Shen Ying turned to her left and right and saw the few people around her acting as if she was not there. She sighed and was just about to return to her body when she heard a weird noise next to her ear.

　　It was a tiny noise, almost indistinguishable. She paused and thought for awhile before she floated out the door.

　　Everybody inside the house did not have a clue about what was going on.

　　Yi Qing’s face was etched with worry. Anxiously, he turned to Xun Shu and asked, “How can we wake Master up?”

　　“Her divine perception has just left her body. There’s nothing to worry about.” Xun Shu pondered over something and then continued, “We can only wait for her divine perception to return before she wakes up again. Otherwise, we can look for the person who cast the spell.”

　　“But when one’s divine perception leaves the body, it usually travels over thousands of miles. If we wait for her to return…”

　　At that moment, the people in the room who knew Shen Ying suddenly recalled her characteristic lack of any sense of direction. They exchanged knowing looks as their faces fell.

　　“Heh! We’d better discuss where to find the person who cast the spell.” The corner of Lonemoon’s mouth twitched. “In these six months, Shen Ying has not taken a single step out of Invincible Sect.” Of course, no outsider has set foot in the sect as well. Who could possibly cast the spell on her?

　　“It did not have to be done at close-range,” Xun Shu explained. “This Soul-Leaving Technique is very simple. It doesn’t have to be done to the person; it can be attached to talismans, weapons or anything that carries immortal Qi will do. Just think carefully: Before she returned, did she come into contact with any stranger or strange item?”

　　“Item…” The two of them turned to look at Xun Shu.

　　“What are you looking at me for? It’s not the Winter Spirit Tree!” Xun Shu glared at the two of them. “If I was the one who cast the spell, would I still come here? Besides… didn’t you pluck my Winter Spirit Tree out on your own accord?”

　　“She had some meals at the capital, but she did not touch anything else. What’s more, I ate those same meals too.” Lonemoon was wrecking his brains but he could not recall when the spell was cast on her.

　　Yi Qing suddenly recalled something. “No, there was something else!”

　　“What?”

　　“The Winter Spirit Leaf!”

　　“I said it wasn’t me!” Xun Shu was anxious now, prepared to explain himself.

　　But Yi Qing reached into the storage bag hanging by the side of his body and retrieved a leaf that was already turning yellow. “This was handed over to me by Immortal Emperor Chen Ge. Only Master and I have touched it.”

　　Xun Shu’s expression fell. He quickly and purposefully set the leaf done onto the table. Then, he cast a few spells on the leaf. All they saw were lights flashing because of the spells. The yellowing-leaf suddenly turned into what looked like a parchment that was dipped in black ink. From the center of the paper, it started bleeding black. In several seconds, the entire leaf turned black so that even the table was stained.

　　“This leaf is poisoned with Profound Sanskrit Poison!” Xun Shu’s expression changed. That was a type of poison that targeted immortal bodies. It would only take four months at most for the poison to seep into the immortal’s bones. This was a great poison that would cause extreme damage. He quickly turned to Yi Qing. “But you… why?” Why was Yi Qing alright?

　　Lonemoon’s heart jumped as well. When they came out of Yu Feng Immortal Territory that day, Immortal Emperor Chen Ge was clearly enraged with them over the Six-Joint Mystics Sword. But over the last six months, he did not make any move on Invincible Sect. Lonemoon initially thought that they were preparing to launch a big attack on them – but he never expected Chen Ge to have planned everything so well from the beginning. When he handed Yi Qing the Winter Spirit Leaf, he already had no intention of keeping Yi Qing alive.

　　But he did not know that Yi Qing had that innate sword embodiment – he was born resistant to hundreds of different types of poisons.

　　“It was him – he poisoned Master!” Yi Qing clenched his fist and gritted his teeth so that the veins in his temples were visible. He was filled with rage. Immediately, he condensed the immortal Qi around him to form an immortal sword.

　　“Wait, Yi Qing. Don’t be… rash.”

　　Before Lonemoon could finish speaking, Yi Qing had flown out in a flash.

　　“Holy shit! Come back!” Lonemoon ran after him and realised that he had already disappeared without a trace. He felt an urge in his heart to curse even Yi Qing’s parents.

　　Lonemoon had gotten too used to the image of the retarded chef. He had completely forgotten that by nature, Yi Qing was a vengeful man who hated wrong-doers. What’s more, the person lying there was Shen Ying. It was only natural that Yi Qing would go crazy!

