Chen Xiyuan bent down, tilted her head, and smiled as she looked at the short, stout old man in front of her.

When those words were spoken, she felt a cool sensation rise from the depths of her heart, surging straight to her spiritual consciousness.

It was as if the world before her eyes had suddenly taken on a different hue.

So,

This is how you all navigate the Jiang.

Burnt skin continuously flaked off Feng Lushan’s body, and foul-smelling pus oozed out.

His condition was dire; the recent explosion had almost completely destroyed his once-proud physique.

That he hadn’t utterly collapsed was the result of his gritting teeth and striving to maintain himself.

But regardless, the girl’s smile in front of him made him feel humiliated.

If it were sarcasm or mockery, he could still accept it, but he could sense that the girl was genuinely smiling from the bottom of her heart.

His anger immediately flared, becoming somewhat uncontrollable.

Part of this was due to the dense Yao Yuan (demonic怨念) pervasive in the air. When he was in a better state, he could subconsciously isolate and cleanse it, minimizing its effects. Now, with his body covered in wounds, the Yao Yuan was almost omnipresent, causing him to gradually slide into madness.

“Whose girl are you… so ill-mannered!”

Feng Lushan’s throat tightened, and white steam rose from his body as he quickly stood up.

He was already severely injured. If he had returned to recuperate properly, coupled with various treasured tonics, his injuries could have fully healed.

But now, he had used a secret technique. This meant that in the future, he would never be able to return to his peak, and the overdrawn life force would cause his body to prematurely decline.

Standing up, Feng Lushan himself felt somewhat dazed, seemingly not quite understanding why he was doing this.

Behind the three buildings, Li Zhuiyuan squatted on the ground, his right hand gripping the Jiao Ling (flood dragon spirit) formation flag, and his left hand holding a writing brush.

Several blank talismans lay on the ground, and the young man was drawing talismans.

Gradually, a huge eyeball emerged beneath the young man’s feet, beginning to draw in the surrounding Yao Yuan, and the eyeball slowly turned red.

The formation flag in the young man’s right hand also helped accelerate this process.

If an expert in Feng Shui were to observe from a distance, they would see the pervasive Yao Yuan in this large area rapidly converging to a single point, like a vortex appearing in the deep sea.

Li Zhuiyuan was extracting this Yao Yuan as material, attempting to place it onto the talismans.

After drawing one,

“Bang!”

The talisman shattered.

After drawing another, the talisman turned black.

He continued to draw,

“Buzz.”

The talisman immediately ignited.

He hadn’t succeeded even once, yet the young man tirelessly persisted.

Moreover, after each failure, the young man would let out a sigh of regret or give himself a pep talk.

For example:

“Sigh, again.”

“Next time, for sure.”

“Keep going.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Actually, he knew he couldn’t succeed in drawing them; he was “lacking” in this area.

However, successfully drawing the talismans was not the young man’s goal.

Li Zhuiyuan wanted a legitimate and appropriate reason to draw the Yao Yuan from the nearby area. He was the center of the vortex, but Chen Xiyuan and the short, stout old man were also very close to him.

Therefore, influenced by him, the flow rate of the resentment there also increased. This meant that a large amount of Yao Yuan was washing over the short, stout old man’s body like a swift current, affecting him with higher efficiency.

Tan Wenbin stood on the rooftop of the building in front, peering out half his head, his gaze fixed on the short, stout old man.

Connected by a red thread, Li Zhuiyuan could clearly observe the old man’s condition through Tan Wenbin’s snake eyes.

The flow rate couldn’t be too high. If too much Yao Yuan was injected, causing the old man to completely descend into madness, then he would be entirely under Li Zhuiyuan’s control, which would theoretically constitute a direct attack by Li Zhuiyuan.

He needed to be precise: it should influence the old man, but not be under absolute control, rather the old man’s own decision.

It’s like you can provoke him with words to make him hit you, instead of you hitting him first and then him retaliating. The judgment here is entirely different.

Certainly, Chen Xiyuan could have attacked him when she shouted, “Evil spirit, reveal yourself quickly.”

Even if the Chen family girl was naive, she wouldn’t just stand there smiling foolishly at a severely wounded opponent.

It was Li Zhuiyuan who told her not to act first, to wait for the old man to attack her first.

Li Zhuiyuan wanted to test the effect of Karma’s backlash, both on the individual and on the family and sect behind him.

The Jiang water had set up a ring in the Yu family, and each group within it had its own rules.

