Li Zhuiyuan waited for its reaction.

The young man had repeatedly shed his blood on the village road, setting up a barrier at great cost.

First, to subtly shift its perspective, then to draw it in with the barrier, the current situation was a two-way street of “luring the tiger out of its mountain lair” and “walking into a trap.”

Against other opponents, Li Zhuiyuan was confident he could permanently seal them here. One could even say that those so-called powerful malevolent spirits weren’t worthy of such treatment.

But facing it, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t harbor such extravagant hopes.

It had merely fallen into its own perspective, temporarily trapping itself.

And what the young man needed was this small buffer of time, for guests to attend their own funeral also needed time.

As for actively approaching and integrating himself into the current environment, attempting to reconnect with Li Lan’s previous interrupted “return home to visit relatives,” Li Zhuiyuan wanted to use this method to assess the extent of Li Lan’s fusion with Da Wugui.

If it showed strong resistance to the current environment and scenario, it would indicate a high degree of fusion between Li Lan and Da Wugui, truly a case of “you in me, I in you.”

If it appeared composed and naturally integrated, it would mean that Li Lan’s fusion with Da Wugui was merely superficial.

In the latter case, Da Wugui could cut its losses with Li Lan in time, treating Li Lan as a disposable pawn.

Given Li Lan’s intelligence, to fall to such a state for treatment was indeed difficult to comprehend.

But everything has two sides. This non-dominant and somewhat detached fusion could prevent Li Lan from sharing prosperity and ruin with Da Wugui.

Theoretically, if the young man wasn’t killed by Da Wugui this time and managed a counterattack, it could lead to a “sunrise in the east, sunset in the west” for Li Lan, greatly increasing her dominance over Da Wugui.

Li Lan had said she wouldn’t enter the Xuanmen, planning to skip that stage.

If she truly succeeded in the end, then she… would indeed have skipped it.

To directly seize the fruit of an existence like Da Wugui as an ordinary person was an unprecedented overnight success throughout history!

At this moment, facing Li Zhuiyuan’s “enthusiasm and thoughtfulness,” its expression softened. It sat on the tricycle the young man was riding and gently patted the young man’s back, signaling him to ride faster, eager to go home and see.

The answer was out.

The young man’s expression remained unchanged.

No expectations, no disappointment.

She was indeed going to skip it, and she was using her son as a stepping stone.

Li Zhuiyuan even suspected that even if Li Lan had gone to Donghai at that time, she would have found a way to escape Da Wugui’s influence. The real reason she actively became Da Wugui’s eyes and fused with it was because she saw those two paintings.

She recognized the person in the paintings as her adult son.

Knowing that her adult son could kill Da Wugui, could her underage son help her injure Da Wugui?

This logical deduction seemed absurd, but Li Zhuiyuan could easily understand that mindset. Driven by extreme self-interest, her own life and so-called “self” were a negligible cost.

She was a madwoman.

Through wind and rain, Li Zhuiyuan rode the tricycle.

Li Weihan held a large oil-paper umbrella, standing on the small path in front of his house, constantly looking around; Cui Guiying stood at the kitchen door, her foot on the threshold.

“Li Lan” was back.

The characters here were all controlled by Li Zhuiyuan; he could perfectly simulate the scene of grandparents seeing their daughter.

Everything was proceeding as normal.

Li Lan’s older brothers and sisters-in-law had all arrived. Her brothers chatted with Li Weihan around Li Lan, while her sisters-in-law busied themselves in the kitchen with Cui Guiying, preparing food.

Children of Li Zhuiyuan’s generation also came. The small stools in the house weren’t enough, so some, like Shitou Huzi, had to sit on the floor.

This was the scene Li Weihan and Cui Guiying had longed for for years in reality.

Unfortunately, its true realization was in another perspective, unrelated to them.

A sumptuous dinner was served, filling the entire table. Li Weihan invited everyone to sit and eat. The table wasn’t big enough, so another small table had to be set up by the stove.

Li Zhuiyuan sat next to Li Lan, facing several bowls covered with inverted bowls, a measure to keep the pre-made dishes from getting cold.

Cui Guiying removed the covers one by one.

Li Zhuiyuan held his chopsticks, looking at the small, wriggling turtles in the uncovered dishes.

It was polluting this place.

Li Zhuiyuan turned to look at Li Lan, who was also looking at him.

Her eyes, once faintly red, were now entirely crimson, and a dark red slit appeared between her eyebrows.

Using the excuse of going to the toilet, Li Zhuiyuan went to the river behind the house.

