novelraw Chapter 961: The Most Wonderful Misunderstanding, The Biggest Trap
Chapter 961: The Most Wonderful Misunderstanding, The Biggest Trap
Mu Hanyan suddenly realized that her life force was continuing to wane. Clearly, casting the Death Spirit Soul-binding Technique while severely injured was at the cost of her lifespan. However, strangely enough, unlike Yue Ji and Nian An Yao, she did not age rapidly. If it weren’t for the tragic distortion on her face, she would still be just as enchanting as before.Upon closer inspection, Mu Hanyan understood why. Besides her life force diminishing, her strength was also steadily declining. It turned out she had been sacrificing her cultivation to maintain her appearance.
Zhao Lingxian laughed wildly and began chanting the spell again.
Another skeleton emerged from the ground, raising the rusted longsword in its hand to slash at Mu Hanyan. At the same time, the skeleton exploded fiercely, and the sword power within the longsword doubled.
This time, Zirong and Jiang Yuzhe were prepared and simultaneously threw their Heavenly Flying Immortal, and Mu Hanyan was no exception.
With a muffled "Boom," that rusted sword shattered into pieces. The three Heavenly Flying Immortal swords sealed with the Third Stage Sword Master cultivation of Mu Hanyan were not weaker than the opponent’s self-destructive residual soul sword.
However, the powerful impact from the rusted sword’s explosion still pushed Mu Hanyan back more than ten steps.
"Young Master, are you alright?" Zirong, Jiang Yuzhe, and Zhang Chihua rushed over at the same time to support Mu Hanyan and asked with concern.
"I’m fine." Mu Hanyan took a deep breath and said.
It was then she noticed that after killing the last Death Spirit Sword Slave, Huayue stood motionless, as if petrified.
Could something have happened? Mu Hanyan worried silently, but in such a critical situation, she couldn’t afford to be concerned about him.
As Zhao Lingxian chanted, nine more skeletons emerged from the ground, slowly advancing towards Mu Hanyan and the others.
"Damn it, what’s with all these skeletons here?" Jiang Yuzhe’s face changed dramatically, and he cursed aloud.
"If I’m not mistaken, these were once strong individuals who ventured into the ruins. They probably all died at the hands of that Divine Beast," Mu Hanyan said.
Previously, she was puzzled—no matter how secretive these ancient relics were, no matter how strong the seal, how could tens of thousands of years pass without someone discovering them?
Now, Mu Hanyan understood that these ancient relics had indeed been discovered before, but all who found them perished within.
Of course, their life or death had nothing to do with Mu Hanyan, but those who made it here were not weaklings. The weakest among them were at least Great Sword Master level, possibly even Sword Saint Realm experts. So, their residual souls were much stronger than ordinary cultivators, giving them the opportunity to be used by Zhao Lingxian and turned into Death Spirit Sword Slaves.
Even though these Death Spirit Sword Slaves had undergone the enhancement of evil techniques and had not fully restored their strength, under Zhao Lingxian’s control, their self-destructive residual souls could unleash at least Fifth Rank Sword Master’s sword power.
Now, with Xia Youchen’s strength not restored, Fen Qianji severely injured, and Mu Hanyan herself not having had the chance to regain her Qi, Huayue, who had transformed into a killing demon, was also petrified. No one could withstand these seven fearless Death Spirit Sword Slaves.
Escape! It was the only option Mu Hanyan could think of.
Given Zhao Lingxian’s current condition, she likely would have no opportunity to target the Divine Beast anymore. Even if they escaped, it wouldn’t benefit her. At this point, even if she had to abandon the Divine Beast, Mu Hanyan had no regrets.
However, Ye Lanfeng was still in that space rift, and it was unclear if he was injured. If he emerged heavily wounded and encountered these Death Spirit Sword Slaves, wouldn’t that cause harm to him?
At this moment, Mu Hanyan was caught in a dilemma, feeling overwhelmed with confusion.
Seeing the hesitation on Mu Hanyan’s face, Zhao Lingxian’s expression became smug again. Although Mu Hanyan had caused her plans to fail once more and even caused her significant loss of lifespan, forcing her to sacrifice her cultivation to preserve her appearance, as long as she stayed alive, there was a chance to turn things around.
