The tomb chamber rose upward bit by bit, and the massive rumbling sound made Su Mu somewhat uneasy.
After waiting a little longer, the rumbling stopped. The top of the tomb chamber and the walls on all four sides were directly torn open by a tremendous force.
Only then did Su Mu realize that she and Chen Qing had been brought by the tomb chamber to a high platform.
The high platform was held in the palm of a massive eerie stone statue.
Dazzling flames lit up from the surrounding stone walls.
There were many stone caves on the stone walls, each occupied by people dressed in white robes with black cloths over their heads.
In front of each person, a young maiden was bound.
Chen Qing, whose eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people, spotted the lotus flowers embroidered on their white robes at a glance.
No wonder they hadn’t encountered any White Lotus Cultists earlier—they were all here.
Judging from the setup around them, this should be a large sacrificial altar, and the core offerings were herself and Silly Shizun standing on the high platform.
However, Chen Qing quickly dismissed her guess. A person dressed in white with a black lotus embroidered on it walked out from the passageway directly opposite the high platform.
Her face was veiled with impenetrable black gauze.
Upon seeing Chen Qing standing with Su Mu, she raised her palm.
Seeing the gesture, those White Lotus Cultists immediately pressed their knives against the delicate necks of the girls.
“Wait a minute!”
Seeing the terrified looks in those girls’ eyes, the softhearted Su Mu blurted out subconsciously.
To Su Mu’s surprise, her words actually worked.
The person in the white robe with black lotus saw the reluctance in Su Mu’s eyes and made a stopping gesture.
“You, come over.”
A hoarse voice emanated from that person’s throat.
Her words made Su Mu hesitate.
If she didn’t go, all these girls would immediately perish.
But if she did go, she herself might perish.
Perhaps she should be selfish, but looking at the captive girls, Su Mu couldn’t harden her heart.
While Su Mu hesitated, Chen Qing stuffed an ice-cold porcelain bottle into her hand.
From the shape, Su Mu knew it was the small porcelain bottle she used to hold Gu worms.
Last time, she had used it against the captured White Lotus Cultist, and a few were still left inside.
Su Mu exchanged a glance with Chen Qing and immediately understood her intention.
Once she reached that person’s side, she would release the Gu worms from the bottle to restrain her.
Chen Qing would take advantage of the chaos to save the people.
It seemed this Villain was pretty smart sometimes.
With this trick, they could not only save these girls but Su Mu could also rely on the Gu worms to protect herself.
Su Mu gave Chen Qing an approving look and hid the small porcelain bottle in her sleeve.
She walked down the high platform, step by step toward the White Lotus Cult leader opposite her.
Su Mu nervously gripped the small porcelain bottle, mentally calculating the distance to that person.
All the White Lotus Cultists stared intently at her every move.
Watched by so many pairs of eyes, Su Mu’s already nervous heart pounded wildly.
“I-I’m coming over. Now let them go!”
“Hmph, petty tricks.”
Hearing the cold snort, Su Mu sensed something off and immediately smashed the small porcelain bottle from her sleeve toward her.
The sound of Gu worms fluttering their wings rang out as crystalline blue Gu worms burrowed into that person’s body.
After throwing the Gu worms, Su Mu turned and bolted, even faster than when fleeing from Chen Qing.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The person behind her leaped up from the spot, only to be nailed to the wall by Chen Qing’s flying sword.
Staring at the person pinned to the wall, a huge question mark popped into Su Mu’s head.
“You could have taken her down directly—why make me throw the Gu worms at her?”
Chen Qing ignored her dumbfounded Silly Shizun. Instead, she scooped up Su Mu and dashed to a corner.
Before Su Mu could react, a massive jolt hit.
In her bewildered gaze, a gigantic palm emerged from the bottom of the ancient tomb.
Seeing this palm, the White Lotus Cultists’ eyes instantly blazed with fanaticism as they raised their knives.
Warm blood slowly gathered onto the palm, and the bloodstained palm continued drilling out from underground.
Gazing at the half-emerged withered forearm, Su Mu gulped heavily.
One hand was already this enormous—if the thing underground fully emerged, how massive would it be?
Chen Qing eyed the emerging hand, a hint of trouble flashing in her eyes.
When she and Silly Shizun first arrived at this sacrificial altar, she had sensed thick corpse qi accumulated below.
But she hadn’t expected such a massive corpse puppet nurtured underground.
Though this corpse puppet looked humanoid, its entire body was pieced together from parts of the dead.
The White Lotus Cult’s so-called sacrificial rites were probably to nurture this gigantic artificial corpse puppet.
Watching the arm fully burst from the ground, Su Mu panicked a bit.
“Which way do we run?”
Su Mu looked at Chen Qing anxiously. If they didn’t flee now, they wouldn’t escape once it fully emerged.
“Run? We came down here to deal with this thing.”
“Huh?”
Su Mu gazed at Chen Qing with concern. Had this person been scared silly by the gigantic thing?
One hand of it was bigger than the two of them combined, yet she wanted to fight it head-on.
This time, Su Mu couldn’t fathom Chen Qing’s thought process.
However, with only a palm emerged, it was easy for Chen Qing to handle.
She channeled her lightness skill and stomped down, snapping off the stitched little finger.
Chen Qing knew this giant corpse puppet was mere decoration against her; the real opponent lurked behind.
Sure enough, as Chen Qing prepared to target the next finger, a mature, seductive female voice rang out.
“Even if you’re the current protector of the Divine Maiden, destroying my collection like this will still anger me.”
Somehow, the voice’s owner had appeared behind Su Mu.
At that moment, Su Mu was debating whether to abandon Chen Qing and flee alone.
The voice from behind startled her.
Su Mu whipped around, eyeing the suddenly appearing Mature Beauty warily.
The woman behind her regarded Su Mu with a teasing smile.
A pair of fox-like eyes brimmed with innate charm, her scarlet lips glistened, and small red gemstone earrings on her earlobes reflected seductive playfulness in her gaze.
Her jet-black hair was coiled atop her head like a mature woman’s, exuding unique allure.
Seeing how this person looked at Silly Shizun, Chen Qing knew she meant no harm.
But that gaze at Silly Shizun made Chen Qing deeply uncomfortable.
“I can give you this temporary hideout as your calling card for entering the capital.”
Since this person had pierced one of her goals in a single sentence, Chen Qing merely frowned before recovering.
This woman was likely the mastermind behind the White Lotus Cult. Establishing this branch proved she wasn’t foolish.
Guessing her purpose was only natural.
But her next move enraged Chen Qing outright.
“However, setting up this hideout wasn’t easy. If I hand it over, I want compensation.”
With that, the seduction-radiating Mature Beauty closed in on Su Mu in an instant, lifting her chin with a slender, jade-like fingertip.
