Xie Lian said coldly, “Get out of the way.”

The will-o'-the-wisp remained motionless. Xie Lian asked, "Why are you trying to stop me?"

The will-o'-the-wisp didn't answer. The other will-o'-the-wisp continued to repeat, "Don't go over there." Xie Lian simply didn't want to tangle with these creatures any further. With a wave of his hand, he dispersed them.

It was not meant to scare the soul to death. This palm strike only dispersed the ghost fires that formed a blocking formation, just like dispersing a group of fireflies or goldfish.

Xie Lian passed quickly, the dead branches and leaves rustling softly beneath his feet. But looking back, he saw the will-o'-the-wisp fires swiftly following him, seemingly preparing to form another formation. Xie Lian warned, "Don't follow me."

The brightest and hottest ball of ghostly fire flew in front, oblivious to the attack. Xie Lian raised his hand as if to strike, threatening to lash out, "Follow me again, or I'll beat you to pieces!"

Such a threat frightened many of the will-o'-the-wisp fires, shivering and retreating timidly. The leading will-o'-the-wisp fire froze in mid-air for a moment, still trailing him less than five paces behind. Xie Lian felt as if it was saying, "It doesn't matter if my soul scatters." Or perhaps it knew Xie Lian wouldn't actually strike it.

Xie Lian suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable anger. In the past, with just a shout from him, which little devil would dare to harass him? They would have long since scattered, their tails between their legs. Now, not only did everyone dare to trample on him at will, but even this tiny ball of will-o'-the-wisp refused to listen to him, ignored his threats. His eyes flushed with rage, and he muttered, "...Even a little devil like you is like this...All of them...Not one of them is not like this!"

It was a bit amusing to be so enraged over such a trivial matter, but Xie Lian was truly filled with resentment at this moment. Unexpectedly, after he muttered these words, the will-o'-the-wisp seemed to understand his anger and sadness. It froze in the air, no longer moving forward, and slowly retreated with hundreds of smaller will-o'-the-wisp flames. Soon, they all disappeared into the night.

Xie Lian let out a breath, turned around, and continued walking.

After seven or eight hundred paces, a few corners of eaves appeared faintly in the mist ahead, what looked like an ancient temple deep in the mountains. Xie Lian walked closer, took a closer look, and his eyes widened slightly.

This is actually... a prince's temple.

Of course, it was the dilapidated Prince Temple. It had long been looted by thugs, and the plaque fell to the ground and broke in two. Xie Lian paused at the temple gate, stepped over the broken plaque, and entered the temple. The statues in the temple had long since disappeared, and it was unknown whether they were smashed, burned, or sunk into the sea. The altar was empty, with only a charred base left. The words "In hell, my heart is in paradise" on both sides were slashed with twenty-seven or eight knife wounds, as if a beautiful woman had had her face slashed with a knife, no longer beautiful, but eerie and hideous.

Xie Lian calmed down and sat down in the hall, waiting for Bai Wuxiang to appear. An incense stick later, a figure appeared from the mist outside the temple.

However, the figure was not right, not as leisurely and carefree as Bai Wuxiang's; the footsteps were also wrong, more rapid, not as silent and breathless as Bai Wuxiang's. Therefore, the person coming was definitely not Bai Wuxiang, nor was he anyone he knew.

So, who could it be?

Xie Lian was extremely alert. Only when the man, clattering loudly, reached the front of the Prince's Temple did he get a clear look at him. Unfortunately, the man didn't match any of his assumptions—he looked like a passerby, with no clues to his identity.

But Xie Lian still did not let his guard down. Who knows if this was Bai Wuxiang in disguise?

In the desolate mountains, at a dilapidated Taoist temple, Xie Lian suddenly encountered a man. Xie Lian was wary of him, and he was wary of Xie Lian as well. After a long pause, he tentatively asked, "Master... Taoist? Do you know where this place is?"

Xie Lian frowned slightly, then looked up and asked, "You don't know where this is? Then how did you get here?"

