Li Muyang finished speaking, but Yu Chan couldn’t help saying, “But Elder Yan is your beloved! If you don’t save her and simply give up, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”
Yu Chan’s eyes were filled with worry and concern.
Li Muyang remained silent for several seconds before shaking his head again. “If we die later, we won’t even have the chance to regret anything.”
“Our current predicament is unbearably difficult.”
“The Outer Heaven Temple views us as enemies, the Netherworld Saint Spirit opposes me, the Immortal Artifact Masters scheme to hunt me down, and that lunatic Chou Yuyan relentlessly chases after us… Amid all this chaos, I’m surrounded by enemies and can barely take a step forward.”
“Yan Xiaoru is indeed important to me, but there’s no hope for her anymore.”
“I am a cultivator of the Nether Demon Manual, and I understand this better than anyone.”
“If I go to see her now, it would only be a final farewell—it wouldn’t hold much weight.”
“But the Ghost Moon Fox is different. It is your most solid support.”
“As long as we help it through this crisis, once its power recovers, it will be an immensely powerful ghost deity. We cannot afford to lose it.”
Li Muyang explained his reasoning with a cold, indifferent expression and a calm tone.
Yu Chan listened to her brother’s analysis, stunned and speechless.
It was the first time she had seen such a side of her brother, and she was once again struck with awe.
The last time she had felt this was within the dark prison of the Refinement Demon Sect, when her brother had come to save her at all costs.
Back then, her brother had abandoned all profit and rationality, choosing the most “short-sighted” action by giving up a promising future within the Refinement Demon Sect to rescue her.
But this brother, so heavy with emotion, was now making such an unwavering decision—abandoning emotions and choosing rationality.
This version of her brother left her at a loss for words; she felt shaken, fearful, and deeply heartbroken.
“Brother…”
Yu Chan softly sighed.
At that moment, she had many words she wanted to say.
But in the end, she simply reached out and gently held her brother’s dry, withered hand, saying nothing.
She knew very well how tormenting it must be in her brother’s heart to make such a ruthless decision.
Their four eyes met, and Li Muyang closed his. “Let’s head back to Jiuyuan City first. But before that, we need to leave this fog.”
“Although the Yin Life Book cannot guide us, I have another way.”
Li Muyang said, “I’m cursed by Demon Sword City, and something within Demon Sword City is calling to me. As long as I’m aboard a flying boat, even without consciously directing its course, it will inevitably head toward Demon Sword City.”
“Just use the tunneling light to carry me; don’t worry about the direction. Fly blindly, and whatever is within Demon Sword City will pull us back to land.”
The curse from Demon Sword City had now become a strange advantage.
Even if the Yin Life Book couldn’t lead the way, Li Muyang could still find his way back to land.
However, as Li Muyang finished speaking, the Yin Life Book suddenly glowed again. Though the light was much dimmer than before, it still pointed the way forward.
Li Muyang glanced at it but closed his eyes again, immersing his consciousness into the game.
He chose silence, and Yu Chan could only let out a bitter sigh, no longer trying to persuade him.
The girl controlled the tunneling light and soared into the misty depths.
Li Muyang, eyes closed, reopened the game he hadn’t entered in days.
In the game’s system, as Li Muyang loaded his saved data, he returned to a mountain range near the Great Zhou Imperial City.
The headless holy monk, who had been preparing to enter the mountain range, sensed something unusual and asked in surprise:
“… Layperson, have you suddenly been caught in emotional turmoil?”
From the monk’s perspective, it was puzzling.
One moment Li Muyang’s mood was normal, and the next he seemed overwhelmed by sorrow and despair.
The shift was abrupt and intense—almost bizarrely so.
But Li Muyang had no intention of explaining.
He cast the monk a brief glance before stepping into the mountain range ahead.
What followed was yet another trial.
The headless monk led the charge, drawing the attention of the powerful monks emerging from the forest.
Meanwhile, Li Muyang, with the Princess of the Defunct Country in tow, pressed deeper into the mountain range, ultimately arriving at Black Cloud Fort. Within Black Cloud Fort, he encountered the corpses of the Evil Vein clansmen.
Having been offline for several days, Li Muyang found himself rusty upon re-entering Black Cloud Fort.
In less than three minutes, he perished to the shadowy, sinister arts hidden within the fort.
[You have died. Game Over.]
The death scene played out, but Li Muyang took a deep breath and resolutely loaded his saved file again.
He needed to clear this game—urgently.
Fighting the corpses of the Evil Veins would be the only way to temporarily forget that Yan Xiaoru was on the verge of death.
His rational mind reminded him repeatedly that going to see Yan Xiaoru was meaningless—it was a choice where both sides lost.
If he went to Jiuyuan City, he could still salvage some benefit.
His decision was correct; this was the right choice.
But in life, even the right choice could be agonizing and painful.
Li Muyang’s bloodshot eyes roamed Black Cloud Fort as he unleashed his rage.
Previously, he had considered his kinship with the Evil Vein clansmen, choosing to defeat their corpses without fully destroying them.
But now, completely consumed by madness, he no longer had the time for meticulous precision or restraint.
He had to storm the ancestral temple within the fort, obtain the magic artifact, beat the game!
To strengthen his cultivation and power, collect all the Little Wild Grass statues across the realm, resurrect Little Wild Grass.
And then crush that lunatic Chou Yuyan alive!
Li Muyang’s cold gaze carved through Black Cloud Fort as he executed his frenzied blitz. The brutal, unrelenting fighting began driving his progress forward at an accelerating pace.
Though he fell endlessly, perishing repeatedly to the sinister arts within the game…
With each death came another respawn. His save point advanced further each time.
Li Muyang pushed forward without rest, without hesitation, clearing his mind entirely, giving everything to the challenge within Black Cloud Fort.
How long he fought, even he didn’t know.
At last, he slaughtered his way through the entirety of Black Cloud Fort, standing atop its tallest cliff with the unharmed Princess of the Defunct Country by his side, staring at the eerie ancestral temple perched on the cliff.
Once home to Granny Gu, the temple connected to the Ancient Resentment Well and was steeped in countless uncanny curses.
While this ancestral temple was merely a 1:1 replica, it emanated a ghastly malice all the same.
Li Muyang coldly regarded the temple, his hand rising to shatter its doors with a single strike.
From the direction of the Imperial City behind him, the False Radiant Buddha ascended with dazzling light from the palace, speeding toward this location.
The commotion within Black Cloud Fort had finally drawn out this monster.
Li Muyang shattered the ancestral temple’s doors and retrieved the magic artifact stored within.
The item had indeed been left for him by Little Wild Grass.
Tailored to his very needs!