Chapter Forty-Three: Bewitchment

With a thunderous crash, the stone gate shattered, sending a cloud of white dust swirling through the air. Lei Xiang, wielding the Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance, easily pierced the barrier and strode out of the Falling Sunset Cave at the head of the group.

But as soon as he stepped out, he was stunned. Five yards ahead, a broad slab of green stone lay flat like a natural platform. Upon it, two pale bodies writhed together. A fat man pressed down on a petite, delicate woman. The woman’s fair legs bore several scratches from the stone, yet she seemed oblivious, utterly absorbed in the fever of passion.

“Si Tu Yan!” came a heart-wrenching scream from behind, issued by Ma Zhiyuan. The fat man jerked his head around. Those who followed Lei Xiang out of the cave froze in disbelief—it was Senior Brother Mu, the leader of their treasure-seeking expedition.

Ma Zhiyuan, now completely out of control, gripped a long spear artifact and charged forward like a madman. Senior Brother Mu didn’t even glance at him; with a casual wave, a giant azure hand seized Ma Zhiyuan and his spear, flinging them aside.

At mid-stage Foundation Establishment, Senior Brother Mu seemed utterly unconcerned by the hundred-odd cultivators before him. Brazenly, under everyone’s gaze, he continued his debauchery.

“Beast!” bellowed Senior Brother Liu. “See if I don’t ruin you!” He quickly brushed his storage pouch, summoning a black artifact that hovered overhead as his hands formed rapid seals.

Only then did Senior Brother Mu rise from atop Sima Yan, standing stark naked, a sneer on his face. “You’re still alive? Here to ruin my fun? I detonated the Spirit Gathering Array with Tianjingzi, blowing away half of Falling Sunset Peak. You’re lucky to have survived.”

The crowd turned, finally noticing that nothing remained above the cave. Half the mountain had indeed been blasted away. They didn’t know, however, that it wasn’t the Tianjingzi explosion, but the lightning from Lei Xiang’s Foundation Establishment that had flattened it.

Lei Xiang smiled faintly. “Your Tianjingzi wiring failed for some reason, and I happened to take control of the Spirit Gathering Array.”

Senior Brother Mu swept with his divine sense, his expression changing dramatically. “You... you advanced to Foundation Establishment? How is that possible? Was that lightning tribulation yours...” His face grew more astonished.

By now, Senior Brother Liu had finished activating his treasure—a small, black iron mountain that crashed down toward Senior Brother Mu’s head. This mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator struck with fury, prompting those with lesser cultivation to quietly retreat.

Yet Senior Brother Mu was nonchalant. Opening his mouth, he spewed a jet of pitch-black smoke that formed a cloud, propping up the mountain and slowly pushing it toward Senior Brother Liu.

Terrified, Senior Brother Liu hurriedly changed seals to control the iron mountain. With a cold laugh, Senior Brother Mu summoned another azure hand, shoving the mountain—carried by the black mist—onto Liu’s head with a thunderous crash.

Lei Xiang flung out the Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance, sending a spell into it. The lance stood upright, its tip bracing the falling iron mountain.

A spear thrust to the heavens.

A flash of cruelty crossed Senior Brother Mu’s eyes as the azure hand abruptly released the mountain artifact and slapped Senior Brother Liu’s chest without warning. A clear sound of breaking bones rang out. Senior Brother Liu gave a low groan and fainted.

With no one controlling it, the mountain artifact pressed down automatically. Lei Xiang poured spiritual power into his arms, and with a deft flick, he hurled the mountain over the crowd, sending it flying far away.

With a crash as the mountain landed, Senior Brother Mu stared at Lei Xiang in surprise. How had he grown so strong in mere days? But Lei Xiang’s words startled him even more: “You truly are a spy for the Blood Fiend Alliance.”

The crowd was confused, but Lei Xiang explained: “Those fragments of crystal treasure maps were mere tricks to lure everyone into the Falling Sunset Cave. You deliberately stayed outside, and after activating the traps, called out to Sima Yan because you coveted her beauty. Knowing the power of the Tianjingzi Spirit Gathering Array, you were certain we’d never return, so you couldn’t wait to indulge yourself here. What did the Blood Fiend Alliance promise you in exchange?”

Senior Brother Mu said nothing, but his expression suddenly grew solemn. He shook out a storage pouch, and a pure black robe automatically draped itself over him, embroidered in the center with a white little flood dragon.

Strangely, once he donned the black robe, Senior Brother Mu’s demeanor changed instantly. His face flushed as if drunk, his eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty greed. His right hand reached out, gripping a Fangtian Halberd, and struck with earth-shattering force.

Lei Xiang tossed the Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance into the air, transforming it into a five-clawed golden dragon that rushed forward. The Fangtian Halberd was not outdone; it morphed into a red-and-white Blood Snow Flood Dragon, engaging the golden dragon in fierce battle.

In the sky, gold, blood, and white intertwined, erupting in dazzling light. Over time, gold gained the upper hand, with the Blood Snow Flood Dragon forced into a defensive retreat.

Senior Brother Mu suddenly howled to the sky, “Blood Fiend in Bloom, Demonic Desire Unleashed!”

He bit his tongue, spitting out blood that formed a mist around him. Lei Xiang probed with his divine sense, only to be repelled. “Go!” Senior Brother Mu pointed, sending the blood mist toward the Blood Snow Flood Dragon above.

