Bai Ru felt completely paralyzed, as if bound by some invisible force, leaving her momentarily at a loss. Before she could even formulate a plan in her mind, a sharp, intense pain suddenly flared across her back, causing her to cry out involuntarily.

Immediately, she heard Gu Yi’s voice, strained with concern: “Bai Ru, what is it? Wake up…”

The voice sounded distant at first, but the agonizing sensation in her back quickly transmitted to her brain, paradoxically bringing a stark clarity to her thoughts.

Suddenly, her vision cleared, and she realized she was leaning forward, embraced tightly from behind, with the wall just a few feet ahead of her.

“What happened? What’s on my back?” Bai Ru managed to ask, finally lucid and aware that Gu Yi was holding her.

“Are you sure you’re alright now?” Gu Yi asked, his grip unwavering.

Bai Ru nodded, a dull ache still throbbing in her back. Gu Yi cautiously released his hold, setting her free, but kept a hand on her shoulder, slowly turning her to face him. He scrutinized her under the dim light before finally confirming she had returned to normal.

Bai Ru furrowed her brow deeply, asking again with confusion, “What exactly happened to me?”

Gu Yi finally let out a breath of relief and explained, “You suddenly leaped to the side just now, and then you were about to slam headfirst into the wall. Everything happened too fast; I had to grab you from behind. But you were surprisingly strong, and I knew something was wrong, so I used the only Clarity Talisman I had on you—that’s a rare piece of magic, you know.”

Bai Ru knew that a Clarity Talisman was a relatively high-grade charm, specifically designed to break advanced illusions. Only masters among masters could draw one, which was why they were so scarce; it seemed Gu Yi only possessed this single one.

She managed a weak smile and glanced around. The Light Talisman was still hovering in the air. Though it offered little more than candlelight, it was enough to vaguely illuminate their surroundings. The rotting corpses on the ground had not risen, nor had any black cats appeared. There was no need to ask; she had clearly been caught in an illusion. Everything she thought she experienced had only played out in her mind, nothing truly executed—except perhaps that final lunge toward the wall.

Bai Ru mused thoughtfully, “It seems this barrier can truly deceive anything with a life force, and at a very advanced level. Probably only someone with innate insightful eyes like yours could be immune.”

Gu Yi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, asking, “You were hallucinating?”

Bai Ru recounted everything she had falsely believed she endured, during which Gu Yi kept a concerned hand clamped around her arm.

When she finished, even Gu Yi’s expression shifted slightly. “An illusion powerful enough to affect you—it really is extraordinary. Is the Celestial Master Talisman still on you?”

Bai Ru felt for it and nodded. “It seems I only activated it within the illusion.”

Gu Yi hooked a finger toward her. “Hand the talisman over. We need to move forward quickly and find the exit. If we don't get out of this barrier soon, we might get trapped again.”

Bai Ru gave him the charm. Gu Yi continued, “From now on, you’d best hold onto my arm. If anything strange happens, I can assist you immediately.”

Although Bai Ru didn't particularly want to, she reluctantly nodded to ensure safety. At this point, she couldn't help but worry; if this barrier could trick her with mere illusions, handling it—especially combined with the corpse transformations they encountered earlier while using the phone—would be truly difficult.

Unexpectedly, after Bai Ru gripped Gu Yi’s arm and walked for about ten minutes, absolutely nothing happened. The journey was extraordinarily smooth. However, both of them began to feel that the path was unnervingly long.

Bai Ru carefully reviewed the rough map Wu Zhong had drawn; they shouldn't have taken a wrong turn. After walking a bit further, there should be a turn to the left, which would lead straight to the main sewer entrance of the Second Teaching Building.

Gu Yi sighed dramatically upon hearing Bai Ru outline the route. “This isn't ghost-hunting; it’s pure sewage work.”

Bai Ru shot him a glare and increased the pressure on his arm, urging him, “Hurry up. The sooner we reach their lair, the sooner we solve the problem.”

Gu Yi forced a dry laugh and continued walking. Bai Ru felt deeply uncomfortable hearing the crunch of his boots on skeletal remains beneath them and couldn't help but say, “Can’t you try to step around the corpses?”

“Do you think I want to step on them?” Gu Yi’s voice sounded thoroughly unwilling.

Bai Ru paused, a realization dawning on her. “Are you deliberately destroying these bodies?”

Gu Yi let out a long sigh. “Just in case.”

Bai Ru considered this and, though still reluctant, began deliberately crushing the bones under her own feet.

After another five minutes, they finally spotted the corner.

Bai Ru tugged Gu Yi’s arm and shone her flashlight toward it. “Look, we’re here.”

Gu Yi suddenly stopped, uttering, “Something’s not right.”

At the same moment, Bai Ru felt a distinct shift in the atmosphere. Faint, pale green mist began churning and swirling in the air from all directions, thickest just ahead of them near the bend, seeming to coalesce and gather. Intermittently, a sound like small stones falling onto the ground echoed from both ahead and behind.

Gu Yi yanked Bai Ru closer, shouting, “Bad news! Something’s absorbing the death energy. A big thing is about to emerge. We need to rush past it now!”

Saying this, he pulled Bai Ru forcefully and sprinted toward the corner.

Meanwhile, in the drainage ditch running down the middle of the passage, the murky, foul water churned as old bones, previously submerged, floated to the surface, splashing. The water appeared to boil, emitting layer upon layer of bubbles, and the wave of stench was enough to choke a person unconscious.

The pair quickened their pace, charging to the bend. Not far ahead of them, a dense, dark green fog was rapidly condensing, visible to the naked eye, growing larger by the second.

Gu Yi sensed the unnatural progression. Through his insightful eyes, he could see the death energy that permeated the air rushing swiftly into this large mass. It wasn't just thickening and expanding; something seemed hidden within it. What truly startled him was that his insightful eyes could not discern what lay concealed inside.

Gu Yi chose to rush forward rather than confront the strange phenomena head-on, driven by the principle of capturing the leader first. Whatever this mass was, it couldn't be the demon that had been killing people throughout the school. Its sole purpose here, right now, was to block their path forward.

However, breaking through now was proving difficult. The green fog was about a hundred meters away, and in just a few seconds, it had expanded to nearly fill the horizontal space of the sewer passage. Clearly, if it continued to grow at this rate, by the time they reached it, the fog would completely barricade their route. If they wanted to pass, they would have to go through the green mist.

Gu Yi had no desire to plunge into such a massive concentration of death energy, especially one concealing an unknown entity. After only a moment of hesitation, the two broke into a run, moving carefully along the right side of the sewer passage.

The fog grew denser and larger, and their distance from it shrank rapidly. A hundred meters wasn't a long distance to cover, but if they kept running without stopping, they were inevitably going to crash straight into the mass of death energy constituting the green mist.