Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Chapter 208 An Unknown Rogue Cultivator Seeks Advice from the City God

The fierce winds high above fluttered the hem of Xue Lan's crimson robes. The girl stood atop the clouds, like a blazing flame.

Xue Tong was shielded behind her. Behind Xue Lan, there was a small safe spot where she could avoid facing the razor-sharp wind.

The small, warm, and comfortable area left Xue Tong feeling uneasy.

After a long while, she saw the mountains and rivers below receding like a ceaseless river. The little girl finally mustered her courage and asked, "Xue Lan, what's wrong?"

Xue Lan's voice remained calm and composed, carrying the lighthearted laughter that usually accompanied her when speaking to her:

"It's nothing, it's just that my master left me a great gift."

Xue Tong thought to herself that this girl didn't seem to be alright, but even if she had fifteen more lives, she wouldn't dare ask another question. She could only pretend that nothing had happened and look at the flowing scenery below.

Xue Lan probably realized that her condition was affecting Xue Tong. The girl rubbed her temples and sighed softly.

The howling wind was too piercing to hear. Xue Tong didn't hear Xue Lan's soft sigh, but she saw the movements in Xue Lan's hands.

Xue Lan looks like a young person now, but she still retains some habits that only the elderly have. For example, she rubs her brow from time to time, which is a habitual action when she is conflicted.

Before Xue Tong could finish thinking, Xue Lan spoke first:

"I was too confident before." The girl's voice was hoarse and muffled by the whistling wind. But Xue Tong still pricked up his ears, trying not to miss a single word his host would say next.

“I saw my master once before in the Garan Secret Realm. His soul was extremely fragile, like a string of beads that were barely strung together. The beads were broken and the string was of poor quality. But I have been practicing soul techniques for many years, so I am confident that I can take care of that broken soul.”

Xue Tong's voice was somewhat flustered, filled with deep worry: "Has something happened to your master?"

Xue Lan snorted softly, her voice growing even colder: "He has cultivated the Ephemeral Everlasting Technique."

"You may not know this, but after a person dies, their soul returns to heaven and earth. In theory, the scattered soul can never be gathered together. But this Ephemeral Everlasting Technique is said to be able to gather the scattered soul and put it into the cycle of reincarnation."

Xue Tong slowly opened her mouth: "You're lying, aren't you?"

"Naturally..." Xue Lan smiled coldly, like a demon returned from hell.

"Ordinary people only know that it has this effect, but they don't know the price they have to pay."

"The Ephemeral Everlasting Technique involves practitioners going through a cycle of thirteen years, repeatedly going from old age to youth, and then from youth to old age, with each cycle lasting twenty-six years. During this process, the soul is like a piece of flesh spread out on the ground, being brushed away bit by bit by a steel brush until it dissipates into powder that escapes from the body."

Xue Tong shuddered. She knew how important the soul was to cultivators; even the slightest touch caused excruciating pain, let alone…

"The so-called gathering of scattered souls is nothing more than using the Everlasting Spring Technique and the soul of the cultivator, through the medium of an artifact, to replace the soul of the deceased with that of the world."

After saying this, Xue Lan frowned slightly, looking extremely pained. Her gray-white eyes ignored the raging wind and stared straight at the northern sky.

Upon hearing Xue Lan's words, Xue Tong's heart sank.

According to Xue Lan, this Ephemeral Everlasting Skill is an evil art that involves exchanging one's life for another.

It takes a lot of attachment to make someone do that.

The young girl made a quick decision: "So what's your next plan?"

"Go to the capital of Dali to eliminate future troubles."

When Xue Lan said this, the cold air emanating from her body almost froze Xue Tong.

She knew Xue Lan was angry.

As the grand ceremony proceeded towards Jingu City in the capital, the streets were already brightly lit and bustling with activity as dusk fell.

The city had many taverns, and the brothels were also quite large. Xue Chongyu and Wu Jin walked along the street, surrounded by the sounds of beautiful women.

The heavy scent of perfume wafted towards Xue Chongyu, only to be dispelled by a wisp of breeze rising from Wu Jin's fingertips. The young man smiled, "Miss Chongyu, Xue Lan's guess is probably correct."

Xue Chongyu glanced at Wu Jin with his beautiful, icy blue eyes, then slowly nodded.

Less than half an hour after sunset, the number of ghosts and demons that ordinary people could not see on the street increased significantly. Some of them were even evil spirits that openly climbed onto the shoulders of those whose yang energy was weak to absorb their yang energy.

On the surface, Jin Gu City appears to be a place of peace and prosperity, but in reality, it is a place where ghosts roam at night.

The colorful lanterns and lanterns, layer upon layer, clustered towards the central palace, surrounding various taverns and brothels, like skeletal hands, threatening to extinguish the flames of the imperial city.

Xue Chongyu looked at the faint purple aura emanating from the top of the palace, which resembled a thin thread suspending the remaining fortune of the Great Li Dynasty.

After the purple aura, there is overwhelming resentment and rolling dark clouds.

Xue Chongyu's voice was soft: "Let's finish this quickly."

Wu Jin nodded and took the lead in flying into the sky. The young man's fingertips rapidly flipped, forming an extremely complex hand seal. The hand seal slowly flew towards the sky above Golden Valley City, transforming into a giant spider web with tens of thousands of emerald green threads extending down to connect with the mortals below.

For a moment, the young man in mid-air seemed like a king looking down on the world, controlling the people of the city.

At the same time, a golden bell appeared beside Xue Chongyu.

"jingle!"

The clear, melodious bell rang out, and all other sounds faded away. The mortals in the city were isolated from the outside world by the combined efforts of the two.

Behind Xue Chongyu, a long, dark street appeared out of nowhere.

On this street, the stars and lights lost their color, and extreme blackness filled every inch of space. A chilling atmosphere, like moving insects, slowly crawled onto Xue Zhongyu's dark green clothes.

Wu Jin descended from mid-air and stood beside the girl.

"This is almost certainly true; the leakage of yin energy is so severe."

Xue Chongyu remained silent. The girl raised her hand, and a snow-white longsword appeared in her hand.

She took two steps forward, and her jet-black hair seemed to be instantly dyed by the wind and snow of the Northern River, turning into pure white.

Wu Jin followed, and several small, emerald-green short swords appeared behind the young man, surrounding him.

The two slowly moved forward, braving the biting yin energy. Soon after, the dazzling lights behind them turned into blurry shadows.

Dim, eerie will-o'-the-wisps began to illuminate the surroundings. Wu Jin looked ahead and saw a rusty gate before them, with a huge plaque hanging above it bearing six bold and unrestrained characters:

The Gates of Hell in Jingu City.

A hoarse, deep voice echoed from the high city wall: "Who goes there, daring to trespass into the gates of hell of my Golden Valley City?"

Xue Chongyu looked up at the huge black shadow hidden behind the city wall mist and spoke:

"An unnamed cultivator humbly requests guidance from the City God of Golden Valley!"