The crowd stared at Senior Brother Mu in shock. At this moment, he had reached peak late-stage Foundation Establishment, already at false Core level. No wonder he was so fearless—he possessed a secret technique.

The Blood Snow Flood Dragon opened its maw, inhaling the blood mist. Its body swelled to thirty feet, crimson light coursing over its snowy scales. It spewed a cloud of blood, enveloping the golden dragon formed by the Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang’s lips moved. Du Gu Yixiao, who had kept his eyes squinted, suddenly snapped them open. Yet Lei Xiang signaled to him, and Du Gu Yixiao slowly squinted again, returning to his usual state. All the while, he retreated step by step, back into the Falling Sunset Cave, disappearing from view.

Just then, Senior Brother Mu burst out laughing. A blood light enveloped him, and his words grew muddled. “All of you... must die!” The blood light soared, rapidly expanding before plummeting to cover three miles around.

Lei Xiang wasted no time, riding a black swift artifact skyward, escaping the blood light’s control. Below, over a hundred cultivators were trapped, each using their arts to desperately break through.

Facing Senior Brother Mu, now at false Core level, Lei Xiang dared not be complacent. Rubbing the Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance, all its reverse scales flew off, forming a reverse scale armor around him. He braced the improved beast hide defense, then summoned the Chu Sky Comb. A flash of yellow light appeared above Senior Brother Mu, weaving fourteen yellow lines in a seven-by-seven grid.

Senior Brother Mu watched Lei Xiang’s preparations coldly, then leisurely sent a blood light shooting at him. Lei Xiang slapped his storage pouch, summoning fourteen flying swords. With a wave of a brown triangular flag, the swords flew along the lines woven by the Chu Sky Comb.

The Limitless Sword Formation!

The formation met the blood light head-on, shredding it in an instant. Senior Brother Mu was stunned. He had forcibly boosted his cultivation, yet Lei Xiang easily broke his Blood Slaughter attack. This newly-advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator was truly extraordinary.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang’s Limitless Sword Formation hovered overhead. Senior Brother Mu hurriedly threw out the Fangtian Halberd, only for it to be intercepted by the Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance. Lei Xiang, meanwhile, used the boundless depths of his spiritual sea to control the flying swords, and secretly wrapped a mid-grade stealth talisman around the Chrysanthemum Thorn, shooting it underground.

Senior Brother Mu steeled himself, biting off his tongue along with a bit of flesh. Blood flared in both hands as he raised them, wrapped thickly in blood mist, to seize the flying swords—Lei Xiang’s swords forged in the Profound Heaven Fire Array.

With a series of slaps, Senior Brother Mu sent fourteen swords veering off course. The last sword was caught in his hand, and he sneered, “Is that all?” He hurled it back like a shooting star.

The beast hide defense was pierced effortlessly, though the sword slowed somewhat. The reverse scale armor blocked it with a dull clang, leaving a shallow dent.

“Hmm?” Senior Brother Mu was surprised again. Blood mist hands clasped before his chest, gathering a blood sphere the size of a cactus, just as intense spiritual fluctuations erupted to his left—a point of golden light shot toward his face.

Startled, Senior Brother Mu raised his blood mist hands to block, but Lei Xiang shouted, “Prison Seal!”

Thousands of blue squares wrapped around Senior Brother Mu, tightening and sinking into his body. Lei Xiang knew that such a spell would rarely work against a false Core cultivator, but now, with Senior Brother Mu focused on Du Gu Yixiao’s sneak attack, the timing was perfect. The Prison Seal would last only a moment.

Suddenly Senior Brother Mu could move again. The golden light was already at his throat. He gathered his spiritual power, forcefully twisting his neck half an inch aside. Du Gu Yixiao’s Golden Snake Sword grazed his neck, leaving a long bloody gash.

Du Gu Yixiao appeared, his expression icy. Though his sneak attack failed, Senior Brother Mu found no joy—for at that moment, a foot-long Chrysanthemum Thorn shot up from underground, piercing his buttocks.

Senior Brother Mu quickly formed seals, surging spiritual power to his backside, making the muscles there as hard as steel, locking the Chrysanthemum Thorn’s tip in place.

“Heh, heh, you think you can trick me so easily?” His blood mist hands swelled terrifyingly, and in a flash, they seized Lei Xiang’s chest.

Yet Lei Xiang flashed a tiger-toothed grin. At such a critical moment, he still had time to smile?

Suddenly, with a thunderous boom, Senior Brother Mu was blown away. Half of his blood mist hand fell from Lei Xiang’s chest onto the ground. Du Gu Yixiao, retreating swiftly, was knocked down by the blast wave. “What was that?”

“I was worried the Chrysanthemum Thorn wouldn’t work, so I secretly hid a Tianjingzi in it. Blowing him away was a piece of cake.” As the smoke cleared, Lei Xiang summoned the storage pouch from the ashes, claiming Senior Brother Mu’s possessions. A few fireballs blasted a pit, and with a sweep of his sleeve, Lei Xiang buried Senior Brother Mu’s remains.

The blood light, no longer controlled, faded and shrank by half. The trapped cultivators easily broke its bindings.

Just then, a woman’s moans echoed from nearby, suggestive enough to stir the imaginations of all.

“Hurry, come... hold me tight.”