You still recognize me...

As tears rolled down his face, Lin Jie turned his head abruptly to glance at Junxiao. That glance was almost panicked and helpless, as if seeking confirmation or silently asking a question.

Junxiao immediately understood his intent. After a deep, lingering look at the grotesque, thick-branched evil tree, he slowly shook his head. “No bones, no flesh to bury.”

Among all the scenarios Lin Jie had imagined for reuniting with his sister, none had prepared him for this. Even the worst possibilities hadn’t been like this—no bones, no flesh… He couldn’t even give her a proper burial.

In fact, the moment he had seen his sister’s face appear on the trunk of the evil tree, he should have remembered Junxiao’s warning. After all, those cursed branches could instantly absorb every last bit of vitality from any living being, leaving not even an empty shell behind. How could the faces on the tree trunk possibly still have intact remains?

“Then… this…” Meng Xi, one of Lin Jie’s closest companions in Hengtian Sect, couldn’t bear to watch his grief-stricken state. But any words of comfort would sound painfully hollow in this situation—one couldn’t truly empathize with such loss. Instead, Meng Xi quietly turned to Yu Xian and asked, “If there are no bones or flesh, what are those human faces on the trunk?”

“Souls,” Yu Xian replied, his tone grim. “They’re the souls of those consumed by this cursed tree, trapped inside it, becoming its sources of sustenance. That’s why their faces appear on its trunk.”

Lin Jie shuddered upon hearing this. His bloodshot eyes turned redder, his jaw clenched tightly, and for a long moment, he forced down the sob that clawed at his throat. His voice rasped as he asked Junxiao and Yu Xian, “So… their souls are trapped in this tree and haven’t been able to reincarnate? Is there any way I…?”

Could he bring his sister back?

Before he could finish his question, the lump in his throat choked him silent.

Junxiao and Yu Xian didn’t need him to say it outright. They would never allow such a wicked tree to trap so many innocent souls without doing something about it.

Junxiao frowned as he studied the towering tree. Then, with a firm pat on Lin Jie’s shoulder, he said, “Step back.” Without further explanation, he and Yu Xian simultaneously stepped forward.

Seeing their intent, Lin Jie knew they were planning to destroy the tree and free the trapped souls. He lingered for a moment, staring long and hard at his sister’s face on the tree before finally stepping back. Even then, his gaze refused to leave it, not even a little bit.

Yu Xian gestured for the other disciples to retreat. “The souls trapped in this thing aren’t having a pleasant time, that’s for sure. Once they’re released, they’ll likely be filled with anger and resentment, which might be just as dangerous as the cursed tree itself. Step back to avoid being caught in the backlash.”

At his warning, the group of disciples silently retreated further, leaving a wide spot empty. Meng Xi even tugged Lin Jie back, worried that his emotions might overwhelm his rationality and drive him to rush forward when his sister’s soul appeared.

Junxiao glanced down at Bai Ke, still unconscious in his arms. His face was pale to the point of being bloodless, his lips tinged with an unhealthy gray, and he looked utterly drained of energy. A thin sheen of cold sweat continuously beaded on his forehead, dampening the strands of hair at his temples.

Junxiao tightened his grip on Bai Ke and continued channeling his spiritual energy into Bai Ke’s body, helping him endure whatever he was facing in the illusionary realm. At the same time, he raised his sword with his other hand and began swiftly drawing runes in the air as Yu Xian initiated the formation.

As the sword tip traced through the void, the sound of clashing metal rang out, and glowing golden light erupted from the intricate runes. The symbols were so complex that the observing disciples could barely make sense of the strokes, let alone replicate them.

Meanwhile, Yu Xian rushed into the air, striking with fluid precision to place eight glowing points of sword energy at the cardinal and intercardinal directions: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Each point landed with a resounding thud, anchoring itself deeply into the ground around the cursed tree.

As the eight points took their places, golden light spread swiftly between them, weaving an enormous formation that circled the tree completely. The interlacing light resembled a spider’s web or a cage, sealing the tree tightly within.

The moment the formation completed, Junxiao’s air-drawn runes also concluded with a final stroke. The completed symbol shimmered briefly before splitting open into a vertical, eye-like fissure in the void.

The fissure widened as the formation grew brighter, becoming a gaping hole. From the disciples’ perspective, the other side of the fissure appeared to glow with an orange-red firelight. But the wind pouring from it was bitterly cold, carrying a biting chill that made the distant spectators shiver. A faint sound of weeping, mixed with the murmur of flowing water, drifted from the fissure, evoking the eerie impression of standing at the edge of the underworld.

After completing the formation, Yu Xian flashed to the side of the array and made a sharp pulling gesture. Instantly, the countless golden threads of the formation tightened, wrapping tightly around the cursed tree. The golden light flared so intensely that it became almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open, let alone discern what was happening within the blinding light.

