The towering stone doors of the grand hall sealed off all sounds.
No one knew how long the Holy Maiden Zhen Tu had endured.
The group walked in uneasy silence. When Wu Xie passed by, they instinctively held their breaths and subtly shuffled backward.
Li Zhaoye raised an eyebrow.
Feng Guanhai leaned closer and muttered to him, "Kid, she tricked another witch to her death, and you’re not even surprised?"
"Should I be?" Li Zhaoye looked baffled. "She can’t trick me—unless she’s targeting you?"
Feng Guanhai scowled. "What I mean is, she got someone else killed while staying alive herself."
Luo Luo peeked out from Li Zhaoye’s arms.
With utmost seriousness, she declared, "Better others die than me. Perfectly normal."
Feng Guanhai shot Li Zhaoye an accusatory glare.
Such an innocent child, corrupted by this scoundrel!
Li Zhaoye, ever shameless, only grinned wider when glared at.
Luo Luo quietly buried her face back into his chest.
She didn’t actually think Wu Xie’s actions were normal, but she didn’t want Li Zhaoye to feel she was different from him.
…A strange kind of stubbornness.
As they spoke, the group descended the circular steps beneath the stone doors and slipped into an even grander hall. Below the steps, demons stood in dense, orderly ranks, like an assembled army.
The group continued hugging the walls, moving with extreme caution.
After advancing a short distance, something felt off.
Zhao Yu, grinning, tugged at his senior brothers and sisters and whispered, "Great luck! Not a single demon’s facing us!"
The others: "…Hiss!"
A silent, collective gasp—every hair on their bodies stood on end.
Zhao Yu’s remark made them realize: every demon in the hall was uniformly facing one direction—as if paying homage to something.
"Something big might be here," Feng Guanhai muttered, his expression darkening. His eyes shimmered with starlight as he scanned ahead.
Wu Xie halted.
Her appearance began shifting—her hunched back straightened, wrinkles vanished, and her snow-white hair darkened.
Her fingers lengthened, becoming slender and jade-like.
In the blink of an eye, the "ruthless witch" transformed into a youthful, innocent maiden.
Feng Guanhai dismissed his vision technique, lips pressed tight, his expression grim.
"What’s happening?" Wu Xie asked.
Feng Guanhai didn’t recognize her at first and casually reassured the "young girl," "Don’t worry. Whatever’s here, you won’t need to fight. Just stay behind me. I’ll protect you."
The group collectively facepalmed: "…"
Wu Xie smiled. "Then it’s a promise."
After "comforting" the girl, Feng Guanhai turned to Li Zhaoye and grumbled, "Hey, where’d the old witch go? Ran off? Typical!"
Li Zhaoye lazily lowered his eyelids, unwilling to explain to an idiot.
Feng Guanhai gestured at the bowing demons. "They’re worshipping empty space."
Relief flickered briefly before dread settled in—an enemy unseen was far more terrifying.
Every one of them sharpened their focus, bracing for danger.
Holding their breaths, they inched forward, wary of every shadow.
Luo Luo felt Li Zhaoye tighten his hold. She clung to him without hesitation, freeing his hands.
In moments of crisis, his heartbeat remained steady—the mark of a seasoned hunter.
They pressed on, tension thick as a drawn bowstring.
Gradually, the towering rear wall of the hall came into view, embedded with countless eternal lamps casting overlapping amber light.
When they saw what the demons worshipped, their pupils contracted, bodies stiffening as if trapped in quicksand.
It was a throne—built from the piled bones of countless demons.
A grotesque monument of rot and decay.
The seat stood empty, surrounded only by swirling, viscous shadows.
They edged past the bone throne, hearts pounding in their throats.
Nothing happened.
Beyond it stood another pair of colossal stone doors.
They rushed through, sealing the doors behind them, leaving the grotesque throne and its stench behind.
Zhao Yu exhaled, finally releasing the breath he’d held for half a minute. "Was it… not home?"
Feng Guanhai mused, "Maybe it left with the Nether Maiden last time?"
His eyes suddenly lit up as he turned to Li Zhaoye. "Hey, kid, that spider you’ve got—"
Li Zhaoye cut him off, nodding ahead. "Check what’s up front first."
Feng Guanhai: "…"
Since when did you get to order me around?
Luo Luo chimed in, "Focus on the mission."
Feng Guanhai: "…"
Grumbling, he activated his vision technique again.
"Gah—!" He recoiled. "Same. Exactly the same."
Another hall of demonic worship, another bone throne at the far end—equally empty.
"Keep moving?"
Feng Guanhai led the way deeper in.
They crossed the hall, bypassed the throne, and entered the next set of doors. Still, nothing happened.
Luo Luo observed carefully, needing distraction to avoid blushing in Li Zhaoye’s arms.
