Chapter 112 - 98: The Song Ends, A Person Falls

Chapter 112: Chapter 98: The Song Ends, A Person Falls

Some of the women with more fragile minds clutched their heads, letting out pained whimpers. The memories that had been forced upon them began to crack and splinter under the power of Chen Ye’s song!

"My child... I want my child..."

"Where is this... Why am I here..."

Confused murmurs rose one after another as the very foundation of the ritual began to waver!

"Who?!"

Daoist Jingxuan, who had been deep in meditation, snapped her eyes open. Two terrifying gleams of light shot from them!

She felt the ritual spinning out of control. Above the Blood Pool, the Ghost Embryo had begun to tremble erratically, unleashing pained shrieks!

"Spreading such vile heresies! You’re courting death!"

Jingxuan’s gaze instantly locked onto the lone figure in the crowd who didn’t belong. She bellowed, trying to drown out Chen Ye’s song with her own voice.

However, Chen Ye’s song was like a surging tide, each wave cresting higher than the last. It not only completely overpowered her Spell, but it even caused the Ghost Embryo to show signs of collapsing!

Jingxuan was incandescent with rage.

She had poured her very soul into nurturing this Holy Embryo. To have someone interfere just as success was within her grasp... her fury was unimaginable.

Killing intent flared within Jingxuan. She whipped her Duster, sending a blast of astral wind so sharp it seemed solid. With a shriek that tore through the air, it shot straight for Chen Ye’s face!

The attack was as swift as lightning and as powerful as a clap of thunder!

Yet at that very critical moment!

A bloodcurdling, ghostly shriek suddenly echoed throughout the entire grotto!

"Jing—Xuan—! Give me back my life!"

A blood-red phantom materialized from thin air, radiating overwhelming resentment as it hurtled straight toward Jingxuan.

Chen Ye dodged the blow with a quick sidestep. In that same instant, Su Lan and Jingxuan clashed.

"You wretched bitch! How dare you turn against your master!"

Recognizing Su Lan, Jingxuan was filled with a mixture of shock and fury. She couldn’t fathom how this resentful spirit—one she had personally refined, its memories thoroughly rewritten—had managed to break its shackles and regain its sanity!

But at this point, dwelling on it was useless.

’Since this weapon is no longer obedient, I’ll just have to destroy it completely!’

"You insolent creature! I made you, and I can just as easily make your soul scatter to the winds!"

With a furious roar, Jingxuan’s hands flew through a series of seals. Black energy billowed around her as an aura far more sinister and twisted than Su Lan’s own resentment erupted forth.

Su Lan’s response was still just four words.

"Give me back my life!"

She had no complex techniques, no cunning Magic—only the purest, most primal hatred!

The overwhelming resentment behind her coalesced into countless Sharp Claws, which clawed madly at Jingxuan’s chest.

In an instant, ghostly shrieks filled the air and black energy billowed. The entire grotto was shrouded in this sinister power, and the women who had just begun to regain their senses screamed in terror once more.

Chen Ye paid no mind to their battle.

Su Lan’s revenge was just the beginning, the most crucial part of his plan.

And he was about to push this grand drama to its true climax!

Seizing the opportunity while the two were locked in battle, Chen Ye didn’t hesitate for a second, once again activating his Soul-Stealing Diva Talent.

This time, his song was no longer a gentle, mournful guide. It was the clash of arms, the thundering of cavalry, the roar of a tempest crashing against the shore!

"Curse the heavens for their injustice! Curse the hearts of men, cold as iron!"

"A fleeting dream, leaving only ruin in its wake! Where is the path home?!"

The soaring, tragic aria resounded like a thunderclap deep within every soul!

"Aaaah!"

A young woman was the first to break. Clutching her head, she began to scream like a madwoman, and her cry was the lit fuse that detonated the entire crowd.

All their forcibly suppressed regret, despair, and pain were finally detonated by Chen Ye’s song.

In that instant, the foundation of the ritual crumbled completely.

RUMBLE!

In the center of the grotto, the churning Blood Pool began to tremble violently. The nearly-formed Ghost Embryo above it let out an ear-splitting shriek. Then, visible cracks spiderwebbed across its ethereal body, like a piece of porcelain about to shatter.

"No!"

Jingxuan, still locked in battle with Su Lan, sensed the change in the Ghost Embryo and let out a roar of mingled shock and fury.

This Ghost Embryo was the culmination of decades of her life’s work, a creation for which she had betrayed her sect and fallen to the path of evil. It was her one and only hope of achieving Ascension—she absolutely could not allow it to be lost!