Li Zhuiyuan was now leveraging these rules.

The whole process was much simpler than expected, because Chen Xiyuan’s “smile” intensified the old man’s anger, making him lose his composure from the start.

Li Zhuiyuan only needed to give him a slight push.

After another failed talisman, the young man put down his brush, the formation flag in his right palm dissipated, and the giant eye beneath his feet vanished.

“Sigh, it seems I truly have no talent for drawing talismans. I’m so clumsy.”

Then, the young man stood up and shouted to Tan Wenbin on the rooftop:

“Brother Binbin, how’s that pig demon doing?”

Tan Wenbin: “Xiao Yuan, I’m monitoring closely, ready to assist Miss Chen at any moment.”

Meanwhile, Feng Lushan, who had just been pondering why he impulsively used the secret technique, suddenly forgot what he had been thinking about.

When his attention refocused on the young girl in front of him, a rush of emotions—crisis, humiliation, anger—flooded his mind. His brain momentarily stalled, and his body reacted, swinging his fist out.

Chen Xiyuan’s eyes lit up.

The Domain instantly expanded. Feng Lushan’s punch, containing terrifying power, merely caused the view in front of her to twist slowly. Chen Xiyuan gracefully retreated a few steps, and the Domain expanded backward.

“Boom!”

A large amount of ground tiles behind them were swept up and shattered by the force of the punch.

The power of this punch seemed to land on Chen Xiyuan, but in reality, it was diverted by the Domain.

After throwing that punch, Feng Lushan sobered up, because he felt a huge sense of crisis in his heart.

It wasn’t coming from the girl in front of him, but from the ethereal realm.

His heart began to panic, his eyelids twitched violently, and a deep sense of ominous foreboding set in.

When he saw Chen Xiyuan, he had already lost the qualification to continue attacking her, not to mention that he had even called out, “Whose girl are you?”

Now, he was, in effect, attacking a Jiang walker on the river. Moreover, his own junior was also nearby at this moment. With various factors superimposed, it was equivalent to him directly intervening in the Jiang walk to pave the way for his own junior.

“I…”

Feng Lushan’s hands trembled. If the karmic backlash only fell upon him, that would be one thing, but he knew very well that his clan’s destiny would also be implicated by his recent actions.

These old fellows were all tacitly engaging in the dangerous work of “pulling chestnuts from the fire” here. Now, he had carelessly plunged his hand directly into the deep, blazing coals.

Having deflected Feng Lushan’s punch, Chen Xiyuan initiated her attack.

“Little girl, I recog…”

The Domain, once again, expanded.

Before Feng Lushan could finish saying “I recognized the wrong person,” he felt as if he had been thrown into water, making gurgling sounds.

He suddenly realized the true identity of the girl in front of him.

The Chen family, descendants of the Dragon King!

Chen Xiyuan drew the green flute from her waist and swung it towards Feng Lushan’s head.

Feng Lushan had no choice but to exert force again, retreating. Although he felt as if he were in a swamp, he could still move relatively nimbly.

However, as he moved, the Domain also moved, continuing to encompass him.

If he were at his peak, he could have forcibly expanded this Domain through a head-on confrontation. Even under immense pressure, he could still make the Chen family girl deeply wary and afraid to approach him.

But now, he was merely in a state of short-lived exhaustion. Forcibly breaking the Domain would require him to first boost his physical strength, but his current dilapidated body simply couldn’t take it!

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

Each time the green flute descended, Feng Lushan blocked it with his arm.

Feng Lushan retreated, and Chen Xiyuan advanced.

Tan Wenbin clicked his tongue and said, “Unreasonable, truly unreasonable.”

He could see that although the old man was in a very bad condition, he still had the strength to fight. A cornered beast was still terrifying.

If it were him, Run Sheng, and Lin Shuyou, even if the three of them teamed up, they would only dare to use a strategy of surrounding and harassing, slowly wearing down his last breaths.

Because such old individuals had many tricks and extensive experience. If they went in for a direct confrontation, it would be easy for him to take down one, or even two, before his death.

But Miss Chen had no such concerns at all. She simply used the flute as a weapon, hitting, hitting, hitting, relentlessly hitting!

Taking advantage of his illness to end his life, with the Domain providing suppression and protection, she wasn’t worried about his dying struggle at all.

Tan Wenbin could now see the despair in the eyes of the short, stout old man.

His body, which he had been forcefully holding together to prevent from collapsing, gradually developed dense new cracks under the young girl’s continuous strikes.

