“Exactly what I’ve been wondering.” Shui Die Lan traced a fingertip thoughtfully along her chin, clearly mulling it over.

“Gu Yin told me to stay hidden nearby,” she said, “and when Tianzhi tries to break through, I’m to strike. Make sure she never leaves Yemo Heaven alive. I was puzzled at first why Tianzhi would walk straight into death like that. But now… I can’t figure out how she’s even supposed to get out.”

Yes, it was really strange. Why was Gu Yin so sure that Mistress Tianzhi would just walk in and let herself be killed?

Could it be that, besides that vague connection with Gu Zhixuan, Tianzhi and Gu Yin shared some kind of hidden understanding?

Just then, a few flickers of light appeared in the dark, distant void. In the blink of an eye, they expanded into several human figures, flashing twice before diving straight into Frostwind Valley and stopping before the Thousand Turns Gate.

Only after they landed did the roaring sound of their arrival roll through the air. Wind howling, ice crystals flying, it was like a blizzard tearing across the valley.

The sheer force of it made the cultivators still lingering above Frostwind Valley flinch in alarm.

And when they finally saw who had come, most of the remaining onlookers turned and fled.

From his vantage point above, Li Xun’s eyelid twitched. “The Ancient Kunpeng Demon?” he muttered.

Among the figures who stopped before the Thousand Turns Gate, the one in front was a middle-aged man in wide robes. He looked prosperous and well-fed, yet his tall frame gave him an imposing presence. Broad-shouldered and steady as a mountain. His hair was pure white, almost glowing in the dim light, making him impossible to miss.

Li Xun recognized him at once. The Eastern Sea Kunpeng King, the only one among the Seven Great Demons of the World who possessed dual Dharma physique.

Beside him stood a towering brute of a man, dressed only in a short-sleeved tunic and rough travel clothes. His exposed muscles were thick and knotted, brimming with raw power.

What was even more striking was his skin. It had a grayish-blue tint, faintly gleaming in the darkness, giving him an eerie, otherworldly look.

The Three-Headed Flood Serpent...

Li Xun knew him too. This one was also among the Ten Ruling Councilors, long allied with the Ancient Kunpeng Demon. Along with the late Ox Warrior, he had once been Kunpeng’s right-hand man.

But now that Ox Warrior wass dead, Kunpeng’s faction was clearly at a disadvantage. Just look at the demons gathered behind him. A few of them were strong, sure, but not one was capable of standing alone.

Kunpeng and Flood Serpent paused briefly before the gate, then flew straight in. Li Xun and Shui Die Lan exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

“Attacked from both sides, and in this twisted, perilous place like Thousand Turns Passage… Tianzhi’s done for if Gu Yin really means to kill.”

A streak of brilliant azure light suddenly shot across the sky toward the gate. Though it was a cold blue, it shone with such intensity that even the thick white mist couldn’t hide it.

“Qing Luan has arrived,” Shui Die Lan said, and a deafening explosion rolled out from Thousand Turns Gate. In an instant, the calm mist began to churn, the air itself trembling with power. Watching the waves of primordial qi ripple through the fog, the cultivators who had stayed at the gate turned pale. None could hide their shock.

There was no doubt about it; Qing Luan and Tianzhi were fighting.

Unfortunately, Li Xun could only guess at how fierce the battle was by watching the ripples in the sea of mist.

Just as he was squinting into the distance in vain, Shui Die Lan nudged him in the side. “Want to go take a look?” she said in a conspiratorial whisper.

No one could possibly resist that kind of temptation. Li Xun nodded at once, though he sighed right after. “Too bad…”

“What’s too bad about it?” Shui Die Lan grinned, slipped her hand through his arm, and lowered her voice to a playful murmur. “Careful now, let’s go!”

The world spun wildly around him. Shouts rang in his ears, stretched and warped like echoes from a dream. Then a sharp, icy chill hit his nose, making him sneeze. And his head finally cleared.

He looked around. All he could see was endless white.

In the blink of an eye, Shui Die Lan had pulled him along, leaping across a thousand feet and slipping straight through the guards’ defenses into the passage.

On both sides, the thick icy mist rolled endlessly, with clouds and vapor swirling before their eyes. Yet most of the fog kept a careful distance from them, towering high like sheer cliffs of cloud and frost. It seemed like they'd collapse at any moment, yet, amid all the trembling and shockwaves, they somehow held firm.

Li Xun could feel the dense primordial qi flowing and counterflowing, locked in a delicate balance. It looked fragile, but really, it was solid as a mountain.

Even now, with two Grandmasters battling in the tunnel and torrents of chaotic force raging all around, the mist’s equilibrium held. The only change was the passage itself. It twisted and warped like a living serpent, its turns growing ever more winding with each shock.

It could only be described as a miracle of nature. Something no human power could ever create.

This is the Thousand Turns Pass...

Li Xun rubbed his forehead. The aftereffects of that high-speed flight had left his brain feeling sluggish. So much so that he’d actually forgotten he was supposed to be angry about being dragged into this crazy move.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been carried through the air by someone of Shui Die Lan’s caliber. But never had it been like this. Nearly a hundred rapid shifts in the span of a heartbeat, each one twisting through space like lightning and shadow. The fact that his body hadn’t been torn apart was proof enough of his solid cultivation.

Then he glanced at Shui Die Lan. And paused.

