Chapter 116: The Seven of the Shadow Sect (Four Thousand Words)

He shouldered all the blame himself. If only he had told everyone everything he knew from the very beginning, perhaps things would be different, and this trip to the back mountain would never have happened.

"It is not entirely your fault; it is not." Xia Rong bit her lip, gently bent down, and pulled Yu Daoyi into her embrace, her expression filled with heartache and compassion.

In the distance, Bai Yiyue witnessed the scene. Recalling how the youth had once appeared enchantingly handsome and seemingly omnipotent, she found his current fragility and vulnerability unsettling. Her heart seemed to be touched by something, leaving her with a lingering sense of distress.

After a long while, Yu Daoyi’s sobbing gradually ceased. He slowly opened eyes that were already red from crying; his once clear gaze was now clouded with exhaustion and bloodshot veins.

"Sister Xia Rong, thank you," Yu Daoyi whispered, his tone unreadable.

"Your brother entrusted you to me. I will protect you on the road ahead," Xia Rong said, her face flushing slightly with shyness, conscious of the man resting in her arms.

"I am not that fragile," Yu Daoyi said, seemingly noticing her flushed face. He pulled away from her embrace with a forced smile and added, "And my brother—he is not that fragile either."

"He is my brother; we are kin. I will choose to believe in him." Yu Daoyi could not help but glance back at the dark, pitch-black tunnel through which they had arrived. "Therefore, I need to know a few things now, including about the Shadow Sect."

Yu Daoyi brushed off his sleeves, which were tattered from the lava, and turned his gaze toward Lin He, the meaning in his eyes unspoken yet clear.

"The Shadow Sect... they have arrived?" Xia Rong asked, startled, a trace of genuine fear crossing her features.

"Yes. I wonder if you noticed—there was a man with a very low presence."

"You are just like Lin He, Sister Xia Rong. What is it that you both know?" Yu Daoyi nodded, then spoke to her with profound implication.

Xia Rong, a receptionist at the Tianxuan Pavilion of the Seven Luminaries Chamber of Commerce, had appeared here within the legacy of Baili Mo. This spoke volumes; at the very least, the establishment of the Tianxuan Pavilion in a small place like Qingshan Town was indeed purposeful, and this legacy was one of those purposes.

Furthermore, Xia Rong was certainly no mere receptionist. Her presence here indicated that her standing within the Tianxuan Pavilion was high, and her cultivation level likely reached around the Ninth Realm.

As Yu Daoyi calmed himself, he kept analyzing the situation. The slight apprehension shown by Xia Rong and Lin He suggested that the Shadow Sect was likely a behemoth comparable to forces like the Tianxuan Pavilion or the Xiaoyue Pavilion.

More concerning to Yu Daoyi was the surname 'Xia'—the royal surname of the Great Xia Dynasty. Few would dare use 'Xia' as their surname unless they had some connection to the dynasty. If his suspicions were true, was Xia Rong here under a secret mission from the Great Xia Dynasty?

"I did not intend to deceive you. From the start, I never expected you to enter this secret realm." Xia Rong realized her mistake and shook her head. She was equally surprised by the appearance of Yu Daoyi and Yu Yunfan here, regardless of how they had managed to enter the legacy cavern.

Concerning the array in the first trial alone, she did not believe these two cultivators, who had yet to reach the peak of Qi Refinement, could have passed it. Conversely, she was not the least bit surprised by Lin He’s presence.

"I do not blame you. I just do not want to be treated like a fool or a pawn for others anymore." Yu Daoyi collected his thoughts. He truly did not blame her; he simply loathed the feeling of groping through the fog.

"The Shadow Sect is an organization composed of seven individuals. Each one possesses unfathomable strength and is a powerful master standing at the pinnacle of this mortal world. Yet, very few know who they actually are," Lin He said, walking toward Yu Daoyi.

"Only seven?" Yu Daoyi asked, puzzled. Based on his deductions, a secret force of this caliber should have had more members.

"Yes, only seven. But their capabilities are far beyond anything we can imagine."

