The imperial concubine is charming and coquettish, she crazily criticizes the tyrant for spoiling he

“Friend.” Qing Sang returned to his previous statement without changing his expression.

Chang Li's expression remained unchanged as he directly answered Qing Sang's question: "I was asked to do this."

"Who asked you to do this?" Qing Sang asked immediately.

"I don't know." Changli shook his head.

Qing Sang scrutinized him closely, his expression calm and revealing nothing of his true intentions. He might genuinely be acting on someone's behalf, but Chang Li knew nothing about it, and she didn't believe it. A person like Chang Li couldn't possibly act without ulterior motives. Just like when he helped Qi Mingyue, he was actually using her as a vessel. "Then tell me what you know."

Chang Li shook his head, then suddenly changed the subject. "Want a divine artifact?"

Qing Sang was furious at Chang Li's attitude when he suddenly mentioned the divine artifact. Could it be that Chang Li had found the divine artifact formed from her heart? Impossible, she couldn't sense it at all. Could it be the one formed from Lian Xueyin's eyes?

Her expression remained unchanged: "I don't want to. If you don't have any news, I don't see any need for us to have tea." With that, she stood up, and the others followed suit.

"Let's go take a look!"

Changli tapped the tea table three times, and a light suddenly emanated from the tea table, enveloping them all.

When the light faded, they were no longer in the main hall, but in a secret chamber set up with an array. In the center of the chamber, a red mirror floated. Its edges were entwined with red floral branches, interspersed with red leaves and flowers. It was a two-sided mirror; one side was a blurry, reddish color, the other a cold, clean, frosty hue. The mirror rotated continuously within the array's constraints, occasionally emitting light, clearly trying to break free. But even these sporadic bursts of light were enough to make one's heart tremble and dare not look directly at it; such power left no doubt that it was a true divine artifact.

Upon seeing this divine artifact, Qing Sang immediately understood that this was the artifact that Lian Xueyin's eye had transformed into. Using his eye as a mirror, it had become a mirror. The floral and leafy edges of the mirror were shaped like Qing Sang's own leaves, and the frost-colored mirror surface on the other side was none other than Lian Xueyin himself. In his previous life, he was the God of War, Xuan Shuang. Where exactly did Chang Li find this divine artifact? Thinking of Chang Li's severe injuries, it was likely inflicted while wielding the artifact. And judging from its current appearance, the artifact hadn't yet recognized a master. So why did Chang Li bring them here? Just as she began to suspect Chang Li's purpose in bringing them here, she saw the divine artifact suddenly fly towards her. It turned out that Chang Li had somehow suddenly broken the array suppressing the artifact, and the moment the array was released, the artifact immediately flew towards Qing Sang.

Qing Sang instinctively reached out, and the mirror immediately flew into her palm. The sharp flower branch pierced her palm, and the moment blood flowed, the ritual of recognizing its master was completed. Then, it eagerly rushed into Qing Sang's arms, pressed tightly against her heart, and never moved again.

Seeing this sudden scene, everyone present looked astonished.

Even Chang Li, the instigator, looked surprised, but then understood.

"really!"

Qi Wan knew that his heart had been transformed into a divine artifact and dispersed, which is why he chose to follow one of the artifacts. He eventually found it in Zhongzhou and, after much effort, managed to retrieve it before the various forces in Zhongzhou could act, but he was severely injured in the process. Unexpectedly, he returned just in time for the internal strife within the Gu Clan. Those reckless old fools dared to attempt to storm the Holy Temple; they were truly overestimating themselves. He deliberately let them steal Song Yunting, considering it a trial for him. Whether Song Yunting survived or not was his good fortune. He immediately sealed the Holy Temple and focused on refining the artifact, but despite his best efforts, it remained unresponsive. It wasn't until Qing Sang and the others entered the Holy Temple that the artifact suddenly reacted, seemingly trying to escape. He then painstakingly inscribed an array to restrain it. This is also why he hadn't appeared when Qing Sang and the others were attempting their trials. Now everything is confirmed: the artifact is indeed connected to Qing Sang, and Qing Sang is inextricably linked to Qi Wan.

