Chapter 72

The procession that entered the cave momentarily stopped.

The cave, with its walls embedded with luminous pearls, was as bright as daylight and quite spacious, seemingly artificially carved.

Suddenly, the black-robed figure leading the procession turned around and said, "Everyone except the bodyguards, wait here until the master's ritual is complete."

"Understood!"

Only the minimum number of people, including the men leading the carts, moved deeper into the cave.

Then, the majority of the Earth Dragon Corps members began to rest, sitting on various large and small rocks.

"Huh, now I feel like I can breathe again!"

One of the Earth Dragon Corps members, who had been leading a cart, threw off his black bamboo hat and said, "I was about to suffocate with that black cloth attached to the hat to cover my face."

At that moment, he noticed three people standing still amidst the chaos.

'Tsk! I heard they were short-handed, so reinforcements came from other units. They must be them.'

He quietly approached them and spoke in a friendly manner, "You guys should rest while you can. The 'ingredients' have entered the 'dining room,' so you can rest for at least half an hour."

However, strangely, they did not respond at all.

Thinking they were tense, he patted one of their shoulders and began to complain, "Phew, all this trouble is because of that Dragon Master. We haven't had a day off and have been working non-stop."

When the term "Dragon Master" was mentioned, two of the people suddenly flinched.

Just as the Earth Dragon Corps member was tilting his head in confusion, the man he had patted suddenly spoke.

"Is there only one exit from here?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. But what's your name?"

The Earth Dragon Corps member asked the man, but then—

"Me? I'm the Grim Reaper."

Suddenly, a sword appeared in the man's hand.

Swish!

With a chilling slicing sound, the man's head flew off, his eyes wide open.

One of the Earth Dragon Corps members, who saw this scene, shouted, "They're enemies!"

"……!"

But no words came out of his mouth.

Youshenyun, Tang Haling, and Zhuge Jun threw off their black bamboo hats and charged forward.

In the quiet silence, a fierce battle began.

Tang Haling and Zhuge Jun blocked the cave entrance, while Youshenyun blocked the direction leading deeper inside.

Naturally, the number of enemies trying to enter deeper to alert the Earth Dragon Master was much greater.

However, Youshenyun easily defended against the combined attacks of the Earth Dragon Corps members while thinking, 'Let's see the true strength of the Seven Great Families.'

He also began to observe the battle of Tang Haling and Zhuge Jun, who were using their full strength for the first time.

Whoosh! Swish!

A faint sword aura from an Earth Dragon Corps member's sword stabbed at Tang Haling's vital points.

The opponent was at the peak of the highest level.

Tang Haling was at the peak of the upper level.

But—

"……!"

As time passed, it was the Earth Dragon Corps member, not her, who was being pushed back.

Swish! Whoosh!

Originally, the cultivation of poison techniques and hidden weapons required twice the effort and hard work compared to other martial arts.

However, once the peak was surpassed, the power gained was incomparable.

She was completely toying with the Earth Dragon Corps member, who was at a higher level than her.

From her left sleeve, a rain of needles (暴雨梨花針) fell like a heavy rain, and from her right sleeve, soul-chasing swallow-tailed darts (追魂燕尾鏢) flew out.

Countless hidden weapons appeared from unexpected places.

And finally—

Thud.

The body of the Earth Dragon Corps member, who had been on the defensive, was riddled with hidden weapons like a target after an archery test.

Crack.

She brought her hand, now tinged with purple, to the Earth Dragon Corps member's face.

Sizzle!

The acrid smell of burning flesh began to fill the cave.

The most powerful poison she had absorbed, Snow Poison Flower (雪毒花), was seeping out and melting the Earth Dragon Corps member's face.

The scene reminded one of the saying in the martial world: "Even if you make an enemy of the Devil Sect, do not make an enemy of the Sichuan Tang Family."

'Tang Haling will be fine.'

Youshenyun, having cut down another enemy, turned his gaze to Zhuge Jun.

Unlike the relaxed Tang Haling, Zhuge Jun was in a fierce battle. He was barely avoiding the Earth Dragon Corps member's sword, which was weaving through the air, by a hair's breadth.

This was because he had only reached the peak of the middle level.

If it weren't for the Zhuge Family's secret technique, Heavenly Mystery Steps (天机迷离步), and his constant calculation of the enemy's movements, he would have been dead long ago.

Seeing Zhuge Jun's struggle, Youshenyun took action.

'Tsk, this won't do. I need to help him a bit.'

Youshenyun gathered his energy and immediately used a power enhancement skill on Zhuge Jun.

Zhuge Jun, who had been cornered and couldn't even think of attacking, looked puzzled.

'What's happening?'

Suddenly, a surge of power began to rise throughout his body. It was clearly beyond his current level.

He thought it might be the final burst of strength one gets before dying, but—

'What are you up to now, Duke?'

He immediately realized that only Youshenyun could do such an impossible thing.

His eyes changed.

With this level of power, he could use techniques he couldn't before due to insufficient power.

In the next moment, he surprisingly threw away his sword.

He took out an iron leaf fan (铁叶扇) from his sleeve.

Swish!

