Chapter 810: Heavenly Demon Grandma Arrives
A pitch-black figure projected down from the Spirit Realm, materializing before Ying Aikun and Ling Chiye.
Then, a cold, clear voice traversed the Spirit Realm and reached their ears.
“Sis?”
“Think again, Ying Aikun. What should you call me?”
Ying Aikun looked up at the cold, youthful projection before him. Recalling the vast gulf in status between them, he hurriedly bowed respectfully and said, “Grandma! I’ve missed you so much.”
Ling Chiye watched from the side, marveling inwardly. The Supreme Truth Immortal Clan, with its influence spanning major sects, truly upheld strict family traditions. Hierarchy was absolute, and everything revolved around wealth and power.
He quickly bowed as well. “Greetings, Peak Master Su.”
Ling Chiye knew that this seemingly young woman was Su Lingyou, a Rank 7 Sect Staff member of the Heavenly Demon Sect, a Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator, and the Peak Master of Soul-Devouring Peak.
He had also heard rumors that she had been actively maneuvering in recent years and was likely to enter the Heavenly Demon Hall soon, becoming a Rank 8 Sect Staff member.
Meanwhile, Ying Aikun continued his complaint. “What’s Bu Yingshu’s deal? She rammed my physical body to pieces with her Immortal Shuttle! That was my most valuable body…”
The girl-like projection listened distractedly to Ying Aikun’s complaints.
True, it was tragic that his physical body had been destroyed, but what did that have to do with her?
They were merely relatives, not bound by loans or debts. Su Lengyou had no need for Ying Aikun to become a better earner.
In fact, from her perspective, a weaker Ying Aikun was easier to control and more beneficial for her upcoming projects.
Su Lengyou only cared about the future profits from the Former Days Graveyard and the exploration of the labyrinth.
Unwilling to listen to his rambling any longer, Su Lengyou cut him off. “I understand the situation. The Myriad Laws Sect has no intention of interfering with the labyrinth.”
“This incident was likely Bu Yingshu acting on her own.”
Hearing this, a look of hatred crossed Ying Aikun’s face. “That little brat! If not for my bad luck, how could a worthless junior like her dare to humiliate me?”
The thought of being bullied by a junior he had once despised filled Ying Aikun with mounting rage and resentment. He realized he was now being treated no better than the Outsourced Cultivators he used to torment.
“She’s treating me like an Outsourced Cultivator!”
Then, his thoughts turned once more to the root cause of all his current misfortunes.
“It’s all that old bastard’s fault!” Ying Aikun cursed. “Instead of being a proper Immortal, he just had to create some ‘New Kunxu,’ throwing the world into turmoil. Billions of lives suffered because of him, and now we, his descendants, are being brutally purged.”
The thought of Ying Xintian’s assets across the various realms being completely devoured made Ying Aikun’s heart ache with fury.
He roared inwardly, “That was all my money!”
In Ying Aikun’s view, if Ying Xintian was gone, his remaining assets should naturally have been distributed among his bloodline descendants.
Now that the major sects had carved up Ying Xintian’s fortune, it felt to Ying Aikun as if they were drinking his blood and eating his flesh.
Every time he thought about it, it was like a knife twisting in his heart.
Ying Aikun sighed inwardly, “That old fool. If he wanted to die, he should have just done it quietly. Wouldn’t it have been better to hand over his assets to us to manage before he died?”
Beside him, Ling Chiye listened to Ying Aikun’s curses, understanding that the “old bastard” he referred to was the former Immortal, now the Kunxu traitor, Ying Xintian.
Ling Chiye knew that opinions about this former Immortal varied widely among the sect’s cultivators.
Some believed he had been framed, driven out of Kunxu by a coalition of other Immortals who then seized all his assets — a loser in the struggle for the immortal path.
Others thought Ying Xintian had attempted to ascend to the Immortal Emperor Realm and become the eleventh Immortal Emperor, only to be suppressed and cast down from the heavens.
