The silent underground passage of the secret chamber suddenly rang with sound.
It was Lin Ningshuang who rushed over. As soon as she entered, she saw the whole room full of red threads, and everyone bound within them.
Her first reaction was to dash in to save people, but the restored barrier gave her no chance to get close.
After several failed charges, she could only search anxiously all around—and then she saw, sitting against the corner, Zhu Si’s corpse.
Lin Ningshuang stared at her blankly. After a long while, she slowly spoke: “It’s all your fault… If not for you…”
She did not notice that a wisp of black smoke was seeping from the barrier, drawn to her, twining around her ankle.
She slowly raised the sword in her hand, toward Zhu Si’s neck.
“Since you’re dead, stop pretending to be alive.”
Her gaze hardened, a cold flash, and in that instant, a spell struck over.
How could Lin Ningshuang withstand the sword intent of a Golden Core cultivator—she fainted at once.
“What’s going on, what was this Deputy City Lord Lin doing? And this person…what’s happening? It seems there are several souls trapped in her body.”
“Most likely this is that so-called bride’s curse. The truth is not as simple as we thought.”
The ones who came were Li Xiuran and Ji Chuling, already awakened. While searching for people, they had found the flustered Lin Ningshuang and followed her over.
But when they saw the situation in the chamber, they too were shocked.
“A demon clan formation?” Li Xiuran tried to attack the array, but it was useless.
“Leave it to me!” Ji Chuling stepped forward, forming seals with her hands, and quickly opened a gap in the barrier.
But faced with the all-encompassing net of passion, the two were momentarily helpless.
…
That familiar tone made Mo Xuanli shiver. His master disliked physical contact with him in front of others, and that habit made Mo Xuanli react instantly.
The moment God Nine Transformations loosened, Mo Xuanli hurriedly released the death-tight embrace. Looking again, his master’s clothes had been crushed out of shape by him—yet that red attire really was unpleasant to look at.
“Master…”
“Xuanli, Three Bean, block Ruiyao!” Gu Baiqing quickly instructed.
Mo Xuanli also snapped back—this was no time to speak. At once, he cooperated with Three Bean to block Ruiyao, who suddenly came flying.
At this time, Ruiyao had already lost all measure, because she felt Gu Baiqing slipping from her control.
Blocked by Mo Xuanli and Three Bean, time was bought for Gu Baiqing. He directly used Morning Snow to slash his wrist, and a glowing red thread hidden within his bloodline was revealed.
Gu Baiqing grabbed one end and yanked it out. In that instant, it was like pulling a tendon from his body, pain so sharp he nearly cursed aloud.
That was what Ruiyao had buried in him, so that within the illusion of the passion-net he could be controlled at will.
So unlike the others, when he came here he forgot everything, his memories altered, living within a story woven by another.
And because Ruiyao had to maintain the massive love-net illusion while also controlling Gu Baiqing, she had no strength left to control the other entrants—giving Gu Baiqing the chance to be saved.
But even without Mo Xuanli and the others arriving in time, Gu Baiqing would still have been saved, because the system had already begun its countdown to consume his points and exchange for a pouch to solve the problem.
Only, the system’s timing did not match the flow of time in the illusion, so ten minutes had not yet passed.
Gu Baiqing, enduring the pain, called the system to a halt, learned the task was complete—but had no time to check further. He only knew that when he had been controlled just now, he had clearly spent a great deal of the spiritual power he had unconsciously absorbed from Mo Xuanli before. It should have long since run dry. Why was there still balance left—and from the quick glance he’d just had, it seemed to have even increased a little.
Illusions are divided into two kinds: one brings the body directly inside, the other is a spirit-consciousness body. This place was the latter—not the physical body. Contact between spirit-bodies would not generate spiritual power. Which meant… outside, were their physical bodies in contact?
Gu Baiqing didn’t know the specifics, but this kind of “charging while using” state might be exactly what he needed right now—no need to worry about collapsing at any moment.
“Master!”
Mo Xuanli was always paying attention to Gu Baiqing. Hearing his muffled groan of pain, he wanted to find a chance to come over. Luckily, Si Chun entangled Ruiyao again, and Mo Xuanli managed to rush over. Seeing the wound on his master’s wrist and the red thread beside it, he was so furious he directly burned the red thread with fire. Just as he was about to bandage it—he grasped at nothing.
Mo Xuanli looked at Gu Baiqing in puzzlement.
Gu Baiqing was a little ill at ease. “No need.” Wounds on a spirit-body would heal as spiritual power recovered; in a short while it would be fine—no need to bandage at all.
The situation was urgent. Gu Baiqing could not afford to be stingy with his spiritual power now. When he saw Three Bean and Si Chun struck down again, he exchanged a look with Mo Xuanli.
Their eyes changed at the same time—tacit understanding, perfectly coordinated—like two beams of light, they charged straight at Ruiyao. Ruiyao, seeing that Gu Baiqing was completely awake, went utterly mad.
