Chapter 27: Solidifying Spirit Grass

In the quiet and pitch-black forest, the only sounds were the hopeless and helpless cries of Su Kou.

“Su Kou…” Sui Ning softly called out to her, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.

Su Kou seemed to be awakened by her voice and quickly looked at her with teary eyes, full of pleading. “Ningning, please save him. I beg you to save him.”

Her voice was desperate, and tears streamed down her beautiful face. Sui Ning’s lips moved as she wanted to tell her the truth, but it was useless. He was already dying.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say those words when faced with Su Kou’s despairing eyes. Su Kou would collapse.

As Sui Ning hesitated and felt at a loss, a clear and gentle voice came from behind her.

“We can’t save him. He is already dying.”

Su Kou stared at Xie Changzhou in disbelief, shaking her head repeatedly. “No, no, you’re lying to me!”

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Dkl Ubydtgbsw pbssj bkp blye blzrzlppzu. “Ykpp Fw, Nkys Ew lmnbydtle bkp sod zkql qsa uswap. Mbl Flhld-Pyu Plyvb kp kdnwayczl, yde sdnl kv vyjlp lqqlnv, usw okzz wdeswcvlezu ekl. Mbl Kkdtnbyd Flnv byp y plnalv xlvbse vbyv nyd lmnbydtl zkql qsa zkql. R twlpp Nkys Ew wple vbkp plnalv xlvbse vs lmnbydtl bkp sod zkql qsa uswap.”

“Mbl Flhld-Pyu Plyvb; vseyu kp vbl plhldvb eyu.”

“Tl kp yzalyeu eukdt.”

Dkl Ubydtgbsw’p qynl oyp nyzx, cwv bkp osaep olal zkjl y pbyar jdkql, pbyvvlakdt Fw Isw’p blyav.

“Ls…ds, Zyd Hbydt, R’zz vyjl usw vs qkde y rbupknkyd.” Fw Isw’p vlyap qzsole wdnsdvaszzyczu yp pbl vakle vs zkqv Nkys Ew’p vbkd cseu, cwv pbl nswzed’v xshl bkx ds xyvvla bso byae pbl vakle.

Mbl vos sq vblx qlzz blyhkzu vs vbl taswde vstlvbla. Fwk Lkdt oyp ycswv vs pvlr qsaoyae vs blzr bla, cwv pweeldzu Fw Isw casjl esod kd vlyap.

Gp pbl nakle, pbl pbswvle, “Wydt Zydgbydt, usw rasxkple vs xyaau xl!”

“R’hl clld oykvkdt qsa usw qsa voldvu ulyap. R oykvle qsa usw lhlau eyu vs nsxl qkde xl. Ebu eke usw ycydesd xl?”

“Who asked you to exchange your life for mine? Who cares if you come to save me? If you don’t like me, then leave!”

Sui Ning felt distressed watching this scene. She looked at Xie Changzhou beside her but found that he had a calm expression on his face, even a bit indifferent.

She was a bit confused. Xie Changzhou was always compassionate; even if he couldn’t empathize with this kind of scene, he shouldn’t be so cold.

Before she could think clearly, there was a slight movement in Su Kou’s embrace.

His dark, long eyelashes trembled, and his merciful eyes slightly opened, but there was no trace of light, only darkness in his eyes.

“Miss Su…” His weak voice came

Su Kou stopped and quickly looked at him, her tearful eyes full of confusion. “Yanzhang, hold on a little longer; I’ll take you to see a physician.”

She wanted to pull up Yanzhang, but a pair of slightly cool hands held her down.

“Miss Su, Yanzhang is sorry for you… for not marrying you and delaying your life.”

Su Kou shook her head in tears.

Yanzhang could barely speak, his voice gradually becoming low. “I never severed my past karma… and am unworthy to face the holy Buddha. In these thirty years… I haven’t achieved anything.”

“No, no, Yanzhang…”

“I don’t deserve Miss Su’s concern, nor am I worthy to be a disciple of the Jing Chan sect.” The light in Yanzhang’s eyes gradually faded, and the worms under his skin surged, as if trying to break through his skin. His voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible.

“To exchange my life for Su Kuo’s is the only right thing I have done. In the future… in the future…”

“Please take care of yourself and forget…”

A sigh dissipated into the quiet air. The worms broke out of his skin, and Su Kuo was splattered with black blood all over her face.

Liao Wu’s face was pale and calm, with closed, merciful eyes. His neck was covered in bloody flesh, and beneath his cold, white skin, black worms wriggled, trying to crawl out.

“Yan Zhang…”

Her white hand trembled as she caressed Liao Wu’s face. His face, covered in black blood, looked particularly horrifying. After feeling a chill, her tears fell and washed away the traces on his face.