Still other cultivators believed that Ying Xintian had suffered a Dao Lineage backlash during his cultivation, driving him into a state of madness, which led to the subsequent series of events.
But the truth of the matter wasn’t Ling Chiye’s current concern. As one of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s leaders in the Former Days Graveyard, his only focus was on how to secure enough benefits from the upcoming labyrinth anomaly.
To achieve this, Ying Aikun, who possessed the Immortal bloodline of Ying Xintian’s lineage, was a crucial piece of the puzzle.
Although Su Lengyou, standing nearby, was also related to Ying Aikun, their shared bloodline traced back to Immortal Venerable Supreme Truth, not Ying Xintian. They belonged to the same maternal clan but not the same direct lineage; only Ying Aikun’s line carried Ying Xintian’s blood.
Considering this, and with the Supreme Truth Immortal Clan backing Ying Aikun, Ling Chiye — a Rank 5 Sect Staff and Void Refinement Realm Cultivator — remained respectful toward Ying Aikun, a Rank 4 Spirit Transformation Cultivator.
Ling Chiye asked, “Senior Ying, have you noticed any changes in the labyrinth since arriving at the Former Days Graveyard?”
Su Lengyou also turned her gaze toward Ying Aikun, clearly sharing Ling Chiye’s interest in the question.
Ying Aikun closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before replying, “The labyrinth left behind by that old bastard has indeed changed.”
Thanks to his Immortal bloodline, Ying Aikun possessed a subtle sense of the various spatial structures created by Ying Xintian, and the labyrinth of the Former Days Graveyard was no exception.
After the labyrinth’s spatial structure began to shift, Ying Aikun felt that subtle sense growing stronger.
“The old bastard’s bloodline has always contained the secrets of Grotto-Heaven power,” Ying Aikun explained. “Our clan… only needs to awaken the Bloodline Talent within us to naturally gain immense Grotto-Heaven power.”
“No one can perceive the changes in this labyrinth more clearly than we can.”
Ying Aikun smiled confidently. “I can sense that the labyrinth is sustained by his bloodline power, which is causing the spatial structure to become chaotic and distorted.”
“And now… that power is changing, slowly opening the labyrinth.”
Ling Chiye’s eyes flickered. “Opening?”
“When I say ‘opening,’ it’s relative, of course,” Ying Aikun clarified. “To other Cultivators, the labyrinth remains chaotic and disorienting. But for me, I can already faintly discern its underlying structure.”
Ling Chiye asked, “Senior Ying, is it possible that others can perceive the labyrinth’s spatial structure as clearly as you can?”
Ying Aikun smiled proudly. “Even back then, among all of Ying Xintian’s descendants, only a handful had developed their bloodline talent further than I have.”
“And to perceive the labyrinth’s current changes, the power of this bloodline talent is essential.”
Ling Chiye said, “It is said that when Ying Xintian re-established the labyrinth, he deliberately placed several ancient corpses within it. Does that arrangement affect the spatial structure?”
Ying Aikun waved his hand dismissively. “Do you think this is just the Former Days Graveyard, where a few corpses can prop up a chaotic space?”
“Useless. The Grotto-Heaven force within the bloodline is the key. As for the corpses he hid, I suspect they have little to do with the spatial structure itself. He likely had other purposes for them.”
Ling Chiye nodded slightly. Ying Aikun was the expert in this field, so he naturally trusted his judgment.
After finishing his analysis, Ying Aikun turned to Su Lengyou and asked, “Grandma, what exactly are we looking for in the labyrinth this time?”
Su Lengyou replied calmly, “Possibly a corpse. The body of a former sect leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Ying Xintian hid his body in the deepest part of the labyrinth.”
“What?” Ling Chiye cried out in astonishment. “The former sect leader’s corpse?”
Ying Aikun, however, was overjoyed. “No wonder, no wonder he had to distort the space and hide those other ancient corpses! It seems it was all to suppress this former sect leader’s body!”