He wanted to break free, but couldn’t. He wanted to counterattack, but by the time his counterattack reached the girl, it was so weakened that she could easily neutralize it.

Experience, tricks, these things now seemed pale and powerless, because every move he made was clearly grasped by his opponent.

Chen Xiyuan’s smile had long since vanished. Now, she was consumed by the intense determination to shatter this old man before her.

Ever since she met her little brother, she had either been getting beaten or rescued. Many of her actions, in retrospect, made her blush with embarrassment.

Now was her chance, as an elder sister, to reclaim her prestige. She wanted to show her little brother that while her mind might not be as clever as his, she was truly formidable in a fight.

So, why are you still holding on, old man? Why haven’t you exploded yet? You’re making me look bad in front of my little brother!

Chen Xiyuan’s hair billowed continuously. Influenced by her emotions, her Domain solidified, and the force of her green flute swings intensified.

Tan Wenbin: “Xiao Yuan, is she hitting harder and harder?”

Chen Xiyuan had no reason to hold back. Except for secret techniques with side effects, she would always go all out from the start. Therefore, her attack power was most likely at its peak initially, and it was already very difficult to maintain that intensity smoothly. In fact, for most people, their intensity decreases the longer the battle lasts.

Only someone like Run Sheng, who practices the “Qin Clan’s Dragon Gaze Technique,” could continuously build momentum under pressure, but the problem was that the girl’s surname was Chen, not Qin.

Li Zhuiyuan: “She has improved, or one could say, she had a small breakthrough.”

Tan Wenbin: “She… broke through just like that?”

Li Zhuiyuan:

“The sacrificial blood essence from the Si Xuan Men (Four Mysterious Gates) remaining in the pearl powder not only helped her recover from her injuries but also further strengthened her body.

Plus, during her time with us, she gained a new understanding of Jiang walking. The understanding of Jiang walking inherently contains the principles of heaven and earth, and since she cultivates the Domain, like a small world, a deeper understanding of the real world also makes it easier for her to construct a more delicate and stable Domain.

Added to that is a bit of emotional stimulation, acting as a catalyst, allowing her to integrate the progress of her body and Domain.

This is quite normal.”

Tan Wenbin twitched the corner of his mouth: Is this normal?

Well, to Xiao Yuan, it certainly was normal.

In comparison, the three of them had been painstakingly raised to their current level by Xiao Yuan’s planning and tutelage, so they naturally couldn’t empathize with how true geniuses progressed.

Chen Xiyuan’s hair fanned out, and her green flute unleashed a burst of green light.

“Bang!”

The flesh on Feng Lushan’s arms completely detached, leaving only two bare bones.

“Bang!”

Feng Lushan’s right arm bone fractured.

“Bang!”

His left arm fractured.

“Bang!”

His chest caved in.

“Bang!”

One leg tried to block, but it was smashed into pieces, flesh and bone together.

Even without the Domain, Lin Shuyou would still lose to Chen Xiyuan in an arm wrestle.

That night at the soup house entrance, she used the flute’s sound to initiate the Domain, to control the gray mist and prevent ordinary people from being harmed.

The Chen Xiyuan that night was not truly herself.

Normally, her most accustomed method was to use the Domain to suppress others while boosting herself, and then, within her Domain, to beat the opponent to death in the most primal way.

High-level combat often appears so simple and unadorned.

Tan Wenbin felt that if he also had such ability, he wouldn’t bother with anything flashy. If all opponents could be smashed to death by him, he would also be too lazy to think about strategies or plans.

From this, it can be seen that when Chen Xiyuan walked the Jiang in the past, she could almost ignore the background of the “waves,” and didn’t need to clarify any internal reasons. She just needed to find the evil entity that the Jiang water required her to resolve in that “wave,”

Then… trap it and smash it to death!

She truly walked every “wave” to the same rhythm, using one fixed pattern.

In short, no matter how the Jiang water changed, she only focused on this one method.

Feng Lushan’s heart was filled with immense grievance, and what was even more frustrating was that he couldn’t even make a sound.

The girl in front of him, so young, yet possessing such talent – no, she could no longer be described by talent alone; she was already very powerful. Coupled with her time on the Jiang, where she could easily gain merit and fortuitous encounters, this meant that her strength would experience an even more rapid surge in the future.

