Chapter 1005: Using the Spirit Butterfly as a Guide

As Xiao Jiu had thought, when the merit inside the Soul-guiding Lamp continuously poured into the formation eye, the black‑fanged ghost face inside, as if receiving a signal, instantly had its scarlet eyes return to normal.

It greedily absorbed the merit's power, its fangs quickly retracting; when it was almost back to normal, it looked toward Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu's mind instantly echoed its voice: "Corpse…… skeletal remains regrowing flesh……."

Skeletal remains regrowing flesh?

Xiao Jiu was shocked in her heart!

Ha!

What a Tang Yaocao, constantly voicing her hatred of reincarnation; it turns out she does not refuse reincarnation but has chosen another path to survive.

In reincarnation, her next life could be human or could fall into the animal realm; her fate is not within her control.

But her remains still exist, intact, her soul whole; if she could truly regrow flesh from skeletal remains and infuse her soul into it, she could live forever in this world like a normal person.

By then she would not only have a fleshly body but also powerful cultivation; with such ability, who would still think of reincarnation?

Xiao Jiu gained a bit of confidence.

Since Tang Yaocao still desires to regrow flesh from skeletal remains, her remains must be hidden deep.

Even with formation upon formation, she would not possibly think of mutual destruction.

She must ensure the safety of her remains; then the backlash of the protective formation above could not be so strong as to bring about mutual destruction.

As her thoughts churned, the second ghost face also returned to normal.

Immediately after, the third and fourth did the same.

When all four ghost faces had returned to normal, Xiao Jiu had already flown above the Soul-guiding Lamp.

She continued to channel the Soul-guiding Lamp's mana, waiting for the moment the four ghost faces broke the formation, then directly drew them back into the lamp.

Black qi once again welled up in Lingdie Valley, the evil qi sealed within the formation array seeping out.

Boom!

A muffled bang, and the whole space began to tremble.

Confirming that all four ghost faces had successfully returned to the Soul-guiding Lamp, Xiao Jiu immediately shot out Nirvana fire, annihilating the evil qi that had just risen.

This process consumed a great deal, but fortunately it did not last long.

When Lingdie Valley had returned to calm, Xiao Jiu once again lowered the Soul-guiding Lamp downward.

As expected, the Soul-guiding Lamp still could not land this time.

From the depths of Lingdie Valley, a suddenly appeared five-colored butterfly.

They came in various sizes, their colors vivid and varied, fluttering like little sprites.

At the moment these spirit butterflies appeared, Xiao Jiu felt as if she had instantly returned to the time when they first sent Tang Xun's remnant soul here, the butterflies helping to complete Tang Xun's soul.

Xiao Jiu would forever remember that dreamlike scene.

But as she watched, Xiao Jiu's heart sank.

The appearance of these spirit butterflies reminded Xiao Jiu.

Originally, Tang Xun's soul was completed by the spirit butterflies of Lingdie Valley; so if Tang Yaocao were to intervene now, would Tang Xun's soul encounter problems again?

If that were the case, wouldn't both Tang Xun and the Seven Halls Yama be unable to survive?

Unfortunately, Tang Xun cannot undergo Nirvana.

If she, like Xiao Jiu, had experienced Nirvana rebirth, then neither spirit butterflies nor Tang Yaocao would affect her soul in any way.

For now, we can only take things step by step.

Since spirit butterflies can complete souls, even without knowing the exact method, Xiao Jiu directly used the Soul-guiding Lamp to collect the butterflies.

First collect them; maybe they'll be useful later.

But just as the Soul-guiding Lamp moved to cover those butterflies, the butterflies suddenly flew and arranged themselves into the shape of a hand reaching up from the ground, lunging directly at the lamp.

Xiao Jiu instinctively reached out to lift the Soul-guiding Lamp.

The instant her hand touched the Soul-guiding Lamp, Xiao Jiu felt a violent jolt in the surrounding qi field, the whole space giving her a sensation of being torn apart and split.

The next moment, Xiao Jiu's surroundings went dark.

Pitch black.

Even breathing became unsteady.

This suffocating, breath‑stealing darkness inexplicably felt familiar to Xiao Jiu.

Here, it was clearly not the outside space.

Xiao Jiu was certain that, at that very moment, she had been drawn by the spirit butterflies' formation into another illusory mirror.

To break out of this illusory mirror, she first needed to clarify her situation.

All sensory feedback instantly reminded Xiao Jiu of the scene Tang Yaocao had described: her head pierced by a chopstick‑long soul‑locking nail, still alive, then nailed into a coffin and buried in Hu Shan's grave!

Did Tang Yaocao really think such a petty trick could trap her?

Obviously it wouldn't be that simple.

Frankly, this layer of illusory mirror is not as dangerous as the previous layer's Four Directions Gathering Evil Formation.

Just as Xiao Jiu pondered these thoughts, a sudden tearing pain pierced her bones.

This force seemed to want to tear Xiao Jiu's soul apart, ripping it to shreds.

At the same time, Xiao Jiu seemed to smell a faint hint of sandalwood.

Sandalwood scent?

Buddhist niche!

Xiao Jiu instantly came to her senses, gritting her teeth against the tearing pain, quickly consolidating her thoughts.

Yes, this layer of illusory mirror, using the spirit butterfly as a guide, leads Xiao Jiu into a jar…… no, into a painting!

Tang Yaocao intends to use this layer of illusory mirror to trap Xiao Jiu, making her bear double the suffering she once endured.

The helplessness and fear of having one's soul trapped by the Soul-locking Nail and sealed in a black coffin.

The soul is torn apart, part trapped in the Buddhist niche and ancient paintings, part in the despair of being trapped by the Soul-locking Nail...

If one's disposition were even slightly weaker, they might have already completely collapsed by now.

However, for Xiao Jiu, these were nothing—like a petty witch seeing a great witch.

Xiao Jiu held her breath and focused, first calming herself, then forming hand signs and chanting; a small cluster of Nirvana flames instantly rose from her fingertips.

As long as Xiao Jiu offers this cluster of Nirvana flames, she can destroy this layered phantom mirror and return to reality.

Xiao Jiu thought it over, but then extinguished the Nirvana flames.

Since she had already found a way to break this layered phantom mirror, she no longer needed to rush to break the formation.

This layered phantom mirror now traps Xiao Jiu; has Tang Yaocao not also been trapped within it?

This itself is where Tang Yaocao's obsession lies.

Spirit butterflies, obsession...

Tang Yaocao's soul has already gone to Hu Shan; who controls these spirit butterflies and obsessions, and where do they come from?

It is Tang Yaocao's corpse!

Then...

Xiao Jiu extended her right hand, fingers spread, and gently pushed toward the void.

She closed her eyes, activating the prologue of the witchcraft dream-weaving: synesthesia.

One after another, images flashed like a movie from Xiao Jiu's mind—vast Yao Tian fields, dancing spirit butterflies, and endless Spiritual Qi...

Xiao Jiu kept probing deeper, inching closer to the point she sought to reach—suddenly, her whole body sank downward...