Chapter 22

Xu Manman folded her arms and waited with a smile as Li Que finished venting his anger. Then she turned to Ao Xiu and said, “It’s your turn now. Do you have anything to say?”

Ao Xiu’s expression was uncertain as he scrutinized Xu Manman for a long time before asking, “What are your plans?”

Xu Manman chuckled, “As expected of someone who defeated hundreds of brothers to ascend to the throne of the Sea Emperor, you are indeed more perceptive than others.”

The “others” hanging on the spider web squinted and immediately woke up, looking suspiciously at Xu Manman, “What do you mean?”

Xu Manman replied, “I mean, the things I said to Jing Wuye were to deceive him. I am still on your side.”

Li Que sneered, “How do we know you’re not lying again? You’re always full of tricks. How many truths have you spoken?”

Xu Manman rolled her eyes, thinking to herself—shamefully, not many.

“Tell me first, what happened to you after we got separated?” Xu Manman asked.

Li Que didn’t answer, but Ao Xiu did, “Not long after you entered the well, the entrance disappeared, and I was trapped in a formation with countless puppets appearing. I struggled for a long time but was captured. That woman named Anan was actually a puppet controlled by Jing Wuye.”

Xu Manman was puzzled, “I checked Anan, and she was clearly alive. Can living people become puppets?”

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Jing Wuye pulled a root-like thread from her head, and she fell dead,” Ao Xiu said.

“I suspect they can control living people, but once controlled, the person becomes a corpse.”

Xu Manman pondered for a moment and said, “Jing Wuye deliberately showed us the ghost marriage scene, knowing we wouldn’t ignore it. He nailed the soul-locking nails on the coffin, which were tainted with a curse. Touching them would hinder spiritual energy, and they’re hard to remove, requiring someone with high cultivation. He intended to weaken the strongest among us from the start.”

“You and Immortal Lang Yin touched those soul-locking nails,” Ao Xiu said.

“Yes, we encountered a puppet bride, likely killed in the same way. The curse affected our spiritual energy, and we used a lot of energy to deal with the puppets. It was difficult to find an exit, and we ended up in a forbidden formation inside the mountain. You know what happened next.”

Xu Manman finished and looked at Li Que suspiciously, “How did you fall into their hands? The forest is your territory, and you have wings. Even without spiritual energy, you can fly. Could you be the traitor?”

Li Que’s face turned red with anger, “You dare to accuse me! It was you who separated us, leading to our capture!”

“I trusted everyone’s abilities—a Di Luan and a Yun Jiao, both with divine bloodlines. Who knew you’d all be captured and need me to save you,” Xu Manman shrugged helplessly.

Li Que was both ashamed and angry, speechless. Ao Xiu also looked unhappy and said softly, “That forbidden formation was very strange.”

“Indeed, I heard that Lian Yue Daozun fell into their hands because of it,” Xu Manman sighed.

“Most formations are powered by spiritual energy, but this one uses corpse energy. Burial grounds are low in spiritual energy, as corpse energy conflicts with it. They likely took inspiration from this to create the forbidden formation.”

Li Que murmured, “I fell into this trap too…”

Xu Manman glanced at him and said, “I said you have wings; you can fly even without spiritual energy.”

Li Que was frustrated, “I flew for a long time but couldn’t find the Tongshan Tribe. Other feathered tribes told me it was extinct for a century. I wanted to inform you about Jing Wuye but couldn’t contact you. Later, I was led to Jing Wuye by an owl. It was a cave, and even with wings, I couldn’t fly high inside.”

“Missteps, missteps, even the wise can make mistakes…” Xu Manman rubbed her forehead.

Ao Xiu suddenly chuckled, looking at Xu Manman with a dark gaze, “Was it really a mistake? It seems everything was within your expectations.”

“Hmm?” Xu Manman looked up, her bright eyes meeting Ao Xiu’s deep ones. She pretended to be puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been observing you. You talked with Jing Wuye as if friendly, but it was just to extract information. You don’t seem to know much about the Blood Sect,” Ao Xiu said.

