The smiling baby-faced man followed Shu Tiantian’s line of sight and glanced upward; in the next second his expression changed drastically. Before anyone could react, he turned into a cloud of black mist and slipped away at light speed.

Shu Tiantian: …..

She looked left and right. Fortunately, the Transfer Offices was large and crowded; the people seemed startled by the commotion outside, and not everyone had the cultivation of the baby-faced man to slip away immediately. Shu Tiantian at once squeezed wherever there were more people, and the conspicuous veiled hat had long been stuffed into the medicine box.

Vaguely, Shu Tiantian heard a somewhat familiar voice, and her heart gradually sank—

It was Yuan Jingzhi.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Very quickly, the Transfer Offices was surrounded.

These past few days, the Lord of Ghost Domain City had been injured; that day, aside from not beating the three of them to death, Ancestor of Void Abyss had only left them with half their lives.

The three Fusion-stage cultivators of Void Abyss were all searching everywhere for medical cultivators, so the moment Yuan Jingzhi mentioned the Heavenly Yin Physique, the Lord of Ghost Domain City was tempted and issued a wanted order to search everywhere.

However, two or three days had already passed, and there was still no news… Instead, this round of activity from Ghost Domain City drew the attention of the other two cities. Seeing the other two cities begin openly inquiring about information as well, the city lord grew anxious, and was becoming increasingly impatient with Yuan Jingzhi—who would have thought that early this morning, news would suddenly arrive!

Yuan Jingzhi had been holding on by sheer will; he immediately relaxed, notified the city lord, and directly put on his great black robe, hurrying off to capture the person.

Even though he had just turned into a ghost cultivator and did not even have a complete body, Yuan Jingzhi had long since transferred the hatred from being injured by the Ancestor of  Void Abyss onto Shu Tiantian. Not to mention that when he thought of the situation of Ling Ruoshui, the one he cherished at the tip of his heart, in Tianji Sect, he hated Shu Tiantian even more.

He sealed off the Transfer Office. The vast Transfer Office had at least several thousand cultivators, and Yuan Jingzhi did not mind checking them one by one.

Shu Tiantian naturally knew what kind of person this mad-dog male supporting character from the original work was. Watching the evil cultivators ahead check one by one, she held her breath and did not dare make a sound.

The sky gradually darkened, the Scarlet Flame Flowers slowly extinguished, yet Shu Tiantian could only stay mixed among the crowd, not daring to act rashly.

Shu Tiantian had come in such haste only because she feared that once Yuan Jingzhi recovered, he would make a move against her. This mad-dog male supporting character would surely stop at nothing to clear obstacles for the female lead…

But who would have thought that, even while barely clinging to life, he would rush to capture her so quickly!

The crowd was restless and uneasy. Shu Tiantian thought of ways to escape, retreating two steps without drawing attention, but when she turned her head, she saw the window.

The sky was gradually darkening. Through the window, Shu Tiantian suddenly saw a high-hanging full moon.

The full moon hung high; everyone lowered their voices, even Yuan Jingzhi did not dare make a sound. Almost everyone held their breath and focused, so the pace was much slower than during the day.

Because on every full-moon night, there was a decibel killer.

This was the last resort. After all, surviving the first time could only be called luck—would the Ancestor of Void Abyss let her off the second time? Even Shu Tiantian herself found it hard to believe.

As Shu Tiantian’s mind raced wildly, she suddenly remembered the letter she had sent out—the mad-dog male supporting character’s only weakness was, of course, the female lead, Ling Ruoshui.

If she could threaten Ling Ruoshui, then the mad-dog male supporting character would at least hesitate, wouldn’t he?

Yuan Jingzhi, dressed in a black robe, watched the inspection of the crowd with a chilling gaze. When he reached the final small corner, his cold eyes swept past—then suddenly paused—

He immediately let out a cold laugh. Thinking herself clever, she actually wanted to disguise herself as Ruoshui. He strode forward quickly, his fingers suddenly reaching to grab Shu Tiantian—

Shu Tiantian inwardly cursed her luck. When Yuan Jingzhi grabbed her hand, she suddenly stepped forward and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, said, “I know the one who leaked the information is Ling Ruoshui.”

Hearing this, the mad dog’s pupils shrank slightly, and sure enough, he froze.

“In the batch of letters just sent out, I already wrote in the letter that someone leaked my identity.”

Shu Tiantian stepped closer to Yuan Jingzhi.

“If I die, Ling Ruoshui won’t have an easy time either.”

She revealed a smile—though dusty and disheveled, that smile could still be called sweet.

“In the entire sect, only four people know this secret—me, senior brother, shizun, and Ling Ruoshui, the disciple shizun took in a year ago—and she just so happens to know you.”

“Senior brother dotes on me the most, shizun protects me the most. If I tell them someone leaked the secret, and they care about me so much, do you think they would kill her for my sake?”

Yuan Jingzhi’s suddenly extended fingers tightened, squeezing Shu Tiantian’s wrist so hard the pain drilled into her bones.

The young girl’s smile was sweet, “In the letter, I also wrote that if I die, even as a ghost I won’t forget that when I was captured, shizun held Ling Ruoshui’s disciple acceptance ceremony.”

“From then on, every time he looks at Ling Ruoshui, he’ll remember that I died. Do you think she’ll have an easy time?”

Yuan Jingzhi’s pupils dilated; he hated her so much he nearly ground his teeth, forcing his voice low as he said, “What exactly do you want to do?!”

