The departure of the Refinement Demon Sect was so swift it surpassed everyone’s expectations.
Hardly had Shen Yan of the Blood Lotus Sect left when Yan Xiaoru went to bid the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect farewell.
The Cultivation Convention had just ended and the Protector of the Young Sect Master Liu Lian’er had yet to be announced. The Refinement Demon Sect was ready to leave... clearly, they were giving up.
The departure of the Refinement Demon Sect’s Flying Boat was met with derision and speculation by the people from the other sects.
But it was not unexpected.
After all, Li Muyang had offended Liu Lian’er’s close friend, essentially dooming his start.
Leaving early was simply an indication of self-awareness.
Amid whispers and points, the Flying Boat of the Refinement Demon Sect set sail, returning on the way home.
Yu Chan, who had finally completed this trip safely, breathed a sigh of relief and became joyous.
Yan Xiaoru, having obtained the desired Youth Preservation Pill, was also very happy.
After boarding the Flying Boat, she went straight into the cabin, closed the door, and began to calmly consume and assimilate the effects of the Youth Preservation Pill.
Ageless beauty is an irresistible temptation for women.
Li Muyang returned to his room, opened the system, reloaded the game, and started playing.
The trip to the Hehuan Sect was over without incident, so he could finally focus all his energy on the game.
Because of the Cultivation Convention, his game progress had been stalled for several days.
Fortunately, during that time, he had become familiar with the background of every demon that had escaped the palace.
Now, reloading the saved game and re-entering it, Li Muyang, in a deeply focused state, only failed three times before successfully defeating the boss and passing the bright barrier for the first time.
As the two demons that had flown out of the palace were brought down by Li Muyang, with their health bars depleted, others in the wilderness cheered excitedly.
Although, in their perspective, this was their first time being pursued by demons.
But that didn’t prevent the excited survivors from feeling thrilled. Find exclusive stories on freewebnovel
However, during the fierce battle, the real body of the skin-shifter demon was revealed.
The young girl, Nie Yubing, had taken some minor injuries, sitting on the grass with bloody lips and gasping for air.
The two defeated demons, supporting each other, struggled to stand.
Watching the skin-shifter’s approach, the demons’ eyes were cold and their expressions ferocious.
"...A skin-shifter... It’s actually a skin-shifter!"
Their shock and anger were palpable as they fixed their gaze on the young girl Nie Yubing not far away, "So it’s you, the one who slipped through our grasp! Is your bloodline’s ability to control puppets?"
The two demons howled to the sky, sensing the imminent death, their faces revealing hysterical and savage smiles.
"But it doesn’t matter, even if you escape tonight, we will continue to hunt you down."
"Your mother is imprisoned in the palace, under our control."
"As long as your mother is alive, through the resonance between your bloodlines, we can locate you. No matter where you flee to, the ends of the earth or the corners of the world, you can’t escape our palms!"
The two demons laughed savagely, their laughter crazed and fierce.
In the next second, the skin-shifter’s right hand turned into a blade and slashed down.
The heads of the two demons soared into the sky, dead once and for all.
Li Muyang, puzzled, looked towards the young girl and asked, "Your mother is imprisoned in the palace?"
What was this new clue?
Hadn’t it been said before that the Nie family had been annihilated, leaving only the two young masters of the Nie family?
Li Muyang turned in surprise, only to see Tang Mengchen, the second lady of the Nie family, silent with bowed head, and the expressions of the two young masters of the Nie family were complicated.
Only the young girl Nie Yubing looked dazed and stunned.
"Ah? My mother..."
Nie Yubing scratched her head in confusion and said, "My mother passed away due to illness when I was very young... It has been many years."
Tang Mengchen sighed, "Demons and monsters have always been known for their deceitful words to disturb people’s hearts. These are clearly the ravings of two monsters at their wit’s end, trying to trick us into granting them an escape from their demise—there is no need to concern ourselves with this."
Gently touching the young girl’s head, Tang Mengchen said, "The Great Madam passed away from illness seven years ago, how could she possibly be imprisoned in the imperial palace?"
"Let’s leave this place quickly before the demons from the palace come after us."
The group continued to flee towards the outskirts of the pass.
However, Li Muyang was staring in the direction of the palace behind them, taking note of this clue.
These two monsters were probably not spouting nonsense.
The power of the young girl Nie Yubing originated from her bloodline—thereby unraveling another part of this game’s key clue.
The bloodline power of Nie Yubing might very likely lead to the next crucial part of the story.
But for now, the priority is to run through this location.
Li Muyang followed the others, racing towards the exterior of the pass.
After fleeing through the wilderness for a while, they unexpectedly found themselves back at the dilapidated ruins of Red Leaf Villa.
The ghost of the Sixth Prince appeared once again, quite emotional upon seeing the two young masters of the Nie family.
"...The last bloodline of the Nie family being able to escape is also a comfort to the spirit of Lord Nie in heaven."
After speaking, the Sixth Prince showed them a hidden underground passage.
Entering the hidden tunnel, they found some long-stored medicinal pills.
After consuming the pills, everyone quickly replenished their vitality and vigor.
Then, they took out the crimson talismans of the Blood Demon Path and used the Earth Escape Technique.
Using their own vitality as a guide, the Earth Escape Talisman instantly transported everyone several dozen miles into the wilderness.
They were now not far from Heiyuan Pass, and they could see patrolling soldiers on the official roads.
Scurrying over the mountains, the group intended to escape through the small mountain paths by the side of Heiyuan Pass and join up with the main force of the righteous army outside the pass.
All their plans went smoothly.
The righteous army had already secured several small paths that allowed them to sneak into the pass undetected.
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However, as the group traversed the mountains for a long time and dawn began to break, when they could even spot Heiyuan Pass and the fertile plains beyond from a height—
Suddenly, several cold sword lights descended from the sky.
Three threatening figures, riding on the glow of their swords, appeared and directly blocked the group’s path.
"Are you the spies of Chaos Army that escaped from the Capital City?"
Three cultivators, emanating cold Sword Qi and with icy stares, descended from the heavens, their gazes sweeping over the group before finally settling on the harmless young girl Nie Yubing.
"Leave the girl behind, and the rest of you may go," they stated coldly, their killing intent palpable.
Their stares at Nie Yubing were filled with a stark hostility.
The righteous army members looked on in shock, while the two young masters from the Nie household quickly stepped forward.
"Sirs from the Mysterious Sword Sect..."
After introducing themselves with a bow, they said, "Could there be some misunderstanding here? Yubing is our youngest sister, not a demon or monster..."
Hearing the identity of the two young masters from the Nie household softened the expressions of the three Sword Cultivators from the Mysterious Sword Sect a bit.
Clearly, the reputation of Nie Ming, the Prefect of Hejian, was quite good in the Mysterious Sword Sect.
But after listening to the story from the young masters of the Nie household, the three Sword Cultivators’ attitude remained unchanged.
One of them shook his head indifferently and said, "Since she is the young lady of the Nie family, then we have not found the wrong person."
They drew the swords from their backs, pointing them coldly at the young girl in the crowd.
"The ancient evil bloodline must be cut off! Otherwise, it will bring endless disaster!"