Translator: CinderTL
It's here!
Xu Sanyan pursed his lips, listening to the increasingly close rustling sound. His gaze slowly shifted toward Zuoqiu Shen, who was hiding behind a wooden barrel. With a sweep of his sleeve, he unleashed a torrent of Spiritual Power, shattering the barrel and revealing the slightly bewildered Zuoqiu Shen behind it.
Rustle...
The rustling sound surged rapidly toward Zuoqiu Shen.
Zuoqiu Xin's expression changed. Zuoqiu Shen was her clan brother; she couldn't let an outsider harm him. Just as she was about to intervene, Zuoqiu Hui reached out to stop her, shaking her head slightly.
"Ah, you deserve to die!"
Zuoqiu Shen roared in fury. For a moment, even the Demonic Seed couldn't suppress his rage. His eyes burned with malice as he glared at Xu Sanyan. With a flick of his wrist, he drew a longsword and swung it, unleashing a brilliant arc of sword qi that spread like a crescent moon. The arc sliced through the wooden chair above Xu Sanyan's head.
Crack—
The chair splintered, crashing heavily to the ground with a cloud of dust.
Nearby, a massive, skinless long worm—resembling a flayed dragon—writhed its festering flesh as it lunged straight at Zuoqiu Shen.
Rustle...
The sound echoed from the well again. Xu Sanyan glanced over and saw three long worms, their bodies intertwined, crawling out of the well. Their lower bodies were nearly fused together, making them difficult to separate.
"How disgusting!" Zuoqiu Xin's delicate features twisted in revulsion, her stomach churning with nausea.
Zuoqiu Hui's gaze swept over the scene, abandoning all concern for Zuoqiu Shen's fate. She grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her toward the house. Xu Sanyan followed closely behind the two women without hesitation.
"Ah! Third Sister, Fourth Sister, save me!"
Zuoqiu Shen swung his longsword wildly, locked in a desperate struggle with the long worm. Each strike left deep, bloody gashes that exposed bone, yet the creature seemed impervious to pain. Even when severed in two, it continued to constrict him relentlessly.
Xu Sanyan glanced back briefly before ignoring him completely. Zuoqiu Hui didn't even turn her head, charging straight into the house.
Only Zuoqiu Xin felt a pang of guilt, but she couldn't bring herself to help. The corpse demons surging from the well were multiplying rapidly; staying any longer meant certain death.
"Ah!"
Zuoqiu Shen screamed as the long worm's massive tail slammed into his chest with the force of a thousand tons. His ribs shattered inward, his internal organs pulverized into mush. Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would struggle to save him now.
Xu Sanyan felt no remorse for causing his death. Bursting into the house, his gaze darted to the rear window. With a leap as light as a cloud, he landed on the windowsill, tore through the paper pane, and revealed the narrow alley outside.
Xu Sanyan peered cautiously left and right, confirming the absence of demonic creatures before darting out.
The second daughter followed closely behind. Zuoqiu Xin instinctively moved to follow Xu Sanyan, but Zuoqiu Hui grabbed her arm, pulling her in the opposite direction.
Zuoqiu Hui had always sensed ill intentions from Xu Sanyan and believed it best to keep her distance. Just as this thought crossed her mind, a slender shadow materialized on the wall to her side, gradually sharpening under the moonlight. Her expression changed, and she quickly caught up with Xu Sanyan's pace.
Ahead, Xu Sanyan moved with wind-like speed, leaping toward a nearby pavilion. Corpse demons had already appeared at the street's entrance, making reckless movement a poor choice. It was better to endure the night and reassess in the morning.
Zuoqiu Hui hesitated briefly. With no escape routes available, she reluctantly followed Xu Sanyan into the pavilion.
Standing on the second floor, Xu Sanyan gazed through the night at the corpse demons roaming the streets below, his eyes gleaming with silent contemplation.
Before entering the Hundred Saints Secret Realm, he had done his research. This realm, created thirty thousand years ago by the Yaotian Holy Sect, was designed to temper disciples. Though perilous, survival was manageable with caution.
After all, the realm's purpose wasn't to kill its own disciples. If it were too deadly, the heavy losses would outweigh the benefits.
