"Hahaha, little master, you can rest assured,"
"If that demon brat wrongs you in any way, he won't survive three days, no matter where he flees, from the lower realms to the entire Nine Heavens."
The two elders chatted, while Vermillion Bird ran over in a panic, looking around as if searching for someone.
"Jing Feng! Have you seen Mo Ze!"
Upon hearing Mo Ze's name, everyone instantly became serious. Xuan Qinghong and the clan elder also stopped their conversation.
"Mo Ze? Wasn't he in the easternmost room?" Xiao Zi frowned, her eyes filled with gravity.
Did he break free from Senior Long Yu's restraints and was merely feigning betrayal, with another plan in mind?
Vermillion Bird shook her head frantically, too flustered to speak clearly, "I've checked the easternmost courtyard, it's empty!"
"Master isn't here, what should we do!"
The clan elder knitted his brows and looked up at Vermillion Bird, "Don't rush. Call the others and search everywhere. If you really can't find him, then we'll think of a plan."
"Okay! I'll go notify the others now!" As she finished speaking, Vermillion Bird was already gone.
Jing Feng, Zhong Zi, Jiang Ye, Long Yu, and the clan elder searched almost the entire Ghost Tribe but couldn't find even a trace of Mo Ze.
He had vanished as if into thin air, which was exceedingly strange.
"What should we do! We've been searching for half an hour and still can't find him!" Vermillion Bird's brow remained furrowed in worry.
Xiao Zi propped up her chin, and the scene of Mo Ze's conversation with Lin Ze three days ago suddenly flashed in her mind.
"Go find Lin Ze, he might know something."
Hearing this, Jing Feng nodded, "Right. That guy can read minds. Perhaps he heard Mo Ze's thoughts and knows what he's thinking."
...
"Master... wake... wake up..."
"Master, wake up!"
A familiar voice reached her ears. Bai Ran's eyes snapped open. She had lost consciousness?
She turned her head to the side. A figure stood against the light, their entire face shrouded in shadow. Yet, even so, Bai Ran recognized him at the first glance...
"Murong... Chen?" she slowly reached out a hand towards the person in front of her, incredulous.
"Master, you've finally woken up."
Murong Chen's black hair was neatly tied up, and the youthful innocence had long since faded from his face. However, the way he looked at Bai Ran remained as pure and clean as ever.
He took Bai Ran's outstretched hand, his eyes filled with tenderness and longing, but...
Bai Ran didn't feel the slightest sensation of being held. She stared directly at Murong Chen, and after a long while, sat up.
"This must be an illusion..." She withdrew her hand, much calmer. Murong Chen couldn't possibly be here...
Bai Ran looked around. She was now at the bottom of a set of steps. Looking up, a towering white staircase stretched into the clouds, its end unseen.
In this space, apart from this towering staircase, there was nothing else.
It seemed this was the Divine Staircase... A hint of determination flashed in Bai Ran's eyes. If she could reach the summit, she could enter the Immortal Lord realm and save her father and mother.
But just as she was about to step forward, she felt a tug at her sleeve.
Bai Ran turned around and saw Murong Chen clutching her sleeve tightly, as if unwilling to let her leave.
Bai Ran frowned, glancing at the divine staircase reaching into the clouds, then at Murong Chen holding her sleeve, and vaguely understood something.
"You're stopping me from reaching the summit?"
Facing her direct question, Murong Chen honestly nodded, a soft "Mm" escaping his lips.
Bai Ran narrowed her eyes and resolutely stepped onto a stair. As she climbed to a higher step, Murong Chen, who had been pulling at her, vanished without a trace.
It seemed her guess was correct... Bai Ran looked up at the highest point of the divine staircase that stretched into the clouds.
The divine staircase would conjure various illusions to hinder those climbing from ascending further, but as long as one stepped onto a higher stair, the illusion would disappear.
The summit... reaching the summit would allow her to save her father and mother...
Bai Ran clenched her fists and walked step by step towards the highest point of the divine staircase, her gaze resolute, a flash of crimson light crossing her eyes.
...
"You've come to ask me where Mo Ze escaped to?" Lin Ze sighed, seemingly unsurprised by their arrival.
Xiao Zi nodded, staring intently at Lin Ze, "You can read Mo Ze's thoughts. If he truly had any intention of escaping, you would surely know."
"Yes, Master isn't here now, Mo Ze must have deliberately chosen this time to escape!" Vermillion Bird exclaimed indignantly.
He even lied to Master, saying he wanted to see his parents one last time. Bah, he's such a liar!
Lin Ze glanced at the furious Vermillion Bird, lowered his gaze, and a hint of reluctance appeared in his eyes, "Mm, he does have another plan..."
"What is it?"
Everyone eagerly awaited his answer, but before Lin Ze could speak, a thunderous explosion echoed from somewhere in the Ghost Tribe.
"Could it be!" Vermillion Bird and Xiao Zi exchanged glances and immediately rushed towards the site of the explosion.
Behind them, Jing Feng and the others quickly followed, their expressions anxious.
If their guess was correct, this explosion might have occurred because the escaping Mo Ze encountered someone and was fighting...
Gazing at their retreating figures, Lin Ze tilted his head back and tightly closed his eyes.
Pure, clean, warm, such gentle thoughts, he felt as if he had heard them somewhere before...
Where could it be? Lin Ze pondered for a long time but couldn't recall.
...
"What... what on earth is going on..."
Xiao Zi and the others arrived at the site of the explosion. The clan elder, Long Yu, and others also arrived at the same time.
Jing Feng stared at the scene before him, frozen for a moment. What was happening...
Vermillion Bird pursed her lips, a wave of bitterness surging in her throat, making it difficult to speak.
'This Emperor wishes to see his parents one last time...'
Why hadn't they thought of this...
...
Murong Chen, Fang Tianhui, Qin Mu Bai, Dean Xuan Yuan, Sect Master Xiong, Gu Qingcheng...
After an unknown amount of time, Bai Ran kept ascending and encountered many illusions.
Except when Bai Zhantian appeared, Bai Ran paused for a moment, but her pace of walking was uniformly quick.
"Tap— tap— tap—"
Silence reigned around them, only the sound of her footsteps on the stairs could be heard. The end was out of sight, and the path behind her gradually disappeared.
Forward was the only way, with no retreat.
"Hey—"
Bai Ran's pupils contracted. The moment she heard this voice, she stopped.
"Hey— woman—"
Even after a thousand, ten thousand years, Bai Ran would never forget this voice...
That person... was standing behind her now...