Suddenly, Chang Li attacked Qing Sang. The divine mirror, which had been pressed against Qing Sang, immediately flew out of Qing Sang's arms, its red side facing outwards to block Qing Sang's attack. Chang Li's attack struck the mirror's surface, and a ripple spread across the red surface, completely absorbing the attack without harming Qing Sang at all. This was the divine mirror's ability: the red side primarily absorbed, while the frosty side primarily reflected. It was a top-tier defensive artifact, and as a mirror, the frosty side could reflect one's true nature, while the red side could reveal the past.

Changli's attack failed, and he understood the artifact's function, realizing that Qing Sang, with it in hand, might not be able to defeat her for the time being. After his initial probing attack, he immediately tried to escape. But Qing Sang and the others weren't about to let him go. After his attack, the others didn't hesitate to strike. At this moment, Wanqiu suddenly appeared, instantly creating shadow clones. Seven Wanqius together met Qing Sang and her group of five.

Qing Sang ignored Wan Qiu and relentlessly pursued Chang Li. While dealing with Qing Sang, Chang Li took the opportunity to move around the hall. The five people in the midst of the battle suddenly felt their power suppressed. It turned out that Chang Li had activated the array in the hall at some point. This array was different from the one that had bound the divine artifacts earlier; it was likely a suppressive array. The power was similar to the power that had suppressed the whirlwind in the illusion on the third level. The little whirlwind had already been frightened and turned into wind to hide when Chang Li appeared in the plaza outside, and hadn't followed them into the hall. Otherwise, it would have already screamed in terror.

Fortunately, they had fought Wanqiu before entering the temple and knew his style and weaknesses. Qingluo, Liu Shuangyue, Song Yunting, and Song Tanxi worked together, seemingly four against seven, but in reality, they were constantly creating opportunities for Qingluo. When Qingluo found the right moment, he severely injured one of them, and that clone would return to the original body, also affecting the original body.

Qing Sang then drew her most favored weapon, a silver whip that danced flawlessly in the air, its silver light shimmering like fish-man scales in the light. With the aid of the divine mirror, even with her power suppressed, she fought Chang Li to a standstill. Qing Sang grew increasingly excited with each blow, while sweat streamed down Chang Li's bald head.

Chang Li's previous severe injuries hadn't fully healed, and the increasingly seamless teamwork between Qing Sang and Shen Jing caused him to slowly fall into a disadvantageous position. This was something he hadn't anticipated. He had dared to let Qing Sang and the others come up because this was his territory and he was confident in his own abilities. He hadn't expected the artifact to recognize him as its master, and Qing Sang's abilities had also improved significantly since their last meeting. Facing Qing Sang like this, even in his prime, he would have to be cautious, let alone now.

Meanwhile, Qingluo and the other three had combined their strength to severely injure Wanqiu's last clone, causing it to return to its original form. At this moment, Wanqiu was already struggling against the four of them alone. Changli weighed the pros and cons and quickly made a decision. He was struck by Qingsang's whip and sent flying backward, landing right next to Wanqiu. He struck Wanqiu in the back with a palm strike, then quickly retreated and disappeared from the hall.

The five quickly gave chase, only to see Wanqiu's body suddenly swell to more than twice its original size, blocking their way like a small mountain.

"A berserk Gu. Once infected, it will exponentially unleash the potential of the infected person. Just how many Gu does he have?! The incantation to awaken this berserk Gu is extremely complex. He must have started chanting the incantation while fighting you." Song Yun exclaimed in amazement as he fought. To be honest, Chang Li's mastery of Gu techniques truly impressed him.

