Jiang Zhiyu looked up at the movement of the Soul-Guiding Banner. Calculating the time, the soul should have already entered the room.
However, there was still no movement in Ouyang Rui's room.
At this moment, his master was holding his breath and concentrating on guarding the array, unable to be disturbed in the slightest. Otherwise, if the array was broken, the soul would scatter.
Seeing that the time of an incense stick was about to pass, he felt increasingly uneasy.
Just as he was about to speak, two loud sneezes suddenly came from the room.
It was Wu Li.
Inside the room, the young man rubbed his nose. The sudden consecutive sneezes made his head buzz.
He didn't have a cold, nor was there any dust.
He frowned and looked suspiciously at the incense burner. Could it be that this smoke was too pungent?
While he was in a daze, Jiang Zhiyu's lowered voice came from outside: Wu Li! Has Young Master Ouyang's soul returned to its place?
Wu Li turned his head to glance at the incense.
Only a small stump remained.
He furrowed his brows slightly, a hint of impatience in his tone: Almost. What are you rushing for?
At the same time.
In the East Courtyard of the Ouyang Mansion, inside the study dedicated to hosting guests.
The atmosphere was at daggers drawn.
Someone rashly pushed the door open. Ouyang Huai was just about to angrily reprimand them, but unexpectedly saw his son, who had been unconscious for a long time, standing perfectly fine at the door.
Ignoring the fact that barbarians were still sitting in the room, he immediately rushed forward and hugged Ouyang Rui tightly, his face full of emotion.
Rui'er...
Who knew that Ouyang Rui's eyes would be bloodshot, looking as if an out-of-control flame was about to spew forth. His expression was ferocious and terrifying: Ouyang Huai, you traitor! How could you be so shameless? Not only did you privately sell Crimson Fire Sand to these beasts, but you also discussed with them how to transport it back to the grasslands!
It's bad enough that you casually disregard human lives just to mine the Crimson Fire Sand, but you actually want to drag the entire Liangya Prefecture into this!
As soon as these words came out, Ouyang Huai stood frozen on the spot.
Meanwhile, the barbarians in the room could no longer sit still.
Their private transaction having been discovered by an outsider, the leader's eyes darkened, ready to silence him.
Lord Tegin, please calm down, calm down. My son is just speaking nonsense.
Ouyang Huai hastily spread his arms to block Ouyang Rui, a flattering smile piling up on his face.
He didn't know if the Ouyang Rui in front of him had been possessed or taken over by a ghost.
But he only knew one thing.
His daughter had long been gone, and now he only had this one son left. No one could hurt him in the slightest.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his back.
Ouyang Huai stiffened entirely. He looked down in disbelief.
A cold dagger had pierced right through his shoulder blade.
It was Ouyang Rui behind him who had struck.
However, this stab did not hit a vital organ directly, as if he hadn't vented enough anger and wanted him to die slowly.
Before Ouyang Huai could turn his head, the blade was pulled out, and then a second stab pierced into him.
Behind him, an excited smile slowly surfaced on Ouyang Rui's face. This old thing was incredibly cunning and wore various magical artifacts, so evil energy couldn't get close to him at all. But by borrowing his son's body, he could make him drop all his defenses. Killing him was as easy as flipping a hand.
In an instant, several barbarians cursed and drew their weapons, swarming up to attack.
Seeing this, Ouyang Rui smiled twistedly, his eyes burning with bone-chilling hatred: Go to hell, all of you! You beasts should have paid with your lives for our fallen soldiers long ago!
Suddenly, a surge of evil energy violently drilled out of his body.
Ouyang Rui immediately went limp like a marionette with cut strings and collapsed.
That evil energy used its last ounce of strength to smash fiercely into the ground.
Boom—
The ground shook violently, and a massive fissure tore open from beneath their feet, continuously ripping and expanding.
The structure below was actually like the depths of a mineral vein, except that at the bottom of the abyss, it wasn't Crimson Fire Sand, but boiling magma!
Ah—!
A barbarian fell unexpectedly. The moment he tumbled into the magma, he was swallowed and melted, unable to even finish a single scream.
The rest hung onto the rock walls on both sides, struggling in terror, looking as if they couldn't hold on for much longer.
Boiling waves of heat surged up from the underground, shooting straight into the sky.
Ouyang Huai had suffered several stab wounds, and blood continuously seeped out. Yet he still tightly hugged his son's limp body, clinging to a protrusion on the rock wall that barely offered a foothold. No matter how much his wounds hurt, he refused to let go.
