Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Chapter 573 A Bright Future

Accompanied by the little girl's clear and ethereal voice, the massive Soul-Guiding Sword appeared behind her, its short, plump blade wreathed in strands of golden magical light.

At the same time, a long, hoarse song rang out throughout the entire area in front of the Broken Water Pass.

"O soul, return home, where shall you dwell?"

"In this vast天地 (heaven and earth), when will I return to my hometown?"

"O soul, return! Where have you finally gone?"

"Even a vast, barren plain cannot withstand such an attack!"

"Wow!"

The cloth fluttered suddenly in the night wind, and the two large characters "Sheng Yu" on the black flag emitted a soft glow in the darkness.

That is the guiding light on the way home.

Centered on the soul guide, tens of thousands of points of light suddenly appeared on the surrounding low hills and land, slowly flying towards the soul guide along with the gloomy mist drawn by the ghost.

The guide heard many, many voices.

The remnant souls that were completely silent to everyone else were surprisingly noisy and chaotic to the little girl.

Everyone was whispering their own concerns.

"Father, Mother... your son is not coming back, your son will never come back!"

"Master, am I really useless?"

"My wife, I'm so sorry. After I die, you must find me a good family..."

"Find a good family that doesn't want to be in the military..."

"Kill them all! Kill them all!"

Countless wishes, imbued with the obsessions of those who lived, resounded in the ears of the soul guide, blending with the soul song sung by the many military strategists of the Shengyu Army behind him, transforming into the whistling sound of wind passing by the little girl's ears.

She looked at the tens of thousands of points of light around her, at the demonic energy that entangled them, determined to keep them here forever, her dark eyes filled with unwavering resolve.

The little girl murmured softly:

"I will let you go home."

"We will definitely be able to go back!"

The surrounding chants grew louder and louder, and the torches in the soldiers' hands formed a huge, flickering circle of fire.

It's like the cycle of reincarnation in the Yuanming Realm that the Emperor told her about.

The little girl gently closed her eyes for a moment, then suddenly opened them.

The reincarnation mark between her brows emitted a dazzling golden light, which also tinged her eyes, which had been blind since childhood, with a faint golden hue.

Seeing this scene from the city wall, Xue Lan couldn't help but fly to the Soul Guide's side, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of the inner demon.

"Are you capable of keeping her detained indefinitely?"

"We'll have to separate eventually."

Xue Lan's fingernails, hidden within her wide sleeves, were already digging into her palms; the woman's voice was hoarse, but nothing seemed amiss.

"I know!"

Seemingly sensing Xue Lan's emotions, Yin Hun suddenly turned around and glanced at Xue Lan.

A woman dressed in black stood atop the city wall, her slender figure more ghostly than those below.

She loved her sovereign, and she loved the "mother" who had awakened her.

She knew Xue Lan was doing something extremely dangerous and had been planning it for a very, very long time. She carried her reputation for indifference for a very, very long time.

"Your Majesty!"

"I want to help you as soon as possible!"

The girl's cheerful voice rang in Xue Lan's ears, and Yin Hun saw the dark figure on the city wall suddenly look up at him.

"I love you with all my heart, just like the complete cycle of reincarnation in the Yuanming Realm."

"The cycle of reincarnation continues endlessly, and my little soul will always love you!"

Xue Lan raised her hand to cover her chest, her head bowed, unable to utter a single word.

Is Your Majesty crying?

The young girl in a dark blue brocade dress slowly raised her hand in mid-air and grabbed the illusory image of her true form behind her, feeling quite annoyed.

The emperor loves her the most, how could she make him cry?

The enormous Soul-Guiding Sword returned to its normal size in the little girl's hands. She imitated Xue Lan's sword-wielding style, making a sword-finger gesture with her left hand and gently slicing across the blade.

A slight stinging sensation came from her fingertips. The moment the blood bead appeared, the demonic energy hidden in the ground beneath the little girl's feet flew towards the Soul Guide like a madman, transforming into an extremely ferocious monster that bit at the Soul Guide.

But the soul-summoning man is not afraid at all.

The little girl's clothes and hair fluttered in the wind as she swiftly raised her hand and dabbed the blood from her fingertip at the corner of her eye.

"Crack!"

A soft cracking sound seemed to echo in her mind. Yinhun held the short sword in front of her, and the earthy yellow light transformed into towering mountains in front of her, blocking the hideous demonic monster. Some of the sharp peaks even pierced into its body.

Yinhun covered her eyes with one hand, and the roars of monsters, the sound of the wind, and the chanting of souls gradually faded from her ears.

She can see now.

