Chapter 34: The Gray Pearl

The bandit leading the way, seeing that everyone’s attention was divided, lightened his steps, hoping to slip away unnoticed and alert others.

The next moment, before his left foot could move forward, he felt a chill around his neck and collapsed with a thud, silent and lifeless.

The Windbreaker Blade circled back to Chu Sang’s palm, and she stored it in her dantian without a glance, surveying her surroundings.

“The Myriad Death Sect is supposed to be a well-known faction. We’ve boldly barged in, straight to the heart of their stronghold, yet why hasn’t the sect leader made a move?” Tantai Ming wondered, sensing something off.

Before arriving at the dungeon, they had thoroughly searched the sect, but found no sign of the sect leader. It was unclear whether he had fled or was hiding, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Cheng Ying, did you gather any information?” Sikou Qiu asked, and a tall, black-clad shadow guard stepped forward.

Cheng Ying, Sikou Qiu’s personal shadow guard, was a mid-Golden Core cultivator with considerable strength. For decades, he had been by her side, ensuring her safety. Without him, Sikou Qiu, only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, would never dare venture into such danger alone.

“I led a search but found no trace of the sect leader,” he reported in a low voice. “However, I did discover that the sect leader’s identity is shrouded in mystery, and his whereabouts are always uncertain. Recently, I’ve been investigating his background and have uncovered something… He seems to possess the aura of the demon race.”

The group’s expressions turned serious. The long-standing animosity between the demon realm and the cultivation world was no secret. Aside from these two, there were also the realms of the beasts and ghosts.

The ghost realm had been in decline for years, and although ghost cultivators occasionally mingled in the cultivation world, they rarely caused trouble. In contrast, the beast realm was powerful, standing almost equal to the demon race and the cultivation world.

For thousands of years, as the demon and cultivation worlds waged war, the beast realm remained neutral, watching from the sidelines, rarely involving themselves. The previous Beast Lord, a peace-loving ruler, even signed a mutual non-aggression pact with the cultivation world, promoting peaceful negotiations between the two realms.

However, in recent years, there had been a massive upheaval within the beast realm, though the specifics had been kept under wraps, leaving the outside world in the dark. All that was known was that the beast realm had changed leadership, and the current Beast Lord was vastly different from the previous one—ambitious to the extreme.

This new Beast Lord had been eyeing the vast, resource-rich lands of the cultivation world, seeking an opportunity to seize control. In recent years, there had been more and more rumors of demonic beasts attacks, and several instances of powerful demon beasts appearing had left people in a state of panic.

“Miss, please be cautious,” Cheng Ying advised. “During my investigation, I learned from a Myriad Death Sect disciple that the sect keeps a half-step Nascent Soul demon beast, one that has a taste for human flesh. The missing children may have fallen prey to this creature. It’s best to avoid it at all costs.”

“Awooo~”

Without being summoned, Xiao Bai suddenly burst from the spirit beast pouch and bolted in a specific direction, Chu Sang turned to her companions. “Senior Brother, Senior Sister, let’s follow it!”

The beast-sniffing Xiao Bai had an exceptionally keen sense for detecting anomalies in spiritual energy, earning it the nickname ‘Treasure-Seeking Beast’. True to its reputation, after leading the group through countless twists and turns, they found a hidden door in the corner of the main hall.

Chu Sang quickly located the mechanism and opened it, revealing a basement filled with piles of treasure and spirit stones. Several large chests were also present, containing rare pills, magical tools, and other heavenly treasures.

Chu Sang gasped. “What a fortune!” The Myriad Death Sect had swindled people with their Blood Refining Powder, convincing commoners without spiritual roots that they could cultivate immortality and helping cultivators stuck at bottlenecks break through quickly. In just a few years, they had amassed an enormous fortune—utterly shameless.

“How could a small sect, only a few years old, make so much money while our Lingqing Sect is nearly bankrupt with no one left?” The more Chu Sang thought about it, the angrier she became.

No way! She had to take it all. Only treasures and spirit stones could heal her wounded heart.

The others watched in silence as their little junior sister plundered like a bandit. Then, Chu Sang turned and urged them, “Why are you standing there? Help me pack this up! My storage bag is full!”

Tantai Ming rushed forward. “On it!”

Su Chen’an cleared his throat. “Frugality is also a virtue.”

