Chapter 292: Lion

The sky opened up into a sea of silver flowers.

Qiu Yue knelt on the Luo Book, bathed in holy light.

This was the "pacification" she had spoken of with Ning Changjiu when they were in the Luo Book's core. She had prepared from the beginning to sincerely defect to the Baicang Divine Kingdom if things became untenable.

As a creation of Tiancang and the Underworld Monarch, their daughter, she could rightfully accept their legacy and remains.

This was tolerated by the Heavenly Dao.

As she had said before, she could reside in the Divine Kingdom with the Heart of God, offering it to Baicang only as a last resort.

Indeed… if Baicang was truly at its last resort, what did the Heavenly Dao's precepts matter then?

"Yes, you will first return with me to the Silver Snow Palace. The Great God Baicang will make a decision then."

Baicang needed an extra power to ensure its absolute safety.

No divine lord wished to become the next headless god.

The divine envoy descended from the divine radiance. Her face was beautiful, but her beauty was not lively; it felt rigid and solemn, like a statue of a saint displayed in a temple. She gazed at the rice-grain-sized Qiu Yue, slowly extended her hand, and offered her the Heart of God.

Ning Changjiu and the other two stood behind the Luo Book, but the divine envoy did not spare them a glance.

Her purpose in coming was very clear.

"Thank you, esteemed divine envoy." Qiu Yue accepted the Heart of God. Her body was minuscule compared to it, yet she was the only one truly qualified to possess it.

The divine envoy slowly spoke: "Tiancang is about to fall."

Qiu Yue replied, "Mother Tiancang was never this great dragon, but this heart. A god's heart does not perish, so Mother still exists even in death. As for Mother's body, it was merely minerals stolen from this star. Now that Mother has returned them to this star, it is a way of settling accounts."

The divine envoy made no further comment.

Silver snowflakes fell around her. Aside from her form and words, not a trace of human essence could be felt from her.

She looked to the east and said, "Mu Lingtong has escaped."

Mu Lingtong had planned for centuries and had prepared a fallback.

The Dragon Mother's body was one of her contingencies. She had hidden a wisp of her divine soul within the Dragon Mother's physical form. During the brief clash with the Silver Snow Palace's divine envoy, divine punishment descended. She decisively abandoned her body using the method of nirvana, transmitting her divine soul over a long distance into the Dragon Mother's body.

She would reincarnate and awaken again from that body.

Qiu Yue was initially startled. She knew Mu Lingtong's power, but if it truly was the Baicang ruler observing this place, how could Mu Lingtong have possibly escaped?

She immediately understood Baicang's intention and said, "The Underworld Monarch is my father. His legacy and remains should now be in the deepest part of the Ancient Spirit Sect's Underworld ruin, which is where Mu Lingtong fled. If the esteemed divine envoy wishes to pursue Mu Lingtong, you could take me along. I can retrieve my father's remains at the same time."

The divine envoy nodded.

This was also why Mu Lingtong had a chance to escape.

"Thank you, esteemed divine envoy," Qiu Yue said thankfully. "This way, I can bring my father's bones back from the depths of the Netherworld. It pains me that father has never found peace all these years."

To Ning Changjiu and the others, these words conveyed a different meaning entirely.

If the Divine Kingdom pursued Mu Lingtong and thwarted her plan, then the Ancient Spirit Sect transforming into an Underworld Kingdom would be impossible. And since the Divine Kingdom safeguarded the mortal realm, it would not harm living beings or allow innocents to die in vain. Therefore, resolving this matter through their hands indeed seemed to be the best option.

Just as Qiu Yue was about to ascend with the divine envoy.

In the sky, a voice suddenly echoed from a distant cosmos.

It was a clear, maiden-like voice, containing only an otherworldly indifference, without a single trace of impurity.

"Overstepped."

The voice spoke only these three words.

The divine envoy bowed to the sky, then said to Qiu Yue, "There is no need to go to the Underworld. Come with me."