As he flicked his wrist, the steel blades of the fan unfolded like a peacock's tail.

The fan clashed with the Earth Dragon Corps member's sword, which was striking down like thunder.

Swish!

Surprisingly, the sword was knocked away by the fan's graceful movement.

"……!"

The Earth Dragon Corps member, clearly flustered, tried to regain his stance and attack again, but he couldn't overcome Zhuge Jun's technique, which perfectly utilized the principle of redirecting the opponent's force.

'……Does he have such skills?'

Even Tang Haling, who was on the same side, couldn't hide her surprise.

The Zhuge Family didn't have such a fan technique.

But the moves he was using were familiar.

It seemed to be a modified version of the Zhuge Family's sword technique, the Twenty-Four Styles of the Little Heavenly Star Sword (二十四式 小天星剑), adapted for a fan.

Finally—

Youshenyun's sword tip ended the last Earth Dragon Corps member's life.

At that moment—

"……!"

"……!"

Tang Haling and Zhuge Jun, their faces flushed, rushed to Youshenyun and began to speak.

"How did you do that just now? All the sounds disappeared as if by magic!"

"My power suddenly increased and then disappeared, just like receiving a physical enhancement. Is this also your skill, Duke?"

The ability he used, which was necessary for a quiet infiltration, seemed to have a significant impact on them.

'It's better to let them misunderstand.'

Youshenyun, without changing his expression, gave the excuse he had prepared.

"It's a spell left by the Ten Thousand Forms."

"……What! Did you obtain the Ten Thousand Forms' legacy in the Ten Thousand Forms Grotto?"

Zhuge Jun's mouth dropped open at Youshenyun's words.

Tang Haling nodded, as it was the only explanation.

At that moment, Youshenyun urgently spoke to them.

"We don't have time to waste. More victims will die if we delay."

"Understood!"

The three began to move deeper into the cave.

* * *

"Ugh! Ahh!"

As they approached the innermost part, moans of pain began to echo, and a sickening smell of corpses filled the air.

Tang Haling and Zhuge Jun's expressions turned cold and rigid.

The deep, penetrating smell was not something that could have been created in just a day or two.

Suppressing their boiling anger, they continued to move forward, and dozens of empty carts appeared.

At the end of the cave, a vast chamber opened up.

"……!"

And there—

A scene that defied description unfolded.

Shocked, Tang Haling and Zhuge Jun covered their mouths and shivered.

"Kyahaha! So sweet, so sweet!"

At the center of the chamber, a red-haired woman with green eyes stood, surrounded by living women and dead bodies, with giant tree vines draped over them.

-You should rest while you can. The 'ingredients' have entered the 'dining room,' so you can rest for at least half an hour.

'Ah!'

The two finally understood the meaning of the man's words from earlier.

This was where the demoness had her meal.

'She's already using the power of a monster.'

Youshenyun thought as he looked at the Earth Dragon Master, Huahua Demoness Mei Yuehua, who had already used the power of grace.

'This will make it easier to deal with her.'

Just as Youshenyun was about to draw his sword—

"Ho! Uninvited guests have come to see me."

Mei Yuehua turned her head, emitting a thick aura of killing intent.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, black flowers began to bloom from the walls.

"Get out of the way!"

Seeing the blooming flower buds, Youshenyun shouted loudly.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

A powerful poison that melted the ground spewed from the flowers.

Fortunately, the three narrowly avoided it by leaping into the chamber.

As they appeared—

Clang! Clang!

"Intruders! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

The Earth Dragon Corps members around Mei Yuehua drew their weapons.

"Hehe, so it's you. The one who attacked the Three Jade Palaces."

Mei Yuehua, with tree vines moving like tentacles, looked at Youshenyun with a cruel smile.

'……A demon?'

'……Has she mastered dark arts?'

The split skin like tree bark and thorny vines for hair.

Flowers sprouting from her skin and stems instead of blood vessels.

Tang Haling and Zhuge Jun, seeing Mei Yuehua's inhuman form, could not hide their shock.

They also felt that this was a being they could never oppose with their current strength.

Their survival instincts, honed through long years of training, told them to run.

But—

The extreme fear instilled by this inhuman being—

"……Please, save us!"

Seeing the many women on the ground, moaning in pain, the fear immediately disappeared.

Their momentum completely changed.

"Duke! Give the order!"

They gripped their weapons so tightly that blood began to seep out, and they shouted.

Youshenyun, seeing this, thought—

'I don't need to worry.'

He shook off the last bit of concern in his heart.

Youshenyun gave them the order.

"Focus solely on rescuing the survivors!"

"Understood!"

As the two charged forward, Mei Yuehua smiled mockingly, as if watching a child's play.

"Ha ha, this is perfect. I'll offer your heads as a gift to the Lord and receive his favor! What are you waiting for? Kill them all!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Mei Yuehua ordered the attack, and the Earth Dragon Corps members charged, all of them at a higher level than those they had faced earlier.

Looking at the enemies pouring towards him—

'Seize. Designate target. Designate skill……'

Youshenyun used the new skill he had obtained.

"Inferno."

Whoosh!

His sword began to burn.