Having been a demonic practitioner—when they were alive, the opening of Venerate Ghost Hand's tomb had attracted the attention of numerous individuals of the same alignment.
Blending in with the crowd during its opening, Cuo Qing Yi had entered the tomb himself, and—
"Devil Cuo is here!"
"Surnamed Cuo actually came!"
"There! Surround him!"
"Hand over Mo Xiao!"
It didn't take very long for Cuo Qing Yi's presence within these tombs to become common knowledge, as practitioners of various backgrounds actively competed against one another for rare opportunities—whether that be powerful magic treasures, or long-lost cultivation methods and divine arts.
Within such a heated environment, the formation of temporary alliances was a common occurrence, but what was even more common than alliance formation would have to be—
"Hack…! You-!"
"Did you really think that you'd be worthy of such spoils?"
"You bastard…! I'll take you out with me!"
"Uh? What are you-?!"
...…
"Surnamed Gu, give it up!"
"Hmph! If I can't have this, then no one will!"
...…
"Senior brother, do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do this? Don't worry, I'll take care of junior sister for you."
"I treated you like a genuine brother, and yet, to think that this was your true-! Ah…!"
"Ai, you only have yourself to blame for hogging everyone's attention. Now that you're gone, I won't have to hide in your shadow any longer."
Betrayals, they were much more common than the formation of alliances, as the sound of devastating divine arts were exchanged throughout the tomb, while screams of misery echoed.
...…
"Dammit, lost him!"
"Tch…"
...…
"…"
After dealing with numerous traps, along with the hostile intent of other practitioners—who had grudges against him or were coveting Mo Xiao, Cuo Qing Yi finally arrived at the main chamber of the tomb.
Situated onto a raised platform is a stone casket, while complex symbols are present throughout the walls of the vicinity.
"…"
Taking in the scenery of this chamber, Cuo Qing Yi thought—
(Being able to bury himself in such a large tomb—built via spatial manipulation magic, this Venerate Ghost Hand, he wasn't the leading figure of demonic cultivation during his generation for nothing.)
Intent on returning here—once the situation surrounding this tomb dies down, Cuo Qing Yi smiles with a hint of satisfaction.
(If it's here, I should be able to spend the rest of my life peacefully. …Not being able to eat and drink, that might be something that I'll miss, but since they all taste like blood—I guess, I won't miss such luxuries too much?)
Thinking of this, Cuo Qing Yi approaches the stone casket, and sliding his hand across the lid, he frowns.
"…Hm?"
Sensing something unusual about the casket, Cuo Qing Yi raises a frown, but before he could examine the item further, he snaps his head towards the entrance—at the sound of rushing footsteps closing in on his location.
Distancing himself from the casket, and positioning himself to the walls of the chamber, he takes out a talisman.
Activating the talisman, Cuo Qing Yi's figure disappears from sight, and in the same instance, several individuals rushed into the chamber.
"…Seems like we're the first ones here."
"That's Venerate Ghost Hand's casket?"
"Most probably."
The group that just entered consists of both men and women, and taking a step forward, a young man asks—
"What are we waiting for then?"
Asking this, the young man walks up to the platform, and presses both hands onto the casket's lid.
Narrowing her eyes with an odd gleam, a young woman says—
"Sir Chen, it's not good to disturb the dead."
Raising a cold snort, the one who is referred to as Sir Chen replies—
"Everyone knows that the most valuable items on a practitioner is placed into their casket with them."
Having said this, Sir Chen pushes the lid off, and with it—
"Hm? Uh…!"
Raising a sharp gasp, dark mist spews from the casket, and sucking in a deep breath, Sir Chen takes a few steps back—prior to falling off the platform, and landing onto his back.
As Sir Chen's body convulses, his complexion darkens at a rapid rate, while his flesh begins to wither.
"Poison!"
"Don't breathe it in!"
Immediately, the group that Sir Chen was a part of distanced themselves, while the young woman—who had made the remark about it being disrespectful to disturb the dead, waves her hand.
Coincidentally, the wave of the young woman's hand sends the mist of poison towards Cuo Qing Yi's direction—forcing him to quickly move aside.
"Hm?"
