Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Mysterious Jade Statue

The Treasure-Seeking Rat was remarkably capable. It was intimately familiar with the Demon Abyss’s environment, knowing with perfect clarity where masters were hidden and where patrols were stationed.

Under its guidance, the group entered the core area of the Demon Abyss with an ease they found almost unbelievable.

In the core area, sprawling mountain ranges were dotted with clusters of blood-colored palaces. Powerful masters stood guard within, and even Disciples of the Demon Abyss were forbidden from entering unless they held a prestigious status.

But a few outsiders, not even at the True Essence Realm, had waltzed right in. If the masters of the Demon Abyss ever found out, they would probably spit up several liters of blood in sheer rage!

Of course, this was all thanks to the Treasure-Seeking Rat’s mysterious grandfather. He seemed to know exactly where the masters were stationed and had dug tunnels to bypass them.

"AHH...!!"

As the six of them ventured deeper into the core area, a series of shrill, tragic screams rang out, one after another.

The screams were filled with terror, despair, and the agony of a fate worse than death.

The Treasure-Seeking Rat said to Ye Wushuang, "The Disciples of the Demon Abyss are using living people for their Cultivation!"

"Using living people for Cultivation?"

Ye Wushuang’s brow furrowed. He immediately followed the Treasure-Seeking Rat again, moving stealthily along the mountainsides to avoid the masters’ detection.

The screams grew clearer and clearer. As they passed by a palace, Ye Wushuang chanced a glance inside and froze, his pupils constricting.

Ye Rou and the other two women came forward and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Don’t look!"

Ye Wushuang quickly spun around, positioning himself in front of the three women.

"Wh-what is it?" The three women were bewildered. They had rarely seen Ye Wushuang with such a grave expression, which made them incredibly curious. ’What is it we can’t look at?’

Jian Bufan and Qiu Mo also came forward. Tilting their heads slightly, they peered through a crack in the palace doors with puzzled expressions.

Instantly, their expressions changed as well.

"Beasts!"

Qiu Mo had spat out the single word in a rage, and an uncontrollable killing intent erupted from him.

At the same time, a terrifying and unfamiliar Divine Sense swept out from the palace.

Ye Wushuang sensed it, and his expression changed. "Rein it in, now!" he barked.

Hearing this, Qiu Mo snapped back to his senses and hastily withdrew his killing intent.

The rest of the group also quickly concealed their auras.

The terrifying Divine Sense swept over the area once more before finally retreating.

The group was drenched in cold sweat from the scare. That Divine Sense belonged to someone at least in the Spiritual Spring Realm. If they had been discovered, they could have forgotten about leaving here alive today.

However, Ye Wushuang had no intention of blaming Qiu Mo. Any red-blooded person would have been enraged by the bloody scene inside the palace.

The entire palace reeked of blood, just like a slaughterhouse.

People being flayed alive!

Hearts being gouged out!

Limbs being severed!

...

All sorts of inhuman methods of death were on full display in that palace, enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.

This was beyond what any human was capable of; even beasts were probably incapable of such cruelty.

No wonder Ye Wushuang hadn’t let the three women look.

Jian Bufan and Qiu Mo now understood his actions as well.

"Those people must be Disciples from the various Major Influences," Jian Bufan said, his face grim. "They clearly all suffered horrible deaths!"

"This fucking Demon Abyss is just raising a pack of beasts! I swear, I’m going to slaughter them all!" Qiu Mo said furiously.

"Let’s go. This must be one of the Demon Abyss’s secrets. If they find out we’ve discovered it, they’ll do everything in their power to kill us."

Ye Wushuang glanced at the three curious women and led them away. Subsequently, they passed several other palaces that all contained similar bloody scenes, and the group grew numb to the sight.

Following the Treasure-Seeking Rat, they twisted and turned, bypassing the patrolling Demon Abyss Disciples until the six of them finally appeared behind a palace.

