The Soul Lord Raided the Scripture Pavilion by Night

After the incident involving Yang Xiao and Lei Miaoyan, peace returned to the Carefree Sect. No one dared mention Corpse Soul Mountain, as though everyone had erased its name from their minds.

Yang Xiao spent most of each day cultivating in his room, going to the Food Hall for his three meals. Every time he saw Lei Miaoyan, excitement stirred in his heart. They spoke more often now, but neither mentioned the notebook, as though they had both forgotten about it.

That day, Yang Xiao cultivated in his room as usual. The spiritual energy in his Qi Sea had reached six hundred thousand li.

Suddenly, a tremendous explosion sounded outside, and the entire mountain shook.

Yang Xiao hurried out of his room. The trouble was very close—right across from him, at the Scripture Pavilion.

Flames surged into the sky, a great fire blazing outside the Scripture Pavilion. Chen Wuyou appeared above it and shouted, "All Heavenly Masters, use Cloudcalling Rainmaking! Put out the fire at the Scripture Pavilion!"

With that, he turned into a streak of light and flew inside the Scripture Pavilion. Two streaks of light rose into the sky.

Yang Xiao flew up after them. The three took positions corresponding to Heaven, Earth, and Man, facing one another. He glanced at Dongfang Mingyue in surprise. He had known her for so long, yet only now discovered that she was also a Heavenly Master.

Cloudcalling Rainmaking was only a minor technique for Heavenly Masters. It was of little use in combat, so few learned it. However, the carefree heavenly master chapter contained a shortcut, making it no challenge for him.

The three connected with heaven and earth, and dark clouds gathered above the Carefree Sect. Sounds of fighting came from inside the Scripture Pavilion. Yang Xiao instinctively glanced over the disciples below. Everyone was there—the intruder in the Scripture Pavilion had come from outside.

"Calm your mind. Master will handle everything. We need only put out the fire." Lei Jiuchen looked toward the Scripture Pavilion, his gaze somewhat grave.

All three pointed skyward at once. Lightning flickered within the dark clouds. With a crack, a bolt flashed across the sky, and raindrops the size of broad beans began to fall. The disciples below used their magical power to fend off the downpour.

Yang Xiao saw Wang Huhu watching them with shining eyes, seemingly fascinated by Cloudcalling Rainmaking.

Suddenly, a figure burst out of the Scripture Pavilion, surrounded by vicious ghosts. Wang Huhu was closest. She cried out as the figure seized her.

After capturing Wang Huhu, the intruder swiftly flew away from the Carefree Sect. A voice rang out through the sky. "If you want your disciple back, bring the Carefree Scripture to Corpse Soul Mountain!"

Yang Xiao pursued for a while before stopping. This person's cultivation was far too powerful. Anyone who could fight Chen Wuyou inside the Scripture Pavilion for so long and still escape had to be a mighty cultivator above the Living Spirit Realm. Even if Yang Xiao caught up, he would merely be serving himself up on a platter.

Returning to the Carefree Sect, he saw Chen Wuyou standing outside the Scripture Pavilion with an ugly expression.

Yang Xiao approached him. "Master, at a time like this, you shouldn't keep things hidden anymore."

Chen Wuyou glanced at him, flicked his sleeve, and walked away.

Yang Xiao's heart sank. He knew it was utterly impossible to make Chen Wuyou hand over the Carefree Scripture in exchange for Wang Huhu.

Besides, any cultivator who had visited Corpse Soul Mountain could guess what sort of people lived there. Expecting someone who slaughtered tens of thousands to refine corpses to honor a bargain was practically impossible.

Just then, he saw Dongfang Mingyue flying down the mountain and hurried forward to stop her. No one understood Corpse Soul Mountain's horrors better than he did. A single Soul Seed Realm spirit corpse had forced him to exhaust every trump card he possessed, and there was more than one such corpse there.

"Move." Dongfang Mingyue drew the Azure Edge Sword. This was the second time she had pointed her sword at Yang Xiao, and the first had also been because of Wang Huhu.

Yang Xiao gave a bitter smile. "You can't just go there like this. Come back with me first, and we'll discuss what to do."

