The cat demon finally caught his weak spot and wasn't about to let it go easily. She raised her voice and questioned, "This old man's life was so tough that even being set on fire couldn't kill him. How did he just die out of nowhere when you arrived? Did you..."
Xue Chenjing took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and irritably interrupted, "It transferred all its spiritual power to me, repairing my meridians and mending my broken bones."
He clenched his fist tightly, gripping the wound in his palm. Lowering his head as if looking at the withered branches and leaves on the ground, he muttered with a displeased expression, "I never asked for it to do this. I don't want its sentimental self-sacrifice to save me."
Yu Yi surprisingly sensed a hint of sadness from him, though she figured it must be coming from the other soul within his body.
She bent down to pick up a strand of withered locust flowers. Before she could straighten up, the petals scattered from the dried stem. She had to let it go and asked, "Did it leave any message?"
"There's an underground palace beneath here," Xue Chenjing said, composing himself. He walked to where the locust tree spirit had disappeared and placed his hand on the spot it had last touched. "Now that it mentions it, I do recall there is indeed an underground palace here."
Xue Chenjing had only skimmed through Ji Hanyi's memories before, focusing mainly on the battle scene between the little bird demon and the human demon, without paying much attention to other details.
Now that the locust tree spirit brought it up, he remembered seeing something about this underground palace in Ji Hanyi's memories.
Xue Chenjing closed his eyes, carefully tracing back through his memories. His palm moved along the broken altar, feeling from left to right. Blue spiritual light flowed from his fingertips, lighting up the eyes of several carvings on the altar in sequence.
Finally, he gathered spiritual power in his palm and pushed forcefully against a brick on the altar. Spiritual threads shot out rapidly from under his hand, cutting through the bricks of the altar. These bricks disassembled at an extremely fast pace, then reassembled, eventually stacking up to form a white stone memorial archway with three spans and four pillars.
A plaque hung under the eaves in the center of the archway, with golden characters on a black background that read "Soul Settling Hall". On the two central pillars were couplets that read "Evil spirits shall not invade" and "Demons and monsters shall not disturb".
"The Ji Family's true ancestral hall is actually behind this archway," Xue Chenjing said.
Li Su stretched his neck to examine the suddenly appeared archway up and down, exclaiming angrily, "Your Ji Family actually used a fake ancestral hall to deceive us. Human cultivators are truly insidious and cunning!"
Xue Chenjing ignored the foolish cat and closed his eyes briefly, attempting to dig out more information from Ji Hanyi's memories.
However, the Soul Settling Hall was a restricted area of the Ji Family. Whether it was because he didn't know much about it himself or because this part of the memory was too well-guarded, Xue Chenjing couldn't extract more information from his memories at the moment. Thus, he didn't know exactly what the situation inside the Soul Settling Hall was like.
His tendrils carefully scanned the couplets on the door from a distance across the archway. He asked Yu Yi, "Do you want to go in?"
Yu Yi nodded, of course she wanted to enter. The core of the soul-settling formation must be within this underground palace. If she wanted to break the formation and release all the earth-bound spirits in the city, she would have to venture inside.
Huai Li's soul timidly said, "Yi, do we really have to go in?"
Yu Yi reassured her, "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you."
Huai Li hesitated for a moment, then the little bird soul nodded its head, choosing to trust her as always.
The withering of the large locust tree in the ancestral hall also attracted the attention of the demons from Dark Cinnabar Mountain, and some began to gather here. Yu Yi didn't delay, concentrating as she stepped towards the archway.
However, Li Su suddenly reached out to stop her. His expression was determined, his golden eyes filled with the reflection of the young woman. He deliberately softened his voice, though somewhat awkwardly, and said, "I'll go in first. If there's no danger, you can follow behind me."
Without waiting for a response, Li Su turned around and walked cautiously into the archway.
The cat demon youth had a tall, slender figure and a straight back. Beneath his clothes, one could see the taut muscle lines of his back. His cat ears stood upright on his head, the ear cups turning back and forth, alert to sounds from all directions.
Below his lithe waist, six fluffy tails fanned out. The silhouette of his back, resolutely shielding her, looked steady and reliable.
The little bird demon chirped softly, and suddenly the tiny bird soul grew warm. Her emotions infected Yu Yi, causing the heart of this body to pound wildly.
