"Heh—"

Seeing this, Ye Chuxue couldn’t help but sneer.

As she watched Bai Yang fall down the cliff, her eyes filled with glee.

’That’s right, this is how Bai Yang’s story ends!’

’All you heartless bastards deserve to die!’

A vicious glint flashed in her eyes. Just as she was about to pull back, a biting gust of palm wind struck her from behind.

Ye Chuxue didn’t even have time to react before she was sent plummeting down the cliff.

"AHHH—"

With a single shriek, her figure vanished from the clifftop.

Only the mist below the cliff remained, churning as if celebrating that someone had finally fallen.

A breeze swept by, and a figure in black appeared on the clifftop. It was Song Wanning.

"Tsk. A dog-eat-dog fight, and they still can’t manage to kill each other after all this time. They’ve really exhausted my patience."

She flicked her fingers, a disdainful, mocking curl to her lips.

If they were ordinary people, a winner would have been decided days ago.

But these two just kept going in circles, dragging things out. It was so annoying.

’The Heavenly Dao must be quite troubled these past few days, too.’

’It’s like choosing between the palm and the back of your hand. Who should it protect?’

"Mistress, the Demon Race’s forbidden ground will certainly affect them, but I have a feeling they won’t die that easily!"

The Golden Small Sword had long since lost its usual cheekiness, its voice now filled with anger.

Those two are protected by the Heavenly Dao. Even if they fall, they definitely won’t die.

The opportunity was right there, but you couldn’t just strike them down. It’s so frustrating!

Song Wanning was well aware of this.

But she was long used to it and didn’t feel angry. "They may not die, but they’ll have to suffer for a while."

"It’ll be nearly impossible for them to get out unscathed."

"Especially Bai Yang..."

A flicker of interest appeared in her eyes.

After this ordeal, Bai Yang’s Dao heart would surely be affected. At the very least, it would sever his path of cultivation. That alone would make this trip worthwhile.

In fact, she had discovered long ago that there was a problem with Bai Yang’s Dao heart.

The deaths of Lu Nanfeng and An Ze, and Ye Chuxue’s betrayal, had actually dealt him a heavy blow. He wasn’t as calm and collected as he appeared on the surface.

So, under the influence of the remnant souls, the damage to his Dao heart would surely be even more severe.

’All I need to do is wait and watch the show.’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’It would be even better if Bai Yang were to suffer Qi deviation!’

A fire ignited in Song Wanning’s eyes. She truly wanted Bai Yang to experience what it felt like to be hunted down and despised by everyone.

...

After the two fell from the cliff, Song Wanning didn’t linger by the edge. Instead, she began to search for Gu Qingyuan.

Ye Chuxue was in the area, so Gu Qingyuan couldn’t be far.

’He hasn’t shown up at all. He must be injured...’

A glint in her eyes, Song Wanning quickened her search.

But even after she had scoured nearly the entire mountain, there was still no sign of Gu Qingyuan.

"How strange..."

She frowned and searched the area again, but still found no trace of him.

"Gu Qingyuan would never abandon Ye Chuxue and just leave. So why can’t I find him?"

Unable to solve the mystery, she could only give up for now and return to the cliff’s edge.

...

"HAHAHA, to think I’d find such a high-quality sacrifice!!!"

In a cavern thousands of meters deep underground, a Great Demon gazed at the unconscious Gu Qingyuan on the ground, a cruel smile spreading across its face.

A few days ago, it had gone out to hunt for food and unexpectedly stumbled upon a human—a Cultivator who had reached the Nascent Soul stage, no less!

"The heavens are truly helping me! HAHAHA!"

The more the Great Demon thought about it, the happier it became.

The sacrifice had lost consciousness. It was the perfect time to make use of him.

It stroked its chin and decided to take the sacrifice over immediately.

And so, it hoisted Gu Qingyuan onto its shoulder and carried him through the underground tunnels toward the Demon Race’s forbidden ground.

...

In the Demon Race’s forbidden ground, Bai Yang crashed to the ground, the immense impact knocking him out cold.

The moment he landed, countless phantom-like remnant souls appeared around him.

All of them were in the form of beasts. Over the long eons, they had lost their consciousness, devolving into beings not much different from Demons.

Legend had it that these remnant souls of demon beasts were left behind after a great war in Ancient Times. Due to the unique terrain and a natural Array, they were unable to dissipate, gradually becoming these "neither-human-nor-ghost" entities.

Now, sensing the aura of a living person, the remnant souls rushed out and swarmed toward Bai Yang.

At the same time, Ye Chuxue also landed.

The remnant souls hesitated for a moment, then a small portion of them turned and closed in on Ye Chuxue.

But the vast majority still surrounded Bai Yang. After a wave of excitement, they began to desperately burrow into his Sea of Consciousness.

In a daze, Bai Yang felt a sharp pain in his head.

He could vaguely see many remnant souls drilling into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Ugh—"

Though unconscious, he let out a muffled groan as his entire body began to twitch uncontrollably.

He desperately wanted to wake up, to drive away the remnant souls, but it was as if he were paralyzed, unable to move a single inch.

Just then, a sharp pain shot through his Divine Soul.

A remnant soul had begun to gnaw on his Divine Soul!

Bai Yang’s heart hammered in his chest with fright as he struggled within his Sea of Consciousness.

But the remnant souls continued to tear and gnaw at him cruelly. He could even hear the sound of teeth chewing.

’So painful!!!!’

’Unbearable pain!!!’

Bai Yang’s convulsions grew more violent. From the pain, his body curled into a ball, spasming uncontrollably.

Veins bulged on his body and face, a terrifying sight to behold.

The pain of one’s Divine Soul was ten, even a hundred times worse than physical pain, to say nothing of being torn apart and devoured like this. It was simply a living torture.

In all his years of cultivation, he had faced many dangers, but none had ever been so hard to endure.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Soul was still being devoured. He soon lost the capacity to think about the past as boundless agony completely overwhelmed him.

His mind was filled with nothing but pain; there was no room for any other sensation.

Meanwhile, Ye Chuxue was also suffering the agony of having her Divine Soul devoured. However, her situation was slightly better than Bai Yang’s, as only a minority of the remnant souls were attacking her.

As she endured the pain, she cursed inwardly, wondering who had ambushed her and caused her to fall as well.

’Could it be that bitch Song Wanning again?’

Ye Chuxue’s mind almost instinctively jumped to Song Wanning. It seemed that every time she suffered misfortune, Song Wanning was involved.

Besides, Song Wanning was a despicable person who acted purely on her whims. She was more than capable of doing something like this.

’Song Wanning... this must be your doing!!!’

’When I get out of here, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost! I won’t let you go!!’

At that moment, she finally remembered her master was still waiting for her in the cave, and her expression grew even more anxious.

Bai Yang was, after all, different from others; he could provoke her so easily that she had even forgotten about her master.

Her brow furrowed in agony. ’I have to get out of here quickly, or Master will be in danger!’