The little girl slowly moved her fingers away, and the pupils hidden behind her thick eyelashes had lost their previous deep blackness, turning into a ghostly gray-blue.

Two golden reincarnation marks slowly swirled deep within her pupils.

This is the authority that belongs to the cycle of reincarnation in the Yuanming realm.

The spirit guide saw the pitch-black monster struggling in front of it, and also saw a large area of ​​crimson fire burning in the distance.

Overjoyed, the little girl cleaved the monster in front of her with a single sword strike, then flicked up a wisp of demonic energy that hadn't yet managed to escape.

The little girl stared silently at the wisp of demonic energy at the tip of the sword, her voice icy cold:

Do you think you can run away?

As soon as she finished speaking, the demonic energy on the sword tip was shattered by the golden power of reincarnation. The little girl pointed the sword tip at the ground not far away, and the golden power of reincarnation transformed into a giant dragon that flew out of the sword tip and then plunged into the dark earth.

Screams of agony filled the air as the remnants of demonic souls hidden beneath the earth were torn apart by the enormous golden dragon, their screams turning them to ashes.

A golden dragon coiled above the ground, directly opening a crack in the earth's veins.

At the same time, the soul points surrounding the Soul Guide began to converge, transforming into blurry figures. They slowly walked towards the ley line fissure.

Among these people were soldiers in tattered armor and cultivators in sect robes. Without exception, their eyes were blank, and they didn't know where they were.

The sounds of the surrounding hymns gradually subsided, and both soldiers and cultivators involuntarily began to search for familiar faces.

Zuo Xian gave a wink to his personal guards, and the two burly men immediately unfurled the "Hundred Battles of Luoxia Mountain" painting at the gate of Duanshui Pass.

Everyone around looked in their direction, and then couldn't help but tear up.

The Battle of Luoxia Mountain was of paramount importance to the entire Shengyu Army and even the entire Yuanming Lower Realm.

For the first time, the human race completely kept the demons outside of Mount Luoxia, preventing them from entering any city.

Just as everyone was looking this way, a clear, childlike voice suddenly rang in their ears:

“You cannot speak to them. If the people they care about see them, they will not be able to enter the ley lines.”

Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came; it was Gui Hun.

The young girl's gaze was resolute, and her voice was calm and clear:

"Sing the requiem one last time to send them off!"

After saying this, the little girl slowly flew down from mid-air to the ground, weaving among the various wandering spirits, and began to chant:

"May your soul return, may your dreams find their home here!"

The soldiers, each holding a torch, exchanged glances, suppressed their longing, and began to sing the requiem once more.

Don't let the dead worry about things concerning the living.

"When the soul returns, all will forget us."

"May your soul return, and may you move forward without hesitation!"

"The soul is back!"

"May your next life be bright and glorious..."

As the last wandering soul entered the ley line, the soul song reached its final line, and a hoarse cry echoed above the Broken Water Pass.

Xu Mingye patted the fat general who was crying uncontrollably beside him.

"Alright, stop crying. The immortals performed the ritual themselves, so they'll all be reborn into a good family in their next life. Maybe they'll even be sons of royalty!"

"What's wrong with the young masters from royal and noble families?" The plump general glanced at Xu Mingye.

"Isn't Xiao Zheng also a member of the royal family? Isn't he still..."

Xu Mingye remained silent.

The fat general was referring to a young man named Zheng who had come from the Dali Dynasty to join the army; it was said that his father was a prince. The young man was literate and had beautiful handwriting. He always spoke politely, like a scholar.

But this person went to the battlefield without hesitation, and when he was finally devoured by monsters and only his skeleton remained, he was still holding several defense maps in his hands.

The fat general said indignantly, "As long as these man-eating beasts are around, there will never be a peaceful day."

Xu Mingye's hands and feet felt numb. After a long while, the middle-aged man met the fat general's fierce eyes and spoke in a low voice:

"Everything will pass. Get rid of these beasts."

"A fierce and powerful army, to reclaim our lost lands!"

The fires around Duanshui Pass gradually died down, and the soldiers of the Shengzi Battalion returned to the city with their battle formation.

Xue Tong couldn't ride a horse, so A Wu carried her. Xiao Zhou was beside them, crunching and gnawing on a piece of demon soul, eating with great relish.

Are we going to find that person now?

Awu only knew that Xue Lan had a high status, and that her lord always spoke to her politely. However, she did not know Xue Lan's true identity, so she vaguely referred to Xue Lan as "that person".

"Let's not go find Xue Lan for now. Xue Lan must have something to say to her after the commotion caused by the soul summoning."

"Let's go for a walk in the city."

