Outside the Great Evolution Hall. Mu Qingying leaned quietly against a stone pillar near the steps, her fingers restlessly twirling a lock of long hair that fell across her chest. At this moment, her incomparably beautiful face was tinged with a deep weariness, and her brow was clouded with heavy anxiety; her bright, beautiful eyes seemed much dimmer than usual.

Upon exiting the hall and seeing her pitiable state, Nie Kong couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The liveliness and playful spirit that once defined Mu Qingying were nowhere to be seen now. It seemed that since the unexpected turmoil during the Heart Canon Ceremony, this girl had suffered more than her share of fear and worry.

Hearing footsteps, Mu Qingying started like a frightened rabbit and quickly raised a hand. When she saw Nie Kong approaching, her expression immediately grew flustered, and she stammered out, "Mu... Mu... Kong... My mother... she asked me... to find you... here..." Nie Kong was startled. "Oh? Sect Master Mu isn't in the Great Evolution Hall right now?"

"No, Mother is. The Soul Devouring Cave,..." Mu Qingying’s speech flowed more easily, but as she uttered the words "Soul Devouring Cave," her eyes inevitably reddened.

"The Soul Devouring Cave? Then let's go there right now." Nie Kong found it strange why Mu Qingying showed such distress when mentioning the "Soul Devouring Cave." After instinctively taking a few steps forward, he suddenly stopped, exclaiming in shock, "Wait, Qingying, the 'Soul Devouring Cave' you speak of—is it the one west of Shadow Moon City?"

"Yes."

Mu Qingying answered softly. Nie Kong's heart gave a lurch.

On the journey to Shadow Moon City with Mu Xinyè, Nie Kong had heard her mention the "Soul Devouring Cave." It was said that being confined there was the gravest punishment for the Half-Spirit people of Yin Ruins. Once inside the cave, all cultivation was sealed, but the soul would be torn to shreds by the magical energy within, then slowly devoured until nothing remained. Of course, this was merely a sensation in the mind, but the resulting agony was entirely real.

Furthermore, this torment was cyclical—repeated thrice daily, once in the morning, noon, and evening, each session lasting two hours. Such an ordeal was unbearable for anyone, even those with the most resolute willpower, for long. Generally, the punishment in the "Soul Devouring Cave" lasted no more than three months.

Though Nie Kong had never personally experienced the conditions inside the "Soul Devouring Cave," the profound, soul-deep terror that flashed across Mu Xinyè’s face when she mentioned it allowed him to vividly imagine how horrifying such a place must be.

For nearly two years, Nie Kong had first helped his mother unlock her bloodline power, and then spent an entire day talking with her. Unaware of the outside changes, and with no one daring to disturb the reunion of him and Mu Xueyi, he never imagined that Mu Qingyi had actually been confined in that very "Soul Devouring Cave."

Mu Qingying pouted. "Mother went in herself. She feels deeply guilty for what she did over the years, saying she won't come out until twenty years have passed." "Twenty years?" Nie Kong sucked in a sharp breath.

According to Mu Xinyè, even those punished for just ten days or half a month inside struggled desperately to live. Yet Mu Qingyi claimed she would stay for twenty years? Could she possibly survive emerging from the "Soul Devouring Cave" then? After all, in there, both Celestial Spirit experts and ordinary Spirit Masters would be reduced to ordinary people.

"Mother said that in these twenty years, she did too many things she shouldn't have, especially trapping Aunt Xue in the Wood Spirit Hall for two decades. So, she wants to use these twenty years to atone." Mu Qingying knew that if her mother truly remained inside, the chance of survival after twenty years was minuscule; even if she lived, she would likely be a broken person. Sorrow welled up inside her, and her eyes grew increasingly red as tears dropped in quick succession.

"While she was the one who acted back then, if we trace it back, we can't entirely blame her. She absolutely didn't need to do this," Nie Kong shook his head. "Let's go, we'll see her now."

With that, Nie Kong strode forward. "When I see her, I will try to persuade her."

"Okay."

Mu Qingying followed close behind Nie Kong, wiping tears from her eyes. "Mu Kong, thank you," she said gratefully. By the reckoning of the Yin Ruins, Mu Qingying was an adult, but fundamentally, she was still a sheltered girl who had grown up in constant care. Encountering such a crisis so suddenly had completely unsettled her. Hearing Nie Kong say he would persuade her mother instantly gave her a sliver of hope, and the tightness in her brows eased a little...

West of Shadow Moon City, the terrain was quite steep. A path several meters wide snaked and twisted through the mountains like a giant serpent, with the "Soul Devouring Cave" situated at the end of this trail.

As soon as Nie Kong and Mu Qingying left Shadow Moon City, they quickened their pace. Nie Kong even executed the "Shifting Flower Evasion," his dark green spiritual power blooming vibrantly beneath his feet; his soles barely touched the ground, and he sped along the path like a weightless phantom.

His cultivation had reached the fourth tier of Spirit Transformation, and his spiritual power had undergone a qualitative change. Nie Kong's "Shifting Flower Evasion" was nearly twice as fast as when he first entered the Yin Ruins. What astonished Nie Kong, however, was that Mu Qingying could actually keep up with his pace, and it didn't seem to strain her much.

This girl's strength is quite formidable; she must be at the high tier of Spirit Transformation already!

