After returning to Liaoyin Immortal Realm, Mu Han was searching through the ancient books in the library.
The pattern inside the brocade pouch that Li Luoning had given him earlier looked very familiar. He was certain he had seen it in a book before.
"Kongming~"
The voice of Star Lord Xuanming came from outside the door.
Hearing the voice, Mu Han casually turned a page of the book in his hand. When he looked up, he saw Star Lord Xuanming walking in slowly, holding a wine jug and swaying slightly as he walked.
"Star Lord Xuanming."
Mu Han quickly stood up and bowed in greeting. He did not notice that the page he had just turned to actually showed the very pattern he had been searching for.
"Kongming, you have been away these past few days. I came looking for you several times and found nothing."
Xuanming stroked his gray beard as he spoke.
"I have been quite busy recently. May I ask what brings Star Lord here?" Mu Han asked.
"It is nothing serious. That old fellow, the Medicine King, now only has a trace of soul left. There is no one to drink with this old man anymore. I feel quite bored."
Xuanming took a sip of wine and spoke with a weary expression.
"The Medicine King was suddenly attacked. None of us expected such a tragedy. Fortunately, Dragon King Yingde has already gone to retrieve the Soul Gathering Lamp. It should not be long before he can bring the Medicine King's soul back."
Mu Han tried to comfort him.
"Ah… it cannot be brought back."
Xuanming sighed deeply.
"Why can it not be brought back?"
"The Soul Gathering Lamp… has been broken."
Xuanming's voice trembled slightly with emotion. He and the Medicine King had known each other for many years, from childhood to old age. Now that his old friend had been attacked, his heart felt heavy.
"Broken?!"
"The Dragon King sent word that someone tried to seize the Soul Gathering Lamp. During the struggle, it was accidentally dropped and shattered."
Xuanming spoke helplessly.
"Can it be repaired?"
"If repaired, it might still work reluctantly. But one fragment of the lamp is missing. Now it is nothing more than a pile of useless glass shards."
Xuanming saw Mu Han fall silent. He picked up the teacup on Mu Han's table, poured out the tea, filled it with wine, and handed it to him.
Mu Han accepted the wine. The two of them silently raised their cups toward the sky and then drank the wine in one gulp.
"What are you studying here now?" Xuanming glanced at the books and scrolls spread across the table and asked.
"It is nothing special. I am simply looking through some ancient books left by my master."
Mu Han answered casually. He picked up a book and covered the item Li Luoning had given him beneath it.
But during that brief movement, Star Lord Xuanming clearly saw the pattern that was about to be hidden. A flash of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"Does Star Lord have any advice?" Mu Han noticed the fleeting expression on his face and asked.
"No, no. This old man has had too much wine today. It is time for me to return."
Xuanming stood up to leave.
"Then I will not escort you."
Mu Han bowed politely.
"No need, no need. These old bones can still walk."
Xuanming waved his hand and walked out with unsteady steps.
But the moment he stepped out of Qingling Pavilion, his back straightened instantly. The drunken look in his eyes disappeared completely. He glanced back briefly and then walked away quickly.
Mu Han, unaware of all this, returned to the desk. He lifted the book that had covered the page and finally saw the record written there.
"Shangwei Heavenly Stone!"
Meanwhile, back at Wuming Demon Mountain, Hua Qiuyuan sat on the roof, looking at the two herbs in his hand with hesitation.
"Commander."
A demon soldier's voice came from below the roof.
Hua Qiuyuan quickly hid the herbs and jumped down.
"Commander, the Demon Lord requests your presence. Also, bring the puppet he brought back a few days ago."
The demon soldier reported.
Hua Qiuyuan nodded and walked toward the place where Mi Xingzhe was being held.
Inside the Demon Lord Hall, Mi Xingzhe and several other puppets were brought into the hall under Hua Qiuyuan's control.
"What did you discover?" Li Minghan asked.
"Two people came together. One of them has decent cultivation."
Hua Qiuyuan reported.
"One person with decent cultivation?"
Li Minghan rarely heard such an uncertain answer from Hua Qiuyuan and felt curious.
"I have fought Li Luoning before. This time I only needed to test the other one."