The small boat tied to a tree by the river, belonging to Grandpa, now had dark blue-black patterns on it, resembling a giant turtle shell.

It hadn’t fully awakened yet, but it was close. As this process continued, this pure land deep within the young man’s consciousness would be completely taken over by it.

An existence of this level, even after so much of its power had been chipped away, still possessed a terrifying malevolence that made one’s heart palpitate.

Li Zhuiyuan turned and faced the house.

The small turtles in the bowls were picked up by the people around the dining table with chopsticks and put into their mouths.

Their expressions were blissful, as if they were feasting on a rare delicacy.

From the stove, turtles crawled out one by one. Initially, they swarmed on the ground, then climbed onto the furniture, and finally scaled the walls and beams.

Inside, people were still laughing and talking. Even the children enjoyed this luxurious feast, a rare treat at home, completely unaware that they were being submerged in a tide of turtles.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t go back inside. Instead, he went to his tricycle, got on, and after riding some distance, he looked across the farmland and saw countless turtles suddenly gush out from the doors and windows of Grandpa and Grandma’s house, like a flood.

They began to expand in all directions, spilling over rivers, covering farmland, like a small erupting volcano.

The final countdown had begun.

Li Zhuiyuan knew he should hide now. He shouldn’t be seen by those who would “come ashore” later.

At this moment, the tricycle suddenly sank.

The young man turned his head and saw “it” sitting on the tricycle.

It maintained the posture of sitting at the dining table, holding an invisible bowl in its left hand and invisible chopsticks in its right.

It yearned for him, it wanted to follow him.

This was an unexpected turn of events for Li Zhuiyuan.

Even though he had done his utmost, and every step had unfolded as he envisioned, he had ultimately underestimated its grip on him.

Even if he hadn’t actively sought it out at the village road, it would have quickly appeared by his side. Though not yet fully awake, it retained the instinct to pursue its prey.

This couldn’t continue.

When Granny Liu and the others entered here, they would immediately pinpoint its location.

If Granny Liu and the others discovered his presence here, they would realize he wasn’t dead.

Then his elaborate setup would only have achieved a reduction in its power, and the immunity from causality would be completely lost.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out, wanting to push it off the tricycle.

But it was heavy. Not only could he not push it, it seemed welded to the vehicle, without even a tremor.

Li Zhuiyuan took out a talisman from his pocket. When he flicked it, the talisman didn’t burn. He flicked it again, still to no effect.

The young man then spread his palm, trying to summon the spirit of the flood dragon, but there was still no movement.

He had been completely drained.

He was now in a state of complete exhaustion. Everything had been used to maintain the operation of this illusory village.

But he couldn’t even secretly reserve a portion for himself from this operation, because the current operation was already at its limit. Any slight corner-cutting would expose a flaw in this “world.”

And any flaw would accelerate its awakening, perhaps even an immediate awakening.

The heavy rain relentlessly beat down on Li Zhuiyuan.

At this moment, he was truly just an ordinary twelve-year-old boy. What could he do against an evil behemoth from Donghai?

Li Zhuiyuan tried to abandon the tricycle and walk away.

After walking twenty meters, he stopped and looked back, finding it still behind him. This time, it was standing, holding an imaginary cup, presumably to toast its family.

He couldn’t shake it off; it would stick to him.

Unless external forces intervened, there was no chance of breaking free.

Li Zhuiyuan returned to the tricycle and got on.

The back sank again. It was back on the tricycle, sitting, its right hand making a caressing motion, likely stroking the head of a nephew or niece.

Li Zhuiyuan rode the bike. Fortunately, it was still rideable.

According to his calculations, Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and Lin Shuyou would definitely be the first to arrive for his funeral.

He had given them three candles, instructing them to light them in their respective rooms at eight o’clock, and to rush back as soon as the candles extinguished.

They would not defy his orders, no matter how absurd or negative the command.

But in fact, Li Zhuiyuan had tampered with the candles beforehand.

When the three of them, believing he was deliberately sending them away to sacrifice himself for their lives, lit the candles with helplessness and sorrow, waiting for them to slowly burn out, they would discover…

The candles would explode upon ignition!

This meant that at eight o’clock, the three of them would set off immediately. Runsheng would rush from Xiting, while Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou would depart from Shigang Town.

The time they spent on the road would be enough for Li Zhuiyuan and Da Wugui to finish this “staring contest.”

The three of them were his companions, intimately familiar with the red line. As the first group to enter, they could set an example for subsequent mourners and also help him deal with unexpected incidents.

Just like now.

