Chapter 44 Part 2

These golden spots flowed freely across the sky-blue gossamer, as if alive.

As layer after layer passed through Xie Linlang’s body, the golden spots gradually gathered at the top of the gossamer like eyes, all staring at him.

By now, Xie Linlang fully understood: these layers of gossamer were the Demon Butterfly’s wings, and the spots were patterns on the wings.

What shocked Xie Linlang was that the Demon Butterfly Senior seemed unaffected by Silent Night Palace’s structures. Its long wings passed effortlessly through walls, stretching freely.

It was as if the entire Silent Night Palace was the Demon Butterfly Senior’s nest, and these corridors and walls did not exist.

More and more golden spots gathered, nearly covering the pure white fog before Xie Linlang’s eyes. The next second, his vision blurred, and his body sank slightly.

His view shifted from pure white spots to pitch-black darkness, and everything he had seen vanished.

Ahead lay the palace corridor once more, with black walls on either side and Coral Lamps emitting eerie light.

As if all he had just encountered was a dream.

Xie Linlang exhaled almost imperceptibly. He glanced at the Red-beaked Sparrow on his shoulder—it had returned to normal and chirped softly, “This way, this way.”

Xie Linlang immediately headed in the direction the Red-beaked Sparrow indicated, but as he took a step, he jolted in shock.

Unbeknownst to him, pure spiritual power now flowed through his body!!

Had he recovered to Soul Transformation Stage cultivation?

Xie Linlang stood stunned.

No—not quite! He had reverted to being Xie Linlang!

Trembling, Xie Linlang summoned a Water Mirror. He stared at the youth in the mirror, clad in pale green robes with brows like spring mountains, as if from another lifetime.

Xie Linlang whipped around—no trace of the Demon Butterfly remained.

The Red-beaked Sparrow chirped, “This way, this way.”

Xie Linlang fell silent. Though he did not know how the Demon Butterfly had done it or how long the state would last, its ability to restore him to Linlang Dao Lord of Jiuxia Mountain revealed its extraordinary status and power.

Perhaps the Demon Butterfly was not merely at the Nascent Soul Stage.

If so, Senior Brother Fang’s shizun’s plot was doomed to fail.

Though Xie Linlang’s heart raced with apprehension, since the Demon Butterfly had spared him, it meant he had come to the right place.

He exhaled deeply. “Let’s go.”

With his Soul Transformation cultivation restored, Xie Linlang moved faster, employing more advanced concealment methods. He turned into a gust of wind, swiftly threading through the corridors.

The closer he got to Senior Brother Fang’s location, the more Black-Armored Cultivators he encountered patrolling.

Xie Linlang always hid in advance, and the Black-Armored Cultivators never detected him.

Finally, he heard the sounds of combat.

Rounding a corridor corner, Xie Linlang saw two Black-Armored Cultivators besieging Senior Brother Fang.

Senior Brother Fang looked quite bedraggled, most of his body soaked in blood, his steps staggering. He wielded a Black Long Whip in hand and stood atop a puddle-like protective artifact, barely holding on.

Seeing this, Xie Linlang formed a hand seal. Spiritual power circulated, manifesting an illusory Pill Furnace.

A wisp of flame abruptly erupted from the furnace’s core.

The flame was pure white. The moment it appeared, the temperature in the space surged, and the two Black-Armored Cultivators’ movements slowed by half a beat.

Senior Brother Fang suffered greatly as well.

The sudden white flame seemed capable of incinerating all, giving his depleted Demonic Qi the illusion of spontaneous combustion.

“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”

In his daze, Senior Brother Fang seemed to hear the calls of the Red-beaked Sparrows he had raised for years.

He knew his Sparrows well—that was their sound when begging for food.

Ah, his birds were hungry; he needed to feed them.

At that thought, a surge of strength welled up from somewhere in Senior Brother Fang’s fatigued body. He formed a hand seal and broke free from the two Black-Armored Cultivators’ encirclement!

Then his Red-beaked Sparrows truly appeared.

Small Sparrows emerged one after another, forming a shifting cloud. The black-gray Sparrows aligned into a long queue, like a sparrow bridge or the sole path to survival.

Senior Brother Fang instinctively rushed onto it. The white flame transformed into a blooming Moon Tang Flower, lightly blocking the path between Senior Brother Fang and the two Black-Armored Cultivators before erupting in a deafening boom.

Boom—

After receiving Senior Brother Fang, Xie Linlang rapidly retreated.

The Red-beaked Sparrows knew the route from Silent Night Palace’s Underground Palace to the island above and had scouted it early. They quickly guided the way.

Xie Linlang had no intention of leaving. He tossed the semi-conscious Senior Brother Fang onto the flat surface formed by the Sparrows.

“Take him away.”

A Red-beaked Sparrow pecked at Xie Linlang’s sleeve.

“You go too, you go too.”

Xie Linlang smiled. “No, I have things I must know. Take him and go.”

The Red-beaked Sparrows did not want Xie Linlang to stay. As they stalemated, the semi-conscious Senior Brother Fang suddenly roused.

He looked at Xie Linlang and murmured, “Xie Yu?”

Xie Linlang raised a brow. Though he had inexplicably reverted to his former self for some reason, Senior Brother Fang recognized him at a glance.

“…I don’t know why you joined Silent Night Palace, but remember one thing.”

Senior Brother Fang spoke rapidly: “Don’t become a true disciple, don’t sign White IOUs, and… these Sparrows are yours now. Treat them well.”

Xie Linlang soothed him. “Senior Fang, care for the Sparrows yourself.”

Senior Brother Fang replied, “I can no longer survive. I owe my shizun an immense debt of gratitude and owe Silent Night Palace White IOUs. Whether alive or dead, I cannot leave here.”

Something flashed in Xie Linlang’s mind. He recalled Le Qingping saying her credit was negative and Li Pinghu mentioning that Silent Night Palace’s past cultivators had all vanished. He could not help asking, “Why?”

Senior Brother Fang’s lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but clack-clack sounds approached from behind.

More Black-Armored Cultivators.

Xie Linlang was astonished—had his Immortal Pill Fire failed to stop the Black-Armored Cultivators?

He turned to draw them away, but Senior Brother Fang suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

Senior Brother Fang said despondently, “It’s no use. They will keep chasing me. You’re not a true disciple, so they won’t pursue you. While Silent Night Palace’s cultivators are trapped in the Demon Butterfly Senior’s illusory barrier, hurry and leave!”

Xie Linlang shook his head. “I have my own matters to attend to.”

He flicked his sleeve sharply, sending pure, cleansing spiritual power surging toward the reluctant Red-beaked Sparrows. Struck by the force, they spun dizzily.

Xie Linlang dashed forward. “Go! I’ll draw off the pursuers.”