Only until Ji Hanyi’s figure vanished into the darkness of the pouring rain did Ding Songyan come back to his senses.

The demoness just... left?

She spared me?

This isn’t some kind of trap, is it?

No, that’s not right. If she’d wanted to kill me just now, it would have been no different from killing a goose. She wouldn’t need to let me go just to set a trap...

Is she interested in the secret of my death and resurrection? Doesn’t seem like it. I was already on the verge of revealing everything to save myself, yet she had no interest in listening and simply left. And it clearly isn’t because the authorities’ Grandmasters are closing in...

Amid this whirl of thoughts, Ding Songyan suddenly recalled something.

Last night, Ding Qingyan—that is, Ji Hanyi—had made him swear an oath. One of the oath’s conditions was "he would not die."

In the end, the person who decides whether I live or die is her all along... Ding Songyan found himself struck by a rather absurd thought. If I hadn’t sworn that oath last night, or had done so halfheartedly, would I actually be dead right now?

The moment this thought arose, he recalled the rest of the oath’s contents:

Will not abandon my little sister, and will take her wherever I go...

The corner of Ding Songyan’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

So the reason I only said ’Little Sister’ at the time without using her full name—was that the demoness exerted her influence from the shadows?

Man, the demoness isn’t going to haunt me forever, is she...

......

Fat raindrops continued to fall, but the sky seemed to brighten slightly.

Ji Hanyi walked through the curtain of water as though wearing an invisible rain cloak and bamboo hat—not a trace of dampness on her hair or clothes.

Suddenly, the woman in the spring-onion-white jacket stopped and looked sideways across the still-dark lotus pond.

She said with a soft laugh, "I should count as having helped you as well, no?

"Now it’s your turn to help me escape Dingjiang Prefecture."

There was only silence from the far side of the lotus pond, though the darkness there seemed to ripple faintly.

......

Atop the arrow tower of the east city barbican.

Yi Qincang saw Li Zhi charging back once more, swinging the two dead horses, driving away the constables, soldiers, and Brightnight Sect disciples who were attempting to close the barbican gate.

The county marshal of Linjiang County drew two more white-feathered arrows and shot them in rapid succession.

The second arrow flew faster than the first, swiftly overtaking it and striking the tail of the leading shaft, causing it to surge forward with a piercing whistle, igniting flecks of crimson flame.

Twin Stars Chasing the Moon.

As the trailing arrow fell away, the leading shaft cut through the air within the barbican with ferocious force and struck one of the dead horses Li Zhi was swinging.

With a strange-sounding thud, the arrow punched through the horse’s body and blasted out a sizable wound.

Its momentum unspent, it continued onward and buried itself in Li Zhi’s left ribs, passing clean through to his back.

Li Zhi roared in fury but didn’t stop. He let the arrow remain lodged in his body, blood gradually seeping out, and continued swinging the dead horses recklessly, forcibly driving everyone who dared approach the barbican gate a considerable distance away.

He turned back around and, facing the hail of arrows from above and ahead, sprinted toward the main city gate with his divine stride technique.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With Yi Qincang’s first hit, Li Zhi’s "weapons" now had gaps. They no longer produced an airtight defense when swung, allowing one arrow to slip through the layers of obstruction and strike his shoulder.

Li Zhi endured the pain, mustered his ferocity, and continued swinging the two dead horses back and forth in his killing sprints—seven times at least, counting from the start.

Finally, as he arrived once more at the barbican gate, two figures suddenly burst from the crowd in the streets outside—Qi Xiaoxiang disguised as a scullery woman, and Qiu Chen dressed as a farmer.

Both possessed excellent movement techniques. In the blink of an eye they slipped past Li Zhi on either side like eels, darting through the barbican toward the main city gate.

Outside the city gate, a group of soldiers had reassembled, all preparing to draw their hard bows and volley at the trio.

Qiu Chen, lacking the protection of a massive "weapon," maintained his high-speed sprint and suddenly clenched his right fist.

A humming sound arose. From cracks between wall bricks, from weeds on either side, from dirt and stones, swarms of things took flight.

Among them were mosquitoes, flies, moths, wasps, and insects of every kind. They descended upon the soldiers in a cloud, some crashing into eyes, some boring into ears, some stinging at mouths, some crawling into nostrils—leaving the soldiers flailing and swatting in disarray, unable to attend to their bows.

Seizing the opportunity, Qiu Chen and Qi Xiaoxiang each chose a side and sprinted out through the city gate toward the horses scattered nearby. Li Zhi’s bearded face broke into a grin. Swinging his dead horses, he was about to follow at divine speed.

