When Jing Sushì saw the little girl's corpse being used as a puppet, mocked and toyed with, the murderous aura on her face only grew heavier.
That girl, too, was of the Jing bloodline, another beloved granddaughter.
Had calamity not struck, at twelve years of age, she should have attempted Fate-Setting, awakened her Life Pattern, and stepped onto the path of cultivation.
She should have lived a bright and radiant life.
But everything had been destroyed.
Afflicted by disaster in life, and even in death, her body was desecrated.
Jing Sushì did not speak, but inside she burned with fury.
The girl had long since perished. The reason her corpse could still open its mouth and speak was that the ghost child manipulated her from behind.
He used the Jing girl's bloodline as bait, hoping to lure out survivors.
But he had not expected to so quickly stumble upon a "big fish."
This matriarch of the Jing family had once been a formidable name in Hunzhou. In her youth, she had stirred up great storms and was known far and wide by the fearsome title "Soul-Weaving Spider Matron."
Among the eighth-rank cultivators of Hunzhou's many islands, she had stood near the very peak.
If not for her advanced age, her dwindling lifespan, and her cultivation power fading with the years, the enemy would never have breached Jiangzhu Island so easily.
"Fuying! You wretch!" Jing Sushì's voice was low and rasping, each word forced out between clenched teeth.
"You dare use the blood of my Jing clan, the bloodline of the Life Furnace, for such vile acts?"
"Do you truly think Hunzhou is a land for you to trample at will?"
But the ghost child only laughed louder, arrogant and shrill.
"Old matron, the times have changed."
"The Overseer of Hunzhou has fallen; Hunzhou Island itself struggles to survive. Now, in this world, strength reigns supreme; the weak are prey for the strong."
"The glory of the Jing and Su clans is long gone. Better for you to surrender obediently, lest I shatter your granddaughter's corpse beyond recognition."
The ghost child's name was Fuying. Though he looked like a child, he too was an eighth-rank cultivator.
He cultivated the secret art "Parade of a Hundred Ghosts Register" from Xizhishi Island, and had mastered the chapter known as the "Zashiki Warashi Illustration." His power was not to be underestimated.
What's more, he was still young, with plenty of lifespan remaining. He was one of the key pillars in the attack on Jiangzhu Island.
Now, facing Jing Sushì, a great battle was inevitable.
Even as he spoke, Fuying was already making his move.
Holding the little girl's corpse by the hand, he distracted the old matron with words while secretly channeling his Life Pattern, burning Life Essence, and unleashing a sinister Blood Puppet Technique.
This secret art, through the pull of bloodline, could corrupt the opponent's body without warning, eroding it with spell power and reducing it into a flesh puppet. A sorcery truly terrifying and unpredictable.
Under the effect of the technique, Jing Sushì's body stiffened, slowly falling under Fuying's control.
Her knees bent against her will, she was forced down, kneeling before her enemy!
Having succeeded in his ambush, Fuying was elated.
This raid on Jiangzhu Island had been an overwhelming success, a windfall of resources and foundations for his sect.
For his future cultivation, the benefits would be endless.
Now that he had subdued the Soul-Weaving Spider Matron, he no longer had to worry. He casually cast aside the girl's corpse and strolled proudly up to Jing Sushì.
"Old matron, where is your Soul-Weaving Demon Spider?"
"I heard your beast was raised with care, already at the Azure Wing peak rank."
"In Hunzhou, I am the most skilled at refining flesh. Your spider, skilled at manipulating souls and spirits, would complement my arts perfectly."
"Summon it here, and let me test it out!"
Even as he spoke, he drove the Blood Puppet Technique harder, using her body to enforce his will.
But suddenly, he realized that though he could move her flesh at will, he could not touch her soul.
Before him, the old woman felt like nothing but an empty shell, not truly alive.
Suddenly, a faint rustling reached Fuying's ears.
Like a spider quietly gnawing on a moth caught in its web in the dead of night.
Then came a voice:
"I am old, yes, but not dead."
"Did your master never warn you, before he died, never step within three paces of me?"
The voice pierced Fuying's ears like an icicle, sending a shiver down his spine.
All at once, he felt a faint tingling at three points: his crown, the tip of his tailbone, and the soles of his feet.
From each point, an icy current spread through his body, flowing along his channels, until it filled him from head to toe.
"You… what have you done to me?"
Terror crept into Fuying's voice. His eyes widened, staring at Jing Sushì, but in her brows he saw only mocking disdain and chilling resolve.
"You dared stir trouble on my Jiangzhu Island. You should have been prepared to die."
"It is my curse that I wasted my youth, overspent my vitality, and grew old and frail!"
"My Soul-Weaving Art has but one strike left. Since you've stumbled into it, accept your fate!"
As she spoke, a wash of pale-blue power spread from her, like a spider's web descending over Fuying.
An irresistible force tore at his soul.
"Aaaahhh!"
The grotesque ghost child screamed as his spirit was ripped apart, like a thousand arrows piercing his heart, shredding his mind into fragments.
Fuying had possessed a complete inheritance and profound foundations, nearly manifesting the full Zashiki Warashi aspect of an eighth-rank cultivator at the Dragon-Elephant stage.
Yet in front of an old woman at the end of her years, seemingly subdued by his own Blood Puppet Technique, he was utterly destroyed, his life ended in defeat.
All his cultivation, all his resources, wasted in a single instant.
After the kill, Jing Sushì's aura plummeted, flickering like a lone candle about to go out. She was spent, at the very end of her lifespan.
Yet still she forced herself to crawl to her granddaughter's body, cradling the small corpse in her arms.
She gently stroked the child, waiting for her final breath to fade.
But the heavens were cruel. Snow began to fall.
The wind and snow blurred her vision, bitter cold sealing over her frail body.
Looking back toward the island, she saw a graceful white figure approaching slowly.
"Snow Maiden aspect?"
Her consciousness wavered, but she knew another enemy had arrived.
The storm carried an immense freezing power; her body was frozen stiff.
Knowing she could not resist, she held her granddaughter tightly.
Then Jing Sushì burned the very last of her Life Essence, consuming all her remaining lifespan.
Crack!
Through sheer will of soul, she forced her rigid body upright.
Her bones and flesh tore and shattered under the strain of spirit against matter.
But Jiangzhu Island's last eighth-rank Dragon-Elephant cultivator would die standing!
By the time the white figure reached her, Jing Sushì's body and soul were completely gone.
The famed Soul-Weaving Spider Matron had fallen on the shores of her homeland.
There were no kin beside her, no comrades, only the howling of wind and snow, as if composing her funeral dirge.