upon Jian Chou slowly withdrew.

Jian Chou stood at the alley entrance, watching his figure disappear down the long street, his robe sleeves hanging at his sides, fluttering in the breeze. It was quite a while before his shadow vanished.

Only after she could no longer see him did she raise her hand to touch her neck, suspecting that despite her high cultivation, she had broken out in cold sweat while being stared at by that harsh official.

What a joke.

Jian Chou had known back then why the Extreme Domain competition was so lively, and she knew that the ghost cultivators of the Extreme Domain loved gambling. But she never expected that Zhang Tingwei, who had maintained a stern face on the human island and could torment criminals to death, would also pick up this bad habit after entering the great dye vat of the Extreme Domain!

It would be one thing to just pick up gambling, but how desperate must he have been to actually stake his entire fortune on her?

Jian Chou felt utterly speechless.

She had really wanted to ask Zhang Tang just now: How much did you bet?

But under Zhang Tang’s death-threatening gaze, she ultimately made the wise choice to suppress this impulse, saying not a word and letting him walk away.

“I never thought your reputation in the Extreme Domain would be more frightening than in the Nineteen Continents.”

A meaningful voice came from behind, carrying a hint of laughter, but upon careful discernment, this laughter might have been an illusion on the listener’s part.

Jian Chou turned to look.

It was Qu Zhengfeng approaching.

Looking behind him, she saw that the dilapidated alley no longer had a single great cultivator standing about—they had all followed Fudao Shanren and Hengxu Zhenren into the Immortal Wuzhong’s dwelling. Only Fu Chaosheng remained, looking in her direction. He seemed to have originally intended to walk over to her, but seeing Qu Zhengfeng approach, he stopped and watched from afar.

“His Majesty the Sword Emperor jests.”

The name “Ghost Jian Chou” came quite naturally—after all, Jian Chou knew her name was rather special. But having the nickname “Plague God” known by others made her want to grind her back teeth. She smiled fakely, trying to downplay her emotions about this matter.

“These are just ‘reputations’ I accidentally gained back in the day, nothing worth mentioning.”

Could this even be called a “reputation”?

Qu Zhengfeng had overheard it unintentionally.

He had been standing nearby just now. Others might not have noticed that Jian Chou hadn’t followed them inside, but he easily noticed. He just hadn’t expected to happen to hear the origin of that “Plague God” title. Thinking of the sensation she caused when she appeared behind the ghost army formation in the Extreme Domain that day, he found it amusing.

But no matter how interesting this matter was, it was merely a trivial thing. He stopped at the alley entrance, and the smile on his face gradually faded. His gaze toward her became more scrutinizing as he asked: “After the battle at Ghost Gate Pass, you went into seclusion to heal your injuries, so I never had the chance to ask. Now, I’d like to inquire of Fellow Daoist Jian Chou: when fighting Taishan Wang that day, he clearly had no power to fight back, and you were just one sword strike away from taking his life. Why didn’t you kill him?”

“…”

This probably wasn’t just Qu Zhengfeng’s question. Many people likely wanted to ask her, but only Qu Zhengfeng had asked so directly.

Jian Chou looked up at him.

Having shed the white robes belonging to Xiao Mou of the Wuchang clan and cast off that sickly disguise, the current Qu Zhengfeng appeared deep and calm, with a tall, imposing figure and slightly stern sword-like brows.

His words only sounded polite on the surface.

With careful examination, one could detect the displeasure and doubt hidden within.

What had it felt like at that moment?

Jian Chou couldn’t quite remember clearly.

Yixiantian was a special sword. When the blade entered the opponent’s spiritual platform, it naturally brought out much, much more. So even though her actions appeared normal at that moment, she had fallen deeply into some strange contemplation.

Looking back at Qu Zhengfeng, her gaze neither flickered nor avoided his. She smiled faintly: “What difference does it make whether to kill or not?”

What difference did it make to kill or not kill?

Especially…

For an opponent whose fighting spirit had already been completely destroyed.

Eight Directions City, Taishan Wang Palace.

“Clatter clatter…”

Several crimson spirit pearls used for healing slipped from a rough, thick palm, rolling down the cold steps of the great hall with clear sounds. The finger gaps covered with calluses were all cracked from severe injuries, and no matter how much soul power flowed in, they could not heal.

Taishan Wang looked neither at the spirit pearls nor at his palm.

He raised his head, looking at the sky just outside the palace gates.

The Extreme Domain and the Nineteen Continents were mirror images of each other.

However, Yuanshi Star was like all stars in the universe—a sphere. The sky of the Nineteen Continents faced the endless vast universe, while the sky of the Extreme Domain, though seemingly broad, was actually extremely narrow. What lay at its end was probably the center of the earth with no way out.

His face showed a vagueness and bewilderment different from before.

