Translator: Cinder Translations
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With the Qi Refining Ninth Stage corpse puppet, Zi Yi and Lao Chun finally carved a bloody path and broke through the encirclement.
The two of them fled with all their might and eventually burst out of the fork in the tunnel, heading in the direction Song Wen had escaped.
The position they were searching for, the Forsythia, was in the same direction as the Hollow Cicada Wood, but located deeper within the cave.
After completely shaking off the pursuit of the bone worms, Zi Yi suddenly stopped and said, "Junior Brother, let's find a secluded place to rest for a while."
Zi Yi was in a terrible state. She had been injured by the mental attack of the dwarf ghost, and after controlling a Qi Refining Ninth Stage corpse puppet, she had been fighting for a long time.
At this moment, not only was her spiritual energy nearly depleted, but her mental energy was also severely exhausted.
"Alright, Senior Sister."
Just as Zi Yi heard Lao Chun's voice from behind, a sharp pain struck her chest.
She looked down and saw the bloody tip of a sharp sword.
A cold, gleaming longsword had pierced through her back, with the bloody tip emerging from her body.
Blood flowed down the sword, quickly soaking her clothes.
Zi Yi could feel her strength rapidly fading and her life force swiftly draining away.
She knew she was dying, but why would her junior brother betray her?
Just a short while ago, he had expressed his feelings to her, saying he was willing to give everything, including his life, for her.
She turned her head with great difficulty, her expression filled with pain and disbelief. "Why?"
Lao Chun, looking at the beautiful and soon-to-die senior sister he had successfully ambushed, seemed somewhat deranged. He roared, "Why! You ask why!"
"I've admired you for twenty years, but you've never given me a second glance, ignoring everything I've done for you."
"You chose to be with the Senior Brother, I had nothing to say about it. But you shameless woman, even while being with Senior Brother, you secretly got involved with Second Senior Brother."
"After Senior Brother's death, you became even more brazen, getting involved with Third Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, and Seventh Junior Brother."
"Among the seven of us, you slept with them all, yet you still pretended to be aloof and pure in front of me, acting like a goddess."
After a moment of furious shouting, Lao Chun seemed to calm down, though his calmness was twisted.
"Senior Sister, don't worry. With this Qi Refining Ninth Stage corpse puppet, I will control the sect from now on. I will take good care of your and Senior Brother's daughter."
"I will also take your corpse back and refine it properly, ensuring it doesn't rot. I will make sure your beauty is preserved forever. After I die, I will bury our bodies together."
"You..." Zi Yi's eyes were filled with despair as she fell to the ground, her life extinguished.
Lao Chun looked at the corpse of the senior sister he had admired for twenty years, his twisted expression suddenly turning sorrowful.
"Senior Sister, don't blame me. It's you who forced me. Why did you have to be so ruthless to me? If you weren't so harsh, I wouldn't have had to resort to such measures..."
Two hundred meters away, in a crevice of the rock, Song Wen, who was replenishing his energy, watched the scene with shock.
He had previously thought Lao Chun was just a sycophant, but it turned out he was a scheming and ruthless person.
The master was poisoned and in critical condition, urgently needing a spiritual remedy. Lao Chun had used the pretext of accompanying the senior sister to collect herbs to stay by her side, taking the opportunity to kill her when she was weakened and seize the strongest combat force in the sect, thereby becoming the actual controller of the sect.
After twenty years of unrequited love, Lao Chun's twisted and pathological nature had turned to coveting the senior sister's daughter. Moreover, it seemed he also had no intention of letting the senior sister's corpse go, even planning to bury them together in the future.
Such perverted emotions born from love and hatred were indeed difficult to understand and terrifying.
It must be said, this person's plans were far-reaching, step-by-step, and ruthless.
However, plans always fail to keep up with changes, as evidenced by the present situation.
Song Wen felt it was time to replenish some blood essence.
As he bent down to retrieve the storage bag and corpse-raising bag from Senior Sister's waist, Lao Chun suddenly heard the sound of running from a distance.
Looking up, he saw a blood-red figure charging toward him.
It was Guo Tao!
Song Wen's speed was too fast for Lao Chun to react much.
He slapped his waist with both hands, releasing a Qi Refining Fifth Stage corpse puppet, and simultaneously activated a Fireball Talisman.
Facing the incoming fireball, Song Wen did not dodge. He raised his hand and struck it.
"Boom!"
The fireball shattered into pieces, exploding and scattering flames everywhere.
Then, Song Wen threw a punch to block the attack of the corpse puppet.
With the corpse puppet's obstruction, Song Wen's speed suddenly decreased, giving Lao Chun precious time. Lao Chun pulled out a bell and was about to activate the magical artifact when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head.
In his perception, two tiny insects had appeared at the back of his head, crushing his skull and drilling into his brain.
Lao Chun looked down at the corpse of the senior sister, then fell directly on top of Zi Yi's body, closing his eyes with a faint smile.
In life and death, together!
Although his plan ultimately failed, at least he died alongside the senior sister.
...
Song Wen arrived at the two corpses, scavenged their belongings, and then devoured their blood essence and souls.
A Qi Refining Seventh Stage and a Qi Refining Fifth Stage fresh corpse made Song Wen's blood essence, which was already quite full, somewhat oversaturated.
Just as Song Wen finished dealing with the two corpses, he saw the rather disheveled Xuan Ye rushing toward him.
"Guo Tao, it's really great to see you."
Xuan Ye, looking exhausted from consuming a lot of magical energy, said with a face full of relief.
Song Wen was somewhat surprised. Xuan Ye was indeed like a persistent plague, hard to shake off.
"Congratulations on escaping, Xuan Ye. Thanks for leading the way earlier. We'll part ways here."
Xuan Ye was momentarily stunned but quickly realized that Song Wen was wary of him and did not want him to follow.
Xuan Ye nodded and said, "Then I wish you a smooth journey. We'll meet again."
Song Wen cupped his hands in acknowledgment and then turned to leave, quickly disappearing into the dark cave.
After traveling for two more miles, Song Wen stopped and released the beetle puppet, waiting for a moment to ensure Xuan Ye did not follow before continuing on his way.
Two quarters of an hour later, Song Wen finally arrived at the pile of bones with the Hollow Cicada Wood.
The bone pile was in a massive cave, covering an area of about two or three acres. The cave floor was covered in white bones, with the pile in the center reaching several meters high.
At the very top of the bone pile, there were two jade-like spiritual trees, one about a foot tall and the other over three feet.
This was the Hollow Cicada Wood he was looking for.
Song Wen did not advance recklessly. Instead, he released the beetle puppet to search the cave, but found no abnormalities.
No abnormalities were the biggest anomaly!
As the lair of the dwarf ghost and the blue-faced female ghost, there could not be no danger at all.
After searching around and still finding no trace of the dwarf ghost, Song Wen no longer waited. He released a somewhat damaged corpse puppet and directly rushed toward the three-foot-tall Hollow Cicada Wood.
Song Wen had already activated both the Blood Escape Technique and the Blood Sacrifice Technique, ready to deal with any potential danger.
(End of the Chapter)
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