Nine Netherworld Divine Grass

The three reached the thrones together. Yang Xiao and Shen Laodao exchanged a smile, but when they met Dongfang Mingyue's pretty, frosty face, unchanged for a thousand years, their voices gradually faded.

The two thrones were the most conspicuous things in the entire hall. If there was a hidden mechanism, this was the most likely place for it.

The three ran all six hands over the thrones, but found nothing suspicious.

Bang!

A chill flashed through Dongfang Mingyue's eyes. She kicked a throne aside, revealing a passage leading underground.

"What the hell!"

Yang Xiao and Shen Laodao exclaimed together. The Corpse Lord and the Soul Master had used such a crude method to conceal their mechanism—all they had to do was push the throne aside.

While the two were questioning their lives, Dongfang Mingyue had already descended. They hurried after her.

The passage was long. Halfway through, they encountered two disciples. As the five stared at one another, Yang Xiao struck first, unleashing the Hundred-Spirit Spider Rope to coil around the disciples' necks and prevent them from shouting to alert the others.

The Hundred-Spirit Spider Rope kept releasing poison into their bodies. Within moments, they dissolved into two puddles of black liquid.

All three breathed a sigh of relief. They cleaned up the black liquid and continued forward.

Gradually, light appeared ahead, revealing an underground palace. Dozens of disciples stood around it, all cultivators of the Sea Condensation Realm.

The three retreated into the passage and lowered their heads in thought. With dozens of disciples guarding the palace, sneaking inside was impossible.

As for forcing their way in, they had come to save someone, not throw their lives away.

Just then, two figures entered from outside, one large and one small. There was nowhere to hide in the passage, and going out would surely expose them to the disciples inside.

Dongfang Mingyue drew the Azure Edge Sword and waited for the newcomers, her face filled with killing intent.

The figures drew closer, and Yang Xiao slowly made out the newcomer's features. Just as Dongfang Mingyue was about to step forward and kill him—

He said, "Wait."

The newcomer noticed them too. Their gazes met, but neither side spoke.

Dongfang Mingyue glanced at Yang Xiao and sheathed the Azure Edge Sword.

"It's been a while. I still don't know your name," Yang Xiao said as he stepped forward. The Hundred-Spirit Spider Rope at his waist was poised to strike. At the slightest suspicious movement, this person would become a puddle of black liquid.

The newcomer was the youth who had asked him for directions in Falling Blossom City. The little boy was still beside him, but now the boy's eyes were vacant, and he reeked of death. Like the bodies in the hall outside, he had become a spirit corpse.

"Luo Tang. This is my younger brother, Luo Chao. Thank you for what you did last time, though it led to the greatest regret of my life," the youth said, stroking the little boy's head.

In the few months since they had last met, he had gone from a mortal to a Sea Condensation Realm cultivator. The shyness he once wore was gone from his face.

"Could you do me a favor?" Yang Xiao asked. "A friend of mine was captured by the Soul Master. Could you help us find her?"

Luo Tang frowned. "My martial uncle likes to toy with people's souls. If your friend really was brought here, she's probably beyond saving."

"My friend is very important to the Soul Master. He won't kill her," Yang Xiao said. The Soul Master still needed to exchange Wang Huhu for the Carefree Scripture, so he probably wouldn't take her life so soon.

Luo Tang frowned. "I'll do what I can to help, but I can't promise anything.

"My martial uncle is a recluse and has no disciples on the mountain. Apart from exchanging a few words with my master now and then, he rarely appears before the disciples."

Luo Chao took three sets of black robes from his Storage Ring. "Put these on. I'll take you inside."

Yang Xiao accepted them. The black robes were identical to those worn by the disciples outside the mountain. He wanted them to pose as disciples.

When he reached Dongfang Mingyue, he stopped. "You're too beautiful. That'll cause a lot of trouble."

Shen Laodao chuckled, scooped a handful of dust from the ground, and reached toward Dongfang Mingyue's pretty face. The Azure Edge Sword greeted him.

