The improved female villains regained their memories.

"No... wait..."

She grabbed Song Panning's clothes and pulled her down with all her might. Song Panning didn't dare to disobey, afraid that she would aggravate her wound, so she could only obediently squat down.

He leaned closer and whispered in her ear with his last ounce of strength, "I... I found it for you... that person, she... she is... Lin Wanjun..."

Blood dripped onto the ground.

"If she wants to rebel, she can control others. She's not kind at all; it's all an act. Miss, you should prepare yourself..."

She pulled a scroll from her bosom, placed it in Song Panning's hand, and then completely fainted.

There weren't many dedicated healers and alchemists in the Goddess Palace, but they weren't nonexistent. Under Song Panning's furious pressure, the two healers and one alchemist used all their skills to finally give Leng Yan a breather and pull her back from the brink of death.

A day and a night later, Leng Yan woke up, and Song Panning learned the whole story from her.

After the incident, Leng Yan, following Song Panning's instructions, went to the Song family study to see Song Xingtian. Song Xingtian handed her a scroll and told her to make sure it was given to his daughter before letting her leave. That evening, the Lin family head was hosting a banquet, inviting all the family heads to the banquet under the pretext of discussing the future of Shancheng. Since Song Xingtian was going, he didn't say much to Leng Yan.

However, Leng Yan sensed something was wrong. Instead of leaving immediately, she observed the situation around the Lin family mansion. Suddenly, she saw a bright light and a formation appeared, enveloping the entire Lin family mansion.

A short while later, the formation disappeared, and most of the family patriarchs, except for a few, came out. However, they had changed slightly since they went in. Leng Yan felt increasingly strange. She waited for a long time but did not see Song Xingtian come out. So she took the initiative to sneak into the Lin family and saw Lin Wanjun torturing Song Xingtian with a formation in the courtyard.

"Old man, I didn't expect your willpower to be so strong. This spirit-seizing formation can't even usurp your will."

“Hehe…” Despite being tormented within the formation, Song Xingtian did not yield. Instead, he sneered, “I never expected that a junior like you would have mastered such methods. Everyone says that the second daughter of the Lin family is kind and virtuous. It seems that it’s all an act.”

"I'm faking it? No, I was forced into it! Your good daughter, my good friend, she's even better at faking it than I am. I'm like this all thanks to her!"

"Bullshit! Don't slander my daughter!" Song Xingtian cursed angrily. "I am no match for you and have fallen into your hands, so I have nothing to say. But with your skills, you're still a long way from controlling me!"

The spiritual energy surged, and within the formation, Song Xingtian no longer concealed his aura and cultivation level.

Lin Wanjun was shocked: "You're actually a celestial being!?"

"What do you think I've relied on to hold the position of High Priest for so many years? Just this old face?" Song Xingtian sneered. As he performed the dispelling gesture, he said, "Little brat, if you want to compete in formations, this old man will have a contest with you."

A burst of spiritual light erupted; it lacked the flamboyance of immortal killing moves, but was far more dangerous—a contest unique to array masters.

Based on Lin Wanjun's cultivation level, she should have been absolutely crushed by a Celestial Immortal. However, Song Xingtian was shocked and his face turned ashen.

"What kind of formation is this? I can't break it?"

Chapter 254 Love That Had Long Settled

It's normal that Song Xingtian can't solve it.

The Soul-Seizing Array was designed by a mysterious person, and its mysteries are endless. When it is widely adopted, it can be combined with spacetime-based immortal techniques. Such a crucial thing was entrusted to Lin Wanjun, so naturally, it cannot be easily deciphered.

Lin Wanjun felt much more at ease and said with a cold smile, "Song Xingtian, you are actually a Celestial Immortal. This is indeed beyond my expectations. If you were outside the formation, even a hundred of me would not be a match for you. But now that you have entered my Spirit-Seizing Formation, you might as well let me plunder your will."

"Young man, you control so many clan leaders, you have quite the ambition, but let me give you a piece of advice: the waters of the temple run deep, and this is not a place you can easily tread!"

"Enough with the nonsense. Whether or not we can set foot here isn't up to you, old man."

A flash of inspiration completely engulfed Song Xingtian's will. Leng Yan sensed something was wrong and turned to leave, but suddenly heard a voice beside him.

"Where are you going?"

Looking up, Lin Jinxuan was staring at him expressionlessly.

"I was discovered by that woman, but she didn't make things difficult for me. I kept running until I reached the city gate before Lin Wanjun's pursuers caught up with me. I escaped with my life on the line, but I was chased into the mountains and forests. I hid in a cave outside the mountains until the pursuers retreated before I dared to come out."

