In the middle of the night, Bai Siyao suddenly awoke.
She opened her eyes, staring at the bed curtains for a moment before slowly sitting up. The surrounding silence was almost unbelievable. The old servant assigned by her family to care for her usually snored like thunder when asleep, but now, there was not a sound. This courtyard was located in a remote area, and the night winds often howled as they passed through, yet at this moment, there was only an eerie silence.
She moved cautiously, got out of bed, and put on her clothes. Reaching into her sleeve, she felt the protective talisman she had prepared a few days ago, still safely tucked away, which gave her a slight sense of relief.
As she pushed open the door, the sense of impending danger finally became real.
A fog had settled in.
The thick mist covered everything, reducing visibility to just a few steps ahead.
Bai Siyao turned back, retrieved a decorative sword from the wall, and opened the door to the side room. As expected, it was empty—no servants, no maids.
She quickly came to a conclusion. While this was still the Bai family estate, she had been pulled into another dimension.
There was no doubt—this had to be the work of her great-uncle. He must have discovered that his secret had been uncovered.
Bai Siyao sighed inwardly. The Bai family massacre years ago had always been a mystery to her. She had suspected foul play but could never find any clues. She hadn't expected the Reincarnation Mirror to trace it back to her own family, revealing that the seed of disaster had been planted here.
Her great-uncle, perhaps having lost hope of achieving immortality, had resorted to deviant methods, using the people of the city to feed a demon for his cultivation.
The demon plundered wherever it went, and the evil god twisted people's hearts. Through the Yin-Yang Umbrella, these dark forces gathered under the Yellow Springs Tree, becoming his nourishment.
In the original timeline, without her intervention, Huo Chongxiao likely stopped his investigation at the farmhouse, believing his mission was complete. Qingyun City wasn't a critical stronghold, and Danxia Palace would not have conducted a thorough investigation, so the matter would have been left unresolved.
Thus, decades passed, leading to a catastrophe.
Bai Siyao stepped out of the courtyard, identified her direction, and headed toward the Qinghe Courtyard.
The mist was thick with evil energy, highly corrosive to the soul. Fortunately, as a master of demonic arts, Bai Siyao had her own secret techniques. By circulating her power, she opened up a small domain within her inner realm to store the harmful energy.
As a result, not only was her cultivation unaffected, but it also grew stronger, making her feel even more at ease.
Bai Siyao exhaled, feeling a sense of lightness. Her foundation in Daoist arts had been destroyed when she defected from Danxia Palace, forcing her to turn to demonic cultivation. Now, back in her younger self with shallow cultivation, her methods didn't quite align with her new foundation, making them cumbersome to use.
However, with the demonic energy now bolstering her, she could once again employ some of her former techniques.
"Help! Help!" A desperate scream, faintly familiar, pierced the fog.
Bai Siyao turned toward the sound, seeing someone stumbling out of a courtyard, pursued by several black flames.
"Father! Mother! Help me!" Bai Mengxing, running frantically, spotted someone in the corridor and dashed toward them. "Help me! Help me!"
Bai Siyao glanced at him briefly before drawing her sword. With a sharp clang, the blade unleashed a burst of spiritual light, slicing the black flames in half.
The flames fizzled out on the ground.
Still panting in terror, Bai Mengxing turned and saw Bai Siyao. He paused, stunned. "Why is it you?"
Bai Siyao, no longer interested in pretending, replied coldly, "Why wouldn't it be me?"
Even fools had a survival instinct. Realizing that Bai Siyao was his only hope, Bai Mengxing quickly submitted. "I was just asking."
He shrank behind Bai Siyao, clutching his head. "What's going on? Why is everyone gone when I woke up?"
Just a moment ago, he had groggily gotten up in the middle of the night, only to spot a ghostly face across from him as he was pulling up his pants. He had called for help, but no one answered, and then the black flames had chased him outside.
Bai Siyao didn't answer. Instead, she reached out to grab his wrist.
Bai Mengxing jumped in fright, shouting, "What are you doing?"
"Shut up."
Bai Mengxing flinched. "Okay." Bai Siyao checked his pulse. This cousin of hers had barely practiced since channeling spiritual energy into his body, and his powers were pitifully weak.
But because of that, his body was free from the taint of demonic energy.
"Where are Uncle and Aunt?" she asked.
Bai Mengxing answered obediently, "I didn't see them when I woke up."
Bai Siyao frowned.
She and her brother had both been drawn into this space, indicating that it targeted those with spiritual power. Uncle had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and Aunt had also taken pills to channel energy into her body. It was impossible for them not to be here.
"Is there a problem?" Bai Mengxing asked nervously. "Where are my parents?"
"I don't know."
Bai Siyao had no patience to deal with him and continued toward the Qinghe Courtyard.
Bai Mengxing, too scared to leave her side, quickly followed.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"None of your business."
"Hey! Wait…" He wanted to argue but glanced at the mist around them and swallowed his words. "Is someone targeting our family? Shouldn't we find Great-Uncle?"
At least he wasn't completely clueless. Bai Siyao glanced at him and said, "This is a maze formation. I'm going to find someone to break it. You can stay in the house. At most, you'll have to deal with a few minor demons and spirits. As long as you guard the doors, you should be fine."
Bai Mengxing shook his head furiously. "No way! I'm sticking with you!"
"Following me will be dangerous." Although Bai Siyao found him annoying, he was still family, and she wasn't heartless enough to abandon him to die. She tried to persuade him.
But Bai Mengxing had his own reasoning. "Those monsters you mentioned—are they like the ones from earlier? I can't handle them!"
"…" Bai Siyao was speechless.
Fine, if he was this useless, there was no point arguing. He could tag along.
The two siblings walked down the corridor, with Bai Siyao easily dispatching a few small demons along the way.
As they passed through a moon gate, a figure appeared in the distance. Bai Mengxing brightened and shouted, "A guard! Come protect us!"
The man wore the soft armor of a guard and appeared to be on patrol.
But Bai Siyao tensed up, her hand quietly tightening around the talisman.
Sure enough, as the guard approached, a flash of black light gleamed in his eyes, and he swung his blade down toward them.
"Ah!" Bai Mengxing screamed, covering his head.
But the blade never reached them. In the split second before it did, Bai Siyao flicked her fingers, sending the talisman flying toward the guard in a burst of spiritual light.
His body froze, and Bai Siyao's sword was already upon him.
With a swift slash, blood sprayed out, and his head rolled to the ground.
Bai Mengxing screamed again, pointing at Bai Siyao in trembling fear.
She—she dared to kill someone! Remembering how he had bullied her in the past, Bai Mengxing felt a chill run down his neck.
"Shut up!" Bai Siyao snapped, not in the mood to deal with him, and turned to examine the guard's body.
The blood was black—he had been completely turned into a demonic creature.
Her heart sank.