Slay

A chilling wind blew, and ghostly figures flickered.

The dead woman stood before him again.

Li Jue faced all this with surprising lack of fear. Perhaps neither death nor ghosts could compare to the torment of his own conscience.

The ghost that Situ Yan had become finally spoke in a low voice.

"I don't hate you, and I can't kill you." Her voice was icy, as if from the Nine Springs.

"I..." Li Jue looked at her, momentarily speechless, unsure what to say.

Then he heard Situ Yan suddenly shout with extreme urgency, "Run!"

"What's wrong?" Li Jue was somewhat startled, seemingly frozen, still slumped on the ground, not retreating.

"Ah—"

Situ Yan let out a sharp cry towards the sky. The surrounding yin wind howled furiously, and the trees swayed violently.

In an instant, the lakeside became bone-chillingly cold, like a ghost domain, and her eyes gradually emitted a crimson light.

"No..." But a hoarse voice squeezed out from her throat, as if struggling. She raised her head and shouted at Li Jue again, "Run!"

Only then did Li Jue feel something was wrong. He got up and stumbled backward, running away.

But as he watched him leave, Situ Yan's black hair suddenly flared up, revealing a terrifying ghost face covered in black veins!

"Stay!" Her voice turned completely icy.

Her attitude changed rapidly.

With a raise of her hand, her ghostly figure instantly pounced towards Li Jue.

On the other side, Song Qingyi, who had been observing in secret for a long time, no longer stood by. She said to Chu Liang, "I'll deal with it."

With that, her figure flashed, and a surge of green light erupted from the jade ruler in her palm!

Gentleman Hall possessed an ancient divine weapon listed among the top hundred in the Myriad Treasures Record, named the River Measuring Jade Ruler. The one Song Qingyi held was a replica of the River Measuring Jade Ruler, named the Inch Heart Ruler.

There were many such replicas in the cultivation world. Generally, only the original owner of the treasure could create replicas, and high-quality replicas of supreme treasures often had a high rank as well.

The Inch Heart Ruler, filled with righteous energy, arrived through the air. Situ Yan was just about to pounce on Li Jue and was caught off guard, nearly being hit.

Fortunately, as a ghost now, her figure was ethereal, and she shifted several feet horizontally in an instant, narrowly avoiding the attack.

But Song Qingyi's attacks followed one after another. She flipped her hand and threw the jade ruler, which struck Situ Yan's waist with a dull thud.

Bang—

Her ethereal body was struck, and the Painted Skin Demon's body scattered a puff of black energy, falling heavily to the ground.

The jade ruler flew back into Song Qingyi's palm. Just as she was about to press her advantage, a figure flashed and blocked her.

Li Jue spread his arms to block Song Qingyi and pleaded, "Instructor Song, please don't kill Situ Yan. She's not a bad person, she's very pitiful..."

"Li Jue!" Song Qingyi said urgently, "Situ Yan is already dead! Now that she has turned into a ghost, only by dispersing her can she enter the cycle of reincarnation normally. If she continues like this, she will never be able to transcend!"

"Ah?" Li Jue's body trembled upon hearing this.

Song Qingyi's words were not a lie. The consensus in the cultivation world was... when dealing with ghosts, regardless of good or evil, dispersing them into the cycle of reincarnation was an absolute act of kindness.

During this delay, Situ Yan, who was lying on the ground, regained consciousness, let out a sharp shriek, and flung a ball of black energy towards them!

The black energy surged against the wind, instantly transforming into a boundless black mist that enveloped the entire lakeside.

"Trying to escape?" Song Qingyi immediately leaped up, soaring high and escaping the range of the black mist. With another flick of her hand, she suspended half a golden book above her head. Its clear radiance constantly shone down, ensuring that the Painted Skin Demon in the black mist couldn't seize the opportunity to escape.

But no figure emerged.