As for the Divine Beast, once she left, it would easily escape her Netherworld Dragon Sealing Technique. If she couldn’t have it, Mu Hanyan wouldn’t have any chance either. After all, her success in trapping it was based on the Heaven and Earth Power of the Divine Continent, and the fact that it was at a critical moment of Nirvana Rebirth when it was the weakest. At another time, even with her strength increased tenfold, it wouldn’t have been possible.
After today, if Mu Hanyan dared to covet it again, she would surely die without a trace left.
As Zhao Lingxian secretly felt pleased, three more figures appeared at the entrance, their expressions suddenly changed: Who were these people?
Mu Hanyan heard footsteps and looked back, also shocked.
The Fifth Prince, Nian An Yao, Qu Fengting—how did these guys arrive?
Although she knew they wouldn’t give up easily, in Mu Hanyan’s mind, they had suffered a major setback and should have hesitated and thought it over before committing. But she didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly.
What Mu Hanyan didn’t know was that Nian An Yao and the others actually arrived a bit earlier than she anticipated. Just after Mu Hanyan and the others entered the underground cave, which was the Divine Beast’s lair, the three of them entered the palace. However, fearing to alert Mu Hanyan, they didn’t follow too closely.
They also discovered the cave entrance and then heard the sounds of battle within, guessing that Mu Hanyan’s group might have encountered formidable opponents. They were extremely excited, thinking they had a better chance at the relic than Mu Hanyan, which required no further explanation of the adversary’s power.
This time, Mu Hanyan surely hit a hard wall. But Mu Hanyan was no pushover either. Even Nian An Yao, who exhibited beastly heart-level power comparable to a Sword Saint, wasn’t his match. The opponent might not easily deal with him either.
The final result was likely to be a double defeat. After a brief discussion, they decided to play the role of fishermen waiting to reap the benefits.
When the fighting inside gradually subsided, they knew their chance as fishermen had arrived, so they rushed over without delay.
"Do you think Mu Hanyan is dead?" On their way through the passage, the Fifth Prince eagerly asked.
"Even if he’s not dead, he should be on the brink," Nian An Yao confidently replied.
"Heh, wonder what kind of surprise Mu Hanyan will show when he sees us?" The Fifth Prince fantasized about Mu Hanyan being severely injured, helplessly watching as he captured the Divine Beast, then crying out in despair, almost laughing at the thought.
"It’s bound to be quite a surprise, probably so surprising he’d want to cry," Nian An Yao said, feeling triumphant.
Beside him, Qu Fengting also wore a sly grin.
The light at the entrance grew brighter, and the group found themselves at the entrance of the underground cave. There, they saw Mu Hanyan caught in a dilemma and the triumphant, albeit severely injured, Fourth Miss Zhao.
Their faces lit up with joy once again. Though they hadn’t been inside long, these individuals had sharp minds. Observing the scene and thinking it over, they quickly understood what was going on.
Indeed, as expected, someone had left footprints before Mu Hanyan entered. Although Mu Hanyan wasn’t as wounded as they anticipated, he was clearly exhausted and barely had the strength to fight.
Meanwhile, the woman they didn’t know had used some evil technique to summon a group of skeletons to fight for her, yet ended up with a disfigured, wounded face.
This was precisely the double defeat they hoped for. They glanced between Mu Hanyan and Zhao Lingxian, wishing they could burst into laughter at such a scene.
Truly, retribution comes inevitably for the wicked. Their times of misfortune were finally upon them. Now, they could assert themselves and give Mu Hanyan a harsh lesson.
"Haha..." The Fifth Prince couldn’t help but laugh out twice at Mu Hanyan, preparing to utter something along the lines of "Mu Hanyan, today is your reckoning," but before he could finish, Mu Hanyan interrupted.
"What are you laughing at? Where the hell were you and why are you just getting here now? Get moving!" Mu Hanyan furrowed her refined brows and shouted angrily.
(Deep down, many people probably dream of being a villain because quite a few enjoy rooting for the final boss. Haha. If you could choose to be a villain, what kind would you be? I think being a principled villain, likable despite their wrongs, would probably make one quite popular.)