Yi Qincang’s expression turned livid. Without hesitation he leapt from the arrow tower, dropping into the barbican below.

He stood right there, drew three white-feathered arrows, nocked all three on the bowstring simultaneously, and drew it to its fullest extent.

Yi Qincang’s entire person, along with the surrounding air currents, froze in an instant, as though channeling something.

Sensing the anomaly, Li Zhi spun around and hurled both dead horses directly at Yi Qincang.

With that done, he turned and broke into a mad sprint toward the city gate.

Yi Qincang made no attempt to dodge. He stood straight and still, the golden-red of a great sun reflected in his eyes.

Silently, the three arrows ignited with golden flames and shot forth as mere afterimages.

BANG!

Yi Qincang was knocked flat by the two dead horses plummeting from above, wounding him considerably.

This did not affect the three arrows. They passed through the gaps and wounds in the dead horses, one left, one center, one right—streaking like lightning toward Qiu Chen, Li Zhi, and Qi Xiaoxiang.

Li Zhi had just reached the city gate when his body suddenly stopped.

An arrowhead emerged from his chest, trailed by golden flames.

It silently tore through flesh and destroyed organs.

The other two arrows chased down Qiu Chen and Qi Xiaoxiang with terrifying speed as they galloped away on horseback. Both members of the false married couple felt an intense premonition of danger.

With their wealth of jianghu experience, they abandoned their mounts without hesitation, rolling off the saddles simultaneously.

Boom! Boom!

The two horses were struck by the golden-flame arrows and exploded on the spot, blood and flesh flying, leaving nothing intact.

The Sun-Piercing Arrow!

After tumbling several times, Qiu Chen and Qi Xiaoxiang immediately scrambled toward a nearby grove.

Midair, Qi Xiaoxiang felt a sudden pang in her heart. She forcibly twisted her body and looked back toward the city gate.

She saw Li Zhi standing at the gate like an iron tower. The giant man’s leopard eyes were bulging wide as copper bells, the wound on his chest still expanding.

Li Zhi’s bearded lips pulled apart. He smiled and called out softly, "Mother."

Thud! He fell to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.

The great bandit of New Yu had met his end that very day.

......

In an unoccupied room within the Zhen estate.

Having come to his senses, Ding Songyan took advantage of the lingering effect of his yin eyes and hurriedly transferred the hazy "seed" into his right hand, intending to retrieve the small lump of Chaos remains from the netherworld and consume it on the spot before complications could arise.

This was also a precaution against the demoness harboring further designs on him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

A moment ago, Ding Songyan had been inclined to think favorably of her intentions. But given the style and methods the demoness had displayed, the odds of a malicious motive were higher. And so he was willing to risk eating the Chaos remains. Otherwise, even if he managed to join a major sect, it would take him ten years to reach the Dharma Realm. What would he have to fight the demoness with in the meantime?

During the process of killing Yan Changqing, he had actually already confirmed this thing was edible. The real question was one of quantity.

At the time, what truly broke Yan Changqing’s composure and pushed his mental state to the brink of collapse was not those final few questions. It was the moment Ding Songyan overcame his misdirection and realized he could eat some Chaos remains on the spot to gain temporary Grandmaster-level strength.

After Ding Songyan revealed that intent, the invisible barrier Yan Changqing had woven from qi was instantly pierced through more than half, and the dagger went on to churn the flesh near his ancestral aperture.

This proved that Yan Changqing knew full well the Chaos remains were edible—that they could elevate an ordinary person to the Dharma Realm in a single leap. He had consumed Chaos remains himself and suffered terribly for it. No one understood this better than he did.

With that knowledge confirmed, Ding Songyan’s subsequent questions were simply following the current. Even if they proved useless, he still had one wisp of qi. It was enough to help his left hand scrape off a bit of the Chaos remains and deliver it to his mouth. At that point, even if digestion took time and effort, Yan Changqing, who was unable to move his hands and feet, utterly incapable of escape, could do nothing about it. Relying solely on the not-yet-fully-recovered Celestial Heart imprint, it was highly unlikely he could affect a Ding Songyan whose soul and spirit were being remade by the power of Chaos.

Phew... Ding Songyan reached his hand toward the dark black stone pillar.

Ever since transmigrating, he’d been living days controlled by others, powerless over his own fate. He refused to fall into that position again or to wait helplessly for death. For that, he was willing to gamble!

If you treasured your life above all else, you’d never accomplish anything—especially something this important!

Just then, a figure wearing a crude iron crown and a black robe embroidered with stars rushed in from the courtyard.

Tao Wenshu saw Ding Songyan and let out a breath of relief, asking in quick succession, "Where’s the demoness?"

