Why?

Rumble— Accompanied by the violent tremors rocking the Blood Nest, the three women atop the altar wore vastly different expressions. Bai Muxi bit her lip, a faint flicker of anticipation in her eyes. A crimson flame danced within Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes as her Source Qi instantly surged outward, sweeping across the array markings throughout the entire Blood Nest. Qi noticed her movements almost immediately. Turning her head, she fixed her phoenix eyes on Li Qingyan with a probing gaze. "What are you doing?" "..." Amidst the rumbling tremors, Li Qingyan held the gaze of the aberrant ghost before her—a creature whose appearance was identical to her own—for a breath before speaking in a cold, detached tone: "Since you don't even understand the formation in your own lair, I'm inspecting it for you." Hearing this, a hint of playful amusement surfaced in Qi's phoenix eyes. "Oh? Who would have thought a woman like you understood the Dao of formations?" "A little," Li Qingyan replied nonchalantly. "Why? Are you worried I'll tamper with it?" "Heh." With a soft laugh, Qi vanished from the edge of the blood pool and reappeared beside Li Qingyan as if teleporting. She leaned an arm casually against Li Qingyan's shoulder, her phoenix eyes slanting with flippant disdain. "If you cultivated the Way of Qi, I might be slightly wary. But an Origin Realm cultivation based in the martial path isn't enough to make me feel threatened." The attack methods of the Way of Qi were endlessly varied, with deadly arts emerging one after another; even a Transcendent Realm expert could easily stumble if they let down their guard. The martial path, however, fundamentally relied on close-quarters combat until one could deploy a Dao domain. When a path that sought to break all techniques through sheer force encountered a body stronger than its own, it was virtually impossible to make any waves. Red sleeves fluttered as the two peerless beauties, identical as twins, stared wordlessly at one another. "So you are worried about Changtian—worried he'll use this grand formation against you." Li Qingyan casually raised her hand, brushing away the arm Qi had rested on her shoulder. A sneer flashed in her phoenix eyes. "I recall you saying just now that you would stay by his side until the end of time. How did you become so distrustful of him now?" "My trust is reserved for the Changtian of the future, once he is thoroughly transformed into an aberrant ghost." Unbothered by Li Qingyan's mockery, Qi rubbed her deflected wrist with a smile, then reached out and dragged Bai Muxi over. "Before then, it's only natural to keep up some guard." "..." Knowing the aberrant ghost queen intended to use the two of them as bargaining chips, Li Qingyan paid her no further heed. She directed her specialized Source Qi perception along the altar, scanning the thick array markings etched throughout the cavern. A general only needed to know how to command a military array in a charge, but a commander-in-chief was required to understand the myriad cultivation methods of the world. The battlefield changed in the blink of an eye, and the world's techniques were bizarre and diverse. A commander did not need mastery, but when unexpected shifts occurred, they had to be able—with the counsel of their strategists and aides—to identify the methods the enemy employed and mount a countermeasure. The Dao of formations was one such method. War, at its core, was about using every possible means to crush the enemy, and formations were among the most cost-effective ways to annihilate a foe. During her military campaigns, she had seen countless formations: illusion arrays, trapping arrays, killing arrays... formations meant for individuals, for entire armies, for cities—far too many to list. Once her Source Qi swept roughly over the patterns, Li Qingyan immediately realized that the formation enveloping the entire Blood Nest was essentially a trapping-and-killing array designed for high-level cultivators. Since she had only a rudimentary understanding, she could not identify the critical nodes, but she could sense that the logical flow of its energy was somewhat chaotic. Most trapping-and-killing arrays in the world directed their energy inward, yet the energy in this formation was converging