Thirteen Lady studied Lin Ye carefully.
His eyes remained calm—still as deep water, without the slightest ripple.
She couldn't help feeling surprised.
So this guy really does have some skill.
She dismounted, tied the horse to a nearby tree, and sprinkled a circle of powder around it.
This powder was used to repel beasts—most ordinary ferocious creatures would avoid it unless desperate. Clearly, she had rich experience surviving in the wild.
Soon after, Fat Sun and Old Falcon arrived as well.
Carrying two people had nearly exhausted the old horse.
"Let's go."
With everyone gathered and prepared, Thirteen Lady drew her curved blade, moving forward in a guarded stance.
Old Falcon kept to Lin Ye's left. Fat Sun stayed on his right.
Judging from their formation—
Once the payment was good, the service was excellent.
They crossed a stretch of muddy ground, where it felt as if a hand might emerge from beneath the earth at any second, dragging someone down into the mire.
Tap—tap!
From the branches of a massive tree ahead, a shadow suddenly dropped.
Swoosh!
A huge body descended, hanging only by a thread of spider silk.
"Death Venom Spider—third-rank ferocious beast! Retreat!"
Thirteen Lady's face paled instantly. She backed away at once, and the other two followed—leaving Lin Ye standing alone where he was.
The Death Venom Spider surged forward, eight thick legs pounding the ground as it charged at Lin Ye like a grim reaper.
"Damn it!"
Seeing Lin Ye still motionless, Thirteen Lady cursed and stomped her foot, then dashed back toward the spider.
Lin Ye was her client—she couldn't let him die before they even reached the destination.
Swoosh!
She hurled a dart.
It struck the spider, and the chain attached to its tail snapped tight, binding two of its legs.
Boom!
The spider crashed to the ground.
Fat Sun pulled a massive two-handed axe from his storage ring, swung it in a full arc, and slammed down toward the spider.
Old Falcon moved like lightning—appearing behind the beast in an instant. He drove a short spike into the softer flesh at its rear.
The three worked together, stabbing and hacking wildly, putting on quite a performance in front of Lin Ye—
And only after exhausting themselves did they finally kill the Death Venom Spider.
They were breathing heavily, nearly collapsing.
"Good thing it was only a third-rank early-stage one. If it were a third-rank peak… we'd all have been killed because of you!"
Thirteen Lady strode up, long legs flashing, and scolded Lin Ye fiercely.
"When you see a beast that strong, you don't run!? Are you insane?!"
BOOM!
A heavy impact shook the ground.
Thirteen Lady froze, whipping around—
A spider three times larger than the one they had just slain had appeared.
This time, Thirteen Lady, Old Falcon, and Fat Sun all turned deathly pale.
"Third-rank… peak!"
Thirteen Lady's eyes filled with shock.
"This… this thing's gotta be its dad…" Fat Sun stammered, gripping his axe with trembling hands.
"You two take the kid and run!" Thirteen Lady said grimly. "I'll hold it off!"
Her chain-dart wrapped around her palm again, ready to strike.
Whoosh!
The third-rank peak Death Venom Spider lunged toward them.
A crushing pressure rolled over the group.
Their legs felt pinned into the ground.
They couldn't move.
The spider's massive leg swept down—
About to smash through their heads—
When suddenly a figure stepped forward.
A sword lifted.
A single casual slash—
A blood-colored sword aura burst outward.
The enormous spider was split cleanly in two.
Boom!
Poison and blood exploded across the ground.
Thirteen Lady and the others stood there, instantly petrified.
"That…"
Lin Ye flicked his sword, plucking the beast core out with the tip.
He turned back as if nothing had happened.
"This way?"
The three just stared.
That was a third-rank peak beast.
Even an Earth-Transformation Ninth Realm expert would struggle to kill one.
Yet Lin Ye had done it with a single sword swing.
"Y-yes…" Thirteen Lady swallowed hard and hurriedly collected herself, scratching her head as she fixed her hair.
From that moment onward, they followed behind Lin Ye like obedient servants.
After the two spiders were killed, no other threats came near.
A third-rank beast was already a top predator in this region.
Anything higher would be fourth-rank—an entirely different nightmare.
Ahead appeared a bamboo grove.
One look, and Lin Ye knew this tomb was far from ordinary.
The bamboo was planted in a pattern designed to trap shade and gather corpse-qi.
Then—
An octagonal dry well came into view.
"A Soul-Suppressing Well?"
Lin Ye didn't know much about such things, but he recognized the name.
A place like this only existed where the grudges ran too deep to untangle.
Eighteen zhang beyond the well was the entrance to the ancient tomb.
The stone gate had already been dug open.
"When we found it, it was already like this," Thirteen Lady said. "No idea if something crawled in… or crawled out."
"You mean it was like this when you arrived?" Lin Ye frowned. "And you said there was blood light reaching the sky and sinister qi everywhere?"
Thirteen Lady coughed.
"We… may have exaggerated a little for atmosphere. But there really was blood light back then! Some people even had their blood surge and nosebleed on the spot!"
She spoke with great seriousness.
In truth, she had simply wanted to inflate the story so the Ghostface Flower could sell for a better price.
Lin Ye stepped toward the tomb entrance.
"There's a formation inside."
The moment he moved, Thirteen Lady and the others stopped.
"We're not going in," Thirteen Lady said quickly.
"Since we've brought you here, our job's done. That horse is yours—farewell, see you again someday!"
They were careful people.
They had made a fortune off Lin Ye already.
There was no need to risk their lives further.
"Fine."
Lin Ye waved them off.
Before leaving, Thirteen Lady turned back once more and tossed something over.
"Take this."
It was a faintly glowing yellow stone.
A lightstone—useful in deep darkness, since even cultivators could slow their reactions when visibility was too low.
Thirteen Lady didn't know Lin Ye's divine sense could sweep fifty meters around him like a radar—
But the gesture still carried sincerity.
Lin Ye accepted it.
As Lin Ye stepped into the tomb, Thirteen Lady glanced at the sky.
"Withdraw."
The three immediately retreated along the original path.
They didn't care what was inside, what dangers awaited, or what treasures might be found.
They just wanted to get away fast.
Lin Ye entered a long, narrow corridor.
With the lightstone in hand, he could see claw marks etched into the walls—like something had scraped through here violently.
He didn't know what had left them.
But the moment he stepped into the tomb, the Asura Blood Sea inside his consciousness began to surge.
It had sensed something.
At the end of the corridor was a wide underground chamber.
And there—
A massive pit yawned in the center.
In the middle of the abyss, suspended by iron chains, hung a purple coffin, floating in midair above the darkness.
A single misstep… and one would fall straight into the void below.
Creak.
Lin Ye narrowed his eyes.
He thought he saw—
The coffin lid move.