The statues of Runsheng and the other two were at Great-Grandpa’s house.

Connected by the red line, they would land on their statues upon entering here.

So, at this moment, Li Zhuiyuan rode his tricycle towards Great-Grandpa’s house.

This way, he could rendezvous with them as quickly as possible, allowing them to help him restrain or drive away the entity on the tricycle, giving him a chance to escape and hide.

Time was pressing, as Li Zhuiyuan didn’t know when Granny Liu and the others would return.

From Li Weihan’s house to Great-Grandpa’s house, the path passed behind Dahu Zi’s house. Li Zhuiyuan heard a crisp flute sound, which the strong wind imbued with a different flavor.

The peach grove in front of the house was bare. Da Wugui had previously moved this peach grove out of its sight, and Li Zhuiyuan had naturally made corresponding adjustments.

Therefore, at this time, Chen Xiyuan’s statue was playing to a patch of withered branches and fallen leaves.

However, just then, the flute sound stopped.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up in surprise, towards the direction of Dahu Zi’s courtyard.

Under normal rhythm, every character here would “perform” according to predetermined logic.

Without external disturbance or interaction, Chen Xiyuan would continue to play the flute.

The cessation of the flute sound meant that Chen Xiyuan’s statue had a problem, deviating from its original trajectory.

Soon, Li Zhuiyuan watched Miss Chen, holding the flute, walk out from the front of Dahu Zi’s house.

Her tears, like a breached dam, flowed with an almost uncontrolled hysteria.

No matter how beautiful a girl, when her emotions truly collapsed, she couldn’t cry with “pears blooming amidst the rain.”

Sister Chen looked really ugly now.

Especially when she saw her little brother, riding a tricycle with a woman, suddenly appear before her, Chen Xiyuan’s uncontrolled expression immediately twisted.

All sorts of emotions were jammed together, none able to be expressed, all bottled up on her face.

Her little brother, whom she thought was dead, was actually alive.

Although Li Zhuiyuan had made a paper figure for Chen Xiyuan, he didn’t hold much hope for her return.

Because she had too many blessings on her, which could help her avert disaster.

But Chen Xiyuan not only returned, she was the first one!

Even Runsheng and the others, who started promptly at eight o’clock, couldn’t beat her back!

This efficiency suggested she might have stepped back into Shinnan Town territory the moment he died.

Chen Xiyuan raised her arm and wiped away her tears.

She didn’t return because she sensed something.

While in the taxi, she found money in the side pocket of her backpack that Grandpa Li had secretly tucked in for her.

She recognized the money because her own money was new, withdrawn from the savings bank, while Grandpa Li’s money was old and frayed at the edges.

Though deeply touched, it wasn’t enough for Chen Xiyuan to turn back. The main reason was that as she carefully counted each bill, representing care and love, she discovered that Grandpa Li had accidentally tucked his ID card in there!

At that time, an ID card, if the outer transparent plastic seal was removed, was essentially a stiff piece of paper.

When Li Sanjiang slipped the money, he was furtive, not wanting to be discovered. His hands moved too quickly. He pulled the zipper, then shoved the money from his pocket in, not noticing what else he had brought along.

Chen Xiyuan immediately instructed the taxi driver to turn back and return it.

Upon entering the village and arriving at Grandpa Li’s house, Chen Xiyuan saw the mourning hall for her little brother in the living room.

Although she didn’t examine it closely, she could sense that the little brother’s body in the coffin was lifeless.

A strong surge of grief and indignation welled up in her heart. She didn’t know what had happened to her little brother, nor could she understand why, if he knew he was in danger, he hadn’t told her beforehand to stay and protect him.

Her gaze fell upon her own figure, standing in front of the mourning hall, playing the flute. In a fit of anger, Chen Xiyuan raised the flute and smashed her paper figure.

Immediately, the red thread within the paper figure wrapped around the emerald flute, which then transferred the thread to Chen Xiyuan’s hand.

She was just crying, and then she realized she was standing in front of Dahu Zi’s courtyard, playing the flute, and the peach grove was gone.

Even then, Chen Xiyuan didn’t know she had departed from reality, still immersed in deep sorrow. When she saw her little brother again, she finally realized something seemed wrong. Finally, when her gaze fell on the woman in her little brother’s tricycle, and her eyes met the woman’s, an intense sense of horrifying crisis erupted instantly!

“Little brother, who, who is she!”

Chen Xiyuan, just Chen Xiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan offered no explanation, merely turned his head and gestured:

“Knock her off the car for me!”