toward the exterior... Splash! A sudden spray of water erupted from the blood pool, and a scarlet figure landed lightly beside the three women. Glancing at the two red-robed women standing side by side, Xu Yuan used his spiritual vision to tell them apart, then spoke: "I've activated the formation. Be ready to leave at any moment." Saying so, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Qi and asked in a low voice, "Luo Xiran, what is Chi Feng's current condition?" Smiling, Qi took a dainty step forward. Staring into his crimson eyes, she said tenderly, "He should still be stabilizing his realm. He won't be able to make it over anytime soon." Hearing this, the stone in Xu Yuan's heart temporarily settled. It seemed breaking through to the Saint Realm took far longer than he had anticipated... "Changtian..." As he was lost in thought, the 'Li Qingyan' before him suddenly stood on tiptoe, her small, pert nose sniffing at his neck. "Why do I... feel like you've changed a bit?" "..." Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes. Keeping his composure, he raised a hand to grip her shoulder and pushed Qi back a fraction, grinning. "Is that so? What changed?" Tilting her head, Qi scrutinized him for several breaths, then glanced down at his hand on her shoulder. "Mm... perhaps it's just my imagination." Xu Yuan gave a quiet grunt. Just as he prepared to pull his hand back, an abrupt change occurred! The right shoulder of Qi—who bore Li Qingyan's appearance—suddenly split open. Her upper body tilted slightly to the left as the red robe and the flesh beneath ripped apart. In an instant, a hideous, two-foot-wide mouth tore diagonally across her shoulder. Lined with jagged white fangs, a mass of sickening, viscous fleshy tendrils shot forth, wrapping around and engulfing the hand Xu Yuan had placed on her shoulder! "..." Seeing this, Xu Yuan suppressed his revulsion and did not pull back his hand. Damn it. A flesh monster was a flesh monster after all. No matter how closely her exterior resembled his chest-bound princess, she was nothing more than a lump of flesh forcefully kneaded into shape. Just as he was about to speak, Li Qingyan's voice came from the side: "Luo Xiran, if you're going to do something so disgusting to Changtian, could you not do it wearing my face?" Her voice was icy, laden with profound disgust. On the battlefield, she had seen sights far more repulsive than this. But watching a woman identical to herself split open at the shoulder into a grotesque monster to swallow her man's hand... she could not stomach it. Hearing this, Qi glanced at the frost-faced Li Qingyan. Without taking offense, she gave a light chuckle. "Disgusting? But Changtian can perform this degree of physical alteration now too. If you think I'm disgusting, does that mean you find Changtian disgusting as well?" "Don't talk nonsense. I can't do that," Xu Yuan immediately denied. "If you want to examine my body, make it quick." Qi let out a soft huff, her tone tinged with a hint of jealousy. "Changtian, you really protect her. Once you become an aberrant ghost, how about I help you convert her?" "..." Xu Yuan felt like he could barely hold it together. Though the jealous expression on 'Li Qingyan's' face was undeniably lovely, this split-open body... A man couldn't... or at least, shouldn't. Seeing that Xu Yuan had fallen silent, Qi focused entirely on examining his body. Xu Yuan did not stop her life origin from seeping into him. This was a necessary step to establish trust; he had to make Qi believe that his aberrant ghost transformation was irreversible. Moreover, Luo Xiran had told him before coming up that although some changes had occurred, he still possessed the body of an aberrant ghost, so Qi would most likely fail to notice anything amiss. After circulating her life origin for a thorough check, Qi frowned. Silently, she spat Xu Yuan's hand out from the gaping mouth that stretched from her shoulder to her waist. Immediately, countless fleshy tendrils stitched the massive mouth back together at a speed visible to the naked eye. Once more, Qi resumed the peerless, breathtaking appearance of Li Qingyan. This time, however, a trace of scrutiny lingered in her scarlet phoenix eyes. Her voice remained measured: "Changtian, vast amounts of life origin can