Her gaze fell upon Yan Changqing’s corpse on the rattan bed.

"She left about fifteen breaths ago." Ding Songyan had no choice but to abandon his attempt at touching the dark stone pillar. He couldn’t help cursing inwardly, She resembles Heroine Zheng’s mother. Why did you have to come at precisely this moment?

Come earlier and I wouldn’t have had to tremble before the demoness. Come later and I’d have already eaten the Chaos remains, safe and sound. But noooo, you had to arrive at this perfectly inconvenient time!

Whatever. Good things don’t come easy...

Ding Songyan had just moved the hazy "seed" back to his consciousness when Tao Wenshu stepped before him in a single stride and pointed the tip of her deep-black scabbard at the space between his brows.

"Let me first remove the Celestial Heart imprint for you." A mature, gentle voice reached Ding Songyan’s ears.

Having been through this before, Ding Songyan was about to open his mind and body completely—when he caught himself with a jolt.

No, no! If Master Yan’s qi gets purged, how will I retrieve the Chaos remains?

Granted, touching the netherworld is my own innate peculiarity, and it’s not impossible I’ll find another way to activate it in the future—but the longer the delay, the greater the risk of variables. What if some passing wild ghost happens to eat it?

For instance...

Ding Songyan cast his gaze toward the bewildered remnant soul of Yan Changqing, still lingering near the corpse.

He did not fully open his mind and body. Instead he hastily sank the hazy "seed" deep into the shimmering golden sea of his consciousness, hiding it with all his might.

As the deep-black scabbard touched the point between his brows, something like a candle flame ignited in the space above his consciousness, radiating warm, yellowish light in all directions.

The light pierced through the depths, leaving the shadows belonging to Ji Hanyi and the traces left by Yan Changqing with nowhere to hide. They gradually dissolved in the candlelight.

Yet the hazy "seed" that Ding Songyan had deliberately concealed in the depths of the phantom sea was not illuminated.

Once the yellowish glow faded, Ding Songyan quietly let out a breath of relief.

So the Candlelight Sword Intent truly does require the subject to open their mind and body to take full effect...

I wonder if it has a forcible aspect as well, like the Sage-Severing Way’s Celestial Heart imprint...

Tao Wenshu withdrew her scabbard and pointed at Yan Changqing’s corpse.

"The demoness killed him?"

"Senior, I was the one who killed him." Ding Songyan gave a condensed but truthful account, omitting only that he himself had cut off a small portion of Chaos remains. "It was thanks to Heroine Zheng’s sword intent that this junior could temporarily break free of Yan Changqing’s control. After that, the demoness’s Celestial Heart imprint entered a tussle with him. Unfortunately, the demoness sensed this as well. She arrived the moment I killed Yan Changqing."

Hearing that Ding Songyan had even recounted "questioning Yan Changqing about entering the Celestial Thearch’s palace," Tao Wenshu gave a slight nod.

"The demoness seems to have vanished into thin air."

She then turned her gaze toward the mottled dagger on the ground not far from Ding Songyan.

"It was used to cut that object suspected to be Chaos remains?"

"Yes, Senior. It’s the dagger Yan Changqing had me bring." Ding Songyan didn’t mention that it was he, not the demoness, who had cut off the Chaos remains.

Tao Wenshu looked back at Ding Songyan. After a moment’s deliberation, she spoke seriously, "Would you be willing to take me as your master?"

Huh? Just like that? Shouldn’t you first rule me out as a suspect? The scene Ding Songyan had long dreamed of had arrived, yet it caught him completely off guard.

Then a degree of understanding dawned.

Regardless of whether he had learned from Yan Changqing the whereabouts of Kunlun or the location of the Celestial Thearch’s hidden treasures, taking him in as a disciple was one of Tao Wenshu’s best options.

If he’d gained nothing, the Brightnight Sect simply had one more disciple—perfectly affordable. If he had obtained something, his future potential would be limitless, and the Brightnight Sect would share in that prosperity. Even if complications arose later, it would be kept within the family. Furthermore, should he ever need help exploring the Celestial Thearch’s palace, he would naturally turn first to his own sect.

And by showing sincerity first through the extension of the offer to take him as a disciple before asking whether he’d gained anything, she would be all the more likely to win his heart.

Recalling that the Gan Kingdom was a nation where a foreign race ruled the upper echelons, Ding Songyan, his thoughts churning, finally gave a deep bow.

"I am willing, Master."

"We’ll hold the formal ceremony once we return to the sect." Tao Wenshu stopped Ding Songyan from performing the full prostration. After a moment’s thought, she asked, "Do you have any idea why the demoness spared you?"

This question was posed with a master’s bearing—entirely different from before.