Page 18

The tunnel was extremely narrow at first, its sides so dim that not a glimmer of light could be seen. Fortunately, Sword Cultivators had extraordinary senses. Even when they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces, they could still make out the path ahead.

The farther they went, the wider the tunnel became, until it suddenly opened up.

A few Everlight Lamps hung at either end of the passage, like sparks of fire in the night, tiny points of light. They chased away the surrounding darkness, yet their unsteady glow only made the place more unsettling, adding to the sense that danger lurked around every corner.

The cramped passage abruptly widened, forming a broad, circular cavern at its end, shaped like a water droplet growing plump. In the center stood a monster with a human upper body and a spider's lower half.

She was none other than the infamous Yinshan Ghost Mother.

Hearing footsteps approach, the Ghost Mother opened her lifeless eyes. As she raised her head, it made a crackling sound like bones knocking together.

She was a monstrously huge creature. Though her voluptuous upper body looked like an ordinary woman's, her lower half occupied nearly half the cavern, grotesque and bloated. Black hair wound down over her pallid skin like writhing black water snakes. Her eight long, slender spider legs were sharp as blades and carried venom potent enough to kill with a single touch; anyone they so much as grazed would be sent straight to Yama.

And that was without mentioning her formidable strength. After absorbing the essence of the creatures in Zhaixing Pavilion for years, most of her wounds had already healed.

"...You?"

Unlike her alluringly feminine face, the Yinshan Ghost Mother's voice was as raspy as sandpaper, like that of a dying old woman. "A Sword Cultivator?"

Ning Ning made no attempt to hide the Star Trace Sword at her waist. She smiled faintly. "That's right."

She met the Ghost Mother's gaze. "I've heard the Yinshan Ghost Mother is immensely powerful. How did you end up stealing other people's essence? This Zhaixing Pavilion doesn't seem to have been built by you. Aren't you afraid its true owner will find out?"

The Ghost Mother gave a bitter, shrill laugh. The countless strands of web coiled through the cavern stirred in response. "I'll use essence when I please, and I'll come to Zhaixing Pavilion whenever I like. Do you think I'm afraid of that useless fool on the top floor?"

"Oh?"

Ning Ning raised an eyebrow. "You're badly wounded. I doubt you have the strength to fight back."

"What a joke! I'm the real master of this pavilion now. That witch thinks she has everything under control, but she doesn't know that most of the little demons in the pavilion have become my puppets. Once my strength is fully restored, I'll take Zhaixing Pavilion from her."

Ning Ning's words had clearly angered the Ghost Mother. Countless strands of web fell like rain, hanging suspended in midair. "What is it? Does a lowly Sword Cultivator think she can capture me?"

At her command, the webs came down. Each strand was sharp as a needle, weaving into a dense, snowy net that shot straight toward the girl at the cavern entrance.

Ning Ning didn't dodge at all—

Yet an invisible force stood before her and knocked back the onrushing web.

"But I'm not the one who wants to capture you."

She smiled and stepped to the right, her tone taking on a measure of deference. "Madam, you heard all that, didn't you?"

The Yinshan Ghost Mother shuddered.

In the narrow passage where the light couldn't reach, amid the deep, heavy darkness—

A figure dressed in white slowly stepped forward. Her dazzling white robes were like a sword cleaving through the dark, abruptly severing the eerie, hushed atmosphere that had filled the cavern.

Or perhaps, making the situation even more charged.

With her black hair and white dress, White Bone Lady looked like a peerless beauty. Her skin was as smooth as ice and her bones as delicate as jade; one breast was half exposed, and her cloudlike hair streamed down like a waterfall. Beneath the warm glow of the Everlight Lamps, she seemed to drift like a dream, truly like someone stepped out of a painting.

But when she spoke in a cold voice, she became someone else entirely.

White Bone Lady knitted her willow-leaf brows and let out a scoff from the back of her throat. "I was wondering why I hadn't been sleeping well lately. Turns out some wild pheasant from the mountains has been making a fool of herself. You think you're worthy of stealing my essence? Your little mouth sure runs smoothly. Are you practicing your dog barking here? I'll beat those rotten legs of yours clean off!"

Getting caught red-handed stealing was hardly something to be proud of.

Even the Yinshan Ghost Mother faltered for a moment before her voice grew harsher. "What, are you planning to team up with a righteous Sword Cultivator to take me down?"

The Sword Cultivator had obviously come hoping to let them fight until both were exhausted, then reap the benefits. If White Bone Lady had any sense, she would join forces with her first and get rid of the girl.

Hmph. Think she could outsmart her?

Not a chance.

Today, she would take the Sword Cultivator's head first!

The Yinshan Ghost Mother finished speaking with absolute confidence, but White Bone Lady listened without expression, not moving a muscle.

Instead, Ning Ning chuckled softly and ripped the mask off her face, revealing the real face beneath.

It was... a demoness from the pavilion whom the Ghost Mother vaguely remembered, but whose name she couldn't recall.

There was no trace of a puppet about the woman, but the Yinshan Ghost Mother couldn't be sure whether she had planted one in her.

After all, she controlled far too many demons to remember their names or recognize their faces.

She had miscalculated.

So the Sword Cultivator had only been a decoy. Their real purpose...

Had been to trick her into confessing the truth!

"Impossible!" the Yinshan Ghost Mother cried in fury. "You clearly have a Sword Cultivator's sword, and a Sword Cultivator killed my puppet. There's no mistake!"

"Several Sword Cultivators did come to the pavilion today. Who knows which one killed the demon?"

Chaoyan awkwardly picked up the sword and studied its patterns with a child's curiosity. "The Sword Cultivator I entertained had too much to drink and accidentally let slip that they'd come to eliminate the Yinshan Ghost Mother. Come to think of it, we really ought to thank her. Otherwise, we wouldn't have found out there was a thief hiding in the pavilion."

She paused and shrugged, unconcerned. "As for this sword? I wanted to make the act convincing, so I got her drunk and stole it. Otherwise, how could I have fooled your discerning eyes, Yinshan Ghost Mother?"

"You—!"

To think she had been thoroughly duped by a low-cultivation little demon! The Yinshan Ghost Mother trembled with rage. Summoning all her strength, she could only force a few words from her mouth. "I'll kill you!"