At the next doors, Feng Guanhai peered ahead with his enhanced sight. "Same again."
"And beyond that?"
"Identical. Like beads on a string."
Endless halls, endless bowing demons, endless vacant thrones.
"Should we backtrack?" Feng Guanhai suggested.
Zhen Tu’s self-destruction had cleared a safe path earlier, and the narrow corridors were easier to defend than these vast halls.
Li Zhaoye shrugged. "Fine."
They retraced their steps, reopening doors and recrossing halls.
Luo Luo tugged lightly at Li Zhaoye’s collar. "One of the demons… it moved."
He tilted his head, lips nearly brushing her ear. "Which one?"
Luo Luo pointed. "That one."
His chest rumbled with a silent chuckle.
As they reached the next doors, Feng Guanhai yelped, "Hey—slow down!"
Li Zhaoye had casually kicked the doors open with his heel.
"We’re back where we started!" Feng Guanhai hissed. "If the demons haven’t scattered, we’ll walk right into them!"
The doors swung open.
Rotting wind blasted their faces.
No corridor. No Zhen Tu.
Only a bone throne looming before them, surrounded by rows of bowing demons.
The group froze in horror.
Their path had vanished. Beyond the doors—the same cursed hall.
"A… a ghost loop?!"
A chilling gust swirled overhead, as if unseen specters cackled in the dark.
"To deal with a ghost wall, you gotta catch the ghost." Li Zhaoye turned to Feng Guanhai. "Hey, use those eyes of yours and look again."
Feng Guanhai scowled. "I cultivated these pupils for stargazing! How the hell am I supposed to find a ghost?!"
Luo Luo couldn't resist correcting him. "That's exactly the problem—you can't find ghosts."
Feng Guanhai: "..."
These two lovebirds, always ganging up on him—utterly insufferable!
Zhao Yu's stomach let out a loud growl, and he gasped in horror. "Is this ghost trying to starve us to death?!"
Luo Luo silently surveyed their surroundings.
The eerie wind, the bone-littered platform, the countless dormant demons, and the unseen "ghost" lurking somewhere.
Given the setting, the atmosphere…
She couldn’t help but state the obvious. "If we starve to death here, it’d practically be a mercy."
Everyone: "..."
Since when did their junior sister become this infuriating?
Jokes aside, Luo Luo tugged lightly on the back of Li Zhaoye’s collar and whispered, "It moved again."
"Sure?"
"Mhm."
He tilted his head slightly, his lips brushing unintentionally against her forehead. "No rush. Wait a little longer."
The body in his arms stiffened completely.
After a long pause, Luo Luo replied calmly, "Got it."
Being trapped in a ghost wall was enough to fray anyone’s nerves.
Soon, one of the senior brothers yanked at his own hair and stood up. "Why are we just sitting here? Maybe moving around will get us out! Staying put like idiots—how stupid can you be?!"
Xu Junzhu frowned. "Junior Brother Zhang, you—"
Luo Luo tugged her sleeve and shook her head quickly.
Xu Junzhu’s gaze sharpened in understanding.
Zhao Yu’s temple twitched in irritation. "Who the hell are you calling stupid?! Staying put isn’t suicide—charging around and waking the demons, now that’s asking for death!"
In such a dire situation, with tensions running high, emotions were bound to flare.
Bai Yi pressed his fingers to his forehead, forcing himself to mediate despite his own frustration. "Brothers, please, let’s stay calm—"
Zhao Yu sneered, swaying his head mockingly. "A fool thinks everyone’s a fool—except himself, of course."
Senior Brother Zhang flew into a rage. "Fine! Stay here and rot, then! I’m out!"
"Hey, wait—"
Xu Junzhu subtly signaled for the others to stay silent.
"Let him go!" she said coldly. "If something happens, don’t blame anyone but himself!"
Senior Brother Zhang stormed off, muttering furiously, "When I find the way out, don’t you dare follow me!"
His attitude was enough to make anyone’s blood boil.
Someone blurted out, "In stories, the first to die is always the guy like him!"
The words resonated with the group, and several nodded—then froze.
He was their comrade, someone they’d fought alongside!
After Senior Brother Zhang left, Xu Junlan couldn’t resist targeting Luo Luo. "What, are you crippled? Can’t walk a few steps yourself? Do you not see how bad things are? Wasting our strongest fighter just to carry you!"
Luo Luo realized she wasn’t immune to the agitation either.
She blinked, cutting off Li Zhaoye before he could speak. "Then you carry me instead."
"..."
Xu Junlan nearly choked. Her face flushed red as she stomped away. "In your dreams!"
Defeated before she even started.
Meanwhile, Senior Brother Zhang had wandered dangerously close to the demons.
One of them stirred without warning.
