Wanggu Forest.

The yellow-robed young Daoist boy was still smiling, "How is it? Has Brother Liang succeeded?"

Liang Feng nodded and opened the small box in his arms.

The "Spiritual Pearl" lay quietly within it.

"Good, good, good, Brother Liang, let me see it."

Liang Feng was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "Once A Qing is rescued, I will naturally give it to you."

The smile on the yellow-robed young Daoist boy’s face slowly disappeared.

Bang!

Spiritual power erupted suddenly.

Liang Feng flew backward, stumbling and falling to the ground.

A blurry bloody hole on his right shoulder gushed fresh blood, staining his clothes.

Liang Feng grunted, staring intently at the yellow-robed man.

"Liang Feng, are you..."

"Taking yourself too seriously."

A pair of long, narrow eyes finally opened a little.

With a surge of Qi and blood, the yellow-robed young Daoist boy reached out and grabbed at Liang Feng from a distance.

The small box was immediately caught by a pair of invisible large hands and flew towards him.

His withered fingers held the wooden box, and his originally honest face twisted into a grotesque smile under the moonlight.

"Heh..."

"Did you think I would really help you save that living dead person?"

Liang Feng’s expression was ashen.

It seemed he had expected this, and now his last shred of hope was completely extinguished.

"If I really used this moon-bearing lotus seed to save her, wouldn’t this Venerable One lose a wisp of vitality for no reason..."

"What a waste..."

Surprisingly, Liang Feng’s face returned to normal.

He remained silent, his internal spiritual power surging in an extremely strange manner.

Having no will to live, he intended to self-detonate on the spot.

"Hmph."

The yellow-robed Daoist boy frowned and coldly snorted, "A futile act."

As he spoke, he pressed his palm in the air.

Liang Feng’s internal spiritual power suddenly froze.

The tenth level of Qi Refining and the Foundation Establishment Realm, though seemingly separated by only a line, were in fact worlds apart.

"Liang Feng, you are a smart person. I think you understood from the beginning that you had no choice."

"To save your wife, you had to gamble."

"It’s just that now, you’ve lost the bet."

The yellow-robed Daoist was about to kill Liang Feng when, nearby, it inexplicably began to rain lightly.

Immediately, a clear sword light broke through the air.

The yellow-robed young Daoist’s expression condensed, and his figure instantly transformed into a sky full of phosphorescent light, about to escape.

In the distant sky, a pair of slender jade fingers gently tapped a bell in her palm.

Vast spiritual power gathered in the air.

She softly uttered a word.

"Guest-Retaining Rain."

Buzz—

Water vapor erupted violently in the area, and heavy rain poured down, rippling in layers.

The vast spiritual rain actually formed a large trapping array, scattered in form but condensed in spirit.

In the heavy rain, the yellow-robed young Daoist’s figure re-condensed, gnashing his teeth.

Countless fine strands of rain extended from all directions, attaching themselves to his body.

He roared fiercely, "A junior of the Sheyang Sect, dares to obstruct my Yellow Springs Dao!"

Cong Yuzhen said no more. The Flying Sword by her side transformed into a water-blue stream of light, heading straight for the yellow-robed demonic Cultivator’s face.

Blood mist rose around the yellow-robed Cultivator. His withered five fingers formed a claw, and a ferocious beast head condensed from swirling ghostly Qi in his palm, rushing towards her face.

The Flying Sword broke through the air, easily piercing the ghostly head. The power of water spirit exploded, scattering the ghostly Qi into disarray.

"Low Grade Spiritual Artifact!?"

The yellow-robed man secretly thought it was bad.

The water-blue spiritual light moved rapidly through the heavy rain. The yellow-robed Cultivator quickly retreated, hovering at the edge of the rain array.

The Flying Sword circulated, flashing back to Cong Yuzhen’s side.

The spiritual light dispersed, revealing its true form.

The sword body was entirely like blue jade, and the blade patterns layered like ripples.

It floated gently, with the sound of fine rain fluttering.

Small characters were engraved on the sword guard.

Lingering Rain.

Just then, Lu and Song, as well as Yan Xun and Wu Duo, arrived one after another.

Cheng Yu and Sheng Yun also arrived shortly after.

Seeing Liang Feng’s miserable state, Yan Xun couldn’t help but exclaim, "Brother Liang!"

