Tonight, the moon shines brightly.

By the light of the moon, the young man hastily flipped through the pages of “The Soul-Burning, Heart-Cleansing Art.”

With important matters ahead, the young man couldn’t afford to waste his mental energy. He didn’t read it carefully or try to learn it. For now, while being carried by Runsheng on their journey and having nothing else to do, he simply wanted to get a preliminary understanding.

On the first page, beneath the title, there was a notation:

—Gifted by Ming Yuwan.

This not only indicated whose cultivation method it was but also revealed the target Zhao Yi had chosen for the poisoning on his behalf.

That night, after dealing with the four members of the Four Xuan Sect, Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi drank tea on the rooftop of Yaoji Inn. Zhao Yi gave the young man a brief report on the local situation and influential powers.

Ming Yuwan was a member of the Dragon King Ming family, known for her eccentric and ill-tempered nature.

Unlike Yu Miaomiao, the previous river-walker from the Yu family, whose foolishness was consistent in both words and actions…

…Ming Yuwan, as Zhao Yi described her, had very calm behavioral logic and made normal decisions in critical situations, but her emotions often spiraled out of control in daily interactions.

Someone who had experienced so much turmoil on the river couldn’t possibly be so naive. Moreover, coming from the Dragon King’s lineage and being taught manners and etiquette from a young age, how could her temperament cultivation be so poor?

With this thought, the young man looked up at Chen Xiyuan, who was swiftly moving ahead.

Well, it wasn’t impossible, he mused.

Lowering his head again, the young man then intended to focus on the cultivation method itself.

Strictly speaking, this was a secret technique, and its name truly reflected its nature.

“Soul-Burning” genuinely meant burning the soul, but not like setting a haystack ablaze all at once. Instead, it was more like using red-hot pincers to “snip off” excess parts.

However, he had heard of cutting hair and trimming nails, but never of trimming a soul.

Furthermore, a slight mistake with something as delicate as a soul could lead one to eternal damnation. Why would the Ming family go to such lengths to develop a secret technique like this?

Some people suffer from bone hyperplasia. Could it be that the Ming family members suffered from soul hyperplasia?

Li Zhuiyuan wasn’t joking; he felt this might actually be the truth in some sense.

This was because the secret technique was divided into thirteen stages, with the degree of soul-trimming deepening step by step. Even if one were exceptionally talented and completed every step, cultivating the technique to its highest level would require at least thirteen trimmings.

Thirteen trimmings—how much soul material would be shed?

Most likely, there was some flaw in the Ming family’s main cultivation method, forcing them to develop this secret technique for self-correction and remedy.

The fact that a flawed main method could still be used today, and that the Ming family could develop into a Dragon King lineage, indicated that this “flaw” might also be a kind of advantage.

However, for the current Zhao Yi, this secret technique had an excellent auxiliary effect. His previous guess was correct: Zhao Yi must have figured out his ancestor’s “Sky Lantern Lighting” method.

People’s thresholds only get higher. It seemed that merely tearing off human skin for amusement no longer satisfied Zhao Yi; he intended to tear and brand souls.

But Zhao Yi also feared accidentally annihilating his own soul. Handing this secret technique over early served two purposes: first, to exchange it for other items, and second, to have Li Zhuiyuan vet it, ensuring no traps were hidden within.

Putting the book away, Li Zhuiyuan looked ahead. Under the night sky, a towering loess ridge stretched out—a corner of Mount Mang.

Tan Wenbin raised his hand, signaling everyone to slow down. He had been tracking Zhao Yi’s markers to maintain distance between their groups. The people from the other alliance began to reduce their speed from this point.

Lin Shuyou: “Brother Bin, is this Mount Mang?”

Tan Wenbin: “Yes.”

Lin Shuyou: “Why did so many emperors, generals, and prime ministers throughout history choose to be buried here?”

“There is little idle land on the peaks of Mount Beimang; it is all ancient tombs of Luoyang people.”

This refers to the crowded scene beneath Mount Beimang.