With a weak voice, Leng Yan held Song Panning's hand and said, "Lin Wanjun's formation is quite strange, Miss, you must be careful..."

"I understand. You get some rest, and I'll figure out a solution."

She walked out of the Goddess Palace step by step.

The dark clouds still lingered, and lightning was about to strike. Song Panning looked up slightly.

In her hand was the thing that Leng Yan had risked her life to get back. It was the appointment letter of the new patriarch of the Song family, which her father had entrusted to Leng Yan to give to her. It had the signature of the family elders on it.

"Father……"

She pursed her lips, put away the scroll, entered the secret room, and began her deductions once more.

After a while, she came out and stood on the steps, waiting for someone to arrive.

Dark clouds crashed down like towering waves, stretching endlessly. As far as the eye could see, there was only darkness and oppression, as if foreshadowing the many difficulties that lay ahead for Song Panning.

"Goddess, I am an envoy of the Lin family. Please allow me to meet you and discuss matters."

Outside the gate, someone's voice, imbued with spiritual energy, drifted in. Upon hearing this, Song Panning immediately waved her hand, and the spiritual array opened a small gap, just enough for one person to pass through.

The newcomer had an air of otherworldly grace, and his appearance had changed considerably over time. It was none other than Du Wanli. He was no longer the down-and-out man he once was. He was now dressed in the robes of an immortal, surrounded by spiritual energy, and flew on a sword. He had completed the tempering and purification of his body and had officially become a cultivator.

He leaped down from his sword, approached Song Panning, and bowed, saying, "Goddess, I am an envoy of the Lin family, here to convey some words from the new patriarch of the Lin family."

Song Panning looked at him, her cold gaze sending a chill down Du Wanli's spine. After a moment, she smiled, her lips curving upwards, and said slowly, "Du Wanli, if I remember correctly, during the Goddess election, you were Ling Shuxin's follower, and it was only because of Ling Shuxin that you had the opportunity to enter the temple's power. How come you've become the Lin family's envoy now?"

"I have sworn allegiance to Lady Lin Wanjun, and I will never regret it until death," Du Wanli replied, bowing his head.

"Unrepentant to the death? Hmph..."

An overwhelming pressure descended, and Du Wanli fell to his knees with a thud. He spat out a mouthful of blood, seemingly sensing Song Panning's killing intent, and hurriedly said, "If you kill me, Lin Wanjun will definitely not let your family and friends go. Don't you even care about them?"

The formation slowly activated, but Song Panning completely ignored what Du Wanli was saying and instead used the formation's spiritual energy to repeatedly cleanse Du Wanli's soul.

After a long pause, she finally spoke: "You are not being controlled."

"Who said I'm being controlled?!" Du Wanli roared. "I already said I'm truly loyal to Lady Lin Wanjun, so let me go right now!"

He roared outwardly, but was actually very guilty. However, the system had assured him that no one in this world had the ability to uncover his secrets, so he shouldn't worry.

Song Panning narrowed her eyes slightly and waved her hand to withdraw her spiritual pressure.

Du Wanli stood up, dusted himself off, and said coldly, "Lady Lin Wanjun wishes to meet the Goddess in the woods outside the city tomorrow at noon. She will set up a protective array first and await the Goddess's arrival."

"Heh..." Song Panning sneered, "She knows I'm a goddess, so why doesn't she come to the main hall to pay her respects, but instead sends you to deliver the message?"

“Song Panning, things have come to this point, why should we pretend to be polite?” Du Wanli said. “We have been guarding the door and saw the girl we were chasing enter your place. She is one of your people, isn’t she? You must know what’s going on outside. I’ll be frank. Lady Lin Wanjun has no intention of taking your life. If you are willing to surrender, you can still live a wealthy life.”

“The temple’s ruler has just died, and Lin Wanjun dares to do this so openly. I really underestimated her,” Song Panning said. “Alright, I’d like to meet her too. Then I’ll trouble you to go back and give me your message.”

Song Panning emphasized the words "Your Excellency," and Du Wanli's expression turned ugly, but he ultimately said nothing more, only leaving a "Take care of yourself" before flying back on his sword.

After making the agreement, Song Panning reinforced the formation again and summoned trustworthy people. Most of the people still in the Goddess Palace were her followers and confidants. She made some arrangements and instructed them to take good care of Leng Yan before entering the secret room again to perform calculations.

At noon the next day, she left the Goddess Palace alone and arrived outside the city on time.

