77: Brother Lu, he seems to have something to say

"Shatter for me!"

Yu Changqing didn't dare to delay, gathering all his spiritual energy and slamming his palm onto the seal.

But how could Zhao Qingge and the others, after plotting for so long, allow him to go down in a blaze of glory?

Just as his palm print touched the seal, a gentle, watery voice echoed from within the stone hall.

"Still!"

The voice was light and airy, yet it was like an invisible hand gripping the entire space.

At this moment, time in the stone hall seemed to stop flowing.

"Tap... tap... tap..."

The click of high heels on the stone slabs echoed, each step landing on everyone's heartbeats.

Yu Changqing maintained his striking posture, only able to watch as a figure emerged from the shadows deep within the stone hall.

This was a woman beautiful from head to toe.

With almond eyes and willow-leaf brows, skin like congealed fat, a full figure, and a simple white cheongsam with her long hair coiled up, she resembled a celestial maiden from the Ninth Heaven!

Yet, Yu Changqing felt no wicked thoughts in his heart, only endless fear!

He had guessed correctly!

The Director of the White Tiger Bureau herself was here for him!

Luo Keke and Zhao Qingge stood to her left and right, behind her.

It wasn't until Bai Qiuyue stopped three steps in front of Yu Changqing that she slowly halted.

Her eyes, like obsidian, swept over Yu Changqing's frozen hand, then glanced at the golden seal on the stone coffin, finally settling on Yu Changqing's distorted face.

A faint smile touched her lips.

"'Demon Child' Yu Changqing, ranked sixty-ninth on the Black List? Junior Sister, it seems your baiting technique still needs improvement."

Zhao Qingge stood behind Bai Qiuyue with an expressionless face.

"It's fine as long as the bait wasn't cast for nothing; small fish are still fish!"

"This old fellow has served that old hag day in and day out; the Azure Dragon Bureau should be interested."

The two spoke in concert, but to Yu Changqing's ears, their words were like two sharp knives piercing his heart.

His blood and Qi surged, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

He had been careless!

He, Yu Changqing, had always been the one to scheme against others.

Today, he had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by two young girls.

The crucial thing was, they acted too convincingly!

He wanted the Water-Repelling Pearl, but it was snatched.

He wanted to raise a drought demon, but it was slain.

Most importantly, Bai Qiuyue had openly revealed herself earlier, so Yu Changqing never thought she was coming for him.

Because if she were coming for him, she shouldn't have alerted him...

The sudden turn of events plunged the stone hall into silence.

Especially Situ Lei; he was completely bewildered.

"Why is Zhao Qingge here?"

"Black List? What Black List? Wasn't it agreed that we were here to snatch the immortal corpse?"

It wasn't until he saw Li Yan's ashen face that he realized he had been played for a fool by Zhao Qingge.

Everyone was a colleague; if you wanted to catch an internal spy or a big fish, you should at least give a heads-up!

He wasn't the only one; the remaining rogue cultivators in the stone hall also realized what was happening.

Someone looked at the bloodstains on the ground, then at the posture of Bai Qiuyue and the two others, and understood immediately.

The so-called immortal corpse was a complete scam.

The calmest people in the scene, besides Bai Qiuyue and her companions, were Lu Ming.

Because he had already felt that something was amiss.

His convenient little aunt truly had unfathomable schemes.

Invest, he must invest!

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Yan directly dropped the long saber in his hand and raised his hands.

He stared at Zhao Qingge, his face filled with dejection: "When was I exposed?"

Zhao Qingge glanced at Li Yan, who had thrown away his weapon, and sneered:

"You thought the Night Watch Division was that incompetent? You were exposed the first day you joined the Night Watch Division. Otherwise, who do you think provided the clues about the immortal corpse and that map?"

Li Yan trembled all over, the last trace of color draining from his face: "Hahaha, I truly underestimated you all. I'm caught, and I'm willing to cooperate, as long as you spare my life."

Seeing Li Yan surrender so quickly, Yu Changqing became anxious.

