"Be good, tell me what exactly happened? Why did a demon possess you?" Ye Yutian's voice carried a seductive lure, trying to coax Ye Lanshan into revealing everything.
But would Ye Lanshan tell him? Of course not. She simply pulled back from his embrace, though her consciousness gradually blurred. Slowly, she found herself in a white void, where only Yu Ying and Yan Fan Sheng stood, with a field of severed limbs behind them.
Yan Fan Sheng laughed maniacally: "I want you dead, I want you dead."
Meanwhile, Yu Ying spat out blood, her pale lips trembling as she murmured repeatedly: "Don't forget me, don't forget me."
Ye Lanshan charged at Yan Fan Sheng with reddened eyes, but the moment she touched him, he vanished. The next second, he appeared behind Yu Ying, who seemed oblivious, still muttering: "Don't forget me, don't forget me."
Soon the scene shifted. Yu Ying lay in Ye Lanshan's arms, while Yan Fan Sheng across from her laughed wildly and uncontrollably.
She rushed at him like a madwoman, but suddenly everything went black, and she knew nothing more.
"Ye Lanshan, Ye Lanshan, wake up, wake up!"
Through the haze, Ye Lanshan seemed to hear many voices calling her name, so noisy it felt like her head would explode.
She shouted unconsciously: "Shut up." Only then did the outside voices gradually fade.
"Is she awake now?" Liu Jing blinked, staring at Ye Lanshan, whose eyes were still tightly shut.
Under everyone's gaze, Ye Lanshan finally opened her eyes and sat up from the ground. She asked with some confusion: "What happened to me? Why am I lying here?"
"You fell into demonic possession." Ye Yutian's left arm was wrapped in bandages, and the rest of his clothes were somewhat damaged, clearly showing he'd been in a fierce fight with someone.
"Thank you for yesterday." Ye Lanshan guiltily averted her eyes, unwilling to admit the injuries were her doing.
"I told you, you never need to thank me." Ye Yutian's eyes stung with emotion; he hadn't expected Ye Lanshan to fall prey to an inner demon.
The longer the inner demon stayed inside her, the more danger she faced. But the problem was that only she could resolve this inner demon herself—no one else could do anything about it.
"Alright, since I'm awake, let's go. The real show hasn't started yet." Ye Lanshan stood up, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and pulled another fan from her space, since the previous one was beyond repair.
"Are you really not going to take me with you?" Ye Yutian's voice sounded behind her.
Ye Lanshan paused mid-step. She turned back to look at his injured arm and, feeling guilty, finally agreed to let him come along. This would also be a good chance to ask if she'd said anything last night.
"Are you sure I should change clothes here?" Ye Yutian looked at the clothes she tossed at him, a hint of teasing in his eyes.
"When did I say to change here?"
"Earth Shield, Rise."
Ye Lanshan used Earth Element to form a space that could conceal him.
"Alright, change in there."
Rustling sounds came from within, and soon Ye Yutian emerged in his new clothes. His extraordinary bearing, combined with the handsome face of his human-skin mask, momentarily dazzled Liu Jing. But Ye Lanshan showed not a flicker of reaction.
"With such an ethereal face, yet you carry it with such dark flamboyance—nothing can salvage your vibe, huh."
Ye Lanshan shook her head, looking utterly hopeless, leaving everyone speechless.
"Where are we going now?"
"Hmm, let's head to the Sunset Mountains first." Ye Lanshan thought it over and decided to go there first to bring those people out.
"Fine, whatever you say."
No one objected, except Liu Jing, who hesitated and said to Ye Lanshan: "Maybe I shouldn't go. There are matters at the Spirit Sect waiting for me to handle."
"Oh, if you don't want to come, that's fine. I won't force you. But if you get hunted down again, don't blame me for not saving you."
"I don't want to either, but the Spirit Sect's internal factions are complicated, full of infighting. As long as I'm in the Spirit Sect, I can't escape this kind of life."
Liu Jing gave a bitter smile, clearly tired of such days but forced to endure them.
"Is that so? Then I'd like to see just how complicated it really is."
Ye Lanshan appeared calm on the surface, but deep down she was fiercely protective, never allowing anyone to harm those she cared about.
"What are you going to do?"
Liu Jing was already finding it hard to understand Ye Lanshan.
"Don't worry. After you follow me to stir up trouble at the Holy Land, I promise no one in the Spirit Sect will dare to hunt you again."
Ye Lanshan curled her lips into a smile, a hint of recklessness in her eyes. It seemed that ever since arriving on this continent, she'd let herself go.
"Then let's go." Liu Jing sighed, knowing she couldn't argue with Ye Lanshan, so she just went along.
"What's this called? It's so delicious." Liu Jing's eyes lit up as she ate from the pot of hotpot.
"This is hotpot." Ye Lanshan added ingredients, inhaling the tempting aroma and unconsciously licking her lips.
Yue Shu looked at her with resentment, because Ye Lanshan wouldn't let him eat hotpot, saying his current condition couldn't handle such spicy food.
Now he could only watch longingly as Ye Lanshan and the others ate, with Mu Xinlian keeping him company.
Since Mu Xinlian wasn't human, she didn't need to eat. Though she could tell the food in the pot was delicious, she could only sit and watch.
Ye Yutian shot a provocative glance at Yue Shu as he ate from the pot, barely suppressing the smile on his lips. Hmph, so what if you've captured Ye Lanshan's attention? Now you're still stuck watching us eat.
In the end, Yue Shu just ate some wild fruits before hurriedly catching up with them on the road.
"What's going on? Where did all these people come from?" As Ye Lanshan's group reached the foot of the Sunset Mountains, they found rows upon rows of people lined up ahead.
"They look like mercenary groups." Liu Jing observed.
"Hey, brother, what's happening here? Why are so many people gathered at the foot of the Sunset Mountains?"
Ye Lanshan walked forward casually, asking as if she didn't really care about the answer.
A very honest young man patted Ye Lanshan on the shoulder and said cheerfully: "You don't know? They say the Sunset Mountains hide a Twin Fruit Tree, and the Twin Fruits are ripe right now."
"Twin Fruits? Is that true?" Ye Lanshan suddenly grew excited.
"How could it be false? Haven't you seen even the Holy Land people have come?" The honest young man pointed at the white-robed Holy Land disciples ahead.
"It seems his words might be true. Our Spirit Sect has sent people too." Liu Jing spotted members of her sect.
"This time it's quite a grand affair. Why didn't so many come last time?" Ye Lanshan looked at the overwhelming crowd around her, recalling the scene when she first fought for the Twin Fruits.