Qiu Yue, puzzled, asked, "If Mu Lingtong is not killed, thousands of people in the Ancient Spirit Sect, from cultivators to servants, will be spared none of this disaster. If the Underworld expands further, the surrounding city-states will surely be swallowed up. This is a calamity that destroys cities and nations; is that still not enough?"

The divine envoy replied, "No, it's not enough, because my master has judged that the disaster will not occur in the established reality."

Qiu Yue was perplexed. With such a great calamity looming over the Ancient Spirit Sect, who in their sect had the potential to avert disaster? Was it the mysterious Sect Master who called himself Huo?

In any case, Qiu Yue felt a touch of regret.

She followed the divine envoy to the secluded Silver Snow Palace.

The little girl ascended into the clouds, then suddenly looked back, gazing at Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu was also watching her.

She smiled, drew her slender hand across her neck, and made a cutting motion towards him.

Ning Changjiu watched her calmly, observing her departure.

The silver snow rolled back.

The spiritual oppression finally vanished.

Lu Jiajia's face was pale. She pursed her dry lips and sank to the ground, looking somewhat weak. Ning Changjiu quickly bent down to support her. He gently stroked her chest, helping her regulate her breathing. Lu Jiajia shook her head slightly, indicating she was alright.

Earlier, when the divine thought descended and words presumably from Baicang echoed, Lu Jiajia, despite having cultivated a sword body, still lacked the divine nature to contend with it and was ultimately affected.

Sima Ming slightly bent her arms, her slender fingers moving nimbly before her, strands of silvery-white light wrapping around them like soft silk.

As a halo of light formed between her fingers, she extended a finger and gently touched Lu Jiajia's brow.

Lu Jiajia's expression softened.

Sima Ming gently embraced her, warning her with a cold voice, "In the future, if you encounter something insurmountable, just bow your head. There's no need to force your mental strength."

Lu Jiajia rested her head on Sima Ming's arm and nodded, "Mm… thank you, big sister."

After comforting Lu Jiajia for a moment, Sima Ming looked at Ning Changjiu and said, "It seems there's a turn for the better."

Ning Changjiu nodded.

In Qiu Yue's earlier conversation with the divine envoy, it seemed to imply that the Ancient Spirit Sect's disaster would not occur.

Every Divine Kingdom, in its respective era, was infinitely close to omniscient and omnipotent. Since Baicang had made such a judgment, it was likely that nothing would happen.

"Don't worry, your junior sister should be safe now," Sima Ming said. "Mu Lingtong is probably at the end of her rope. Let's go find Ning Xiaoling together and kill Mu Lingtong while we're at it."

Lu Jiajia had also calmed down. It seemed everything had settled. Thinking of Ning Xiaoling's charming and lovely appearance, she smiled wearily, "It's good that Xiaoling is fine. She should be very happy when she sees us."

Ning Changjiu, however, felt no relief. The unease in his heart had not diminished in the slightest.

"What's wrong?" Lu Jiajia noticed the change in his mood and looked at him.

Ning Changjiu seemed to be thinking, gently shaking his head without answering. He suddenly looked at Sima Ming and asked, "Mu Lingtong has returned to the Underworld in such a poor state. How can she prevent the spread of the Underworld's disaster? Wouldn't it also require lives to fill it?"

Sima Ming said, "Baicang has already declared there's nothing wrong. Why are you worrying?"

Ning Changjiu continued to ask, "What is needed to suppress the Underworld?"

Sima Ming was somewhat helpless at his persistent questioning. After a moment's thought, she said, "If you imagine the Underworld as a broken divine kingdom, then to suppress it, you would need someone with sufficient authority and power."

Ning Changjiu clenched his teeth, the air around his lips seeming cold for a long time.

"Husband? What's wrong?" Lu Jiajia looked at his expression, very concerned.

