Mo Ran fell silent.

     If it wasn’t for this dream, he wouldn’t have known that there was such a terrifying fear hidden deep inside his heart—fear of Chu Wanning’s death, fear of Shi Mei’s questioning of his feelings, fear of this life being a dream.

     He lowered his head, unsure if it was the effect of the Dream-Breaking Cold Water, or some other reason.

     He felt cold, so cold that he was shivering.

     Chu Wanning stood up from the ground. There were too many eyes here for him to get any closer to Mo Ran, not to mention the fact that Mo Ran had been tightly hugging him and calling his name intimately in the nightmare. If he hadn’t tried his best to steady himself, he would have been pinned to the ground by Mo Ran in front of the crowd. Although this didn’t happen in the end, Mo Ran’s emotions were so intense that he didn’t know how many people around them had already noticed the difference.

     Chu Wanning stood up slowly. He had been sitting there for a long time, so his legs were sore and tingling.

     Xue Meng subconsciously lifted his hand, but for some reason, he didn’t go forward to help him. Instead, Shi Mei reached out his hand and said softly, “Shizun, take a break.”

     Chu Wanning lowered his eyelashes. He didn’t say much, nor did he explain. He only removed his outer robe, which was already in disarray, and let it fall over Mo Ran’s shoulders.

     “Wear it. When the cold energy from the medicine disappears, return it to me.”

     Mo Ran didn’t dare to look at him too much, and replied in a low voice, “Yes, Shizun.”

     The others all scattered and carefully inspected the scene in the hall, checking to see if there were any hidden weapons or traps, then dispersed.

     Xue Zhengyong asked Mo Ran a few questions. When he saw that his nephew was alright, he patted him on the shoulder and walked over to where the other sect leaders were.

     However, Xue Meng didn’t leave. When the others were far away, he suddenly leaned down and looked left and right, then lowered his voice and said angrily, “What did you dream of just now?”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     Xue Meng gritted his teeth, “I’m asking you a question.”

     “It’s just a dream.”

     “Those are all thoughts in your mind!” The light in Xue Meng’s eyes was a little chaotic. He was very anxious, “What are you thinking about? Are you… Are you…”

     “I dreamt that I killed someone.” Mo Ran was trembling slightly from the bone-chilling cold, and his lips were blue, “I dreamt that I killed Shizun.”

     “You—!”

     “There’s nothing else…”

     Xue Meng’s lips quivered as if he wanted to ask something else. However, hearing what Mo Ran said just now, it didn’t seem like he was lying… But he said he dreamt of killing Shizun…

     Not to mention the fact that Mo Ran now respected his Shizun and somehow had such a fear, just now, when he hugged Chu Wanning so tightly, that expression on his face… was that how a disciple should look? …Was there something more? More… Xue Meng didn’t dare to continue thinking about it.

     It was as if one more step would lead to a bottomless abyss.

     The effect of the medicine gradually dissipated, and Mo Ran slowly stood up from the ground. Xue Meng hesitated for a moment, but still supported him.

     Mo Ran said, “Thank you.”

     Then, he looked at the cultivators walking in front of him, and asked, “Was anyone else affected by the incense?”

     “No, only you. You ran too fast.” Xue Meng was still preoccupied with his own thoughts, but his emotions weren’t as intense as before, “The moment we entered the hall, Jiang Xi sensed that Eighteen Hells incense was lit here.”

     “It’s not Eighteen Hells, it’s Nineteen Hells.”

     “It’s the thing anyway. The name doesn’t matter.” Xue Meng said, “He dispelled it, so if we enter again, we’ll be fine.”

     He paused for a moment and suddenly thought of something, then said, “However, this is just a coincidence. If there was any more trouble just now, it would be troublesome.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “You walked too fast, so you didn’t see it. On our way to the Heavenly Palace, several poisonous snakes suddenly sprang out of the rattan basket Nangong Liu carried. Many people couldn’t avoid them, and were bitten. Those people all stayed where they were and couldn’t move. The snake’s venom was very toxic. Jiang Xi told us to go first, and stayed to help. After that, he would follow us… But if that was the case, I’m afraid that everyone who reached the Heavenly Palace would have been hit by it,” Xue Meng said. “He only has that one bottle of Dream-Breaking Cold Water. He couldn’t have saved so many people.”

     Feeling that something was wrong, Mo Ran asked, “Then why didn’t he stay there to help everyone extract the poison?”

     “He had a young disciple who said he could do it, so Jiang Xi left his disciple there and came up with us first.”

     Mo Ran’s frown deepened.

     His gaze followed the back’s of Guyue’ye’s group. He scanned the crowd, but couldn’t find the person he was looking for.

