Mo Shang and Wei Yue walked out of the stone chamber together. The passages outside formed a tangled maze. The two walked side by side, and as they moved, Mo Shang gently counseled her from time to time.
The two followed a slightly wider passage westward, and soon arrived at an open area-they emerged into an underground plaza.
The plaza spanned more than ten li, all paved with black stones five to six chi long and wide, an astonishing sight.
Unlike the dimness of the passages, the plaza lay open to the sky; looking up, one could see the gloomy sky overhead. Mo Shang stopped and looked at Wei Yue gently, saying, "If you feel bored, sit here for a while. I still have matters to attend to, so I'll leave first."
Wei Yue nodded, "Disciple understands. Take care, Master."
Mo Shang nodded, then headed toward the cave dwelling north of the plaza.
Wei Yue looked up at the gloomy sky, then sat down on a stone chair under a large tree in the corner of the plaza. She leaned back on the stone chair and stared blankly at the sky. She didn't like staying in the dark stone chamber and would come here almost every day to get some air.
From time to time, figures would pass through the plaza, but upon seeing Wei Yue sitting there, they would avoid her from afar, not even daring to glance her way.
Mo Shang entered a giant stone hall carved with deities, demons, and specters directly north of the plaza. On the plaque above the hall's entrance were carved the three characters 'Corpse Sect Hall'. Inside the hall, there were five stone chairs on both the left and right sides, and three in the northernmost part.
The middle chair was the largest, with two slightly smaller ones on either side.
Mo Shang went straight to the slightly smaller stone chair to the right of the large chair and called out in a somber voice, "Come here."
As his words fell, the black-clothed guard outside the hall door on the right immediately hurried inside, knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and said respectfully, "Please instruct, Great Elder!"
"Have Wu Qi come see me."
"Yes." The guard said no more, stood up, and kept his head lowered as he backed away, only turning around after reaching the hall entrance and quickly running toward the eastern side of the square.
Not long after, a tall, slender man in black clothes with a purple fanged mask hurriedly rushed in. After entering the hall, he bowed slightly and said calmly, "Wu Qi awaits the Great Elder's instructions."
The Seven Martial Wraiths were the elite among the elite of the Corpse Sect disciples. The lowest cultivation level among them was at least the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, and each possessed the ability to fight ten opponents at once, remain undefeated against cultivators of the same realm, and even kill those beyond their own stage.
Mo Shang's expression remained unchanged, as if only in front of Wei Yue did he seem human. He took out a dusty-looking jade token and threw it to Wu Qi, saying in a deep voice, "There are two targets, the stronger one is only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. Bring the old one back alive, kill the young one... Any questions?"
"I accept the command!" Wu Qi's voice showed no fluctuation. He bowed again and turned to leave.
Elsewhere.
On a lush grassland somewhere in the Endless Marsh, Lu Li and Wu De were fleeing desperately. Their hair was a mess, and grass clung to them from head to toe. Both looked utterly wretched.
Behind them, a giant centipede as thick as a water bucket, five to six zhang long, and pitch black all over, was relentlessly chasing them.
It had all begun rather comically.
Just yesterday, the two had encountered a group of Great Marsh Centipedes, but their strength wasn't too high. The two killed their way through, easily collecting forty or fifty Great Marsh Centipede corpses, and the more they killed, the more invigorated they became.
But just as they were rejoicing, a pitch-black head suddenly reared up ahead, its crimson eyes fixed on them as though they were its mortal enemies.
Lu Li felt something was terribly wrong and turned to flee, but was pulled back by Wu De, who insisted that this thing was just a bit bigger, had no spiritual intelligence, and was especially valuable.
Saying this, Wu De charged at the giant centipede. Unexpectedly, its long tail whipped out, immediately sending Wu De flying back, also knocking Lu Li two to three zhang away.
Lu Li turned again to flee, but was once more pulled back by Wu De, who grinned and said, "I'm fine! This old man will lure it, you attack from behind."
Lu Li was furious, "If I hadn't been your cushion, would it not have hurt you?!" But seeing Wu De holding up his turtle shell and charging again, Lu Li had no choice but to pull out his big black axe, waiting for an opportunity to ambush.
Finally finding a chance, he swung his axe down on the giant centipede's tail, but it was like striking steel-a loud 'clang', sparks flying everywhere. The giant centipede flew into a rage and whipped its tail violently, sending Lu Li flying back over ten zhang, breaking several of his ribs.
That was enough for him. He turned and fled.
Wu De immediately wore an expression of disappointment and frustration, shouting, "This thing has no spiritual intelligence at all! Why are you running like a coward?!"
But with Lu Li gone, he was unable to hold out alone. Sighing, he also turned and ran. In his view, as long as he escaped one or two li, this beast would definitely stop chasing.
Who would have thought that this creature would chase them relentlessly, pursuing them all the way until now.
Even when the two occasionally used Swift Travel Talismans, they could only shake it off briefly. This giant beast seemed to have eyes planted on them, and moments later it could accurately track them down again.
"Old man, didn't you say this thing has no spiritual intelligence?!" Lu Li's mouth was twisted with anger as he ran, inwardly cursing. Fortunately, although this thing was strong, its speed wasn't too fast. As long as Lu Li used his movement technique or talismans, he could temporarily escape it.
"How would I know? This creature might have mutated." Wu De had a crying expression, looking utterly unlucky.
"I've had it with you!"
Lu Li was speechless, thinking this wasn't a solution either. Movement techniques consumed too much True Qi, and his mid-grade Swift Travel Talismans were almost gone. Could he really use his high-grade talismans? Each one cost three hundred True Essence Pills; thinking about it made him reluctant.
Enough.
He looked back at the giant centipede behind him, its hundred legs churning, like dozens of oarsmen pulling in unison, and made a difficult decision. As he ran, he turned his head to look at Wu De beside him, "Old man, do you have any high-grade talismans?"
"No, this old man has nothing left but the clothes on his back." Wu De was full of regret. If he'd known earlier, he wouldn't have provoked this giant behind them. If this thing kept chasing relentlessly, he'd be exhausted to death.
"None?" Lu Li's mouth curled, "I have some!"
"You have!" Wu De's face lit up, "Quick, quick, throw a few at it! This old man really can't hold on anymore."
"Heh, first tell me, how much is this big guy worth?"
His main hesitation earlier was worrying that this thing wasn't worth much, plus its shell was too hard, fearing that even his high-grade talismans couldn't injure it.
Wu De immediately understood Lu Li's thoughts and said urgently, "Don't hesitate! Even a normal high-grade Great Marsh Centipede is worth two thousand True Essence Pills. And this one's mutated, worth at least four or five thousand."
Lu Li heard this and immediately started calculating.
Two thousand True Essence Pills were equivalent to seven high-grade talismans. That meant as long as he could solve it with seven high-grade talismans, he wouldn't lose too much.
But if he couldn't solve it, it would be like throwing them away.
Wu De also saw Lu Li's hesitation and said frankly, "Kid, this old man really can't hold on anymore. Let me be honest with you: although high-grade talismans can't blow it up to death, they can stun it. A Great Marsh Centipede's weak point lies beneath its jaw. You stun it, and this old man can take the opportunity to stab it to death."
"And, and this old man won't ask for a share of the corpse. This Great Marsh Centipede corpse is all yours! How about it!" By this point, Wu De was already panting heavily.
"Deal!"
Hearing Wu De say this, Lu Li didn't waste any more words. While running desperately, he raised his hand and grabbed five Explosive Talismans, holding them in his hand: "Enough?"