Chapter 450

Since that's the case, let's see what tricks she's up to.

Li Qingluo gave Que'er a look, and Que'er hurried over to support Ya mei from the other side.

Zheng Mama felt around on the stone, but simply couldn't find the entrance.

Li Qingluo dragged Ya mei to the entrance: "Didn't you see them go in?"

Then you must also have seen how to get into this secret passage, right?

Since that's the case, why not get moving?

Ya mei trembled all over.

No... maybe we should just forget it? Perhaps we could find another way...

Li Qingluo stabbed a knife into Ya mei's previous wound.

She made another bloody hole in the place she had bandaged.

Ya mei, I'm your junior uncle, and I'm certainly no good person.

Although I'm a Han Chinese woman, I'm also the personal disciple of Elder Gu; do you want to test my skills?

The most secret techniques of the Witch Moon Sect are now mostly inherited solely by Li Qingluo.

Although she hasn't fully mastered them yet, Elder Gu has already imparted all his knowledge to her without reservation.

This requires Li Qingluo to spend the rest of her life gradually comprehending it.

But she is absolutely the most talented disciple Elder Gu has ever encountered in his lifetime.

So this good news has long spread throughout the Witch Moon Sect.

Among the disciples of the Witch Moon Sect, who would dare to provoke her?

Ya mei could only speak through tears: "I, I'll say! You need to feed the blood to the gu worms, then place the worms that have ingested blood into the entrance; after a moment the stone door will open."

Li Qingluo quickly took the bamboo tube from Ya mei's waist.

Every disciple of the Witch Moon Sect, except Li Qingluo, has a bamboo tube at their waist.

Inside the bamboo tube are the gu worms each disciple raises themselves.

Because gu poison is everywhere in MiaoJiang, a slight carelessness can lead to falling into a gu poison trap.

Therefore, over the years the major sects have produced their own poison‑avoiding sachets to prevent mutual harm from gu poison and to avoid unnecessary gu poison accidents within their own teachings.

As long as you hang the sachet on your person, it becomes difficult to easily fall victim to ordinary gu poison.

Li Qingluo initially gave Que'er, Nan Gongdi, and them sachets to wear; only the assassins still don't have one.

Li Qingluo has no gu worms because she never engaged in the research of blood gu poison; she only studied the ancient witchcraft with Elder Gu.

Now, Li Qingluo dropped Ya mei's blood into it, and the gu worm immediately began to writhe frenziedly.

Li Qingluo placed the gu worm at the entrance; all she saw was the red gu worm wriggling as it crawled inside.

Soon, the stone door actually opened slowly.

Li Qingluo actually knew there was a secret passage here.

Although she didn't know the exact location before, this place is a forbidden zone that Elder Gu personally mentioned to her.

"Lu er, you haven't learned the Witchcraft Technique, so Master isn't worried you'll rashly barge in."

"But if one day you find yourself with no choice but to enter that passage, you must promise Master—if you go in, you must kill whatever is inside."

What exactly is that thing?

Elder Gu didn't say, and Li Qingluo didn't ask.

Because she never thought she would one day actually walk in here.

She knew she would leave MiaoJiang.

She wanted to return to Jinling.

But she never expected that, before she could return to Jinling, she would turn back and still end up entering this place.

Li Qingluo pressed Ya mei forward as they entered the secret passage.

The assassins followed behind, one after another.

After the stone door slowly closed, the firelight inside the passage was lit up by Nan Gongdi and the assassins.

This secret passage is very long.

You can't see the end at a glance.

However, Li Qingluo indeed smelled a bloody odor.

Assassin One crouched on the ground to check, then stood up and said: "Miss, someone got here before us."

Ya mei: "I, I really didn't deceive you..."

But junior uncle, we should really hurry out. Please.

Master said there is an extremely terrifying thing inside.

This thing could not only take our lives, but perhaps also destroy all of MiaoJiang...