After a long while, as the night wind swept through, the black mist by the lake gradually dispersed, and Song Qingyi landed again.

The scene before her made her pause.

Li Jue was slumped on the ground, his face blank, clearly bewildered by the recent experience.

Beside him, another Li Jue also had a blank expression, looking around.

That's right, there were two Li Jues by the lake!

"This... what's going on?" Li Jue A asked in a panic.

Li Jue B was also filled with terror. He immediately moved away, keeping a distance from his other self, and then looked at Song Qingyi: "Instructor Song..."

Song Qingyi frowned deeply as she looked at the two identical Li Jues.

Which one was real?

"I'm the real one..." "I'm the real one!" The two Li Jues said in unison.

Song Qingyi was at a loss.

At this moment, footsteps were heard from the bushes not far away. A handsome young man with a smile slowly walked out from there.

Chu Liang made a dazzling appearance.

He walked up to Li Jue A and said with a smile, "I have a way. The fake Li Jue hasn't seen me before. Whoever can say my name is the real one."

"You are Chu Liang!" Li Jue A, who was beside him, immediately answered.

Li Jue B was stunned for a moment, speechless.

At this moment, the gazes of Chu Liang, Song Qingyi, and Li Jue A were all directed at him.

And just at this juncture, Chu Liang suddenly struck. Half a golden brick slammed violently into the back of Li Jue A's head, bang!

With one brick, black energy surged out. Li Jue A clutched the back of his head, roaring repeatedly, and instantly transformed back into the appearance of the Painted Skin Demon!

Chu Liang gave her no room to struggle. With the golden brick in his left hand revealing her true form, a chilling white light shone from the sword in his right hand!

Chii—

The long sword pierced through the Painted Skin Demon's body, and its ethereal form immediately became covered in cracks!

"Situ Yan..." Li Jue softly called out.

The Painted Skin Demon turned its head, looked at Li Jue, and a look of relief suddenly flashed in its eyes.

Bang.

The demon's body crumbled, turning to dust.

"You..." Song Qingyi was a little curious. "It clearly said your name, how did you know it was the fake one?"

"I didn't know, but I figured the Painted Skin Demon lurked in the academy every day, so it might have heard my name," Chu Liang smiled slightly. "Asking questions was just to get close to it. It's safer to just hit it with a brick."

"I really have to thank you this time," Song Qingyi said.

If Chu Liang hadn't been there, the Painted Skin Demon's trick would have caused her quite a bit of trouble.

"We're all righteous cultivators, slaying demons and devils is our duty," Chu Liang waved his hand.

Speaking of which, he had to thank this Painted Skin Demon for causing some trouble in the end. If Song Qingyi had simply subdued it, he wouldn't have been able to intervene easily, as it was on the Confucian sect's territory.

Now that he had naturally snatched the kill, and Song Qingyi even had to thank him, it was quite nice.

Only Li Jue was left in a daze, staring blankly at the spot where Situ Yan had vanished, unsure of what to do.

Chu Liang walked up and said, "If you truly want to atone, go to the authorities and confess to the accidental killing. Taking your own life won't help you escape anything."

"Mm..." Li Jue nodded gently.

There was also a hint of sadness in Song Qingyi's eyes. She felt that Situ Yan's life was pitiful, yet she had committed many mistakes, making it difficult to judge.

The calm lake rippled under the night wind, helpless.

"Damn it!"

Not far from there, in an inn in Yanjiao City, a black-robed figure suddenly smashed the lamp on the table. Inside the lamp was a black candle that had already gone out.

Crack!

The lamp fell to the ground and shattered. The black-robed figure gritted his teeth.

"The Painted Skin Demon I spent so much effort refining! If I could have collected more souls with it, I would have ranked first in the next Soul Gathering Assembly and had a chance to be promoted!"

"It's only been a few days, and it's already been killed..."

"How hateful!"

"I want to see who it is, who dares to touch my Painted Skin Demon..."