Wu Guan Wang stood beside him with a somewhat pale complexion, his large cat eyes wide open, though his eye sockets were somewhat red.

He was not tall and didn’t look very old.

At this moment, he wore an expression as if he was about to cry.

Taishan Wang looked at the sky outside for a long time before turning to look at him, slowly saying: “Wu Guan, tell me, what does this war between the yin and yang realms have to do with you and me?”

The Taishan Wang of old would never have pondered such questions.

He had always said go east and they went east, go west and they went west, neither calculating the rights and wrongs of this world nor bothering to distinguish between good and evil.

For them, regardless of what form it took, as long as it still existed in this world, it was fine.

But now, after experiencing that sword from the female cultivator of Yashan, he actually asked such a question.

Wu Guan Wang was a heart ghost.

In his early years on the human island, someone had carved out his heart. After becoming a fierce ghost, he finally found a heart very similar to his original one in the ruins of the ancient yin-yang realm war battlefield, fused it with his body, and relied on it for cultivation.

This heart was a rare innocent heart.

Taishan Wang focused on body refinement and physical cultivation. Over these hundreds of years, Wu Guan had been his close friend and companion. Even after being appointed as a Yama Lord, it hadn’t affected their relationship.

Hearing Taishan Wang’s current question, his palms hanging at his sides quietly clenched. The snow-white kitten that had been lying at his feet seemed to sense some unusual dangerous aura, let out a startled “meow,” and jumped directly from his feet onto Taishan Wang’s leg.

Taishan Wang placed his large palm on the cat’s back, gently smoothing its raised fur bit by bit.

Then he said: “You frightened it.”

Wu Guan Wang stared at him for a long time, also looking at the blood mark on his forehead that could never heal after being pierced by Yixiantian, and sensing the completely depleted power within his body. Sometimes he felt angry, sometimes sad.

He glared, stepped forward to pick up the kitten.

Then he actually grabbed Taishan Wang’s palm directly, trying to pull him toward the door, his voice hoarse: “If you don’t want to fight, then let’s leave! We don’t want this Yama Lord position anymore! Let’s go find that female cultivator from Yashan! Your injuries can definitely be healed!”

Though his cultivation was higher than Taishan Wang’s, his body only had the appearance of a youth. Moreover, he hadn’t used the power belonging to ghost cultivators, so for a moment he couldn’t pull the man.

Taishan Wang sat behind, watching him, and only sighed: “It’s too late.”

Wu Guan Wang immediately froze.

He instinctively turned back to look at him, but found that Taishan Wang’s gaze had already lifted again, looking toward the sky outside.

At this moment, he finally sensed some unusual aura.

His form instantly stiffened.

Wu Guan Wang followed Taishan Wang’s gaze and turned around, seeing that in the patch of sky he had been staring at, several gloomy dark clouds had gathered together, forming a black figure that descended into the hall.

Lord Qin Guang stood with his back to the light, seeming to smile: “Where are Wu Guan Wang and Taishan Wang planning to go?”

Originally, Jian Chou had felt that the arrival of Wu Guan Wang and Du Shi Wang during the battle at Ghost Gate Pass the day before had been too sudden. If they had come to assist, they had arrived too late. Moreover, upon arrival, they had gone straight for the watchtower with clear purpose. And judging from Du Shi Wang’s final words, they hadn’t come on orders to rescue Taishan Wang.

Only Wu Guan Wang had fought desperately to save Taishan Wang.

If she hadn’t seen Zhang Tang today, this doubt might not have been resolved.

Seeing Zhang Tang appear beside the Immortal Wuzhong, and hearing what he had just said, Jian Chou connected the cause and effect and guessed that Zhang Tang must have left Eight Directions City after the real battle at Ghost Gate Pass began.

As the Great Judge of Lord Qin Guang’s palace, his disappearance would immediately arouse suspicion.

As long as Lord Qin Guang wasn’t stupid, he would immediately think of the problem with the Xiaxian Command Token managed by Zhang Tang, and temporarily dispatching Wu Guan Wang and Du Shi Wang to save the situation would be reasonable.

“Doesn’t His Majesty the Sword Emperor think that sometimes not killing is more cruel than killing?”

A certain kind of mercy was an even deeper torment.

Jian Chou vaguely guessed why Qu Zhengfeng was questioning her like this. After all, though he now ruled Mingri Xinghai, the yin-yang realm war from eleven cycles ago wouldn’t be forgotten so quickly. Yet she had spared Taishan Wang, who could be considered a great enemy—no matter how one looked at it, this was inappropriate.

Qu Zhengfeng neither agreed nor disagreed with her answer. After hearing her words, the scrutiny in his gaze became even more obvious. He only said: “I hope you understand what you’re doing.”

After speaking, he turned directly and walked back.

He was apparently too lazy to say another word to Jian Chou.