"The Shadow Sect is mysterious and acts in unpredictable ways. Setting aside their profound cultivation, these seven have a group of death-sworn loyalists who are willing to die for them at any moment."

"What we know is that these people work for the Shadow Sect but do not belong to it. Among them are many Golden Core cultivators, and we have even investigated Nascent Soul cultivators serving them. Yet, even so, they never became part of the sect. The Shadow Sect does not recruit, or perhaps those people are simply not qualified to enter."

"So, the Shadow Sect has only ever consisted of those seven. That is why I suspect they have each cultivated their own forces, or they are already hidden within major sects."

"To put it hyperbolically, if some sect masters of the top forces in the Heavenly Domain suddenly claimed to be among the seven, I wouldn't be surprised."

Seeing Yu Daoyi’s skeptical look, Xia Rong spoke with gravity. Only when she saw the serious expression on his face did she let out a sigh of relief.

Yu Daoyi pondered the conversation between Lin He and the Shadow Sect member. It was clear that Xia Rong knew less about the sect than Lin He did. From their dialogue, he gathered that there were currently six members of the sect; one of the seven was the 'Mr. Mo' Lin He mentioned, who had defected for unknown reasons.

"From what I know, the seven have been preparing for something for a long time, though I don't know what it is." Xia Rong mused, glancing toward the small wooden house in the center. Her eyes grew deep as she added, "And here, there is something they are determined to obtain."

"What is it?"

"A box. A black box," Xia Rong said.

"A box? What is inside? Is it the legendary Immortal Art?" Yu Daoyi frowned.

If it were a true Immortal Art, he believed both the Shadow Sect and the Tianxuan Pavilion would intervene. But according to rumors, this art was fragmented and incomplete. Was such an incomplete art really worth the involvement of these two major powers? Yu Daoyi knew too little about the Immortals; he could not yet grasp how great their allure truly was.

"I don't know. That is all I know. I am here under my father's commission to retrieve the object in that box, or at the very least, find the box itself," Xia Rong shook her head.

Yu Daoyi turned to Lin He. "And you?"

"Me? I am just here to carry out Mr. Mo's instructions. I know nothing about any box." Lin He smiled lightly, appearing calm and detached. It was impossible to tell if he was truly ignorant or merely feigning it, and what Mr. Mo—a likely member of the Shadow Sect—was planning remained a mystery.

After a long while...

"The blood-colored opening above is sealed by an array; we still cannot get out. I don't know what is in that wooden house, other than the fact that the Shadow Sect member went in, but it seems he didn't manage to obtain anything," Yu Daoyi sighed. This feeling of being trapped in a corner was truly unbearable.

"The box," Xia Rong murmured, walking toward the cabin, with Lin He following close behind.

"Are you not going?" A soft, sweet voice drifted over. One knew who it was just by the sound.

"I am not going. There is no point anymore," Yu Daoyi turned his head and said quietly, his eyes indifferent—a different person from before.

"What do you mean?" Bai Yiyue furrowed her beautiful brows in confusion.

"I never came here for any box, any Immortal Art, or any legacy."

"I only came here to break the seal outside and rescue my people. And now, whoever obtains the legacy, I have the leverage to ensure they let my people go."

"And what about you, Bai Yiyue?"

Yu Daoyi spoke gently, though it was a move born of helplessness. He understood his own condition; his consciousness and body were fragile. That previous battle, even with the help of the artifact spirit, had completely drained him. If he continued in this state, he would surely die here.

As for the others, Xia Rong was a given, and he had a measure of control over Lin He. The only variable was the Shadow Sect member. If he were the one to obtain the legacy, Yu Daoyi would have to swallow his pride and agree to his demands, even if it meant sacrificing the Ancient Demon's Nine Transformations.

However, if the final result was that everyone survived, he considered any price worth paying.

"Are you threatening me?" Bai Yiyue smiled, her charm soul-stirring.

"Put away your seduction. While I may have a weakness for beauty, I know what is most important right now. Besides, you would do well not to use your charms on me."

