After the shock subsided, Lu Ziqian followed Yao Ranran back into the Demon Cavern.
"Master… jié jié jié, the people of the Spirit Realm are descending, your doom is at hand!"
His eyes suddenly shifted, fixing on Yao Ranran's face with a sinister grin.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Yao Ranran swung around holding a great blade, her expression confused. "Disciple, what did you just say?"
The polished blade reflected Lu Ziqian's face.
His pupils shrank, then widened in shock. "An immortal artifact, this is an immortal artifact!"
Yao Ranran tossed the blade aside. "Yes, there are a few immortal artifacts here. Once I finish upgrading the flying boat, we can return."
"All… all of these are immortal artifacts??"
Lu Ziqian was dumbfounded. Could it be that he had slept for too long, and immortal artifacts had become common trinkets everywhere?
"You already know…" Yao Ranran suddenly lifted her gaze, her eyes fixed on Lu Ziqian. "Mu Xin, you came out again!"
Mu Xin flinched with guilt. "Disciple is not Mu Xin, disciple is Lu Ziqian!"
Yao Ranran blinked. "I thought Mu Xin had come out again. So long as you're my disciple, that's fine."
With that, she lowered her head and continued fiddling with the materials in her hand. Mu Xin was stunned for a moment, then secretly delighted. So even she could not see through my true self. She is nothing remarkable after all. Her reincarnation must have weakened her greatly!
Mu Xin tiptoed toward the pile of immortal artifacts.
"Master, allow your disciple to examine these treasures!"
As he spoke, he reached out.
Yao Ranran lowered her eyes, concealing her expression.
Just as Mu Xin's fingers were about to touch the great blade, a smooth black orb flicked from Yao Ranran's hand and landed in his palm.
For a heartbeat he froze. Then—boom! The orb exploded, hurling him out of the hall, smashing through several doors and windows. Two soul-shadows drifted free from Lu Ziqian's body, floating in the air.
Yao Ranran walked over gracefully, playing with the black orb in her hand, her tone almost curious. "Disciple, are you alright?"
Lu Ziqian's soul half-floated in confusion. He turned his head, seeing his body lying on the ground, and another soul drifting behind him.
"Th-this, is this a soul-reaping ghost envoy?"
Mu Xin's pupils contracted violently. "You can see me?"
Lu Ziqian paled. "You… you really are a ghost envoy?"
"You can actually see me?!"
Mu Xin's disbelief grew as he touched his soul form.
"Master, am I about to reincarnate?" Lu Ziqian asked in terror.
"How could you possibly see me!" Mu Xin retorted.
Yao Ranran, watching their ridiculous exchange, calmly explained.
"Disciple, he is Mu Xin, not a ghost envoy. When he possessed your body, I used a Soul-Suppressing Pearl. I didn't expect its power to be so great that it forced out your soul as well."
Lu Ziqian, terrified of death, froze. "Master, I'm not dead?"
"…No, you're not dead. In fact, you can even devour Mu Xin's soul for a good meal."
With a flick of her finger, Yao Ranran struck Mu Xin, who had been about to flee back into the body. He froze where he stood.
"Wait! I can tell you what the celestial anomaly just now was. Don't kill me!"
Mu Xin did not fear death, for he had prepared fallback plans. But he never expected this wretched lotus to have obtained a Soul-Suppressing Pearl, forcing him out early.
Now hearing that she wanted to feed him to the scholar, how could he willingly sacrifice himself for another?
Yao Ranran was faintly surprised. "You saw that anomaly as well?"
Lu Ziqian frowned. "The sky suddenly went black, thunder rolled. Wasn't it simply someone facing Tribulation?"
Mu Xin laughed darkly. "It is not so simple. Let me go, and I will reveal the Spirit Realm's entire plot!"
Yao Ranran's eyes narrowed, while Mu Xin's grin spread wider.
A memoryless lotus in the Lower Realm—how could she not be toyed with?
"Master, matters of the Spirit Realm…" Lu Ziqian hesitated.
The actions of that black-robed man in this world already left him confused. He could not understand why cultivators from the Spirit Realm would descend instead of ascending. Everyone sought to ascend, to immortality, yet they risked descending. This concealed a deep secret.
"Eat him. Once you have devoured this one, I will find his other half for you."
With a flick, Yao Ranran shattered Mu Xin's soul with the Soul-Suppressing Pearl.
"Why, how do you know?" Mu Xin gasped.
Yao Ranran smiled. "Because your other half just happens to be hidden at the foot of the Black Mountain where I live."
Mu Xin's eyes widened. "Where you live is not Gu—"
"Precisely Gu Ling Mountain."
Yao Ranran smiled at him.
Mu Xin turned and tried to flee, but Lu Ziqian shifted behind him and opened his mouth wide.
Like falling into the center of a vortex, Mu Xin screamed in despair, then vanished without a trace.
Yao Ranran watched Lu Ziqian, now sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, and sat down beside him. Tossing the single remaining Soul-Suppressing Pearl in her hand, she mused aloud.
"Having money really is wonderful. The forge has already been upgraded to level twenty-nine. A little more effort and I can refine a divine artifact.
Since my disciple has devoured Mu Xin, he'll need time to digest. I'll guard him for now."
At the same time—
Eastern Wilderness, Yun Gu Sect.
"Sect master, what has happened to the sky?"
Li Qingtíng and all the disciples of Yun Gu Sect gathered on the plaza, staring at the storm above, worry etched deep in their eyes.
Yun Dehe leapt onto a rooftop and snatched a transmission talisman.
"Terrible! Fairy Ranran is not in the Eastern Wilderness. This omen is ill. Great calamity may fall upon this realm!"
Even as his words fell, nine thunderclaps shook the heavens.
Violet lightning roared through the black clouds. A colossal pillar surged from the earth, piercing the heavens. A heavenly ladder appeared, seven-colored radiance cascading down.
Everyone of Yun Gu Sect lifted their heads in awe.
Far across the firmament, several streaks of light were walking upon the heavenly ladder.
Crash!
Yun Huijing dropped his magic treasure in shock.
"Father, Senior Brother, up there, there are people walking in the sky!"
Zhao Lingyi stood against the cold wind in midair, expression solemn. "Those above are no ordinary mortals. They are very likely cultivators descending from the Spirit Realm!"
"There is news of Spirit Realm cultivators arriving in the Central Domain. Sect Master Qing has already warned me. These people come with ill intent. We are no match for them. Yi'er, come down. We must leave at once!"
Yun Dehe made the decisive choice to abandon Yun Gu Sect's mountain gate, to flee far from the Spirit Realm cultivators.
Yun Huijing was stunned. "Father, apart from Yun Gu Sect, where can we flee?"
Yun Dehe's eyes burned with resolve, fixed on the east. "Of course, to Gu Ling Mountain!"
Zhao Lingyi immediately understood. "Master, Junior Brother Yun, take the disciples and depart first. I will activate the sect's grand formation, then catch up with you."
Li Qingtíng flew to his side. "Senior Brother, I will stay with you!"