An overwhelming victory-who mattered more?

"I won?"

Blood mist churned. Luo Fanchen gazed at the charred trench stretching more than ten meters before him, momentarily dazed.

The vegetation before him had withered, and scarlet stained the earth. Even the soil in its path had been corroded into powder. Chang Hao lay on his back in the pit at the far end, vomiting blood without cease, his face twisted in pain. He no longer had the strength to wail.

"No. It's a trap!"

Luo Fanchen muttered under his breath. His goal had been to weaken Chang Hao's combat strength by twenty percent. How could the man have only twenty percent of his life left instead?

His opponent was a demonic cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining, cunning to the extreme. He might be feigning surrender to launch a surprise attack, or have companions waiting for Luo Fanchen to lower his guard.

"Purple River Chariot Art."

Luo Fanchen formed the seals of the Spirit Palace Finger Art, once again shifting the positions within the Illusion Array and placing himself at the central palace.

He refined all fifteen remaining wraiths into pure spiritual energy, leaving only one vengeful ghost, and began devouring souls at the same time.

The purple river chariot was the fetal membrane within the mother's body, containing the primordial breath of life. The Soul Banner reversed this principle, using the soul essences' resentment as a cauldron and reverse-refining a cultivator's life-bound blood essence and true essence into newborn soul power. Within the banner, it condensed an illusory fetal membrane shaped like a cradle.

Pure soul power merged with the wronged souls' obsessions to form the baleful tribulation of [Life-Born, Death-Disappeared], the Soul Banner's strongest and most primordial killing move.

"I surrender. I surrender!"

Yin winds howled furiously. Chang Hao was barely breathing, his pale face filled with terror.

He no longer had the strength to resist. If this attack struck him, his soul would surely scatter into oblivion.

He also feared the methods of an orthodox demonic cultivator. To think such a decisive killing move could be used twice in quick succession without any sign of exhaustion. This demonic cultivator's cultivation was no higher than his own, surely?

"Uncle Luo, stop! We've already won!"

Luo Fanchen had already activated Bone Devouring and swallowed the vengeful ghost. The Purple River Chariot Art in his hands was also nearing completion.

At the crucial moment, Qiu Yun immediately left her body and summoned a yin wind to sweep up Chang Hao. As she swiftly tossed him before Uncle Luo, she snapped all four of his limbs.

"That's it... we won?"

"We won! We've already won! Uncle Luo, stop using Bone Devouring!"

Anxiety filled Qiu Yun's lovely face. Bone Devouring could briefly strengthen one's combat power by swallowing soul essences, but it squeezed out one's potential and carried severe aftereffects. The slightest mistake could damage one's foundation.

Not to mention that Uncle Luo had also prepared a Bloodburst Talisman. Using both at once would have unimaginable consequences.

"As long as we won."

Luo Fanchen smiled bitterly. With Qiu Yun's help, he hurriedly forced the circulation of Bone Devouring to a halt. The backlash made him spit out several mouthfuls of blood and slightly injured his meridians, but fortunately caused no serious consequences.

He also forcibly tore the Bloodburst Talisman apart before it took effect. The backlash left him dizzy and seeing stars, but at least he had preserved his blood and vitality.

[Demonic cultivator? You're calling me a demonic cultivator?]

Lying on his back, Chang Hao turned his eyes toward the Soul Banner, wanting to cry but finding no tears.

He knew that with a Soul Banner before him, death was unavoidable today. Yet he dared not kill himself, afraid his soul would be taken. He only hoped to beg his opponent for a quick end.

"Feeling any better, Uncle Luo?"

Qiu Yun wrapped an arm around Luo Fanchen's waist and considerately fed him a Meridian-Opening Pill, her dewdrop eyes full of worry.

She could feel Uncle Luo's constantly trembling arm and hear his ragged breathing, thick with the smell of blood. Her pale arms tightened around him.

"I'm all right. I just overestimated this demonic cultivator's methods."

Only then did Luo Fanchen come back to his senses. Judging by the golden-wheel Magic Treasure this demonic cultivator had used, he should indeed be Chang Hao.

When had Luo Fanchen become so powerful? Or did Chang Hao have some hidden ailment that prevented him from using his full strength?

"You're Chang Hao?"

"Y-yes, that's me. My lord, you know me?"

