He crouched down, elbows on his knees, and licked his sharp teeth, his smile more terrifying than any vicious creature's. "You're really begging the wrong person, old lady. Don't think I'm an easy target just because I'm thin. I have a terrible temper. If you dare to break even a little bit of skin on my ankle, I'll—"

"I beg you, I beg you, young man, my two little girls are still waiting for me. They're so small."

"My husband is already gone. If I'm not there, they won't be able to survive."

"In this world, they can't survive. They're really too young, I beg you..."

Gao Er said, clutching his ankle.

Yi Wusheng took a step forward, wanting to intervene, but saw that Gao Er's long, sharp nails had already pierced Ning Huaishan's ankle. Blood trickled down along his protruding ankle bone.

Ning Huaishan's fingers had already curled into a fist, blue veins clearly visible through his pale skin.

He had clearly gathered his Qi, yet he didn't crush the reckless severed hand.

For some reason, he had stopped midway, actually listening to what Gao Er was saying.

"I only have these two children, they are my life, I beg you."

"What's the use of begging me, old lady?" Ning Huaishan suddenly spoke, his tone still the kind that invited a beating. "You're already dead. You can't go home. Your two girls are destined not to survive either. I've seen your type before, seen plenty of them—"

He said softly, "My mother begged people just like this back then. Was it any use? No, it wasn't."

Yi Wusheng happened to hear this and froze.

Ning Huaishan remained crouched; no one could see his expression, only his claw-like fingers and the top of his head.

Yi Wusheng suddenly remembered seeing this little demon decades ago. He had been thirteen or fourteen, thin as a rail, looking as if he could be killed with a single blow. Only his eyes held a stubborn viciousness.

He had thought at the time: 'Whose child is this, to have committed such sins and gone astray?'

Looking at him again after several decades, the little demon wasn't as emaciated, but he was still thin. When crouched, he was just a small bundle. Though clearly filled with killing intent, it was slow to strike.

Perhaps Gao Er had reminded him of the beginning of his own crooked path.

"It's useful, it's useful, there's a way..." Gao Er sobbed relentlessly.

"Hah, what way? If there was a way, would you be shattered like this? Look at you, worshiping those god statues all day. Now that you're crying like this, which immortal is paying you any mind?" Ning Huaishan said. "And you just had to pick me. Let me teach you a lesson: either find a way to live, or if you're dead, you're dead. Don't beg, don't cry, just accept—"

Before the word "fate" could leave his lips, he was kicked from behind.

It wasn't a hard kick. It was precisely because it wasn't hard that it angered him!

Ning Huaishan turned around, seething with killing intent, and saw his City Lord's face.

Ning Huaishan: "..."

'What is it now!'

"Too talkative, so long-winded. You've had your hand tensed for an eternity and haven't made a move. Move." Wu Xingxue nudged him with his foot.

Ning Huaishan: "..."

"I can't. She's latched onto my foot," Ning Huaishan said with a hint of grievance in his voice. He moved his body aside but left his foot where it was for his City Lord to see.

Wu Xingxue looked at the sharp, severed hand. "You just said there was a way. You probably weren't just spouting nonsense. I'm listening. What is this way?"

Gao Er immediately cried out, "Find someone to replace me! Just a replacement will do!"

She was almost overjoyed, her voice so sharp it cracked. "As long as someone replaces me, I can go back."

Wu Xingxue asked, "Oh? So certain? Did someone tell you this method?"

The few Immortal Sect disciples were taken aback. 'That's right,' they thought. Not everyone recognized the Life Spirit Talisman. When ordinary people were trapped in this formation and became vicious creatures, they usually just followed their instincts—they were hungry, so they looked for something to eat.

Even if they subconsciously wanted to find a scapegoat, they should have been wandering the valley, waiting for some unlucky people to arrive.

But these few were special. They knew how to disguise themselves, how to leave the valley to find people, and even knew that the scent of tribute incense could mask the aura of a yin corpse, preventing people from noticing their vicious transformation.

This indeed didn't seem like the muddled instinct of a vicious creature, but more like someone had given them pointers.

Gao Er: "Yes! There was, there was..."

Her reactions were slower than a living person's; she kept repeating those few words.

The group immediately asked, "Who?"

Gao Er said softly, "An Immortal. An Immortal told me."

An Immortal?

