Dan Xia Mountain was different from all the other mountains. It was in fact made up of two peaks, and both Tian Ji and Tian Ji were on the peaks. Tian Yi was of course the owner of the mountain. Together with all the disciples under him, he stayed on the left peak. Tian Ji, on the other hand, stayed on the right peak. Apart from Shu Yi, he had never taken in any other disciple. Thus, the right peak looked relatively empty.

　　A temple sat above the peak. The crowd followed Tian Ji into the temple, and went straight through to the rear hall. Lonemoon and the others walked in last. The moment they entered, they stopped right where they were.

　　“Chef! This aura…” Lonemoon instinctively transmitted a message to the person beside him.

　　“Mm.” Yi Qing nodded. “I saw it too.”

　　Lonemoon frowned. “Let’s go in and assess the situation first.” He followed the crowd in. The deeper they got into the temple, the thicker the aura because. It was not until they arrived at a room in the rear hall that they realised the entire yard was filled with this aura. It was so thick that they were finding it difficult to breathe.

　　The crowd was just about to push open the door of the room.

　　“Wait!” Lonemoon shouted. He stepped forward and pulled Yu Luan back.

　　Yi Qing conjured a seal at the exact same moment. There was a flash of white light and a huge array formed underneath their feet. A translucent shield rose up all around them, keeping all the elders safe within its radius.

　　“This is…” Yu Luan stared blankly at the array. Why did they conjure this defensive array all of a sudden?

　　Tian Ji, who was right in front, turned to address the group. His expression hardened and he glared at Yi Qing. “What do you mean by this?”

　　Yi Qing did not bother to respond to him. Instead, he addressed the group and explained in a low voice, “There’s something else inside the room!”

　　The entire crowd stared blankly back at Yi Qing Before they could open their mouths to ask any questions, Tian Ji became anxious. Angrily, he shouted, “Yi Qing, what do you mean by this? This is Little Yi’s room. Are you suspecting me of being up to no good?”

　　Yi Qing still did not reply to him. Instead, he summoned his spirit sword. “We’ll know once we take a look.” With that, he raised his hand and waved the sword.

　　“What are you doing!” Tian Ji shouted, but it was too late. The sword aura charged forward ahead of them. The next thing they knew, there was a loud crash. The room to the door was cut into half, and even the ceiling of the room collapsed.

　　“Yi Qing, you…” Tian Ji was becoming even angrier now. He moved to retaliate, but there was a loud whoosh beside him.

　　A figure rushed out from inside the room, landing loudly in the yard. The person was covered in blood and had a weak aura. His dharmic clothing looked quite familiar.

　　“This is.. Elder Shu!” One of the elders recognised the person on the floor. Was that not the body of Shu Yuan, the man who had rushed away from the group to check on his daughter? What happened to him?

　　They did not have time to react to the situation. Out of the collapsed room emerged a gust of black Qi. The black Qi came charging at top speed toward the group. It looked like it would engulf the entire group. Yet, the white light underneath their feet – the defensive array – flashed. The black Qi retreated.

　　The black Qi outside was fast filling the entire yard. What’s more, whatever the black Qi touched seemed to die. The fresh flowers and grass in the yard were now all wilted. Even the cement remains of the broken temple were breaking into smaller pieces. Suddenly, they turned into piles of sand.

　　“This is demonic Qi!” Someone exclaimed. Finally, someone recognised what the black Qi was. Their hearts skipped a beat. It was a good thing that Supremacy Yi Qing had set up this defensive array, otherwise they would have collapsed from the surrounding demonic Qi. But why was there demonic Qi here?

　　“That’s… Senior Sister Shu Yi?!” Zuo Shuming’s eyes widened in disbelief.

　　The entire group starred on in confusion. They looked up to see that amidst the thick demonic Qi was one person floating in the air. She was wearing the same dharmic robes as the rest of the disciples. It was Shu Yi, whom Tian Ji just said was in a coma. However, she was surrounded by demonic Qi. Her beautiful face was now covered in black veins which resembled a spider web. Both of her eyes were now completely red. She seemed to have lost her sanity. Black Qi flowed out of her body continuously.

　　“This demonic Qi… is coming from inside her body!” Yu Luan exclaimed, not daring to believe his eyes. The amount of demonic Qi in the surroundings was increasing by the second. It was threatening to cover the entire Gui Yi Sect.

　　“Little Yi!” Tian Ji jumped in shock, as if having just realised something. His face was a mask of worry. Immediately, he charged forward, trying to stop the person in the air.

　　“Uncle-Master, don’t!” Yu Luan tried to stop him, but it was too late. Tian Ji was already charging forward. The moment he left the confines of the defensie array, his dharmic robes melted upon coming into contact with the demonic Qi in the surroundings. Then, wounds began to appear on his skin. His facial expression flickered, but he kept running toward Shu Yi, trying to stop her.

　　Shu Yi raised her hand and waved it. A gust of demonic Qi flew toward Tian Ji, causing him to fly backward. It was obvious that she was still unconscious.

　　Lonemoon turned to look at Chef. He was just about to get Chef to do something when the system in Shu Yi’s body sounded.

　　[Host! Wake up! Don’t allow the demonic Qi to swallow your logic! Host! Host!]

　　There was a zap and they caught a flicker of light. Shu Yi’s body jumped. Her expressionless face was now twisted. She looked to be in immense pain. Her red eyes darkened again. Slowly, she regained her sanity.

　　“System? This is…” A look of confusion flashed across her face. Before she could fully understand what was going on, she saw Zuo Shuming, who was standing inside the defensive array. Immediately, images of what happened during the competition filled her mind. Rage like she had never felt before filled her body and her eyes turned a bright red once again. With a strong killing intent, she shouted, “Zuo Shuming!”

　　She spat each word through gritted teeth. She looked like she would eat him alive if she could. The demonic Qi all around her suddenly expanded once more. Shu Yi raised her hands and waved them, causing the demonic Qi in the surroundings to fly toward Zuo Shuming. As if following orders, the black Qi condensed to form several black blades that also continued toward Zuo Shuming.

　　The defensive array beneath everyone’s feet broke into pieces. A chill ran down their spines as they saw the black Qi charging toward them. With a flick of his wrist, Yi Qing caused a ball of red flames to emerge from his body and defend them against the black Qi.

　　There was a series of crashes. The demonic Qi, on meeting its natural enemy, retreated and dissipated. The red from Yi Qing’s fireball covered the yard. In two seconds, the demonic Qi was completely cleared. All that was left behind was its source, which the fireball was now heading toward.

　　“Ah!!” Shu Yi screamed. But there was no way for her to dodge the flames. She felt an unbearable pain shoot through her entire body. Not caring if anyone could hear her, she shouted, “System, quick, save me!”

　　[Ding! Error! It is impossible to defend against these flames!]

　　Lonemoon lowered his gaze. Yi Qing was the manager. Of course this system would not be able to do anything to his flames. He quickly nudged the man beside him and muttered, “Chef!” The system had not yet left this body – it was not time to act yet.

　　It was then that Chef clenched his fists and retracted the flames.