“Okay!”

Miss Chen had long been accustomed to acting with a head full of questions.

She held the flute horizontally, lunged forward, and activated her domain, striking it.

It wasn’t sent flying, but it did leave the tricycle, landing on the ground.

Li Zhuiyuan seized the opportunity to ride away on his bicycle.

But the next moment, it vanished from its spot.

Seeing this, Chen Xiyuan also moved, expanding her domain mid-stride and striking with the flute again.

However, this time, her domain experienced a strange distortion. Chen Xiyuan felt a surge of qi and blood within her body; the flute she had struck out with was slapped back by its single hand.

“Bang!”

Chen Xiyuan spat out a mouthful of blood, her body flying backward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

In reality, Chen Xiyuan, standing in the mourning hall with her eyes closed, her chest heaved, and blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

It hadn’t fully awakened, and thus lacked subjective aggression, but whoever tried to stop it from following the young man would instinctively provoke its aversion.

Its figure vanished once more, reappearing above the tricycle. Just as it was about to drop back onto the tricycle, Chen Xiyuan, who had just been sent flying, reappeared.

The emerald flute in her hand struck down again.

No sound was made, because the emerald flute was caught by its single hand.

It gripped the flute and swung it, and a terrifying inertia, like a giant wave, fiercely slammed into Chen Xiyuan, sending her flying again. She landed in the farmland off to the side, carving a ditch over ten meters long.

It was the first time Li Zhuiyuan had seen Chen Xiyuan, who was always invincible and dominant in one-on-one fights, in such a disheveled state.

It wasn’t that she was weak, but that this opponent, even after being weakened countless times, was still severely overpowering!

But Chen Xiyuan would never admit defeat. Every time it vanished from its spot and reappeared behind Li Zhuiyuan, Chen Xiyuan would also appear alongside it. Although the outcome was always Chen Xiyuan being knocked away, Sister Chen would never be absent next time.

In reality, in front of the mourning hall, injuries constantly appeared on her body, and her clothes were continuously being stained with blood.

Li Zhuiyuan: “When you can’t hold on, disconnect yourself and leave here. Remember, don’t tell anyone I’m not dead.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I won’t!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Listen to me.”

Chen Xiyuan: “No, I won’t!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “You don’t have to die here. It’s not something we can deal with right now.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I said I won’t disconnect. How do I disconnect?”

Li Zhuiyuan bit his lip hard.

From the current situation, even if it hadn’t entered a specific killing state, Chen Xiyuan alone couldn’t stop it from sticking to him.

“Ah!!!”

A furious wolf howl erupted from Dahu Zi’s side of the house.

Li Zhuiyuan recognized the voice; it was Chen Jing.

Since Chen Jing had arrived, Zhao Yi should also be here.

Li Zhuiyuan believed that his core companions would not delay in the slightest, reaching him in the theoretically fastest time possible.

But… both outer teams arrived even faster than his core companions!

Zhao Yi arrived riding Chen Jing, urging the wolf on faster.

Since they were going to go all-in, it was better to come early than late. Even if they arrived early and were scolded and driven away by the guy named Li, at most they’d just return later. This was a great opportunity to earn favors for free!

Who knew, upon entering the village and then old Li’s house, they saw the mourning hall in the living room.

Chen Jing was simple-minded, even more innocent than Chen Xiyuan.

Immediately, his nose caught the scent of Ge Yuan in the coffin, mixed with a strong death aura.

His Ge Yuan was dead!

In an instant, his mental defenses collapsed.

Perhaps because Li Zhuiyuan’s paper figure was too realistic, Chen Jing carelessly categorized Chen Xiyuan, who was standing there motionless and clearly a living person, into the rank of paper figures.

Zhao Yi glanced at Chen Jing. He believed that if he died one day, Ah Jing wouldn’t be as sad as he was now.

However, Zhao Yi didn’t believe the guy named Li was dead.

It wasn’t that the guy named Li couldn’t die, but he wouldn’t set up a mourning hall for himself before dying!

This guy wasn’t that bored, nor that sentimental. Most of the time, he was cold and unfeeling, like a machine.

Zhao Yi’s first instinct was to check the body of the guy named Li in the coffin. Although he also sensed that the guy named Li had lost his vitality, he still wanted to meticulously examine it.

But when he saw Ah Li’s paper figure pressed against the coffin, Zhao Yi took a small gasp and didn’t move closer to the coffin.

Turning back, he saw blood starting to seep regularly from Chen Xiyuan’s body. Although there was no paper figure of Chen Xiyuan here, there were scattered pieces of paper on the ground.