The man said, "I'm lost! I've been wandering around for a long time but can't find the way out."

Xie Lian knew that he was definitely not lost. If this man was not Bai Wuxiang in disguise, then he was most likely lured here by something.

He said, "Don't turn around, you can't get out."

"What? What did you say?"

Xie Lian didn't reply, but continued to meditate. If Bai Wuxiang had kidnapped them, then there was no point in getting anxious. If he didn't let them go, they couldn't leave. It would be better to wait and see what he was up to.

The man was also tired from running and sat down to rest. The two of them were at peace. After a while, another figure appeared in the fog and walked to the temple. He was also a puzzled passerby. Seeing someone in the temple, he hurried to greet them and said, "Two friends! Excuse me, what is this place?"

As the two passersby struck up a conversation, Xie Lian developed a premonition.

This isn't the end. There will be more people coming.

Sure enough, within an hour, dozens of people had arrived at the Prince's Temple. Men, women, young and old, some alone, some in groups of three or four, some with families. Most were lost, but their paths had been bizarre. Some had even wandered here while walking down the street, a truly incredible sight. Inside, Xie Lian spotted the street performer who had previously challenged him to a chest-breaking rock-breaking competition. He looked ill-tempered, evidently having sustained significant injuries from the previous contest. The two of them exchanged glances, nodding without a word.

It is obvious that these are all ordinary people, and they were all brought to this deep mountain forest on purpose by Bai Wuxiang!

Xie Lian's inner alarm bells were blaring louder and louder, yet he remained composed. He pulled a cold steamed bun from his sleeve, took a bite, chewed it vigorously, and swallowed it with all his might. He wanted to conserve his energy for the battle that was about to begin.

Two hours later, the Prince's Temple was packed with people who had "lost their way." Xie Lian counted the crowds, and there were about a hundred of them. Not a single one of them had made it out of the forest.

As more people gathered, the scene became noisy, and everyone was talking at once: "You came here for no apparent reason too? This is really weird!"

Someone suggested, "Why don't we look for it again?"

Someone immediately agreed: "Let's go, let's go! I don't believe that with so many people, not even one can get out!"

Xie Lian, who was sitting in the corner, suddenly looked up and said, "It's no use trying to leave. You can't get out."

Everyone looked at him: "Why?"

Xie Lian said coldly, "Because you were all lured here by a monster. You're all his toys. How could he let you go so easily?"

“…”

Some thought he was exaggerating, some thought he was being mysterious, and some thought he should not be underestimated. One person stood up and asked, "Who are you? What gives you the right to say that?"

"He seems to be one of the first people here. He was sitting here when I got here."

"Strange..."

"Yeah, and with his face covered."

"Do you have any proof?"

Xie Lian said calmly, "There's no proof. Believe it or not, that monster definitely didn't lure you here to treat you to a meal. Be careful, don't I need to tell you more?"

Just as he finished speaking, before anyone responded, a burst of rapid, frantic footsteps could be heard in the distance. Everyone's spirits immediately perked up, and they shouted, "Someone's coming again!"

Even if some people wanted to go out to see what was happening, they would quickly run back as soon as they stepped out of the temple gate. Because, along with the sound of running, there were also bursts of crazy shouting!

This cry was simply not something a human could make. Everyone's faces changed drastically, and they all retreated back into the temple, saying, "Oh my god, who is this? Could it be a wild beast?!"

As the figure in the mist drew closer, Xie Lian narrowed his eyes and said, “No, that’s definitely a person!”

However, the man howled loudly as he ran, covering his face with his hands. Seeing that he was about to run into the Prince's Temple, Xie Lian squeezed out of the crowd and stood on the outer edge to see what was going on. However, the man seemed to have no eyes and ran straight into a tree at the entrance of the Prince's Temple. With a "bang", he was thrown back a dozen feet and fell to the ground unconscious.

