Chapter 255 Meeting

Lian Mu crawled out of the underground cave. Only when she stood on the ground and looked from this angle did she notice something different.

Her sword was nowhere to be seen on the muddy ground, but there were clear marks where a blade had slashed past. Judging from the cut, it did not look like the work of Wealth Bringer.

Had someone else been here?

Lian Mu crouched down to take a closer look and found that the black mud was tainted with a faint purplish red. If one did not examine it carefully, it would be impossible to notice.

She reached out and touched it. It was a bit hot to the touch, and there was Demonic Qi seeping out from within.

This was… the blood of that Demonic Creature?

Lian Mu tried to sense Wealth Bringer. The spiritual link that answered told her that Wealth Bringer was in motion, and its direction was also toward the Red Scorched Circle.

“…”

Someone had definitely been here.

Lian Mu immediately hauled Nan Xuedie up and slung her over her shoulder. “We are leaving.”

Nan Xuedie: “?”

Nan Xuedie was injured and in no condition to resist, so she could only let herself be carried.

Without the threat of Demonic Creatures, Lian Mu moved much faster and passed through the forest without obstruction.

As she sprinted madly toward the Red Scorched Circle, she glanced up at the moon in the sky. At this moment it had emerged a bit more.

Only the howling of the wind remained in her ears, and an uneasy feeling grew in her heart.

It seemed that the loud boom she had heard in the underground cave earlier had not been a coincidence. Someone had killed that Demonic Creature and taken her sword, yet apparently had not discovered her.

Lian Mu had no idea who that person was. Based on how quickly they had slain the Demonic Creature, their cultivation was certainly not low.

She could not help thinking of that White-Robed Figure who had a grudge with Xuan Che.

If he had sent someone to hunt her down, then where was Xuan Che right now?

Lian Mu frowned and quickened her pace. Half an hour later, she finally burst out of the Withered Bone Swamp and reached the edge of the Red Scorched Circle.

Unexpectedly, Wealth Bringer was not moving toward the Corpse Mountain Scorched Forest but was heading somewhere even more remote.

Lian Mu stopped and hesitated for a moment.

Nan Xuedie asked, “What is wrong with you?”

Lian Mu said, “Passing through the Red Scorched Circle is very dangerous. There are many Demonic Creatures here that corrupt the mind.”

Nan Xuedie said, “I know. When Team Leader Lu and I came in, we were bewitched by the Demonic Creatures of the Red Scorched Circle. We never planned to enter at all…”

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt her head grow heavy as a strand of spiritual power struck her forehead.

Nan Xuedie did not even have time to resist. Her vision went black and she passed out on the spot.

Lian Mu twisted her toes on the ground and chose the path leading to the Corpse Mountain Scorched Forest.

“…”

Whatever the case, recovering the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda was the most important thing. Once she found the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda, she would go after Wealth Bringer.

…

…

Corpse Mountain Scorched Forest, a field of ruins.

Under the shroud of darkness, the blood reek of corpses made the nearby Demonic Creatures even more rampant. They stared at the man on the corpse mountain, vicious killing intent burning in their eyes.

“Xuan Che, you are not what you used to be.”

The White-Robed Figure hung high in midair, looking coldly at the indistinct shadow in the distance.

The shadow had been scattered countless times. Each time it reformed, before it could fully exert its power, it would be smashed again by the spear in the White-Robed Figure’s hand.

By now, the shadow could no longer even maintain a human shape. It was nothing but a mass, with only a vague outline discernible.

A lazy, careless voice came from within the shadow. “Is that so? I was just toying with you, and you actually think you have some real skill.”

He still stood atop the corpse mountain. Despite enduring countless attacks, he had never shifted from that spot.

The White-Robed Figure said, “Stop pretending. Right now you are not even a tenth of what you once were. As I expected, you should not be able to move, right? Too far from the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda, your strength will be weakened again.”