On the other side of the palace was a Desolate Mountain. The Treasure-Seeking Rat pointed at it and said joyfully, "The great treasure is inside the Desolate Mountain! Let’s hurry!"

With that, the Treasure-Seeking Rat was about to rush over.

However, Ye Wushuang immediately stopped it. Before the Treasure-Seeking Rat could ask why, two young men in brown Battle Armor walked down from the Desolate Mountain.

"Damn it, some piece of shit actually dared to steal a treasure from our Demon Abyss. He must be tired of living. If I get my hands on him, I’ll flay him alive."

"Fuck! Flaying him alive would be getting off easy. Because of him, I got slapped by Elder Xie Xiao! If I catch him, I’ll skin him alive and pull out his tendons. I’ll use his blood for lamp oil, I swear it."

"Right, why did Elder Xie Xiao hit you?"

"I don’t know. I heard his son got killed, so he’s in a thunderous rage, lashing out at anyone he sees. Damn, a few guys have already died. I was one of the lucky ones!"

"Fuck! To dare kill Xie Yun... that guy has some serious nerve!"

"Alright, let’s just guard this area properly. We can’t let Elder Xie Xiao catch us slacking again."

The two talked as they stood guard at the foot of the Desolate Mountain.

Seeing this, the faces of Ye Wushuang and his group turned grim. Both young men were at the True Essence Third Layer. With the two of them blocking the way, there was no way for them to get near the Desolate Mountain.

If they tried to force their way through and alerted the powerful experts nearby, they would face certain death.

Ye Wushuang thought for a moment, then said to Jian Bufan, "You draw their attention. I’ll kill them."

"Alright!"

Jian Bufan understood Ye Wushuang’s plan and nodded.

Then, Ye Wushuang turned to the others, who looked nervous. "Qing’er, you all stand guard and watch for anyone else approaching."

"Don’t worry, Brother Ye."

Yang Qing’er nodded. They were deep in the heart of the Demon Abyss’s lair; the slightest mistake would mean death for all of them. They couldn’t afford to be careless in the slightest.

Hearing this, Ye Wushuang’s figure vanished into the void.

Jian Bufan glanced at the others and walked out.

The two youths who had been talking spotted Jian Bufan’s figure and immediately went on alert.

’I’ve never seen this person before. Could he be the thief?’ Staring at Jian Bufan, the two guards exchanged a look.

"Who are you?" one of the youths asked probingly.

"Take a guess," Jian Bufan said with a faint smile, flicking the corner of his robe. He appeared completely dashing and composed.

’Take a guess?’

The two youths were stunned for a moment before flying into a rage. "The hell we will! Are you looking for death, kid?"

With that, the two youths menacingly closed in.

SWISH!

They had only taken a single step when, to their right, a tiny point of light pierced through the void. The light grew clearer, revealing the tip of a sword.

An Ancient Sword flashed into view!

PFFT!

The Ancient Sword struck to kill, arriving like a flash of lightning. In an instant, it had pierced through one of the youth’s throats.

A spray of blood splattered across the other youth’s cheek. It felt warm and wet, but the sensation sent a deathly chill through his entire body.

The youth wiped the blood from his cheek. When he saw it, his pupils constricted.

"You..."

He turned his head and saw a white-robed figure, like the Shadow Killing Emperor himself, stepping out of the void. He prepared to scream in alarm.

But the Life-Taking Sword instantly pierced through his throat.

RUMBLE!

Ye Wushuang opened his Dantian and pulled the two corpses inside before signaling for Qiu Mo and the three women to come over.

The group’s figures quickly vanished from the spot and entered the Desolate Mountain.

Following the Treasure-Seeking Rat, the group entered a cave that stretched downward. After more than ten minutes, they arrived in a large space, seven to eight hundred meters wide.

"The great treasure is here!" The Treasure-Seeking Rat’s voice suddenly rang out in Ye Wushuang’s mind.

Ye Wushuang looked in the direction of the Treasure-Seeking Rat, and a Blood-Colored Jade Statue came into view.