Yu Daoyi had an inexplicable confidence in the crimson book within his mental sea. Even if it were not necessarily on his side, it would not allow its domain to be provoked by others.

"Yu Daoyi, confidence is a good thing, but arrogance will bring you great trouble," Bai Yiyue narrowed her eyes, her expression one of mockery.

Her snow-white fingers hovered before Yu Daoyi’s face. Every gesture, every smile, was captivating and mesmerizing. Seeing the haze enter Yu Daoyi’s eyes, the mockery in Bai Yiyue’s eyes deepened. This youth always managed to pique her curiosity and competitive spirit. She lightly tapped her finger against the center of his brow, as if teasing him.

But the moment her finger touched his forehead, Bai Yiyue’s expression froze. A massive wave of pressure surged forth, rendering her unable to move. She struggled desperately to pull her finger back, only to find it impossible.

The scene before her began to blur. Pale grey mist swirled from all directions, and the world turned completely black. She could no longer hear any sound. Bai Yiyue remained stuck in her initial posture, feeling the pressure on her body mount. Her back was already drenched in sweat, her skin glistening, her form alluring yet trapped.

Her perfect curves were displayed to their fullest, and her slightly flushed cheeks made her even more charming, though there was no one left to appreciate the sight.

Bai Yiyue began to panic. A master of illusions, she felt as if she had been dragged into a hallucination by Yu Daoyi, left as helpless as a fish on a chopping block.

Time felt nonexistent. She felt as though an eternity had passed. She wanted to surrender, to beg for mercy, or even to use her charms once more to make him release her, but she found she could not even open her mouth.

Long after, the grey mist began to dissipate. Bai Yiyue exhaled, her face covered in sweat, her once-rosy lips now dry.

However, as her eyes widened, fear took hold. She wanted to retreat, to escape. She realized that the arrogant one in front of this youth had been herself all along.

Behind the mist, Bai Yiyue saw a pair of eyes—blood-red eyes with vertical pupils. They stared straight at her, and the pressure emanating from them crushed her spirit.

Darkness, grey mist, blood-red vertical pupils.

Bai Yiyue let out a muffled groan, as if she had lost control of her body and consciousness, and she collapsed backward, her eyes shutting.

A pair of warm, large hands gently caught her slender waist. This was the first sensation Bai Yiyue felt as she regained a sliver of clarity.

Her long lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, only to see the man holding her as she fell. For a moment, Bai Yiyue, who was usually the one teasing others, felt a flush of crimson spread across her cheeks, her expression unnatural.

"Self-inflicted suffering is the hardest to cure," Yu Daoyi shook his head. Indeed, with that crimson book present, ordinary people could not enter his mental sea.

"Let go of me!" Bai Yiyue frowned deeply, speaking with a fierce tone. Yet, to Yu Daoyi, such harsh words were nothing more than another form of coquetry.

"Oh." Yu Daoyi looked at her, feeling his own spirit begin to grow hazy again. He decisively let go. One truly could not be soft-hearted with a woman who could bewitch others, or one would surely suffer a great loss.

If his mental sea had not been drained, he might have been able to resist with his unique spiritual sense. But as it stood, with the artifact spirit autonomously countering the intrusion, he had no defense against such mental attacks.

"Ah." Yu Daoyi heard a delicate cry.

Looking back, he saw Bai Yiyue had fallen to the ground. Her posture was provocative, her long legs twitching as if trying to rise but failing from exhaustion. Yu Daoyi watched as she kicked her legs, unable to get up, her bewitching face full of grievance.

Noticing the man's gaze, Bai Yiyue's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red. She bit her lip, refusing to admit defeat or speak. For the time being, Yu Daoyi simply watched, expressionless, not feeling the slightest bit awkward.

Getting up, falling down; getting up, falling down. The posture was incredibly alluring, the view spectacular, a feast for the eyes.

Her already soul-stirring features were even more captivating now. Beneath her white dress, her jade-like feet were partially visible, and the white collar of her garment rose and fell with her chest.