The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

"Chu Lianyi, you can't die!!! If you die, it will be because we killed you!!!"

"Don't die!!! If you die, Master won't be saved either. What do we do, what do we do?!"

"Don't die, girl! Senior Brother doesn't hate you that much. Didn't you have something to ask him?! You have to tell him properly, you absolutely can't die!!!"

The two boys supported Chu Lianyi, crying and shouting. They had never intended to force Chu Lianyi to her death, and if Chu Lianyi died, their master would not be far from dying either. Therefore, they were extremely shocked to see Chu Lianyi suddenly stab them with a dagger.

Just as the two boys were crying and blaming themselves for Chu Lianyi's death, Chu Lianyi suddenly opened her eyes, gathered spiritual energy in her hands to form whips, and bound the two boys!

"You're lying..." By the time the two boys realized what was happening and were about to cry for help, Chu Lianyi had already stuffed the handkerchiefs into their mouths. Fortunately, she had tested it beforehand and found that earth spirits could be used here. She was, after all, at the third level of spiritual cultivation. Although she was imprisoned in the Ghost Realm, in this Cloud Mountain, the Great Sage Jue Ling was also a person from the Spirit Realm, so earth spirits would naturally not be suppressed.

In this way, as long as we find an opportunity, we can subdue both of these boys at the same time! Seeing the angry eyes of the two boys, Chu Lianyi said, "I'm sorry, brothers. I didn't originally intend to do this. It's just that I didn't see Xuan Ye just now. If this drags on, my friend Ying Li is still in danger. So I can only apologize to you two brothers."

"Ugh! Ugh!" The older boy glared fiercely at Chu Lianyi's chest. Chu Lianyi subconsciously looked down at the bright red stain, then smiled and said, "Hey! You're talking about this?!?"

Reaching into her clothes, Chu Lianyi pulled out a rotten fruit, saying, "Luckily there's one left, otherwise how could this play be performed well?!" She threw the fruit and dagger on the ground, walked to the cave entrance, looked outside to make sure no one was there, and then ran to the right.

The little boy had taken this very path to find Xuan Ye, but why he ended up with the Great Sage Jue Ling was beyond Chu Lianyi's comprehension. Hopefully, she'd be lucky enough to find Xuan Ye.

Thinking this, Chu Lianyi walked to the right. However, the winding path made her feel dizzy. She persisted, avoiding detours, but ultimately ended up in that filthy, cave-like place!

The stench was unbearable, and she was about to turn back and choose another path when she suddenly remembered what the little boy had said: this was the summit of Cloud Mountain, and every place was an illusion. What she thought was the exit was definitely not the exit. Conversely, what she thought was a dirty and disgusting place might not be a dirty and disgusting place at all!

"How could this be?!" Chu Lianyi muttered. If she went the wrong way, she'd rot and die inside! After hesitating for a long time, Chu Lianyi finally made a decision. Since she had already been out for so long, she would be discovered anyway, so she might as well take the risk. Besides, she could use her spiritual power, so she wouldn't rot and die inside!

Thinking this, Chu Lianyi endured the stench and created a barrier in front of herself, which finally eased the smell considerably, but the scene before her was still extremely filthy and nauseating.

"Never mind, Chu Lianyi, jump!!!" Constantly encouraging herself, Chu Lianyi closed her eyes tightly and jumped into the abyss!

"Ah!!!" Enduring the nausea, Chu Lianyi shouted and jumped down! A long time passed, but nothing happened! When Chu Lianyi opened her eyes, she found that the clouds and stars around her had shifted, and the moon was peeking out from behind the clouds.

Is this the summit of Yunshan Mountain?! A gust of cold wind swept over, and Chu Lianyi felt a chill run through her. Looking down from the summit, by the moonlight, she could vaguely see five enormous gates on the mountainside, each containing an astonishing power. Was Ying Li climbing up through one of those gates?! Chu Lianyi wondered, seeing that the summit was deserted and she had no way of finding her way back to those illusions.

I'm going all in!!!

Chu Lianyi lay prone on the edge of the cliff, her hands to her mouth, shouting repeatedly down the mountain, "Ying Li! Nangong Lin! I'm here! Can you hear me?! Ying Li! Nangong Lin! I'm on the mountaintop, on the mountaintop! Can you hear me?!"

It took Ying Li and Bing Yin a long time to get out of the sea of ​​fire through the second gate and return to the mountainside. Xuan Huo was bound by Bing Yin and wouldn't cause any trouble for the time being. They believed that the Great Sage Jue Ling was a man of his word, and since they had already passed through the second gate, there was no reason for him to use any underhanded tricks to make them come back again.

