Chapter 30: Where’s My Senior Sister?!

“Senior Sister, the deer cries must be coming from here.”

Standing before a stone door at the end of the cave, He Yimo spoke thoughtfully.

He reached out to touch the formation on the door but was immediately repelled by its protective barrier, sending him flying backward.

Fortunately, Jiang Jinyue reacted quickly and caught him before he hit the ground.

“Are you alright?”

Jiang Jinyue raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting to the door with a newfound seriousness.

After a long rest earlier, her energy had mostly recovered.

As long as she refrained from using illusions, her eyes wouldn’t hurt, and her physical condition remained stable.

“I’m fine, but it seems this door is protected by a formation.”

He Yimo steadied himself, speaking with a hint of helplessness.

Behind this stone door lay the forbidden area where Gu Wanglan had imprisoned the Nine-Colored Deer.

The formation on the door was Gu Wanglan’s final lock.

He Yimo knew there was a hidden spare key nearby, left by Gu Wanglan. But in front of Jiang Jinyue, he had to play along. If he found the key too easily, it would be as if he were walking into his own home.

“Let me try.”

Seeing no other solution, Jiang Jinyue sighed and stepped forward.

She glanced back at He Yimo, who looked at her with curiosity and anticipation. For some reason, his gaze reassured her, and she lightly bit her lip before turning back to the door.

Three fox tails emerged from her back as blood-red flames swirled around her.

【On second thought, this might not be such a bad thing.】

【If I hadn’t revealed my fox demon identity to He Yimo earlier, who knows how much time we would’ve wasted trying to open this door!】

Jiang Jinyue smiled faintly as she gathered her spiritual energy and pressed her palm firmly against the formation’s seal.

Crack… crack… crack—!

The entire stone door began to tremble.

As Jiang Jinyue channeled her energy into the formation, cracks began to spread across its surface within half an incense stick’s time.

He Yimo had initially planned to watch from the sidelines but couldn’t help widening his eyes at the sight.

Rumble… rumble… rumble—!

Finally, the formation shattered, and the entire stone door collapsed into rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust.

【Damn, that was… intense.】

He Yimo was dumbfounded. In the original story, this door required a key to unlock, after which it would slide open smoothly to reveal the passage.

But under Jiang Jinyue’s brute force, the entire door had been blown apart.

Her raw power was just as terrifying as her illusions!

“Cough… cough…”

Emerging from the dust cloud, the cherry-haired girl covered her mouth with her hand. Her face looked paler than usual as she reverted to her usual junior sister appearance, no longer maintaining her fox demon form.

“Come on, He Yimo. The door’s open—let’s go.”

Jiang Jinyue’s tone was more serious now as she waved him forward.

Exhausted from using her strength and revealing her identity, she lacked her usual lively demeanor. Her face was filled with fatigue—she didn’t even bother pretending anymore.

Standing at the doorway, He Yimo watched her retreating figure with mixed emotions.

As Jiang Jinyue disappeared into the dust beyond the collapsed door, He Yimo followed closely behind, stepping over the rubble—

“Senior Sister Jiang?”

Standing amidst the ruins of the stone door, He Yimo looked into the empty dungeon ahead with a puzzled expression.

The dungeon was silent—no response came except for his own echo.

He jumped down from the rubble and continued forward.

At the far end of the dungeon lay a fiery pit of molten lava. Suspended above it was an iron cage holding none other than the legendary Nine-Colored Deer.

Sensing someone’s presence, the deer stood up despite its chains. Its intelligent eyes glimmered as it let out a sorrowful cry for help.

【I can’t believe I’m seeing a living Nine-Colored Deer…】

【In the original story, this little guy was already sacrificed into a pile of bones by Gu Wanglan when it first appeared.】

He Yimo couldn’t help but feel emotional.

There was no doubt—this fiery pit and iron cage were straight out of the mountain temple dungeon’s final scene in Fallen Immortal.

Everything here—the treasures and even the deer’s cries—matched his memories perfectly!

