The Dark Capital of Jianzhou.
On the day Dark Tiger returned, most of the Spirit Tower Guards were mobilized. Thousands of Dark Spirits and Grey Spirits left the city, fanning out in all directions to search every inch of the land.
They descended upon the desolate wastes, their blood-colored pupils filled with a crimson mist as they chanted dark incantations unique to their kind.
"*****... *****... ****~"
"Awaken!"
Under the gloomy sky and across the desolate earth, slumbering Death Spirits awoke in every corner. They slowly raised their heads, and their extinguished pupils suddenly flared back to life.
They glowed with a surging blood-light.
"Go! Find the living ones!"
The Death Spirits obeyed the summons of the Grey Spirits and Dark Spirits, scurrying to every corner of the hundred-thousand-mile territory.
Six days had passed since that day.
Over those six days,
Based on the travel speed of those living souls, they should have already spread across most of Jianzhou's territory. The fact that the Spirit Tower had not detected them proved they hadn't continued east but had gone elsewhere.
Finding them was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but in this dark domain, finding a person was far simpler than killing one.
To the east, Small Spirit Lords in various regions also received orders from the Great Spirit Lord.
Search for any surviving living souls.
Suddenly, the entirety of the former Jianzhou was stirred into a frenzy.
Death Spirits could be seen wandering every corner of the darkness. Occasionally, bright beams of light, like rainbows, sliced through the grey sky.
In the mountains sandwiched between the two territories, the presence of the Heaven-Sealing Trapping Formation ensured that although spirits came and went, nothing within was glimpsed in the slightest.
Everything inside remained as usual. Those who hadn't left naturally had no intention of going now.
They were waiting for Xu Xian to finish his meditation.
Li Shuhe still stood on that mountain peak, taking everything into her tearful eyes. She murmured softly, "Jianzhou hasn't been this lively in a long time..."
However,
Those who had left were not so lucky. Their disasters and nightmares began at this moment.
Across the old soil of Jianzhou, chases were playing out in the north, east, and south.
"What the hell? Where did they all come from..."
"Run! If we get out, we'll live..."
"Don't worry about me! Just survive!"
"Ah!!"
"I'll take you down with me..."
"Dammit, I've lived so long and never killed indiscriminately. Heaven, you're truly blind!"
Death Spirits locked onto them and gave chase, while Grey Spirits moved in to capture them. Without a word of communication, the captives were handed over to the Dark Spirits.
The Dark Spirits then transported them at maximum speed back to Black Spirit City.
They were delivered to the Great Spirit Lord for judgment.
One by one, they were captured, utterly powerless to resist. Those with fierce temperaments did not hesitate to end their own lives at the last moment, falling into reincarnation.
"I'd rather die than turn into a monster like you!"
Some compromised, fantasizing about preserving their lives to play out a scene of a gentleman's revenge ten thousand years later.
Some ran forward, while others realized the error of their choice and immediately turned back, attempting to flee to the formation.
But in the vast desolation, where was the path home?
Without exception,
All were captured.
In the Spirit Tower Prison of Black Spirit City, the living souls were bound by heavy chains to stone pillars, unable to move, and covered in blood.
There were also several sets of remains that had been pieced together and placed in stone coffins.
From beginning to end, only a single day had passed.
Flanked by her guards, the black-clad woman arrived at the prison, crossing paths with Dark Tiger, who was just about to head out.
"My Lord!"
The black-clad woman had returned to her usual appearance, her laughter flirtatious and full of affected charm. "I heard the people have been brought back. I've come to take a look."
Dark Tiger was about to report, but the black-clad woman ruthlessly cut him off.
"Shh!"
"Don't say it. I'll count for myself..."
She entered the dark, blood-tinged prison, sniffing the faint scent of blood in the air with a look of greed and hunger.
"What a familiar scent."
"I haven't smelled this in so long."
She walked past them one by one, appraising each. Finally, her gaze landed on the corpses in the stone coffins, her face showing regret and disappointment. "What a pity. How did they die?"
A Dark Spirit reported, "These few had too fierce a temperament and ended their own lives. My subordinates were too slow to stop them."
Hearing this, the black-clad woman's eyes filled with a sudden, baseless heartache—not because she mourned their deaths, but because she felt it was a waste.
She said, "The blood of the unyielding is the sweetest. To die like this is far too wasteful."
No one dared to speak.
For dark creatures, fearlessness, courage, and stubbornness were the lifelong tenets of their faith.
They worshipped the powerful,
But they respected unyielding defiance even more.
Thus, the stubborn living souls naturally felt more delicious to them, more capable of stimulating their souls that had fallen to darkness.
This was true for the common spirits,
And it was true for the Great Spirit Lord!
She furrowed her brows, her flirtatious air vanishing as she said displeasuredly, "There are only eighteen? That's too few."
Dark Tiger said deeply, "Yes."
She asked again, "The youth who shattered the Sky Gate isn't among them?"
"No," Dark Tiger grunted before continuing, "However, they've all talked. He is still in Lingxi's territory. I am preparing to go and bring him back."
She was satisfied and allowed a smile to bloom.
"Oh? Then I shall wait for you."
Dark Tiger bowed his head and turned to leave the prison.
Inside the prison,
The black-clad woman sat down. A Dark Spirit subordinate offered her a cup of gilded liquid. She sipped the fragrant blood-like drink, her gaze sweeping over the thirteen survivors as she asked casually, "Have they all talked?"
A man who looked refined but possessed the same grey skin and red pupils handed a recorded file to the black-clad woman.
"My Lord, everything is here!"
The black-clad woman signaled with her eyes. A personal Dark Spirit attendant took the file and held it open before her, turning the pages one by one as the intelligence entered her sight.
Where they came from...
Why they came...
What brought them here...
And that youth...
Everything revolved around that youth.
However,
Regarding the four who went west, most of the captives knew very little, only mentioning that one of them was the Ancestor of the East Desolation. As for the others, no one knew.
They also said that if anyone knew, it would only be that youth.
Her blood-red eyes darkened as she whispered the name, "Fanzhou, Xu Xian!"
It wasn't far from her guess, but the brilliance of that youth as described by these people made her exceptionally expectant.
She said, "That will do."
The man took the file away.
She took a sip of the gilded liquid, pursed her dark lips, and swirled the cup. She asked once more, "They've all talked?"
The one responsible for the interrogation saw through the Great Spirit Lord's thoughts and said:
"There is one who refuses to say anything!"
"Who?"
"Him!"
The black-clad woman looked in the direction he pointed. It was the oldest-looking person among them and, naturally, the one who had been treated the most brutally.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Old age brings hard bones?"
The attendant nodded.
"He said nothing at all?" she asked, knowing the answer.
"Yes."
She questioned, "Could it be that the method of questioning was wrong?"
The attendant remained silent.
She set down her cup and stood up with interest, approaching him. She asked, "What is your name?"
The old man slowly raised his head, his blood-stained white hair sliding to the sides. A trace of arrogance remained in his clouded eyes as he said haltingly, "I'm... your damn father!"
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