The Child Ghost perished, and the illusory hall collapsed.
Behind the stone gate lay a side chamber, completely empty, with no trace of demons in the corridor ahead—the nearby fiends had all been gathered by the Child Ghost beneath its bone platform to serve as its "underlings," leaving the surroundings eerily clean.
After prolonged tension, the group finally let out a sigh of relief.
Xu Junzhu retrieved the Qiankun Bag her master had given her before departure, distributing elixirs and spirit stones to everyone for replenishment and a brief respite.
The party sat against the chamber wall, consuming the medicine. As they circulated their energy, layers of dried sweat evaporated from their bodies, steam rising from their heads as if they were undergoing a divine ascension.
The dark, frigid Sealed God Hall was now filled with human warmth.
Luo Luo crouched beside Li Zhaoye, their heads bent together as they examined a spider.
The Shadow Spider had been forced to devour over a dozen of the Child Ghost’s brains, its abdomen stretched into a thin, translucent membrane. It lay on its back, legs twitching spasmodically.
Li Zhaoye, unable to resist mischief, idly flicked at its legs.
Luo Luo protested, "Stop playing with it—you’ll kill it!"
Without looking up, Li Zhaoye replied, "No way."
Luo Luo huffed, "That gorgeous purple butterfly of mine died because of you!"
He had insisted on touching the shimmering powder on its wings, gripping it so roughly that he tore one off in a single motion.
Li Zhaoye retorted, "You’re the one who held it too tight!"
Luo Luo shot back, "I was just holding it!"
Back then, she’d been only ten, catching a beautiful butterfly and eagerly showing it to him—only for this to happen…
Her indignant expression suddenly froze.
She stared at him, her eyes gradually lighting up with a crystalline glow. "You… remember the past?!"
Li Zhaoye arched a brow and nodded. "Yeah."
Luo Luo was momentarily speechless, her mind blank, her chest swelling with emotion. She grinned at him foolishly, her cheeks and eyes aching from the force of her smile.
He reached out and pressed a hand to her head.
His grin was radiant, brimming with vitality. "Alright, I get what you mean."
Luo Luo blinked. "…Huh?"
What did she mean? She didn’t even know herself.
"What do you mean, ‘huh’?" He shot her a sidelong glance, amusement dancing in his eyes as he averted his gaze. "All those filthy thoughts about you and me—they’ve been keeping me up night after night."
A thunderbolt might as well have struck Luo Luo’s head.
She gaped, utterly stunned.
This—he—she—wait, no, this wasn’t… How was she supposed to talk her way out of this?!
He sighed with exaggerated gravity. "This isn’t the place."
Luo Luo: "……"
He ruffled her hair, his voice dropping to a lazy murmur. "Don’t worry. We’ll talk once we’re out."
Luo Luo: "……"
His fingers were firm, his voice laced with a careless roughness that sent shivers down her spine.
The implication of his words left her rigid, her limbs awkward and uncoordinated.
Once they were out… what was he planning to do…?
He stole a glance at her, secretly delighted by the flush creeping over her cheeks and ears.
With a smirk he quickly suppressed, he lowered his head and resumed tormenting the spider—now that she’d been reduced to a dazed quail, she wouldn’t interfere.
The Shadow Spider writhed weakly under his ministrations.
Snap.
His hand suddenly felt lighter.
His dark eyes widened slightly. Guiltily, he looked down to find a severed spider leg pinched between his fingers.
Li Zhaoye: "……"
In a flash, he tucked the broken limb into his sleeve, pretending nothing had happened.
The Shadow Spider let out a pained screech, its mandibles parting as it regurgitated fragments of the Child Ghost’s memories.
The Child Ghost and the Shadow Spider had coexisted within the Sealed God Hall.
While the spider ensnared other demons, the ghost would subdue it and drag it back to its territory.
Whenever a greater fiend encroached, the Child Ghost would hide itself, commanding its legion of minions to assist the Shadow Spider in ambushes and hunts.
The bone platform was their trophy.
Occasionally, when driven by instinct, the two demons would writhe together atop the bones in a spectacle best left undescribed.
Then, one day, the earth trembled within the Sealed God Hall.
A corner of the seal crumbled, revealing a fragile, web-like fissure in the air.
Through the gap, the shadowy silhouette of the Jianmu Netherworld could faintly be seen.
