Seventy-two earthly fiends arts: invisibility.
It could conceal the forms of himself, others, and even all objects, masking their auras.
But Su Qing's cultivation was still insufficient, so he could only conceal himself.
Su Qing stood on a tree at the edge of the basin, gazing at the black tree in its center as he formed another hand seal.
Seventy-two earthly fiends arts: Beast Gathering!
Before long, several low-level spirit beasts ran out of the woods and gathered below Su Qing, circling the tree with puzzled eyes.
Su Qing wasted no time, tossing the low-level spirit beasts into the basin in a few swift moves.
The Spirit-Devouring Bees were immediately disturbed by the spirit beasts. A buzzing rose as a black cloud flew away from the black tree.
At the sight, the spirit beasts fled madly. With one side chasing and the other fleeing, they bought Su Qing ample time.
As the last streak of black cloud left the black tree, Su Qing immediately moved to its crown. Some Spirit-Devouring Bees still remained on the tree, but none noticed him.
There, beneath the shelter of branches and leaves at the treetop, sat a gray-robed skeleton, its legs crossed. It held a Black Flute, which released faint notes whenever a breeze brushed past.
The Spirit-Devouring Bees remaining on the tree swayed to the flute's notes, their bodies twitching in a deeply unnerving sight.
Su Qing drew the flute from the skeleton's hand and stored it in the Sleeve Universe. Then he felt around the skeleton and found a bottle beneath the hem of its robe.
When Su Qing pulled it out from beneath the robe, all the nearby Spirit-Devouring Bees buzzed. It seemed this was the bottle of Black Liquid that Mu Chen had originally taken, the one that could attract Spirit-Devouring Bees.
Su Qing quickly put it away as well, lest he agitate the Spirit-Devouring Bees any further.
Nothing else remained on the skeleton except its gray robe. Su Qing cupped his hands and bowed, thanking the deceased for the Black Flute and bottle, then silently recited:
By the Supreme One's decree, may your lonely soul be delivered;
May all ghosts and spirits, all four forms of life, receive grace.
Let those with heads be delivered, let those without heads ascend;
Those slain by spear or blade, those drowned or hanged.
Those who died openly or unseen, those wronged and unjustly slain;
Creditors and enemies, souls who come demanding lives.
Kneel before my altar, where the eight trigrams shine;
Step forth from Kan, and be reborn in another realm.
As man or woman, bear your own fate;
Wealth or poverty, each is yours to draw.
By decree, deliver all these souls; swiftly, swiftly, be reborn;
By decree, deliver all these souls; swiftly, swiftly, be reborn.
Then he burned the remains, returning them to the earth.
After obtaining the items, Su Qing kept his invisibility active. Just as he vaulted out of the basin, he happened to spot a figure hiding against a tree trunk, watching the black tree.
Without alerting the figure, Su Qing darted onto a treetop behind him. Looking down, he saw that it was none other than the young lord of the Liu Domain-Liu Mubai.
He scanned Liu Mubai's surroundings but found no other members of the Liu Domain party. Presumably, the Spirit-Devouring Bees had scattered them.
At the sight, killing intent surged within Su Qing!
Liu Mubai was staring at the crown of the black tree. He had presumably noticed the unusual movement of the Spirit-Devouring Bees and come to investigate.
But Liu Mubai had arrived a step too late to see Su Qing drive the spirit beasts in to lure the Spirit-Devouring Bees away. Su Qing had remained invisible afterward, so Liu Mubai had never spotted him.
Just as Liu Mubai decided that the few Spirit-Devouring Bees remaining on the tree posed no threat and prepared to climb up and investigate, goose bumps erupted on his neck. A sharp sting heralded what was about to happen.
Within three feet, in the space of a breath, a cold gleam flashed-and Liu Mubai's head fell to the ground.
A trace of bewilderment and incomprehension still lingered on his face.
Su Qing picked up Liu Mubai's head, drained the remaining blood from its severed neck, and put it into his sleeve. Then he destroyed the body and erased the traces before returning to the Mu Domain party.
"Have you found Mu Bai?"
