The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

"I have urgent business to attend to immediately."

Jiang Chuan was about to say something when Pei Guoguo's anxious shouts came from afar again.

"Junior brother! Where are you?"

Yu Youwei glanced in the direction the sound came from and gave Jiang Chuan an apologetic smile.

"Take care of yourself."

After she finished speaking, her figure vanished like smoke into the rain, leaving only a faint fragrance.

Xiaoqing pouted.

"My master always does this, leaving whenever he wants."

Jiang Chuan gazed in the direction where Yu Youwei had disappeared, feeling a deep sense of loss.

At this moment, Pei Guoguo and Chen Ping came into view.

"Little junior brother!"

Pei Guoguo immediately noticed the rain-soaked wounds on Jiang Chuan's body, exclaimed in surprise, and used magic to separate the rain.

Chen Ping strode forward.

"Is the injury serious?"

Jiang Chuan shook his head.

"It's just a superficial wound, and the bleeding has stopped."

Without a word, Pei Guoguo grabbed Jiang Chuan's wrist.

let me see!"

Without saying a word, she grabbed Jiang Chuan's wrist and probed it with her spiritual energy.

"Is it absolutely necessary to see it?"

Jiang Chuan asked with a wry smile.

Pei Guoguo put her hands on her hips, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.

"Stop talking nonsense! If it weren't for Senior Brother Chen's sharp eyes noticing your unstable breathing, we would still be completely in the dark!"

His clothes slipped down, revealing Jiang Chuan's lean upper body. On his right shoulder, a hideous scar coiled like a centipede; although it had mostly healed, it was still a shocking sight.

The skin around the wound was an unnatural bluish-purple, with tiny runes faintly visible flowing beneath the skin.

"Does it hurt?"

Qinglin blinked her big eyes and asked, her fingers gently touching the hideous scar again.

Jiang Chuan smiled and shook his head.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, this little injury is nothing."

Chen Ping's gaze was unusually serious as he stared at the scar on Jiang Chuan's shoulder, his brows furrowed.

"These are not ordinary scars; they are marks left by the forceful healing of the very essence of life."

He looked up and stared directly into Jiang Chuan's eyes.

Do you know what the price is for using the essence of life to heal?

Jiang Chuan's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously touched his scar.

He did remember that after the strange phenomenon in the Sea of ​​Bitterness was created, the life essence returned by the Chaos Green Lotus had allowed him to recover quickly, but he did not expect it to leave such obvious traces.

"My situation was urgent."

Jiang Chuan explained in a low voice.

"No matter how urgent the situation, you can't joke around with your life!"

Chen Ping's voice suddenly rose.

"Who do you think you are? Second Senior Brother? He was—"

"Chen Ping!"

Pei Guoguo suddenly interrupted him and shook her head.

The atmosphere in the room froze for a moment.

Jiang Chuan felt a pang of guilt as he looked at Chen Ping's excited expression.

He knew Chen Ping meant well; his second senior brother's affairs had always been a taboo topic within the sect.

"I understand, I'll be more careful in the future."

Jiang Chuan nodded solemnly.

Pei Guoguo broke the silence at the opportune moment.

"Alright, Qinglin, let's go out first and let Jiang Chuan change his clothes."

She took Qinglin's small hand and walked towards the door, turning back to say something before leaving.

"The sect leader said that after you come out of the Kunlun Secret Realm, it will take three years to raise you to the fifth realm."

Jiang Chuan's lips twitched.

"Three years? Fifth realm? My sect leader really thinks highly of me."

"What do you think?"

Pei Guoguo smiled slyly.

"Who told you to cause so much trouble?"

After saying that, he left the room with Qinglin.

After the door closed, only Jiang Chuan and Chen Ping remained in the room.

The sound of rain outside the window seemed to grow louder, pattering against the windowpane.

Jiang Chuan asked while changing his clothes.

"Chen Ping, is it true that the Demonic Sect ambushed and killed me?"

Chen Ping remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"It's more serious than you know. To stop this ambush, the immortal sects even mobilized their Supreme Elders who have been out of the public eye for many years."

"The Supreme Elder?"

Jiang Chuan paused in his actions and looked at Chen Ping in surprise.

"Has this gotten this big?"

"What do you think?"

Chen Ping sighed.

"The Demonic Sect has almost mobilized all its forces this time. If it weren't for the timely intervention of the Supreme Elder, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Jiang Chuan fastened his belt, his brows furrowed.

"Why is the Demonic Sect so persistent with me? I'm just a newly initiated disciple."

Chen Ping walked to the window and looked out at the pitch-black night.

"That's exactly what's worrying. The Demonic Sect won't start a war without a reason; they must have something in mind."

He turned around.

"Also, Xue Xing, the leader of the Sword-Holding Hall, will be imprisoned at the Cliff of Repentance because of this matter."

"Master Xue?"

Jiang Chuan was even more surprised.

"What's up with him?"

"He's too arrogant."

Chen Ping shook his head.