Earlier, as they traveled, they had seen many elevated burial mounds, several stories high.

Any one of these, if moved to Nantong, excavated, and protected, could serve as Nantong’s tourism emblem.

But here, the actual purpose of these mounds seemed to be merely to help local farmers mark and divide their responsible plots of land.

Tan Wenbin: “Firstly, for a long time in ancient history, Luoyang was considered the center of the world.”

“Secondly, Mount Mang connects to the remnants of the Qinling Mountains, which can be seen as the head of a dragon. Hulao Pass and Mount Xiao to the east and west can be seen as the Azure Dragon and White Tiger, while the Yi River Gorge to the south is the Vermilion Bird, and the Yellow River to the north is the Black Tortoise. With the Four Symbols guarding it, it is naturally auspicious.”

“Thirdly, Mount Mang’s geological conditions were very suitable for ancient tomb construction.”

Lin Shuyou: “It’s that good?”

Tan Wenbin: “Yes.”

Lin Shuyou: “No wonder the Yu family established their ancestral home here.”

Tan Wenbin turned, looking at Li Zhuiyuan on Runsheng’s back, and asked, “Brother Xiaoyuan, should we rest here—”

Before he could finish, Tan Wenbin’s gaze sharpened.

Lin Shuyou reached for his golden mace, and Runsheng released his grip, allowing Xiaoyuan to slide off his back.

Tan Wenbin looked to the west: “There’s—”

Chen Xiyuan vanished from her spot.

When she reappeared from the west, a dark figure was thrown out, landing in front of the group.

After hitting the ground, the person instinctively tried to spring up, but just as he rose, there was a “thump,” and he was flattened, face and limbs pressed tightly against the earth.

This was the first time Chen Xiyuan had genuinely taken action right before their eyes.

Tan Wenbin pursed his lips. It was clear that if not for Brother Xiaoyuan’s red thread binding them as a unified whole, Chen Xiyuan would completely overwhelm all of them in terms of individual reaction speed and efficiency in combat.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Brother Binbin, interrogation.”

“Yes.”

Tan Wenbin approached the dark figure. After maintaining a distance, he nodded to Chen Xiyuan, signaling that she could withdraw her domain.

He didn’t want to foolishly walk directly into it and then, under the domain’s influence, bow to the dark figure as if in a wedding ceremony.

Chen Xiyuan raised her hand, lifted her index finger, and the domain dissolved.

The dark figure’s body suddenly trembled, instantly leaving afterimages as it tried to escape.

Its speed exceeded Tan Wenbin’s initial estimation. The thing was trembling like a dragonfly’s wings; he didn’t even have time to activate his Five Senses Suppression, let alone aim.

Chen Xiyuan pulled her index finger downwards.

“Thump!”

The dark figure was once again prostrate on the ground.

“Haha!” Tan Wenbin gave an embarrassed laugh.

Mainly, Chen Xiyuan had handled the dark figure as easily as a chick, but he hadn’t expected the figure to be so unusual.

Tan Wenbin squatted down, directly using his Five Senses, and began his “interrogation.”

Soon, Tan Wenbin stood up again and reported to Li Zhuiyuan:

“Brother Xiaoyuan, he’s from the Yu family, and he specifically came looking for us.”

Li Zhuiyuan said to Chen Xiyuan: “Let’s see his true form.”

Chen Xiyuan moved her index finger from side to side.

“Rip.”

The dark figure’s clothes tore apart, revealing a normal male body, but there was something perched on his head.

Tan Wenbin: “Is that really a dragonfly?”

It wasn’t just a magnified ordinary dragonfly. Its wings on both sides weren’t long but were wide and very thin; its tail was short and sharp, piercing into the man’s nape like a barb.

The man’s eyes rolled back to white, and he raised his head, speaking:

“Sirs and Madams, I am Qing San, and I come under the old madam’s decree to escort you into the Yu family!”

To “blackwash” his identity and enter the Yu family early was Li Zhuiyuan’s original plan. He had even actively sought out people from the “Yu family,” intending to be discovered and brought in. Who would have thought he’d actually find true Yu family members?