The two entered through the gate of Duanshui Pass, settled their horses, and then headed towards the market they had previously visited.

After the ritual of summoning the spirits, the living resumed their lives, moving forward with the passage of time.

Xue Tong walked over to a small stall and spoke to the woman who was wiping the table:

"Shopkeeper, I'd like two bowls of glutinous rice balls."

Five bowls!

A familiar voice sounded behind her, and when Xue Tong turned around, she saw Xue Lan dressed in black.

The woman walked ahead with swift steps, followed by a speechless inner demon and a soul guide floating in mid-air.

Xue Tong noticed that the little girl's eyes were somewhat unfocused, and couldn't help but ask her telepathically:

Why are you making that face? Did Xue Lan scold you?

With a forced smile, Yin Hun replied, "No."

"But now I think she would have rather just yelled at me!"

Xue Tong asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong with you? Is your child getting itchy now that he's older?"

Yinhun didn't actually want to talk to Xue Tong, but the girl had a good temper and eventually told Xue Tong everything that had just happened.

Xue Lan didn't scold her. When she finished the soul-summoning ceremony and returned to the top of the city wall, the woman simply examined her eyes and gave her a hug.

Then he stopped talking.

“The ‘five bowls’ mentioned just now is the only two words she’s uttered in the last incense stick’s time.”

Xue Tong was furious when she saw Yin Hun's aggrieved smiling face.

"Why should she be angry? She's never treated herself like a human being before... she's never treated herself like a wolf before."

"She's even resorting to passive-aggressive behavior! You wait, your older sister Xiaotong will scold her for you!"

Xiao Tong turned her head aggressively, then secretly transmitted her voice to Xue Lan:

"What are you doing? Hasn't the child done enough?"

"I'm telling you, passive-aggressive behavior is unacceptable!"

Xue Lan was stirring the ingredients being added to the glutinous rice balls on the stove when she heard this and responded calmly:

"I am not angry."

"You're not angry?" Xue Tong almost laughed out of anger at this person.

"You're not angry, so why are you making that wolfish face?"

Xue Lan opened a small jar, looked at the thick liquid inside, and smiled as she spoke to the shopkeeper:

"Sister, my little girl loves sweets, could you add two more spoonfuls of osmanthus honey?"

"Of course!" the woman who was cooking glutinous rice balls replied readily, her eyes slightly reddening.

"I just... saw her on the city wall."

The woman placed a plump, white glutinous rice ball into a brown bowl.

"I thank her; this meal is free for you."

Xue Tong and the others all looked towards Xue Lan.

The woman's eyes grew increasingly hot, and she lowered her head as scalding tears streamed down her face.

“My man was originally a small team leader at Duanshui Pass. Last year, when the demons first came, he happened to be out on patrol... When he came back, he only had half a body left.”

Xue Lan's heart skipped a beat, but before she could speak, she heard the voice of her inner demon behind her:

"Aren't you angry with the immortals?"

The woman's tone was cold and mocking, her gaze as sharp as a knife as she looked at the woman.

"Shut up!" Xue Lan glared at the inner demon, and was just about to comfort the woman and tell her not to overthink it when she heard the woman's light, airy voice from the other side:

"I have resented it."

The woman handed two bowls of glutinous rice balls to Xue Lan, a bitter smile appearing on her face:

"But I know it doesn't make sense."

Xue Lan placed the snow-white glutinous rice balls in front of him, and the inner demon slowly scooped up a plump, white dumpling:

"What's the point?"

The woman picked up the small jar containing osmanthus honey and scooped three large spoonfuls into the bowl used to guide the soul.

Then, the woman spoke gently but firmly:

"It's probably because... we can't let others farm our land forever. We mortals are, after all, human beings, not sheep or pigs raised in a pen."

The woman's words were simple, yet they revealed the reasons why the higher-ups of the immortal sects wanted to send mortals to the battlefield.

Those who wield weapons to defend their homeland, whether immortal or mortal, have the right to fight.

The crowd fell silent and quietly ate their glutinous rice balls.

Yin Hun ate a few bites of the extra-sweetened glutinous rice balls that Xue Lan had gotten for her, and her expression became somewhat distorted from the sweetness.

The little girl mustered her courage to speak to Xue Lan, her tone full of grievance:

"Your Majesty, it's a little too sweet."

Xue Lan deftly scooped three glutinous rice balls from her own bowl and put them into hers: "To balance things out."

The Soul Guide was truly at a loss for what to do after her lord's actions, so she simply asked directly:

"Your Majesty, are you angry?"

"I'm not angry," Xue Lan said weakly, her originally cold words softening when she saw Yin Hun's face.

"I'm just not used to it."