Everyone was startled and crammed into the temple, stretching their necks and asking anxiously, "...What...what's wrong with this person?"

Including the street performer, a few brave enough tried to go and check it out, but Xie Lian immediately said, "Don't get close!"

Several people were startled by his harsh tone again and asked, "What should we do? Just let him lie there?"

Xie Lian said, “I’ll just go and see.”

Everyone said, "Then you should be more careful?"

Xie Lian nodded, slowly approached the tree, squatted down, and was about to move the man's hand covering his face away when he suddenly jumped up and screamed twice.

Yes, there were two screams. Furthermore, they were two simultaneous sounds. One came from this person's mouth, and the other from his face—this person actually had another face!

Human face epidemic!

Xie Lian's skin erupted in goosebumps, his pupils constricting. Everyone inside the temple was also stunned by the horrifying scene. The man leaped to his feet, arms outstretched, and was about to charge toward the crowded area. Fortunately for Xie Lian, he was quick-witted and swift-handed, striking out with a single palm strike, sending the plague-stricken man flying several feet away. Xie Lian quickly retreated a few steps, blocking the temple entrance. The crowd behind him exclaimed in horror, "Isn't this disease only found in the Imperial City? So many people have died there, so isn't it already extinct?"

"It can't be real, right?! Is that really a human face on his face?!"

What was even more terrifying was that the next moment, more screams were heard from all directions, and more than a dozen figures staggered towards the Prince Temple.

You can tell without even looking, they are all patients with the human face epidemic!

Someone shouted, "Everyone run! Spread out! Don't let them get close to you!!!"

Xie Lian shouted, “Don’t disperse! We don’t know how many more are in the forest! If there are more out there, we’ll be finished!”

"What should we do?!" "We can't just wait for them to catch us!" "Isn't that just waiting to die?!"

The branch he had broken off on the road had been tucked around Xie Lian's waist. He pulled it out, holding it at an angle like a sword, and said, "Don't worry, they can't get through. Of course, I have the final say on whether they can get close to here!"

This is his territory, the Prince's Palace!

"you……"

Without waiting for anyone to ask, Xie Lian flew out, and with a few swishes of branches, he instantly knocked those people with human-faced plague to the ground. This was not a difficult task for Xie Lian at all. He did what he said, and none of these weirdos could get close to him. Everyone in the temple was gasping for breath, watching with fear. Seeing him win, they cheered and thanked God loudly. In the night sky of the forest, many ghost lights appeared and danced wildly. It was not known whether they were helping to drive away those people with human-faced plague. Anyway, Xie Lian felt that they did not bother him. After sweeping around, he habitually put his sword back into the sheath, but when he did, he found that what he was holding was not a sword but a branch. He was embarrassed for a moment, and the next moment, he saw a white figure waving at him not far away. Xie Lian had just finished a round of battle, and his blood was boiling. He immediately chased after him: "Don't even think about running away!"

The swarm of ghostly fires followed him, hissing and whirring, as if lighting the way for him. Bai Wuxiang certainly wasn't trying to escape. He walked at a leisurely pace, neither fast nor slow, but always seven or eight steps ahead of him. Xie Lian chased for a few steps, then a light flashed in his mind, and he immediately turned back. Seeing that he had stopped chasing, Bai Wuxiang stopped moving and asked, "Why don't you follow me?"

Xie Lian turned around and said, “You’re just trying to lure me away and spread the Human Face Plague once more. Why should I follow you and let you succeed?”

Bai Wuxiang smiled and said, "No, you are wrong. My purpose is not to 'lure you away', my purpose is you."

Although he was wearing a mask that made it impossible to tell his expression, for some reason, Xie Lian could feel that he was smiling.

It really doesn't make sense to lure the tiger away from the mountain. If Bai Wuxiang wanted to spread the human-faced plague again, he could spread it all over the country and Xie Lian would have no way of stopping him. Why did he have to spread it in this deep mountain?

