At the same time Su Muwan was crying and making a scene in Qin Luo's arms...
Over at Chu Yu's side...
"Tsk..."
Chu Yu frowned at the blocked passage ahead and said grimly, "It's a dead end."
The two from Qingyan Sect breathed a sigh of relief.
A dead end was still better than running into monsters.
To be honest, among their group, these two were only slightly stronger than Su Bailian.
The masked man silently observed the dead end before stepping forward to inspect it.
After confirming there were no hidden traps or formations—ensuring this was truly a dead end and not some entrance requiring special conditions to unlock—he took two steps back and spoke in a disguised voice, "Alright, let's regroup with the other team."
Chu Yu gave the masked man a strange look.
What was that guy doing just now?
But never mind.
Since they couldn't proceed further, they had no choice but to turn back.
There were no unusual spiritual fluctuations from Ye Qun's side, so that group was likely safe for now.
Just as Chu Yu was about to lead everyone back—
Suddenly!
A bell-like giggle echoed abruptly in their ears.
"Hehe... Sister Chu Yu... I've been looking for you for so long~~"
Chu Yu's expression froze: !!
She whipped her head around.
There, standing at the entrance of the dead end, was a figure they hadn't noticed until now.
But unlike usual...
This person was shrouded in dark mist, her eyes gleaming with a sinister crimson glow.
Chu Yu's heart lurched, her hair standing on end.
"What in the..."
The figure wrapped in dark mist, with those blood-red eyes, was none other than Su Bailian.
Yet her appearance was a far cry from the pitiful, delicate girl they knew.
"Su Bailian?"
Chu Yu asked in shock, her voice trembling with disbelief.
Her hand instinctively tightened around her sword hilt.
Something was wrong. This wasn't right.
Why was Su Bailian here?
Even the two weaker Qingyan Sect disciples could tell something was terribly off. "Chu... Chu-shijie... Isn't that Xiao Lian?"
The masked man's voice turned grave. "No..."
He turned to Chu Yu. "She's your junior sister. What's going on?"
"What's going on?"
Chu Yu clenched her sword hilt, glaring at Su Bailian as she gritted her teeth. "I'd like to know that myself."
She locked eyes with the other girl and demanded, "Where are Ye Qun and Li Yue?"
"Hmm? Them?"
Su Bailian's lips curled into an eerie smile, her laughter like the screech of an owl reverberating through the narrow passage. "They..."
She licked her lips slowly. "Were eaten by me."
Chu Yu and the other three: !!!!
Eaten?!
What did that mean?
No... Wait...
Realization dawned on Chu Yu. Her pupils constricted as she raised her sword at Su Bailian and shouted, "You're... the inheritor of the Devouring Spirit Demon Art?!"
The others gasped.
The inheritor of the Devouring Spirit Demon Art?!
"Correct~"
Su Bailian giggled, her body wreathed in dark mist as she lunged at Chu Yu and the others. "Now that you know... DIE!"
......
......
Time passed.
The various factions within the ancient ruins followed the path laid out by Qin Luo, advancing toward the designated area.
Squelch!
After cutting down yet another shadow creature—
Even the Yu Xu Sword Immortal and Qingyuan Zen Master, both at the Spirit Source Realm, were reaching their limits.
They looked up at the gradually brightening terrain ahead, then back at the dark, oppressive forest behind them.
Finally, a glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes.
The Sword Immortal took a deep breath, gripping his sword tightly as he said solemnly, "We've finally made it out of that forest."
The Zen Master nodded. "The dark mist ends here. It seems unable to affect this place."
As they stepped forward—
A vast plaza stretched before them, paved with massive bluestones that gleamed with an ancient luster.
Tall stone pillars stood at the plaza's perimeter, each engraved with lines of archaic script.
At the far end, a grand palace rose from the ground, its doors sealed shut. A rotating formation hovered at the entrance, suggesting that special means were required to enter.
The Sword Immortal, familiar with ancient texts, instinctively read aloud, "Taigu... Xuan Sect..."
Taigu Xuan Sect?!
The Zen Master's eyes sharpened. He exchanged a glance with the Sword Immortal.
Both saw a flicker of excitement in each other's gaze. "Could this be the entrance to the inheritance hall?"
"Amitabha."
The Zen Master spoke softly, "This humble monk seeks no inheritance—only a pearl known as the Taixuan Pearl."
"My disciple suffers from a flaw in his soul, and the Taixuan Pearl has the power to nurture it."
"Once inside, you may claim everything else."
