The development of events was exactly as Lin Xiao had predicted.
After consuming his flesh and blood, the demonic cultivators who had been imprisoned for so long erupted with an immense and exceptionally pure surge of demonic chi and magic power.
The second floor of the Demon-Lock Cave had completely turned into a hellscape.
Demonic chi ran rampant, and the prisoners whose life essence was being burned were giving off their final embers.
Their destruction would become the prelude to the beginning of this future plan.
“Eat up, eat up plenty. Only then can you serve a greater purpose!”
Lin Xiao’s bronze body grew thinner with each piece of flesh he cut off.
Blood kept flowing from his wounds, but his spirit was fervent, his eyes bloodshot and wild.
The disciples guarding the Demon-Lock Cave were already in complete chaos.
Most of the lower-level cultivators were at the Nascent Soul Stage, with only a handful at the Soul Transformation Stage.
Now, facing this group of fully activated villains, they were even more helpless.
And this was only part of the turmoil in the Demon-Lock Cave.
Because the demonic chi on the second floor was so dense, the high-threat demonic cultivators on the third and fourth floors also absorbed this pure demonic chi—exactly Lin Xiao’s goal.
The low-level demonic cultivators on the second and even first floors were nothing but consumables.
His target had always been to release the upper-level demonic cultivators, because only they could possibly carry out the subsequent plan.
“Hmm~ Comfortable, comfortable.”
Suddenly, a lazy female voice came from behind Lin Xiao.
“It’s been so long since I’ve absorbed such pure demonic chi.”
Lin Xiao whirled around.
The moment he saw the face of the newcomer, he immediately dropped to one knee and bowed.
“Lord!”
The newcomer was none other than the one who had been killed during the raid on Lin Wan’er by Xia Lingshuang and Wu Yan.
Or, more precisely, one of the Three Corpses.
“You’ve done quite well, little one.”
The woman with the upper body of a human and lower body of a snake slithered her thick tail forward until she stood before him.
“Now, tell me, little one, where did you get the medicine on you?”
Facing a high-ranking member of the organization, Lin Xiao naturally dared not hide anything.
“Answering Lord, the medicine on me was secretly injected when I was captured and interrogated.”
“Oh? Who has the ability to get that stuff into your body?”
“It was Sun Shengming of the Piaomiao Sect.”
…
Calculating the time, it should be about right.
Sun Shengming sat at his desk in his bedroom, his gaze piercing through the heavy rain outside the window as if crossing ten thousand li to see what was happening in the Demon-Lock Cave.
“During the interrogation back then, I poured a full bottle of medicine onto that whip. With the fusion and nourishment over this period, he should be able to meet the conditions now.”
A red tattoo peeked out from the arm lying on the table, looking like an “O”.
“Now, it’s my turn to step in.”
“Heh, for the greater darkness.”
Sun Shengming’s voice, mingling with the torrential rain, sounded especially sinister.
…
The array eye of Zhuqu Peak was located in an underground chamber beneath the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain.
A protective seal guarded the outside, and only those holding a token could open it.
As it happened, Wu Yan had such a token.
Yu Qingyao held an umbrella and squeezed out from a gap beside her.
“Senior Sister, I’ve checked the surroundings. No signs of anyone searching.”
“Good, then let’s prepare to go in, Qingyao.”
Wu Yan placed Wu Nian in front of her.
The snow-white sword tassel on the hilt swayed with her movements, and Yu Qingyao naturally came to her side, holding the umbrella for her.
The distance between the sword tassel and the seal grew shorter.
The originally empty space suddenly rippled violently.
The spiritual power belonging to Xia Lingshuang within the sword tassel was drawn, tearing an entrance into the rippling area.
“Let’s go.”
Wu Yan took the lead and entered first.
“Okay.”
The world beyond the rift was actually no different from other places in the Piaomiao Sect.
At least in Wu Yan’s eyes, it looked exactly like the Earth Fire Chamber where she had tempered the Thunder-Struck Wood before.
