Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

The illusion ends with the boy slaying the giant python and drinking its blood to cure the poison.

After Xia Ximo withdrew his gaze, he heard a cold laugh in his ear.

"Mogu, it's been a long time."

She had heard that voice in her dream of Yunhe Mountain.

At the time, it just felt familiar, but now I finally remember it.

It was him—Chong Li.

"Hidden for so long, why won't you show yourself?"

Apart from the sounds, the cave was deserted.

He still refused to show himself, but his voice held a hint of smugness and regret: "I had a feeling that you would find me sooner or later, but I never expected that you would make me wait for a hundred years."

"How have you been in the Nine Netherworld for the past hundred years?"

Xia Ximo scoffed coldly: "Why say so much? You'll find out once you go in."

"Mo Gu, you're still as arrogant as ever. I suppose you have no idea what the situation is like in Liangzhou City right now?"

"What does it have to do with me?"

"If you don't care about those people's lives, shouldn't you care about your friends and loved ones?"

Chong Li smiled sinisterly and continued, "Of course, there's also your most cherished senior brother; he's now in my hands."

Hearing this, Xia Ximo frowned.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, that young Taoist priest from Yunhe Mountain is the reincarnation of your senior brother from Mount Ling."

"You had a feeling about him from the very first time you met him, didn't you?"

Xia Ximo immediately remembered.

When she first met Yan Zhengchu in the capital, several memories flashed through her mind.

However, since Mo Gu didn't have any memories of it at the time, he didn't pay attention to it.

Chong Li, who was hidden in the shadows, seemed to be able to sense her emotions and continued, "Your senior brother Ling Chu is indeed impeccable when it comes to you."

"Back then, I tricked him out of Mount Ling in your name..."

"He was so anxious when he heard you were in trouble that he didn't even realize I had drawn my sword."

Do you know what his last words were?

Chong Li gave another cold laugh, a laugh tinged with provocation…

That night, the longsword pierced through Ling Chu's body.

His eyes were filled with astonishment. Even though he was about to die, he was still thinking about his junior sister's safety.

"What did you do to my junior sister?"

Faced with the questioning, Chong Li did not reply. He drew his longsword, wiped it clean, and then put it back into its sheath.

Killing Ling Chu would be effortless, yet it would bring a bloodbath to the entire Ling Mountain.

That was his scheme.

Xia Ximo involuntarily gritted his teeth, his hands clenching into fists, hatred erupting in his heart like a raging fire, burning his entire body from the inside out.

Her eyes reddened again, and the gravel beneath her feet began to tremble with rage.

It even affected the entire grotto, which showed signs of collapse...

She gritted her teeth and said, "Come out here."

Seeing her angry, Chong Li felt smug, his voice becoming even colder and more sinister, as if it had been poisoned.

"Don't be angry. If this grotto collapses, your senior brother will perish here..."

"If I already have regrets from my past life, will this tragedy repeat itself in this one?"

"Ha ha ha ha…"

He laughed loudly, but his voice, like a wave, slowly receded.

Xia Ximo felt her fingernails digging deep into her palm, but the pain seemed to come from the depths of her heart…

In her mind, Ling Chu's face slowly overlapped with Yan Zhengchu's face.

It turns out that he has always been like this, both in his past and present lives. As the senior disciple and the sect leader, he only knows how to think of his junior brothers and sisters in every way.

She had forgotten what day of the month it was, but she remembered how Yan Zhengchu earnestly sent letters home to his fellow disciples at Yunhe Mountain before the New Year.

I remember that at that time, he looked towards Yunhe Mountain and sighed softly…

"My fellow junior brothers are waiting for me to come home for the New Year."

In Mo Gu's memory, Ling Chu had also spent several New Years with her.

The eldest brother has never forgotten to be good to her...

Every year during the Lunar New Year, he was always in charge of going down the mountain to purchase supplies, and he was always willing to take her along, using the money he saved to buy things for her.

It all started with a hair tie, then moved on to a wooden hairpin, a piece of clothing, a pair of shoes…

Her senior brother has always been very good to her.

Thinking about these things, my emotions became increasingly difficult to suppress, and my heart clenched.

"How... can we let him go?"

She lowered her eyes, not wanting anyone to see her vulnerability, but her voice became hoarse.

Chong Li was taken aback when she saw that she had compromised so quickly.

But soon he made a condition: "I have three soul nails here. I want you to seal your three souls."

"Okay." Xia Ximo replied almost without hesitation, "But I need to see Yan Zhengchu first."

Chong Li readily agreed, and a shadowy figure emerged from the shadows.

Xia Ximo recognized him as the masked attendant who had once appeared beside the Third Holy Son.

Following behind him, she soon arrived at the depths of the cave.

At a glance, Yan Zhengchu was indeed trapped on an altar, with dark blue pillars of fire burning on both sides, and seven other masked servants standing around him.

Behind them, three enormous figures were reflected on the stone wall, exuding an imposing aura.

Upon seeing Xia Ximo, the weakened Yan Zhengchu struggled to rise from the altar.

"Miss Xia... what brings you here?"

It was clear that he was extremely anxious, but he was too weak to speak and could only manage one sentence before collapsing.

Xia Ximo did not reply, but instead said to Chong Li, who was hiding in the shadows, "Bring the Three Soul Nails and release him."

Before Chong Li could speak, Yan Zhengchu became agitated, "Miss Xia, you mustn't! You mustn't listen to him!"

He coughed violently because of his intense emotions…

Xia Ximo couldn't help but glance at him, and said the same thing again: "Let him go."

Yan Zhengchu coughed for a long time before finally catching his breath and saying, "Miss Xia, don't believe his nonsense! These evil spirits have already refined the 'Yin-Yang Fiend' in Liangzhou City. The formation has been activated, and in a little while, those evil spirits lingering in the human world will start a massacre..."

"Miss Xia, don't worry about me. I've been drained of my energy and lost all my magic power. I'm a useless person now. Even if I get out of here, I won't be of any use. You should leave quickly..."

To everyone's surprise, Xia Ximo retorted loudly, "Whether those people outside live or die is none of my business. I only care that you live!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhengchu was stunned and deeply shocked.

Having known her for so long, I've rarely seen her experience emotional ups and downs.

It's even harder to believe that such words would come out of her mouth.

"I…"

"It's something I owe you."

"..."

Although her voice was calm, her gaze towards him was filled with deep remorse.

Yan Zhengchu had no idea what had happened. He was a sentimental person, and his eyes were even a little red.

"How...did you owe me something?"

Xia Ximo didn't reply, but instead shifted his gaze to the figure on the stone wall and continued, "I'm willing to seal his three souls and release him."