Shangguan Qingzhu looked at Eldest Senior Sister and asked, "It's quite lively today. When was the last time we came to the Scripture Pavilion?"
Wang Shiyao glanced at this carefree Fourth Senior Sister; it seemed she had finally let go.
Upon seeing He Manting, Wang Shiyao walked over to ask about the situation.
He Manting did nothing to hide the truth, recounting everything in detail, and stated with absolute certainty that Meng Luoluo had fallen asleep, which triggered the illusion array.
Right at that moment, Peak Master Shen, along with the various elders and the old man of the Scripture Pavilion, finished gathering the facts.
Seeing this, Wang Shiyao informed her master of what He Manting had told her.
At once, everyone turned their gazes toward Shen Huaishu.
Shangguan Qingzhu remained unbothered on the sidelines. "Our little junior sister is quite formidable. She causes such a huge commotion the moment she arrives."
Everyone: "..."
Shen Huaishu: "..."
Shangguan Qingzhu laughed. "Haha. I didn't say anything. You guys keep chatting. Haha."
Shen Huaishu looked at He Manting.
He Manting nodded and said, "I can break the array. I'd like to try, if you'll allow it."
Everyone looked at one another.
At that moment, someone in the crowd piped up: "You aren't even a disciple of our sect. What gives you the right to say you can break the array?"
Someone else chimed in: "If you ask me, we should just forcefully break the array. She's just a child, and the recruitment ceremony is less than a year and a half away. What kind of spiritual root does she even have?"
Hearing this, the people from Fan Peak all frowned.
He Manting looked at the speaker and directly released her cultivation aura. Ignoring the reactions of the crowd, she directed her pressure straight at the people from Frost Flower Peak, instantly shutting up the many chatterboxes.
The person hadn't had time to react before vomiting a mouthful of blood, which frightened quite a few onlookers.
He Manting smiled and said, "My little sister's constitution is somewhat weak, and she tends to fall asleep to recover her energy, which is why she carries so many illusion arrays on her for self-protection. Normally, if someone steps forward to represent the array being broken and the soul power is retracted, she can wake up for a fleeting moment. However, because too many people were trapped within the array, the small amount of soul power retrieved wasn't enough to wake her."
"Add to that the defensive shield on my sister that can withstand a Soul Formation attack, and I wonder how you all plan to deal with it."
Just as He Manting was about to pull out her family's influence to intimidate them, Wang Shiyao stopped her. Though the background of her family was unknown, it certainly couldn't be small.
Once her family background was brought into play, this matter would not end easily.
Unless forced into a corner, it was better not to invoke her family's background.
Everyone: "..."
In the end, the old man of the Scripture Pavilion stepped forward. "Enough. Young lady, go ahead. Your sister is no ordinary person." He added via voice transmission: *Protect her well, and her future will undoubtedly be boundless.*
The moment He Manting stepped into the Scripture Pavilion, she saw a large number of people on the first floor. Some were standing there holding books, some lay on the ground with their hands clutching their throats, and others had collapsed facedown with long swords drawn, dead or alive.
Their common trait was that they were all completely motionless, looking just like corpses.
He Manting sighed inwardly at how overwhelmingly strong Meng Luoluo's soul power was to be able to control so many people with an illusion array.
Meanwhile, in her dream, Meng Luoluo imagined herself ascending the throne as an ancient Empress, seated upon the dragon chair and receiving the worship of thousands, utterly delighted and completely unaware of the chaos she had caused outside.
Seeing He Manting step inside and immediately stand motionless, the people outside assumed she had fallen victim to it as well. In reality, He Manting was merely sighing to herself before continuing onward to the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
In a corner on the second floor, He Manting found Meng Luoluo, who was holding a book on talismans, with two other books lying beside her.
Indeed, those two books were none other than *Repel* and *Draw*, which she had just finished studying.
Flashes of array patterns occasionally flickered across Meng Luoluo's arms, and a faint pink fox-shaped mark shimmered between her eyebrows.
He Manting was very curious, but given the special circumstances, she didn't dwell on it and only wanted to wake Meng Luoluo up.
After trying to wake her several times to no avail, He Manting had no choice but to try soothing her. When she had first entered, she had also experienced several attacks of soul power, but presumably sensing she was one of her own and posed no danger, Meng Luoluo's soul power had left her alone.
She soothed Meng Luoluo, coaxing her to stop releasing soul power, then scooped her up directly into her arms and walked out of the Scripture Pavilion, while simultaneously releasing a trace of pressure and activating the Immortal Heart Bell.
This way, she could carry her out safely.
Shen Huaishu motioned for He Manting to return straight to their peak, an instruction He Manting promptly followed.
As Meng Luoluo was carried out, everyone raised their defenses against soul power. Now that the people had left, they finally breathed a sigh of relief as the people inside the Scripture Pavilion woke up one after another.
