Legend had it that the Floating Sky Realm was a purple mansion secret realm left behind by a powerful cultivator who ascended tens of thousands of years ago. This person’s cultivation was extremely powerful, but they had deliberately delayed their ascension, which resulted in their purple mansion being much larger than those of ordinary ascending cultivators.
As time passed, after tens of thousands of years, this secret realm formed from the purple mansion had become an enormous entity. Until now, cultivators from the seventeen states still hadn’t been able to accurately measure its size. Some said it was only as large as two states, others claimed it spanned several states, and some even said this secret realm encompassed all seventeen states, covering the sky in correspondence with the Eight Trigrams Formation…
Low-level cultivators absolutely could not enter the Floating Sky Realm, and even high-level cultivators who managed to enter faced a ninety percent chance of death. These claims had never been verified.
However, there was no doubt about the vast size of the Floating Sky Realm. This was why Ning Buwei and Chu Jun were so desperate in their search for people – if they used ordinary methods, by the time they found the children, they would only be collecting corpses.
From the formation’s perspective, Feng Zizhang wasn’t far from Ning Buwei and Jiang Yizheng, but Ning Buwei had to use more than ten transportation formations and spent two full hours to reach the location.
There stood a magnificent mansion nestled between high mountains and dense forests. Compared to the huge residence, a person standing before it seemed as insignificant as a brick. The courtyard walls on all four sides were covered with withered black branches. Before even reaching the front of the mansion, one could already sense the heavy smell of blood, and amid the howling gloomy wind, countless faint crying sounds seemed to echo.
Although it wasn’t the right time, Jiang Yizheng couldn’t help but comment that this sinister aura was indistinguishable from her father’s Hundred Bones Thousand Ghosts Formation—
It actually gave her a strangely comforting feeling.
“Father, is Zizhang inside this mansion?” Jiang Yizheng asked.
“Yes.” Ning Buwei turned and placed several talismans on her forehead, saying, “Whatever happens later, don’t make a sound and don’t do anything, understood?”
Jiang Yizheng tightly closed her mouth and nodded vigorously.
Ning Buwei placed a talisman on himself and brought Jiang Yizheng down into the main courtyard of the mansion.
The mansion had originally been covered in cobwebs and dust, but the moment they landed, everything around them seemed to suddenly come alive. Countless noisy voices drew near from afar, and the empty courtyard suddenly became lively.
The courtyard was decorated with lanterns and red silk ribbons. Most of the people coming and going wore uniform servant attire, but despite their busy movements, their faces showed no joy, instead displaying a gloomy paleness.
Ning Buwei and Jiang Yizheng seemed to have become invisible among them, with people automatically walking around them when they crossed paths.
A fifteen or sixteen-year-old maid carrying a tea tray hurriedly walked toward the inner courtyard. Ning Buwei followed behind her, gesturing for Jiang Yizheng to follow.
The two silently followed behind her as they saw the young maid enter the inner courtyard, knock on the tightly closed courtyard door, and was welcomed inside by four or five maids.
“How is it? Has Young Master Yan woken up?” the maids asked in a clamor.
“He’s awake, but…” the young maid hesitated to continue.
“He’s awake, but that Yan Liuguang has declared that the original agreement was with our Yan family’s eldest young lady Yan Jinzhou, and he absolutely won’t marry the second young lady!” The young maid said angrily. “Who does he think he is? So many sons from prestigious sects and families have sought to marry our second young lady…”
At this moment, someone lifted the red curtain, and a woman wearing wedding attire with beautiful features appeared with an angry expression. “Yan Jinzhou left the family long ago. If Yan Liuguang’s love was so unwavering, he shouldn’t have agreed to marry me in the first place. Yet he brings this up today – who does he think I, Yan Jinshu, am!?”
“Young lady, please calm down!” Several young maids immediately knelt down.
Yan Jinshu threw down the red bridal veil in her hand and was about to leave with her sword. The group of maids turned pale with fright and rushed forward to stop her.
“Young lady, you absolutely cannot!”
“Young lady!!”
“Second young lady! The eldest young lady has returned!”
Yan Jinshu’s expression changed, and she gripped her sword even tighter, sneering. “Good! She didn’t come back early or late but chose today of all days. She’s clearly determined to make me miserable!”
At this point, no one dared to stop her as Yan Jinshu headed to the front hall with her sword.
Jiang Yizheng, hiding in the corner, looked at Ning Buwei, asking with her eyes. Father, should we follow?
