Did the rest need to be said aloud?

Any man she set her sights on – not one could escape her grasp!

Though Lian Zhao showed not a trace of arrogance, the meaning in her words was more wildly conceited and detestable than usual by tenfold!

These female cultivators in the Wuchang clan obviously didn’t have a good relationship with Lian Zhao. Searching through Lian Zhao’s memories, Jian Chou learned that the original Lian Zhao had never regarded these clanmates as worth her attention. Her gaze had always been on male cultivators, whether from her own clan or others – where would she find time to bother with them?

So now, acknowledging them with two sentences was already her limit.

Seeing her two sentences choke them speechless, Jian Chou considered briefly, then laughed dismissively as if no one else existed, turning to leave.

This was exactly the old Lian Zhao’s manner of not considering them worth her attention!

Sometimes, ignoring was true contempt. Like how a fierce beast wouldn’t bother with an ant crawling by its feet.

Indifference actually angered people more than acknowledgment.

Xue Yin was already the most understanding of Lian Zhao’s true nature among the group, and also quite capable of staying calm. But at this moment, she was so provoked by this attitude that her eyes twitched. She couldn’t help turning around and sneering: “Does Sister Lian Zhao mean she’s completely confident about Lord Lihan? Have you forgotten the embarrassment of being thrown aside to heal injuries back then?”

Jian Chou naturally hadn’t forgotten, since when she first saw this scene from Lian Zhao’s memories, she couldn’t help but secretly gasp.

Fu Chaosheng, disguised as Lihan, had been rather merciless then.

Lian Zhao had been infatuated with him, using all sorts of methods to seduce him.

Who would have thought he was like a block of wood, completely oblivious to any subtlety, brushing her away like flicking off a speck of dust. This made Lian Zhao, who had been invincible with men, taste failure for the first time, taking a devastating fall.

The two words “Lihan” had since been sealed deep in her heart, making her both afraid and resentful, yet harboring an irrepressible desire to conquer…

In Lian Zhao’s perception, Lihan was cold and inhuman.

But in Jian Chou’s perception, it was simply that Fu Chaosheng was a supreme evil demon of heaven and earth who didn’t understand human emotions. He could know what others were doing but couldn’t empathize, so he had neither emotional fluctuations nor physical reactions. Treating Lian Zhao as if she didn’t exist was only natural.

Even more…

Lian Zhao’s existence to Fu Chaosheng was merely a speck of dust that couldn’t stir the slightest ripple. Afterward, he probably didn’t even have half an impression left.

From this perspective, the Lian Zhao of back then was truly pitiful.

So if it were the real Lian Zhao here, Xue Yin’s questioning would have hit her sore spot, making this female cultivator famous for beauty among the ten great ghost clans gnash her teeth in hatred.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t Lian Zhao.

Jian Chou stopped her steps, turned to look at Xue Yin calmly, and only smiled faintly: “I should thank the sisters for their good ideas just now. ‘Playing hard to get’ – has Sister Xue Yin heard of it?”

Playing hard to get?

What did that mean?

Xue Yin and the other female ghost cultivators of the Wuchang clan were all momentarily bewildered. But “Lian Zhao” obviously had no intention of acknowledging them further or explaining. She only left behind the phrase “watch carefully” and disappeared around the corridor corner with a confident air.

These past few days, various parts of the extreme realm were obviously unsettled.

During the day, Jian Chou avoided those male cultivators who came to court Lian Zhao’s favor. At night, she went out to investigate the situation. Though she had indeed learned something about the front-line battle conditions, it was far from detailed enough for her. Today, having conveniently “recovered” and come out, she passed through most of the Wuchang clan’s courtyards to pay respects to several elders.

First, to tell them she had recovered; second, to probe about the front-line battle situation.

Currently, the Nineteen Continents were attacking Mao City. Compared to the Ghost Gate, this was penetrating deeper into the center of the extreme realm. The ghost cultivators’ power was naturally stronger, and support more adequate.

