Chapter 106: Escaping the Blood Pool

Shi Ran's silver needle stabbed deep into the fake Ling Xiao's chest, but no blood spurted—only a foul black mist sprayed from the wound. The skin before her began to twist, melting like wax, revealing the ferocious rotting flesh beneath.

"Hehe..." a strange laugh slipped from his throat, his voice shifting between male and female: "You think you can kill me like that?"

Shi Ran jerked the silver hairpin back, retreated several steps, and eyed the monster warily. "Who exactly are you!"

Ling Xiao's mouth corner slowly split, stretching to his ears, revealing stark white fangs. "What are you hiding from? I'm your beloved master!"

Before his words faded, his body suddenly swelled, skin and flesh peeling off inch by inch, ultimately becoming a rotting corpse puppet.

Shi Ran's pupils contracted, her heart felt as if pierced, she forced herself to calm: "You're not my master!" Her voice trembled: "A master has extraordinary talent and immortal bearing—you…could never be! Stop lying!"

The fake Ling Xiao's eyes oozed black blood: "How could it be impossible? I've been trapped in the demon realm for a long time, already refined by Si Tong's furnace—why didn't you come to save me?"

Shi Ran's mind suddenly exploded—Master had met with disaster, what should she do? Master wouldn't come to harm! Shi Ran's gaze turned sharp; the lotus mark on her forehead burst into blazing golden light, scorching spiritual power surging like flames over her front. "Shut up! My master won't come to harm!"

Ling Xiao, burned, let out several shrill cries; his rotting body quickly went limp in the cauldron, yet just as he was about to vanish in ashes, a cold sentence squeezed from his throat: "You think... only I am fake?"

Shi Ran stiffened all over; the next second, the bamboo house exploded in collapse, the surrounding scenery shattering like a gold mask, revealing the true world.

She still stood in that gloomy underground palace, a blood pool beneath her feet, various skins hanging around, the surrounding stench of blood making her nearly vomit—turns out that strong medicinal smell earlier was just to mask the blood odor!

Shi Ran's steps halted—Si Tong had vanished. Leaving someone so easy to manipulate and carrying such a rare treasure unharmed? Something major must have happened to Si Tong.

Oh no! My senior brothers!

Thinking this, Shi Ran hurried to find an exit, but she hadn't expected the underground palace to be filled with skins and corpse puppets everywhere; all her spiritual power was being drained to nourish the Seven-Colored Fire Lotus, leaving her unable to discern direction.

If she waited a moment longer, Si Tong would return! Shi Ran was now extremely anxious; she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm. Looking around, the underground palace was deep and winding, the skins hanging on the walls swaying faintly in the yin wind, as if they might lunge at her at any moment. The blood pool beneath her feet bubbled, the thick stench almost suffocating her.

"We must leave at once!"

Shi Ran drew a deep breath, pinched a seal with her fingertips, trying to mobilize the remnant spiritual power within her, but the Seven-Colored Fire Lotus continued to draw her strength, making the circulation of her spiritual power extremely sluggish.

"Damn it..."

At that very moment, she noticed a circle of intricate runes etched along the edge of the blood pool—those were the traces of a teleportation array!

Shi Ran's eyes lit up; she immediately leaned in to inspect. The runes were incomplete, but she could still make out the remnants of a one-way teleportation array. If repaired, perhaps she could use it to escape the underground palace!

Unknown which senior, unwilling to die thus at the demons' hands, had written these runes here in an attempt to escape alive, but he obviously failed—two characters in the array were written wrong, one with an extra horizontal stroke, one missing a downward slash, and it also lacked the final crucial step.

Without hesitation, she bit her fingertip, using blood as a guide, and swiftly traced along the incomplete pattern. The moment the blood dropped, the runes flickered faintly, then dimmed again—insufficient spiritual power, the array could not activate.

"Just a little more..." Cold sweat beaded on Shi Ran's forehead; just as she grew anxious, a flash of inspiration struck—

"Fire Lotus!"

She closed her eyes, sank her mind into her sea of consciousness, attempting to communicate with the Seven-Colored Fire Lotus on her forehead. Though the fire lotus had not fully blossomed, it was after all an ancient immortal object; if she could borrow even a thread of its power… she would surely escape: "Lend me your strength!"

The fire lotus remained still, as if asleep.

Shi Ran, exasperated, "You're taking my spiritual power and turning me into the Tang Seng in the eyes of all demons, then making me bear the blame when things go wrong!"

"Fine, I'll bear it!" Shi Ran grabbed the silver hairpin and pointed it at her own forehead. Since she couldn't get out, she might as well die here: "Death lotus, before Si Tong kills me, I must dig you out first!" The fire lotus seemed a bit frightened.

In an instant, it trembled slightly; a thread of pure spiritual power flowed out, following Shi Ran's fingertip into the runes. "Hum—"

The teleportation array suddenly blazed with piercing blood light; the entire underground palace shook violently! Before Shi Ran could rejoice, a sharp laugh came from behind—

"Want to run? Too late!"

Si Tong's apparition flickered like a ghost, her blood-red bridal robes billowing, the bone whip in her hand thrust straight at Shi Ran's throat!

Shi Ran's pupils contracted; at the critical moment, she jerked sideways—the bone whip grazed her neck, drawing a line of blood.

"Si Tong!"

Si Tong gave a cold smile: "Little brat, you're quick, but……" She clenched her fingers; countless white bone arms shot up from the blood pool, locking tightly around Shi Ran's ankles.

Shi Ran could not struggle; seeing the teleportation array's light about to fade, she gritted her teeth and dumped all her remaining spiritual power into the fire lotus—

"Explode!"

"Boom—"

The fire lotus' power erupted, scorching golden flames sweeping the surroundings; the white bone arms turned to ash in the blaze! Si Tong was blown back several steps by the shockwave, shrieking sharply: "You're courting death!"

Shi Ran seized the moment, leaping toward the teleportation array! "No way!" Si Tong flung her bone whip, the tip coiling like a poisonous snake toward Shi Ran's waist—

"Swish!" A bright sword flash suddenly slashed down, and the bone whip snapped in response!

Shi Ran stared up in astonishment; a familiar figure came treading on sword, robes fluttering like snow, the sword's tip pointing, demonic aura dissipating—

Ling Xiao!

"Master?!" Shi Ran's face lit with surprise and joy, her heart easing a sigh—looks like the master is safe, wonderful.

Ling Xiao swept an arm around her waist, coldly saying: "Go!"

The teleportation array's light blazed, and the two figures vanished instantly.

Only Si Tong's furious shriek echoed in the underground palace: "Ling Xiao! You ruined my plans!"