Blood trickled from the old city lord's seven orifices; his body could no longer withstand the immense pressure.
"Useless!" Yue Tianxia cursed, then abandoned the old city lord and his son, quickly moving forward with two men in white robes. Su Dan Novel Network
Sect Master Jiang also felt uncomfortable, but it was within his tolerance. After a moment of thought, he followed.
Sect Master Wen, however, followed at a leisurely pace. His cultivation was only at the middle stage of Nascent Soul, a realm lower than Sect Master Jiang. Although he could endure it, he did not wish to proceed further.
Sect Master Wen picked up the father and son and walked back until their seven orifices stopped bleeding before he halted.
The old city lord gasped for breath, "Thank you, Sect Master Wen, for saving my life."
"No need to thank me, I am merely making a transaction," Sect Master Wen said lazily. "Xiao Man will likely realize something is amiss soon."
The father and son exchanged glances. So the honored master could even buy over the sect masters of the Four Great Sects. "Sect Master Wen, forgive my impertinence, but what exactly are Yue Tianxia and the others searching for?"
"A treasure, perhaps," Sect Master Wen replied uncertainly. "It is said that the predecessor of Wuji City was the royal city of the Xuan clan."
"The Xuan clan's royal city?" The old city lord shook his head. "Impossible, Wuji City's predecessor could never have been the Xuan clan's royal city."
"You know?"
"This place emanates a deathly aura. If it were a royal city, how could it exude such an aura? It's more like a graveyard."
"Xuan clan graveyard!" Sect Master Wen's eyes lit up. This meant that many Xuan clan members were buried here. According to Xiao Man, the Xuan clan were the true divine race of this continent. If he could control their corpses, would he still need to fear Yue Tianxia and the others?
"You two wait here for Xiao Man. I will go ahead and see what is happening." Sect Master Wen quickly followed. If he could obtain a Xuan clan corpse and refine it into a celestial corpse, controlling all the rotting corpses in the world, his Beast Taming Sect would become renowned.
"Father, is Wuji City built on graves?" Yan Yu asked doubtfully.
"Heaven knows. Regardless, it is not wise to provoke what lies within," the old city lord shook his head. "But how did these people discover the secret beneath Wuji City?"
"The Four Great Sects have traditions spanning over a thousand years. They know far more than we do. Things we are unaware of, they may very well know."
"Indeed. We shall wait for the honored master here for now."
When Xiao Man caught up, he found Tian Xuzi blocking his path and involuntarily stopped.
Tian Xuzi looked at Xiao Man with surprise, then a hint of realization. "So it was you. No wonder you could break my barrier."
"Greetings, senior."
"The first time I saw you, I felt that your destiny was extraordinary. I never imagined that in just over ten years, you would turn Cang Xuan upside down."
"Senior, do you regret saving me in the Land of Nothingness?"
"It was Tian Ze who saved you in the Land of Nothingness, not me," Tian Xuzi said slowly. "The disciples of our Tian Xuan Sect have shorter lifespans than normal people. Do you know why?"
"Demonic poison."
Tian Xuzi smiled, "That is only one reason."
"Remnants of the Xuan clan."
Tian Xuzi fell silent. After a moment, he chuckled, "It seems, young friend, you know quite a bit."
"Tian Ze is a remnant of the Xuan clan. You have shown him much care, hiding him in the Tian Xuan Sect and preventing others from seeing his true form, all to protect him. If he were not a remnant of the Xuan clan, why would you go to such lengths to protect him?"
Tian Xuzi furrowed his brows. "Alas, today I must kill you."
"You cannot kill me," Xiao Man said calmly. "You are already deeply poisoned, and you have entered this Wuji Dead Land. The demonic poison within you is about to erupt."
"I must kill you," Tian Xuzi repeated. "Tian Ze has been captured by them. If I do not kill you, Tian Ze will be in mortal danger."
Xiao Man sighed, and with a flash of movement, appeared before Tian Xuzi. Before Tian Xuzi could react, Xiao Man struck a vital point, sending him flying back. He crashed into the rock wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed.
Xiao Man flicked out several streams of spiritual energy, each striking Tian Xuzi's vital points. Tian Xuzi's screams echoed far into the distance, even reaching Yue Tianxia, who had already ventured deep inside.
"Even Tian Xuzi is no match. Could it truly be the Demon Lord who has arrived?"
"Regardless of who it is, let's go in first. Finding what we need is paramount," urged the white-robed divine envoy. They could not linger here for long. If they stayed too long, the medicine would wear off, and the Meteor Fire Stones hidden within the rock walls would trigger the demonic poison in their bodies.
"Take another pill." The white-robed divine envoy produced a bottle of medicine and had everyone take one. Another man saw Yue Tianxia rushing ahead and glanced at his companion. "We have already taken three. Three is the limit. If we take any more, our bodies will not be able to bear it."
"Let's hope we can hold on until we find what the Divine Lord wants."
"Why does the Divine Lord want us to find a corpse without a heart?"
"The Divine Lord has his own plans; we are not permitted to question them. Hurry up and follow."
Sect Master Jiang had already fallen behind. The further he went, the more uncomfortable he felt, as if his blood were boiling. It felt as though something within him was trying to break free.
Sect Master Jiang had no choice but to stop, sit cross-legged, and circulate his spiritual energy, attempting to suppress the heat within him. However, the more he circulated his spiritual energy, the more uncomfortable he became. After a moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
Sect Master Wen, who had been chasing after them, felt increasingly uneasy the deeper he went. He slowly stopped, hearing heavy gasps, sounding like both a human and a beast.
"Who's there?"
Out of the darkness, a shadow lunged, carrying a suffocating scent of blood, with a faintly familiar undertone.
Sect Master Wen dodged, and the luminous pearl he used for light rolled to the ground. Sect Master Wen then saw clearly what had attacked him – it was a Hundred Ghoul, but this Hundred Ghoul was wearing the uniform of the Tian Ling Sect!
"Sect Master Jiang?" Sect Master Wen called out tentatively.
This call caused the Hundred Ghoul before him to hesitate for a moment. After a brief pause, it charged again. Sect Master Wen was horrified. His cultivation was already a realm lower than Sect Master Jiang's, and now that Sect Master Jiang had demonized, he was even less of a match!
Sect Master Wen felt like crying. What Xiao Man had said was true; normal people could indeed demonize. Sect Master Jiang of the Tian Ling Sect refined all sorts of pills, and he must have consumed the most pills. But why did he demonize for no reason?
As Sect Master Wen was about to be killed by Sect Master Jiang, the demonized Jiang Zongzhu, not noticing a stone on the ground, tripped over it and slammed headfirst into the rock wall, creating a hole and falling unconscious. Sect Master Wen quickly patted his chest, having narrowly escaped death!
Unexpectedly, the rock wall that had been broken through revealed a cinnabar-red color. Sect Master Wen curiously chipped away the black outer layer and discovered with horror that the rock walls of this passage were entirely made of Meteor Fire Stone!