Even though his words were vague and indistinct, Mu Jialing knew exactly who he was searching for.
Out of the corner of his eye, he swept a glance across the round platform. Yao Ranran's figure was long gone.
At first, Mu Jialing hadn't understood why she fled. But now, with these eyes appearing before him, everything became clear.
"Master Mingzhi, turn back before it is too late."
Though the words sounded pale and powerless, Master Mingzhi understood their true meaning far more than he did. He kept his calm gaze fixed on him, his deep eyes utterly clear, his tone quiet yet carrying the weight of eternity.
"Where did she flee to? If the Fózǐ walked as far as I have, he would know this is the only path meant for us."
"Who? Who escaped? Who is he looking for…" A panicked loose cultivator clutched at the key point of his words, frantically scanning all around.
"Yao Ranran, it was Yao Ranran who escaped!" Yu Zhenyan's eyes locked onto the bloodstained round platform, where the evil creature within Yan Shanyi grew more frenzied, pushing his broken flesh to spread across the platform's edge.
The one who should have been kneeling high upon the platform, Yao Ranran, was nowhere to be seen.
She had known something was wrong with Yao Ranran!
Yu Zhenyan's grip tightened angrily around her Fire Sun Fan as her sharp gaze swept the surrounding buildings.
"Pei Daoyou… Pei Daoyou is gone as well!"
While everyone was shocked at Yao Ranran's disappearance, someone noticed that Pei Xianqiao, who had been beside Yu Zhenyan, had also vanished!
A chill ran down Yu Zhenyan's back. She whirled around, eyes wide with disbelief.
When had Pei Xianqiao left?
…
Yan Family Fort, Elder Yang's house.
The dim twilight sky pressed down, and the wide-open doors of Elder Yang's house loomed like the dark mouth of a cold well, bottomless and chilling. The half-shut window lattices rattled as the sinister wind whistled through, producing a wailing, mournful sound.
Elder Yang hid in the pitch-dark alchemy room, his cloudy eyes fixed firmly above.
"Little girl, little girl… I didn't expect you to have such ability. Both the Fort Master and I underestimated you! But this old man knows, you'll definitely come chasing after me. Listen… what is this?"
His withered claw lifted in the darkness, a glimmer of light flashing as a chubby little pellet was revealed.
"Help me!" Tang Xiangyin wept, eyes swollen red from crying.
"Che Lingzhi… heh heh… this is a fine treasure indeed. I thought you were just a lucky girl, but it seems you are truly a cultivator with power at your side. This old man nearly fell into your scheme!"
With a furious smash, Elder Yang hurled Tang Xiangyin aside, his turbid gaze burning with murderous intent.
"Of course!"
He narrowed his eyes to slits. "Those repeated furnace explosions while refining pills—surely they were all her deliberate act! Done just to torment me!
How hateful, that I dismissed it all because of your mere first-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, nearly letting your heaven-defying trash alchemy drive me to death! This time, if you dare to chase me here for that spirit herb, I will make sure you never step out alive!
Ha… ha ha…"
A chill seeped from the courtyard. Dressed in goose-yellow robes, Pei Xianqiao paused briefly before flipping over the tall wall with agile grace, landing silently inside.
…
Yan Shanyi's residence.
Yao Ranran searched through every corner. Just as she was about to step out, she turned her head back suddenly.
"If Elder Yang could appear at the platform so easily… does that mean the dark passageways connect to every direction?"
Her hand brushed over the bulging storage pouch as her narrowed gaze swept the ink-dark sky. Above, the divine Jianmu tree shone with golden light, its compassionate eyes scanning every inch of Yan Family Fortress.
Startled, Yao Ranran drew back her foot and shut the door tight.
"The true master has emerged!"
She instinctively clutched her pouch tighter. These hard-won spoils could not be taken from her!
With Pei Xianqiao and her followers Mu Jialing and He Huatao holding the square, she had no need to interfere there.
Now was the perfect chance to find Tang Xiangyin amid the chaos.
Yao Ranran spun back into Yan Shanyi's home, tearing through cabinets and chests until the place was left in ruins.
…
Elder Yang's house.
Sweat beaded down Pei Xianqiao's forehead. Without Elder Shang's help, dealing with this sinister courtyard was proving difficult.
Pressing close against the wall, she whispered toward her shoulder, "Xiao Ling, can you sense where Elder Shang is?"
A streak of white light appeared, landing lightly upon her shoulder.
It was the Spirit of the Fixed Mirror from the Eastern Wilderness secret realm.
Xiao Ling tilted its head. "There are two auras here. One is steady and restrained, the other faint and elusive."
"Elder Shang has been kidnapped?" Xiao Ling's eyes widened.
Pei Xianqiao pressed her lips tightly, tension etched on her face. "I don't know. But Elder Shang's condition looks grim…"
Her gaze flicked down to the ring on her finger. The crack had faded, but it had not vanished.
In the hidden alchemy room—
"Heh heh… the little girl is here… This lifetime, you'll never leave…"
The shriveled claw lifted slowly, two ghostly green flames hovering in his palm. Their light fell upon the ground where Tang Xiangyin, bound tightly like a rice dumpling, thrashed desperately. Her eyes glistened with terror.
Elder Yang's wrinkled face twisted into a dry smile. The green flames danced in his pupils like a starving beast, radiating a consuming greed.
"The courtyard shifted," Xiao Ling warned, darting its gaze across the four walls. The layout seemed the same, but in the corner, a dustpan now pointed in the wrong direction.
Pei Xianqiao followed its sightline, her face paling. "There's a formation set here!"
She was no expert in breaking formations. Normally, Elder Shang would guide her, but now, with him missing and Xiao Ling unable to control the Black Pearl World, she was left to fight alone, uncertain and uneasy.
"What should I do?"
…
"The Hunyuan Extinguishing Blade Grand Formation was personally entrusted to me by my master. Its roots forged from the burning of three hundred and sixty-five infants, its trunk from the baleful stars and violent qi of the heavens, and with the addition of several evil poison pills I cast in… true and false interwoven, myriad illusions, corruption of evil—Even if you had three heads and six arms, you would never walk out of this array unharmed!"
Elder Yang's sinister laughter echoed in the darkness. The two green flames in his palm lit the red walls around him.
Several fresh human faces were nailed high on the wall. He reached for one, pressing it fondly against the greasy ear of a massive black-and-yellow cauldron, caressing it with crazed obsession.
Before long, the faint sound of tanning hides filled the alchemy room.
Tang Xiangyin held her breath, trembling violently, her lips drained of all color.
"Save me… save me…
Fairy Ranran, save me!"
…
A crimson paper talisman crumbled to dust in midair, scattering like plum blossoms. The fragments landed upon Pei Xianqiao's shoulder, making Xiao Ling's pupils tremble.
"Master… The evil qi here is far too heavy…"
Pei Xianqiao raised her head. The red fragments darkened instantly, turning into blackened ashes like burned funeral money raining down.
"Elder Shang… where have you gone?"