Somehow, she’d already reverted to her “true” appearance. The infamous visage of the Rebellious Water Hook. Even her clothes had changed into that trademark gossamer butterfly dress of hers.

“If we’re going into a fight, we’ve got to show the brand, right?” Shui Die Lan pouted when she saw his expression. “And not to be rude, but that Shadow Devouring Technique’s really messed you up… Hey, hand me your Rainbow Shade Pearl!”

Li Xun blinked, but he quickly understood what she meant. He reached into his robes and pulled out the shimmering orb. And just as he did, a thought struck him...

That very pearl, the one that had once saved his life, was a gift… from Mistress Tianzhi.

His hand hesitated midair, but Shui Die Lan didn’t hesitate at all. She snatched the pearl, held it up to the light, and inspected it carefully. “The quality’s as good as I thought,” she said. “Honestly, giving this to you was a waste. I might as well keep it.”

Li Xun looked at her for a moment, then said with surprising calm, “If you want it, take it.”

His easy tone threw Shui Die Lan off.

Her eyes flicked toward him, wary. “You were never this generous before. What are you really getting at?”

Li Xun frowned slightly, his gaze settling on the pearl between her fingers. “If there’s even the slightest chance, say by some miracle, that Tianzhi can escape through that passage,” he said quietly, “then I’ll use this pearl to buy her life.”

“Buy her life?” Shui Die Lan raised an eyebrow. “You mean, you want me to let her go? Are you serious?”

She gave him a strange look, turning her palm so the Rainbow Shade Pearl rolled between her fingers.

“The pearl itself isn’t much,” she said, smirking. “But that soft heart of yours? That’s rare. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her?”

Li Xun didn’t find that funny at all. As a matter of fact, he was just as puzzled by his sudden burst of compassion. But after a moment, he found an excuse for it. “Let’s just say… anything that annoys Gu Yin and her lot is something I’m happy to do. Does that make it clearer?”

“I knew it…” Shui Die Lan muttered under her breath, then broke into a dazzling smile.

“All right, if Tianzhi actually makes it out of that passage, then fine. For the sake of that rare soft spot of yours, I’ll go and wreck my own reputation... so what?”

She said it like she meant it. Li Xun, who knew her well, only smiled, cupped his hands in thanks, and bowed a little.

Shui Die Lan snorted. The Rainbow Shade Pearl in her palm suddenly flashed an eerie light that swept over them both.

“With this thing, my illusion techniques gets a lot easier. Breathe with me... yes, just like that. Now imagine yourself as a wisp of air. Come on, let’s go see what kind of trouble we can stir up over there!”

The Hundred-Illusion Butterfly's signature illusion flared to life and wrapped them in a shimmer. She grabbed Li Xun, shot upward, and they sped down the long passage, flying fast.

As they flew, Li Xun linked minds with Yin Wanderer to exchange updates and quickly reshuffled their plans. At the same time, he quietly activated his corpse puppet technique, readying Nether One to strike at a moment’s notice. Only after everything was set did he calm his mind and focus on the waves of energy pulsing through the air.

The thunderous explosions hadn’t stopped for a moment. For masters like Li Xun and Shui Die Lan, every rumble and shift in vibration carried layers of meaning that ordinary people could never perceive.

In the brief span it took to close the distance to the others, Li Xun reached a simple conclusion: Tianzhi’s on the losing side, but Qing Luan won’t be able to finish her off anytime soon. That Aurora Thousand Transformations Technique really does turn weakness into strength.

He was almost impressed by how well the theory worked in practice. Shui Die Lan gave a low hum. “Tianzhi’s just taking advantage of the terrain. The Feathered Seven Divine Strikes are grand and overwhelming, but in a place like this, they can’t match the subtle precision of the Aurora Thousand Transformations.”

“But the gap between the True Person stage and the True One stage is just too big. Once Qing Luan really gets serious, Tianzhi won’t stand a chance.”

Li Xun grunted in acknowledgment. Things were playing out pretty much as he’d expected. Except for one odd detail. “Why is Qing Luan the one making a move?”

“Huh?” Shui Die Lan blinked, not quite following at first.

Li Xun lowered his voice. “You should know better than I do... with Qing Luan’s temperament, once she steps in, who’d dare try to ‘help’ her?”

He deliberately stressed the word help. This time, Shui Die Lan got it. Right. Qing Luan was proud, aloof, and famously fastidious. She’d never tolerate others ganging up with her against a single opponent. If Gu Yin truly meant to kill Tianzhi today, why tie her own hands like that?

As they puzzled over it, a wash of green light rippled ahead like waves on water, rising with a sharp, keening hiss.

Where the green light passed, the icy mist and jagged cliffs on both sides split apart with a thunderous crack. Then instantly recoiled, swirling back on themselves. Mist that had never mingled before now twisted together in a violent tangle, bursting with a deep, rumbling boom.

“They changed direction!”

Shui Die Lan didn’t need Li Xun to point it out; she could feel it too. In the next instant, her blindingly fast escape technique flared to life again. The world blurred around them as they shot through the churning mist, bursting out into a newly formed passage a few dozen feet away.

The moment Li Xun brushed against the outer fog, he felt a chill seep into his nose, his joints, every pore of his body -- the telltale bite of cold poison.

Luckily, the yin fire within him stirred on its own, burning the toxin away before it could take hold. Even so, cold sweat broke out across his back. So the tales were true. This Heart-Freezing Poison was nothing to scoff at. He immediately sealed his pores and shifted into inner breathing mode.