Dongfang Mingyue glanced at the summit of Worry-Free Mountain. "Do you think Chen Wuyou will go rescue little Huhu?"

His heart sank. In the past, he would have believed Chen Wuyou would rescue Wang Huhu because of her family's influence. But after learning that Corpse Soul Mountain might have a terrifying power like the Netherworld Divine Temple backing it, the chances of Chen Wuyou rescuing her had dwindled to almost nothing.

He said, "Chen Wuyou might not go, but we can bring others along. Do you think you can rescue Wang Huhu all by yourself?"

Dongfang Mingyue hesitated. "Then what do you suggest?"

After some thought, Yang Xiao said, "Go ask Chen Wuyou to return your Immortal Artifact. I'll find some people, and then we'll meet at the sect gates."

Yang Xiao went to Shen Laodao's residence first. Shen Laodao was unfathomably mysterious and spent all day eating meat with Wang Huhu. He would be the easiest person to recruit.

Just as Yang Xiao was about to knock, the door opened on its own. Shen Laodao took a short rod from inside his robes. "Let's go."

Yang Xiao led Shen Laodao outside. He paused before Lei Miaoyan's room, but a moment later continued to the next. He did not want to drag her into this.

After making his way around the entire summit, he found there were hardly any people he could ask. Those he could recruit, he did not want to involve; those he could not recruit would never come.

When they reached the sect gates, Dongfang Mingyue was waiting with a longsword cradled in her arms. She had gotten her Immortal Artifact back.

Without a word, the three flew toward Corpse Soul Mountain.

It was already daytime when they reached the foot of Corpse Soul Mountain. They found a cave nearby and settled down to rest. They would be too conspicuous by day, so they planned to act at night.

"How much do you know about Corpse Soul Mountain?" Yang Xiao asked Shen Laodao.

Only after arriving did he realize that he knew nothing about Corpse Soul Mountain—not even how many experts the enemy had. But Shen Laodao was a longtime regular at the Perching Phoenix Pavilion and had immediately identified Corpse Soul Mountain's location last time. Perhaps he knew something.

Shen Laodao considered for a moment. "I don't know much either. I once heard Li Xunhua say that Corpse Soul Mountain was established here a hundred years ago."

"Corpse Soul Mountain has two mountain lords. One is called the Corpse Sovereign, the other the Soul Lord. The disciples on the mountain were all taken in by the Corpse Sovereign to find all sorts of corpses for him.

"And this Soul Lord is probably the one who abducted Wang Huhu."

Yang Xiao's expression darkened. He had thought Corpse Soul Mountain possessed only one Living Spirit Realm expert, but from what Shen Laodao said, there were two.

They could not handle even one, let alone two.

The three waited until darkness fell, then approached the foot of Corpse Soul Mountain under cover of night.

Just as they were about to enter the mountain, Yang Xiao stopped the other two. In his eyes, a yellow curtain of light sealed off Corpse Soul Mountain.

This was his first time seeing an Earth Vein Grand Formation. However, whoever had laid it had done a clumsy job. It could only stop cultivators below the Sea Condensation Realm.

To Yang Xiao, who had learned orthodox Earth Master methods, it was merely a minor trick.

Yang Xiao connected with the Earth Vein and opened a person-sized gap in the formation. Pointing to it, he said, "We'll go in here."

Dongfang Mingyue entered first, with Yang Xiao right behind her. Shen Laodao studied the formation thoughtfully, only stepping through after Yang Xiao called for him to hurry from inside.

The whole of Corpse Soul Mountain looked as though it had been dyed red with blood. Even the trees were pale red.

Disciples patrolled the mountain. The three hid in the woods and waited for a patrol to pass before emerging.

"That disciple's cultivation was at least at the Sea Condensation Realm. Why was his vigilance so poor?" Shen Laodao asked in puzzlement.

Yang Xiao had found this strange during his previous visit, too. Corpse Soul Mountain's disciples seemed to know only Corpse Refining and nothing else. It was as though they were trained solely to... nurture corpses.

Dongfang Mingyue's urging from ahead interrupted Yang Xiao's thoughts, and he hurried after her.

Dozens of black halls stood on the mountain, stark against the blood-red slopes.