Even at this point, Zhao Yi didn’t fully understand what kind of scheme the guy named Li had laid out, but Zhao Yi knew what he needed to do next.

He walked up to the paper figures of himself and Ah Jing standing against the wall.

“Sigh…”

For a moment, Zhao Yi’s nose felt a bit sore.

The fact that his own paper figure was made and placed here meant that the guy named Li thought he might return to help him.

This wasn’t just tacit understanding; it was recognition.

Zhao Yi called out: “Ah Jing, don’t resist or reject!”

After speaking, Zhao Yi directly smashed Chen Jing’s paper figure towards Ah Jing.

“Slap!”

The paper figure shattered. Chen Jing, who was brewing extreme sadness, didn’t even realize what had happened. When he was about to unleash his full anger and let out a wolf howl, he suddenly realized why he wasn’t at Grandpa Li’s house, but at Dahu Zi’s house?

On the courtyard next door, Zhao Yi, who had been sitting by the baby crib, stopped flicking the little sparrow.

Zhao Yi looked around and cursed:

“Li, I was just touched! You’re setting me up like this, aren’t you? I always just put on a show and tease the kids. When have I ever really flicked them?”

On the village road not far away, the sounds of Chen Xiyuan’s fierce battle with “it”—more accurately, the sounds of Chen Xiyuan being repeatedly sent flying—immediately attracted Zhao Yi’s attention.

Zhao Yi walked forward, first covering Chen Jing’s mouth. The wolf howl instantly turned into a dog’s “woof woof woof.”

“Go help! Li’s definitely not dead yet!”

Immediately, Zhao Yi rushed over.

When he arrived, he saw it was indeed Chen Xiyuan. Even with prior mental preparation, Zhao Yi still felt a wave of disgust.

“What, she got ahead of me again?”

He always felt that this unofficial competition was neither reasonable nor fair; he wasn’t competing with Chen Xiyuan herself at all.

He had just left Nantong territory and immediately turned back, without any delay throughout. How could Chen Xiyuan return earlier than him?

No, how did this silly girl understand Li’s plan and get in here?

But since things had come to this, Zhao Yi didn’t plan to dwell on it. He first yelled at Li, who was still riding the tricycle:

“Xiao Yuan, don’t be afraid! Your Ancestor… Brother Zhao is here to save you!”

After shouting, he wished he could hit his own mouth. It was truly useless. He was here to save someone, yet he didn’t even dare to retort with “Ancestor.”

No sooner had Zhao Yi finished speaking than Chen Jing, like a fierce wolf, charged out and crashed into it.

It also struck back, and Chen Jing felt a dizzying sensation, his body flipping sideways.

But because of this, combined with Chen Xiyuan’s continuous two-strike setback, its figure was indeed held back here, and Li Zhuiyuan finally managed to create a small distance between himself and it.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Stop it for me, and also, don’t let the people on the ‘shore’ know I’m still alive!”

Zhao Yi’s eyes lit up. With that sentence as a spark, he immediately fully understood and cursed:

“Li, I knew it! There’s a new version above the ‘Jiang-Crossing Code of Conduct’!”

Soon, Zhao Yi stopped cursing because he himself was sent flying.

The black flood dragon skin made intimate contact with the ground for dozens of meters. Zhao Yi couldn’t help but exclaim:

“What kind of bastard is this?”

In an unconscious, sleepwalking state, not deliberately killing but acting purely on instinct, merely swatting a fly casually, yet so terrifying?

The three of them were like children’s toys in front of it.

The distance had been created, but not to an exaggerated extent. And this was the result of Zhao Yi, Chen Xiyuan, and Ah Jing repeatedly disregarding their injuries.

In reality, in front of the mourning hall, it was no longer Chen Xiyuan bleeding alone. Zhao Yi’s skin was severely wrinkled, and Chen Jing’s demonic energy was continuously dissipating.

Li Zhuiyuan continued riding towards Great-Grandpa’s house. He left the village road, entered a small path, and by the time he reached the courtyard in one breath, Runsheng had turned off the TV, Tan Wenbin had hung up the phone, and Lin Shuyou had released the electrical wires.

Clearly, in reality, they had arrived at the mourning hall.

The scene inside the mourning hall was impactful.

But Tan Wenbin immediately noticed that one of Zhao Yi’s hands was inserted into the chest of “Zhao Yi’s paper figure.”

This was the most obvious hint.

Tan Wenbin had a premonition that this hint should have been given by the three of them, but the former outer team had gotten there first.

