33: Third Elder: Dig three feet underground and search!

Xuan Sha, on the outskirts of Broken Sword Valley, gasped as he encountered the Su Family.

Li Yan’s ears twitched slightly, hearing Xuan Sha and their conversation.

Closing his eyes and checking through his Minds Eye, he saw the entrance to Broken Sword Valley a few miles away.

A group of dozens of Su Family Cultivators stepped into the mist, entering Broken Sword Valley.

The black robes they wore were of the same style as Su Mo’s immortal robe, confirming that they were indeed from the Su Family!

The Su Family’s Cultivators each pulled up their hoods, their faces obscured.

Thinking of the Blood Shadow Art they cultivated, Li Yan speculated.

“The Su Family Cultivators cannot be called humans. After cultivating the Blood Shadow Art, they will gradually be replaced by shadows… becoming Shadow Slaves.”

He carefully recalled the words the System said when the side effects became permanent.

The Blood Shadow Art is powerful, but the price is becoming a Shadow Slave.

Since the Su Family has cultivated the Blood Shadow Art for generations, Li Yan can assert that the entire upper echelon of the Su Family is controlled by shadows!

When a shadow becomes the Su Family’s Patriarch, then the Su Family’s Juniors will also be manipulated by the shadow, and the entire Family will become slaves to the Blood Shadow.

Observing this group of Su Family Cultivators through his Minds Eye, the leader’s strength was unfathomable, likely a strong Cultivator in the Blood Core Realm.

Senior Martial Uncle Mystic Fiend had to respectfully bow his head upon seeing him.

“I am Xuan Sha, a Disciple of Quiet Void Taoist. Greetings, Elder Su.”

“May I ask which Elder Su Your Excellency is?”

Xuan Sha, with his full beard, was utterly deferential, completely unlike his previous demeanor.

The Elder Su, whose face was hidden beneath his hood, spoke in a cold voice, as if he were not human.

“I am the Third Elder of the Su Family, Su Chongyue.”

“The Su Family is handling business; irrelevant individuals, please step aside.”

Cold!

The first impression this old man’s voice gave Li Yan was one of extreme coldness.

Senior Martial Uncle Mystic Fiend dared not breathe, wanting to speak but hesitating: “But my Junior Brother…”

Before Xuan Sha could finish, the Third Elder Su Chongyue glared at him.

The Third Elder’s pupils were actually grayish-white! They looked incredibly strange.

Seeing this, Xuan Sha immediately took his Disciples and ran without another word.

He couldn’t afford to offend the Su Family Cultivators! Especially since the person who came was the Third Elder Su Chongyue of the Su Family, who held extremely high strength and status.

Seeing Xuan Sha and his group leave with their tails between their legs, the Third Elder Su Chongyue spoke.

“This old man found traces of Su Mo, who was hiding here.”

“Unexpectedly, while tracking Su Mo, that Family traitor, I stumbled upon the location of Broken Sword Valley.”

“This Broken Sword Valley is mysterious; it vanishes into thin air every year and reappears elsewhere the following year.”

“Our Su Family has been searching for Broken Sword Valley, and we didn’t expect that this time, while searching for the traitor Su Mo, we would coincidentally arrive here.”

This old man’s voice was very unique, hoarse, as if he hadn’t had a sip of water to moisten his throat in a hundred years.

“Legend has it that there is a lamp inside Broken Sword Valley.”

“That lamp is called the blood glass treasure lotus lantern, and it is a sacred object of the ancient Demon Shadow Sect.”

“The Blood Shadow Art that our Su Family Cultivates is inherited from the ancient Demonic Sect.”

Upon hearing the old man say this, Li Yan lowered his head to look at the blood glass treasure lotus lantern in his hand.

He hadn’t expected that what he held was actually the founding sacred object of the Blood Shadow Art.

No wonder the Blood Shadow Art, when paired with this treasure lotus lamp, could summon two shadows!

At this moment, a young Su Family youth curiously asked: “Third Elder, if we only know about the blood glass treasure lotus lantern, can our Su Family ascend to a top-tier Cultivation Family?”

“No.”

“Complementing the blood glass treasure lotus lantern, there is also a Bloodline Burning Lantern Technique. This Bloodline Burning Lantern Technique can also be considered the progenitor of various types of Bloodline Burning Lantern Techniques today.”

“If you can find that original version of the Bloodline Burning Lantern Technique, this old man will reward you handsomely.”