This is why every generation of exceptional individuals chooses to light their lamps and walk the Jiang in their youth. Although most will end up as fish and shrimp at the bottom of the Jiang, your potential can be further elevated through the Jiang water, and your talent can be realized more quickly. Even if you ultimately fail to secure the position of Dragon King, as long as you can manage to light your lamp a second time and concede early, your level of strength will still stand above those of the same rank who never lit their lamps.

Feng Lushan: How could you allow her to continue living? You should have killed her first! If you let her continue to grow, will there be any suspense left for this generation’s Dragon King?

Indeed, although the Chen family history hasn’t produced many Dragon Kings, whenever a Chen family Dragon King rose, it was a crushing defeat for their contemporary competitors.

Feng Lushan gave up. He stood on one leg, like a golden rooster.

Die, I accept it. I won’t resist anymore.

The Feng family was renowned in the martial arts world for their body-refining techniques.

There was once a rumor in the martial arts world that when it came to body-refining methods, the Qin family, descendants of the Dragon King, were first. Generations of Qin family members walked the Jiang alone, relying on their fists to earn countless Dragon King titles.

Below the Qin family, there were several families of equal standing, whose strengths could not be precisely differentiated, only known to be in the second tier. The Feng family was among them.

Feng family members were inherently strong-willed, resorting to every possible extreme in developing their physical bodies. Their family disciples were often indomitable, because any with a weaker disposition would have been tortured to death during the early stages of cultivation.

But now, such a respected elder of the Feng family was crushed, both physically and mentally, by a young junior.

Chen Xiyuan’s dissatisfaction deepened. “Wouldn’t it have been better if you hadn’t resisted earlier and I just smashed your head with one flute strike? How much more graceful that would have looked in front of my little brother. But you insisted on holding on for so long, making me hit you for ages. My little brother must be getting bored watching!”

Feng Lushan opened his mouth, not to speak again, but a golden thread flew out of his mouth. Immediately after, golden threads, like weeds, sprouted everywhere from his shattered and barely remaining body.

Then, Feng Lushan’s chest shook, and he shattered his own heart.

Death did not come immediately. Even at this point, he could still cling to life for a short while.

He showed a bitter smile.

“Bang!”

Chen Xiyuan’s green flute struck his head.

With this strike, Chen Xiyuan exerted her current full power, the peak manifestation of her recent minor breakthrough.

Feng Lushan’s head exploded, turning into dust.

He was already a dying man; now he was utterly, irrevocably dead.

“Hoo…”

Withdrew her Domain, Chen Xiyuan let out a deep breath.

Turning her head, she looked at Tan Wenbin, who was peering over the rooftop of the building. Chen Xiyuan waved at him a little sheepishly.

She knew that her little brother could see her through Tan Wenbin’s eyes.

Lin Shuyou and Run Sheng returned. They had previously been sent by Li Zhuiyuan to retrieve the damaged talisman armor.

Li Zhuiyuan had originally intended to retrieve only two pieces, as they were damaged nearby. The third piece, which had failed to attract a cat and was then struck down, was a bit farther away.

However, Lin Shuyou had one piece, and Run Sheng had two.

“Xiao Yuan, I didn’t deliberately go out to search; it just happened to be lying not far away.”

Run Sheng didn’t want Xiao Yuan to misunderstand that he was being disobedient and risking venturing to the outskirts for the sake of not wanting to part with such a small possession.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded: “Then it must be General Zeng who tried to throw himself out as much as possible before he was struck down.”

This action was to increase the talisman armor’s recovery rate. After all, General Zeng was different from General Sun; he had two avatars. When the number of talisman armors decreased, it would have the greatest impact on his future.

Li Zhuiyuan carefully inspected the talisman armor. It was damaged, but not to an irreparable extent. With some materials and effort, there was a certain probability of repairing it.

This was also because those old fellows struck the “person” dead from afar. After striking, they would mutter “exterminate demons and devils” and wouldn’t deliberately go closer to confirm. As long as they didn’t see it, then what they killed was a demon.

However, even if repaired, these three talisman armors could at most exert only three or four tenths of their past carrying capacity. This meant that the battle strength of Generals Zeng and Sun, when they descended, was cut by more than half.

To have them serve as the last line of defense in front of him would be somewhat inadequate; they could only be relegated to reconnaissance tools.

However, being able to recover them without completely losing them was already very good. He really shouldn’t covet more.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Let’s go, there’s another one inside to deal with.”

Chen Xiyuan was still standing there, clutching a handful of golden threads.

“Little brother, this was knocked out of that old man’s body.”

