Halfway up the mountain, Song Ciwan looked up at the Red Lanterns above. A tremor ran through her Sea of Consciousness, and her heart pounded for no reason.

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month. The Night Parade of Hundred Demons!

After gathering for a full fourteen days, the Nether Qi from the Illusory Nether City had finally broken through the barrier between the two worlds, awakening countless Resentful Spirits that had slumbered for a thousand years in the river of time.

In the City God Temple, within that Void Space, the City God was overjoyed. "They’ve finally revealed their entire hand! Excellent! If we can survive tonight, the Illusory Nether City won’t be able to stir up any trouble for at least several years!"

He raised his hand to cast a spell. The Jade Ruyi in the void grew as large as the sky, firmly holding back the massive, twisting vortex floating before it.

In Dingbo Tower, Ye Lingguan said in a low voice, "Qingfeng, it’s the Night Parade of Hundred Demons. You can make your move now."

Ji Qingfeng held a pair of Flying Swords, her beautiful eyes sparkling. She asked, "Master, will First Senior Brother be making a move as well?"

Ye Lingguan replied, "Your senior brother has his own task. You needn’t worry about where he is. When the time is right, he will act."

Ji Qingfeng was greatly relieved. She pointed, and one of her Flying Swords shot out through a window at the top of Dingbo Tower. With a leap, Ji Qingfeng instantly transformed into a streak of sword light, flying toward the towering Wangjiang Mountain.

At the bottom of the Hengshui River, the Old Dragon King had buried his head deep in the mud and sand. Only a pair of dragon horns and two upright ears remained visible, half-poking out from the silt.

His draconic mane drifted along the dark riverbed, looking somewhat like seaweed dancing in the undercurrent.

Occasionally, small fish and shrimp would swim through his drifting mane. Some small fish even mistook his horns for food, opening their mouths to gnaw on them endlessly, but the Old Dragon King remained perfectly still.

He seemed to have become an ancient statue, one with the riverbed. No matter what changes occurred in the outside world, nothing could affect him in the slightest.

Song Ciwan waited for a moment on the slopes of Wangjiang Mountain, watching the Red Lanterns rise higher and higher. Suddenly, from the peak, a flash of sword light burst outward in all directions like a cascading galaxy.

A woman’s clear voice shouted, "Fellow Daoists, form the array!"

Then, a wizened male voice slowly intoned, "When a man dies, he becomes a ghost. When a ghost is slain, he becomes dust. When even dust is scattered..."

"A thousand years have passed. Why must you all court your own destruction?"

"Come no further, or you will be reduced to nothingness!"

The wizened voice echoed down from the peak, kicking up waves of air that sent dust and smoke billowing into the night.

RUMBLE! On the peak of Wangjiang Mountain, earth and stone began to move. One stone pillar after another erupted from the mountaintop like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! They shot into the sky, forming an array!

Song Ciwan then saw an Ascetic Cultivator not far to her east suddenly rush out of his cave dwelling. He rode a Palm Leaf Fan-shaped Magical Artifact, ascending about two hundred feet. Just as he tried to fly higher, a faint flash of lightning flickered in the sky.

The cultivator immediately flinched and cursed, "What the hell... Ptooey! A No-Fly Array. Fine, I’m not messing with that!"

He quickly lowered his altitude, muttering to himself, "The mountain is full of experts. A minor cultivator like me with my meager abilities can’t do anything. Better get down the mountain quickly..."

Before he even finished speaking, the man was already riding his Magical Artifact, diving down the mountain at low altitude.

Nearby, another cultivator leaped out of a cave dwelling. This time it was a middle-aged female cultivator. She clearly knew the man with the Palm Leaf Fan Magical Artifact and asked in surprise, "Sect Leader Wang, where are you going?"

Sect Leader Wang said frantically, "I’m going home! My kids must be scared to death! Daoist Liu, how about you come with me? I’ll give you one hundred Primordial Pearls!"

The female cultivator’s eyes darted. "In a situation like tonight’s, how could a hundred Primordial Pearls possibly be enough? At least a thousand!"

Sect Leader Wang was aghast. "A thousand? Why don’t you just rob me? Five hundred, tops! Not a single one more. I’d be cleaning out my pockets!"

The female cultivator chuckled. "Five hundred it is. A deal’s a deal. Pay half as a deposit, now. Quick..."

The two continued their banter as they sped down the mountain. In a moment, their figures and voices faded into the distance.

Song Ciwan: ... 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

She felt as though she’d been reminded of something—Sect Leader Wang was worried about his children, so why wouldn’t Song Ciwan be worried about her Big White Goose?

She delayed no longer. Turning around, she went straight back into her cave dwelling.

With a quick gesture, Song Ciwan changed her face. She changed her clothes and her Magical Artifacts—everything. The Black Heart Demon Saber "Lu Bell" vanished, and the cultivator "Xin Mian" reappeared in the world.

Song Ciwan brought out her newly acquired Magical Artifact, the Flying Heaven Rope. The long rope unfurled, transforming into a cyan rainbow that carried her instantly down the mountain.

The Flying Heaven Rope’s altitude was suppressed very low, and its speed wasn’t particularly fast. Song Ciwan augmented it with her Wind Manipulation Technique, greatly increasing its speed. Only then, after a few breaths’ time, did she catch up to the distant figures of Sect Leader Wang and Daoist Liu.

But then, she saw the pair, who had been rushing along, suddenly stop at the foot of Wangjiang Mountain.

’What had happened at the foot of Wangjiang Mountain?’

Song Ciwan slowed the Flying Heaven Rope and followed their gazes toward the Steward Hall. She, too, was shocked by what she saw.

In the direction of the Steward Hall, the once-prosperous halls and pavilions looked as if they had been eroded by the force of time, standing in a weathered, dilapidated state under the dim sky.

Before the old, mottled, broken walls knelt more than a dozen cultivators in steward uniforms, their heads bowed and their backs bent.

The heads of all these cultivators were snapped. Their skin was shriveled, and dark red blood dripped from their orifices, trickling down to meander and pool on the massive plaza before the Steward Hall.

Sect Leader Wang stood frozen for a moment, then lowered his voice and tugged at Daoist Liu beside him. "This is bad. They’re all dead. Quick, let’s go!"

Without a second glance toward the Steward Hall, the two used their respective techniques to push their speed to the limit, rushing abruptly toward the streets of Pinglan City.

They sped past the edge of the plaza, and thus did not see it. Behind them, the kneeling cultivators of the Steward Hall began to raise their heads, one by one!

CREAK... CRACK... The sound of grating bones echoed.

After their broken heads were raised, they all turned in unison to the east—the exact direction Sect Leader Wang and Daoist Liu had fled!

Song Ciwan, who was just behind, saw the whole thing clearly. She dared not delay for another second and also pushed her speed to the limit—she even abandoned the Flying Heaven Rope. It was too slow, far slower than her Wind Manipulation Technique combined with Escape into the Night.

The cool wind of the deep night blew against her face. The lights of Pinglan City blurred into streaks of light at her sides.

There were almost no pedestrians in the city, only the soldiers of the City Patrol Department holding Copper Gongs, striking them as they shouted, "The Lantern Festival approaches! Bar your doors! It is the Night Parade of Hundred Demons! Do not show your faces!"

"AH!"

And yet, from behind the doors of the city’s districts, blood-curdling screams could still be heard from time to time.