Chapter 786 - 359: Suspecting a Mole, Zi Xi’s Mindset

"It’s simple. Just shatter those ice coffins."

Li Chang’an didn’t act himself, continuing to guide Zi Xi instead.

He knew perfectly well that the Netherworld Saint Child was observing the situation.

Soon, a continuous series of RUMBLES rang out. Zi Xi had taken action, shattering the countless ice coffins bobbing in the Blood River.

"AAAAH—"

Inside the ice coffins, the seemingly slumbering Cultivators all let out piercing screams. As the Array was destroyed, they perished along with it, turning into ash.

At that moment, Wu Shuo and the others awoke.

"Strange... I’m sure I had already gone deeper into this place and killed the hidden Demon Cultivators. Why am I back here?"

Wu Shuo was bewildered, the dazed look on his face yet to fully fade.

The dozen or so others were in the same state.

One of them scratched his head. "I remember killing over a dozen Demon Cultivators," he said. "One of them was even a Celestial Pride, second only to the Demon Sect Saint Child."

"I didn’t kill any Demon Cultivators, but I found a Treasure they had hidden."

"And I rescued some trapped sect brothers..."

"..."

The group exchanged glances.

After a brief discussion, they quickly understood what had happened.

"We were trapped in another Array!"

They all drew a sharp breath, their faces filled with lingering fear.

The Demon Sect’s methods were simply too strange and impossible to defend against. They struck without any warning at all.

No wonder so few of the Cultivators who came in before made it out alive.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Saintess!"

Wu Shuo and the others thanked her in unison.

Zi Xi gave Li Chang’an a subtle glance.

She had known Li Chang’an for many years. Without needing to exchange a word, she understood his intentions, so she offered no explanation.

At that moment, the voice of the Netherworld Saint Child, Teng Ying, rang out once more.

"Zi Xi, I never expected you to have hidden your abilities so well—to be so proficient in the Array Dao Skill. I underestimated you. But... if you do not retreat, you will surely fall here today and become my captive. Heh heh heh..."

Before he could even finish his laugh, Zi Xi unleashed a blast of Magic.

With a BOOM, a battered Puppet appeared and fell from mid-air.

Obviously, this was the Puppet that Teng Ying had been controlling.

Zi Xi ignored his threat.

She led the group deeper, gradually approaching the core of the underground world.

Suddenly, the waters of the Blood River began to churn violently.

SPLASH...

The water surged and churned, and the stench of blood was nauseatingly thick.

The crimson surface of the river suddenly swelled. As if it had gained a mind of its own, it transformed into wave after wave of blood that crashed toward the group.

In addition, the severed limbs within the Blood River began to stir.

They pieced themselves together, connected by the river’s blood, forming hideous and bizarre monsters that roared as they charged the group.

"Is this all the power they have? The Saintess doesn’t need to lift a finger! We can handle this!"

Wu Shuo snorted and, with a wave of his hand, unleashed a blast of Magic.

In the next instant, a dozen blood-red monsters exploded.

The surging tide of blood was blocked by several other Honored Guest Elders.

It seemed Zi Xi’s help was truly unnecessary; they could handle this attack on their own.

But Li Chang’an’s brow furrowed. He sensed something was wrong and decisively sent Zi Xi a Sound Transmission.

"Saintess, use Tier Four Power immediately. Break the Array with brute force."

"Daoist Li, are we trapped in another Array?"

"Yes!"

"But I don’t sense an Array."

Zi Xi was surprised. This was the third time.

This latest change didn’t seem like an Array. It looked more like the effect of some Demonic Technique.

Li Chang’an’s tone grew grave as he explained to Zi Xi.

"Saintess, this is the Blood River Entrapment Array. When it first activates, its power is unremarkable. Even an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator could withstand it."

"But if the Array isn’t broken quickly, its power will skyrocket, making it impossible for those trapped inside to escape. They’ll just sink deeper and deeper..."

In the brief moment it took him to explain, the Array’s power had already surged dramatically!

Both the churning Blood River and the blood-red monsters born from it grew stronger and stronger.

Wu Shuo and the others could barely hold their ground, completely unable to break free.

Seeing this, Zi Xi didn’t hesitate for a moment. She immediately took out a Tier Four Talisman.

"Break!"

In an instant, a brilliant golden light erupted. The golden flames on the Talisman transformed into a gleaming golden Long Spear that shot straight forward.

BOOM!

Countless blood-red monsters instantly exploded into pieces.

A huge hole was blasted through the crimson river water that had been trying to engulf them.

With a wave of her hand, Zi Xi immediately led everyone out of the Array’s range.

At almost the exact same moment, Teng Ying’s cold voice rang out.

"Zi Xi, you’re so decisive. It seems you recognize the Blood River Entrapment Array. It makes me wonder if you’re a mole my Demon Sect planted."

Zi Xi’s eyes were cold. Without a word, she shattered the talking Puppet in the distance.

The faces of Wu Shuo and the others had gone pale.

In that brief time, they had each shattered countless blood-red monsters, using up more than half of their Magical Power in the process.

If Zi Xi hadn’t acted so decisively, they would have been completely submerged by the Blood River.

They immediately thanked Zi Xi once more.

"Thankfully, the Saintess is so knowledgeable and recognized that Array. Otherwise, we most likely would have lost our lives."

"It was nothing. Rest and recover."

A Spiritual Light flashed in Zi Xi’s hand, and a dozen or so Elixir Pills appeared. She distributed them to the group.

At that moment, she, too, felt a flicker of doubt.

’Why does Li Chang’an recognize all these strange and esoteric Arrays?’

’The three Arrays they’d encountered today weren’t conventional ones; they all seemed unique to the Demonic Sects.’

Recalling what Teng Ying had just said about a "Demon Sect mole," Zi Xi couldn’t help but glance at Li Chang’an again.