After the time travel, my cheat program disappeared.

Can--

Hua Xiangrong is likely to pay the price for her recklessness.

Right now... Shi Yan's goal has vaguely shifted to how to keep Hua Xiangrong alive. Or perhaps... how to ensure that both of them die cleanly and without suffering.

Hua Xiangrong pulled her arm away from Shi Yan's chest and gently touched the spot where she had been kissed.

The girl's eyes widened.

"Feel sorry...?"

She didn't even seem to understand why Shi Yan had to apologize.

Nestled in Shi Yan's arms, Hua Xiangrong tilted her head slightly to look at the other person who had intruded.

Shadow Demon Lord.

Compared to the beautiful "older sister" beside her, who was even prettier than herself, the appearance of the other intruder could only be described as repulsive.

Hua Xiangrong's bright, golden eyes sparkled with brilliance.

She stared directly into the eyes of the Shadow Demon Lord.

Subconsciously... the swirling, eerie shadows behind Shadow Demon Lord rose a few inches higher.

Looking into the girl's bright, sun-like eyes, Shadow Demon Lord frowned slightly, a sense of unease rising in his heart.

He decided to act swiftly and decisively, without any procrastination.

On the other side, atop the red platform.

Shi Yan was already kneeling in front of the guqin, her right leg wrapped in layers of ghostly shadows, icy cold, and she had completely lost consciousness.

She tried her best to hug the girl.

She held a verdant, ethereal wind sword in her hand.

With only a few health points left, Hua Xiangrong could have ended her life with a single sword strike. Then... he committed suicide.

Shi Yan knew all too well the inhuman torture that would be inflicted on two people if they were to fall alive into the hands of the Shadow Demon Lord.

Even... once dead, their corpse and soul will not be spared.

Can--

What can I do?

The opponent was a demonic soul incarnation at the Nascent Soul stage, an enemy five major realms above him.

Beg for mercy?

Or perhaps she would force herself to endure the torment, waiting for Wen Ruya... or even Jun Qianrou to come and save her.

Is it possible for me to handle it?

He carried them until they came to rescue him.

Once you've been physically and mentally ruined, is there any hope of recovery even if you use the [Phoenix Feather] technique to revive you?

Perhaps it would be better to die sooner rather than later.

Shi Yan gripped the Qingfeng Sword tightly.

Clinging to a last glimmer of hope, Shi Yan asked the girl in his arms, "Xiang Rong..."

"Do you know what level of cultivation the courtesan in charge of this brothel is?"

Hua Xiangrong clutched Shi Yan's clothes with one hand, blinking her hazy eyes before realizing what Shi Yan meant, "Yunyi?"

"Probably... Nascent Soul stage?"

Shi Yan immediately saw a glimmer of hope for survival.

"Where is she now!?"

"Youzhou." Hua Xiangrong answered quickly this time.

puff.

Shi Yan almost coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Youzhou is practically a hundred and eight thousand miles away from Nanjun City.

By the time Yunyi realized something was wrong and rushed over, both her and Hua Xiangrong's bodies were already completely cold.

Below the red platform, Shadow Demon Lord, who had overheard the girls' conversation, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

but--

His expression also turned sinister.

He never expected that there might actually be a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in Nanjun City.

It seems he really needs to finish this quickly.

Shadow Demon Lord extended his right hand and then clenched it tightly.

In an instant, countless ghostly figures rushed towards Shi Yan from all directions. They frantically invaded Shi Yan's right ankle, which was being held, and climbed up Shi Yan's back.

As his consciousness gradually faded, Shi Yan immediately made a snap decision, wanting to swing his sword and commit suicide.

Wen Ruya must have cast a curse on herself.

If something happens to me, Wen Ruya will definitely notice.

But... if he can revive, what will happen to the girl in his arms?

Shi Yan felt a wave of despair.

But it seems there's something even more desperate.

She realized that her right wrist, which was holding the Qingfeng Sword, had been grabbed.

Possessed by the ghost, Shi Yan felt a bone-chilling cold pain in his wrist and was unable to move.

My consciousness was almost completely detached.

In her final moments, all she saw was that despairing word on her screen—"Phantom Curse".

What awaits them... may be a fate worse than death.

hum-

The sound of the guqin trembled.

Shi Yan staggered and fell, collapsing onto the guqin.

Ghostly figures howled in the main hall of the music hall.

The Shadow Demon Lord laughed wildly as he flew onto the red platform and walked step by step toward the fallen Shi Yan.

He certainly wouldn't kill Shi Yan directly.

He wanted to fully savor the despair and pain his teacher had expressed.

Presumably... playing with his female companion in front of this boy would surely intensify his pain to the extreme.

Not only that, Shadow Demon Lord also spared Shi Yan's life.

He still needs this boy to find Wen Ruya.

Then--

He suddenly saw Shi Yan's fallen body tremble slightly.

Shadow Demon Lord immediately took a cautious half-step back, looking warily at Shi Yan.

The person who was hit by his own Puppet Shadow Curse was only a Body Tempering Realm kid, so in theory he should have been completely unable to move.

but?

Releasing the hand that was holding Shi Yan as he tried to commit suicide, a small head popped out from under Shi Yan's body.

Ring ring—

The bells tied to the girl's fair and delicate ankles swayed. She knelt beside Shi Yan, struggling to hold onto his arm to prevent him from rolling to the ground.

"You little girl are a treasure trove of talents." Shadow Demon Lord breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fairy Qin Bell".

"Unfortunately... the holder is just a mortal."

Hua Xiangrong hugged Shi Yan's arm tightly and looked straight at Ying Mojun with her little head raised.

The Shadow Demon Lord felt a surge of rage at Hua Xiangrong's gaze, and he even considered gouging out the girl's eyes.

"You have someone backing you," Hua Xiangrong calmly reminded Ying Mojun.

"What a joke!?" Shadow Demon Lord laughed angrily.

Although his demonic soul avatar was only at the Spirit Realm, he was a ninth-level Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, so how could he not be aware of his surroundings?

Can--

dong dong...

dong dong dong...

His soul suddenly began to howl in unease, and even the nascent soul within the mansion tried to struggle to escape.

Shadow Demon Lord turned around in a panic, only to find no one behind him.

He immediately felt a sense of relief.

But the next second—

With a thud.

Shadow Demon Lord knelt down on the ground, his eyes instantly becoming cloudy and completely losing their luster, and his nascent soul within the mansion also rotted away.

-

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Youzhou.