Anomaly

An incense stick of time passed.

A bewitching blood-red shadow, like a phantom of the forest, drifted through the void without her feet touching the ground, arriving at the site of the colossal withered bones.

"Hoo!"

This blood-red phantom, devoid of flesh and blood, slipped into the Phoenix Bone the moment she arrived, as if searching for something within.

As she drifted through the remains, her lithe figure gradually manifested—a young woman of exquisite beauty, her jade-like feet bare.

The Phoenix Bone, plunged deep into the earth, seemed to pose no threat to her. She slid down to the very base of the bone, where she saw the withered ancient vine tree and the lifeless Blood-Thirsty Vines.

"No Phoenix Marrow."

The bewitching blood-red shadow within the bones gazed at the dead vine tree, a look of suspicion crossing her peerless face.

"Whoosh!"

A moment later, she drifted from the base of the bones to the very tip that pierced the firmament.

The eerie woman, maintaining her clear form within the bones, looked toward the corpses scattered near the Indeterminate Ferry, as well as the blood-stained bones of the Shangguan Family members.

A moment later, she gazed into the distance from her high vantage point, a strange light suddenly appearing in her captivating eyes.

"Someone actually obtained the Phoenix Marrow! In this realm, those little ones with such low cultivation should not have the ability to collect the remnant Phoenix Marrow of the Heavenly Phoenix; they would only be killed by it."

The woman muttered, looking slightly annoyed.

"Hoo! Hoo-hoo!"

The many Spirit Sha that had followed her whistled along the fissures in the earth, acting like her scattered eyes, helping her search for clues.

Before long, these Spirit Sha dragged several faint, dissipating gray shadows from the depths of the underground gullies.

Those faint gray shadows were still in the process of fading, and only she could see them clearly.

She tapped her fingers lightly, and all the thin gray shadows converged into the body of a tall gray figure, which gradually revealed the image of Luo Meng.

"The soul magnetic field of a Pulse-Opening Realm cultivator is still slightly stronger."

The woman beckoned.

Luo Meng, his image becoming increasingly clear, drifted toward her in a daze, staring at her blankly.

She gathered her divine sense slightly and, from the soul shadow of the deceased Luo Meng, witnessed the experiences he had undergone before his death.

She learned everything: Luo Meng's arrival with Shangguan Qin, his meeting with Zhou Qingchen and the others, the anomaly of the Eye of Imprint, the tremors of the earth, and Pang Jian's warning.

Because Luo Meng had died earlier, the subsequent departure and return of Pang Jian and Ning Yao left no memory behind.

"The Eye of Imprint of the Blood Moon actually chose that young boy? Strange, this defies logic." The woman was stunned for a long moment, then suddenly waved her hand and said, "Find their location."

Including Luo Meng, the group of Spirit Sha scattered like birds, whistling off in all directions.

"They've returned."

Hearing the sound of hooves once again, Ning Yuanshan let out a long sigh of relief. Gazing into the distance where Pang Jian and Ning Yao had vanished, he saw the long-awaited date-red warhorse.

He also caught sight of Pang Jian sitting on the horse and Ning Yao behind the bamboo basket.

And the bundle of blood-stained weapons Pang Jian held in his hand.

"These are the belongings of your Shangguan Family's dead."

As the warhorse approached, Pang Jian tossed the bundle of blood-soaked weapons and gear in front of Shangguan Qin with a thud. "If anything is missing, it's because it was dragged into the underground fissures by the vines. I don't have the ability to retrieve everything for you."

Looking at the blood-stained weapons, Shangguan Qin's expression shifted between light and shadow. She did not choose to collect them immediately, but instead stared at a giant axe, her face filled with sorrow.

This giant axe had belonged to Luo Meng, who had died for her.

"Pang Jian, are you alright?"

Zhou Qingchen smiled, looking with appreciation at Pang Jian, who sat tall on the warhorse, appearing as steady as a mountain.

"It went smoothly." Pang Jian shook his head.

Ning Yao also dismounted from behind Pang Jian. To avoid drawing attention, she did not retrieve the cloth bag from under the horse's belly and instead moved toward her own white warhorse.