With this in mind, Ying Li and Bing Yin rested comfortably halfway up the mountain. Their two disciples, Shui and Huo, seemed to be safe, but the three people above were definitely stronger than them. Unknown dangers awaited them ahead, and they couldn't afford to be careless.

"Ying Li! Nangong Lin! I'm on the mountaintop! Can you hear me?! I'm on the mountaintop! I am Lianyi, I'm on the mountaintop!!!"

"Ying Li! Nangong Lin! I'm on the mountaintop! Can you hear me?! I'm on the mountaintop! I am Lianyi, I'm on the mountaintop!!!"

"..."

Chu Lianyi's voice drifted over faintly. Ying Li's expression changed slightly. She looked up at the cloud-shrouded mountains and hesitated before saying, "Bingyin, did you hear someone calling my name?! It sounds like Lianyi's voice, did you hear it?!"

"Ying Li! Nangong Lin! I'm on the mountaintop! Can you hear me?! I'm on the mountaintop! I am Lianyi, I'm on the mountaintop!!!"

"..."

"Listen, it's Lianyi calling!" Ying Li said uncertainly, as the voice was too faint, and Ying Li could only hear a few words.

Bingyin looked up at the mountaintop in a daze. Before her were white clouds, stars hanging in the sky, and the moon hiding behind the clouds. After looking for a long time, Bingyin said, "Could I have misheard?! I didn't hear anything. Let's rest for a bit and then we'll go up. Then we'll see Lianyi. Yingli, don't worry too much."

Bingyin comforted her, and Yingli looked up at the ethereal mountaintop. Her voice had disappeared at some point. She nodded, leaned against the mountainside wall halfway up the mountain, and fell asleep with her arms crossed.

Chu Lianyi was panting heavily. She had been shouting for so long, but no one had responded. She wasn't even sure if Ying Li and Nangong Lin had heard her. After resting for a while, just as Chu Lianyi was thinking of continuing to shout, a cold voice rang out behind her, "Even if you shout until your throat is hoarse, they won't hear you."

Chu Lianyi quickly turned around. Xuan Ye stood not far away, and under the moonlight, the black stone on his forehead headband emitted a soft glow.

“Xuan Ye, I’m sorry, I have to leave. I used to think that the Great Sage Jue Ling was a good person, but now he’s tormenting my friends. I don’t want Ying Li and Nangong Lin to get hurt, so I have to leave. Unless he can release Ying Li and Nangong Lin safely, and I can explain to them that I’m atoning for my sins here and guarantee their safety, I can’t stay here in peace. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease,” Chu Lianyi said.

Xuan Ye looked at her, his indifferent eyes devoid of any emotion. He asked with some doubt, "You think the Great Sage Jue Ling is a bad person?! He clearly had his life-saving Ghost Spirit Fruit taken away, yet you think he's the real bad guy?!"

"I don't know, my mind is a mess right now. If he's a good person, why didn't he let Ali and Nangong Lin come to see me safely?! If he's a good person, why?! There's always a reason for everything!" Chu Lianyi said, clutching her head in anguish.

"These are the rules. If outsiders want to go up Cloud Mountain, they must personally pass through the five gates. Unless they are the Ghost Realm Emperor, no one else has special privileges. What is Ying Li now?! Why should I let her come up?! Also, why did your Chu family take away the Ghost Spirit Fruit of the Great Sage Jue Ling?! Why did you eat that Ghost Spirit Fruit?! Before taking or eating something, don't you ask whose it is?!" Xuan Ye's voice was devoid of warmth. He stood there at a distance, radiating coldness from head to toe.

"I didn't mean it, I know I was wrong. But please don't hurt my friends. You can send two young boys down to tell them the truth and tell them not to come up." Chu Lianyi hoped to grasp at this last straw.

“Every disciple told them not to come up, that all things have evil, and that evil must be atoned for. But look, the second gate is already closed, and they won’t listen to any advice. That’s why the Great Sage Jue Ling is hiding here, but even hiding here, he still can’t find peace. What do you understand now?!”

“Come back.” Xuan Ye stretched out a hand and said to Chu Lianyi.

Chu Lianyi stared at those cold, hard hands, her eyes glancing at the cliff to the side. Her hands clenched tightly, her thin nails digging into her flesh. She instinctively took a step back. "I won't go with you, I..."

"Ah!!!" Before she could finish speaking, her foot slipped, and Chu Lianyi's body instantly plummeted towards the bottomless cliff behind her!