Mo Zuili, the young master of the Mo family
Three days later, Mo Zuili tied her pigtails, stretched her stiff neck, and followed Huang Tianlu to the outside of the Phoenix Clan Ruins.
Despite it being a trial for the demon race, Mo Zuili glanced around and found that most of the people present were human cultivators.
Huang Yu, the girl beside Mo Zuili, noticed Mo Zuili's confusion and explained softly, "Most demons cultivate from plant spirit beasts, and the process of transforming into human form can take up to a hundred years. To enter the Phoenix Ruins, one must at least be able to transform. In order to obtain more power, we do not restrict human cultivators."
Mo Zuili's lips twitched slightly. So most of these human cultivators were the Demon King's reserve food.
Um?
Mo Zuili felt a burning gaze and turned her head to look, her eyes widening instantly.
Old Tan!?
Looking around, one could see a vast number of human cultivators. Elder Tan led a group of younger members of the Mo family to stand in an open space. When the surrounding cultivators saw that it was the Mo family, they all took a step back.
At first glance, it appears somewhat empty.
As Mo Zuili raised the corners of her lips and waved to Elder Tan, she felt another gaze upon her.
Mo Zuili turned her head again and saw Huang Tianyao holding a blood-red longsword, staring intently at her.
After only a moment's glance, Mo Zuili turned to look at the others.
Mo Zuili didn't recover her memories; she relied entirely on rote memorization to understand the power distribution in this world, and couldn't match the faces at all.
Having finally found an opportunity where representatives from all sides had come, Mo Zuili naturally had to acknowledge them all.
They wore gray robes embroidered with divination symbols; there were only a few scattered people, totaling less than six, and the leader held a tortoise shell.
The Yuan family, one of the four great human families, is famous for divination and prediction. They are skilled in Qimen Dunjia, celestial secrets, and other such techniques. The novel also predicted that Shen Ling would become a demon lord and slaughter countless lives.
Although the calculation was completed, no one from the Yuan family stopped Shen Ling; they left as soon as the calculation was finished.
While reading the story, Mo Zuili thought to herself, "No wonder the Yuan family is the longest-standing family among humans. No matter how big the matter is, they won't get involved unless it involves them."
Mo Zuili glanced at the family not far from the Mo family, where Elder Tan was politely talking to the leader. She looked away after only one glance.
The only family that is on good terms with the Mohists, whose strengths are roughly equal, and who treats them with great courtesy, is the Xie family.
It is common knowledge in the cultivation world that the Mo family and the Xie family are on good terms.
Mo Zuili searched for a long time before finally finding the last of the four great families—the Yu family—in a corner.
The Yu family primarily focuses on array formations and is skilled in them; most members of the family carry a bronze array plate on their waist.
Several major sects also sent elders to lead their disciples here for training.
Before Mo Zuili could identify them one by one, she noticed that several prominent sects and families were looking at her.
Mo Zuili turned around without changing her expression, and sure enough, Shangguan Fu'er, whom she had met once before at the Mo family, was leading a group of people toward her.
Huang Tianyao looked from afar, his eyes filled with undisguised coldness.
Is this some kind of complete abandonment of the act? They don't even want to go into the ruins themselves; they want to just take matters into their own hands?
As Mo Zuili pondered what to do, she suddenly saw Elder Tan gently beckoning to her. Without the slightest hesitation, Mo Zuili abandoned Huang Geng and the others, turned around, and walked towards Elder Tan.
Upon seeing Mo Zuili's actions, the crowd immediately began to whisper among themselves.
"The previous heir of the Demon Prince, was this girl? Is she really a member of the Mo family?"
"That's not all! I also heard that she is the young master of the Mo family whose cultivation mysteriously regressed three years ago."
"Young Master of the Mo Clan! Don't demons value pure bloodlines? How come the Young Master of the Mo Clan has the bloodline of a demon king?"
