Seeing Through the Plot

Beneath the abyss lay several caves.

The compass needle began to tremble violently here, finally pointing toward the deepest cave on the far left.

"The traces are fresh. They passed through not long ago." Xuanyuan Che crouched down, his fingertips brushing over a thin layer of bone powder on the ground. "Five of them. One mid-stage Saint, four peak Tai Xu Realm cultivators. Heh, quite the lineup."

"A mid-stage Saint..." Yun Mengyao's delicate brows drew together slightly. "It may be troublesome if we face them head-on." Though her junior brother was strong, their opponent had also traveled far along the Saint Realm. Moreover, the Netherworld Clan's techniques were strange and sinister, specializing in curse-killing and soul arts—impossible to guard against. He was no match for that earlier newly ascended Saint.

"Troublesome?" Xuanyuan Che rose and dusted off his hands. "Not really, Second Senior Sister. Besides, who said we had to fight them head-on?"

A crafty gleam flashed through his eyes as he began searching through his storage ring. A moment later, he pulled out three human-skin masks as thin as cicada wings and three talismans with gentle, lustrous colors.

"Here—the Thousand Illusions Netherworld Mask. Put it on, then activate this Breath Concealing Talisman. As long as you don't make a move, even a Saint King might not see through you. We'll blend in." Xuanyuan Che distributed the items among the three of them.

Yun Mengyao accepted the mask and talisman. They felt icy in her hand. Yet when she probed them with her divine sense, she could not sense their material or inner structure at all. They were like a patch of nothingness.

She looked deeply at Xuanyuan Che. "Che'er, just how many good things do you have on you?" A treasure capable of perfectly disguising Netherworld Clan aura was absolutely not something the Lower Realm could possess.

"My sister gave me quite a lot. My brother has some too, and also..."

Before he could finish, Xuanyuan Che felt the world spin around him, then found himself enveloped in an unusually warm softness.

"Little Junior Brother, your brother and sister must be fine! We'll help you avenge them together!" Yun Mengyao hugged him tightly.

Xuanyuan Che finally managed to wriggle free, his face full of sincerity. "Senior Sister, my brother and sister really are fine."

Yun Mengyao nodded. Her expression was as gentle as could be. The moment Xuanyuan Che saw that look, he knew his senior sister had convinced herself even more thoroughly.

Xuanyuan Che shook his head and deftly slapped the mask and talisman onto himself.

In an instant, the aura around him changed sharply. His former transcendent air vanished, replaced by something cold and obscure, tinged with faint Death Qi. He looked exactly like an elite young member of the Netherworld Clan.

Yun Mengyao and the other two followed suit. Before long, all four had disguised themselves as members of the Netherworld Clan.

"Let's go. Follow them and hear what kind of mischief they're plotting." The four turned into four shadowy figures and silently slipped into the cave.

The cave interior twisted and turned, filled with countless branching paths, but the compass needle continued to guide them. Scattered Netherworld Clan rune markings began appearing along the way, clearly left behind by the group ahead.

The deeper they went, the thinner the Death Qi in the air became. In its place was a warmth carrying a faint trace of life. Yet this warmth was not comforting; it was mixed with an even more ancient, heart-palpitating pressure.

Suddenly, the faint sound of conversation drifted from ahead, accompanied by the hum of some operating artifact.

Xuanyuan Che made a hand signal, and the four concealed their auras. After turning around a bend, the view suddenly opened up.

At the end of the cave was an enormous underground hollow! At its center lay a dark-red blood pool, within which countless savage remains and twisted souls soaked. They wailed and struggled, transforming into the purest energy of deathly stillness, which was absorbed by a small tree only a foot tall at the center of the pool. Its entire body was pitch-black, yet its branches and leaves glimmered with starlight!

Xuanyuan Che recognized the sapling at once. It was almost exactly the same as the one depicted in the mural on the altar!

The one before them seemed even more sinister, even more... hungry!

Beside the blood pool, five cultivators in black robes embroidered with the Netherworld Clan insignia were busy at work. Their leader was a gaunt old man with deeply sunken eye sockets. His aura was that of a mid-stage Saint. He held a bone banner in his hand, waving it continuously to guide the blood pool's energy into the sapling's roots.

The other four stood at the four directions, constantly tossing powerful demon beast cores into the blood pool. They even threw in several human cultivators' hearts, clearly freshly harvested and still carrying fresh blood qi, using them as nourishment.

"Speed it up!" the gaunt old man said hoarsely, with a trace of urgency in his voice. "Before the Saint Corpse guardian is completely enraged, the Nirvana Star God Tree must absorb enough nourishment and bear Star God Fruit! Once the young master consumes this fruit, he will fuse with the origins of destruction and the stars, and his physique will transform into a Netherworld Star Body. At that time, forget the Earth Ranking—even the Heaven Ranking will have a place for the young master! The revival of our Netherworld Clan is in sight! Heh heh heh!"

"Elder Ming Ku, the disturbance above just now..." one Tai Xu Realm cultivator said worriedly. "It seemed powerful experts were fighting. One arm of the Saint Corpse Bone Demon was destroyed. Could it be..."

"No matter!" Elder Ming Ku cut him off, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism and cruelty. "The fiercer they fight above, the better! It will draw attention away from us! Once the Star God Fruit matures, we will immediately flee using the Void Breaking Talisman bestowed by the clan! As for those people above... hmph, leave them for the fully awakened Saint Corpse Bone Demon and the other monsters at the bottom of the abyss to feast on!"

"But Elder, I still have an uneasy feeling..." another cultivator said. "It felt like something passed by just now..."

"Stop being so suspicious!" Elder Ming Ku barked. "This place is concealed by the Netherworld Blood Array. Even a Saint King would struggle to detect it! Focus on your work! If you ruin the young master's grand affair, ten thousand deaths will not redeem your sins!"

From the shadows, Xuanyuan Che and the other three heard every word clearly.

"Nirvana Star God Tree... Star God Fruit... Netherworld Star Body..." Xuanyuan Che stroked his chin, his eyes shining. "So it's this thing! No wonder the Netherworld Clan was willing to spend so much! This fruit isn't much use to me, but using it to temper Sister Mu's sword soul would make it a supreme treasure!"

Yun Mengyao sent him a voice transmission. "That Ming Ku is a mid-stage Saint, and the blood array has already taken shape. A direct assault will not be easy. Furthermore, the Star God Fruit is extremely fragile before it matures. A clash of energies could cause it to wither."

"Easy." Xuanyuan Che curled his lips into a smile. "We'll let them help us ripen the fruit, then... heh heh."

He took out another silver orb no larger than a fingernail.

"This is... a Void Mirage Pearl?" Yun Mengyao recognized it. It was an exceedingly rare spatial illusion treasure, capable of creating illusions indistinguishable from reality and even briefly distorting spatial perception.

"Sharp eyes, Second Senior Sister." Xuanyuan Che chuckled and flicked his finger.

The Mirage Pearl silently melted into the void and vanished.

The next instant, a sudden change erupted beside the blood pool!