Yu Yi's face and ears flushed red for a moment. She pressed her hand against her frantically beating heart in surprise and asked confusedly, "Huai Li?"
The little bird demon flapped her wings to fan herself, her soul blushing bright red as she stammered in panic, "W-what? I don't know what's happening either."
Yu Yi took a deep breath and inwardly scared the little bird demon, "Don't distract me. If we encounter any traps inside and I don't react in time, you'll end up as a dead little bird."
Frightened by her words, Huai Li stopped fluttering about and buried her head in her wings, trying hard to suppress her fluttering heart.
Yu Yi couldn't help but smile.
A disappointed sigh came from the system behind her: "Master, please try to show some initiative! At times like this, you should rush forward to protect the female lead, shielding her behind you! Not let a cat demon steal this perfect opportunity to gain favor."
Xue Chenjing was stunned for a moment. After processing the system's reminder in his mind, he belatedly realized why her heart had been beating so fast earlier.
He thought to himself in frustration, "Why didn't you remind me earlier?"
The system: "..." Do I need to spoon-feed you everything? Can't you have some awareness on your own?
But by now, it was too late for Xue Chenjing to try to show off. Li Su had already stepped into the archway, with Yu Yi following behind him. He could only click his tongue in annoyance and hurry to catch up.
Suddenly, a water-like white light rippled inside the doorway of the white stone archway, and the inscriptions on both door pillars lit up simultaneously. At the same time, Li Su, who had already disappeared behind the archway, let out a warning cat's cry, followed immediately by a powerful force that violently threw him back out.
Yu Yi reacted extremely quickly, dodging to the side. Half of her body was immersed in the white light of the archway when she suddenly felt an enormous suction force. There was a strange sensation of being split apart, and she heard Huai Li's surprised cry: "Yi?"
Yu Yi turned her head and saw Huai Li staring at her with wide eyes.
She quickly glanced down at herself and realized that the two of them had separated. Huai Li, seeing her face, joyfully stretched out her arms, wanting to touch her. "Yi, I can finally see you, Yi."
But the barrier stood between them, and Huai Li ultimately couldn't touch her.
Yu Yi was sucked into the archway doorway by the great force, while the little bird demon was repelled by the barrier on the door.
"Yi! Yi!"
Yu Yi only heard Huai Li's last two calls before the scene before her eyes completely changed, and she stepped into the underground palace of the Soul Settling Hall.
On the other side of the archway, Li Su and Huai Li were thrown out by the barrier one after another. The cat demon's reaction was extremely fast; his body twisted flexibly in mid-air, and as soon as his toes touched the ground, he dashed over to catch the ejected Huai Li.
Xue Chenjing's demon spirits, which had been closely following Yu Yi, were now all blocked by the barrier.
He opened his arms to catch the large group of transparent demon spirits that bounced back. Turning his head, despite the gauze covering his eyes, he accurately located the direction of the little bird demon and asked, "Did Yu Yi go in?"
At that moment, Huai Li felt gazes from all directions, as if countless eyes were staring and examining her.
She couldn't help but shiver, goosebumps rising all over her body. Ignoring Li Su's anxious inquiries, she nodded dazedly, "Y-yes, she went in."
"Yu Yi? Who's Yu Yi?" the cat demon was utterly confused.
Xue Chenjing didn't bother with them anymore. He turned and plunged into the doorway of the white stone archway. The inscriptions on both sides of the door pillars lit up again, and a water-like barrier appeared in front of him. His figure was trapped in the white light of the barrier, locked in a stalemate with these two decrees.
Evil spirits shall not invade, demons and monsters shall not disturb.
"Heh, I'll invade and disturb as I please," Xue Chenjing sneered. Demonic energy exuded from his body, enveloping his hands. He spread his fingers and inserted them into the barrier in front of him, forcefully tearing it apart.
The veins on the back of his hands bulged prominently, his joints turning white from the exertion. The barrier fluctuated violently, and the decrees on the door pillars shone even brighter. Sword lights and blade shadows that exorcise demons and repel evil shot out from within the barrier, slashing down towards him.
The chaotic sword light swept towards the ancestral hall behind them. Li Su hurriedly embraced Huai Li and leapt towards the outside of Huai'an Hall.