"Heh!" The yellow-robed man resumed his smiling demeanor, "You all are very close, but unfortunately..."

"Your Brother Liang wants to bury the entire Linghua Valley with his living dead wife..."

"What!?"

Yan Xun and Wu Duo looked at Liang Feng with some disbelief.

The yellow-robed Daoist activated his spiritual power, and the "Spiritual Pearl" slowly emerged.

"This so-called ’Spiritual Pearl’ secretly contains a mature moon-bearing lotus seed."

"I wonder which fool used such a treasure as the Spiritual Vein of a valley, nurturing some flowers and plants."

"Heh... truly laughable."

"Your Brother Liang, eager to save his wife, stole this ’Spiritual Pearl’ and gave it to me..."

Cheng Yu’s expression was icy, and he immediately questioned, "Liang Feng! Are you truly a traitor!?"

Wu Duo frowned slightly and stepped forward, "Brother Liang, I know a thing or two about A Qing’s matter, you..."

"Know?"

Liang Feng’s face was terrifyingly calm, his eyes devoid of any will to live.

He had long anticipated the current situation. Now that his last hope was shattered, he inexplicably laughed.

"Know..."

"How could outsiders like you know..."

"The pain of loved ones separated by Yin and Yang... how great it is!"

"More than twenty years..."

In short, it was just four words.

But that was seven thousand three hundred and fifty-four days and nights... Cheng Yu snorted, uncaring, only wanting to say a few more flattering words under the might of Senior Sister Cong Yuzhen, "You, a Cultivator of the Qi Refinement Stage, dare to scheme with a Foundation Establishment Realm demonic Cultivator!"

Liang Feng’s voice grew softer and softer, "...If I could save A Qing, even if there was just that tiny bit of hope."

"What’s wrong with that..."

Song Yan looked at the "Spiritual Pearl" and the bright glow within it, deep in thought.

There was a distinction between mature and immature moon-bearing lotus seeds?

This touched upon his blind spot of knowledge.

The Hundred Flowers Compendium didn’t mention it either.

However, upon careful sensing, the spiritual power in the "Spiritual Pearl" was abundant, but its vitality was not as strong as the one in his hand.

The yellow-robed young Daoist boy smiled sinisterly, "Little girl, your trapping array is so vast, the consumption must be considerable, right?"

Cong Yuzhen’s expression was calm, but she had some hesitation in her heart.

With her personality, she originally intended to use thunderous methods within this trapping array.

But now that the "Spiritual Pearl" was in the opponent’s hands, she was afraid that the Linghua Valley’s precious item, on which its survival depended, would be destroyed by the collateral damage.

For a moment, she felt somewhat constrained.

Suddenly, the yellow-robed young Daoist boy formed hand seals, and the ghostly Qi around him surged.

It actually condensed into a ten-foot-tall skeleton demon form!

"Junior of the Sheyang Sect, you must be careful. If you accidentally destroy this moon-bearing lotus seed, we all go down together!"

"Heh! You can search all of Chu Kingdom, and you won’t find a second one to save Linghua Valley!"

The yellow-robed man was very wary of the Spiritual Artifact in Cong Yuzhen’s hand.

If he could delay for some time, let this strange trapping array dissipate, and then seize the opportunity to escape, that would be for the best.

However, no sooner had his voice fallen.

A playful chuckle came from below.

"Heh heh..."

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Song Yan.

He was smiling, yet not smiling, and loudly said to Liang Feng, "Brother Liang, you must see clearly now, scheming with this demonic Cultivator is nothing but a futile effort, harming both yourself and others."

"While no great mistake has been made yet, follow Fellow Daoist Yan and Fellow Daoist Wu Duo back to confess and accept your punishment."

Everyone felt inexplicable.

"Song Yan, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Cheng Yu glared at Song Yan and sharply questioned, "Now that the moon-bearing lotus seed has fallen into the demonic Cultivator’s hands, does this not count as a great mistake?"

"Are you out of your mind, how can you be just like that demonic Cultivator!"

Song Yan smiled faintly, "That’s naturally because the true moon-bearing lotus seed..."

"Is in my hand."

After he finished speaking, a spiritual light flashed in his palm.

A bright, pure white color was revealed in his palm.

For an instant.

Wanggu Forest suddenly fell silent.