After Moon Princess got the answer she wanted, she seemed to transform into a ghostly specter once again. She floated gently away from the glass window and then vanished into thin air, like a true phantom.

Before disappearing, she seemed to wave her hand.

Gu Jianlin silently watched her departure and couldn't help feeling that her tone carried a trace of familiarity.

"As expected of Miss Moon Princess."

Scholar propped up his body, stretching his numb limbs, and said with emotion.

Gu Jianlin replied indifferently, "She seems to despise you quite a bit."

Scholar didn't appear offended. He explained courteously, "It's not just me; she equally despises everyone. Back then, when we ran into her at the lower levels of the Immortal Palace, we were chased around by a horde of resurrected ancient corpses. If she hadn't been there, we would've died long ago."

"At that time, Black Cloud City was yet to be eradicated. Those skilled Ascenders were all trying to reap benefits within the Immortal Palace. Breaking into the Immortal Palace recklessly as a Holy Land Level or above easily destabilized its dimensional equilibrium. Hence, without foolproof measures, they wouldn't dare enter. At ranks like Moon Princess and Butcher, they were considered outstanding."

Scholar continued, "Back then, our mentor saw Moon Princess and was amazed, believing that having her as a bodyguard would significantly increase our survival rate. You know what kind of person our mentor is—he's very good at making promises. At that time, he persuaded her, saying that if we could find the Supreme's tomb, we might become the second Light."

Gu Jianlin raised his eyebrows upon hearing this name. "Light?"

Referring to the deceased strongest human, who supposedly served as the guide for the Night Watchers.

"Legend has it that the vice president of the Ether Association, Light, stumbled into the depths of Yun Mengze by accident, where the Bai Ze Venerable was sealed, and obtained some kind of inheritance, thus reaching his current status."

Scholar said, "That was the vision our mentor painted for us. Miss Moon Princess appeared to respect his authority on the surface, but she carried an air of cold detachment. What her true intentions for entering the Immortal Palace were, I have no idea."

Gu Jianlin asked again, "Did she ever cross paths with Gu Ci'an?"

Scholar shook his head. "No, she was the last to join the Immortal Palace, and by that time, Gu Ci'an was long gone."

Gu Jianlin found it puzzling because that girl had behaved with clear goodwill toward him.

If it were for a reason similar to Butcher's, it would make sense.

But evidently, that wasn't the case.

Gu Jianlin recalled the girl's words and actions once more.

Though her voice and tone were entirely different, they somehow gave him an intense sense of déjà vu.

But now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.

In the back seat, Yan Hao was still slumped there, slightly convulsing and drooling.

"Let's go. Time to handle the important matters first."

Gu Jianlin said indifferently.

·

·

Half an hour later, a black Maserati roared away.

Gu Jianlin watched the car as it drove off, shaking the bloodied right hand he had just used.

In the last thirty minutes, he had dealt with all the remaining bodyguards of the Yan family. Along the way, he tracked down a few runaway Fallen affected by deformity using Life Perception and sent them on their way.

Finally, he successfully condensed a droplet of Ancient God's Blood and injected it into Yan Hao's body.

The transformation effect was less than ideal but managed to control him for two to three days.

Beyond that timeframe, he would likely perish.

Still, for now, it was sufficient.

Gu Jianlin took a deep breath, his spirituality almost entirely depleted.

Yet with each Breath, he could hear the ebb and flow of tides resounding in his mind.

His spirituality began to recover.

Gu Jianlin paused for a moment and suddenly retrieved his phone, opened WeChat, and sent a message.

"What are you up to?"

He waited silently for a few minutes until a response came.

Su Youzhu: "In class, just dozed off. What's up? Are you coming back to school?"

Gu Jianlin improvised an excuse: "Mom asked what I was doing. She's suspecting I skipped school again. Can you send me a picture of the teacher teaching as proof?"

A moment later, Su Youzhu promptly sent a photo. It featured Mr. Wang passionately lecturing on English in front of the class.

Her fair, delicate hand with light pink nail art was visible in the frame as well.

Gu Jianlin paused for a second and still felt slightly uneasy.

He sent another message: "Can you do a video call?"

Su Youzhu: "What's wrong with you?"

Without hesitation, the girl initiated the video call.

She appeared with short pale green hair, supporting her cheek with her hand, sitting in the far corner of the classroom. Her refined, porcelain-like face was almost translucent in the sunlight streaming through the window, with an indifferent expression. In a soft voice, she muttered, "Wait, could this be my dad calling you, wanting checks on me or something?"

Gu Jianlin finally relaxed. "Nothing much. Just missed you, that's all."

Su Youzhu visibly froze, blinking her crystal-clear eyes.

Gu Jianlin calmly added, "I have some business to take care of. I'll end the call now."

Knock, knock.

After hanging up, Gu Jianlin grabbed a black crate and stood by the roadside, inhaling deeply.

He had told countless lies in his life, but this time, it made him feel slightly flushed and uneasy.

"Looks like I was overthinking."

Gu Jianlin murmured with a faint sigh.

To cover his true objective, he was even capable of saying words like that now.

"My moral bottom line is slipping lower and lower."

Gu Jianlin whispered, "I should head back to the shop and get prepared."

Just as he turned around, he spotted a group of people approaching from across the street's apartment building.

"Where on earth has he hidden himself?"

"No clue. Keep searching; otherwise, we can't answer to Nightmare Master."

"Based on logic, since he's infected with Corpse Soul Gu, he's practically as good as dead. Why keep looking? If you ask me, Nightmare Master is overly cautious."

"You don't understand. Alive, we need the person; dead, we need the corpse. My guess is someone saved him. Take his photo and ask around the Forbidden Zone to see if he has any acquaintances there."

"The Blood Sacrifice is fast approaching. There's no room for error."

Having said that, the group swiftly departed.

Gu Jianlin caught three crucial terms.

Nightmare Master!

Corpse Soul Gu!

Blood Sacrifice!

Gu Jianlin made a motion to follow them, hoping to capture and interrogate one of the group, but he suddenly sensed the dense, pulsating Life Rhythm emanating from them, like the overwhelming chittering of myriad insects, enough to make his skin crawl.

"No, this Gu Master is exceedingly cautious. The Joker and Li Changzhi incidents were mere bait to test my strengths, aiming to uncover whether I possess the relics my father left behind, like the Qilin Wedge! As for Lin Yuan, it's clear he played his hidden cards."

Gu Jianlin restrained himself: "I can't startle them prematurely."

At that moment, he heard a thud.

A blood-soaked figure fell from the second floor, landing in a trash bin.

Gu Jianlin moved closer to find the injured person was none other than the young boy he'd met multiple times before!

[PS: The novel first appears exclusively on the Qidian app. Please visit for the authorized version. Next update is scheduled for 8:30 pm tomorrow~]