At this moment, all the attendants and maids of the Su family had quietly hidden themselves.
Because they all knew that finding a chongxi bride for the eldest young master was false—offering her up to Madam Zi was the real purpose.
The Su family was immensely wealthy but strange; people always disappeared without a sound.
Madam Zi loved beauty to the extreme; she was a breathtaking woman full of charm.
But many years ago, Madam Zi had not been beautiful—she had even been somewhat ugly.
In the Hehuan Sect, whether men or women, all were stunningly beautiful. Only Madam Zi was not good-looking. Even worse, there was a purple birthmark on her face, so the people of the Hehuan Sect used to call her “Miss Zi.”
Perhaps because of this, Miss Zi devoted herself wholeheartedly to the study of poisonous gu and parasitic arts; her mastery of sinister yin–yang techniques far surpassed that of the sect master’s elder sister.
No one knew when Miss Zi married into the Su family and became “Madam Zi.”
Su Baishan was madly infatuated with this woman who had an ugly birthmark on her face and looked utterly ordinary. He pushed aside all opposition and made her the mistress of the Su household.
At first, the maids all knew Madam Zi was not beautiful. But as the years passed, she grew more and more beautiful, and the ugly birthmark disappeared.
Yet as Madam Zi became increasingly beautiful, more and more maids also disappeared underground.
Until all the original maids had been replaced, and no one knew Madam Zi’s past anymore.
But the maids, the servants, and even the steward all knew—one must never make a mistake. Because if you did, you would be dragged underground and vanish completely.
The steward only arrived at Madam Zi’s door after nightfall, saying fawningly:
“Madam, today there is a very beautiful Miss Yan—she will absolutely satisfy you!”
Madam Zi looked at the spots gradually appearing on her face and asked troubledly, “Truly?”
After the steward gave countless assurances, Madam Zi finally showed a bit of interest. She placed her hand in the steward’s and went off eagerly to “enjoy.”
Madam Zi’s beauty and power both came from the Gu King.
But raising this Gu King was extremely troublesome. Usually, feeding it people was acceptable, but every fifty years, it had to be fed a woman of pure yin.
And as long as a woman was eaten by the Gu King, Madam Zi could transform into an identical beautiful face.
When she was injured, she had to feed the Gu King even more pure yin women. But the requirements were harsh—after screening for so long under the name of chongxi, she had found only eight.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she had been very cautious. She selected sixteen to confuse onlookers. After such painstaking effort, it was finally time to enjoy the results.
Madam Zi almost impatiently pushed open the door—
She had to recover as quickly as possible, find a chance to revive her son, and then avenge A’Shan!
However, the moment she pushed the door open, perhaps because she had almost merged into one with the gu insects, Madam Zi was extremely sensitive. She sensed a somewhat familiar aura—but could not remember it.
As she pondered, she walked toward the bride, just about to see whether that face was truly as stunning as the steward claimed.
But in a flash, like lightning and flint, Madam Zi suddenly remembered—
She was so familiar with this aura because not long ago, she had fought this person!
Her pupils shrank, and she immediately retreated. With a bang, she crashed straight through the window and shot toward the night sky in desperate flight!
Yan Xueyi had already left a trace of tracking demonic qi on Madam Zi the moment she stepped through the door.
Madam Zi had to be eliminated today—but more importantly, that Gu King.
He grabbed Chao Jinsui’s arm, transformed into a mass of black qi, and fiercely chased in the direction Madam Zi had fled!
Hongniang followed closely behind!
Madam Zi was extremely fast!
She was far more familiar with the terrain of the entire Su family and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The black qi pursued swiftly, but with a flash of her figure, Madam Zi vanished around a corner.
That was an ancestral hall—the Su family’s ancestral hall.
White mourning banners still hung above; after Su Baishan’s death, this was the only place in the entire Su family that even remotely resembled a site of mourning.
—Madam Zi deeply loved her son, but seemed not to care much for her husband.
Yan Xueyi landed, frowning as he sensed the location of that strand of demonic qi. “Not right. She’s nearby.”
