Chapter 193: But... Qingwan Is Still Terrifyingly Strong!!!

Deep within Liu Xuanyin's ashen, dead pupils, the nearly obsessive fervor and desire that had been suppressed through countless days and nights suddenly erupted like a volcano that had been set ablaze!

His face, which had long been deprived of sunlight and stiff as a corpse, twisted into a nearly "lively" grin under the impact of ecstatic joy. The corners of his mouth split open, revealing white, closely packed teeth that formed a hair-raising contrast with his pale complexion and dark blue fingernails.

Success!

Finally, success!

Liu Xuanyin was well aware of Gu Qingwan's situation!

In particular, he knew full well how Gu Qingwan had one-shot the Life-Severing Wang Family's super killing machine—the top-grade Evil Spirit.

He knew all of this!

That was precisely why Liu Xuanyin understood exactly how powerful and formidable Gu Qingwan truly was.

Although he wasn't entirely clear on Gu Qingwan's full strength—he still hadn't figured out how she could possess such terrifying Cultivation—he had prepared thoroughly to deal with her.

But as things stood now, the indescribably powerful Gu Qingwan had been subdued in one fell swoop within his meticulously laid, foolproof trap!

"...Hahaha..."

A low, hoarse laugh squeezed out from the depths of Liu Xuanyin's throat. Initially suppressed, it quickly rose in pitch, ultimately transforming into an unrestrained, triumphant, and wild shriek that echoed madly through the silent cave!

Liu Xuanyin spread his arms wide, his voluminous black robe rustling as if to embrace the "miracle" he had personally created.

"Let your power be overwhelming, let you transcend the rules—so what?"

"Before the 'Spirit-Locking Forbidden Land' and the 'Nine Nether God-Refining Array,' before the painstaking efforts and schemes cultivated by my Liu Family over countless generations—"

"Aren't you still going to submit and be captured, becoming the supreme nourishment for my Liu Family's ascent to the pinnacle?!"

He stared intently at the scorched, empty area where residual energy ripples still lingered, his eyes filled with greed and satisfaction. Although the attack seemed too violent and might have caused some damage to the "material," based on the level Gu Qingwan had previously displayed, her core "Divine Origin" and "Sinful Essence" were bound to be extremely resilient.

As long as he could capture and extract them—even if somewhat incomplete—it would be enough to allow the Liu Family's ultimate creation to take its most crucial step!

Furthermore, by studying her residual, "weakened," and "sealed" power, he might even reverse-engineer the secrets of her "evolution"!

Of course, even if none of that worked, it didn't matter!

That had only been Gu Qingwan's spirit body just now!

Now that her spirit body had been completely annihilated, her physical body must have suffered tremendous damage as well!

All that remained was to get his hands on Gu Qingwan's physical body!

Of course, the hardest part for a vengeful ghost was finding the location of its physical body. Hidden deep in some remote mountain forest, there was no way for others to find it.

But Gu Qingwan was different. After all, everyone present knew that Gu Qingwan's physical body was lying right there at Zhenlong Temple!

With Li Xiuye and Lu Yuan gone from Zhenlong Temple, wouldn't it be easy to go and seize Gu Qingwan's physical body?

As for Lu Yuan and Li Xiuye?

They were merely incidental "side dishes" thrown into this grand plan to add a bit of flair.

Now that the main course was in the bag, it was time to deal with these trivial matters.

Liu Xuanyin slowly suppressed his laughter, but the pride and confidence radiating from his brow were impossible to conceal. He turned his head slightly to look deeper into the cave at the two projections of malevolent deities, whose auras had become somewhat depleted from their full-force outbursts but still exuded terrifying pressure. His ashen pupils flickered with a hint of approval and command.

"Both Divine Lords have worked hard."

"This success in one fell swoop was entirely due to your power and the might of the formation."

"Please rest and adjust your breathing. Once I collect the 'spoils' and stabilize the formation, I will offer you blood food to help you ascend to an even higher level!"

His voice had resumed that inhuman calm, but the excitement and certainty in his words were still clearly discernible.

The projections of the "Dream Demon" and the "Ten-Thousand-Corpses Pollutant Mother" writhed slightly in the darkness, emitting low hisses as if in response. The ghostly green single eye and the human face within the pale white mist both turned sharply to "look" at the scorched area, revealing undisguised greed and desire.