“If you were really with them, you wouldn’t speak like that.”

Xu Manman smiled, “What else?”

“If I were in your position, I would make the same choice. The Blood Sect wouldn’t easily reveal their main lair. To find it, you must join them and follow the clues.”

Li Que finally understood their plan and reluctantly accepted Xu Manman’s explanation, willing to trust her for now.

“Even so, you didn’t need to use us as bait,” Li Que said, his face red with humiliation. He was bound like a cocoon and felt utterly disgraced, much like when Xu Manman plucked his feathers.

Xu Manman suppressed her laughter, “You can’t catch a wolf without risking something. There’s a saying in the human race, ‘You can’t get a tiger’s cub without entering the tiger’s den.’ Remember this.”

Ao Xiu asked, “When did you suspect Jing Wuye?”

“From first sight,” Xu Manman said.

Ao Xiu recalled and asked, “What was the clue?”

“I told the Qianluo Yaozun that the Daozun said puppet corpses might come from Youzhou. Youzhou is vast, but results came in a day, pinpointing the Tongshan Tribe. It felt like a trap set by the Blood Sect.”

“Just a suspicion?” Ao Xiu asked.

“Suspicion is enough. Do you know that Lian Yue Daozun is also a suspicious person? In order to lure her into the trap, the Blood Sect had to use the real headquarters of the Burning Heaven Division as bait. As for us, the Blood Sect may not really care about us, and it is not worth taking the risk of taking out the headquarters of the Soul-Reaping Division. The Tongshan Tribe is just a cover. If you want to go deeper into the nest, you can only take out more tempting baits.”

Xu Manman had been cautious over the years, surviving numerous dangers. The Blood Sect wanted her dead but had to sacrifice a lot to trap her, showing they didn’t take her lightly.

After listening to Xu Manman’s words, Li felt that the human race was full of tricks and had eight hundred schemes. He looked at Xu Manman with a wary look. He initially looked down on her weaker cultivation but now saw that underestimating her would only harm him.

“We’ve found the Hall of No Return, and Immortal Lang Yin’s trap has been undone. Why aren’t you acting yet? Are you waiting for the Fate-Defying Division?” Ao Xiu asked.

Xu Manman felt relieved talking to someone smart, “Yes, we need to act at the Fate-Defying Division. Otherwise, you’ll all be in danger.”

“How can we cooperate?” Ao Xiu asked.

“When we reach the Fate-Defying Division, I’ll free you. Ao Xiu, you work with Immortal Lord Lang Yin,” Xu Manman said.

Li Que asked, “What about me?”

“Protect me,” Xu Manman said.

“Huh?” Li Que was stunned, “Why?”

Xu Manman replied irritably, “Brother, I’m just a Golden Core. In a major battle, a single misstep and I’m dead. Shouldn’t I be well protected?”

Li Que was silent for a moment. “First time hearing someone admit their weakness so confidently.”

Xu Manman came to explain to the people because she was afraid that if she untied the two people, they would kill her in return. Then she would really die in tears, like snow in June…

(T/N:Snow in June, also known as snow in midsummer, is related to a play with the title ‘The Injustice to Dou E’. The story follows a child bride turned widow, Dou E, who is wrongly convicted of crimes by a corrupt court official for actions perpetrated by a rejected suitor, Zhang the mule. After her execution, three prophesied phenomena occur to prove her innocence, including blood raining from the sky, snow in June, and a three-year drought… This is also currently widely used as a metaphor for a miscarriage of justice. )

At that moment, a disturbance in the barrier caught their attention, and the three fell silent. Xu Manman turned and walked to the door, opening it to see two Ghost-Face Spiders rubbing their hands respectfully. “Master, the teleportation formation is ready. Shall we depart now?”

Xu Manman nodded, “Tie these two up and take them to the formation first.”

She returned inside and briefly explained the plan to Immortal Lang Yin before emerging with a potted hibiscus in her arms, now in its original form.

