"Who are you?" Dong Ling asked, tilting his head and staring at his incredibly ugly face.
Sensing two rapidly approaching breaths, Qian Qiu had already reapplied his disguised face. His peripheral vision caught sight of Zhong Zi nearby.
Suddenly, Qian Qiu grinned at Zhong Zi, "My name is Qian Qiu. Please take care of me from now on."
Demonized person... Zhong Zi's gray eyes saw the color of his soul.
Dong Ling scratched his head and turned to Zhong Zi, "Do you know him?"
Zhong Zi's brow furrowed, his expression incredibly complex, "He is a demonized person, allied with the Nine Calamities and Wang Yu that I spoke of."
This was unexpected. Qian Qiu raised an eyebrow. Wang Yu had clearly said he wouldn't reveal his identity. What was going on now...?
"So he's a demonized person," Dong Ling showed no excessive surprise.
He casually sat down next to Qian Qiu and smiled at him, "Are you waiting for the King too?"
"Yes," Qian Qiu curved his lips into a smile, his monstrous appearance looking rather unsettling, "I am also waiting for the King."
Zhong Zi clenched his fists, but after a moment, he sighed, relaxed his grip, and sat down as well.
"His name is Dong Ling, and he is also one of the King's subordinates. That's why I didn't reveal your identity."
Hearing this, Qian Qiu glanced at Zhong Zi with admiration. That made sense. After all, they were all on the same boat.
If anyone's identity was accidentally exposed, none of them could remain unscathed...
Zhong Zi pursed his lips. The truth was, it wasn't because no one was watching the demonized people that he managed to escape.
The truth was – the demonized person let him go.
That day, the Nine Calamities bowed her head arrogantly and whispered into Zhong Zi's ear, "Let me tell you a secret, actually—we're allies."
"After all, we all serve the same King."
Wang Yu leaned against the wall, his gaze fixed on Zhong Zi. The King's identity was a secret.
Only the King's direct guards knew his identity, so it was normal for the demonized people below not to know.
Arrogant, seductive, the Nine Calamities' voice was soft, yet it struck Zhong Zi's defenses like a thunderclap, shattering them.
His mind was in turmoil, a battle raging within him. What if she was lying? What if this was a trick by the demonized people?
No! It couldn't be—!
But no matter how he despaired, how unbelievable it seemed, the answer had long been in his heart...
The Nine Calamities, also known as Luo Qianqian, had used Dongfang Wuji's identity to deliberately approach Bai Ran, expressing a desire to be friends...
Wang Yu, through the souls of the deceased, had lured Bai Ran to search for him...
Although their strength far surpassed Bai Ran's, they obediently answered Bai Ran's every question...
To protect Bai Ran's smooth revival, the Nine Calamities chose to expose herself, acting as a decoy to draw fire.
At the most opportune moment, she also smoothly took Zhong Zi, successfully recruiting two great generals of the Ghost Clan.
Everything was so insane, so insane that Zhong Zi began to harbor illusions...
That he was allied with these demonized people...
He stood behind the King, beside these demonized people, on the opposite side of humanity...
Undying living dead, unconquerable demonized beings. The combination of the two brought a heart-wrenching despair, extinguishing all hope.
Calamity... the greatest calamity was about to be born...
The world would face an unprecedented disaster...
All humans and gods and demons would perish, and the world would be occupied by demonized people and the Ghost Clan...
The King—would become the sole ruler of the four realms.
At this moment, the Heart-Sensing Beast's heart skipped a beat. He clutched his chest, his face filled with worry.
Woman... do not stand on the opposite side of humanity again...
The outcome of that great battle rested on your single thought. Do not squander the life your father has already lost...
Time reversed, solely to seek a sliver of hope for the world, to give Bai Ran another chance to choose anew.
Seven days flashed by. The cultivation chamber was in ruins, testament to the ferocity of the battle within.
The transformed other Bai Ran gradually dissipated in the air, turning into nothingness.
"Hoo—" Bai Ran sat cross-legged, exhaled a turbid breath, and slowly opened her eyes.
The first stance of Falling Sun Dance was Blood Rain, the second was Shattered Bone Lotus. In these short seven days, she had successfully learned the third stance—Heaven Breaker.
Heaven Breaker was the final stance of Falling Sun Dance, and also the most difficult.
What surprised Bai Ran was that Heaven Breaker was a sword technique, wielding a long sword to cleave mountains and rivers.
But on second thought, sword techniques were the most correct follow-up. Blood Rain and Shattered Bone Lotus both relied on spiritual energy.
Once her spiritual energy was depleted and she was caught in close combat, death would be inevitable. Heaven Breaker's appearance would allow Bai Ran to remain undefeated even without spiritual energy.
"Seven days was only enough to learn the superficial aspects. Heaven Breaker is indeed difficult to master," Bai Ran stood up and sheathed the Phoenix Cry Sword.
Xiao Zi rolled his eyes, "Seven days to touch the threshold of the final stance of a technique? Little ghost, I think you're showing off."
"Bang—!" A loud noise erupted from outside the cultivation chamber.
Someone was fighting outside? Bai Ran opened the cultivation chamber door in confusion.
"No! I know I was wrong! Please, spare me!"
A woman's arm was brutally severed, her beautiful face also disfigured, bleeding profusely and looking terrifying.
She hugged her head tightly, her body curled up in fear. Was that An Mengyi?
Qian Qiu grinned sinisterly and fiercely kicked her in the abdomen, sending her flying again.
"What? Did you think I would let you off so easily?"
Zhong Zi also stared intently at her, suppressed anger in his eyes, "Attempting to kill the master while she was cultivating, you deserve to die."
Dong Ling stepped forward and crouched beside the trembling An Mengyi. Although he was smiling, it sent a chill down one's spine.
"Hey, why did you kill her? I haven't even met her yet."
An Mengyi trembled like a sieve, her voice choked, unable to speak.
"Ahhh—!" Dong Ling, still smiling, gouged out her heart.
An Meng's face instantly turned deathly pale. The warm heart pulsed in Dong Ling's hand.
"Please, give it back to me... I... I don't want to die yet..." Her voice was intermittent as she crawled towards Dong Ling.
Just as An Mengyi's hand was about to grasp his robe, her hand slammed onto the ground, and she breathed her last.
Dong Ling's face remained adorned with a smile, appearing utterly innocent.
He excitedly offered the heart in his hand to Zhong Zi, "Lord Zhong, look. She's dead, but her heart is still beating. How amazing!"
Zhong Zi's mouth twitched. Dong Ling was such a person, a smiling Yama, appearing foolish and easily bullied.
But to underestimate him was to court death.
Dong Ling's gaze swept to the open cultivation chamber door and the red figure standing in front of it.
"King!" He threw the heart to the ground and excitedly lunged towards Bai Ran.