They could also sense the pure and powerful "origin" energy within, which surpassed their own level. Although it seemed to have been "scattered," it still lingered in the chaotic flows of rules and energy within this space. If they could devour and absorb it, it would be an unimaginable tonic for them!

Liu Xuanyin nodded in satisfaction, then slowly shifted his gaze to the foot of the rock wall.

There, the young Daoist—Lu Yuan—sat slumped like a man whose soul had been drained, collapsed in a pool of blood and dust, staring blankly at the scorched area.

Looking at Lu Yuan's dejected, ashen-faced appearance, the last trace of unreality Liu Xuanyin had felt due to the plan's excessive smoothness completely dissipated.

Only a cat-and-mouse ease and a faint, victor's pity—or perhaps mockery—remained.

"Daoist Priest Lu—"

Liu Xuanyin's voice was flat and unremarkable, but every word pierced the heart.

"It seems your final trump card wasn't as reliable as you imagined."

"Or rather, you were completely ignorant of my Liu Family's reserves and preparations."

Lu Yuan seemed not to hear Liu Xuanyin's words.

His world had collapsed entirely, plunging into endless darkness and silence the moment Gu Qingwan's figure was engulfed by that storm of destruction and vanished without a trace.

Lu Yuan stared blankly at the scorched, empty area, his eyes unblinking, as if trying to pierce through the void itself.

He wanted to see that familiar red figure reappear.

But there was nothing.

Only the distorted light and shadow left by the rampaging energy, the pungent stench of scorching and corrosion, and... a void of utter despair.

Qingwan... was gone?

Completely erased by that indescribably terrifying, killing blow?

It was because of him... because he had crushed the jade pendant and summoned her into this trap...

Endless regret, self-blame, and pain gnawed at his heart like the most venomous insects, tearing at his soul.

It was a hundred, a thousand times more agonizing than having his zhenran sealed, being severely wounded, or trapped in a desperate situation!

It was the abyss after the complete destruction of hope, the unforgivable sin of personally pushing the most important person to destruction!

Tears had long blurred his vision, mixing with the blood and grime on his face, silently streaming down.

He wanted to cry out, to roar, to demand answers, to charge forward and die together with Liu Xuanyin and those two malevolent deities...

But his body was as heavy as if it had been filled with lead. He couldn't even move a single finger.

His zhenran was sealed, he was grievously wounded and near death, and even his grief and anger seemed frozen and suffocated by the endless despair.

Lu Yuan had lost, utterly defeated.

Not only had he failed to save the old man, but he had also gotten Qingwan killed...

Or... had he?

And just as Liu Xuanyin was brimming with smug satisfaction, Hu Huxu was barely recovering from his shock, Lu Yuan's heart was ashen with despair, and the two malevolent deities were greedily anticipating their meal—

Just when everyone thought the situation was settled and Gu Qingwan had been completely "subdued"—

A woman's voice, cold, calm, carrying a faint hint of mockery, yet seemingly resonating directly in the deepest recesses of everyone's soul—

Suddenly, without any warning, shattered the deathly silence and eerie atmosphere of the cave.

"Commanding Ghosts Liu Family, super malevolent deity..."

The voice paused, as if savoring those words.

"...Mediocre."

Boom!!!

It wasn't an explosion of energy—it was the collapse of cognition!

A complete reversal of the situation!

The smug smile on Liu Xuanyin's face froze instantly, as if struck by the coldest frost!

His ashen pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks as he slowly, bit by bit, turned his head in disbelief toward the direction of the voice...

Not the scorched, empty area.

But about a zhang away from it.

A spot that appeared completely empty, where only thin, black-red mist drifted lazily through the ordinary void.

There, the space rippled gently like water.

Then, a tall, slender figure in a moon-white qipao, her hair tied up in a bun with a white hair cord... a red figure—

As if stepping out of a faded ancient painting, shifting from illusion to reality, silently reappeared before everyone's eyes.

The moon-white qipao was spotless, even the flowing cloud patterns on it remained clear and distinct.

The white hair cord silently bound her ink-black hair.

The thin mist covering her face remained, and behind it, her blood-colored double pupils were calm and unruffled.

As if the world-destroying, killing blow from just moments ago had been nothing more than an insignificant breeze, not even stirring a single corner of her garment.

Gu Qingwan stood there quietly.

Completely unharmed. Her aura seemed even more restrained than before, and also... more unfathomable.

She tilted her head slightly, her blood-colored eyes behind the mist seeming to pierce through space, landing on Liu Xuanyin, whose face had suddenly turned deathly pale and whose body had begun to tremble uncontrollably.

