It just so happened that the person who had told him the truth appeared again, this time to recruit him. Only then did he realize the other was a demon clansman. As long as it could help him grow stronger, he gladly joined.
At that moment, the Void Spirit Secret Realm was opening. Many powerful people from the sect went inside, Xie Qingrong wasn’t present, and his father was in seclusion.
That day, Luo Yi was once again bullied by an arrogant man.
That person was Rufeng Sect’s so-called new genius, proud and overbearing, who often declared himself the future successor of the sect leader. He even dared to insult Xie Qingrong, saying he was just a blind man, no longer fit to inherit the sect master’s position, nothing more than an empty “senior brother” title.
So Luo Yi struck first—he killed him. Then he controlled him to slaughter many who had bullied him, or mocked Xie Qingrong behind his back.
That day, Luo Yi finally vented the resentment he had suppressed for over a decade. He had never felt such exhilaration before—killing without restraint, cold-blooded and merciless. This was his true nature.
After the killing, he tried to refine them into corpse puppets, but these wastes held no strong obsessions, and were clumsy to use. At most, they could be disguised as still alive, enough to help him escape Rufeng Sect. He then joined up with his new companions and entered the Void Spirit Secret Realm.
At that time, he was intent on testing himself against Xie Qingrong, wanting to see how strong he truly was. If he could defeat him, he would capture Xie Qingrong.
After all, aside from revenge, he had no real desires. The only thing he coveted was the warmth Xie Qingrong had once given him. But he knew Xie Qingrong would never obediently stay at his side, caring for him as the most protective senior brother again. So the only way was to make Xie Qingrong into his puppet.
But in the end, he was defeated and retreated with the other demons. From that fight he learned just how strong Xie Qingrong really was. So he came to Linxun Town, both working on his plan and focusing on cultivation.
Until two months ago, when Xie Qingrong delivered himself to him, fighting desperately, and was finally captured.
But the soul-splitting technique gave him a chance to escape.
For the sake of his complete puppet, for the sake of having a senior brother belonging only to him, he had to find the other half of the soul.
No matter what, he couldn’t find it. Then he heard news that Zixiao Sect disciples had come, and Baili Jingzhan was nearby searching for Xie Qingrong.
So he turned the situation to his advantage, luring them all over. That would surely draw out Xie Qingrong’s split soul. Two great sects’ direct disciples—perfect puppets—and they would help him better fulfill his plan.
But he hadn’t expected these fish in the net to struggle so fiercely, nearly ruining everything.
Now, though, it was time to haul the catch ashore.
Luo Yi stroked Xie Qingrong’s face as though caressing his most beloved treasure. “Senior Brother, I don’t have any techniques. When they bully me later, you’ll have to protect me, okay?”
As soon as Luo Yi’s words fell, the voice he hated most rang out loudly: “Qingrong!”
Luo Yi’s expression darkened as he turned to look into the distance—it was Baili Jingzhan and the other two.
Jingzhan almost felt like he was seeing a familiar scene from Rufeng Sect.
Luo Yi clung tightly to Xie Qingrong’s side, like a brat who could never stop sticking to his older brother, regarding anyone who tried to take his senior brother’s time as his enemy.
Back then, Jingzhan could understand him. After all, the sect leader’s son lived a life worse than a dog’s, with only one person who treated him well. To him, that person must have been like both father and mother—and the only one. Naturally, he would want Xie Qingrong to value him in the same way.
But Jingzhan hadn’t imagined Luo Yi’s possessiveness toward Xie Qingrong would go so far as to want to make him into a living corpse puppet. Truly, a little perv*rt.
“You came rather quickly,” Luo Yi sneered.
With Mo Xuanli’s help, finding the array core wasn’t too hard. What cost them time was avoiding the endless assaults of the array, like wandering in circles haunted by ghosts. They could feel the soul within the little jade figurine growing weaker and weaker. If they delayed further, the consequences would be unthinkable. So even when danger presented itself, Jingzhan was willing to take the risk.
To preserve their fighting strength, Jingzhan refused to let anyone else take the burden, and took the lead all the way.
