The atmosphere outside the sanctuary had fallen into a strange sort of silence.
No vampire present recognized either Shana or Zi Dian.
Nothing needed to be said about Zi Dian. And although Shana was a member of the Raymond clan, she was listed as a "defector," and she was also an insignificant nobody within the clan even before she defected.
The inability to identify the two hostages meant they couldn't make a decision.
Lady Mara was already regretting this a little. Had she known this, she wouldn't have personally come out to deal with Lu Xinhuan in order to curry favor with that one.
If the vampire who received Lu Xinhuan was just a junior, then they would've been able to let Lu Xinhuan in without even having to think. At worst, they would've been tricked by Lu Xinhuan once but wouldn't have lost much face.
But since Mara herself was standing here, she'd lose all her face if she let Lu Xinhuan in, only to have Gu Nan ask, "Who are these two?"
Vampires were a very special race. They could commit unimaginably depraved acts in private, but they also incomparably valued face when in public.
Lu Xinhuan saw the predicament the vampires were in, and a trace of anxiousness flashed through her cold eyes. Without time for further thought, she launched a palm strike directly at Lady Mara's back.
There was no way she wasn't anxious—Qinghe Pavilion paid an astronomical price in order to hold up Wu Gui.
To put it bluntly, Lu Xinhuan was currently using the lives of her own people to buy time. How could she have time to waste on Mara?
However, her attack saved Lady Mara from her dilemma—since there was already a commotion, she could just take advantage of the situation to inform Gu Nan, which was also what she intended to do earlier.
"What is it?" Gu Nan arrived sooner than they thought, accompanied by a blonde girl who stood behind him with a reserved expression.
Lu Xinhuan couldn't help taking a deep breath when she saw Gu Nan.
She was well aware that the one before her had the ability to kill her easily, but she had come with the determination to face death, so she didn't have much fear.
If she didn't even have the courage to put her life on the line, how could she bring Zhong Die back?
Lu Xinhuan secretly encouraged herself and said in a low voice, "My Lord must surely recognize these two, right? They have already taken the special gu of Qinghe Realm. The gu worm has entered their hearts—they'll die within two days without the antidote."
Lu Xinhuan said this with confidence.
No one in this world was completely free of weaknesses. Although Gu Nan was certainly powerful to a terrifying extent, as long as there was still something he wanted, then he would have a weakness.
As someone who could become one of Qinghe Realm's managers, Lu Xinhuan was fully aware of this.
Since she accompanied Gu Nan all the way to the World of Gods, she concluded that he needed Wu Gui and Zi Dian's help. On the other hand, she also investigated Gu Nan's behavior in the Capital of Blood, from the flower girl to Shana. Thus, it was logical to also capture Shana.
If even these two were unable to "move" Gu Nan, then Lu Xinhuan really would be out of options—she did her best; the rest was up to fate.
Lu Xinhuan recited that sentence in her heart and stared at Gu Nan with a bright gaze. "My Lord, as long as you promise to return Zhong Die to Qinghe Realm, everyone present will be yours to punish, including me."
Lu Xinhuan really was smart. She knew how to get along with Star Rulers. One of the core principles was to use the humblest attitude possible.
But she never could've expected for Gu Nan's response to simply be to turn around and pat the blonde girl's shoulder.
"Go say hello."
Gu Nan's voice suddenly made Lu Xinhuan feel panicked.
"Big Sis Lu," the blonde girl, Zhong Die, shouted in her familiar crisp voice and even skipped over to Lu Xinhuan's side like nothing had happened.
Zhong Die, who grew slightly, was already a little taller than Lu Xinhuan. With the vampires' standard high heels, the two's heights became reversed.
Lu Xinhuan raised her head to stare at the Zhong Die who was already a complete stranger. She could only find a shadow of Zhong Die's former self from the outline of her face.
"You… already underwent the siring?" She asked, stupefied.
"Yeah!" Zhong Die still had an innocent expression.
Even Gu Nan didn't expect for Zhong Die to be ready for the siring so quickly, so Lu Xinhuan was even less likely to consider it—thus, she screwed herself over.
She came here almost exactly after two months had passed since the Ceremony of Blood. Only with this much time was she able to make sufficient preparations to kidnap Zi Dian.
But now, Zhong Die smashed all her schemes and plans to pieces with only one word, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
"How could this be…" Classmate Lu's mind was a mush. She was completely speechless.
"Let's go, we'll continue training," Gu Nan's unhurried words traveled over.
Zhong Die, who hadn't had a chance to catch up with Lu Xinhuan, could only pout and walk back obediently.
Ever since she woke up, she never disobeyed Gu Nan's orders. Gu Nan's orders were even more effective than Christina's.
This was also very normal. Christina was her direct sire, while Gu Nan was the one who imparted the origin blood to her.
In terms of her origin as a vampire, if Gu Nan was her real father, then Christina would be a surrogate mother at best, or perhaps even a test tube.
"No!" Lu Xinhuan seemed to be startled awake and let out a loud shout.
She grabbed Zhong Die's wrist and said in a heavy voice, "Even if you already accepted the siring, I still have to take you back. Maybe—"
Lu Xinhuan didn't get to finish before countless black tentacles suddenly lunged out from her shadow and completely wrapped her up.
The hand she used to grab Zhong Die's wrist was also forcibly pried off by those tentacles, and then her entire person quickly fell into her own shadow.
Lu Xinhuan, who was dragged into the ground and whose entire body save half her face was already swallowed up by her shadow, was still able to see this scene.
'Why…? Does he not care about these two's lives at all?'
But Lu Xinhuan could no longer see the result, because she had completely fallen into her shadow.
This incomparably eerie scene made everyone present feel their scalps tingle. Not even the vampires had seen such a method of killing people before.
What was even more eerie was that not long after, a ball of black shadow began to churn in the shadow and soon formed a new human figure.
"What's the method to remove the gu worms?" Gu Nan casually asked.
The shadow began to dutifully report the "recipe": "Blue Heart Grass, Silver Moon White Frost, hind claws of the Great Eagle…"
Gu Nan rarely used the law of resurrection ever since he reached Tier 6, but this didn't mean he couldn't use it anymore.
On the contrary, as his strength grew, the law of resurrection also became much more effective than before when used on lower-leveled opponents. The shadow servants were able to retain most of their memories from life.
Of course, it was almost completely useless against gods.
"Is this also an application of shadows?" Sylvia, who had appeared beside Gu Nan at some point, stared at the shadow servant in surprise.
Gu Nan didn't know how to explain that players had several law slots, so he thought about it and answered, "It might sound unbelievable, but this is called Shadow Resurrection. It's one the ultimate arcana of our law of shadows."