The pure black, hard iron token bore no special patterns or markings. It resembled a simple block of iron, flattened and then weathered by the accumulation of years, resulting in its current unadorned, ancient, and majestic appearance.
When it was retrieved from the Black River, a hurricane swirled around the palm-sized token. Water columns surged upwards like dragons, while the water within the Black River transformed into beads, then mist, and finally ascended into the sky as Yin energy.
The dense, overbearing black energy formed a mist and haze in the sky, further lowering the already gloomy sky of Fengdu. The iron-like dark clouds connected with Fengdu’s ghostly aura, encircling the ghost city like an iron cage. The entire Fengdu was instantly filled with wailing spirits, transforming into a realm like a purgatory on earth.
No one knew what this black token was, but its appearance shattered the boundary between ghosts and the living. Ghostly energy permeated the mortal realm, causing a phenomenon of coexisting humans and ghosts.
It might completely influence the battle between Fengdu and the Immortal Alliance… The ghost infant habitually tilted its head, using its hearing and spiritual senses to capture the surrounding movements, a sense of unease growing in its heart.
What had happened? Why was the area around the Black River always so chillingly cold? The mist and wind that scraped against one’s face like knives, the churning river water, the piercing screams of malevolent spirits filling its ears, and the dark shadows of the murky water that occasionally brushed past its surroundings…
All these changes occurred after it sacrificed a pair of blind eyes. It couldn’t discern whether its actions were aiding evil or luring the enemy out, but it believed the truth would soon be revealed.
Just as Ziying became demonized, her strength rapidly increasing to the Nascent Soul stage, and she prepared herself to receive the “black token,” she did not expect a figure, like a white electric current, to emerge from the Poison Thistle Forest and grasp the “black token” in the center of the lake a step faster.
A slender, fair finger, as if sculpted and carved, turned the “black token.” It was held and manipulated by those long fingertips. Ziying, stunned, followed those beautiful hands and looked at the person’s face.
The next second, her pupils constricted, and she froze completely.
“Gu Yi?!”
Gu Junshi, in a rare display, wore a kesi silk white robe. The stand-up collar design accentuated her slender long neck. The design flowed smoothly from her shoulders and neck, cinching at the waist. Paired with a cool, jade-white belt, she was truly tall and elegant, like a cassia fairy tree.
Compared to Ziying’s dark attire, she now resembled a cool, ethereal immortal master who eradicated evil and maintained harmony.
She stared at the inconspicuous small black iron block in her hand, carefully sensing the power it contained, which was similar and of the same origin as hers.
After a moment, her pale, cool lips curved upwards, her eyes filled with light.
“The冥王令 (Mingwang Ling), it’s taken me some effort to find.”
If not for Ziying’s meticulous calculations this time, she would never have known that the “Mingwang Ling” she had been searching for for so long was actually hidden beneath the Black River.
Of course, without the ghost infant’s eyes as a guide, the Black River would not have opened, and the “Mingwang Ling” would likely have remained dormant at the bottom of the Black River for many more years.
Gu Junshi’s pleased exclamation instantly brought Ziying back to her senses. She furrowed her brows and stared at Gu Junshi with surprise and uncertainty.
She had not expected to encounter Gu Yi in such a place and at such a time. Her feelings towards Gu Yi were complicated, stemming from her experiences in Six Jiang Floating Life. It was difficult for her to feel any goodwill towards Gu Yi. However, regarding Gu Yi as a person, both in terms of personality and her displayed demeanor, Ziying did not feel much aversion.
How could a mortal from back then possess such skills? Had she experienced some fortuitous encounter, or had she been playing the role of a pig to eat the tiger from the beginning?
“Are you Gu Yi?”
Of course, there was another possibility: she wasn’t “Gu Yi” at all, but merely wore Gu Yi’s face.
This possibility, to be honest, was not high, but Ziying truly couldn’t believe that the mortal wife, who was once looked down upon by everyone, had not withered and aged but had become a strong contender in the cultivation world like them.
The envy and suspicion in the other’s eyes were unmasked. Gu Junshi’s gaze fixed on her face, her icy, crystal-clear eyes reflecting the hidden presence within Ziying’s body: “And you, are you Ziying?”
Ziying didn’t know why, under Gu Junshi’s gaze, she felt like a weak animal under the claws of a giant beast, showing a frantic urge to flee. But her rationality told her that she was no longer the Ziying of the past and had no need to fear or worry about anything.
She clenched the flesh in her palm, her fair, small hand extending outwards. She coldly said to Gu Junshi, “No matter who you are, what you hold in your hand is mine. You will obediently hand it over!”
If it weren’t for her apprehension about Gu Junshi’s current unfathomable cultivation, Ziying would not have chosen to calmly demand it, but would have acted directly as usual, saying, “Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish.”
“Yours?” Gu Junshi repeated with a laugh. She flipped the black token over and held it towards Ziying, playfully coaxing, “Then come and take it.”
Ziying’s eyes suddenly turned sharp and cold. She felt insulted and stared at Gu Junshi, her gaze now carrying killing intent.
“It seems you are no longer a mortal. Since that’s the case, I’ll try to see how powerful you are now.”
The ghost infant, standing beside the Black River, heard Gu Junshi’s voice. Without her instruction, it could only pretend not to know her or get involved. Only when it heard Gu Junshi say that “Mu Junshi” was Ziying did its stern expression crack, filled with shock.
How could “Mu Junshi” be Ziying?
But it quickly recalled some past events, regarding Ziying’s deliberate attempts to get close to it. Perhaps in the past, it could have naively believed that she merely wanted to be friends with it. But after a series of events, it finally realized that Ziying had approached him with ulterior motives from the moment they first met.
“I don’t care who you are, but daring to snatch my things is seeking death.”
Ziying’s purple eyes held the enchanting, cold glow unique to demons. When she was human, she was not tall. Perhaps matching her appearance, she was delicate and beautiful. But after becoming a demon, her features became much more cold and beautiful, and her aura correspondingly increased with the decisiveness of a commanding woman.
She clasped her hands together, channeling demonic energy into her palms. Then, she pulled them apart, conjuring a sword of dual Yin and Yang colors. The sword was obviously of high quality, at least Spirit grade or above.
She swung the long sword in a flourish towards Gu Junshi. Its tip shot out over a dozen sharp spikes of blue and black, biting down like a giant crocodile towards Gu Junshi’s position.
However, the scenes of torn skin and flesh or bloody messes did not appear as Ziying had expected, because Gu Junshi had vanished a step before her demonic sword arrived.
“Do you know what the true form of the Mingwang Ling looks like?”
A gentle breeze stirred by her ear, and a cool voice from the night sounded from behind Ziying. The entire line of her spine instantly stiffened like stone.
So fast!