But obviously, the strength of the Nineteen Continents was not to be underestimated either.

The reason the Ghost Gate battle had lasted so long was because the first battle required extreme caution with no room for error, and both sides were in a mutual strength-testing phase, neither using their full power.

But when attacking Mao City, the situation was completely different.

Not only did they have the great assistance of the Sword Emperor of Mingri Xinghai, but even Kunwu’s so-called “Dao Child” Xie Buchen had displayed extremely terrifying strength. Using the formations discovered in the old residence of Wangsi City, he comprehended and modified them, then turned around to use them against the extreme realm.

After three days, Mao City had suffered heavy losses!

Fengdu City was very close to Bafang City, located in the second layer of the entire extreme realm’s seventy-two cities, with the third layer still between it and Mao City – quite a distance. Even so, front-line battle reports kept coming. The fierce offensive of the Nineteen Continents and the emerging talents among them truly caused worry. When answering Jian Chou, the well-informed elders of the Wuchang clan all looked grim.

Moreover, they seemed to have something unsaid.

She had always been quite perceptive. Currently, she didn’t reveal anything, only bid farewell to the elders, left the Wuchang clan, and took a stroll through the streets.

This way, she understood what the elders hadn’t said –

Worthy of being Xie Buchen.

This was exactly the kind of strategy Xie Buchen would employ!

During this full-scale war, most high-cultivation ghost cultivators had no leisure to wander outside, so the streets and alleys were basically filled with low-level ghost cultivators.

When trouble came, they couldn’t move or escape.

So though the front-line battle was pressing, they in the rear were actually more leisurely than usual, with a sense of “if there’s wine today, get drunk today.” They gathered in the taverns of the marketplace, discussing among themselves.

It was from their discussions that Jian Chou heard such news: “Legend says the cultivators of the Nineteen Continents have declared that this battle is only to reclaim the reincarnation rights that originally belonged to the Nineteen Continents. They had no desire to disturb the extreme realm at all. It’s only because Lord Qin Guang and the Eight Directions Yama Hall harbor ulterior motives that the war between the yin and yang realms has restarted. For all ghost cultivators of the extreme realm: those who surrender, we won’t kill; those who avoid battle, we won’t kill; those who don’t help Lord Qin Guang, we won’t kill. Those we wish to kill are only Qin Guang; what we wish to restore is only reincarnation!”

The “Three Non-Kills” decree immediately shook the entire extreme realm.

Even if the Yama Kings of the Eight Directions Yama Hall were unwilling, they couldn’t prevent the Nineteen Continents from deliberately arranging formations to spread such messages throughout Mao City.

For a time, hearts in Mao City were unsettled.

Even ghost cultivators – who would willingly go to their death?

Or rather, precisely because they were ghost cultivators, they feared death even more.

When dead ghosts die again, they would be completely annihilated, thoroughly merging into the universe’s chaos, ceasing to exist!

The Eight Directions Yama Hall had always been lofty and aloof. As the Nineteen Continents said, why insist on forcibly seizing the reincarnation rights of the Nineteen Continents?

Whether cultivators entered or not, the extreme realm remained the same.

For lower-level ghost cultivators, it made no difference; for upper-level ghost cultivators, no matter how powerfully they cultivated or how many resources they seized, they still couldn’t ascend from this realm.

So –

Why bother?

Once they had thoughts of “why bother,” the wavering of military morale and dispersion of fighting spirit naturally became a matter of course. Even if these fluctuations and chaos hadn’t yet shown their proper force due to the situation not being clear enough, just like the wariness Xie Buchen had planted in her heart, the seeds of “why bother” had already been buried in the hearts of the extreme realm’s ghost cultivators…

They only waited for a suitable opportunity to explode!

To blast open a huge gap, tear apart solid defenses, and behind the extreme realm already facing a severe situation, deliver a fatal stab!

