Chapter 76 Inside the Possession Camp, Gu Zhinan helplessly clenched his fist...

Inside the tent, Gu Zhinan helplessly grasped Song Wenzhuo's hand and placed it on his chest.

"You know perfectly well that what he said is false, so why get angry and upset yourself?"

Gu Zhinan fell in love with Song Wenzhuo before he lost his memory, and it was impossible for him to fall in love with someone else halfway through. Both of them knew this.

Yan Nanqiu's words were merely meant to provoke the two into wanting the Nine-Turn Essence Pill.

"Anyway, it was going to be given to him anyway, so it doesn't matter," Gu Zhinan reassured him.

“However, I still find it a bit strange,” Song Wenzhuo pondered.

But he quickly lost interest in these thoughts because Fu Yunshu came in.

"Wen Zhuo." Fu Yunshu's voice interrupted Song Wen Zhuo's thoughts.

Song Wenzhuo and Gu Zhinan stood up at the same time and bowed: "Grandmaster Uncle".

Fu Yunshu's gaze lingered on Song Wenzhuo's face for a moment. Seeing that although his expression was somewhat off, he was still relatively calm, he nodded slightly, indicating that the two of them should sit down. He and Yin Lisheng also sat down opposite each other at the table.

"Grandmaster Uncle, you've come so late at night, is there something important?" Song Wenzhuo asked.

Fu Yunshu did not answer immediately. He glanced at Gu Zhinan, then at Song Wenzhuo, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. The air in the tent seemed to grow heavier with his silence.

Yin Lisheng also turned her head away, somewhat reluctant.

Song Wenzhuo seemed to sense the ominous atmosphere and tightly gripped Gu Zhinan's hand to draw strength from it.

"Please go ahead and say it," he said, somewhat nervously.

"Wen Zhuo," Fu Yunshu finally spoke, each word carrying a tremendous weight, pressing heavily on Song Wen Zhuo's heart.

"Regarding your mother, Nan Qing... there are some things we've been misunderstanding all along."

Song Wenzhuo's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition suddenly arose. His hand on Gu Zhinan tightened involuntarily, his knuckles turning slightly white, but his face remained calm: "Grandmaster Uncle... what do you mean by that?"

"After that battle, the sect sent people to search for your parents' bodies. They only found your father's remains, but not your mother's."

Song Wenzhuo's breath hitched, and he vaguely guessed what was going on. His throat tightened: "This... Ancestor Liushuang once said that it is common for cultivators to perish and their bodies to be completely destroyed..."

“It’s common,” Fu Yunshu said sadly, “but this time, it’s not.”

He paused, as if considering his words, but ultimately chose to speak frankly: "Li Sheng and I just infiltrated the Demon Palace and used secret techniques to investigate, and we confirmed one thing—your mother, Nan Qing, did not die in battle. She was kidnapped by Yan Ji and imprisoned deep within the Demon Palace for hundreds of years. And Yan Nan Qiu is most likely your half-brother."

"boom--!"

It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in Song Wenzhuo's mind! He abruptly stood up, the chair behind him crashing to the ground. The color drained from his face instantly, leaving only a deathly pallor. Song Wenzhuo's usually gentle, smiling eyes were now wide open, filled with unbelievable horror.

"No...it's impossible..." His lips trembled, his voice hoarse and barely audible, "Mother...Mother she..."

Song Wenzhuo was struck as if by a heavy blow, and his body swayed violently. If Gu Zhinan hadn't been quick to catch him, he would have almost lost his balance.

When Song Wenzhuo was two years old, he lost both his parents and came to Qingyuanzong. Therefore, he did not have a deep impression of his mother, only vaguely remembering that she was a gentle woman.

But she was, after all, Song Wenzhuo's biological mother. How could Song Wenzhuo not be angry and saddened upon hearing such a shocking truth?

"ah--!!!"

A suppressed roar, like that of a dying beast, finally broke through Song Wenzhuo's throat. He shoved Gu Zhinan away, clutched his head with both hands, veins bulging on his forehead, curled up, and trembled violently.

The cruel truth was like countless blunt knives, cutting back and forth in Song Wenzhuo's heart, shredding all his rationality, all his composure, and all his pretense.

"Yan Ji... Yan Ji!!! Ahhh, I'm going to kill you! I'm going to tear you to pieces! I'm going to grind your bones to dust!!!" Song Wenzhuo's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman. His roar was filled with deep hatred and madness.

Gu Zhinan held him tightly, using all his strength to barely restrain his almost out-of-control movements. His own eyes were red, and his voice choked with sobs: "Wen Zhuo! Wen Zhuo! Calm down! Grandmaster Uncle is here, and we are here too. We will definitely avenge this! But you need to calm down now."

Fu Yunshu also stepped forward, placing a finger on Song Wenzhuo's brow. A clear and peaceful spiritual energy was injected, forcibly helping him stabilize his nearly collapsing mind.

After a long time, with the soothing power of Fu Yunshu and the constant calls of Gu Zhinan, Song Wenzhuo's emotions finally calmed down a bit.

He slumped in Gu Zhinan's arms, his face ashen, his eyes staring blankly at the top of the tent, as if all life had been drained from him.

"Grandmaster Uncle..." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "My mother... what happened to her in the end?"