As for the aftermath, they would just have to wait until Meng Luoluo woke up; for now, they could only check the condition of the disciples to prevent any further soul power injuries.
On the way back.
Meng Luoluo's soul power was fully retracted, and upon waking up, she only saw He Manting holding her, with her master, senior sister, and senior brothers following alongside.
Seeing Meng Luoluo wake up, Shangguan Qingzhu remarked, "Well, look at that. Our little junior sister hasn't been here long, yet she's pulled off such a massive stunt."
Meng Luoluo: "..."
Meng Luoluo: "Who fell into my illusion array and even broke it?"
Fourth Senior Sister was about to reply when she saw Meng Luoluo snuggle back against He Manting and fall asleep once more, leaving her with words hanging on her lips.
Noticing Shangguan Qingzhu's worried gaze, He Manting reassured her, "It's fine. Her soul power has just been retracted; she just needs to go back and rest for a few days."
Only then did everyone finally set their minds at ease.
Due to the excessive release of soul power, Meng Luoluo slept for a full seven days.
When she finally woke up, she felt somewhat disoriented. After carefully confirming her surroundings, she finally relaxed—she was currently back in her own quarters.
Meng Luoluo couldn't help feeling a slight sense of regret.
The days of receiving the worship of thousands had felt rather nice; if she really were an Empress, she figured she would surely be a benevolent and enlightened ruler.
A foolish, infatuated expression crept across her face.
Just at that moment, He Manting pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing Meng Luoluo's expression, she couldn't help frowning slightly.
Oh no, this child couldn't have been scrambled into a fool, could she?
Discovering that her expression was getting out of hand, Meng Luoluo gave a dry cough. "Ahem."
"What is it, Sister? How long have I been asleep?"
He Manting: "..."
Judging by that, nothing was seriously wrong with her.
He Manting said, "You've been asleep for seven days. Do you remember what you did?"
Meng Luoluo shook her head. "I only remember reading books in the Scripture Pavilion, studying cultivation techniques, and then falling asleep."
Truly wonderful—indiscriminate and unconscious attacks as her specialty.
He Manting sighed helplessly and recounted how she had used her soul power to assault the entire Scripture Pavilion.
Meng Luoluo was stunned. "I'm that powerful?"
He Manting: "..."
This child should be completely fine, right? Shouldn't she be concerned about the consequences first?
"Ahem."
Meng Luoluo asked, "What did Master and the others say?"
He Manting replied, "There's no official news yet. But outside, rumors are running wild about a little female demon king on Fan Peak."
"I'm quite curious: what on earth did you put into that illusion array to terrify so many cultivators like that?"
Meng Luoluo answered, "Actually, I just added some elements of terror. What appears is ultimately based on whatever they themselves are afraid of."
"If you're asking about something I intentionally added, there is actually one."
"Would Sister like to see it?"
He Manting thought for a moment and nodded. "What do I need to do? Are we both going to enter the illusion together?"
Meng Luoluo explained, "It's simple. Sister, just hold me like this, and we'll be all set."
He Manting held Meng Luoluo in her arms. The two pressed their foreheads together, closed their eyes, and Meng Luoluo activated the array.
In an instant, the scenery shifted. When the two opened their eyes, they were standing in a gloomy, eerie forest.
He Manting held Meng Luoluo's hand, looking left and right. "A forest at night? There's nothing particularly special about this."
"Don't be impatient, Sister. Look."
Suddenly, thick white smoke billowed from the depths of the forest, accompanied by a pale, glowing light, and the scene gradually grew clear.
The sounds of suona horns and gongs suddenly blared. People walking at the front scattered round white paper money, while those on either side carried white lanterns.
Closely following them was a black-and-red coffin, trailed by a funeral procession.
He Manting thought that was the end of it; though slightly chilling, it wasn't nearly terrifying enough to scare so many cultivators out of their wits.
Just as He Manting was about to speak, Meng Luoluo interrupted her, signaling her to look in the opposite direction of the funeral procession.
White smoke drifted heavily as red light beamed outward. The sounds of suona horns and gongs rang out once more, but this time, instead of a coffin, it was a grand red bridal sedan chair used in mortal weddings, radiating an atmosphere of great festivity.
Had she seen this in the mortal world, she would have offered a few words of congratulations.
While He Manting was still dazed, Meng Luoluo whispered softly, "Didn't Sister want to see how terrifying the illusion array is? Everything is ready now. Would Sister like to be the bride, or..."
Meng Luoluo didn't finish her sentence, and He Manting didn't quite catch the meaning, but that didn't stop the illusion from progressing.
With a sudden shift in the scene, He Manting had no idea what had happened—her Dharmic Robe had vanished, replaced by a grand crimson wedding gown, a phoenix coronet upon her head, golden hairpins thrust through her coiffure, golden earrings dangling from her lobes, and her vision obscured by a scarlet bridal veil.