The cave was gloomy and dark, emitting a creepy Green Light, giving one the feeling of having arrived in the Underworld.
Miao Miaomiao held her breath, concentrating, and slowly advanced while leaning against the wall.
The further inside they went, the wider the cave became, and the more skeletons appeared on the ground, directly paving a road of white bones.
At the end of the cavern, there was an Altar about ten meters in diameter. In the center of the Altar lay a peculiar, pentagonal Black Coffin.
Miao Miaomiao had never seen a Coffin with such a strange shape before, and her curiosity was instantly piqued.
The Coffin lid was open. As she walked closer, she realized that lying inside this Eccentric person’s Coffin was a Red-haired Old Man whose body was arranged in the shape of the character for 'fire,' and Black Qi was constantly oozing from him.
Miao Miaomiao leaned in for a closer look, and with just one glance, she recognized that the Old Bastard in this Coffin was definitely born from the same mother as the two outside! They looked equally ungrateful; if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even recognize him as a person.
From this, she concluded—he was the eldest brother among the Three Ghosts of the Huang Family, currently in a deep sleep!
As for why he was lying here, that was unknown; perhaps he cultivated some Evil Cultivation Technique.
The Old fellow was sleeping very peacefully, his aged face almost split by a smile, with Drool trickling from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he was dreaming of something pleasant.
Miao Miaomiao stared at him for a long time, then suddenly had an impulse, flicked her wrist, and delivered a Big Slap, saying, "Wrong posture, get up and sleep again!"
"Slap~" The sound of the slap was loud, but unfortunately, the Old fellow didn't react at all and continued to sleep soundly.
As she expected, people in deep sleep could not be awakened by ordinary means.
A flicker of doubt crossed Miao Miaomiao's eyes: "This old thing is sleeping so stiffly, not even setting up any defensive measures. Isn't he afraid someone will come in and disturb him? Is he that carefree?"
In reality, it wasn't that no measures were taken; it was just that she hadn't discovered the Array Patterns hidden around the Altar.
Huang Gālá, as the eldest brother among the Three Ghosts of the Huang Family, his methods and strength far surpassed those of his two unworthy younger brothers.
He had long ago laid an Evil Array around this Altar. As long as a living person dared to intrude into this area, the Evil Array would automatically extract their Vitality and use it as nourishment for him.
All those skeletons on the ground were his handiwork.
Unfortunately, Miao Miaomiao was not a living person in the true sense, so she could not be targeted.
"Huh? This Coffin looks quite nice."
Sensing that the pentagonal Black Coffin beneath him seemed extraordinary, Miao Miaomiao decisively tossed the Old Bastard out of the Coffin and took the Coffin into her possession, planning to take it back to show Old Jin.
As for the things on the Old fellow, she naturally stripped him clean, leaving him with only his Underpants.
She had originally intended to finish the job in one go, taking advantage of his deep sleep to send him off directly.
But this Old fellow seemed to be protected by a Secret Technique, and with her current strength, she couldn't inflict any substantial damage on him.
Helplessly, she could only dig a pit on the spot, bury him inside, and then use a Millstone to firmly compact the soil.
Whether he lived or died was up to fate.
"I hope he survives! Amitabha~" Miao Miaomiao drew a large cross on her chest and sincerely prayed for him.
After finishing all this, just as Miao Miaomiao was preparing to leave, the Altar suddenly began to shake. In a moment, a dark underground passage appeared behind the Altar.
"Could there be a second level?" Miao Miaomiao pondered for a moment and followed the passage downward.
The Death Qi below grew denser, and even her vision became somewhat blurred.
Vaguely, she seemed to see a gray bead floating in mid-air, emitting a strange glow.
The Death Qi in this area seemed to originate from that bead!
The Spirit Root inside her body became increasingly restless at this moment, as if urging her to hurry over.
Miao Miaomiao scanned her surroundings, confirmed there was no danger, and then slowly approached.
She reached out an empty hand and firmly grasped the bead. Before she could examine it closely, the bead actually merged into her body.
Simultaneously, a large amount of Death Qi spread throughout her body.
Miao Miaomiao dared not be careless; she immediately sat cross-legged and circulated the 《Great Thousand Nether Transformation Art》 to Refine and Assimilate it.
"Ugh~~ So painful!" Her Meridians felt as if they were being torn apart inch by inch, and the intense pain instantly caused cold sweat to stream down her face.
Feeling the Cultivation Bottleneck loosen slightly, she gritted her teeth, keeping her mind completely steady.
It was merely some minor hardship, something utterly normal during cultivation.
Gradually, she began to adapt, or perhaps she became numb.
The Black Qi emanating from her body had long since enveloped her entirely, making her look full of Evil Aura.
...Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Shi Wanyue, who was waiting outside the woods, showed a look of anxiety on her face.
In contrast, the two old bastards from the Huang Family looked delighted. Old Third Huang spoke carelessly, "Aiya! She hasn't come out after so long; she must have Kicked the bucket. Little girl, this old man advises you..."
"Slap~" Before he could finish speaking, the Vine Whip in Shi Wanyue's hand mercilessly whipped his mouth.
She glared coldly at him: "You better shut your mouth! If anything happens to my Senior Sister, I will make sure you all die a miserable death!"
After speaking, she swung her whip again, striking the mouth of Old Second Huang, who hadn't said a word.
Since Senior Sister had decreed a policy of treating everyone equally, she had to carry it out to the end.
The two Old Bastards were angry and resentful but were helpless against her, so they could only secretly hold this grudge in their hearts.
Keep acting up now; when my two brothers make a comeback, hmph hmph... I can't even imagine how miserably she will die.
*
Unknowingly, another three days passed. Miao Miaomiao’s tightly closed eyes finally opened, and the expression on her face was even more excited than when she won five dollars in the lottery back then.
She broke through!
And not just by one level; her Cultivation Level had already reached Foundation Establishment Realm Level Three!
Feeling the immense power within her, she looked up at the sky and muttered to herself, "What a pity! No Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation. As expected, only the protagonist deserves to have that kind of treatment."
Little did she know that at the very moment she broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, a strange event occurred at the distant Tianji Sect.
Ye Han, during the solemn Holy Son Enthronement Grand Ceremony, had just stepped onto the high platform, preparing to receive the blessings of the guests, when the previously clear sky suddenly became overcast with dark clouds.
Before he could react, a black lightning bolt tore through the clouds, and with a 'crack,' it struck directly onto his forehead.
Ye Han collapsed on the spot, his magnificent Holy Son robes shredded, leaving him with only a pair of Floral Underpants, which were still sizzling with sparks.
The guests attending the ceremony were all dumbfounded by this sight.
"What's going on? Is his tenure as Holy Son so bad that even Heaven can't stand it?"
"He probably did too many wicked deeds, right?"
"Hilarious! This is the so-called Son of Destiny? I think he’s purely a clown!"
"Isn't he a professional embarrassment? Last time he soiled his Underpants, and this time he gets struck by lightning in public... Hahahaha!"