The Shadow Spider scaled the hall’s ceiling, spinning countless threads into a precarious web to support its weight as it scuttled toward the exit.
It should have cast a line to pull the Child Ghost along.
But the scent of fresh blood and prey from the outside world seized its attention. Demons act on impulse—without hesitation, the spider abandoned the ghost, slipping through the breach and leaving behind only a single swaying thread.
The Child Ghost, left behind, roared in fury at the spot where its companion had vanished.
The Shadow Spider never returned.
Soon after, a sealing array descended with a thunderous crash, patching the fissure like an ugly but effective bandage.
The memory fragments dissipated.
"Pang Yue’s handiwork," Feng Guanhai remarked, shaking his head. "What a lousy job."
Wu Xie said flatly, "Whoever fixed it afterward did a far cleaner job."
"True," Feng Guanhai mused. "After we fell in, that sealing array was reinforced to perfection—absolutely airtight. My guess? Yue Wugou. Impressive for someone so young!"
Wu Xie gave him a frosty look.
"Uh…" Feng Guanhai’s eye twitched. "So we can’t go back the way we came."
If the exit was sealed tight, how were they supposed to leave?
The chamber walls were harder than refined steel, unyielding as a fortress—the Sealed God Hall had imprisoned ancient demons for millennia. What hope did mere humans have of breaking through?
Luo Luo pointed at the fading memories.
After a long silence, her voice emerged slightly hoarse. "This was the breach Yue Wugou left when she stole the Heavenly Yin essence."
"There’s another one—Chen Xuanyi and… Qing Xu took the Taiyi essence."
At Qing Xu’s name, the Tai Xuan Sect members exchanged somber glances. Though unsurprised, the revelation still weighed heavily.
‘Eldest Brother and Little Sister… how tragic.’
‘What kind of master does something like this?!’
‘Don’t bring it up. Not now. Criticizing Qing Xu will only hurt Little Sister more!’
Li Zhaoye smirked.
He glanced down at the Shadow Spider, his gaze sharpening with a villainous glint.
Before the spider could surrender, he clenched its bloated abdomen. A faint squelch later, its eyes bulged grotesquely.
Splurt—
Demonic blood and memory fragments gushed forth.
The Shadow Spider’s deliberately withheld memories unfolded before the group—
The theft of the Taiyi essence had occurred far from here.
By the time the spider and ghost arrived, drawn by the commotion, the breaches caused by the theft had already been sealed by cultivators from the outside world.
In the vision, an icy aura blanketed the sky, its chill seeping even into the Sealed God Hall.
Demons that had escaped earlier lay slaughtered, their blood forming a river.
A Soul-Suppressing Banner embroidered with arcane sigils blazed across the horizon. Empowered by a Divine Transformation cultivator, it descended with crushing force, sealing the weakened fissure completely.
The Tai Xuan Sect members stared at the familiar figure outside the seal, their hearts surging with emotion.
"Sect Master! It's the Sect Master!"
No one expected to witness the peerless elegance of the Sect Master within the memory fragments of a demon.
Xu Junzhu sighed. "The Soul Suppression Banner. Master left behind the sect's sacred artifact."
"Well, that's perfect," Feng Guanhai grinned. "Let's get out of here—someone from your Tai Xuan Sect must know how to wield it, right?"
The group exchanged glances before turning in unison toward Xu Junzhu. "Senior Sister?!"
Xu Junzhu: "..."
The Soul Suppression Banner! One of the two sacred artifacts of the sect! Only the Sect Master across generations could inherit its power! How could she possibly—why were they all looking at her?!
Just as she was about to shake her head, she suddenly met their hopeful gazes.
In this dark, eerie, and hopeless place, everyone saw the only glimmer of survival.
Under normal circumstances, no one would ever believe an ordinary Golden Core disciple could activate a sacred artifact—wasn’t that just a fantasy?
But now, in this desperate situation, they couldn’t help but cling to the hope of a miracle.
Xu Junzhu sighed inwardly. Unable to shatter their fragile hopes, she said, "Let’s assess the situation first. If there’s a chance, I’ll do my utmost."
Zhao Yu thumped his chest. "If there’s danger, we’ll form the 'No Robe Sword Formation'—I’ll perish together with Senior Sister!"
Xu Junlan couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. "...Idiot! It’s called 'live and die together.'"
What kind of nonsense was "perish together"?
