"Her dad and mom were against us dating, and they urged her to break up with me, but my girlfriend wouldn't listen, believing that as long as we worked hard, things would eventually get better," he said.

"Her parents took the train to come here, tracked me down, and talked to me, asking me to let go."

"What her parents said was really harsh; they called me good-for-nothing, useless, and accused me of holding back their daughter."

"I argued with her parents, and even took out my anger on my girlfriend, then in a fit of rage, I moved out while she was at work."

"My girlfriend looked for me and called me, asking me to come back, but I didn't answer and even blocked her."

"Later, she found me through a classmate and asked why I hadn't gone back home; I yelled at her and cruelly drove her away."

"My girlfriend left in tears."

"After that, she tried to find me several more times, and I was still angry with her, berating her every time."

"She gave up completely, obeyed her parents, and went home to have an arranged date, getting married soon after."

"The man was a small-town boss, over a decade older than her. He was very crude and treated her poorly."

"Later, my girlfriend gave birth to a daughter, who was reported to be very cute, and looked a lot like her."

"Her husband favored sons over daughters and hit her, yelling at her, on the very day the child was born."

"In a fit of despair, my girlfriend drank pesticide and committed suicide."

The middle-aged man said this and suddenly stopped, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small piece of clothing and put it on the woman's sculpture.

It was a plain gauze skirt, which looked like a wedding dress; light and thin, billowing in the breeze, it was filled with an ethereal charm.

Lost in thought, the middle-aged man said, "This was her favorite wedding dress. We looked at it many times together when we were renting a place outside."

Xiao Mu glanced at the sculpture.

The sculpture was exquisitely made, looking incredibly lifelike. The woman featured had a pretty, adorable face with a smile lingering on her lips, as if she might laugh at any moment.

The middle-aged man placed a Yin Qi-filled stone over the sculpture's chest, and the stone instantly merged into the sculpture.

Now, the sculpture appeared even more like a real person, brimming with Spiritual Energy, as if it might explode at any moment.

Was this some kind of Soul Summoning Technique?

Xiao Mu observed thoughtfully, his mind stirring with curiosity.

Clearly, what the middle-aged man was using was some kind of Soul Summoning Technique, similar to calling back a soul. It involved using an object filled with a specific person's spirituality to summon a specific Yin Spirit back.

The middle-aged man glanced up at Xiao Mu, seemingly detecting something in Xiao Mu's expression, and asked with a smile, "You see it?"

Xiao Mu nodded, "I do."

He was well aware of what the middle-aged man was asking about, and it was apparent that the middle-aged man also understood Xiao Mu's response.

Nonchalantly, the middle-aged man said, "I can't find my girlfriend's grave, nor do I have her ashes, so I can only do it this way."

"The Soul Summoning Technique requires damaging a Mutated Willow Sculpture every three days. After three years, you can summon back the Yin Spirit."

"Now, it's been two and a half years. If I put the sculpture close to my ear and listen carefully, I can even hear my girlfriend's laughter."

Talking, the middle-aged man picked up the sculpture, placed it near his ear, and listened intently. It seemed he did hear something, as he quickly closed his eyes, a look of happiness spread across his face.

Xiao Mu's gaze slowly shifted away from the middle-aged man and looked towards the others.

Among the Mutated Beings present, aside from the few who were resting indifferently, the majority of the Mutated Beings took out various strange objects and sat down, quietly doing strange things.

"Madness! These people are crazy in the head!" Du Wenzhen suddenly cursed loudly, looking very irritable and ignoring Xiao Mu as he went to sit down by himself in a corner.

"Xiao Mu, do you think we can win this time?" someone suddenly called out Xiao Mu's name and put forth the question.

Xiao Mu turned his head to look; it was a young woman in the Mid Yin God Realm, with ordinary looks but eyes full of hope.

Xiao Mu did not know the young woman, but he resolutely replied, "We can do it, we will make it!"

"Thank you!"

The woman thanked Xiao Mu earnestly, her face suddenly filled with more confidence.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The sound of the Escape Art moving could be heard from the Southwest direction as two yellow Escape Lights flew rapidly towards them.

"Elders Xu and Fang have arrived; everyone stand up."

Qin Duan bellowed a command, ordering everyone to get up.

The moment everyone stood up, the two Escape Lights arrived, and out of the lights, a man and a woman emerged, the two Elders Xu Qianwu and Fang Ying from the Great Tang Ruins assigned to the Southern Five Regions.

Inside the crowd, Xiao Mu quietly assessed the two Elders, discerning their strength to likely be in the Early Divine Spirit Realm.

"Greetings, Elder Xu, Elder Fang!" Qin Duan quickly approached the two Elders, giving them a salute with a clasped fist.

Xu Qianwu's gaze fell on Qin Duan, "Has everyone arrived?"

Qin Duan replied, "A total of thirty-five people, not one less, all here."

"Good! Let's set out!"

Xu Qianwu gave a wave of his hand, his demeanor decisive and action-oriented.

Everyone followed Xu Qianwu and Fang Ying, continuing onwards to the south.

Half a day later, they arrived at the edge of the Southern Five Regions.

This was a black marsh, full of stagnant water, with damp ground, short trees, and dense weeds, known as the Blackwater Swamp.

The destination of the group was further south of the Blackwater Swamp, on the edge where the Mutated Beings of the Curse Gate were operating, ready to cross through the Blackwater Swamp into the Southern Five Regions.

The task for Xiao Mu and his group was to hold off the Mutated Beings of the Curse Gate, preventing them from entering the Southern Five Regions.

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