grant an aberrant ghost great power, but if it is too immense, it will erode one's sanity." This sanity referred not only to humans, but to aberrant ghosts as well. Absorbing a massive quantity of life origin in a short span would accelerate the devolution of an intelligent aberrant ghost into a beast that knew only slaughter. A dangerous glint flashed in Qi's eyes. "Changtian... can you tell me why the life origin in your body didn't increase after you entered the blood pool?" Xu Yuan stared at her, smiling nonchalantly. "Why don't you take a guess?" Qi's eyes flickered. "The Blood God Stone?" "Smart." Xu Yuan did not conceal this point—in truth, it could not be hidden anyway. In a low voice, he said, "The two Blood God Stones developed by humanity ten thousand years ago can not only manipulate the Blood Nest array, but also control the fungal armor of aberrant ghosts. You... should know that, right?" Qi went silent for a moment, then nodded. "I know." "I used the Blood God Stone to channel most of the life origin into the fungal armor, so my main body naturally wasn't affected by it." "Then why could your fungal armor be stripped off? Once that thing is thoroughly fused with the body, it cannot be removed even in death." "I already told you, the Blood God Stone can control fungal armor." Xu Yuan smiled faintly, having prepared his explanation long in advance. Locking eyes with Qi, his eyes curved into a grin. "If you don't believe me, I can use the Blood God Stone right now to manipulate the fungal armor inside your body." This was a gamble. Xu Yuan was betting that the aberrant ghost queen would not dare open her body to him. Because if what he said was true, Qi would become entirely his puppet. "...I am barely satisfied with that answer." Qi let out a breath and glanced at the still-boiling blood pool. "However, in less than a quarter of an hour, two-thirds of the life origin I accumulated over ten thousand years was completely drained. Don't you think you owe me an explanation for that?" "Are you an idiot?" Xu Yuan shook his head in exasperation, pointing up at the thick array markings on the inner walls of the Blood Nest. "Does activating a grand formation of this scale not require energy?" Qi shot him a cold look. "I recall you having quite a few Source Crystals in your Sumeru ring. Why waste the precious life origin I hoarded over ten thousand years?" Great. This aberrant ghost queen actually had the hoarding instincts of a hamster. "My Sumeru ring is with Li Qingyan. I didn't bring it down with me." Xu Yuan patted Qi's shoulder again, chuckling. "Alright, stop being so petty. A Saint is about to arrive. You can't take the blood pool with you, nor can you protect it. We might as well put it to use." With that, Xu Yuan walked past her toward Li Qingyan and Bai Muxi. Arriving before the two, Xu Yuan first inspected their bodies with his spiritual vision. Once he confirmed that Qi had not tampered with them, he extended his hand toward Li Qingyan: "Give it back." "Hmm?" Li Qingyan frowned. "My Sumeru ring. My ring." "..." With a sharp slap, Li Qingyan planted the ring into his palm, a flicker of amusement passing through her eyes. "A grown man, and so petty." Xu Yuan slipped the Sumeru ring back onto his finger and glanced at the chest-bound princess. "You didn't take anything, did you? I remember exactly how much silver is inside." "..." Li Qingyan's chest heaved slightly. She turned her head away, remaining silent. Seeing this, Xu Yuan leaned in with a chuckle, reaching out to wrap his arm around her slender waist— Smack! His hand was slapped away immediately. Li Qingyan cast a sidelong glance at his hand and spat out five words: "Filthy. Don't touch me." "..." Xu Yuan glanced at Xiao Bai beside her. Meeting his gaze, Bai Muxi blinked her bright eyes, stole a glance at Qi, and immediately whispered, "Young Master, are you alright? Just now, that aberrant ghost..." As she spoke, she reached out to hold the hand that had been swallowed by Qi. "What could possibly happen to him?" Li Qingyan eyed the subtle movements of the crypt's Chief Arbiter. "With the body of an aberrant ghost, what could go wrong? Isn't that right, Changtian?" Xiao Bai froze mid-motion. She stole a timid glance at Li Qingyan, not daring to reach for his hand again. "..." Ah, that