Connected by the red line, they entered here.

Seeing the young man appear before them, all three showed excitement.

“Xiao Yuan Ge!”

“Xiao Yuan Ge!”

“Xiao Yuan!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Don’t let it get onto the courtyard.”

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

Lin Shuyou activated his True Monarch state and was the first to charge down.

Runsheng’s body rapidly flowed with qi, and his qi gates opened one by one as he also pressed downward.

Tan Wenbin glanced at Zhao Yi and Chen Xiyuan on the path, and couldn’t help but inwardly sigh: those without official positions are indeed more proactive.

With three more people joining, it was completely blocked on the small path.

Li Zhuiyuan came to the dojo in the rice field behind the house. The young man hesitated, should he enter here, or seize the opportunity to escape further away?

Escaping further away to hide was the safest; hiding in the dojo, if they couldn’t hold it back and it followed him into the dojo, then everything would be ruined.

Fortunately, events helped Li Zhuiyuan make the decision.

In the distant farmland, a black tide-like mass could be seen wriggling towards them—countless turtles.

And the eye between its eyebrows was gradually materializing, finally opening a slit at this moment.

It had begun to awaken.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t need to run further. If Zhao Yi and the others couldn’t stop it, it would appear before him in the next instant. It wouldn’t chase him anymore, but would kill him directly.

The young man bent down at the dojo entrance, piecing together the formation flags disguised as rice stubble on the ground.

He couldn’t simply wave his hand to open the dojo entrance as before; he could only use this most primitive method.

Fortunately, when he designed the dojo, he didn’t find it troublesome and specifically left a mechanical lock; even more fortunately, his true self was a perfectionist and had replicated Great-Grandpa’s house and the surrounding environment with meticulous detail and kept it updated in real-time.

Zhao Yi: “Its eye has opened a bit. Everyone, be careful, it’s going to kill people. Listen to my command!”

Everything seemed to revert to that day at Yu’s house. Even Chen Xiyuan implicitly obeyed Zhao Yi’s command.

Its figure stood still, no longer actively seeking the young man as before.

At this moment, the only part of its entire body that was moving was its eye.

It was fully concentrating on reopening its eye.

Zhao Yi: “We must stop it, and try to buy as much time as possible. As long as we can stall, there’s a chance for everything to turn around!”

As he said this, Zhao Yi glanced behind him.

He wasn’t looking at Li Zhuiyuan behind the house, but at the man working in the vegetable patch in front of the courtyard, the woman cooking in the kitchen, and the old lady drinking tea at the door of the east room.

Because it had already polluted more than half of this “world,” the original operation of this world was gradually slipping out of Li Zhuiyuan’s logical control.

Logically, the three people behind them should have reacted when they were fighting on the small path, at least interacting in some way, not continuing to do their own things indifferently.

But it didn’t matter, as long as the “bodies” of those three were not damaged here and remained intact.

Perhaps, everything was still in time. The guy named Li should have calculated the time precisely, but when it came to time, more was always better.

Don’t let it fully open its eyes first, and then the ones behind don’t have enough time to enter.

Zhao Yi: “One by one, everyone go up and interrupt it.

Ah You, stick needles, as many as you can, stick them all in!

Da Ban, unleash the four spirit beasts within you, release them all!

Ah Jing, burn your demonic blood, burn it to the boiling point!

Rear team, expand your domain to its maximum, stretch it until it breaks!

Runsheng, open all your qi gates!”

With a “whoosh,”

Zhao Yi tore off his own skin and wrapped it around his waist.

When he and Chen Xiyuan appeared here, it meant they had actively entered this wave.

He, Zhao Yi, had walked the jianghu for so many years and had never seen such a huge entity!

If an existence of this level could be defeated – no, driven back – even if he only stood by and cheered from the sidelines in the process, the terrifying gains would be unimaginable!

“If I lose this one, I’ll just leave my life here; but if I win, haha, I’ll be swimming in the sea of merit!”

Originally, in Liu Yumei’s plan, Da Wugui would land at midnight, and she could return a little before midnight. This way, Xiao Yuan wouldn’t have time to bring out any inherited techniques to suppress her, and then she could do whatever she wanted.

However, precisely because Liu Yumei’s calculations of the fengshui and weather were too accurate, she miscalculated the time.

When lightning flashed and thunder roared at eight o’clock at night, and Da Wugui’s projection directly landed at the entrance of Siyuan Village from the sea, Liu Yumei detected it instantly.

“Damn it, its true body isn’t ashore!”