Blades flashing, swords clashing, lightning and thunder. In the passion-net illusion—Ruiyao’s home ground—even if Gu Baiqing unleashed his most powerful thunder-kill, half the force would be absorbed by the environment. Hurting Ruiyao for real was difficult.
Countless red threads surged in like a flood, but to master and disciple who had already experienced them, they were no longer a threat. The two attacked together—not something easy to contend with. A tribulation-stage thunder cultivator, a golden-core wind and fire cultivator, and the clever use of spatial phasing—all combined, it made the spectators tremble.
In a flash, Gu Baiqing seized Ruiyao, drawing her attention. Before Ruiyao could speak, Mo Xuanli had already appeared behind her with bow drawn, arrow loosed, aimed straight at her core demon root. Cultivators had spirit roots; once turned demon, they cultivated demon roots. As long as the demon root was damaged, demonic energy would be cut off, and this illusion could no longer be sustained.
But the very next second—someone suddenly shot forward, blocking the fatal arrow.
That person was Zhuo Ling.
The arrow pierced straight through Zhuo Ling’s chest. Though only a spirit-body, such grave injury would still cause irreparable damage.
Yet Zhuo Ling forced himself to hold on, saving Ruiyao. He didn’t want Ruiyao to come to harm.
If Ruiyao died… then Zhu Si would have no chance to live again.
Everyone landed. Ruiyao ignored Zhuo Ling, only stared viciously at Gu Baiqing like a predator eyeing prey.
Gu Baiqing, however, glared at Zhuo Ling in anger. After that battle, his spiritual power was exhausted. If he wanted to use more, he’d have to wait for the external body to recharge, or spend points. “Zhuo Ling, just what are you doing?”
Why was this so different from the original text? In the original, didn’t he protect Star-Stepping City and perish together with the demons?
Mo Xuanli stepped in front of Gu Baiqing, his eyes cold on Zhuo Ling.
Zhuo Ling was unmoved. “I won’t let you kill her. She must live to go out and save my wife.”
“Then we’ll kill you too,” Mo Xuanli said icily.
At that moment, Si Chun and Three Bean also gathered beside them.
Seeing this, Ruiyao laughed wildly. “Did you think that arrow just now could really hurt me? This is my passion-net illusion—these are spirit-bodies. You cannot harm me.”
“Spirit-bodies may be different from physical bodies, but enough damage can still hurt,” Mo Xuanli retorted coldly.
“Two Gu Baiqings might work. You lot… are not enough!”
“Ruiyao, stop wasting words with them. Let’s get out first. Once we’re outside, you can think of a way to deal with Gu Baiqing. Zhu Si is alone outside, I—”
Before Zhuo Ling could finish, Ruiyao shoved him away with a fierce palm strike.
Everyone was shocked. Zhuo Ling, already gravely injured, nearly unable to stand, turned in stunned disbelief to look at Ruiyao.
“Do you take me for a fool? Without you leading the way, how could they have found the secret chamber, how could they have broken my barrier? The fact that you appeared here together with them proves you broke your vow and betrayed me. So I will not help you save her.” Ruiyao looked at Zhuo Ling with scorn and bitter hatred.
“No! Ruiyao, you can’t do this—you promised!” Zhuo Ling panicked, disregarding his unstable spirit-body, crawling frantically, falling to his knees before his former goddess, begging: “They used Zhu Si’s body to threaten me, I had no choice. And I knew these small fry could never hurt you, that’s why I led them here. Don’t worry, whatever help you need in the future I’ll give. It was so close… so close to Zhu Si waking up again. You’ve already helped me for so many years, why can’t you…”
As he spoke, tears spilled uncontrollably. Pitiful, wretched, utterly casting aside all dignity as a man, he clutched at Ruiyao’s foot—only to be kicked away.
“You ruined my fate. Why should I help you?” Ruiyao spat with hatred. She had been just one step away from obtaining Gu Baiqing—just one step. She resented everyone who stood in her way, wished for them all to suffer. “When you get out, wait for Zhu Si’s soul to scatter completely!”
“No…” Zhuo Ling, horrified, tried to kneel again.
Suddenly, a voice came from the sky: “She lied to you.”
Two figures descended—it was Li Xiuran and Ji Chuling.
As soon as they appeared, they combined their swords—Li Xiuran’s sword intent and Ji Chuling’s special magic force together directly drove Ruiyao back.
Ruiyao landed in the distance, wary, especially watching Ji Chuling, because she realized Ji Chuling’s spells seemed particularly targeted against her demon body.
“You all right…” Li Xiuran looked back at the others. His gaze fell on Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing. The spirit-body Gu Baiqing was the true Gu Baiqing. He already knew his identity, and seeing how Mo Xuanli shielded him so tightly, his expression grew a little strange. He couldn’t help but mutter inwardly—these master and disciple sure knew how to play it, putting on a show of brotherly affection.
