Bait

The fat man suddenly seemed to think of something. "Do you remember? According to local legend, when the Saintess appeared, she had a wooden box covering her head."

"It seems her appearance had already changed by then. During her battle with the Starving Ghost, she overused the power of the Door, causing the Door inside her to spiral completely out of control. That's what ultimately made her look like this." Huai Yi glanced at the head behind Shang Zuo, his voice tinged with sorrow. As a fellow Door disciple, he knew all too well that from the moment their contracts were made, their lives were no longer their own.

"How did you end up looking like this?" Gongsun Zhiruo turned to look at Shang Zuo's face. Everyone remained wary of what he had said.

Shang Zuo raised a hand and touched the wrinkles on his face. He looked old, like a man in his sixties. "Ever since the head grew out of my body, I've been aging faster by the day. It... it's like it's sucking my blood. This is punishment for releasing the Starving Ghost!" Shang Zuo looked miserable. "It's a curse from the Saintess!"

"Only when I return to this snowy mountain will my aging slow down. And to break the curse for good and seal the Starving Ghost again, we have to return to the Saintess's Tomb!"

Though they disliked Shang Zuo, they still had to complete the mission. They all knew what mattered most.

After a brief discussion, Jiang Cheng, Zi Gui, and the others decided Shang Zuo was telling the truth. Judging by his condition, he really might not survive much longer.

"But we're trapped. We've truly fallen into this land of lost paths," Lu Yu said worriedly.

At that, Jiang Cheng looked at Gongsun