In an instant, the banquet hall doors slammed shut, the floor sank uniformly along the walls, and all surrounding torches and wall lamps were extinguished. Even the embedded Night-Shining Pearls shattered with several sharp cracks. Darkness enveloped everything, and only the heavy sound of chains sliding behind the iron walls could be heard, like the scraping scales of a slowly slithering giant serpent.
Having experienced falling into a snow-covered ice cavern before, Cai Zhao, standing at the edge of the hall, remained calmer than the others. In the last moment before darkness swallowed everything, she noticed the direction in which the floor was sinking—toward iron walls flush with the banquet hall's perimeter. As the ground beneath her feet gave way, she immediately stabbed her silver blade into the wall behind her while simultaneously flinging the silver chain from her left hand toward Mu Qingyan, who stood at the center.
Though the silver blade in Cai Zhao’s hand was sharp, the wall behind her turned out to be cast iron. The blade could only carve shallow marks, barely slowing her descent. Just as she was about to draw the Bright Sun Blade from her waist, she felt her feet touch solid ground.
She had landed.
Landed? Cai Zhao froze in disbelief.
Then, the lights flickered back on.
Looking up, she realized this was a room nearly identical in size to the banquet hall—the same iron walls, the same massive pillars, even the ceiling height of about thirty feet. It was as if this were the first floor, and the banquet hall they had just been in was the second.
Everyone from the hall above had fallen down. Some, like Cai Zhao, had managed to cling to the walls, while others, like Yu Huixin, had slid down the pillars. But most had been standing in the center with nothing to hold onto and had crashed straight onto the floor.
Amidst a chorus of groans, the iron plate suspended high above them—the floor of the banquet hall—began slowly closing. Several agile guards leaped up, using the walls to push off, attempting to escape before the plate sealed shut.
Cai Zhao considered doing the same, but before she could move, Song Yuzhi grabbed her shoulder firmly, his expression grave. "Don’t move! This mechanism is a trap!"
Sure enough, the iron plate, which had been closing slowly, suddenly snapped shut with terrifying speed. Several sharp cracks echoed as it sealed completely.
The guards who had jumped were still mid-air when bloodcurdling screams erupted. The plate sliced them cleanly in half—some at the waist, others at the neck. The most gruesome was one whose head was caught directly, exploding on impact.
In an instant, a rain of blood showered down, and the mutilated corpses of the guards thudded onto the floor.
Song Yuzhi’s face paled as he tightened his grip on Cai Zhao’s right shoulder.
She winced and slapped his hand. "Senior Brother, let go! I can’t move!"
Realizing his lapse, Song Yuzhi quickly loosened his hold, only to notice Cai Zhao’s left hand was oddly raised—her silver chain stretched taut from her wrist.
Following the chain, he saw the other end was held firmly by Mu Qingyan.
Mu Qingyan stood at the center, the thin silver chain glinting faintly against his dark waist sash. It was the same chain Cai Zhao had flung toward him earlier, but before she could pull him to safety, everyone had already landed.
Song Yuzhi understood then—even if he hadn’t stopped Cai Zhao, she would have been yanked back by Mu Qingyan’s counter-pull on the chain. Without a word, he released her shoulder, and Mu Qingyan silently let go of the chain.
Rubbing her sore shoulder and wrist, Cai Zhao sighed but said nothing.
The three of them knew—now was the time to stand united.
"Si’en, Si’en, are you alright?!" Li Ruxin’s frantic voice rang out as she cradled her son, calling his name repeatedly.The fall wasn't deep, and with Yu Huixin pulling them, the mother and child were unharmed. However, the suddenness of the incident, coupled with the horrific sight of several guards being crushed to death moments before, left the young and frail Nie Sien unable to stand. He collapsed weakly against his mother, breathing faintly—clearly in shock from the fright.
Li Ruxin held her fragile son, tears streaming down her face as she turned to angrily shout, "Nie Zhe! Even a vicious tiger doesn't harm its own cub! How could you lead us here? Did you want to kill Sien?!"
Though Nie Zhe was cold-hearted, he still cared somewhat for his only son and immediately retorted, "You madwoman, what nonsense are you spouting?! If I had set this trap, would I have fallen into it myself?!"
Li Ruxin countered, "When we left the inner hall earlier, we could have escaped east to the council chamber—there was an exit there! But you insisted on leading us here! Isn't this a trap you prepared in advance?!"