Without further hesitation, they all joined the looting frenzy. In just the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, the once-gleaming treasure vault had been swept clean, not a single item left behind.

As they prepared to leave, Chu Sang found a gray, dusty pearl in an equally gray, dusty wooden box, about the size of half a palm. Amidst the glittering gold and spirit stones, this pearl seemed out of place, making it stand out even more to Chu Sang.

“It looks like an ordinary bead with no spiritual energy. Probably useless,” Wenren Yue commented. However, Mu Chihui shook his head thoughtfully. “Everything in this vault is extraordinary, and the sect leader went out of his way to store this pearl in a box. It’s definitely not ordinary.”

Chu Sang tossed the pearl into her storage pouch. “Who cares?” Anything she ‘found’ was hers by default.

Tap.

Tap-tap.

“Senior Brother, Senior Sister, do you hear something strange?” Chu Sang asked, drawing out a stack of Vajra talismans and speed talismans. Her instincts told her it was time to run.

“There’s no sound. Are you imagining things?”

Just as Tantai Ming spoke, they all began hearing faint dripping sounds. At the same time, the others noticed it too.

Su Chen’an’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced at Chu Sang. He had been at the Golden Core stage for three years, and as an artifact refiner, his spiritual sense was three times stronger than most cultivators of the same level.

Yet, he hadn’t heard the sound first—his junior sister had. Could it be that her spiritual sense…

Su Chen’an kept his face neutral, but internally, he was shocked. Though, considering how strange everything was with her, it suddenly seemed oddly reasonable.

Su Chen’an kept his face neutral, but internally, he was shocked. Though, considering how strange everything was with her, it suddenly seemed oddly reasonable.

Sikou Qiu shivered, stepping behind Cheng Ying for protection. “I have a bad feeling about this place. Let’s get out of here!”

Cheng Ying shielded her, resting his hand on his sword hilt. “Don’t worry, miss. I’ll protect you with my life.”

Before they could leave, the stone door slammed shut with a loud bang, and hundreds of runes appeared on the walls. The runes connected, forming a formation that trapped them inside the stone room.

Damn, it was a trap.

At the same time, the strange noise grew louder. From the dark corners, thousands of black spiders swarmed out. Each spider was the size of a fist, their appearance haphazard and terrifying. Swarming together, they formed a massive, writhing black carpet, threatening to engulf the group. It sent shivers down their spines.

Chu Sang pushed the others behind her, stuffed hundreds of explosive talismans into her gun, and began blasting the floor. The ground was soon littered with spider corpses, making the scene even more grotesque.

Tantai Ming slashed out dozens of sharp sword strikes, collapsing the spiders’ entry points and sealing them off with rubble, finally bringing some peace.

Before they could catch their breath, a new, even more dangerous change occurred.

Chu Sang’s eyes were filled with a vision of a single white thread. No, not just one—ten, a hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands… In an instant, they were enveloped by tens of thousands of silk threads. The threads tightened rapidly, and their figures vanished, replaced by several massive white cocoons.

“Kehehehehe…”

A sinister, androgynous laughter echoed from another dark door.

From the shadows emerged a massive figure, towering at least three meters tall. The most disturbing part was its spider-shaped lower body, while its upper half was human.

The human half was also peculiar, split between male and female. Its face twisted, shifting expressions rapidly, as though in a frenzy.

“Cultivators? More cultivators walking straight into my trap! Hahaha, heaven is truly on my side. The essence of hundreds of virgin boys and girls, combined with the flesh and blood of these cultivators, will surely help me form my Nascent Soul!” The man’s side of the face let out a crazed laugh.

“Hungry… hungry… must eat! Must eat!”

The female side seemed mentally impaired, like a child with a simple mind, constantly muttering about being hungry and wanting food, as she struggled to seize control of their shared body.

The man cursed under his breath. “Damn it. Once I form the Nascent Soul, I’ll finally gain complete control of this body.” He sighed. “This beast’s body really is stronger than a human’s…”

The woman kept muttering about hunger, impatiently approaching the large, white cocoons. She extended her long, black, hairy pincers, sharp and poised to devour them.

The next moment, a fierce blade aura slashed through the air from within one of the cocoons. Following that, over a dozen explosive talismans were thrown out, detonating and causing her to scream in agony.

As the two shared one body, the man also cried out in pain, his eyes nearly bursting from the intensity. He swung a heavy palm toward them, but the attack was immediately reflected back.