They also swept over the two projections of malevolent deities, which had instantly stopped writhing and now radiated extreme shock and fury.

Her red lips parted slightly, and her cold voice rang out again.

Carrying a kind of condescending, undisguised indifference, and... a trace of extremely subtle mockery, as if watching ants trying to shake a mountain.

"The formation is passable. The malevolent deities are passable. The scheming... is also passable."

"It's just a pity..."

She slowly raised her flawless right hand.

At her fingertip, a darkness even purer and deeper than before, one that seemed capable of devouring all light and hope, began to silently gather and spin.

"The power is too weak."

At the same time, another voice rang out from the side.

"Hey!!!"

"Why did you just come out like that!!!"

This exclamation, heavy with the accent of the region beyond the Great Wall, came not from Hu Huxu, nor from Liu Xuanyin, and certainly not from the two malevolent deities.

But from Lu Yuan's mouth—the young Daoist who had just been collapsed on the ground, his face ashen as if his soul had been drained—suddenly bursting out.

There was no despair or grief in this voice. Only a sense of speechlessness, which rang out especially loudly in the dead-silent cave.

And especially... at the wrong time.

Gu Qingwan, who had been preparing to savor the sight of Liu Xuanyin and the others' expressions plummeting from heaven to hell, paused almost imperceptibly in her fingertip that was about to point out, gathering a terrifying power of annihilation.

Her beautiful eyes, hidden behind the mist, seemed to shift ever so slightly in Lu Yuan's direction.

As for Liu Xuanyin, Hu Huxu, and the two malevolent deities, they were completely baffled by this sudden, emotionally contradictory exclamation, and they all turned in unison to look at Lu Yuan.

There, the Lu Yuan who had just been "dejected," "ashen-hearted," and "tear-streaked" had already scrambled to his feet.

Although his movements were still a bit unsteady due to his injuries and his sealed zhenran, there was no trace of despair on his face anymore.

While brushing the blood and dust off his clothes, he used his uninjured left hand to rub the back of his head, which he had knocked painfully against the ground.

His mouth kept muttering, and his face was filled with the frustration of a "plan gone awry."

"They all thought you were finished! Shouldn't you have taken advantage of that moment to suddenly hit them hard?"

As he spoke, he even used his left hand to gesture a "backstab" motion.

Coupled with his battered, bruised, and blood-soaked disheveled appearance, it looked both comical and bizarre.

Liu Xuanyin's expression had rapidly shifted from initial shock and stiffness to an ashen pallor, finally settling into a liver-colored mix of rage, humiliation at being toyed with, and a hint of lurking unease.

He stared fixedly at Lu Yuan, then abruptly turned to look at the composed Gu Qingwan nearby, and connected it with Lu Yuan's "performance" from just now—

A chilling, unbelievable thought slithered into his mind like a venomous snake.

Faked?!

That despairing, broken-down act from Lu Yuan was faked?!

He had been putting on a show with Gu Qingwan?!

Their goal was to make them let their guard down?!

But... how?!

Gu Qingwan had been severely weakened by the "Spirit-Locking Forbidden Land" and had squarely taken that killing blow! How could she be completely unharmed?!

At this moment, Lu Yuan, having finished brushing off the blood and dust, stood with his hands on his hips, looking across at the stunned Liu Xuanyin and Hu Huxu.

Lu Yuan's despair just now had indeed been an act.

Or rather, three parts real, seven parts performance.

The real part was his powerlessness and guilt at being trapped in a desperate situation, his zhenran sealed, the old man on the brink of death, and himself nearly a burden.

Especially when he saw Gu Qingwan, because of his summons, struggling and slowly descending into this trap that had clearly been set for her.

That regret and self-blame were genuine.

But despair?

Especially despair that Gu Qingwan would fail?

That really wasn't the case.

Because from the moment Gu Qingwan's blurry form, with its difficult-to-gather black and red light, had just appeared—even before it was fully clear—

Above the blurred silhouette of Gu Qingwan's head, a massive, glaring blood-red star rating that exuded a soul-shaking presence had prominently appeared.

[Danger Level: ★★★★★★★★★★]

What did that mean?

It meant that in the system's judgment, even after being weakened and delayed by the "Spirit-Locking Forbidden Land," even after an unusually difficult and slow descent process—

Qingwan was still terrifyingly strong!!!