At the entrance to the basement, both Cici and Joy looked visibly tense.
Then Cici called out loudly, "Master, your maidservants have a request."
"Come in." Mason Hu's voice echoed from inside, sounding noticeably weak.
"Yes, Master."
Cici answered, pushed open the heavy door, and stepped inside first. Joy and Ian Song followed close behind.
The basement wasn't dark at all; the walls were studded with egg-sized night pearls, casting a gentle, soft glow throughout the space.
In the center of the basement stood a massive crystal coffin, with Mason Hu lying inside.
"Cici, Joy, why did you bring an outsider in here?"
Mason Hu's voice sounded again from inside the crystal coffin.
Joy replied crisply, "Master, this is the guardian of Mesa City. The two of us had to put in a lot of effort to capture him. Since your body hasn't recovered yet, we brought him here as a tribute to you!"
"You two are quite thoughtful!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the lid of the crystal coffin flew open on its own. Mason Hu, who had been lying inside, suddenly sat up, his blood-red eyes locking onto Ian Song. A flicker of surprise flashed across his gaze. He floated out of the coffin, landed beside Ian, took a deep breath, and then smiled with satisfaction at Cici and Joy. "You two did very well. I'm very pleased."
"Master, what reward will you give us?"
Cici and Joy flanked him, each hugging one of Mason Hu's arms.
Mason Hu said smugly, "You two little minxes, of course I won't treat you badly. I'll let you share in this meal with me. I can sense a huge amount of energy inside him—if you drink his blood, you should be able to break through to duke rank. If I absorb his blood, my blood energy will be fully restored, maybe even advance further. Hahaha!"
But just then—
Cici and Joy struck at the same time—one drove a dagger into his chest, while the other smashed a heavy punch into his skull.
Spatial Stasis!
At that moment, Ian Song activated his divine art: Spatial Stasis.
The instant the divine art activated, Ian appeared right in front of Mason Hu. All of his martial cultivation exploded forth, and in a heartbeat, he blasted Mason's body into bloody fragments. But what truly puzzled him was that there was no heart core inside Mason's body.