"I thought it was just a small-scale ambush, but I didn't expect the Demonic Sect to mobilize so many people. If it weren't for their misjudgment, you could have avoided this crisis."

Jiang Chuan remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"Although I don't particularly like Hall Master Xue's personality, this matter can't be entirely blamed on him. The Demonic Sect has always acted in secrecy; who could have predicted they would go to such lengths?"

Chen Ping glanced at Jiang Chuan with some surprise.

"You are open-minded."

"It's not that I'm easygoing."

Jiang Chuan smiled bitterly.

"It's just about understanding Master Xue's decision-making logic. If it were me, I might have made the same judgment."

Chen Ping nodded and said nothing more.

Jiang Chuan put on his outer robe, walked to Chen Ping's side, and together they looked out the window at the rainy night.

"This is just the beginning, isn't it?"

Jiang Chuan suddenly asked.

Chen Ping glanced at him sideways.

"What do you mean?"

"The struggle between good and evil."

Jiang Chuan's voice was low and deep.

"The civil war in the seven northern kingdoms, the war between the Great Zhou and the Yan Kingdom, and the conflicts between the martial arts world and the imperial court—all of this has only just begun. The Demonic Sect's actions today are merely a signal."

Chen Ping gave Jiang Chuan a deep look, as if he were truly getting to know this young junior brother for the first time.

He nodded slowly.

"You're right. A storm is brewing."

After a moment of silence, Jiang Chuan suddenly asked.

"Where are Chen Qing and the others?"

"At the Liang Prince's Mansion."

Chen Ping answered.

"Wang Han and Su Wen are there too."

"Then let's go see them."

As Jiang Chuan spoke, he picked up the sword on the table.

As soon as the two stepped out of the room, they saw Pei Guoguo and Qinglin waiting in the corridor.

Qinglin held a string of candied hawthorns in his hand, his mouth covered in sugar stains from eating them.

"Have you changed it?"

Pei Guoguo looked Jiang Chuan up and down.

"Well, at least it's starting to look human."

Jiang Chuan smiled helplessly.

"Let's go to the Liang Prince's Mansion."

The group left the inn and stepped into the gloomy, rainy night of Longhai County. The rain soaked the bluestone pavement, and their footsteps sounded particularly clear in the empty streets.

Meanwhile, the southern part of the city was a scorched wasteland. The traces left by the tribulation lightning were shocking, and charred corpses could occasionally be seen among the ruins.

The autumn rain fell on these ruins, as if heaven was weeping for the innocent lives lost.

At the edge of these ruins, two figures slowly walked towards them.

One was tall, the other short, both wearing the distinctive white robes of the Hanging Temple. "Master, over here."

The young monk Kongkong stared at the horrific scene before him, his voice trembling.

An elderly monk in white robes chanted Buddhist mantras with a solemn expression.

"Amitabha, sin, sin, sin."

"Is there anything we can do for them?"

Kongkong looked up and asked, tears welling in her eyes.

Just as the monk Kongchan was about to answer, he suddenly realized something and turned to look into the depths of the rain.

A slender figure holding an oil-paper umbrella is slowly walking towards us.

"I have long admired Master Kongchan of the Hanging Temple."

The woman's voice was cold and clear. She slightly raised the edge of her umbrella, revealing a delicate yet aloof face.

Kong Chan's gaze sharpened.

"Who are you?"

"Yu Youwei".

The woman smiled slightly.

"It's the person who delivered the letter to you."

Kong Chan's expression immediately turned serious.

"You're saying the clues to the Hanging Temple massacre are in this city?"

Yu Youwei nodded, and the raindrops on the umbrella gathered into lines and dripped to the ground.

"Not only that, I also discovered something even more terrifying."

She looked around at the ruins.

"The incident on Guangcheng Mountain is probably related to the Hanging Temple massacre."

Kong Chan's pupils contracted slightly.

Please be specific.

“Those monks who were killed may have been resurrected as the dead.”

Yu Youwei lowered her voice.

"what?!"

Kongkong cried out in surprise, but was stopped by a look from his master.

Yu Youwei continued.

"The Battle of Hulao Pass in the southern region of Yan two years ago, and the siege of Weicheng by Xian Zhen's army of the dead in the northern border war more than seventy years ago. You should be familiar with these histories, Master, right?"

Kong Chan's expression turned extremely ugly.

"You mean"

"The Demonic Sect may have mastered some kind of forbidden technique."

Yu Youwei's eyes flashed with a cold light.

"It can make the dead crawl back from the underworld."

Kong Chan's monk robes fluttered without wind, and the surrounding raindrops suddenly froze in mid-air.

His murderous intent was almost tangible.

“You know too much, benefactor.”

Yu Youwei, however, was not afraid at all, and instead stepped forward.

"I don't know much, but it's enough for the master to understand that the Demonic Sect's ambitions go far beyond this."

She looked towards the north of the city.

“Jiang Chuan is still alive, they won’t let this go.”

"What you mean is that there is still danger in this city."

