After Lin Zizheng gave him the spirit fruit, Qin Mo nodded. With doubt in his heart, he petted the little fox. Ever since waking up, it had been hostile toward Lin Zizheng.
Though faced with the little fox's threatening gestures, Lin Zizheng maintained a gentle smile.
For the past few days, Lin Zizheng took care of him. At first, Qin Mo was unused to it, but Lin Zizheng was persistent, and he stopped minding. For him, Lin Zizheng had always been different from the rest.
Eyebrows wrinkled, Qin Mo patted the little fox’s head and said, “Don’t make trouble!”
This person really can’t tell good from bad, the little fox thought with anger in its gaze, flicking its tail. It closed its eyes and laid down on Qin Mo’s arm.
Lin Zizheng’s eyes glittered as he watched, but he didn’t look away. He gave Qin Mo another spirit fruit, and his mouth raised into a slight smile, “The little fox must be in a bad mood these past few days.”
Qin Mo considered how good Lin Zizheng’s temperament was and responded, “En."
Suddenly, “thump thump thump!” echoed from the inner part of the cave. The two paused and exchanged serious looks.
“Dong dong dong!” The sound became clearer, and Qin Mo stood. He signed to Lin Zizheng and slowly moved towards the sounds, Lin Zizheng behind him.
The cave wasn’t large, so they quickly found its deepest reaches. They faced a stone wall, nothing special, and the sound disappeared without a trace.
Qin Mo frowned and searched along the stone wall. There had to be something strange here. It wouldn't have made that sound without reason.
“DShixiong!” Lin Zizheng called Qin Mo, who turned to see a large gate at Lin Zizheng’s feet.
The gate wasn’t on the wall but on the ground. There was a flower-shaped lacuna in the middle, with complicated patterns engraved on the side.
Qin Mo squatted to study it and realized the lacuna must be a keyhole. Beyond it, there had to be a mysterious enclave. After all, within the Huangtian secret territory, there were many such areas. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the key.
Qin Mo was disappointed. This was the result of a stroke of luck, so he wasn’t too upset.
Lin Zizheng’s eyes sparked. He said with a smile, “DShixiong, I have a jade card with a similar shape!”
Qin Mo had some doubts but remembered Lin Zizheng was this world's protagonist. Opportunities like this were not unusual.
Lin Zizhend took a blue, flower-shaped jade from his Qiankun bag and placed it in the lacuna of the stone gate. The moment it was placed inside, they heard a “click” and the jade connected with the gate. It was the key.
A loud bang later, a crack in the middle of the gate opened in front of them.
Inside was pitch black. Faintly visible stone steps led from the gate to the underground.
Just as suspected, a mysterious cave dwelling.
Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng gave each other a look and nodded slightly. Together, they walked through the stone gate.
…
On a plain in the northern part of the secret territory, Attendant Meng, Attendant He, and Liu Qingzhou stood together, their clothes disarrayed.
Straightening out some of his robes, Attendant Meng's face darkened. He gritted his teeth and scolded, “Damn it, how did we encounter a wave of beasts!”
Attendant He humphed.
“It's such a pity that the purification spirit fruit…”
As the one with the lowest cultivation, Liu Qingzhou’s face was covered in scratches and his body badly injured. If the two attendants hadn't taken him with them, he might have been buried among the beasts.
Regret filled his face and he released a sigh of remorse. Then thought that Qin Mo was already dead occurred to him and happiness replaced it.
“Humph, that Qin Mo really doesn't know how to be good!" The words "purification spirit fruit" pained Attendant Meng's heart. It was one of the most precious treasures to be found under the sky in tens of thousands of years. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Wait for a while, then we will go back and see…"
"Haha, are you talking about me?" A familiar voice interrupted Attendant Meng.
The laugh shocked the three people and Liu Qingzhou's expression shifted. His teeth gnashed is his mouth and he asked, "Qin Mo, you aren’t dead?"
A figure in a white robe with black hair appeared before them. This was Qin Mo. His eyes were fierce.
"Not being dead is even better!" Attendant Meng was shocked at first. When he looked in Qin Mo's direction, his face flashed with desire. Greedy, he said, "Then use your flesh and blood to help purify our spirit!"
The spear reappeared in his hand and he threw it in Qin Mo's direction.
Qin Mo's expression didn’t change. His lips quirked upward in a slight smirk. The spear fell to the ground with a single wave of his long sleeves.
In disbelief, Attendant Meng asked, “How is that possible?”
Attendant Meng nodded toward Attendant He.
The two glanced at each other and gathered their spirit power together. The air trembled. The spirit power morphed into a long arrow. It shot in Qin Mo's direction.
Attendants Meng and He breathed a sigh of relief, smile on both their faces. This attack consumed a lot of their spirit power, but Qin Mo was only at foundation building. He would be wounded, if not killed by this.
Their smiles froze. Qin Mo waved his sleeve, and the powerful arrow disappeared in midair.
"Hm!" Qin Mo snorted. He appeared before the two and reached out, holding the Attendants' necks.
The two's eyes paled and their faces flushed red. They struggled in Qin Mo's grasp.
Liu Qingzhou had been stunned in place in Qin Mo arrived. Faced with this scene in front of him, he turned a sharp look at the other cultivator and cried, "Qin Mo, you don't dare!"
"What don't I dare?" Qin Mo turned and glanced at Liu Qingzhou. A wicked smile curled at the corner of his lips, making him look strange and unusual.
Liu Qingzhou's heart shook, and he unconsciously took a few steps backward. Then, he was frozen in place. Eyes open wide, he screamed incredulously, "Qin Mo, you're a demonic cultivator!"
Black mist emerged from Qin Mo's hands, diving into the two Attendants' bodies. As the black mists surged inwards, Attendants Meng and He stopped struggling. Their faces turned black and blue, and a milky white light spilled from their mouths. Liu Qingzhou knew that must be the attendants' souls. He watched as Qin Mo opened his mouth with glee. Qin Mo swallowed the two souls.
Liu Qingzhou felt darkness in front of him and he turned around, wanting to leave this place. Qin Mo released the two soulless corpses and shifted his attention to Liu Qingzhou.
Liu Qingzhou stiffened, and his voice trembled, "Let me go, I won't say anything about you being a demonic cultivator!"
"Do you think that's possible?" Qin Mo licked his lips, satisfied, and walked toward Liu Qingzhou.
Each of Qin Mo's footsteps were like arrows to Liu Qingzhou's heart. Fear swelled in his chest, and he knew today was bound to be bad. His eyes reddened, and he bit on the tip of his tongue. A mouthful of blood sprayed the air, and he started a technique.
This Blood Evasion Technique was Yunyin Sect's secret. It was a teleportation skill that let a disciple, when encountering danger, instantly teleport to a blood relative. The cost was very high, however, and not only would they exhaust their cultivation, but it increased the difficulty of cultivation in the future.
Liu Qingzhou couldn’t consider that right now. His only thought was to stay alive. The bloody fog enveloped him, and he paled. He shouted, "Qin Mo, just you wait! I will tell everyone that you're a demonic cultivator! When the time comes, you'll be annihilated!"
Liu Qingzhou disappeared, but Qin Mo didn’t show a hint of worry. Instead, he smirked and said to himself, "That kid is so troublesome, but I had to let one go!"
When he finished, there was no trace of Qin Mo there. In his place, a black shadow that had appeared beside Lin Zizheng now took shape. The shadow wavered a little then vanished.
Alone, a breeze blew through the plain. Only two, dry, soulless corpses remained.
Translator(s): Teo
Editor(s): DarkSapphire, Empress, Bet