     If Jiang Xi’s disciple didn’t know how to cure the snake’s poison, then there were only two people left, Jiang Xi and Hua Binan.

     “Where’s Hua Binan?”

     Xue Meng was stunned, “You suspect Cold Scale Sacred Hand?”

     “I’m just asking.”

     “There’s nothing to suspect. Hua Binan was bitten himself, and is currently meditating below. But there was already a lot of poison in his body, so he said he’d be fine after meditating for a while. He’ll come up to meet us later.”

     Mo Ran’s expression became even more gloomy.

     Cold Scale Sacred Hand was injured, and couldn’t move. In that case, Jiang Xi was the only one left who could heal him. Fortunately, Jiang Xi had a disciple who knew how to deal with the snake poison. If not for this person, Jiang Xi would probably still be down there trying to extract the poison from the injured cultivators.

     When he continued again, what kind of scene would the ancestral hall’s Heavenly Palace be now? Would a bottle of Dream-Breaking Cold Water still be enough to save the situation?

     “Xue Meng.”

     “Hm?”

     “Keep an eye on Hua Binan.”

     As soon as he said this, he suddenly felt the ground tremor violently. Then, the distant cry of a dragon pierced through the sky, coming from outside the hall.

     Some people were already frightened, like birds startled by the twang of a bow, “What’s going on? What was that sound just now?”

     One of the more daring cultivators said, “I’ll go take a look.”

     He quickly rushed to the entrance of the hall and looked down. He also looked up at the sky, then turned back and said, “It’s fine. It should only be the occasional sound coming from this mountain. It’s the transformation of the Azure Dragon’s evil spirit, after all.”

     He started to walk back.

     But at that moment, something grabbed his ankle. The cultivator looked down and saw a deathly pale hand. For a moment, he didn’t react. He just stood there, frozen in the distance.

     Xue Zhengyong’s eyes were sharp, and he shouted from afar, “Watch out!”

     But it was too late. A corpse leapt into the air. It was wrapped in Rufeng Sect’s crane robe, and its eyes were blindfolded with a silk ribbon. Its sword firmly and accurately pierced through the cultivator’s chest.

     “I…” The cultivator’s eyes widened in bewilderment. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch the sword that pierced through his chest. Then, he spat out a large mouthful of blood and fell to the ground with a thump, never to move again.

     There were a few moments of deathly silence before the ground started to shake again. Everyone looked towards the entrance of the hall and saw thick dragon blood vines rising from the ground, piercing through the clouds. Each blood vine carried the body of a first generation disciple of Rufeng Sect.

     From afar, it looked like a dense swarm of bees were gathering in the air, ready to rush into the hall at any moment and crush them to pieces.

     Villa Master Ma shrieked and covered his eyes, “Oh heavens, oh heavens, I’m going to die. I’m going to die.”

     Xue Zhengyong was so angry with the merchant that he almost spat blood, and slapped the back of his head to shut him up. Then, he shouted at the crowd, “Quickly close the doors! Everyone go close the fucking palace doors, so they don’t come in!”

     As he spoke, he took the lead and faced the zombie who was swaying forward with a sword dripping with blood. He waved his folding fan and knocked it out of the hall and down the long staircase. Then, he grabbed the spiritual stone gate on the side, and bellowed as he tried to push it shut.

     However, although the door was easily pushed open from the outside, it was as heavy as a boulder from the inside. Xue Zhengyong’s veins bulged, but his strength was like a clay ox entering the sea.

     Seeing the zombies being lifted closer and closer by the blood vines, Xue Zhengyong cursed, “What’s going on? Didn’t Nangong Changying just seal them This bullshit Azure Dragon was disobedient! Going against its own master!”

     Mo Ran and Xue Meng immediately rushed to Xue Zhengyong’s side to help, but Nangong Si said, “It’s useless! My great-grandfather sent four thousand porters to deliver these two spiritual stone doors. It’s impossible for you to move them.”

     Huang Xiaoyue was so angry that smoke was rising from his head. He cursed, “Your great-grandfather sure is capable!”

     But Nangong Si simply ignored him and said to the group of people who were trying to fend off the zombies at the entrance, “We have to go to the end of the hall to pull the trigger and close the doors from the inside. You hold them off for a while, I’ll go pull the trigger.”

     Xue Zhengyong waved his iron fan in the air, sending the three or four zombies in front of him flying. Black blood immediately splattered all over the fan, landing on the characters “Xue is beautiful.”

     However, these zombies were really brave. After they rolled down the stairs, they got up immediately and continued to rush forward.

