Everything was a blur for Dongfang Ming. Blinking, he looked around himself in an attempt to see where he was now.

It would appear he was back in the Core World.

He could see the faraway mountains characteristic of the Core World as well as a large expanse where countless people lived and moved about. He also saw a small house built right next to a tall tree; this house was quite small, actually. It was certainly not meant for a human to live in, but a dog. 

This was Lao Sha’s doghouse.

Dongfang Ming knitted his eyebrows in confusion. Why had Bai Yunfei brought him here? Hadn’t Bai Yunfei agreed to compromise? 

Was he imagining things?

“Does he think he can find another way to save them? He couldn’t have, not with his personality. He’s ought to know that Zi Jin won’t be able to last for much longer…”

A sense of unease welled up inside of Dongfang Ming. He had been so sure he had an idea of Bai Yunfei’s decision, but now he wasn’t so sure about it… 

……

While Dongfang Ming was thinking to himself. In the halls of the real world.

“What?! Do you seriously intend to do that, Yunfei?!”

It was a surprised Kou Changkong that asked. Like the others in the hall, he was completely bewildered by Bai Yunfei.

A weakened Cang Yu began to tremble from concern and hesitation. Casting a pleading glance at Huangfu Nan, she clutched at Huangfu Rui even tighter as if hoping for some kind of interjection.

“Are you absolutely confident in this choice, youngling?” Huangfu Nan managed to speak as he stared at Bai Yunfei.

Bai Yunfei was stead-faced. Now wasn’t a time for hesitation. He touched the Soul Sentinel Scarf on his forehead as if for reassurance, “I can’t say a hundred percent sure, eighty percent is more likely…”

“....”

Everyone could see the internal battle going on in Huangfu Nan’s heart. Watching, they waited as Huangfu Nan bit his lips, heavy in thought. 

“Fine!! We’ll do as you say! I cannot allow my daughter’s life to be controlled by Dongfang Ming! I don’t trust him!!”

……

Dongfang Ming was, of course, completely clueless of the developments happening outside the Core World. Time seemed to flow sluggishly within the Core World, and that only served to make him feel more and more agitated.

Suddenly, a group of people appeared out of thin air right in front of him.

It was when the air cleared up that he was able to distinguish who was among the crowd. Bai Yunfei, Shen Pojun, Kou Changkong, Li Chengfeng, Tang Xinyun, Huangfu Nan, Caang Yu, and even Huangfu Rui. The others remained back in the real world.

“So?” Dongfang Ming stated, hoping that he had managed to hide his unease well enough, “Have you come to a decision?”

Just hearing Dongfang Ming speak had Bai Yunfei feeling furious. “I’m willing to consider it, but first return Huangfu Rui’s consciousness. According to past experiences, none of those afflicted with Soul Puppetry have ever been able to recover!”

Dongfang Ming’s eyes lit up with renewed hope. Smiling now that the cards seemed to be in his favor, he spoke, “Rest assured. Strictly speaking, she isn’t under the control of Soul Puppetry. Soul Puppetry erases the consciousness of the person, but what I’ve done is control her via the Symbiosis Imprint.”

And so in a sign of ‘good faith’, Dongfang Ming was allowed a pulse of soulforce to escape from him. One moment later… 

“Ah…my head hurts…Mom? Why are you crying?”

Bai Yunfei lit up at the sound of a familiar voice. Turning his head, he watched as the previously stone-faced Huangfu Rui hold her head as she spoke to her mother.

“My daughter!!”

Cang Yu cried out, overjoyed by the revival of her daughter. Not even Huangfu Nan was able to find the words to describe his joy.

“Phew…” Bai Yunfei exhaled a sigh of relief. He turned around to walk back over to her, hoping he could see if everything was back to normal.

“I’ve returned her consciousness, now give me the Heaven’s Bloodtears an—eh?! What are you doing!?”

Having expected Bai Yunfei to hold his end of the deal, but then, he was furious to realize something was wrong!

It was when Bai Yunfei was kneeling in front of Huangfu Rui. The Soul Sentinel Scarf was now wrapped securely on her head and he was staring right at him! It was a stare filled with hatred and killing intent!

“Bzzz…”

Horror filled Dongfang Ming before he could even react. The white light around him gave a faint hum before it…disappeared! The Soul Sealing Mandate was canceling its effect!

“N—no! No way!!”

Horrified, Dongfang Ming realized what Bai Yunfei was doing! Bai Yunfei had actually gone and undid the Soul Sealing Mandate! He was going to kill him! Did he not care about Huangfu Rui or Zi Jin then?!

“No!!!”

Dongfang Ming was terrified beyond belief. Horror and despair filled his entire body as he howled. Watching as the Soul Sealing Mandate flew back toward Bai Yunfei, he tried in vain to grab at the Regalia, but it was useless. His arms wouldn’t even obey him. In fact, his arms weren’t even ‘arms’ anymore. They were pieces of flesh that were rapidly decaying into ashes… 

It was as the Soul Sealing Mandate said. Without its abilities, Dongfang Ming wouldn’t be able to continue living. Its power was the only thing capable of stabilizing his condition and preventing death from taking Dongfang Ming.

And so both of Dongfang Ming’s arms and legs were gone. They were gone with the wind, and Dongfang Ming’s head was quickly starting to follow suit.

“Bai Yunfei!!” He howled. “You dare! Hah! Then Zi Jin  and that brat will follow me to my death! They’ll die with me, hahaha!!”

Knowing his own death was imminent, Dongfang Ming began to howl and jeer in one last attempt to get a rise out from Bai Yunfei.

It was short-lived. His mouth was the next to vanish from his head before the rest of his body followed suit. All that was left was the demonic ‘core’ that floated in the air where he used to be. The red light within the core flashed once before slowly fading away… 

Dongfang Ming’s aura could no longer be felt. He was gone from this world completely!

……

Bai Yunfei didn’t even bother to spare Dongfang Ming a glance when he died. His complete attention was on Huangfu Rui.

“Ahhh!!!”

A high-pitched scream erupted from Huangfu Rui at once. Trembling from pain, her body began to spasm as her soulforce went berserk!

Then the Soul Sealing Mandate activated. A pulse of energy flowed out from the Regalia to envelop Huangfu Rui within it. Bai Yunfei could ‘see’, thanks to the Soul Sealing Mandate, that the Symbios Imprint within her soul was starting to fall apart!

Because of the link between it and her soul, the disintegration of the imprint meant Huangfu Rui’s soul was starting to break apart. But because of the Soul Sealing Mandate, Huangfu Rui’s soul was ‘trapped’ inside so it couldn’t decay any further.

It was…the +13 additional effect of the Soul Sentinel Scarf!

Equipment Grade:  Revert the state of the soul 10 seconds prior. Activated automatically when off cooldown and soul is in danger of destruction.Cooldown of 24 hours.

But this wasn’t a permanent solution. In another five to ten seconds, the same result would apply and Huangfu Rui’s soul would start to fall apart again.

Heart racing furiously, Bai Yunfei called for a single object:

“Sealer!!”

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