Huai Li clutched Li Su's shoulders and anxiously asked, "What about the Immortal Lord? And Yi?"
"Forget about them!" Li Su said jealously, "You're always concerned about so many people, everyone can find a place in your heart. Can't you focus solely on me? Look only at me!"
Li Su's emotions were running high, and he failed to dodge in time. His back and legs were struck by a sword, causing him to fall to his knees with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The demon-slaying sword light attacked from above, surrounding them. Li Su raised his hand to protect Huai Li's head, burying her beneath him.
"Li Su!" As the dense sword light descended, Huai Li looked up at him nervously. At such close range, her wide eyes were filled with nothing but his image.
"That's right, just keep your eyes on me," Li Su smiled with satisfaction, but his smile quickly froze on his face.
The five-colored bird's wings spread wide, embracing him from below and covering the cat demon's head. Li Su's heart leapt into his throat, his voice almost tearing as he shouted, "You stupid bird! What are you doing? Do you have a death wish? Quickly fold your wings back!"
Huai Li hugged his neck tightly, shutting her eyes and completely ignoring his roars.
The sword rain fell, clashing with sharp metallic clangs.
The expected pain didn't come. Huai Li opened her eyes and looked up, peering over Li Su's shoulder through the parted feathers to see a graceful, enchanting figure standing above them.
The master of Dark Cinnabar Mountain, her white dress fluttering, held a snow-white parasol. The canopy was thin and translucent, covered with a layer of hard snake scales made from her own shed skin. As the parasol collided with the falling sword rain, it deflected all the blades amidst ringing clashes.
Xuan Dan glanced back at the two small demons behind her. "Hurry up and leave."
"Thank you, Mountain Master," Huai Li said tearfully. She quickly retracted her wings and supported the cat demon as they headed out of the ancestral hall, comforting him, "Li Su, it's alright. We're not dead. The Mountain Master came to save us."
Li Su's heart was still constricting, as if someone was squeezing it tightly. He hadn't yet recovered, his limbs felt weak, but his fingers gripped Huai Li firmly. His voice trembled with anger as he said, "Who asked you to protect me? If you had died, I would definitely eat you, I definitely would eat you!"
Huai Li's eyes widened, and she shrank her neck in fear, whispering, "Didn't we already agree? Why do you want to eat me again?"
"So, you'd better not die. Don't die for anyone," Li Su squeezed these words out through gritted teeth, then tightened his arms around her and pleaded softly into her shoulder, "Huai Li, I'm begging you."
Huai Li raised her hand to pat his head. "Don't worry, I won't."
Outside the ancestral hall, demon clan members had gathered, but they were blocked by the sudden outburst of sword energy and dared not enter.
After the sword light dissipated, the long-dilapidated ancestral hall finally collapsed completely. Even the dead locust tree beside it toppled to the ground, chopped into wood chips.
The surroundings had been razed to the ground, leaving only the central three-bay, four-pillar white stone memorial archway standing in place.
Xuan Dan fearfully glanced at the figure beneath the archway, then folded her snow-white parasol and stepped out of the ruins. She ordered someone to capture the two small demons and questioned, "What happened?"
Li Su was covered in blood but straightened his back to shield Huai Li. Without mentioning how they had arrived here or why they were with Ji Hanyi, he loudly declared, "Huai'an Hall is fake! All the Ji family ancestral tablets enshrined inside are fake! The real Ji family ancestral hall is behind that memorial archway!"
The demon crowd grew restless, their emotions stirred. Many drew their weapons, wanting to charge forward, but were restrained by Xuan Dan's raised hand.
"You should know well what happens to those who betray me," Xuan Dan's slender, demonic eyes swept over Li Su and Huai Li. She ordered them to be detained for later punishment.
Her attention returned to the white stone archway as she commanded, "Surround this place first and await my orders."
The demon clan members dispersed to encircle the archway.
Beneath the archway, dark demonic energy intertwined with the barrier. The decree on this gate incorporated the cultivation of more than one Ji family member. The cultivation of dozens of generations was condensed into this barrier, making it difficult for Xue Chenjing to break through for the moment.
The light of the ancestral decree containing the Ji family ancestors' magical power on the gate pillars stirred Ji Hanyi's soul into momentary clarity.
