Chapter Thirty-Five: Demons Emerge, Evil Manifests
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The forest was serene, and echoes drifted through the empty valleys.
Surrounded by such tranquil scenery, Tang Qianxue’s faint resentment toward Qu Ziyao gradually faded.
There was, in truth, no direct conflict between them. Qu Ziyao was merely Yue Suxian’s disciple. Although the fault had clearly lain with master and disciple, they had still refused to let the matter rest, insisting on sparring with Xiao Lin.
“If Little Qilin hadn’t possessed such extraordinary strength, how could he possibly have defeated a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He really would have been taught a lesson by them.” Tang Qianxue curled her lips.
But she soon put those thoughts aside and began searching for the objective of her mission.
This journey was said to be an experience outside the mountain, but it would be more accurate to call it a reward for the disciples of Sword Mountain.
At every trial site, disciples from the independent Law Enforcement Hall were responsible for investigating and eliminating various dangers. They ensured that none of the spirit beasts in the area exceeded the Foundation Establishment realm.
With a Foundation Establishment disciple leading the group, the safety of the expedition could therefore be effectively guaranteed.
To make certain that no accidents occurred, the mission targets were not valuable treasures likely to arouse greed. Apart from the spirit beasts that already lived there, everything else consisted of ordinary flowers and grasses personally planted by disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall.
Some had been planted inside spirit-beast caves; others clung to sheer cliffs and precipices.
According to Sword Mountain’s own rules, these items were assigned different point values. The final rankings would then be calculated from those points, and the winners would receive lavish rewards.
It made sense. How could truly important missions ever be entrusted to a group of Qi Refinement disciples?
Most disciples could be said to have come for the rewards, which were refreshed once every month.
But for Tang Qianxue, this really was an experience.
After all, even a cliff face could become a life-or-death trial for her...
Tang Qianxue drew a deep breath. “My master is gone. I can’t disappoint his hopes any longer. And besides...”
She did not want Little Qilin to stand before her and shield her from everything every single time.
Before long, after brushing past a Sword Mountain disciple, Tang Qianxue finally found a brilliantly colored flower.
Delight spread across her face. “The red flower. It’s worth the most points.”
Yet it had been planted at the entrance of a cave.
There was no need to think too hard about it. This was surely the lair of a spirit beast.
Tang Qianxue immediately understood why that junior brother had turned back the way he came.
The slightest mistake could result in being “eliminated.”
Who knew what sort of spirit beast lived inside?
If it happened to be especially ferocious, its scent could cling to her body, and shaking it off would be anything but easy.
Tang Qianxue possessed numerous treasures bestowed upon her by the Lord of the Five Luminaries Palace. But if she casually used objects far beyond her current cultivation, how could that be considered training?
Everything had to begin with her own strength.
After a long while, Tang Qianxue finally moved.
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She suppressed her aura as perfectly as she could.
Her plan was to determine whether the spirit beast was inside the cave, then act according to the circumstances.
When Tang Qianxue crept toward the cave, she discovered that there was no enormous beast within.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly. Taking three steps in two, she was about to pluck the red flower and flee.
But as she neared the cave, a dense stench of blood rushed toward her.
Tang Qianxue’s delicate face stiffened slightly, but she did not panic.
Perhaps it was merely prey killed by the spirit beast.
Clinging to that thought, Tang Qianxue peered into the depths of the cave.
Upon a pool of crimson blood lay the enormous corpse of a tiger.
Even that description was uncertain. Tang Qianxue could identify it only from the remnants of its hide.
As for the corpse itself...
It was even more mangled than the tiger hide. Its four limbs lay scattered in different places, while the blood-red, viscous substance clinging to the cave walls looked disturbingly like entrails.
The entire cave was plainly a place where the spirit beast had slaughtered its victims.
Tang Qianxue’s pupils trembled. Her first reaction was to turn and flee.
If another spirit beast had been responsible, it would not have subjected its prey to meaningless torture, even if it did not intend to eat it.