The Sword Immortal shook his head. "I care not for those things. I seek only the Taigu Xuan Sword."
"Legends say the Taigu Xuan Sword was the supreme treasure of the Taigu Ancestor from the Profound Heaven Realm. But after his demise, the sword was lost forever."
"I just came to try my luck and see if I could find anything."
As he spoke, the Yu Xu Sword Immortal frowned at the formation in the grand hall. "But before that... we might need to break this formation first."
"Makes sense."
A moment later.
Clang! Clang! Clang!!
The Yu Xu Sword Immortal and the Qingyuan Zen Master panted heavily, staring at the unmoving formation before them.
"How could this be..."
"Unbreakable?"
Their eyes filled with frustration. They had finally made it to the inheritance hall, yet...
The Yu Xu Sword Immortal clenched his fists. It was a shame he had never learned how to dismantle formations.
His strength was still too weak to brute-force his way through.
Then—
Noise erupted from behind them.
The two turned to look.
One after another, members of various factions emerged from all directions.
Each of them wore expressions of relief after escaping the forest.
Thud!
One man dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I... I made it out..."
"It was hard... but I did it..."
"Senior Brother... can you see me...?"
"I carried on your will and broke through..."
As his emotions spilled out, the tense atmosphere in the plaza shattered. Some sighed in relief, others wept quietly.
The joy of survival spread through the crowd.
Simply put—this expedition into the ruins had been deadly!
But their relief didn’t last long.
"Madam."
"Look over there."
A few members of the loose cultivators' alliance had also arrived.
An elderly man pointed toward the Yu Xu Sword Immortal and the Qingyuan Zen Master standing at the entrance of the grand hall.
The woman followed his gaze. When her eyes landed on the tightly shut palace doors and the slowly rotating formation, her expression brightened.
"Is this... the Taigu Xuan Sect’s inheritance hall?!"
Her voice wasn’t loud, but everyone present was a martial artist with keen hearing.
In an instant—
All eyes locked onto the hall.
A blazing greed ignited in their gazes.
The Taigu Xuan Sect’s inheritance!
Heavens...
Rumors said the Taigu Xuan Sect was once one of the three great sects, rivaling the Taichu Sacred Land and the Taixuan Demon Sect!
It had only vanished into the river of time after facing the Frostbane Specters.
But!
The value of its legacy was incomparable to any other in the world today!
Wang Yan of the Taichu Sacred Land and the Devouring Sky Spirit Ox were also present.
They scanned the surroundings but found no trace of Su Bailian.
"Xiao Lian..."
Wang Yan’s heart tightened with anxiety. He had promised Elder Gong to protect her.
But... where was she?
The Yu Xu Sword Immortal and the Qingyuan Zen Master exchanged glances, both seeing resignation in each other’s eyes.
This was human nature—or rather, everyone had come to these ruins seeking opportunities.
Now that one lay before them, who would hesitate to take it?
Just as they braced for conflict with the gathered factions—
A panicked scream tore through the air from afar.
"HELP!! SAVE ME!!"
"Senior Sister Chu Yu!! Why are you trying to kill me?!!"
"Shut up!! You’re the inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demon Art! Stop pretending!!"
"Didn’t you turn black before? Do it again!!"
"Waaah!! I don’t know what you’re talking about!!"
Su Bailian wailed as she sprinted toward the crowd.
What the hell was this?!
She had just been waiting at the tunnel exit like Qin Luo told her to! But after that deafening explosion—
Chu Yu had started chasing her down to kill her!!!
The crowd watched the fleeing Su Bailian, their scalps tingling.
Wait—
What was going on?
The inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demon Art... was this adorable girl?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
is also known as: "Sword Flying Under the Desk: My School Life" "Balancing Cultivation and STEM Homework" "The System That Taught Me to Take College Entrance Exams While Surviving Heavenly Tribulations" Good news: I got reincarnated. Even better news: I got reincarnated with a system. So, should I chase wealth? Or pursue immortality? Maybe become a superhero for the motherland? But with regrets weighing on this second life, I’d rather fix what I missed before. System: "Host, the cultivation world is full of dangers. You must form your Golden Core immediately!" Lin Mo glanced at the truck he’d just stopped with one hand. "At my level, it’s not like I’ll piss off ‘Little Boy’ or ‘Fat Man,’ right? Whatever—I still have two math problems left. Go play by yourself." System: "How can you still focus on homework at a time like this?! Host! Don’t throw your life away!" Lin Mo stayed silent, burying himself deeper into his workbook.
th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"
