"Senluo Seven-Star Rock?" Mu Chen was visibly confused, but since the name contained the words "Sen Luo," he knew it must have a significant connection to the Senluo Saint.

Feng Shanshan didn’t answer. Her eyes were fixed on the drop of blood that had fallen onto the rock. Normally, blood would be instantly absorbed into stone, but this drop showed no change. It didn’t seep in at all. It just sat there, perfectly round and soft, like a dewdrop on a lotus leaf.

"This is..."

Before Mu Chen could voice his question, the blood resting on the rock’s surface suddenly pulsed with a faint red glow. Then, a golden shield of light materialized over the entire rock, clearly marked with the imprints of two white stars. Upon seeing this, Feng Shanshan exclaimed in delight, "It really is this rock! This is great!"

The moment she finished speaking, Feng Shanshan focused her will. Her Spiritual Power solidified into a tangible force, guiding the droplet of blood toward the two star imprints. The instant the blood touched the edge of the star patterns, Mu Chen watched it spread rapidly, covering the entirety of the imprints. In a single breath, both star imprints were completely coated in blood. Immediately after, the golden shield of light erupted in a brilliant flash. With a resonant hum, a pillar of golden light shot toward the heavens, creating a spectacular sight in the pitch-black Independent Space.

Mu Chen’s face fell. "Why is it making such a huge scene?!"

Feng Shanshan gave a helpless smile. "There’s nothing we can do about it. The first step is complete. Now we need to leave, and quickly. There isn’t just one Senluo Seven-Star Rock. There are seven such rocks scattered throughout the dark regions of the Senluo Ruins. They come in all shapes and sizes, some are green, some are white—their color, state, and size are all different. To open the gate to the Senluo Saint’s final resting place, all seven Senluo Star Rocks must be activated. This is only one of them."

Mu Chen was taken aback. "How do you know all this?"

Feng Shanshan pursed her lips and smiled. "Don’t be so anxious. The commotion from activating the Senluo Seven-Star Rock is sure to attract every participant. We have to get out of here right now. I’m not the only one who knows this secret. Let’s go!"

Mu Chen understood the problem perfectly. If anyone discovered they were the ones who caused the disturbance, they would be in for a vicious fight. Without a second thought, he grabbed Feng Shanshan’s hand. A surge of Thunder Light enveloped them as he shot downward, disappearing from the rocky area after a few quick bursts of speed.

"Dammit! Someone beat us to it! How could anyone besides our Blood Python Family know the location of the Senluo Seven-Star Rock?!"

Less than a minute after Mu Chen and Feng Shanshan had left, four crimson figures wreathed in a foul, bloody mist appeared in the rocky area. It was none other than Xue Yan and his men.

"You need the blood of the Ninghun Family’s Direct Lineage to activate the Senluo Seven-Star Rock. The blood we have on hand was taken from a direct lineage member we killed years ago. Don’t tell me there’s a survivor of the Ninghun Family among the thirty people who entered the Senluo Ruins this time?" Xue Lie’s expression was grim to the extreme.

Just as the world suspected, the great catastrophe that had annihilated the Ninghun Family was indeed orchestrated by the Blood Python Family. However, they also knew that a Noble Family with a thirty-thousand-year legacy like the Ninghun Family would be nearly impossible to wipe out completely. It was only natural that a few would escape. But they never imagined that after ten thousand years of hiding, a survivor of the Ninghun Family would have the audacity to openly participate in the Senluo Ruins right under the Blood Python Family’s nose. They had long since memorized the aura of the Ninghun Family, so why hadn’t the Emperor’s Blood Python Stone Carving detected it?!

"Bastards! That was the Two-Star Rock they activated, which means there are six more! We only know the location of each Star Rock, not the number of stars on them. Are we destined to always be one step behind?!" Xue Shitian roared, his face dark with fury as he bared his teeth.

Xue Yan snorted. "It won’t be that easy for them to open the Senluo Cemetery. Activating the Seven-Star Rock takes time. Now, all of you wait here. Once they see the commotion, every participant will be unable to resist coming over to check it out. This is the perfect opportunity for us to confirm exactly who activated the Senluo Seven-Star Rock!"

"Brother is right! Let’s identify our target first!"

With that, the four of them flickered and dissolved into a cloud of blood mist, vanishing into the pitch-black night sky...

Far away, Mu Chen came to a stop in mid-air. He frowned and said in a low voice, "Miss Shanshan, isn’t it about time you told me your real identity?"

Hearing this, Feng Shanshan gave a wry smile. "I wasn’t trying to hide it. I just thought showing my partner through my actions would be more sincere, wouldn’t it? You’re right. My name isn’t Feng Shanshan. It’s Sima Shanshan!"