“Yan Zhang!” Su Kuo pounced on Liao Wu’s body, tears streaming down her beautiful, blood-stained face.

Sui Ning felt uncomfortable in her heart and wanted to go forward to stop her, but Xie Changzhou suddenly spoke up.

“Ningning, don’t move.”

In the moonlight, Xie Changzhou stood tall and erect, his clear face cold and calm, and his warm eyes quietly looking at the dense forest in front of him.

Sui Ning followed his gaze.

In the dim forest, a familiar figure gradually emerged.

Black and red clothes outlined a slender waist, and a veil covered her beautiful face. Her alluring eyes were filled with tears.

Everything around them suddenly stopped.

Su Kuo cried uncontrollably, and the sound of worms could be heard from time to time.

The sound of the wind and rustling leaves.

It was as if the pause button had been pressed, and everything fell into complete silence.

Qi Niang looked at Liao Wu lying on the ground for a moment and suddenly began to laugh loudly, saying, “Haha, it’s so funny.”

She seemed to be really laughing, bending over and clutching her stomach.

But this scene was really strange, as Sui Ning saw large tears falling from her eyes despite her laughter.

She is laughing and crying at the same time.

Xie Changzhou stepped forward and blocked Sui Ning behind him, his tall figure protecting her firmly.

He spoke and revealed her identity: “Su Kou.”

Sui Ning’s eyes widened suddenly.

Su Kou?

She quickly looked towards Su Kou and Liao Wu on her side but found that their figures were gradually dissipating, eventually turning into a gust of dust.

Sui Ning looked at Qi Niang in front of her, who was not surprised at all. Qi Niang slowly stood up, her delicate hand gently touching the veil on her face.

The veil slid down a bit, revealing a familiar and beautiful face hidden beneath it.

Her willow eyebrows curved slightly, her enchanting phoenix eyes rippling like autumn water, her red lips slightly parted—beautiful and charming.

It was Su Kou’s face.

However, compared to the Su Kou that Sui Ning was familiar with, this one was slightly different. The Su Kou that Sui Ning knew had an extreme contrast between beauty and purity. Although her face was charming, her eyes and overall temperament were naive and pure.

But the Su Kou in front of her was graceful and charming in every gesture and movement.

Apart from their appearance, the two of them had nothing in common.

Qi Niang’s face was a bit pale, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.

Her lips curled slightly, and her voice was still lazy. “When did Mr.Xie recognize me?”

Xie Changzhou’s expression was calm, and he said indifferently: “I had some doubts when you reminded me of Liao Wu, and later I was completely sure when you didn’t leave for six days and the cracks in space and time appeared.”

“Everything here is an illusion that you have created.” Xie Changzhou’s voice fell, and the clues of the past few days flashed rapidly in Sui Ning’s mind, slowly clarifying the mystery that had been troubling her for so many days.

Why did Qi Niang say she didn’t want to wake up? Because everything was an illusion, whether it was Liao Wu, the resurrection formation, or even the ghost bride, they were all created by the illusion.

And those few days when Qi Niang didn’t leave her room, the space-time cracked—no, it should be said that the illusion was breaking apart—because Qi Niang’s cultivation was no longer enough to maintain it.

So Qi Niang fell into a coma, and with her coma, the cracks in the illusion occurred more and more frequently.

Sui Ning was suddenly shocked. How could the illusion created by Qi Niang be so real that even Xie Changzhou, who had the cultivation of crossing tribulation, did not detect it?

Qi Niang smiled charmingly and said, “Mr. Xie is really wise. Do you know what I want to do?”

Xie Changzhou looked at her with his glass-like eyes, showing a little reluctance. “The person is already gone. Why deceive yourself? Are you trying to emulate the ghost bride?”

Qi Niang’s smiling face gradually collapsed, and her beautiful eyes became colder.

“What does it matter? I will decide whether he can live or not. What are you?” 

“Xie Changzhou, with your cultivation of crossing tribulation stage, as long as you are here, Yan Zhang can definitely come back to life.” 

Qi Niang smiled again, her expression already a little crazy, and her demonic energy surged all over her body.

She had actually fallen into demonic possession! 

Sui Ning stared at her in horror, “Qi Niang, what do you want to do?” 

She could tell that Qi Niang wanted to resurrect Liao Wu, but what kind of resurrection method required creating an illusion? 

Qi Niang smiled at Sui Ning and spoke with some regret, “Sui Ning, I didn’t want to kill you. I only need Xie Changzhou, but if I let you out of the illusion, you will ruin my plan. 

“So, sorry, Suining, please die together.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a surge of demonic energy spread throughout her body, and the figure of Qi Niang gradually dissipated.

“Qi Niang!”

