Chapter 76: The Horrifying Youming Sect

If Ye Feng’s only at this level, what’s with the Sword Immortal’s reputation as the world’s greatest? Xu Liangcai, barely in his twenties and already at late Foundation Establishment, was a top-tier talent in any sect. Without relying on pills like Whale Spine Dragon Elixir or Four Spirits Dragon Elixir…

The brief interruption passed. The pressure around Cheng Qingning dissipated, and she coughed up blood, gasping.

In the vast cave, many captives witnessed this, lowering their heads further, imagining the horrors awaiting them, their hearts ashen.

The Green-Eyed Ancestor, chanting incantations and forming seals, opened a narrow passage in the Youming Sect’s protective array, originally a dark wall. With a wave, he led them through a winding path deeper underground. Chu Huaizhou’s group effortlessly bypassed the array, entering the true Youming Sect!

The sunless depths, lit only by faint blue “Ghost Shadow Stones” embedded in jagged walls, felt suffocating. The air carried a nauseating mix of rotting corpses, sweet toxic plants, excrement, and a fermented blood-like stench.

Upon entering, Chu Huaizhou noticed something terrifying: the Youming Sect’s foundation was built on an unknown beast’s colossal skeleton. The sprawling outer tunnels were merely its palm bones.

As one of the Five Demonic Sects, the Youming Sect’s depth was undeniable—its scale immense. Fortunately, this was an infiltration mission. A direct clash might’ve led to a major setback.

Chu shed his playful demeanor, gazing at the hellish subterranean palace, growing serious. After entering, the Green-Eyed Ancestor didn’t linger. His gaze fell on Chu, chuckling “jie jie jie” before summoning Golden Core demonic cultivators to guide the group.

Before leaving, he tossed his storage ring, releasing countless black cloths that precisely covered every captive’s eyes. Ensuring no one escaped his spell, he cast another to blind them completely.

But before Bai Li, a master of illusions, it was useless. The Youming Sect’s protective array, designed to detect disguises, was no match for Bai Li, whose illusions rivaled reality, fooling it effortlessly.

No one could blame the sect’s defenses—who’d expect a Great Vehicle cultivator, a regional overlord, to infiltrate like this? Even Chu, thinking like a late Golden Core cultivator, hadn’t considered this, bringing his group along.

His disciple, Yin Ling, humored him, while Bai Li and Xia Baiqian would rather blast the array for days than resort to such methods. It was too humiliating for righteous sect elites, except in extreme cases.

Chu gazed at the endless, abyss-like Youming Sect, nodding inwardly. Finally in. Glancing at his companion and fox, he figured with their protection, he’d first uncover why the sect kidnapped so many.

In the game novel, the Five Demonic Sects were irredeemably evil, their crimes countless. But numbers on a screen lacked the visceral reality of wandering their lair.

Now, confirming the situation, Chu’s group, blindfolded, trudged forward, a faint stench wafting through. Indescribable, it evoked decay and primal fear of death—cold, oppressive, suffocating. Many weaker cultivators, smelling it, either vomited or fainted. Chu wrinkled his nose.

The Youming Sect reminded him of the Calamity Plague Emperor—hopefully no mythical horrors awaited. Recalling the Emperor’s grotesque form and eerie aura, he touched his storage ring, confidence surging. It held Xu Luoluo’s eighth-grade miracle pill and Leng Qingqiu’s gift, enough for several sword strikes.

Xia Baiqian and Bai Li, slightly weakened by the aura, showed minimal discomfort. Chu activated Mysterious Vault Clear Heart Jade Decree, bolstered by the Nine Nether Array, shielding him from the chilling aura without their help. Cheng Qingning, seeking safety, instinctively leaned toward Chu. Xia Baiqian, noticing, yanked him closer possessively. Bai Li, perched on his shoulder like an eagle, scanned for threats.

The growing horrors didn’t faze Xia Baiqian—she found them disgusting. The Youming Sect’s inhumane gu cultivation methods were beneath her refined gu dao.

Finally, through a narrow path, they reached a new, vast cave. Chu looked ahead: a winding trail stretched into the distance, endless. On both sides, massive pits were encircled by pale green demonic statues, each at Golden Core level. Each pit held roughly a thousand people—merchants, courtesans, vendors, scholars, all walks of life. Demonic beasts and Foundation Establishment cultivators were numerous, with a few Golden Core and even Nascent Soul cultivators among them! Hundreds of such pits lined the path.

“What the hell are these bastards planning…?”