"Maybe he's been locked up in there for too long," Lucia said. "Faustin, hurry up and find Serena."
Faustin took Serena's belongings and found him inside.
He was lying on the ground in a cave, looking completely lifeless.
Lucia appeared and went over to check Serena's pulse.
His golden core had been destroyed by the Vajra Shackles—he wasn't going to make it!
Her heart ached with unspeakable sadness. She squatted there, frozen for a long time.
Sean walked over and gently patted her head.
Lucia turned to look at him. Sean asked, "Can you wake him up, just for a moment, to see if he has any last words?"
Lucia nodded and fed Serena a powerful pill.
Moments later, Serena woke up and saw them. "Saint Maiden..." he murmured.
"Serena... I'm sorry." Lucia's eyes shimmered with tears. "It's my fault. I dragged you into this mess."
Serena gently shook his head, refusing her guilt.
"Is there anything you still want to say?" Lucia asked softly.
Serena managed a faint smile. "I used to want revenge for Sera Si, but now that I'm about to die, revenge doesn't seem that important... Maybe, in my next life, I'll meet her again."
Lucia nodded, her eyes misty.
"If I die, the Heavenly Moon Empire might be doomed... Please, both of you, help protect it." Serena pleaded.
"No way!" Lucia promised fiercely. "I swear, I won't let anything happen to the Heavenly Moon Empire."
Serena exhaled deeply. "Saint Maiden, someone in the Xuanchen Clan is practicing some evil technique. The people outside are having their cultivation sucked away regularly! They're suffering terribly—please, save them all!"
Lucia nodded. "We will. I promise you."
"Then I have no regrets left... After I die, please bury me at Enlightenment Peak." Serena said softly.
"Alright."
Serena gave her a gentle smile, then closed his eyes.
Lucia stared at his body, her hatred for whoever planted the talisman in her reaching its peak.
Sean took out a storage pouch, intending to put Serena's body inside. But Faustin suddenly called out, "Wait!"
Both Lucia and Sean looked at him. "What's wrong?"
Faustin opened his Heaven's Eye and said, "There's a talisman inside him!"
"What kind of talisman?"
"It's a talisman linked to the Grand Array here. If his body leaves, the array could be destroyed."
Lucia frowned.
"Let's go find Bifang first and see if he's still alive," Sean suggested.
Baxa had given them some of Bifang's belongings. Using these, Faustin went out invisibly to search for Bifang.
Bifang was still alive.
When they found him, he was lying on his back in the grass, his face numb, looking just like a corpse.
"Bifang!" Lucia called out via sound transmission. "I'm here on Baxa's behalf."
Bifang didn't move at all, not even a twitch.
Lucia and Sean exchanged a glance. Lucia continued, "He told us, if we ever met you, to say 'Guan-guan cries the ospreys, on the islet in the river.' He said it's your secret code."
Bifang's eyes snapped open.
"What's going on in here?" Lucia asked.
Bifang replied via sound transmission, "How should I address you?"
"Lucia Lu."
"They planted talismans on us, linking our bodies to the Grand Array," Bifang explained. "They siphon off our spiritual power at regular intervals! Quite a few have already died."
Lucia asked, "What do they do with the power they take from you?"
Bifang answered, "Cultivation. It's an extremely twisted method—they use it to boost their own strength quickly."
"There's a method like that? How come I've never heard of it?" Lucia turned to Sean, her voice full of disbelief.