Although her potential was greatly stimulated, Wanqiu was already severely injured when the Berserk Gu was awakened. In addition, the injuries she had sustained outside the temple had not yet healed, so she could only hold on for a moment before being heavily knocked down by the combined attack of the five of them. The combined attack of the five of them slammed Wanqiu, who had turned into a small mountain, onto the ground.

Chang Li, who had just arrived on the first floor of the temple, hadn't even had time to think of a way to deal with it when he felt the entire temple shake. Then came a series of cracking sounds. Chang Li looked up in shock to see the ceiling suddenly begin to crack, then completely split open. Wan Qiu's massive body, still in a frenzy, crashed heavily onto the first-floor floor, creating a deep crater. His body then returned to its original size, lying motionless at the bottom of the crater, his fate unknown. Next came the relentless attack from Qing Sang and his four companions. Chang Li fought back desperately, but after a few exchanges, he was defeated, his body flying backwards onto the statues enshrined on the first floor.

Changli spat out blood, staining the curtain that had been hanging in front of the statue's face. His body crashed heavily into the statue before slowly sliding down.

Qing Sang leaped up, about to pull him out. But then she saw the curtain, which had been impossible to lift, suddenly begin to flutter after being stained with Chang Li's blood. Qing Sang immediately looked up at the face of the statue, and just as she was about to see it clearly, golden light suddenly shot out from the statue. The golden light was so real that it directly blasted them out of the hall.

"Ah~" As she was being knocked away, a scream suddenly came from Liu Shuangyue's side, followed by a muffled groan.

Qing Sang's heart tightened. Whether the golden light was Buddhist or divine, it possessed destructive power against demonic forces. By the time the golden light dissipated, they were already outside the hall.

That attack had also seriously injured Qing Sang and the others, and she quickly swallowed the blood. She hurriedly looked at Liu Shuangyue and saw a black figure covered in blood tightly holding Liu Shuangyue in his arms, the two of them lying not far away.

"Shuangyue, how are you?" Qingsang tried to pry the black figure apart, but found that he was holding her very tightly, but they could see his face clearly, which turned out to be Wanqiu.

"I'm fine." Liu Shuangyue's voice trembled, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she looked up at the person holding her tightly.

Only after she spoke did the person holding her release her as if all their strength had been drained, and their body slumped into the arms of the person they were protecting.

Liu Shuangyue's face was streaked with tears. As she endured the searing pain that seemed to burn her very soul, believing she was surely going to die, he suddenly stepped in front of her, holding her tightly in his arms, offering her his own body as a final shield. She saw his eyes clearly; they were no longer numb and empty, but filled with deep affection. They were the eyes of the lover she had long cherished in the depths of her memory!
She raised her trembling hand and gently stroked his blood-covered face. "Shuangxu! Is that you? You're back, aren't you?"

Tears fell drop by drop onto the man's face. His tightly closed eyes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened them. His somewhat unfocused dark eyes strained to see Liu Shuangyue's tear-filled face before him. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but no sound came out. He hadn't spoken for so long that his vocal cords had long since lost their function.

But Liu Shuangyue understood his lip movements; he was saying "I'm sorry." Tears flowed even more freely, and only then did an overwhelming sense of grievance well up inside her—the misunderstanding, the abandonment, the hurt… all the resentment turned into grievance in front of her lover.

He raised his hand slightly, as if to wipe away her tears, but ultimately let it fall limply. Her eyes, which had been straining to open, lost their light…

"Ah..." Liu Shuangyue held Chen Shuangxu's body and cried out in pain. The lover she had worked so hard to find was gone after only a moment of embrace.

The group could only stand silently by her side as they watched this scene unfold.

Qingluo, who had left sometime earlier, quietly returned and shook his head slightly at Qingsang, who was looking at him. Changli was no longer in the hall; he had ultimately escaped.

With a deafening roar, the temple tower behind them collapsed, burying everything beneath it. (End of Chapter)