Ning Changjiu looked at Lu Jiajia and asked, "Do you remember what happened in Linhe City?"

"Hm?" Lu Jiajia didn't know why he brought that up.

Ning Changjiu said, "Xiang'er's divine envoy said many things on the day of their departure. She once mentioned that after Madam Bai's Divine Kingdom collapsed, the Underworld authority that originally belonged to Madam Bai disappeared. At the time, we all thought it was either on Han Xiaosu or Shu Bai..."

Lu Jiajia nodded gently, still somewhat confused, but as soon as she saw Ning Changjiu's solemn gaze, she immediately understood.

"Xiaoling?!" Lu Jiajia blurted out.

Ning Changjiu hummed in affirmation and said, "Perhaps… the one who obtained that authority truly is Junior Sister."

The twilight over the Ancient Spirit Sect lingered.

Ning Xiaoling sat in the wooden hall, carefully poring over her notes. After reading them several times, her head began to ache slightly. She pinched her cheek, cleared her mind, and then turned to the first page of the booklet, staring blankly at the lifelike drawing of her senior brother on the title page.

Unconsciously, her first true meeting with her senior brother was already a memory from over three years ago. Yet, whenever she recalled those past events, the slightly cool autumn rain of the Zhao Imperial City still seemed to lightly pat her cheeks.

Ning Xiaoling often missed those times, afraid she might forget them.

Yu Jin propped her chin and dozed. Her cultivation level was merely between the initial and middle stages of the Immortal Realm, placing her at the very bottom even within this branch that was almost the lowest in the entire sect. But she always appeared carefree. In the past, she harbored a faint delusion that she might be a genius, and thus cultivated diligently. Now, having met Ning Xiaoling, she completely abandoned any resistance regarding talent, wishing only to live happily for a few more years and then return home to contend for the family inheritance with her brothers.

Every disciple in the wooden hall had their own thoughts. Some hid in corners, discussing strange books; some dozed at their desks; some read diligently, forgetting to eat and sleep; some doodled in notebooks; and some planned to go fishing with explosives in the lake.

The disciples' idle chatter echoed in their ears, occasionally accompanied by laughter. Outside, the leaves rustled. The Fish King walked slowly and gracefully across the roof of the wooden hall opposite, looking up at the sky, as if it too were recalling a certain period of time.

Time was so tranquil.

Ning Xiaoling looked at her senior brother's portrait for a long time, then straightened her clothes and hair, slowly got up, and walked out the door.

"Xiaoling, where are you going?" Yu Jin asked.

Ning Xiaoling said, "Just taking a walk."

Yu Jin simply said "Oh" and didn't pay much attention.

Ning Xiaoling's face looked very calm.

She knew herself that this calmness was false. Earlier, sitting in her chair, her petite body had shivered repeatedly, and goosebumps had risen in waves… The day clearly wasn't cold, so why did the wind feel so chilly on her skin?

Ning Xiaoling looked at the twilight, feeling as if something was waiting for her.

So she followed the call in her heart and walked out.

The Fish King stood on the rooftop, watching her from afar.

"Ah, my instincts were indeed correct. No wonder I saw such a scene when I first met her," the Fish King involuntarily recalled its true first encounter with Ning Xiaoling.

At that time, it was on the verge of death. When it looked up, it saw Ning Xiaoling's pretty face and the dark kingdom pressing down upon her pupils.

The creatures of the black kingdom clung to her demonic eyes like insect shadows. Grand divine pillars reached from earth to sky, dragon-like and serpent-like beings coiled around them, and the faint glow of white feathers was the only brightness in the entire world.

At that time, it had thought it was merely an illusion after hearing the words 'Di Ting'.

Later, it discovered that the aura emanating from the girl became increasingly familiar. That aura shared a common origin with its past source of power, the Netherworld Immortal Scroll, so its instincts couldn't be wrong.

"This little girl has quite the background."

It watched Ning Xiaoling walk into the distance, its cat paws twitched, but it did not move.