"Good, let's continue on. We're heading to the far north, where the Ghost Mist lies," Zhou Qingchen said.

Shangguan Qin, still lost in her grief, suddenly cried out, "You're going to the far north? Young Master Zhou, are you planning to explore the Ghost Mist?"

After the previous unpleasantness, she no longer addressed him as "Qingchen," signaling that their relationship had grown much colder.

"That is correct." Zhou Qingchen responded indifferently, his tone neither warm nor cold. "Senior Shangguan, we were never meant to walk the same path. If you have other arrangements, there is no need to accompany us."

He was preparing to cast Shangguan Qin aside.

Having lost all her companions, Shangguan Qin's face turned even uglier upon hearing this.

If she still had other clansmen, Shangguan Qin would never have been willing to lower herself to curry favor with Zhou Qingchen, but the Cenji Mountains were vast and filled with peril at every turn; she truly dared not travel alone.

"I have no other arrangements. It's better if we all look out for one another. I shall accompany you," Shangguan Qin said with a forced smile.

"Our Zhou Family's One-Horned Rhinos all died a few days ago. Now, we only have the Ning Family's warhorses, and there isn't an extra one." Zhou Qingchen's expression showed his reluctance; he clearly did not want to bring her along.

"It's fine, we'll just squeeze in."

Shangguan Qin, having discerned his intentions, no longer cared for appearances. Her gaze swept through the crowd, eventually settling on Ning Yao.

"Our two families have never had any friendship, and I am not accustomed to sharing a horse with others!"

Before she could even voice her demand, Ning Yao coldly and bluntly refused.

"Sister Qin, I already told you, I am not afraid of you being a widow-maker."

The bloated Han Duping slapped the space in front of his belly with a loud smack, squeezed his horse with his legs, and chuckled, "You can squeeze in with me. Don't worry, I, Old Han, have always been a gentleman; I would never take advantage of you."

Seeing the lecherous glint in the two bean-sized eyes set in Han Duping's fleshy face, Shangguan Qin felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

Without waiting for Han Duping to continue his persuasion, she ignored the bloodstains on the bundle of blades before her, snatched them up, sought out Pang Jian, and mounted the horse without a word of explanation.

She sat in the spot Ning Yao had just vacated, tossing the blood-soaked bundle of blades into the net bag where Ning Yao kept her cloth pouch.

Ning Yao glared at her with icy eyes, deeply displeased that she had tossed the items carelessly, causing the pouch containing the spirit stones to be stained with blood.

However, since the spirit stones inside the pouch came from the Blood Moon's "Indeterminate Ferry," if she were to lash out now, she might expose the stones, giving Shangguan Qin a reason to demand a share.

Zhou Qingchen would likely force her to hand them over as well.

Fuming with suppressed rage, Ning Yao could only glare coldly at Shangguan Qin, cursing her in silence.

Shangguan Qin, who had only made this choice because of the bamboo basket on Pang Jian's back, noticed the coldness in Ning Yao's eyes and found her behavior utterly baffling.

Immediately, as a woman, Shangguan Qin began to suspect that there was something between Ning Yao and Pang Jian, concluding that the girl was secretly jealous.

Shangguan Qin, who hated Pang Jian more than anyone, felt a sudden sense of satisfaction as she looked at Ning Yao's icy expression.

She took the initiative to reach out and wrap her arms around Pang Jian's waist from behind, humming, "Go slowly later, don't make it too bumpy."

"The little brother is quite blessed."

Han Duping chimed in with a strange, mocking tone, "First Miss Ning, now a beauty from the Shangguan Family—this is a level of treatment I wouldn't even dare to dream of."

"Haha!" Zhou Qingchen also found it amusing and waved his hand with a laugh: "Let's go."

With him watching from the side, he believed that no matter how much Shangguan Qin resented Pang Jian, she would never dare to act recklessly under his nose.

After all, he had even dared to threaten the life of Ning Yuanshan for the sake of Pang Jian; surely Shangguan Qin would be no exception.