“Why did you all come in too?” Mo Xuanli frowned.
“A little formation like that, how could it stop me?” Ji Chuling said with confidence.
“Seeing the Passion Net couldn’t be broken, Chuling wanted to come in and deal with the demons directly,” Li Xiuran said.
“You clearly weren’t at ease about them either,” Ji Chuling retorted, then looked toward the disheveled Zhuo Ling. In truth, among them all, Ji Chuling sympathized with Zhuo Ling the most. “City Lord Zhuo, you—how…”
But Zhuo Ling’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean, deceive me? You all… also came in through the secret chamber? Then you must have seen Zhu Si? How is she outside all alone? Her body—”
Ji Chuling let out a deep sigh. “She’s already dead. That’s just a corpse, a puppet controlled by life-soul and earth-soul.”
“No… no, she can come back. She was already breathing, as long as Ruiyao—”
Li Xiuran said coldly: “We’ve more or less figured it out. You colluded with this demon, using the souls of maidens in your city each year to feed your wife, trying to bring her back to life, didn’t you? But you were deceived. That was nothing more than a petty demonic trick. Once a person dies, they cannot return. Zhu Si has long since reincarnated.”
Zhuo Ling glared in rage, refusing to believe. “Impossible. You’re lying to me, impossible!”
Ji Chuling said sadly: “It’s true. We’ve already examined her body thoroughly. If not for another’s soul propping her up, she would have been bones long ago. Perhaps you cultivators cannot be entirely sure, but our clan has studied demonic magic deeply. Their so-called revival is nothing more than pouring in soul after soul to keep the body looking alive.”
Zhuo Ling turned blankly toward Ruiyao, his eyes full of desperate hope. Even though this woman had just said she wouldn’t help him, he still hoped she had not lied. That Zhu Si was still alive, still waiting for him.
But he was disappointed.
Ruiyao’s radiant smile pierced Zhuo Ling’s heart like ten thousand arrows.
“Yes, I lied to you.” Ruiyao tilted her head, her smile blooming like a flower, but her words were cruel beyond compare. “She had her blood drained by your people, and you held her corpse like a dried husk in your arms—have you forgotten? In that state, how could she live? In fact, when she lost even part of her blood, she was already dead. So she never saw you return, and you never saw her last moments. By the time you went back, her soul was already gone. What breathes now for your wife are the souls of those innocent brides who died unjustly.”
Her words revealed so much that everyone was shocked. Looking again at Zhuo Ling, he seemed as if his very soul had been torn from him, dazed and muttering, “No… impossible. You didn’t lie to me. Sisi can come back. She isn’t dead, she still can…”
“I did lie to you. Back then, when I followed you back, I knew she was dead through and through. You begged me, so I gave you hope, just to toy with you—let you live seven years clinging to it. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
“You… you… please, don’t say it was a lie… don’t say it.” Zhuo Ling’s face was full of despair, his whole body trembling, trying to pretend, but unable to keep up the act.
Everyone listening was struck dumb with disbelief. To think the fairy of old, once fallen to demonhood, had become so cruel.
“Master! How could you…” Si Chun, during her investigation before, had truly believed that her master had acted to help Zhuo Ling revive his wife. Evil though it was, at least there was still some kindness left toward an old friend. For that little shred of kindness, Si Chun had believed she could pull her master back. But now it turned out it had all been false.
“What about it? All men under heaven are fickle. This man said he would wed none but me, yet in a blink he fell for another woman. And once in love, he didn’t even cherish her well. Zhu Si’s death—he cannot escape blame.” Ruiyao pointed at Zhuo Ling, her voice cold. “Don’t forget why you failed to protect her in the first place. What right do you have to act so devoted now?”
Her words struck Zhuo Ling like his most unbearable memory being dug up. He was left speechless, his whole being engulfed in overwhelming grief, drowning in his own darkness.
Then Ruiyao pointed at Gu Baiqing. “And you… ignoring my deep affection, wounding my heart—you are even more heartless. Gu Baiqing, you owe me a marriage fate, and you must repay it.”
No sooner had her words fallen than Mo Xuanli lashed out with a flaming whip.
“You and my master never had any fated bond. Don’t even think of pestering him again!”
Before Gu Baiqing could even speak, Mo Xuanli could no longer hold back. Especially seeing Ruiyao and his master wearing the same style of wedding robes—his heart was stifled to the extreme, feeling as if his master had been defiled.
Ruiyao dodged the strike, but when she looked up she saw Mo Xuanli directly grab Gu Baiqing’s groom’s robe.
Before Gu Baiqing could react, Mo Xuanli violently tore it off on the spot.
The groom’s robe burned away in the flames, leaving Gu Baiqing dumbstruck and stripped.
This brat… how dare he just grab with his hands!
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This arc is so intriguing