The delay of several days in the village wasn’t a loss, as he had learned the truth about the Yu family. However, his original plan to enter the Yu family early had to be aborted, because at this moment, elders from many factions had already infiltrated the Yu family.

Even General Huang, a powerful figure within the Yu family, had been killed.

Yet, who could have foreseen that upon reaching this point, they would still encounter people from the Yu family sent to receive them?

Qing San must have been dispatched long ago, but because everyone had been in the village, he couldn’t find them. Furthermore, when the elders from those families and sects attacked the Yu family, they must have set up formations to prevent their aura and movements from leaking out. This meant Qing San was still unaware that the Yu family’s main gate had already been breached; he was diligently carrying out his task.

Actually, Qing San’s target was Chen Xiyuan. Her performance at the museum that day was the most striking, and she was clearly incompatible with the opposing faction; their fight was real, not an act.

Among the survivors who escaped the museum that day when the great formation collapsed, there was an informant for the Yu family. He reported the incident to the old madam upon returning.

The old madam explicitly ordered that such a person should be brought into the Yu family early and given a grand reception.

Of course, she also hoped to keep her in the Yu family, adding another source of strength to face the coming storm.

Qing San’s mention of the old madam, in Li Zhuiyuan’s opinion, was likely Yu Miaomiao’s Cat Grandma.

Chen Xiyuan’s gaze fell upon the barb-like tail that Qing San had plunged into the man’s nape.

Even though the people at the museum wanted to kill her, she would never collude with the Yu family because of it. Seeing this scene, she felt disgusted.

Since the other side had already breached the defenses, there was no need to keep this “fat dragonfly,” was there?

Chen Xiyuan slowly retracted her fingertips, waiting for a signal from the young man before she could crush the creature completely.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Besides us, have you escorted anyone else?”

Qing San: “Reporting, Sir. We have also escorted many other distinguished individuals. If we hadn’t finally found you tonight, we would have brought all the sirs and madams into my Yu family ancestral home tomorrow.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Where are they now?”

Qing San: “The other sirs and madams are currently in a farmhouse not far from here.”

A Dragon King’s Decree from the Yu family had attracted a large number of martial artists to hunt down Zhao Yi. However, Zhao Yi and his group had turned the tables, treating them as “merit mosquito legs,” constantly setting traps to lure and kill them.

From Jiujiang to Luoyang, countless martial artists had perished. Yet, there was little to lament, because the content of the Yu family’s Dragon King’s Decree was truly unseemly. Those martial artists attracted by it were essentially seeking the Yu family’s rewards. People die for wealth, just as birds die for food. If you want to kill others for a reward, you must be prepared to be killed yourself.

Nevertheless, there were still survivors, and it sounded like quite a few.

Li Zhuiyuan wasn’t interested in collecting “mosquito legs.” He was thinking of another possibility.

“Are you escorting us to the Yu family ancestral home through the main entrance?”

Qing San: “Reporting to you, Sir, it’s not that my Yu family doesn’t value you, but firstly, the main gate is not easily opened, and secondly, some of you wish to conceal your identities.”

“Therefore, we can only ask you to humbly enter the Yu family secretly through the back entrance.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Alright, let’s go then.”

Qing San: “Please release me, Sir. I will notify my companions at the farmhouse to lead the other sirs and madams to depart. Your time is precious, so we shouldn’t waste it on a mere rendezvous.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Understood.”

Chen Xiyuan withdrew her domain. Qing San, still shaken, clambered to his feet, his wings buzzing. This was likely how his kind communicated.

Soon after, Qing San stopped and respectfully said:

“Sirs and Madams, please follow me.”

Chen Xiyuan walked to Li Zhuiyuan’s side, expanding her domain to envelop both of them.

“How did you know there would be a back entrance?”

“I didn’t know; I just asked.”

“This…”

“In the future, before acting, you can also ask more questions. Even if you encounter an evil spirit, if you have absolute certainty, there’s no need to immediately suppress and kill it. They often hold more clues behind them. If you kill them directly, the clues are lost, and some artifacts or materials might become unobtainable.”

