Chapter 240: Backstab

The newcomer was none other than Mo Lingwei from Qingxia Island earlier.

Originally, the Mo family had pledged allegiance to Zhao Wuji, but after the upheaval on Qianye Island and the Zhao family's defeat, the Mo family also found themselves wanted by the San Alliance.

After she successfully escaped back then, no one knew where she had taken her clansmen; the entire Mo family vanished without a trace from the Lingxi Archipelago.

On this return, standing beside her was the old steward, Old Mo, who had likewise advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Old Mo must have encountered some fortuitous opportunity; otherwise, given his advanced age, breaking through to Foundation Establishment would have been no small feat.

Mo Lingwei had also disguised herself, not revealing her breathtaking true appearance as the number one fairy of the Lingxi Archipelago.

What surprised Qin Ming, however, was this:

The two people accompanying Mo Lingwei were actually three cultivators of the demonic path!

Although they hid themselves well, concealing the aura of their magic power, Qin Ming's powerful divine sense saw through them at a glance.

These people had come straight to Qianye Island and headed directly for the location of the demonic cave; they must be plotting something.

Back when Mo Lingwei was working for Zhao Wuji, she must have known every secret of Qianye Island like the back of her hand, and the hiding place of this demonic cave was no exception.

"Junior Sister Mo, are you certain this is the place? You absolutely must not make a mistake."

Among the three demonic cultivators, a middle-aged man with a withered frame revealed a faint smile on his sinister face.

Mo Lingwei's expression was frosty as she spoke in a steady tone: "Correct, this is the place; back then, I entered here together with Zhao Wuji of the Zhao family."

"Excellent!"

Upon hearing this, the withered man's eyes immediately flashed with excitement: "The inheritance of the legendary Qishang Mojun must surely be inside!"

"Hahaha! Senior Brother Yuan Feng, even if those fellows from the other sects racked their brains, they would never guess it would be here."

"Indeed! It was said earlier that Lin Zi had already searched all over Qianye Island, only to return empty-handed."

"I heard that on the way back, he even suffered a major setback near Fangcun Mountain!"

"The fact that someone could make him suffer a setback shows that the State of Wei still hides dragons and crouching tigers."

"Do you know who did it?"

"If Lin Zi isn't saying, who would know?"

"Let's not talk about that."

"In the end, isn't it our Ten Thousand Souls Valley that reaps the benefit? Hahaha!"

The other two cultivators chimed in agreement.

"No time to lose; Junior Sister Mo, please lead the way!" The sinister, withered man made a gesture.

"I never expected that our first cooperation with Junior Sister Mo would yield such a harvest!"

Mo Lingwei said calmly: "We each take what we need; I only require the Heavenly Corpse Bead, and I want nothing else."

"No problem! A pleasant cooperation!"

"Let's begin quickly; where is the entrance?"

The three demonic cultivators showed excited expressions, already unable to contain their impatience.

If they could truly obtain the inheritance of Qishang Mojun, wouldn't that mean soaring to the skies in a single leap!

Subsequently,

Mo Lingwei produced a blood-colored talisman in her hand and released it toward that stretch of ruins.

The entrance, which had previously been concealed by the Shi Tian Shu, reappeared once more.

Seeing the entrance appear, everyone became wildly excited as if injected with chicken blood.

Then, one after another, they filed into that pitch-black opening.

However, as Mo Lingwei entered the opening, she raised her head to carefully survey the surroundings, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as she pondered for a moment.

She then shook her head, followed the others inside, and concealed the entrance once again.

Seeing this, Qin Ming pondered briefly.

"This Mo Lingwei... how has she gotten mixed up with demonic cultivators again? She has even become a disciple of Ten Thousand Souls Valley, one of the Modaoliu Sect."

"It is truly baffling!"

"Never mind that for now; let's follow and see what happens."

Immediately, he called upon the Shi Tian Shu and secretly trailed after them.

One incense stick later,

Qin Ming and the Shi Tian Shu were moving slowly along a pitch-black, spiraling downward corridor.

Suddenly, the sound of fighting came from ahead. His mind stirred, and he immediately released his divine sense to investigate, revealing that at the end of the corridor below, a dark and spacious cavern had appeared.

