Chapter 51

Ning Ning’s heart was about to reach her throat, and she quickly ran towards him. Similar to the previous times, he once again became a bloodied figure.

… But this time, Pei Ji did it to protect her.

“Do you think it’s over like this?” Xuan Ye sneered sharply, gasping from the pain. Yet, a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. “Of course, I couldn’t just come here recklessly. In unexpected places, I’ve secretly set up another trap… Do you want to see it?”

He laughed heartily, addressing someone unknown and shouting, “Come out!”

As the words fell, five figures simultaneously emerged from the shadows of the courtyard. All of them had snowy white hair, and their eyes were a mix of cloudiness and refined tranquility, portraying elderly figures.

Meng Jiaqi, whether out of anger or fear, trembled all over. “These are… the five elders.”

One of them caught sight of her, lifting his chin indifferently with a cold and disdainful look. He was none other than her biological father, Meng Qing.

“Why did you deceive me?”

Meng Jiaqi, who had been kept in the dark for so long, couldn’t hold back her tears upon seeing him. “Dad, why did you want to harm the Young City Lord?”

Meng Qing ignored her, but another elder beside him responded in a calm voice, “Following the Demon Lord guarantees us wealth and prosperity for a lifetime. Jiaqi, don’t remain stubborn.”

It’s them who are stubborn!

These elders couldn’t leave the lakebed, so they had no idea that the outside world had already witnessed a great war between immortals and demons. The demonic forces had vanished, and any talk of wealth and prosperity was just an illusion.

“To achieve soul refinement and reshape the sea of consciousness, I still lack three human souls. Originally, I planned to kill all of you and then take your souls. But now…”

Xuan Ye licked his lips. “This kid is exceptionally powerful. I only need him—today, I will break this city!”

To achieve soul extraction, it had to be done right after the target died or when they were extremely weak.

Pei Ji, with his severe injuries, was undoubtedly unable to resist. Once the five elders set up the soul-capturing formation, extracting his soul would take just an instant, and others wouldn’t be able to stop it.

Once he absorbed the boy’s spiritual power, combined with the countless demon souls he had absorbed before, not only could he leave this accursed place, but he could also continue to dominate, enjoying being the Demon Lord.

The five elders chorused “yes,” and the soul-capturing formation began to operate. A few streaks of blood rose into the air—

However, inexplicably, they simultaneously fell heavily to the ground, transforming into a soft puddle of blood at their feet.

There was no anticipated soul-capturing spell, and the blood-red sky didn’t materialize as expected. The incantations failed to launch, declaring an end before anything could happen, as if nothing had occurred.

Four pairs of eyes were filled with disbelief, all looking in one direction.

Someone trembled and shouted, “What are you doing… Meng Qing!”

The old man standing alone at the center of the formation suddenly showed a trace of clarity in his cloudy eyes. Without chanting a spell or activating the formation, he smiled faintly at them.

Then, he lightly stepped on the blood seal on the ground, effortlessly wiping it into an indistinct blood stain.

As the formation was activated, someone midway through stopped arranging the array, causing the entire plan to fall apart, resulting in a complete loss.

It was reminiscent of the scene at the city gate three hundred years ago—like meticulously planned revenge.

Xuan Ye sensed something amiss, tightly covering the wound inflicted by Pei Ji.

“Want to break this city?”

A stranger’s voice, cold and disdainful like the harsh wind of winter, echoed from somewhere. It abruptly broke the deadlock: “You can’t even touch my city.”

Meng Jiaqi widened her eyes in astonishment, following the source of the voice. She couldn’t help but voice, “Y-Young City Lord?”

Ning Ning stood by Pei Ji’s side, looking up with difficulty.

From the shadows of the trees in the deep path, a tall figure slowly emerged.

He wore a black robe embroidered with dark gold patterns, blending seamlessly with the surrounding night. As the lamp light gradually illuminated his face, the first thing that caught her eye was the rich red mark at the corner of the young man’s eyes.

This was a unique mark of the Phoenix Clan.

The real Jiang Si and the fake face Xuan Ye used before had little difference in appearance, but their temperaments were vastly different.

Unlike the demonic aura and murderous intent shrouding the demonic cultivator, the renowned Young City Lord of Jialan City stood like a jade tree with a calm expression. The only sharpness was hidden in his deep and narrow phoenix eyes, revealing a forceful determination in an instant, piercing through the layers of darkness.

“Jiang Si…”

Xuan Ye was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. “I thought you had no place to die; turns out you’ve turned into a coward hiding! What, that Meng Qing is actually with you? How did you convince him to join you?”

Jiang Si returned a very shallow smile, his tone devoid of ups and downs. “Where did you get the idea of ‘convincing’? Meng Qing has been on my side from the beginning.”

Xuan Ye’s smile finally froze slightly, and the laughter finally came to a halt.

“From the beginning?”

He squeezed these words from his throat, a stronger hostility appearing in his eyes.

If Meng Qing was never swayed by him, it meant that, at the city gate three hundred years ago, Jiang Si knew he would be betrayed by the other elders.

In other words, he might have long been prepared to perish with them.