Chapter 105: Suspected of Being Deceived Again

Before the sound faded, the water pool suddenly violently trembled. The chains groaned under the weight, the pool water began to turn an eerie greenish‑blue, and Shi Ran horrifiedly discovered that her fingertips were actually beginning to slowly melt.

"The time has come!" the little girl clapped happily; behind her, a dozen or so white‑clad figures holding lanterns appeared out of nowhere, wearing faceless masks and chanting expressionlessly.

With your flesh and blood, aid my immortal path; with your soul and spirit, nourish my heart and mind.

In the excruciating pain, Shi Ran suddenly noticed the runes flashing at the pool's bottom—this was not a pool at all, but a giant alchemy furnace, and that liquid was clearly a potion made from melted corpses.

She must not succeed, I must not let her succeed! Fire Lotus! Fire Lotus, help me!

Shi Ran shouted in her heart, but the Seven-Colored Fire Lotus remained utterly still, quietly budding on her forehead.

At the moment her consciousness was about to fade, Shi Ran summoned her last strength and chanted the forbidden spell taught by her Master. A sharp pain struck her heart; she spat a mouthful of blood onto the black‑iron chain, and the black iron began to corrode.

The little girl widened her eyes in surprise, "You actually still…"

With a thunderous boom, the top of the alchemy furnace exploded. A black shadow descended from the heavens, sword light like snow, instantly severing every chain.

The newcomer scooped up the dying Shi Ran in one grab, voice heavy with regret: "Sorry, I'm late!"

Before plunging into darkness, Shi Ran finally made out that familiar face—it was Ling Xiao, whom she thought she had met in danger in the Demon Realm, and hanging from his waist was unmistakably Meng Qingen's Qiankun bag embroidered with golden thread.

Shi Ran's vision blurred, but the familiar pine scent on her Master's body eased her tense nerves slightly; she felt her body being gently lifted. A low voice whispered in her ear, "Hold on, I'll take you home!"

"Master, be careful… that little girl…" Shi Ran grasped his collar with her last strength, only to feel a sticky patch—he was wounded too?!

The surrounding white‑clad faceless figures suddenly stopped chanting, turned in unison toward them, and the little girl's laughter grew sharper: "Perfect, another one coming to die!" The dagger in her hand suddenly elongated three feet, transforming into a bow wrapped in black aura.

Ling Xiao gave a cold snort, cradling Shi Ran with his left hand while swinging his right‑handed long sword; suddenly dense silver runes appeared across the blade. "Meng Qingen!" he muttered to himself, "Or should I call you Yi Tong?"

The air suddenly twisted; the luxurious bedchamber scenery peeled away like a faded scroll, revealing the grim true form of the underground palace—walls hung not with paintings but with complete human skins, and the display cases held not rare treasures but organs pickled in glass jars.

"Oh dear, terrible, we've been found!" Yi Tong's voice came from all directions; the little girl's body twisted and swelled, instantly becoming Meng Qingen dressed in a blood‑red bridal gown. She stroked the gown and gave a sinister smile: "Sect Leader Ling, you're still as unromantic as ever—I specially prepared the finest Azure Water Cloudy Heaven for you, yet you don't appreciate it!"

Ling Xiao pointed his sword at Yi Tong: "Where have you hidden my disciples?"

Yi Tong burst into wild laughter: "Sect Leader Ling, your eyesight is terrible!" She violently lifted the red cloth on the floor, revealing a dozen or so people chained with iron—those people were actually monsters stitched together from various body parts.

The last thing Shi Ran saw before losing consciousness was blood filling the sky and a bloody stench permeating the air.

When Shi Ran woke again, the first thing she noticed was a sharp medicinal scent; she lay in a simple bamboo hut, covered with a quilt.

"You're awake!" a hoarse voice came from the doorway; Shi Ran turned her head to see Ling Xiao leaning by the window, wiping his Dragon Chant Sword. His left arm was wrapped in white cloth, blood seeping through, his face deathly pale.

"Where is this? And the others…" Shi Ran opened her mouth, but her own hoarse voice startled her. Ling Xiao handed her a bowl of medicinal broth, "Others?" He paused, then produced a blood‑stained Qiankun bag from his bosom: "This is Meng Qingen's; now it's all that remains…"

Shi Ran trembled as she opened it, finding inside a dozen or so shattered natal jade pendants, each engraved with a name: Lu Zhao, Zhou Yu, Tian Zimo…

"Where is Yi Tong?" Shi Ran clutched the jade pendant, her fingertips digging deep into her palm.

Ling Xiao gazed out the window at the overcast sky, his expression dark and inscrutable: "She got away, but this grudge will surely be repaid!"

Just then, the bamboo door was blown open by a gust; a paper doll floated down to the windowsill, emitting Meng Qingen's sweet voice: "Sect Leader Ling, you're so ruthless—but the game has only just begun, huh? Sis, guess who'll be next to enjoy the Azure Water Cloudy Heaven?" The paper doll finished speaking and self‑immolated; its ashes formed a name: Ling Xiao!

"We can't just wait to die!" Shi Ran shot up from the bed, knocking over the medicine bowl; the brown liquid spread across the bamboo mat, exactly like the melted flesh and blood in that day's alchemy furnace.

"Master, let's go find her—no matter the ends of the earth, no matter the highest heavens or deepest springs, we will surely track down that demoness!" Shi Ran coughed, rose, and headed for the door.

Ling Xiao suddenly pressed his icy, non‑human fingers onto her shoulder: "Yeah, Shi Ran, we want to kill her, but you first need to think—how are we going to escape this Demon Realm?"

"The Demon Realm? I've never been to any Demon Realm—how could I be in one now? Could it be that from the very start, she, Lu Changfeng, and I fell into the Demon Realm's illusion? From chasing the misty demon onward, everything up to now has been a phantom."

No! Impossible! Shi Ran shook her head in denial; even if her spiritual power was weak, the Lotus Lamp should still be there… Lotus Lamp… She closed her eyes but felt no trace of the Lotus Lamp. A sudden chill swept her forehead; opening her eyes, she saw Ling Xiao's gaze obsessed—not with her, but with the unopened Seven-Colored Fire Lotus on her brow.

"Do you know this Fire Lotus also has a guiding function?" Ling Xiao said icily. "It is an ancient immortal artifact, linked to the remaining five‑direction immortal artifacts of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth; if they can be assembled into an immortal array, then…" He realized he'd said too much, gave a cold smile: "So, Little Ran, hand it over to me—you can't bear its immortal power yourself."

Shi Ran felt a wave of chill; she felt as if she'd entered a vicious circle—everyone knows how important her Master is to her, so they wouldn't hesitate to use his face to deceive her. But she's merely amnesiac, not a fool; how could she mistake her Master?

Shi Ran also laughed: "I don't know who you are, but wearing my Master's face and spouting such shameless words is nothing short of defiling him!" Before she finished speaking, she had already thrust the fake Ling Xiao through and through—with the very silver hairpin from her own head!

A bolt of lightning flashed outside, illuminating Ling Xiao's blood‑less face; only then did Shi Ran notice a fine red ring around his neck—the scar of a corpse's sutures.