Detecting the sound of Cuo Qing Yi's footsteps, another practitioner snaps his head in the former's direction, and—
"Who is it?!"
Following this shout, a handprint of spirit Qi is tossed in Cuo Qing Yi's direction.
"…"
Narrowing his eyes, Cuo Qing Yi takes out Mo Xiao, and stabs it at the incoming handprint—causing it to collapse.
As the smoke clears, Cuo Qing Yi's figure comes into view, causing the practitioners nearby to widen their eyes.
"Devil Cuo…"
"This bastard actually made it here first?"
"Was he the one who rigged that casket?"
"In that case, he's responsible for Sir Chen's death."
"…"
Being slandered for something that he hadn't done—at this point, Cuo Qing Yi has gotten accustomed to matters of this nature.
At the same time, Cuo Qing Yi already knows that it's pointless to say that he wasn't at fault; due to the numerous accusations that have been placed onto his shoulders, no one would believe his words.
That being the case—
"Leave or die."
Having encountered numerous individuals of various characters over the years, Cuo Qing Yi is confident—in his abilities to see through a person's true nature at a glance, and towards these individuals, he can say for certain that none of them are anything decent.
Among these individuals, the young woman, who had warned Sir Chen before, she was pushing the latter forward—to have him test the waters for the rest of the group, while several others had a similar gleam as her in their eyes.
"Hmph. Attack!"
"If he dies, Mo Xiao is mine!"
As soon as the enemies' weapons are drawn, Cuo Qing Yi doesn't waste any time in blowing into the flute—causing tendrils of dark mist to erupt from the instrument, and pour themselves forward.
"…!"
"This is…? Mo Xiao's abilities?"
In a rapid manner, the enemies fall, and just as Cuo Qing Yi lowers the flute slightly—
"…!"
Evading to the side, Cuo Qing Yi barely manages to dodge a beam of purple radiance that came from within the stone casket.
"…"
Glancing at the wall, Cuo Qing Yi sees a rusted needle stabbed into it, and just as he turns his full attention towards the stone casket, a withered hand rises from within, and grabs hold onto the casket's lips.
Supporting themselves to gradually rise in this manner, the owner of the withered hand begins to emerge from the casket—revealing themselves to be an old corpse dressed in purple robes.
"…"
Emerging from the casket fully, the corpse's eye-sockets give off an ominous crimson glow, and opening its mouth, the corpse remarks—
"7,000 years, I've waited for someone to come into this place, and open this stupid casket. Brat, feel honored to become my vessel. The first thing that I'll do—once I get out of this hellhole, it's to find the descendants of those who sealed me here, and-"
"…"
Ignoring whatever else that this corpse—who is none other than Venerate Ghost Hand himself, has to say, Cuo Qing Yi closes the distance between them, and swings Mo Xiao.
Raising his hand, Venerate Ghost Hand blocks the flute; however—
*Boom!!!* upon contact, Venerate Ghost Hand's hand is blown off, causing the former to seemingly widen his eyes—prior to putting some distance between Cuo Qing Yi and himself.
"Y-You-! What kind of magic treasure is this?"
Ignoring the question, Cuo Qing Yi remarks—
"A dead man should just obediently stay in their casket."
Having said this, Cuo Qing Yi charges at Venerate Ghost Hand once more, and faster than the latter can react, the former lands several hits on them, and quickly reduces them into ashes.
"…"
Just as Cuo Qing Yi thought that the situation had been dealt with—
"Such a powerful magic treasure, I'll be sure to use it to its full potential—once I've obtained your body."
The eerie voice of Venerate Ghost Hand comes from the walls of the chamber, and looking around—
"Uh?"
Cuo Qing Yi sees that all the symbols on the walls are currently giving off a blood-colored glow.
Just as a feeling of bad premonition wells up in Cuo Qing Yi's heart, Venerate Ghost Hand continues to say—
"Blowing up this place might land me in a troublesome area, but… Nothing that I can't solve—so long as I manage to obtain a flesh and blood vessel at the end."
"…!"
Widening his eyes, Cuo Qing Yi takes out several defensive magic treasures and talismans, and in the next instance—
*…!!!!!!!!!!!!!* a terrifying sound goes off, as the world in front of Cuo Qing Yi turns white!