[Wan Luo's Sea of Consciousness · Deep Within the Black Mist]
Wan Luo forced herself to steady her mind. Facing Ling Shuo—restless and volatile within the sea of consciousness—she softened her tone, patient and coaxing.
"Ling Shuo… if you want to take back your body, then you must stay calm."
Ling Shuo's eyes sharpened, fury blazing. "Calm? My body was stolen. I'm trapped here, forced to share a vessel with you—how am I supposed to stay calm?"
Wan Luo's lips trembled, but she held herself together. "I understand your resentment. But if you keep thrashing like this, you'll only fight me for control. In the end, we'll both be hurt—and we'll frighten everyone around us."
She paused, then lowered her voice, firmer now. "I know Saintess Gu Xingyu. If you quiet down, I can use her status to help you investigate the one who stole your body. But if you won't behave—if others realize there are two souls fighting inside me—then they'll think I've gone mad. Delusion. Possession. No one will believe a single word we say."
Her gaze held his, unwavering. "You want revenge. You want your body back, don't you? Then endure it. Trust me—for now. If you can't trust anyone, at least trust that I'm a victim too. Only by working together do we have even a sliver of a chance."
The black mist churned.
Ling Shuo went silent for a long time. At last, he slowly lowered his eyes, voice hoarse.
"…Fine. For now, I'll listen."
[Yao Nan Hidden Manor · Guest Room]
Thin fog slipped through the window, morning light scattered in pale fragments.
On the bed, Wan Luo's body lay still—face bloodless, breath faint.
Then her brow tightened sharply. Her fingertips twitched. In the next instant, as if tearing free from an abyss of black mist, she sucked in a ragged breath—chest heaving—and broke into violent coughing.
The maid by the bedside shrieked. "Miss Wan Luo is awake!"
The commotion spread beyond the courtyard.
Moments later, Si Mo Heng arrived in haste with You Qing and the three generals. Ye Qiuxiu followed them in.
Wan Luo's mind was still hazy, her eyes unfocused—until she saw Jia Luo. Only then did she force out words, hoarse yet urgent.
"…Brother… Feng Mian isn't Feng Mian… he's a Shifting-Yao One…"
Jia Luo immediately gripped her hand. "Sister. I know. We all know."
Wan Luo recalled everything that had happened on the road, and a chill swept through her chest.
"I knew it early on…" Her voice was low, restrained but steady. "He wasn't Feng Mian."
Her fingers clenched the blanket until they whitened. "I just didn't know who he truly was—or what he wanted."
A trace of dread flickered in her eyes. "Not until Trial Valley, when he gave his name… did I understand."
She swallowed.
"That man… called himself the Demon Lord, Ye Yi."
Ye Qiuxiu's expression tightened. His voice dropped, confirming what he already feared.
"Ye Yi… so it really is him."
Si Mo Heng's gaze darkened, urgency cutting through his tone. "Do you know whose body he took?"
Wan Luo shook her head slowly. Her voice was weak—but clear. "I only know his name is Ling Shuo. Nothing more. He's guarded, mistrustful. He refused to tell me anything else."
You Qing stepped forward, eyes cold, suspicion sharpened to a point. "If his soul is lodged inside you, can you call him out? We still have questions."
Her voice was calm—without warmth. Her fingers tightened slightly.
"Wan Luo, I don't believe you. The person who could coldly throw me—an infant—into the Gate of Yao Source… could never be anything resembling 'kind.'"
Wan Luo flinched. Panic flickered in her eyes. A moment later, she let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh.
"Yes… I shouldn't have trusted him." Her voice trembled, but she tried to sound composed. "I was bewitched by Feng Mian. That's why I committed such a grave mistake."
She looked up at You Qing. Regret seemed to glimmer—yet her words rushed out defensively.
"I never meant to harm you. I didn't throw you into the Gate on purpose. Back then… it was Feng Mian. He kept poisoning my mind, saying it was the only way to preserve the Nether Realm's future… I… I only…"
Her voice trailed off. Her shoulders shook as if guilt and pressure were crushing her.
You Qing's face cooled further. The light in her eyes turned razor-clear.
"So you wash your hands clean of it," she said, a low, cold laugh with no humor. "You threw me in with your own hands—and now you think 'Feng Mian bewitched me' makes it disappear?"
She stepped closer, gaze like a blade. "If you truly had even a shred of remorse, you wouldn't have done it at all."
Wan Luo opened her mouth to argue—but You Qing cut her off.
"I'm not a child anymore. I won't be fooled by your words. Wan Luo—I'll remember what you said today. But whether it's repentance… or self-exoneration—I'll judge that myself."
Ye Qiuxiu fell into thought, then finally spoke. His voice was steady—carrying a weight that could not be denied.
"Xingyu—right now, the most urgent matter is finding this young man named Ling Shuo."
His eyes swept the room, deep and grave. "If Ye Yi truly stole his body, then this may be our only opening. Find his origins and his whereabouts, and we can follow the vine to the root—force Ye Yi's true purpose into the light."
The firelight trembled slightly. Everyone felt the direction shift—like a new torch lit in the dark.
Si Mo Heng's brow knit tight; his voice turned cold. "If Ye Yi chose him to possess, then Ling Shuo's identity is far from ordinary. If we don't find him in time, Ye Yi will already be moving in the shadows under his name."
