Chapter 82

Although Ning Ning nodded subconsciously and took a few steps forward, she couldn’t help but glance involuntarily at the small skeleton in the corner.

Even in the illusion, she had only seen Chen Yueming a few times. As for the real Miss Chen Yueming, she had never had any contact with Ning Ning.

But now, with the chilly wind blowing, the curled-up skeleton lay in the deserted courtyard, devoid of any clothing, its empty and lifeless dark eye sockets looking lonely and helpless.

Ning Ning approached in silence, took out a piece of clothing from her storage bag, and gently covered the girl with it.

As she bent down, she happened to see a palm-sized book lying on the ground.

Without much thought, she reached out and picked up the small book, carefully flipping it open, only to discover that it was Chen Yueming’s diary.

The page that was flipped open happened to be the last entry, written with childish handwriting:

[Sister said that she had made friends in the backyard since she was a child, and it was that very old, very old locust tree.

She also said that although the tree had become a demon, it was a kind and good demon. Since a few years ago, Sister would quietly go to find it every night.

I don’t understand; where in the world would there be good demons? But my sister would never lie to me. If she says so, then it must be true.

Tomorrow night, she will take me to meet that friend.]

The date recorded was the fourth day of June.

The next night, Chen Yueming died in the backyard.

“Chen Lubai had known that locust tree spirit for several years?”

He Zhizhou leaned over her shoulder, read it, and sighed, “It’s really hidden deep, like ‘Undercover’. I suppose it endured for a long time—with its friendship with Chen Lubai over the years, wouldn’t it feel any pain when it killed her?”

Zheng Weiqi shook her head. “Matters of demons are usually difficult for ordinary people to speculate.”

Pausing for a moment, she added, “This place is not suitable for staying long; let’s leave quickly.”

=====

They guessed correctly. After realizing that no one returned, the powerful demons in the city finally understood that these youngsters were formidable. They dispatched several demon cultivators to search the entire city, and each of them had achieved considerable cultivation.

Flying on their swords was too conspicuous, so Ning Ning and the others could only run towards the city gate without stopping. As the pursuers grew increasingly numerous, even Zheng Weiqi, the strongest among them, began to feel somewhat overwhelmed.

The narrator sighed in frustration: [Is this all you’ve got? You can’t handle this? If this is all the strength you have, you might as well not escape and just return to that Lingquan Temple as sacrifices.]

Zheng Weiqi snapped, “Shut up!”

Another Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator fell under the sword, and Zheng Weiqi wiped away the blood on her face, looking at him with disgust. “This demon is truly possessed, actually inscribing the Soul Refining Formation pattern on his face.”

Ning Ning had never seen what the Soul Refining Formation looked like, so she lowered her head in curiosity at the mention.

The man was burly, with intricate lines drawn in blue ink all over his skin. She furrowed her brows as if she remembered something: “This Soul Refining Formation… why does it look so familiar?”

“Junior Sister, are you thinking of the Buddhist Soul Crossing Formation?”

Zheng Weiqi responded in a low voice, “The Soul Refining Formation and the Buddhist Soul Crossing Formation originate from the same principle and are very similar in their array construction. However, the former is a forbidden technique for capturing souls, while the latter is a grand formation used by Buddhists to deliver souls and eradicate evil spirits. Although they look similar and both require a year of soul refinement, their purposes are completely different.”

“Is that so?”

He Zhizhou’s eyes lit up with sudden realization, and he exclaimed excitedly, clenching his fist, “That’s an obvious clue! If we can modify the formation to change the Soul Refining Formation into the Soul Crossing Formation, won’t this level be easily passed!”

Zheng Weiqi looked at him as if he were a fool.

“To activate the Soul Crossing Formation formation, you still need a living person as a catalyst,often a way for monks and demons to perish together.”