She couldn’t hold back anymore: “Don’t all cultivators know? Getting struck by heavenly lightning means your soul scatters…”
Li Guanxing argued: “What would a mortal like you know?”
He paused for a moment, then said: “Oh right, her soul should have scattered from the lightning. Unless the Yinshan Patriarch didn’t completely die.”
Xing Shuishui reminded him: “Being burned by separation fire also scatters the soul… The storyteller has mentioned this several times. Didn’t your master tell you?”
Li Guanxing sneered: “You actually believe storytellers? No wonder you seem so foolish.”
Xing Shuishui couldn’t be bothered to argue with such an ignorant child.
Li Guanyu said: “Guan Zi indeed died by separation fire. My master witnessed it.”
She touched the scroll, lost in thought. Li Guanxing fell quiet.
Xing Shuishui was thinking that logically, her soul should have scattered with those nine bolts of heavenly lightning. Yet here she was, standing perfectly fine, reborn a hundred years later. Could Guan Zi have been reborn too?
Her knuckles turned white.
No, she had to go down to Fengdu City to check.
The room fell silent. Outside, the monks’ chanting became clearer. Unable to leave, they could only stay and discuss their next move.
Xing Shuishui’s dress caught on the bamboo scroll on the wooden table. Unaware, when she moved slightly, the scroll rolled off. As she bent to pick it up, someone had already grabbed it.
Her fingertips touched the cold bamboo. She looked up, startled.
The young man studied her coldly, his hand resting on the wooden shelf. Suddenly, he smirked: “Is your storyteller really so knowledgeable? Even knowing that death by separation fire scatters the soul.”
He had once said if he caught her fox tail, he’d leave her body in pieces.
Xing Shuishui’s throat bobbed. Surely these Lingshan people couldn’t be so ignorant about separation fire causing soul scatter…
Having already made up the story, she had to stick with it. She held up two fingers: “I swear… if I’m lying, let heavenly lightning strike me.”
She’d already been struck by lightning once anyway. He could believe it or not. If he kept pressing, she’d just say the storyteller died – let him dig up the grave if he could.
He Liansheng put the scroll back behind her, bringing them very close. Xing Shuishui didn’t know where to hide, she could only look away, trying not to look at him. He Liansheng grabbed her braid at the back of her head, forcing her to look up.
He Liansheng felt inexplicably irritated and said coldly: “Did I ask you to swear?”
Not explaining made him suspicious, explaining made him angry – there was no helping someone with such a bad temper.
Xing Shuishui frowned: “Don’t pull my braid. It hurts.”
Li Guanyu said: “He Lian, that’s enough. The urgent matter is figuring out how to get to Fengdu City.”
Xing Shuishui clutched her hair, thinking “exactly!”
Before she could react, He Liansheng quickly conjured a leaf and sent it flying toward Li Guanyu. Li Guanxing’s face changed as he pushed his sister away. The leaf grazed his cheek, leaving visible drops of blood.
He shouted angrily: “How could you attack a fellow disciple!”
He Liansheng completely ignored him, his lips curling mockingly: “Li Guanyu. I’m warning you one last time. I don’t need your direction here.”
Li Guanyu looked at him for a long while, recited a calming mantra and shook her head.
“Sister, look how he’s acting. Why don’t you tell the Mountain Master we won’t travel with him anymore?”
“Guanxing, be quiet. Don’t let me hear you say that again. He Lian’s temperament won’t improve overnight. We must be patient in teaching him. I believe this is why the Mountain Master wanted us to travel together.”
He Liansheng looked utterly disdainful.
Seeing tensions rising, Xing Shuishui looked left and right, finding a gap to stand between them: “Everyone calm down! How much longer do we have to wait here? Don’t you think it’s strangely quiet outside now?”
Li Guanxing forgot about the argument, listening carefully. The monks’ chanting had stopped, as had the relatives’ crying. Despite this being a well-attended funeral, outside was completely silent. Something had happened, as if everyone had suddenly vanished.
He touched the door: “Have we been discovered—”
Xing Shuishui pressed her ear to the door, whispering: “I think we have been.”
From inside, the City Lord and the mastermind clearly had some connection. Even the City Lord’s daughter’s death might have hidden details, otherwise why would even her living soul be drawn away by the soul-capturing formation?
She tilted her head: “Why don’t you go check first?”
Li Guanxing said: “Why me?”
Xing Shuishui pointed at herself innocently: “Should it be me then? Fine, but you can’t run as fast as me anyway.”
He Liansheng yanked her away, saying coldly: “If you have nothing to do, stop blocking the door.”
Xing Shuishui nearly fell.
The young man’s hand on his sword hilt, he kicked open the door. Just as Xing Shuishui steadied herself, the sight before her made her jump.
All the guests in the hall stood frozen like soulless puppets! Time seemed to stand still, the white funeral cloths fluttering in the wind. Hearing the door open, they all turned their heads at once! Tilting their heads, they stared with bloodshot eyes, their expressions terrifying.
Evil spirits begone, evil spirits begone.
Xing Shuishui chanted silently.
Li Guanxing realized: “They’re all under puppet control?”
He Liansheng’s expression remained blank: “Those who play with dark arts will die horribly.”