Jian Chou couldn’t say whether, upon hearing these “Three Non-Kills” that had already spread through the streets and alleys of Fengdu City, her heart held more wariness and worry, or more relief and reassurance.

Military formations and psychological calculations.

This vast war between the Nineteen Continents and the extreme realm would undoubtedly make the three words “Xie Buchen” shine brilliantly, forever carved in this realm’s history.

Lost in thought, after gathering information, she returned to the Wuchang clan.

Naturally, many male cultivators came to court her favor again. Jian Chou coldly rejected them all, and occasionally, when only a few people noticed, she would show traces of confused melancholy.

In others’ eyes, this was undoubtedly a complete change in temperament.

Combined with recent rumors about her involvement with Xiao Mou, everyone felt her abnormal behavior was indeed because Xiao Mou had died.

Soon, it spread as the street gossip favorite of “only knowing to cherish after losing.”

Heaven knows how much Xue Yin wanted to sneer when she heard this rumor!

But thinking more calmly, something was really wrong. Especially that day when they saw Lian Zhao acting no different than usual, even hearing her arrogant boasting!

Lian Zhao had shown no change at all after recovering from her injuries.

Changing her nature – how was that possible?!

Something was fishy, definitely fishy!

Xue Yin almost immediately thought of those four words “playing hard to get” from that day, feeling that Lian Zhao’s recent affected performances were all related to this. But no matter how she tried to imagine, she couldn’t guess what connection there was between the two.

Until news of another recruitment spread throughout the ten great ghost clans.

This recruitment would not be conducted in the Eighteen Layers of Hell, but among the elites of the ten great ghost clans in Fengdu City!

The scale wasn’t large, but the requirements were extremely strict!

Those below the Jade Nirvana realm didn’t even have the qualification to register and participate in the selection!

As for what exactly they were being recruited to do, it was completely classified.

And the one with full authority over this recruitment was the Grand Judge under Lord Qin Guang, from the powerful Ghost King clan – Lihan!

“This is a personal command from Lord Qin Guang, with Lord Lihan personally responsible for recruitment. In our Wuchang clan, all those with cultivation at Jade Nirvana realm and above may register to participate in the selection. Tomorrow at the hour of the Rat, ghost cultivators registered from the ten great ghost clans must go to Gouzhong Tower, where Lord Lihan and several other judges will conduct the selection. Only those who pass will be chosen!”

The one announcing this news was an ordinary gray-robed elder of the Wuchang clan.

His face was lined with wrinkles upon wrinkles, holding a stack of name cards. As he spoke to everyone, he had people distribute the name cards to each Wuchang clan ghost cultivator who met the selection criteria.

“Those willing to participate in the selection, register your names immediately.”

Jian Chou received the name card, thin as a sheet of white paper. Her exquisitely shaped brows raised slightly, but she didn’t rush to immediately write the two characters “Lian Zhao” on the card. Instead, she turned to look at Xue Yin, who was standing not far beside her.

Xue Yin was looking at her.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, as if trying to figure out what trick she was playing, puzzled by her unusual composure, as if she truly was no longer affected by Lihan at all.

But back then, she had loved him desperately – that couldn’t be fake…

The moment Jian Chou turned to look, their gazes collided. Xue Yin instantly felt the embarrassed annoyance of being caught peeking, while forcibly suppressing that ghostly unease.

Impossible, impossible…

Even if Lian Zhao was invincible with any other male cultivator in the extreme realm, she couldn’t possibly crack such a hard nut as Lihan.

He simply didn’t regard her as worth his attention.

He couldn’t even see her – what “playing hard to get”!

Wouldn’t that be like flirting with a blind man?

Thinking this, Xue Yin sneered contemptuously and stopped looking at Jian Chou, directly writing her own name on the white paper-like name card.

Jian Chou felt embarrassed for her in advance.

But she said nothing, only lowered her eyes to leave the flawless characters “Lian Zhao” on the name card, pondering what this recruitment was really for, and whether Fu Chaosheng had obtained the information they needed…