     Xue Zhengyong turned his head and said, “Hurry! There are just more and more of them! Fuck… What the hell is going on here?!”

     Mo Ran summoned Jiangui. He knew that the temple door was the last line of defense, so he decided to rush out and fight with the zombies on the long stairs. But the steps were too long and narrow for him to use his full strength, so he had to be even more careful not to step off and fall through the sky. Because of this, fighting was very tiring and strenuous.

     He swept down towards the zombies that were trying to climb up with his willow vine, but more were being lifted from the ground by the blood vines around him. In the end, he was almost trapped in the sea of corpses, unable to escape.

     However, Mo Ran didn’t intend to get out of there right away. These zombies were rushing up because they sensed the scent of humans. Since he was the closest target, almost all of the corpses rushed in his direction.

     Villa Master Ma shivered in fear behind Jiang Xi. At this time, he sighed with emotion, “Aiya, Mo-zongshi is so righteous. Good spirit, good spirit.”

     Jiang Xi was furious, and said, “Can you do anything other than business?”

     “I only know things that require time to study, such as arrays, techniques, weapon assembly, and so on. I’m really no good at close combat…” Villa Master Ma looked at Jiang Xi’s cold eyes, and choked. After hesitating for a while, he said tentatively, “How about… I give you guys a toast?”

     Jiang Xi was speechless.

     Each of the sects had their own strengths and weaknesses. In this kind of bloody battle, only a few people would be able to survive if they rushed forward. The others would just be sending themselves to their deaths. Even Jiang Xi couldn’t get close since his powder was useless on corpses.

     Xue Meng stood at the entrance of the hall with Longcheng in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the black figure floating in the center of the sea of cranes. He saw a blood vine rise from the ground, carrying an elite disciple of Rufeng Sect straight towards Mo Ran.

     Xue Meng couldn’t hold back anymore. He swung his sword and cut off the arm of the corpse. Then, he stood back to back with Mo Ran and chopped off the twisting blood vines with his sword.

     Instantly, blood splattered everywhere!

     Xue Zhengyong shouted, “Meng-er! Come back quickly!”

     “I’m fine! I’ll go with him!”

     It was obvious who he was referring to.

     Mo Ran turned his head and said to Xue Meng, “You go back, I’ll take care of this place. You’ll be the second line of defense. If I can’t hold on, you—”

     “Shut up!” Longcheng hummed in Xue Meng’s hand as he said angrily, “Were you first at the Spiritual Mountain Competition, or was I? Are you the Young Master of Sisheng Peak, or am I? Are you stronger, or am I?”

     “...”

     Mo Ran’s chest burned, and he no longer spoke. He focused on fighting back to back with Xue Meng. They faced rampaging zombies in all directions.

     Just then, he heard a loud noise as both sides of the stone door suddenly shook and slowly began to move towards the middle. Xue Zhengyong was overjoyed, and said, “Good, good, good, it’s moving! The door is closing, you two come back! Come this way!”

     Mo Ran and Xue Meng combined their power to form a ghostly red light around Longcheng. The red light danced into the clouds, and clanging sounds resonated as countless corpses fell through the sky, the blood vines breaking and spurting blood. They slowly moved towards the doors, which were closing bit by bit. 

     Xue Meng said, “You go in first.”

     Mo Ran said, “Let’s go in together.”

     “...”

     “Let’s go! What are you still standing there for?!”

     Xue Zhengyong said anxiously, “Quick! Come back quickly!”

     Mo Ran grabbed Xue Meng’s collar, and Xue Meng yelled angrily, “Let go! Don’t play hero with me, you—”

     “Who wants to play hero with you? Let’s go!” As Mo Ran said this, he dragged Xue Meng with one hand and stepped onto the stone steps with one foot. He swung his other hand and pushed back a group of zombies that were about to charge at them. Then, he and Xue Meng rushed towards the doors.

     The doors were only half-closed, so they weren’t in a hurry. Mo Ran threw Xue Meng to Xue Zhengyong and leaned against the doors of the hall, standing with his willow vine against the wind. His expression was gloomy as he slowly retreated.

     All of a sudden, the two stone doors that were coming together stopped moving.

     Xue Meng said in surprise, “Why did they stop moving?”

     He turned around and saw that Nangong Si’s face was pale. He walked out from behind the Heavenly Palace’s stone pillars that were so thick it would take ten grown men to wrap their arms around it. He said gloomily, “The central axis of the bracer is broken. After closing halfway, the chain snapped and couldn’t be reconnected.”

     After Nangong Si finished speaking, he raised his hand, which was shaking slightly. In his scarred palm, there was half a bronze lock.