If it were too easy, it would defeat the purpose of cultivation. Thus, while corpse demons were terrifying, they could still be overcome. Even Zuoqiu Shen, merely at the Foundation Establishment Realm, had managed to fight a corpse ghost for quite some time—let alone cultivators at the Dao Seeking Realm.
Moreover, the secret realm contained numerous treasures. By fulfilling certain conditions, one could obtain rewards, which might include magic artifacts, cultivation methods, mystical arts, and more.
The inscription on the stone tablet served as a clue: "South City blooms, drum tower relic." Based on this, he deduced that a treasure must be hidden within the drum tower.
As he pondered, he heard footsteps behind him. Zuoqiu Xin forcefully suppressed her anger and strode forward to confront him. "Xu Sanyan, I demand an explanation! Why did you use members of the Zuoqiu Clan as bait to escape with your life?"
Xu Sanyan turned with a smile, finding amusement in her furious demeanor. "Perhaps Zuoqiu Shen was quite willing to play his part," he teased.
"Bullshit! Would you willingly go to your death if someone told you to?"
Zuoqiu Xin was infuriated by his shameless remark. Her chest heaved visibly, drawing attention, which Xu Sanyan found particularly intriguing.
"You lecher! What are you staring at?" Zuoqiu Xin's anger flared. She was confronting him, yet he had the audacity to fix his gaze on her chest without blinking.
Zuoqiu Hui, her face cold, suddenly spoke, "I heard that the Harmonious Heart Demonic Sect recently held their Holy Son ceremony. A previously unknown figure rose above Qi Liang, Tu Wanshan, and others to claim victory. That person's name was..."
"Xu Sanyan!"
Xu Sanyan smiled but remained silent, turning his head to glance at the corpse demon at the street corner, as if completely unguarded against the two women behind him.
Xu San... Xu Sanyan.
Zuoqiu Hui lowered her eyelids. She should have realized it sooner. It was Zuoqiu Shen's misleading information that had led her to believe he was a righteous sect member.
"What?! You're a demonic cultivator?!" Zuoqiu Xin exclaimed, drawing her sword and assuming a defensive stance.
The Holy Son ceremony had only recently concluded, and news of it hadn't yet spread widely. Zuoqiu Hui had only learned of it by chance through a mention from Luo Changtian, and she had only just recalled it now.
The Holy Son of the demonic path...
As Zuoqiu Hui stared at Xu Sanyan's back, she felt an overwhelming pressure weighing down on her heart, shrouding it in layers of dark foreboding, bordering on despair.
Had she known sooner, she would have preferred facing a corpse demon with her younger sister to confronting Xu Sanyan directly.
She knew her own family's limitations well. Though the Huai Lake Seven Heroes enjoyed considerable fame, much of it was superficial. Their reputation stemmed largely from being seven attractive women, making them a popular topic of conversation.
In terms of actual strength, the seven of them hardly deserved such acclaim.
Her fourth sister, Zuoqiu Xin, was still young and easily swayed by the allure of fame. But Zuoqiu Hui knew better, acutely aware of the vast gulf separating her from true geniuses.
In her eyes, the younger generation could be divided into three tiers. Fang Qingge and Jingyi stood side-by-side in the first tier, towering over the countless heavenly prides below.
The Luo Family Siblings, Lu Wang, Wei Xunzhi, Mo Xianxian, Qi Liang, Tu Wanshan, and others formed the second tier, perhaps including her eldest sister, Zuoqiu Shu.
The remaining six members of the Huai Lake Seven Heroes barely qualified for the third tier, with a few not even reaching that level.
This assessment stemmed from Zuoqiu Hui's private sparring matches with the Luo Family Siblings. Had they not shown her courtesy, she doubted she could have lasted even ten moves against them, the disparity in skill was immeasurable.
Yet recently, a single individual had decisively defeated Tu Wanshan, Qi Liang, and others of equal renown to the Luo Family Siblings, seizing the position of Holy Son of the Demonic Sect with overwhelming dominance.
And now, that very person stood before her.
Xu Sanyan, the Holy Son of the Demonic Sect!
(End of the Chapter)
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