Nie Zhe, furious, snapped, "Shut your mouth, you wretch! Fine, I did deliberately lead everyone here, but that's because—"
Before he could finish, several more cracking sounds echoed. Near the ceiling, two small windows, each about a foot square, opened in the iron walls, and heavy objects began to fall through them with dull thuds. When the crowd looked closely, their hair stood on end.
The objects falling were corpses.
Amid the horrified screams, the eight small windows continued to drop corpses into the room—all kinds of corpses. Men, women, old, young—guards, maids, gardeners, cooks, even cats and dogs.
Cai Zhao had never seen so many corpses in her life. Though she knew they were already dead, the terrified expressions frozen on their faces sent chills down her spine.
Hu Fengge's eyes flashed as she barked, "Someone, go block those openings!"
Her long-standing authority ensured immediate obedience. Several guards scaled the walls, attempting to shove the corpses back and seal the windows to prevent more from falling.
The eight small windows were indeed forcibly blocked.
Hu Fengge smiled in satisfaction, and Nie Zhe also sighed in relief. "Fengge, thank goodness you're here—"
"Aaaaah!"
The guards perched near the windows suddenly screamed and plummeted to the ground, writhing and howling in agony.
Hu Fengge rushed over and bent down to examine them. The guards' hands and bodies were oozing a watery substance, their exposed flesh rapidly rotting away, revealing white bone beneath.
"Bone-Corroding Sky Rain?!" Shangguan Haonan gasped in shock.
Everyone was horrified. Looking up, they saw tiny holes around the eight windows, from which a greenish liquid was trickling. The guards had clearly been exposed to the Bone-Corroding Sky Rain while pressed against the walls.
Hu Fengge's face hardened. With swift strokes of her blade, she severed the limbs of the guards whose rot was still confined to their hands and feet, halting the spread of the corrosion.
But now, with no one to obstruct them, the eight windows resumed their gruesome task, dropping corpses with sickening thuds.
Hu Fengge growled, "Let's see how many corpses they plan to drop. Do they mean to bury us alive with them?!"
"N-no, surely not," Nie Zhe stammered, trembling.
"Of course not," Mu Qingyan said coolly. "This hall isn't small. To fill it entirely with corpses would require thousands—Paradise Palace doesn't have that many people. But..."
"But what?!" Nie Zhe pressed nervously.Mu Qingyan said, "Although these corpses can't fill the entire room, they're nearly enough to cover the floor."
"So what?" Hu Fengge pressed.
Mu Qingyan gave a cold smile. "A floor covered with corpses, plus several vials of Bone-Corroding Sky Rain—what do you think would happen?"
Everyone gasped in unison, immediately understanding—any living flesh that encountered Bone-Corroding Sky Rain would corrode into pools of blood without exception. Moreover, the putrid blood and fluids from the rotting corpses would continue the corrosion.
At that moment, the eight small windows stopped dropping corpses and swiftly closed. Tiny holes in the walls immediately sprayed out a green-glowing poisonous liquid.
The liquid poured down, landing precisely on the pile of corpses on the floor. Just as Mu Qingyan had said, the corpses began to rot and dissolve, their fluids pooling into putrid puddles that expanded and merged together.
Soon, the floor was no longer safe to stand on.
Amidst terrified screams, those still able to move frantically stabbed their weapons into the iron walls, trying to hang themselves from them. However, the walls were extremely thick—ordinary weapons could only penetrate a few inches. Even when Cai Zhao drew her Bright Sun Blade, she could only embed it halfway into the wall.
"How thick are these walls?!" Cai Zhao cried anxiously.
Mu Qingyan's eyes showed a hint of pity. "The underground palace beneath Paradise Palace was built by the fifth-generation master, Mu Donglie. My father told me each iron wall here is three feet thick."
"Three feet?!" Cai Zhao couldn't help but despair. "Why would anyone build them so thick?"
Mu Qingyan replied, "During Mu Donglie's reign, our sect was at the peak of its power and influence. With manpower and resources at their zenith, they naturally built as they pleased."
"This is going to be the death of us!" Shangguan Haonan groaned.
Mu Qingyan raised his head and called out, "Isn't it time for you to show yourself? Wouldn't it be a waste of your schemes if you couldn't witness our deaths firsthand?"
Song Yuzhi raised an eyebrow. "You know who's behind this?"
"Most likely," Mu Qingyan said bitterly. "I was careless—I never imagined this person was still alive."
