Chapter 367

Amidst swirling dust and smoke, a furious roar echoed.

A towering figure shrouded in blazing black-red flames burst forth from the depths of the passage, its violent aura sweeping away shattered rocks and dust alike.

He stared at the bare ground, now only debris and bloodstains, his face dark with terrifying fury.

His perception frantically scanned all around, yet caught not a trace of Chen Mu or Wei Liao's presence—as if the two had vanished into thin air.

"Damn it!"

The roar reverberated through the collapsed passage, thick with resentment and brutality.

……

Deep underground, Chen Mu enveloped Wei Liao in true qi and activated the Earth Submersion Technique, moving like a fish gliding through soil layers, pushing his speed to its limit without regard for exhaustion.

The chaos and pursuit's aura from Mo Sect's lair behind him were swiftly severed and distanced by thick layers of earth.

Chen Mu traveled dozens of li beneath the ground in one continuous breath, only emerging onto the surface once he confirmed absolute safety—no trace of demonic cultivation aura remained nearby—choosing a desolate mountain hollow to break through.

"Plop!"

He tossed Wei Liao, still in his grip, onto the ground like a ragged sack.

"Cough… cough… cough!"

Wei Liao, already critically wounded, had been ruthlessly carried over rough terrain by Chen Mu; now his face was as pale as gold paper, spewing blood in great gasps, his breath shallow and fading.

With great effort, he lifted his head, his eyes filled with terror and pleading, his voice weak as he begged.

"Spare… spare my life… Elder… Master… please spare me… I… I didn't want this…"

"It was the Sect Lord… he gave the order… to send… send that little Long girl away… I was just following orders…"

……

Chen Mu stood before him expressionless, his gaze cold as ice, as if viewing a corpse.

He did not speak at once, but waited patiently until Wei Liao's pleas and excuses seemed spent, then cut in coldly.

"Where did you send her?"

His voice was quiet, yet carried a chill that pierced to the bone.

"O-only know it was sent to 'Han Prefecture'…"

Wei Liao gasped for breath, answering haltingly, "The exact… exact location in Han Prefecture… I… I truly don't know… I swear… I'm not lying…"

"Only the Sect Lord and a few core elders know the full arrangement… the Sect Lord… he left early this morning himself… likely to handle this matter… should… should return around dusk tomorrow…"

As he spoke, he stole glances at Chen Mu's expression, trying to gauge whether his words might earn him a sliver of hope.

Yet the instant he finished speaking—

Hss!

A refined, pale-gold sword qi shot from Chen Mu's fingertip without warning, swift as lightning, instantly piercing through Wei Liao's forehead!

Puff~

A strange sound echoed.

Wei Liao's pleading and probing expression froze instantly; his eyes widened, pupils filled with disbelief and dazed confusion—as if silently asking Chen Mu:

Why? I… I told you everything…

He opened his mouth but produced no sound; the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed, his head tilted sideways, and he died.

【Corpse detected. Retrieve?】

"Yes!"

The card in hand, Chen Mu swiftly checked it.

Memory Card!

Lucky break!

Chen Mu's lips curled upward; he activated the Memory Card and began reviewing Wei Liao's memories, especially those concerning Long Tuti.

Memories flipped like pages.

Wei Liao's cunning, cruelty, obsession with poisons, his scheming within Mo Sect… scenes flashed by.

Soon, memories of Long Tuti were extracted.

When Chen Mu "saw" the clear information in Wei Liao's memory regarding Long Tuti's final destination, a cold smile curled his lips, and he let out a faint, icy snort.

"Knew this old bastard was hiding something!"

Wei Liao's memory clearly showed: Long Tuti was indeed sent to "Han Prefecture," but he did not lack knowledge of the exact location.

The precise destination was "Wangyue Valley" within Han Prefecture!

There, the Moon-Sun Mo Sect maintained a key branch outpost.

The branch master stationed at Wangyue Valley was none other than a Tiangong realm cultivator!

According to rumors among some in Mo Sect, there was more than one Tiangong realm cultivator in Wangyue Valley.

Wei Liao had deliberately concealed the key location—"Wangyue Valley"—only vaguely saying "Han Prefecture," aiming to buy time.

He knew full well that once he revealed all information, he'd lose his value—and Chen Mu would likely kill him immediately.

If he could delay for one or two days, while the Mo Sect Lord was returning, perhaps a sliver of hope would emerge.

He even secretly hoped that if Chen Mu confronted the returning Mo Sect Lord, it would be perfect.

According to Wei Liao's memories, the Mo Sect Lord had just successfully broken through a month ago, entering the Earth Altar realm's "Ascended Soul Altar" stage, his power surging!

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Chen Mu's decisiveness in killing and his insight into human nature.

Chen Mu gave him no chance to delay or scheme—he struck instantly. And fortune favored him: he retrieved the Memory Card.

"Moon-Sun Mo Sect branch… Wangyue Valley… more than one Tiangong realm…"

Chen Mu retracted his spiritual sense, frowning slightly, lost in thought.

Sending Long Tuti to Wangyue Valley was indeed troublesome.

Chen Mu himself had already reached the Fifth Qi Synchronization of the Earth Altar, his strength far surpassing others of his level, and he possessed many hidden cards, yet he still faced a qualitative gap when confronting true Tiangong realm experts.

Tiangong realm experts wield the power of heaven and earth in battle, their power terrifying, their spiritual sense covering an immense range and perceiving every detail; Chen Mu's "Earth Submersion" technique could still deceive the Heavenly Soul Altar of the Earth Altar realm, but under the scan of a Tiangong realm's spiritual sense, it would be nearly impossible to go unnoticed.

Forcing entry to rescue someone carries too great a risk, with vanishingly slim chances of success.

"Looks like… I need to find an ally."

Chen Mu muttered softly, a glint of thought flashing in his eyes.

Alone, he had virtually no chance of storming Moon Gazing Valley to rescue them.

He needed a powerful ally capable of directly restraining or even confronting multiple Tiangong realm experts.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Mu's mind—he remembered a faction.

"One of the Six Great Sword Sects, the 'Wan Jian Manor,' which has been passed down for over a thousand years… it's supposedly within the borders of the Yuanlong Dao!"

That's right, Wan Jian Manor lies in Yuanlong Dao, not far from Hanzhou!

Thinking of this, Chen Mu's lips curled upward—he no longer delayed.

Whoosh—whoosh~

He raised his right hand, and pale golden, scorching true qi surged from his palm, forming a blazing fire that completely engulfed Wei Liao's corpse.

The flame's temperature was extremely high, yet it remained condensed and did not disperse, burning only the corpse.

"Crackle—pop!"

From within the flame came a series of faint cracking sounds—the remnants of poison insects, poison sacs, and strange prohibitions within Wei Liao's body being incinerated.

At the same time, thin strands of poison gas in various colors seeped from the flame, immediately purified and annihilated by the even hotter true qi fire.