Neither Mo Xuanli nor Gu Baiqing could dissuade him. Outwardly Jingzhan still looked fine, but he had already suffered several attacks from the formation. Added to the vast amount of spiritual power he had poured into the jade figurine earlier, he was now almost useless.
But precisely because of his stubbornness, they had made it to the array core in nearly the shortest possible time.
They could faintly see the array patterns under Luo Yi’s feet.
Ideally, when they first learned of the Spirit-Gathering Array, they should have detained Hua En, located the array core, and broken it. That would have destroyed the array. But Hua En died, the array turned into a murderous one, and no one could leave its range. The attacks kept coming relentlessly. The cultivators could endure it, at worst sustaining injuries, but everything else on the surface—every living thing—was doomed. The only way was to destroy the core, collapse the Spirit-Gathering Array. But a collapsing array was equally dangerous. At least, though, only they as cultivators would bear that danger, while saving the town’s people.
Now, the Spirit-Gathering Array, turned killing formation, was like a minefield—spiritual power exploding everywhere. It was as if the array itself sensed danger and furiously struck at anything that might threaten it. The closer they got to the core, the fiercer the assault.
“Since you’ve come, then stay here forever,” Luo Yi slowly raised his hand.
A bracelet identical to Hua En’s spread across the back of his hand like a spiderweb. With a slight motion, the Xie Qingrong standing before him suddenly seemed to awaken.
Expressionless, Xie Qingrong’s true body, under Luo Yi’s control, attacked them directly. The spiritual sword Luoshu—once the refined blade of a gentleman—now bristled with murderous intent.
Luo Yi likely assumed they wouldn’t dare strike Xie Qingrong too hard. But he hadn’t expected Xie Qingrong to have warned them beforehand—told them clearly: if you can’t kill me, then at least beat me half-to-death.
So Gu Baiqing’s first move was a thunder strike aimed at Xie Qingrong.
Now that Xie Qingrong was half a living puppet, his instinctive combat ability was still there. Though he couldn’t completely avoid Gu Baiqing’s serious strike, he still managed to dodge nearly half of it.
Because of the tribulation-stage thunder attack, Luo Yi’s control over Xie Qingrong seemed to weaken a lot. Just as he was puzzled, an arrow suddenly shot toward him.
Luo Yi instinctively twisted aside, but the arrow still pierced through his chest—just a hair’s breadth away from his heart.
Face full of shock, Luo Yi clutched his chest and immediately put up a barrier in front of him. Xie Qingrong, as a puppet, had a default instinct to protect his master. At once, he stopped fighting Gu Baiqing and flashed back to Luo Yi’s side.
Luo Yi stared in astonishment at the person riding atop the tricolored illusion cat, bow in hand, the arrow that pierced him flying back into Mo Xuanli’s grasp.
Luo Yi was no fool. From the moment he was captured, he could tell these people didn’t dare kill him outright. That was how he figured out their thinking—he thought they wouldn’t dare strike a killing blow. Never did he expect… this arrow.
What was wrong with these people?!
Almost as if reading his mind, Mo Xuanli coldly nocked another arrow and drew the bow.
“Not killing you doesn’t mean we can’t cripple you.”
“D*mn it!” Luo Yi went mad with fury. Originally, he had wanted to use the Spirit-Gathering Formation’s attacks along with Xie Qingrong to capture them alive. But clearly, that was no longer possible. “Since I can’t take you alive—then you can all die!”
As soon as the words fell, Luo Yi flicked his wrist. From the ground suddenly sprang a huge construct of white bone, like a pair of clasped hands, instantly closing around Luo Yi and Xie Qingrong. Though there were gaps, a halo shimmered above. When God Nine Transformations’s arrow shot over again, it struck only the halo, leaving a mark before flying back.
Even Mo Xuanli’s thunder strike only made the bone hands shudder slightly.
But right after, a greater tremor surged up from the ground—and this stunned everyone.
Because the lines of the array eye split down the middle.
Gu Baiqing instantly understood Luo Yi’s meaning just now. This lunatic had been thinking the same thing as them, even helping them achieve it—but his goal was to use the Spirit-Gathering Formation’s collapse to trap them all here. In Luo Yi’s eyes, the formation’s power was not something they could withstand. Even if they managed to hold out for a while, they would eventually exhaust themselves and become meat on the chopping block.