Ji Hanyi could no longer endure the heavy demonic energy surrounding Xue Chenjing. Even though the Immortal Lord's cultivation had been destroyed and he had languished in the Ghost Realm for thousands of years, his soul eroded by demonic energy, he still retained a fraction of his own steadfast heart of dao, not having completely fallen.
Without any hesitation, he quickly began reciting an exorcism incantation with his firm dao heart.
Caught off guard, Xue Chenjing's soul was directly struck by the exorcism spell.
His spirit severely damaged, under attack from both inside and out, his footsteps faltered and he was forced to stumble backward. At the same time, he felt a sense of separation within his body.
Xue Chenjing was blasted out of the barrier, the blindfold covering his eyes coming loose and falling away. He opened his eyes, his pupils black and bright, squinting as he watched Ji Hanyi's form fall into the barrier.
The two were completely separated, with Ji Hanyi entering the barrier while he, like the little bird demon, was repelled by the decree on the gate pillars.
The person who tumbled out of the barrier had beautiful long black curly hair, with a golden hairband intertwined with the dark locks, fluttering in the air.
The cat demon narrowed his eyes, his rapidly vibrating pupils capturing the other's facial features. He lowered his head to ask the person in his arms, "Who is he now? What else are you hiding from me?"
Afraid of being overheard by Xuan Dan in front, he kept his voice very low, with a kind of helpless exasperation.
Huai Li covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide as she looked ahead. "They've separated too."
The Immortal Lord had entered behind the archway, so he should be safe now.
At the foot of the archway, Xue Chenjing pressed his hand to his chest. Ji Hanyi's exorcism incantation seemed to still linger in his body, the demonic entity in his heart's sea writhing in pain.
Xue Chenjing paced before the white stone archway, his face dark as that damned exorcism spell churned in his mind. He shook his head forcefully, "Shut up! Shut up!"
He couldn't help but bend over and retch, as if trying to vomit out the buzzing exorcism spell from his throat.
Xue Chenjing's entire face turned red, his eyes nearly bloodshot. He collapsed to the ground, raising both hands to cover his mouth and nose, desperately trying to stifle the useless convulsions in his throat.
After a long while, the sound of the exorcism spell finally began to fade in his mind.
Xue Chenjing removed his hands and gasped for air. He wiped the moisture from his face with his sleeve and turned his head to look at the white stone archway standing beside him.
Being separated from Yu Yi again made him extremely agitated.
Only five parts left, there were clearly only five parts left.
After his breathing steadied, Xue Chenjing closed his eyes and sank into his heart's sea.
He passed through the chaotic demonic shadows in his heart's sea, walked past the oath stele, and entered directly into that ray of white light deep within.
The familiar mountain cave temple appeared before his eyes. Xue Chenjing stepped into the main hall and said to the person sitting quietly on a rush mat, "Go out and help me find someone. Find her and bring her out of that ghost city."
The person on the rush mat stood up and turned to face him.
Standing together, they looked like a pair of twin brothers. Their build and facial features were identical, even down to the long hair hanging behind their heads and the curve of the curls at the ends.
However, one had a gloomy expression, while the other had a gentle demeanor, as if they were two extremes.
"Is it the young lady who once came to visit me here?" the other person asked in a mild tone.
Xue Chenjing nodded, leaning in close to warn him in a low voice, "Don't do anything unnecessary. You should know that I can sense your every move now and can seal you back in here at any time, my dear elder brother."
The other person smiled helplessly, not angered by his malicious tone, and said, "Alright, I'll do as you say."
The person in front of the white stone archway opened his eyes again. The bloodshot hadn't completely faded from his eyes, leaving his eye sockets red, but those eyes looked as clear and bright as a lake surface under sunlight.
It was now the time when night retreated and dawn broke. Even in the Ghost Realm, the sunlight was pale and devoid of warmth, but for someone who hadn't seen sunlight in so long, suddenly seeing daylight again was immensely joyful.
He tilted his head back, his pupils filled with sunlight, and took a deep breath. A nostalgic smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
It was clearly the same person, yet in the blink of an eye, their whole demeanor had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The system immediately sensed his change and exclaimed excitedly, "Master? You've finally emerged, Master."