Nor could a Sword Mountain disciple have carried out such a massacre—much less left the red flower untouched.
Everything could point to only one conclusion.
Other cultivators were here, and they were certainly not disciples of the righteous path.
“How perceptive.”
“But where do you think you’re going?”
A shrill laugh rang out.
Alongside it came an even sharper, more mournful shriek.
Boom!
Tang Qianxue had no time to react. A tremendous blow struck her back.
Her entire body flew forward and crashed heavily onto the ground, then tumbled dozens of times like a rag doll.
“Ke-heh...”
Having succeeded in his ambush, the attacker instinctively tried to laugh again.
But Tang Qianxue rose as though nothing had happened and continued sprinting forward with her head lowered.
At that moment, her mind held only one thought: she had to tell everyone else about this.
Otherwise, if those junior brothers and sisters were attacked...
She dared not think any further.
Yet in the next instant, a figure suddenly appeared along the path Tang Qianxue had to take.
The hidden man finally revealed himself. He was thin as a dried corpse, with bulging eyes.
Had those eyes not been moving, one might have mistaken him for a walking corpse.
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“You possess a third-grade protective spirit treasure.”
The Nether Butcher stared fixedly at Tang Qianxue. Under his unbearably greedy gaze, his eyeballs seemed liable to fall from their sockets at any moment.
“This treasure and I are destined to meet. Hand it over, and I’ll spare your life.”
Third-grade spirit treasures had another name: Golden Core treasures. They were usually possessions that only Golden Core experts could wield and control.
Otherwise, what could she have used to withstand his strike as a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
Tang Qianxue frowned slightly.
Leaving aside the Nether Butcher’s stare, even the strange stench permeating the air was unbearable to an ordinary person.
Yet she said, “All right.”
Even the Nether Butcher was stunned.
Had he really obtained a third-grade spirit treasure so easily?
While he was still dazed, a streak of light suddenly shot into the sky. It erupted overhead in a blaze of dazzling fire, shining for an instant more brilliantly than the sun.
The Nether Butcher immediately realized that he had been deceived. His expression turned vicious.
“But this is how hypocritical you righteous cultivators are.”
“Even with death staring you in the face, you still worry about the safety of others.”
“Abandoning your humanity. How laughable...”
Tang Qianxue suddenly smiled. “No wonder you chose the demonic path.”
“Hmm?”
“With a temperament like yours, you could never pass the Trial of the Heart. Since you could not become a cultivator of the righteous path, weren’t you left with no choice but to turn to crooked and evil ways?”
She sneered. “And you call us hypocrites? You deceived yourself, yet still think you can deceive others?”
“Bold!”
The Nether Butcher opened his mouth, and more than a dozen phantom figures flew from within. Accompanied by piercing shrieks, they shot straight toward Tang Qianxue.
Demonic Echoes Piercing the Ears!
Tang Qianxue immediately raised her hands to cover her ears, but it did not block the slightest bit of the sound.
“These are the dying screams of the dead. They strike directly at the spirit and soul. Even a protective spirit treasure cannot block them completely!” The Nether Butcher stretched his mouth into an exaggerated grin. His dry skin split apart in an instant, yet not a drop of blood flowed.
He paid it no heed and merely cackled. “And besides, do you really think someone will come to save you? The others can barely protect themselves.”
“Rest assured. Once the others are dead, someone will refine their corpses into puppets, extract their bones for medicine, and seize their souls to turn them into ghosts. Not a single part will be wasted. When the time comes, you will all reunite...”
He described the atrocities committed by evil cultivators.
The more Tang Qianxue listened, the more horrified she became.
These evil cultivators truly deserved every condemnation!
But just then, a point of silver light suddenly flickered.
Compared with the dazzling silver radiance Tang Qianxue had seen before, this glimmer was incredibly faint.
And in that silent instant, a figure appeared behind the Nether Butcher and thrust a sword toward his head.
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