"Old Zhang, with such a big setup for the Sealing Demon Array, aren’t you afraid others will see it?" Lin Tian pointed at the building shrouded by a light screen. He found it odd as well; when the array was set up, a column of light shot up to the sky. Although it appeared intermittently, someone at the hospital should have noticed it.

"Don’t you believe in my skills? If ordinary people could see it, why would I go to so much trouble? Rest assured, this array isn’t something the average person can perceive," Zhang Heyuan said confidently.

Just as he finished speaking, the light screen rippled. Countless streams of black energy burst from the hospital building, colliding with the Nine Heavens Eight Diagrams Demon Sealing Array. The black energy came fiercely, shaking the light screen as if it might shatter at any moment.

"Not good, the Blood Evil is going to retaliate." The old man shouted in a low voice, quickly pulling a rune paper from his pocket.

The rune paper was golden, inscribed with vermillion runes. Zhang Heyuan tossed the paper, forming a hand seal simultaneously. The rune paper flew up and stuck to the highest point of the building.

The rune paper flashed, and a golden ripple spread across the light screen. The wavering light screen instantaneously stabilized, remaining unshaken by the Blood Evil’s assaults.

"The Blood Evil is counterattacking; whether it can hold for seven days is still a problem. As I said before, at the last moment, I will unleash the Hell Netherfire to burn the hospital clean. You don’t have much time left," Zhang Heyuan furrowed his graying eyebrows, staring at the roiling black energy inside the light screen.

"You should go do what you need to. No need to keep this old man company. In the time leading up to releasing the Hell Netherfire, I’ll remain at the hospital," Zhang Heyuan withdrew his gaze, waving at Lin Tian and Ning Luoxi.

Lin Tian glanced at Ning Luoxi, said nothing, and turned to leave. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After Lin Tian walked away, Ning Luoxi softly said, "Old Zhang, why didn’t you tell Lin Tian that the Netherworld has already sent a Ghost Messenger?"

Zhang Heyuan watched Lin Tian’s disappearing figure and said calmly, "Most births and deaths occur in hospitals, and it’s the Ghost Messenger’s job to take the souls of the dying. In the process of visiting this hospital, they’ve already noticed the anomalies here."

"If I hadn’t intervened, the Netherworld would have used Hell Netherfire to obliterate the patients’ souls long ago. Those destroyed by Netherfire cannot reincarnate for eternity."

"Lin Tian once intruded into the Netherworld to save someone, creating a conflict with them. If they were to meet, who knows what trouble might ensue."

"Moreover, if Lin Tian knew the Netherworld wanted to destroy his friends’ souls, I believe he would go berserk. Last time, when the Ghost Messenger took Xiao Manxuan’s soul, Lin Tian caused an uproar in the Netherworld. This time, it would be irreparable."

"I’m actually curious how Lin Tian managed to leave the Netherworld unscathed afterward. I inquired with Lingyu’s disciple, but unfortunately, she said it was classified and couldn’t tell me."

"In the Netherworld, Lin Tian must have encountered something; otherwise, it would’ve been challenging to exit unscathed." Zhang Heyuan contemplated, clearly unable to deduce anything.

Ning Luoxi listened intently; she also didn’t know why Lin Tian’s affairs always snagged her thoughts.

"Lin Tian is usually quite audacious. Can you talk about how he stormed into the Netherworld?" Ning Luoxi’s gaze lingered on the direction Lin Tian disappeared, her thoughts unknown.

Zhang Heyuan shook his head, saying, "Audacious? It’s beyond that; it’s sheer recklessness. But that’s what I admire about him. According to Lingyu, it was because the Xiao Family girl was comatose and her soul mistakenly taken by the Ghost Messenger, prompting Lin Tian to storm the Underworld to reclaim it."

"Daring to storm the Underworld to save someone might be unprecedented. Moreover, he dared to jump into Naihe’s River to save the Xiao Family girl. That’s unbelievably bold, risking it all."

"You know, Lin Tian risked his life for another girl, yet my disciple is still infatuated with him. It’s incomprehensible." Zhang Heyuan gripped his chin, pulling out several strands of beard but still couldn’t figure it out.

Ning Luoxi lowered her head slightly, as if talking to herself, "Perhaps that’s precisely why this kind of Lin Tian is fatally attractive to women."

"I can’t understand you young people. Our era was better—meet once, and you could marry and have kids, living a simple life," Zhang Heyuan shook his head.

After pondering, he sighed again, "The Netherworld hasn’t given much time either. Hopefully, that special medicine Lin Tian mentioned can be developed."

"Is the seven days really the Netherworld’s final ultimatum?" Ning Luoxi frowned.

"Seven days? Hmph..." Zhang Heyuan grunted, visibly disgruntled, "The Netherworld is quite domineering; initially, they only gave three days. Luckily, the Zhang Family has some respect in the Netherworld, so we managed to extend it to seven days."

Lin Tian certainly hadn’t heard their conversation, nor did he know the Netherworld had taken notice of the hospital’s matters. After leaving the hospital, he didn’t immediately return to the dormitory but headed to the life sciences laboratory instead.

Due to having a pass, Lin Tian wasn’t stopped by security when entering the lab building. He used a special elevator to reach the underground laboratory once more.

Walking down the corridor, Lin Tian saw Professor He and Professor Hu engrossed in an experiment, studying their data in one of the labs.

Not disturbing them, Lin Tian continued forward, opening another lab room where the Black Beetles and Ghost Fire Worms were stored last time.

Upon entering, he saw Li Qingyun observing the Ghost Fire Worms in the culture containers—the luminous insects emitting a purple glow.

"You’re here, just came from the hospital, right? You’ve worked hard," Li Qingyun glanced back at Lin Tian, then returned to her research.

Seeing everyone engrossed and working hard, Lin Tian hesitated but decided not to tell Li Qingyun about the seven-day deadline. Even without a deadline, they’d give their all, so mentioning it would only add unnecessary pressure.

"How’s it going?" Lin Tian asked casually.

"Not much progress. I’m missing some crucial elements," Li Qingyun stood up, regretful.

"What do you need?" Lin Tian pursued. Li Qingyun was a Gu Cultivator, so her statement indicated she had found a direction but lacked resources.

"Energy of the same origin. I don’t know what the Ghost Fire Worms consumed to mutate. If we had those things, perhaps they could evolve again," Li Qingyun replied.

The same origin energy—that’s Nu Ba’s power? That’s why I’m here, but I can’t let you know, Lin Tian thought to himself.

After pondering, Lin Tian casually remarked, "I just passed by the other lab, and it seems like Professor He and the others made some progress. Want to check it out?"

"Oh? I’ll take a look, perhaps it could help us here," Li Qingyun said excitedly, then hurriedly left without further ado.

Once Li Qingyun left, Lin Tian closed the lab door, then dabbed some water from the sink and flicked it at the lab’s cameras—not to break them, just to blur their images with water droplets.