I am Su Ji from the Xiangsimen Sect. If you trust me, just jump down.

Su Ji tightened his arm slightly around Su Jiu’s shoulder.

Their gazes simultaneously turned toward the source of the unnatural phenomenon.

The wooden door creaked open from the inside, and a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes stepped out with stiff movements.

His motions were sluggish, his face devoid of any expression as he stared blankly ahead, beginning to wander aimlessly down the deserted street.

Su Jiu instinctively leaned closer to Su Ji.

The scene matched almost exactly what the dancing girl had described.

Su Ji said nothing, only pulling Su Jiu tighter against him.

His chin rested lightly atop her head as his eyes remained fixed on the eerie figure below.

Creak—

Creak—

The appearance of the linen-clad man seemed to be a signal.

One after another, doors along the street swung open.

More and more figures emerged from the dark houses—

A white-haired elder, a woman cradling a child, a robust young man…

Their clothing and identities varied, but now they all moved with the same stiff gait and hollow expressions.

Soon, the once-empty street was filled with these silent, wandering figures.

They uttered not a word, merely drifting mechanically through the city. Apart from their unsettling footsteps, the entire town was deathly still.

A chill shot up Su Jiu’s spine, spreading from her feet to the crown of her head. She had never witnessed anything so bizarre.

Her grip on Su Ji’s sleeve tightened unconsciously.

“Senior Brother, this…”

“Don’t be afraid. We just have to wait.”

Su Ji’s voice sounded above her.

Su Jiu seemed to understand. “Wait for others to lose their patience first?”

Su Ji only chuckled, offering no further explanation. His attention was entirely absorbed by the “tide” of people below.

And they weren’t the only ones.

Elsewhere in the city, the cultivators trapped here weren’t all fools.

The anomalies of Anyang City’s nights were hardly subtle—anyone with half a mind could uncover the rumors.

For instance…

The man from the Puppet-Heaven Holy Land wore a face as dark as storm clouds.

The white jade puppet floating beside him no longer brought him the slightest sense of security.

“Cheap tricks!”

Finally, his patience snapped.

As a disciple of a Holy Land, he prided himself on his vast knowledge—how could such a spectacle intimidate him?

To him, this was nothing more than an illusionary trial set by the ancient remnant soul. Once he found the key to breaking it, everything would resolve itself.

His gaze locked onto a wandering “merchant.”

The man had a protruding belly, draped in luxurious silk, his fingers adorned with gold and jade rings—clearly a man of wealth.

The Holy Land disciple snorted. Though his spiritual power was sealed, his puppet could still unleash a fraction of its power.

The frog on his shoulder leaped, slamming straight into the merchant’s back!

Yet, the moment the puppet struck, it was as if it had plunged into a bottomless mire.

The merchant’s steps didn’t falter in the slightest. Meanwhile, the frog puppet’s legs spasmed before it crashed to the ground.

“Huh?”

The man frowned, a flicker of disbelief crossing his face.

Refusing to accept it, he manipulated the puppet frog again.

This time, he aimed for the merchant’s head.

But the result was the same—the puppet’s legs twitched uselessly.

“Outrageous!”

Two consecutive failures shattered his composure.

A golden core-stage cultivator of the Puppet-Heaven Holy Land, accustomed to smooth sailing his entire life—how could he be stumped by a mere mortal?

Rage surged in his chest.

If attacks were useless, he’d try another method!

He recalled another piece of intelligence he’d gathered.

Taking a deep breath, he mustered his strength and bellowed at the merchant:

“Halt!”

The command boomed like a great bell through the silent night.

This time, it worked.

The merchant’s body jerked to a stop.

Stiffly, inch by inch, he turned his head.

His lifeless face and vacant eyes locked onto the Holy Land disciple.

Success!

The man’s heart leaped.

But in the next moment—

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the merchant’s body began to melt like a candle set aflame.

From his feet upward, his flesh, skin, and bones dissolved at a visible pace, collapsing into a pool of pitch-black, foul-smelling liquid.

In the span of two or three breaths, the living man had completely liquefied, leaving not even his clothes behind.

A night breeze carried the stench of rot through the streets.

“Ugh…”

Several disciples of the Joyous Harmony Sect, hiding in the shadows, immediately pinched their noses.

Just as the Puppet-Heaven Holy Land disciple stood frozen in uncertainty, Li Xi emerged silently from the darkness behind him.

“That black liquid…”

She pointed at the ground.

“It’s moving.”

The man startled, following her finger.

Indeed.

The pool wasn’t stagnant—it was oozing slowly along the cracks between the stone slabs, converging toward a specific direction.

With this new discovery, his spirits lifted.

He needed more of the liquid to confirm its final destination.

Turning, he scanned the cowering rogue cultivators huddled in the corners.

“You—go and call a few more over.”

His tone brooked no argument.

The rogue cultivators recoiled in terror.

“Must I do it myself?”

His expression remained cold. The white jade puppet beside him glowed faintly red in its hollow eyes.

Under the threat of death, two rogue cultivators finally stepped forward, faces ashen.

Trembling, they each called out to a different figure on the street.

Just like the merchant, the two figures halted abruptly.

Then, before the crowd, they too melted into black pools.

The three liquids merged, forming a small stream, its flow now unmistakable—

It was heading toward the city center.

---

Fifth floor of the Spring Breeze Pavilion.

Su Ji had observed everything below.

Releasing Su Jiu, he hopped down from the windowsill.

Then, from the first floor, he called up to her:

“Su Ji of the Love-Longing Sect. If you trust me, jump straight down.”

Su Jiu frowned, unsure what mischief Su Ji was up to now.

She stretched her stiff limbs briefly—

But without hesitation, she leaped.

Su Ji caught her in a princess carry.

And then refused to let go.

Fortunately, Su Jiu’s flexibility was excellent.

A moment later, a red footprint bloomed on Su Ji’s face.

Only then did he reluctantly set her down.

“Enough fooling around, Junior Sister. Let’s follow that stream.”

Su Ji’s reply was succinct.

The two slipped away silently from the Spring Breeze Pavilion, using the cover of night and the shadows of buildings to evade all eyes.

They followed the stream formed by blackened water, winding through the eerie city.

The closer they moved toward the city center, the thicker the stench of decay in the air became.

The structures lining the streets grew increasingly grand and imposing.

Finally, they halted before an expansive estate.

Its vermilion gates were tightly shut, and a massive plaque hung above the lintel, adorned with three bold, sweeping characters:

City Lord’s Manor.

The black streams converged here, seeping through the gaps beneath the gates.

The entire estate lay shrouded in deathly silence, like a primordial beast lying in wait, poised to devour any who dared approach.

Su Ji studied the manor before him.

Thud!

A deep, resonant sound—like the heartbeat of a giant—suddenly echoed from deep within the estate.

Thud!

Thud!

The noise grew clearer, stronger, as though some terrifying living thing was stirring, on the verge of awakening inside those walls.