As she spoke, Ya mei shuddered violently.

Li Qingluo: "Stop the nonsense."

If it's Jin ying who entered, you also wanted to lure me here—what kind of evil spirit is it? Just go see and it'll be clear.

Ya mei burst into tears from fear.

Junior uncle, I was wrong, I really was wrong——

Actually I'm just greedy for life and afraid of death; I really don't dare to come in——

Please spare me——

Que'er shoved her hard: "Go!"

Even the sects outside like Cloud Valley aren't afraid, yet she's actually scared of whatever is in this forbidden place?

Although Li Qingluo was also nervous inside, she could hardly wait to see the true appearance of this thing!

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, everyone walked out of the pitch‑black passage, and ended up in a place filled with birdsong and floral fragrance.

This place is an open‑air cavern.

Looking up is the sky.

Looking down is a pool of water.

There is also a towering tree beside the pool, its branches lush and leaves dense, stretching out its life.

There is actually another world here!

It is completely different from what Li Qingluo had imagined.

"What's scary about this place?"

Que'er kept turning around curiously, but Zheng Mama grabbed her in one sweep.

"Don't act rashly."

"Don't you smell a strong scent of blood?"

Sha San stepped forward, lowered his head, and saw that beneath the clear‑to‑the‑bottom pool lay many white bones.

Everyone's faces changed in alarm.

"Look, these aren't just animal skeletons..."

"What, what kind of ghostly place is this?"

Li Qingluo: "Quick, look for any trace of Senior Sister Jingning!"

Nan Gongdi quickly found it on that big tree: "Here it is."

Jingning was actually hung on the tree trunk.

However, she still had a faint breath left.

Li Qingluo quickly gave her the Grand Golden Pill that Luofan had left for her before departing.

She suddenly noticed that Ya Mei's expression had turned very strange.

She immediately ordered Sha Zi to tie her up.

"No, no——"

Ya Mei still wanted to flee, but she had already lost any chance to escape.

Sha Yi threw Ya Mei at Li Qingluo's feet.

"Young lady, judging from the footprints on the ground, at least ten people must have entered this place, but now… only Sect Leader Jingning remains."

Li Qingluo deliberately said: "Could it be that they have all met with misfortune?"

After saying that, she glanced at Ya Mei.

Seeing her face turn ashen, Li Qingluo grabbed her collar in one motion, her face full of impatience.

"Still won't talk?"

"If you keep being stubborn, even if we manage to escape with our lives, you won't be allowed to leave this place!"

Ya Mei trembled as she cried: "I was only following my master's orders, Junior Uncle, please let me go. Please——"

Li Qingluo had already guessed in her heart: "Is your master Lingjun the very traitor!?"

"The Witch Moon Sect's misfortunes today are all due to her colluding inside and out, right or wrong?"

"Otherwise, the Witch Moon Sect would not have been so easily breached."

"Lingjun is Jingning's third junior sister."

"She has never gotten along well with Jingning."

"Because she thinks highly of herself, believing her abilities are the strongest in the Witch Moon Sect."

"Although Jingning became sect leader and even brought this foreigner back to MiaoJiang, Elder Gu also took her as a disciple."

"Lingjun naturally resented this, and whenever she got the chance she would cause trouble for Jingning and Li Qingluo."

"And Ya Mei is Lingjun's disciple."

Ya Mei: "……I, I am innocent……"

Li Qingluo: "Then what exactly do you intend to do?"

Ya Mei: "Because they all want this treasure from our Witch Moon Sect's forbidden ground!"

Li Qingluo: "Treasure? Aren't you afraid of what's inside? Now you say it's a treasure."

"Ya Mei, if you don't speak clearly, I will also throw you into the pool to look at those bones!"

Ya Mei: "I, I only happened to learn that the government recently found these sects in our MiaoJiang… moving about."