Following the Ghost-Face Spiders, Xu Manman arrived at the formation in the backyard. Several figures, all guards of the Hall of No Return, were present, with Jing Wuye and four of his subordinates already waiting.

Xu Manman glanced around, noticing that these people had restrained their auras, making it difficult to discern their cultivation levels, but she was certain they were all above hers and that the four subordinates were alive.

Seemingly casually, Xu Manman said, “Old Jing, you only brought four subordinates. Won’t that be insufficient?”

Jing Wuye chuckled, “Don’t worry. They’re alive and can’t go into the Qiankun Bag. I have twenty high-level puppets and fifty mid-level puppets in the bag.”

He patted the bag at his waist as he spoke.

Xu Manman thought, this puppet technique was really useful. One bag can hold an army; no need to buy tickets to transfer with the Cardinal Tower.

“That’s reassuring,” Xu Manman smiled, then asked, “Where’s the Soul-Reaping Envoy? Isn’t she coming with us?”

Jing Wuye replied, “Unless summoned by the Blood Sovereign, the Soul-Reaping Envoy usually doesn’t leave Hall of No Return.”

Xu Manman said, “Then we don’t need to bid her farewell?”

“No need; the Envoy doesn’t like to meet outsiders,” Jing Wuye waved his hand.

Xu Manman felt a bit disappointed. She had finally reached Hall of No Return but hadn’t seen the Envoy’s true face.

“Let’s go; quickly enter the formation,” Jing Wuye urged.

The Ghost-Face Spiders had already carried Li Que and Ao Xiu to the center of the formation. Xu Manman took a few steps towards the formation but stopped at the edge, her eyebrows furrowing, her gaze turning cold.

“This formation is wrong!” Xu Manman shouted sternly, “There is a traitor!”

The guards immediately tensed up, raising their weapons towards those around the formation.

Jing Wuye was stunned, quickly saying, “How can that be?”

Xu Manman shouted, “Ghost-Face Spiders, bring the two captives out!”

The Ghost-Face Spiders, confused but instinctively obedient, swiftly crawled out of the formation with the captives, looking blankly at Xu Manman and Jing Wuye.

Jing Wuye, furious, shouted, “Ghost-Face Spiders, return! What do you mean by this? How could I be a traitor to the Blood Sect?”

Xu Manman sneered, pointing to the symbols in the center of the formation, “You think I don’t understand formations? These symbols have been altered in several places. It looks the same but is entirely different in effect. I ask you, Where is the Fate-Defying Division located?”

Jing Wuye answered honestly, “In Chaisang.”

Xu Manman’s eyes flashed, “Exactly. The Fate Defying Division is in Chaisang, but these teleportation formation symbols point south. These captives are supposed to be sent to the Fate Defying Divison, so who altered the formation to rescue the captives? It’s obvious, isn’t it!”

Jing Wuye was dumbfounded. His subordinates and even the guards were looking at him with increasing suspicion.

“I… I was just following the envoy’s orders. I didn’t set up this formation!” Jing Wuye, not understanding formations, couldn’t see the discrepancy.

Xu Manman’s expression turned stern, “Are you implying the Envoy has betrayed the Blood Sect?”

“That’s not what I meant…” Jing Wuye was on the verge of tears, “Maybe there was a mistake when setting up the formation. It can be corrected.”

“This is a serious matter, not something to be brushed off!” Xu Manman said sharply, “It’s either you or the Envoy. There must be a traitor in the Soul-Reaping Division! I will report to the Blood Sovereign and thoroughly investigate the Soul-Reaping Division!”

Jing Wuye, knowing he wasn’t the traitor, realized the Soul-Reaping Envoy was the most likely suspect if the formation was tampered with.

At that moment, a low, husky female voice accompanied by applause rang out.

“Hehehe… what a clever accusation. Who is the real traitor to the Blood Sect?”