Liu Qing stared grimly at the row of men kneeling before him, his eyes already bloodshot.
After so many years roaming the world, he had long understood that life and death were ordained by fate. Yet when such a thing happened to his own son, he could not accept it right away.
At that moment, a sliver of hope still remained in Liu Qing's heart-the hope that Liu Mubai had merely lost his way.
But deep down, he already knew that his son's chances of survival were slim.
"We have failed in our duties. Please forgive us, Domain Lord! We... have not found the young lord."
Liu Qing remained silent for a long time, then closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he had buried his emotions deep within his heart. Even so, a trace of profound grief could still be seen in his eyes.
"Move out. Proceed according to the original plan."
Su Qing returned to their previous location. After greeting the men guarding the perimeter, he headed straight for his father.
"Dad, I brought you a surprise!"
Su Qing whispered mysteriously to Mu Feng.
"What surprise?"
Seeing Su Qing act like this, Mu Chen leaned over to ask as well.
"Ta-da!"
"Surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you? Impressed?"
Su Qing abruptly took Liu Mubai's severed head out of the Sleeve Universe and presented it to the two of them.
"Holy shit, you little brat! You scared me half to death!"
Mu Feng had indeed jumped in fright. Anyone eagerly expecting some treasure their son had brought back would have been startled if a severed head suddenly appeared before them instead.
A surprise. What a surprise!
"Bro, you... wait, you...?" Mu Chen was so shocked that he stumbled over his words. "What the hell?"
"I saw him alone, so I killed him. We've already torn away all pretense with them anyway. Strike first to seize the advantage; strike late and suffer disaster."
Su Qing put Liu Mubai's head away as he explained.
"Heh! The Liu Domain never imagined they'd lose their young lord on this expedition."
Mu Feng sneered, gloating over their misfortune.
"Just returning the favor." A cold sneer also curled Su Qing's lips. "When they sought out Ji Zong to kill me, they should have foreseen this outcome."
Mu Chen and Mu Feng both nodded in agreement.
They simply stood on opposing sides. They were enemies to begin with-what did right or wrong have to do with it?
"Be careful when we run into the Liu Domain later. Watch out for Liu Qing trying to drag us down with him, like a dying fish tearing the net," Mu Feng warned.
"Understood," Su Qing and Mu Chen answered.
The Mu Domain party set out shortly afterward.
After traveling for a long while, the Mu Domain party halted, for a vast black swamp lay before them.
Bubbles burst in the swamp from time to time, releasing wisps of death miasma. Although the death miasma within the Black Nether Abyss had gradually begun to disperse during this season, it remained dense above this swamp.
Judging by this, the death miasma throughout the entire Black Nether Abyss probably originated here.
The death miasma alone would not have been much trouble, but pairs of scarlet eyes with vertical pupils also floated at the swamp's surface, searching for prey.
"Any ideas?" Mu Feng asked the others.
"No road above, no gate into the earth below."
A city lord from the Mu Domain gave a bitter smile.
"Not necessarily," Su Qing said calmly.
"Eldest young master, there really is no way," the city lord said. "There's death miasma above and Black Poison Crocodiles below. Either route would cost us heavy casualties."
"A detour would take us too far out of our way. I'm afraid the Liu Domain would leave us behind," Zhou Ye added with a sigh.
"How about this?"
While everyone was at a loss, Mu Chen spoke up.
"Our main problem is these Black Poison Crocodiles. They're mid-level spirit beasts, and because they live beneath the swamp all year round, their senses are extremely poor, and their eyesight isn't sharp either."
"If we catch some Black Poison Crocodiles and make boats from their hides, then confuse their vision, the scent of the hides should be enough to let us slip through."
"Rejected. Your analysis is wrong," Su Qing said.
"Why do you think living beneath a swamp all year round would make their senses poor? Answer me."
Su Qing's question was stern.
Mu Chen froze. For a moment, he truly could not explain why.
"The swamp and death miasma don't completely block their senses, and they have no shortage of prey here. So why would their senses deteriorate? Why would their eyesight deteriorate?"
"Besides, crocodiles are pretty smart. They aren't stupid."