Chang Hao's voice was faint as he pleaded, "I don't know how I offended you, my lord... having met this calamity today, I have nothing to say. I still have some savings and am willing to offer them all to you. I only beg you to give me a quick—"

"Who refined this Baleful Pill?"

Luo Fanchen cut him off directly. Chang Hao opened his mouth, then hesitated.

One of his souls remained in Qing Zheng's hands. If he revealed even the slightest thing, he would suffer agony worse than death.

After only a few breaths of hesitation, Luo Fanchen lost interest in questioning him. His head hurt terribly, and he summoned Qiu Yun.

"Extract his soul and question him thoroughly. Don't waste the corpse either. It can serve as an offering for the next sublimation."

"As you say, Uncle Luo."

Qiu Yun's voice was soft and warm. Her delicate hands gently massaged Luo Fanchen's brow. After giving a few instructions, he took Chang Hao's Storage Bag and cleaned up the battlefield while spreading out the Illusion Array again, preparing to wake Mo Xue.

Yin winds howled beside his ears. Chang Hao's piercing screams went on and on.

When Luo Fanchen stepped into the deep pit blasted open by the Purple River Chariot Art, the devastation within left even him briefly stunned.

Fragments of shattered magical implements littered everything he could see. The golden wheel that had made Chang Hao famous in the Water Marsh Gang had long since been mangled beyond recognition, all its spiritual resonance lost. In sheer power, this attack had probably been twice as strong as when Ling Youdao had used it.

"Maybe... I really am strong?"

Luo Fanchen opened his fist, spreading his palm. All five fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Half lingering fear, half exhilaration. Had he lost this battle, he would probably have lost everything he had gained so far.

But victory had come so easily that it felt unreal. He felt he had not fought to his heart's content, and his exhilaration refused to fade. He craved a battle against an evenly matched opponent, so much that his taut body shook involuntarily.

He hurriedly banished that dangerous thought. Every clash of cultivation arts was a fight to the death. He could never take one lightly.

"Ha... Mo Xue's probably going to throw a tantrum. How should I coax her?"

As countless thoughts turned through his mind, Luo Fanchen reached the underground chamber at the Life Gate. Mo Xue had taken the Breath Concealment Pill and lay unconscious, curled up on the fur-covered couch. Her lovely face was tense, traces of tears lingered at the corners of her eyes, and her delicate body had curled into a ball, bereft of any sense of safety.

He silently bent down, gently gathered the girl into his arms, and fed her the antidote.

After a while, Mo Xue slowly woke. Her almond eyes were vacant as she dazedly reached out a delicate hand, seemingly wanting to touch Luo Fanchen's cheek.

"M-Master Luo?"

"It's me. Everything's all right. I won."

Luo Fanchen's voice was calm. He did not pull away, allowing Mo Xue to touch his cheek.

The girl's fingertips trembled. Only when she touched Luo Fanchen's skin did she seem to return to herself. Her small mouth drew ragged breaths, mist shimmered in her almond eyes, and great beads of tears rolled down her cheeks and fell from her chin.

She abruptly flung herself into Luo Fanchen's arms. Relief filled her heart, only to be swiftly overwhelmed by fear, and curses spilled from her little mouth.

"Bad Master Luo! You and Qiu Yun are both awful!"

"I was first! Why did you choose Qiu Yun, Master Luo? Why did you leave me all alone?"

Mo Xue wrapped her pale arms around Luo Fanchen's waist, squeezing so tightly it was as though she wanted to melt into him.

Luo Fanchen opened his mouth to speak, then abruptly frowned as sharp pain spread through his shoulder. Looking down, he saw Mo Xue glaring with wide almond eyes, her teeth sunk deep into his shoulder and her lovely face seething. The girl's anger had gone well beyond hissing.

The rusty sweetness of blood flooded her mouth. Mo Xue came to her senses as though waking from a dream and hurriedly released him.

A tooth mark sunk deep into the flesh remained on Master Luo's shoulder.

"Why didn't you use your true essence, Master Luo?"

Mo Xue's little face crumpled with heartache, and much of her anger faded.

She hesitantly lifted her sleeve, then noticed the stains on it. Instead, blushing, she extended the tip of her tongue and gently licked the wound.

When she had learned embroidery from her mother as a child, she had pricked her fingers several times. Her mother would gently take her thumb into her mouth. It had felt warm, and soon the pain would disappear.

