The Depths of Deception

Amidst the cries of surprise, Han Li—already on guard—raised his other hand and cast his Green Luan Sword forth. The blade shot out and collided with the black shadow.

The impact knocked the shadow back to the edge of the pool. It reared up, tongue flickering, and fixed a cold stare on the group.

“A Crested Snake? But how—how did its crest turn into a Seven Iris Flower?” Hu Yue’s eyes went wide as he recognized the creature’s true form.

The black shadow beside the pool was, without a doubt, a three-to-four-foot-long black serpent with strange horns growing from its head.

The snake’s tongue flicked a vivid red. At the top of its fleshy horn sat the tri-colored bud, perched like a tiny flower on its skull—a grotesque and absurd sight.

As for the rainbow? That was nothing more than a stream of multi-colored demonic qi the snake exhaled, a haze of shimmering, lingering colors that refused to disperse.

It looked just like a real rainbow—no wonder it had fooled so many cultivators’ eyes.

Shi Die, having seen the snake’s true form, let a cold glint flash in her eyes. Without a word, she raised her hand and released a purple cloud handkerchief. It shot through the air with a booming roar, striking toward the demon snake.

“Careful! That snake is extraordinarily venomous—you are not its match!” Jin Qing’s face changed drastically as he hurriedly called out. Even as he spoke, he released his white seal, which transformed into a streak of white light and flew in to assist.

The serpent’s eyes were icy. As the two treasures approached, it opened its mouth and spat out a seven-colored pearl. A gorgeous, brilliant glow expanded from it, blocking the seal and the purple handkerchief, stopping them cold in their tracks.

By now, Hu Yue had finally shaken off the despair of losing a priceless treasure. After a brief hesitation, his two flying blades turned into streaks of rainbow light and joined the fray.

Before the snake, three beams of white light, a flash of purple radiance, and a swirling mass of seven-colored brilliance clashed and intertwined.

The serpent showed no fear. With a series of croaking cries, it sprayed out puffs of colored mist. The moment the trio’s magical tools and artifacts touched that fog, they instantly dimmed and lost their luster.

“How can this beast be this powerful? Could it be a mutated monster?” Jin Qing asked, his voice tinged with alarm.

But before he finished speaking, a streak of blood-red light shot in from one side. It slipped through the colored mist in a flash and struck the snake’s fleshy horn.

A hole the thickness of a thumb appeared there, a clean puncture wound.

The creature shrieked in pain and rolled across the green stone floor. Then, coiling its body, it flashed toward the jade pool.

But in that instant, an emerald-green flying sword fell from the heavens. With a speed that outpaced even thought, it pinned the serpent’s head to the stone floor. The snake’s tail thrashed wildly, but it could no longer move an inch.

This was Han Li and Qu Hun acting in unison.

Aside from Qu Hun using a Blood Drill, Han Li had deliberately suppressed the Evil-Cleansing Divine Lightning within his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords—releasing none of it. He did not want anyone recognizing that the blades were refined from Divine Thunder Bamboo.

Seeing the snake subdued by Han Li, Jin Qing and the others finally relaxed.

Together, they used their magic treasures to gradually force the seven-colored demonic pearl down. After a brief discussion, Shi Die stored it in her storage pouch.

Only then did they move to surround the serpent.

“This is definitely a Crested Snake—but it looks like someone deliberately refined its crest into the shape of a Seven Iris Flower. There’s no way it grew that way naturally,” Hu Yue said, eyeing the snake still struggling beneath Han Li’s sword. His voice was thick with confusion.

“Obviously, the Seven Iris Flower was nothing but a trap from the start. Probably set for that skeleton over there. We just happened to stumble into it a second time,” Jin Qing said with a wry smile of agreement.

Han Li stood to the side without a word, looking between the snake and the skeleton’s damaged right hand.

In his mind, a scene formed: some excited cultivator rushing over to pick the Seven Iris Flower—only for a venomous snake to fly out of the pool, sink its fangs into his finger, and drag him down into the poisonous water.

A chill ran down Han Li’s spine.

And then there was the small arrow still lodged in the skeleton’s body. The one who set this trap had clearly prepared a fallback. He was a man of meticulous, long-laid schemes.

Slash.