Just then, one of the eight small windows slowly opened.
"Hahahaha, truly, heroes emerge from the young," a hoarse, cackling laugh came from the darkness behind the window. The sound of wheels turning followed as a gaunt, white-haired figure in a wheelchair appeared at the opening. "If your father and grandfather had possessed even half your courage and cunning, would things have come to this?"
Hu Fengge hauled Nie Zhe up beneath a torch. The moment Nie Zhe saw the man, he burst into tears. "Third Brother, Third Brother, save me! Just days ago, you said you'd help me, told me to lure them here—I did as you said! You can't just watch me die!"
The man on the wheelchair spat in disgust. "You fool! I gave you so much Bone-Corroding Sky Rain, and you still couldn't figure out how to use it properly!"
Yu Huixin recognized the familiar voice and gasped. "Third Brother... it's you, Third Brother!"
Li Ruxin, hanging from his arm, also cried out, "Third Brother, you're alive?! I thought you died with Eldest Brother by the Green Gauze River all those years ago! If you survived, why didn't you come to us?!"
Cai Zhao's mind raced, and she exclaimed in horror, "So this is Han Yisu?"
Mu Qingyan confirmed, "It's him."
Yu Huixin scrutinized the figure. Han Yisu was only seven or eight years older than him—he shouldn't be more than fifty now—yet he looked like a sickly old man. Choking up, he said, "Third Brother... Third Brother, how did you end up like this? If you didn't want to be seen, you could have come to me. We brothers could have lived together in seclusion in the mountains."Han Yisu's face was crisscrossed with scars, making him look like a ghost: "Surviving against all odds, I was already a dead man walking. I didn't want to be too far from my master, so I hid in the underground palace, intending to guard his remains for the rest of my days..."
Mu Qingyan suddenly interjected, "What remains could Nie Hengcheng possibly have? After being defeated and killed by Cai Pingshu, wasn't his body dismembered by the Big Dipper Six Sects who rushed to Mount Tu immediately after? At best, you and Zhao Tianba managed to gather some scattered body parts, cremated them into ashes for worship—just a pitiful consolation."
Song Yuzhi gave him a strange look.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, he had come to understand Mu Qingyan somewhat. This man was meticulous, extremely suspicious, and would never reveal his hand until the last moment. Yet Han Yisu had barely spoken two sentences since appearing, and Mu Qingyan was already eagerly provoking him—it was somewhat odd.
Han Yisu indeed flew into a rage: "You insolent brat, how dare you disrespect my master! I had intended to live out my remaining days in peace, staying out of worldly conflicts, but now you dare insult my teacher! My master devoted his life to the divine cause, toiling tirelessly, and now..."
"Spare me the lofty talk," Mu Qingyan cut him off. "You and your master are experts at putting on a righteous facade while acting despicably. Under Nie Zhe's protection, you could feign death and live in seclusion. But once I reclaim power and thoroughly comb through Paradise Palace, where will you hide then? Sooner or later, you would have stood up for Nie Zhe—stop pretending to be noble!"
Han Yisu slammed his wheelchair furiously, shouting, "How dare you, a mere whelp, criticize my master! Soon I'll seal all the exits. If you have the guts, stay hanging on the walls forever. The moment you lose your grip and fall, you'll meet your end and turn into a pool of blood—ha, hahahaha..."
"Enough," Mu Qingyan said coldly. "You've schemed to this extent—do you really think you'd let me go? Even if I knelt and begged for mercy now, it would only earn me ridicule. I underestimated you, failing to realize a lingering ghost like you still walked the earth. I admit defeat—no need for further words."
Han Yisu suddenly stopped laughing, his expression eerie. "You're so eager to cut me off—who are you afraid I'll mention?"
Mu Qingyan's handsome face darkened slightly. "A true man owns his words and deeds. Don't drag women into this!"
Han Yisu gave a sinister chuckle. "Women? I dare not underestimate women. Cai Pingshu was a woman. Nie Zhe is useless, and I had no intention of helping him. The reason I emerged again was because I heard something. You—you actually brought that little wench from the Cai Family into Paradise Palace! How dare you disgrace my master!" As he spoke, he pointed directly at Cai Zhao.
Everyone was stunned, their eyes turning to the girl beside Mu Qingyan.
Yu Huixin's expression changed. "You... you're Cai Pingshu's..."
