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nThe unilluminated basement had a sinister air. When Ye Jiuge stretched out her hand, she could not see her five fingers. A cold draft blew out of nowhere, making her blood run cold.

nYe Jiuge retrieved a lighter. She was about to ignite it when a sudden gust of cold, dark wind rushed towards the back of her head. She raised her hand and immediately countered it with a stream of purple Spiritual Light.

nBam!

nThe two forces met. Countless streams of Spiritual Light erupted from the impact.

nYe Jiuge felt a wicked sensation seeping into her body through her palm, smashing her five viscera and six bowels like a heavy hammer. She could not help but take a few steps back. Blood surged up violently and frothed in her throat.

nFortunately, Wan Ziyang had quick reflexes. He shot multiple fireballs at the shadow ambushing Ye Jiuge. Meanwhile, Bai Songling’s green vines wrapped around Ye Jiuge and lifted her behind him to safety.

nYe Jiuge swallowed the blood in her throat. With the assistance of the light from Wan Ziyang’s fire attacks, she discovered that she had been ambushed by a tall, thin man dressed in black. He had sadistic hooded eyes and sharp cheekbones. His drooping eyelids slanted in a way that obscured the actual shape of his eyes. His pallid hands glowed faintly with a black light. Every time he performed a certain gesture with his hands, a gust of unholy wind was summoned. Needless to say, he was the one who had hurt Ye Yu.

n“Are you alright?” Bai Songling asked worriedly when he saw Ye Jiuge’s pale lips.

n“I’m fine.” Ye Jiuge swallowed one Nine Transformations Resurrection Pill. Immediately, her blood stopped churning.

nWhen Bai Songling saw Ye Jiuge’s ashen complexion recover so rapidly, he knew that the medicinal pill she had consumed was unusual. After that, he went to Wan Ziyang’s aid without any hesitation.

nThe man in black had attained an exceptionally high level of cultivation. Not only that, but his moves were bizarre. The unholy winds that came from him could not only extinguish Wan Ziyang’s fireballs, but they could also stop Bai Songling’s vines.

nWhile Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling’s combined forces were strong enough for protection, they fell short of being able to defeat the man in black.

nYe Jiuge could not ascertain what kind of Spiritual Root the man in black possessed. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—none of these seemed right.

n“This man practices Black Magic!” Zi Shang’s voice, laced with slight tiredness, suddenly rang out beside Ye Jiuge’s ear.

n“Are you awake?” Ye Jiuge asked, pleasantly surprised.

nShe had expected Zi Shang to behave like last time and sleep for a few days before waking.

n“How could I continue sleeping with the knowledge that you are badly hurt?” The wicked sensation assailing Ye Jiuge’s body had startled Zi Shang awake.

n“Then quickly help me think of a way to defeat this sorcerer,” said Ye Jiuge.

nIf this dragged on, she feared that the guards upstairs would come down and surround them, making it difficult to save Ye Ruyi.

n“Let me use a drop of your blood.”

nAs soon as Zi Shang finished speaking, Ye Jiuge felt a prick on her finger. A drop of fresh blood glimmered in the purple light and flew towards the man in black. It struck the area between his brows.

nThe sorcerer’s sadistic hooded eyes widened suddenly. His entire body was paralyzed on the spot. Wan Ziyang saw his chance and intensified the fire in his hands. He landed a punch squarely on the man in black’s chest. Immediately, Bai Songling’s spikey green vines wrapped around the assailant’s arms and legs, pinning him to the wall.

n“Ah, ah, ah!” moaned the sorcerer in agony as he struggled in pain.

nBai Songling stepped forward and gagged his mouth with vines.

n“Is my blood actually this powerful?” Ye Jiuge’s eyes widened. If so, hadn’t the blood she’d bled in the past been wasted?

n“It is not your blood that is powerful, but me,” replied Zi Shang.

nHe had exerted a great deal of demonic energy to invoke the power in Ye Jiuge’s blood. Should she try to do it alone, even if she used a basin of blood, it would be useless.