Ning Buwei bent down to pick up the red bridal veil from the ground and followed along with her.
They closely followed Yan Jinshu to the front hall, where they saw a man and a woman standing. The woman was tall, wearing clean and neat black clothes, with medium-length hair casually tied back. Her features were sharp, but when she looked at others, there was always a hint of a smile.
And the man standing beside her— Jiang Yizheng’s eyes widened, and she pointed at him about to speak, but Ning Buwei quickly covered her mouth.
The man beside Yan Jinzhou looked exactly like Ning Buwei – no, he was Ning Buwei, just with a completely different aura from now. He appeared more serious and steady, even giving off a somewhat lifeless feeling.
Jiang Yizheng nodded desperately to show Ning Buwei she wouldn’t shout, and only then did he release his hand.
Meanwhile, Yan Jinshu was furiously questioning Yan Jinzhou, “Yan Jinzhou, what exactly are you trying to do?!”
Yan Jinzhou smiled and sat down in a chair, looking Yan Jinshu over before saying with a smile. “Nothing much, I just heard my sister was marrying Yan Liuguang today, so I came specially to offer my congratulations.”
The Ning Buwei standing behind her remained silent while holding his knife, but his expression suggested he was ready to draw and kill at any moment.
“Congratulations? I think you came specially to watch me make a fool of myself!” Yan Jinshu pointed her sword at her, saying hatefully, “Yan Liuguang was severely injured yesterday and only woke up today, immediately declaring he would marry no one but you. How dare you say you have nothing to do with this?”
Yan Jinzhou expressed surprise. “Oh? He actually said he would marry no one but me?”
Yan Jinshu’s gaze towards her seemed to drip with blood. “My maid heard it with her own ears!”
“Tsk, seems we were too gentle with him.” Yan Jinzhou unhurriedly took a sip from her teacup. “Buwei.”
“Yes, Master.” The Ning Buwei standing behind her stepped forward, drawing his Suzaku knife, and said coldly. “Should we flay him or extract his tendons? You decide.”
“Tsk tsk, young people shouldn’t be so hot-tempered.” Yan Jinzhou rotated the teacup in her hand and said with a smile. “Bring him to me, I’ll ask him myself.”
Ning Buwei left immediately in response.
Yan Jinshu said with an ugly expression. “So Liuguang’s injuries were indeed your doing!”
“Of course. I’ve always been one to repay both kindness and grudges.” Yan Jinzhou crossed her legs and said with a meaningful smile. “Back then, you schemed to frame me and forced me to leave home, and your mother personally drove my mother to her death. Father just stood by and allowed you two to do evil. Naturally, I’m quite unhappy about all this.”
Yan Jinshu’s face changed, and she hurriedly said to the maids behind her. “Where are Mother and Father? Quick, call them here!”
“No need.” Yan Jinzhou smiled and waved her hand, snapping her fingers. Two mutilated bodies suddenly fell heavily to the ground. “I’m kind-hearted. Afraid you wouldn’t find them, I brought them myself.”
Yan Jinshu instantly turned pale, rushing to examine the two corpses. Upon seeing their faces clearly, she screamed, “Father! Mother!”
Yan Jinzhou blew on her fingers and said lazily, “See? Worried you wouldn’t recognize them, I specially left their faces unharmed. No need to thank me.”
The two corpses were intact only in their faces; the rest of their bodies were reduced to little more than skeletons, too horrible to look at. The servants in the front hall had already fled in terror.
“Yan Jinzhou, are you even human anymore!?” Yan Jinshu’s eyes were bloodshot. “Everything was my doing – if you have the courage, come at me! He was your father too! How could you be so heartless!”
Yan Jinzhou pursed her lips, “He probably didn’t think about that when he personally removed my golden core, and your mother didn’t think about it either when she killed my mother to death by a thousand cuts. I’m merely returning what they did to me – why do you make it sound so awful?”
She leaned forward in her chair, looking down at Yan Jinshu, “Shu’er, haven’t you realized? I specifically chose your wedding day – I came for you.”
“Do you like this wedding gift?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a man in wedding attire, bound tightly, was thrown in from outside, his face so badly beaten it was unrecognizable.
“Liuguang!” Yan Jinshu recognized him immediately.
However, Yan Liuguang ignored her, instead looking eagerly at Yan Jinzhou, “Jinzhou, I wronged you back then! I’ve actually always loved you! I was just deceived by Yan Jinshu’s tricks! I’m willing to marry you, I’ve always wanted to marry you!”
“So noisy.” Yan Jinzhou glanced impatiently at Ning Buwei.
Understanding her meaning, Ning Buwei kicked Yan Liuguang to the ground and stepped on his neck, saying menacingly, “Shut up.”
Yan Liuguang immediately fell silent.
Yan Jinzhou rested her head on her hand, watching the despairing Yan Jinshu on the ground with amusement, “Now you see what kind of person this surnamed Yan is? But—”
“What’s the use of seeing it now? You used every means to marry him, so as your big sister, I naturally should fulfill your wish.”
Yan Jinshu’s face turned ashen. From the moment she entered, her cultivation had been completely suppressed by Yan Jinzhou. After multiple blows, she was utterly despondent, knowing she couldn’t escape death today. She gritted her teeth and said, “Someone as vicious and unscrupulous as you – when Father banished you from the family back then, he shouldn’t have been soft-hearted and spared your life! Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment for killing your parents!?”
“Hmm, not afraid.” Yan Jinzhou stood up, smiling slightly. “I’m only afraid of being unhappy.”
“Buwei, is the formation ready?” she looked at Ning Buwei.
Ning Buwei nodded.
Yan Jinzhou patted her sister’s head and said methodically, “Because of one Yan Liuguang, you made me wander in exile and caused my mother’s miserable death. Simply killing you would be too easy. Since you want this surnamed Yan so badly, I’ll grant your wish—”
“After grinding your bones to dust, your souls will be forever trapped in this Union-Separation Formation, never able to escape for all eternity.”
Yan Jinzhou paused, suddenly looking at the silent Ning Buwei, and asked, “Is Master being too cruel by doing this?”
Ning Buwei said coldly, “I follow Master’s decisions.”
Yan Jinzhou sighed, “Fine, since my precious disciple is pleading for you, I’ll make an exception.”
She grinned at Yan Jinshu and Yan Liuguang, “If you want to get out, one of you must devour the other’s soul, then find someone willing to enter as a substitute – remember, they must be willing.”
Yan Jinzhou twirled the dagger in her hand, “Well then, who should I flay first?”
Jiang Yizheng, watching from the corner, was dumbfounded. In the next moment, everything before her eyes suddenly went dark, and those shrill, terrified screams became incredibly distant.
Her father’s voice sounded by her ear. “Children shouldn’t watch this.”
Jiang Yizheng was so scared she almost cried, tightly gripping Ning Buwei’s sleeve, trembling. “F-f-father, when can we leave?”
Ning Buwei replied calmly. “After she finishes flaying them.”
Jiang Yizheng drew in a sharp breath.
As the screams gradually faded, something was placed in Jiang Yizheng’s hand. “What’s this?”
“Cover your eyes with it,” Ning Buwei said.
Jiang Yizheng felt around and covered her eyes with what seemed to be a gauze-like material.
“Open your eyes,” Ning Buwei said again.
Jiang Yizheng tentatively opened her eyes and saw a hazy red expanse and numerous blurry, enormous chains. She gripped Ning Buwei’s sleeve tightly, “Father, there are so many chains.”
“Look for the white light,” Ning Buwei’s voice sounded by her ear: “Walk boldly, I’m supporting you from the side.”
Jiang Yizheng instantly felt reassured and took bold steps forward. She quickly spotted a ball of white light bound by chains in the distance and exclaimed excitedly. “Father, I see it! It’s a huge ball!”
“Pull it down,” Ning Buwei said.
Greatly encouraged, Jiang Yizheng ran over and hugged the large ball of white light, giving it a hard yank. She heard a strangely familiar cry of pain, and then she was knocked to the ground.
“Xiao Jiang! Thank goodness, I knew you and Father would come save me!” Feng Zizhang clung to her arm, crying uncontrollably, his whole body clinging to her, “Wuwuwu I was so scared! It was terrifying, I almost died!”
The red gauze covering her eyes fell away, and Jiang Yizheng found herself sitting in a pool of blood, surrounded by countless bloodstained chains densely packed with innumerable skulls and bones. Under her feet was sticky, foul-smelling flesh, and a pair of pale eyeballs floated in the blood pool, making eye contact with her.
Meanwhile, her father, who had claimed to be supporting her as she walked and had suddenly become so caring and gentle, was standing high up on the iron chains, a hundred zhang away from her, without even a speck of dust on his robes.
Jiang Yizheng, who had not only waded through a river of blood but was also covered in Feng Zizhang’s tears and snot: “………”
