Didn't Die?

"Pfft." The sharp sword pierced Lian Ai's defenses and plunged straight into her body.

An expression of disbelief appeared in the eyes behind Lian Ai's veil.

She had actually been pierced by an ordinary person!

Even in a Soul Merging state, that should have been impossible.

Lian Ai opened her mouth, seemingly about to spit out some Gu worms. Chen Luo realized what was happening, swiftly pulled out the long sword, and viciously stabbed through the veil, piercing straight out through the back of Lian Ai's head. Blood dripped from the sword tip, drop by drop.

Looking at the gradually lifeless eyes of Lian Ai, Chen Luo pulled out the long sword once more and drove it into her heart.

Lian Ai glared at Chen Luo with hatred. It seemed as if she coughed up a mouthful of blood from her throat, then slowly closed her eyes, which were filled with resentment, and fell backward to the ground.

Chen Luo collapsed onto the ground. Looking at Lian Ai's corpse, he let out a long breath.

At last, it was over.

Just then, a huge swarm of insects suddenly flew out of Lian Ai's corpse. The insects formed a human shape, and in the next instant, they truly transformed into a person.

The newcomer was tall and slender, only slightly shorter than Chen Luo. She wore a magnificent palace dress embroidered with a phoenix soaring alongside its mate, while her long hair was coiled into a Cloud-Piercing bun that glittered with precious light. Unlike Lian Ai, she did not cover her face, revealing an extraordinarily beautiful countenance. Her features were sharply defined, her brows were like swords, and a fierce edge shone from them, highlighting the heroic spirit of a woman. Her air of long residence above others made the heart yield for no reason at all. Compared with Lian Ai's arrogance, she stood several levels higher.

The newcomer seemed not to notice Chen Luo lying on the ground. Instead, she lowered her head and looked at Lian Ai's corpse.

After a moment, the newcomer raised a hand and pointed at Lian Ai's corpse. The ghost-faced butterfly Lian Ai had summoned earlier appeared once more and abruptly rushed into Lian Ai's body.

Lian Ai's corpse suddenly jerked, then an eerie radiance spread across her entire body.

"What are you doing?" Chen Luo raised his sword and stabbed straight at her.

Yet although the long sword pierced through the newcomer, it was as if it had passed through an illusion.

The newcomer turned her head slightly and glanced at Chen Luo. A single look made a chill run through his entire body. However, she soon withdrew her gaze.

Her figure once again transformed into countless tiny insects. The insects flew rapidly along a spiral path, gradually churning the space until they formed a new Teleportation Wormhole.

At that moment, Lian Ai's corpse slowly floated upward and drifted toward the wormhole.

"Don't leave!" Chen Luo's heart stirred, and he reached out to grab Lian Ai's foot. Suddenly, he felt all the strength in his body violently drained away. The Demonic Power around him contracted into his body, and a wave of weakness surged forth.

The meteor patterns covering his body rapidly faded. As the last pattern vanished, a "pop" sounded from his left shoulder, and Little Frog reappeared, lying across Chen Luo's shoulder with an exhausted look.

"I can't hold on anymore..."

At that very moment, Lian Ai's corpse drifted into the wormhole just like that.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Luo charged forward and swung his long sword at the wormhole, but the wormhole vanished without a trace.

Chen Luo stared at the place where the spatial vortex had disappeared, still trying to find some clue. Suddenly, excruciating pain erupted from every part of his body. A wave of weakness and emptiness surfaced, and his vision went black as he fainted.

Little Frog was no better off. Its eyelids grew heavy, and in the end, it flipped onto its back and fell from Chen Luo's shoulder, completely unconscious.

A man and a frog lay in the ruins just like that...

In the Dream Flower Forest, Chen Luo was likewise lying on the ground, unconscious.

A familiar voice entered Chen Luo's mind.

"Master..."

Chen Luo's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Master..."

When Chen Luo heard the call clearly, it was as if lightning had struck him. He jolted awake, recognizing the voice.

The Black Cat, Daizong!

Chen Luo hurriedly pushed himself up and looked around. "Daizong! Where are you? Daizong!"

"Master..."

The voice sounded again. Chen Luo looked in its direction, and it was coming from the forest in the Red Dust Realm.

Chen Luo rushed over, sprinting along the main road of the Red Dust Realm. On both sides stood rows of trees shaped like books.

Chen Luo raced onward, searching for the source of the voice.

"Master..."

At last, Chen Luo discovered a tree in the book forest.

A withered tree.

Chen Luo stepped forward and placed his hand on the tree. In an instant, he understood that this tree was The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

"Daizong, how are you? Are you all right?"

"Master..."

"Say something. How are you now? What on earth happened?"

"Master..."

No matter how Chen Luo questioned it, the voice seemed capable only of repeating that one sentence. Chen Luo grew increasingly anxious.

"Spirit of the Secret Realm! Come out for me! What is going on? Come out!" Chen Luo suddenly remembered that both the Black Cat and Zhong Kui had said that the book-forest secret realm possessed a Spirit of the Secret Realm. Perhaps only it could answer his questions.

A breeze suddenly rose from nowhere, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground. In the end, those leaves gathered into the shape of a person.

"I am the Spirit of the Secret Realm. Greetings, my lord!" The leafy figure gave a slight bow. "This subordinate cannot appear openly, or I will attract the attention of the powerful beings of this world. Does my lord have any questions? Please ask them quickly."

"What happened to Daizong? How is Zhong Kui?" Chen Luo asked hurriedly.

The Spirit of the Secret Realm spoke. "Their spiritual resonance has dissipated, so they cannot manifest externally for the time being."

Chen Luo's heart leaped. "They're not dead?"

"A Book Spirit is the manifestation of power within a book. As long as the book does not perish, the Book Spirit naturally will not perish either."

"Then how can I restore them?"

"Have more people recite the books. Then their spiritual resonance will naturally condense once more, allowing them to reappear in the outside world!"

"So they need more readers." Chen Luo finally let out a breath of relief. While the Spirit of the Secret Realm was still here, he continued asking, "What do I need to do if I want to obtain new books?"

"The Heavenly Dao of this world does not permit these books to appear. Only by offsetting it with destiny can they enter the world. My lord need only gather enough destiny to exchange for books."

"Then martial arts..." Chen Luo was about to continue when the Spirit of the Secret Realm suddenly said, "Someone has noticed me. This subordinate will take his leave first. My lord will naturally learn of the secret realm's affairs in the future."

As soon as it finished speaking, the leafy figure collapsed dejectedly and became an ordinary pile of fallen leaves once more.

Chen Luo raised his head and gazed at the sky. After a moment, he withdrew his eyes.

Whatever powerful beings existed in this world had nothing to do with him for now.

Chen Luo reached out and patted the withered tree of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, murmuring, "Daizong, and Zhong Kui too, wait for me. We'll meet again very soon..."

Outside, in Floating Cloud Mountain, the night was cool as water.

Chen Luo and Little Frog had already lain on the ground for several hours. A figure gradually approached from afar, slowly drawing closer to them.

The moon leaped out from behind the clouds. Moonlight spilled across the earth and illuminated that figure as well...

A cool moon hung like a curved brow over the willow branches; within the book, the ways of the world were examined in fine detail.

Fellow readers, if you have recommendations, cast a recommendation ticket; if you have monthly tickets, cast a monthly ticket; and if you have spare money, invest a little...

Although they don't seem to be of much use to me at this stage,

they give me face~~~