Yun Lintian didn’t react to the sudden female voice. He recognized it immediately—Zhang Zifeng, the Celestial Pavilion Master. His gaze remained fixed on the trembling Jian brothers.
Jian Feng’s face turned ashen. "Pavilion Master! He—"
"Silence." Zhang Zifeng’s voice carried both authority and exhaustion. "Please forgive them. They had no choice but to comply with the Ghost Knight’s demands."
Yun Lintian’s lips curled into a cold smile. "And why should I listen to you? We owe each other nothing."
The air grew heavy. The unconscious guards began stirring as an oppressive aura filled the hall.
Zhang Zifeng sighed. "I can help you find the Abyssal Ghost Knight."
A dry chuckle escaped Yun Lintian’s throat. "Without you, I’ll find him anyway."
Jian Feng’s knees buckled. Sweat poured down Jian Kun’s face as if awaiting execution.
Zhang Zifeng’s voice softened. "Then kill them if you must. I cannot stop you anyway."
The Jian brothers paled further.
"But," she continued, "before facing the Ghost Knight, wouldn’t you rather know his true identity?"
Yun Lintian’s eyes narrowed.
Qingqing stirred in his arms, whispering weakly, "Big Brother... she’s right... the knight isn’t what he seems..."
Yun Lintian didn’t say anything further and walked past Jian Kun and Jian Feng into the building.
Jian Kun and Jian Feng glanced at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.
"We..." Jian Feng wanted to say something but was interrupted by his older brother.
"Shut up!" Jian Kun uttered coldly.
Jian Feng immediately shut his mouth tightly but the fear in his eyes was still there.
Jian Kun took a deep breath to calm down. He had completely lost his composure in front of Yun Lintian earlier because he could feel Yun Lintian’s strength. Yun Lintian had somehow become even more unfathomed compared to their last encounter.
Jian Kun’s instinct immediately screamed when he felt Yun Lintian’s presence. Obviously, Yun Lintian, who had survived an unknown situation, became even more stronger... Much more stronger than he could imagine and he was someone he couldn’t mess with.
That was why Jian Kun was certain that death was coming for him earlier.
Now that with Zhang Zifeng’s intervention, he could save his pitiful life for a while.
Jian Kun’s mind began to race. Although Yun Lintian didn’t kill him, it was uncertain whether he would come back for his life later. He must do something.
A moment later, a trace of determination flashed acorss his eyes. Jian Kun had finally made his decision.
"Come with me and shut your mouth tight." Jian Kun uttered in a low voice and walked away, followed closely by Jian Feng.
The hidden chamber beneath the pavilion was colder than the void between stars. Lan Huiqian floated in a crystalline stasis pod, her face contorted in silent agony. Grey tendrils pulsed beneath her skin like living parasites.
Zhang Zifeng materialized beside the pod—a tall woman in silver robes, her face obscured by a veil of shifting constellations.
"Observe." She gestured at Lan Huiqian.
Yun Lintian studied the corruption. The grey energy felt... familiar.
"Your women weren’t just taken," Zhang Zifeng said quietly. "They were claimed."
"By whom?" Yun Lintian’s voice was dangerously calm.
Zhang Zifeng’s veil shimmered. "By the last person you’d suspect."
She raised a hand, and the chamber walls dissolved into a vision—
A battlefield of shattered realms.
At its center stood a figure clad in familiar black armor, his spear dripping with golden blood.
Yun Lintian raised his brow slightly.
But no—the eyes beneath that helmet burned with something far older, far crueler.
Yun Lintian stared at the corrupted form of Long Chen, his old friend’s body now a puppet of the Abyssal Ghost Knight. The grey energy writhing through Lan Huiqian’s stasis pod pulsed in sync with the vision—undeniable proof of their shared origin.
Zhang Zifeng continued, her voice heavy with memory:
"When the Temporal Palace shattered, we all awoke in the ruins. You were gone. Your people—Long Qingxuan, Linlin, Qingqing, Yue Zhihe—refused to leave. They believed you’d return."
Qingqing stirred weakly in Yun Lintian’s arms, adding: "The others... wanted to escape... but the ruins were sealed."
"So they explored," Zhang Zifeng picked up the thread. "Until the Ghost Knight appeared."
The vision shifted—showing Lan Huiqian, Long Chen, Tang Wei, and Qian Jinglei battling the armored figure. Their attacks shattered mountains, yet the knight stood untouched.
"They fought bravely," Zhang Zifeng said. "But the knight... he wasn’t just strong. He manipulated death itself."
The scene showed Long Chen impaled by the ghostly spear—his body convulsing as grey tendrils consumed him. Within moments, he rose again... as the knight’s newest servant.
"After corrupting Long Chen, he took your women," Zhang Zifeng finished. "Lan Huiqian barely survived by sealing herself."
Yun Lintian observed Lan Huiqian’s wounds silently. The death energy infesting her was unmistakable—he recognized it because he now wielded its counterpart.
"The God of Death," he murmured.
Zhang Zifeng nodded. "Yes. But not from our timeline."
Yun Lintian’s brow furrowed. "Which one then?"
Zhang Zifeng shook her head and said. "I don’t know as well... But from the power he’d displayed, I suspect that he is the original God of Death."
"Impossible," Yun Lintian frowned deeply. "The oirignal God of Death is gone."
The original God of Death, Si Wang, was obviously dead as Yun Lintian had refined his body into his vessels not long ago. It was impossible for him to come back.
Yun Lintian suddenly thought of someone... Si Junyi, the God of Death’s disciple.
Then, he shook his head. Si Junyi no longer possessed the power of the God of Death as he handed it to Yun Lintian. There was no way for him to find a new one.
Silence gripped the chamber.
Yun Lintian’s mind raced. This explained everything—the knight’s power, his interest in "collecting pieces," why he’d targeted Yun Lintian’s loved ones specifically.
"Where is he?" he looked at Zhang Zifeng.
Although he had said that he could find the Abyssal Ghost Knight himself, it would take time. Zhang Zifeng should have a better way.
Zhang Zifeng opened her palm and a black compass appeared. It radiated the aura of death.
"I used the aura on Huiqian’s body to refine this. It should be able to track him." she said calmly.
Yun Lintian took the compass and scanned it briefly before looking at Zhang Zifeng. "So, you are the one who created those temporal compasses?"
"Yes," Zhang Zifeng smiled faintly. "Refining artifact is my forte."
Yun Lintian nodded slightly. "No wonder you want to keep that useless one."
He referred to Jian Kun.
"Although he’s a schemer, his strength is what the pavilion needed," Zhang Zifeng admitted honestly. "With Huiqian gone, he is the only one who can withstand the external threat."