The Prince of Southern Ming Spits Blood

When Zhou Cheng's soul left his body and emerged into the outside world, he felt a bone-chilling cold within moments, as if a mortal had fallen into an ice cellar.

A soul in the Out-of-Body Realm is extremely fragile; a strong gust of wind would likely be enough to scatter it.

Once a soul is scattered, that is the end of one's existence.

Feeling the chill, Zhou Cheng hurriedly formed hand seals and silently recited the incantations of the Primordial Boundless Scripture, guiding his soul back into his Life Palace.

Even after his soul returned to his Life Palace, it still felt cold, and it took a while for him to recover.

This was only because Zhou Cheng had been consuming Marrow-Cleansing Pills and Nine-Orifice Golden Pills, which had strengthened his soul; if other experts in the Out-of-Body Realm were to suffer such a chill, some might not recover for a day or two.

It was much like a mortal catching a cold; if their constitution was poor, they would not only fail to recover in a day or two, but their condition would also worsen.

Once his soul had recovered, Zhou Cheng left his room and continued to track down other experts of the Peach God Sect who were in the Object Manipulation Realm.

Every expert of the Peach God Sect he eliminated now meant one less portion of strength for the Demonic Cult.

After taking out two more early-stage Object Manipulation Realm experts from the Peach God Sect, Zhou Cheng finally departed.

After leaving, Zhou Cheng began to clear out the straggling disciples of the Demonic Cult.

Naturally, Zhou Cheng generally targeted those between the seventh and tenth levels of Qi Refining, killing them with a single strike without causing a stir.

Zhou Cheng's speed was incredibly fast; as soon as he finished one, he would lock onto another target.

He wanted to take out as many as possible before the Demonic Cult discovered the anomaly.

Even though Zhou Cheng had accelerated his pace, after he had eliminated more than twenty Demonic Cult disciples, the cult finally noticed something was wrong.

Suddenly, the alarm bells at the Demonic Cult headquarters rang out loudly.

"What is going on?" The Prince of Southern Ming rushed out of his secret chamber upon hearing the bells.

When he heard the report from the Evil Saber Right Envoy that over twenty disciples had gone missing, the Prince of Southern Ming was stunned.

The experts from the three major sects and the Da Feng imperial family would not arrive until tomorrow afternoon; could it be that other experts had infiltrated the headquarters?

"Have you found anyone?" the Prince of Southern Ming asked the Evil Saber.

The Evil Saber shook his head: "No, we are still searching."

"Furthermore, the strange thing is that those missing disciples seem to have vanished into thin air."

The Evil Saber voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Vanished into thin air?" The Prince of Southern Ming frowned.

Just then, the Prince of Southern Ming and the Evil Saber saw Yan Chengkun leading the experts of the Peach God Sect toward them, looking furious as he claimed that seven of their own experts had also gone missing.

The Prince of Southern Ming and the Evil Saber were both shocked.

"Seal all the exits."

"If you find the intruder, kill them without mercy!"

The Prince of Southern Ming said coldly.

However, what infuriated the Prince of Southern Ming and the others was that after searching for half an hour, not only did they fail to find the intruder, but a dozen more Demonic Cult disciples had gone missing.

"Sect Master, we have searched everywhere else in the headquarters; now, only two places remain unsearched," the Evil Saber said to the Prince of Southern Ming.

The Prince of Southern Ming understood what the Evil Saber meant; now, only his private cultivation chamber and the Demonic Cult Treasury remained.

The Demonic Cult Treasury could only be opened by the Prince of Southern Ming, so without his orders, no one dared to approach it.

The Prince of Southern Ming thought for a moment and led the Evil Saber and the others toward the Demonic Cult Treasury.

However, when he arrived at the treasury gate and saw the massive hole carved into it, he froze, then rushed forward in a state of frantic disbelief.

Reaching the hole, the Prince of Southern Ming poked his head inside and saw the empty space; he suddenly let out a heart-wrenching roar, like a wounded, maddened lion.

The Evil Saber, the Demon Dragon General, and the others were startled by the Prince of Southern Ming's agonizing howl. They stepped forward to look, and upon seeing the emptiness inside, they were all dumbfounded.

The Prince of Southern Ming suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

It was no wonder he was so enraged he vomited blood.

Even a small gang required hundreds of taels in monthly expenses, let alone a major organization like the Demonic Cult. Now that the entire treasury was gone, were he and his disciples expected to live on thin air?

Without even wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the Prince of Southern Ming turned and glared at the Evil Saber and the Demon Dragon General with murderous intent: "Find him! Turn this entire valley upside down and find that person for me!"

"I will grind his bones to dust!"

"I will peel his skin off!"

"I will slice his flesh off piece by piece!"

The Prince of Southern Ming roared repeatedly.

The Evil Saber, the Demon Dragon General, and the others trembled as they acknowledged the order, scattering to begin a frantic search.

Yet, no matter how the members of the Demonic Cult and the Peach God Sect searched, they never discovered any "suspicious persons."

Moreover, Demonic Cult disciples continued to go missing.

The disciples of the Demonic Cult were gripped by panic.

In the end, they began moving in groups of dozens, no longer daring to walk alone.

Zhou Cheng left the valley only after realizing he could no longer strike.

After departing, Zhou Cheng drew a map of the valley and gave it to Lin Ru, instructing him to deliver it to his master, Xing Yao. At the same time, he told Lin Ru that if the Prince of Southern Ming attempted to flee, he would leave secret marks along the way.

Once Lin Ru left with the map, Zhou Cheng did not remain idle; he and Qin Meng went to the secret passage used by the Demonic Cult for escapes and dealt with the Three Great Ghost Crones guarding it.

He had Qin Meng and the Five Phoenix Divine Beasts bombard the entrance and exit of the passage, sealing it off completely.

A cornered dog will jump over a wall; he wanted to throw the Prince of Southern Ming into a state of panic.

Hearing the thunderous roar, the Prince of Southern Ming led the Demonic Cult experts to the scene. Seeing the corpses of the Three Great Ghost Crones and the blocked passage, his face twisted into a hideous expression, his emerald eyes icy and malevolent.

"Sect Master, I fear the enemy consists of experts from the three great sects or the imperial court. They must have seen through our plans long ago," the Evil Blade stammered.

The Prince of Southern Ming's face turned ghastly.

He understood what the Evil Blade meant; he was trying to persuade him to lead everyone and retreat from the Blackwater Mountain Range first.

Yet, the thought of all the painstaking effort he had invested going to waste, and the image of his empty treasury, made it impossible for him to suppress the rage in his heart.

Furthermore, with the secret passage blocked and the various exits around the Blackwater Mountain Range guarded by a massive Da Feng army, how were they supposed to retreat?

"Can the secret passage be cleared?" the Prince of Southern Ming asked the Evil Blade in a gloomy voice.

The Evil Blade looked at the blocked entrance and shook his head. "It's difficult. To dig it open again would likely take a full day."

A day!

By then, the experts from the three great sects and the Da Feng imperial court would have already arrived to slaughter them.

Hearing that it would take a day to clear, killing intent surged in the Prince of Southern Ming's heart. He scanned his surroundings. "I don't care who you are. If I find out you are working against my Demonic Cult, I will surely exterminate your entire clan!"