“But I don’t lack artifacts or materials.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Chen Xiyuan.

Chen Xiyuan: “Then I won’t be in a hurry to kill them in the future. I’ll ask questions first, look for clues, then acquire artifacts and materials. After I’ve collected a batch, I’ll send them to you?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Thank you.”

Chen Xiyuan: “You’re welcome. It’s only right for an older sister to give her little brother pocket money.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “If you don’t fully uncover the clues, even if you complete a ‘wave,’ your completion rate won’t be high, and the merit you gain won’t be much. Do you also not lack merit?”

Chen Xiyuan: “It actually affects merit.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “You didn’t know?”

Chen Xiyuan: “I really didn’t know. Grandma and Grandpa never told me.”

Li Zhuiyuan believed that the reason Chen Xiyuan’s grandparents hadn’t told her before was that they only wanted their granddaughter to survive more safely. If she coveted more, the risk factor for each “wave” would also increase.

As for the amount of merit, it wasn’t like currency with specific denominations; one could only perceive it for oneself.

Earlier, when Tan Wenbin treated her to a bowl of meat soup and a bottle of Haibi, she was able to use merit as a tip. This showed that she wasn’t particularly sensitive to merit in her daily life.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Do you know now?”

Chen Xiyuan nodded: “I know now. Little brother, since meeting you, Big Sister has truly learned a lot.”

Qing San led everyone to a burial mound and stopped.

“Please wait a moment, sirs and madams.”

As they waited, four figures in black arrived, leading a group of people, each with distinct characteristics.

Most of them were wounded, clearly survivors who had narrowly escaped Zhao Yi’s traps.

The Yu family intended to gather these people into their ancestral home, planning to use them as cannon fodder.

Furthermore, the fact that these people still dared to come indicated that they were unaware that a group of top martial arts factions had already jointly infiltrated the Yu family.

This was the sorrow of low-ranking martial artists: wanting to climb higher, sometimes merely risking one’s life was far from enough. Often, their lives were given meaninglessly.

Some with active minds wanted to approach Chen Xiyuan for a chat, but Runsheng preemptively blocked their path, releasing a wave of spiritual energy that pushed them away, maintaining peace on his side.

Everyone was surprised by Runsheng’s powerful aura, but Tan Wenbin noticed that the expressions of two groups within the crowd were different.

One group was led by a woman in a white dress, an outfit that was already conspicuously striking here, and she was flanked by three other women.

Among the three women, one was corpulent, like a barrel of meat, and was currently gnawing on a roasted lamb leg; another was slender, as thin as a stalk of straw; the third, though of normal build, had empty eyes and appeared to be blind, but she carried a box on her back whose lock mechanism clearly belonged to a famous set of mechanical arts.

The configuration of this group was truly classic. They didn’t seem like martial artists swarming in for the Yu family’s rewards; rather, they resembled a river-walking team.

But why weren’t the river-walkers looking for Zhao Yi? Instead, they were associating with this group?

Could it be that her plan was the same as theirs: to “blackwash” her identity and infiltrate the Yu family early?

The other group consisted of a man who, when Runsheng’s vital gate opened, reached out and touched several acupoints on his own body.

Since Tan Wenbin had been eating, drinking, and sleeping with Runsheng, he was already familiar with the locations of Runsheng’s vital gates and the patterns subsequently carved. Thus, Tan Wenbin keenly noticed that the acupoints the man touched were very precise, clearly indicating he recognized and was familiar with “Qin’s Dragon-Gazing Method.”

However, for many years, the Qin family had only Uncle Qin to uphold its name, and Uncle Qin didn’t go out to take disciples. Therefore, for someone so young to recognize it, it was highly probable that the knowledge came from his own family’s records.

The man’s earlier self-touching gesture was more like him recalling descriptions from memory while self-verifying to ascertain Runsheng’s identity.