“You know quite a lot. Seems you have been placing spies in the Immortal Sects all these years. You are smarter than your master at least.” The shadow flickered twice. “You are right, but so what? What you want is still out of your reach. You only dare attack me from a distance with that spear. Do you dare come closer?”

The White-Robed Figure snorted coldly. “As long as I can suppress you, what does it matter what methods I use? Do not get complacent. I may not be able to enter the Heavenly Return Palace now, but as long as I am alive, there will come a day when I burn that place to the ground.”

Several low laughs came from the shadow. “If you insist on entering the Heavenly Return Palace, it is not impossible. There is still a vacancy before my hall for someone to feed the dogs. I can bestow that position upon you.”

The twisted, scarred face beneath the White-Robed Figure’s hood darkened with fury. The Demonic Qi around his spear surged again. He slashed through the air, and the spear spirit shot forth like a flying dragon, cleaving across the sky.

This time, he struck with full force and completely shattered that shadow.

The shadow was Xuan Che’s avatar outside the pagoda. It was something he had forced out while enduring the killing formation. Injuring the avatar would rebound on the true body inside the pagoda with doubled force.

To keep him under control, the Immortal Sects had deliberately set a trap inside the pagoda formation. He could release an avatar, but its strength was heavily suppressed and it was very easy to wound. If he released it a few more times, they could even wear him to death through this method.

The White-Robed Figure had been gathering information painstakingly for years and had finally seized this opportunity. He showed no mercy. His earlier probing had already confirmed that the information was true, and now it was time for him to strike back.

Sure enough, after he shattered the shadow with all his strength, the spiritual fluctuations weakened. This time, the shadow could not even gather again.

The White-Robed Figure drew his spear back behind him and watched with satisfaction. “When you threw me into the Red Lotus Fire Cavern back then, you never imagined this day would come, did you? It is a pity. That pagoda is still too much of an obstacle. If I could, I would kill you outright and avenge the clan members of mine who died so tragically.”

He stepped on the wind and moved forward, intending to search for the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda that had fallen somewhere on the corpse mountain. But halfway there, the Demonic Qi on the surface of the nearby Demon Nurturing River suddenly stirred.

Sensing this familiar aura, the White-Robed Figure turned his head. He saw several pairs of spider legs clamber up onto the shore.

From above, the White-Robed Figure said, “So you succeeded that quickly? Looks like Mei Chengyu, famed for triple-sword strikes, is nothing special after all.”

Spider Woman crawled over clutching her wound, panting for breath. “We need to go. Mei Chengyu followed me here.”

The White-Robed Figure raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You did not kill her?”

He looked her up and down and discovered that she was the one who looked truly miserable.

“What are you panicking for? Even if she comes, there is only one road left for her, and that is death.” The White-Robed Figure chuckled. “Perfect timing. The last person of the Penglai Sect, I will send her to reunite with her fellow disciples today.”

Spider Woman said, “Something is wrong. Someone has entered the Heavenly Return Palace and struck the Immaculate Moon Wheel. The eclipse fog is dissipating…”

At those words, the White-Robed Figure abruptly lifted his head. He had set up a barrier over this entire area long ago to shut out external disturbances, so he had not known that the Moon Wheel had been struck.

Only now did he remove part of the barrier and look up at the sky. The darkness that had shrouded it was dispersing, and moonlight was returning.

White-Robed Figure looked at the scattered, shapeless black mist and ground his teeth. “I thought you were heading to Heavenly Return Palace to undo the seal. Turns out you came as reinforcements for the Immortal Sects. You really do repay resentment with virtue and never hold a grudge, huh. Truly worthy of a former disciple of Penglai, stuffed full of Demonic Qi but still a righteous Immortal Sects cultivator at heart.”

“That strand of Moonlight sword qi, did you let her bring it up there on purpose?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow slowly condensed again under the moonlight and returned to human form.

