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

Like Ying Li and Yi Bicheng, many others were fortunate enough to survive the illusion. Most were unaware of the bizarre monster and eagerly anticipated entering Winter Night Manor. Of course, those who knew, besides Ying Li and Yi Bicheng, were probably already dead.

As for why Ying Li and Yi Bicheng are still alive, that remains unknown. But Ying Li understands very well that the road ahead for her and Yi Bicheng will be even more arduous.

"Master, what should we do with those two troublemakers? Do you really want them to enter Winter Night Manor? Absolutely not!" The steward looked worried. If it were before, he wouldn't have objected. Ying Li and Yi Bicheng could be considered young talents. But now, Winter Night Manor has had several incidents. Those things will probably all be mobilized soon. If Cheng Bo continues to go his own way, the worst disaster in Winter Night Manor's history will begin.

Cheng Bo sat on the high seat in the main hall, dressed in green robes and gold boots. His face was no longer that of a refined gentleman; instead, it wore a cold and aloof expression. He tapped his thigh repeatedly with his right hand, his expression grave. "No, things have come to this point; how can we give up halfway? I've spent fifteen years on this. If it fails, how can I endure being bullied day and night for fifteen years? As long as Winter Night Mountain opens tomorrow, and those people go in to harvest the spiritual herbs, I have plenty of ways to make tomorrow a day forever etched in the memory of Winter Night Manor."

Cheng Bo's face turned cold. He had made up his mind that he had to do what he was supposed to do tomorrow, no matter what. Besides, he had been waiting for fifteen years and couldn't wait any longer.

“If I’m not mistaken, there must be a secret place on Winter Night Mountain, and those monsters came from that secret place. Cheng Bo has been opening Winter Night Mountain for the past fifteen years in order to use some innocent people to open the secret place and get what he wants.” Ying Li said with a cold expression, his eyes looking out the window.

Yi Bicheng countered, "Could it be that some martial arts technique is hidden in the secret place, and someone has set up an array outside the secret place? If it is touched, it will trigger these monsters to attack?" He had heard of many arrays. The person who cast the spell did not want his things to be obtained by others, so he would put some monsters around the array or set up a malfunction array to prevent outsiders from entering.

Ying Li shook his head. Those monsters were from the Ghost Realm Asura Clan, not something an ordinary person could bring in to guard the gate.

"The ancestor of Winter Night Manor, Cheng Dongye, was slaughtered in the early war between humans and ghosts, after which Winter Night Manor began its obscure existence. So, do you know who the manor lord of Winter Night Manor was in that war between humans and ghosts fifteen years ago?" Ying Li pondered, feeling that something was amiss.

Yi Bicheng slapped his thigh, "The one who represented Winter Night Manor in battle fifteen years ago was Cheng Ye, the father of the current manor lord Cheng Bo! Cheng Ye did not die in the war between humans and ghosts. Cheng Ye's death has always been a mystery, and outsiders have never known it, but as far as I know, he was buried on Winter Night Mountain!"

“I see, let’s go take a look today!” Ying Li leaned closer to Yi Bicheng and whispered something in his ear. Yi Bicheng nodded with a hint of surprise. Then, the two blew out the candles in the room and slipped out late at night. Winter Night Mountain was already open and there were very few guards. The two entered Winter Night Mountain without much effort.

Looking back at the twinkling lights of Winter Night Manor, Ying Li's expression turned solemn. "Let's go." Yi Bicheng responded and followed behind Ying Li, the two of them shooting off towards Winter Night Manor.

The winter night on the mountain was no less beautiful than during the day. Various rare spiritual herbs shimmered with starlight, prompting Ying Li and Yi Bicheng to exclaim in amazement. Ying Li had never heard of or seen the top-grade Lingluo Grass, Shengye, and Kulan before. He hurriedly stuffed them all into his Xuanjin cloth, picking over 1200 before stopping. Yi Bicheng, however, didn't pick a single one. His eyes scanned the area, and after confirming that he hadn't found what he was looking for, a look of disappointment crossed his face before he began picking other spiritual herbs.

After the two had been observing for some time, Ying Li used his Deep Eyes to observe the surroundings and indeed discovered the strangeness of the mountain on this winter night. All the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was constantly converging towards the mountaintop, and the vortex of spiritual energy was growing larger and larger, with a faint sense of impending explosion.

"That's it, the secret place on Winter Night Mountain," Ying Li said, pointing to the place where the spirits of heaven and earth gathered.

Yi Bicheng looked in that direction and, upon closer inspection, indeed saw that space was somewhat distorted. Suddenly, his eyes lit up; the winter grass on the mountaintop emitted its unique light, seemingly beckoning to him.

He leaped forward, heading towards the mountaintop, with Ying Li close behind. After they landed, Ying Li saw the seven solitary, drifting Winter Night Grass plants, and an indescribable shock crossed her face. She had heard that this herb could revive the dead and heal bones; countless people fought tooth and nail at Winter Night Manor every year for it. And now, there were seven of them right in front of her and Yi Bicheng!

"Here, these are for you. I only need these two." Yi Bicheng walked over and carefully picked the winter night grass, handing five of them to Ying Li, while keeping two for himself and placing them in the brocade.

Ying Li was shocked. She was about to refuse when, unexpectedly, their legs went weak and a rumbling sound came from the cave that they had just ignored. Soon it turned into a deafening roar.