But there was no one around!
He thought for a moment. “Underground.”
Hongniang finally understood why she had circled around several times yet saw nothing unusual on the surface of the Su residence—because the truly eerie place was beneath it.
This ancestral hall should be the entrance.
But here, aside from memorial tablets, there were only more memorial tablets. Each one looked almost the same.
A certain member of the demon race observed for a moment, then turned his gaze toward Chao Jinsui.
Chao Jinsui pondered briefly.
This underground chamber was probably not Madam Zi’s handiwork—it was likely left behind when the Su family’s ancestral estate was first built.
Madam Zi had fled here because she knew the demon race was not proficient in formations.
Unfortunately for her, she had Chao Jinsui beside them, who came from a prestigious lineage.
The Kunlun Sword Sect’s education was extremely systematic, with vast collections of texts. Ordinary formations truly could not stump the young sect master.
She circled the four directions—east, south, west, and north—and sure enough, found a memorial tablet. With a swipe, she saw there was no dust on it.
She thrust her sword down in a reverse grip and shouted:
“Wondrous sun, moon, and stars in the heavens—pierce through sky and earth, startling ghosts and gods. All deities bow their heads upon seeing this; evil fiends scatter and flee without cease. Liujia and Liuding, heed my command!”
“Break!”
This was an extremely useful earth-breaking incantation.
Sure enough, with a rumbling boom—
A massive entrance appeared beneath the ground.
The group said nothing more and stepped into the underground passage.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
Inside the long corridor, there was no one—only echoes could be heard.
Yan Xueyi’s steps suddenly halted. He instinctively grabbed Chao Jinsui, and the next second, the world spun!
The corridor suddenly sank downward!
Madam Zi had indeed discovered that the underground palace had been opened.
Her voice at this moment was filled with vicious resentment:
“Since you’re so eager to seek death, I’ll grant your wish!”
Black liquid slowly spread across the ground. The entire floor began to be gradually corroded. The hem of Hongniang’s dress touched a bit of it, and immediately a sizzling burning sound erupted!
Hongniang’s expression changed drastically. “Careful—this is that gu insect’s venom!”
Guangping had said that this gu insect was at least a thousand years old. How much venom could it have accumulated over a thousand years? At the very least, beneath their feet, a layer of poison had already begun to gather and the speed was increasing!
The space of this secret chamber was extremely narrow. Chao Jinsui touched the wall and discovered it was refined iron—a material used for forging swords, famed for being “indestructible.”
Madam Zi’s laughter grew sharper and sharper.
They gradually had nowhere left to stand, and the venom was about to rise up over them.
Yan Xueyi tapped the tip of his foot and floated in midair together with Hongniang, while Chao Jinsui stood atop the Kunlun Sword.
“If the venom keeps rising, the chamber will soon be full.”
Yan Xueyi frowned. He and Hongniang were demons, but Chao Jinsui was human. A human could never withstand the toxicity of this venom.
Chao Jinsui suddenly said, “This refined iron is hard—but harder than it… is a sword forged from refined iron.”
Not only the Kunlun Sword—the Fumo Sword was also a divine weapon.
Chao Jinsui looked at the crack above the chamber ceiling.
She had just learned the Thousand-Jin Realm from the Grandmaster’s little lessons—she could try it.
But if she used the Kunlun Sword to pry open the chamber, she would have nowhere to stand.
The demon lord said to her, “Get on.”
She didn’t waste words and climbed straight onto his back.
“Hold tight.”
For a moment, Chao Jinsui couldn’t find anything to grab. After thinking, she firmly grasped the demonic horns on top of his head.
Demon lord: …
He froze instantly.
Demonic horns could feel touch too.
He tilted his head uncomfortably, but in the end, he didn’t shake her hand off.
He took out the Fumo Sword.
Chao Jinsui instinctively reached out to touch the sword that had accompanied her for many years, but the Fumo Sword immediately smacked her hand fiercely, buzzing angrily twice before drifting into Yan Xueyi’s hand.
