Lu Muge was momentarily stunned, numerous thoughts intertwining in his mind.
Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced his ears, accompanied by mournful wails, causing Lu Muge’s hair to stand on end. He retrieved a stone statue from his bosom, observing a dim red glow struggling around the statue as if attempting to escape.
A chill ran through Lu Muge as he muttered, “It seems the girl named Ze Wan has already died.”
The familiar voice he heard inside the statue must have been the cry of Ze Wan’s soul. After being killed, her soul was trapped within the stone.
If the real Ze Wan was killed, then who was the one who had been by Zhang Rong’s side all along?
Lu Muge turned to see Ze Wan still arguing with Wen Changchu. Her demeanor remained unchanged, seamlessly disguising her true emotions.
While lost in thought, Ning Shaoshi uncovered the snow covering the corpse, revealing hands tightly clutching a stone statue. The statue’s head was shattered, covered in blood.
Reaching for it, a claw suddenly emerged, dark green with wrinkled layers and sharp nails gripping Ning Shaoshi’s wrist. Lu Muge reacted swiftly, grabbing the claw with force, a satisfying crack indicating that he had almost dislocated it.
The claw, with snow particles and a blood seam under the nails, caught Lu Muge’s attention. Before he could examine it closely, the claw retracted into the ground, leaving a slippery liquid in Lu Muge’s hand, causing him to grimace and wipe it off with his cloak.
As Ning Shaoshi lifted the stone statue, a faint light burst from it, lifting fine snow into the air. All the souls trapped within the statue simultaneously emitted mournful cries, overwhelming Lu Muge with a painful ringing in his ears.
Not only him but the others also heard the sound. Fake Ze Wan’s expression changed, abandoning the argument with Wen Changchu and approaching Lu Muge. Glancing at the stone statue in his arms, she concealed her emotions and feigned curiosity, “What is that thing you’re holding?”
Zhang Rong and Ze Qian followed, realizing the source of the sound. Ze Qian asked, “Are the souls of the village’s vanished people locked inside these statues?”
“It’s probably more than that.” Lu Muge gathered strength in his palm, pushing aside a stack of stones beside him, revealing a body buried in snow.
Ze Qian’s expression changed dramatically as he hurried to the corpse, squatting down to examine it. He glanced at Fake Ze Wan standing in front of him, eyes filled with astonishment. “My sister…”
Zhang Rong frowned, “Could it be an illusion?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Dgfjxlcu atf rabcf rajaef mjc gfifjrf ibra rbeir.” Rlcu Vtjbrtl ktlrqfgfv ab Oe Zeuf, reyais gfwlcvlcu tlw.
Oe Zeuf ecvfgrabbv tlr lcafca; klat If Qjc’r rbei lcrlvf atf rajaef, gfifjrlcu la kbeiv gfnfji atf agef ogbw atf ojirf klatbea atf cffv obg vfyjaf.
Zbgaji rbeir jgf ecvfg atf mbcagbi bo atf ecvfgkbgiv jcv jgf erejiis lcnlrlyif ab bgvlcjgs qfbqif. Lbkfnfg, bcmf abemtfv ys vfwbc bg ojlgs fcfgus, bg lo atfs agjcrobgw lcab nfcufoei rqlglar, atfs yfmbwf nlrlyif ab vfwbcr jcv ojlglfr.
The physical body can be deceiving, but the soul cannot.
As Lu Muge’s fingertip glowed, about to crush the stone statue in his hand, Fake Ze Wan suddenly erupted. Flames ignited in her hand as she lunged, the scorching heat approaching. Trying to evade, Lu Muge’s arm was pulled by someone, successfully avoiding Ze Wan’s attack.
Ze Wan retreated three steps, landing on a stone pedestal. Flames flickered on her, revealing a different face, with delicate eyebrows and red lips, a charming smile. “I don’t want anything else. Just give me that trace of immortal soul.”
She referred to Ze Wan’s soul.
Ze Qian, realizing his sister was truly dead, erupted in anger. “Who are you?! Why harm Wan’er!”
“I didn’t intend to kill her; she was just too troublesome.” The woman chuckled. “During the Trial of the Divine Assembly, I didn’t want to cause too much commotion. If you obediently release that strand of immortal soul, I’ll spare your lives.”
Ze Qian’s eyes glared, drawing a long sword with a roar. “If you harm Wan’er, I’ll take your life!”
With a shout, he rushed forward. Zhang Rong tried to intervene, but Ze Qian’s momentum was too strong, heading straight for the woman.
The woman didn’t dodge, her eyes filled with disdain. She produced a fiery-red feather from somewhere, lightly sweeping it. Suddenly, flames engulfed the surroundings, melting snow with intense heat. The sea of fire surged, seemingly intending to trap Lu Muge and others.
Wen Changchu roared, a dark purple mist swirling around him. Suddenly transforming into a giant gray-furred demon wolf, a yard tall, his massive fluffy tail enveloped Lu Muge and Ning Shaoshi, shielding them from the approaching flames.
