Dare to Cancel the Engagement? I Will Marry Your Ancestor! - Chapter 21

Hu Xin was even more pleased with what he heard, showing a sly grin hidden beneath his beard. “The Sect Master and Long Qianqian truly share a deep bond. Since you’re going together, there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll wait here for your return.”

Mo Ling could tell exactly what this scheming traitor was thinking before he even finished his sentence. However, seeing that Long Qianqian, despite her earlier disdain for corpse fiends, was still willing to accompany him, he felt genuinely moved.

“The Grand Elder is right about one thing. With my wife and me working together, we will be unstoppable.”

Nearby, disciples from other sects overheard his words and cast mocking glances in their direction, their faces filled with contempt.

These onlookers were none other than the disciples of the Great Yan Sword Sect. They had just sent a scouting party into the secret realm and couldn’t help but scoff at the arrogance of the small sect beside them.

“If even scouting requires the Sect Master to personally take action, then the rest of the disciples must be completely useless. They are just here to fill the numbers!”

“Of course! If not for having two hundred disciples, they wouldn’t even qualify as a sect. Most likely, they just bought their members!”

Hu Xin had a fiery temper, but he wasn’t reckless enough to directly provoke the Great Yan Sword Sect.

He glared at them for a long moment, his beard bristling in anger, before finally yelling, “Sect Master, just you wait! The Second Elder and I will personally gather our disciples and scout the way!”

The disciples of Tianyun Sect, unwilling to let their reputation be tarnished, immediately stepped forward, eager to prove themselves.

Mo Ling remained calm, unfazed by the taunts of other sect.His demeanor carried the grace of a true leader as he nodded approvingly at his disciples.

“There is only one secret realm, and every sect is eager to claim its treasures. Naturally, there will be competition, both open and hidden. But petty squabbles are beneath us—we have no need for such childish behavior.”

His disciples burst into laughter, while the Great Yan Sword Sect’s members immediately rose to their feet, swords drawn, their expressions turning hostile.

“What the hell do you mean by that? If you’ve got guts, say it clearly!”

Long Qianqian ignored their leering gazes and spoke in a cold voice. “Don’t waste time on them. Let’s go.”

Mo Ling, however, simply smiled and cupped his hands toward the Great Yan Sword Sect’s leading elder. “My words weren’t directed at anyone in particular. But if someone takes offense, that’s on them, not on  me.”

The elder of the Great Yan Sword Sect, aware that all the surrounding sects were watching, had no desire to start a public argument. He simply lowered his gaze and brushed nonexistent dust from his sleeves, pretending not to hear.

Long Qianqian tugged at Mo Ling’s sleeve. “Let’s go. Every moment we waste here is an opportunity lost.”

Hu Xin gritted his teeth. “Exactly! Disciples, prepare to enter the secret realm with the Sect Master!”

Tianyun Sect’s disciples split into two groups—one stayed behind with Hu Xin, while the other, led by Gu Kewai, followed Mo Ling into the secret realm.

Mo Ling knew that bringing so many disciples would be a burden, but their morale was high, and there was no way to dissuade them. So, he could only lead them forward.

Descending into the base of Mirror Ring Mountain, the mist was still thin. Everyone had taken breath-sealing pills to counteract the miasma, so they moved forward without fear.

Other sect disciples accompanying them hastened their pace, eager to be the first to seize an advantage.

Gu Kewai glanced around at the dense forest and asked, “Sect Master, which direction should we take?”

Mo Ling observed their surroundings carefully before pointing toward a spot where the mist was thinner. “This way. We’ll search for the entrance slowly and carefully.”

As they climbed along a narrow mountain path, an eerie gust of wind suddenly swept through the trees. The mist thickened rapidly, blanketing the mountain in a suffocating haze. Soon, they couldn’t even see the people next to them.

“Watch out for corpse fiends!”

Long Qianqian shouted just as she felt hands grabbing at her from all directions, dragging at her limbs.

Mo Ling tightened his grip on Long Qianqian’s hand, keeping her firmly by his side. His elbows struck out defensively, fending off unseen assailants.

But he couldn’t protect everyone. Within moments, all the disciples around them had vanished. Only he and Long Qianqian remained.

Breathing heavily, Long Qianqian felt something in her arm. “Look!”

Mo Ling leaned in and saw that her arm was covered in dark, bruise-like handprints.

“Hold on to me. Don’t let them separate us again!”

Long Qianqian swallowed hard. Ever since they had entered the secret realm, she had been tense but had kept it to herself. Now, just one encounter had already drained a significant amount of her strength.

“What now? Should we go back and find Elder Gu?”

Mo Ling made a swift decision. “We’re still at the base of the mountain. They should be able to fight their way out. We should keep moving upward—our priority is to get out of this area.”

Long Qianqian nodded and held onto Mo Ling’s arm as they moved forward.

But the ghostly hands lurking in the mist struck again. Mo Ling, having had enough, gathered his qi in his palm and unleashed the Sky Cloud Breaking Palm technique.

The force of his strike surged like a fierce wind, slicing through the mist like sharp blades. It didn’t matter how many hands lurked within—every hidden figure was cut down!

The air filled with the stench of bl00d and decay. Then, a piercing scream echoed through the fog.

A shadowy figure, its body twisting like a serpent, lunged at them.

Mo Ling smirked. “Finally showing yourself? Let’s see what you really are!”

Though his last attack had drained some of his energy, he immediately gathered his qi again, channeling it into another powerful technique.

With a flash of crimson light, the Scarlet Emperor Seal slammed down, pinning the enemy in place!

Mo Ling’s technique swept away the dense mist around them, finally revealing what had been attacking them.

It was a Centipede Demoness.

But it wasn’t a normal one. Like the corpse fiends they had encountered earlier, this creature was a grotesque fusion—over fifty women’s bodies stacked and fused together, forming a horrifying human centipede.

Mo Ling’s strike had severed its limbs and torsos, scattering its fragmented remains across the ground. Yet, even as broken pieces, the writhing bodies still struggled, twitching grotesquely. Rotting flesh and putrid bl00d soaked into the earth, masking its original color beneath a thick layer of filth. The air reeked with death and decay.

Long Qianqian had seen many horrors in her travels, but nothing as sickening as this. Unable to endure the sight, she instinctively buried her face against Mo Ling’s chest. “How could this secret realm be so… vile?”

Mo Ling, however, remained unfazed. He didn’t dwell on whether this was truly the secret realm’s doing—once they reached the core of the realm, they would find their answer.

He smiled faintly, gently running his fingers through Long Qianqian’s soft hair in comfort before taking her hand and leading her forward.

“Aren’t you going to finish it off?” she asked.

“I would,” Mo Ling replied, “but I figured you’d rather not see something this disgusting again. It’s already immobilized, so let’s just leave it.”

But his words and his thoughts didn’t entirely match.

The ones who come after us should at least know who cleared the path for them.

As they stepped beyond the mist, they reached a ledge halfway up the mountain and looked down. To their surprise, they realized that the mist was not uniform—it gathered in distinct patches across the landscape, meaning that the corpse fiends only existed within those mist-covered areas.

Long Qianqian studied the scene carefully before pointing back toward where they had just fought the Centipede Demoness. “Logically, we cleared out the corpse fiends in that area. So why is the mist still so thick?”

Mo Ling narrowed his eyes, considering her words. “You think the mist is coming from their bodies?”

Long Qianqian nodded and raised her arm. “At first, I thought these bruises were from being grabbed, but look closely—this is the mark of corpse fiend miasma.”