Doubt surged wildly in Liu Liu's heart.
Could this grand and magnificent prince's manor truly be nothing more than an illusion born of a soul banner?
But then—how had these people entered?
They were clearly flesh and blood. The Blood Banquet Valley's trial demanded living mortals as offerings. How could they possibly be mere spirits?
Liu Liu could not piece it together, but in truth, it hardly mattered. Her goal had already been achieved. Now that she had discovered this place, all she needed to do was guide Qin Yixun here, and he could smoothly take part in the valley's entry trial.
The carriage still rolled slowly through the manor grounds, yet Liu Liu could no longer bear to remain even a moment longer. She rose abruptly, intent on leaving at once.
With her third-layer Qi Refining cultivation, so long as she didn't bother concealing her strength, the few mortals present could never hope to stop her.
Before they could even react, she had already stepped down from the carriage.
But to her surprise, the Ninth Prince disembarked as well. He stood outside, smiling as though he had anticipated her every move.
"Fairy, where might you be heading?" His smile remained warm, though a faint trace of amusement tinged his voice.
Fairy?
Liu Liu's brows drew tight. An ominous premonition surged within her. Fixing the supposed "mortal" with a cold glare, she demanded, "How do you know I am a cultivator?"
The prince only smiled silently, his peach-blossom eyes glimmering with a meaning she could not grasp.
Not good!
A cold alarm blared within her mind. At last, the pieces fell into place. No wonder this prince had acted so strangely toward her—he had known from the beginning what she truly was. His every move had been designed to lure her here, even knowing she was a cultivator!
That foreboding sense flared violently. Liu Liu did not hesitate—she struck first!
Her fingers curved like talons, spiritual power roaring to life within her meridians. With thunderous force, she slashed straight for the crown of his head!
Yet in the instant her strike fell, a crushing weight descended from all directions, pinning her body as though nailed to the earth.
Her limbs turned impossibly heavy, as if molten lead had filled her veins. Even raising her hand was no longer possible.
At that same moment, a rasping, scornful voice sounded above her.
"When the Valley Lord entrusted me with this task, he warned me to guard against infiltrators from the Xuanpin Sect."
"I didn't expect one would actually dare sneak inside, trying to muddy the waters."
Shock lanced through Liu Liu's chest. Forcing her head upward, she saw a cultivator garbed in a gray robe, hovering silently in midair.
His features were sharp and sinister, his aura far surpassing the mid-stages of Qi Refining. Cold, predatory eyes looked down on her as though she were nothing more than a trapped mouse.
"This… this is a misunderstanding!" Liu Liu cried quickly. "It was he who invited me in! I never meant to disrupt the trial!"
"Misunderstanding?" The gray-robed man let out a sharp laugh, dripping with derision. "You—a cultivator—conceal your identity and agree to become some mortal's concubine? That tale wouldn't fool even a half-wit child!"
Liu Liu's mind raced desperately, searching for another explanation, any explanation.
But the gray-robed cultivator had already lost patience.
"Enough. Whatever excuses you have, you can whisper them from inside my soul banner."
The ground beneath her feet rippled like water.
"Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!"
Countless black chains, forged of writhing resentment, burst upward like venomous serpents. In the blink of an eye, they coiled around her limbs and torso, binding her completely.
Her body jolted tight. The spiritual power within her meridians was dammed by an invisible wall, sealed and stagnant. Even the True Resolution of Severing the Three Corpses she was attempting to circulate was brutally cut off.
The scene was all too familiar. Liu Liu realized, with sinking certainty, that this "manor" truly was a soul banner.
Yet disbelief still gnawed at her.
"This… this is born of a soul banner? Impossible! Then… are all these people nothing but spirits?"
"Ignorant fool," the gray-robed cultivator sneered, his voice dripping disdain. "Did you not know? A soul cultivator in the late Qi Refining stage can blend illusion and reality, weaving truth and falsehood as one."
"This manor is indeed wrought from my soul banner. But these mortals? They are very much flesh and blood."
"Otherwise, how could I complete the task my sect entrusted to me?"
At his words, Liu Liu shouted sharply, "You admit you serve the sect—then release me at once! Even if I've broken sect rules, only the Hall of Punishment may pass judgment. If you dare act against me privately, do you not fear the sect's wrath!?"
"Hahahaha!"
The man doubled over in wild laughter, tears brimming in his eyes.
"Naïve! Utterly naïve!" he mocked. "And you dare call yourself a disciple of the Demonic Sect? Do you not understand? So long as it remains undiscovered, then it never happened."
"Once I've drawn you into my soul banner and refined you into one of its spirits, I'll simply say you were awed by its mysteries and entered willingly. Who will be able to prove otherwise?"
"Stop this pointless struggling. Three days of cultivation within my banner will grant you more progress than a hundred days of bitter training. Surely you can see that."
Liu Liu fell silent.
She knew—her chances of escape were gone.
This man's cultivation was at least late Qi Refining, perhaps higher still. And here, within his soul banner, she had no room to resist.
All that awaited her was refinement into a wandering soul. Once that happened, every secret she carried would be laid bare.
Her spiritual power was shackled tight. She could not resist. She could not even end her own life.
But…
To live might be impossible.
Yet to die—was simple.
At that very moment, far away within the Demonic Sect's cave-dwelling, Liu Meng slowly opened her eyes.
Her expression did not change. Calmly, in a voice devoid of emotion, she spoke three words:
"Liu Liu. Die."
In the prince's manor, Liu Liu's bound body jolted violently.
From the depths of her soul, a shattering force erupted.
Fwoosh!
No thunderous explosion. No dazzling light.
Her body, and her soul with it, disintegrated into the finest of ashes, erased completely from existence. Not even a trace of remnant spirit was left behind.
The gray-robed cultivator's mocking smile froze.
He stared dumbly at the empty space before him, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
"A soul imprint… triggered?" he muttered.
"Could it be… her master has already noticed?"
He knew all too well what that meant.
Even sensing the presence of a servant required Foundation Establishment cultivation at the very least.
And to perceive their condition so precisely, then sever their life from afar—such a feat required nothing less than a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Could it be that behind this seemingly insignificant Xuanpin Sect infiltrator… stood a true Foundation Establishment Adept?