Chapter 654: Entanglement
Five-Insect Sect’s sect leader’s hall had not escaped the aftermath of the battle. Once grand and majestic, it now lay in ruins. The plaza in front of the hall was riddled with craters and fissures, scorched and soaked in places. There were clear signs of a cultivator battle.
Inside the hall, deathly silence reigned.
Cui Xuanzi stood with a dark expression, gazing silently at the devastated mountain gate outside and the corpses of his fellow sect members. His face was filled with sorrow.
Across from him stood two middle-aged men, both Fake Core Realm experts.
At their waists hung identical tokens engraved with the character "Li."[1]
One of them stood with hands behind his back, exuding a strong presence. Compared to him, Cui Xuanzi’s aura appeared noticeably weaker.
The other was a burly man, but his aura was feeble. Clutching his chest and abdomen, he sat in a chair, face pale and bloodless. Clearly, he had suffered serious injuries.
Both were disciples of Black Witch Palace. The standing one was named Du Xian, and the injured one was Jiu Shan.
Aside from them, another man lay unconscious on the ground, in even worse condition. Though his breathing was stable, he remained comatose.
Seeing Cui Xuanzi’s solemn demeanor, Du Xian scoffed dismissively and said, "Sect Leader Cui, must you put on such a pitiful act? So what if a few useless disciples died? Once my junior brother invites our master here and captures that Old Ghost Qin, we’ll retrieve the Thousand-Hand Spider Fruit. At that point, we’ll report your contribution to our master. With you still here and Black Witch Palace’s protection, what difficulty would there be in restoring Five-Insect Sect?"
Jiu Shan suddenly coughed violently. After regaining composure with great effort, he glared at Cui Xuanzi and roared, "You dare defy orders from Black Witch Palace and used a talisman astra to injure me and my junior brother? Only killing a few of your disciples was already letting you off easy. If not for my senior brother pleading on your behalf, I would have wiped you out on the spot!"
Cui Xuanzi clenched his fists and suppressed his fury. "You used the name of Black Witch Palace to search for someone, tricked me into opening the mountain gate to welcome you in, and then suddenly attacked. Did you expect me to just stand there and be slaughtered? The Thousand-Hand Spider Fruit was taken by Old Ghost Qin long ago. Had you simply asked for it from the start, would this battle have happened? Would so many of my Five-Insect Sect disciples have died in vain?"