Hua Qiuyuan explained.
Li Minghan did not pursue the matter further. Instead, his gaze moved to Mi Xingzhe.
Mi Xingzhe's eyes were bruised and dark. His lips were pale, his hair was messy, and he stood there swaying slightly with a blank expression on his face.
"Tsk. How filthy."
Li Minghan looked disgusted.
"Clean him up. I will take him out later."
He waved his hand as he gave the order. Then he suddenly remembered something and added,
"Qiuyuan, give him a set of your clothes."
At the same time, Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi were hiding on a wall inside the demon palace, observing the situation.
"Master, since we know Nian'nian is here, why do we not just rush in and demand his release?"
Yun Qingyi whispered while looking around.
"There are many enemies and few of us. We must not act recklessly."
Just then, they saw Li Minghan walk out of the hall.
"My lord."
The ghost attendants quickly bowed.
Although Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi lowered their bodies to hide, Li Minghan still sensed their presence.
"I will be leaving for a while. Pass the order that the demon palace must strengthen its defenses in the coming days. No one is allowed to enter or leave freely."
Li Minghan stopped deliberately and raised his voice slightly as he gave the order.
"Yes."
The demon soldier responded.
Li Minghan glanced sideways toward the wall where Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi were hiding and smiled wickedly.
After Li Minghan and the shadow guards left, Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi finally relaxed.
"Master, the Demon Lord is leaving with Hua Qiuyuan. We should use this chance to search for where Nian'nian is being held."
Yun Qingyi whispered.
"That shadow guard just now was not Hua Qiuyuan."
Li Luoning said quietly.
"Not Hua Qiuyuan? Is he not always beside the Demon Lord?" Yun Qingyi asked in confusion.
"Did you notice what was hanging at his waist?"
Li Luoning reminded him.
Yun Qingyi frowned and thought for a moment before suddenly realizing.
"The thing at his waist was Hongchen Ruji! So that shadow guard was actually Nian'nian wearing Hua Qiuyuan's clothes?"
Li Luoning nodded.
"I do not know what method he used to make Nian'er obey him like that. But by taking Nian'er away in disguise, he wants us to believe Nian'er is still imprisoned in the demon palace and lure us into a trap."
"Master means we just need to follow him and we can rescue Niannian?" Yun Qingyi asked.
"Yes. If my guess is correct, he is taking Nian to Pingyan Land to meet Nan Zhe. We only need to rescue Nian'er before they reach Pingyan Land."
Li Luoning said with a serious expression.
Meanwhile, in Situ Fanzhi's study in Liaoyin Immortal Realm, he released a beam of golden light that sealed the entire room.
Then he turned to a shelf and traced a symbol with two fingers on an ordinary-looking compartment. Soon a magical device appeared beside it.
Situ Fanzhi carefully took down the device and slowly infused the Medicine King's remaining soul into it.
As the soul entered the device, the final scene before the Medicine King was injured appeared.
Although the attacker could not be seen clearly, a black mist could be seen rushing into the alchemy room and striking the Medicine King.
"You…"
The severely injured Medicine King looked shocked, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Before he could react, several icy spikes shot out from the black mist and struck him down.
"This is… Moon Shadow Ice Spike? The Moon Shadow Core!"
Watching from the side, Situ Fanzhi was greatly surprised.
"I never expected that the long-lost Moon Shadow Core belongs to him."
He seemed to realize who the figure inside the black mist was.
The scene did not end there.
After the Medicine King collapsed, the black shadow flew out of the room. At the door it brushed past a figure in white.
It seemed both of them had expected the other to be there. They glanced at each other and then left in opposite directions.
Soon Oushi Nan pushed open the door and entered the alchemy room.
He took out half a flower petal from inside his belt and placed it in the Medicine King's hand.
Then he gently brushed aside the hair covering the Medicine King's face and injected a stream of pale purple power into his mind.
The vision ended there.
Situ Fanzhi frowned and silently recited a spell, sending another wave of power into the image.
After finishing, he nodded with satisfaction.
At that moment he heard movement outside the door. He quickly dispersed the image and asked with killing intent,
"Who is there?"
"Immortal Sovereign, I have urgent matters to report."