At the same time, the previously clear sky abruptly darkened as storm clouds gathered with alarming speed. Thunder rumbled ominously, and bolts of purple lightning began striking closer and closer, crashing down one after another with deafening roars. The earth trembled with each impact, as though the forest itself was shaking in fear.

The younger disciples, who had never witnessed anything like this before, were frozen in terror. Some looked as though they might huddle together at any moment, fearing the lightning would target them directly.

If the earlier attacks had affected only the tree's branches, this was now striking at its very core.

Within the golden light, dense black mist writhed and struggled, swelling outward in an attempt to escape. In a moment of violent expansion, it snapped dozens of the golden threads.

The more the thick black mist surged, the louder the thunder became, and the lightning strikes grew even more frequent, converging relentlessly on the area. The strikes finally began targeting the array itself, slamming into it repeatedly with explosive force.

The force of the impacts kicked up a storm of flying dirt and debris, and the huge crashes and explosions shocked the disciples, forcing them to retreat further.

Yu Xian worked tirelessly, continuously drawing new circles on the array. Each golden symbol appeared like a massive net, layering over the cursed tree and strengthening the formation.

The black mist’s struggle grew increasingly frenzied, until it seemed almost maddened in its attempts to break free. Yet, in the end, it could not withstand the attack of Yu Xian’s ceaseless golden symbols. The mist was thoroughly ensnared, bound tighter and tighter by the glowing threads.

Recognizing the opportune moment, Yu Xian swiftly drew a new formation. As it descended from the air and overlaid the existing one, the massive black mist compressed within suddenly burst like an overinflated balloon.

In that instant, countless ghostly shadows glimmering with eerie light shot outward, scattering like bullets. The sheer number of these shadows was overwhelming; their black, mist-like trails momentarily darkened the sky as they rushed in all directions.

Some of these shadows darted into the surrounding forest, leaving decay in their wake—trees withered, blackened, and crumbled into fragments wherever they passed. Others moved directly toward the disciples.

Several young disciples, caught off guard, froze in panic and barely dodged in time. One shadow nearly struck its target, only to be intercepted by Lin Jie. Despite his red-rimmed eyes and visible exhaustion, his quick reaction and hastily drawn sign managed to deflect the shadow. Though his strength was no match for Junxiao or Yu Xian, the effort was enough to save a life.

Even so, Lin Jie showed no reaction to his small victory—no relief, no pride. His face remained blank, his tear-filled eyes scanning the chaotic scene with a desperate intensity. For in that fleeting moment when he had deflected the shadow, he had glimpsed a human face within it—one of the same faces that had been etched onto the cursed tree’s trunk.

He was waiting. Waiting for his sister to appear, even if she had become nothing more than a vengeful shadow. He needed to see her one last time.

The shadows scattered too widely and moved too quickly for most to follow. Yet Junxiao and Yu Xian were unperturbed, their movements swift and precise. In the blink of an eye, they had split up—one heading south, the other north—darting through the forest like meteors. In mere moments, they had swept up the shadows that had fled into the woods and, without hesitation, cast them into the fissure Junxiao had created. The black shapes were swallowed up as though plunging into the open maw of the underworld itself.

Meanwhile, more shadows continued to surge out of the array. Each wave was intercepted by Junxiao and Yu Xian, who tirelessly funneled them into the void.

Encouraged by Lin Jie’s earlier success, the younger disciples gradually regained their composure and began assisting. Though their efforts were less effective, they managed to intercept some of the shadows, working in tandem with the two senior cultivators.

As the number of shadows decreased, Lin Jie’s anxiety and anticipation grew. His reddened eyes filled with tears until they blurred his vision. In a critical moment, his distracted state caused him to miss an incoming shadow. The dark form slipped past his defenses, hurtling straight for his face.

The speed of the shadow was so fast that no one could react in time to help block it. Meng Xi was the quickest to respond, but his sword only managed to swipe at the tail of the black shadow.

Lin Jie instinctively closed his eyes, his heart sinking into despair, and the image of his sister’s lifeless face was the only thing that surfaced in his mind.

However, the cold, sinister wind that was about to engulf him and turn him to dust didn’t strike his body as expected. Instead, it abruptly stopped right in front of him.

Lin Jie’s eyelids twitched twice. Slowly, he opened his eyes, only to see the shadow, like black mist, stop right in front of him, trembling slightly, as though it wanted to move forward but was being held back by some unseen force.

Beneath the black mist, the outline of a face faintly emerged, though the features were too blurred to make out clearly.

In that moment, Lin Jie suddenly realized something. His body froze, and his gaze locked onto the vague face beneath the mist. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke with some uncertainty, “Sister… sister?”

As soon as the black mist heard this, it immediately stopped struggling, remaining still. It was now half a head shorter than Lin Jie.

Tears suddenly began to roll down Lin Jie’s red eyes, and he made an effort to open them wider. Through the tears, he managed to give the shadow a faint smile, “I’ve been looking for you for ten years. You hid so well, I had to work so hard to find you. I’ve grown up in the process, yet you still recognize me…”

 

Translator : DarNan