“What course of action should I take?” Jiang Wang inquired.

“First, let us depart this place,” Bai Lian replied. “Leave the beast cages here. You cannot carry anything away from this domain.”

Jiang Wang set down the cages. Bai Lian stepped upon them, reducing the two artifacts, which might well be considered treasures, to dust. Thus, they vanished.

“Yet, you are free to destroy them,” she offered.

The two retraced their steps, donning the animal skins as before, and strode past the two Xingxing Division cultivators who remained in their stupor. Just as upon their ascent, they effortlessly navigated the throng of fierce beasts and descended towards the mountain’s foot.

“What sight does the mountain peak hold?” Jiang Wang asked.

Bai Lian did not pause. “You would not wish to know. Once you have witnessed the grandeur of Yuhang Peak, perhaps you would be loath to dismantle it.”

“In that case, let it be.”

Were there no peril, Jiang Wang would indeed have yearned to scale the summit of Yuhang Peak and cast his gaze upon it.

The ancients scaled high places, and when they did, they would compose poetry. He truly desired to know the thoughts that resided within the hearts of those who had reached the pinnacle of Yuhang Peak. He wished to discern if any lingering sentiments remained upon that lofty height.

But then, he considered, let it be.

They reached the mountain’s base without incident, and Jiang Wang inquired once more, “Can you now tell me what is to be done?”

“Not yet. We must journey a little further.”

The two shed their animal skins and casually incinerated them with Taoist arts. Having departed Yuhang Peak, Bai Lian immediately accelerated her pace.

After Jiang Wang had exerted himself at his maximum speed for roughly a quarter of an hour, Bai Lian halted. At this juncture, only the distant outline of Yuhang Peak remained visible.

She produced a formation plate from her robes and placed it in Jiang Wang’s hand, then imparted a seal to him. She then instructed, “Recall the formation plate I cast into the cavern? That was the Earth Dragon Turning Heaven Formation. This in your hand is its subsidiary plate. Consider carefully. When you complete the seal here, the grand formation there will activate. Then…”

Her crimson lips parted. “Boom! The mountains shall crumble and the earth shall rend.”

It became clear that the formation plate Jiang Wang had believed was for concealing their presence was, in fact, the means of Yuhang Peak’s destruction.

Jiang Wang hesitated not and began the seal.

This matter bore a resemblance to a name offering. Bai Lian could have undertaken it herself, yet she had entrusted it to him.

Setting aside the nature of the act itself, Jiang Wang found this kind of manipulation deeply repulsive. However, it was futile to place his hopes upon Bai Lian’s compassion for the San Mountain City region. Though his interactions with Bai Lian were limited, he instinctively felt that she held no concern for those people.

Furthermore, he had pledged to perform three deeds for Bai Lian to repay the grace of saving his life.

This matter did not violate his principles.

As Jiang Wang completed the seal, a vast surge of Dao Yuan erupted from the Tongtian Palace and poured into the formation plate. The plate itself scattered like smoke.

And at the same instant, on the distant Yuhang Peak, black smoke suddenly ascended!

Cries of malediction, howls of anguish. Countless plumes of black smoke rose, finally condensing into five colossal figures, encircling Yuhang Peak.

“This is the Earth Dragon Turning Heaven Formation?” Jiang Wang strained his vision to behold the immense, grotesque figures in the distance, and a surge of anger, the anger of being deceived, swelled within his heart.

Though he had never wielded a formation plate, and knew not the true power of the Earth Dragon Turning Heaven Formation, from its literal meaning, it was utterly impossible for such spectral abominations to manifest!

“Perhaps I misremembered. This is the Five Ghosts Destroying Mountain Formation.” Bai Lian giggled and waved her hand. “But the difference is not substantial.”

“I trusted you, and I have been cooperating with you, wishing to repay your life-saving grace. But you have been misleading me?” Jiang Wang could barely contain his fury.

“Misleading you? What advantage would I gain by misleading you?” Bai Lian gazed at him, her eyes becoming unusually cold. “Discard your pathetic hypocrisy. You merely feel unease manipulating the souls of the departed. But do you know, there is a fierce beast on Yuhang Peak called the Soul-Eating Bird? Those souls of the departed who perished in battle on Yuhang Peak, and those resentful spirits entangled within the fierce beasts, even if we do not utilize them, they will soon be devoured.”