Nie Zhe grinned. "That's right. This girl is Cai Pingchun's daughter, Cai Pingshu's beloved niece whom she raised herself—Cai Zhao! Look at the blade in her hand—isn't that the Bright Sun Blade?!"
Everyone looked and saw it was indeed so.
Yu Huixin's face darkened, while Hu Fengge immediately rebuked, "Young Master Mu, though I am loyal to the sect, I also believe your bid to reclaim power isn't entirely unreasonable. But bringing a member of the Cai Family into Paradise Palace—what explanation do you have for this?!"Li Ruxin had initially been solely focused on her son, but upon hearing this, her delicate brows furrowed in anger. "No matter how many faults my uncle had, he still rendered outstanding service to the divine cause. His tragic death at the hands of Cai Pingshu made the entire Cai Family my sworn enemies from that day forward. How dare you bring a member of the Cai Family into Paradise Palace!"
Cai Zhao only then realized the immense trouble she had unwittingly caused, leaving her momentarily bewildered.
Song Yuzhi and Shangguan Haonan nearby also wore grim expressions.
Mu Qingyan burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha! What a bunch of cowards, a pitiful crowd of whining, incompetent rats!"
He continued, "During the Battle of Tu Mountain back then, did Cai Pingshu use hidden weapons against Nie Hengcheng? Did she set traps? Did she rely on numbers to win? It was a fair and honorable duel to the death—victory or defeat was left to fate, and death was a natural outcome. Nie Hengcheng himself never complained, yet you disciples have been nursing grudges all these years!"
"If he was so afraid of death, why did Nie Hengcheng even become a leader? He should have hidden away to cultivate his health and prolong his life instead! Nie Hengcheng was much older than Cai Pingshu, a whole generation above her, yet he was still outmatched in skill. How shameless of you to bring up such an embarrassing defeat—aren’t you ashamed?"
"If you’re so aggrieved, why not train harder and challenge the real opponent to reclaim your honor? Cai Pingchun is right there in Fallen Blossom Valley, and the valley hasn’t moved an inch. If you revere Nie Hengcheng so much, why haven’t you gone there?"
Mu Qingyan suddenly feigned realization. "Ah, I forgot—you did go. Unfortunately, the disciples proved just as unskilled as their master, utterly defeated by the Green Gauze River and never able to regain face! Hahaha..."
Li Ruxin trembled with rage, while Han Yisu’s face darkened. He snarled, "Brat, don’t waste your breath on empty boasts! Listen well, everyone here—today, the only one I want dead is that little wretch from the Cai Family. Whoever kills her for me, I’ll release the mechanism and let you all out. After that, fight amongst yourselves however you like—I won’t interfere!"
"Otherwise, heh heh, I’ll lock the mechanism permanently, and you can all rot in here!"
At these words, everyone clinging to the walls grew tempted.
Yet the fastest to act was still Mu Qingyan.
He yanked Cai Zhao behind him, executing a swift and graceful mid-air spin before landing two zhang away, suspended beneath a torch. Simultaneously, he struck out with two Void Severing Palms, sending the two guards who had attempted to climb toward them crashing to the ground, where they writhed in agony from the poisoned blood until death.
Coldly, he declared, "Anyone brave enough, come and try. Though I can’t unlock the iron walls, sending you all plummeting is well within my power."
Cai Zhao clutched the back of his robe. His tall, broad frame stood like an unshakable mountain, solid and dependable. Her heart pounded wildly, torn between gratitude and panic.
The others who had been ready to move immediately froze.
Han Yisu fumed. "Shangguan Haonan! The Elders Kaiyang and Yaoguang once swore loyalty to our master. Now that things have come to this, why haven’t you abandoned the darkness and returned to the light?"
Song Yuzhi startled and began shifting toward Cai Zhao.
But Mu Qingyan barked, "Stay where you are! Don’t move!"
Song Yuzhi was stunned. "I was coming to help you protect Zhao Zhao."
Mu Qingyan replied icily, "I don’t trust you."
Song Yuzhi was dumbfounded—only then did he understand why Mu Qingyan had so swiftly whisked Cai Zhao away earlier.Mu Qingyan had long anticipated that Han Yisu would incite the crowd to kill Cai Zhao together. He repeatedly provoked Han Yisu with sharp words, attempting to divert his attention. When this strategy failed, Mu Qingyan decided to drop all pretense—he couldn’t trust Shangguan Haonan, and to his surprise, he couldn’t even trust Song Yuzhi.
