Chapter 519: The Sackcloth Boy

Cangwu Mountain was destroyed, my natal tree spirit withered, and I completed my final Nirvana within the ancestral tomb formation array beneath Phoenix Ridge.

But Tang Xun didn't know about this place.

But she must have sensed it, so although she was surprised, she didn't find it unbelievable.

I asked her: 'When did you come?'

Wu Ling gave me a message, but by the time it reached my hands it was already a bit late." Tang Xun said, "I rushed over, and by the time I got here, Cangwu Mountain had already collapsed; the elders in the clan were fighting among themselves, and I just happened to take care of them."

It was actually the message Wu Ling gave to my young aunt.

Wu Ling indeed did not betray us.

I asked: 'Young aunt, have you found Wu Ling?'

Tang Xun shook her head: "I've searched every place I could; we have a secret signal between us, if she were still in the Feng Clan she would definitely have left traces, but I found nothing, so..."

So Wu Ling might already be dead.

Even if she isn't dead, she is no longer in the Feng Clan.

She laid a move against Feng Xianqiu, sending a message ahead to Dìshì; Dìshì will not appreciate her kindness, but will instead target her.

She fully knew the consequences of doing that, yet she still chose to go all-in.

If Wu Ling were still alive, she would surely be wishing for death now.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, I led Tang Xun to a safe area.

I summoned the Soul-guiding Lamp, took out the bronze box, opened it, found the Yin Earth Pill and its corresponding detoxifying spirit pill, handed them to Tang Xun, and instructed: 'You must follow the treatment course; if any discomfort arises midway, tell me immediately so I can try adjusting the dosage. The ingredients for making the Yin Earth Pill and its detoxifying counterpart are very rare; I'll list the needed herbs later, young aunt, you're skilled at this—help me prepare as much as possible. I have the pill-refining recipe on hand and need raw materials for practice.'

Tang Xun nodded straight away, then added concernedly: 'Xiao Jiu, you gave me the Yin Earth Pill, what about yourself? Seven Halls Yama's condition is severe; anyway, you've already endured this for many years, it's not a big deal to wait a bit longer—why not use it first...'

This Yin Earth Pill I cannot use; my constitution clashes with it." I said truthfully, "Besides, my symptoms are mild, I can withstand them, young aunt—I've already succeeded once before."

Tang Xun gently patted my head with heartache, saying: 'Xiao Jiu, you must treat yourself well; you've been through too much on this journey.'

I nodded repeatedly, took her hand, and said: 'Young aunt, now that you're here I can relax; I still have something very important to do, I'll leave the Feng Clan affairs to you.'

Tang Xun pressed me to say what I was going to do, but I didn't tell her, only urging her to relax.

After listing the medicinal ingredients I needed, I rushed straight to Mass Grave Hill and re-entered the underground mountain cave.

By the time I returned to the Willow Grove, that area had undergone a complete transformation.

It was as if a major tectonic shift had just occurred; everything was buried deep underground, the ground lay flat, with no signs of life.

A thick black mist enveloped the entire space.

The Soul-guiding Lamp lit the way ahead.

This little thing no longer needs me to carry it, and I can store it on my person at any time—far more convenient than before.

It has been scaled down proportionally, the Merit Light condensed, making it actually brighter.

It led me through the black mist; further ahead, the mist gradually thinned, but the ground beneath my feet was no longer flat, and with each step came a crunch-crunch sound.

I lowered my head and saw that beneath my feet lay a path of white bones, eerily dense.

This path must rarely be trodden; the bones are weathered and have become brittle, yet most still retain their original form.

Where no one has stepped, the condition remains unchanged.

But the line I walked on does have footprints.

Among those footprints, there must be a set belonging to Liu Junyan.

The bone-white road stretched on and on, feeling as if it would never end, until the terrain suddenly rose; not long after, a dark current seemed to surge underground ahead.

The Soul-guiding Lamp halted, swaying up and down in midair.

I immediately slowed my steps, walked over, and looked ahead: not more than ten meters away stood a small hill, from whose base a black undercurrent flowed out, forming a short stream that immediately sank back underground.

The water flow was a deep, dark black.

Seeing this river, I immediately recalled the river west of Gui Shi that leads into Yin Dang Hang.

The hill didn't look high, but mixed trees grew thickly on it, giving it a gloomy appearance with no obvious passage.

How did Liu Junyan get across?

Xiao Jiu, you can fly.

Feng Wu reminded me softly.

I was stunned at once.

Yeah, now that I have the true form of the Nirvana Phoenix, I can fly over from the hilltop!

Liu Junyan wouldn't even need to walk through this mountain on foot.

Having lived as a human for nearly twenty years, my subconscious hasn't fully grown accustomed to a bird's life.

I assumed my true form and spread my wings to soar high.

But just as my form rose to the hilltop and I was about to leap forward, suddenly from the thicket sprang countless black thorny vines, their surfaces covered densely with black spikes.

At every point where a black spike joined the vine, there grew a pitch-black eye.

At first I only saw the vines and black spikes, not the eyes.

If I hadn't dodged quickly, those vines would have wrapped around me.

I can imagine how painful it would be if those black spikes pierced my body once entangled.

They might even be poisonous!

I had no wish to linger in battle; who knows how long those vines have existed on this mountain, their roots possibly deep in the soil—trying to eradicate them quickly would be extremely difficult.

This place is rarely visited; ordinary people can't even reach this space, so I don't need to worry too much about them harming others.

So I merely shook my wings, raised a strong wind, and used the wind's force to press the vines down.

As the vines were blown flat by the strong wind, each black eye opened, revealing its bloody red pupil, blinking repeatedly—particularly creepy.

What the hell is this!

What's even more astonishing is that those eyes, upon seeing me, seemed startled and began sliding down the vines nonstop, converging toward a central point.

These eyes weren't actually growing on the vines; they could even move freely!

Just as I was shocked, a headless... boy suddenly appeared on the mountain.

Judging by his appearance, the boy looked no older than fourteen or fifteen; he wore a cyan long robe with patches, held a cloth bag in his right hand, and his left hand fumbled at the open mouth of the bag.

Those eyes all swarmed into the cloth bag.

That cloth bag was like a bottomless pit; even after hundreds of eyes slipped inside, it remained unfilled.

The boy closed the bag's mouth; though he clearly had no head, I felt he was looking at me, as if he wanted to say something, but the severed neck could make no sound.

Finally he seemed to sigh, picked up the bag, and walked off into the woods.

He left me only the lonely silhouette of his headless back.

Had someone more timid witnessed that scene just now, they would likely have been scared to death.

But when that cloth bag unfolded and all the eyes darted inside, a distant memory suddenly surfaced in my mind, impossible to shake...