Sui Ning summoned his sword, Ba Tian, and fiercely attacked Qi Niang, but it pierced through an empty space.

The black mist gradually dissipated, and Qi Niang disappeared without a trace.

Sui Ning became anxious and quickly looked at Xie Changzhou beside him: “Jianzun! What does Qi Niang want to do?”

Xie Changzhou’s elegant face was full of coldness. “It’s the retrospective mirror from the demon realm.”

He frowned, and his tone became serious: “The retrospective mirror can create illusions based on past experiences, which are extremely realistic. Even cultivators who have crossed the tribulation would find it difficult to detect.”

At this point, Xie Changzhou paused for a moment and turned his head to look at Sui Ning, who stared at him so intensely that his heart palpitated.

“She used the illusions created by the retrospective mirror to slaughter cultivators, absorb their cultivation, and nourish the soul of Liao Wu.”

“But Liao Wu is already dead, right?”

Xie Changzhou shook his head and said, “No, his soul is still there, and there is a Solidifying Spirit Grass in his possession.”

Sui Ning was suddenly taken aback.

At this time, the system also came online: ” [The Solidifying Spirit Grass can nourish the soul. When the time comes, it can reshape the soul, but it consumes a huge amount of cultivation. I’m afraid it requires two Crossing Tribulation stage cultivators like Xie Changzhou to provide nourishment for the Solidifying Spirit Grass.] “

When the system spoke, Sui Ning’s scalp began to tingle.

When Qi niang asked for only Xie Changzhou earlier, it meant that she had already killed many cultivators over the years and that the Solidifying Spirit Grass had already absorbed half of their cultivation.

As long as there was one more Xie Changzhou, the soul of Liao Wu could be resurrected.

Qi niang had killed so many cultivators!

But something was wrong. Why did Qi niang have to create so many illusions, such as the Ghost Groom and the inn?

If she had randomly selected a segment of experience to create an illusion at the beginning, she would not have revealed so many flaws for Xie Changzhou and Sui Ning to discover the truth.

Xie Changzhou understood Sui Ning’s confusion and said calmly, “The retrospective mirror can reproduce and control the obsession in one’s heart. The deeper the obsession, the more realistic the illusion.”

“Qi niang’s obsession is Liao Wu’s death.”

“I guess that Liao Wu died at the hands of the ghost groom.”

Xie Changzhou’s gaze was firm, without any doubts. Sui Ning knew that he had already confirmed the truth behind the illusion.

Liao Wu was killed by the ghost groom.

In fact, Liao Wu sacrificed himself to save Su Kou.

It’s not difficult to infer that Qi Niang deceived Xie Changzhou and Liao Wu by fabricating the true hideout of the ghost groom.

She never intended for Liao Wu to confront the ghost groom. As long as Liao Wu stayed away from the ghost groom, he wouldn’t have died.

But if Liao Wu hadn’t gone, Su Kou would certainly have perished.

That’s why Qi Niang was stunned when she saw Sui Ning and Su Kou returning together.

Su Kou survived, indicating that he went to rescue Su Kou, and astonishingly, he didn’t die at the hands of the ghost groom.

Su Kou didn’t meet his expected fate based on past events because the arrival of Xie Changzhou and Sui Ning changed everything.

Sui Ning suddenly realized the truth; her deep, dark eyes focused on Xie Changzhou as she continued, “So Qi Niang wanted to deceive herself and maintain this illusion. As long as the illusion persists, she can convince herself that Liao Wu is still alive.”

“But she didn’t anticipate that in the end, Liao Wu died while trying to save Su Kou, even though he managed to evade the ghost groom. Their fate remained a tragedy.”

Xie Changzhou nodded, praising her: “Ningning, your insight is impressive. Qi Niang has clung to this illusion for too long, and her cultivation is insufficient to sustain it, causing her to fall into a coma. During her unconsciousness, the illusion began to crumble subtly, allowing us to glimpse that rift.”

Now everything falls into place, and all the enigmas have been unraveled.

That’s why Liao Wu’s monk robe appears so worn out; it’s because he was a person who had died many years ago, and Qi Niang merely recreated her past experiences.

Sui Ning realized something and quickly asked, “How long do we have at the latest before we exit the illusion?”

“The illusion starts collapsing on the seventh day,” came the reply.

“What if we don’t leave the illusion by the seventh day?”

Xie Changzhou fixed his gaze on her, his brow furrowed and his expression grave.

In a soft voice, he said, “If the illusion completely collapses, we will die.”

Sui Ning was momentarily stunned.

The first collapse of the illusion occurred on the day when Su Kou fell into a coma, which was six days ago.

Tomorrow would be the seventh day.

If they didn’t exit the illusion, they would die.