familiar scent of green tea... Xu Yuan smiled softly, then looked back toward the blood pool, his expression turning sharp. By now, the pool at the center of the altar had grown remarkably clear. Between what Luo Xiran had absorbed using the fungal armor and what was consumed to activate the Blood Nest array, the life origin contained within the pool had been drained nearly dry. In that case, the grand formation should be fully charged. With that thought, Xu Yuan reached out once more to encircle Li Qingyan's waist. This time, the princess did not resist. She merely shot him a glance and let him have his way. When it came to priorities, she knew what mattered. Xiao Bai needed no instruction, stepping forward obediently to wrap her arms around him. Just as when they had arrived at the Blood Nest, Xu Yuan held one woman in each arm, then looked up at Qi across from them. "The formation is almost finished charging. The Blood Nest array will blast an opening directly through the ceiling straight to the surface for us to escape." "..." Smiling, Qi stepped forward, her red sleeves fluttering as she appeared before the three of them in an instant, opening her arms toward Xu Yuan... Smack! Xu Yuan raised his foot, blocking the aberrant ghost queen. Staring at this fake 'Li Qingyan', he asked in disbelief, "Wait, what are you doing? I'm carrying them because they're slow. Are you slow too?" Qi pouted slightly, but did not press forward again. A faint resentment surfaced in her scarlet eyes, quickly replaced by an eerie smile. "Changtian... no matter how you resist, we will ultimately become one..." "..." Xu Yuan rolled his eyes, ignoring her. The entire cavern abruptly fell dead silent. In the stillness, rings of scarlet light formed along the ceiling, gradually congealing into a massive, pointed cone. The array had fully activated. Without any mishap, the Barbarian King Chi Feng did not come charging in with the invincible might of a Saint at the eleventh hour. Everything was proceeding smoothly according to Xu Yuan and Luo Xiran's plan. Without a sound, the sharp crimson cone slammed like a drill through the stone ceiling of the Blood Nest, boring upward at high speed! Without needing any prompt, Xu Yuan bounded forward, transforming into an afterimage as he surged toward the passage carved by the scarlet energy. Qi followed closely behind him. With the departure of the three humans and one ghost, the center of the Silent Crypt began to collapse... *** The Land of Utter Darkness. Here, there was no sunlight, no radiance of any kind—only an endless snowfield shrouded in a raging blizzard. Suddenly, faint vibrations rose from beneath the snow-covered ground. The low rumbling shook the surface layers into a swirling mist of snow. Drawing closer from afar, the vibrations grew increasingly violent. Finally— BOOM! With a tremendous roar, the frozen earth ruptured. Amidst the flying snow, a figure quietly appeared above the white expanse. Emerging first, Qi hovered in midair amidst the drifting blizzard. Looking out at the vast, boundless snowfield, a flicker of manic excitement surfaced in her phoenix eyes. Almost simultaneously, another scarlet figure shot out from the breach. Having returned to the light of day, there was no celebration, nor was there any hesitation. With a burst of gentle life origin, Li Qingyan and Bai Muxi were sent flying a hundred zhang away. At the same time, Xu Yuan looked up at 'Qi' in midair, killing intent flashing in his eyes. Void-Stepping Slash. The red-robed figure vanished from the spot. BOOM! A deafening explosion detonated in midair! The shockwave generated by the collision of Source Qi swept outward through the sky, unleashing a gale that blasted away all the snow within a hundred-zhang radius, exposing the brown frozen earth beneath. At the center of that collision, two figures stood intertwined. Xu Yuan's eyes were calm, his palm piercing clean through the chest of the 'woman' before him. In contrast to the cold composure in Xu Yuan's eyes, Qi's reaction seemed profoundly desolate. The wind and snow whipped her long hair as she looked at the red-robed man before her with a complicated gaze. It was as if the one wounded was not her at all. Her raspy voice carried utter incomprehension: "Changtian... could I ask you why?"