Li Yan, hidden in the shadows, listened to their conversation.

Only then did he realize he had missed a treasure!

“The original Bloodline Burning Lantern Technique? Is it a Cultivation Technique used in conjunction with this treasure lotus lamp?”

“Good thing I didn’t leave in a hurry, otherwise the treasure lotus lamp would be missing its complementary Cultivation Technique.”

Li Yan secretly rejoiced that the blood glass treasure lotus lantern was in his hands. If they could find that original Bloodline Burning Lantern Technique for him, then the entire set of Blood Shadow Art would be complete!

As he pondered, he saw the Third Elder of the Su Family stride directly into the mist.

“Su Family Disciples, listen to my command, follow this old man closely!”

“Yes!”

Only Su Chongyue walked ahead, heading directly into the depths of Broken Sword Valley.

It was as if this old man was very familiar with the terrain inside Broken Sword Valley; in less than half an incense stick’s time, he had already arrived at the gate of the Sect Armory.

Li Yan, hidden in the mist, had some questions in his heart.

“Why is this Third Elder so familiar with this place? It’s as if he’s in his own home.”

“Is it because of his shadow?”

Currently, it is known that the high-ranking members of the Su Family are all Shadow Slaves, all possessed by Blood Shadows.

This Su Chongyue is not himself; his every action is controlled by a Blood Shadow.

Li Yan even noticed a detail: “This Third Elder has no shadow beneath his feet… he was indeed possessed by a Blood Shadow.”

Looking closely, Su Chongyue didn’t even have a dark shadow beneath his feet, which completely confirmed that he was possessed by a Blood Shadow.

The strangest thing was that the Third Elder Su Chongyue raised his hand and silently recited obscure ancient immortal words.

The next moment, the gate of this Sect Armory slowly opened.

One must know that Li Yan had tried every possible way to open that gate, but the Third Elder opened it with just a raised hand and a chant?!

The old man Su Chongyue spoke expressionlessly: “Inside are ancient Magical Artifacts; choose whatever you like. If you see the blood glass treasure lotus lantern, don’t touch it carelessly.”

“Yes!”

The younger generation of the Su Family all showed joyful smiles.

They hadn’t expected that as soon as they arrived at Broken Sword Valley, they could freely choose ancient Magical Artifacts!

But when they stepped into the armory, they saw a room that had already been emptied by Li Yan, a bare interior with not a single Magical Artifact in sight!

Li Yan had completely cleaned out this place; they didn’t even see a shadow of a Magical Artifact, let alone the Magical Artifacts themselves.

“Elder!”

The Su Family Cultivators all ran to the Third Elder.

The Third Elder looked unperturbed: “How is it? Are you satisfied with the treasures inside?”

“Elder, it’s empty! This armory is empty!”

Empty!?

The Third Elder was incredulous; he quickly walked into the armory to see for himself.

It really was empty!

Su Chongyue went to a shelf, wiped away the dust on the weapon rack with his finger, and examined it carefully.

“From the dust, these Magical Artifacts were just taken by someone.”

“The door was clearly closed, so who stole my things?”

Anger flashed in the Third Elder’s eyes; he suddenly thought of something: “The blood glass treasure lotus lantern is also gone?!”

“This is bad! Immediately issue an order to seal off the exit of Broken Sword Valley! Do not allow anyone to leave.”

“At the same time, send a pursuit team to bring back Xuan Sha and his group.”

The Su Family Cultivators immediately set up a Formation at the entrance of Broken Sword Valley; not even a mosquito could fly out!

Li Yan, hidden in the shadows, realized the situation was dire.

With the blood glass treasure lotus lantern missing from the armory, the Third Elder immediately ordered a search for people!

“Yes! This Junior will send people to find Xuan Sha immediately.”

“We must find the whereabouts of the blood glass treasure lotus lantern!”

At the same time, Su Chongyue quickly rushed out of the armory and headed towards a hidden cellar.

As he silently recited a spell, the cellar stone door opened.

Su Chongyue rushed inside, extremely familiar with the layout of everything in this place.

Su Chongyue wiped away the Restriction on the wall, pulled out a stone brick, and took out a Secret Manual, “Blood Lotus Burning Lamp Method,” from the hidden compartment.

“Good thing, the treasure is still here!”

Just as Su Chongyue looked at the Secret Manual in his hand, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

The black shadow controlled by Li Yan silently appeared behind him.