Good! Ying Aikun thought to himself. That old bastard finally left something worthwhile behind. If I can claim this corpse, I might just be able to turn my fortunes around.
In that instant, Ying Aikun had already claimed the corpse in the labyrinth’s depths as his own property.
Ling Chiye, however, asked curiously, “If it’s the former sect leader’s corpse, why hasn’t the sect invested more heavily in searching for it?”
Although the Myriad Laws and Heavenly Demon Sect had already committed significant resources to the Former Days Graveyard, Ling Chiye knew that if the former sect leader’s body were truly here, the Heavenly Demon Sect would have launched a much larger-scale search.
Su Lengyou replied calmly, “I cannot reveal the details to you yet.”
“All you need to know is that you must now explore the labyrinth with all your strength. As long as you find that corpse, I will fulfill all my promises to you.”
When the discussion turned to the specific plan for exploring the labyrinth, Ying Aikun couldn’t help but snort coldly. “That junior, Bu Yingshu, ruined everything. This time, I’m afraid we won’t be able to borrow a batch of Soul Cultivators from the Ethereal Communications Department.”
According to Ying Aikun’s original plan, he would have combined his special sensitivity to the labyrinth’s space with a large number of Soul Cultivators — using them to explore without fear of losses — to achieve the fastest possible exploration.
But now, Bu Yingshu had completely disrupted that plan.
Ying Aikun couldn’t help but complain, “That Bu Yingshu has dull aptitude and mediocre talent, but her desire for revenge is clearly immense. Back then, I gave her an honest assessment and reasonably reduced her cultivation resources. I never thought she’d hold a grudge until now. What a vindictive woman.”
“I’m worried she won’t let this go. What if she keeps causing trouble for me?”
Su Lengyou replied, “Don’t worry about Bu Yingshu. She only descended here because of that person named Zhang Yu. She’s been stopped for now and can’t interfere with the Former Days Graveyard. Just focus on exploring the Graveyard.”
Hearing Su Lengyou’s answer, Ying Aikun froze for a moment. “Zhang Yu?”
An image of Zhang Yu from the Ethereal Communications Department flashed through his mind, and he recalled the moment he had been about to teach the young man a lesson.
Ying Aikun exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be… Bu Yingshu came here to stand up for Zhang Yu?”
He had originally assumed Bu Yingshu had set an ambush in the Former Days Graveyard specifically to deal with him.
Su Lingyou said, “It’s said that Bu Yingshu holds this Zhang Yu in high regard.”
“Heh…” Ying Aikun shook his head with a laugh. “Trash is trash. The subordinates they recruit are just as clueless.”
Recalling how Zhang Yu had shown no weakness when facing him in the Ethereal Communications Department’s reception hall, Ying Aikun thought to himself, “No wonder. Was he relying on Bu Yingshu’s backing?”
“Hmph, does he think he can act lawlessly just because Bu Yingshu is protecting him?”
But Ying Aikun had to admit that with Bu Yingshu’s protection, Zhang Yu really could act lawlessly within the Ethereal Communications Department.
“Although both I and Ling Chiye, who was standing beside me, could theoretically blast this Zhang Yu into dust in a single second… still…”
“For the sake of the bigger picture, it’s best to ignore Zhang Yu and his backer, Bu Yingshu, for now.”
Just then, Su Lengyou said, “Since we can’t borrow Soul Cultivators from the Ethereal Communications Department, we’ll just buy them ourselves.”
Even if it meant a significant increase in cost, Su Lengyou was willing to pay any price to explore the labyrinth.
She could sense that they weren’t the only ones targeting the anomaly in the labyrinth this time.
The White Bone Cult and the Netherworld Palace’s outposts in the Former Days Graveyard were also showing frequent, unusual activity, and they too were buying or leasing large numbers of Soul Cultivators.
Su Lengyou thought to herself, “We must find that thing… before those two sects do.”