Yi Bicheng stuffed the winter grass into the black brocade for Ying Li, and pulled Ying Li behind him. A gust of wind flashed by, and countless monsters ran out of the cave, just like the two of them had seen yesterday. The leader wielded black iron and slashed fiercely at Ying Li's direction!

"Be careful!" Yi Bicheng waved the Northern Red Plum Fan in front of him. The fan suddenly flipped and grew larger, standing in front of the two of them. Ying Li's expression changed. If there were still countless monsters coming out of this cave, the two of them would eventually die from exhaustion, just like yesterday.

"Girl, the Asura race in the Ghost Realm falls under the category of Spirit Guide. You and this kid should capture the monster leading the group, the one wielding the Xuan Iron Sword. It must be alive. You've already fully mastered the Elementary Spirit Book, haven't you? Even if you're not yet proficient, you already have a general understanding of the basics of the Spirit Loss Array. Use the monster as a Spirit Guide and let him personally kill his own kind, saving you and that kid the trouble!" The alluring man advised Ying Li from within the Bone Ring.

Yingli's heart stirred, "But I'm really not familiar with that spiritual book, what if it doesn't work out..."

"Fine, we can only give it a try." With that thought, Ying Li said to Yi Bicheng, "Brother Yi, cover me, I'll take down the leader first!"

As soon as Ying Li finished speaking, Yi Bicheng shot out. Without thinking, she waved her Northern Red Plum Fan to block Ying Li. The monsters pounced from both sides, extremely ferocious, but Ying Li and Yi Bicheng were now rich in spiritual power and extremely fast. Ordinary monsters could not do anything to them.

Seeing Ying Li hurtling towards him, the monster wielding the black Xuan Tie sword raised it high with both hands, intending to kill him with a single blow! But Ying Li's lips curled into a smile. As soon as he made his move, a spiritual barrier automatically formed in front of him. The barrier was deliberately made weak, allowing the monster to cleave it in one strike. Then, a net of spiritual energy trapped the monster's speed. Seeing this, Ying Li leaped into the air, gathering spiritual energy in his right hand to form a thick barrier around the monster, rendering it unable to move. Then, he chanted incantations, his spiritual energy constantly shifting and flowing with the barrier.

Strange runes gradually formed beneath the monster's feet, and power slowly grew beneath them. The vortex of spiritual energy illuminated the area as bright as day. Ying Li's expression changed; she had actually succeeded! Then, as if she had thought of something, Ying Li quickly withdrew the light of spiritual energy, and the light of daylight vanished in a flash, returning to darkness.

"This is! A Disillusionment Array!" Yi Bicheng exclaimed in shock as he watched the runes beneath Ying Li and the monster's feet grow brighter and clearer while fending off the other monsters. He never imagined that Ying Li would possess spiritual arts. Spiritual arts masters were like gods on the Spirit Realm Continent, sought after and worshipped by various families. And Ying Li, at such a young age, was already a rare and precious spiritual arts master!

"Returning failed, stop!" Ying Li shouted, his right hand transforming into a whip of spiritual energy, striking the monster's right shoulder fiercely! "Kill all those monsters, leave no one alive!"

As if given a command, the monster wielded a black iron sword and slashed fiercely at the monster that was coming towards Ying Li. The black iron sword actually exerted a great effect after contacting its own kind, turning the opponent into dust in the blink of an eye!

Hiding behind the Red Plum Fan in the far north, Yi Bicheng watched Ying Li stand in the Spirit Disruption Array. All the monsters that approached were killed by the spiritual energy within the array. His face was filled with indescribable shock. The little girl had a smile on her lips, but her face was cold. She was constantly releasing spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy she controlled was growing stronger and more decisive. Moreover, the monsters could not harm her in the slightest. What a genius she was!

He dared not think about it anymore. What if he and Ying Li were not allies, but enemies... The thought was inexplicably terrifying!

"Boom!" Just as Yi Bicheng was in shock, the monster that had just rushed out of the cave had been killed by the spirit guide. He walked up to Ying Li, patted her on the shoulder and said, "Girl, you actually have the power to control spirits. I really underestimated you. You are simply amazing."

Ying Li smiled and said, "Brother Yi, it's not that I intentionally concealed it, but it's a crime to possess such a treasure. Back in Bixia Palace, the Deep Eyes had already caused me a lot of trouble. It's better not to talk about this kind of thing. I hope you understand."

Yi Bicheng nodded repeatedly, and he didn't directly express his misunderstanding of Ying Li. There were indeed too many bad people in the Spirit Realm Continent, so it was better to hide some.

"You stay here and guard this place. If anyone comes to attack, no matter who it is, stop them immediately. If they try to force their way in, kill them!" Ying Li said to the spirit guide, then gave Yi Bicheng a wink, and the two of them headed towards the cave.

Lingyin nodded, and after Yingli walked away, he held the Xuan Tie sword and raised his head, ready to unleash his master's command at any moment!

Just after Ying Li and Yi Bicheng entered the cave, the cave suddenly shone brightly, and a huge beam of spiritual energy rushed towards the two of them. When Ying Li and Yi Bicheng saw the beam of spiritual energy, their expressions changed drastically—it was... Cheng Dongye!