"She is no longer the young master of the Mo family. A month ago, when the Phoenix Clan led people to cause a great disturbance at the Mo family, I heard that the family head was furious and had already stripped her of her position as young master."
Upon hearing the dubious rumors, Elder Tan frowned almost imperceptibly for a moment. Seeing Mo Zuili approaching, he called out, "Young Master."
The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the noisy crowd to hear clearly.
The onlookers turned to look at the man who had just said that Mo Zuili's position as young master had been revoked.
One moment he was crippled by Mo Zuili, and the next moment the Mo family elders called for the young master.
The man awkwardly uttered a few "uh..." sounds, his face turning red. Finally, with a "whoosh," he unfolded his fan to cover his face and said stiffly, "A few years ago, when her cultivation regressed, everyone said she was unworthy to be the young master of the Mo family. Now that her cultivation has returned, she has turned around and become the Holy Maiden of the Phoenix Clan. Who knows where she got her demon bloodline from?"
As soon as the man finished speaking, he saw Mo Zuili's cold gaze and felt a pain in his mouth.
He raised his hand to touch his mouth, and his hand was covered in blood.
I wanted to scream but couldn't make a sound.
The cultivators around the man immediately retreated upon seeing the blood.
Mo Zuili withdrew her hand without saying anything, but the cultivators who had witnessed the whole process immediately shut their mouths and dared not say anything more when they saw the man's tongue lying to the side.
Seeing Mo Zuili's actions, Old Tan smiled with satisfaction.
Without looking at the man again, she turned to Mo Zuili beside her and introduced him: "Elder Feng, the Third Elder of the Xie family."
Upon hearing this, Mo Zuili greeted Elder Feng with a sweet smile, showing no trace of her earlier violent and aggressive demeanor.
Although it was unclear how Mo Zuili became the Holy Maiden of the Phoenix Clan and acquired demon blood, Elder Tan's arrival at the ruins and his address of "Young Master" represented the current attitude of the Mo family head. Elder Feng responded with a smile.
After exchanging greetings, Elder Feng took the opportunity to chat with Mo Zuili for a few minutes.
After they finished talking, Mo Zuili glanced at Shangguan Fu'er out of the corner of her eye.
Upon hearing Elder Tan's words, "Young Master," Shangguan Fu'er had no choice but to stop and stand at a distance, glancing at Mo Zuili from time to time.
Huang Geng, being pulled along by Huang Yu, also stood at a distance.
Following Mo Zuili's gaze, Elder Tan looked at Huang Geng and the other members of the Phoenix Clan. After withdrawing his gaze, Elder Tan summoned the young man behind him and said to Mo Zuili, "When entering the ruins, you should go with Yongning."
Mo Zuili glanced at the boy and nodded in agreement.
Five chimes accompanied by birdsong rang out, the Phoenix Ruins opened, and the demon race's trial officially began.
Seeing that Mo Zuili was about to leave, Elder Tan called out one last time, "Young Master."
Mo Zuili turned around.
"When the patriarch brought you back to the Mo family, he said that as long as he was still alive, and you were willing to be the young master, then you would always be the young master of the Mo family."
Mo Zuili was stunned for a moment. Mo Yuan meant that if she didn't want to stay in the demon race any longer, she could return to the Mo family at any time.
Realizing what she had done, Mo Zuili smiled and said, "Yes, I understand, Uncle Tan."
After speaking, Mo Zuili waved and led Huang Yu and the others, along with the Mo family members, into the ruins.
The moment she entered, Mo Zuili's vision went black. When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was a sky full of pale purple mist, followed by a bamboo forest soaked in twilight. The pale purple mist wrapped around the green bamboo and climbed upwards. Wherever it passed, the bamboo leaves quickly turned deathly gray, as if their life force had been drained.
Mo Zuili flicked her left hand slightly, sending out a fire talisman.
The moment the fire talisman exploded, Mo Zuili heard a shrill cry like that of a baby crying.
Mo Zuili gripped the Phoenix Flame Spear tightly in her right hand and took a step forward.
