Zhuo Yifeng looked toward the sword aura vanishing into the distance, his face ugly. When he saw Li Mo appear in Kongming Academy and take Yun Ruoyan as his disciple, Zhuo Yifeng’s heart felt as though it had been squashed underneath a large boulder. He was deeply aware of the unbridgeable gap between him and Li Mo, just like the distance between a small pebble and the night sky.

Yun Ruoyan, like Li Mo, was one of the brightest existences in that sky. As a little pebble, how would he be able to challenge Li Mo and get close to Yun Ruoyan? These thoughts caused the boulder on Zhuo Yifeng’s heart to increase in weight, burdening him so heavily that he could barely breathe.

“Brother?” Zhuo Lin’er sensed her brother’s discomfort and tugged on his sleeve. Zhuo Yifeng turned to his sister and forced out a smile. Then, he turned back to the skies, his gaze resolute.

“Li Mo, killer of my family and tribe… one day, I’ll make you regret not having gotten rid of me sooner!”

On his sword, Li Mo attempted to pull the snake ring off Yun Ruoyan’s finger. As though it were firmly stuck to her, however, Yun Ruoyan would make a pained expression every time he tried to do so. To avoid hurting her, Li Mo had to give up. He steered the sword directly toward Kongming Academy, where he planned to ask the first elder for help.

At Kongming Academy’s tall tower, Li Mo gingerly placed Yun Ruoyan’s prone body on a couch as the first elder stepped forward to inspect her condition. Yun Ruoyan’s eyes were tightly shut, her forehead scrunched, and her cheeks seemed to be enveloped in a faint, malignant air.

“There’s demonic energy in her body. Where in the world did she encounter demonic energy?!”

“It’s this ring!” Li Mo raised Yun Ruoyan’s right hand. “The previous owner of the ring left a trace of his spiritual sense within. His aura is dark and mysterious, and unknown even to me—could he be a demon?”

The first elder drew a sharp breath, and his face turned severe. When he touched two fingers to Yun Ruoyan’s forehead, he saw the pair of demonic eyes through Yun Ruoyan’s mind.

“A mortal dares peep at me? Die!” That gaze shot a sharp beam toward the first elder.

Even the first elder couldn’t help letting out a low groan as his mental energy was forced out of her mind. “What intense demonic power!”

The first elder’s face had gone pale. He looked at the ring on Yun Ruoyan’s finger again, and his brows knitted together tighter than ever.

At the same time, Li Mo noticed that one of the three scratches on the back of her palm was still bleeding. Initially, Li Mo hadn’t paid much mind to those minor injuries, which would normally have healed on their own. Even after a few hours, however, one of the scratches stubbornly continued to bleed.

When Li Mo looked more closely at the wound, he found that the scratch extended all the way to Yun Ruoyan’s finger, and all the blood that was seeping out was slowly being absorbed by the ring.

“Master, we need to find a way to remove this ring!”

The first elder took a few deep breaths, restoring some color to his face. “The demons were chased out of the Chenyuan continent a few millennia ago, and this snake ring is likely an artifact from that period. For some reason, the original owner of the ring seems to have set its mind on this young lady, and I’m afraid that won’t be an easy task to accomplish.”

“The ring’s continuously absorbing Yan’er’s blood, and I’m worried she won’t be able to hold out! As long as there’s a way, no matter how difficult it may be, I have to give it a try.”

“Kongming Academy has a specialized array for dispelling demons that has been passed down from that period, but I’ve never used it or seen it used. If you were to activate it recklessly, it might be dangerous.”

“There’s no time to hesitate. I’ll do it, Master!”

The first elder looked at Li Mo for quite some time. When he showed no sign of hesitation, the first elder finally sighed. “Come with me.”

Li Mo followed the first elder to the bottom floor of the tall tower, Yun Ruoyan still unconscious in his hands. The all-seeing mirror was placed on the roof of the tower, and wasn’t specially protected. Any member of Kongming Academy who was a peak ninth-rank blademaster and was willing to accept the corresponding punishment would be able to use the all-seeing mirror.

However, the bottom floor of the tower was only accessible to the first elder himself. It was there that the most valuable artifacts and herbs of Kongming Academy were kept, and could essentially be considered a treasure vault.

The first elder used a special key to open the doors to the vault, and Li Mo followed him in, walking down a long corridor with doors upon doors on either side. The first elder opened one of them and motioned for Li Mo to enter.

The room they walked into was a rather small chamber made of limestone. A pearl-of-night was inlaid in the walls, providing a source of bright illumination. Li Mo could see that the walls and floor of the small room were engraved with a complicated array, so abstruse and profound in its construction that even Li Mo couldn’t discern its purpose with a single glance.