"Whirr—"
Its claws lifted, swaying gently in the air—before plunging straight for his back!
By the time he sensed the movement, it was too late.
He turned, stunned.
A heartbeat from being skewered.
So stupid. Serves him right.
The thought slithered into everyone’s minds, soft yet unsettlingly persuasive.
"Whoosh!"
The demon’s strike met empty air.
Senior Brother Zhang vanished without a trace.
The demon paused, retracting its claws slowly, freezing back into statue-like stillness.
The group at the stone gate gaped.
"Senior Brother Zhang?!" Zhao Yu jolted as if waking from a trance. "Why was I even fighting with him?! Where’d he go?!"
Li Zhaoye tilted his head, adjusting the sealing threads as his eyes locked with Luo Luo’s.
Her gaze was firm, unwavering.
"Confirmed!"
A smirk curled Li Zhaoye’s lips as his dark eyes narrowed, zeroing in on the spot she’d indicated earlier.
There—a demon, its eyes darting rapidly, scanning the area where Senior Brother Zhang had disappeared.
"Let’s go."
Li Zhaoye moved.
The sealing threads snapped taut, yanking Senior Brother Zhang—who’d been dangling upside-down from the ceiling—back like a hooked fish. He’d been tethered by the ankle the moment he stormed off, saved from disaster.
"That demon plays with minds," Xu Junzhu said, clarity returning to her voice. "It stokes emotions, turns us against each other—then picks us off one by one."
Luo Luo’s earlier warning had tipped her off, and she’d played along.
"Correct," Wu Xie remarked coolly. "A child ghost isn’t strong, but it excels at control and deception—luring prey to kill each other."
"Whoa!" Feng Guanhai gaped. "How’d you—wait, you… you’re—?!"
The realization struck him like lightning.
She’s the old witch!
Wu Xie said mildly, "If the child ghost is cornered, it’ll rouse the other demons. A frail woman like me will have to rely on you, Daoist, for protection."
Feng Guanhai: "…Damn it."
Shameless old hag!
Meanwhile, Li Zhaoye’s figure flickered like a phantom, closing in on the demon in an instant.
Sealing threads lashed out, weaving a net in midair.
"Shhht!"
The threads pinned the demon’s limbs, and a fine strand stitched its mouth shut in one fluid motion.
A sharp tug—
The massive creature wrenched upward, its thrashing limbs barely disturbing the dormant horde below.
Feng Guanhai flicked his wrist.
A magical artifact unfurled, casting a river of stars between the battle and the other demons.
"Slice!"
Li Zhaoye’s movements were merciless.
Before the demon could react, he split it apart with the threads—limbs, head, torso, all severed in midair.
"Crash—"
Blood gushed like a waterfall, swallowed harmlessly by the starry barrier.
Feng Guanhai: "…Goddammit!"
Headless and limbless, the demon wasn’t dead yet.
A grotesque squelching sound, and something birthed from its remains—
A stubby-limbed creature, its shoulders crammed with a dozen grinning, childlike heads.
Li Zhaoye: "Tch."
Ugly little thing.
The threads lunged again, but the child ghost dodged nimbly, scaling the ceiling like a monstrous insect.
Luo Luo: "Oh…"
Watching it scuttle, she couldn’t help but imagine the Divine Lord doing the same.
Li Zhaoye glanced down at her.
She tightened her arms around him and nodded—Go on, I’ve got you.
At the stone gate, Xu Junlan's anger still burned: "They're fighting! Why hasn't she rolled off him yet?"
Zhao Yu sighed and shot her a look. "Are you stupid? That Feng Guanhai and Wu Xie are both scoundrels. What if they capture Luo Luo and use her to threaten Senior Brother Zhang?"
Xu Junlan glared. "If they need hostages, why not take us?"
Zhao Yu replied with infuriating calm, "If they kill us, Senior Brother Zhang can avenge us. But if they kill Luo Luo, do you expect him to follow her in death?"
Feng Guanhai & Wu Xie: "..."
What a brilliant observation.
On the palace roof, the battle between Li Zhaoye and the Child Ghost unfolded in eerie silence, a blur of motion and shadow.
The ghost darted in afterimages, its sealing threads appearing unpredictably, clinging like a second skin.
Controlling the demons below required focus—but Li Zhaoye gave it no chance to divide its attention.
Each attempt to break free was thwarted, forcing it back into the center of the Star River artifact.
"Tch!"
A sealing thread pierced one of its many heads.
It shrieked, a sound like a wailing infant.
The Star River reversed its flow, trapping the sonic waves within the rooftop.
The scene was deceptively beautiful—a tapestry of shimmering starlight crisscrossed by ruthless, lethal threads.
Cornered, the Child Ghost suddenly twisted all its heads at once.
