"It's nearing the peak of Foundation Establishment!"
A flash of seriousness crossed Chen Jinshu's face. This was the first time she had encountered a beast of such a level. She quickly activated her Flying Rainbow Step to dodge the venom spraying toward her. The ground behind her hissed and sizzled, rapidly corroded.
"All junior brothers, attack together!"
Chu Ke pulled out a deep yellow longsword from his storage pouch and slashed forward with force. A brilliant arc of sword energy surged forth, his entire body shining with a dazzling golden light.
Boom, boom!
The sword light tore through the air, sharp enough to rip open space, and shot directly at the giant centipede. Yet it only grazed sparks off the beast's carapace, leaving not even a scratch.
"Such strong defenses!" Chu Ke's expression darkened. This was the first time he had lost face in front of so many junior disciples.
He simply wasn't strong enough. The centipede had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, while he was only in the late stage. Even a small gap in cultivation made a huge difference. Disciples with lower cultivation were already trembling, teeth chattering. They could barely hold their swords steady.
Clang, clang... ding—
Chen Jinshu's fingers moved swiftly across the Lüqi Zither, the melody she played transforming into countless green sword-like lights, streaking toward the centipede in waves. All around her, illusions of vines and vegetation sprang up from the earth, winding toward the centipede to bind it down.
"Senior brothers, I'll hold it in place. Strike now."
Her tone remained calm as she rose into the air, her musical blades raining down without pause. The giant centipede shrieked, thrashing wildly as it charged at her, kicking up a storm of dust and debris. But just before it reached her, the mass of green vines caught it, tangling around its limbs.
Still, its cultivation far surpassed anyone present. The vines Chen Jinshu had summoned barely held for a breath before the beast tore through them, its armored hide ripping them apart.
She wasn't trying to trap it permanently, only to delay its advance. Meanwhile, Chu Ke and the others launched their attacks. The space in front of the cave entrance erupted in a storm of colorful light and explosions. The centipede roared again. Its eyes turned blood red. With a twist and snap, the vines were shredded, though its shell showed only minor damage.
Chen Jinshu wasn't looking great herself. Her relentless music blade barrage had consumed nearly half her spiritual energy, and the centipede had barely been harmed. She was anxious, but made no move to seize the spotlight.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator like her, if shown to possess a method powerful enough to threaten a peak Foundation-stage beast, would immediately draw suspicion or even hostility from her supposed allies.
Especially from Chu Ke, who was a personal disciple of a Golden Core elder. He likely had more cards up his sleeve. Her job now was to protect herself and avoid being wounded. With that thought, her hands on the zither slowed slightly. She changed the melody to one that helped recover spiritual energy.
A calmness washed over her.
Hearing her music, Chu Ke and the others began to feel slightly reinvigorated. They unconsciously moved to encircle her, forming a protective shield around their much-needed support. To them, a spiritual-recovery musician was too valuable to leave exposed. Chen Jinshu focused on her performance. The melody grew richer, more resonant.
The battle raged on.
Finally, Chu Ke activated a third-rank talisman treasure, cleaving the giant centipede's head from its body. The half-hour-long battle came to an end. Most of the disciples were drained and collapsed to the ground to recover their strength.
"Didn't expect your music to have a recovery effect too. Truly marvelous!"
"You flatter me, senior brother. It was your strike that felled the centipede. I've heard that beasts at the peak of Foundation Establishment can form proto-demon cores. They're useful for both alchemy and cultivation."
"Proto-demon cores don't count as true cores. Do you need it?" Chu Ke caught the implication and asked.
"I'm preparing a detoxifying pill. I'll need one proto-core for it. Would you be willing to part with it?"
"Of course. I have no use for it myself."
"Many thanks, senior brother. Here are some second-grade antidote pills I refined. They work on most poisons below second grade." Chen Jinshu handed over the bottle.
"Take it." Chu Ke was clearly pleased by the compliment and casually extracted the glowing core from the centipede's skull.
The proto-core shimmered a jade-green hue, with faint streaks of white. A fully matured core would likely be a pale violet. But Chen Jinshu wasn't really after it for pill refinement. Her true goal was the demon soul housed within.
Peak Foundation Establishment beasts sometimes stored their souls within their cores, and if the timing was right, those souls could become nascent spirit beasts.
There was another crucial use too: feeding a sword spirit to help repair its soul body. The effect was limited, but better than nothing, and it helped her fulfill a past promise.
…
After a brief rest, even the more severely wounded disciples had recovered somewhat. Although no one died in the battle, one disciple's arms had been corroded to the point of amputation.
"The next leg of this journey may be even more dangerous. Wounded brothers, please stay close and support each other," Chu Ke instructed.
"We understand!"
The group tightened their formation, putting injured members in the center, and resumed their advance deeper into the cave with Chu Ke leading the way.
Chen Jinshu kept to the left and near the front. Before long, they came across piles of beast bones, all from smaller monsters. Some were still fresh. Without sunlight, they relied on glowing stones to guide the way.
"This is probably where the giant centipede made its nest," Chu Ke muttered, wrinkling his nose at the stench.
Chen Jinshu glanced around and saw two paths ahead. One was dim and shadowy. The other glowed faintly with light.
"That's probably the owner's quarters," Chu Ke said, pointing toward the lit path.
"We'll go that way first."
"We'll follow your lead, senior brother."
But Chen Jinshu noticed a number of wall carvings that the others ignored. She didn't say anything. Chu Ke's behavior had always been suspicious. It was as if he already knew the layout in advance. Everyone else had been so impressed by his earlier display that they simply followed without question, letting themselves be led by the nose.
