A single spark can start a prairie fire.
On the Nine - Province Continent, spiritual energy was overflowing. Spiritual power suddenly emerged, and mental power surged like a raging tide. Mountains and rivers were on the verge of destruction, and the rivers, lakes, and seas were in turmoil. Countless living beings were doomed to perish in a great war.
According to the indications on the silver plate, everything stemmed from a demoness. Once the demoness was born, the whole world would be in chaos. The demon star was heartless, cold - blooded, and immoral. In her eyes, there was only slaughter. The world would be destroyed under her hands. Countless people had died because of her.
This was a true harbinger of disaster, and this disaster pointed straight at Zhao Shuning.
Zhao Shuning never expected that she, a mere woman, would be labeled as the reincarnation of the demon star and the demoness. How could she be responsible for bringing harm to the country and massacring the people? Such cruel and tyrannical acts could never be committed by her! But that's what the silver plate said.
Once the demon star was born, the Nine - Province Continent that everyone had painstakingly protected would surely be destroyed.
At this moment, what she had to do was to nip the demon star in the bud before it was fully born. How ironic! The person she had to kill was herself.
Zhao Shuning had endured so many hardships and never bowed her head. She wanted to live well, to live with faith. But this simple desire seemed so hard to achieve.
She didn't want to believe in fate. But since she came to the Eastern Continent and after the war ended, all the signs that emerged in various countries were pointing at her. The records on the silver plate were coming true one by one.
She couldn't become that kind of female devil. So, before her death, she would do one last thing for the Nine - Province Continent.
Mo Yan and Mo Bai wanted to use the power of countless spiritual souls to activate the Millennium Stone Soul. Since the power of the Millennium Stone Soul was so powerful, why couldn't she use it to destroy herself and the demon star that was a threat to all living beings? Without the power of the Millennium Stone Soul, Mo Bai and Mo Yan wouldn't pose such a great threat to the Nine - Province Continent.
Xiao Qiu and the others would know what to do when they saw the secret letter she left.
The night was as quiet as usual. Everything seemed normal.
Relying on her memory and her almost perfect mental power, she managed to avoid the patrols of many high - level alchemists and came to a remote palace.
This place was desolate, unlike other well - lit areas. According to the memory of Dongfang Yinuo, this was the place where she met Mo Yan and Mo Bai. Although it was remote, it was definitely not a simple place.
Zhao Shuning walked inside. Sure enough, in the courtyard, she encountered many barriers. She carefully avoided them but almost got hurt.
After finally passing through the courtyard, she stepped into the palace. At this moment, the palace was eerie. Candles were lit in the four corners, and their shadows swayed in the wind, looking desolate and strange.
Zhao Shuning just took a quick glance, and her heart was filled with fear. No wonder no one had set up a formation here. The palace itself was a natural formation. This formation was so strange that alchemists below the eighth rank couldn't understand it at all.
Zhao Shuning had learned a lot of formation secrets from Yan Ruyu more than five hundred years ago, so although the current formation was difficult, she could still recognize it. She couldn't help but sigh at Mo Yan's deep scheming.
Back then, he deliberately spread false information, making Luo Qiu believe it and try her best to collect spiritual souls for Luo Feiyan's resurrection, while he was responsible for hiding the spiritual souls. He chose the Eastern Continent not only because there were mysterious stones like those in the Ghost Domain in a remote valley but also because there was such a natural and strange palace formation in the Eastern Continent's royal palace.
Everything seemed to be within his prediction. No matter the result of this war, it seemed that the king of the Eastern Continent would not survive.
This palace was a living natural sacrificial ground. Looking at the positions, there were exactly eighty - one of them. To accommodate so many alchemists and let their spiritual souls drive the entire formation, it seemed that Mo Yan didn't even spare the alchemists trained by the Ghost Domain itself.
It was obvious how cruel and heartless Mo Yan was.
The main hall was empty. Zhao Shuning gently stepped in. The wind blew the bells, making a tinkling sound. She hid behind one of the pillars.
In the center of the main hall, there was a scimitar on display. The palace was in disrepair, and there was a huge hole in the ceiling right above it. It was night, and by the moonlight, the scimitar emitted a deep blue light.
Spiritual energy and mental power were surging inside the scimitar. Zhao Shuning was sure that this was the scimitar she had seen in Mo Yan's hand a few days ago.
But now, every step was full of traps. How could she sneak in and steal the scimitar? Mo Yan was really bold. Zhao Shuning knew something about his scheming. When he hid the spiritual souls, he hid them right under Luo Qiu's nose, in the painting studio.
The most dangerous place was the safest place. That's probably why he didn't let anyone guard this place. He didn't want anyone to suspect that such an important item would be placed in such an empty place.
The moon was high in the sky. It was almost the third watch. Zhao Shuning gritted her teeth and stepped out. At this moment, she had no other choice. After tonight, the spiritual energy and mental power would absorb all the power of the earth on the Nine - Province Continent. By then, everything would be out of control.
"Ding—" A sudden and urgent ringing of bells came, followed by countless sharp arrows from all directions. Thousands of them were shooting towards Zhao Shuning.
Zhao Shuning frowned. Suddenly, a huge phoenix appeared in front of her. It spread its wings and tightly protected Zhao Shuning under them. The phoenix's plumage was the best defensive item on the Nine - Province Continent. Thousands of arrows fell one by one when they hit its feathers.
The sound gradually stopped. The phoenix spread its wings, and Zhao Shuning slowly walked out.
At this moment, hundreds of alchemists appeared in front of her. Two of them stood at the front. They were Mo Bai and Mo Yan.
When Mo Bai saw Zhao Shuning, his feet involuntarily took a step forward. Mo Yan reached out and grabbed him.
"If you give up now, all our previous efforts will be in vain. I promised you that I would spare her life. If you show mercy now, you'll never have a chance to rival Yan Ruyu. Are you willing to accept that?"
Mo Bai stopped in his tracks. His eyes became firm.
The entire main hall became bright at this moment. It seemed that they had been waiting for Zhao Shuning.
In the distance, Feng Buran's right eyelid suddenly twitched. A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.