His sword left its sheath, talismans humming around the blade.
“I knew you would come.”
Xing Shuishui looked toward the voice. The City Lord, wearing mourning clothes, walked toward them step by step. His expression was mocking, unlike his earlier severity. Xing Shuishui stared at his red eyes and knew that yes, he was probably being controlled too… The person beneath the skin was likely the same black-clothed figure from the medical hall.
Li Guanxing also drew his sword: “We are Lingshan disciples. What evil being are you!”
The City Lord laughed: “One who no longer exists in this world.”
Xing Shuishui hid behind Li Guanxing, pointing: “Don’t think you’re safe just because your true form is hiding in Fengdu City. This immortal is powerful – even if you hide at the ends of the earth, he’ll drag you out!”
Li Guanxing glared at her, and the City Lord’s attention shifted their way.
“No need to drag me out. I’m standing right here. If you want to kill me, go ahead.”
Despite having so many swords pointed at him, he remained casual, even taking out a folding fan to fan himself, as if certain Lingshan wouldn’t harm a mortal.
Li Guanyu’s sword trembled: “If you want to fight, fight honorably. Why involve so many innocents? What kind of skill is it to turn others into puppets for your battles?”
City Lord: “Ignorant child. To become immortal, sacrifices must be made.”
Li Guanxing’s expression turned ugly: “What twisted logic! You caused so many tragedies with jade carvings, and now you use dark arts to steal souls. Are you trying to become immortal through evil means like the Yinshan Patriarch? Absurd!”
City Lord: “Evil means is just your perspective. I think you’re the truly evil ones. No one has ascended to immortality from the mortal realm for a thousand years. The facts prove you’re more absurd! Did the masters who taught you cultivation and ascension achieve immortality themselves? What a joke.
Guan Zi brought it on himself, secretly raising medicinal sheep only to end up raising Xue Jiuling. Now Xue Jiuling is dead, no one can break this soul-capturing formation. Everything continues as before. You can’t stop mortals from dying, nor can you enter Fengdu. Even if you kill this puppet now, I can use thousands more people.
All the controlled people in the mansion surrounded them, their gazes blank.
“I’ll let you witness how I become immortal and ascend to the White Jade Capital.”
“So many words,” He Liansheng’s gaze was cold as he smiled mockingly, “However horribly Guan Zi died, you’ll die even worse.”
Several talismans flew out, burning through the puppet strings on the mortals’ backs. The people who lost control fell one after another.
The City Lord’s expression turned cold: “Meddlesome.”
Guan Zi was stubborn – he wouldn’t criticize himself.
This impostor’s soul-capturing formation was such a poor imitation, they really thought she was dead… Xing Shuishui ran straight into the room, shouting as she ran: “Sister Guanyu, I’ll find a place to hide so I won’t hold you back!”
Every formation had a core. Given Xing Shuishui’s mastery of soul-capturing formations, the core was likely inside the room, otherwise the mastermind wouldn’t appear so hastily.
The City Lord’s face darkened as he ordered: “Catch her!”
The puppets surged toward Xing Shuishui at his command. She dodged several puppet strings, her cheek getting cut, silently cursing that in her past life she would have burned them to ash with separation fire.
She escaped the puppets’ attempts to grab her several times, still calling for help.
After several failed attempts, the puppet strings went for her hair. Xing Shuishui wasn’t paying attention when her hair got tangled. These puppet strings were truly annoying, preferring to parasitize living bodies.
She instinctively gripped Qitong.
But He Liansheng’s sword was faster – tangled one moment, cut free the next.
The killing intent was so strong, Qitong almost moved to protect its master.
He Liansheng actually saved her.
His sword suddenly spun in a flourish, cutting down a wooden beam that fell across the ground. Dust rose, giving them a moment to breathe.
The young man turned to glare at her coldly: “Stunned stupid? So easily scared.”
Xing Shuishui raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sand and stones, clearly still shaken.
He Liansheng’s expression was blank: “Go inside and tear up that painting. If the formation doesn’t break after tearing it, burn everything inside.”
He could see the formation’s core too… Xing Shuishui was slightly surprised. Just how terrifyingly talented was he? No wonder he became a Celestial Master so young.
“Oh, okay…”
She was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting, turning to run into the room. The City Lord’s expression had reached new levels of coldness. Just as Xing Shuishui’s hand touched the edge of the painting, she suddenly heard the City Lord shout from behind.
“Dare to destroy the painting, and they all die!”
Xing Shuishui looked back to see puppet strings wrapped around all the guests’ necks, so tight that the guests momentarily regained consciousness, looking at her with pleading eyes.
He Liansheng’s killing intent was thick: “Xing Shuishui, tear it up. Don’t make me repeat myself!”
Li Guanyu said: “No. They’re all innocent! He Lian, think about it, they’re all living people.”
Li Guanxing said to the City Lord: “You’re despicable!”
The City Lord said coldly: “Insects have no choice. Why don’t you surrender quietly and witness…”
His expression suddenly changed drastically.
Rip— Xing Shuishui tore down the scroll and climbed down from the table, turning to shout: “He Liansheng! Quick!”
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