An orange glow stained its fur, making it look like a small lion.

But its eyes were not like a lion's, but rather like dead fish floating in murky pond water.

In the Ancient Spirit Sect, many highly cultivated elders emerged from seclusion on this day. Some awaited the ascension that would benefit all, while others, unwilling to take risks, silently left the sect.

The Great Elder guarding the entrance of the Nine Nether Hall was gone.

Zhu Ding sat in the Great Elder's former seat, looking at the hall in the twilight with a weathered gaze.

Inside the Nine Nether Hall, Huo, cloaked in a black robe that obscured his age, stood before the Underworld. The ancient ox hourglass beside him, whose sand had completely run out, suddenly opened its eyes.

On the shimmering barrier of the open Underworld portal, ripples suddenly spread out.

Huo breathed a sigh of relief and hastily knelt before the hall. Recalling Mu Lingtong's peerless grace, he prostrated himself sincerely, his voice trembling with long-held reverence: "You've returned?"

However, the voice that answered him was not the one from his memory. The voice in his memory was always cool and unhurried, like a strategist who saw through all worldly enigmas, indifferent to everything.

But now, the woman's voice from behind the barrier was filled with an indescribable weariness, so weak that it was even slightly hoarse, as if she were dying.

"Initiate the sacrifice… of everyone in the sect…"

Her words were brief.

After his initial shock, Huo realized that this was indeed Senior Mu Lingtong's voice. He just didn't know why she was so severely wounded.

Sacrifice… everyone in the sect?

As Huo considered this decision, he quickly understood: Senior Mu Lingtong's current authority was insufficient to suppress the Underworld, so she needed to refine all the authority of the Ancient Spirit Sect into her own body to accomplish this.

This was one of the contingency plans they had decided upon from the very beginning, to be used only as a last resort.

Mu Lingtong decided to activate it.

In the Ancient Spirit Sect, every disciple received a thin copper ring upon joining. It was said that the ring contained a fragment of the Underworld Monarch's authority, which could accelerate a disciple's cultivation speed.

But this was actually a lie.

Far from helping disciples cultivate, this thin copper ring secretly siphoned their power, strengthening itself.

Every disciple, unbeknownst to them, was contributing to the Ancient Spirit Sect's greatest conspiracy of centuries. However, forcibly retrieving the authority within these rings was akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

"Are you, certain?" Huo confirmed.

Mu Lingtong's voice grew weaker, but she struggled to remain calm, repeating with clear words:

"Certain! You should understand that if I… if I cannot suppress the Underworld, everyone will die."

On the shimmering barrier, Mu Lingtong's weak yet exquisitely beautiful face faintly appeared.

That face was like a phantom dream in water.

Huo looked at that face, and his mind instantly settled.

What did the lives of the entire sect matter? He had been nurtured by the Senior personally, and he vowed to follow her to his death.

"Yes."

Huo replied.

Above the Nine Nether Hall, a red light shot straight into the sky.

In wars between nations, when facing an unequal conflict, the only way to win is to fill it with lives.

But this was different from ordinary national wars; this was an intangible war.

The Underworld Monarch's burial ground had long since become a shattered divine kingdom, essentially a bottomless pit.

Huo was also unsure if the lives of the entire sect would be enough to fill it.

This decision was made without anyone knowing.

The spread of death moved from near to far, silently.

Up until this moment, the twilight remained incredibly calm.

Ning Xiaoling disappeared from sight. The Fish King trod on the tiles, leaped from the rooftop, and dejectedly walked into the wooden hall. Yu Jin was lazily stretching. Seeing it enter, Yu Jin playfully teased it, "Why are you back? Junior Sister Xiaoling went out; you could go play with her."

The Fish King thought, *I'm not going to my death.*

It was an elderly cat. Its grand ambitions had faded; it only wished to spend its twilight years in peace.

It ignored Yu Jin and walked towards the back, to its own unique seat.