And he, not only immune to the formation’s attacks but also sheltered by powerful protection, had nothing to fear. This was his only chance at victory.
At this moment, Luo Yi couldn’t even be bothered to glance at the others. Within the bone protection, like a child, he held stiff Xie Qingrong’s hand, eyes burning as he looked toward Jingzhan, sensing the little jade figure in his arms. He murmured, “Senior brother, don’t worry. I’ll bring you back soon.” After all, in soul state, he wouldn’t be harmed by the Spirit-Gathering Formation.
Just as he thought that, he suddenly saw Jingzhan’s face freeze, and then he shouted in terror: “Stop! Quickly, stop! Luo Yi, do you want to kill Qingrong?! His soul is vanishing—can’t you feel it?”
Jingzhan was terrified. He took out the little jade figure, his hands trembling, because he had just heard a cracking sound—the sign it was about to shatter.
Luo Yi froze for a moment, then sneered coldly. He thought Jingzhan was lying, and said straight out: “Fine. If you want to save him, then hand him over to me. Unless you’d rather watch him die.”
Jingzhan’s fury rose, but he refused to hand over the jade figure.
Luo Yi sneered, “So much for your bond. You’re dying, and you still want to drag senior brother to the grave with you?”
“I’m not lying! Xie Qingrong really isn’t right—let him go, now!” Jingzhan rushed to the bone hands, but the halo barred his way. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t get close to Xie Qingrong inside.
And the jade figure in his hands was already nearly devoid of Qingrong’s aura.
“I told you, give him to me, and senior brother can live. Don’t be so selfish…” Luo Yi mocked. But in the next instant, his face stiffened—for Jingzhan truly extended the jade figure to him.
Only then did Luo Yi clearly see Jingzhan’s expression—an almost collapsing desperation. That high-and-mighty child of heaven, that irritating young master of an immortal sect, could also be driven to such helplessness. Ridiculous.
“Save him, now!” Jingzhan nearly roared.
Luo Yi’s eyes flickered, but he still took the jade figure. He was about to restore the soul fragment. Though the restored Xie Qingrong would be harder to control, at least he would be whole again—and more pleasing to look at.
Even if that complete version would resist him in every way, he was still the true senior brother.
Meanwhile, Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing had no time to bother with them. They flew to the array eye. The collapse of the Spirit-Gathering Formation had to be handled, or else everyone would be in danger.
Gu Baiqing looked once at the array eye, then at Mo Xuanli. Mo Xuanli’s cultivation was not yet at the point of advancement. If the array eye was destroyed, the stored spiritual power would erupt… Gu Baiqing hesitated, his gaze gradually changing.
Before Mo Xuanli could speak, Gu Baiqing suddenly grabbed his arm and said: “Take Three Bean to the perimeter, suppress the leaking energy, keep it from harming innocents. Leave this to me.”
Mo Xuanli’s face shifted. He immediately pulled Gu Baiqing back. “Master, I can’t do it. Your cultivation is higher—you’re the one who can.”
Gu Baiqing could see clearly—Mo Xuanli already knew which was more dangerous: suppressing the leak, or withstanding the eruption.
In the original story, the master was tricked into leaving, while the disciple bore the formation’s eruption alone. At that time, Mo Xuanli was already cultivating both immortality and demonic arts. With the demonic body’s strength, he believed he could endure it. Besides, he happened to need a massive surge of spiritual power to advance, so though dangerous, it was also a chance. More than that, how could he bear to see his master injured?
But now, things were different. Without advancement, there was no need to absorb such immense spiritual energy. If he forced it early, his body would collapse—more harm than good. And besides, Mo Xuanli had not opened the demonic cultivation path. Though his focus on sword cultivation had achieved results, in Gu Baiqing’s eyes, his overall strength was still inferior to the original. The demonic bloodline remained unawakened; who knew how much this body could endure?
Gu Baiqing could not allow Mo Xuanli to take that risk, even if… the advancement task ended in failure. At worst, they’d just lose some points.
“Your cultivation is useless here. Besides… didn’t you say you wanted to find a way to treat me? Maybe this could work.” Gu Baiqing spoke nonsense with a straight face. Although his absorption of spiritual power was practically a bottomless pit—useless unless it was Mo Xuanli’s, though it didn’t seem to harm his body—maybe it really could work. The more Gu Baiqing thought about it, the more it seemed reasonable.
