Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen surveyed the dozen or so demon corpses, his disappointment evident. Not a single one was a Fourth-Tier specimen.
Repeating his earlier tactic, he hurled the corpses away once more, continuing to emit Blood Qi from his tentacles.
While waiting for more corpses to arrive, Song Wen searched his surroundings and found a ten-foot-tall boulder, which he stored in his Storage Ring.
Before long, more demon corpses swarmed in, two of them particularly conspicuous: a massive turtle several dozen feet in length and a serpent as thick as a millstone. Both were Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts.
A gleam of excitement lit Song Wen's eyes. He activated the Blood Sea Seal, drawing back all the scattered Blood Qi, and turned to flee into the mountain cave.
Driven by their hunger for living flesh, the demon corpses surged into the cave, scrambling over each other in a frenzied rush.
As Song Wen hurried deeper, approaching the underground cavern, he spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence onto the Two-Faced Buddha, which had inexplicably materialized on his chest.
An indescribable, eerie aura erupted from the Two-Faced Buddha, enveloping Song Wen and utterly disrupting his aura.
Crouching low, he darted into a recessed niche in the cave wall.
Suddenly, the ten-foot-tall boulder materialized, completely sealing the niche.
Song Wen huddled in the alcove, suppressing his aura and remaining completely still.
Moments later, the horde of Demon Corpses arrived.
Having lost track of Song Wen, they continued deeper into the mountain cave.
Meanwhile, inside the cavern, the Cui Clan members noticed the commotion in the cave.
The Demon Corpses charged forward with such thunderous force that it was impossible to ignore their approach.
Cui Xuanjing frowned, halting his absorption of Corpse Fiend Essence. He turned toward the cave entrance, his voice grave.
"Open a breach in the formation. Let me out."
The eight Golden Core cultivators of the Cui Clan swiftly complied.
A ten-foot-tall opening materialized in the formation barrier behind Cui Xuanjing.
He darted through the gap.
The breach sealed instantly, preventing the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower from escaping.
"Guard the formation well," Cui Xuanjing warned. "Don't let the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower break free."
With this final command, Cui Xuanjing strode to the cave entrance.
At that moment, a colossal serpent head erupted from the darkness.
Its jaws gaped wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs as it lunged at Cui Xuanjing.
"Get lost!" Cui Xuanjing roared.
The Ghost Head Blade flashed out, striking one of the serpent's fangs.
The fang shattered, fragments shooting like poisoned darts into the serpent's own mouth. The shards pierced its flesh and flew deeper into the cave.
The Ghost Head Blade was sent flying back.
As the blade turned to strike the giant serpent again, a colossal turtle charged forward.
Clang!
The Ghost Head Blade struck the turtle's hardened shell, sending the creature skidding back several dozen feet but inflicting no damage. Instead, the blade was knocked even further away.
Cui Xuanjing prepared to attack again when a desperate cry for help reached him from behind.
"Ancestor! Bad news! The Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower is about to break free!"
Cui Xuanjing turned to see the flower, sensing its chance to escape, deliberately detaching a petal.
The petal pierced the seawater and slammed into the formation barrier.
It shattered instantly, releasing a wisp of Corpse Fiend Essence.
This wisp, seemingly as insignificant as a faint shadow, contained an immense amount of Corpse Qi.
The Corpse Qi erupted with explosive force.
Boom!
A deafening blast of energy swept outward.
The formation barrier crumbled instantly.
Eight Golden Core cultivators from the Cui Clan were struck by the shockwave, hurled through the air, and slammed into the ground, gravely wounded and unable to rise.
The Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower's roots plunged into the seabed bedrock.
The rock, as soft as tofu, offered no resistance.
The flower's stem forced its way into the fractured rock, poised to burrow deep into the earth and flee.
A streak of dark light flashed as the Ghost Head Blade slashed down.
Forgetting everything else, Cui Xuanjing lunged to finish off the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower.
The flower repeated its trick, proactively detaching another petal. The Corpse Qi erupting from the petal blocked the Ghost Head Blade.
Seizing the opportunity, the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower vanished into the jumble of rocks.
Seeing this, Cui Xuanjing immediately prepared to activate his escape technique and pursue it. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his eight severely wounded clansmen.
If he abandoned them now, they would surely be devoured by the Demon Corpses.
"Damn it! The Demon Corpses have even infiltrated the underground chamber. Why hasn't Cui Gu appeared? Could he have already met with disaster?" Cui Xuanjing cursed inwardly.
As for Gou Jun, he had no time to spare for him now.
After a moment's hesitation, Cui Xuanjing abandoned his pursuit of the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower and redirected his blade toward the giant serpent.
The late Fourth-Tier Ghost Emperor also charged toward the massive turtle.
It took considerable effort, but Cui Xuanjing finally managed to eliminate both Fourth-Tier Demon Corpses—the serpent and the turtle.
Unbeknownst to him, while he was fully engaged in battling the two monsters, a tiny Gu worm stealthily burrowed into the gravel pit left behind by the fleeing Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower.
"You all heal here," Cui Xuanjing said. "I'll pursue the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower."
Wasting no time, he cleared away the tardy Third-Tier Demon Corpses, left the late Fourth-Tier Ghost Emperor behind, and plunged into the gravel pit.
With the Ghost Head Blade leading the way, effortlessly grinding the loose stones to dust, Cui Xuanjing advanced unimpeded.
To his surprise, the gravel-filled passage didn't descend in a straight line. After dropping several miles, it abruptly veered horizontally, continuing for over ten miles before finally sloping upward again.
Cui Xuanjing soon reached the end of the passage—the seabed. He had returned to the underwater valley.
The Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower had vanished without a trace.
Staring at the ink-black seawater, tainted by Corpse Qi, Cui Xuanjing's anger flared. After going to such lengths to reach this place, he had let the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower slip away.
Moreover, he had only obtained five strands of Corpse Fiend Essence, not even enough to complete his trade with Ye Hua.
Unwilling to give up, Cui Xuanjing searched the area thoroughly for any trace of the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower, but found nothing. Reluctantly, he retraced his steps to the underground cavern to rejoin his clan.
Song Wen gazed at the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower, now severed in two by his blade, a slightly surprised smile gracing his lips.
His original plan had been to let the flower escape, then use the Shadow Gu to track it down. He would deal with it later, when the time was right.
But to his astonishment, the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower hadn't burrowed deep underground as expected. Instead, it had returned to the valley.
It was practically delivering treasure to his doorstep!
Song Wen wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip through his fingers.
Using the faint connection between himself and the Shadow Gu, he easily located the flower.
He had no intention of cultivating it, nor did he currently possess the means to do so. Therefore, he simply finished it off.
It was undeniably a waste of such a rare resource.
As for why he hadn't eliminated the Cui Clan members, it was because they had entered the valley together. If he were the sole survivor, Ye Hua would never believe him.
Compared to the Corpse Fiend Essence, absorbing the cultivation of Ye Hua and Yin Shuo was far more crucial.
Song Wen cast a spell to seal the flower's petals, preventing any loss of the Corpse Fiend Essence. He then stored it in his Storage Ring and turned to leave the valley.
(End of the Chapter)
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