“There is no method to break it.” The evil cultivator shrank his neck, prostrating on the ground not daring to raise his head. “This soul-sacrificing array is called Ten Thousand Bones Withered. It was set up by the most formidable array master in the evil cultivation world. Using mountains, rivers, and streams as the array, and using people’s lives as the trigger, one can obtain countless malevolent energy and resentful energy.”

Standing behind Kong Hou, Huan Zong, who had remained silent all along, lightly frowned when he heard “Ten Thousand Bones Withered.” He walked to Kong Hou’s side and tugged her wrist.

“Huan Zong, what’s wrong?” Kong Hou turned her head to look at Huan Zong.

“Don’t step on him.” Huan Zong said. “Dirty.”

Evil cultivator: “…”

He was being stepped on like a mat on the ground, and hadn’t even had time to find the ground dirty, yet instead was being found dirty by others. These famous orthodox sects spoke and acted so shamelessly—even their methods of humiliating people were this innovative.

Kong Hou moved her foot off the evil cultivator’s back and rubbed the sole of her shoe on the ground, saying with sudden realization: “What you say makes sense.”

“Killing only requires a head touching the ground. You claim to be from famous orthodox sects, yet you torture prisoners like this.” The evil cultivator noticed Kong Hou’s movements and muttered quietly, “Isn’t this the kind of thing only us evil cultivators do?”

“Young Master, as a cultivator from a famous orthodox sect, I’ve decided to fulfill his final life wish and let his head touch the ground.” Lin Hu drew his sword from its sheath and walked before the evil cultivator.

The evil cultivator repeatedly begged for mercy: “Zhenren, spare my life! We evil cultivators don’t keep our word—you absolutely mustn’t take it seriously.”

“Your meaning is that the array called Ten Thousand Bones Withered is fake?” The sword tip pointed directly at the evil cultivator’s brow. The evil cultivator trembled in fright. The threads of cold intent from the sword seemed to have already seeped into his brain.

“No, no, no. We evil cultivators are sometimes very honest too.” The evil cultivator immediately spoke. “I’m an oddity among evil cultivators. I most love doing good deeds for good people.”

Lin Hu was too lazy to waste words with him. He put away his sword and said: “This array truly has no method to break it?”

“This kind of array formation was created to manufacture resentment and fury. Why would it need any method to break it?” The evil cultivator’s voice didn’t dare speak too loudly. He was afraid the sword cultivator’s sword would carelessly fall on him.

Lin Hu turned to look at Huan Zong, several parts worry in his eyes. Once the Ten Thousand Bones Withered array was completed, he feared more than half the mortal realm would be implicated. At that time, when the overwhelming resentment and fury were brought by evil cultivators to Lingyou Realm, and Lingyou Realm was submerged by negative emotions, what kind of situation would that be?

He didn’t dare think about it, nor could he accept Lingyou Realm, which had been peaceful for so long, becoming chaotic and disordered.

Hearing these words, the empress first showed shock, then became angry. She tore off the heavy phoenix crown from her head and threw it to the ground. Taking two steps forward, she grabbed the evil cultivator’s collar and roared furiously: “You immortals are high and mighty—what do you take us mortals as? Cattle and sheep that can be slaughtered at will? Those are people! People with blood and flesh, with family, with parents, with children!”

She roared until her voice broke, without any of the dignity an empress should have: “Muddled emperors torment them, and high and mighty immortals treat us like pigs and sheep. What exactly have we mortals done wrong?”

Seeing that an ordinary human woman also dared to roar and shout at him, the evil cultivator sneered disdainfully: “The life and death of mortals—what does it have to do with us?” They were just a group of ordinary people with short lives and no ability. When encountering problems, they only knew to pray to gods and worship Buddha, seeking the heavens’ help. Being treated by them as fish and meat was also deserved.

“We mortals are insignificant and powerless, but we won’t always be this way.” The empress pushed away the evil cultivator, her face solemn. “What if you’re an immortal? Before life and death, what’s different from us mortals?”

“The fear and anger we mortals have, you will have no less of when facing death.” The empress slapped the evil cultivator across the face. The evil cultivator wanted to retaliate, but Kong Hou’s Shuishuang Sword left its sheath, pointing at his throat.

The evil cultivator held back and retracted his opened five fingers.

“See, you’re nothing more than trash who fears others.” The empress backhanded another slap across the evil cultivator’s face. “One day…”

One day, they mortals could rely on their own strength to make life better and better, no longer living like dogs, barely surviving before these high and mighty immortals.