The Crested Snake’s head and body were severed in one clean motion.

Shi Die stood to one side, a short blade in hand, her eyes cold and sharp.

Han Li frowned slightly.

He understood. She hated this snake for ruining her face. Even if the Crested Snake wasn’t the direct cause of her disfigurement, it was certainly complicit.

And to a woman, her face was as precious as her life.

Han Li shook his head gently. He raised a hand, and the small sword flew back into his body without a speck of blood.

Then his attention returned to the arrow embedded in the skeleton.

The arrow was about a foot long, and its vibrant green color looked similar to Han Li’s Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords at first glance—but upon closer inspection, it was distinctly different.

Han Li’s flying swords were a bright, glossy green, while this arrow carried an undertone of black energy. It seemed to have been corrupted or refined by some dark technique.

“Fellow Daoist Han, would you like to check the other areas? Maybe we’ll find something else?” Hu Yue asked impatiently, seeing that Han Li intended to keep studying the skeleton. It was clear he was unwilling to leave empty-handed.

“You may go wherever you like. I and Fellow Daoist Qu will stay in the main hall,” Han Li replied, his tone plain and indifferent.

Hu Yue looked surprised, but after glancing at the skeleton and the arrow, he hesitated.

In the end, he did not leave.

Jin Qing and Shi Die also remained, saying nothing.

After all, given what they had just experienced, who knew what other dangers lurked in the cave? It was safer to stay together.

And besides, they had already guessed that this arrow was no ordinary item. The increasingly mysterious Han Li would not have studied it so thoroughly otherwise.

“Fellow Daoist Han, could it be that this isn’t an ancient cultivator’s ruin at all—but a carefully crafted setup?” Jin Qing asked suddenly, his voice somber.

“No. It’s definitely an ancient cultivator’s cave. Otherwise, it would be far too coincidental that the two of you found the pearl and tracked your way here. But someone else reached it first and used it to set their own traps,” Han Li said with a shake of his head.

“So that means there’s no treasure here?” Shi Die’s voice was ice-cold.

Han Li’s expression showed a hint of regret, but though he said nothing, it was as good as a confirmation.

A look of unease passed between Jin Qing and Hu Yue.

Hu Yue, in particular, felt the sting of failure. Not only had he gained nothing from this expedition, but he had also brought two allies with him—one whose face was destroyed, another who had perished. By any measure, this was a disastrous treasure hunt.

As the group fell into a grim silence, a faint, almost imperceptible moan drifted from the direction of the pool.

The cultivators snapped their heads around.

The body of the dead Jian—who should have been dead and gone—was slowly crawling out of the pool! Its limbs twitched, and from its skeletal mouth came indistinct, guttural groans.

Everyone froze, exchanging bewildered looks.

As cultivators, they wouldn’t be particularly shocked by a vengeful ghost or some evil spirit—they would simply strike it down. But this was a companion who had died only moments ago.

Could there be some secret art that preserved the primordial soul even after the body was reduced to this state?

Unsure whether it was man or ghost, Hu Yue and the others hesitated.

The corpse of the Jian cultivator slowly rose, climbed fully out of the pool, and walked stiffly toward them.

“Stop right there! Man or ghost, take another step, and we won’t hesitate to strike!” Hu Yue seemed to sense something wrong and shouted quickly. With a flick of his sleeves, his twin flying blades appeared and began to circle him.

Jin Qing and Shi Die also tensed, their eyes locked on the approaching figure.

As soon as Hu Yue’s words rang out, the corpse halted in place, motionless.

Hu Yue and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

But Han Li, watching coldly from the sidelines, sensed a growing unease. He quietly flipped his palm, a hidden artifact now in hand.

And then—it happened.

The corpse suddenly lunged. With a powerful kick, its skeletal body hurled itself at the group.

Taken by surprise, Hu Yue and Jin Qing unleashed their treasures without thought. Two streaks of white light and a beam of white radiance struck the corpse simultaneously.

It exploded on impact. Incredibly fragile.

Hu Yue felt a wave of relief wash over him.

But in that same instant, he felt a faint breeze behind him. Then—a cold, stabbing pain from his back.

A snow-white bone hand burst through his abdomen from behind, its five fingers clenched tightly around a single, bean-sized azure pill.