But instead of focusing on the countless treasures around him, two pressing questions gnawed at He Yimo’s mind—

【Where’s the boss guarding this mountain temple?】

【And… where’s Jiang Jinyue?】

……

……

……

Rumble… rumble… rumble!!!

Beneath the dungeon lay another hidden chamber.

As a white light illuminated strange runes on the ground, Jiang Jinyue found herself standing frozen in place.

Her sharp teeth peeked out from her lips as she surveyed her surroundings warily—but all she saw was darkness and confusion.

“What is this place?”

“Where’s He Yimo…”

“Did I trigger another trap?”

The fox demon girl’s cute face twisted in bewilderment.

One moment she had just blown open the stone door and called for He Yimo to follow her.

The next moment—the space around her twisted as white light enveloped her—and now she was inexplicably transported to this eerie location.

Not only could she no longer sense He Yimo’s presence…

But the pitch-black environment left her blind—she could only hear faint water droplets echoing in the distance.

“Damn it! What is this disgusting aura…”

“How many cursed things has Gu Wanglan hidden in this mountain temple?”

With He Yimo absent—Jiang Jinyue no longer needed to maintain her facade as a righteous cultivator.

Her enchanting eyes glowed with malice as she summoned her fox tails and scanned her surroundings with heightened vigilance.

But as an overwhelming sense of danger crept closer—her initial bravado began to falter. Beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks as fear took hold.

This place was too sinister—the air reeked of blood…

Thick fog obscured her vision—even when she conjured flames for light—it barely illuminated anything nearby.

What unsettled her most was the faint sound of something squirming in the distance…

Her instincts screamed warnings—reminding her of He Yimo’s earlier remarks about feeling watched in the mountain temple. Now Jiang Jinyue felt an eerie chill down her spine—as if something malevolent were watching her every move…

“Damn it—I’m an Enchantress!”

“I’m supposed to scare others—not be scared myself!”

Despite her defiant words—the fox demon girl’s tail had already tucked itself between her legs.

Truthfully—Jiang Jinyue was terrified.

She had come to the back mountain tonight intending only to locate Gu Wanglan’s mountain temple based on prophecy—and then leak information to lure the protagonist here later…

Exploration hadn’t been part of her plan.

But with He Yimo present—and carrying Mo Yuyan’s protective token—she’d felt emboldened by a false sense of security…

Her plan had been simple:

If Gu Wanglan discovered them—she’d use He Yimo’s token to summon Mo Yuyan and let her deal with him!

Killing Gu Wanglan would still align with Jiang Jinyue’s goals…

But now—she realized she’d gambled too much!

She had overestimated herself—and underestimated Gu Wanglan’s elaborate defenses around his mountain temple!

Reflecting on it—Jiang Jinyue realized she knew very little about this place beyond vague prophecy mentions of the Nine-Colored Deer. She didn’t even know which cult Gu Wanglan followed…

Regret gnawed at her heart!

Whoosh—

A chilling wind brushed against the back of Jiang Jinyue’s neck.

She spun around—but saw nothing…

Her heart raced uncontrollably—her self-proclaimed title as “Enchantress” seemed far removed from reality now…

Hisssss—

Another unsettling squirming sound reached her ears…

This time—her sharp fox ears pinpointed its direction…

Looking up—she saw rows upon rows of glowing red compound eyes staring back at her from above…

There were eight pairs in total—and within each eye glimmered ancient runes etched deep within their pupils…

Creak… creak… creak—

The sound of joints twisting echoed ominously…

A massive creature dangled from the dungeon ceiling—its eight compound eyes fixated on Jiang Jinyue below—emitting eerie humanoid squeaks…

But more than its grotesque appearance—it was its suffocating aura that unnerved Jiang Jinyue most—as if every breath carried an overwhelming “life force”…

For Jiang Jinyue—this “life force” wasn’t just metaphorical—it was tangible—a concept only those familiar with cultists from The Cult of Myriad Moons could comprehend…

Creak… creak… creak—

As its grotesque form lunged toward her—the fox demon girl bit down on her silver teeth—her defiant expression finally giving way to despairing terror—

“This isn’t good…”

“It’s one of Myriad Moons Cult’s Breeding Worms!”