Dongfang Mingyue sheathed her sword, wiped a handful of dust from the wall, and smeared her own face black.

Luo Chao studied Dongfang Mingyue for a while. "That's not enough. The disciples inside haven't had contact with the outside world in ages. Any woman with even a little beauty can't escape their poisonous clutches, and you still look very beautiful like this."

Yang Xiao stepped forward and rubbed his hands hard against the wall. With both hands blackened, he approached her. She took a step back, but he kept pressing forward and smeared the black dust over her face. "If anyone asks, say you were born this way and it won't wash off."

Using a minor spell from the carefree heavenly master chapter, he fixed the black dust to Dongfang Mingyue's face so that even water couldn't wash the color away. A beautiful, dark-faced girl was freshly minted.

With the three turning their backs, Dongfang Mingyue changed into the black robes. Four and a half people headed toward the palace.

"Junior Brother Luo Tang, who are these three?" The young man at the head of the guards stopped them.

He looked ordinary, but his cultivation was the highest among them, only a step away from the Soul Seed Realm.

"Senior Brother Huang, they're newly promoted inner disciples. Master asked me to bring them inside," Luo Tang said.

Yang Xiao stole a glance at Luo Tang. He hadn't expected him to hold such a high position on Corpse Soul Mountain. Senior Brother Huang spoke to him with great respect.

"Thank you for your efforts, Junior Brother Luo. I'll let you in right away," Senior Brother Huang said with a smile. He took a black token from his robe and fired a ray of spiritual light into the doors, which slowly opened.

Yang Xiao was startled. He hadn't expected such an advanced Earth Vein Grand Formation here. No wonder the one outside the mountain was so crude. Their true defenses were all here.

Luo Tang led them into the hall. Behind them came the disciples' murmurs.

"What's he so arrogant about? He only got where he is because Master favors him. His cultivation isn't even as high as ours."

"Shh. Don't say any more, Junior Brother. I heard Master favors him because he killed his own younger brother with his own hands. If someone that ruthless holds a grudge against you, your days will probably be numbered."

The doors slowly closed, cutting off their discussion behind the heavy panels.

Dongfang Mingyue looked toward Yang Xiao, a trace of killing intent flashing through her icy eyes.

Yang Xiao shook his head. Luo Tang had no intention of harming them. He couldn't bring himself to kill him.

Besides, he didn't believe that shy youth from before would kill his own younger brother with his own hands. Even if people changed, it had to happen through a process.

They followed Luo Tang deeper into the hall, passing room after room, but he showed no sign of stopping.

Yang Xiao surveyed their surroundings. The walls were golden and covered in carved images, all depicting a black-robed man harvesting souls.

Luo Tang suddenly stopped ahead. He had brought them to a room, where he knocked on the door. "Disciple Luo Tang pays his respects to Martial Uncle. Master sent me to attend to you."

The room was silent. There seemed to be no one inside.

Luo Tang stood outside with them for a while, then turned back. "This is my martial uncle's room. If your friend is very important to him, she must be imprisoned here.

"He isn't here right now. Hurry."

With that, he opened the door. The three exchanged glances, and Shen Laodao walked over to Luo Tang to make awkward conversation.

Yang Xiao and Dongfang Mingyue entered the room. Whatever the circumstances, caution was never a mistake. If there was a trap here, Shen Laodao was certainly capable of subduing a Sea Condensation Realm cultivator.

The room was large, and it was clear that the Soul Master was a lazy man.

A bed, a table, and a large iron cage.

Yang Xiao checked under the bed, then sensed the earth vein qi in the area. There were no hidden rooms.

He walked out and shook his head at Luo Tang.

A conflicted expression crossed Luo Tang's face before he asked, "Is your friend really that important to my martial uncle?"

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up. There was a chance. He nodded. "Very important."

Luo Tang hesitated, then headed forward. "Follow me. If what you said is true, my martial uncle most likely took your friend to that place."

The three followed Luo Tang to another underground passage. There was actually another level below.

