The lamplight in the hall flickered precariously from the gust stirred up by their clash, while the azure staff, like newborn ice and snow, carried piercing cold and vitality as it collided with the oncoming sword edge.

“Bang!”

Zi Luo used a sword. Her sword techniques were different from Meng Ying’s—not as fierce as Meng Ying’s, but light and gentle. Now this sword intent carried a sinister quality, not as bright as before, and though her face bore a smile, it was completely different from her former gentleness, now bewitchingly beautiful.

The moment they clashed, Zanxing was shocked in her heart. The Yuanli—or rather, magic power—on her opponent was simply not on the same level as hers. If this were a Taiyan Sect disciple, they would be at least late-stage Spirit Division. How could she be a match for such a person?

The flower stream that surged from her staff swept toward Zi Luo’s long sword in an instant, but the next moment, the flower stream was easily split apart, and that black sword qi stabbed straight down at Zanxing’s head.

Zanxing flew back to avoid it, turning her staff horizontally to block in front of her body. The sword tip struck empty air and fell entirely to the ground. The sword qi was like a fierce beast, viciously carving a deep mark in the ground. The two wooden boxes were also split in half by the stirred-up sword qi, and their contents spilled out with a “crash.”

“This is…” Zanxing’s gaze froze: “Life plaques!”

These two boxes were filled with broken life plaques!

One life plaque represented one disciple. These two boxes of broken life plaques represented the lives of hundreds or even thousands of sect disciples!

“You!” She glared furiously at Zi Luo.

Zi Luo smiled dismissively: “Why do you look so upset? Don’t be impatient—you’re next.” With that, she raised her sword and lunged at Zanxing.

Since arriving in Duzhou, whether facing the merfolk in Li’er Kingdom, accepting Qinghua Xianzi’s trials in the secret realm, or fighting the mirage woman in Wufan City, though her cultivation was inferior, she could at least barely hold on with some luck. But the Zi Luo before her was even more formidable than previous opponents. She had no technique, simply raising her sword to hack at her, yet that powerful sword qi forced her to be unable to use even half a move with the Wuyou Stick.

What was happening? Zanxing felt terrified—why did she have no power to fight back at all? The Yuanli in her body seemed to be suppressed by something invisible.

The black sword tip was already close to her eyes, the blade cutting through her skin. In the next moment, it would pierce her neck.

“Boom—”

A brilliant light suddenly burst from Zanxing’s chest, forcefully deflecting the sword tip that had pressed close to her eyes, brutally dispersing the black mist that surrounded her.

Zanxing was slammed against the wall by this tremendous impact. Before she could tend to her injuries, she discovered the Xiaoyuan Pearl had changed.

In that translucent pearl, there had always burned a cluster of red, dancing flames. Whenever she fell into danger, the Xiaoyuan Pearl could always save her life at crucial moments. Today was the same, but the flames burning in this pearl were gradually turning pitch black.

Black flames.

Zi Luo’s gaze suddenly became profound, her tone suddenly growing excited: “The Xiaoyuan Pearl… it is on you!”

Why did she know the Xiaoyuan Pearl was on her?

“Here they come,” Zi Luo suddenly said. In the next moment, she suddenly charged at Zanxing with her sword.

Zanxing had already experienced how deep this person’s Yuanli was and didn’t dare to underestimate her. Using all her strength to meet her attack: “Fire Tree Silver Flower—”

Heavy black clouds enveloped them from all sides, while the azure staff was like the only light in the night. At the moment staff and sword intersected, Zi Luo suddenly withdrew all her Yuanli. In an instant, the azure staff met no resistance and charged straight at her opponent with fierce killing intent.

“Puchi—”

The Wuyou Stick pierced through Zi Luo’s heart, running through her entire body.

Zanxing’s mind shook. That always gentle and amiable senior sister’s face showed a sinister smile. Zi Luo gripped the long staff that had pierced her heart with force. From her body, black mist continuously poured out. This black mist was the same as what had appeared when Yinli died—as if alive, it surged into Zanxing’s body along the Wuyou Stick.

Something’s wrong! Zanxing realized something was wrong and tried to pull out the Wuyou Stick, but the dying Zi Luo seemed to have infinite strength—the Wuyou Stick couldn’t be extracted from her body.

Those black mists quickly streamed into Zanxing’s body strand by strand, sweeping toward the Xiaoyuan Pearl at her chest. The originally finger-sized flame seemed to have received nourishment and suddenly began to grow. The black flame burned fiercely, and a strange power slowly surged from within Zanxing’s body. She felt something was about to break through the earth, and she was about to lose control.

“What did you do?” Zanxing was both shocked and angry, looking at Zi Luo.

“Sister,” Zi Luo showed her a meaningful smile: “You’ve slept so long—it’s time to wake up.”

“Crash—” There was a sound like something shattering. The previously motionless silence was instantly broken. Chaotic footsteps came from far to near, accompanied by disciples’ exclamations—

“What’s happening? Why is there demon qi on the mountain?”

“Mo Sha must have infiltrated the sect! Oh no, there’s a bloody smell!”

“Could something have happened?”

“My god—”

Screams rang out as they entered the great hall. In the sea of blood and corpses, Zanxing pulled the azure staff back from Zi Luo’s body. Blood dripped from the staff, while Zi Luo on the ground had already lost all signs of life.

In the silence, a Taiyan Sect disciple spoke tremblingly: “Senior Sister Zanxing, what are you doing?”

Most of the lamplight in the hall had been extinguished. They could only see blood everywhere and broken life plaques. In the dim darkness, blood from the azure staff dripped to the ground drop by drop. Half of the woman’s face was hidden in darkness, and her hand gripping the staff was trembling slightly.

“Senior Sister?” the young disciple asked tentatively, wanting to approach Zanxing.

“Don’t move!” A female disciple from Xiangling Sect beside him suddenly pulled him back: “Look—”

From Zanxing’s body, wisps of black mist gradually seeped out. Her expression was struggling, as if she was desperately suppressing something. However, pitch-black traces slowly appeared on her forehead, intertwining and overlapping until they formed a complete begonia flower.

“The Demon Lord’s Mark…”

“It’s the Demon Lord’s Mark, the Demon Lord’s Mark,” a disciple spoke in panic: “She’s from the demon clan!”

She’s from the demon clan!

Zanxing suddenly turned her head to look at everyone.

Sharp pain spread from her chest—this pain was more intense than any previous time, as if a seed that had been sleeping in her body had finally sprouted, rampaging and tearing through her internal organs, being reborn from flesh and blood.

That pitch-black begonia flower was different from those on the dead disciples’ foreheads. Its petals were as dark as ink, but at the flower’s center was a touch of blood red.

It was alive, vivid, pulsing, thirsting for every drop of a living person’s hot blood.

As if finally recovering from shock, a Yinfeng Sect disciple shouted: “She’s from the demon clan! She killed the Chihua Gate people! Go quickly! Go inform the sect master about this!”

“Mo Sha has come!”