But… would there really be such a day?

The empress looked back in confusion. Even she herself only dared to vent at this evil immortal because Ji Kong Hou was present. If Ji Kong Hou weren’t here, would she dare? She examined her heart and the answer she obtained was self-evident—she wouldn’t dare.

She didn’t dare oppose these high and mighty immortals, afraid that with one moment of displeasure, they would make more common people suffer. So in the end she would only choose to compromise, using any method to exchange for the common people of the realm being able to live.

“Empress, please go back and rest first.” Kong Hou saw the empress’s emotions were wrong and spoke. “My friends and I will go to the severely affected epidemic areas. We won’t participate in the banquet.”

Coming here was only to find the lurking evil cultivator, not truly to eat a banquet.

Though the empress didn’t understand what array or Ten Thousand Bones Withered, she also guessed from the evil immortal’s words that the matter wasn’t simple, and might even have no solution. With Ji Kong Hou going like this, she didn’t know whether there would be danger. She truly couldn’t watch with peace of mind as the other party fell into difficulty.

“You…” The empress opened her mouth bitterly. After a long while, she stepped back one pace and performed a deep curtsy. “Your great kindness cannot be repaid. Thank you.”

“You need not thank me.” Kong Hou lifted her hand in the void, not letting the empress continue her courtesy. Her face, which usually carried a smile, was unprecedentedly serious. “I once thought, if back then I could have stopped Father Emperor’s behavior, perhaps many common people would have been spared suffering.”

The empress fell silent. How old had Ji Kong Hou been back then? Five years old or six? When she was captured back by the patrol guards, her face bore ash that servants had deliberately smeared on, looking particularly disheveled. Only those eyes were large and bright, not yet knowing that what might greet her could very well be death.

Facing such a pair of eyes, her heart had softened. She had told His Majesty that keeping an imperial daughter as a puppet would be more useful than killing her. Though she and His Majesty were no longer in love, he still treated her with respect, so he accepted her suggestion.

From then on, she had palace attendants monitor Kong Hou everywhere, not letting her contact people from the former dynasty. Letting that little girl live was her greatest mercy to the remnants of the former dynasty.

At this moment, she was incomparably grateful for that moment of soft-heartedness back then. Otherwise, encountering today’s matter, the common people of the realm truly would have no recourse whether calling to heaven or earth, their lives and deaths all grasped in the hands of these immortals who didn’t distinguish good from evil.

“Your Majesty, I take my leave.” Kong Hou turned to look at Huan Zong and grabbed the corner of his robe. “Let’s go.”

“All right.” Huan Zong smiled at Kong Hou, brilliant as the stars.

Kong Hou’s heart trembled slightly. Looking at the smiling Huan Zong, the bits of worry and loss permeating her heart unexpectedly gradually disappeared.

“Please wait a moment.” The Eldest Princess, who had cried until her eyes were red and swollen, stood up. “These years, I’ve wronged you.”

No matter how talented and virtuous her husband had been, no matter what she had done for the common people of the realm these years, it couldn’t hide that she had vented her resentment on a child who knew nothing.

“Our positions were different. Discussing right and wrong again is already pointless.” Kong Hou looked at the Eldest Princess, her expression neither sad nor happy. “Water cannot flow backward, and people cannot start over from the beginning. The me from back then experienced all of this. The me now no longer needs an apology. From now on, the sky is high and the earth is wide, each secure in our own place. Right or wrong—what meaning is there in bringing it up?”

Huan Zong gently grasped Kong Hou’s hand. He looked coldly at the imperial nobles, civil officials, and military generals with twisted expressions in the great hall and spoke: “When she was weak, you bullied her. When she became strong, you finally discovered that the past was wrong.”

“Heh.” Huan Zong rarely smiled, and had never smiled so mockingly. His eyes were cold as ice in the twelfth month. “Ridiculous.”

“I…” The Eldest Princess stood in place in a daze, watching Kong Hou and the other two immortal lords fly away through the air. After a long while, she couldn’t speak.

She turned her head to look toward the imperial throne. Her elder brother had already awakened. She didn’t know if he had heard Ji Kong Hou’s words, but his gaze stared blankly at the empress, his face seemingly sad and seemingly regretful.

“Zitong…”

“Your Majesty.” The empress turned to look at him, her eyes calm and rippleless. “Kong Hou Xianzi and her immortal friends have already rushed to the epidemic outbreak areas. I will go to the quiet chamber to pray for her and for the common people of the realm.”

