Chapter 640 - 621: Netherworld Sect

Just as Wang Meng returned to the Bai Family Mansion, the sky abruptly changed, and a heavy downpour began without warning.

The bustling streets of Wang City cleared in an instant. The ever-present street vendors packed up the tools of their trade with incredible speed, vanishing from sight.

Wang City wasn’t an ancient city with a thousand-year history, but a metropolis built in the last century. Its newness was a weakness, lacking the deep cultural heritage of the other seven major cities. But this was also its advantage. Beneath Wang City lay an astonishing drainage system, surveyed and designed by the masters of the Divine Artifact Pavilion. No matter how hard it rained, one could hardly find any standing water on the city’s streets.

For the homeless, this was a great blessing.

Inside a ruined temple, Wan’Er stared blankly at the sky.

’I have no home.’

Her mother had been a maid in the Jiang Family, later given in marriage to a Cultivator who served them. Because of this, Wan’Er had been a free person since birth.

However, her parents were killed in an act of vengeance. Having grown up in the Jiang Family and received their upbringing, the orphaned Wan’Er couldn’t find a place to belong after leaving, no matter how free she was. She could only take shelter in this abandoned, ruined temple.

A home is both a constraint and a sanctuary.

Only the main hall of the ruined Temple was still relatively intact; the other side halls all bore the marks of a fire. Perhaps all the Ascetics had died in the blaze, leaving no one to repair it.

A Divine Statue was enshrined in the main hall, its features blurry and indistinct. The gods who once occasionally revealed their miracles to the world had vanished for several thousand years, never to appear again. The Temples had long since fallen into decline. In fact, thousands of years ago, even before the miracles ceased, the most devout followers had forgotten the faces of their gods. On the very same day, all depictions of them—portraits, sculptures, and Divine Statues—disintegrated. The portraits burst into flames, the sculptures crumbled to dust, and the faces on the Divine Statues became warped and unrecognizable, as if twisted by Magic.

Wan’Er thought about the fate of the Ascetics. ’Perhaps the Ascetics in this Temple were the last followers of this god.’

Even without a home of her own, Wan’Er still had a gentle concern for others. The one she worried about most was Young Master Wang... Wang Meng.

’I don’t regret it. Even though I was driven out of the Jiang Family by the Young Miss because of him, I don’t blame her. I always knew I shouldn’t have feelings for the Young Master. I knew I wasn’t worthy, but I couldn’t help myself. This must be heaven’s punishment.’

’These past two days, I’ve secretly gone to check on the Young Miss. I’m so worried about her marriage to Zhe Wulei... But the person I watch the most is Wang Meng. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m like an iron filing drawn to a magnet, a moth drawn to a flame. Maybe the days I spent with him were just too happy. Now, just a single glimpse of him is enough to make me forget my current predicament...’

SNAP.

A sudden sound interrupted Wan’Er’s train of thought.

"Who’s there?"

Wan’Er tensed.

"Oh... I didn’t realize anyone was in here. I’m sorry... I was just looking for shelter from the rain."

A gentle, soft voice drifted in from outside, and a moment later, a young woman carrying a small bag entered cautiously.

Wan’Er breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "It’s alright. This place isn’t mine, either..."

"Heh, you’re a pretty one, little sister."

The young woman smoothed the ends of her hair. A half-damp, dark lock fell, accentuating her pretty, jade-like face.

The young woman moved to one side and deftly started a fire. She took a set of clean clothes from her bag to change into, then draped her wet garments near the flames to dry. Only then did she speak to Wan’Er. "Aren’t you going home, little sister?"

Wan’Er froze. ’Home...’

"I don’t know. I don’t have anywhere to go back to."

’A place?’ A hint of pity flashed in the young woman’s eyes. ’So you’re homeless, too. Why don’t you tell me about it?’

For some reason, Wan’Er let down her guard with the young woman. Her eyes stung, and she recounted her entire story.

"What a poor little thing."

"What about you, Big Sister?"

"Heh. When I was your age... I didn’t have a home, either. But now I have a very, very large family."

"A large family? That sounds wonderful..."

Wan’Er said, her voice filled with longing.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door. Wan’Er’s expression changed. ’At a time like this...’

In the blink of an eye, seven men dressed in black appeared. A white Skeleton was embroidered on the front of their robes. A timely flash of Lightning illuminated their seven zombie-like faces, frightening Wan’Er so badly her legs went weak.

The seven men in black locked their eyes on the two women, a flicker of life entering their rigid gazes.

"Hall Master, I never expected to find such quality goods in a backwater place like this. What an unexpected prize."

The man in the lead cracked a smile that was uglier than a grimace. On the white Skeleton embroidered on his robes, the skull’s eye sockets were red.

"Prime Furnace Cauldrons. We can’t let them get away."

His voice was hoarse and brittle, as if it had crawled out of a grave.

Wan’Er gritted her teeth. Her True Essence flared as she charged at the men in black. Having come from the Jiang Family, she knew a thing or two about Demon Cultivators. A fate in their hands was worse than death.

The leader clapped his hands together, sending a gray Skull Seal blasting forward. Wan’Er collapsed. The men in black all let out sinister sneers. ’How utterly conceited. A mere slip of a girl at the Second Layer of the Profound Wheel Realm dares to challenge us.’

Just as the men in black were about to advance, the young woman stepped forward.

"When did the White Bone Sect start setting foot in the Great Zhou Territory?" The young woman’s voice was as soft as flowing water.

The leader stopped in his tracks and gave another sinister sneer. "To think we’d meet someone in the know in a place like this. Since you recognize our White Bone Sect, state your name."

"You are not worthy of knowing." The young woman’s smile was radiant, like a hundred flowers blooming at once.

"You’re courting..."

The six White Bone Sect disciples charged forward. But they had taken only a single step when they realized... their heads had been left behind, floating in the air.

THUD...

The leader’s face went pale with fright. "Who are you? Floating Light and Shadow... the Law of Space... You’re from the Netherworld Sect..."

The young woman paid the man no mind, walking instead toward Wan’Er. The leader’s head then fell to the ground.

The Broken Space Technique!

The young woman picked Wan’Er up and gently stroked her hair. "Don’t rely on men. Don’t fall in love with men. They will only break your heart. You possess the Five Elements Body; you should have a different destiny. For me, kill all the faithless men in the world."

With a casual wave of her hand, a towering tree shot up from the ground. The young woman and Wan’Er vanished into a hollow in its trunk. With a deafening ROAR, the ruined temple collapsed.

"The Jiang Family said Wan’Er returned to her hometown a few days ago," Fatty Bai said, handing a dagger back to Wang Meng.

’Her hometown?’ Wang Meng was taken aback. He had prepared the dagger for Wan’Er. Having spent time with her, he had long since discovered that she possessed a Light Five Elements Body. This incredibly light Golden Soul and Silver Spirit Dagger would have been perfect for her.

’I just never thought she would actually leave.’

Fatty Bai scratched his head, then changed the subject back to the Five Elements Divine Beast Festival.