Lu Muge felt a momentary darkness, then a force lifted him, colliding with Ning Shaoshi. Perhaps due to Wen Changchu’s hasty action, Lu Muge narrowly escaped being thrown to the ground by the tail tip, fortunately caught by Ning Shaoshi.
The fervent assault scorched Wen Changchu’s fur, and Lou Muge felt like a potato thrown into a fire, thoroughly heated from head to toe. He harnessed his body’s strength, enveloping Wen Changchu with a water shield using the water spirit’s body.
This fire, fierce and powerful, instantly revealed the woman’s identity to Lou Muge.
Only the Vermilion Bird Immortal Clan from the ancient Immortal Realm possessed such formidable crimson flames.
The bloodline inherited by the Vermilion Bird Immortal Clan since ancient times was unparalleled, a power beyond the reach of present-day divine beings. In the Six Realms, anyone encountering the Vermilion Bird Immortal Clan had to take a detour, even the Immortals of the new Immortal Realm, except for a few extraordinary individuals.
The grievances between the Old Immortal Realm and the New Immortal Realm were long-standing. Now, in this encounter, it seemed unlikely to be easily resolved. Lou Muge pondered for a moment, realizing that confronting the Vermilion Bird Immortal Clan was akin to seeking a path to death. It might be better to slip away first.
As the flames subsided, Wen Changchu released his large tail, his fur shining, miraculously unscathed. Opening his long fangs, he exhaled a warm breath, issuing a low growl as a warning to the woman.
Ze Qian, at the forefront, couldn’t withstand the Vermilion Bird fire, now lying half-dead on the ground, fortunate to have escaped with just ashes beneath the flames.
Zhang Rong’s expression was extremely grim, half-kneeling on the ground, hands covering his chest with a trembling voice, “Are you from the Zhu Clan?”
The woman grinned, “Scared?”
“Aren’t you afraid of the divine realm’s intervention?” Zhang Rong asked, “We have immortal stones, and the divine realm will witness your actions.”
“So what?” The woman scorned, “The current divine realm is just an empty shell. Who else can contend with the Zhu Clan?”
“The two divine realms will be unified one day, and you will all be subordinates.” The woman arrogantly lifted her head, commanding Lou Muge, “Quickly hand over the stone statue. You may withstand it once, but not a second time.”
Lou Muge had no intention of enduring a second time. He promptly tossed the stone statue into the nearby snow, trembling as he said, “It’s yours, spare us, please.”
This was the reaction the woman wanted. She chuckled, lifting her palm, and the stone statue floated in the air, moving toward her hand.
Just as the woman was about to grasp the statue, Lou Muge flicked a water droplet onto it, causing it to burst into a spray of water, shattering the statue into star-like fragments and splashing the woman’s face with water.
The souls from the statue surged out, creating a wailing, forming humanoid figures in the air. Tears like blood trickled from their eyes, “You caused my death! Injured my brother! I will kill you!”
The woman, infuriated, lost her smile. Her face turned dark, and with a swift motion of her hand, she almost dispersed Ze Wan’s soul. Feathers in her hand transformed into a short sword, its blade radiating a red glow, swiftly thrusting towards Lou Muge.
Lou Muge clung to Wen Changchu’s fur, leaping onto his back, reaching out to Ning Shaoshi, “Let’s go!”
Ning Shaoshi was momentarily stunned but maintained his usual composed demeanor. Lou Muge grabbed him by the back of his robe, lifting him onto Wen Changchu’s back.
“Wen Changchu, let’s retreat,” Lou Muge instructed.
Though Wen Changchu was eager to fight, his restless claws hinted at his lack of fear towards the woman. However, realizing that winning the battle was not guaranteed, he leaped into the air, running on clouds as he ascended several yards.
The woman followed suit, leaping into the air with a swish, unveiling enormous fiery red wings that blazed with flames, dazzling and spectacular.
“Uh-oh,” Lou Muge clicked his tongue, “Forgot this thing is a bird and can fly!”
Wen Changchu ran even faster, but he couldn’t shake off the woman, who had closed the distance.
Ning Shaoshi sat in the back, glancing at the woman’s fierce angry face. He reached into his arms, crushed the stone statue into powder, and when the woman approached, he threw it all onto her face. Caught off guard, her eyes were completely covered, instantly falling behind.
However, the Zhu Clan was always proud and would certainly not easily give up. The angrier she became, the more determined she was to catch up for revenge.
Wen Changchu raced downhill with the two in tow. Before the woman could catch up, he suddenly felt a seismic tremor, nearly causing him to slip. He quickly stopped to stabilize his stance.
Lou Muge looked into the distance and unexpectedly witnessed a disturbance in the Shan’an village below. Houses tilted and the earth twisted, as if a colossal hand had seized the entire town, intending to crush everyone and everything with a forceful pinch.
From afar, terrified cries echoed from the village.
“It seems that the mischievous demon can no longer restrain itself,” Lou Muge rejoiced. He thought, finally, there was no need for more speculation. After waiting for quite some time, he was ready for this demon to reveal itself.
Thank You for the new chapter (♡´౪`♡)
💖💐💖💐
Finally the culprit has arrived! I was so confused this entire arc! 😭