Inside, yin energy was dense, with bone-chilling cold winds wailing; the cavern was piled with countless corpses, some of demonic beasts and some of cultivators.

In the very center lay a pitch-black stone coffin; the coffin lid had been pried open, and the interior was empty.

Mo Lingwei and the demonic cultivator from Ten Thousand Souls Valley named Yuan Feng were battling a Black Zombie covered entirely in black iron.

Qin Ming only needed to probe slightly to see that the strength of that ferocious-looking Black Iron Zombie had remarkably reached the late second-stage level.

Furthermore, the demonic zombie was impervious to blades and spears, vastly different from ordinary zombies, and feared neither fire nor lightning spells.

For a time, those few demonic cultivators found themselves completely helpless against this creature.

Added to the Black Iron Zombie's seemingly endless stamina, there were also several second-stage ghost creatures and numerous low-stage spiritual entities interfering from the surroundings.

The five people inside began to show signs of exhaustion, each starting to sweat profusely.

Especially Old Mo, who had the lowest cultivation base; he was already wounded, with scarlet blood seeping out, which only made the second-stage Black Iron Zombie even more frenzied.

"Junior Sister Mo, what is the meaning of this?"

"Didn't you say there was no danger here anymore? At most, just some low-stage ghost creatures."

"How could a late second-stage demonic zombie suddenly appear?"

Yuan Feng of Ten Thousand Souls Valley rushed at Mo Lingwei, red-faced and frantic, demanding an explanation.

"Senior Brother Yuan, I truly do not know either. When Zhao Wuji brought me down here, this demonic zombie was only at the early stage of Grade Two; I do not know why it has so quickly advanced to the late stage of Grade Two." Mo Lingwei's beautiful eyes flickered as she spoke with an anxious expression.

Qin Ming gazed at the crowd below in the cave, yet subconsciously sensed something amiss.

Just at this moment.

A sudden, bizarre change erupted within the cave! While Yuan Feng was entangled in battle with the Black Iron Dark Zombie, Mo Lingwei abruptly produced a gray bead from her hand, one brimming with obscure, sinister qi.

The instant this bead appeared, a surge of ink-black light gushed forth and injected itself into the Black Iron Dark Zombie, whereupon the demonic zombie seemed to be stimulated by something.

Immediately, a thick black mist burst forth, and the aura emanating from its body actually skyrocketed in an instant.

Roar! The demonic zombie spat a cloud of black mist directly at Yuan Feng; the latter's face instantly changed drastically, and he hurriedly abandoned the spiritual artifact he was wielding.

But just as he intended to leap backward and retreat.

Puchi!

Clang! "Ah!"

A cold gleam flashed.

A blue spiritual sword thrust out in a bizarre manner, severing one of Yuan Feng's arms! The person who had struck with the sword was none other than Mo Lingwei.

Yuan Feng halted his figure in a wretched state, his sinister face twisting into a ferocious expression as he gritted his teeth and cursed, "Bitch! You really do have ulterior motives!"

"If I hadn't secretly guarded against you and kept a trick in reserve."

"I fear I would have truly fallen for your trap!"

Having successfully landed her strike, Mo Lingwei's face was instead covered in frost, showing not a trace of joy; she had originally believed that by coordinating with the demonic zombie and adding her own surprise ambush.

She should have been able to take the life of Yuan Feng, this late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator.

Yet she never expected that he was wearing a life-preserving inner armor; her sword strike, delivered with all her strength, had merely managed to sever one of his arms.

The Heavenly Corpse Bead could not control that late-stage Grade Two demonic zombie for much longer; once it woke up, matters would become terribly grave.

The opportunity to kill Yuan Feng would vanish in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, the other two demonic cultivators from the Ten Thousand Souls Valley had also realized what was happening.

However, being entangled by several ghostly entities, they were unable to come to Yuan Feng's aid.

Qin Ming and the Shi Tian Shu watched from the shadows, utterly dumbfounded.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, truly an eye-opener."

"Indeed, the most poisonous heart belongs to a woman!"

"These few human cultivators are likely not long for this world."

The Shi Tian Shu remarked while passing judgment.

"That gray bead in Mo Lingwei's hand, is it the Heavenly Corpse Bead she mentioned?"

"To actually be able to briefly control that demonic zombie is quite interesting."

(End of Chapter)