"Wait... something's wrong with the light!"
The moment she stepped into the illuminated path, Chen Jinshu felt a surge of confusion. The glow carried a strange illusory power. Before her eyes, bizarre visions formed, including a twisted image of Chu Ke's face.
"Another illusion?"
Her heart clenched. She didn't dare act rashly, only quietly observed the faces of nearby disciples. All looked dazed and dull. She already had a dream-breaking orb gripped in her hand. She had encountered similar illusions before in the Incense-Burning Cave. After that, she had searched specifically for tools that could break such spells. As her mind cleared, she spotted the sly smile spreading across Chu Ke's face.
"So it really is him... Let's see what he plans to do."
She kept up the act, pretending to still be under the illusion.
"With this nourishment, the Demon Lord will surely rise again!"
Chu Ke's twisted grin deepened, as if witnessing some grand feat. Chen Jinshu's heart pounded wildly. So the sect still had a hidden traitor. Of course. With so many disciples often sent out on missions, it was impossible to be sure none had fallen. Even if the inner sect had been purged, who could tell how many outside had already succumbed to demonic influence?
And now one had hidden all the way here, in Guanghan Immortal City, and with such high cultivation. No wonder she'd felt something was off. The way he broke the formation so easily, navigated the mists without trouble, and delayed attacking the centipede to drain the others' spiritual energy.
At the end, he was the only one still at full strength.
Laughable how many disciples still trusted him.
"Follow me. We offer ourselves in tribute to the Demon Lord," Chu Ke said, his voice laced with spellwork meant to inspire loyalty.
The disciples in front of her looked up, vacant-eyed, and began following him deeper inside. Chen Jinshu copied their movements as best she could, staying behind but not standing out. The deeper they went, the more intense the metallic tang of blood became. Soon, muffled voices could be heard up ahead.
"There are more of them... I might not make it out of here alive."
Her instincts screamed at her to turn back. She slowed her pace, letting the others pass. She activated her dream-breaking orb, unleashing a cold wave of spiritual power that spread in all directions. The illusion shattered.
"Senior Brother Chu Ke is a demonic cultivator! Run!"
With those words, Chen Jinshu activated her Flying Rainbow Step and fled toward the tunnel entrance, pushing her speed to the limit.
"You dare! You actually broke free!"
Chu Ke's face twisted in rage as the others around him began to wake. His eyes burned with hatred, especially toward the now-missing Chen Jinshu.
"To become the Demon Lord's offering is your greatest honor!"
Dark red demonic qi poured from his body, sweeping toward the group.
They finally understood.
"You really are a demon cultivator! You lured us here from the start!"
"Kill him!" Enraged disciples surged at Chu Ke.
But before they reached him, he drove a sword straight through one of their hearts. The rest froze in terror. None of them had higher cultivation than Chu Ke. They wouldn't last.
They turned and fled.
But Chu Ke had no intention of letting them go. He blew a sharp whistle, and blood-red centipedes poured from behind him, a horrifying tide of writhing legs.
"There's no escape."
…
Just as Chen Jinshu escaped the glowing passage, screams echoed behind her. She had done what she could. Waking them was already an act of mercy. Of course, her real goal had been to buy time to escape. If she hadn't acted, they would have died anyway. At least now, they had a fighting chance. Whether they could grasp that chance was up to them.
She had been watching the wall carvings. They predated the demonic cultivators. This was without doubt a Nascent Soul cultivator's ruin. One that had already been thoroughly explored by the enemy. She pulled out a thousand-mile messaging talisman, wrote a quick note, and sent it.
Just as she reached the centipede's nest again, she heard the heavy thud of five or six stone doors slamming down behind her. She looked up. The exit was already sealed.
"So they planned this from the start."
These demonic cultivators never intended to let anyone leave alive. She turned toward the pitch-black passage ahead. Where danger lurks, hope often hides. Since this ruin once belonged to a Nascent Soul expert, there had to be hidden parts left untouched. If she was going to die anyway, she might as well take the risk. She slipped into the darkness.
"Xiao Yin can you find a way out?"
"Master, I can't sense an exit, but there's a strange scent ahead."
"A different scent?"
That caught her attention like a drowning hand grabbing at reeds.
"Five paces ahead. The aura feels... connected to my bloodline."
No time to hesitate. She already heard crawling behind her. The venomous centipedes were catching up. With Xio Yin's guidance, she soon found the source of the aura. Both walls were neatly constructed. Her first thought was a hidden mechanism. She tossed a golden barrier talisman behind her to slow the creatures, then frantically searched the wall for a switch.
"Xiao Yin, confirm the exact location."
The bird flitted above the wall, finally pausing near the top.
"Here, Master. The scent is strongest here."
Chen Jinshu acted fast, pressing the spot.
The wall began to rumble and shift. A stone door opened.
She slipped inside.
It shut behind her.
Clutching a glowstone, she finally exhaled.
She began walking through the corridor.
…
Meanwhile, five thousand li away, Senior Brother Zheng Shaosi and his team received her distress message.
The moment they read the contents, their expressions turned grim.
"Junior Sister is in danger."
"We head out immediately."
"A Golden Core elder just departed for that region."
Back in the hidden ruins, Chen Jinshu reached an empty chamber. There was nothing in sight except a bone whip lying atop a stone pedestal.
The joints of the whip gleamed with a crimson luster. Its handle was covered in black scales that shimmered oddly in the light.