The Inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demon Art Is Su Bailian

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?!