But Su Lan had her completely pinned down, leaving her no room to focus on stabilizing the ritual.

In her desperation, a look of crazed resolve flashed across Jingxuan’s eyes.

With a furious roar, she opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of crimson Essence Blood!

The Essence Blood transformed into a scarlet thread that bypassed Su Lan’s interference and shot precisely into the Ghost Embryo’s body.

This was her Lifebound Essence!

To stabilize the Ghost Embryo, she had gone so far as to damage her own Dao Foundation!

Nourished by this burst of pure Life Force, the cracks on the Ghost Embryo’s body temporarily stabilized, but its collapse was now irreversible.

It was like a balloon riddled with holes; no matter how it was patched, it was doomed to burst.

’Now’s my chance!’

A flash of realization lit up Su Lan’s scarlet, ghostly eyes.

She knew this was the best—and only—opportunity.

"Jingxuan, today, we die together!"

Su Lan let out one final roar. Her voice was no longer filled with venom, but with a kind of determined release!

She abandoned all attacks, allowing Jingxuan’s Duster to pierce through her ghostly form. Then, she threw her arms wide and, with the last of her strength, embraced the hypocritical murderer in a death grip.

Her ghostly form began to burn, transforming into a final shackle of pure resentment.

"Get away from me, you lunatic!"

Jingxuan’s face went pale with terror. She could feel her own life force being rapidly consumed by Su Lan’s resentment. She struggled desperately, using every Daoist Technique in her arsenal to break free from this embrace from Hell.

However, the depth of Su Lan’s resentment and the strength of her obsession far exceeded Jingxuan’s imagination.

No matter how she attacked, Su Lan wouldn’t let go. Instead, she dragged her, step by step, toward the ceaselessly churning Blood Pool.

"No! Don’t!"

The fear of death finally seized Jingxuan’s Heart Spirit, her normally cold and detached face now a mask of terror and despair.

’I don’t want to die! My great work isn’t finished!’

But Su Lan only stared back with hollow eyes, as if to say, ’The moment you pushed me into the Abyss, you should have known this day would come.’

SPLASH!

As everyone watched, the entangled pair—one human, one ghost—plummeted straight into the Blood Pool.

The Blood Pool instantly began to boil.

"Aaargh...!"

A bloodcurdling scream rose from the Blood Pool, only to be quickly drowned out by the sound of gurgling bubbles.

The next moment, a massive column of crimson light shot toward the heavens, striking the grotto’s ceiling before abruptly vanishing.

With the light gone, the Ghost Embryo above the Blood Pool lost its final support. It let out one last, indignant wail before collapsing with a great WHOOSH, dissolving into a cloud of black smoke that vanished into the air.

A deathly silence fell over the grotto.

The women, drained of their Essence, Qi, and Spirit, suddenly lost the support of the resentful energy that had been propping them up. Their bodies went limp, and they collapsed in a faint, one after another.

And so, the meticulously planned, evil ritual came to a close.

Chen Ye let out a long sigh of relief, then quickly removed his makeup and changed his clothes.

Soon, Chen Ye had reverted to a handsome, clear-featured youth. He immediately left the tunnel and lit a signal firework, sending it into the sky.

This was the signal he had arranged with Mr. Lu, whom he had notified the previous night.

Sure enough, in less than an hour, the sound of disorderly footsteps echoed from outside.

"Quick, seal off the entire Celestial Empress Palace! No one is to enter or leave," someone shouted. It was Qi Shihao.

Afterward, a large number of constables poured into the Daoist Temple, drawing gasps of alarm.

Mr. Lu was with them personally, and his expression brightened when he saw Chen Ye.

"How did it go?"

"It’s taken care of. They’re inside," Chen Ye said, pointing to the tunnel behind him.

Qi Shihao immediately waved a hand. "Search it."

Soon, the women from the grotto were all carried out. But that wasn’t all; the constables also discovered more shocking evidence of crimes within the Celestial Empress Palace.

For example, they found aborted fetuses that had yet to be disposed of, some of which were already fully formed—a deeply unsettling sight.

Furthermore, interrogations of the captured accomplices unearthed even more details.

For instance, the Jingxuan Association would take in homeless women, and once they had been squeezed dry of any remaining value, they were sold directly to brothels.

Alternatively, they would brainwash wealthy but gullible women who controlled their family finances, compelling them to offer up their entire family fortune as a tribute, which ultimately led to their families being ruined.

Crucially, these actions stood in stark contrast to the benevolent doctrines she had always preached.

However, none of this had anything to do with Chen Ye any longer, as he was now busy with something far more important.