Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Flood Dragon Pearl

In short, regardless of whether these ruins belong to demonic cultivators or not, those so-called righteous factions must investigate them thoroughly. They cannot allow the strength of demon cultivators to continue growing unchecked. After all, demonic cultivators already possess greater combat power than the righteous ones; if left to develop further, the righteous path’s orthodox status in the eyes of cultivators will be shaken.

When the four Nightshadow Children—Ghostblade, Phantom, Bloodshed, and Deathly Silence—returned, they were somewhat stunned to find so many changes between the Nine Nether Sacred Land and the Bright Moon Empire. Especially when they learned they now had an additional deputy leader, their expressions darkened.

Having reached the early Core Formation stage, their selection as Nightshadow Children had made them increasingly arrogant, looking down upon all their peers. Yet the new deputy leader appointed over them was merely a boy of fourteen or fifteen at the Foundation Establishment stage. How could they possibly accept this?

They had fought tooth and nail to achieve the honor of becoming Nightshadow Children, while this Foundation Establishment brat, through some unknown connection, had become the deputy leader of Nightshadow—wasn’t this enough to chill their hearts?

Thus, the four decided to give Chen Mu a harsh lesson, hoping to intimidate him into voluntarily resigning from the deputy leader position.

At Nightshadow’s main base, headed by Ghostblade, the four Nightshadow Children declared that they did not recognize Chen Mu’s authority as deputy leader and would not follow his orders henceforth, unless he could defeat them; otherwise, he should not show himself before them.

If Chen Mu dared to appear before the Nightshadow Children, they would teach this ignorant upstart a lesson, leaving him bedridden and dreaming of his deputy leader title.

As soon as this declaration was made, the Nightshadow members watched the unfolding situation with anticipation—not to see Chen Mu humiliated, but to witness how these four proud Nightshadow Children would be disgraced and beaten.

After all, Chen Mu’s battle record was well known. The four newcomers, unaware of the facts, dared to boast about teaching Chen Mu a lesson. The other Nightshadow members, having long been suppressed by the Nightshadow Children, were eager to see them finally brought down a peg.

That day, Chen Mu, as usual, arrived at Nightshadow’s base to report for duty; as deputy leader, he still needed to make an appearance at his post. Hearing the rumors on his way about the Nightshadow Children’s return and their challenge, he merely smiled and dismissed it from his mind.

If they behaved themselves, all would be well; if not, it wouldn’t stop him from personally disciplining them.

Upon arriving at the base, he happened to witness the four Nightshadow Children, led by Ghostblade, berating the other Nightshadow members on the training ground.

Their tirade was nothing more than: “How can you be so unambitious? You let someone weaker than you become deputy leader—don’t you feel ashamed?” and so forth.

The Nightshadow members kept silent, refusing to reveal Chen Mu’s true abilities to the four. After all, even if they told them, it wouldn’t be believed—who had ever seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator possess the power of Core Formation?

When Chen Mu appeared, the Nightshadow members greeted him like a savior, saluting their deputy leader and lining up behind him with mischievous smiles directed at the four Nightshadow Children.

Deathly Silence, seeing this, said angrily, “So you’re Chen Mu? Quite the airs you put on. What trickery did you use to manipulate these useless fools? Look at them bowing and scraping—do they have any Nightshadow dignity left?”

Chen Mu replied lazily, “Showing respect to one’s superior is only proper—how does that tarnish Nightshadow’s honor? On the contrary, you four, showing no respect to your superior, are the ones disgracing Nightshadow.”

“Sharp-tongued! The real disgrace to Nightshadow is you! An unknown brat wormed his way in through connections—what a joke for outsiders! Haven’t we Nightshadow Children already said you’re not to appear before us? Are you here to get beaten?” Deathly Silence mocked.

“Beaten? I don’t plan to be beaten—I intend to beat you, to grind down your arrogance!” Chen Mu replied coldly.

The four reacted as if they’d heard the most absurd statement. Chen Mu had infuriated them; his words were an insult—a mere Foundation Establishment youth dared claim he would teach them a lesson, was he mad?

Deathly Silence, enraged, threw a punch, aiming to smash Chen Mu’s skull. Seeing his ruthless intent, Chen Mu no longer treated him as a fellow member. He wouldn’t kill him, but his blows would not be gentle.

Chen Mu met him head-on, punching back. The other three Nightshadow Children sneered at Chen Mu’s reckless action—clearly, something was wrong with his mind.

Fist met fist, and the result shocked the Nightshadow Children: it was not Chen Mu who was injured, but Deathly Silence.

Deathly Silence’s entire arm was broken in several places, with bone protruding.

