Reverse World.

A desolate and decaying cluster of buildings.

A young woman in a pink dress, as beautiful as a peach blossom and possessing a bright, graceful air, sat on a rooftop with her legs crossed.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, a flicker of movement crossed her eyes.

The young woman in pink tilted her head, her gaze falling upon Su Ye within the Immortal City’s extermination squad. A hint of surprise showed on her face.

’He spotted me?’

’No, he must have... just glanced over by chance, right?’

’That makes sense. With the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could he possibly discover me...’

Lady Yun.

Or rather, He Muyun. She shook her head, thinking to herself.

This Crystal Stage cultivator from the Cyan Profound Sect had also entered the Reverse World.

And she had entered of her own accord!

Several days ago, after the incident at the Zhong Mansion, He Muyun had sensed a peculiar aura.

For some reason, she found herself extremely concerned by it.

To investigate, she even activated several of the Cyan Profound Sect’s hidden agents within the Immortal City, and through them, learned what had happened at the Zhong Mansion.

Curious, He Muyun infiltrated the Zhong Mansion to get to the bottom of it.

As a result, she was swept into the Reverse World during her investigation.

Then, she began slaying monsters and exploring, trekking through the black fog of the Reverse World.

With her Crystal Stage strength, she faced no significant danger.

During this process, she happened upon an exploration team from Weiyuan Immortal City.

Although their allegiances were opposed, He Muyun disdained slaughtering low-level cultivators, so she did not kill them.

She used a minor Illusion Technique to conceal her identity.

At the same time, she discreetly stole one of the "gate-opening" Array Plates they were carrying.

From then on, He Muyun began to enter and exit the Reverse World frequently.

For some unknown reason, she felt an extreme loathing for the monsters within the Reverse World!

If she could kill them, she almost always would.

And indeed, that was exactly what she did.

On this day, she had wandered near Node Seven, originally intending to slaughter some monsters.

By coincidence, she discovered Su Ye’s group and, worried about being spotted, temporarily went into Concealment.

’Judging by their attire, they’re from Weiyuan Immortal City...’ He Muyun mused, her fine brows furrowing slightly.

She hesitated, debating whether to act.

After all, this team had quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators; they were elites.

Given her identity and allegiance, taking this opportunity to wipe out the Immortal City’s team here would be the most logical course of action.

But... after a long hesitation, she ultimately decided against it.

’Hmph... I’ll just let these guys wear each other down with those disgusting monsters...’

He Muyun snorted softly.

’Besides... it seems not everyone in this team is from Weiyuan Immortal City...’

’That black-robed young man in the lead... I haven’t seen his file...’

She thought of Su Ye, tapping her index finger against her lower lip pensively.

All of Weiyuan Immortal City’s important figures were on file with the Cyan Profound Sect.

He Muyun had reviewed them all before infiltrating Weiyuan Immortal City.

And among them, there was no one named Su Ye!

’Judging by his age, he seems to be less than fifty, yet he’s already at Late-stage Foundation Establishment and can overpower a peak second-rank greater demon...’

’His Body Refining level is also quite extraordinary...’

’A genius cultivator like that...’

’After I get out, I’ll need to investigate him!’

’If possible, I certainly can’t let Weiyuan Immortal City recruit him.’

He Muyun muttered to herself.

Just then, a dozen or so more Secondary Formless Demons migrated toward her location from not far away.

He Muyun raised an eyebrow and stood up. Countless nearly invisible threads shot from her hand.

The Secondary Formless Demons suddenly froze.

SWISH.

Neat, vertical cuts appeared on their bodies.

Blood exploded outward as hundreds of chunks of flesh scattered across the ground, the stench of gore filling the air!

"Monsters... all of them must die!"

However, despite her wanton slaughter of the monsters, a sense of unease that she couldn’t shake lingered in He Muyun’s heart.

It was as if a great disaster was about to befall her...

...

「Night.」

「Canghai Mountain.」

"Conquered the seventh node, killed the Bone Dragon Eagle King, and with minimal casualties..."

