Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 740 - 739: The Substitute 2

The Earth Spirit Pearl had perfectly preserved Saintess Xing Huan in this manner; ever since the coffin had been buried, no one had been able to open the coffin nor had they been able to see Xing Huan’s true visage. Therefore, the claim that her body was incorrupt was, in fact, a kind-hearted conjecture.

The winged natives could never allow outsiders to open the coffin and take the Earth Spirit Pearl; this wasn’t a matter that could be resolved by persuasion or threats. With tens of thousands of people, there would always be those who saw wealth as mere dirt and those who stood for justice unafraid of death; it was simply an impossible mission.

But for cultivators in their pursuits, their means were ever-changing and these circumstances couldn’t stump them; so they set up such a plot, letting the winged people unwittingly become ensnared, including the chieftains and elders, as well as the significant figures of Yiting. Other than the two of them, nobody else knew.

Otherwise, if it were up to the two Golden Core cultivators to make a move, would these low-ranking winged people even have heard the news?

Through a series of cleverly designed guidance, just as they had anticipated, everyone fell into the pot and followed their lead, and success was not far off.

As for the eight people that came in, it was not up to them what they wanted to see, they could only see what they were allowed to see!

Huang Hou gestured to the winged people, young and old, with a bow, "Daoist Huang Hou at your service, please follow me. Should you have any questions, feel free to speak up. We will withhold nothing and share everything."

The bewildered winged people followed him down into the tomb chamber, where the air was chilling and the atmosphere dreadfully cold; a massive stone coffin stood at the center of the chamber, having been crafted for Saintess Xing Huan—its size alone must be at least a hundred thousand catties, shouldn’t it?

Daoist Huang Hou bowed again, "Everyone, please join me in paying respects to the departed, and wish her eternal peace."

The people did as they were bid. The scene was transmitted back to the surface through the empty mirror, with tens of thousands of winged citizens also performing the rites.

Step by step, the two cultivators controlled the mortals’ psychology perfectly, sliding them towards their envisioned direction.

Huang Hou spoke loudly, "With jade finely carved, crafted by Nature’s hand; its roots in the clouds, its core in the water, nothing more firm can stand. I wonder if it can aid the Empress Wa, to mend the piece of heaven that from the mortal world did land.

Saintess Xing Huan, naturally beautiful, with a love for the natural, virtue concealed within, wisdom from birth; for the winged tribe’s heritage she did not hesitate to use her body as repair, such noble righteousness is hard to find across the continent, unheard of in ancient and present times!

Today, we the living, to better follow the Natural Path, wish to open the coffin to view the pearl. For this offense, we truly had no intention, we implore the spirit of the Saintess in heaven, do not take blame upon us."

And once more, he bowed deeply.

His words and gestures were full of feeling, thoroughly convincing. How could mere mortals discern his true intent? Even Xing Kong and her son involuntarily bowed down, including the chieftains and the elders, as did tens of thousands of ordinary winged citizens outside the Ancestral Temple!

This bow was in fact an apology for opening the coffin. In other words, everyone had agreed to the opening!

A simple skill, non-abrasive to the fragile nerves of the winged people, had also perfectly achieved their desired goal. The skill of these two Daoists from Northern Heavenly Gate in manipulating the human heart was indeed not to be underestimated.

The two Daoists exchanged a glance, the great task was accomplished, only the final step remained.

Bai Dou approached slowly and cautiously. He preferred to abstain from using spells if possible, fearing it might provoke a reaction from the Earth Spirit Pearl. Such a high-level treasure didn’t distinguish between realms; to the Earth Spirit Pearl, there was no difference between Golden Core, Nascent Transformation, and the Tongtian Realm.

Standing before the coffin, he took a firm stance, his hands gripping the lid tightly. He relied solely on his physical strength, silently exerting force, and with a ’click,’ the lid slowly began to move...

Their strategy had succeeded!

All eyes were fixated on the inside of the coffin; as the lid was prised open inch by inch, it wasn’t just the people present who held their breath but also the tens of thousands of winged people outside,

At times like this, curiosity conquered all.

The first thing that met the eye was a section of a sleeve, wings that were lifelike, as if they had just been placed inside, so vibrant in color; when the coffin was half-opened, the face of Saintess Xing Huan finally appeared, still so young, still so delicate, as if time had stopped here, just as before.

The old woman could no longer stand steadily and knelt on the ground, choking back sobs; others were the same, merely staring blankly, not daring to make any moves, fearing they might disturb the Saintess Xing Huan.

On the open ground outside the Ancestral Temple, tens of thousands knelt in unison, this was exactly as they had imagined, aesthetically beautiful and poignant...

It was exactly when everyone was off guard that Huang Hou Daoist lightly moved his hand; the mirror image in the sky stood still, but no one would notice such a change, because to mourn in silence was only too normal, seizing just this moment!

At the same time, Bai Dou Daoist also uttered a light command, "Shoo!"

Under the Divine Soul Shock, the spirits of all mortals, except for the two of them, became stagnant, as if their brains couldn’t turn, their eyes blurred, their ears rang falsely, losing all perception of what was happening around them.

This was the mildest form of Divine Soul Shock, which would fade after just a short moment.

Huang Hou Daoist held his breath, slowly reaching towards the Earth Spirit Pearl; just as his hand was about to touch it, the Earth Spirit Pearl suddenly rolled off Xing Huan’s forehead. In the moment it rolled away, Xing Huan’s entire body, including her garments, turned into dust and disappeared...

The Earth Spirit Pearl rolled free, penetrating the stone base of the coffin effortlessly and burrowing into the ground!

This was only the surface of things, but the two cultivators from the Northern Heavenly Gate were clearly aware of what had happened!

Someone was meddling from below, stealing the Earth Spirit Pearl a step ahead of them, and without a doubt, it had to be those human reptiles hiding beneath the layers of earth!

They were very close, otherwise, this couldn’t have been done!

Considering the Earth Spirit Pearl’s repellent effect on cultivator realms, the closer it was, the lower the realm, so it was certain that it was some minor Tongtian realm cultivator causing trouble!

"Thieves dare!"

The two could not care about anything else any longer. In their fury at their thwarted efforts, they struck the ground and burrowed into the earth using the Earth Escape technique, no longer in the mood to care about the feelings of these mortals outside.

As they disregarded everything, the empty mirror image outside immediately burst like a bubble, causing tens of thousands of Yiting people outside to speculate endlessly.

What exactly had happened inside? Was it an act of betrayal by the people of Yiting who had come to steal the pearl? Or had some mysterious phenomenon occurred after opening the coffin? Or perhaps, the cultivators had done it intentionally, not wanting them to focus on the Saintess’s remains for too long, as a sign of respect for her?

In the silence, a sense of unease spread among the tens of thousands, gradually becoming more and more dangerous, moving toward being out of control.

Moments later, a heartbreaking cry echoed from the Ancestral Temple, "You goddamned villains, return my sister, return our tribe’s Treasure Bead!"

This shout came from Xing Kong, the Saintess’s younger brother. Everyone understood clearly and could no longer contain themselves; some bold ones shouted and rushed in, followed by tens of thousands, surging forward...

That day, many things happened in the tribe, but actually, afterwards, no one could clarify the sequence of events; they only knew that envoys from Yiting had come, the clan leaders and elders were completely annihilated, beaten into a pulp, with bodies that couldn’t even be pieced back together.

As for who did it, with several tens of thousands storming in, how could it possibly be clear?