She sneered. “You incessantly proclaim your desire to destroy Yuhang Peak and protect the ordinary populace of the San Mountain City region. The effort you expend is nothing more than forming Taoist seals here. And I, I possess only a formation plate of the Five Ghosts Destroying Mountain Formation. What else could I have done? Provided you with an Earth Dragon Turning Heaven Formation?”

Jiang Wang fell silent. He did indeed view the manipulation of the souls of the departed as a profanation, and if he had known beforehand that it was this kind of formation plate, he might not have been able to make such a decisive choice.

But his true nature was not swayed by Bai Lian’s words. He merely realized that he might have already been drawn into a certain vortex crafted by the other party, and was sinking ever deeper.

And he did not even know how to struggle.

Indeed, this was the root of his anger.

…

On Yuhang Peak, in an instant, as many as seven figures erupted outwards. But with the efficacy of the formation plate, the Five Ghosts Destroying Mountain Formation was activated with great speed. The five colossal ghosts materialized almost instantaneously, and then in the very next moment, they joined forces to assail the mountain!

Boom!

The mountains crumbled, and the earth rent asunder.

Those seven masters had not yet devised a method to confront the giant ghosts. Their Taoism was unleashed upon them, yet before it could take effect… Yuhang Peak had collapsed!

If Yuhang Peak was akin to a silent colossal beast, then the fierce beasts upon it were like lice. The giant beast crumbled, and the lice plummeted, one after another.

The five giant ghosts did not cease their efforts. Instead, they joined forces to lift half of Yuhang Peak and turned towards the east.

With each step, the earth trembled.

That was the direction of Flying Peak! It was the final renowned mountain in the San Mountain City region, and also the last stronghold of the fierce beasts.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Compared to the five giant ghosts, he was as minuscule as a black dot.

But he stood suspended in mid-air, as if before the sun itself!

He seemed not even to be moving, and the five giant ghosts vanished like smoke.

He uttered no sound, yet his aura had already permeated the entirety of the sky.

Trees snapped and stones shattered, birds plummeted and beasts prostrated themselves… Even the clouds in the heavens seemed to be driven away by his aura, and for a moment, the sky was clear and vast.

But Yuhang Peak had already fallen forever.

Those fierce beasts upon the mountain, those demonic beasts, those secrets… all were like smoke.

…

Jiang Wang only beheld the black dot from afar, and he felt a dread that originated from the very depths of his heart. That was the instinctive fear of life itself.

“Do not look.” Bai Lian extended her hand and covered his eyes. “Once he notices your gaze, we will all perish.”

Her hand was boneless and somewhat cold.

Jiang Wang took a step back, moving away from her hand. Of course, he also withdrew his gaze towards Yuhang Peak.

“Let us proceed in the direction of Maple Forest City, and converse as we walk,” Bai Lian suggested.

Jiang Wang followed without a word.

“In the future, the fierce beasts of the San Mountain City region will be reduced by half. You are the great savior of San Mountain City! It is very likely you will marry Sun Xiaoman. Marrying Dou Yuemei is also not impossible. Marrying Dou Yuemei is more profitable. You will have a son and a daughter as soon as you have her, you will make a fortune!”

Jiang Wang remained silent.

Bai Lian did not seem to mind and continued, “Actually, a mere Five Ghosts Destroying Mountain Formation, even with the blessing of the souls of the dead from the previous battle, is not sufficient to achieve this effect. The most important factor is Dou Yuemei’s astonishing divine power of pulling mountains. She has already severed the mountain roots of Yuhang Peak, and they will not heal for over a hundred years. Thus, the five ghosts were able to destroy it with a single blow…”

Bai Lian prattled on incessantly, as though she could converse at length with herself.

Jiang Wang said in a muffled voice, “Your words are always half-truth and half-false. I truly do not know what kind of person you are.”

Bai Lian replied with great delight, “Naturally, the appearance of a peerless beauty, the most exquisite of all!”

“…” Jiang Wang truly wished to say that he did not mean that, but he gave up.

He realized that no one could truly comprehend Bai Lian, unless she took the initiative to reveal her heart.

But then again, who could say with certainty whether her “heart” was truly her “heart”?