“This is the demonic expulsion array,” the first elder began. “An immense amount of spiritual energy must be infused into these engravings in order to activate the array. Once the array is fully charged, you can simply place the possessed object or person into its center. The more spiritual energy you put in, the stronger the effect—but if you don’t have sufficient energy, it’s very easy for the demonic energy to break free and damage your cultivation.”

The first elder paused for a moment, then continued with a word of caution. “I’ve never seen anyone use this array, so I can’t judge how much energy is sufficient. Xun Mo, don’t try to push yourself so hard that you end up injuring yourself in the process.”

“I’m aware, Master.” Li Mo placed Yun Ruoyan gently in the middle of the chamber. He glanced once more at the wound on her right hand. “Master, I’m starting.”

“I’ll supervise the chamber from the outside.”

Li Mo walked to the eye of the array and placed both palms on it as he began infusing spiritual energy into the engraving. As he did so, the lined walls and floor began to fill with light, turning brighter and brighter, overpowering the illumination from the pearl-of-night. It gathered around Yun Ruoyan, enveloping it in its warmth.

In the darkness, Yun Ruoyan thought she could hear Li Mo summoning her from a distance. When she opened her eyes, however, all she saw was the pair of red, demonic eyes looking back at her.

“Remember that we’re the same type of person, and we’ll surely meet again.” Finally, the pair of red eyes closed, and Yun Ruoyan felt as though a fog had been lifted from her mind.

“Yan’er, wake up! Yan’er!” Li Mo’s calls became more and more insistent, and Yun Ruoyan finally opened her eyes.

What she first saw was Li Mo’s rather pale face.

“Li Mo, where are we?” Yun Ruoyan looked all around her.

“A demonic expulsion array. Yan’er, you’re alright now.” Li Mo relaxed when he saw that the wound on her palm had healed entirely.

“Ouch! It hurts!” Yun Ruoyan tugged on the ring on her finger, but it still wouldn’t come off. Li Mo frowned—the ring seemed to have welded itself to her skin. His relieved expression turned intense and serious once more.

“Master, what’s going on? Why can’t the ring be removed despite the successful execution of the array?”

The first elder didn’t have a ready answer. “It’s been millennia since the last recorded incident with the demonkin, and our knowledge of demons have only regressed in the meantime.”

“Qiuqiu!” Yun Ruoyan sat on the couch, calling out to Qiuqiu once more. What she urgently wanted to figure out was why her connection with Qiuqiu would be broken off entirely during demonic possession.

“Master!” Qiuqiu finally responded.

After a short conversation, Yun Ruoyan realized that, while she had been possessed, the silver bracelet’s pocket dimension had also filled with an unusual, mysterious fog which had somehow blocked Qiuqiu’s ability to communicate with her.

Qiuqiu also informed Yun Ruoyan that the reason the ring could no longer be removed was likely because it had imbibed Yun Ruoyan’s blood. However, it also didn’t know of a way to remove the ring.

“There’s one person who might know,” Li Mo suggested. “That old codger.”

Li Mo wanted to bring Yun Ruoyan back to the Minghuang Mountain immediately, but operating the array had taken so much energy out of him that he couldn’t travel far. In addition, Yun Ruoyan’s body was still quite weakened from the ordeal, and both of them ended up having to stay and rest.

There was another tower in the north of Kongming Academy, but it wasn’t taller than the first elder’s. The second elder brought Rong Tianling and Rong Tianhai into one of the rooms in the tower, revealing a pale-faced girl resting on a bed: Rong Yueshan.

“Shan’er, child, wake up!” Rong Tianling called out softly.

Rong Yueshan slowly opened her eyes. The moment she saw Rong Tianling, her eyes filled with shock and horror. “Fa-Father… I… failed you, I couldn’t g-get, get rid of Yun… Ruoyan…”

“Don’t worry, child. You’re still alive, and that’s what matters.”

Rong Yueshan visibly relaxed when she heard Rong Tianling’s comforting tone. “Shan’er, have a good rest. I’ll come visit you when you’re better.”

Rong Tianling covered Rong Yueshan with a blanket before walking out of the room with the second elder.

“My gratitude for saving my daughter, Second Elder.”

The second elder nodded, his hands clasped behind his back and his face as stern as ever.

“This is a superior high-grade pill.” Rong Tianling pulled out a porcelain bottle and handed it to the second elder. “I was so worried that I didn’t have time to bring any other gifts. Please accept this little token of appreciation for the moment, Second Elder. I’ll be sure to repay my debt to you in time!”

The second elder didn’t reach out for the bottle, but his eyes did become significantly more gentle. He stroked his beard for a few moments, then slowly asked, “Your daughter seems rather talented, and I’m interested in taking her as a disciple. What do you think, Master Rong?”