A nearby disciple laughed at Yu Jin, "Why do you talk to the cat every day? What can it possibly understand?"

Yu Jin snorted, "I'd rather talk to a cat than to you. Besides, Xiaoling says it's very spiritual. Who knows, one day your cultivation might not even be as good as its."

"Haha, Junior Sister, you really know how to joke."

"What joke? How many points did you score on the last test? If I sprinkle some dried fish on little Di Ting's paper, it probably gets more answers right than you do."

The Fish King listened to their childish conversation and felt only boredom.

It lay down on the table and quietly fell asleep.

The sunlight falling on the table dyed its fur golden, making it look majestic. But it was just a cat; its eyes were never like a lion's.

The last class began. It was a theoretical test on the Sword Art Heart Sutra.

Teacher Shuo Ling entered from outside, carrying paper scrolls, and distributed them.

Yu Jin strangely looked at the empty chair, thinking, *Where's Xiaoling? Even though Xiaoling has entered the Purple Court realm and doesn't need to attend class, she never skips! She always sits in the wooden hall… Where did she go today? How strange.*

The Xuan paper was distributed. The questions were simple: each had four sentences below it, and one simply had to choose the correct one. There were fifty questions in total.

Yu Jin began working on it with a troubled expression.

Suddenly, the Ancient Spirit Sect began to shake.

In the center of the Nine Nether Hall, the breath of death spread. Except for Huo, several elders guarding the hall were instantly killed, transforming into fragmented authorities that flowed into the shimmering barrier of the Underworld's gate.

Elders of the Purple Court realm, esteemed and costly to cultivate, now seemed worthless.

Although their cultivation was high, they had not reached the Five Paths. The authority that could be squeezed from them from them was still too little, a drop in the ocean for the Underworld.

Inside the Underworld, Mu Lingtong, hidden within the Dragon Mother's body and awaiting rebirth, also sensed despair.

Her true body had been shattered outside the Luo Book Tower, and most of her power was lost, making her utterly insufficient to stabilize this place.

Today was the Ancient Spirit Sect's doomsday.

Many perceptive elders wanted to escape, but with the Underworld gate tightly closed, how could they get out?

Zhu Ding had a chance to leave.

He was old and had considered it all night, indeed choosing to leave, unwilling to make a meaningless sacrifice here.

As long as they didn't take large groups of disciples with them, Huo wouldn't stop them either.

Zhu Ding intended to leave with Ning Xiaoling alone; she was the only girl he wished to take as a disciple.

He walked out through the main gate of the Nine Nether Hall.

Ning Xiaoling, however, happened to be coming in his direction.

Zhu Ding frowned and asked, "Xiaoling? What are you doing here?"

"Uncle-Master," Ning Xiaoling bowed, then asked, "Uncle-Master, can you tell me what's happening?"

Zhu Ding had roughly guessed the reason and said, "Mu Lingtong's plan has failed. She wants to blood-sacrifice the entire city for power. Quickly discard the ring on your hand. Although you'll lose a lot of cultivation, your life is ultimately more important… Alas, I still have enough strength to take you away."

Ning Xiaoling asked, "What about them?"

Zhu Ding sighed and shook his head, "They… there's nothing that can be done."

Ning Xiaoling asked, "Will they all die?"

Zhu Ding nodded and said, "Stop asking. If we delay any longer, you'll die too."

Ning Xiaoling said, "Uncle-Master, please go. I want to go in and see."

Zhu Ding looked at her face and asked, "With such a disaster looming, aren't you surprised at all?"

Ning Xiaoling was surprised, but as she walked, the deeply hidden authority within her body gradually emerged from its depths, revealing itself.

This authority belonged to Madam Bai.

As she sensed the power of the authority, she also saw many almost prophetic scenes within it.

These scenes corresponded with Zhu Ding's words.

