[After Lunch · Yao Residence Council Hall]
Afternoon light slanted through the lattice windows, turning drifting dust into slow-floating gold. In the center of the council hall, a sand table marked ley-veins, formations, and mountain passes across the realm.
Youqing stood before it, composed and still. The black-obsidian bracelet in her hand pulsed faintly, its glow flickering against her palm like a heartbeat.
"Before I returned from the Yao Tower last night," she began, voice steady and unhurried, "I joined forces with the three generals and Si Moheng to pursue Fengmian. But along the way, we discovered something—Trial Valley has changed."
The room went so quiet it felt like breathing would be an offense.
"The earth-vein patterns there were distorted. Black mist covered the gorge, and the soul fluctuations were violent. When we entered to investigate, we found someone performing a forbidden art."
She paused, then continued, each word landing like a nail.
"And we found two people—one was Fengmian, reduced to a witless husk… and the other was an unconscious woman named Wanluo. She is the younger sister of Jialuo, one of the three Rift-Yao generals."
Sang Qi's brows drew together. "Fengmian… is still alive?"
"Alive is… generous," Youqing said, her tone lowering by a shade. "His soul channels are shattered. Only obsession remains. His mind has long since broken."
She let that sink in, then went on.
"We didn't dare stay in the valley. We brought them to the nearest refuge—Yaonan Hidden Manor—and asked its master, Ye Qixiu, for help. He gathered Yao-healers to stabilize their souls and protect their meridians.
"Fengmian did not regain clarity. But after Wanluo woke, she told us something—something that could overturn the entire Yao Realm."
Youqing lifted her gaze, and the hall felt suddenly colder.
"Fengmian… is actually Ye Yi."
Dead silence.
Cang Yuan's teacup trembled. Tea spilled onto the table, unnoticed. Sang Qi's fingers tapped once against the wood—dull and heavy, like a drum in a sealed room.
"Ye Yi…" Lin Lie murmured. "My grandfather mentioned that name. The demon lord sealed by the Five Yao in Trial Valley."
Youqing nodded. "Correct. Wanluo said that as early as his time in the Nether Realm, he moved under the identity of 'Fengmian,' approaching the Nether Emperor—neither for power nor for position."
Her eyes darkened.
"He did it to complete one plan: the destruction of the Yao Realm.
"He gathered the Rift-Yao into an army under the Nether Emperor's name, and used Rift arts to rebuild forbidden formations. 'Fengmian' was only a shell. The true Ye Yi… never died."
Ding Yuxuan sucked in a breath. "How could he know so many techniques? Even the Yao-stealing art… the soul-crossing rites—"
Youqing's expression dimmed. "That story begins even earlier—with three people from the old days."
She turned, looking directly at Lin Lie.
"Your grandfather, Lin Zheng… Manor Master Ye Qixiu… and Ye Yi himself were all born of the Metal-Yao clan. In those days they were called the Three Metal Prodigies.
"Lin Zheng excelled in mechanical craft and Yao-structures. Ye Qixiu studied formations and craft—steady, careful, precise. And Ye Yi…"
Her voice cooled.
"Ye Yi was the Metal clan's foremost formation master."
Sang Qi arched a brow. "Sounds… impressive."
Youqing gave a faint smile, without warmth. "He was a genius. And arrogant enough to believe the heavens owed him more."
She lifted the bracelet slightly; its black light flickered across her knuckles.
"Ye Yi became obsessed with formations, then touched the Black-Yao's soul-crossing arts. That path requires black crystals as an anchor—soul for soul, life for life.
"He obtained only a fragment, never understood the true source of the crystals, and created a twisted variant of his own."
Her eyes sharpened, voice turning hard.
"Metal-Yao forbidden art: the Transference Rite."
Cang Yuan's gaze sank. "Transference… that's the one that forces a soul into another body."
"Yes." Youqing's nod was calm and merciless. "He used it to seize cultivators' bodies and steal their Yao power. When the Metal elders learned the truth, they were enraged. Ye Yi was punished, and the art was declared forbidden."
A brief pause—then her tone turned colder still.
"But the punishment came too late. By then, Lin Zheng had been chosen as one of the Five Yao and entered the Yao Hall. Ye Qixiu withdrew to pursue soul-medicine. Ye Yi was expelled from his clan—yet continued cultivating in the shadows."
"And that was when he met… the Saintess Yan Ling."
Xie Wenyun's eyes widened. "Yan Ling… wasn't she the former Realm Emperor's wife?"
"She was," Youqing said quietly. "Through Lin Zheng, they came to know her. Ye Yi fell in love at first sight. But Yan Ling and the former Realm Emperor had already pledged themselves to one another.
"Ye Yi's love became obsession. And his loyalty to the Yao Realm—twisted beyond repair."
She looked across the room, voice threaded with a cold, exhausted pity.
"He pursued Black-Yao arts, fell into demonic cultivation, and named himself Demon Lord Ye Yi. He intended to use the Yao-stealing rite to seize the Realm Emperor's body—take his power, take his throne…"
Her gaze sharpened like ice.
"And take Yan Ling."
Lin Lie's hand clenched involuntarily. In that moment, history and blood overlapped—his clan, his grandfather, the sealed past—all bound to the same buried catastrophe.
Youqing continued.