"Defeated Jian Ziheng and seized command..."

"This Su Ye... has certainly given me a pleasant surprise."

Sikong Xin’s eyes twinkled as he chuckled to himself.

Bai Xiuying stood before his desk.

She observed Sikong Xin’s expression and added.

"Mr. Sikong, it was Jian Ziheng who instigated the matter..."

Sikong Xin waved his hand, cutting Bai Xiuying off. "That’s not important," he said dismissively.

"Eh?"

Surprise flickered in Bai Xiuying’s clear eyes.

The five great families of the Immortal City always advanced and retreated as one.

She had thought that Sikong Xin would protect Jian Ziheng after hearing about this, but it seemed...

Sikong Xin’s expression was calm as he shook his head. "Junior Sister, you are not a member of the five families. There are some things you still don’t understand..."

Bai Xiuying was from Weiyuan Immortal City.

However, she was not from one of the five great families.

She was the daughter of a Loose Cultivator and had, by a stroke of luck, been accepted as a disciple by Canghai.

At the time, the event had caused quite a stir within the Immortal City!

Because of this, she was unaware of the intricate web of grievances and conflicts among the five great families.

"In any case... you don’t need to worry about it."

"Su Ye did a good job this time."

A faint, unreadable smile played on Sikong Xin’s lips, as if he were in a good mood.

"Eh..." Bai Xiuying was slightly surprised and a little confused.

Sikong Xin’s gaze was placid, and he had no intention of explaining.

It was true that the five great families of the Immortal City advanced and retreated as one.

But even brothers under the same roof would take up arms against each other.

Even siblings had their squabbles!

As the five great families, it was naturally impossible for them to be one big, happy, harmonious family...

On the contrary, the open conflicts and secret schemes for power and profit were ceaseless!

For example, the Sikong Family had once been unremarkable, ranking in the middle of the five families.

However, after the others failed while Sikong Xin, drawing on his deep reserves, broke through his bottleneck and reached the Crystal Stage...

The distribution of assets and interests among the five great families also underwent a new round of adjustments!

Over the past decade or so, relying on Sikong Xin’s might, the Sikong Family had naturally begun to expand, acquiring the assets of other families...

Of course, to maintain the unity of the five families,

the Sikong Family had to be mindful of appearances, maintain their decorum, and not go too far.

Sometimes, they even had to retreat a little in the face of counterattacks from the other four families.

Among the five, the Jian Family, with the formidably powerful Jian Ziheng, was particularly stubborn, which had slowed the Sikong Family’s progress.

’With Jian Ziheng seriously injured... the Jian Family should behave themselves now, right?’

’I hope so... After all, I’d rather not have to get rough with them.’ Sikong Xin sighed.

As for Su Ye’s potential secrets...

Which high-level cultivator didn’t have secrets?

Hadn’t he himself explored ancient ruins and found a fortuitous opportunity that allowed him to successfully reach the Crystal Stage?

’What’s important is that Su Ye has enough strength and value. He’s crucial for clearing out the Reverse World!’

’After all, the grand auction is coming up, and I can’t let the Reverse World interfere with it...’

Sikong Xin mused.

...

「Chaotic Reef District.」

Native island, on an altar.

"It seems the Yaoguang people have begun to clear out the Reverse World?"

"That’s not bad at all..." the blind saintess chuckled lightly.

"The Beast Tide can be launched. March on Weiyuan Immortal City..."

"Now?" Navasen frowned.

"If we wait another half a year, we could have one more third-rank demonic beast... Right now, we only have three..."

"With this level of strength, can we break the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array?"

Navasen asked.

"It doesn’t matter. It’s not important," the blind saintess said placidly.

"Winning or losing is fine... After all, flesh and blood sacrifices from the real world are also very helpful for nurturing the [Divine Tree]..."

A hint of cold cruelty surfaced on her innocent and holy face.

...

...

I did the math, and I’ve updated 160,000 characters this month!

I’ve been writing on Maomao for two years and have never written this much in a single month!

(Puffy~)