Tan Wenbin turned his head to look at Li Zhuiyuan, who nodded back, indicating he had also noticed.

This “wave” was indeed interesting; even among the martial arts cannon fodder, there were hidden masters.

The five dragonflies gathered. Each must have carried a portion of the entrance token. Once assembled, the ground beneath the burial mound ahead began to sink.

“Rumble…”

A downward-sloping ramp appeared. The ramp was very wide, estimated to be eight lanes in both directions.

Even a back entrance to the Dragon King’s lineage was so spacious.

“Sirs and Madams, please follow us.”

The five dragonflies led the way, and the rest followed them inside.

Inside, there were no specially arranged lamps for illumination, yet the light was quite bright. This was because every short distance, they would see a tomb door, and on the stone tablet in front of it, the noble identity of the tomb owner was recorded.

None were ordinary figures; some were even well-known throughout history.

Yet, the purpose of their tomb chambers here was merely to provide light. If anyone passing by wished, they could freely enter, choose an ancient sage they found interesting, and “visit their home.”

Li Zhuiyuan suspected this might not be a back entrance at all… but rather a refined pastime of the Yu family.

Connecting a multitude of famous “tomb residences” beneath Mount Mang to “converse and laugh with learned scholars.”

The layout here, relative to the Yu family’s ancestral home, was like the back garden of a secular noble’s mansion.

Only these “beasts” didn’t understand, simply mistaking it for a back entrance.

Ahead, a massive stone gate appeared.

The left side of the stone gate was carved with mythical great demons, while the right side depicted men and women of extraordinary bearing.

This hinted that the Yu family lineage was founded on the cooperation between humans and demonic beasts.

The five dragonflies, controlling the people beneath them, once again assembled something in front of the stone gate.

“Click…”

The stone gate trembled, about to open.

Tan Wenbin immediately paid attention to the group of women and the man. While others showed expressions of anticipation and joy, fantasizing about receiving rewards from the Dragon King’s lineage, the four women had already adopted a battle formation, and the man’s center of gravity was noticeably lowered.

Clearly, they were guarding against the immense danger that would emerge once the stone gate opened. They knew what was happening inside the Yu family!

Runsheng stood in front of Li Zhuiyuan, Lin Shuyou stood diagonally behind Runsheng, and Tan Wenbin stood behind Brother Xiaoyuan.

Chen Xiyuan realized they were forming a team array, but she didn’t know where she should stand.

After all, she had never fought alongside others before, and she worried that her lack of experience might disrupt their formation and coordination.

So, she simply stepped in front of Runsheng, taking the very first position.

No matter what unforeseen event occurred next, with her at the very front, it shouldn’t affect them.

Runsheng: “…”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Come here.”

“Oh.”

Chen Xiyuan turned around, came back, and stood beside the young man.

“Don’t open your domain without my command.”

“Understood.”

Having her stand at the front as a meat shield was a severe underutilization of her talent.

The stone gate continued to open. Just as it had created a gap wide enough for only one person to pass, a dense, suffocating stench of blood wafted out.

Someone in the crowd wondered, “What a heavy smell of blood?”

“It’s not human blood.”

“It’s demonic blood. The Dragon King Yu is skilled at breeding demonic beasts. This back entrance is probably a trial ground for them.”

“Could it be a slaughterhouse? Demonic beast meat should be tastier, right?”

“Watch your words! Here, do you dare disrespect the Dragon King family?”

“My apologies, my apologies.”

Just then, an ancient yet arrogant laugh echoed from within the gate:

“Hahahahaha! There’s actually a back entrance here! There must be many evil spirits hidden inside. You wretches, all of you, die!”

“Boom!”

A fire dragon burst forth from the gap in the gate, transforming into a torrent of raging flames that swept downwards.

The five dragonflies at the very front were instantly incinerated to ashes. Then, the group of people who had rushed to the front of the crowd, eager to be the first to enter the Yu family for rewards, found their bodies engulfed in the massive flames, letting out agonizing screams.

In an instant, the entire passageway…

…transformed into a purgatory!