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n“As soon as we see Ye Yunzhi, you should take the treasure map from her,” Zi Shang reminded Yun Jiuge.

n“Alright,” Yun Jiuge replied. She would never forget about the treasure map.

nThe night was still. High up in the skies, the full moon bathed the entire land in its soft glow.

nZi Shang and Yun Jiuge withdrew their respective auras and infiltrated the Mo Hua Peak by following the small footpath that led to the Hehuan Sect’s stronghold.

nMo Hua Peak was surrounded by an invisible force field that could detect any intrusion. If someone who did not possess the Inner Disciple’s Identity Amulet attempted to trespass, an alarm was triggered, and everyone in Mo Hua Peak was notified immediately.

nHowever, since Zi Shang was there with Yun Jiuge, she did not need to worry about this. The two of them slipped smoothly into Mo Hua Peak.

nSu Junqing’s cave-dwelling was located halfway up. The place was abundant with Spiritual Energy.

nThe cave-dwelling’s door was tightly shut. It was apparent that the owner was absent.

nAs soon as Yun Jiuge touched the door, she felt a strong force repelling her. “This cave-dwelling has a magical barrier that acts like a tripwire,” she cautioned.

nIf they insisted on breaking in, Su Junqing would discover their presence instantly.

n“It’s just a flimsy barrier. I can deactivate it,” Zi Shang replied. Since he was not deterred by the Hehuan Sect’s invisible force field, the barrier of this small cave-dwelling hardly fazed him.

nHe pressed his palm to the door and channeled purple mist into it.

nAfter that, the door swung open by itself.

nYun Jiuge entered the cave-dwelling directly. She did not forget to close the door behind her.

nSu Junqing had furnished his accommodations luxuriously. The floor was covered with thick, red carpet, while Luminous Pearls were embedded in the walls.

nThere were a total of three rooms in Su Junqing’s cave-dwelling.

nYun Jiuge checked each one, but she found no trace of Ye Yunzhi. She was somewhat surprised by this and asked Zi Shang, “Did Su Junqing take her to Ink Flower Palace?”

nElder Mo Hua was a hedonist. She’d created a palace within Mo Hua Peak for the sole purpose of sexual enjoyment. At Ink Flower Palace, the male and female disciples in her favor had their own rooms.

nHowever, the environment at Ink Flower Palace was unsuitable for cultivation. Therefore, these disciples usually spent more time in their own cave-dwellings, where they also stored their precious treasures.

nSu Junqing had only just established his position in the Yin Corpse Sect, so his female Yin Spiritual Corpse was attracting a lot of unwanted attention. He rarely brought out his Yin Corpse because he was afraid that others would covet it. Hence, it was unlikely that he would take Ye Yunzhi to Ink Flower Palace!

nZi Shang swept his eyes across the cave-dwelling and found that something amiss with a particular area of the walls. “There is a secret room hidden behind this wall,” he opined.

nThe Yin Qi that was emanating from this particular wall was extremely thick. Zi Shang was very confident that they would discover something unusual behind it.

nYun Jiuge randomly knocked on the wall. In a corner, she finally located the mechanism that opened the wall. It was a Luminous Pearl that needed to be pressed forcefully.

nThe walls silently slid open into two parts, exposing a beautifully decorated room.

nThe room was small. The only furniture in it was a large, redwood bed with cloud carvings. The red bed curtain was embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water and pictures of a harmonious union between a husband and a wife. Yun Jiuge and Zi Shang could make out a lady dressed in red palace clothing, lying on the bed.

nHowever, they could not sense any Life Energy coming from her. It was clear that this lady was a Yin Corpse, and there was a very strong possibility that she was Ye Yunzhi.

nYun Jiuge marched toward the large bed. She wanted to push aside the bed curtain and get a better look.

nAll of a sudden, the woman sprung up from the bed. She wanted to strangle Yun Jiuge with her hands, which had black fingernails. Her hands created small currents of Unholy Wind as they whooshed toward Yun Jiuge.

nYun Jiuge reacted quickly. She moved backward to dodge the Yin Corpse’s attack, then she retaliated with a Yin Palm Strike.

nHer palm glowed with gray Yin Light. Then, she struck the lady in the chest.

nWhile Yun Jiuge had never expected the lady to remain still and endure her blow, her Yin Palm Strike did not send the Yin Corpse flying. Instead, her palm remained firmly glued to the lady.

nThen, a stream of extremely cold Yin Energy invaded Yun Jiuge’s body through her palm, instantly freezing her in place.

nYun Jiuge could not move her body at all. She could only stare at that lady, helpless, as the long, black fingernails edged closer to her neck.

nWhen Zi Shang saw that Yun Jiuge was about to be injured, he finally intervened.