At this moment, everyone’s attention turned to Shangguan Haonan.
Shangguan Haonan’s expression shifted several times before he finally shook his head firmly. “Pledging allegiance to Mu Shaojun was my own decision. A true man does not regret his choices—how could I change course halfway? Just as our two elders once devoted themselves wholeheartedly to Nie Hengcheng and died without regret, so too shall I today.”
Song Yuzhi was taken aback, reevaluating this minor Demon leader. He realized that noble and loyal individuals weren’t exclusive to the righteous martial arts world.
Han Yisu flew into a rage. “Fine, fine! Since you refuse to see reason, I’ll seal off all escape routes—”
“Third Brother!” Nie Zhe wailed. “What about me? I’m Uncle’s only flesh and blood!”
Han Yisu scoffed. “You worthless trash dare invoke Master’s name? You’ve disgraced his legacy! Go beg for his forgiveness in the underworld!”
Hearing that Han Yisu would abandon even Nie Zhe, the crowd grew even more desperate.
“Third Brother, wait!” Yu Huixin suddenly shouted. “What about Seventh Sister and Si’en? Are you so consumed by vengeance for Master that you’d forsake them entirely? Have you forgotten how dearly Master cherished Seventh Sister? Even if Fifth Brother has acted improperly over the years, Si’en is completely innocent!”
At Yu Huixin’s mention of the past, memories flooded Han Yisu’s mind—
His hometown had been ravaged by floods. As a child, his parents placed him in a wooden barrel, hoping the currents might spare his life. Adrift for days without food, he saw no end to the vast, churning waters. On the brink of death, Nie Hengcheng rescued him and gave him a name.
“To encounter me amidst such boundless waves—you must be blessed with great fortune. Like a single grain in the vast ocean, you shall henceforth be called Han Yisu.” The young Nie Hengcheng was tall and robust, his laughter hearty.
In their youth, the disciples trained together under Nie Hengcheng, then in his prime—decisive, wise, and increasingly authoritative. Yet whenever he had a spare moment, he would hoist little Li Ruxin onto his shoulders, personally guiding his disciples with meticulous care.
Han Yisu’s heart wavered. Seeing Li Ruxin’s pallid face and the frail child in her arms, his resolve softened. With a heavy sigh, he relented. “Enough. Huixin, bring Ruxin and Si’en over.”
As he spoke, a small window split open, revealing Han Yisu’s knees on his wheelchair and the rows of iron tubes on either side, primed to unleash the Bone-Corroding Sky Rain.
“As for the rest of you—move even an inch, and I’ll send you straight to the underworld!” Han Yisu’s roar instantly quelled any restless stirrings among the crowd.
Li Ruxin clenched her teeth. “I don’t matter. If avenging Uncle means death, then so be it!”
Nie Zhe cursed, “Foolish woman! Your death is one thing, but what about Si’en?!”
Li Ruxin hugged her son tightly, her heart aching.
Yu Huixin tied a belt around Li Ruxin and the child, gripping it with one hand while pressing the other against the iron wall. In one swift motion, he leaped to Han Yisu’s side and slipped through the window.
Nie Zhe watched with burning envy and pleaded again, “Third Brother, I beg you—for Uncle’s sake, spare me!”With the first breach made, Han Yisu's defenses crumbled, and he let out another helpless sigh. "Fine, you come too," he relented, then glared hatefully at Mu Qingyan, Cai Zhao, and the others. "Let them stay here to die together!"
Nie Zhe was overjoyed. "Fengge, hurry!" Though slightly injured earlier, he was confident in maneuvering deftly along the walls.
Hu Fengge tightened her grip on Nie Zhe and swiftly spun toward Han Yisu's window.
At that moment, Mu Qingyan reached behind and traced a single character in Cai Zhao's palm—'Seize.'
Cai Zhao's heart raced. She squeezed his hand in return, signaling her understanding.
Hu Fengge had also climbed into the window by now. Nie Zhe was panting heavily beside Han Yisu’s wheelchair, while Hu Fengge stood behind them, regulating her breathing.
Mu Qingyan suddenly raised his voice and recited, “Phoenix, oh phoenix, returns to its homeland!”
Everyone, including Han Yisu, was puzzled by his words.
At that very moment, Hu Fengge abruptly struck!
—First, she kicked Nie Zhe out of the window, then struck Han Yisu’s back with both palms.