"Snap—"
A crisp sound like bones cracking came from beneath my feet.
Mo Zuili's whole body stiffened, and she looked down. Under the decaying leaves, five white, boneless fingers, devoid of flesh, were slowly curling up, as if they had just struggled to "wake up" from underground.
"My God!" Mo Zuili gasped, channeling her spiritual power, and thrust the Phoenix Flame Spear backwards towards her feet.
In the novel, the secret realms and ruins that Shen Ling entered were all normal ancient ruins! Why am I encountering Chinese-style horror?!
The flames released by the Phoenix Flame Spear blazed fiercely. Mo Zuili saw the "mountain fire" and was about to turn and run away when she suddenly remembered that she was in a world of cultivation. These flames were summoned by herself and could not harm her.
Since that's the case, let it burn even more fiercely!
Mo Zuili took out two fire talismans and threw them out with a backhand.
With flames clearing the way, they finally saw living people after walking for a while.
"Young Master." The young man bowed to Mo Zuili first.
Mo Zuili recognized him at a glance; this was Mo Yongning, whom Elder Tan had summoned.
"Have you seen anyone else?" Mo Zuili asked.
After entering the Phoenix Ruins, I was randomly teleported to the outer perimeter. The ruins themselves are very large, and I ran into someone I knew after only walking for a short while, which was quite lucky.
"No..." Mo Yongning had only uttered two words when a gust of cold wind suddenly blew by, and all the bamboo shadows bent over at the same time, emitting mournful cries.
The fog suddenly thickened like ink, and the wind howled wildly.
As soon as Mo Yongning inhaled, all the pale purple mist surged forward. Mo Zuili quickly stepped forward, took out a pill, and swiftly stuffed it into Mo Yongning's mouth, shouting, "Hold your breath and circulate your spiritual power to absorb the pill, quick!"
Seeing that Mo Yongning did as instructed, Mo Zuili wielded the Phoenix Flame Spear like a fire wheel. The flames swept through the thick fog, startling cries of agony. The purple fog retreated rapidly as if it had encountered its natural enemy.
Mo Yongning wanted to help, but Mo Zuili pressed him down and whispered, "Lower your head."
Mo Yongning subconsciously lowered his head, and Mo Zuili threw out a fire talisman. The blood-red flames burrowed into the gaps in the decaying leaves like living things, and a shrill wail came from the ground.
Startled, Mo Yongning broke out in a cold sweat, his face turning deathly pale as he turned to look behind him. The skeleton's forearm, which had protruded from the soil, was blasted into dust by the fire talisman.
Mo Yongning was secretly alarmed as to when the skeleton had appeared, realizing he hadn't noticed it at all.
"Still standing there in a daze? Run!" Mo Zuili grabbed Mo Yongning's wrist and ran forward wildly. The sound of bones cracking echoed from within the purple mist, as if the entire bamboo forest was awakening underground.
The two fought as they ran, with Mo Zuili spinning the Phoenix Flame Spear in one hand and bombarding the enemy with fire and thunder talismans in the other.
Mo Yongning reacted quickly, summoning his sword, which flashed like a dragon.
Both of them had fire elemental roots, and working together, they blasted a path through the air, one in front and one behind.
Having finally emerged from the eerie bamboo forest, Mo Zuili breathed a sigh of relief, took out a Rejuvenation Pill and chewed it, pointing to the purple mist filling the sky as she explained, "This is the Snow Toad Pill I just fed you; it can resist the erosion of the resentful mist."
The Phoenix Ruins have been opened dozens of times, and each time many cultivators have perished here, including some powerful ones. Their resentment and lingering anger after death gradually formed a mist of vengeance. Because this is the Phoenix Ruins, this mist does not harm demons with phoenix blood, but it is corrosive to human cultivators.
Without spiritual protection, staying in the fog for too long will turn you into a living dead, slowly assimilated by these ruins and becoming their nourishment.
Mo Yongning's expression hardened; the Mo family was unaware of such important news.
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