This space was not large.
The stone walls and ceiling were embedded with illuminating Night Luminous Pearls, making the place bright and clear.
Before Wu Yan and Yu Qingyao lay their goal for this trip—the array eye located at Zhuqu Peak.
A mark belonging to one of the Eight Trigrams was carved on the array eye.
Directly in front of the array eye was a specially built stone platform with a groove chiseled into its surface.
The groove was filled with a large number of Spirit Stones, but those stones were now dim and lusterless, like ordinary rocks you could pick up on the roadside.
“Heh, you came just in time. If you’d been a little later, this broken thing would have stopped working.”
Wu Yan crossed her arms and complained from the side.
Wu Yan quickly stepped forward, removed those Spirit Stones that had lost their spiritual power, tossed them aside, then reached out to Yu Qingyao.
“Qingyao.”
“Here you go, Senior Sister.”
Yu Qingyao took the Storage Bag hanging from her waist and handed it to Wu Yan.
Clink—clink—
Crisp collision sounds echoed in the groove, and dense spiritual chi instantly flooded the entire chamber.
“Next, we just need to use Master’s spiritual power to activate the conversion array on the stone platform.”
Yu Qingyao came to Wu Yan’s side, ready to take out the item Xia Lingshuang had given her earlier, but then she saw Wu Yan lift her sword upward, and the conversion array began to operate.
“This sword tassel… was it a gift from Master?”
Yu Qingyao suddenly asked.
“Hm?”
After the array was activated, Wu Yan withdrew Wu Nian.
Hearing Yu Qingyao’s question, she turned to her in confusion and tilted her head.
“A gift from Master. What’s wrong, Qingyao?”
“Nothing, Senior Sister. Nothing.”
Yu Qingyao shook her head, as if the question had just been a casual remark.
Wu Yan had no idea what Yu Qingyao was thinking.
She only knew that since the Spirit Stones in the array eye had been replaced, it was time for them to leave.
After exiting the chamber, Wu Yan reinstated the protective seal.
Just as she was about to return to her residence with Yu Qingyao, a familiar scent suddenly came through the air.
It had a pungent, sulfur-like smell along with a nauseating fishy odor.
The direction from which the scent came…
Wu Yan abruptly looked up, gazing toward Wendao Peak in the distance.
“Could it be…?”
“Qingyao, did you smell something?”
Wu Yan suddenly asked Yu Qingyao.
Yu Qingyao wrinkled her nose and took a few deep breaths, then shook her head.
“No. Is there a strange smell?”
Wu Yan’s expression turned grim.
She took out a talisman from her Storage Ring and pressed it onto Yu Qingyao’s body.
She spoke quickly, afraid of wasting time.
“Qingyao, go find Master immediately. Tell Master to prepare.”
“Senior Sister, is it them?”
Seeing Wu Yan like this, Yu Qingyao suddenly understood her meaning.
Wu Yan nodded.
“Remember, Qingyao, have Master send people to Wendao Peak.”
Yu Qingyao had seen Wu Yan’s memories.
She knew that Wu Yan had an extraordinary sensitivity to demonic chi beyond that of ordinary people, and she also knew the secret hidden in Wu Yan’s body.
So now, following Wu Yan’s orders was undoubtedly the most correct choice.
“I’ll go find Master immediately. Senior Sister, you be careful too.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
With that, Wu Yan left Zhuqu Peak and flew toward Wendao Peak.
…
“We’re here.”
Dragging the severely broken body of Lin Xiao, she stopped at the entrance to the fifth floor of the Demon-Lock Cave.
“Lord, what big shots are locked down here?”
“Big shots?”
She suddenly laughed.
Her sturdy tail slapped the ground, whipping up dust.
“It’s not about ‘what big shots.’”
“It just holds one person.”
Since its establishment, the fifth floor of the Demon-Lock Cave had existed only to imprison one person.
Twenty years ago, the one who had suddenly emerged.
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