Yu Huixin was shocked and immediately raised his hands to attack Hu Fengge. She turned to counter, and the two, evenly matched in skill, quickly became locked in combat. Han Yisu, who had fallen from his wheelchair, spat blood but gritted his teeth and reached for the mechanism by the window, intending to shut the iron door and release the poisonous liquid to trap Cai Zhao and the others inside.
However, Mu Qingyan had already leaped forward, stomping heavily on Han Yisu’s hand and seizing the mechanism.
Behind him, Cai Zhao swung her silver chain, forcefully severing all the poison spray guns.
Soon, Song Yuzhi and the others arrived. The remaining guards attempted to attack but were swiftly defeated by the two, plummeting into the pool of poison below, where they joined Nie Zhe in agonized screams as their flesh rotted away.
In an instant, the situation reversed, and Mu Qingyan’s group took full control.
“Yu Huixin, stop this now!” Hu Fengge shouted. “Nie Zhe must die, but I am willing to plead with the Young Master for mercy on behalf of Madam Li and her son!”
Hearing this, Yu Huixin slowly ceased his attacks.
He could still hear Nie Zhe’s screams from below and quickly flew down to pull him up. But Nie Zhe’s body was already covered in festering blisters from the poison’s corrosion.
Han Yisu lay convulsing on the ground, his eyes clouded with hatred as he glared at Hu Fengge. “The Master treated you well, yet you betray him for Mu Qingyan? You’re nothing but a heartless, ungrateful wretch!”
Hu Fengge let out a mocking laugh. “I was an orphan taken in by the Heavenly Dipper Earthly Fiend Camp to be a death warrior. I risked my life for the Nie uncle and nephew in exchange for food and shelter—a fair transaction. I owe the Nie Clan nothing.”
Han Yisu gnashed his teeth. “What did Mu Qingyan offer you to make you turn traitor at this critical moment?!”
Hu Fengge’s cold, ruthless expression suddenly softened. “Nothing. I merely owed a debt of gratitude to someone I could never repay, so I’m repaying it to his son instead.”
“Mu Zhengming?” Yu Huixin blurted out.
Hu Fengge nodded. “If not for him, I would have died three times over.”
Yu Huixin’s face filled with remorse. “Was it… back then? I should have looked for you…”
“At that time, Nie Hengcheng had just adopted you as his foster son. You were the son of a servant, still bullied by others. What say did you have in the Heavenly Dipper Earthly Fiend Camp?” Hu Fengge said. “I don’t blame you.”
Han Yisu suddenly turned to Mu Qingyan. “If Hu Fengge had already secretly pledged herself to you, why didn’t you have her intervene when your life was in danger over a year ago? Why flee like a stray dog instead?!”
Mu Qingyan replied slowly, “Because I gathered my forces not to flee for my life.”
Han Yisu’s pupils dilated.
Mu Qingyan continued, “Years ago, when Father passed, I made a vow: if I could not achieve my goal, I would rather die without a burial place.”
Cai Zhao’s heart stirred, and she whispered, “Is that why you named that little courtyard ‘A Fleeting Splendor’?”
Mu Qingyan turned to her and nodded. “I will never compromise or endure humiliation for the sake of the bigger picture, as Father did. If I cannot restore justice and eradicate the Nie faction, I would rather my life end in an instant.”Han Yisu finally understood and laughed heartily, his mouth full of blood: "Good, good! What a resolute and indomitable Mu Shaojun! The Mu family truly deserves a day of resurgence!"
He looked at Mu Qingyan, "In my heart, you are ten thousand times better than that useless Nie Zhe. But alas, I must still avenge my master..."
By the time the last few words were spoken, Mu Qingyan had already sensed something amiss, but it was too late.
Han Yisu rolled with all his might, tumbling straight out the window and into the blood pool filled with corpse fragments and poisonous liquid. Enduring the agony of his flesh corroding, he groped along the base of the wall until his hands found a pull ring. With a forceful tug—
BOOM! A deafening explosion, as if the heavens had split and the earth shattered, shook everyone to the core.
Immediately, the underground chamber quaked violently. Iron walls cracked, the ground collapsed, and massive pillars toppled, throwing everyone off balance. It was clear the small inner chamber was about to cave in, and they would all fall into the blood pool below.
Amid the chaos, Mu Qingyan wrapped his arms around Cai Zhao and rolled toward a pitch-black opening on the side.
OpenNovel