Chapter Thirty-Two: Night's Sudden Change (Part Two)

The night was engulfed in darkness, with fleeting lights brushing over the black beams, sparking brilliant flashes. Red light surged, illuminating the entire night. The Daoist temple was filled with flickering firelight and hurrying Daoists, shattering the balance and leaving behind clear, tragic wails amidst the chaos.

I saw a dark figure flying towards Luyin's room and hastily followed, sensing I had found the answer.

A thunderous sound exploded beside me. I quickly spun to avoid it, kicking the glowing object back.

"Where's the coward hiding? If you have the guts, come out and face me head-on!" I intended to provoke the shadow into revealing itself, losing its advantage. But the silence only made me more uneasy.

Fine, I won't waste time with you.

I shook my sleeves and strode towards Luyin's room. Before I could take ten steps, the shadow couldn't resist and hurled another glowing object at me. I dodged, catching a glimpse of a sparking iron ring. Thankfully, I reacted in time.

"Watch out." Senior Brother Luo Xi had appeared behind me, his sword intercepting the spinning iron ring and clattering it to the ground.

"Senior Brother, you're here!" I said with relief.

Luo Xi's eyes narrowed as he studied the iron ring. "It's the Starfire Hall's Lihuan Ring. Be careful not to get hit. Let's go."

I nodded, clasping my hands. "I'll leave this to you, Senior Brother. Be careful."

As I continued forward, two more glowing objects came at me. Luo Xi effortlessly deflected both. Now angered, I roughly determined the attacker's position and cast a spell to levitate the iron rings, adding a layer of cold energy before hurling them back.

A pained grunt followed, and a black-clad woman fell, coughing blood and glaring at me with resentment.

"You attacked me first, and now you look at me like this? Do you think you can attack without retaliation?" I thought disdainfully, rolling my eyes.

The woman looked familiar. After a moment, I recognized her as someone who had accompanied Yier to the cave earlier. No wonder—if Yier, a member of the Starfire Hall, was involved, it wasn't surprising she was here too.

"Qingyue, go check on Luyin. I'll extract information from her before killing her and joining you," Luo Xi said, uncharacteristically cold.

Could he already know about Yier?

"Dream on..." the black-clad woman weakly muttered, closing her eyes resolutely.

Was she trying to kill herself?

We needed to delay her as much as possible. "Not so fast!" I angrily froze her into an ice statue. "Senior Brother, don't rush. This woman is cunning. Let me help you interrogate her when I return." I then ran towards Luyin's room.

The room was eerily lit with a blood-red glow, radiating from inside out, creating an oppressive and terrifying atmosphere that made approaching difficult.

What on earth is happening here...

I clutched my sleeve, forming an ice lotus in my hand, infusing it with all my spiritual power. I hurled it toward the door. The spinning ice lotus, glowing blue, broke through the door, dispersing the red light which then emitted a few wisps of pale red mist before stabilizing.

Without a second thought, I stepped into the room, but Luyin was nowhere in sight. Instead, I found Lianmu curled up under the table, trembling. As I approached, I saw that he had transformed dramatically, looking nothing like a normal person. His face was purple-black with fangs protruding over his lips, and his red eyes were heavily shadowed. When he saw me, he immediately lowered his head, muttering, "Sister, I'm sorry."

What on earth was going on? Could something have happened to Luyin?

I quickly dismissed this thought. Looking around, I saw Luyin lying on the bed. Using my spiritual power, I checked her pulse and found she was just unconscious, with no visible injuries.

But why had Lianmu changed so drastically? Could it be the work of the Starfire Hall? Everything was happening too quickly and strangely to comprehend.

A clear ringing of bells echoed distantly, continuous and irregular, sending chills down my spine. It reminded me of the corpse-driving bells recorded in books.

Before I could ponder more, the "corpse" under the table provided a clear answer. The "purple-black corpse" had eyes like dark pits, and each step it took produced a creaking sound like dislocated joints. Finally, it raised its head and lunged at me like a hunting beast. I blocked its fangs with my arm and struck it with the ice lotus, but the spell dissolved into faint light crystals, absorbed by its purple-black skin.

How could this be?

Though the creature moved slowly, it overpowered my spells. My attacks were ineffective, and it seemed to be using the body merely as a tool, much like a python constricting its prey.

With my hands bound and movement restricted, I initially planned to endure the struggle. However, it opened its mouth and spewed a cloud of purple-black gas. The acrid, foul smell sapped my strength and made my entire body ache.

Poison gas?

Unable to think further, the creature's claw-like fingers aimed for my abdomen. Warm liquid splattered on my face, flowing warmly over me. The acrid smell snapped my mind clear. The expected pain didn't come. I opened my eyes to see Luyin, covered in blood, standing between me and the creature.

Lianmu, drawn by the scent of his sister's blood, momentarily regained clarity. As the bell continued to ring, he let out a long howl, transformed into a black mist, and vanished from sight.

Luyin suddenly grabbed my hand tightly, struggling to breathe. Her pain was evident. "Save…Lianmu…" With her last bit of strength, she uttered these three words and then went still. I could feel the warmth in her body slowly fading away.

This was the first time I had ever felt someone's death.

It felt like falling into an icy river, the cold piercing to the bone.