"Hah... Haha!... Hahaha!"

The blonde woman burst into laughter.

"You people are all the same! As expected, demonic cultivators never change."

"How could the orders of those old monsters ever work? How could people like you willingly obey them?"

There was unmistakable gloating in her voice.

Clearly, she was delighted to see Elder Xia, the man who had previously humiliated her, die such a miserable death at the hands of one of his own "allies."

However, the laughter did not last for long.

The moment she noticed Chen Xuan’s gaze settle on her, the smile on her face gradually faded.

A bitter expression surfaced, and she gave a wry smile.

Then, as though arriving at a decision, she suddenly raised her hand toward her abdomen.

Spiritual Energy surged into her palm.

It was not to attack Chen Xuan. Instead, she directed her power inward, aiming directly at her own Dantian and Nascent Soul.

Believing that she would suffer a fate far greater than death if she were to fall into the hands of a demonic cultivator, she took the opportunity to end her own life.

Just as her palm was about to strike, a black-and-white barrier materialized over her abdomen.

Bang!

The impact landed heavily against the Yin-Yang energy. Yet the barrier didn’t even tremble.

The woman’s pupils contracted. She immediately wanted to try again with even further force, but it was already too late.

Chen Xuan had appeared beside her.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and pressed his foot against her chest, pinning her firmly to the ground.

Combined with the black net trapping her, he fully blocked her movements.

Then, maintaining the cold demeanor of a demonic cultivator, he spoke indifferently.

"Why rush toward death? You’re far more valuable alive than dead."

His gaze swept across her. After a brief pause, he added:

"Since you managed to reach this place, you should know what’s happening here. Speak. If your answer satisfies me, I might consider letting you leave."

A flicker of surprise crossed the woman’s eyes.

Not only because of her sudden actions, but also because of the content of his questions.

For someone who had reached this chamber, his understanding of the situation seemed strangely lacking.

Even so, she said nothing. She simply turned her head away, as though she had resolved not to utter a single word.

Silence shrouded the room. Moments passed.

Chen Xuan did not repeat his question.

He continued pressing down on her chest with his while allowing traces of demonic energy to leak from his body, steadily increasing the pressure within the chamber.

Perhaps it was the pain. Or perhaps his earlier promise had given her a sliver of hope. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

No matter what, several moments later, she finally gritted her teeth.

"Okay! You win! I’ll talk!" she said, her inner frustration clear.

"You should’ve heard what that old monster said earlier. This place is... a tomb. The burial ground of a Soul Formation ancestor from the Undead King Sect."

Saying this, the woman paused briefly.

"After his death, he somehow discovered this place and sealed himself in here, hoping to use the dense Death Qi to revive."

"This was originally a secret, and he left no way for his sect to discover him."

"But several months ago, someone leaked information about the tomb to the Undead King Sect. After investigating, they confirmed it was true."

"And so, they came."

As she spoke, her eyes drifted toward the Nascent Soul corpse puppets. They wandered for a while before settling on the bronze bell lying beside Elder Xia’s corpse.

"These corpses serve as ritual materials. Using their flesh and that bronze bell, this guy hoped to awaken his ancestor and refine him into a corpse puppet."

A trace of disdain appeared on her face. She sneered.

"Now, all of these have fallen into your hands."

"The Undead King Sect might have never expected something like this to happen. They spent months plotting all of this, only to hand the final reward to someone else."

Her explanation sounded outrageous.

Yet the more Chen Xuan thought about it, the more it aligned with his own observations.

It also explained the disasters spreading throughout the eastern region.

Clearly, they were not natural phenomena, but the result of the Undead King Sect gathering the required sacrifices.

However, the explanation also made him feel something amiss.

Not because of the story itself, but because this all simply made too much sense.

The woman had spoken too easily. Every detail fit together perfectly, as though it had been prepared in advance.

Chen Xuan sensed something.

Focusing on the woman, he secretly activated Heavenly Insight Eye.

A moment later, his expression changed.

"Idiot!"

The curse escaped his mouth almost immediately.

His Nascent Soul opened his eyes and pointed its finger toward the heavens.

Spiritual Energy erupted as magic weapons, Great Origin Daos, and spells were activated one after another.

Just as he was halfway through that motion, the blonde woman—Su Tianyi—moved.

The Holy Fire Cult’s Holy Maiden no longer looked like a powerless captive.

A golden scepter materialized in her hand.

The gem perched on its town shone with a sacred radiance, bathing her flawless features in divine light.

For an instant, she looked holy and majestic.

Spiritual Energy surged toward the scepter from every direction.

The entire chamber was instantly drained dry within a split second.

The same occurred for the cave outside, followed by the entire Dread Forest.

A speck of golden light formed above the gem.

It rapidly expanded, growing brighter and brighter until it resembled a miniature sun.

The scepter trembled. Then...

Boom!

A pillar of golden light erupted forward.

Shockingly, its target was not Chen Xuan, but the giant coffin behind him.

Or rather, the black chains binding it.

Crack!! Crack!!

Boom!

Cracking sounds echoed, followed by a loud explosion.

One chain after another shattered beneath the beam’s power.

The entire underground cavern trembled violently, causing dust to scatter everywhere.

As the final chain broke and silence would return, a hand emerged from the darkness within the coffin.

Its gray fingers gripped the lid. Rather casually, it pushed the lid aside.

Two sinister green eyes were revealed.

Seeing them and feeling the extraordinary aura that far surpassed the Nascent Soul realm, Chen Xuan’s expression darkened.

"Crazy woman! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Do you want us to die both?"

He really wished to beat that woman up. Unfortunately, he had no time to do so.

Seemingly slowly but actually extremely fast, the figure lying within the coffin began to rise.