Chapter 79

She was unprepared, unable to dodge, and immediately had the letter snatched from her hand.

“Miss Chen is so elegant. In this matter of writing a letter to the locust tree, I’m afraid no one has done it before or after, only you.”

Ning Ning moved quickly, snatched the envelope, and quickly stepped back a few steps, skillfully tearing open the pages. “Why don’t we all take a look at what’s written in this letter?”

Chen Lubai glared angrily but said nothing through gritted teeth.

“The four of them didn’t notice anything wrong, just waiting for the soul-refining formation to start at midnight, to be sacrificed with their blood.”

Ning Ning read aloud, then glanced at the entrance to the backyard. “Senior Sister, what is the soul-refining formation?”

“To refine thousands of souls for a whole year, and then, using a living person as a catalyst, perform a blood sacrifice, which can greatly increase the cultivation of the practitioner and make them soar to new heights.”

Zheng Weiqi walked out slowly from the shadows of the bamboo forest, dressed in white, cutting through the darkness. “Using other people’s souls to achieve one’s own ends is a method only used by extremely wicked individuals and is listed as one of the ten forbidden techniques.”

Chen Lubai knew she was no match for the sword cultivator, and she sneered as she took a step back. She knew her identity was exposed, but she didn’t show any signs of panic; she just said softly, “Where did I leak information?”

This was unexpectedly a very professionally conscientious villain character.

“My junior brother has heard an interesting story; I wonder if Miss Chen is interested in hearing it?”

Ning Ning politely responded to her, “People in Goose City all say that Miss Chen of the Chen family is willful and unruly, constantly wanting to travel far away to escape the constraints of her father and brother in the Chen Mansion and live freely—but I distinctly remember, you didn’t tell me that at the time.”

“You only know Chen Lubai’s temperament, but you know nothing about her life experiences. The reason you said those words about ‘not wanting to leave the Chen Mansion’ is probably because she had made up her mind to wander the world but still harbored some reluctance towards her family. She sneaked out at night to confide in you—but you couldn’t fathom her thoughts and mistook her farewell fondness for never wanting to leave the Chen Mansion.”

She subconsciously gripped the hilt of her sword, adopting a defensive posture in case the other party suddenly turned violent. “What should we call you? Miss Chen? Or… the Locust Ghost?”

A moment of silence ensued.

As the locust tree was brushed by the cold wind, it rustled loudly, sounding like the mocking laughter of countless ghosts lurking in the darkness, which was extremely eerie.

The locust demon that had taken over Chen Lubai’s body seemed to finally give up the disguise, laughing heartily at the sky, “So what? Do you really think that by breaking my illusion, you can safely leave Goose City? The soul-refining formation will be activated at midnight tonight, and the demons in the city will be after your lives. Let’s see where you can escape!”

She laughed tiredly, then suddenly showed a hint of regret and sorrow: “The group of evil cultivators in the city originally planned to break all of your bones and lock you next to the formation to die. It was only because of my kindness that I created this illusion, so that even if you died, you wouldn’t suffer too much. Why can’t you understand my intentions?”

This statement was actually true.

The incident in Goose City spread throughout the entire cultivation world. The major sects were too busy with the great war to deal with the demons in the city individually. However, to prevent the demons from entering the mortal realm, elders from various major sects gathered to set up a huge array, trapping them in Goose City and preventing them from escaping.

To break free from this array, one had to use the soul-refining formation to enhance their cultivation and then work together to break the array. However, the soul-refining formation required a living person as a catalyst, and since Goose City fell, there had been no one willing to enter.

After nearly a year, four ignorant juniors finally stumbled into it.

This was their best opportunity.

If they used force, encountering someone with a steadfast character who would commit suicide rather than succumb would inevitably lead to failure. So, it was the Locust Ghost who suggested setting up the illusion. As long as they trapped the few people in the illusion, they would naturally have no intention of escaping and would be completely absorbed in the illusion.

“Talking is useless.”

Zheng Weiqi, thinking of being deceived by these demons, immediately became furious, drew her sword, and pointed it directly at the sinister old locust tree beside her.

This tree is not only the true form of the Locust Ghost but also her channel for communicating with the outside world, most likely the focal point of the entire illusion.

The sword light split into several white shadows, as cold as the wind.

Zheng Weiqi thought that the Locust Ghost would recklessly fight them to the end, but she just raised the corner of her lips and coldly sneered.

As if performing a magic trick, the figure of the Locust Ghost quickly dissipated into the night, leaving only a gloomy voice in the wind: “You better be prepared—there’s more than just me outside the illusion who wants your lives.”

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The dazzling sword light of Zheng Weiqi shone like stars and moons. Ning Ning suddenly opened her eyes from her drowsiness, first smelling a nauseating stench of blood.

The stench was like a mixture of blood and flesh, rotting over the years, making her instinctively hold her breath and shift her focus to what was in front of her.

She was still in the backyard of the Chen Mansion, but the situation was completely different from the illusion.

The old locust tree in the backyard was unbelievably huge, with roots and branches almost filling the entire space, thick roots crawling on the ground all the way to the backyard gate, and still growing continuously.

What was most terrifying was that these roots seemed to have become some kind of breathing creature. The deep brown outer skin undulated up and down, resembling giant snakes wriggling in the murky night, making her feel nauseous involuntarily.

The roots coiled around, binding most of her body to the trunk like ropes, leaving only a small part of her face, neck, and chest exposed, rendering her completely immobile.

And when she raised her eyes, she saw the real Chen Mansion.

The blood-red light tore through the sky, creating endless darkness. A cotton-like cloud covered most of the moonlight, which poured out from between the clouds, strangely red like blood, resembling tears of blood flowing from her eyes, moving down from above, emanating a murderous intent.

The blood moon hung high, with ghostly lights hidden on the horizon. All the other trees had been drained of their essence by the old locust, long devoid of vitality, leaving only a few grotesque skeletons resembling ghost claws.

Suddenly, a demonic wind rose, brushing through her dark hair. Amidst the rising and falling of her hair, Ning Ning saw a skeleton collapse in the corner.

Desolation and weeds covered the scene, with the walls and tiles mottled. Silent pavilions were smeared with bloodstains, casting a thick shade over the cold bones, with fine moss climbing up from the joints, coloring the skeleton with a faint bluish-gray.

The skeleton was small, appearing to be that of a young child, curled up and wrinkled into a ball, hands covering the head.

Deep cracks penetrated into the bone marrow, clearly visible in the darkness, indicating the unbearable pain suffered before.

Ning Ning’s heart sank, guessing her name.

The cloud covering the residual blood slowly moved westward, quietly swallowing the last trace of light. Ning Ning took a shallow breath, secretly gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips.

The fierce sword light, swift as lightning, pierced through the huge vines wrapped around her in an instant, blood gushing out without warning, bursting out from the vines.

A bold and unrestrained laughter sounded in the distance, accompanied by flames that illuminated the sky.

Nearby, the air was filled with a fishy smell, and white bones were everywhere.

Midnight was approaching.

“Each layer is more complicated than the last; my brain is about to explode, and yet my hands never get a break.”

Zheng Weiqi followed closely behind, leaping down from between the vines, revealing a rare bitter smile: “This layer of the tower… Could it be that we’re supposed to slaughter all the demons in the entire city?”