Having spoken, without waiting for Emperor Jing Hong to react, she had already straightened her back and walked toward outside the hall.

Emperor Jing Hong sighed dejectedly. Turning his head to see the Crown Prince had also awakened, he said to the Crown Prince: “Crown Prince, follow me to the Ancestral Temple to pray.”

“Yes.” The Crown Prince stood up, his gaze looking distantly toward outside the hall entrance, where brilliant sunlight shone.

“Senior Lin, why did you also bring this evil cultivator along?” Kong Hou glanced at the evil cultivator being carried in Lin Hu’s hand and released the hand she held together with Huan Zong. “What use is keeping him?”

“When breaking the array, bring him along. If we can’t break it, let him go fill the array’s eye. If we break it, spare him his life.” Lin Hu’s tone was calm, not at all like someone speaking threatening words.

The evil cultivator wanted to cry but had no tears. The orthodox cultivators he had encountered before mostly acted with concern for their famous orthodox sects’ dignity. Where had he ever encountered someone like this? This array formation fundamentally had no method to prevent or destroy it. He was destined to die in an array made by his own people.

“This idea is good.” Kong Hou nodded and said to Huan Zong, “Huan Zong, let’s go faster.”

The mortal realm was much smaller than Lingyou Realm. From the capital to the southeastern cities infected with the epidemic required less than half an hour.

The closer they got to the southeast direction, the thicker the malevolent energy, miasma, and melancholic resentful energy became. Ordinary people couldn’t see it, but Kong Hou, as a cultivator, could see that the entire southeastern sky was filled with black resentful energy. This resentful energy churned in the cloud layers, mixed with rainwater falling to the ground.

Rain carrying malevolent energy and melancholic energy drenched flowers, grass, and trees. The rainwater flowed along streams into rivers. This water flowed downstream, and the malevolent energy began spreading to the next city.

Kong Hou gasped. Downstream from this river was a very prosperous city. This city had over two hundred thousand people. If they were infected by the epidemic…

She took out a bottle of spirit medicine personally refined by Uncle-Master Qingyuan and poured it into the river. The black energy in the river instantly dissipated.

“It’s useless.” The evil cultivator was bound by magical artifacts until his whole body couldn’t move. He looked at the temporarily restored clear river and said: “As long as the rainwater doesn’t stop, this river will still be polluted again.”

His words had just fallen when he saw the white-robed sword cultivator take out from his sleeve a seal emanating golden light and toss it out. The seal fell into the river, and the malevolent energy all around scattered and avoided it. Even more malevolent energy was devoured by the golden light.

“What is this?” Kong Hou discovered that after the golden seal fell into the water, the malevolent energy within a radius of dozens of miles all disappeared without a trace. The golden light seemed to have a tendency to spread in all directions, coming on fiercely, forcing the malevolent energy with nowhere to hide.

“Mountain Sea Seal.” Huan Zong patiently explained to Kong Hou. “It stabilizes the solidity of mountains, protects the calmness of sea water, and has the effect of warding off evil and suppressing the seas.”

“Mountain Sea Seal…” Kong Hou vaguely remembered hearing about this thing somewhere. Watching the malevolent energy within nearly a hundred miles be devoured completely clean by the Mountain Sea Seal, she exclaimed softly, “I remember now! The Mountain Sea Seal is one of the heaven-grade divine artifacts held by Zhong Xi Zhenren. Holding this golden seal, no evil can invade. How could one of Zhong Xi Zhenren’s personal divine artifacts be with you?”

Hearing the four words “Zhong Xi Zhenren,” the evil cultivator’s shoulders couldn’t help but tremble, and his spine turned cold.

Because the malevolent energy rapidly dissipated, Kong Hou finally had the mood to joke. “No wonder…”

“No wonder what?” Huan Zong looked at Kong Hou, worry in his eyes, anticipation, and even several parts unease.

“No wonder when I mentioned those rumors about Zhong Xi Zhenren to you, you were always not very interested in talking. So it turns out he’s close friends with you.” Kong Hou sighed with emotion. “If it weren’t so, how could he lend you such an important divine artifact?”

With Huan Zong’s personality, he indeed didn’t love talking privately about good friends.

Lin Hu: “…”

This little girl was probably a fool.

**Author’s Note:** Ugly-faced, nine chi tall Zhong Xi—an insurmountable wall—beautiful-faced, fair-skinned, and gentle Huan Zong.