The Nightmare

In one's lifetime, there are always a few brilliant geniuses that shine like meteors. They appear in the lives of others, causing them to look up in awe. They pass through others' lives like shooting stars, leaving no trace behind.

Li Shiyin is one such meteor in the lives of countless cultivators.

Some people admire her, some look up to her, some chase after her, and some feel inferior because of her. People like Zhao Yaqing, driven by jealousy, have their Dao hearts shattered, kneeling on the ground and gazing up at her as she freely wields her sword energy in the sky.

Perhaps it was the influence of a formation, or perhaps Li Shiyin was truly so strong that it left Zhao Yaqing in despair. In any case, at this moment, she suddenly understood that even if the Emperor established a Cultivation Dynasty in the future and she became the Princess of the dynasty, attaining the status of a princess and the abundant spiritual power that came with it, she still wouldn't be able to catch up to Li Shiyin.

The fortune of a dynasty couldn't catch up to one person? But that's how she felt.

"Yaqing?" Aunt Mei walked over and reached out to support her.

She turned to look up at Aunt Mei and asked, "Am I really lacking in talent?"

"No..." Aunt Mei shook her head and said to her as always, "You are exceptional."

Zhao Yaqing smiled and looked at Li Shiyin. By now, Li Shiyin had already been chasing and killing evil spirits. She said, "I was affected by the formation, and my state of mind became unstable for a moment, causing some issues."

Aunt Mei helped her up and also looked up at the sky. There were two Nascent Soul cultivators in the sky, preventing the black clouds from gathering. And it was those black clouds that affected the creatures' states of mind within the formation...

The evil spirits were being killed one by one by her own younger sister, Li Shiwen. Li Shiyin stood beside her warhorse, looking up.

He realized that his younger sister was becoming stronger and stronger. She effortlessly defeated Jiang Xiaobai, defended Wuyi City alone with her sword, and now she could even battle countless ghosts on her own. In his heart, Li Shiyin's image grew higher and higher, reaching the clouds and becoming a deity.

His little sister had become a deity, while he was still a mortal.

The thing he had always feared finally happened. He finally confirmed deep down in his heart that there was a gap between him and his little sister, a gap as wide as a chasm, and they were no longer from the same world.

There should be no distinction between family members, but once it appeared... he was not worthy of being her older brother. He wasn't her older brother anymore.

He knew that Li Shiyin never cared about such things, but he knew that this objective reality couldn't be ignored.

He began to wonder, what would have happened if he had really brought Shiyin down the mountain back then? Or if he had guarded her more strictly and not let her escape from the military camp and join the Dao Sword Sect? Perhaps he wouldn't have lost his little sister?

Li Shiwen watched Li Shiyin slaying ghosts, his mind filled with random thoughts.

"Roar..."

At a certain moment, a terrifying roar suddenly reached his ears. The sound was close, as if it was coming from the ground.

He was startled and quickly looked down, only to see the ground churning and something crawling out from the soil.

The soil splattered, and a hand reached out, followed by a head. It was pitch black and misty, making it impossible to see the face clearly. Before long, that monster crawled out from the ground.

Li Shiwen immediately understood that they were also ghosts, but unlike the flying ones in the air that couldn't be touched by mortal bodies, these were corporeal ghosts, like zombies.

They crawled out of the soil, not just one, but...

Countless!

The entire ground, the entire earth, was dug open, and one after another, densely packed, thousands upon thousands of ghostly corpses emerged from the soil.

Li Shiwen felt the soil beneath his feet loosening, and he quickly stepped back. Another ghost was crawling out from there, and in a short time, a head emerged from the very spot where he had just stood.

Without hesitation, he swung the battle sword in his hand and beheaded the ghost, sending its head flying.

Even without a head, the ghost didn't die. It reached out its hand, searching around, trying to find its own head.

Li Shiwen approached and cut off the ghost's hands with two more strikes.

The remaining three hundred elite cavalry behind him, also facing their fears, began to slay the nearby ghosts.

"Another change?" Qin Ran's eyes flickered with light as he rapidly calculated.

While stooping down to record, he simultaneously cast spells, summoning three clones, all wielding swords, and killing the surrounding ghosts.

The demonic ghosts that appeared in the air numbered over ten thousand. They could fly and had no physical form, making it impossible to harm them with techniques related to the soul or spirit. On the other hand, the ghosts that crawled out of the ground numbered over a hundred thousand, and they had physical forms. Ordinary swords and blades could harm them.

"Is there another change?" Qin Ran looked at the formation and array method he had calculated on the paper, feeling somewhat worried. "If there is another change, I might not be able to handle it."

After all, he was not an expert in formations; he relied purely on calculations to break them, and he did it with a pen and paper. His computational power was limited, and there was a limit to the formations he could break.

"Ah! Ahaha..." Just as he was worrying, a man's suppressed and despairing roar suddenly echoed across the battlefield.

Qin Ran recognized that voice—it was Li Shiwen's voice.

"What happened?" He looked towards the direction the voice came from but could only see a dense wall of ghosts, and couldn't see what was happening on Li Shiwen's side.

With a thought, one of his clones soared into the air, flying towards Li Shiwen's direction.

Initially, he didn't pay much attention since breaking the formation was the primary concern. However, as he stooped down to continue his calculations, he suddenly noticed something...

Even he was taken aback, his face frozen, and his eyes filled with disbelief.

He raised his head and looked out, towards the ghosts that crawled out of the ground, and realized that they were all wearing armor, battle armor, black and red battle armor—the battle armor of the North Chu Country!

All the ghosts that emerged from the ground were soldiers of the North Chu Country!

Moreover...

From the direction where Li Shiwen's voice came, he saw the battle armor of the Tian Ce Army!

After beheading a ghost that hadn't fully crawled out of the ground, Li Shiwen saw countless more ghosts emerging from the ground. He couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. He turned around, drew a long spear from his warhorse, and prepared to face the enemy.

However, as each fully emerged ghost came into view, his gaze gradually turned blank... He could never forget the standard battle armor of the Tian Ce Army.

Emerging from the vicinity of the elite cavalry of North Chu Country, there were apparitions dressed in the battle armor of the Tian Ce Army! They were all the restless spirits of the soldiers of the Tian Ce Army.

As they closed in on him, it seemed as though he could hear them speaking:

"Give us back our lives!"

"It was you who caused our deaths..."

"We all perished, so why are you still alive? Why are you still alive? Join us!!"

"It's all your fault, all your fault!"

"..."

"Ah...!"

Li Shiwen's eyes turned bloodshot, and he let out a roar to the heavens, the lance in his hand falling weakly to the ground.

Li Shiyin, soaring through the air and vanquishing evil spirits, heard Li Shiwen's roar. She leaned forward and looked down, only to witness countless malevolent spirits closing in on Li Shiwen.

"Brother!"

She shouted out and rushed toward the location where Li Shiwen stood.