“It’s the first time I’ve seen a Contracted Beast dare to murder its own Master.” The man watched the scene, his eyes full of interest.

Sensing the powerful aura emanating from him, Yun Nian propped herself up and sat on the ground. The Bone Burying Wolf also sensed danger and immediately bared its teeth at the man.

“What exactly is your objective?” Yun Nian asked, her voice hoarse.

Presumably, the person who set up the Formation here was this man, and the one who released the Red-Haired Zombie just now was also this man. The City of the Dead didn't contain a Formation Master and a Corpse Refiner; rather, those two roles were held by the same person.

Although this person’s surrounding aura was chaotic, it was certain that his cultivation level was absolutely at the Soul Emergence Stage.

“Hahaha,” the man’s remaining left eye narrowed slightly. “You are quite smart, but that intelligence is useless to me. All I need is this body of yours.”

“Body?” Yun Nian narrowed her eyes, connecting all the events she had experienced over the past few days. Her gaze suddenly sharpened. “So you used the Formation to lure everyone into the City of the Dead just to select a suitable body... You want to refine a Corpse King?!”

“You know quite a lot for a Little Girl your age. That’s right. I’ve waited three hundred years, and for three hundred years, I haven't been able to find a suitable body to become the Corpse King I intend to refine. Finally, perseverance pays off. The moment you stepped into the City of the Dead, I confirmed it—you are the right body!” The man’s eyes were shining brightly. “The legendary Corpse King is finally going to be born by my hand!”

Yun Nian’s thoughts were in turmoil.

Why was she the so-called suitable body? Was this person certain he hadn't made a mistake?

Although her body had undergone Body Tempering and was indeed stronger than most Cultivators, there were countless people better than her in the Cultivation World!

However, perhaps it was precisely because of this that they hadn't suffered a fatal calamity when they entered the City of the Dead.

Yun Nian’s gaze suddenly shifted toward the Bone Burying Wolf beside her.

Are you not coming back yet?

The Bone Burying Wolf paused, and the next moment, it transformed into a red mist and drilled into Yun Nian’s body.

Seeing this scene, a trace of curiosity reappeared in the man’s eyes.

“I didn’t expect that you, this Little Girl, would hide so many secrets. If I haven't misjudged, this shouldn't belong to the Cultivation World, right?” The man paused, his gaze growing serious. “Is it a Demon?!”

“Demon?” Yun Nian’s brow furrowed slightly.

According to the records of Immortal History, Demons had vanished ten thousand years ago.

“A Dao Cultivator, Cultivating Daoist School Cultivation Methods, holding a Buddhist School weapon in her hand, yet contracting a Demon Race creature within her body...” The man slowly walked toward Yun Nian. “Truly interesting, how interesting...”

Above the sky, the stars were brilliant, and the dark night curtain spread open. Below, the Formation Masters were still working frantically, while on the rooftop, Elder Xu Xu tilted his head back, drank a mouthful of wine, and watched the stars quietly with his beautiful Phoenix eyes.

“Elders, have you made any progress?” Below, Song Li walked over and asked.

“We have some, but this Formation has existed for three hundred years, and the corpse qi is heavy. If we don’t handle it carefully, we’ll be back to having nowhere to start.”

“Alas... could you possibly speed up? Our Sect’s Disciples may be in mortal danger. To be honest, their soul lamps are already very dim...”

“This... at a time like this, we absolutely cannot rush. If we anger the Formation and cause more corpses to mutate, then...”

Before he finished speaking, a fierce wind suddenly arose, and the entire City of the Dead seemed to be swept up in the gale. A clear Dao Qi swept through the city at some unknown point. Above the night sky, the starlight shone brightly, and within the affected range, ten thousand swords hummed.

“Hey, what’s going on!” The Cultivators wearing swords noticed the change and immediately reached out to try and hold down their continuously humming longswords, yet they struggled for a while with no success.

Everyone stationed in the City of the Dead was stunned by this sudden change, and they all ran out of their rooms to look.

Qi Rou also rushed out, immediately looking up at the stars in the night sky. Her mind trembled: “This is...”

On the eaves, the purple robes flapped loudly in the wind, but the person continued to drink, head tilted back, as if nothing had happened.

The next moment, the sound of a longsword leaving its sheath cut through the sky. Just then, the stars in the night sky seemed to come alive, and starlight gathered. Everyone looked up, only to see a longsword suspended high above the night sky, and the person holding the sword, clad in purple robes, was handsome and refined, watching the city below with neither sorrow nor joy in his eyes. His black hair danced in the wind, and where the myriad starlight pointed, he stood like the God of War descending upon the world.

“The shattering star sword... has been unsheathed.” Qi Rou watched the person in the sky in shock, her heart involuntarily rising high in her chest.

Recalling the first time she clashed with Elder Xu Xu, she had originally thought their cultivation levels were similar, but that person hadn't moved a step or lifted a sword, yet he had nearly gravely wounded her. After fleeing back, she became increasingly interested in him. After investigating his past experiences, the shock in her heart grew even greater.

With the shattering star sword as the center, the longswords that had only been humming suddenly twisted, losing all control. They bowed down toward Elder Xu Xu’s direction, as if performing a pilgrimage.

“Is he, perhaps, going to...” Song Li also looked up at the scene in the sky, and the usually steady man couldn't help but pale.

Elder Xu Xu’s body was surrounded by sharp Sword Qi. Illuminated by the starlight, the blade of the shattering star sword glowed with a cold, severe light. He poured all his Cultivation Power into the longsword. The next moment, he swung the longsword, scattering starlight. Powerful Sword Qi enveloped the entire City of the Dead. Houses collapsed, and the ground cracked—nothing was spared. The three-hundred-year-old Formation shone brightly, and a deep fissure tore through the Runes on the Formation.

The people below seemed to be scared senseless, looking up at the Heavenly God-like figure in the air.

Watching the surrounding buildings instantly collapse, turning the entire City of the Dead into ruins in less than fifteen minutes, Yun Nian’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

“Damn it!” The man’s expression suddenly changed. His half-skull face instantly became sinister and terrifying. He turned and glared at Yun Nian, shouting, “What is your background, Little Girl, that you can even summon the shattering star sword!”

shattering star sword... Yun Nian was slightly stunned, and then a realization suddenly dawned on her.

It’s Master!

“No, I can’t wait any longer!” The man immediately grabbed Yun Nian and fiercely blew a Bone Whistle.

“What is that sound?!”

“It sounds like a whistle!”

“Where is that whistle sound coming from?!”

The Sect members below began discussing among themselves. In the air, Elder Xu Xu’s gaze flickered, and the next moment, the shattering star sword in his hand stabbed toward the Formation on the ground once more.