Xu Manman turned to see a tall, graceful figure in a brocade dress, like a stage actress, wearing a mask that covered her face but revealed a pair of large, dark eyes.

“Envoy, why did you betray the Blood Sect and try to move the captives?” Xu Manman calmly stepped behind Jing Wuye, but her expression was righteous and accusatory.

Jing Wuye looked between the two, feeling confused and unsure of what to do.

The Envoy sneered, “I did alter the formation, but…”

Xu Manman interrupted her with a stern face, “So you really are the traitor! Jing Wuye, you heard her, didn’t you? Hurry up and take action!”

Jing Wuye heard it clearly this time. The Envoy had just admitted to altering the formation, so she really was the traitor! He was stunned, and Xu Manman gave him a push from behind, sending him stumbling towards the Envoy. At the same time, a barely visible blade shot out from under his arm, aimed at the Envoy.

The Envoy saw the hidden blade under Jing Wuye’s arm and immediately retaliated against it. To Jing Wuye, this looked like the envoy was trying to kill him.

—The Envoy really is the traitor!

Jing Wuye snapped back to reality. Without hesitation, he released seventy puppets from his Qiankun Bag, using one to block the Envoy’s attack.

Xu Manman shouted from behind, “The Envoy has betrayed the Blood Sovereign and the Blood Sect! If you don’t capture her, are you all her accomplices? I have already communicated with the Blood Sovereign, and he will arrive immediately!”

Not only was the Envoy stunned, but even Li Que and Ao Xiu were wide-eyed, thinking the same thing—this woman is incredible!

For a few moments, they almost believed it, believing that Xu Manman was the most loyal follower of the Blood Sect and that the Envoy was the traitor.

The Envoy, unable to outtalk Xu Manman’s sharp tongue, could only suffer in silence…

The crowd, spurred on by Xu Manman, joined the fight against the Envoy. The Envoy trembled with rage and laughed, “You bunch of idiots, can’t you see who is the traitor!”

“If the Envoy isn’t a traitor,  why is she hiding her head and showing her tail, why doesn’t she dare to take off her mask!” Xu Manman taunted from outside the battle circle.

The Envoy’s fingers, like sharp claws, tore through puppet after puppet, summoning several puppets of her own.

Chaos erupted in Hall of No Return as everyone started fighting each other.

Though Jing Wuye looked simple-minded, his cultivation was quite formidable, able to exchange a few blows with the Soul-Reaping Envoy. Xu Manman estimated that the Envoy’s cultivation was mid-to-high within the Dharma Aspect Realm, comparable to the Seven Great Sect Leaders. But she could control puppets, fighting many against one. With the spirit-forbidden formation, even the Seven Great Sect Leaders wouldn’t be her match.

However, everyone present had a few puppets, so her advantage was nullified. Like ants overwhelming an elephant, the evil cultivators of the Soul-Reaping Division each equaled an army. As they released their puppets, the backyard quickly turned from a battlefield of corpses to a heap of shattered remains.

Xu Manman, while cheering and directing, hid behind the Ghost-Face Spiders, shouting, “Aren’t you going to help Old Jing?”

The Ghost-Face Spiders trembled in fear.

“Don’t be fooled by our fierce appearance.”

“We’re actually very timid.”

“We have no skills…”

“We can only spit silk and carry people…”

“So scared, sob sob…”

“Master, protect us…”

Xu Manman: “…”

You really can’t judge a bug by its appearance, huh?

Since these bugs were useless, she felt more at ease.

Xu Manman transmitted a message to Immortal Lang Yin, “Immortal Lord, release Li Que and Ao Xiu from the spider silk.”

A faint light shot from the tip of a leaf, slicing through the cocoons and cutting the resilient spider silk.

“Don’t act just yet. Wait until the Soul-Reaping Envoy is exhausted, and then we’ll reap the benefits,” Xu Manman instructed via message.

Ao Xiu: “…Good thing you’re on our side.”

Li Que: “Why do I feel like you’re the villain here?”

Xu Manman: “Hehe…”