"My true essence would have broken your little canine teeth."

Luo Fanchen smiled, watching the girl's little tongue lick gently from the corner of his eye.

Clumsy, gentle, and a little timid. The tingling sensation mingled with faint stinging, and the pain truly seemed to ease considerably.

The girl resembled a cat that had bitten its owner in panic, then cautiously licked him in apology. It made him reluctant to blame her and filled him with tenderness.

"Master Luo, you really do care more about Qiu Yun than me, don't you?"

Mo Xue's almond eyes dimmed. She smacked her lips, seemingly getting used to Master Luo's taste, while avoiding the bite mark and resting her chin on the inner side of his shoulder.

"Of course not. You and Qiu Yun are equally important to me."

Luo Fanchen could understand Mo Xue's wounded feelings.

In the girl's eyes, he and Qiu Yun were practically everything in her life so far. Yet when life and death hung in the balance, they had left an escape route for her alone. It was only natural for her sensitive heart to feel intensely insecure.

Of course she knew this did not mean they were abandoning her, but she could not bear the price of surviving alone.

"Then why did you only keep Qiu Yun with you? Do you really think I could live on alone without you both, Master Luo?"

"You're strong, Mo Xue. You'd be fine."

At those words, Mo Xue's lips trembled. Her canine teeth rubbed together, and she felt the urge to bite him again.

How strange.

Master Luo treated her and Qiu Yun equally. She should have been happy, so why did her heart feel so troubled, her chest as though it were about to catch fire?

"Ha... strong? Listen carefully, Master Luo. If you die, I'll follow you immediately."

Mo Xue fiercely ground her canine teeth together. The light left her almond eyes, and her lovely face darkened.

Her five slender fingers gripped Luo Fanchen's shoulder so tightly they nearly left marks. She felt troubled but did not know how to explain it. She could only hang her head, silently stand up, and find a corner to curl into a ball, shutting herself away.

She knew Master Luo and Qiu Yun had done it for her own good.

But their kindness was too heavy for her to bear. Before losing consciousness, she had prayed that she would sleep forever, afraid to wake.

She feared that when she woke, all that awaited her would be Master Luo's mutilated corpse and a Soul Banner whose soul had scattered into oblivion.

"Mo Xue?"

"Go find Qiu Yun, Master Luo! Leave me alone!"

Mo Xue buried her lovely face in her knees. Luo Fanchen tried approaching several times, but each time the girl silently shifted away and made a whimpering sound like a hiss. Clearly, she needed time alone to process everything.

Luo Fanchen pressed his lips together. After standing there briefly, he resolutely stepped forward, slipped his arms beneath the girl's waist and knees, and scooped her up.

He certainly would not foolishly walk away and leave Mo Xue to torment herself with wild thoughts.

"M-Master Luo? I'm not a child anymore! Put me down... I... I'll bite you!"

"Go ahead, go ahead. One more bite won't make a difference."

Mo Xue struggled for a long while. Her lips parted slightly, revealing her sharp little canine teeth, but when she noticed the tooth marks on Luo Fanchen's shoulder, she could not bring herself to bite. She could only bury her face in his chest and keep pounding it with her little fists.

"Go find Qiu Yun, Master Luo! She's the one you chose! You clearly... left me behind."

"That was because we wanted to protect you, Mo Xue."

"Fine! Then who's more important, Qiu Yun or me?"

"You're both important."

Luo Fanchen clicked his tongue, feeling that the girl was growing ever harder to handle.

There was not a trace of desire in Mo Xue's eyes, only dependence and resentment.

The girl's heart was sensitive. Her profound lack of security had given rise to intense possessiveness. Deep down, she did not want to share her hard-won sense of safety with anyone.

"You're being slippery! You have to pick one. You have to!"

After saying that fiercely, Mo Xue was a little startled herself.

Wasn't being equal to Qiu Yun all she had wanted? How had she...

The words were already out. Mo Xue simply cast aside her distracting thoughts and stared darkly at Master Luo with her almond eyes. Her slender, pale feet wrapped around his waist, locking tightly as though forcing him to answer.

Luo Fanchen froze slightly. With the girl pressing him so aggressively, she certainly would not let this go without an answer today.