Ning Xiaoling lowered her head, pressed her lips together, her knuckles white from clutching her skirt hem. After a long time, she looked up and said, "Uncle-Master Zhu Ding, my master is in Nanzhou, named Lu Jiajia. After you leave, please find my master and tell her not to worry about Xiaoling; Xiaoling has gone to find her senior brother."

With that, she released her tightly clutched skirt, and bowed to Zhu Ding.

Zhu Ding was slightly stunned, then sternly said, "Although you won the Spirit Valley Grand Competition, do you really think you're a Child of Destiny? You're only in the initial stage of the Purple Court realm. Your life alone won't be enough to fill this! Don't die in vain. Your master and senior brother are waiting for you."

"Senior brother… he's already dead." Ning Xiaoling's words were mournful for the first time. In the past, she had countless times encouraged herself, saying she would cultivate hard to retrieve her senior brother, but she knew there was no way out of such a forbidden place. Moreover, when her senior brother entered the abyss, his cultivation was only at the Longevity realm…

She regained her composure, looked at the Ancient Spirit Sect in the setting sun, and said, "There are over three thousand people here. I know many of them. They call me Senior Sister, but I'm not that old; they're all older than me…"

She spoke calmly, her voice suddenly catching in her throat.

Zhu Ding looked at the girl. The breath of death was already drawing near. He suddenly broke into old tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ning Xiaoling bid him farewell and walked towards the Nine Nether Hall.

The Nine Nether Hall opened its doors wide, welcoming her arrival.

The path was empty, and she walked all the way to the deepest part.

A black-robed man and an ancient ox stared at her.

"Is this it?" Ning Xiaoling asked, pointing at the shimmering barrier.

The black-robed man gazed deeply at her.

*Who is she? Is she a disciple of the sect? Why did the restrictions throughout the Nine Nether Hall voluntarily allow her passage?*

Huo looked at her with uncertainty and slowly nodded.

Ning Xiaoling walked up to the shimmering barrier.

*Senior brother must have been waiting for Xiaoling for a long time… Xiaoling is late.*

Clear tears slid down her cheeks. She gently lifted her skirt hem, and stepped in somewhat reservedly.

The shaking in the Ancient Spirit Sect subsided.

Huo looked at the shimmering barrier and softly asked, "Is it enough?"

*The combined authority fragments of the entire sect might not have been enough, but she alone filled it?*

*If that's true… it's truly a stroke of immense luck.*

"Not enough."

After a moment, Mu Lingtong's voice came from within.

"Still a little short…"

The Netherworld's deathly aura continued to spread.

Ning Xiaoling floated in the void, slowly sinking. She opened her eyes, looking at the dark surroundings, and hearing "not enough," she felt a little disappointed.

*Still not enough…?*

*Will everyone still die? Including me…?*

Her heart gradually grew silent.

In the wooden hall of the Spirit Control lineage, Ning Xiaoling did not return for a long time.

The sky gradually darkened.

The Fish King suddenly opened its eyes, jumped onto Ning Xiaoling's seat, picked up her test paper with its mouth, and then walked back to the last row.

It spread the paper on the desk, then dipped its paw into a nearby inkstone, took some ink, and stamped its answers one by one onto the paper.

Fluid and seamless, completed in one go.

All fifty questions were answered in a single breath, without any hesitation.

The ink on its paw dried just then.

It picked up the paper, jumped onto Teacher Shuo Ling's podium, and was the first to submit its test and walk out.

Everyone stopped writing, staring in shock at this unusually behaving cat.

*Is this… cat insane?*

Teacher Shuo Ling was even more astonished. She had thought it was just a cat's prank, newly understanding human ways, but she picked up the paper, quickly scanned it, and was utterly stunned.

*All… all correct?!*

The Fish King ignored everyone's stares; it had already walked far away.

It walked towards the Nine Nether Hall.

The twilight glow had vanished, and the golden radiance on its fur was also gone, but its eyes were open, looking like a lion's.