Luo Tang looked back. "My master might well be inside. Wait here for me.

"And apart from your friend, don't touch anything you see in there."

Luo Tang went inside and returned a short while later. "You're very lucky. Master isn't here, but I don't know which one is your friend. You'll have to go in and find her yourselves."

With that, Luo Tang entered first. Yang Xiao touched the Hundred-Spirit Spider Rope. Luo Tang must have noticed their wariness earlier, which was why he was going inside with them this time.

Since Luo Tang had entered first, none of the three needed to remain outside.

Following behind him, they entered the passage and reached an underground cavern.

Despite all the corpses he had already seen, Yang Xiao was still frightened by the sight before him. Hundreds of Soul Seed Realm spirit corpses lay here, and farther ahead were nine corpses that made the space between his brows throb.

"These are spirit corpses of Living Spirit Realm experts!" Shen Laodao exclaimed.

A bright red coffin lay among the nine spirit corpses, with a small blade of grass floating above it.

Endless corpse qi was absorbed by the grass and sent into the coffin. It was hard to imagine what sort of existence lay within. Could it be an immortal corpse?

"Th-this... this looks like the legendary Nine Netherworld Divine Grass. They say it can bring the dead back to life and let them live another lifetime." Shen Laodao's voice trembled, his gaze burning as he stared at the Nine Netherworld Divine Grass.

The next instant, he lunged straight toward it. Yang Xiao couldn't stop him.

"No! You can't touch the Nine Netherworld Divine Grass! It'll alert Master!" Luo Tang flew forward to stop Shen Laodao, but he had already reacted a moment too late, and his cultivation was lower than Shen Laodao's besides.

He came fast and went back just as fast. The nine surrounding Living Spirit Realm Spirit Corpses rose simultaneously and knocked Shen Laodao back.

"Finding Wang Huhu comes first!" Yang Xiao shouted. "This has nothing to do with you. Run now, or you won't be able to escape once your master arrives!"

"I'm sorry," Luo Tang said softly.

With that, he left with his younger brother.

Shen Laodao cast a regretful glance at the Nine Netherworld Divine Grass and joined the search for Wang Huhu.

After searching for a while, the three finally spotted the unconscious Wang Huhu behind the coffin.

But the coffin was guarded by nine Living Spirit Realm Spirit Corpses, and they couldn't get through.

"Move aside." Dongfang Mingyue took out her Immortal Artifact and drew the sword from its sheath. A suffocating pressure surged from the blade as she slashed at the corpse ahead.

A gap immediately opened in the middle. Yang Xiao hurried forward and carried Wang Huhu out.

After examining Wang Huhu, Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. She had merely passed out.

Presumably, the Soul Master had never imagined anyone would venture into the heart of Corpse Soul Mountain to rescue someone.

Just then, two astonishing waves of pressure came from the cavern entrance. The three's expressions changed. The Corpse Lord and the Soul Master had arrived.

Two figures flew into the cavern. The man on the left wore white robes. Vicious ghosts roared around him, yet none could stray more than three feet from his body.

The man on the right looked somewhat familiar. Yang Xiao remembered him: when they had come to Corpse Soul Mountain to find Lei Miaoyan that day, he was the one who had sent Spirit Corpses after them.

Dressed in black robes, the man had stared at them grimly ever since entering, as though his face knew no other expression.

The black-robed man looked toward the coffin in the center. When his gaze swept over the spirit corpse Dongfang Mingyue had injured, his expression changed. "You've got some nerve, daring to damage my spirit corpse," he said darkly.

As his words fell, he punched toward them. His fist absorbed the yin qi underground as it traveled through the air, forming a fist of spiritual energy.

Dongfang Mingyue drew her immortal sword and slashed. The fist projection shattered her Sword Qi, and the three hurriedly summoned their magical treasures to block the attack.

A single strike carried such terrifying power. Though they blocked the fist projection, its shock wave sent all three flying. Yang Xiao rose from the ground, clutching his chest as pain coursed through it.