Chapter 1081: Red and White Clash

Yu Yanluo, who was in the cave, had been watching Zu An battle the Paper Bride when a flash of red light suddenly appeared, and both of them vanished.

She was greatly startled and immediately looked around, simultaneously releasing her vital energy to sense their presence. However, there was no trace of Zu An, nor of the Paper Bride.

She abruptly turned to Kong Qing, who was standing nearby, and demanded, "What did you do to him?"

Kong Qing replied in a deep voice, "He was likely pulled into the Paper Bride's unique dimension. He probably won't be able to get out anytime soon."

Hearing this, Jian Taiding, who was in the corner, could not help but rejoice. "Heaven truly has eyes," he thought. "That troublesome fellow has finally disappeared."

He had heard rumors about the Paper Bride; countless masters had met their demise at her hands. It was said they were ensnared by her illusions, their souls and spirits eventually drained, leaving behind only the shells of living dead.

It would be best if Zu An were sucked dry into a husk within the illusion. That way, there might still be a chance for things between him and his sister-in-law to be salvaged.

While he was feeling enthusiastic, Yu Yanluo was deeply worried. Upon hearing Kong Qing's explanation, she raised a delicate eyebrow and retorted, "You're trying to fool me. How could her cultivation possibly create a domain?"

If it were merely an illusion, Zu An's physical body should still be here. But since even his body vanished, it's clear he was drawn into a special dimension.

Such an ability is typically exclusive to Grandmasters; it's called a domain, and within it, they are like gods.

In a sense, her world within a painting could be considered a nascent domain. However, her situation is unique; combined with assistance from the Libationer and an early fortuitous encounter that granted her the magical artifact "Thousand-Mile Rivers and Mountains Scroll," she was able to create her own space.

Although miraculous, its power pales in comparison to the domains of Grandmasters.

What virtue or ability does the Paper Bride possess to be capable of creating a domain?

Kong Qing shook his head. "It's not a domain. Her studies are highly specialized, and combined with her personal encounters, she managed to create a peculiar dimension."

Although she was nominally under his control, she had never feared him, precisely because she possessed such a trump card, which even he was wary of.

Despite her being a demon, Yu Yanluo was incredibly beautiful. Seeing her anxious and worried expression, he felt a pang of pity and offered comfort, "Madam Yu, please don't worry. Brother Zu is a friend of the Princess. The Paper Bride heard that just now, so she likely won't truly harm him."

"If anything truly happens to him, all of you will pay with your lives," Yu Yanluo declared coldly, her beautiful face etched with frost.

Kong Qing slightly furrowed his brow but said nothing.

The Night Elf nearby couldn't help but sneer, "What a big mouth."

Their side, with Kong Qing, their most powerful cultivator, already holding the upper hand without even making a move, made him wonder where this woman found the courage to speak like that. Were all beautiful women this unreasonable?

Yu Yanluo closed her eyes, completely ignoring him.

Jian Taiding, however, was ashen-faced. If he had harbored any illusions before, he was now certain: his sister-in-law, whom he regarded as a goddess and who always disdained all other men, genuinely held a special concern for Zu An.

"If only she cared for me like this, I wouldn't mind dying," Jian Taiding muttered, leaning against the icy wall. He felt disheartened, and the cold from the wall numbed his body, but it was his heart that felt even more numb at that moment.

He even forgot to be angry at Zu An.

Zu An, naturally unaware of the events outside, found himself in a forest.

Red cloths were draped on the trees on both sides, as if a family was celebrating a joyous occasion.

However, in this desolate wilderness, with red cloths hanging on withered trees and dead bamboo, it felt utterly out of place.

The ground was covered with thick, withered yellow leaves, and a faint mist pervaded the forest. Deep within the woods, several tombstones seemed to be visible.

A completely black crow cawed from a tree branch, making the surroundings even more desolate and eerie.

Zu An frowned. "What in the world is going on? I remember being in the ice cave. Where is Yu Yanluo?"

"Oh, right, I was just fighting the Paper Bride..."

He secretly pinched his thigh, and the pain confirmed that his physical body was indeed present. His heart skipped a beat. "Could this be a domain?" he wondered.

"No, that's not right. If it were a domain, the Paper Bride would have the cultivation of a Grandmaster. She'd only need a single finger to deal with me; why would she waste so much effort?"

Just then, a flurry of musical instruments suddenly echoed from a distance. Listening closely, it sounded like the kind of music played during wedding processions in old villages.

However, the pitch and timbre of the instruments seemed subtly off. Instead of conveying any joyousness, they produced an unsettling and eerie sensation.

At that moment, a thick mist poured out onto the path from the eastern forest, with faint red figures seemingly moving within it.

As the music grew closer, he gradually made out a wedding procession. People at the front carried plaques, others played instruments, escorting a large sedan chair that slowly emerged in the middle of the group.

Every person in the procession, from their clothes and shoes to their hats, was clad entirely in dazzling red.

"Is the Paper Bride in the sedan chair?" Zu An wondered, his vigilance heightened.

Just then, sharp bursts of suona music suddenly came from the west.

The suona truly is an unbeatable instrument; no other instrument can drown out its sound.

He was also familiar with this music, having heard it often at funerals in his old village.

Ironically, the wedding procession also featured suonas – truly an instrument that can accompany you from birth to burial.

However, Zu An was not smiling now. His gaze was fixed on the western path.

As a thick mist emerged, a funeral procession slowly appeared. Everyone in the procession was clad in white mourning attire, looking pale and miserable, as they carried a dark, lacquered coffin.

The people at the front moved with peculiar, trembling steps, as if performing a soul-summoning ritual.

Looking back at the wedding procession, the people at the front were also singing and dancing. To some extent, the dances of both groups bore a striking resemblance.

Neither procession seemed to notice the other; they showed no intention of stopping and continued directly towards each other.

Listening to the extremely eerie music from both sides, Zu An felt his scalp tingle.

In his past life, he had seen similar scenes in the movie "Mr. Vampire," which had given him goosebumps then. He never expected to experience it firsthand now.

The impact was exponentially greater.

He quickly darted to the side of the road. In his past life, he used to complain about movie characters foolishly standing in the middle of the road, waiting to be hit by oncoming processions. So this time, he cleverly moved to the side.

However, he soon realized he was too naive. His vision blurred, and he found that both processions were still slowly advancing directly towards him.

He looked down at his feet and saw that he was still in the middle of the road.

"Huh?" Zu An jumped to the other side again, but his vision blurred, and he was back in the middle of the road.

A ghost wall?

Zu An's heart sank. He immediately sprang from the ground, leaping onto a tree. "I'm not on the road now," he thought. "Let's see what you do."

The next moment, his eyes widened in shock, for he distinctly saw the two processions, the red and the white, appearing in mid-air, walking on thin air and advancing towards him.

Moreover, after these few rounds of evasion, both processions...