The group burst into laughter, filling the cold, shadowy Sealed God Hall with a rare warmth.
With the maps provided by Child Ghost and the Phantom Maiden, the journey ahead became much easier.
Li Zhaoye, however, encountered a small problem.
He realized Luo Luo wasn’t speaking to him.
Though she obediently nestled in his arms, every time he glanced at her, her gaze stubbornly avoided his.
"Hey," he nudged her. "Hey!"
Luo Luo slowly turned her eyes, her gaze settling on the scar beneath his. With utmost seriousness, she replied, "What?"
Li Zhaoye: "Tch."
He tilted his head, forcing her to meet his eyes.
Luo Luo: "..."
Unable to look away, she stiffly held his gaze.
'Stay calm, stay calm,' she told herself. 'Luo Luo, even though you’ve fantasized about Li Zhaoye eight hundred times in front of him, imagined every position from those romance novels, and he heard it all—and now he’s regained his memories—it’s really no big deal!'
Li Zhaoye: "..."
He clenched his jaw, struggling to suppress the smirk threatening to break free.
His dark eyes bore into her without blinking.
Slowly, her embarrassment turned to fury.
Just as she was about to explode, he quickly soothed her. "I’ll pretend I don’t know, alright?"
Luo Luo: "..."
Furious. Puffed up like an angry blowfish.
"Hey!" he called again.
Luo Luo shut her eyes, decisively playing dead.
He nipped at her ear. "Tell me, who is this 'Sage'?"
Luo Luo: "..."
Since it was a serious matter, she couldn’t ignore him. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes.
Staring at the wall, she answered solemnly, "I don’t know."
Li Zhaoye mused, "Someone feared and schemed against by the Three Sovereigns of Antiquity… yet his name was erased from history?"
Luo Luo also found it unbelievable.
But the truth of history had long been buried in dust.
…Wait.
Something felt very wrong.
"The Three Sovereigns sacrificed themselves to erect the Twelve Sealed God Halls, imprisoning the demons?" Luo Luo looked up at Li Zhaoye in shock. "But the place where they plotted against the Sage was the Sealed God Hall!"
If Taiyi, Hongmeng, and Tianyin hadn’t yet sacrificed themselves, how could the Sealed God Hall exist?
Li Zhaoye smiled. "Exactly. The Sealed God Hall wasn’t built by them."
Lost in thought, he absentmindedly chewed on something—this time, the ends of her hair.
With a teasing grin, he asked, "Hey, where did the Phantom Maiden get those memories of the 'Sage'?"
Luo Luo froze, goosebumps rising belatedly. "...You! No—the Divine Sovereign!"
Trapped within the Eight Trigrams Golden Seal, he had stabbed the Phantom Maiden into his own mind, forcing the Divine Sovereign’s soul to retreat in a near-suicidal move.
So the vision they saw—the dark room from the past—must have been the Divine Sovereign’s own memories!
Her pupils trembled as she stared at him in awe.
"..."
Before she could speak, she noticed him chewing her hair again.
Her train of thought derailed.
Luo Luo fumed, "Li Zhaoye, are you a dog?!"
He laughed so hard he nearly toppled over.
The sudden movement sent his forehead crashing into hers, almost knocking her flying.
Luo Luo: "..."
Li Zhaoye: "Oof—don’t fall!"
He yanked her back into his arms.
Caught off guard, her face smushed against his collarbone.
The familiar warmth and scent made her dizzy.
Struggling to regain composure, she forced herself back on topic. "If you want to know about the Sage… maybe let the Phantom Maiden nibble on your brain some more?"
Li Zhaoye scoffed. "I’ll nibble you instead!"
Luo Luo blinked dumbly. "So you started with my hair?"
Li Zhaoye: "..."
This girl—dumb, but not completely.
Xu Junzhu’s heart grew heavy.
Ahead lay the breach in the Soul Suppression Banner’s seal.
She knew she couldn’t wield the artifact, yet every pair of eyes around her shimmered with desperate hope.
How could she bear to crush their spirits now, to admit she was powerless?
'Ah…'
A quiet sigh escaped her.
She lacked her master’s unwavering resolve.
If it were Master Lingxue, she would never have let false hope take root.
The moment the thought arose, a piercing chill surged through her—her mind suddenly cleared.
Xu Junzhu stiffened.
Why did she sense… her master’s presence here?