Liu Yumei immediately got up and rushed back, leading Ah Li by the hand, with Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu following behind.

Even though they had deliberately found a distant place to rest earlier, fearing that Xiao Yuan might deduce their location with his compass, they actually didn’t return late.

Runsheng and the two others were the theoretical fastest time set by Li Zhuiyuan. Liu Yumei and the others, speeding along, were only slightly behind Runsheng and his group.

Unlike Chen Xiyuan, who only followed her emotions, confused and stumbled into things;

And unlike Zhao Yi, who understood Li Zhuiyuan so thoroughly that he wished he could ghostwrite Li Zhuiyuan’s autobiography, since Zhao Yi’s autobiography, under a different name, would essentially be Li’s autobiography.

Even more different from Tan Wenbin and the two others, who were highly sensitive to their Xiao Yuan Ge’s secret arts.

Liu Yumei and her group, not being Jiangshangren, had many taboos; and Xiao Yuan’s Jiang-crossing was so obscure that not even a ripple was heard in the jianghu.

Granny Liu could only learn about Xiao Yuan’s experiences by listening to Tan Wenbin’s “cross-talk.”

Therefore, the impact of the mourning hall was immense for them.

Xiao Yuan’s prior arrangement to send them away led them to immediately believe that Xiao Yuan had died, choosing to sacrifice himself to prevent the Qin and Liu families from facing ultimate destruction.

Liu Yumei looked at the tea placed in front of her paper figure on the round table;

Aunt Liu’s gaze fell on the melon seeds on the tray held by her paper figure;

Uncle Qin, meanwhile, stared intently at the soy sauce bottle standing in front of his paper figure.

Even the calmest and wisest person, upon seeing the mourning hall and then this paper figure arrangement, would experience emotional loss of control. In such a state, people are more prone to impulsiveness and making… imprudent judgments.

Liu Yumei’s eyes were so dark they seemed to drip water.

She wanted to curse, to kill, and even to cut everything around her clean with a sword.

Without you, what future do the Qin and Liu families have? Without you, what meaning do our lives have?

The moment Ah Li entered the living room, she let go of her grandmother’s hand and rushed to the coffin.

Looking at the young man, covered by a blanket in the coffin, utterly lifeless, Ah Li’s face showed two small dimples.

He wasn’t dead.

The girl’s hand uncovered the blanket, revealing the young man’s greenish skin and the needle holes in his head.

There was no heartbreak on the girl’s face.

He was so amazing.

When Li Zhuiyuan first overextended himself to the point of blindness for revenge, Ah Li didn’t blame the boy for not cherishing his body; she was simply genuinely happy for his success.

Aunt Liu, enduring immense inner pain, walked towards the coffin:

“I don’t believe it, Xiao Yuan just died like this. Even if he died, I’ll bring him back to life!”

Ah Li’s dimples vanished, and her eyes, which had been smiling, immediately turned indifferent and cold.

Before Aunt Liu could approach further, Ah Li turned her head.

The girl’s hairpins fell, her hair floated, and ear-piercing shrieks filled the entire living room.

Aunt Liu stopped, her face showing despair.

The other three present understood that Ah Li’s reaction meant that Xiao Yuan was truly dead, with no hope left.

Uncle Qin: “I’m going to Donghai!”

Aunt Liu looked around at the motionless crowd.

“They are…”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A series of explosions erupted from Lin Shuyou’s body. Blood oozed from every pore, and his body collapsed to the ground.

Tan Wenbin bled from all seven orifices, and gray smoke rose from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. He directly fell to his knees.

Liu Yumei: “That thing hasn’t left yet. These children are risking their lives to hold it back!”

Before Granny and Aunt Liu could figure out how to enter, Ah Li reached out and stabbed the paper figure beside her, while simultaneously glancing at the paper figures of her grandmother, Aunt Liu, and Uncle Qin.

All three paper figures left their original positions and flew towards the corresponding three people.

Uncle Qin was fine.

But they couldn’t let Granny and the others continue to ponder, or they might deduce other meanings.

The girl knew why the young man had placed her paper figure closest to him.

The next moment, on the rattan chair on the second-floor balcony, Ah Li opened her eyes.

The girl’s hand moved from the cover of the book on her lap, and with that motion, she cut open the book’s sealed binding.

Freed from external restraint, pages flew upwards, carried by the strong wind.

Behind the house, Li Zhuiyuan saw the flying pages above. He kicked away the last piece of rice stubble with his toe, the dojo gate opened. After Li Zhuiyuan walked inside, the gate closed behind him.

