After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Xie Jinchen clenched his fists at his sides, his nails digging deep into his palms, oblivious to the blood seeping out.

His chest heaved violently, the ice coffin was so close, and his twenty-year obsession was almost breaking through his reason.

However, Xie Dai's description of the rampant Yin energy and the transformation of Qingwu City into a ghost realm was like the strongest chain, binding his entire body and rendering him unable to move.

He couldn't, he couldn't bear to let tens of thousands of lives in the city be buried with him for his own selfish desires.

Standing beside him, Jiang Dusheng could feel the tension in every muscle of his body.

Her heart sank to the bottom, and a chill rose from the soles of her feet.

Xie Dai's move precisely seized Xie Jinchen's lifeline.

He exploited Xie Jinchen's conscience and sense of responsibility, using what Xie Jinchen cared about most to build an almost unsolvable barrier.

Jiang Dusheng stepped forward, unhesitatingly pushing aside Xie Jinchen's tightly clenched fist, and firmly inserted his fingers between Xie's fingers, interlocking them tightly.

Her clear gaze met Xie Dai's directly, her voice clear and melodious, "Duke Zhenguo, you use the lives of the entire city as hostages to imprison the corpses of the dead, is this what you call unwavering devotion?"

Jiang Dusheng shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of pity and cynicism: "Little do they know, clinging to something as deep as an abyss is a gradual descent into death; clinging to something as dusty is merely adding to the shackles of ignorance."

"By trapping Her Highness the Princess's body here, you are not so much preserving her as you are trapping your own inner demons."

"And you think you've trapped her, but little do you know..." Jiang Dusheng raised his hand, pointing outside the stone chamber, as if pointing to the invisible heavens.

"The true Princess Yong'an, her pride and her kindness, have long since vanished into the world with her departure. Perhaps she has transformed into the gentle breeze and bright moon of this world, or perhaps she has merged into the blood and soul of the people she loved."

"But not here."

Jiang Dusheng's words echoed like the morning bell of an ancient temple in the chilly stone chamber.

Xie Dai listened quietly, the smile on his face remaining unchanged, but rather deepening slightly, turning into a soft chuckle with an ambiguous meaning.

His gaze toward Jiang Dusheng held no anger, but rather admiration.

"Little girl, you're right." He readily admitted, even taking two steps forward to get closer to the ice coffin.

"But... I've never been a good person, nor have I ever considered myself a gentleman. From the moment I met her, she became my inner demon, my calamity, and an obsession I can never escape in my life."

Xie Dai's fingers finally touched the ice coffin, feeling the biting cold, but his eyes burned with a terrifying intensity:

"I don't care about Buddhist principles or morality, nor do I care what the world says. I just want her here, where I can see and touch her. Even if it's just a shell, even if it means dragging the entire Qingwu City down with me... I'm willing to do anything."

His obsession has penetrated to the bone and is beyond redemption.

The longsword in Xie Jinchen's hand reflected a chilling light under the glow of the luminous pearl.

He stepped forward, his sword tip slightly raised, pointing directly at Xie Dai a few steps away, his voice strained to suppress his anger:

"Tell me how to dispel the formation."

Xie Dai looked at the sword tip Xie Jinchen pointed at him, the smile on his face not fading. He slowly shook his head and uttered two words:

"There is no solution."

He met Xie Jinchen's murderous gaze, even leaning forward slightly to bring his neck closer to the sharp sword tip, his voice eerily calm:

"Chen'er, if you try to break this formation by force, all you will get is a city full of corpses, and your mother will be completely wiped out."

He spread his hands. "As your father... I didn't leave myself or you any choice. From the very beginning, there wasn't."

Inside the stone chamber, even the luminous pearl seemed to dim somewhat due to the atmosphere.

The chilling aura emanating from the ice coffin reflected on Xie Dai's calm yet cruel face.

Jiang Dusheng shifted his gaze from Xie Dai's face back to the ice coffin.

Princess Yong'an's face was serene, even carrying a hint of purity that seemed detached from worldly affairs, forming a stark contrast with Xie Dai's twisted obsession.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Dusheng spoke again, his voice even colder than before, seemingly carrying the chill of the stone chamber:

"Duke Zhenguo"

Xie Dai's gaze shifted slightly and landed on her.

"This formation..." Jiang Dusheng asked clearly, enunciating each word distinctly, "Is it truly unsolvable?"

Xie Dai remained silent, simply watching her as if waiting for her to continue.

Jiang Dusheng's gaze swept over the faintly visible Yin energy patterns beneath the ice coffin, and he slowly said:

"You say that the formation is connected to the earth's veins, and that breaking the coffin will cause mountains to collapse and cities to be destroyed. But as far as I know, although such spiritual formations are extremely powerful, there is still a glimmer of hope left in the world, and the same is true for the formations. This glimmer of hope is often tied to the person who sets up the formation, which is called the Blood Key."

She paused, her voice growing colder: "You say there's no solution because the key to dispelling the formation isn't somewhere else, but within yourself. Or rather..."

Jiang Dusheng's gaze was fixed on Xie Dai's face. "It's in your blood."

"At the very beginning of setting up the formation, you used your own life essence as a guide to nourish the core of the formation, establishing a unique bond with this Yin Aperture Earth Vein and the ice coffin. The formation moves with you, and the veins are stabilized because of you."

"The only way to safely open the ice coffin and move the body without triggering a ley line up is to use the blood essence of the person who set up the array to re-irrigate a specific spot at the array's core, temporarily calming the ley lines, severing the connection between the array and the mountain, and buying a brief period of safety."

Jiang Dusheng said slowly, "Am I right, Duke Zhenguo? The only way to break this formation is your life."

Upon hearing this, Xie Dai was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Jiang Dusheng to be able to reveal the key to this formation. Then he chuckled softly.

Laughter echoed in the empty stone chamber, carrying a hint of surprise and approval, before turning into a barely perceptible sense of desolation.

"Heh... Such a young age, yet your knowledge is truly remarkable." He stopped laughing, turned his gaze to Xie Jinchen, whose face was ashen, and frankly admitted, "She's right. Chen'er, the key to breaking this formation does indeed lie with me."

Xie Dai took a step forward, almost touching the tip of Xie Jinchen's sword, his eyes eerily calm:

"But I'm gambling." His voice softened, each word striking Xie Jinchen's heart heavily. "I'm gambling that you won't kill me. Just like... during the fire at the ancestral hall, I ultimately couldn't bring myself to kill you."

Xie Jinchen's hand holding the sword suddenly trembled, his knuckles made a slight cracking sound, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

The longsword hummed, its killing intent almost bursting forth.

Just then—

"Report!" A hurried report broke the silence.

A black-clad bodyguard darted through the hidden door Xie Dai had emerged from, knelt on one knee, and spoke rapidly:

"My Lord! Urgent news has arrived from the mountain outposts: Imperial Preceptor Shi Qinglian, leading eight monks from Huguo Temple, has breached the outer sentry posts and is rapidly advancing towards the heart of this mountain!"