You Qing's heart sank. She tightened her grip on the papers in her hand and looked straight at Wan Luo, voice icy and pressing.
"You said he told you only his name. Then—what about his features? Any detail. You will not hide a single thing."
Wan Luo's face went pale. Her throat worked as if she wanted to speak but couldn't. Candlelight quivered in her eyes, revealing a struggle—hesitation on the edge of confession.
Her lips shook. Under You Qing's gaze, she finally had nowhere left to retreat.
"He… he's just over twenty. Lean, but proud. Clear, handsome features. His eyes are bright. When he speaks, there's an accent—Western Ling territory."
She drew a breath, voice low and raw. "He said he was the lord's son of Xiling City—Ling Shuo."
The hall went silent in an instant.
Si Mo Heng's eyes narrowed; cold intent almost solidified. "Xiling City…"
Ye Qiuxiu's expression jolted. "Xiling City was massacred by the Rift-Yao faction not long ago. The lord's entire clan died in blood and fire. If this is true… Ling Shuo should already be dead…"
You Qing's fist clenched, her voice cold—shaken beneath the steel. "And yet his body was taken by Ye Yi."
The firelight wavered. The air thickened until it felt hard to breathe.
Only then did everyone truly realize:
This Xiling heir—whose body was stolen—might be the key to Ye Yi overturning the board and raising a new storm.
Si Mo Heng let out a low laugh—sharp as ice.
"Xiling City… what a flawless disguise."
He rose abruptly. Black robes cut a cold line against the firelight; his gaze was blade-bright.
"Ye Yi took the body of the Xiling heir. With that identity, he can move openly—and the annihilation of the clan hides the truth behind a wall of ashes. If we hesitate even one step longer, the consequences will be unthinkable."
He turned to Tu Tan, voice chilling with unquestionable authority.
"Send men to the ruins of Xiling at once. Investigate quietly—any survivors, any traces. On the day the city fell, who carried Ling Shuo's body away? Who imprisoned him? Even a single scrap—dig it up and bring it to me."
"Yes, my lord!" Tu Tan answered and left at once.
Si Mo Heng then looked to Ye Qiuxiu and You Qing, eyes heavy.
"I will also order the Shadow-Scale Guard to infiltrate in phases and investigate the remnants of the Rift-Yao forces. Ye Yi's arts involve Black-Yao techniques—he won't be acting alone. Find his collaborators, and we force him to show a crack."
Ye Qiuxiu nodded slowly, then added in a deep voice, "If Ye Yi dares to possess another, he has contingencies prepared. Now that he wears Ling Shuo's name… he may be trying to approach certain people."
His gaze lowered—meaningful.
"Perhaps even… the Saintess."
At those words, the entire room tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Si Mo Heng's eyes turned cold; his voice dropped dangerously low. "If he dares set his sights on you—"
He looked at You Qing. Murderous intent rolled beneath his gaze, threaded with something darker—worry.
"Then I'll make him regret ever existing in this world."
At "approach the Saintess," You Qing's chest tightened involuntarily.
Her fingers curled. Her eyes dropped to the messy papers on the table; something tangled and heavy surged inside her.
—Ye Yi stole Ling Shuo's body.
—A slaughtered young lord, his soul trapped inside the woman before her.
—And Ye Yi… might already be watching her from the dark.
It was like an invisible net, tightening around her one strand at a time.
Her breathing quickened—until Si Mo Heng's vow seized her attention, low and unwavering.
If he dares set his sights on you… I'll make him regret ever existing.
You Qing lifted her eyes, stunned.
She saw the killing intent in Si Mo Heng's gaze—yet behind it, something deeper burned: a fierce, scorching protectiveness.
Her heart jolted. Sourness surged in her eyes—then was wrapped by a sudden warmth.
Without thinking, she reached out and pressed her fingertips lightly to his sleeve, as if anchoring herself in that touch, steadying the storm within.
"Si Mo Heng…" Her voice was so soft it nearly vanished, trembling slightly.
"I'm not afraid of him."
She lowered her eyes; her lashes hid the complexity within. Yet she spoke, word by word, steady and certain:
"No matter who he is—no matter what he intends… as long as we stand together, he will not succeed."
Firelight washed over her face. Her expression settled into cold composure—softness and resilience intertwined with the steel of an imperial daughter and a saintess.
Ye Qiuxiu stood quietly at the side, not interrupting.
In the flickering candlelight, he saw You Qing's fingers gripping Si Mo Heng's sleeve—an instinctive reliance.
He also saw the surge in Si Mo Heng's eyes: killing intent and protectiveness, cold on the surface yet burning beneath, as if he meant to seal the entire world outside with his own body.
Ye Qiuxiu sighed inwardly.
But even with that faint relief, his brows remained weighed down.
The name Ye Yi was not unfamiliar to him.
It was a name sealed within forbidden tomes—one that represented a taboo art capable of tearing heaven and earth apart.
Now that darkness had returned… and even taken a human body.
A sense of dread tightened around Ye Qiuxiu's heart.
He lowered his gaze and let out a long breath, voice deep but clear.
"If it truly is Ye Yi… then this game of chess may be far larger than we imagined."
He looked at You Qing and Si Mo Heng, worry and resolve intertwined.
"I only hope you two can walk with one heart—and not be split apart by this black mist."
He understood: what lay before them was not only a trial of love, but a storm powerful enough to shake two realms to their core.