Li Zhuiyuan took the golden threads.

Chen Xiyuan: “This must be something he used to aid in body refining.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Hmm, to strengthen sinews and stabilize bones. This is the foundational item he used to invigorate his constitution.”

This item was very precious. In this family, each person could only cultivate one such item in their lifetime. Moreover, the old man held a respected position and was advanced in years, so his golden thread could be considered a top-grade item of its kind.

Chen Xiyuan: “Little brother, you should have a use for it, right?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I can try to see if I can use it to reinforce my damaged talisman armor, perhaps restoring its carrying capacity, or even improving it further.”

Whether this specific operation was possible would have to be decided by A Li after they returned home.

If successfully integrated, then in the future, each card in these deck-like sets would be connected by a golden thread.

Chen Xiyuan: “It’s good that you can use it.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “This item is very precious, priceless on the market.”

Chen Xiyuan waved her hand: “No need, no need. I walk the righteous path, not the crooked one.”

“No, no, no!” Chen Xiyuan waved her hand again, “I didn’t mean that. I’m not good at these intricate and delicate tasks, so this material is useless to me. I can’t even mend my own torn dress.”

After a pause, Chen Xiyuan added, “I plan to specifically learn needlework from Grandma Yao before leaving Luoyang after this wave ends.”

The girl explained so much, fearing the young man would misunderstand.

Li Zhuiyuan: “After this wave ends, pick a few cultivation techniques, and I’ll give them to you.”

Although Chen Xiyuan had previously said she would save everything she obtained from walking the Jiang and give it to him, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t like taking things for free.

Chen Xiyuan: “Little brother, really no need, this item isn’t precious to me at all.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “It’s fine, cultivation techniques and secret manuals are very cheap to me.”

Chen Xiyuan blinked: “But didn’t you say that you were prematurely ‘lit’ due to an accident, and so the old lady of the Liu family hadn’t made proper arrangements for you?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “My great-grandpa’s basement has many books.”

Chen Xiyuan’s eyes showed seriousness: “Your great-grandpa is…”

Li Zhuiyuan: “A corpse salvager from Shinan Town, Nantong.”

Chen Xiyuan: “A corpse salvager?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I put all the cultivation techniques and secret manuals I’ve collected since I started walking the Jiang in my great-grandpa’s basement.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Oh, so that’s how it is.”

His great-grandpa’s basement was indeed hard to explain to outsiders.

Who could believe that those were truly books his great-grandpa was storing for others? What was even more incomprehensible was that “Qin Clan’s Dragon Gaze Technique” and “Liu Clan’s Qi-Observing Art” were just two of them.

For a long time, his great-grandpa even complained about the space it took up. To house so many chests, he had to specially dig a basement when building a new house.

People in Nantong didn’t have a habit of digging cellars; normal families building houses wouldn’t dig downwards at all. It was fortunate that his great-grandpa was indeed good at making money and wasn’t stingy when building the house.

If it were any other family, they probably would have long used these books as kindling for the kitchen stove.

Li Zhuiyuan coiled the golden threads, preparing to hand them to Run Sheng for storage, but then paused slightly.

The young man carefully stared at the golden threads again, rubbing them between his fingertips repeatedly.

Chen Xiyuan: “What’s wrong?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “He deliberately spat out the golden threads before he died. These golden threads were cultivated by him for so many years. Normally, when he died, the golden threads would perish with him. Brother Binbin, check his corpse.”

“Yes!”

Tan Wenbin walked to Feng Lushan’s corpse. It was a very simple task, as the old man’s body was quite incomplete.

No arms, no legs, no head, just the mid-section remaining.

“Xiao Yuan, his heart is minced meat.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Then he committed suicide beforehand, to leave these golden threads behind.”

Chen Xiyuan wondered: “Why would he do that?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “To atone, to apologize to you by giving a gift, hoping to lessen the karmic backlash on him… and on the sect behind him.”

The old man’s experience in the martial arts world and his understanding of karma were indeed impressive.

His mistake was in really taking it for granted that the Yu family was a playground for these old fellows.

Not to mention the evil spirits suppressed by generations of the Yu family, ready to awaken at any moment, and that old dog, even just considering the Jiang walking teams, every team that entered this time was elite. A single team might not be able to defeat a single old fellow, but what if they combined?

Counting himself, counting Zhou Yunfan, and then counting Chen Xiyuan, this old man was effectively fighting against three teams simultaneously.