He briefly surveyed his surroundings with his spiritual sense. Only after confirming that Qiu Yun was far away in the center of the valley extracting the soul did he speak earnestly.

"Mo Xue is more important."

Luo Fanchen silently apologized to Qiu Yun. He was no fool. With a question like this, whoever asked was naturally the more important one.

If Qiu Yun asked instead, his answer would naturally undergo a slight adjustment.

"Hmph! You're awful, Master Luo."

Mo Xue held her breath and focused. Upon hearing his answer, her gloomy face finally relaxed, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of the lips she had pressed into a thin line.

A blush suffused her fair face, but she quickly realized she was reacting the wrong way and immediately pursed her lips with a soft huff.

"Qiu Yun is just as important as me. You're not allowed to favor one over the other."

"All right, all right, all right."

Luo Fanchen felt rather helpless. She was the one demanding that he rank them, and she was also the one forbidding it.

The ancients had said women were difficult to deal with, and it was true. Fortunately, he had finally managed to soothe her.

At the same time, outside the cavern, Qiu Yun was worried about her elder sister's condition. Controlling the Puppet, she had intended to enter the Life Gate and check on her personally.

But before she entered the pit, she heard her elder sister's roar. The question, [Who's more important, Qiu Yun or me?], immediately stopped her in her tracks.

Her delicate hands twisted together nervously. She held her breath, and even though she knew the answer, she could not help feeling expectant.

"Mo Xue is more important."

Qiu Yun felt as though lightning had struck her. The luster visibly drained from her dewdrop eyes.

She moved stiffly. By the time she came back to her senses, she had already guided the Puppet back to the deep pit. Her delicate hand clenched over her chest, crumpling the soft fabric there. As for Chang Hao, the Soul Banner's refinement had long since extracted his soul, and all his consciousness was gone.

"It's all right... elder sister should be the most important one anyway..."

Qiu Yun murmured softly. She tried to comfort herself for a long time, but the knot in her chest only tightened.

The next day, after Luo Fanchen had regulated his breathing throughout the night, the burning pain in his meridians finally eased considerably. He first inspected the Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array and confirmed that the pill would be ready within the next few days. Only after learning from Qiu Yun that Chang Hao alone was responsible for collecting the pill did he relax his guard slightly.

"Uncle Luo, the nether spirit has been fully refined. You can examine the memories in his mind whenever you wish."

Early that morning, Qiu Yun brought the Soul Banner to see Luo Fanchen. Mo Xue was still fast asleep, exhausted by yesterday's emotional turmoil.

"Good. Thank you, Qiu Yun."

Luo Fanchen accepted it with a smile. In the process, Qiu Yun inadvertently touched his fingertips.

A faint, sweet scent of lavender lingered around his nose. At first, Luo Fanchen paid it no mind and activated Baleful Spirit Command, summoning Chang Hao's soul.

A nether spirit was an evil spirit ranked above a vengeful ghost. Refining one required a cultivator's soul, with at least two souls retained.

Chang Hao's nether spirit had combat strength equivalent to a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining. If used for spirit devouring, it could briefly increase explosive power by thirty percent.

"Uncle Luo? How is it...?"

Qiu Yun approached with a smile. She rested her head on Luo Fanchen's shoulder, drawing extremely close, her beautiful eyes shimmering like autumn waters.

The beauty's exquisite features were right before him. Her red lips glistened with moisture, making his mouth water. Luo Fanchen could smell the hot, sweet breath she exhaled, stirring an itch in his heart.

Even someone as slow on the uptake as him noticed something amiss.

Qiu Yun was unusually assertive today?

Luo Fanchen raised an eyebrow slightly, but Qiu Yun pulled away after that brief contact and stood smiling at him.

Was it just his imagination?

Luo Fanchen muttered inwardly, formed the seals of the Dingyin Art, and used Heart Offering to examine the entirety of Chang Hao's soul.

Countless images surged through his mind: the Clear River Sect, the Yi Wood Sect, then the Water Marsh Gang and bandits. His heartbeat involuntarily quickened. As he glimpsed a great many secrets, he unexpectedly saw a familiar figure among the Water Marsh Gang.

Cold brows like swords, sinister as a scorpion, handsome and cruel. Who else could it be but his good fellow cultivator, Ling Leng?

"The Water Marsh Gang's second-in-command?"

(End of chapter)