Just outside the city, a formation soared into the sky in the distance, green on the outside and blue on the inside, its mystery so profound that even the formation genius Song Panning could not see through it for a moment.

She arrived on her sword, frowning as she looked around. Suddenly, she heard a sound below and saw that the trees and bushes around the center of the formation had been cleared, revealing a bare patch of land. On the land were a stone table and two stone stools, where Lin Wanjun was sitting, quietly brewing tea.

"Goddess, now that you're here, please come down and have a chat."

Song Panning wasn't afraid. She entered the formation confidently, then slowly descended, disembarked from her flying sword, and sat down opposite Lin Wanjun. She looked at the steaming hot black tea offered to her, but didn't take it, simply watching her silently.

"Don't worry, I didn't poison you. If I really wanted to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago."

Lin Wanjun smiled faintly, looking as if she had everything under control.

All her innocence, naivety, and cuteness vanished. Song Panning stared intently at her and said, "I really didn't expect it to be you. You hid it so well."

"You flatter me."

"Back in the academy days, Shen Qingqing challenged me; wasn't that something you orchestrated behind the scenes?"

"Exactly."

Lin Wanjun smiled and nodded. Looking at Song Panning's current state, she felt extremely pleased: "Song Panning, don't talk about me. Wasn't it you who set up the formation in the mountain city?"

Song Panning's face turned pale. No matter how well she tried to hide it, she couldn't conceal the shock in her eyes.

Lin Wanjun became even more smug after reading it. Thinking about it, it made sense. The array layout in the mountain city was Song Panning's final design. She had endured and pretended for years for the final massacre, not even telling her father. Now that it was revealed to her by a member of the Lin family, how could she not be shocked and terrified?

“You…” Song Panning’s fingertips turned white as she suppressed her trembling voice, “You knew all this…”

[Are you afraid? Are you scared? Hahaha, Song Panning, in your past life you were a master strategist, never afraid. I never imagined you had this side to you!]

"I know more than you can imagine," Lin Wanjun replied with a smile.

"Since you know all this, why did you hold back in the Goddess Selection?" Song Panning's pupils contracted. "You did it on purpose!"

clap clap.

Applause rang out one after another. Lin Wanjun clapped her hands, shook her head and sighed, "As expected of the person I chose. Not bad, I did it on purpose."

Why are you like this!?

Lin Wanjun had no idea why this was the case; she was simply doing as the scroll instructed. But that didn't stop her from showing off and humiliating her enemy in front of him: "Heh, what use would I have for that thing? Great men don't concern themselves with trifles. Do you think I would care about that so-called position of goddess?"

"You're terrifying." Song Panning clenched her fists and stared at her intently. "I don't know if having someone like you in the Lin family is a blessing or a curse."

"Then there's no need for you to worry about that, Goddess. We're both smart people and we know what the situation is like right now, so let's get straight to the point."

Lin Wanjun tapped the table, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said, "If you surrender, remove the array from the Goddess Palace, and hand it over, I'll make you the head of the Song family and guarantee the lives of your entire Song family. How about it?"

Song Panning looked at her and frowned: "Why should I believe you?"

You can only trust me.

Lin Wanjun snapped her fingers.

The array activated, and a certain spot in the center of the stone table was projected.

A fierce wind arose, and killing intent filled the air. The moment Song Panning saw the projection, an boundless aura emanated from her, causing even the formation to waver.

Her eyes widened in horror, and the usually composed woman showed obvious emotional fluctuations, even revealing murderous intent.

In the projection, her father, mother, friends, and many other people related to her had their palms pierced by Lin Wanjun and hung on the wall.

Her eyes swept back and forth, looking at each familiar person in front of her, and finally, they settled on the last one.

The most important person in her heart was hanging there with his eyes closed and his hands raised.

Blood flowed from his palms to the ground, his body was covered in wounds, and the white wall behind him was stained with blood, creating a bloody cloud, like the desolate and chilling scene of the end of the world.

"My life..."

She looked again, at her father, mother, friends...

Her heart had been thrown into boiling water, so hot it felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. Song Panning's eyes turned bloodshot, and the veins on her arms bulged, showing her anger.

"This is your friend, right?" Lin Wanjun said listlessly, pointing her slender finger at Ling Shuxin, whose face was pale. "This is the young lady, isn't she? I really hate her because she resisted the most fiercely. Perfect timing, since you're here, I'll teach her a lesson right in front of you."

As Lin Wanjun spoke, her fingers moved in the air, and a spiritual light shone from the projection. A spiritual blade rushed out and actually severed Ling Shuxin's arm.