The gentle voice of the young girl echoed in his ears.
Li Muyang looked at the girl, whose demeanor resembled that of Little Wild Grass, squinting as he spoke: “I know why Zhi Wei accepted you as her disciple. You’re exactly the same as her when she was young.”
The girl beamed sweetly and replied, “Thank you for the compliment, Grandmaster.”
Being praised for her resemblance to her master made her immensely happy.
Li Muyang, however, continued to scrutinize her, squinting slightly: “Even that insufferable beaten-up expression—it’s identical.”
Li Muyang’s comment made the girl freeze for a moment. “Eh?”
She clearly hadn’t expected Li Muyang to say such a thing.
Faced with the startled girl, Li Muyang sneered coldly and said, “Your master didn’t dare act out in front of me back then. Do you think you’re stronger than her? Do you think a few words can scare me off?”
Behind Li Muyang, the massive fox was pinned tightly to the ground, incapable of movement.
The frenzied Qiu Yuyan pressed on top of the fox, trying to destroy the soul of the Ghost Moon Fox.
Under the cold moonlight, the enormous fox was drenched in blood, half of its head blasted to ruins.
It struggled weakly and exclaimed, “Boy Li, it’s too late! Don’t waste time arguing with her!”
The Ghost Moon Fox rasped with its hoarse voice: “I’ll use the last of my strength to send you and Yu Chan away and pass the Yin Life Book to her!”
Right now, the Ghost Moon Fox was clearly at its last stand, barely holding on.
It attempted to use the remnants of its strength to send Li Muyang and Yu Chan away.
But Li Muyang shook his head and rejected the offer.
Standing in the moonlit Divine Soul Space, Li Muyang stared at the young girl ahead, speaking without turning his head: “Senior, you’re the Ghost Moon Fox, a king among spirits in the Netherworld. How could you give up so easily?”
“This unworthy disciple of Zhi Wei—I’ll deal with her myself today.”
“I’ve been wanting to settle this with her for a long time.”
Li Muyang’s gaze locked firmly on the young girl in front of him, his eyes cold as ice.
Under Li Muyang’s chilling gaze, the girl blinked her innocent eyes and said, “Grandmaster, you actually should heed this senior’s advice and leave.”
“Right now, you’re in the Divine Soul Space, where the contest is based on the purest form of soul power, not mana.”
“All the external tools you rely on are useless here, Grandmaster.”
“And when it comes to soul power, both I and the revered Ghost Moon Fox are beings above True Immortal, while you’re merely in the Purple Mansion Realm… The gap is far too great.”
The girl spoke kindly, attempting to persuade him: “If you follow the Ghost Moon Fox’s advice and leave, you can take the Yin Life Book and the Ghost Moon Fox’s legacy along with you.”
“I will take the Ghost Moon Fox’s corpse and head to the Peaceful Realms. For a very long time to come, you won’t see me again, out of sight, out of mind… We won’t interfere with each other.”
“Is such a mutually beneficial outcome not a happy ending?”
Softly, the girl added, “Surely you don’t intend to meddle in a battle of Divine Souls between beings above True Immortal with only the soul power of the Purple Mansion Realm, do you?”
Qiu Yuyan wasn’t wrong.
This was the Divine Soul Space, where strength hinged entirely on the purity of soul power; mana, divine skills, magical treasures… None of these external factors could be relied upon.
Li Muyang, with his cultivation at the Purple Mansion Realm, was the frailest among mortals in the face of two True Immortal-level opponents—not even qualified to partake in the battle.
But after hearing the girl’s words, Li Muyang chuckled coldly, showing no concern whatsoever.
“Do you think I don’t know what you’ve said?”
Li Muyang sneered. “Knowing this, do you think I’d still dare to come alone? Do you regard me as some foolish bug attempting to shake a tree, oblivious to my own death?”
“Your master must have told you stories about me. Then you should know, I never act without certainty!”
Li Muyang’s sneering tone caused the girl’s face to pale slightly.
She sighed softly and said, “Precisely because I understand your character, Grandmaster, I’m trying to advise you… I not only know you wouldn’t act without certainty, but I also know that when faced with challenges, you’re prone to being hot-headed and going to extremes.”
“Even if there’s only the slimmest chance of success, you’d refuse to yield, always choosing to dance on the razor’s edge for that fleeting opportunity.”
“You may indeed have a way to defeat me, but I suspect the cost of such a method for you must be staggering.”
“If you use it, even if you succeed, the damage to yourself would be immense—a lose-lose scenario. Why walk this path at all?”
“Ultimately, all I desire is to reclaim my master’s remains. This does you no harm, does it? Would you truly prefer for my master’s remains to continue wandering the cold, cursed lands of the Peaceful Realms?”
With heartfelt emotion and rational reasoning, the girl sought to convince Li Muyang.
But her efforts were met only with another cold laugh from him.
“I already said, I came here today to purge the stain on the sect!”
“No matter how eloquent your arguments are, I’ll only do one thing: slaughter you! To remove the biggest blemish from Zhi Wei’s legacy!”
As his voice fell, Li Muyang flipped his palm. Instantly, a silver bell bracelet radiating ominous energy appeared in his hand.
The Red Evil Bell, the supreme treasure of the Evil Vein Clan, capable of summoning the forces sealed within the Ancient Resentment Well.
At the sight of this peculiar Red Evil Bell, the girl’s expression instantly froze.
“The Red Evil Bell?!”
Her gaze darted to Li Muyang, disbelief and alarm flashing in her eyes: “Grandmaster, don’t act recklessly! This is the Divine Soul Space—summoning the Evil God’s body here is impossible.”
“If you force the summoning, most likely, you’ll summon the Evil God’s consciousness instead. The consequences will be catastrophic!”
“You might very well be corrupted by the Evil God’s consciousness, reduced to nothing more than its plaything, its puppet!”
“It will collapse everything!”
The girl’s nervousness was palpable as her words grew urgent, trying desperately to dissuade him.
Typically, the Red Evil Bell summoned the projections and avatars of evil gods for long-range assault.
But summoning the consciousness of an Evil God—especially an ancient, horrific entity of corruption—posed dangers even to beings at the True Immortal level.
Not only would the summoner, Li Muyang, face annihilation, but the entire Divine Soul Space—including the Ghost Moon Fox and Qiu Yuyan—would succumb to corruption.
Ancient Evil Gods were unique entities made of incomprehensible consciousness. They were almost indestructible. Even at the Evil Vein Clan’s peak, it was impossible to eradicate them entirely; their only option had been imprisonment.
For True Immortals, no matter how resilient their souls, exposure to these profoundly aberrant and powerful calamities meant inevitable corruption and ultimately ruin.
The girl panicked; her unease was palpable.
Li Muyang, however, stared at her coldly and said, “You’ve already said it—I’m someone who thrives on recklessness… So, you’re absolutely right.”
As his voice trailed off, Li Muyang cut off any further attempt by her to interrupt.
Without a shred of hesitation or delay, Li Muyang activated the power of the Red Evil Bell.
In the next moment, a bitterly cold wind swept through the Ghost Moon Fox’s Divine Soul Space.
Then, a sinister woman’s laughter echoed across the barren wilderness.
A figure cloaked entirely in red, wearing an eerie crimson dress, emerged into their line of sight.