"Huh?!" Feng Guanhai’s brows shot up. "Something’s wrong ahead."
The group held their breaths, treading cautiously into the hall’s corridor.
Three massive demon corpses sprawled across the path.
Xu Junzhu recognized it instantly. "The Frost Maiden’s Sword Qi—it’s Master!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Why was Sect Master Lingxue also in the Sealed God Hall?!
Xu Junzhu scanned the area, her frown deepening.
She rushed to the wall, crouching to inspect the dried bloodstains.
"Master was injured," she said grimly.
Wu Xie nodded impassively. "Correct. This was an ambush. If she didn’t eliminate them swiftly, more demons would’ve surrounded her."
The group shuddered.
Wu Xie’s smile was icy. "Only her aura remains here. The odds are… not in her favor."
Xu Junlan lunged forward furiously. "You—!"
Xu Junzhu yanked her back. "No time for this," she said coldly.
She tightened her grip on the broken sword in her hand and strode forward, her silhouette as cold and unyielding as a frost-covered cypress.
Luo Luo tugged at Li Zhaoye’s sleeve, pulling him forward. "Hurry."
She barely stopped herself from saying "giddy-up."
Li Zhaoye darted to the front of the group.
Luo Luo glanced back and saw Xu Junzhu’s resolute gaze, her lips pressed tightly together.
'Eldest Senior Sister, she really does resemble Sect Leader Master.'
Their eyes met.
Xu Junzhu paused for a moment before offering reassurance, "Don’t worry too much, Junior Sister. Master’s cultivation is profound—she’ll surely be unharmed."
Clutching her shattered sword, she stepped ahead, taking the lead as they entered the great hall ahead.
The sight that greeted them stole their breath.
Limbless corpses and pools of dark blood littered the ground.
Most of the eternal lamps embedded in the walls were splattered with blood, casting a dim, eerie glow. The stench of blood was suffocating, making it feel as though they were drowning.
This must be what hell looks like.
Her gaze trembled as it swept across the carnage.
Xu Junlan let out a cold snort, her words forced through gritted teeth. "Who said a Nascent Soul cultivator could only kill a dozen or so demons? That’s just your Divine Palace being weak. Look at what our master has done!"
How many did she slaughter?
One head, two heads, three heads…
"Too many to count! They’re all mashed together!" Xu Junlan’s voice cracked.
The group fell silent.
The metallic reek of blood was so thick it made their eyes water—no wonder everything looked blurred.
Feng Guanhai chuckled dryly. "No need to be so grim. Isn’t that the exit up ahead? No bodies there—she might’ve already fought her way out!"
"Yes! Exactly!"
Their spirits lifted slightly.
"If we’re lucky, the Sect Leader might still be outside the seal, waiting to take us all back!"
Though no living demons remained in this hall, their hearts pounded faster than ever.
Li Zhaoye led the way through the sea of corpses.
In many places, the blood was so deep it hadn’t even dried yet.
Stepping into it felt sickeningly sticky.
Luo Luo, nestled against him, pressed her lips together. "I think… Sect Leader Master was set up."
Li Zhaoye gave a faint hum, his expression indifferent.
"She must have suspected him…" Luo Luo’s voice was hoarse, as if clogged with damp cotton. "But she probably thought he had some reason—some dilemma. After all, Chen Xuanyi was his master."
Just like her, unwilling to believe the worst of someone.
And now they were paying the price.
Li Zhaoye said, "Don’t cry."
Luo Luo snapped, "I’m not crying."
No trace of Master Lingxue’s body was found in the hall.
Relieved but uneasy, they pressed forward, their legs trembling slightly as they approached the next chamber.
Even a Golden Core cultivator could tell how brutal the battle here had been.
Whoever had slain these demons must have been at their limit.
And the scent of blood drifting from ahead did not bode well.
"Master could have encased herself in ice," Xu Junzhu said through clenched teeth. "She might be waiting for us."
Li Zhaoye suddenly raised a hand. "Quiet."
His unusually stern tone sent a chill through them—even their breaths stilled.
The sound of demons stirring carried on the bloody wind.
They crossed the corridor and stepped through a stone gate.
The space before them abruptly widened.
This was the shrine where it had all begun.
One wall had collapsed entirely, and from the high steps, they could see through the ruins all the way to the distant horizon.
A golden light shimmered at the edge of sight, sealing the breach in the barrier.