Su Chen’an casually took out three defensive artifacts, enveloping his group in a protective barrier.

“Little junior sister, thank goodness you slipped us a few explosive talismans earlier.” Tantai Ming, acting like a devoted fanboy, exclaimed, “These talismans are incredible! Their power seems even greater than before! They actually burned a hole through the cocoon! Even the spider webs are all gone!”

Chu Sang rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “The explosive talisman and the fire talisman may both be basic, but I found that combining the two results in quite a strong burst. It not only amplifies the explosive power several times but also adds a burning effect.”

“Be careful,” Mu Chihui narrowed his eyes, cautioning everyone. “If I’m not mistaken, this male cultivator should be the Sect Master of the Myriad Death Sect, while the beast’s true form—this woman.”

“He must have used some kind of forbidden technique to fuse their bodies.”

“The physical constitution and cultivation speed of a demonic beast far surpass those of a human. He likely wanted to use this fusion to break through his bottleneck and form a Nascent Soul. After that, he could fully consume the beast’s consciousness, making its body his own.”

“Damn, you can do something like that? That’s disgusting,” Wenren Yue muttered in disgust. As a beast tamer, she was particularly repulsed by such a perverse, unnatural act.

Seeing the demonic beast attempt another web attack, Chu Sang threw out another handful of explosive talismans, reducing the webs to ashes.

Taking advantage of the moment, Tantai Ming slashed several arcs of sword energy, leaving deep scars on the spider beast’s dark, hardened carapace.

“Hisssss—” The beast screeched in fury and charged at him, pincers flailing.

Chu Sang pulled out her gun and started practicing her aim. Enraged, the beast turned its attention to her and charged.

But a second later, Tantai Ming’s sword drew its hatred back again.

The two of them, working from either side, had the beast completely exasperated.

The beast was on the verge of losing its mind.

“You damn ants, you’re seeking death!” The male and female voices screamed in unison, fully transforming into their beast form.

The overwhelming pressure of a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator was enough to make lower-leveled cultivators bleed from all seven orifices on the spot.

Su Chen’an quickly activated a defensive artifact to resist the pressure, but it would only hold for the duration of one incense stick’s time.

“This kind of demonic beast has a weak spot on its abdomen. The abdomen isn’t protected by the black carapace!” Wenren Yue yue shouted.

However, the beast wasn’t foolish and guarded its only weakness tightly. Striking that vulnerable spot was no easy task.

“Little junior sister, where are you going? It’s dangerous outside…” Tantai Ming panicked when he saw Chu Sang dash out.

Even though he knew how agile and unpredictable his junior sister was in battle, this was still a half-step Nascent Soul demonic beast, completely different from the lesser foes they had faced before. This beast could genuinely swat her to death in one hit!

But Chu Sang was fearless. She even waved at the beast with a smile. “I’m over here! Come and catch me!”

“Hisssss—”

The beast lunged straight at her.

Chu Sang didn’t even try to dodge and casually tossed out a sword.

The beast easily dodged the attack, thinking nothing of it, and in an instant, appeared right behind her. Its long, sharp black pincers struck down heavily, slamming her into the ground.

The tremendous force caused the ground to cave into a massive crater. No one could possibly survive.

Yet when the beast lifted its pincers from the crater, it wasn’t greeted with the blood and gore it had expected. Instead, all it saw was a broken black iron sword, split in two.

What… what’s going on??

In the brief moment that the spider beast was stunned, it felt a sudden chill in its abdomen. Chu Sang had appeared behind it, gripping a long sword that pierced directly through its unprotected belly.

With a sickening squelch, she pulled the sword out, along with chunks of flesh, yellow-green viscous fluid, and even a small golden orb.

With a loud thud, the demonic beast collapsed. Its eight legs twitched a few times before going completely still, dead beyond any doubt.

“What… just happened?” Tantai Ming was dumbfounded.

Everything had happened so fast. No one had even registered it. Just moments ago, they had all seen the beast land a blow on Chu Sang with their own eyes, so how did she suddenly end up behind it?

…

T/N: From Mu Chi huai to Mu Chihuai to Mu Chihui 🤦..I honestly don’t know how I managed to mess up that name… I don’t know when, but I will definitely ‘try’ to edit the previous chapters to Mu Chihuai guys… Key word being try.