Bai Ran smiled, looking at Xiao Zi and asking, "And the little one, where is he now?"
Little one... Xiao Zi blinked, a surprised smile curling up the corners of her lips. "He's here!"
That's right, the little sable could break through all barriers! How had they forgotten!
Everyone rejoiced, their gazes turning to Xiao Zi. She flicked her sleeve and pulled out a ball of snow-white fluff.
The little sable blinked its eyes open groggily, as if just waking up. The next moment, it was met with several intensely scorching gazes...
"Why... why are you all staring at me!"
Xiao Zi smiled at it, gently stroking the fluff on its head. "We're trapped by a barrier in the divine realm right now, can you break it?"
She thought it was something important... The little sable was utterly speechless. "Just go to the barrier."
But just as they were about to leave, the communication jade pendant worn on Jing Feng's waist began to emit a scorching heat.
He unfastened the pendant, infused it with spiritual energy, and then Jing Yun's voice came from the other end.
"The person the Madam is looking for is currently within the divine realm, with Dongfang Wuji. Have you seen them?"
The person she's looking for? Who? Everyone was confused, and Jing Feng was equally bewildered. "Who is it?"
Bai Ran pursed her lips into a smile and took the jade pendant. "Mm, I know. But we haven't seen them yet."
After a few more casual remarks, they cut off contact. Seeing Bai Ran put down the jade pendant, Jiang Ye asked with a puzzled expression.
"Little mistress, who are you looking for?"
"Someone who can save my life."
Upon hearing this, everyone except Bai Ran erupted like a pot boiling over, surging forward instantly, shock written all over their faces.
"Miss Bai? Are you ill! Is it that serious?!"
"Master, what's wrong? What do you mean by that!"
"Little one, you can't just say things like that! Are you hiding something from us?"
Facing the barrage of questions that followed seamlessly, Bai Ran raised a helpless smile. "You'll know when you see them. I haven't been deliberately hiding anything."
Who would have thought that the moment Bai Ran finished speaking, a familiar, loud male voice would reach their ears.
"Hey—! Found them—!"
Everyone turned to look. At the far end of the empty street, Dongfang Wuji was waving at them.
Bai Ran turned her head to look. Before she could speak, a fair arm draped over her shoulder. "Beauty, long time no see, have you missed me?"
She froze, turning her head in surprise. "Sect Leader Gu!"
Gu Qingcheng looked at her with a smile, raising an eyebrow and intimately embracing Bai Ran's shoulder. The fluctuation of spiritual energy around her seemed to have intensified significantly.
Dongfang Wuji also walked towards them, smiling rakishly. "Well, my task is complete."
"Her? Isn't she that one from the Wu clan..." Xiao Zi and Zhu Que looked at the familiar features, memories flooding back.
"Gu Qingcheng?" Jing Feng also frowned, looking at the woman before him with confusion. "Miss Bai, why are you seeing her?"
Jing Feng didn't have a good impression of Gu Qingcheng. Despite her difficult circumstances, this woman had once tried to kill Miss Bai.
Jiang Ye scratched his head, blinking in confusion. "Why do you all know her?"
"Find a courtyard, and I'll explain it to you all properly," Bai Ran said with a light smile.
Hearing this, everyone nodded and went to a dilapidated, deserted courtyard.
"Speak, what do you need me for?" Gu Qingcheng casually found a clean wooden chair and sat down, looking at Bai Ran.
All eyes converged. Bai Ran became serious and said, "The Ghost King's curse, Sect Leader Gu, do you have a solution?"
Upon hearing the words 'Ghost King's curse,' Gu Qingcheng's expression changed drastically, and her brows furrowed.
"You... don't tell me you're the Ghost King?"
"Mm," Bai Ran nodded slowly. "If this curse isn't broken, I'll die in another four years."
Silence fell instantly, broken only by the gasps of those present.
"Little one..." Xiao Zi had spoken to Bai Ran about this before, but even he had thought the little one would be able to escape this calamity...
The entire room was silent, everyone's face etched with solemnity and confusion.
"It can be resolved... it will just be a bit painful..."
Gu Qingcheng stared at Bai Ran, her face terrifyingly grim. She never would have imagined that Bai Ran sought her out for such a reason...
"It's better than losing my life," Bai Ran said with a relieved smile. "The situation is urgent now, is it possible to proceed?"
Gu Qingcheng pursed her lips, her brow furrowed into a knot. They were trapped in the divine realm, and who knew when they would be discovered by the patrols.
"Alright, I'll be quick," Gu Qingcheng said, standing up and looking at Jing Feng and the others.
"You all go out. She can stay alone in the room."
Reluctantly, Jing Feng and the others left the room and stood guard outside the door.
"Vixen, do you know what's going on?" Jiang Ye looked at Xiao Zi, anxiety evident in his eyes.
Xiao Zi slowly nodded and explained the entire sequence of events, the cause and effect, in detail to the others.
"No wonder... Miss Bai said she could save her life..." Jing Feng lowered his gaze, looking at the closed door with concern.
...
"The only way to break the curse is to replace the ghost bones," Gu Qingcheng said to the woman before her, her expression extremely solemn.
Replacing ghost bones meant extracting all the bones from a person's body. The ghostly energy would gradually condense within the flesh and blood, forming new bones to grow.
Only the unique witchcraft of the Wu clan could perform bone replacement, but to forcefully extract bones... the pain was unimaginable...
"It's fine, begin," Bai Ran sat with her back to Gu Qingcheng and slowly untied the sash at her waist.
Gu Qingcheng gritted her teeth, gathering dark green spiritual energy in her hand. Unlike the usual white spiritual energy, this was the unique ability of the Wu clan.
"Hold on, don't die..." Gu Qingcheng said in a deep voice, and the dark green spiritual energy transformed into a sharp, eerie little blade.
...
"What did you say! Forcefully extract bones!!!" Outside the room, Jiang Ye exclaimed, his jaw dropping in shock.
Xiao Zi nodded, his hands hanging by his robes clenched. "That's right. Legend has it that this is the only way to break the curse of the ghost clan."
Everyone in the courtyard was stunned by this cruel and ruthless method. The thought of Bai Ran having to endure such pain made them heartbroken.
"There are no other options... after all, it's a life-saving method..." Xiao Zi turned to look at the closed door. No one knew what kind of suffering the little one was enduring inside.
He sighed deeply, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Everyone praised the little one's extraordinary talent, but who knew what she had gone through and what burdens she carried...
"Is there any danger to her life?" Zhu Que asked softly, his eyes red.
"Yes."
Upon receiving the answer, everyone fell silent once more.