“Where did my Ba w.a.n.g Flower go?” Liu Mei'er turned pale at the realization that the connection with her doll had been severed.

“Senior Yun Jiu, what is going on? Did we mess up?” Liu Tian'er asked uneasily as they had failed to heed the warning from a few seconds ago.

“We' ll talk about that later. We need to first get your doll back.” Under normal circ.u.mstances, Yun Jiuge wouldn't speak of the doll's name without complaining, but given the urgency of the present situation, it's better to just let it go for now.

“But I can't sense it anymore.” Ever since Liu Mei'er had absorbed the Curse Source, not only could she pinpoint the location of the Wicked Patriarch, her Cognition had also increased by leaps and bounds.

Now that she was unable to find the Ba w.a.n.g Flower doll, it was likely that ability had been destroyed.

“Don't worry, even if you can't find it, someone else can,” said Yun Jiuge, as she turned to look at Zi Shang, who was hiding at the corner. She asked, “Did you see where the doll went?”

“To the East.” Zi Shang lazily pointed towards the said direction.

“Since you saw it, why didn't you stop it?” A Puppet Yin Corpse, no matter how fast it could run, could not possibly have escaped from Zi Shang.

“Didn't want to.” Zi Shang shrugged. He had no interest in any game of tag.

Yun Jiuge frowned. This Zi Shang Shang is getting lazier.

“Senior Yun Jiu, let's just go and get the doll back!” coaxed Liu Mei'er. Now was not the time to start a quarrel.

“Yes, yes!” Liu Tian'er nodded.

“Then let's go!” Yun Jiuge didn't want to waste too much time tarrying either. With the sisters in tow, they began their chase towards the east.

On the way, Liu Tian'er asked, “Senior Yun Jiu, did we do something wrong?”

“Once the Dual Core has just been fused, you must first individually familiarize yourself with the situation, before you can work together. Otherwise, you will lose control.” Yun Jiuge explained.

“When we get Ba w.a.n.g Flower back, we' ll train well.” Even Liu Mei'er understood this simple concept. The earlier mishap was simply because she was overly excited.

At this moment, Zi Shang warned, “There is a disturbance, a hundred steps ahead.”

Yun Jiuge slowed down her pace, spotting a handsome man dressed in black standing under a tree in the distance.

He was holding the Doll Yin Corpse with his left hand, and the Dual Core with his right. He was busy scrutinizing the core against the sun.

The Liu Sisters were furious to see their precious Doll Yin Corpse in a wreck.

Two earthy-yellow Bone Spurs shot into the ground, lunging towards the man.

Yun Jiuge immediately jumped to the man's defense, sending forth his four black Bone Spurs.

Everything happened in a flash.

One would have expected the man to be rattled as he was almost killed. Instead, he casually turned, revealing a jet-black shortsword, before using it to block the sisters' attacks. He was a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage!

“You are disciples of the Yin Corpse Sect. I presume this Doll Yin Corpse is yours?”

The man looked at the sisters and Yun Jiuge for a second. Then, he pointed at Yun Jiuge and exclaimed, “If my guess is correct, you're that lucky Yin Corpse Sect disciple who scored the Millennium Living Corpse. Yun Jiu, right?”

Yun Jiuge narrowed her eyes. “I never knew I was so famous.”

“But of course! After all, your appearance is so unique, I would have recognized you with just a glance.”

The man, gesturing dramatically, said, “Stories of your great achievements in the Yin Corpse Sect have spread throughout the Black Magic world, especially that fight between your Millennium Living Corpse and the Three Great Elders. It's something to admire.”

“Perhaps I will have the honor of seeing this legendary Millennium Living Corpse?” the man asked with a smile.

“Even if you get to see it, you may not make it back alive.” Yun Jiuge looked at Zi Shang, waiting for him to make the first move.

Instead, Zi Shang shook his head. “This is no ordinary person. Killing him will be very troublesome.”

Yun Jiuge then realized that while Wanli Mingxuan appeared friendly and completely unguarded, he had, from the start, been keeping a safe distance away from them.

Upon closer observation, she realized that Wanli Mingxuan's seemingly ordinary-looking black clothes were made of quality third-grade Ice Silk. Its rune patterns deployed the Dark Embroidery technique, making the garment not only strong in defense, but also equipped with an Energy Concealment function.

The black earring on his left ear, carefully crafted from wood, could increase composure, improve focus, and dispel Black Magic Aura.

There were also his bracers, belt, shoes, and Jade pendant, all of which were high-leveled magical items. Darn it.

To be able to dress like this, low-key yet effortlessly extravagant, bearing a subtle connotation, meant that he was no ordinary Inner Disciple. No wonder Zi Shang said that killing him would have serious repercussions.

“Never mind then,” the man continued happily. “Junior Yun Jiu, don't be so nervous, I bear no bad intentions. My name is Wanli Mingxuan, I'm an Inner Disciple of the Black Fiend Sect. Our sect has always had good relations with your Yin Corpse Sect, so if you don't mind, let me call you my Junior.”

“Black Fiend Sect.” Yun Jiuge remembered that Ye Ruyi had been taken away by the same sect. She had no idea what happened to her since then.

“Senior Yun Jiu, this guy stole our Yin Corpse, we can't forgive him so easily!” the Liu Sisters interjected anxiously.

“Please don't misunderstand. This Doll Yin Copse suddenly attacked me, that's why I captured it,” replied Wanli Mingxuan with an affronted expression. For such an expression on a man, it looked surprisingly natural.

“But you can't just destroy it just like that!” To Liu Mei'er, Ba w.a.n.g Flower was almost like her child.

Her child was killed; naturally, she resented him deeply.

“I didn't destroy it; I merely found its core interesting and decided to take a look,” Wanli Mingxuan said, re-inserting the Dual Core back into the Doll Yin Corpse's open head cavity. His movement was both nimble and skillful, clearly demonstrating his status as an Inner Disciple.

In the blink of an eye, the Doll Yin Corpse came back to life, with its Demonic Eye once again awakened.

“Ah, there's even a Demonic Eye! Where did you get this core? Do you mind telling me?” asked Wanli Mingxuan, clearly exhilarated.

“We got it from h.e.l.l, you can go there to find it!” Liu Mei'er immediately decided that she would like to kill this man.

However, Ba w.a.n.g Flower unexpectedly remained motionless.

“I'm so sorry, I thought it would run off, so I set a spell on it.” With a smile, Wanli Mingxuan lifted the corpse's clothes, revealing a swirling black “Restricted” character on its back.

“Just what do you want?” Yun Jiuge asked, frowning deeply. If Wanli Mingxuan dared covet the Doll Yin Corpse, she would not forgive him, even if it meant offending the Black Fiend Sect.

“Nothing!” Wanli Mingxuan cried out innocently. “I have been interested in weapon refinements since young. All I want is to know who the weaponsmith is, that's all.”

Wanli Mingxuan, to prove his sincerity, swiftly removed the “Restricted” mark from the Doll Yin Corpse before tossing it over to Yun Jiuge.

Yun Jiuge closely inspected the corpse. Finding the Dual Core to be perfectly intact, and confirming that the corpse was not tampered with, she then returned it to the Liu Sisters.