After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

A supreme Buddhist aura, capable of cleansing away all evil, permeated the air.

Jiang Dusheng's face instantly turned deathly pale. Using such a secret technique far beyond his current level came at a huge cost.

Her body swayed almost imperceptibly, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes shone with a bright golden light, unwavering in their resolve. Gathering all her remaining strength, she swung the burning golden light sword and resolutely slashed down at the snake demon.

With this sword strike, the golden light swept across, and the demonic aura melted away like snow meeting boiling water.

Fear finally appeared in the snake demon's eyes. He frantically urged all his demonic power to resist and even tried to self-destruct part of his body.

"No!"

The golden lightsaber ignored the obstruction and slashed into the snake demon's body.

"Boom!"

A blinding golden light erupted, completely engulfing the snake demon.

The piercing, terrifying screams abruptly ceased.

The dark green demonic energy barrier trembled violently, then crumbled into pieces like shattered glass, revealing the real night sky outside.

As the light faded, the serpent demon's enormous body crashed to the ground, quickly withered, and finally turned into a pool of foul-smelling pus and a tattered snake skin, its soul scattered and its spirit dispersed.

However, in the very last moment before he was completely annihilated, a faint, almost invisible point of light, mixed with his most vicious curse, silently split into two.

They were shot at Jiang Dusheng, who was already exhausted, and Xie Jinchen, who was protecting the little girl.

Just as the two were relaxing after their fierce battle, the dark light suddenly disappeared into their brows.

Jiang Dusheng felt a slight tremor in his sea of ​​consciousness, and the scene before him seemed to blur for a moment. A strange sense of irritability and chill surged into his heart.

Xie Jinchen also frowned, feeling that some shadows that had been deliberately suppressed in his heart seemed to stir.

"Brother! Sister!"

The little girl who had been put down by Xie Jinchen had regained some of her energy.

She took small steps and ran towards the weak Jiang Dusheng, tilting her head up, her dark golden eyes filled with gratitude and lingering fear.

Then, she glanced curiously at Xie Jinchen's red wedding dress, which he hadn't yet changed out of. Seemingly wanting to laugh but realizing the occasion was inappropriate, she quickly pursed her lips and earnestly addressed the two of them:

"Thank you for saving me!"

Jiang Dusheng suppressed the inexplicable discomfort and irritation welling up inside him, squatted down, and, with his gaze level with the little girl, asked softly, "I'm glad you're alright. Are you hurt anywhere?"

She paused, about to take the opportunity to ask about his identity, "Are you...?"

Before the words were even finished, Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen swayed almost simultaneously.

Before Jiang Dusheng's eyes were the mountain god temple, the little girl, Xie Jinchen...

Everything began to blur, and I seemed to hear mournful ghostly wails.

The scene before Xie Jinchen was completely different.

A fire, the mother's dying gaze, and... Jiang Dusheng's resolute back as he turned and left.

The two froze on the spot, their eyes unfocused, seemingly oblivious to everything around them.

The little girl was startled and looked at the two who had suddenly frozen in place, at a loss for what to do.

Just then, a chilling wind, seemingly capable of freezing the soul, swept across the entire mountain god temple without warning.

This wind did not come from the mountains and forests, but rather seemed to rise directly from the deepest part of the Netherworld, penetrating the barrier between Yin and Yang.

The little girl's initially panicked, dark golden eyes suddenly burst forth with a bright light the moment she sensed this aura. Her face first showed disbelief, then immense joy and grievance.

The next instant, the space inside the temple seemed to distort slightly, and a tall and imposing figure appeared without warning in the center of the mountain god temple.

The newcomer had a head of bright red hair that burned like fire, tied up with a black jade crown that exuded an aura of the underworld.

He wore a solemn and majestic black imperial robe, embroidered with ferocious and roaring ghost face patterns in gold thread. As he appeared, those ghost faces seemed to come alive, roaring silently.

The moment the little girl saw him, all the pent-up grievances and shock burst forth. Her lips trembled, tears streamed down her face like broken beads, and she threw herself at him, crying out:

"Uncle Shen Tu, why are you so late! Waaaaah... I was almost eaten by that stinky snake demon and turned into a puddle of water! Its belly stank so badly... It scared me to death!"

Shen Tu's usually cold and stern face, which was enough to silence countless evil spirits, instantly shattered, revealing undisguised heartache and self-blame.

He quickly bent down, scooped the little girl into his arms, and gently patted her back, his voice soft yet urgent:

"Oh dear little aunt! It's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken you to ride the Time Wheel on a whim, and I shouldn't have let my guard down and let you fall into this rift in the mortal world a thousand years ago... Don't cry, don't cry."

As he coaxed her, his eyes flashed with murderous intent as he swept over the stinking, bubbling remains of the snake demon and its tattered skin on the ground.

With just one glance, he understood the whole story.

Shen Tu's gaze instantly became even more piercing than the Nine Netherworld Ice, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees, with even the air making a slight crackling sound as it froze.

"I see…"

Shen Tu's voice lowered, filled with suppressed anger and lingering fear, "No wonder I followed my senses and spatial disturbances to find you, but I could never find your presence."

"So it was inside that serpent's soul-transforming pouch! This monstrous creature truly deserves to die!"

"If he hadn't been completely annihilated, I would have had Ox-Head and Horse-Face drag out his remnant soul, throw it into a cauldron of boiling oil ten thousand times, and then cast it into the deepest level of the Frozen Hell, so that it would suffer the torment of being torn apart by both ice and fire every day, never to be free! That would be a good way to vent your anger!"

The little girl sobbed in Shen Tu's arms, but her crying gradually subsided.

Remembering her savior, she quickly freed herself and pointed to Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen, who were standing motionless beside her:

"Uncle Shen Tu, look! It was this pretty lady and this... gentleman in red who saved me!"

She looked at Xie Jinchen's attire, a hint of confusion flashing across her face, but it was quickly replaced by worry:

"They're amazing! That wicked snake demon was so fierce, it spewed so much stench, and its claws were so long, but they still killed it! My sister can even emit golden light, turning into a giant lotus flower and a lightsaber!"

"But...but for some reason, after the snake demon died, they just stood there motionless, and they didn't respond when we called them..."

"Uncle Shen Tu, are they injured? Please save them!" She looked up, her dark golden eyes filled with anxiety.

Shen Tu held her in his arms, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen.

His eyes gleamed with a dark light, as if they could see through the soul and all illusions.

He understood at a glance, and then explained to the little girl in his arms, his voice soothing:

"It's alright. It was the snake demon that, before it died, was unwilling to be annihilated and sent its resentment and the evil power that stirred its inner demons into their sea of ​​consciousness."