He Mengyun’s words carried a sky-high resentment, as if she were a malevolent ghost clawing her way out of hell.

The gaze she directed at Guan Xuelan held not a trace of the respect and courtesy of the past. In its place was a towering aura of hatred and killing intent. Even Guan Xuelan, a Mahayana Supreme Being, felt a chill run down her spine under that glare.

However, Guan Xuelan quickly shook off the momentary unease and roared in anger:

“Rebellious disciple, awaken!!!”

The furious shout slammed into He Mengyun. The soul that had been brimming with venomous malice froze instantly. In the next second, the spectral form that had broken free rapidly retreated back into her physical body.

Not daring to delay, Guan Xuelan produced a Soul-Suppressing Talisman and slapped it onto He Mengyun’s forehead.

A moment later, He Mengyun’s eyes fluttered open in confusion.

She blinked, seemingly just noticing Guan Xuelan’s presence. Startled, she scrambled to her feet.

“Master? This disciple was distracted just now and did not know you had arrived. I failed to pay my respects… I beg for your forgiveness.”

He Mengyun timidly lowered her head, staring at her toes. She looked like a cowardly child terrified of a scolding—a stark contrast to the twisted, hateful specter of moments before.

Seeing this radical shift, Guan Xuelan couldn’t help but sigh.

“Master?” He Mengyun noticed the strange atmosphere. Her eyes widened in sudden fear. “Could… could it be that this disciple just now… again…”

“Yes. You fell into demonic possession again.” Guan Xuelan nodded, her brow tightly furrowed.

This was not the first time.

He Mengyun was a genius in the path of puppetry. The constructs she forged were extremely powerful and had once compensated for the sect’s shortage of personnel. But this exceptionally talented disciple had suddenly fallen into madness a year ago.

She had been experimenting with soul-puppet techniques when her own soul suffered catastrophic damage.

In the aftermath, she had stormed to the sect’s main gate and screamed at the sky, cursing the Azure Mystic Sacred Land as a den of ungrateful wretches. She had screeched that the entire sect was filled with bitches who deserved terrible deaths and miserable ends.

Then, she proceeded to curse every master and disciple by name.

She called Guan Xuelan a malicious woman, rotten to the core.

She called the Eldest Senior Sister a cowardly waste who only knew how to run away.

She called the Second Senior Sister a foolish, wicked idiot who didn’t even realize she was being sold out.

She called the Third Senior Sister a hypocrite with a bodhisattva’s face and a venomous heart.

She called the Fourth Senior Sister an arrogant, conceited fool who thought she was invincible but was actually useless.

As for the Fifth Senior Sister, Qin Meran… He Mengyun didn’t exactly curse her. She simply said: If the ancient sages knew Qin Meran had read their books, they would be so ashamed they’d commit suicide on the spot. Those words had caused Qin Meran to break down in tears.

But the ones who had it worst were Little Senior Sister Lu Qingyao and Little Junior Brother Jiang Xun.

When they tried to persuade her to stop, He Mengyun didn’t say a word. She simply summoned a Soul Formation puppet and tried to kill them. She had nearly reduced the two golden children of the sect to ashes.

As for herself… she didn’t curse herself. She just ran to the gate of Clumsy Peak and attempted suicide.

If Guan Xuelan hadn’t intervened in time, He Mengyun would be nothing more than a memory in the Valley of Ten Thousand Puppets.

The incident caused an uproar. Guan Xuelan had to issue a strict gag order, forbidding anyone from mentioning it. But silence did not erase the truth.

Examinations by Guan Xuelan and Xu Wanqing revealed that half of He Mengyun’s soul had been shattered. When that damaged half took control, she fell into violent madness and self-destructive tendencies.

Soul damage was fundamentally irreversible. Guan Xuelan had used her Mahayana cultivation to forcibly split He Mengyun’s soul into two parts, suppressing the insane half with talismans day and night.

“This disciple knows she is wrong!”

Seeing Guan Xuelan nod, He Mengyun fell to her knees, trembling. “This disciple… this disciple didn’t… didn’t offend Master, did I?”

“What do you think?” Guan Xuelan asked dryly.

“This…” He Mengyun swallowed hard, guilt washing over her face. “This disciple wanted to advance further in the puppet path today… but my incomplete soul made it difficult… so… so I risked tearing off the Soul-Suppressing Talisman…”

“This disciple is guilty! Please punish me, Master!”

Looking at the timid, cowering figure before her, Guan Xuelan’s anger dissolved into a helpless sigh.

“Enough. Your master cannot cure your injury, so what use is there in blaming you?”

He Mengyun had always been introverted, hiding her thoughts and speaking in whispers. Among the dazzling flowers of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, she was a mere green leaf, an inconspicuous speck of dust.

But she was still her disciple. And her condition was a result of her dedication to the puppet path.

“Remember this: no matter when or where, you must not rashly remove the Soul-Suppressing Talisman! That will lead you to destruction!”

“Yes, Master…”

“Soul puppets are perilous and unpredictable. Focus on your physical puppets. As long as they are sufficiently powerful, they can break through all techniques even without soul power.”

“Yes, Master…”

Her submissive demeanor made Guan Xuelan frown slightly. After a moment of thought, she spoke again.

“By the way, I remember you forged several Soul-Tracking Puppets some days ago?”

“Yes…” He Mengyun looked up, puzzled. “Does Master wish to find someone?”

“Find Gu Xiu!”

“Ah?” He Mengyun was astonished. Master had practically made Gu Xiu’s name a taboo in the sect. Why look for him now?

Guan Xuelan’s expression was cold. “Your Eldest Senior Sister has been gone for too long. She must have gone looking for Gu Xiu. I believe that if we find Gu Xiu and bring him back, she will return as well.”

“This…”

“Is there a problem?”

“Didn’t Master say we should no longer look for Gu Xiu? After all… he has signed the Sect Severance Treaty. He is an expelled member… What should we do after bringing him back?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Guan Xuelan scoffed. “What this Venerable One wants is merely for your Eldest Senior Sister to return.”

“As for Gu Xiu…”

“After your Eldest Senior Sister returns… can’t we just kick him out again?”

He Mengyun pursed her lips but nodded silently.

Guan Xuelan didn’t stay much longer. After emphasizing the importance of the talisman one last time, she left quickly.

She couldn’t help it.

If Gu Xiu was the disciple she detested most, then He Mengyun was the one she favored least.

He Mengyun’s gloomy, solitary nature and her obsession with puppet corpses made the Valley of Ten Thousand Puppets feel like the underworld. Even as a Mahayana cultivator, Guan Xuelan felt uncomfortable staying there too long.

Watching her master leave, He Mengyun finally exhaled, her anxiety draining away.

She didn’t like dealing with people—especially living people. And Master Guan Xuelan was the most intimidating of them all.

“How could I have fallen into demonic possession again?”

“What exactly is going on?”

He Mengyun sighed, worried.

Suddenly, a sharp sting on her arm drew her attention. She pushed up her sleeve.

There, carved into her jade-white skin with a knife, were three bloody characters:

Ungrateful Wretch