nHe raised his hand and shot out an orb of dense purple mist at the lady. It enveloped her entire body and suspended her in place, leaving only her head visible.

nAfter that, he smacked Yun Jiuge on the back to force the cold Yin Energy out of her body.

nYun Jiuge breathed out the cold Yin Energy. She shivered then regained control of her movements.

n“As expected, the Yin Spiritual Corpse’s power is amplified by her Yin Spiritual Body,” Zi Shang remarked. He was full of admiration as he gazed at this Yin Spiritual Corpse. Ye Yunzhi could use the Yin Qi in her body to counter-attack her opponent.

nIf he had not accompanied Yun Jiuge today, she definitely would have been at a considerable disadvantage.

nWhen Yun Jiuge spotted a red mole between the lady’s brows, she recognized her immediately. “Ye Yunzhi!” she cried.

nYe Yunzhi did not respond to her name being called. Her large, beautiful eyes gleamed viciously. She fixed her hungry gaze on Yun Jiuge and Zi Shang as if she were itching to rush forward and bite them.

n“Other people cannot provoke reactions from Yin Corpses. They only respond to their master’s command. I think that Su Junqing has ordered her to attack anyone who enters this room,” Zi Shang explained. Since he had been pretending to be a thousand-year-old Corpse for a long time now, he was well-versed in their emotions and behaviors.

n“Ye Yunzhi, do you still remember your brother, Ye Yu?” Yun Jiuge demanded. She was unwilling to give up. She took out a bronze key and twisted it open to reveal a sharp, glinting dagger.

nYe Yu had given this key to Yun Jiuge as a token that would authenticate her as someone who had earned his trust. She could also use this key to slice open Ye Yunzhi’s flesh and take the treasure map from her.

nWhen Ye Yunzhi saw the bronze key, she did not make any response. She was bent on freeing herself from the purple mist so that she could kill the intruders.

nAlthough Yun Jiuge already knew that things would end up this way, she could not help but feel very disappointed.

n“Hurry up and take the treasure map from her. If we stay here for too long, Su Junqing will sense that we are in his cave-dwelling. If he brings Elder Mo Hua here, it will be quite troublesome for us,” Zi Shang reminded Yun Jiuge.

nThe Elders of Yin Corpse Sect made for formidable opponents. If she and Zi Shang were exposed, they would not be able to stay in Yin Corpse Sect any longer.

n“Give her left arm to me,” Yun Jiuge ordered. Grudgingly, she abandoned her absurd idea. Since she could not help Ye Yunzhi regain consciousness, she planned to extract the treasure map from her instead.

nZi Shang gestured with his fingers, and the purple mist moved away from Ye Yunzhi’s left arm.

nYun Jiuge rolled up Ye Yunzhi’s sleeve and used the dagger determinedly to cut into her light skin. She’d never thought that she would recoil from an unknown force as soon as the blade touched Ye Yunzhi’s skin.

n“Utilize some of your Spiritual Energy,” Zi Shang advised.

nYun Jiuge infused the dagger with her Spiritual Energy and pierced Ye Yunzhi’s skin with all her might.

nShe felt as if she were stabbing a tanned cowhide. Once she’d made an opening in Ye Yunzhi’s skin, she could see that her flesh was completely black. Not even a drop of blood seeped out of the gash.

nRegardless of how much Ye Yunzhi resembled a living, breathing person, her body was already that of a Yin Corpse. Her flesh and bones were petrified, giving her the durability of steel.

n“Hmm. She is really an excellent Yin Corpse,” Zi Shang sighed ruefully.

nAn ordinary Yin Corpse would need to experience a few deadly trials before it could fortify its body to be as tough as steel.

nHowever, Ye Yunzhi had successfully obtained this strong body as soon as she’d been transformed into a Yin Corpse. Not only that, but she’d also automatically been able to use the cold Yin Qi in her body to attack her enemies without any additional commands. She would undoubtedly become more powerful over time.

nIt was no wonder that Su Junqing had fought tooth and nail to lead a team on an expedition to the secret realm. If he could acquire plenty of Human-faced Peaches, he could help Ye Yunzhi advance to the middle level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

nThis would allow him to gain a significant foothold in the Yin Corpse Sect.

nYun Jiuge did not share Zi Shang’s sentiments.

nOn the contrary, she was saddened by everything that had happened to Ye Yunzhi. When Ye Yunzhi had been alive, that contemptible man, Su Junqing, had caused the massacre of her entire family. She had not even been allowed to keep her child, as Su Junqing had forced her to abort her baby.

nAfter her death, Su Junqing had converted her remains into a Yin Corpse then compelled to protect him and fight on his behalf. Such a cruel twist of fate!

nYun Jiuge vowed to kill this heartless bastard and avenge Ye Yunzhi.

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