Chapter 354 A Dead Heart

Inside Muto.

With King Anan slain, the remaining experts of the Ancestral Matriarch Sect fled in panic, leaving only Chen Fei and Barbarian Brother behind.

“Things might get a bit troublesome now,”

Barbarian Brother scratched his head.

To break the Blood Ghost Formation, they needed to kill whoever was controlling it. But the problem was — most of those who entered Muto were Miao Realm experts, meaning they could maintain the formation just by staying alive.

Chen Fei frowned slightly.

He didn’t know what was happening outside, but judging from Wuji Zi’s words, if they failed to break the formation, it would spell serious trouble for Tianqing Sacred Land.

A flash of light — Chen Fei summoned Holy Mother Ayue.

Normally, she would have resisted immediately.

But this time, she was unnaturally quiet, raising her head to look at the blood-drenched sky, eyes filled with sorrow.

Chen Fei furrowed his brows.

Holy Mother Ayue turned to him and spoke first:

“I can break the formation.”

Barbarian Brother gave her a glance, then looked to Chen Fei and silently stepped aside with his sword in hand.

Chen Fei stared deeply at her.

There was no longer that spirited gleam in her eyes — only a hollow emptiness.

“I believe you. Lead the way,”

Chen Fei said simply.

She didn’t use her Qi. She just walked, step by step, toward the heart of Muto.

The closer they got, the deeper the sorrow in her eyes grew.

She had once been brash and bold, full of the straightforward nature found in highland tribes. Raised under the teachings of the Ancestral Matriarch Sect, she’d always seen Tianqing Sacred Land as a group of hypocrites.

But with the activation of the Blood Ghost Formation, her faith had shattered.

Was the Ancestral Matriarch Sect truly the evil cult Chen Fei claimed it to be?

At the gates of Muto, she stopped.

A cold fear surged in her chest — a powerful urge to turn around and run away.

Her breathing grew ragged, her eyes filling with tears.

Chen Fei stood behind her in silence. He didn’t urge her forward. He just let out a gentle sigh.

That sigh made her body tremble.

In that moment, determination returned to her eyes — she stepped forward into Muto City.

The city’s streets hadn’t changed.

Except now, a crimson mist blanketed everything. Gone were the sounds of laughter, of daily life.

The familiar streets now felt strangely foreign.

Even at the gates, she’d held onto a thread of hope — that all of this was an illusion.

But once inside, she knew:

It was all real.

“Why…? Why did it have to be this way?!”

She shouted skyward, her voice trembling.

No answer came.

The Ancestral Matriarch Sect’s remaining experts had long fled and would never risk returning to the city.

Even though the Blood Ghost Formation was rooted in Muto, it didn’t need them physically present — as long as their Qi maintained it from afar, they didn’t fear Chen Fei disrupting it.

After crying out, Ayue slumped, as if all her strength had drained. She walked like a puppet toward the city’s heart.

There, in the ruined city center, stood a statue — clearly important.

Her eyes lit up like someone seeing hope. She ran toward it.

“Ancestor!”

Barbarian Brother, standing beside Chen Fei, gave him a sidelong glance.

Chen Fei shook his head.

He didn’t know the exact cultivation level of the Ancestral Matriarch Sect’s founder, but he was certain the person wouldn’t descend in person. At most, it would be a divine sense projection.

Sure enough, as Ayue approached, the statue slowly opened its eyes.

Upon seeing her, it even smiled kindly.

“Ayue, you’ve come.”

“Ancestor, this is all fake… right?”

She knelt beside the statue, eyes pleading.

The statue didn’t answer — its gaze shifted to Chen Fei and Barbarian Brother.

“Truly a hero in his youth. I misjudged you both,”

the statue said solemnly.

“Release Ayue, and I promise to withdraw from Dongting Nation and never again oppose Tianqing Sacred Land.”

“That’s not my decision to make,”

Chen Fei replied.

The statue’s expression darkened.

“Do you think I’ll just sit here and wait for death?”

“Then come out and fight,”

Barbarian Brother sneered, eyes filled with contempt.

To him, a divine sense that dared not show its true form was nothing more than an arrogant coward.

Not worth a word.

The statue fell silent, then turned back to Ayue.

“Ayue, come here.”

Barbarian Brother narrowed his eyes. The sword in his arms began to vibrate softly.

Chen Fei shook his head again.

Ayue stood — but instead of stepping forward, she stepped back.

The statue’s tone grew sharp:

“Ayue! Come to me!”

Ayue shook her head.

“Ancestor… was it all lies? Did Amu really kill everyone in Muto?”

“Have you forgotten my teachings?!”

The statue roared anxiously.

But Ayue clutched her chest, grief written across her face.

“Lies! All of it — lies!”

She released her hand.

A dagger — already lodged in her chest — became visible.

Blood trickled from the blade.

“Ayue, what are you doing?! Fool! You idiot!!”

The statue shrieked in rage. But bound by the form of a sculpture, it could do nothing more than tremble.

Chen Fei glanced at it and flicked his finger.

Boom!

The statue shattered to pieces.

To the Ancestral Matriarch Sect, that statue was an object of faith.

But to Chen Fei, it was nothing but a noisy lump of clay.

Holy Mother Ayue, her face pale, collapsed to the ground.

“Fake… everything is fake…”

She turned her head to look at Chen Fei.

Chen Fei approached slowly.

The moment he summoned her from the Purple Clarity Palace, he’d seen the deathly resolve in her eyes.

She’d just needed to confirm if the truth was as horrifying as she feared.

And the statue’s avoidant lies had sealed her answer.

Her beliefs had completely crumbled.

With no more faith to cling to, she no longer had the will to live.

“I… have one last request…”

She weakly raised her hand.

Chen Fei grasped it.

“Say it.”

“I heard Tianqing Sacred Land has a method… to pacify vengeful spirits… Can you… can you purify the souls here?”

Chen Fei looked deeply at her.

“I will.”

Ayue smiled, then slowly closed her eyes.

As her breath faded, her body began to dissolve into motes of starlight, scattering into the sky.

Above, the blood mist began to clear.

The sky gradually returned.

The Blood Ghost Formation — was broken.

Chen Fei stood in silence.

For Holy Mother Ayue, living would have been more painful than dying.

In the end, death was her liberation.

Barbarian Brother rose to his feet, a somber look in his eyes. He seemed about to speak — but in the end, he simply sighed.

“Sigh…”

That sigh echoed softly,

sweeping across the entire highland.