Trash!

"The sixth cavern to the southeast, the one flashing crimson light."

Zheng Yi's voice transmission reached Qi Yun's ears again, pointing him in the right direction.

The cavern he spoke of was the trap laid for Song Kun, the master of Flower Moon Hall.

Most of the many caverns on Drifting Remains Mountain were empty, yet they had become playgrounds for the demonic sect's many cultivators.

There was no shortage of people who laid traps and ambushes in empty caverns to ensnare those who came after them.

The one Zheng Yi had indicated was dangerous even among such dangers!

At that moment, the entire outline of the plan targeting Song Kun, the master of Flower Moon Hall, gradually emerged in Qi Yun's mind.

The master of Jiali Hall wants to drag Song Kun into the mire and make him violate the sect's rules. The core of his scheme is to make this Foundation Establishment True Person attack me personally.

According to the original plan, Zhou Hao came on orders, so Song Kun naturally wouldn't act.

But if Zhou Hao can't complete this mission and capture me...

With this opportunity lost, I'll be a bird startled by the twang of a bow, and I certainly won't leave the Seventh Outer Prefecture again.

Under those circumstances, Song Kun will have no choice but to act personally.

This is the master of Jiali Hall's entire plan against Song Kun!

And in this plan, what keeps Zhou Hao from capturing me is precisely the cavern Zheng Yi pointed out.

Without the slightest hesitation, the flowing wind Qi Yun had become swerved sharply through the woods, hurtling straight toward the southeast.

The four little ghosts pursuing him shrieked and changed direction as well.

Having already seen Qi Yun kill a little ghost with lightning-swift methods, Zhou Hao no longer dared to let them intercept him directly.

He was terrified that another of the little ghosts he had painstakingly raised would croak.

Within moments, Qi Yun arrived at the cavern Zheng Yi had mentioned and stood at its entrance, peering inside.

The swirling crimson rays carried a faint glimmer of treasure.

In the unfathomably deep cavern, what looked like the phantom image of a jade flask flickered in and out of sight.

Even standing at the entrance, he could sense how extraordinary that jade flask was.

Behind him, Zhou Hao had already caught up, seated upright in his ghost palanquin.

After a brief hesitation, Qi Yun cast a covert glance toward Zheng Yi's position, then resolutely stepped into the cavern.

"Hmm?"

Seeing Qi Yun dart into the cavern, Zhou Hao frowned slightly and stepped out of the ghost palanquin.

Had he fled blindly in his panic?

With his hands behind his back, Zhou Hao studied the cavern before him. After a brief hesitation, he went inside anyway.

No matter what, he had to complete the mission his master had assigned.

Otherwise, even as a direct disciple, he would suffer the harshest punishment!

The moment he entered the cavern, Qi Yun cast aside all distracting thoughts. Like a butterfly flitting among flowers, he stepped precisely onto the Gang-stepping, Dipper positions Zheng Yi had taught him beforehand, every step landing on a gate of life as he sped toward the cavern's middle section!

Zhou Hao entered close behind him. At the sight of Qi Yun a short distance away, an intense chill flashed through his eyes, and his anger at the earlier taunts and mockery surged again.

"Once I catch you, I'll give you a proper torturing before handing you over to my master. That should ease the hatred in my heart."

Hearing Zhou Hao's voice, Qi Yun, who had been about to move forward, turned around again. He slowly extended his right hand toward this Inner Prefecture disciple and curled his index finger back and forth.

"Come over here!"

"Hmph!"

Veins throbbed at his temples. Since becoming Song Kun's disciple, when had Zhou Hao ever suffered such humiliation?

Yet just as he raised his foot, ready to step into this cavern...

The anger on his face slowly vanished. His raised foot stopped forcibly in midair before he slowly lowered it. Fixing his narrow, cold eyes on Qi Yun, he gave a composed chuckle.

"Do you think I'll fall for such a clumsy provocation?"

Before he finished speaking, however, Qi Yun's expression abruptly turned exceedingly strange. His gaze passed over Zhou Hao and stared fixedly behind him!

