"Nan... Nan Gong... For the sake of being roommates, please save me..." Jiang Huairou stammered, too ashamed to meet her gaze.

  Jiang Huairou clung to a sliver of hope. After spending so many days together at the academy, she felt that Nan Gong Huan sometimes showed a softer side. Surely, she wouldn’t refuse to help her now...

  "Save you? Of course, I’ll help you find release." Nan Gong Huan smirked, raising her Radiant Blade. In Jiang Huairou’s shocked and bewildered gaze, she slashed her throat in one swift motion!

  "No! Don’t—" Her panicked voice was cut off.

  Blood spurted, and her lifeless eyes stared into the void as her body merged with the pile of corpses.

  At the same time, a fierce wind swept through, fanning the flames that spread to the pile of bodies. The burning corpses emitted a foul stench.

  Nan Gong Huan turned away without a hint of remorse, leaving without a backward glance. She then plunged back into the battlefield, summoning Yan Ji and Xue Ji to feast on the chaos.

  Above, the Ghost Curse Array, destabilized by the collapse of the altar, began to lose control. The malevolent spirits within started to break through, creating a gap in the array!

  All the ghosts surged out through the gap, their shrill screams carrying a headache-inducing mental attack, indiscriminately assaulting everyone in their path.

  The Ghost King, the elderly figure, set his sights on Yan Ji and Xue Ji. His eyes turned a blank white, like a puppet, as he raised his hand and released a wave of soul energy, attempting to draw the two spirits toward him.

  "Together! Never apart!" Yan Ji declared firmly, grasping Xue Ji’s hand. The two spirits released their own soul energy to resist, struggling but managing to hold off the Ghost King’s power.

  Nan Gong Huan caught sight of their struggle out of the corner of her eye. With a flick of her hand, she activated her spiritual energy.

  The Ghost King immediately turned his gaze toward her, the white in his eyes tinged with a hint of crimson. Pointing at Nan Gong Huan, he let out a shrill, aged cry: "Revive!"

  He turned and flew toward Nan Gong Huan, and the other spirits, sensing the energy, followed suit, pouncing on her like starving ghosts!

  Their movements were even more frenzied than those of starving spirits spotting food!

  "Master!" Yan Ji and Xue Ji shouted, rushing to Nan Gong Huan’s side. They used their soul energy to block the spirits, but they couldn’t hold back the Ghost King!

  The Ghost King’s strength was at the Sixth Spirit Realm, and Nan Gong Huan was no match for him. But who was the prey here? That was yet to be determined!

  Just as the Ghost King was about to reach her, a powerful suction force suddenly pulled him in, slurping him into the Di Ming Ring!

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  "Phew." Nan Gong Huan wiped the sweat from her brow. Absorbing the Ghost King had drained nearly all her energy!

  "Ah Huan, are you okay? Where’s the Ghost King?" Song Xiran arrived just in time, sword in hand, anxiously scanning the area.

  She had just seen the malevolent spirits lunging at Nan Gong Huan, but in the blink of an eye, they had disappeared!

  "I drove it away." Nan Gong Huan’s mind raced as she pulled out a Light Talisman, inscribed with a radiant rune that indeed had the power to repel evil spirits.

  She ignited the talisman, and it burned away, releasing a sacred golden light. The remaining spirits scattered in terror, screaming as they fled.

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji, devoid of malevolent energy, were only slightly affected, their soul energy dissipating a bit. The two spirits retreated to a distance, devouring the remaining fleeing spirits.

  This Light Talisman was something she had drawn during her practice sessions, left forgotten in a corner. She hadn’t expected it to come in handy today.

  Now, as she rummaged through the Di Ming Ring, she realized she still had many treasures tucked away.

  "You’re safe, that’s what matters." Song Xiran breathed a sigh of relief. "Stay close to me. I’ll protect you."

  Song Xiran looked her over, making sure she had no injuries, before finally relaxing.

  "Alright!" Nan Gong Huan didn’t refuse, smiling as she nodded and brushed the blood from her clothes, staying close to Song Xiran.

  She glanced toward the distant battle between the powerful figures, but all she could see were dazzling flashes of light, accompanied by an overwhelming, heart-pounding aura.

  Nan Gong Huan longed to get closer to witness the high-level Spirit Realm battle, but she feared her frail body would be torn to shreds by the sheer force before she even reached the edge!

  Inside the Di Ming Ring.

  The Ghost King stood dumbfounded, staring at the sudden change in his surroundings. His simple mind couldn’t comprehend where the person who could revive spirits and form flesh had gone.

  "Looking for someone?" Elder Ling, having just finished a barbecue, lounged leisurely in a chair, picking his teeth with a toothpick.

  The Ghost King shivered at the sight of Elder Ling. A deep, instinctual fear made him retreat instinctively. His gut told him that this seemingly casual spirit was extremely dangerous!

  But the Di Ming Ring was small, and there was nowhere to escape!

  Elder Ling pulled out a tall glass, pouring in a bottle of delicious potion. With a flick of his finger, the Ghost King transformed into a wisp of soul energy, merging into the potion.

  The liquid in the glass changed slightly, turning into a smoky mist that Elder Ling slowly inhaled.

  "Such poor quality. Well, it’ll do." Elder Ling muttered, setting the glass on a small table beside him. He placed his hands behind his head, a contented smile spreading across his face.

  Outside the Di Ming Ring, the forest fire was on the verge of spiraling out of control!

  The wind carried burning leaves to distant areas, igniting patches of fire everywhere.

  "Liu Yi, control the forest fire!" Song Xiran called out to a mage in their Order Team, a water mage.

  If the forest fire wasn’t contained, it would spread to the imperial capital in a matter of days, making it even harder to control.

  "Got it!" Jun Liu Yi, a handsome man in a blue robe, raised his staff toward the sky.

  Within three seconds, the sky darkened, and a cluster of clouds gathered overhead, releasing a light drizzle.

  The rain gradually intensified, soon becoming a downpour that extinguished the forest fire.

  Song Xiran conjured a circular barrier to shield the three of them from the rain.

  The fires on the corpses were also extinguished, emitting a burnt smell. Nan Gong Huan sighed softly, using her spiritual energy to tear open a fissure in the ground. Tree roots emerged, dragging the bodies into the earth.

  They would become the forest’s best nutrients.

  Their souls had already become malevolent spirits in the Ghost Curse Array, now mostly devoured by Yan Ji and Xue Ji. The few stragglers would soon vanish when the sunlight appeared.

  The ruins of the village were a somber sight, and the atrocities of the Divine Blood Hall were too numerous to recount!

  "You know earth magic too?" Song Xiran asked, surprised by her burial technique. She had never seen her use it before.