Ling Xiao continued his analysis, “The Plague Demon King once dominated the Heavenly Dragon Continent, incredibly fearsome. His treasures and martial arts manuals must be abundant. Aren’t you three senior brothers interested?”
Wanyan Jun and Chen Zui’s eyes lit up.
But they weren’t fools.
“Junior Brother Ling’s reasoning is likely correct, but even if there are treasures, we need to survive to take them. One demon general was bad enough, if there’s a Plague Demon King too, aren’t we doomed?”
Wanyan Jun said reluctantly.
He was eager to explore but feared the consequences.
“Hahaha, looks like you two senior brothers are scared stiff. The Plague Demon King is surely gravely wounded, his strength likely weaker than the demon general’s. Otherwise, why hide in this wretched place, relying on a demon general to lure warriors below Third-Level Mortal Realm?”
Ling Xiao laughed heartily.
“Right! Why didn’t I think of that!”
Wanyan Jun’s face lit up with joy.
This was a rare opportunity, one not to be missed.
“Senior Brother, let’s go down and check. If it’s too much, we’ll escape.”
Chen Zui couldn’t hold back either.
Though death was terrifying, when the allure of profit outweighed fear, reason vanished.
“We can go, but first, let’s agree on how to split the loot. We can’t let Junior Brother Ling take everything after all our hard work.”
Wanyan Jun said with a smile.
“Simple, fifty-fifty. I take half, you three split the other half. How you divide it is up to you.”
Ling Xiao replied.
He wasn’t sure of the situation below, so he needed them to come along, otherwise, he wouldn’t bother with them.
“Why? There are four of us, twenty-five percent each, isn’t that fair?”
Chen Zui protested.
“No, no, Junior Brother Ling’s contributions are undeniable, twenty-five percent is too little. How about this, Junior Brother Ling,_you take thirty percent alone, and we three split the remaining sixty percent, how’s that?”
“No, I take forty percent.”
Ling Xiao shook his head.
Chen Zui wanted to argue, but Wanyan Jun stopped him.
He chuckled, “If Junior Brother Ling says forty percent, then forty percent it is, no objections.”
Then, he secretly transmitted to Chen Zui, “Once this is over, we’ll deal with Ling Xiao and Shangguan Lei, and split the treasures between us. No need to haggle with him.”
That was his true intent.
“Senior Brother Wanyan, shouldn’t we request aid from the sect? This is the Plague Demon King, after all.”
Unaware of their scheme, Shangguan Lei said worriedly.
“Request aid for something this trivial? That’d mean failing the mission.”
Wanyan Jun dismissed Shangguan Lei’s suggestion outright.
What a joke, using Ling Xiao now meant they could claim the treasures below, but if they called the sect, everything would belong to them.
They’d get nothing, only a fool would do that.
He certainly wouldn’t.
Ling Xiao sneered inwardly but agreed with Wanyan Jun’s plan to avoid sect involvement.
He wanted the treasures below too, even if just a few scraps, but if the sect found out, there’d be nothing left.
After their discussion, Wanyan Jun, Chen Zui, and Shangguan Lei continued recovering.
Each swallowed pills to restore true essence, vitality, and heal injuries.
Though regrowing limbs was impossible, restoring stamina and true essence was good enough.
While they recovered, Ling Xiao pondered how to reach the underground lair.
He had observed earlier that a grand array, the Plague Bone Array, blocked the path between the basement and the lair.
To descend, the array had to be broken.
Though Ling Xiao lacked the materials and experience to set up powerful arrays, when it came to breaking them, he was likely unmatched, even by the finest array masters in the Mysterious Realm.
Perhaps even better.
With the analytical power of his Mountain River Martial Soul, he could even crack the ancient array in the Moonlight Sect’s inner Moonlight Pavilion, let alone this much weaker Plague Bone Array.
But some things shouldn’t be done too easily, as it would arouse suspicion from the three.
Moreover, breaking it too effortlessly would alert the Plague Demon King below, which wouldn’t bode well for him.
He preferred enemies to underestimate him, making victory easier.
So now, he needed to take his time.
Waste a bit more time.
Give the three enough time to recover, so they could help handle some trouble.
His main reason for going down wasn’t just the treasures but the Plague Demon King himself.
From the moment he learned of the king’s existence, Ling Xiao felt a connection to his *Nine Demon Techniques*.
The nine demon kings of the *Nine Demon Techniques* were exactly those under the True Demon Emperor.
Was this mere coincidence?
Ling Xiao didn’t believe in such coincidences, there had to be a connection.
He had to go down and see. If he could absorb the Plague Demon King into his Mountain River Martial Soul, his *Nine Demon Techniques* might improve further, perhaps even birthing entirely new martial arts.
After about a quarter-hour, Ling Xiao felt it was time.
The three had recovered sufficiently, and Wanyan Jun and Shangguan Lei’s hidden weapons were recharged.
If trouble arose below, their weapons could handle it.
He stood slowly, took out an unused array stone, and with a wave, sent all thirty-six Heavenly Gang flying swords piercing into the ground.
With a rumble, the sword qi penetrated the surface, sinking into the earth.
But when Ling Xiao recalled the swords, nothing seemed to change.
Chen Zui grew impatient, snapping, “I say, Junior Brother Ling, are you just putting on a show? Can you actually do this or not?”
Ling Xiao ignored the array-ignorant fool.
Quickly, he inscribed a set of runes on the blank array stone with true essence, then shouted, “Command, Absorb!”
In that instant, a ferocious force surged from the ground, startling Wanyan Jun, Chen Zui, and Shangguan Lei, nearly prompting them to flee.
Only when they saw the force completely absorbed into the stone in Ling Xiao’s hand did they realize there was no danger, Ling Xiao had likely succeeded in breaking the array.
