All I could see was a vast expanse of white.

Everything around him became illusory. Qing and Mu Man walked through this familiar blank world, passing countless fragments of mirror flowers, and stopped in front of the huge mirror at the end.

She raised her hand to touch the mirror, and the person in the mirror reacted, smiling gently at her.

Qing smiled slightly and parted her thin lips: "A mirage, not bad either."

She gazed at it for a moment, then said, "Unfortunately, I already have someone I love." With that, she flicked her sleeve, and all the mirrors shattered into countless pieces, flying wildly in the white world.

With her delicate brows furrowed, Qinghe felt a tightness in her body and a sharp pain in her wrist. She tried to move, but it felt as if she was being restrained by something.

After a while, Qinghe opened her eyes. Everything in front of her was unfamiliar and cold. She was in a cave, her hands tightly bound by chains embedded in the wall, unable to move.

The soil beneath her feet was some kind of soft, slippery, and sticky mud, with a layer of slime clinging tightly to the soles of Qinghe's shoes, making it impossible for her to move an inch.

Qinghe looked at the soil, his eyes revealing undisguised disgust.

Tong flew out from between Qinghe's eyebrows, her gaze falling on the ground with the same expression of disgust, coupled with his unreserved contempt, and said, "Ugh, you're so dirty."

This "dirty" is dirty in the literal sense. Qing and the understanding man gave him a look, and Tong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He coughed lightly, cleverly changing the subject, "Do you want me to help you escape this misery?"

Qinghe looked at him kindly as always: "What do you think?"

Tong glanced away guiltily, then his gaze fell on the chains binding Qinghe. He put his two fingers together, a red light flashed, and he flew toward the chains.

After a while, the red light dissipated, but the chain remained completely still, showing no sign of breaking.

Tong: "..."

He glanced at Qinghe and saw that she looked dejected. He quickly said, "Don't be sad. Maybe I wasn't strong enough. Let me try again."

After saying that, he circulated his qi and spirit, and a bright red light shone forth, instantly enveloping the dark cave in red light, and the fire raged.

Tong channeled all his power into the chains, exerting every ounce of his strength, yet he still couldn't budge them an inch. He lowered his palm and withdrew his stance, a solemn expression on his face. "These chains are no ordinary objects; they cannot be opened by my power alone."

Qinghe raised an eyebrow: "So?"

“So,” Tong said to her, “I’m afraid you’ll have to keep it locked for now.”

Qinghe's face immediately became extremely distorted.

Tong stopped looking at her and instead began to examine the cave. The cave was cold and damp, with green algae and spider webs covering the ground, and insects and maggots were frequent visitors. Even the air was filled with a strange and unpleasant smell.

There were no signs in the cave to indicate the location, but Tong said with certainty, "This is Yihuang Mountain. We have actually entered the territory of the Demon Clan."

Qinghe's face had turned pale. "How did you know?"

Tong: "You've forgotten my identity. I'm a magical beast, and I'm extremely familiar with the aura of demons."

Qinghe gave a perfunctory reply: "Is that so..."

Hearing her weak voice, Tong turned around and asked, "What's wrong? Were you injured fighting the beast tide?"

Qing shook her head weakly and said softly, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

Tong was slightly startled. For this woman to utter the word "beg," it seemed that this matter was very important to her.

"What is it? Just tell me, and I'll do my best to help."

Qinghe looked at him with gratitude in her eyes and said, "Here, you can use your spiritual power, could you...?"

Tong listened with anticipation.

"Could you make this cleaner, so that even if I die, I can be a clean ghost?"

Tong: "...You're hopeless." He raised his head slightly and said disdainfully, "Look at your pathetic self. You can't even handle this little setback. You'll never be able to shoulder great responsibilities in the future."

Qing remained unmoved, staring intently at him without daring to move her eyes even slightly. This intense gaze left Tong with nowhere to hide.

Unable to bear it any longer, Tong relented, "Alright, alright, I'll help you."

Qing was overwhelmed with gratitude, and Tong even saw tears welling up in her eyes.

The red light burst forth once more, and everything it touched became clean and bright. Except for the blue sky and the soil underfoot, everything else was pure white and spotless.

Qing felt the tightness in his trachea suddenly dissipate, his face no longer pale, his voice no longer soft, and his energy miraculously returned.

After a moment, Qinghe asked, "You just said that this is Yihuang Mountain, so how did we get here?"

Tong recalled for a moment, "It must have been the Demon Bell that kidnapped us and brought us here."

"The Demon-Slaying Bell?" Qinghe asked doubtfully, "Didn't that bell fall into the sea of ​​fire and get burned?"

Tong shook his head and said, "The Demon-Slaying Bell is a treasure of the Demon Clan, so it is not so easy to destroy. Perhaps someone infused a living soul into the bell, which is why it was not burned by the sea of ​​fire."

Qinghe nodded and said, "I don't know what happened to my senior brothers after I disappeared."

Tong said casually, "At a time like this, you should be worried about yourself."

Qing smiled casually and said nothing.

The next moment, Tong's ears twitched, and she said, "Someone's coming." Then, a flash of red light appeared and flew into Qing's brow.

The visitor was Ji Chen.

He entered the cave and strolled towards Qinghe. His gaze fell upon the smooth and clean interior of the cave, and he sneered, "I didn't expect that you could still freely use spiritual power in the Demon Realm. Was that person helping you?"

He looked around. "Where is he? Seeing you in prison, isn't he going to come and rescue you?"

Qinghe looked at him and said calmly, "What, did you capture me to lure him out?"

Ji Chen lowered his eyes slightly, concealing a trace of fear in them, and said coldly, "You are now a prisoner. Your life or death is entirely in my hands. Even if he comes, it won't be so easy to rescue you."

Qinghe: "Then why did you arrest me? You even ordered Mo Zhanli to unleash the beast tide, which almost destroyed the entire Wuji Mountain."

Ji Chen stood with his hands behind his back and said, "To tell you the truth, this operation was entirely Mo Zhanli's own doing. He deserved to die, but he did do a great job before he died, not only capturing you but also bringing this here."

He opened his palm, and a painting appeared in his hand.

He laughed loudly, his laughter tinged with madness. "I only found out today that Ke Yao actually has a son, her son with that man."

Qinghe: "Ke Yao? You mean the Goddess Lingxi? You know her?"

Ji Chen sneered: "We're more than just acquaintances; we're childhood sweethearts."

Qinghe's eyes widened.

Ji Chen is a demon, and Ke Yao is a goddess. How could two people who are completely unrelated be childhood sweethearts?

Qinghe looked at the sky outside the cave and said, "Why are you daydreaming so late at night?"

However, Ji Chen was still immersed in his past memories. "Back then, Ke Yao guarded the divine tree, and the five divine pearls were hidden in the tree. I wanted to borrow them, but she refused to let me and knocked the five divine pearls down to the mortal world. Now, four of the divine pearls have appeared in the world, but the whereabouts of the last one are still unknown."

At this point, a manic, determined look appeared on his face. "Fate is playing tricks on people. Now that this painting has fallen into my hands, it must be the heavens helping me. Ke Yao must have given the last divine pearl to her son. As long as I capture Mo Junqian, my great cause will be accomplished!"