Wu Xingxue remembered Xiao Fuxuan saying that the Immortal Capital had many immortals who did not meet a good end. Like Yun Hai, their statues were later erected here, turning this place into a giant immortal tomb.

So, Gao Er's answer was not surprising.

But the others hadn't heard what Xiao Fuxuan had said and were still puzzled. "How did an Immortal tell you? And how did you know he was an Immortal? Did you see him?"

"No, that's not it," Gao Er said. "It was in a dream. The Immortal sent me a dream."

Hearing this, the limbs on the ground stirred restlessly. Zhao Qinglai and the others chimed in, "Yes, us too. It was a dream."

As they all spoke at once, the group pieced together the general story—

These people were Summoned to Great Sorrow Valley and, as if sleepwalking, tore themselves to pieces and folded themselves into the last few empty statues of attendant boys and girls.

They weren't aware of any of this as it was happening, thinking they were in a bizarre dream.

In the dream, they were in an immortal temple, sitting cross-legged in the altar niches on either side, holding incense burners just like real Immortal Envoys.

They were chanting scriptures along with the other Immortal Envoys when they suddenly saw a tall shadow step over the threshold and walk in. It said to them: 'Your worldly ties are not yet severed, and your attachments remain. For the time being, you cannot serve as Immortal Envoys. We must trouble you to find others to take your place.'

Once their replacements arrived, they could go home.

When they awoke with a start, they found themselves sealed inside the statues of the attendant boys and girls.

The terror of that moment was something they would never forget, not in life or death.

"What did that Immortal look like?" Yi Wusheng asked.

This time, however, Gao Er and the others couldn't speak, no matter how hard they tried, as if their mouths had been sealed or a Restriction had been placed upon them.

The more apparent the Restriction, the more curious everyone became.

But since they couldn't get a clear answer, they had no choice but to give up and ask instead, "Did he say what kind of replacements you should look for?"

Because logically, if these commoners wanted to find replacements, it would have been simplest to find some lonely, old, or orphaned people in the suburbs. That would also fit with what the Immortal said about "severing worldly ties." Why would they risk going to an Immortal Sect?

"He did. He said that everything in the temple was ready, except that the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—were all lacking a bit of immortal aura."

They figured that "immortal aura" must refer to people from the Immortal Sects. But as common folk, they naturally didn't dare to seek out a head disciple or some other powerful figure. After thinking it over, the easiest targets were the young disciples who had just joined a sect.

And their luck wasn't bad. For one, most families that encountered trouble would go to the Immortal Sects for help, so their presence wasn't out of place.

For another, the Canglang Northern Domain had collapsed, so most of the powerful figures from the nearby Immortal Sects were either still away or had just returned and couldn't be bothered. This was how they managed to snatch three young disciples.

An Immortal Sect disciple wondered aloud, "But isn't that still one short?"

Gao Er said hesitantly, "We'd trick as many as we could. If it didn't work... we'd just find another chance later."

"..."

The more the young disciples thought about it, the more terrified they became, their faces turning green.

Yi Wusheng's expression was also a bit complicated. He glanced at Wu Xingxue, then looked at Zhao Qinglai and said, "Then why did you pick him... pick Young Master Cheng?"

They were told to find people with an immortal aura. Besides the three young disciples, there were at least two others present to choose from: one was Xiao Fuxuan, and the other was Yi Wusheng himself.

Even if Xiao Fuxuan looked unapproachable, wasn't he still there? He was only a remnant soul right now; in a real fight, he might not even be a match for those three young disciples.

That Zhao Qinglai's taste was certainly unique. He had skipped right over him and picked the one who was the most like a demon lord.

Yi Wusheng had only been sighing casually, but Zhao Qinglai mumbled in reply, "Among the people with an immortal aura, he looked the easiest to deal with."

Yi Wusheng: "..."

Among the people with what???

With Gao Er and the others' explanation, the group gradually began to understand.

No wonder the tomb seemed so quiet, not as if any formation had been activated, even though they had gathered 33 "attendant boy" and "attendant girl" statues. It turned out it was because the people were wrong; they were still missing four with immortal auras for the east, south, west, and north.

"In that case, could the Life Spirit Talisman actually work? Can it revive a god statue?" A young Immortal Sect disciple looked at Yi Wusheng. "Otherwise, why would that Immortal be so serious about setting up this array?"

"This..." Now even Yi Wusheng found it hard to answer.

"It's useless," Xiao Fuxuan's voice suddenly rang out.