"But Sect Leader Jingning has always kept her distance from the court, so no matter what terms the court offers, she uniformly refuses to take part."

"But I heard my master say that if we offer what the court wants, we can again secure a hundred years of peace for our MiaoJiang."

"Otherwise, the court might send troops to wipe us out……"

"I guess what they want is exactly this thing in the forbidden ground. That thing is indeed dangerous, but it must also possess some valuable treasure on it."

"Even the elders of that generation, I've heard, could not subdue it even when the four elders joined forces."

"Over these years, Elder Gu, my master, has lived outside the cavern; apart from being heartbroken and severed by the betrayal of several junior uncles back then, she also intended to suppress and guard this place."

"Today, the sect leader's uncle was forced into the secret passage……"

"…just to fight to the death with his own strength……"

However, before Ya Mei finished speaking, a low shout came: "Silence!"

It was Lingjun leading a dozen or so people rushing out of the dark passage.

It seems that if Ya Mei hadn't been afraid and wanted to speak the truth, they would not have revealed themselves.

Li Qingluo didn't know that there was actually a hiding place in this dark passage.

But I have to say, this Spiritual Lord is truly ruthless.

"You really haven't died."

Otherwise, Jin Huo also couldn't have been hung on a tree trunk.

At a glance, it's clearly man‑made.

Sha Yi is right.

From the footsteps we can infer that a dozen or so people entered here.

But the ground has no large bloodstains, and there are no fresh bodies in the pool.

Therefore, the other dozen or so people must still be alive.

They've just hidden themselves.

Li Qingluo forced Ya mei to the brink, just to force the Spiritual Lord and her followers to reveal themselves.

Now, the Spiritual Lord is scowling with a darkened face, staring fiercely at Ya mei.

Listening to Ya mei shake out most of what should be said and what shouldn't, the Spiritual Lord is at this moment so angry she could almost kill Ya mei on the spot.

"Wretched beast!"

"You are so cowardly, daring to betray me!"

While saying that, the Spiritual Lord actually threw a dart from her hand toward Ya mei.

Sha Yi reached out with a sword to block, and the Sha Zis simultaneously formed a formation, instantly surrounding Li Qingluo and the others at the center.

The Spiritual Lord gave a cold smile, "Fools."

"Since you all left, you still dare to return."

"Li Qingluo, don't think that because you're a county magistrate of DaLiang, we won't dare to take your life!"

As she spoke, the Spiritual Lord waved her hand, and everyone behind her immediately drew their treasured weapons for battle.

Li Qingluo barked, "Stand down!"

What she scolded were the Sha Zis.

Even with their flesh and high martial skill, they absolutely cannot directly engage these MiaoJiang women holding gu poison.

Otherwise, today they would be reduced to nothing but bones, and would not be able to leave MiaoJiang.

The Sha Zis, hesitating, truly obeyed and all stepped back.

Li Qingluo, hands behind her back, stepped forward.

"So, because Senior Sister Jin Huo refused to obey the court's orders, you colluded inside and out, betraying the sect, and slaughtered the entire Witch Moon Sect to the brink of extinction."

"Spiritual Lord, are you still fit to be human?"

The Spiritual Lord let out a 'ha ha' laugh.

"Why am I unfit?"

"It is she, Jin Huo! Stubborn and dull!"

"She guards the Witch Moon Sect but refuses to expand it. She makes our Witch Moon Sect fall further behind year after year, becoming the lowest sect in all of MiaoJiang."

"Once, our Witch Moon Sect held the top position in all of MiaoJiang."

"Look, in just ten years under her Jin Huo, it has become so destitute."

"Not only is she useless, but the disciples she brought out are also worthless softbones!"

"Since those disobedient ones, I will personally eliminate them one by one."

"As long as the Witch Moon Sect still has me, the Spiritual Lord, I will certainly revive it, living up to the sect's teachings—returning to the pinnacle of being MiaoJiang's number one sect!"