Jian Chou didn’t mind these small matters either. After all, her relationship with Qu Zhengfeng had never been harmonious—it was perfectly normal for them to find each other disagreeable at times.

Moreover…

Sometimes when a thought takes root, it cannot be extinguished by a few words from others.

Fu Chaosheng stood outside the dwelling, not yet having entered.

The voices of Fudao Shanren, Hengxu Zhenren, and the Immortal Wuzhong conversing came from within. Or rather, it could now be said with certainty that the Immortal Wuzhong was Buyu Shangren.

No one directly asked about heart demons.

For a legendary great cultivator who, according to old tales of the Nineteen Continents, had already ascended, asking about heart demons would undoubtedly be extremely rude.

Now was the time when the yin-yang realm war was restarting, and everyone had come here with purpose.

Between Fudao Shanren and Buyu Shangren, there was obviously more familiarity than with others. Although his tone of “reminiscing” with the other party could hardly be called “polite,” and Buyu Shangren barely responded, the casualness in their speech was audible to everyone.

Logically, they shouldn’t have been familiar with each other.

After all, one had been a romantic figure of Yashan in the past, the other a demon lord of Mingri Xinghai. But between them was Luye Laozu.

When Fudao Shanren was still in the Nascent Soul stage, Luye Laozu was already a peerless great cultivator who traversed Xinghai and could snatch the “Nine Curves River Map” from Kunwu’s Eight Extremes Daozun. Because her actions were so extraordinary, among all the sects in the Central Domain, only Yashan could associate with her.

And this friendship originated from Fudao Shanren.

Legend said that Fudao Shanren and Luye Laozu’s friendship was built through food. Whether true or false was unknown, but these two people of vastly different status were indeed acquainted.

Luye Laozu had neither disciples nor followers, living alone and regarding the four seas as home. When she obtained the “Nine Curves River Map” and her cultivation had reached near-perfect mastery with just one step to ascension, everyone guessed that she would either take the River Map with her or give it to Fudao.

But who could have imagined?

Sitting alone in a high tower, watching sun rise and moon set, suddenly achieving enlightenment at the moment of ascension, she actually discarded the River Map like worn-out shoes, casually throwing it to Buyu Shangren, who happened to be downstairs and was a complete stranger!

From then on, the era belonging to Buyu Shangren began amid a bloody storm. In just a few hundred years, Buyu Shangren ascended, the yin-yang realm war erupted, Fudao Shanren was severely injured, a thousand cultivators of Yashan perished, and it never recovered its former glory.

Now, these two actually met in the Extreme Domain…

One had already become a ghost, calling himself “Immortal Wuzhong”; the other’s cultivation was inferior to his past self, having become an enforcement elder of Yashan.

It was indeed ironic.

Jian Chou didn’t know what had been discussed earlier, but when she returned, the conversation seemed to be nearing its end.

She only heard Fudao Shanren ask: “So will you help or not?”

Buyu Shangren looked at no one, only lowering his head to look at the chessboard: “Help or not help, what difference does it make? You all should leave.”

This kind of rhetorical question reminded Jian Chou of her own reply to Qu Zhengfeng just now.

Help or not help, what difference does it make?

Kill or not kill, what difference does it make?

Her gaze passed over the several great cultivators standing in front, landing on Buyu Shangren, thoughtful.

This answer was obviously not far from everyone’s expectations.

For a moment, many people frowned.

But even if Buyu Shangren hadn’t ascended, or had failed to ascend for some unspeakable reason, he wasn’t someone they could casually comment on. Moreover, this person had once killed many cultivators as a great demon lord, so they really couldn’t speak carelessly.

Fudao Shanren didn’t mind much. Hearing his words that could neither be called refusal nor agreement, he simply raised the broken bamboo staff in his hand and snorted: “If you don’t want to stay, we don’t want to remain in your broken place either. Let’s go!”

After speaking, he walked straight out.

The other cultivators were simply dumbfounded by their incomprehensible communication, but didn’t dare be as casual as Fudao Shanren. They all bowed to Buyu Shangren and said “farewell” before retreating.

Jian Chou had once received help from Buyu Shangren. She stepped forward and bowed, not rushing to retreat. Instead, she said: “This junior, Jian Chou of Yashan, once received your assistance and successfully escaped the Extreme Domain to return to the Nineteen Continents. Now…”

“It was merely repaying an old favor, done in passing.”

Buyu Shangren seemed to guess what she wanted to say. His aged face showed no particular emotion as he manipulated the chess pieces on the board alone.

“You should leave too.”

“…This junior takes her leave.”

Jian Chou was slightly stunned, but in the end said no more. She bowed again and retreated. However, before leaving, she glanced back once and saw this elder sitting in the shadows of the broken room like withered wood, emanating a gloomy loneliness.