"When the former Realm Emperor discovered the plot, he was furious. He commanded the Five Yao to seal Ye Yi within Trial Valley, forever, never to be reborn. Before the seal fully closed, Ye Yi cast a venomous curse—"
The candle flame shivered as a draft passed through the hall.
"A curse that the Yao bloodlines would break. That the Five Yao would be cut off—childless, extinct."
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
"And yet," Youqing said softly, "years later, that curse began to come true. Ye Yi's remnant soul did not disperse. He gathered souls in secret, stole bodies, and revived through Fengmian… and through Ling Shuo.
"Everything happening now is the continuation of that curse."
No one spoke for a long time.
Cang Yuan muttered, voice low. "To begin with love… and end as hatred. The most terrifying kind of 'romantic.'"
Lin Lie said nothing—only lifted his eyes toward the sand table's black-marked point, his gaze cold as forged iron.
Youqing closed her fingers around the bracelet, hiding its glow.
"I will report this to the Yao Palace," she said, measured and firm. "But we cannot wait any longer. Ye Yi's formations are waking at the deepest veins.
"If he truly intends to restore demonic rule… this curse will not end with broken bloodlines."
Her eyes hardened.
"It will end with a ruined realm."
The heavy doors of the council hall pushed open.
Luo Ye stepped inside, still carrying the dampness of morning dew and the grit of dust. His hair at the temples was wet and disheveled, shadows clinging beneath his eyes. He looked like he'd been dragged forward by exhaustion more than his own will.
The moment Li Furong saw him, she stood and hurried over.
"Did you find Lingdang?"
Luo Ye shook his head, voice hoarse. "No…"
Before he could say more, his strength seemed to collapse. He dropped into a chair as if his bones had turned to sand.
Cang Yuan frowned, rose, and poured a cup of tea, offering it to him. "You look like you haven't even eaten breakfast."
Luo Ye took the tea but didn't answer—only lowered his head and swallowed once.
Seeing it, Xie Wenyun immediately ordered a servant, "Bring food. Something warm. Now. Don't let him run on empty."
Luo Ye stayed silent for a beat—then suddenly pulled a letter from his robes and slammed it onto the table.
"This was delivered to the gate when I returned."
His voice was low and tight, anger compressed into a blade.
"It says—if I want Lingdang back, I must trade the Heart of Yao Spirit."
In an instant, the air in the hall congealed.
Sang Qi reached for the letter, tore it open, and scanned it. His brows snapped into a deep furrow.
"It's from that fake 'Ling Shuo.' Ye Yi's people."
Li Furong's voice trembled. "What do we do? Where is the Heart of Yao Spirit? How are we supposed to find it?"
"You don't need to find it."
Everyone turned.
Youqing had already stood. Her face was calm—so calm it was frightening.
"The Heart of Yao Spirit is with me."
All four Yao froze.
At that moment, the doors opened again. Jialuo, Tutan, and Lianyu stepped in—and arrived just in time to hear those words.
Jialuo's eyes widened. He surged forward. "Imperial Princess—are you truly going to use the Heart to exchange for a person? Do you understand what that is? It's the only thing that allows Nether Realm blood to walk under sunlight without collapsing!"
Youqing shook her head, unshaken. "I discussed this with Si Moheng. The Heart was meant to lure Ye Yi into revealing himself. Now that he's reached for it first…"
Her gaze sharpened.
"He's given us an opening."
Tutan blinked. "You mean… we use his trap against him?"
"Exactly."
Youqing placed the black-obsidian bracelet on the table. Light and shadow shimmered at her fingertips.
"If Ye Yi wants the Heart, he will come in person. The moment he appears, I will lock onto his soul signature with a seal—and you will move to encircle and capture."
Her voice turned crisp, absolute.
"This time, we do not let him slip away."
She tapped the bracelet lightly.
"This bracelet was crafted when I studied soul-crossing arts at Yaonan Hidden Manor—made to stabilize the soul and guide the meridians. It will assist my technique."
Jialuo still looked uneasy. "But if he brings forces, we might—"
"Don't worry."
A familiar, controlled voice came from outside the door.
Everyone turned.
Si Moheng stepped in dressed in black, an almost invisible smile at the corner of his mouth.
"This morning I sent people to retrieve Wanluo. By my timing… she should already be here."
Youqing paused, a faint smile flickering through her eyes. "Accurate as always."
Si Moheng gave a soft huff. "Naturally. I've had her settled and secured. I came specifically to tell you—Youqing."
He spoke the last word slower, and softer.
"Qing'er. I said we would cast this net ourselves."
The instant "Qing'er" landed, the hall subtly… changed.
Cang Yuan lifted a brow. "Qing'er?"
Sang Qi's mouth twitched. "That's… intimate."
Lin Lie cut Si Moheng with a cold glance, sharp as a blade.
Even Ding Yuxuan coughed lightly, unable to hide the strange amusement in her eyes.
Youqing's expression stalled for half a breath. She cleared her throat and forced the conversation back onto steel rails.
"You came at the right time," she said evenly. "Everyone is here. Now we discuss—how to make Ye Yi walk into the trap."
Si Moheng only smiled, eyes carrying a trace of mischief.
"As you arrange it," he said. "I'll follow Qing'er's lead."
The four Yao: "…"
The atmosphere in the council hall turned both strange and dangerously delicate.
But in that moment, every mind was aligned toward the same direction—
This match on the board could no longer be defensive.
It was time for them to strike first.