Late at night, Qingqing lay on the bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

She recalled the dream she had in the inn before, where she was a naive young nun, and Chu Xuan was the playful little monk who amused her.

They met, got to know each other, fell in love, and eventually lived together harmoniously, having many children.

The warmth, the romance, the beauty in that dream still felt incredibly vivid now, making Qingqing’s lips curve into a slight smile.

"The young nun walked on the single-plank bridge, looking back to find herself halfway up the mountain."

"Following the mountain path, missing the ancient village path, seeing a monk’s temple..."

Once she finished humming the tune, for some unknown reason, her face was already streaked with tears.

In the end, Qingqing stayed awake the entire night.

...

Early the next morning, Granny Yinhua was already waiting outside the door.

After Qingqing washed her face, this kindly looking old woman personally helped her with her hair.

Granny didn’t ask about her experiences after descending the mountain, and Qingqing hesitated for a moment, deciding to wait until she bathed to speak about it.

After she exhausted herself, recounting these warm memories, Granny would gently stroke her hair, coaxing her to sleep, while the pain would gradually ebb away.

Soon, the two of them set out, arriving at the Yama Palace behind Li’an Hall.

This was a dark, double-eaved pavilion, a place that countless disciples in the sect feared greatly, avoiding it even when passing by.

At this moment, the palace doors were wide open, like the mouth of a massive dark beast, ready to devour all who entered.

At the entrance, Yao Yufei and Shou Xuzi waited for them.

Li Chengfeng, as always, stood at the entrance with the Demon Sect’s Hidden Guards, responsible for today’s patrol and guard duty.

Ever since Qingniang became the "sacrifice," he came to take his turn every month on this day, knowing he could do nothing, yet still staying by her side, as if this would ease his heart a bit.

Initially, hearing Qingniang’s screams felt like knives cutting into his heart; he wished he could bear the pain for her.

Later, after the Sect Leader "reminded" her, she bit back her screams each time, making no sound whatsoever.

Yet Li Chengfeng’s heart felt no better, worrying every time she entered that she might never come out...

Granny Yinhua arrived at the hall entrance, first greeting the Sect Leader and the Supreme Elder, before leading a stone-faced Qingqing inside.

Today, Qingqing donned a blood-red long dress, specially made so it wouldn’t be consumed by the demonic fetus during the ritual.

After seeing the Saintess enter, Shou Xuzi feigned a smile and said to Yao Yufei: "Sect Leader, I heard you punished the Saintess, forbidding her from leaving the palace for three months?"

Yao Yufei nodded indifferently, "To prevent her from running around again, consider it a lesson."

Shou Xuzi showed some regret, "It’s a pity that after each devouring, the Saintess needs a month to recover her vitality. Otherwise, if we offered daily tributes, we wouldn’t need to wait thirty years."

Yao Yufei sneered, "Elder Xu, that’s a fine idea, but even once a month requires daily consumption of precious herbs, spirit pills, and miraculous medicines to restore her vitality."

"If you’re willing to provide a few bottles of Immortal Pills to let my dear daughter recover quickly, why not make it a daily occurrence?"

Shou Xuzi felt some disdain inwardly; dear daughter, my foot! Don’t you just want your sacrifice to seem significant? Who doesn’t know that, in your eyes, your daughter is just a tool to be used at will?

Outwardly smiling, he said, "I can’t provide Immortal Pills, but let’s be clear: incidents like the Saintess running away privately aren’t to happen again. You’d better watch her closely."

"For this time, I won’t fuss much thanks to Ancestor Youxu’s mediation, but if it happens again, we won’t let it slide!"

Confronted with such open and covert threats, Yao Yufei responded calmly, "Elder Xu, mind your business and don’t worry about it."

She knew well that if this happened again, it would force Ancestor Youxu to side with them, something she wouldn’t do foolishly."

Shou Xuzi understood this too, so he said nothing more, merely turning around.

When he saw Duanmu Qing’s figure finally swallowed by the demonic fetus radiating demonic qi, he nodded in satisfaction.

At the same time, the gates of the Yama Palace officially closed.

From now one, no one shall enter this hall for a day and a night, upon pain of death!

"Now that everything is in order, I’ll take my leave."

After Shou Xuzi spoke, he departed into the air; this main peak was the Sect Leader’s territory, not a place for him to stay.

After giving Li Chengfeng some parting instructions, Yao Yufei also left, and soon, silence returned to the surroundings.

...

During that previous night, Chu Xuan was extremely cautious.

Following the old ghost’s guidance, he carefully avoided several palaces where high-level cultivators might appear, or places individually shrouded by arrays, moving along the fringes to ascend the mountain.

Catching a live one was also a skillful task; he couldn’t catch one too strong for fear of alerting others, nor one too weak for fear they knew nothing.

Chu Xuan searched for a long time before finding a suitable target.

The young fat man was dressed meticulously with an arrogant expression; when Chu Xuan discovered him, he was commanding a group of low-level disciples to do work, despite his own unimpressive strength being only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

At the fifth watch, after his subordinates transported a batch of Spirit Stones, the young fat man yawned, preparing to rest.