CHAPTER 821: BETRAYAL

Translator: CinderTL

Xue Mei’s sudden departure left Song Wen with deep doubts.

However, he noticed that she hadn’t taken anything from the Cultivation Cave. The Alchemy Furnace, the Formation for defense and Spirit Sense isolation, and the Mid-Grade Magic Treasure meditation cushion remained untouched.

Moreover, Song Wen was currently breaking through a bottleneck in his Cultivation.

He decided not to overthink it.

The breakthrough process lasted a full six months.

During that time, he consumed over two hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones to meet the requirements for advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

Song Wen opened his eyes and stood up.

Having just advanced, his Cultivation hadn’t yet stabilized. Logically, he should have spent some time cultivating diligently.

However, this was Xue Mei’s Cultivation Cave. Song Wen didn’t want to linger here and decided to return to Qingluo Mountain first, then enter closed-door cultivation.

Xue Mei hadn’t returned since leaving half a year ago.

"Where did Xue Mei go? Could our Dual Cultivation have made her feel ashamed, causing her to avoid me? But based on her usual behavior, she doesn’t seem like the type to be so bashful."

Song Wen shook his head, dismissing the thought. He stepped out of the Cultivation Cave.

The moment he stepped beyond the formation barrier of his Cultivation Cave, Song Wen tried to recall his Shadow Gu.

However, the Shadow Gu remained unresponsive.

Through a mysterious connection, he could sense that the Shadow Gu wasn’t dead, but seemed to be trapped by something.

Song Wen frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

His form transformed into a streak of light as he prepared to flee the area.

Just as Song Wen broke through the water’s surface, he saw a figure standing in the sky above.

It was Gou Jun!

Behind Gou Jun, a semi-transparent black barrier enveloped the surrounding hundred miles.

Outside the barrier stood two figures.

One was Xue Mei, who had been gone for half a year.

The other was a female cultivator in the Early Stage of Nascent Soul. Song Wen had never seen her before, but the Asura Sect’s intelligence reports mentioned her. She was Gou Jun’s disciple, Gongsun Cailu, a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator from the Corpse Demon Sect.

Gongsun Cailu’s skin had a sickly pallor, as if she hadn’t seen sunlight in ages. Her eye sockets were sunken, and her gaze held a chilling aura.

Floating before her was an Array Disk, the very Formation trapping Song Wen and Gou Jun under her control.

At that moment, Gou Jun suddenly spoke.

"Yin Shuo, I originally intended to let you live a few more years, waiting until your Cultivation had stabilized before making my move. But since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish."

Twelve black Corpse Coffins surrounded Gou Jun.

As his words fell, a series of roars erupted from within the coffins.

Simultaneously, a dim, eerie light emanated from the twelve Corpse Coffins, weaving and merging in the air to coalesce into a hundred-foot-tall Giant Corpse phantom.

The Giant Corpse phantom stood in mid-air, towering above Song Wen below, its eyes flashing with bloodthirsty red light.

Raising its razor-sharp claws, the Giant Corpse unleashed a torrent of swirling black miasma and slammed them down with brutal force.

Watching the massive palm descend from the sky, Song Wen opened his mouth and spat out a blood-red seal.

The seal rapidly transformed into a crimson mountain, rising from the ground to meet the falling palm.

At the same time, a vast cloud of Blood Mist erupted from Song Wen’s body.

Gou Jun, watching from above, curled his lips into a disdainful smile.

"Trying to use the Blood Escape Technique in front of me is like showing off your skills at the master’s door."

As he spoke, a chilling, sinister aura suddenly erupted from the small island behind Song Wen.

A six-foot-tall Corpse Puppet shot out from a cave, directly toward Song Wen’s back.

It was a Fourth-Tier Peak Golden Corpse.

Song Wen was too close to the Corpse Puppet. If he insisted on completing the Blood Escape Technique, he would be torn to shreds before he could escape.

With no other choice, Song Wen stopped the technique and hastily summoned his Dark Scale Shield to protect his back.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed.

The Corpse Puppet’s sharp claws slammed into the Dark Scale Shield, sending it flying. The shield crashed into Song Wen’s back.

A massive force struck him, throwing him off balance. Shield and man were sent tumbling through the air.

Then, a thunderous roar erupted from above, as if the heavens themselves were enraged, unleashing a torrent of lightning.

The Giant Corpse’s right claw collided with the blood-red mountain formed by the Blood Sea Seal in midair.

The Blood Mountain shattered instantly, transforming into a Blood Mist that drifted in all directions.

The Giant Corpse’s right claw paused slightly before continuing its descent toward Song Wen.

Watching the massive palm falling from above, Song Wen knew he couldn’t evade it.

Just as he was preparing to activate his Life Substitution Art, the giant phantom suddenly held back, halting its descent and instead unleashing an endless torrent of Corpse Qi. It surged down like a dark cloud pressing down, crashing toward Song Wen with overwhelming force.

The Corpse Qi, heavy as a mountain, slammed into Song Wen, sending him crashing into the lake below.

The lake surface instantly split apart, erupting into a massive wave that soared dozens of meters high.

Song Wen plunged into the depths of the lake.

Taking advantage of the murky water to conceal his form, he smashed his own skull with a palm strike.

At the edge of the formation deep within the lake, a figure suddenly materialized.

Song Wen, wielding a foot-long dagger, slashed at the formation barrier.

Black Qi surged across the barrier, and a Fiend Python formed from condensed black Fiend Qi leaped out.

The Fiend Python collided with the dagger.

In that instant, golden, razor-sharp energy erupted from the dagger like a tidal wave, its unparalleled sharpness capable of cutting through anything.

The Fiend Python was instantly shredded, dissolving into an endless torrent of black Fiend Qi that, along with a violent lingering force, swept in all directions.

The lake, as if enraged, churned violently, its waves reaching the heavens, causing the entire lakebed to tremble.

Song Wen, caught in the lingering force, was flung backward like a broken kite, nearly losing his grip on the Soul Cleaving Blade.

"Yin Shuo, you can’t escape," Gou Jun’s voice rang out, filled with smug satisfaction. "The Blood Escape Technique, the Substitute Puppet, even the short blade in your hand—all within my expectations..."

Before Gou Jun could finish speaking, Song Wen slashed his own neck again.

His fine head soared into the air.

Song Wen activated the Life Substitution Art once more.

He reappeared ten yards behind Gou Jun.

He had intended to materialize directly behind Gou Jun, but twelve corpse coffins surrounded Gou Jun, preventing Song Wen’s Spirit Sense from approaching.

Song Wen swung the Soul Cleaving Blade, aiming for one of the corpse coffins.

If escape was impossible, he would eliminate Gou Jun and resolve the crisis.

The corpse coffin glowed with an eerie light. When the Soul Cleaving Blade struck this eerie light, it felt like striking tough, aged oxhide.

The Soul Cleaving Blade, usually unstoppable, met immense resistance.

Song Wen gritted his teeth, summoning all his strength to force his way through the eerie light.

Above, the giant corpse phantom flickered violently, as if severely wounded.

Seeing this, Song Wen instantly understood: the twelve corpse coffins were a set of Mystic Treasures, a unified whole. To destroy them, he first had to destroy the giant corpse phantom they had conjured.

Naturally, Gou Jun wouldn’t stand idly by while his Mystic Treasure was destroyed. Under his control, the giant corpse phantom raised its right foot and stomped down with brutal force.

(End of the Chapter)

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