The white cat guarding the array suddenly opened its eyes, its breath slightly disrupted.
The commotion from the East Courtyard was as loud as the earth splitting and mountains collapsing.
A faint orange-red light reflected over.
The Soul-Guiding Banner in Jiang Zhiyu's hand also vibrated along with it.
The white cat suddenly looked at the seven Soul-Urging Lamps, which were all glowing a dark purple-blue, the color of a dead person's soul.
Not good!
This meant a soul had already entered Ouyang Rui's body, but it wasn't his own.
Disciple, quickly come and take my place in guarding the array. The white cat immediately stood up, speaking very fast. I have to go clean up this mess!
Master, be careful. Hearing this, Jiang Zhiyu moved swiftly, taking over the white cat's position to stabilize the array, preventing Ouyang Rui's original soul from scattering.
The white cat then leaped onto the roof and sprinted toward the East Courtyard.
The fissure in the ground of the East Courtyard was terrifying, as if torn apart by something from deep underground. Magma churned in the abyss, opening and closing like countless giant man-eating mouths. Heavy wailing sounds echoed from below, overlapping and making one's scalp tingle.
The few barbarians had long been unable to hold on. One by one, they rolled down into the abyss, fell into the magma, and instantly vanished into nothingness.
Only Ouyang Huai was still desperately holding on.
In order to keep his son from falling, his fingers were jammed tightly into the rock crevices, exerting so much force that they were nearly bleeding.
Blood flowed down through his fingers, dripping into the boiling heat waves and evaporating instantly.
But he was finally reaching his limit.
His son's body slipped down little by little, while Ouyang Huai desperately gripped his arm.
As the fabric was pulled, half a jade pendant tucked inside the chest of Ouyang Rui's clothes suddenly slipped out and fell straight into the magma.
Ouyang Huai was stunned.
In a daze, he seemed to see his daughter's tender little face superimposed on his son's face.
Daddy.
In a daze, the little girl's crisp and lovely voice still echoed in his ears.
He abruptly snapped back to his senses, ignoring the wounds on his body, gritted his teeth, and gripped even tighter.
His Erbao was gone, and despite searching all over the Central Plains, there was no trace of her.
He couldn't... he couldn't lose Dabao too.
Just as he was about to lose all his strength.
Suddenly, an invisible force wrapped around the two of them.
The white cat controlled a spell, preparing to hoist them up from the rock wall.
But the magma seemed to have a life of its own and didn't buy it. A giant hand formed from magma suddenly reached out from the abyss, violently grabbing at them.
The white cat gave a hard tug, sending the two of them up. However, due to the momentum, it leaped forward and fell into the fissure, its four paws digging fiercely into the rock wall, hanging suspended above the magma.
A Soul-Suppressing Spell was fiercely cast down toward the churning magma.
I know you harbor endless hatred, but only passing on to the afterlife is your final destination. Otherwise, if you obsess over slaughter, you will ultimately fall into the gateless hell and never have the chance to reincarnate again!
Yet the magma seemed to have completely lost its reason, ruthlessly dragging down any obstructive creatures in front of it.
Just as the white cat was about to cast a spell to escape, it suddenly froze.
It shockingly discovered that its body was completely out of control, unable to move a single inch!
Its four paws remained rigidly stuck to the stone wall, as though firmly nailed in place.
The Ouyang father and son, whom he had pulled up to safety, had long since passed out by the crevice, completely unconscious.
If no one came to pull it up soon... The white cat lowered its head to glance at the churning magma below. At this rate, it might very well meet its end here today.
Right at that moment, the unhurried sound of footsteps echoed from the ground above.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The white cat abruptly looked up.
Standing at the edge of the crevice was a young man.
The orange-red glow of the magma reflected from below, flickering as it washed over his face. The light outlined an impossibly beautiful visage, so breathtaking that he hardly seemed like a living human, but rather like a seductive spirit straight out of a legend, come to drain the souls of men.
Though he stood high above, it felt as if he had emerged from the very depths of hell.
Wu Li slowly crouched down. Tilting his head, he propped his chin on one hand and observed the white cat's current wretched state with great interest.
Then.
The corners of his lips curled upward bit by bit: "Why so careless, Alchemist Ji? The feeling of being on the verge of falling into the abyss is not very pleasant, is it?"
That smile was both radiant and chillingly callous.