Xie Lian paused and asked, “Then what exactly do you want to do?!”

He had asked this question countless times and was almost losing his patience. Bai Wuxiang said, "I told you, I want you to come over to my side."

Xie Lian pulled out a branch and pointed it at him. While this offered no threat at all and even looked a bit comical, it was the only weapon he had at the moment. Fortunately, a particularly bright will-o'-the-wisp alighted on the tip of the branch, lending him a bit of a commanding presence. Xie Lian snapped, "Why would you want me to go over there? To take your life?"

Bai Wuxiang chuckled softly a few times and said gently, "Your Highness, you are a beautiful jade. Let me teach you."

“…”

Xie Lian felt both amused and furious, and couldn't help but spit, "How dare you teach me? My master is the Imperial Master of Xianle. Who are you? Where did you get this freak from?"

Bai Wuxiang stretched out a finger, shook it, and said, "You're wrong again. Your Highness, I should say that in this world, I am the only one worthy of teaching you. Your master? Imperial Master Xianle?"

His tone became unreasonably arrogant, and he said, "In front of me, this kind of thing is not worth mentioning at all. On the contrary, you have learned it very well from what I taught you."

Xie Lian angrily shouted, “What did you teach me? What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t understand at all!”

Bai Wuxiang chuckled and said, "The first thing I'm going to teach you is: there are many things in this world that you are powerless to do anything about."

Hearing this, Xie Lian's mind flashed through a chaotic array of sounds and images. Finally, he gritted his teeth and thrust his sword forward. Bai Wuxiang easily dodged it, saying, "The second thing—"

He grabbed Xie Lian, causing him to stumble and nearly fall. He felt a hand touch his head and said, "Do you want to save the people? The people don't need you to save them. They don't deserve it."

Xie Lian's movements faltered for a moment, and he slapped the hand away before striking again. With a snap, Bai Wuxiang broke the branch from his hand and dodged behind him, placing two cold fingers on the fatal spot on the back of his head!

Xie Lian felt his head pressed against his, feeling like he was about to pierce through him, and he froze. A voice came from behind him, "If you don't come to me, you'll never be able to defeat me. I'll always defeat you."

Xie Lian took a few breaths and said in a deep voice, “…Just come!”

After a pause, he said word by word, "I can't win, but only now. You can defeat me countless times, but you can't kill me. And as long as you can't kill me, one day, I will definitely defeat you!"

The will-o'-the-wisp flames burned even more fiercely when they heard his words, as if they were going to illuminate the entire night sky. Bai Wuxiang was silent for a moment behind him, then asked, "Can't I kill you?"

Xie Lian held his breath and remained silent.

In truth, he had no idea how strong the immortality Jun Wu had granted him would truly be. What if Bai Wuxiang, in a fit of rage, dug his brains out? Would he still be alive?

At this time, Bai Wuxiang said calmly: "I really can't kill you. I won't kill you either.

"But don't be too confident now. Don't regret this later."

Regret? Why?

Before Xie Lian could figure out what was happening, a knife suddenly slashed at his neck, and his vision instantly went dark.

In the darkness, light and warmth seemed to be coming from somewhere far ahead. Xie Lian followed the light, gradually awakening.

I opened my eyes slightly, and the first thing I saw was a will-o'-the-wisp above me. It seemed the light and heat I'd felt while unconscious had been that.

Seeing him awake, the will-o'-the-wisp suddenly approached, then, as if sensing a lack of proximity, retreated slightly. Xie Lian felt this will-o'-the-wisp seemed particularly unusual. If he remembered correctly, it was the same will-o'-the-wisp that had formed the formation to block his path earlier. He tried to reach out and probe, but to his surprise, his hand was completely blocked.

Xie Lian was stunned, then suddenly sobered up. He looked down and realized that the reason he couldn't reach out was because his hands and feet were tied.

He was actually tied tightly to the altar, with the broken base beneath him. Many people crowded under the altar, staring at him with wide-open eyes.