Chen Xiyuan: “Little brother, you know, sometimes I really don’t know how to describe you. Anyway, if I ever have to clash with you in a future ‘wave,’ I’ll just light my lamp a second time.”

The young girl didn’t know how to face such an opponent. He could even exploit rules to make a dying man willingly extract his own resources before death.

“Don’t say such disheartening words. The path of the Dragon King cannot be easily abandoned.”

“I’m not disheartened, I’m impressed.”

“Keep staying on the Jiang. I told you, I need your help to eliminate opponents. Besides, if something happens to me and I’m gone someday, if you don’t contend for the Dragon King title, someone else will get it cheaply.”

Chen Xiyuan: “This, you can actually queue for it?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Yes, you’re not the only one who has already queued.”

Lin Shuyou’s lips curled into a smile.

Tan Wenbin nudged him with his elbow and asked, “What are you laughing about?”

Lin Shuyou: “I was thinking about the scene where Three-Eyes didn’t get to be happy for long before encountering this person in the next wave.”

Tan Wenbin: “Then have you considered that the premise of his happiness is that we’re all gone?”

Lin Shuyou paused, clearly having just realized that.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the “sun” in the sky.

Chen Xiyuan: “Let’s go in, there’s still one more inside.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “If I were in a hurry to go in, I could have gone in while you were still fighting. I deliberately gave him time so he could properly comprehend this ‘sun.’

Let’s wait a bit longer, he hasn’t finished comprehending it.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Why?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Because although the ‘sun’ above is still operating, it is severely damaged. The core mechanism in this pagoda can at most perfectly display its principle once.

If I had gone in early and interrupted him, then this inheritance of the Yu family’s mechanical arts would be forever lost.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I didn’t expect you to respect heritage so much, without any sectarian bias. My grandfather would definitely like you very much, because my grandfather is the same kind of person as you.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “That would be an insult to Grandpa Chen. I don’t want to give up this heritage; I want to obtain it.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I understand. When I go in later, I’ll be careful with my actions and try to capture him alive. But what if he refuses to hand over the inheritance even if he’s beaten to death?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “No need. Go in and kill him directly.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then he’ll be a dead man.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I’m better at communicating with dead people.”

Chen Xiyuan’s gaze fell on Ding Luoxiang on the ground. Her body was covered in wounds; by all accounts, she should have long been beyond saving. But what truly led to her rapid death were the two gaping blood holes through her chest, from which tiny, immature finger marks could be seen.

The children here, besides her little brother, were the one named Ah Hui.

Chen Xiyuan: “If we had acted against them earlier in the stone gate, would we have been the ones caught in the explosion?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Yes.”

Chen Xiyuan: “She’s a mechanical puppet?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Correct. Ding Luoxiang fell backward, indicating she was killed facing the gate by someone inside. That puppet was her maid, but the person who made her must have the highest authority.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I can tell she genuinely loved Zhou Yunfan, it wasn’t fake. In the end, she even risked her life to guard the door for him.

Sigh, just walk the Jiang, what’s with falling in love? I don’t understand, I can’t figure it out, there’s something wrong with their minds.”

As soon as these words came out, Tan Wenbin turned his face away, Lin Shuyou lowered his head, and Run Sheng closed his eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up again, at the “sun” in the sky.

At this moment, the “sun” in the sky extinguished.

The entire Yu family plunged into desperate darkness.

Li Zhuiyuan realized that next, the old fellows’ slaughter of other young people would become even more unrestrained.

In the pitch black, who could tell if what was in front of them was human or demon?

“Brother Run Sheng.”

“Hmm.”

Run Sheng stepped forward, reached out, and pushed open the pagoda’s gate. Everyone entered.

Above, Zhou Yunfan stood on a stationary wooden ball, his body covered in dense yet orderly grid patterns.

Zhou Yunfan stomped his foot, and the wooden ball beneath him ignited, illuminating the pagoda.

“As expected, you didn’t die in the passage.”

Zhou Yunfan’s gaze swept over the people below, lingering on Run Sheng, then he performed the Zhou family’s ceremonial bow to Run Sheng and said:

“Ink line measures the sky, a ruler gauges the clouds; an axe carves the moon, leaving dew as marks.

Zhou Yunfan of the Nine Bends Mechanism Zhou Clan.

Please state your honored name!”

Run Sheng moved a step diagonally forward, revealing Xiao Yuan behind him.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at Zhou Yunfan, did not return the bow, but said directly:

“Qin family, Zhuiyuan.”