The voice of Star Lord Xuanming came from outside.
"Teacher?"
Hearing the voice, Situ Fanzhi looked surprised. With a push of his palm, the barrier covering the study disappeared instantly.
Half a cup of tea later—
"Teacher, is what you said true?" Situ Fanzhi asked seriously.
"That Shangwei Heavenly Stone… was truly made by you?"
Star Lord Xuanming asked nervously.
Situ Fanzhi's expression was solemn, but sadness appeared in his eyes.
"When I was young and reckless, I tried to refine the Shangwei Heavenly Stone. I lost control and accidentally sent it flying away. I was afraid of being punished by my teacher, so I never told you. I never expected it to fall directly into the Li family residence and cause the deaths of dozens of people."
"You! So it really was you!"
"Teacher, it was an unintentional mistake."
"If you had told me at that time, perhaps there would have been a way to remedy it. Now that Kongming has discovered the Shangwei Heavenly Stone, if the truth is revealed, how will you maintain your authority as Immortal Sovereign?"
Xuanming scolded him angrily.
"I will do everything I can to atone for my mistake. Please give me this chance."
Situ Fanzhi knelt beside Xuanming's feet.
Looking at him kneeling there, Xuanming did not know what to say. After all, the man before him was both his former student and now the ruler of the entire Liaoyin Immortal Realm.
"You are now the Immortal Sovereign. You must think carefully before acting. Such reckless actions that harm lives must never happen again."
"I understand."
Situ Fanzhi replied.
Xuanming could only sigh and leave.
The moment Xuanming left, the guilt on Situ Fanzhi's face instantly turned into a fierce expression. He wrote a message in the air with his hand and sent out a secret letter.
At the border between Fanli Valley and Pingyan Land—
"You have followed me all this way. Come out."
Li Minghan closed his folding fan and spoke.
Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi jumped down from above and landed not far in front of him.
When Li Minghan saw Li Luoning again, his eyes filled with amusement. He touched the mask on his face thoughtfully.
"If you do not make a move soon, I will leave."
Li Minghan spoke with disdain.
"Niannian, come here."
Yun Qingyi called toward the shadow guard behind Li Minghan.
Li Luoning stood silently to the side, watching them with suspicion. Something about the situation felt strange.
Seeing Yun Qingyi call out, Li Minghan turned slightly to look behind him and laughed.
"So you came for this? Then take him. Shadow guards like this are not rare on my Demon Mountain."
He waved his hand.
The shadow guard received the order and walked toward Yun Qingyi.
At the moment he passed Li Luoning—
"Be careful."
Li Luoning suddenly reacted. He pushed the shadow guard away with a palm strike and quickly retreated to Yun Qingyi's side.
"He is not Nian'er."
Yun Qingyi looked confused.
"Master, how do you know he is not Nian'nian?"
"Flower fragrance."
When Li Luoning brushed past him, he smelled the scent of purple flower violet and fireweed. He immediately knew this was not Mi Xingzhe but Hua Qiuyuan wearing Hongchen Ruji.
That was also why he deliberately chose those two flower herbs earlier.
"So you discovered it already. That was not fun at all."
Li Minghan said mockingly.
He tapped his fan against his palm, and countless shadow guards wearing half masks appeared around them.
"Where did you hide Nian'nian?"
Yun Qingyi asked angrily.
"He is from your immortal sect. Why ask me instead of your own sect?"
"Stop talking nonsense! It was you who ordered Hua Ruoying to capture Niannian!"
"Oh? Are you so certain he is in my hands?"
"Demon Lord, I have neither old nor recent grievances with you. Why do you keep sending people to trouble my disciple and me?"
Li Luoning asked calmly.
"What a statement—no old grudges and no new ones."
"Enough talk. If you do not return my junior brother, do not blame us for being rude."
Yun Qingyi said angrily.
"How about we play a game?"
Li Minghan's deep voice carried clear mockery.
"I will count to three. If you can find your beloved little disciple among these people, you may take him away."
Then Li Minghan suddenly laughed.
"Three!"
Without warning he shouted the number and spread his arms as he stepped backward, his figure gradually disappearing among the crowd of shadow guards rushing forward.