On the small path ahead, Lin Shuyou had just inserted all the talisman needles, completing a round of attacks. It was still concentrating on opening its eyes. It seemed to just glance at Lin Shuyou with its peripheral vision, who didn’t even have time to get close before his body was stopped and showed signs of breaking apart.

Fortunately, Zhao Yi promptly ordered Tan Wenbin to immediately activate, and with the four spirit beasts fully unleashed, they barely managed to pull Ah You back.

Ah You lay on the ground, exhaling more than inhaling; Tan Wenbin was in a dazed state, as if he had lost all perception of the outside world.

Zhao Yi felt his scalp tingle. The opponent had only opened its eyes slightly and was already so terrifying. Even disabling Ah You and Tan Wenbin only interrupted it for a brief moment, causing the distant turtle tide to pause slightly.

How could they stop it now?

Heroic words were for boosting team morale; he himself had to keep a clear head.

But just then, Zhao Yi heard movement behind him. He turned around and first saw pages flying on the rooftop, then saw the girl, who had been sitting on the rattan chair on the second-floor balcony, actually stand up.

Zhao Yi was overjoyed and immediately urged:

“Quick, quick, all together! We…”

The second half of the sentence should have been: We all quickly go up and make a good showing, earn performance points, lots of merit points!

But Zhao Yi, with bloodshot eyes, shouted instead:

“We avenge the guy named Li! Li, wait for me ahead! On the road to the Underworld, I, Zhao Yi, will go with you!”

Obeying the command, Chen Xiyuan expanded her domain to its maximum and leaped, striking down with the emerald flute.

Chen Jing rushed towards it, blood mist rising from his body, demonic energy swirling around him.

It once again glanced at Chen Xiyuan with its peripheral vision. Bloodlines appeared on Chen Xiyuan’s body, and her domain became riddled with holes, but she stubbornly struck down with the emerald flute, hitting its body.

It took a step back, while Chen Xiyuan was suspended in mid-air, her upper and lower body being pulled apart, about to be torn asunder.

Chen Jing, following the opening Chen Xiyuan created, charged up and knocked it back another step. But it reached out, and the blood mist on Chen Jing’s body rapidly dissipated, soon to be completely drained.

Runsheng’s qi gates fully opened, and a terrifying qi wave, carrying the Yellow River Shovel in his hand, slammed directly into it, forcing it to raise its hand to block.

This also released Chen Xiyuan and Chen Jing from their restraints, allowing them to fall to the ground.

Runsheng swung the second shovel again. It still raised its hand to block. This time, it not only steadily caught it, but the eye on its forehead finally fully opened at this moment.

It had fully awakened.

“Buzz!”

Runsheng’s body was hit hard. The sound of bones breaking continuously came, and his flesh and skin showed signs of separation. His consciousness was also severely fragmented.

Zhao Yi rushed forward.

But before Zhao Yi could even approach to provide support,

A fist suddenly appeared in front of it.

“Boom!”

With one punch, it retreated several steps.

Runsheng’s body was thrown towards Zhao Yi, who quickly caught him.

Standing in front was Uncle Qin’s figure.

Zhao Yi breathed a sigh of relief, not because they had appeared in time.

In fact, the guy named Li’s timing was accurate. The true friendly forces had arrived before that thing fully opened its eyes, so there was no talk of a life-and-death, hair-trigger moment.

Zhao Yi was relieved that when they entered, all the bad actors around him were severely injured and unconscious.

This prevented the three from noticing anything amiss later, which would have made half of Li’s elaborate setup go to waste.

Zhao Yi held Runsheng, gritting his teeth and shouting:

“Why are you so slow? You’re late! If you had come one step earlier, or if you hadn’t left, Li wouldn’t have had to die today!”

Mustering inner strength, figuring at most he’d make ten pits in the cement dam later to apologize, Zhao Yi laughed out loud:

“Hahahahaha, I knew it! You old fogeys actually saw through it long ago. You just used the opportunity to save face. You usually talk a good game, but in reality, you’re just afraid of dying!”

“Bang!”

Uncle Qin clenched both fists, his upper body clothes burst open, and black shadows constantly intertwined and swirled on his back.

Aunt Liu walked out of the kitchen. Beneath her feet, around her, and even above her head, there was a dense, dark expanse of shadows.

On the courtyard, by the tea table.

The old woman’s withered hand slammed the teacup down heavily. Tea spilled, splashing onto her fair, smooth hand.

As the old woman supported herself on the armrests and rose from the chair,

Miss Liu regained her youth!