Humans and ghosts were different.

Cultivators who cultivated to great achievement could ascend to the upper realm, but even if ghost cultivators of the Extreme Domain cultivated to the realm of reaching heaven, they could only wait in this realm for their lifespan to run out and their souls to scatter.

Ghost cultivators could not ascend.

She slowly withdrew her gaze and returned to Fudao Shanren’s side.

The group left the old alley.

Xuanyue Xianzi of the Northern Domain’s Yin Sect said: “The human world truly has many changes. When my cultivation was merely at the Out-of-Body stage, I once saw Buyu Shangren fighting bloody battles, truly deserving the word ‘ruthless.’ Seeing him again today, he’s no longer what he was. His decrepit state seems as if his heart has turned to ashes, which is truly lamentable.”

“He was the public enemy of the cultivation world back then, and actually had some blood debts and grudges with all our major sects. It’s fine that he doesn’t agree to help us now. Otherwise, even if his cultivation realm remained the same and he didn’t care much about others’ affairs, not everyone in our sects would necessarily be able to put down old grudges and stop caring.”

The one responding was Zhang Yuandai from the Fengmo Sword Sect.

His expression was serious, obviously thinking of when the Nineteen Continents cultivation world was enemies with Buyu Shangren, his brows tightly furrowed.

Hengxu Zhenren listened without comment.

After the final outburst at Ghost Gate Pass, the relationship between these two leaders of Kunwu and Yashan had obviously dropped to freezing point.

Or rather, it had never been good.

It was just that their conflicts had finally been laid bare on the table.

The great cultivators weren’t divorced from worldly concerns either. At one realm and position, there were the entanglements of that realm and position. They were now speaking in fragments, heading toward the new garrison the Nineteen Continents had established in this city.

Jian Chou followed behind, listening.

She walked behind Fudao Shanren with Fu Chaosheng on her left; Xie Buchen followed behind Hengxu Zhenren, positioned to her right.

They hadn’t walked far when a group of cultivators came down the main street ahead.

There were those from Kunwu and outer sects, walking hurriedly.

Leading at the front was Wang Que, the fourth true disciple under Hengxu Zhenren. He usually carried a kind of reclusive air that didn’t mix with the vulgar. Even after changing paths, his old temperament wouldn’t immediately wash away and still remained.

However, at this moment, his face showed rare restraint and patience.

A mouth behind him chattered nonstop: “How can you be like this? I told you, I really know Jian Chou, that Jian Chou from Yashan! Although I’m a ghost cultivator, you can’t treat a prisoner so roughly, right? Moreover, this young master ‘threw himself into the net’—isn’t this being too disrespectful? Hey, I say…”

“Disciple pays respects to Master and all seniors.”

Wang Que saw the approaching group and forcibly suppressed the urge to turn around and stuff the ghost cultivator’s mouth shut, bowing to everyone in greeting.

Hengxu Zhenren frowned and asked: “What’s going on?”

Before Wang Que could answer, that voice suddenly rose high.

It actually sounded like he had discovered something delightful!

“Jian Chou! Miss Jian Chou! It’s me, it’s me! Chen Si! We know each other, we know each other!”

Jian Chou was immediately stunned. Hearing this voice and finding it somewhat familiar, she looked up toward the back of Wang Que and actually saw an “old friend”!

Who else could it be but Chen Tingyan, whom she had once reunited with in the Extreme Domain!

Wearing flashy luxurious robes, dressed expensively and exquisitely, even as a prisoner he still held his elegant fan. Seeing her now was like seeing a savior—his eyes lit up as he vigorously waved his arms at her, afraid she couldn’t see him, extremely excited.

All the great cultivators didn’t know who this ghost cultivator of meager cultivation was, and only looked toward Jian Chou at this moment.

But Xie Buchen, standing beside her, had already slightly changed expression!

Chen Tingyan had known Jian Chou since the human island during the Great Xia Dynasty, and had formed some friendship with her when she fell into the Extreme Domain. Suddenly seeing her again now, he truly felt blessed by heaven, saved from desperate straits, and was overjoyed.

He opened his mouth wanting Jian Chou to say a few words for him.

But just as he opened his mouth, from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse and immediately saw Xie Buchen standing next to Jian Chou!

An acquaintance!

Another acquaintance!

Although he was no longer wearing the noble robes of the old Xie Marquis Manor, how could he mistake the bearing and distinguished air of Third Young Master Xie of the Marquis Manor?

Chen Tingyan’s reactions were always slow when they shouldn’t be and fast when they shouldn’t be. He suddenly blurted out: “So Third Young Master Xie has also entered the cultivation world! I knew it—you and Miss Jian Chou have been through hardships together, deeply in love as husband and wife, surely destined to grow old together! Those bastards in the Extreme Domain actually said you killed—”