Fu Yunshu slowly shook his head: "The images seen by the Shadow Tracing Array are limited, and I don't know what happened next. I'm afraid we can only ask Yan Nanqiu about this."

“Yan Nanqiu, yes, there’s also Yan Nanqiu,” Song Wenzhuo seemed to just realize, and staggered as he tried to find Yan Nanqiu.

Without further delay, he left the main tent and strode quickly toward the medical tent where Yan Nanqiu was being housed.

Night had fallen, and most of the camp was quiet. Arriving at the medical tent, Song Wenzhuo paused slightly, took a deep breath, and then lifted the tent flap.

The tent was empty.

The quilt on the bed was slightly messy, and the water cups and teapots on the table were neatly arranged, but the person who should have been here—Yan Nanqiu—was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" Gu Zhinan frowned and stepped forward to investigate. The bed was cold, indicating that he had been gone for some time.

“He hasn’t come back,” Song Wenzhuo said with certainty. “He hasn’t returned since he left us.”

Fu Yunshu asked, "What happened?"

Gu Zhinan quickly recounted how Yan Nanqiu had come to ask for the pills and the ambiguous and contradictory words he had spoken.

After listening, Fu Yunshu had a flash of inspiration and seemed to have thought of something, but before he could grasp that idea, a huge explosion came from outside.

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening roar, as if the sky were falling and the earth were splitting apart, suddenly came from the east side of the camp! This was followed by a series of explosions, shrill screams, and cries of alarm.

The entire earth trembled violently! Dust fell from the top of the tents, and cups and saucers on the table shattered and crashed to the ground!

"What happened?!" Song Wenzhuo's expression changed drastically, instantly pulling himself out of grief and anger, regaining the calm and sharpness that a sect leader should have.

The four rushed out of the medical tent. To their dismay, the once neat barracks on the east side of the camp had been reduced to a sea of ​​fire and ruins! Thick smoke billowed and flames soared into the sky, turning half the sky an eerie orange-red.

Countless disciples and cultivators struggled, fled, and screamed in the sea of ​​fire. Limbs and severed bodies were everywhere, and blood stained the scorched earth.

"Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!" Yin Li shouted sharply.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the defensive light barrier surrounding the camp suddenly lit up, but it trembled violently under the onslaught of attacks imbued with dense demonic energy, groaning under the strain. A dark mass of demonic figures surged in from all directions like a tidal wave, with the demon general Li Sha at the forefront. His face was contorted with rage as he relentlessly bombarded the crumbling defensive formation.

"Li Sha!" A cold light flashed in Song Wenzhuo's eyes, and he drew his long sword, ready to rush forward.

"Wen Zhuo, go and organize the disciples to stabilize the defense line and treat the wounded!" Gu Zhinan grabbed him, his voice urgent but clear. "Leave this to me and my grandmaster uncle! Hurry!"

Song Wenzhuo glanced at Fu Yunshu, and seeing his grandmaster nod slightly, he no longer hesitated. He turned into a sword light and rushed towards the east side, where the chaos was most intense. With a long howl, the disciples of Qingyuan Sect quickly assembled and met the demon vanguard that had invaded the camp.

Fu Yunshu hovered in mid-air, his divine sense like an invisible giant net, covering the entire battlefield. His gaze passed over the ordinary demon soldiers who were fighting and shouting, and firmly locked onto Li Sha, who was frantically attacking the core node of the defensive formation.

Something's not right.

Fu Yunshu frowned. Although Li Sha was a demon general, it was by no means easy for him to break through the outer defenses of the allied forces so quickly, and even create such a large-scale explosion and internal strife, given his cultivation level and military strength, unless... there was someone within the allied forces who was already there to provide support, and the person providing support was of a high status.

What alarmed him even more was that since Yan Ji's reappearance, the Demon Clan had been making constant moves, but Yan Ji had never shown himself. Why?

Now that Yan Ji has regained control of the Demon Realm, it is precisely the time for him to establish his authority. Why doesn't he personally appear during such a crucial attack? Even if he doesn't personally take action, he should at least be stationed in the rear, overseeing the overall situation. However, Fu Yunshu's divine sense swept across the battlefield, and apart from Li Sha, there were no other demon generals or higher-level auras present.

In Fu Yunshu's mind, the fleeting flash of inspiration reappeared, becoming clearer and clearer—Yan Nanqiu disappeared immediately after obtaining the Nine-Turn Condensation Pill, the camp exploded and fell into chaos, the demons launched a precise attack, and Yan Ji remained nowhere to be seen...

And, most importantly—their rescue of Yan Nanqiu seemed...too smooth. Although Li Sha appeared to stop them, he didn't truly fight desperately; it was more like he was...acting? Cooperating?

These events, taken together, point to a chilling possibility.

What if they had rescued Yan Ji instead of Yan Nanqiu from the demons?

Yan Ji, who has taken over Yan Nanqiu's body.

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Author's note: From the perspective of the scumbag father, Gu Yan's story is roughly the same as in the previous chapter, which is why he feels that it is different from what he knows.

What made it even more unbearable for him was that he thought Xiao Gu liked Xiao Yan, but actually she liked Xiao Song, the child of Nan Qing and her true love. This made the scumbag father even more unhappy.