Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Hearing this, a crazed smile crossed Ye Feng’s face, a strange light flickering in his eyes as he grabbed the demonic spirit’s head and brought it toward his mouth.

“You… you‌… What are you doing?! No! Don’t… don’t do this! Even if you eat me, nothing will change!”

“Now that you have emotions,” Ye Feng said, his eyes shining with a crazed light, “you should also be able to feel fear, shouldn’t you?”

As soon as he stopped speaking, Ye Feng bit into the demonic spirit’s head as if it were an apple.

Crack!

His teeth shattered, but he forcibly tore off a huge chunk of its head.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Madman! You’re a complete madman!”

Ye Feng began chewing slowly. It was like gnawing on a rotten, foul-smelling pig bone.

Gulp.

He grinned, his mouth full of blood, the foul stench of rot clinging to his breath. As the demonic spirit watched in terror, Ye Feng bit down again and tore another chunk from its head.“Ahhhhhh! Save me! Master! He! He’s gone insane!”

The demonic spirit’s screams echoed through the heavens, but no one paid it any attention. Sha was entirely focused on uncovering what Song Zhi’ang had hidden.

In the silent great hall, Sha forced Song Zhi’ang into the black pool with one hand. No matter how she screamed or struggled, it was futile.

Sha’s eyes half-closed as he casually lifted the strand of spirit light and pressed it to the space between his brows. But his expression changed at once: the memories Song Zhi’ang had sealed away were nothing like what he had expected.

They held no indication that she knew his identity, nor any speculation about it. The entire memory fragment held nothing but the beautiful moments she had shared with Li Guanqi. The Li Guanqi in those memories was young and inexperienced, but his eyes had always been unwavering.

Sha extracted the memory fragment and sneered. “A young man dressed in white… Li Guanqi really is the one dearest to your heart.”

As he spoke, he prepared to crush the memory fragment in his hand.

Suddenly, Song Zhi’ang desperately reached out and grabbed his wrist. Even though she was still submerged in the black pool and her hand had been corroded down to bare bones, she refused to let go.

A strange light flickered in Sha’s eyes. After pondering for a moment, he smiled. He studied the spirit light in his hand, seemingly thinking. In the end, he neither crushed it nor returned it to Song Zhi’ang. Instead, he split the memories within into two, giving half back to her and keeping the other half for himself.

Sha released her. With the last of her strength, Song Zhi’ang dragged herself from the black pool, then collapsed to the ground, trembling violently. Despite her agony, her hand remained clenched around the fragment of spirit light containing her memories of Li Guanqi.

Sha slowly sank back into the black pool.

“Perform well,” he said, his voice cold. “One day, I’ll return this portion of your memories to you.”

Song Zhi’ang lay trembling on the ground, her body ravaged and barely holding together. With shaking hands, she merged the half-fragment of spirit light back into herself.

This time, she no longer needed to hide the memories she treasured in front of Sha. As the fragment merged into her body, the half of her face that had been reduced to bare bone slowly revealed a faint smile. Her eyes curved like crescent moons.

Song Zhi’ang simply lay there quietly, motionless.

In the end, a force sent her flying out of the great hall, and a cold voice reached Ye Feng’s ears. “Send her to the black pool in the sleeping palace.”

Ye Feng silently nodded. He stuffed the final small piece of the demonic spirit’s head into his mouth, then grabbed Song Zhi’ang by her hair and dragged her toward the rear mountain.

After the two left, a thick dark barrier covered the entire ‌grand hall. Sha was badly weakened. Until his body was restored, no one would be allowed to leave the domain world or approach the hall.

Ye Feng dragged Song Zhi’ang without even looking back. Only after sensing that the barrier around the grand hall had completely formed did he dare to transmit his voice. “We can talk now. I’ve suppressed the demonic spirit for now.”

Song Zhi’ang’s eyelids trembled as she slowly opened her eyes, her voice barely a whisper. “Your… your… sword…”

Whoosh!

Wrathful Slaughter instantly appeared. Song Zhi’ang gathered all her remaining strength and pressed a finger against the blade. A strand of demonic qi emerged from the mottled bloodstains on the sword.

“I’ll leave… this… with you. If… one day… I die… you’ll know…”

With that, Song Zhi’ang passed out.

Ye Feng didn’t know what Song Zhi’ang had left behind, but he held no goodwill toward her. The woman who once smiled like a gentle spring breeze no longer existed. If he ever got the chance, Ye Feng wouldn’t hesitate to kill whoever Song Zhi’ang had become. But for now, his own situation was too precarious to do so.

Suddenly, the demonic spirit spoke up. “What are you doing?”

Ye Feng turned and saw the demonic spirit looking at him warily.

Ye Feng sneered. His large hand clamped around the demonic spirit as he tilted his own with a strange smile. “I’m telling her how disgusting you taste.”

Crack!

“Devil! You… don’t… AHHHH!”

With one hand gripping Song Zhi’ang’s hair and the other clutching the head of the demonic spirit, the gray-haired Ye Feng walked expressionlessly towards the back mountain, gnawing on the severed head.

Ye Feng didn’t know what kind of scene awaited him when he reunited with his brothers again. He didn’t know how Sha would torment him after restoring his strength and physical body.

Would he turn him into another demon?

Looking up at the demonic qi blanketing the entire domain world, Ye Feng sighed inwardly and bit down harder, ignoring the demonic spirit’s screams and curses entirely.

***

Li Guanqi opened his eyes in the void. His strength and cultivation realm had yet to fully stabilize, and he still had to spend considerable effort suppressing the restless power churning inside him.

When Meng Wanshu saw him rubbing the space between his brows, she asked worriedly, “Are you alright?”

Li Guanqi frowned and shook his head. “I’m fine. I just don’t know why, but I feel uneasy.”

Meng Wanshu comforted him gently. “It’s probably because so much has happened recently, plus that Han Cizhi left no small number of faith parasites inside your body, don’t you think?”

Li Guanqi gave a bitter smile but did not respond. He was certain, somehow, that his unease had nothing to do with that immortal projection. But he couldn’t work out what it actually was.

The first person who crossed his mind had been Ye Feng, who’d been captured. The moment Li Guanqi thought of Sha escaping, his killing intent surged, almost impossible to contain. After taking several deep breaths, he finally calmed himself.

He turned to Peng Luo, who shook his head. Peng Luo was skilled at tracking and had helped find Cang Lu, but even he could no longer sense Ye Feng’s aura.

“How much longer?” Li Guanqi asked.

Meng Wanshu gazed into the endless void ahead. “We should be close now. It won’t be long before we reach the place Xuan Lin gave us.”

Li Guanqi stood and nodded silently. His expression remained grim. For some reason, his unease only deepened.