Chapter 989

Xiao Jiu checked back and forth several times before confirming that those few ghost faces had indeed not returned with the Soul-guiding Lamp.

A wisp of black qi coiled around the center of the base beneath the Soul-guiding Lamp; that was ghost qi.

Xiao Jiu furrowed her brows, wondering what was going on with those few ghost faces.

Had they been captured by the opponent? Or were they trapped in the dream?

Either way, it was clearly not a good thing.

Xiao Jiu pressed hard on her brow, got up, went out, and poured herself a cup of water to drink.

It was already 1 a. m., and Liu Junyan had not yet returned.

With no sleepiness and her thoughts in turmoil, Xiao Jiu did not go back to her room; instead, she lay on a chaise in the courtyard of Liu Junyan's chambers in Jiuzhou Fu, staring at the sky and thinking.

After returning from the Earth Vein Journey, Xiao Jiu began decorating this chamber, since she would be staying there long-term.

The chamber's courtyard had not only a chaise but also planted trees; beneath the trees hung a swing, and not far from the swing was a chess table.

When the children came over to play, they liked to swing on the swing.

At that time, Liu Junyan would play chess with the older children, while Xiao Jiu lay on the chaise chatting with them.

When it was just the two of them, Xiao Jiu would mostly lie there to cool off; Liu Junyan would bring over a small chair, sit beside her, fan her, and chat about everything under the sun.

Now, in the deep of night, Xiao Jiu lay on the chaise, once again reviewing the scene from her dream.

The final scene of the dream was the Soul-guiding Lamp and those few ghost faces surrounding and attacking a woman.

Logically, the merit inside the Soul-guiding Lamp's chamber was abundant enough that it could not possibly be invaded by the ghost qi of the black butterfly.

Although it lasted only a second or two, for Xiao Jiu the problem remained serious.

Xiao Jiu thought for a while, then turned the Soul-guiding Lamp over and examined the black qi beneath its base, as if she had figured it out.

The opponent's ghost qi could enter the Soul-guiding Lamp's chamber probably by borrowing the power of those few ghost faces.

If those few ghost faces were no longer merely a few wisps of soul but instead carried some merit, the ghost qi would exploit that to hitch a ride on the ghost faces and infiltrate the lamp's chamber.

The opponent actually had such great ability, toying with those few ghost faces in the palm of their hand?

Ghost… not the Ghost King Butterfly, then could it be…

Just as Xiao Jiu seemed to have grasped some important information, the phone in the room suddenly rang, scattering her thoughts.

The call was from Hui Moqiong, who urgently said, "Xiao Jiu, hurry to Hu Shan; Seventh Lord has successfully broken through the seal in Hu Shan's interior and entered that blessed land!"

The news came too suddenly; Xiao Jiu had not expected Liu Junyan to actually accomplish it!

Xiao Jiu quickly asked, "Where is he? Is he still inside that interior of Hu Shan?"

"Yes, he's going deeper," Hui Moqiong said. "Hu Shan currently has no signal; Seventh Lord had me come down the mountain to inform you, Xiao Jiu. I'm waiting for you at the mountain's base, and then we'll go together into Hu Shan's interior."

Xiao Jiu immediately replied, "I'll be there soon."

By the time Xiao Jiu reached the foot of Hu Shan, she immediately noticed that the entire magnetic field of Hu Shan had changed; she could not yet tell whether this change was due to that mountain stream or to Liu Junyan's breaking the seal of the blessed land.

In short, all of this is mutually supportive, and it is all Liu Junyan's achievement.

Hui Moqiong led Xiao Jiu into Hu Shan, chatting along the way about the current situation: "Just now I received word that Seventh Lord has already met Seven Halls Yama and your aunt; Seven Halls Yama's condition is poor, still in a coma, while your aunt, though still awake, has a muddled consciousness and will likely lapse into a coma soon."

"This is already the best-case scenario," Xiao Jiu said sadly. "Being alive means there is hope."

Hui Moqiong knew Xiao Jiu was feeling terrible inside.

Setting aside the familial relation between Xiao Jiu and Tang Xun, after getting along for so many years, Hui Moqiong would also be reluctant to part with Tang Xun!

Hui Moqiong brought Xiao Jiu into that blessed land, and they proceeded forward smoothly all the way.

The deeper they went, the faster Xiao Jiu's heart beat.

Dong Dan had said that within this blessed land there was a warm pool, and he had twice entered seclusion there to gain insight and break through.

Xiao Jiu soon saw that warm pool; it was larger than she had imagined, with mist swirling above it, indeed an excellent place for cultivation.

Unfortunately, Xiao Jiu had no mood at all to study the warm pool just then, and Hui Moqiong's steps were quick, so she had to keep close.

After passing the warm pool and going further in, there was another space.

There should have been a barrier there, with even the entrance to that space sealed shut, so ordinary people could not find the entrance at all.

But now the gate's doors were open, and bursts of cold air flowed out from inside.

Xiao Jiu's heart pounded tumultuously; the further she went, the heavier the Yin Cold Qi became.

The first thing Xiao Jiu saw was Liu Junyan.

He stood with his back to the entrance, a stain on the lower hem of his trousers that could not be told whether it was dirt or blood.

Hui Moqiong called out to him; Liu Junyan turned his head, meeting Xiao Jiu's gaze, and she saw that his eye sockets were a patch of dark blue-black, his rims red, indicating that he had expended too much in breaking this seal.

Liu Junyan turned to face Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu could not help but ask, "What happened? Wasn't my aunt said to be awake? Where is she?"

"Just ahead," Liu Junyan said while leading Xiao Jiu forward, "your aunt's condition is very bad; when you see her later, you must not get agitated."

Xiao Jiu probed, "Exactly how bad is it? Can you describe it for me?"

"Do you still remember the Ghost King Butterfly mark on her lower back from before?" Liu Junyan asked.

Xiao Jiu immediately nodded: "Of course I remember; in the end it was still me…"

"It's come back," Liu Junyan interrupted before Xiao Jiu could finish, "this time it's not just her lower back; wherever I can see, it's almost everywhere, and not only does your aunt have it, but Seven Halls Yama bears even more Ghost King Butterfly marks, his whole body wrapped in a thick ghost qi…"

Listening to Liu Junyan's description, Xiao Jiu's heart already felt heavy.

But when she actually saw, within the blessed land, Seven Halls Yama and Tang Xun sitting cross-legged facing each other, that visual shock still struck Xiao Jiu hard.

As Liu Junyan said, on Tang Xun's exposed skin one could see some Ghost King Butterfly marks, but they were sparse and not particularly ferocious.

But Seven Halls Yama was completely different.

His entire body was covered with Ghost King Butterfly marks, one layered over another, so that his original skin color could no longer be seen.

Looking more closely, Xiao Jiu discovered that those Ghost King Butterfly marks were moving!

Xiao Jiu had a strong illusion that the Seven Halls Yama before her seemed to be a Ghost King Butterfly formed by stacking and transforming.

In the next second, those Ghost King Butterflies seemed about to fly up, detach from Seven Halls Yama's body, and Seven Halls Yama would cease to exist……