Nie Kong speculated internally and slightly increased his speed, but Mu Qingying remained his shadow. The two figures darted through the mountains like lightning. In barely ten minutes, the road ended. Beneath the sheer cliff face, a tall, arched stone gate stood before them.

This was the "Soul Devouring Cave."

At the entrance to the Soul Devouring Cave, Nie Kong also spotted Mu Jinzhu sitting quietly in meditation before the stone door. Only when Nie Kong and Mu Qingying arrived beside her did Mu Jinzhu open her eyes, sighing softly, "The 'Soul Devouring Tribulation' wave from noon has just passed. Qingying, you stay outside. Mu Kong, you go in by yourself."

Nie Kong nodded slightly and stepped forward; his figure immediately merged into the stone door.

"Granny, I..."

Mu Qingying started to protest, but Mu Jinzhu’s eyes had already closed again. She swallowed the rest of her words, her gaze fixed constantly on the stone door.

His vision darkened then brightened, and Nie Kong found himself inside the Soul Devouring Cave. The moment he entered, Nie Kong felt a bizarre force pressing down upon him.

In that instant, not only did the spiritual energy within his body solidify, but even the 'Illusory Image of the Heart' at the center of his brow felt frozen. All around him, a faint green light shimmered. The arched walls were smooth and polished, crystal clear like jade. Walking within felt like strolling through a grotto inlaid with emeralds—dreamlike and illusory.

Indeed, no power could be utilized here!

Here, he was utterly an ordinary person. Nie Kong sensed his condition secretly, then walked forward. The "Soul Devouring Cave" extended straight inward. After walking nearly a hundred meters inside, Nie Kong could vaguely make out a figure sitting motionless ahead.

"Mu Kong, you've come."

A slightly weak voice echoed in the cave. Nie Kong quickened his pace and saw upon drawing near that Mu Qingyi was drenched in sweat, as if just pulled from a pool. Her face was as pale as woven paper, and her once brilliant, beautiful eyes were overlaid with spiderweb-like blood vessels.

"Greetings, Sect Master Mu," Nie Kong said quickly.

"Stop calling me Sect Master Mu. Ever since my body was freed from the control of that spiritual thought, I am no longer the Sect Master of the Yin Ruins!" Mu Qingyi smiled faintly. "If you wish, you can call me Aunt Qing. Truthfully, I should thank you. Had you not released the spiritual essence of Ancestor Mu's spirit treasure that day, I would likely still be a puppet of that spiritual thought, and Leng Xing and the others would still be controlled."

Nie Kong smiled. "The one who truly deserves thanks is Ancestor Mu. Without his esteemed spiritual essence, my coming would have been useless." "You are right. Ancestor Mu is the guardian deity of our Yin Ruins. Unfortunately, I tried to assassinate him with three 'Dark Blood Spirit Worms!'" Mu Qingyi said mournfully.

Nie Kong couldn't help but interject, "Aunt Qing, the matters of these past years..."

Before Nie Kong could finish his sentence, Mu Qingyi waved her hand, saying lightly, "Mu Kong, you don't need to persuade me. Qingying and Jinzhu have been trying to persuade me these past two days, and Concubine Leng Xing, Yijun, Yulin, and Yaoteng—all five of them—have also urged me to simply await Ancestor Mu's decision."

"But I have refused them all. Regardless of whether I was being controlled, the mistakes were made by me, and I must bear the responsibility."

By the end of her statement, Mu Qingyi's voice was resolute, and a trace of pride surfaced on her pale face. Immediately, that pride dissolved into bewilderment. "Mu Kong, I won't hide it from you. Back then, I was indeed intensely jealous of your mother, and also of Leng Xing and the other five. When we were young and both selected for the Ancestral Heaven Academy, they all became Sect Masters or City Lords, while I was merely a (Executioner) in charge of punishments. How could I accept that imbalance? But no matter how jealous I was, I never intended to do anything that would harm the Yin Ruins."

Mu Qingyi gazed at Nie Kong. "Mu Kong, do you believe what Aunt Qing says?"

"I do!" Nie Kong replied without hesitation. "The fact that Aunt Qing is willing to enter the Soul Devouring Cave to be punished is proof enough for anyone to believe you." On the way here, Nie Kong had entertained a petty suspicion—that Mu Qingyi might be faking it. But upon entering, his doubts vanished. If she were indeed staging this, she could have easily accepted the pleas of Mu Lengxing and the others to leave; there was no need for her to stay here and suffer in the 'Soul Devouring Cave.'

"You little fellow haven't disappointed Aunt Qing," Mu Qingyi smiled with satisfaction, a hint of reminiscence flickering in her eyes. "Decades ago, when I served as the Executioner, I was quite young and rather obstinate. Coupled with the fact that I constantly faced Xueyi sister and Xu Xing's—well, their constantly growing achievements—I felt increasingly disheartened. So, I requested Ancestor Mu's permission to leave the Yin Ruins and travel the Celestial Spirit Continent. The outside world was truly different from this place. I saw much more, and my mind broadened. Gradually, my jealousy toward Xueyi and the others faded. But just as I was preparing to return to the Yin Ruins, I encountered an old fellow. If not for him, your Aunt Qing would never have been vulnerable to the spiritual thought of that 'Great Evolution Revered One' infiltrating and controlling me for so many years."

"Who?" Nie Kong instinctively asked.

"Divine Duke Nie!"

As she spoke this name, Mu Qingyi's teeth were clenched in hatred...