Time rewound to when they had parted ways.
Shangguan Qing’er and Liu Mei, who were affected by the sleep-inducing smoke, felt groggy. However, because they were prepared and had taken an antidote pill, their ability to move was not much affected.
In contrast, the demon cultivators who caught up were increasingly affected by the smoke as they exerted their true energy, slowing down significantly towards the end.
“We’ve shaken off the pursuers,” Liu Mei looked back and said solemnly, “Let’s head to the swamp to meet up with Tang Xin and the others.”
Shangguan Qing’er thought for a moment and then slowly shook her head.
“No, we can’t miss this opportunity. Our knowledge of these demon cultivators comes only from what the sect has told us; we have no confirmed information about their actual situation.”
“You mean…?” Liu Mei asked, somewhat surprised.
“Let’s quietly follow them and see,” she said. “Opportunity and risk coexist. Didn’t we come to the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range to take risks?”
Going back to track them? The idea sounded truly insane.
But upon careful consideration, both of them were among the best Foundation Building cultivators. Most of the demon cultivators had been affected by the sleep-inducing smoke, significantly weakening their overall strength. It was indeed a rare opportunity.
After discussing for a while, the two decided to probe the details of these demon cultivators.
Concealing their presence, they followed the demon cultivators back to the battleground and hid, listening to their conversation.
“We didn’t catch up,” one of the demon cultivators said. “Who would have thought these people would have something as sinister as sleep-inducing smoke… Aren’t the sect cultivators supposed to despise such crooked and evil things?”
“It’s not surprising that there are black sheep even among the cultivation sects,” another person replied. “It doesn’t matter if we didn’t catch up, as long as we’ve disrupted their search plans. How are things at the cave dwelling?”
“No news has come back yet,” another person shook his head. “We’ve searched other areas in the swamp, only that place is left unexplored.”
“She ran towards the swamp area for a reason,” a demon cultivator who seemed to be the leader said in a low voice. “Only she knows how many treasures are hidden in the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range. We don’t have much time left. We need to find her and get her out of the mountain range before the cultivation sects secretly deploy their forces and seal off the area!”
The exchange between the demon cultivators took Shangguan Qing’er and Liu Mei by surprise.
Her? Hidden treasures? Secretly deployed forces?
Could it be that this was not a simple demon extermination mission?
Swamp Cave? Isn’t that exactly where they were about to go?
“Idiots!” A furious shout came from the other side of the forest. “Someone eavesdropped and you didn’t even notice. Hmph, two Foundation Building juniors daring to probe into the secrets of the demonic path? Utterly reckless!”
“We’ve been discovered!” Liu Mei exclaimed. “Run!”
…
“The opponent is a Golden Core demonic cultivator,” Shangguan Qing’er frowned. “We can’t match him, so we had to keep running while blocking his pursuit. Along the way, we even clashed with the demonic cultivator a few times.”
“Then,” Liu Mei pointed at the ground, “we ended up here. Right, you saw that projection too, didn’t you? The most precious thing in this cave seems to be something called the ‘Demonic Desire Sutra.'”
“You really are bold,” Tang Xin said. “To actually dare to go back and eavesdrop on their conversation.”
“Cultivation is about taking risks,” Shangguan Qing’er smiled faintly. “To become stronger, some things must be done. By the way, who are these people beside you?”
Tang Xin also shared her and Zhou Yu’s experiences.
“Impressive,” Shangguan Qing’er half-complimented, half-politely said, “With just one person’s strength, to defeat so many Foundation Building experts…”
“Sister, are you hurt?” Zhou Yu stepped forward and asked.
“Mm,” Shangguan Qing’er glanced at her, nodded casually, and then said to Tang Xin, “Since Tang Daoist friend is here, I think maybe we can explore deeper into the cave. I’m quite interested in that ‘Demonic Desire Sutra.'”
Righteous cultivators might not be able to practice such a sinister-sounding technique, but being well-informed and keeping some tricks up one’s sleeve is never wrong. Moreover, handing it over to the sect would also be a great merit.
“Explore?” Ah Miao, who had followed along, shook his head. “What do we have to confront a Golden Core demonic cultivator with? Does anyone feel confident about restraining a Golden Core demonic cultivator?”
Foundation Building versus Golden Core isn’t just about numbers; if the power levels aren’t on the same tier, it might lead to an embarrassing situation of ‘unable to break through the defense.’
“Not necessarily,” Tang Xin stroked his chin and explained, “According to what that projection, which seemed to be the cave owner, said, there seems to be some setup inside the cave.”
“Good things should be in the hands of the worthy,” Shangguan Qing’er caught on immediately, “not just ‘powerful people.'”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Although we can’t defeat a Golden Core demonic cultivator, we can still run away. I think we can take a look.”
The cat demon hesitated for a while but eventually responded.
“I’ll go with you alone,” she turned to her subordinates and said, “You guys take the same route back as we came.”
“Boss—!”
“We won’t leave you behind—!”
“Without you, there’s no meaning for us to keep living—!”
“Why do you always say such disgusting things,” Ah Miao gave a look of disdain and disgust, “You guys staying here doesn’t make you stronger than me fighting alone, you’re just dragging us down. Hurry up, get out.”
“Ah, it’s been a long time since the boss scolded us—!”
“No regrets in this life—!”
“Are your followers always this abnormal…”
Tang Xin waved the Soul Devouring Banner over them a few times to ensure they could safely cross the wooden bridge, and the few filler characters conscientiously left.
“Thank you.”
Seeing that Tang Xin did not obstruct further, Ah Miao also breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ve heard that the demon race is mostly loyal,” Tang Xin looked at her and said, “I hope half-demons also have this virtue.”
“Don’t worry,” the other party patted their chest and assured, “I will keep my promise and will not flee the battlefield!”
“Okay,” Tang Xin turned her head and looked at everyone, “Next question, where exactly is the ‘Demon Desire Heart Sutra’?”
“We already have some clues,” Liu Mei smiled and said, “The architecture inside the cave seems chaotic, but actually follows a certain pattern, which allows us to roughly discern the direction to focus on.”
“If I’m not mistaken,” Shangguan Qing’er pointed diagonally forward, “just keep going in this direction, and we can head deeper into the cave. Previously, because the demonic cultivators were chasing us, we had to hide our tracks and watch them move forward helplessly.”
【Main Quest Triggered】
【Prevent the ‘Demon Desire Heart Sutra·Fragment’ from falling into others’ hands】
【Quest Reward: Increase in realm by one level】
Does this mean we can choose to “destroy the fragment” or “let only ourselves obtain it”?
“Things of the demonic path, if obtained by the demonic cultivators, definitely won’t lead to anything good,” Tang Xin said gravely, “Even if we can’t obtain it, we must destroy it.”
Upon hearing this, several teammates expressed their admiration.
“Tang Xin, you are truly noble!”
“A model of righteousness! The light of the righteous path!”