White-Robed Figure suddenly realized he could use the moonlight to repair himself. He moved to close the barrier, but it was already too late.

A flash of white light flickered in the shadow’s hand and a longsword took shape in his grasp.

White-Robed Figure’s pupils contracted. “You… you can still summon the Moonlight sword?!”

The shadow flexed his wrist. Even without any visible features, the bold, unrestrained air of him could still be felt in that silhouette.

“You really love to put on a show. You think everyone is as low as you? The life and death of the Immortal Sects has nothing to do with me.”

“The only one I’ve ever wanted to teach a lesson is you, you dog. Is this your turf or something, that you dare piss all over the place?”

White-Robed Figure retreated two steps. For a moment, it was as if he was back in those years, watching helplessly as this man slaughtered every last citizen of Black Abyss.

A flicker of viciousness crossed his eyes. “You think I’m still afraid of you?”

He shot forward like lightning. The spear in his hand turned into a blade of Demonic Qi. Wherever it passed, frost condensed and space warped.

He had also cultivated for over a thousand years. In terms of foundation, he was not that far behind.

The spearhead drove toward the shadow with unstoppable force, aimed straight at his heart.

A tearing sound rang out.

White-Robed Figure’s eyes flew wide.

The spear pierced into the shadow, blasting out a large hollow. This strike was enough to heavily injure the heart of his true body in the Xuan Che Tower.

Xuan Che stood where he was, not moving at all, not even attempting to dodge. He lowered his head. Although he had no eyes, it still felt as if he was looking at White-Robed Figure.

“So what?”

He gripped the spear and gave it a light twist. The shaft snapped in his hand like brittle bamboo.

The gaping wound in Xuan Che’s chest rapidly knit back together as the black mist gathered, leaving him completely unscathed.

“No one ever told you that when I’m holding a sword, you’d better have the sense to stay far away?”

White-Robed Figure’s throat was suddenly seized and his whole body was lifted into the air.

“With just this level of strength, don’t come to the Shifang Nether Soil and make a fool of yourself.”

Without a doubt, when White-Robed Figure opened the barrier just now, he had handed Xuan Che the perfect chance to counterattack. Under the resonance of the moonlight, Xuan Che’s strength had recovered greatly, and with the distant Moon Wheel sheltering him, he was practically immortal.

Spider Woman also saw the black figure atop the mountain of corpses. Her spider legs began to tremble faintly. This aura… it was definitely him.

She was just about to flee when a crack sounded. White-Robed Figure’s head was twisted clean off.

Xuan Che held White-Robed Figure’s head and studied it for a moment. “…So it wasn’t your true body. No wonder you were so arrogant.”

He kicked the corpse down and set the head on the very peak of the corpse mountain. “As promised, this place of honor is yours. You can be considered beneath one and above ten thousand now.”

He turned his head toward Spider Woman by the Demon Nurturing River and recognized her. “You are… that ugly spider I soaked in wine?”

Hearing that familiar voice, Spider Woman’s whole body shuddered. She was about to dart back into the Demon Nurturing River when a flash of crimson caught her eye.

“Where are you going?”

Mei Chengyu rode her sword through the air and lightly alighted on the ground, her blade pointing at Spider Woman.

Spider Woman frowned. There was no way out forward or back.

As Mei Chengyu looked toward her, a movement at the edge of her vision drew her gaze to the black figure atop the corpse mountain, and she froze for an instant.

Spider Woman seized that heartbeat of distraction, flickered out of sight, and dove back into the Demon Nurturing River.

Mei Chengyu instinctively turned, locking onto the direction of her escape. When she looked back again, the black figure on the corpse mountain had vanished.

Her heart surged with turmoil. That just now was…

A single breath later, she forcibly cleared her mind and turned to continue pursuing Spider Woman. As she left, she could not help mocking herself. It really seemed she had been drinking too much, to be seeing things.

There was no way that person could have walked out of the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda.