Chapter 111: The Art of Soul Division

"What?"

Cui Yue was stunned, his shock turning to utter disbelief. It was inconceivable that the people of Yunshan Village had gone so far as to commit murder and dispose of bodies just to stop Pei Wending, even sacrificing an entire opera troupe to the grave.

Were they human or demonic?

In a single thought, the line between good and evil blurred.

"Pei Yusheng was tortured to death by your own hands!" Cui Yue said, his voice low.

"That's right! That little bastard Pei Yusheng was the last descendant of the Pei family. I wanted him to watch as Yunshan Village perished because of his kin, leaving them without heirs!" The lady in the green robe sneered.

"When will this cycle of vengeance end? They harmed you, but you shouldn't have involved three generations. The price of slaughtering a village and wiping out a clan is far too high."

"Did they ever spare me? Did they spare my fellow disciples? They showed no benevolence, so I shall show no mercy!" The lady in the green robe was resolute, her resentment as biting as a winter chill.

"After all these years, why didn't you find Pei Wending and uncover the truth of that day?" Cui Yue asked, puzzled.

"Do you think I didn't try? I was a trapped soul beneath that well for thirty years. Had it not been for the one who saved me, how could I have exacted this revenge? It was only after I gathered my undying vengeful energy and tortured them to the brink of life and death that I learned the Pei family, as clan leaders, had torn us apart solely to preserve their reputation! No one knows Pei Wending's whereabouts; needless to say, he must have been murdered by them as well!" At this thought, the lady in the green robe sighed softly, bowing her head in silence.

"After such a catastrophe, Pei Wending actually went missing, his fate unknown!"

Cui Yue struggled to recall Pei Yusheng's journal. Aside from what he could barely decipher, there was indeed not a single word mentioned about Pei Wending.

By now, Cui Yue had pieced together the general outline. But who was the person the lady in the green robe mentioned? Who would rescue a wandering soul from the bottom of a well? Could that person be the one who truly laid out the formation?

"Who rescued you from the well?" Cui Yue asked impulsively in his desperation.

"Hmph, you need not ask! Prepare to die!" The lady in the green robe’s expression shifted instantly as she launched an attack.

"Oh no!" Cui Yue’s face turned deathly pale. How could she turn hostile so quickly?

...

Old Freak Huo raised his massive fists high, his feet planted firmly as if he were straddling mountains and rivers, exuding a power that could pull up hills and conquer the world.

The giant skeletal hand of the bone monster rose from the ground, crashing down toward Old Freak Huo’s head.

"Well struck!" Old Freak Huo roared, pushing his strength to its absolute limit. Golden light surged around his body, his aura imposing.

***

Boom!

The massive skeletal hand hung in mid-air just inches from the ground, unable to move any further!

Old Freak Huo had forcibly blocked the colossal impact with his bare fists, the very earth beneath his feet collapsing inward.

Roar!

The bone monster, not expecting Old Freak Huo to withstand the blow, immediately began gathering its strength to strike again!

Bloodshot eyes bulging, Old Freak Huo felt his blood boiling. Holding up the giant hand with both fists, he let out a thunderous shout!

"Break for me!"

With a crisp crack, a fissure appeared in the center of the giant skeletal hand, instantly spreading like a spiderweb.

A beam of golden light shot into the sky, and the massive hand shattered into countless fragments, raining down upon the ground.

Roar!

With its hand destroyed, the bone monster lost its balance, its head swaying as it collapsed into the mass grave.

As soon as Cui Yue heard the lady in the green robe preparing to strike, he turned and bolted. This was completely out of his league—why was Old Freak Huo just making noise instead of coming to help!

Cui Yue had barely taken two steps when a white shadow slowly coalesced before a grave mound, blocking his path. Its hollow, skinless face stared straight at him.

"Damn it!"

Cui Yue didn't care about anything else and turned to run back the way he came. But after only a few steps, the lady in the green robe flickered and reappeared before him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she hissed.

Cui Yue cursed inwardly. How was this skinless, faceless freak like a piece of adhesive tape—impossible to shake off?

Deciding to risk it all, he lunged forward with his sword!

Whoosh!

The lady in the green robe retreated, and Cui Yue’s strike hit nothing but air. He had only feinted, hoping to find a path to escape.

"Where to?" She flicked her large sleeves, and a gust of icy, ghostly wind slammed Cui Yue into a grave mound opposite. Caught off guard, he tumbled to the ground, sword and all.

"There is one more thing I almost forgot. What about the remnant soul I split off? What artifact did you use to capture it?" Cui Yue felt as if his bones were falling apart, but he forced himself up with his sword.

"What remnant soul?"

Cui Yue was confused, but then he remembered the sliver of soul he had swallowed in Shangwan Village. A sinking feeling took hold of him.

"You won't talk? Hmph, do you think I have no way to deal with you?" The lady in the green robe flicked her sleeves, releasing a surge of ghostly energy. She formed a seal with her hands, tracing a void mark, and hooked her fingers toward Cui Yue.

Black mist instantly enveloped him, rendering him unable to move.

"What, what is this?" Cui Yue was startled.

The lady in the green robe’s ghostly energy suddenly recoiled. She pointed at Cui Yue, her expression one of utter shock.

"You... how did you do that?"

Cui Yue was completely bewildered. Had this skinless freak lost her mind?

"What? What do you mean?"

The lady in the green robe spread her ghostly claws, reaching toward his face, and spoke, enunciating every word.

"Where is my remnant soul? Hand it over!"

Cui Yue groaned internally. *Are you kidding me? I don't even know what happened myself; I just swallowed it by accident. You're asking me for it now—what do you want me to do, cough it up?*

Seeing Cui Yue standing there frozen and unresponsive, the lady in the green robe assumed he was playing dumb.

"Hmph! Do you think I have no way to deal with you if you refuse to speak? You underestimate my soul-splitting technique!"

Knowing he must be withholding it, she grew even more aggressive. The empty space where her face should have been now transformed into a hollow void. Real, tangible black mist swirled into this cavity, forming a dark vortex!

Cui Yue suddenly felt his footing slip. His body was being pulled involuntarily toward the lady in the green robe!

"What kind of bizarre move is this?"

Cui Yue was terrified. *It’s over, it’s all over. This freak is out for revenge! She’s going to swallow me whole to settle the score for last time!*

Cui Yue held his breath, focused his mind, and slammed his wooden sword into the dirt, pushing back with every ounce of his strength, as if his life depended on it.

The mass grave seemed to sense the disturbance, as the surrounding ghostly energy was drawn into the lady’s vortex. Her slender frame began to swell and distort.

"Argh..."

Cui Yue gritted his teeth, exerting every bit of his power to hold his ground against the lady in the green robe, barely managing to stay in place.