"The Soul Suppression Banner!" someone gasped. "It really is the banner!"
Beneath it, a seething mass of demons—still alive, still moving.
'Master… Master… Where are you?'
Xu Junzhu scanned the area frantically.
Feng Guanhai sighed and activated his pupil technique. "Let’s search. If she’s been eaten, even this old man can’t do anything."
Xu Junzhu wasn’t angry, only solemn. "Thank you, Elder."
Feng Guanhai waved a hand. "No need. It’s obvious—you don’t have the power to activate that banner. If we don’t find Lingxue, we’ll all starve here!"
Xu Junzhu’s long-held guilt spilled out. "...I’m sorry."
Someone nudged her.
"Don’t blame yourself, Eldest Senior Sister. This isn’t just your burden—we’re all in this together!"
"Yeah, we’ll fight as one! Someone will manage it!"
Wu Xie let out a cold laugh. "First, who’s going to lure the demons away?"
Silence fell.
The horde beneath the banner far outnumbered anything they’d faced before.
Even a fraction of them had been enough to kill a saint.
Who could possibly draw them off?
Only then would they have a chance to attempt activating the banner.
And even if they succeeded, they’d still need to reseal the barrier—or else they’d escape only to unleash hell upon the world.
The thought was enough to drain all hope, leaving them numb with dread.
"Maybe… we should just give up," Zhao Yu stammered. "Go back where there are no demons. Starving to death… counts as a peaceful end."
A suicide mission with the fate of the world at stake—better to die quietly.
"Too late," Feng Guanhai muttered.
Their desperate search for Master Lingxue had finally drawn the demons’ attention.
All creatures—demons, humans, beasts—shared the same instinct.
Being watched, being hunted—they could always sense it.
A single demon roared, and the rest followed. Countless eyes locked onto the fresh prey before them.
"We can’t kill them all," Wu Xie hissed, stepping back. "One person distracts them—the rest try to activate the banner. If we escape, good. If not, we die together."
"Who dies first?" Feng Guanhai crossed his arms. "Don’t look at me. My whole sect depends on me. If it comes to it, I’ll run—just faster than you lot."
Wu Xie: "..."
Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye exchanged a glance.
Just as they moved, Wu Xie blocked them. "Not you."
Li Zhaoye: "Why?"
Wu Xie’s expression was grave. "If you unleash your full power, you’ll awaken that thing deep inside. Nothing can stop it. If it devours you, the shrine collapses—and the world ends."
Li Zhaoye: "Tch."
The demons were nearly upon them.
Without a Dao Lord’s strength, no one could hold back this tide. Even if Wu Xie volunteered to die, it wouldn’t be enough.
Feng Guanhai clearly wasn’t sacrificing himself.
He was already floating back, ready to flee—a Dao Lord could survive by hiding in the shrine, waiting for another chance.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Junior Sister," Xu Junzhu said firmly. "Get out of here. Now."
The disciples quickly gathered around her.
"Go, go, go!" they urged, waving their hands. "Scram! Get lost!"
There was no chance of escape now. If they were going to die, they might as well buy as much time as possible for the others.
Luo Luo pressed her lips together and looked around, met only by bright, determined smiles.
She forced herself to channel spiritual energy from her dantian, desperately trying to summon more power.
But unlike the miraculous turnarounds often seen in legends, spiritual energy didn’t just appear out of nowhere—once depleted, it was gone.
The stench of demonic creatures already stung their faces, carried by the foul wind.
Time was up.
"By my command—form the array!" Xu Junzhu’s voice rang out, cold and sharp like clashing ice.
"Boom… hum…"
A sudden brilliance flooded their vision as an overwhelming wave of frost-light swept across the battlefield, and the sword array blazed with chilling radiance.
"Whoa?!" Zhao Yu exclaimed. "Am I this amazing? Turns out I’m the protagonist of this story!"
The others: "…There’s no way it’s you."
Zhao Yu huffed. "Every story needs a hero—why can’t it be me?"
Then Luo Luo saw it.
From the source of that wintry aura emerged an overwhelmingly powerful figure.
Ice was his essence, snow his soul.
Master Lingxue took a single step forward, his divine aura blazing so brilliantly it was almost blinding.
"Well, well!" Feng Guanhai, who had been fleeing, darted back. "Little Lingxue, you actually broke through!"
