Zhang Lie's face fell. He had thought Xueju cruel enough, but Xuechi was even worse. Xueju was just perverted—insanely so, but far better in comparison than Xuechi, who bathed in human blood.

The humans who escaped from the interior of the palace felt as though they had been granted a new lease on life.

Within Xuechi's treasury was a large number of valuable herbs, soulshards, weapons, and the like. Among them, part of the valuable ores and minerals was distributed to the rock spirits. Most of the herbs were given to the Yeluo for their recipes, the shinier baubles and trinkets taken by the crag eagles, and...