Kong Chan clasped his hands together, his eyes gleaming with golden light, as if trying to see through the heavy fog of the rainy night.

Yu Youwei gently brushed her slender fingers across the face of a corpse beside her. The corpse was pale and its eyes were wide open, as if it had seen something extremely terrifying before it died.

"Master, why don't you guess, will the Demonic Sect give up now, after sacrificing three saints and seven sages to kill them?"

Upon hearing this, the little monk Kongkong shivered, his prayer beads clattering as he gripped them tightly.

“Amitabha. But, but female benefactor, we knew Jiangchuan was in danger, yet we still…”

"What else?"

Yu Youwei turned around, and the raindrops automatically parted three feet in front of her.

"Are you going to let him face this alone?"

She suddenly chuckled softly.

"The monks of your Hanging Temple are truly adorable."

Kong Chan frowned slightly.

"There's a hidden meaning in your words, benefactor."

"Boom——"

A bolt of lightning cleaved the night sky, illuminating half of Yu Youwei's face, making her smile appear particularly eerie in the flash.

"Just wait and see, the real show has only just begun."

The rain intensified, washing away the bloodstains on the streets, but it couldn't dispel the pervasive atmosphere of death in the air.

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous attic in the western part of the city, candlelight flickered. A young man stood by the window, his pale, slender fingers gently tapping on the windowpane.

"Elder Yan, what is so special about Jiangchuan that makes Master go to such lengths?"

His voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling edge.

Across the table, a kind-faced old man filled a glass with blood-red wine.

“Young Master, the three strange phenomena of the Bitter Sea have never been seen before. It is said that the Immortal Slayer Sword of the Cloud Sea Immortal Sect has not recognized a master for three hundred years.”

"Slay the Immortal."

The young master paused, a hint of apprehension in his eyes.

"That good-for-nothing Yin Wending, fighting against another opponent at the third level, and he still managed to lose."

Yan Yun took a small sip of his drink, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"This old servant suspects that Jiang Chuan may have a sixth-realm saint protecting him."

That means of shifting the blame

"Six Realms?"

The young master suddenly turned around, his black robes billowing in the wind.

"Aren't those old fogies from the Cloud Sea Immortal Sect in seclusion?"

The sound of rain outside the window grew heavier, and Yan Yun did not answer immediately.

He got up and walked to the window, standing side by side with the young master.

"The time for the dead to rise from the dead is fast approaching."

The young man squinted, gazing into the depths of the rain.

"I really want to see what kind of expression Jiang Chuan will have when he finds out that he is not facing living people, but those old friends he killed with his own hands."

"Click——"

A bolt of lightning struck the clock tower not far away, illuminating half of the young man's face—a face that bore a striking resemblance to Jiang Chuan!

Jiang Chuan was soaked to the bone in front of the ruins of the Liang Prince's Mansion, but he was completely unaware of it.

He stared intently at the charred ruins before him, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

"Su Wen! Wang Han!"

He shouted as he rushed into the ruins, the sound of rubble breaking beneath his feet particularly jarring in the rainy night.

Chen Ping followed closely behind, his long sword drawn three inches from its sheath.

"Brother Jiang, be careful! The Demonic Sect's methods are unpredictable!"

"elder brother!"

A figure in blue emerged from behind the broken screen wall. Chen Qing's clothes were stained with blood, but his expression remained relatively calm.

"You are finally here!"

Chen Ping darted forward and grabbed his sister's shoulders.

"Are you injured? What about the others?"

Chen Qing shook his head, but his eyes swept around warily.

"Su Wen and Wang Han were healing in a secret room, but..."

She lowered her voice.

"When Ye Qiu fought with that old eunuch, I sensed an unusual fluctuation of demonic energy."

Jiang Chuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Zhu Lu?"

He suddenly remembered the hunched figure that always stood in the shadows during the city defense battle.

"you sure?"

"The perception of the four realms is accurate."

Chen Qing spoke with certainty, but suddenly fell silent when he saw what was behind Jiang Chuan.

"My young friends, it is rather sad to talk in the rain."

Gu Cheng's voice came from behind them, and an oil-paper umbrella appeared silently above Jiang Chuan's head.

"Why don't we move to the warm pavilion and have some wine and tea?"

Jiang Chuan felt a chill run down his spine and slowly turned around.

The lone figure, dressed in pristine white, wore a gentle smile that defied comprehension.

The autumn rain continued to fall, enveloping the entire city of Longhai.

Gu Cheng stood in the center of the ruins of the Liang Prince's Mansion, the cold rain sliding down his iron armor and forming small puddles at his feet.

He reached out to wipe the rain from his face, but he couldn't wipe away the weariness in his eyes.

His body beneath the armor was already soaked, but he was oblivious, simply standing there quietly, like a statue.

"General, it's already past midnight."

He Liang's deep voice came from behind.

"I'm afraid, Lord Ye."

"Wait."

The lone city replied with only one word.

He Liang hesitated, then silently stepped aside.

The mad general knew that any persuasion at this moment would be futile. (End of Chapter)