“Master!” Mo Xuanli called out anxiously. He could clearly distinguish between actively absorbing spiritual power and being forcibly impacted by it, and he absolutely didn’t believe Gu Baiqing’s nonsense. Grabbing Gu Baiqing’s arm, his dark eyes carried a faint grievance as he said hoarsely, “I don’t want you to be hurt either.”
Those words made Gu Baiqing uncomfortable. He wasn’t worried about Mo Xuanli being injured out of affection—he was just thinking long-term, from a sustainable development standpoint. If Mo Xuanli was gravely injured here, how would that affect his future cultivation? Advancement could be pursued at any time; there was no need to rush now.
And besides, was this really the time for such idle talk? Gu Baiqing, gritting his teeth, was about to knock Mo Xuanli away.
But just then, the violent tremors began to subside, even showing signs of stopping.
Both of them were stunned. They had never heard of a collapsing formation slowing down. Gu Baiqing froze, baffled, looking at Mo Xuanli—instinctively feeling that if anything changed, it must have been something his disciple did.
But Mo Xuanli also looked at Gu Baiqing in confusion, unable to understand why the Spirit-Gathering Formation, halfway collapsed, had suddenly stilled.
Then, a furious roar came from Luo Yi.
But it didn’t seem directed at the formation’s sudden pause.
“Impossible! Impossible! Where is Xie Qingrong? What did you do to his split soul? What did you do?!”
If Jingzhan had been the one shouting this, it would have made sense. But it was Luo Yi.
Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli immediately turned to look. The little jade figure was already in Luo Yi’s hands, but it was covered in a web of intricate cracks, as if the slightest touch would shatter it to pieces.
If the soul fragment had been intact inside, this would never have happened—unless something had gone wrong with it.
Luo Yi looked at the jade figure, then at Xie Qingrong’s body nearby, then at Jingzhan—like a guilty child who’d broken something and didn’t know how to fix it.
“What do you mean? Xie Qingrong’s split soul can’t return? Do you know what the consequences are if it can’t?!” Jingzhan’s fury spiraled out of control, pounding his fists against the halo barrier.
Gu Baiqing was shocked too. Could it be that Xie Qingrong would still die here, leaving only a living corpse behind?
But beside him, Mo Xuanli suddenly crouched down to examine the array eye.
Gu Baiqing was startled. In his eyes, Mo Xuanli and Xie Qingrong had a decent relationship. Though Mo Xuanli didn’t approve of Xie Qingrong’s past actions, he still treated him as a friend. So why was he suddenly so indifferent?
But on second thought, it made sense. Now was the time to put the bigger picture first, not let emotions rule. On Xie Qingrong’s matter, they were powerless. No matter how much sorrow they felt, they couldn’t waste time while the Spirit-Gathering Formation endangered others.
The sudden fluctuation of the formation just now—they didn’t know why it happened. Since they’d been given this chance to breathe, they had to minimize the damage.
Gu Baiqing also crouched to examine the array eye, to see if they could slowly absorb the spiritual power before it burst out.
Meanwhile, the argument on the other side raged on.
“You were the one holding the jade figure. By the time we got it back, it was already like this. Even then, I could no longer sense our bond, only the faintest trace of soul force. Tell me—did you do something? Luo Yi, no matter how vile you are, you can’t harm him! He’s your senior brother. Stop pretending—if something really happens to him, you’ll regret it!”
“I didn’t, I didn’t! I only controlled him, I didn’t do anything else. How could I want his life? I only wanted him to stay with me forever!” Luo Yi shouted in panic, repeatedly trying to press the jade figure against Xie Qingrong’s body. But then he realized—even Xie Qingrong’s physical body seemed to be weakening.
Now Luo Yi was truly panicked, dread growing within him.
This situation was like…
Suddenly, a voice came from the array eye.
Mo Xuanli’s face was dark as iron as he said: “Stop arguing. Xie Qingrong is here.”
Xie Qingrong’s soul was inside the array eye, clashing against the Spirit-Gathering Formation.