"Let's go."

Pang Jian, cursing inwardly, spurred his horse forward. The moment Shangguan Qin wrapped her arms around him, he felt the same surge of spiritual energy he had sensed from Ning Yao.

He knew immediately that this woman, like Ning Yao, was no good.

Ning Yao was merely displeased by his dalliance with Zhou Qingchen, but the extreme-tempered Shangguan Qin blamed him for the deaths of the Shangguan Family servants.

Compared to Ning Yao, Shangguan Qin would only be more troublesome, and if she decided to strike, she would be far more ruthless.

Pang Jian, trembling with apprehension, steeled himself and led the way toward the northernmost reaches of the Cenji Mountains.

"Kid, you'd better pray you don't get separated from Zhou Qingchen. The moment I find an opportunity, I will kill you to avenge Luo Meng and the others." Shangguan Qin, riding behind Pang Jian, leaned in with effort as the horse began to gallop and threatened him in a cold voice.

With Pang Jian's bamboo basket between them, and Shangguan Qin's upper body being much fuller than Ning Yao's, even leaning in to speak was a struggle.

Pang Jian couldn't be bothered to respond, ignoring her provocation entirely.

"Why did the Eye of Imprint choose you instead of me?" Seeing his silence, Shangguan Qin persisted, "You can stay silent now, but once I find an opening, I have plenty of ways to make you scream as you speak!"

Pang Jian remained silent.

After traveling for a while, Pang Jian, who was galloping on horseback, suddenly felt an itch in his chest.

Some kind of force seemed to burrow into his skin and flesh, seeping into his thoracic bones and darting through the gaps between them.

Soon, a sour, numbing, and stinging pain—as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at his bones—radiated from his chest, causing his body temperature to soar as if he were about to fall deathly ill.

He didn't know what was happening, only that the stinging in his chest bones was growing more intense, and his body heat was rising higher and higher.

Before long, his entire body was burning hot, and his face turned flushed red.

Shangguan Qin, sharing the horse, gradually noticed him growing hotter and observed the strange changes in his body.

Shangguan Qin paused, assuming that her presence had caused Pang Jian to have impure thoughts and dwell on filthy matters.

"You weren't like this when the Ning girl was behind you." A faint smile played on Shangguan Qin's lips, though her eyes remained cold and sharp. "What, do you prefer a woman as mature and buxom as me?"

"I suppose so. That girl is still so young, her scrawny frame hasn't even fully developed yet; how could she compare to me?"

She pondered how she might quickly pry the information she wanted out of Pang Jian to avenge Luo Meng and the others.

But before she could devise a method, Pang Jian tumbled off the front of the horse.

"Shangguan Qin! If you dare to ignore my warning, don't blame me for not showing the Shangguan Family any respect!"

Zhou Qingchen, who was behind them, erupted in fury the moment Pang Jian fell. He soared into the air like a hawk, diving straight toward Shangguan Qin.

"It wasn't me! It has nothing to do with me!"

Shangguan Qin's face paled, and she panicked. She could see that Zhou Qingchen was not only truly murderous but had already begun his strike.

She knew very well that this young man from the Zhou Family had a temperament the exact opposite of his name—extremely volatile and difficult to deal with—and he acted without any restraint. She was terrified that she would meet a tragic end for no reason.

"It was his own impure mind! He was thinking of dirty things and lost control of his own blood and qi!" Shangguan Qin screamed in a panic.

As soon as these words left her lips, the diving Zhou Qingchen suddenly veered in mid-air.

He chose to bypass Shangguan Qin first, landing with a boom beside Pang Jian to hurriedly check his pulse.

Once he discovered that Pang Jian's breathing was steady and he appeared to be in no serious trouble, he wore a strange expression and did not pursue the matter further.

Behind them, the crowd that had stopped because of this was left bewildered by Shangguan Qin's words.

"Heh, little brother is a fellow traveler just like me."

Han Duping grinned with a strange laugh.

Ning Yao watched the fallen Pang Jian from afar, her cold, clear eyes gradually filling with disdain.