While the Former Days Graveyard was rife with turmoil, and the Heavenly Demon Sect, Netherworld Palace, and White Bone Cult were all preparing to pour more resources into exploring the labyrinth…
Zhang Yu left a clone in his dormitory to continue cultivating and refining Immortal Dao Technology. He left his Primordial Spirit soaking in the dormitory’s Spirit Transformation Pool, while his true body seized an opportunity to transform into a gentle breeze and slip away from the Ethereal Communications Department.
He thought to himself, “I’ve already informed Minister Qin Chuan that I’ll be focusing on cultivation in my dormitory. Unless something major happens, no one should visit my clone.”
Zhang Yu knew that as long as no powerful cultivators observed or probed his clone, it was unlikely to be exposed.
And if something major did happen, he would just have to return from the labyrinth then.
In the blink of an eye, the gentle breeze that was Zhang Yu had once again reached the border of the labyrinth.
But this time, even before he got close, he saw dark clouds gathering across the sky, Yin winds howling, and the world plunged into gloom.
Numerous Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators were silently channeling their Primordial Spirits, darting back and forth like streaks of lightning as they commanded vast arrays of magical artifacts and Soul Cultivators.
Within moments, Zhang Yu watched wave after wave of Soul Cultivators gather their magical artifacts, unleashing towering columns of Yin Qi as they surged into the labyrinth like a great flood.
Faintly, Zhang Yu could also sense that within the Spirit Realm, cultivators of even higher cultivation were observing the situation here from afar.
“Heavenly Demon, Netherworld, White Bone…” Reading the sect identifiers in the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. “Even more people are exploring the labyrinth now.”
“Are they using a sea-filling tactic with massive numbers of Soul Cultivators, pouring them into the labyrinth regardless of losses to forcibly explore its depths?”
The breeze that was Zhang Yu became even more cautious, taking a wide detour before slipping into the labyrinth through its most remote entrance.
After all, with the power of an Immortal Descendant, he could clearly discern directions within the labyrinth, unlike other cultivators who easily lost their way and became trapped in its chaotic, distorted space.
Furthermore, Zhang Yu could sense the locations of his ancestor’s corpse and the Grotto-Heaven force, so it made no difference which entrance he used.
This time, upon entering, Zhang Yu wasted no time and immediately headed toward the residual Grotto-Heaven force in the Office District.
Of course, along the way, he would occasionally whip up a gust of wind to sweep any valuable items he encountered into his Grotto-Heaven.
After his last sale, Zhang Yu had a good grasp of the prices for various materials from the labyrinth. Now, with each item he collected, he could almost see his funds growing.
“Magic Power Acceleration Corpse Component: +320 Immortal Coins.”
“Blood Pool Pressurization Corpse Component: +150 Immortal Coins.”
“Special Spirit-Insulating Building Material: +30 Immortal Coins.”
As he casually picked up items along the way, Zhang Yu felt his wallet grow considerably heavier.
Of course, his rapid efficiency was due to two factors. First, the transformation ability of the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation allowed him to move at incredible speeds while avoiding direct confrontations with frenzied corpse components. Second, his powerful sensing ability within the labyrinth enabled him to advance at full speed without fear of getting trapped.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu could feel his magic power constantly being consumed and replenished.
The consumption came from the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation. Although this Sect-Guarding-Tier cultivation art was incredibly powerful, it was also a major energy drain, currently his most magic-power-intensive technique.
The replenishment came from the Immortal Crystals he had consumed.
“With Immortal Crystals, not only has my magic power cultivation efficiency increased, but my recovery speed has also quickened.”
Faster magic power recovery allowed Zhang Yu to transform with less restraint. The fierce wind he became grew swifter and more powerful, significantly boosting his exploration efficiency.
But just as Zhang Yu was forging ahead triumphantly, his brow suddenly furrowed.
“Hmm?”
He sensed that the Grotto-Heaven force, which had been stationary until now, had suddenly begun to move rapidly.
Zhang Yu’s heart sank. “The ancestor’s corpse… the one Ying Xintian used to conceal the Grotto-Heaven force… it’s moving?”