Seeing Yuan Jingzhi trembling with anger, Shu Tiantian knew she had grasped the key point, and immediately felt a slight loosening in her chest. Then she noticed the small bell on Yuan Jingzhi’s wrist—just as she was about to speak and negotiate a deal with him, and at the same time get him to help her leave…

She saw the crowd neatly part to form a path.

—The city lord had arrived!

Tiantian, who had just revealed a villainous smile: …Damn.

Yuan Jingzhi was startled and abruptly let go, but it was too late. The pressure of a Fusion-stage great power descended; most of those at the Golden Core stage were directly crushed until they could not breathe, and they fell to their knees.

The only ones left standing were Yuan Jingzhi, the Nascent Soul ghost cultivator, and Shu Tiantian.

Others could not see through physiques or spiritual roots, but for a Fusion-stage great power, it was simple.

As the divine sense of the Fusion-stage great power descended, Shu Tiantian felt as if her entire being had been seen through. At this moment, standing while others knelt, she did not feel the slightest bit of joy—only that her heart was gradually sinking.

The city lord was a middle-aged man with fox-like eyes, his appearance plain and unremarkable. When he looked at Shu Tiantian, it was as if he were appraising some kind of merchandise. He said indifferently to Yuan Jingzhi, “Take her away.”

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

In the enormous mountain range at the very center of Void Abyss, within the deep pool layered with clouds and mist, a black dragon’s divine soul coiled—like an ink-wash painting of a dragon soul within a misty mountain pool.

With a sway, the black dragon’s divine soul transformed into a deity with long hair, golden eyes, and incomparable beauty, standing within the deep pool.

The night of the full moon was the time this dragon hated most.

Two thousand years ago, on the night when he was on the verge of death and almost nailed in place, it was also a night with such a high-hanging bright moon. The brilliant moon had been dyed crimson by dragon’s blood. From then on, for every day in the thousand years that followed, whenever the full moon appeared, the pain of ice and fire clashing within his bloodline would intensify, as if countless tiny blades had been wedged into every blood vessel.

Even when his tendons were drawn and bones stripped, the sinful dragon had never changed expression; a thousand years ago when he was nailed in place, he had never begged for mercy in the slightest. How could he fear this bit of pain? But precisely because the pain intensified on full-moon nights, it brought extremely severe migraines—that was the deepest torment.

In truth, Void Abyss rarely had a moon. Most of the time, this sinful dragon sank into a long slumber. When he occasionally woke, he detested noise—even the smallest, faintest sound would worsen that terrifying headache.

The violent aura of Void Abyss grew heavier year by year; Ji Wushu’s bloodthirst also grew heavier year by year.

Only this deep pool at the very center of Void Abyss could barely soothe the black dragon’s agitation.

The black dragon’s powerful divine soul could completely cover the entire thousand-li expanse of Void Abyss—naturally, it also noticed the disturbance in that small Transfer Division of Ghost Domain City.

The little spy on the other end of the contract had fallen into danger. The Dragon Bone Sword suspended in midair was somewhat anxious, circling around the cold pool.

Seeing that the little spy was about to be captured, the black dragon youth within the deep pool remained unmoved.

The Dragon Bone Sword wanted to persuade this sinful dragon, but then remembered not long ago when it had tried to protect the little spy and safeguard the sinful dragon’s heart meridians—the sinful dragon had cast a light yet murderous glance. It did not quite dare to speak.

The Dragon Bone Sword knew that under the Heaven and Earth Contract, as long as a trace of a person’s life was preserved and they did not die completely, that was enough. As for anything else, it seemed somewhat like meddling.

However, in the boundless silence of the air, the sudden sound of a bell rang out—“ding—ding—”

On the golden lashes of the long-haired youth still lingered damp traces of the deep pool’s water. He slowly opened his eyes; the droplets on his long lashes rolled down, yet could not conceal the deep, violent aura within.

It was the little spy.

“Does she truly not know about the Heaven and Earth Contract?”

A light, floating question, as if devoid of emotion, yet as though speaking of something utterly inconceivable.

After all, would someone really seek death twice?

But the Dragon Bone Sword knew that on full-moon nights, the sinful dragon always went especially mad. Afraid of provoking him, it trembled as it reminded him,

“Do you still remember what the Heaven and Earth Contract says?”

“If she suffers heavy injury that affects her divine soul, or is near death, you will feel it. If she really gets captured and is taken for dual cultivation extraction, and if the extraction goes too far…”

Halfway through, it stopped, because it realized Ji Wushu was not listening at all. Instead, he was looking in a certain direction, his gaze obscure and unreadable.

Following Ji Wushu’s line of sight, the Dragon Bone Sword saw that not far away at the foot of the mountain, before the slumbering giant dragon, wisps of green smoke floated neatly upward.

Ji Wushu withdrew his gaze.

Yes, that little spy had sincerely offered him three sticks of incense.

“After you die, you will never enjoy mortal offerings, only be cursed by countless people, and never be reborn for all eternity!”

“What dragon god? Such a sinful dragon is worthy of being called a god?!”

…

Before he was born, the dragon race had countless mortal believers; temples spread across the land, incense flourished, and they received offerings for ten thousand generations.

After he was born, through three thousand years, dragons became the embodiment of evil, reviled for a thousand years.

In three thousand years, this was the first stick of incense.

Oh—and it had been bought wrong; it was purchased as Hehuan incense.

The Dragon Bone Sword saw the youth withdraw his gaze, slowly rise to his feet. Droplets evaporated from the surface of his overheated body, the mist transforming into a wide black robe with large sleeves. His long hair still dripped with the deep pool’s water, yet the handsome youth paid it no mind as he picked up the Dragon Bone Sword and left.