It didn't matter if that dog was caught, because he hadn't had deep contact with the Phoenix Venerable.

But he couldn't afford that!

As one of the Phoenix Venerable's lackeys, he knew the woman's ruthlessness.

If she found out he had betrayed her, he wouldn't live anyway.

If he didn't speak... no one who entered the Azure Dragon Bureau remained tight-lipped.

It was death either way, so he had to fight for his life!

My fate is mine to control, not heaven's!

A ruthless glint flashed in Yu Changqing's eyes, and his long-hidden spiritual power suddenly erupted, directly unleashing a black coffin nail.

The nail was long and sharp, covered in eerie black blood; one look and you knew it was no ordinary object.

This was the Soul-Locking Nail he had obtained from a Ghost King's coffin back then.

It could break all laws, but could only be used once.

"If I'm going to die, we all die together!"

The Soul-Locking Nail, driven by spiritual power, suddenly surged, instantly becoming over a zhang long, its ghostly patterns glowing with a bloody red light, stabbing fiercely towards the golden barrier on the stone coffin.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, the runes on the barrier finally split, forming a crack.

The tip of the Soul-Locking Nail pierced in, and black Yin energy surged wildly into the stone coffin through the crack.

Everyone present changed color.

Bai Qiuyue also lost her previous composure; she knew better than anyone the power of the ghostly thing inside the coffin.

"Junior Sister, leave this old beast to you. Keke, help me stabilize the seal!"

"Okay!"

Zhao Qingge agreed crisply, a jade token hovering in her palm. With a flick of her slender hand, it shot like a meteor directly towards Yu Changqing's back.

Yu Changqing, however, seemed to have anticipated it, and his body abruptly rolled to the side.

While avoiding the jade token, he formed hand seals, pouring the last shred of his spiritual power into the Soul-Locking Nail.

The zhang-long black nail vibrated violently, its ghostly patterns fully lighting up.

The bloody red light cast an eerie,fishy-smelling glow throughout the stone hall, and the golden barrier on the stone coffin cracked at a visible speed.

"Thump thump... thump thump..."

Heartbeats echoed like war drums in the hall.

A chill originating from the soul spread through everyone's hearts.

Bai Qiuyue's expression was solemn, and her hands beneath her plain white cheongsam quietly gathered spiritual energy, her fingertips glowing with a faint golden halo.

That was the Bai family's secret "Evil Suppression Art," specifically for sealing Yin and evil entities.

Yu Changqing, having broken free, dared not tangle with Zhao Qingge; he only wanted to escape.

But seeing the bewildered Li Yan, blood rushed to his head again.

"You spineless dog, die for me!"

"I just want to live, what did I do wrong!!!"

Li Yan, like a startled rabbit, scrambled and crawled towards a corner of the stone hall.

He happened to see Lu Ming and Chen Ziliang in the corner, and a glimmer of surprise erupted in his eyes.

Didn't this old bastard say he was going to kill this kid earlier?

Lord Yu, I'll lead the way for you!

Chen Ziliang's face changed drastically.

Damn it, don't come over here!

"Lu..."

Li Yan had barely uttered one word when a straight saber, crackling with bloody lightning, pierced his throat.

"Ugh ugh..." Li Yan's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

Chen Ziliang wiped the fresh blood from his face: "Brother Lu, he seemed to want to say something."

"Say what? I'm not listening!"

Damn it, this bastard clearly wanted to divert trouble.

A third-realm cultivator fighting a fifth-realm one?

What a joke? Brother, it's a guaranteed loss!

Even if he was in the fourth realm, it wouldn't work.

Having a domain was just that unreasonable.

But Lu Ming's move was still too slow; Li Yan's shout still caught Yu Changqing's attention.

After seeing Lu Ming, a glimmer of hope for survival erupted in his eyes.

As long as he controlled this kid, he would surely make Zhao Qingge hesitate!

Haha... indeed, heaven does not wish for my Yu Changqing's demise!

...