The White Bone Dao’s Twelve God Phases Secret Law, its wondrous uses beyond measure, is said to be the protective art of the White Bone Venerable God.

Those who inherited this law, the Twelve Faces of the White Bone Dao, were once among the higher echelons, their status surpassed only by the Messengers and Elders. Yet, as time flowed, only four remained.

Rat Face and Dog Face perished early in the battle at Maple Forest City, meeting their end within the city guard barracks. Ox Face, Horse Face, Sheep Face, and Chicken Face were annihilated in Not Redeem City by Zhu Weiwo. Tiger Face, in the mountain domain governed by the Double Jiao Association in Mo Country, was slain by Li Jianqiu, who momentarily tore open the Heaven and Earth Gate with his Dao Sword technique. Even the most dreaded and maddest of the Twelve Faces, Pig Face, met an unexpected demise beneath a small town in Jia City, Sunlight Prefecture, Yang Country.

Eight of the Twelve Faces were gone. Now, only Rabbit Face, Monkey Face, Dragon Face, and she herself remained.

Increasingly, she felt that the higher-ups held their lives in little regard. Even with their deep cultivation and extraordinary battle prowess, they were but slightly stronger pawns in the eyes of the higher-ups. This was not the true problem. The issue lay in the dwindling number of these “pawns,” while the situation grew ever more perilous, soon to engulf her.

Nay, she was already ensnared in peril. She had not originally feared death, but after escaping Maple Forest City, her fear of death grew with each passing day. She did not wish to die. She could only survive, not solely by her own hand, but by others as well. Thus, she was especially unwilling to perish.

Now, she traversed the lands of Yang Country, a long cloak obscuring her appearance. Her hands hung at her sides, her slender right index finger wrapped around a green “thread.” At the end of this green thread hung a small bell. It swayed silently as she walked.

The reason for emphasizing this “green thread” was that it was no ordinary filament. It was a green tendon, live-extracted from the body of a cultivator and processed with a secret method. The original owner of this tendon was a cultivator from the National Dao Academy of Zhuang Country, who, relying on a single surge of hot-blooded courage, had dared to pursue her relentlessly. Snake Face used his tendon to hang the bell, a clear display of her cruelty. What she herself had not yet realized was that this was also a consequence of her own fear; she wished to terrify those who pursued her.

Being transferred to the East Domain had brought her a sense of relief. She had truly grown weary of the pursuit from Zhuang Country, fueled by national enmity. However, upon learning of Pig Face’s death, her unease returned. This could perhaps be discerned from her overly vigilant eyes.

Yet, as she walked the road, she was not at all conspicuous. In the current state of Yang Country, panic and vigilance were the most commonplace emotions imaginable. Everyone who was forced to walk the roads found ways to wrap themselves tightly. Snake Face had even seen quite a few corpses lying by the roadside, uncared for, already breeding maggots. When corpses lay uncollected, it was a manifestation of a nation’s collapse.

Sympathy was something Snake Face did not possess. Thus, her footsteps on the road were light and relaxed. This temporary command would soon be completed, and she could depart. She was not like Pig Face, harboring thoughts of revenge for others. Her enemies had already perished within Maple Forest City. Where could there still be enemies?

She lightly shook her index finger, the green thread and bell swaying soundlessly. A bell hung with a human tendon was, of course, no simple object.

The White Bone Dao had Twelve White Bone Faces, with Rat Bone Face residing at the forefront. Rat Face was dead, but his belongings still remained. As the first of the Twelve Bone Faces, why had he met his demise in Maple Forest City? Besides Fang Big Beard’s fearlessness and the wonderful cooperation of Zhao Lang and Wei Yan, a major reason was that his life-bound magical artifact, refined from the Rat Bone God Phase, had always been stored in the White Bone Dao headquarters due to its dangerous nature. Thus, his battle power was incomplete. An artifact deemed dangerous even by an organization like the White Bone Dao… Now it rested in the hands of Snake Bone Face.

It was precisely this small, silent bell that bore the name, the Plague Bell. It had another name, the Source of Plague. It was this artifact that had spawned the rampant plague now ravaging Yang Country. The decision had been made by the Holy Lord, the plan formulated by the White Bone Messenger, and the concrete execution had fallen to Pig Bone Face, now taken over by Snake Bone Face.

To be precise, the true Plague Bell was a pair, a child and mother bell. The mother bell created the plague, and the child bell absorbed the plague essence. The mother bell had already completed its mission; the one in Snake Bone Face’s hand was the child bell. Where white bones lay scattered in the wilderness, no rooster would crow for a thousand miles. And the death qi born thereafter, the resentment qi, and the plague essence swollen because of it, were precisely what that Venerable God of the Underworld sought.

“Dragon Face is loyal only to the Holy Lord. Monkey Face is cunning and treacherous, in contact with everyone. Rabbit Face is utterly devoted to the Messenger. Elder Lu’s thoughts are unfathomable, and the Holy Maiden… what are the Holy Maiden’s intentions?” Snake Bone Face mused faintly. She had never before concerned herself with such trivial matters, but now she had to, and had to think deeply. The current White Bone Dao was not the White Bone Dao of before. It would never be again.

The Blessed Land challenge on June 15th, Jiang Wang had missed it. He had slept a deep, long sleep. The loss of the Gong was anticipated, so there was no great regret. His only regret lay in missing an opportunity to spar with a strong opponent. Theoretically, at his current realm, foregoing sleep and rest was no great issue. But the previous ten days and ten nights, his desperate efforts to save Green Sheep Town, his successful solo entry into Jia City, and his sword-chop of Jia City Lord Si Mu Nan and a host of superhuman guards… his body and mind had reached a limit, and he had to rely on sleep to recuperate.

Du Gu Xiao moved a stool and sat outside his door, refusing to leave despite all entreaties. She wondered what difference her fledgling martial arts, only recently begun, could make if true danger were to arise.

When Jiang Wang awoke and emerged, it was difficult to say he felt no relief. But he only asked, “How are things in the town?”

“It’s been initially brought under control. There are still fatalities, but new outbreaks are very few,” Xiao Xiao finished, then said happily, “Old Master, you’re awake!”

“Mm.” Jiang Wang reached out and patted her slender shoulder lightly. “You should rest. I’ll take responsibility for the remaining matters.”

Xiao Xiao’s eyes suddenly brightened; this was the first time Jiang Wang had shown her such intimacy. “Old Master, did you kill City Lord Si?” Her voice also became several shades lighter as she said, “They all say it was a great relief!”

“Relief?” Jiang Wang felt no pride in this. Instead, he only wanted to sigh. “When Sun Ping died, the city was also greatly relieved.”

Xiao Xiao, hearing the inexplicable low and heavy emotion in Jiang Wang’s tone, couldn’t help but ask, “Sun Ping?”

“You should remember this name.” Jiang Wang walked past Du Gu Xiao. “He was a true hero.”

“If Old Master says so, then he definitely is.”

Jiang Wang shook his head, saying nothing more on the matter. In truth, Xiao Xiao cared not about the plague, not about heroes, not even about the lives and deaths of the tens of thousands of common folk in Jia City’s domain. She exhausted all her strength simply to prove her own worth, to ensure she would not be abandoned again. Anything else, even with all her effort, she did not wish to care about.

Such was she. The invisible yet substantial “disease” that existed within her. How was it not another kind of “plague”? And how could she ever be “healed”?

“Accompany me to the town.” Jiang Wang said.

“Good, Old Master!” Behind him, Xiao Xiao jumped up.