n“There is no need for you to explain. No matter what, my blood is powerful.” It seemed that, during her free time, she should store up her own blood for future emergencies.

n“This Spectral Sorcerer practices Black Magic using the grudges of the dead. As long as we use an object of the living that as masculine energy, we can defeat him. Since I could not find such an object in this moment, I used your blood.” Zi Shang was forced to reveal this truth to prevent Ye Jiuge, a money-grubber, from selling her valuable blood.

n“Which of your snake eyes saw me as ‘masculine’?”

nEven though her breasts are small, she is a woman through and through, okay?

n“I know that you refuse to admit it. It’s alright. After I knead them some more in the future, they will soften.” Zi Shang flashed her a dirty smile.

nF*ck your softness!

nYe Jiuge did not have time to quarrel with Zi Shang. Right now, her top priority was to interrogate the man in black.

n“Speak. Where did you imprison the Ye Clan’s Fourth Miss?” Ye Jiuge walked over to the sorcerer and stepped on his wrist, which was gored by spikes.

nTo her surprise, the man in black did not even groan. Instead, he smiled eerily. The evil glint from his sadistic hooded eyes caused goosebumps to rise on her skin.

nYe Jiuge could tell that this sorcerer was as stubborn as a mule. Instead of wasting time trying to force him to answer, she decided to search for the secret chamber herself.

nWan Ziyang and Bai Songling had the same thought, so they went around the basement, tapping on every surface.

nIt was not long before Ye Jiuge detected something amiss with a floor tile. She pushed it down with force. The row of tiles flipped over to reveal a dark passage. A pungent smell of blood pervaded the air.

n“I will go first and take a look. You two keep an eye on that guy,” said Wan Ziyang before his companions could say anything.

n“Alright. Please be careful.” Bai Songling nodded. The man in black had many tricks up his sleeve; someone needed to stay behind to watch over him.

nWhen Wan Ziyang emerged from below, he did not react for a long time.

nFinally, Ye Jiuge blurted out, “What is the situation down there?”

n“There are many corpses!” Wan Ziyang’s tone did not conceal his shock and fury.

nFor a moment, Ye Jiuge’s heart stopped. Then, she descended the black staircase and was struck dumb by the scene before her eyes.

nThe stone chamber was entirely filled with the naked corpses of young girls. They were tossed together in a pile, discarded like trash. The floor was completely drenched with blood. In the dim light, the glistening gore was horrifying.

nThe oldest girl was fifteen. The youngest was seven. Every one of their anguished faces

nwas frozen in terror. Scars covered their naked bodies. Their wrists were mutilated to the point that they could not even bleed.

nYe Jiuge shuddered uncontrollably. She recalled the contents of the letter which Ye Yunzhi had written to Ye Yu. She had mentioned that Su Junqing needed fresh virgin blood to practice his Mental Manipulation. All along, he had been using the blood of young girls for his practice and had established the Drunken Cloud Pavilion in order to procure them through trade.

n“Su Junqing!” Wan Ziyang paused after every word as if he was going to tear these two words into pieces with his teeth. His expression was extremely frightening.

nYe Jiuge calmed herself down. She moved forward and quickly looked over the corpses. Ye Ruyi was not among them.

nYe Yunzhi had written that Su Junqing typically saved the girl with the best attributes for last. He would not have touched Ye Ruyi so soon.

n“There is one more secret room in this place. Behind the third oil lamp to your left,” said Zi Shang without being prompted.

nYe Jiuge hurried towards the wall to her left. She snatched the third oil lamp and turned it downwards forcefully. The walls parted, revealing a tiny hidden area.

nA stone bed was placed in the secret room. A beautiful young lady was lying on it.

nShe had fair skin and delicate facial features. She was dressed in a vermillion satin gown sewn with gold threads depicting hundreds of butterflies fluttering over blooming flowers. A pair of cream-colored satin shoes embroidered with pearls were on her feet. A golden necklace was clasped around her neck, and she wore two golden bracelets on her wrists. The make-up on her face was applied flawlessly. She looked like a gift that had been decorated with the utmost care.

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