Its overlapping forms blurred, a nauseating spectacle of writhing shadows.
A dozen gaping mouths split open to the ears, unleashing a crushing wave of sound.
Luo Luo's ears rang.
The world swayed like rippling water as the ghostly woman hidden in the sleeves of Wu Xie seized the moment, spewing a thick, ink-black poison.
After long confinement, she had finally found her chance to rebel.
Luo Luo's mind wavered.
The starlight and rooftop spun away, leaving her adrift in a strange dream.
She lay cradled in a man's unyielding embrace.
She didn’t know who she was—only that her chest heaved with violent, conflicting emotions: exhilaration, tension, feverish anticipation.
Her eyes burned; her heart was molten.
She looked up at the man’s profile—sharp, elegant.
His lips thinned as he glanced down at her.
Then Luo Luo heard her own thoughts roar like thunder: This is it! Kill him! Kill him, and I ascend to immortality!
Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a dark ceiling.
Instinctively, she scanned the room.
A pitch-black chamber, small, enclosed by seamless bronze walls. No doors. No windows.
Two other figures stood nearby—men with the bearing of immortal cultivators.
They were speaking to the man holding her.
The one on the left urged, "She died for you! How can you remain unmoved?"
The other sneered, "Go ahead, ascend. But with this karma clinging to you, your immortality won’t last."
Luo Luo felt the body she inhabited grow cold.
No heartbeat. No pulse.
Yet she wasn’t weak. Hidden in her palm was a poisoned needle.
Strike now. While he’s distracted.
The two men called to her desperately: "Taiyi! Taiyi!"
Luo Luo faltered.
Me? Taiyi?
A whisper-thin voice drilled into her ear: ‘What are you waiting for? Do it! He’s about to ascend!’
She stiffened.
She didn’t know this "Taiyi," but one thing was clear—the man holding her had heard the message.
He knows. He knows all three of us are plotting against him.
Her lips parted, but no words came.
The second conspirator scoffed, "Aren’t you the saint? Save the world, but you won’t lift a finger for the woman who died for you? You’ll just watch her perish while you float off to paradise?"
The man exhaled softly.
His gaze lowered, brimming with sorrow as he raised a hand. Pure spiritual energy pooled in his palm.
"Taiyi. Hong Meng. Tian Yin." His voice was cool, quiet. "Why torment yourselves?"
Despite knowing their malice, he couldn’t let her die.
Luo Luo: ?!
Wait—those are the names of the Three Ancient Sovereigns! And this man about to ascend—who is he?!
She strained to meet his eyes—and saw it.
A flicker of darkness in his gaze.
He’s like me. Neither of us belongs here.
They were trapped, puppets forced to reenact an ancient betrayal.
This… this is a secret lost to time. The Three Sovereigns conspiring against a saint on the verge of ascension!
No time to unravel it. Her borrowed heart hammered; she had to escape.
Dizziness swamped her mind. She couldn’t recall her real name or purpose.
The needle trembled in her grip, poised to pierce his skin.
Move. Do something—now!
Her vision lurched.
Then, like lightning splitting her skull, a title flashed through her thoughts.
Three men and a woman. A locked, lightless room. This scene… it reminds me of a book.
With the last of her strength, she forced out a hoarse cry:
"Morality Undone: Three Men and a Woman in a Dark Room’s Endless Torment!"
The man’s dark eyes widened.
Then—he laughed. Bright, startled. "Ah… the library."
Her words had jolted loose a buried memory. Recognition sharpened his expression.
Softly, he uttered: "Break."
Something shattered.
Li Zhaoye and Luo Luo snapped back to reality.
The Child Ghost, seizing their distraction, scrambled free of the sealing threads. Its heads reared back, tongues uncoiling to unleash a deafening shriek—one that would rouse every demon in the hall.
At the last possible instant, Li Zhaoye yanked the threads taut.
"Screee—!"
The ghost convulsed, all its necks suddenly garroted. Eyes bulged, dripping bloody veins; black saliva sprayed as its tongues lashed uselessly.
Li Zhaoye barked, "Sword."
Luo Luo reacted without hesitation—Changtian Jian slapped into his grip.
Arm still around her, he reversed the blade and struck.
A single flash.
A dozen heads tumbled through the air, faces frozen in grotesque fury.
The Star River ran red with demonic blood.
Wu Xie’s voice drifted over, mockingly apologetic: "Ah, I forgot to mention—the Ghostly Woman and the Child Ghost are mates. Pity you didn’t fall for the illusion. How fortunate."
Li Zhaoye bared his teeth in a grin.
His threads lashed out, snatching the severed heads midair.
Back at the gate, he dragged the Ghostly Woman forward and forced it to devour each one of its lover’s brains.
Luo Luo: "..."
This man is more monstrous than the demons.