　　What should I do? What should I do?

　　He pondered for awhile and quickly dragged Xun Shu with him when he decided to give chase. “Quick, quick, quick, we have to go and help him. We have to get him back. He won’t be Chen Ge’s match.”

　　“Why not?”

　　“What nonsense are you spouting? That’s an Immortal Emperor! We’re not even going to talk about how many other immortals there are up there. Even if he can get past them, he’s merely an Exalted Immortal. How can he win an Immortal Emperor, who is two whole cultivation levels higher than him?”

　　Xun Shu paused and looked at Lonemoon suspiciously. “You… don’t know?”

　　“Know what?”

　　“In order to advance to become a Young Emperor, one has to go to the Emperor Stage. That was why… he suppressed his cultivation and only advanced to become an Exalted Immortal. In actual fact… He’s already the level of a Young Emperor.”

　　What?

　　Lonemoon came to a sudden halt. He almost fell off of his sword.

　　“…” Motherf*cker!

　　—————

　　At the foot of Invincible Sect.

　　Shen Ying surveyed the huge amount of demonic Qi in front of her that surrounded the Invincible Sect. She did not know if she was mistaken, but for some reason she felt like the demonic Qi that day was… a little thicker?

　　Subconsciously, she stepped closer. The black cloud in front of her began to surge, as if it was about to dissipate.

　　“Why is it moving?” Shen Ying eyed the demonic Qi expressionlessly. I didn’t do anything. She walked into the demonic Qi and the thick black fog retreated, as if afraid of her. There was a clean empty space for her to continue moving forward.

　　Before she could react, she heard the sound next to her ears once again. This was when she realised it was the sound of a baby crying softly.

　　Not far away, a small figure squatted under a bald tree. The figure was hugging its knees with both arms, head buried in his arms. The figure was trembling, as if it had been badly frightened. Once in awhile, the figure let out a soft cry.

　　A kid? Where did it come from?

　　No wonder the demonic Qi felt so different today. It has done something wrong; it has bullied this kid.

　　“Hey, little kid!” She walked over and called out.

　　The little figure trembled once again and slowly raised its head, revealing a black and seemingly featureless face.

　　This kid looks like… a horror movie!

　　Black Qi spiralled out of the kid’s face, so thick that Shen Ying could not make out her features. The demonic Qi around them was so thick that she had not noticed this earlier; not only her face but the kid’s entire body was covered in black Qi which did not look like it will dissipate any time soon. No wonder the demonic Qi was surrounding her – it mistook the kid as one of its own.

　　“Big… Big sister?” The kid stopped crying momentarily, as if just realising that the black Qi around her had disappeared. Shen Ying saw a flash of joy in her eyes, mixed with apprehension and hope as she looked at her. “Big Sister, are you the ghost guard that is here to take me away?”

　　What the hell?

　　“Little friend, what are you doing here?” Apart from Invincible Sect’s disciples, only Father Niu’s customers entered this place. This kid was clearly neither.

　　“I… I don’t know.” She shook her head and looked around at the demonic Qi all over. Trembling, she continued, “They said… I am a jinx and I only cause harm to people, so… so they always hit me. It hurts, it hurts…”

　　Shen Ying’s face fell. What the hell?

　　“They say I’m better off dead, so… they brought me here.” The kid looked as though she did not know what else to say. She asked Shen Ying, “Big Sister… Are you dead?”

　　“…” What nonsense is this kid talking about?

　　“How coincidental, so am I!” Her face split into a wide grin, which faltered as she looked fearfully around once again. “Is this where people go to when they die? But this place… is so cold, so very cold.”

　　That was when Shen Ying realised that the child’s body was translucent. She was really just a soul. Did the immortal realm have souls as well? How did a soul manage to get in here?

　　This is so troublesome. I should let Father Niu handle this!

　　“Hey, little ghost!” Shen Ying gestured toward the kid to come closer. “Come over, I’ll bring you out.”

　　“Really?” The kid paused and stared at Shen Ying’s hands. Then, she stood up obediently. “Is it warmer outside?”

　　The kid took hold of Shen Ying’s hand. “Thank you, Big Sister Ghost Guard.”

　　“…” In what way did she look like a ghost guard?

　　Shen Ying pursed her lips and was just thinking about flying toward Invincible Sect when a white light flashed under her feet. An array was appearing.

　　Huh?

　　Before Shen Ying could make sense of what was happening, the two of them disappeared into thin air.