After all, Chen Mu’s physical body had already reached the strength of a Core Formation stage magical artifact. How could such a fragile arm withstand his attack?

Deathly Silence spewed blood, eyes nearly bursting with rage; had Chen Mu used a bit more force, his arm would have been utterly ruined.

Chen Mu spoke calmly, “Your last blow was meant to shatter my skull, wasn’t it? Ruthlessness toward enemies is good, but being ruthless toward your own kind—don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

The other three’s pupils contracted—Chen Mu was so strong, he crippled Deathly Silence’s arm in a single exchange?

“Are you three like him? Out to kill me? If so, I won’t hesitate to cripple you all. You may challenge me, but if you harbor murderous intent, I’ll have to cleanse Nightshadow myself.”

The three realized they had crossed a line. Immediately, they dropped to one knee, saying, “Deputy Leader, we were reckless. We meant no harm to you; Deathly Silence acted out of anger, not true malice. We only thought you entered Nightshadow through connections and acted out of concern for Nightshadow’s honor. Please spare Deathly Silence!”

“I’ll spare him, but you must follow orders from now on. Nightshadow must be united—otherwise, what kind of organization are we?”

“Yes, we understand. Thank you for sparing Deathly Silence!”

Ghostblade signaled Deathly Silence to join in; his expression complicated, Deathly Silence said, “Thank you for your mercy, Deputy Leader.”

Chen Mu nodded, instructing Ghostblade and the others to take Deathly Silence for treatment. He finished his report and then headed to the main demon hall to find his godfather, Archfiend Gongsun Qingyang.

Gongsun Qingyang’s injuries remained—mainly due to the blood fiend’s corrosive aura. Unless this was purged, healing would be difficult. Even if Chen Mu exposed the power of his black pearl’s life force, it would not suffice, for the problem was not simply injury but fiendish poisoning.

Fortunately, Rou’er had already devised a method to purge the blood fiend’s aura, and had notified the elders to gather materials for refining antidote pills.

Chen Mu had come today to fulfill his promise to let Rou’er choose something from the treasure vault. Gongsun Qingyang had since learned of this and agreed. Had Rou’er not come to his rescue and covered his retreat, he would have died in the imperial capital of the Bright Moon Empire.

Gongsun Qingyang, still unwell, looked at Chen Mu and Rou’er who had entered the hall. “Friend Rou’er, the council has agreed to let you enter the treasure vault. My health prevents me from accompanying you; Elder Song Miao will guide you.”

Chen Mu and Rou’er followed Song Miao to the location of the Nine Nether Sacred Land’s treasure vault. At the vault entrance, Song Miao produced the stone seal granted by Gongsun Qingyang, placing it at the center of the gate, where it was inlaid.

A thunderous rumble sounded, the door slowly opened, revealing a small inner door; beyond that lay the treasure vault.

The vault was filled with dazzling treasures and resources—rare herbs and materials in abundance, and the spirit stones seen beneath the Bright Moon Empire’s palace were here as well.

But Rou’er was not interested in those; scanning the vault, Rou’er’s divine sense covered everything, and she had already identified the treasures within.

Rou’er walked directly to a deep blue pearl, gently caressing it with her small paw. “This is the one.”

Song Miao glanced at the pearl and smiled wryly, “Senior, this pearl was brought back by the archfiend from ancient ruins; aside from attracting lightning, it has no other use. Are you sure you want only this?”

“Only attracts lightning? You don’t recognize its value! This is actually a dragon pearl from a thunderbolt flood dragon. If Chen Mu refines it, he’ll gain some inherited abilities. Carrying it attracts lightning to temper the body; what you see as useless is just what I want.” Rou’er used her spiritual power to instantly deliver the flood dragon pearl to Chen Mu.

Song Miao was astonished—he hadn’t realized the pearl had such properties. But he remembered Rou’er had saved the entire Nine Nether Sacred Land, and so let her have it; even if he wanted to take it back, he lacked the strength.

In fact, since arriving, Rou’er had sensed the dragon pearl’s presence; as a three-tailed dragon fox with dragon blood, she naturally resonated with it.

Chen Mu, seeing Song Miao agree, immediately stowed away the thunderbolt flood dragon pearl, knowing he had gained a genuine treasure today.

The other treasures were dispensable, but Rou’er still grabbed some spirit stones for Chen Mu, knowing their future value.

This time, Song Miao truly felt the pain—whether the flood dragon pearl was genuine, he couldn’t say, but he knew spirit stones were precious. Luckily, Rou’er didn’t take them all, only about half—a thousand or so.

Now, with the spirit stones from the treasure vault, Chen Mu had about three thousand in total, most of them middle-grade. This time, he had truly struck it rich.