The Fumo Sword seemed to say: Heartless and faithless! Still want to touch me? No way!
The demon lord snorted very smugly.
Chao Jinsui: “…”
She reached back to touch the Kunlun Sword, and the sword spirit in her sea of consciousness let out a sarcastic, mocking snort.
You touched another sword and still dare to touch me—Chao Musi!
Chao Jinsui: “…”
Sigh, forget it. Who told fine swords to all have terrible tempers?
The Kunlun Sword and the Fumo Sword pierced into the crack at the same time!
Chao Jinsui closed her eyes, trying to recall the feeling of resisting the crushing weight of Mount Tai in front of the Grandmaster’s little golden figure.
Her expression gradually grew solemn, and cold sweat began to bead on her forehead.
But slowly, the refined iron split open a crack!
The demon lord was already immensely strong. Compared to Chao Jinsui, a proper sword cultivator who used sword techniques to control her blade, this demon lord was far less refined—he relied directly on his own brute strength!
Seizing the gap pried open by the Kunlun Sword, he thrust hard, driving the Fumo Sword deep into the crack and forcing open an even larger opening!
Hongniang had no sword and couldn’t help, so she kept watching the venom on the ground. Suddenly, she cried out, “There’s more and more poison!”
Seeing that the situation was turning against her, and that the refined iron was about to be forcibly pried open, Madam Zi panicked and immediately sped up the rate at which the venom rose.
Sure enough, hearing Hongniang’s cry, she sneered coldly:
“Overestimating yourselves! All of you—stay here!”
The demon lord’s expression grew worse and worse.
Seeing the Demon Sovereign’s face darken, Hongniang’s heart tightened—
But then, the Demon Sovereign, veins bulging from exertion, suddenly freed one hand and viciously smacked Chao Jinsui:
“Hold on properly! No random grabbing!”
Chao Jinsui: …
Just now, she had been using the sword technique’s next level to control the Kunlun Sword, her entire focus fixed on the blade. She had instinctively clutched his demonic horns, and her fingers had even accidentally grabbed several strands of his hair.
She lowered her head silently and apologized sincerely. “I didn’t mean to.”
She was about to let go—
The Demon Sovereign immediately snapped fiercely, “I didn’t tell you to let go. You’re not allowed to fall!”
Hongniang, who had just been very worried: …
She could only pretend she didn’t exist, her almond-shaped eyes sweeping over the Demon Sovereign and then over the cool, aloof sword cultivator, letting out a tinkling laugh.
Perhaps because they were ignoring her too much, Madam Zi finally flew into a rage.
The venom suddenly surged upward, nearly corroding the soles of their shoes!
The Demon Sovereign finally shifted his attention to the poison. He frowned deeply, then activated the Asura Path, pulling out the remnant soul of Su Liuyun that was still burning within it.
Then, with a smile at the corner of his lips, he grabbed the remnant soul and dunked it straight into the venom.
The remnant soul screamed in agony!
Madam Zi immediately recognized it as well and shrieked, “My son! My son!”
She raged, “Let him go! Let him go!”
Yet the Demon Sovereign treated the remnant soul like a ball, pressing it further down into the venom.
Madam Zi’s screams were even sharper than the remnant soul’s.
But this move was extremely effective—the venom immediately receded downward!
Whenever Yan Xueyi pressed down a little, the venom retreated a little. He raised a brow, his expression very strange, as if he was getting somewhat addicted to playing with it.
Until she grabbed his demonic horns: “Stop playing, it’s almost pried open!”
Only then did he stuff the remnant soul back into the Asura Path.
—It is said there are six paths of reincarnation, and the Demon God alone controls the Asura Path.
Very soon, fresh air rushed in violently—the secret chamber had been pried open!
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
They returned once more to the underground palace corridor.
From a distance, Chao Jinsui spotted a hairpin on the ground. The entire corridor of the underground palace was terrifying, because there were numerous drag marks everywhere. Among these hideous traces, a beautiful jade-green, translucent hairpin stood out starkly.
