A Lonely Grave in the Desolation

The moment the white fluorescence was touched, a beam of white light burst forth. In Chen Mu's perception, this white light seemed to be a blank space, completely devoid of any power.

But it was this white light, which he couldn't perceive anything from, that erupted with an incomprehensible power, forcefully tearing open a white space in the Netherworld!

It was as if a white paintbrush had forcefully smeared a stroke onto the withered yellow grave soil and the pitch-black sky!

This white color encroached forward unreasonably, instantly covering the entire ghost image of the Anping Marquis. With just a tremor, the Anping Marquis's ghost image was directly annihilated, leaving behind a wisp of black nether mist.

Under the cover of the white light, this black nether mist also emitted sizzling sounds. It couldn't hold on at all and quickly vanished and disappeared in just an instant.

Swish!

The white light appeared quickly and disappeared just as quickly.

After completely obliterating the Anping Marquis's ghost image, it quickly retreated and vanished.

Before his eyes was still the boundless grave soil, and the Anping Marquis's ghost image had completely disappeared. Both his soul body and his obsession had been forcefully erased.

"It seems it's as I thought."

Chen Mu slowly withdrew his hand, looking at the layer of dim white light covering his palm.

He could indeed do this, using direct touch to forcefully erase the Netherworld Ghosts in the Netherworld and forcefully erase the obsessions he didn't want to deal with.

However, doing so wouldn't yield Soul Points, and it would also dim the white light on his body.

After shaking his head.

Chen Mu quickly flew forward, searching for his next target.

This time, he flew a long distance without seeing any new ghost images.

It wasn't until he had flown for another while, and the white fluorescence on his body became increasingly dim, that Chen Mu finally saw a black shadow clinging to the ground at the edge of his vision, on the boundless withered yellow grave soil.

But as Chen Mu gradually approached, he was startled to find that the black shadow was not a ghost image, but a raised mound on the withered yellow grave soil, like an inverted bowl.

A grave mound!

A flicker of surprise flashed in Chen Mu's eyes.

Although it was normal for grave mounds to appear on this grave soil, he had never encountered such a thing before. This was the first time he had encountered one.

And looking around, the boundless grave soil was empty, and it remained so until the edge of his vision. On the empty grave soil, there was only this single, lonely small grave!

After a slight pause, Chen Mu still approached.

Soon.

Chen Mu approached the grave mound.

After circling the grave mound for half a turn, Chen Mu finally saw a ghost image floating in the air on the back of the grave mound.

This ghost image was a woman with her hair in a bun and skin of a pale white color, but even so, it couldn't hide the beauty of her face.

There was no terrifying expression of ferocity or hatred on her face, only a faint smile. She just floated there, her eyes gently looking at what was in her arms.

Looking further down.

He was startled to see that she was holding a black-purple dead infant in her arms!

From her abdomen down, she was covered in bright red bloodstains. The bloodstains seemed not to have dried, dripping down her clothes and onto the grave soil below.

With just one look, Chen Mu immediately felt that the woman's obsession before him was far stronger than that of Geng He and others he had encountered before!

Just then, Miao Xinlan's ghost figure suddenly raised its head and looked in his direction, meeting his gaze.

Instantly.

Everything changed.

Chen Mu only felt a blur before his eyes, and he was no longer on the grave soil, but had appeared in a lush bamboo forest with clear streams in the distance and the scent of birds and flowers in the air.

An illusion... No, is this her memory?

Chen Mu remained calm, observing the surroundings with a thoughtful expression.

This woman was named Miao Xinlan. Her obsession was much stronger than any ghost figure he had seen before, so much so that some memories were preserved. No wonder the system interface didn't show her resentment and obsession; being able to directly display memories naturally meant there was no need for redundant descriptions.

With this thought.

Chen Mu looked around and quickly saw a man and a woman practicing swordsmanship in an open space outside the bamboo forest. The woman had a beautiful and refined appearance; it was Miao Xinlan. The man, however, was completely unfamiliar.

Both of them looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old.