At the sight of those dozens of black halls, all three faces darkened. How long would it take to search them all? They also needed time to avoid everyone else.

"Let's search," Yang Xiao said, scaling a wall into one of the halls. Dongfang Mingyue and Shen Laodao followed close behind.

The three hid in the shadows and looked toward the hall's entrance, where two Sea Condensation Realm disciples stood guard.

Dongfang Mingyue drew her sword. "I'll kill them."

"No!"

Yang Xiao and Shen Laodao spoke simultaneously and pulled Dongfang Mingyue back.

Seeing her puzzled gaze, Yang Xiao explained, "If you charge out like that, Corpse Soul Mountain will discover us sooner or later. Then forget rescuing Wang Huhu—we might not even get out ourselves.

Dongfang Mingyue hesitated, then sheathed her sword. "We can't just crouch here and wait."

Shen Laodao chuckled. "Watch me."

He took out his black short rod, held it in his hand, and muttered quietly. A moment later, he put it away. "Done!"

Yang Xiao looked toward the entrance. At some point, the two guarding disciples had collapsed to the ground and were now sleeping soundly.

A chill rose in his heart. Shen Laodao was far too uncanny. A few muttered words, and he could render two Sea Condensation Realm cultivators unconscious.

"That's an evil art," Dongfang Mingyue said, glancing at Shen Laodao.

"What evil art? It's called a Curse Technique, all right? Don't spout nonsense when you don't understand!" Shen Laodao snapped. This was the first time Yang Xiao had ever seen him lose his temper.

Judging by the hand slowly moving toward the inside of his robes, he seemed ready to give Dongfang Mingyue a taste of it.

Yang Xiao stepped forward to stop him. They had yet to find Wang Huhu—the last thing they needed was to fight among themselves.

As they stepped into the hall, the stench of corpses assaulted their noses. Everywhere they looked, corpses stood upright.

All three swallowed, then anger surged through them. There were exactly one thousand corpses in the hall, no more and no fewer. If every hall was like this, Corpse Soul Mountain held tens of thousands of corpses.

And those were only the ones they had seen.

Yang Xiao said, "Search the place. See if there are any clues about Wang Huhu."

"If she's here, she's probably nothing but a corpse by now," Shen Laodao muttered. Under Dongfang Mingyue's icy glare, he shrank his neck.

After searching the hall, the three breathed a sigh of relief. Every corpse inside was an adult. There was not a single child, so Wang Huhu was naturally not among them.

"Next hall."

Leaving those words behind, Yang Xiao headed toward the next hall.

Using the same method as before, the three knocked out the guards and went inside to search.

The more they searched, the darker their expressions grew. Corpses, corpses—nothing but corpses.

It seemed there was nothing on Corpse Soul Mountain except disciples and corpses.

By now, Yang Xiao had learned that Shen Laodao's evil art—no, Curse Technique—merely put people to sleep for a while. When they woke, they would only think they had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

They searched the halls one by one. As dawn approached, they arrived before a lavish hall. It was the last hall on Corpse Soul Mountain, the most likely place to find her—and the most dangerous.

It was the most luxurious place on the entire mountain, and might well house Corpse Soul Mountain's lords—the Corpse Sovereign and the Soul Lord.

"I don't think Wang Huhu could be here. Why don't we head back?" At the crucial moment, Shen Laodao began beating the retreat drum.

"Go back yourself if you want," Dongfang Mingyue said coldly. "But before you leave, knock out the disciples guarding the hall."

Shen Laodao muttered under his breath, took out his short rod, and murmured a few words toward the disciples outside the hall.

A moment later, the three entered. This hall was indeed different from the others. There was not a single corpse inside. Two thrones stood at the far end, presumably the seats of the Corpse Sovereign and the Soul Lord.

Apart from those two seats, the entire hall was empty.

"Stand aside," Yang Xiao said. Closing his eyes, he sensed the Earth Vein Qi here. Sure enough, he detected another world beneath their feet: there was a hidden chamber underground.

"Split up and search. There should be a mechanism leading underground," Yang Xiao said, opening his eyes.

They were deep within Corpse Soul Mountain and dared not blast the hall open by force. If they alerted the Corpse Sovereign and the Soul Lord, they would bite off far more than they could chew.