244: Rift

For some reason, the supposedly deceased Wang Xinglu had revived once again.

Or perhaps it shouldn't be called a revival...

He didn't look like a living person no matter how you looked at him.

"Clang～"

With the sound of a gong, Wang Xinglu's figure suddenly vanished, disappearing right before their eyes as if he had never appeared at all.

Fang Qingge condensed his longsword in his hand and scanned his surroundings vigilantly, "Everyone, stay close."

At this moment, a horrified voice rang out, "Senior Brother Fang... Junior Brother Shen is gone!"

"Hmm?"

Fang Qingge turned around abruptly, "How could he be gone? Wasn't he just here a moment ago?"

"That's right, he vanished in the blink of an eye."

"Let's go, quickly! That gong sound is strange!"

The group stepped forward and headed outside the city.

"Boom～～"

Suddenly, a massive roar erupted from the horizon. Fang Qingge instinctively turned his head to look and was instantly struck dumb with astonishment.

The Luo family siblings also gazed in that direction with faces full of shock.

It wasn't just them; the Sect Disciples behind them, the natives within the city, as well as Net Intent, the Zuoqiu Clan, Xu Sanyan, and the Jiang Family far outside the city...

Everyone within the Secret Realm turned their gaze to that spot at the same time, with the same thought emerging in their hearts:

The sky... has cracked!

A rift appeared in the sky, a crooked crack hanging in the heavens, extending along the Void Realm all the way down to the earth. It was as if space itself had been torn apart, revealing a pitch-black expanse within.

Xu Sanyan paused to watch, his gaze penetrating through the rift. There was only nothingness inside; he couldn't see anything, not even light.

"Senior Brother... what is that?"

Xiang Tan asked with a trembling voice, "Is something wrong with this Secret Realm? Can we still get out?"

Xu Sanyan pursed his lips and slowly shook his head, "I don't know."

He had never heard of such a situation either. Perhaps it was because two Secret Realms had merged, and something had gone wrong, leading to this situation.

As for Xiang Tan's question, perhaps only one person could provide an answer...

Xu Sanyan thought of that alluring young woman, the Grand Elder of the Yaotian Holy Sect.

"Let's go over and take a look."

After a moment of thought, Xu Sanyan headed toward the rift.

At the same time, Net Intent in the west of the city, and Qi Liang, Jiang Qinqin, and Fang Xiang in the east, along with various other factions, all set off simultaneously toward the rift.

Everyone wanted to know what had happened here.

In a corner of the west side of the city,

Zuoqiu Chen was hiding in a house with the rest of the Zuoqiu Clan.

Ever since their eldest sister Zuoqiu Shu died, the atmosphere in their group had been noticeably oppressive. Even their youngest sister, Zuoqiu Yi, who was usually the most lively, was silent.

Zuoqiu Zhen, who usually asked the most questions, also kept her head bowed, seemingly still immersed in regret.

Zuoqiu Chen stood up and patted Zuoqiu Zhen's shoulder, comforting her softly, "Eldest Sister's death is not your fault, do not blame yourself."

"Wuwu～"

Zuoqiu Zhen did not speak, only sobbing softly and incessantly.

"Sigh..."

Zuoqiu Chen sighed. Although her own heart was bleeding, she had no choice but to compose herself and comfort her younger sisters.

Zuoqiu Hui's eyes had returned to calmness. She knew that her second sister had a rather careless personality and might not have taken many things to heart, so she could only be more attentive herself.

Ever since their eldest sister died, she had been observing the expressions and movements of her Sixth Sister, Zuoqiu Zhen, and had discovered quite a few strange things.

The reason she kept observing her Sixth Sister was that during the previous battle with the Corpse Demon, Zuoqiu Zhen had used many Moves she had never seen before.

She was certain that these were definitely not martial arts techniques collected by the Zuoqiu Clan, nor had she ever seen Zuoqiu Zhen use them before.

Because Zuoqiu Zhen was the closest to her and they often sparred together, she was very familiar with her Sixth Sister's Moves and techniques.

Moreover, she knew all of Zuoqiu Zhen's unintentional little habits by heart—some of which Zuoqiu Zhen herself hadn't even noticed.

But after the last trip underground, Zuoqiu Zhen seemed like a different person. Not only had her Moves and habits changed, but even some of her daily mannerisms had altered.

Others might not notice these things, but as it happened, Zuoqiu Hui did.

Furthermore, it wasn't just Zuoqiu Zhen; she knew the habits of all the other five sisters by heart.

The more she observed, the more Zuoqiu Hui could sense that something was wrong with her Sixth Sister, but she said nothing, merely pretending not to notice.

She would wait until they got out to address everything...

"Third Sister, should we go over and take a look?"

Zuoqiu Chen came to Zuoqiu Hui's side to ask. She still remembered their eldest sister's instructions: to always consult with the third sister when encountering issues.

Zuoqiu Hui was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, "It would be good to go and take a look, but we must not get close. We will only go to see what has happened. If there is truly a treasure, we must absolutely not contend for it."

"Mm, alright."

Zuoqiu Chen nodded and led the group toward the rift.

Zuoqiu Hui walked at the very back, her gaze drifting toward Zuoqiu Zhen every now and then.

She tried hard to suppress the heaviness in her heart. If something was wrong with her Sixth Sister too, what would they do...

One trip to the Secret Realm, and two sisters...

Sigh...

Yuan Residence,

Yuan Anping sat at the head of the table, his fingers tapping lightly on the surface. His expression betrayed neither joy nor anger.

"Dang, dang, dang..."

The crisp sounds echoed through the hall. The four Ghost Generals kneeling below did not dare to raise their heads.

"Are they all dead?" Yuan Anping suddenly spoke.

"Yes, Master. That person was too powerful. Even with our combined strength, we were no match for him. Even the Madam also..."

One Ghost General explained with a trembling voice.

Yuan Anping nodded. He did not care about Mo Qianqian's life or death; she had only been a plaything after all. However, losing four Ghost Generals made his heart ache.

He didn't have many Ghost Generals in the Soul Refinement Realm under his command; losing even one was painful, and now five had died all at once...

Yuan Anping stood up slowly. Since they were dead, they were dead; there was no point in dwelling on it. "Let's go, let's go and take a look over there."

"Yes."

The four of them breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to follow their master toward the rift. Pushing open the residence gates, they saw two rows of eerie, ghostly Ghost Generals and soldiers standing outside. A rough count showed no less than a hundred figures.

Yuan Anping had mobilized most of the forces within the city. He wanted to see what exactly was inside that rift.

To see if there was a chance...

To escape from this place!

Yuan Anping's face was calm as he strode toward the rift, but his heart was filled with some excitement. How many years had it been? He had finally seen a glimmer of change.

Yes, he had long known who he was, and he knew where he was.

This Ghost City was the entire world. He couldn't escape, couldn't get out, and was destined to spend his whole life stuck here,

Stuck in this tiny place.

He had long since grown tired of it, and had long wanted to escape from here to see a bigger world.

He also greatly envied those people who could come and go as they pleased.

Xu Sanyan looked at the people before him and suddenly revealed a smile, "Senior Brother Qi, we meet again."

"Indeed. Is Senior Brother Xu also heading there?" Qi Liang pointed toward the distant rift.

"That's right. Why don't we travel together? We can look out for each other."

"Alright."

Qi Liang did not object, but there was a strange look in his eyes. He felt that there was something off about Xu Sanyan, though he didn't know what it was.

Jiang Qinqin followed behind Qi Liang, completely devoid of any of the imposing aura of a Demon Sect Saintess; she looked more like Qi Liang's attendant.