[Yin Eye Pearl: When the master controls the mother pearl, they can sense the location of this bead. It contains vast amounts of spiritual energy, fear, and resentment. Often carried by blood thralls used in demonic arts.]
Yao Ranyan lowered the Ancient Appraisal Mirror. Her pale fingertips lightly tapped the black bead in her hand. At once, the bead's eye snapped shut, and a tear of blood slid down to stain the cracked floor tiles.
"I was careless. This bead actually has surveillance abilities… someone has been controlling this blood thrall from behind the scenes."
She raised the Ancient Appraisal Mirror again for another look.
[Yin Eye Pearl: Damaged. Contains vast amounts of spiritual energy, fear, and resentment. Often carried by blood thralls used in demonic arts.]
"Longyin Village… and the nearby abandoned villages… So that's it. Someone deliberately released blood thralls to drain the villagers' life force, killing them. This has been a long-laid scheme. But what happened a hundred years ago? Why target Longyin Village and its neighbors?"
Yao Ranyan frowned, deep in thought.
A creak came from outside the door.
Xiao Rong bounded in, eyes bright with excitement.
"Boss! Look what I brought you!"
Before Yao Ranyan could turn her head, a wave of shimmering light washed across her face, making her squint.
The dim, dilapidated temple suddenly bloomed with brightness.
Yao Ranyan, acting out of habit, pulled out the Ancient Appraisal Mirror.
[Deep Sea Pearl: Produced by a thousand-year-old clam spirit. Calms the mind and eases the heart. Its glow is said to ward off evil and drive away demons.]
"Boss, boss! And these two treasures as well!" Xiao Rong flicked out two vines, each carrying a treasure box.
The Taigu Appraisal Mirror shifted slightly, casting its light over the boxes.
[Snowling Water: Essence blood of a Snowling Beast.]
[Skyfire Liquid: A liquid fire seed refined from a rare exotic flame.]
Yao Ranyan's clear eyes shimmered with color, but then narrowed in doubt. "Where did you get these?"
Xiao Rong puffed up his small chest with pride. "From the people of Biluo Sect! They came to apologize while you were away, so I accepted them on your behalf. I even gave Xiao Jiang a jade pendant!"
"What jade pendant?"
"Zhou Lili's personal jade pendant!"
"What?!"
Yao Ranyan clutched her head in despair.
Even without using the Ancient Appraisal Mirror, she could guess that jade pendant was no less valuable than these three treasures.
And Xiao Rong had just given it away to Jiang Shengxiang!
"Boss, why are you banging your head against the pillar? This place is old. If you break it, we'll have to spend more money fixing it!" Xiao Rong's little brows furrowed in earnest concern.
Yao Ranyan forced herself to calm down.
In truth, she needed the strength of Biluo Sect—especially with a hidden enemy lurking, waiting to strike.
If she wanted to survive, she had to solve this problem.
"Xiao Rong, I need to meet the Sect Master of Biluo Sect."
Xiao Rong's eyes widened. "Boss, you haven't forgiven them yet? I'm not giving the treasures back!"
In a flash, all three treasures vanished, swallowed whole.
"Hic~"
He let out a satisfied burp.
Black lines formed on Yao Ranyan's forehead.
"I'm not going to kill him. Someone else is coming to kill us."
"Hic~" The hiccup almost turned into his last breath.
Yao Ranyan lunged forward, quickly using the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the Deep Sea Pearl from Xiao Rong's throat.
"I need Sect Master Zhou's help to investigate what happened in Longyin Village a hundred years ago."
Revived, Xiao Rong nodded dazedly.
Time passed. Three days later.
Yao Ranyan received news from Sect Master Zhou.
A hundred years ago, a wandering Taoist came to Longyin Village. Blind in one eye, he called himself Zuo the One-Eyed Daoist. He stayed for seven days, offering free fortune-telling and medical treatment to the villagers.
On the afternoon of the seventh day, he visited the still-standing Sun family home. The next morning, he left Longyin Village.
That very night, the entire Sun family vanished without a trace.
According to Sect Master Zhou, the strange curse on Longyin Village was very likely the work of this wandering Taoist.
Compared to the Central Continent, the Eastern Wasteland were chaotic and lawless. Yao Ranyan thought to herself that Zuo the One-Eyed Daoist might have been an evil cultivator.
The Sun family hadn't vanished—they had been turned into blood thralls.
"A hundred years is a long time… I wonder how far Zuo the One-Eyed Daoist has advanced his cultivation."
Her gaze drifted toward the Deep Sea Pearl left out in the courtyard. She shut the window and returned to her simple wooden bed.
A cool night breeze slipped in, pushing the window open again.
A strikingly handsome face, with a dangerous charm, entered her vision.
"You're not blind!" Her pupils contracted sharply.
Had Zuo the One-Eyed Daoist come for revenge?
"???" Li Luoqi's smile froze slightly at the corners of his eyes.
"No… you're not Zuo the One-Eyed Daoist!" Yao Ranyan reacted instantly, pushing the Nine-Lotus Ring behind her out of sight.
That wickedly alluring face, the aura of an unmatched ruler, and that unruly smile at his lips—he was the Demon Sovereign.
Li Luoqi's gaze swept over her lazily. With a graceful flick of his sleeve to brush away the dust, his voice was low and magnetic. "Yao Ranyan, how does it feel to fall from the altar into the abyss?
The Central Continent's number one Fairy, blessed with beauty yet unable to win love, cast into this endless prison by Shen Yuefu. How laughable in the eyes of the world. Do you plan to stay here forever, watching yourself grow old and die?"
Yao Ranyan nodded.
"Since you don't want—" Li Luoqi froze mid-pose, "Wait… did you just nod? Did you even hear what I said?"
"Of course I heard…" She caught the displeasure on his face and quickly switched to her scripted line. "Shen Yuefu was so heartless to me. I will never forgive the two of them! If I cannot have him, then Pei Qianqiao does not deserve him either!"
Li Luoqi's eyes curved with a mocking glint. "And you think you can compare to Qianqiao?"
"Demon Sovereign, since you came here in person… do you have any spirit stones on you?" Yao Ranyan's gaze swept over him from head to toe.
The sudden change in topic made Li Luoqi pause. He stared at her, a flicker of cold light in his eyes.
"With your current pathetic state, you're not worth even one of Pei Qianqiao's fingers. What do you have to take revenge with?"
Yao Ranyan gripped her sleeve tightly, her face set with stubbornness. "Demon Sovereign, you're wrong. Revenge doesn't always have to be achieved through force."
A wave of disgust stirred in Li Luoqi's heart. He lifted her delicate chin with a single hand. "Yao Ranyan, do you think that with the most beautiful face in the Central Continent, you can seduce men into risking their lives for you? I'll say this only once—Shen Yuefu's abilities are far greater than you imagine."
With a flick of his hand, he forced her chin aside, turning her head at an angle.
Yao Ranyan complained silently in her heart.
With a sharp crack, she twisted her head back.
In the deep night, the motion seemed eerie.
The corner of Li Luoqi's mouth twitched despite himself.