Translator: CinderTL
"But... the Demon Sovereign specifically ordered me to stay by your side, Senior."
Song Wen stared at the cave entrance, his face etched with apprehension. He clearly didn't want to enter, yet he seemed equally afraid of failing his mission and incurring Ye Hua's wrath. His expression wavered between reluctance and duty.
"Little friend, you're being too cautious," Cui Xuanjing said calmly. "As long as you and I keep silent, who would ever know what transpires in this valley?"
Song Wen's eyes lit up. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior! I'll wait here respectfully for your triumphant return."
Cui Xuanjing nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Cui Gu, signaling him to watch over Song Wen. With the rest of his group, he entered the cave.
After they disappeared into the darkness, Song Wen approached Cui Gu. "Fellow Daoist Cui Gu, I humbly request your protection." As he spoke, he glanced around nervously.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist," Cui Gu replied. "The Cui Clan guarantees your safety on this expedition."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist," Song Wen said. "I heard of the Cui Clan's renowned reputation back when I was cultivating in the Northern Region. If not for my Corpse Path Art, I would undoubtedly have joined your clan instead of the Wu Ji Sect."
As they maintained vigilance over their surroundings, the two exchanged idle chatter, mostly consisting of Song Wen's effusive praise while Cui Gu responded with polite nods.
Suddenly, a series of thunderous roars echoed from deep within the cave. The seawater surged violently, erupting from the cave's depths.
Song Wen's expression subtly changed.
"Fellow Daoist Cui Gu, it seems this cave truly is dangerous!"
Cui Gu gazed at the cave, his expression grave, and replied casually, "Of course. Would the Cui Clan's Ancestral Patriarch deceive you?"
"Is there really Corpse Fiend Essence in this cave?" Song Wen asked.
"Naturally," Cui Gu answered.
"Oh? Is that so?" A faint smile suddenly appeared on Song Wen's lips.
The smile sent a chill down Cui Gu's spine.
Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from his back. Looking down, Cui Gu saw a blood-colored tentacle piercing through his chest. The tentacle had emerged from beneath Gou Jun's feet.
Cui Gu frantically channeled his Spiritual Power, attempting a final resistance, but a wisp of Blood Mist seeped from the tentacle. The mist surged into his meridians, rushing directly to his dantian and sealing his Golden Core, rendering him utterly incapable of mobilizing even a trace of Spiritual Power.
Terror and disbelief flooded Cui Gu's pain-stricken face.
"Gou Jun... you're not a Golden Core cultivator!"
Song Wen remained silent, manipulating the tentacle to drag Cui Gu before him. He placed a palm on the man's head.
Soul Searching Technique!
Moments later, the soul search concluded. Song Wen shook his head slightly in disappointment, having obtained no valuable intelligence.
In the next instant, Cui Gu's body rapidly withered into a desiccated husk, and his soul vanished without a trace.
Song Wen retrieved Cui Gu's corpse and entered the mountain cave.
The cave twisted and sloped downward. After traveling for about ten li, the passage suddenly widened into a vast underwater cavern.
The cavern's dimensions were immeasurable, its boundaries beyond the reach of Song Wen's Spirit Sense. A deafening roar reverberated within.
Roughly two li from the cave entrance, the Cui Clan members were locked in a desperate battle against a colossal monstrous flower.
The flower towered over thirty meters tall, its pitch-black petals resembling massive slabs of rotting flesh that continuously opened and closed. At the heart of these petals gaped a gigantic maw bristling with rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Beneath the flower writhed a thick, gnarled stem.
From the base of the stem spread a tangle of vigorous, whip-like roots.
Unlike ordinary plant roots that anchored deep in the earth, these roots danced wildly in the water, lashing like living whips against an invisible barrier.
Notably, the monstrous flower hung suspended in the water, never touching the seabed. A transparent barrier separated it from the ground as well.
Outside this barrier, eight Cui Clan Golden Core cultivators strained to maintain the Formation with all their might. Their faces were grim, jaws clenched, as they withstood the relentless assault of the flower's root whips.
Within the Formation, besides the monstrous flower, stood one other figure.
Cui Xuanjing hovered in mid-air, his late-stage Fourth-Tier Ghost Emperor standing beside him, intercepting the relentless barrage of root whips.
With both hands forming a complex seal, Cui Xuanjing channeled wave after wave of Spiritual Power into a single petal of the monstrous flower.
The Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower writhed in agony, its central maw emitting piercing shrieks.
The targeted petal, repeatedly struck by Spiritual Power, gradually faded from inky black to ashen white as a wisp of dark essence was slowly extracted.
When the last trace of black essence had been drawn out, the petal seemed to lose all vitality. It detached from the flower's calyx and drifted into the churning seawater of the Formation, where it was instantly pulverized.
As if dealt a mortal wound, the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower erupted into madness.
Countless root whips lashed out wildly, battering the barrier with the relentless rhythm of rain on banana leaves.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The thunderous impacts reverberated incessantly.
The barrier shook violently, teetering on the brink of collapse.
"Hold strong!" Cui Xuanjing roared urgently. "If the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower breaches the Formation, it will flee into the seabed rocks. Finding it again won't be so easy!"
As Cui Xuanjing spoke, he used his Spiritual Power to guide the wisp of black Corpse Fiend Essence into a black stone bottle before him.
The eight Golden Core cultivators from the Cui Clan, who were operating the Formation, did not respond to Cui Xuanjing's words. Instead, they focused all their Spiritual Power on maintaining the Formation's barrier.
Fortunately, the barrier gradually stabilized and was not breached by the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower.
Cui Xuanjing continued casting spells, extracting the essence from another petal.
Song Wen, who was using his Shadow Gu to amplify the range of his Spirit Sense, observed this scene, a glint flashing in his eyes.
A Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower in this underwater valley!
This was a treasure coveted by all high-level Corpse Dao cultivators, prized for its endless production of Corpse Fiend Essence.
The black essence Cui Xuanjing was extracting from the petals was precisely this Corpse Fiend Essence.
Traces on the flower's receptacle indicated that four petals had already been removed, meaning Cui Xuanjing had obtained four strands of Corpse Fiend Essence. Fourteen petals remained.
Clearly, Cui Xuanjing had no intention of exhausting the flower's resources. Otherwise, he wouldn't bother with such a meticulous approach—he could simply slay the flower and extract all the Corpse Fiend Essence at once.
Cui Xuanjing likely planned to slowly exhaust the Demonic Fiend-Devouring Flower, extracting a portion of its Corpse Fiend Essence to deliver to Ye Hua. Afterward, he intended to capture the flower alive, hoping to cultivate it into a continuous source of Corpse Fiend Essence.
Song Wen pondered briefly, then decided against revealing himself prematurely. Instead, he quietly retreated along the cave tunnel.
Reaching the cave entrance, he discovered two fish-like Demon Corpses prowling nearby, likely drawn by the commotion from Cui Gu's death.
One corpse was Second-Tier, the other Third-Tier.
Upon spotting Song Wen, the two Demon Corpses swiftly charged toward him.
Rather than killing them, Song Wen activated the Blood Sea Seal, conjuring two blood-colored tentacles. The tentacles coiled around the Demon Corpses and hurled them far away.
Then, the tentacles released an intensely concentrated surge of Blood Qi.
As the Blood Qi dispersed into the seawater, its crimson hues faded, leaving behind a lingering metallic tang.
Moments later—
Splash! Splash! Splash!...
A series of splashes broke the surface as over a dozen Demon Corpses surged toward the cave entrance from all directions, including the two Song Wen had just hurled away.
(End of the Chapter)
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