Chapter 345

A burst of bloodlight shot out from the sleeve of the woman in the blood-red dress, curled back, and wrapped her entirely, transforming into a crimson streak that shot out of the study and soared upward into the sky.

Blood Escape Talisman!

Seeing this, Wang Yu's eyelid twitched slightly; he reached out with one hand, grasping empty air, and a jet-black flying dagger appeared in his palm, his wrist flicking once.

A piercing, shrill screech erupted!

The black dagger vanished from his hand in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, a scream rang out from the crimson streak racing skyward.

The bloodlight condensed, and a human figure fell like a bird struck by an arrow, crashing heavily from the heights.

Thud.

The woman in the blood-red dress slammed into the ground outside the study, carving out a small crater.

Amidst the swirling dust, the black dagger was visible, driven flush into the brow of the Blood Maiden.

Strangely, though her body lay motionless on the ground, her beautiful face bore overlapping, twisted phantom visages, silently writhing as if desperate to tear free from her flesh.

Yet the black dagger embedded in her brow trembled with a low hum, its surface sparkling with countless silver dots that pinned the phantom faces firmly in place, preventing any movement.

Wang Yu, watching this nearby, his expression shifted slightly.

What secret art is this? How bizarre—it seems to involve the Dao of the soul!

After a brief silence, Wang Yu made no further hesitation; he raised his palm, fingers splayed, and grasped downward toward the target on the ground.

Puff.

White light surged from the woman's body, a column of white flame erupting skyward, engulfing her entirely in blazing white fire.

Ah!

The Blood Maiden let out a strange scream, as if seven or eight different women shrieked in unison—but this cry seemed to shatter some hidden taboo.

"So painful… I remember… I remember it all… Soul Silver… how could Soul Silver exist in this realm… Louyi, I curse you—for daring to ruin my plans… On the day the heavens break, it will be… Sunfire, it is Sunfire…"

The Blood Maiden, previously motionless, suddenly thrashed violently; all the phantom faces on her face transformed into a strange crimson veil that wrapped her entire body, while multiple female voices screamed curses.

Yet beneath the roaring white flames, her body held out only a few breaths before turning to ash.

Wang Yu, hearing her curses, frowned several times.

This Blood Maiden clearly had deep connections—she was no ordinary cultivator.

What in the world was this "day the heavens break" she mentioned?

Wang Yu pondered silently, then reached out with one hand.

With a soft whoosh, the black dagger shot back from the white flames and landed neatly in his palm.

The silver dots on the dagger's surface had vanished; its blade was once again pitch-black.

His other hand flipped, revealing another identical jet-black flying dagger.

He moved both hands lightly, letting the two daggers tap against each other.

With a clear clang, one dagger remained pitch-black, while the other's surface shimmered with countless silver dots.

"Soul Silver truly suppresses the soul—but there's too little of it; mixed with Iron Mother, I can barely forge one Soul Silver dagger." Wang Yu murmured, then flipped both hands, and the two daggers vanished.

The next moment, a low humming vibrated from within his sleeve.

Wang Yu's face darkened; he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a cyan talisman, flashing violently and emitting a low, urgent hum.

He shook his wide sleeve.

White flames surged around his body, coalescing into a massive white fireball that shot skyward, streaking toward the direction where the cyan bamboo boat had fled.

Although this sect mission was assigned to him as lead, if the two Qianzhu Sect disciples accompanying him were harmed, his contribution points would be heavily deducted—he could not allow that.

But Wang Yu did not know.

At the same moment, in a dark, isolated, mysterious space.

From within a bronze coffin, bound tightly by thick, rusted black chains, came several muffled, irritated thuds—then a vast, deathly, terrifying aura surged outward, as if something within was slowly awakening.

Ding ling ling.

In the pitch-black void surrounding the bronze coffin, countless golden bells suddenly appeared, all ringing simultaneously with clear, melodious tones.

The terrifying aura, the moment the bells rang, recoiled like it had met its antithesis, rushing back into the bronze coffin; the muffled thuds ceased instantly, and silence returned.

The golden bells in the surrounding void soon stopped ringing, one by one fading from the black void.

…

In a town within Fengyuanzhou, neighboring Tianhe Prefecture of Great Ming, within the rear courtyard of a seemingly wealthy household.

A beautiful woman in her thirties, dressed in a pale green robe, unconsciously set down the book in her hand and looked up toward a certain point in the sky—her face bore an uncanny resemblance, eight or nine parts identical, to the Blood Maiden.

…

In the imperial palace of Jingcheng, capital of Wu State.

An elderly woman, around sixty, had been sitting quietly before a golden Buddha shrine, reciting sutras, when she suddenly lifted her head, gazing unconsciously toward the same point in the sky outside.

Though her face was aged, her features and eyes still bore a faint resemblance to the Blood Maiden.

…

In a village by the Xiang River, in Xichuan Dao of Feng State, inside a thatched cottage.

Suddenly, a wailing cry of a newborn erupted.

A baby girl was delivered by a woman with a sallow, jaundiced face.

Beside her, a farmer—apparently her husband—joyfully lifted the infant into his arms.

The baby girl thrashed her head wildly, wailing toward a point in the sky outside, and a flash of bloodlight appeared on her forehead—a crimson pattern, fleeting and gone.

The man noticed nothing unusual about the infant, frantically trying to soothe his daughter.

…

In the forbidden zone of Tongtian Demon Sect, known as the First Demon Sect of Yu State.

A black-clad girl with waist-length hair leaned against a beast, part lion, part tiger, sleeping peacefully.

Suddenly, something disturbed her; without opening her eyes, she waved her hand as if shooing away an insect, then rolled over and pressed herself against the beast, sinking back into slumber.

The half of her face exposed bore an exact likeness to the Blood Maiden.

…

Wang Yu, of course, knew none of this; his white fireball raced through the sky like a meteor, and in moments, he left Jingzhou City, arriving above a pile of jagged rocks.

Below, black mist churned, filled with wails and howls; two cyan bamboo swords darted wildly within, yet could not escape the mist by even an inch.

Wang Yu's pupils glinted, and he clearly saw at the mist's center.

Two Qianzhu Sect disciples, back-to-back, barely holding their ground, as countless black ghostly shadows slammed into them from all directions.

The gaunt Daoist stood at the mist's edge, frantically shaking a massive bone banner.