The entire scene fell into silence.
What just happened?
Everyone widened their eyes, staring at the four figures high in the sky.
Two Su Muwans? Two Qin Luos?
Huh?
Is this some kind of copy-paste trick?
What in the world... is going on?
Most importantly—
What did the second Qin Luo just say?
"The inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art... is really here?"
So who is it, then?
Everyone was utterly bewildered.
What on earth is happening?
Su Bailian blinked in confusion.
Wait a second.
My love radar is tingling!
Which means...
The pair that arrived later are the real ones?
Oh, then it's fine.
Su Bailian relaxed.
This must all be some scheme orchestrated by Qin Luo and Su Muwan.
Everyone turned their gazes to the four figures in the sky, unsure of what would happen next.
And just as the tension reached its peak—
Su Muwan's icy voice cut through the air: "Insects from the Shadows, how dare you impersonate me and Qin Luo?"
With that, she raised a finger, pointing at the two figures shrouded in dark energy, and commanded coldly, "Perish!"
Hum!
In an instant, a surge of pure and overwhelming frost energy erupted from her fingertip, crashing toward the fake Su Muwan and fake Qin Luo like a tidal wave.
The crowd watched as an azure-blue wave of ice, shimmering with razor-sharp crystals, engulfed the sky.
Wherever the wave passed, the air froze instantly, crackling with brittle snaps.
The fake Su Muwan and fake Qin Luo paled, their eyes widening in terror.
They frantically summoned their spiritual energy, trying to resist the devastating attack.
The fake Su Muwan conjured a thick, writhing black mist in front of her, attempting to devour the icy wave.
The fake Qin Luo swiftly formed hand seals, layering dark spiritual shields before him.
Yet, their efforts were pitifully insignificant against such power.
The icy wave tore through the mist and shields effortlessly, swallowing them whole in a single strike.
"ARGH—"
Their agonized screams were abruptly silenced as the wave consumed them.
When the ice finally dissipated, the crowd saw the two figures encased in thick layers of frost, suspended mid-air like frozen statues.
Their faces were frozen in expressions of horror and despair, their bodies twisted unnaturally within the ice.
A deathly silence fell over the scene.
Everyone stood dumbfounded, mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.
This... this is insane.
They were... defeated in an instant?
"Is it over...?" the Sword Immortal muttered under his breath.
But the problem wasn't resolved yet.
The Soul-Devouring Array was still active, and many questions remained unanswered.
As if to address their confusion—
Su Muwan's expression remained stern as she frowned and barked toward a certain direction, "Show yourself!"
The moment she spoke—
A sinister cackle echoed through the air.
"Kehahahaha~!"
"As expected of the strongest in this era, Miss Su. These two fools were no match for you."
The crowd gasped, turning toward the source of the voice.
There, emerging from a swirling vortex of shadows, was a figure entirely cloaked in thick, viscous darkness, its features indiscernible.
Behind it stood two more figures.
They were...
"The Sword Immortal and the Zen Master?!"
The real Sword Immortal below was stunned.
Why am I up there?!
Qin Luo flew to Su Muwan's side, his gaze locked onto the shadowy figure as if identifying its identity—
Or perhaps explaining to the bewildered spectators below.
His voice was heavy as he spoke: "The Shadow Organization's [Thousand Faces]."
"Miss Su, I never thought our investigation into the inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art would lead us to this one."
Su Muwan nodded coolly. "Thousand Faces of the Shadows—ever-changing, capable of flawlessly mimicking anyone. Combined with the power of shadows, they can create endless puppets in any form."
Upon hearing this, Thousand Faces let out another eerie laugh and waved a hand.
The Sword Immortal-like puppet behind him melted back into a faceless doll.
He sneered, "The news of this ancient ruin... I suppose your Alliance leaked it, didn't you?"
"What was the goal? Luring us out?"
Qin Luo chuckled. "The Alliance went through quite some trouble to make you show yourselves."
"Now... we've finally caught you in the act."
While the explanation unfolded above—
The crowd below was in shock.
The Shadow Organization?!
Thousand Faces?!
And what? The Alliance leaked the ruins' location just to draw them out?
Huh?!
Chu Yu lay sprawled on the ground, his mind blank.
What... what kind of nonsense is this?
What Shadow Organization?
What Thousand Faces?
And since when is Su Muwan part of the Alliance?!
What the hell is going on?!
In my past life, this ruin wasn't this chaotic!
Is... is this all because of the butterfly effect from my rebirth?!
Aside from Chu Yu—
The others quickly pieced things together.
"So... the so-called inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art..."
"Isn't Su Bailian or Ye Qun at all!"
"And the mastermind isn't Qin Luo or his group!"
"The real mastermind is..."
Their eyes turned upward, toward the ominous figure wreathed in black mist standing before the seemingly more menacing Su Muwan.
The real mastermind is this so-called Shadow Organization?!
Wait, why does Miss Su seem even more terrifying than them...?
Who's the actual villain here?!
Thousand Faces cackled at Qin Luo's words. "Kehahaha~!"
"Caught me?"
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Let me clarify—the me standing before you is just a puppet my true self crafted."
"Besides..."
He pointed at the spinning Soul-Devouring Array above, grinning maliciously.
"You should be worrying about yourselves."
"Walking right into this array without a care in the world..."
"Su Muwan, even you won't be able to escape!"
"And as for these people—"
"They'll all become nourishment to activate the Taigu Xuan Sect's—"
Before he could finish—
CRACK!!
Su Muwan flicked her finger, instantly freezing the puppet Thousand Faces into a block of ice.
SWOOSH!!
It then shattered into countless icy fragments, vanishing without a trace.
At the same time—
The Soul-Devouring Array's absorption rate skyrocketed.
As if to sell the act further—
Su Muwan clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Cunning bastards."
Qin Luo smirked. "Still, we got something out of this."
"At least we've finally encountered a core member of the Shadow Organization."
"True enough."
Just then—
"Hey! HEY!"
"Can you two focus on the giant array above us first?!"
Below, the Sword Immortal and Zen Master shouted, their faces pale.
Can you two stop chatting and DO SOMETHING?!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
iving with nine beautiful women. [Ding! Welcome back to the Joyous Sect, Host…] Lin Yu: ??? I’m clearly in a shared rental, but you’re saying I’m in the Joyous Sect? Watering plants is now [Tending to Spiritual Flora]? Cooking becomes [Researching Elixirs]? Making the bed turns into [Setting Up Formations]? A gentle and innocent auntie, twin classmates, a mysterious hacker girl on leave, a severely socially anxious artist, an elementary school Chinese teacher, a community hospital nurse, a pet shop owner, an antique clock restorer… This system… is kinda interesting.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