The scene shifted.

Miao Xinlan and the man appeared in a mountain forest. In the forest, a pack of demonic wolves with blood-red eyes surrounded them. The two stood side by side with their swords drawn and quickly killed all the demonic wolves.

The scene shifted again.

It was inside a wooden house, on a bed. Skin like snow, it was still Miao Xinlan and the previous man. Accompanied by faint gasps, the two were in a unique posture.

The man continuously absorbed during their dual cultivation, his blood energy gradually becoming vigorous, while Miao Xinlan took nothing, only consuming her own vital energy to help the man increase his blood energy.

The scene shifted again.

The man won battle after battle in the Spirit Intent Sect, his cultivation growing higher and higher. Step by step, he became a prodigy of the Spirit Intent Sect, attracting everyone's attention, while Miao Xinlan watched him silently from below the stage, her eyes full of tenderness.

The last scene.

In a valley, another woman stood beside the man, while Miao Xinlan was fiercely fighting someone in front. After the intense fight, she was defeated and finally pierced through the chest and abdomen by the opponent's sword.

The man could have stepped in to save her, but he only watched indifferently.

He faintly heard someone sneer, "As expected of a true disciple of the Spirit Intent Sect. What a 'Spirit has intent, but man is heartless'."

The memory scene completely broke off here.

Chen Mu's gaze returned to the withered yellow grave soil.

Miao Xinlan's ghost figure had lowered her head again at some point, still looking at the dead infant in her arms with that gentle gaze.

[Miao Xinlan]

[Origin: 47th Generation Disciple of the Spirit Intent Sect]

[Resentment: Wants him...]

[Obsession: Wants him...]

Lines of text appeared on the system interface.

Just as Chen Mu was about to look closer, the white light on his body began to flicker, and then he felt the world in front of his eyes blur. In an instant, he was pulled and dragged by a familiar force.

When he opened his eyes again,

He was already back in his bedroom.

"Miao Xinlan..."

Chen Mu rubbed his slightly throbbing forehead.

Miao Xinlan's fragmented memories showed him a desolate story, which was much more in-depth than the text description on the system interface.

Furthermore, the depth of her obsession far exceeded that of the Netherworld Ghosts he had encountered before. She even had her own lonely grave. The Soul Points he could gain from eliminating her obsession would undoubtedly be much more than before.

As for this obsession... to say it was troublesome, it was a bit troublesome, but to say it was easy, it wasn't really difficult.

Spirit Intent Sect.

One of the Eight Great Sects.

Although Chen Mu didn't know much about the Eight Great Sects, he had a general idea of each sect's name and basic situation.

According to Miao Xinlan's memory, the man she couldn't forget even after death, the one whose obsession lingered, was named Tu Yue, a true disciple of the Spirit Intent Sect in this generation.

Coincidentally, on the way back from Yuan Wu Alley with Chen Yao, he had heard many Jianghu anecdotes from Chen Yao, including some about Tu Yue.

It was said that three days ago, in the northern suburbs of Kyoto, Tu Yue of the Spirit Intent Sect and Leng Shi of the Futiān Sect had a great battle, and Tu Yue ultimately won.

One must know that every true disciple of the Eight Great Sects was a contemporary prodigy. How much could one be worse than another? Even a narrow victory proved the excellence of Tu Yue's Martial Dao talent!

After this battle, the news spread, and Tu Yue was already ranked among the top three of the younger generation in the Jianghu by many people!

"True disciples of the Eight Great Sects..."

Chen Mu recalled the woman who called herself a Xia when he accidentally met her while visiting Cui'er's mother and younger sister, and the white-clothed young man with a sword hanging from his waist whom he met in front of Xiao Qingshan's grave.

Given the age and Martial Dao cultivation of those two, they were likely also true disciples of the Eight Great Sects, but he didn't know which of the Eight Great Sects they were from.

"Alright, let me see what extraordinary qualities the young generation of prodigies and true disciples of the Eight Great Sects possess."

Chen Mu's expression was calm.