"Sima? You’re from the Ninghun Family!" Mu Chen exclaimed. Just a few days ago, he had heard from Xu Fei that the Ninghun Family’s Senluo Saint had the surname Sima, and was named Sima Senluo. Now, Shanshan was telling him her surname was Sima, which meant she was a member of the Ninghun Family. ’But... wasn’t the Ninghun Family supposedly wiped out?’

Sima Shanshan nodded. She turned and began to fly slowly toward a certain direction, her pace steady. Mu Chen followed closely. Shanshan gave another wry smile. "Is it so strange? Or did you also believe that our Ninghun Family had been completely annihilated?"

Mu Chen remained silent.

"That’s right. Ten thousand years ago, our Ninghun Family fell victim to a conspiracy by the Blood Python Family and was plunged into a great catastrophe. That disaster caused over ninety percent of our clan to perish!" Shanshan clenched her fists tightly. "But fortunately, our Ninghun Family has always been proficient in Spirit Secret Techniques. We can use our powerful Spiritual Power to foresee ill omens of the future. So, in the year before the disaster struck, our Clan Leader—my ancestor—predicted the calamity that the Ninghun Clan was about to face! He sealed off all internal information and, without any of our clansmen knowing, single-handedly created a secret spatial passage!"

Shanshan’s eyes began to glow red as a monstrous wave of hatred poured out of her. "But fate is irreversible. The disaster happened despite all precautions. At the time, nearly all our clan members were infected with the Blood Poison. While everyone was asleep and completely unaware, they took up their own weapons and used their own strength to murder their own kin! Overnight—no! In just ten minutes, every single one of our people lost their lives without a chance to fight back..."

Mu Chen looked on in horror at Shanshan’s trembling form, his own expression filled with an indescribable sorrow. She continued, "Do you know what it feels like to watch your own people slaughter their loved ones? They wanted to fight back, they truly did! But when the one raising the blade, the one rushing madly at you, is your beloved husband, your cheerful, laughing child, or your kind, gentle mother... who could possibly understand the sorrow of being unable to resist! We hate them so much!!"

As her words faded, tears streamed down Shanshan’s cheeks, followed by a long, heavy silence. Mu Chen had never experienced such a scene himself. ’But the thought of the person raising a Sword Blade and charging at me being not some stranger, but Mu Bingling... I suddenly understand just how helpless that feeling truly is.’

A soft exhale broke the silence.

Mu Chen turned to see that Shanshan had composed herself. Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, she offered a small smile. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to show you such a weak side of me."

Mu Chen shook his head. "It’s nothing. If anything, I was the one who was out of line earlier. Please don’t worry about it. I didn’t know you were a descendant of the Ninghun Family."

Shanshan smiled faintly. "Fortunately, our ancestor was prepared. He sent some of the Direct Lineage who hadn’t been tainted by the Blood Poison into the secret passage, whisking them away to an unknown Domain, isolated from the world. There, our Ninghun Family was able to grow and prosper once more! And we have never forgotten our ancestor’s lesson. This blood feud for the annihilation of our clan... we will have our revenge! Not only will we have it, we will repay them a hundred times over!!"

Finished, Shanshan looked at Mu Chen and narrowed her eyes. "But not now. The time isn’t right yet. One day, however, my Ninghun Family will make the Blood Python Family pay for what they did! For now, though, our task is to activate the other six Senluo Seven-Star Rocks as quickly as possible and enter the Senluo Tomb."

Mu Chen sighed internally, then changed the subject. "I saw you use your blood to activate that rock. Why were we in such a hurry to leave? Or does activating the Senluo Seven-Star Rock not require any special conditions?"

Shanshan shook her head. "Of course there are conditions. The Senluo Seven-Star Rock can only be activated using the Bloodline Power of the Ninghun Family’s Direct Lineage. Otherwise, even if you drip blood on it, it’s useless. However, many of the clan members who died at the hands of the Blood Python Family back then were from the Direct Lineage. Since their goal was our family’s greatest treasure, the Forest of Myriad Manifestations, they surely collected a great deal of blood from our direct lineage clansmen. That makes the condition far less restrictive than it should be."

Before Mu Chen could respond, Shanshan continued, "What the Blood Python Family doesn’t know is that Blood Poison and Contracts aren’t the only Secret Techniques in this world capable of seizing one’s very soul. There is something far more terrifying: control of the soul itself. And who would be more adept at such a method than us, the Ninghun Family? So, the moment they obtained the means to activate the Senluo Seven-Star Rock, we already knew. We leveraged our influence on a controller within the Blood Python Family to acquire an entry token. Our goal is to stop them from ever successfully entering the Senluo Tomb."

Mu Chen was secretly astonished. He never expected the Ninghun Family’s revenge had already started. And their method was to turn their enemy’s own tactics back on them. ’This is what twisted hatred looks like...’