Seeing Qi Yun's expression, Zhou Hao first froze, then a powerful sense of unease suddenly surged within him.

The next second.

An unfamiliar voice sounded beside his ear.

"As expected of the Flower Moon Hall master's outstanding disciple. Unfortunately, now that you're here, whether you go in is no longer up to you."

The instant the words fell, a tremendous force slammed into Zhou Hao's back as he tried to turn around.

Bearing an utterly distinct footprint, Zhou Hao lurched forward uncontrollably, his entire body stepping completely and irreversibly into the cavern!

Rumble-!!!

It was as though some switch had been triggered in an instant.

The crimson treasure light that had been swirling hazily through the cavern abruptly changed.

Blinding blood-red light shot skyward, illuminating the entire cavern like a ghastly hell of blood.

At the same time, a strange, grand sound of chanting arose from nowhere, like demonic voices pouring into their ears:

"Blood turns to white marrow to congeal an immortal embryo; spoiled blood becomes the soil in which a lotus throne is planted."

"What good fortune you have, fellow Daoist. Of all the places you could have chosen, you chose my [Blood-Transforming Pure Lotus Throne]."

"Since that's the case, enjoy it to the fullest. Hahahaha!"

The laughter of a successful schemer reached Zhou Hao's ears, making him nearly shatter his teeth with rage, his expression already dark as water.

Yet he could no longer spare any attention for that.

Nine lotus stems mottled blue-green and red burst from the ground. Their stalks twisted like pythons, Dao patterns bulging across their surfaces like blood vessels, and they coiled around his ankles in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Hao fiercely summoned his True Qi to break free, only for a piercing pain to stab through his ankles.

Looking down, he saw that the lotus stems' thorns had already pierced his blood vessels. Crimson blood flowed upward along the Dao patterns on the stalks.

At that moment, the phantom image of a Daoist in blue-green robes appeared in the depths of the cavern, holding a petal of a lotus throne that was gradually turning vermilion.

As the blood was continuously refined, the Daoist's face grew ever more solemn and majestic, while stiff, gray-white stone patterns began spreading beneath Zhou Hao's feet, as though they would turn him alive into a statue that nourished the lotus throne's growth!

Driving his True Qi with all his strength to resist the [Blood-Transforming Pure Lotus Throne]'s erosion, Zhou Hao stared fixedly at Qi Yun opposite him, then thought of the person who had just kicked him inside.

He understood at once!

"You little bastard! You set me up!"

Faced with Zhou Hao's curses, Qi Yun merely straightened his sleeves, a faint smile rising on his face.

"You jest, senior brother. Weren't you the one who plotted to harm me first?"

"You..." At those words, Zhou Hao was immediately struck speechless. His face alternated between red and green, and he could think of nothing to say in rebuttal.

"Since there's nothing more to say, this junior brother will respectfully see you on your way." Cupping his hands slightly, Qi Yun formed a sword seal and recited an incantation. A strand of sharp, imperious Sword Qi curled around his fingertips, poised to strike.

Eroded by the [Blood-Transforming Pure Lotus Throne], Zhou Hao could not move, and all his True Qi cultivation was occupied with resisting the lotus stems beneath his feet.

Seeing Qi Yun about to thrust his sword at him, Zhou Hao sensed the threat of death and gritted his teeth fiercely. An emerald jade ring on his left ring finger shattered at once.

Crack!

The crisp sound of the jade ring shattering was especially piercing in the deathly silent cavern!

Rumble-

Within the narrow cavern, a vast, majestic illusory sky unfurled thunderously overhead.

At the center of that sky, a pair of aged eyes containing endless majesty and destructive power slowly opened!

Wherever their gaze fell, all things froze, and even the air seemed to turn into heavy blocks of lead!

The next instant.

A deafening heavenly voice abruptly exploded. Zhou Hao screamed, blood pouring from all seven orifices, and fell to his knees.

"Trash!"