"It's just a few kilometers ahead," Yuan Qi said, stopping the magic array and pointing forward.
The group immediately flew towards that direction on their swords. Below them were still vast swamps and wetlands, and the further they went, the sparser the vegetation became. In no time, all they could see was mud. Beneath the water's surface, which still reflected the light, black soil stretched endlessly, its dense blackness carrying an indescribable odor and a chilling aura.
etc!
Isn't there a bit too much black mud here?
Youyou paused abruptly, looking down at the black sludge below again. Was it an illusion? Why did she feel like the sludge was moving?
“This is it!” Mr. Yuan stopped and looked down.
"But there's nothing here?" Feng Rong stopped and looked around, but didn't find Qiu Zhang or the soul beast.
"The tracking array just now did indeed sense Qiu Zhang's aura at this location." Yuan Qi also felt something was strange, and subconsciously flew down. Just as he landed, the black silt below seemed to tremble.
"Wait!" Youyou's heart tightened, and she immediately pulled the person back. "This mud is moving!" This time it was not an illusion. She had clearly seen the black mud below suddenly rise a few inches, as if it was preparing to pull them down.
The two were taken aback, and then carefully lowered their heads and released their divine senses to examine it closely.
"This is..." Yuan Qi was taken aback, "It seems like there's something wrapped up under the mud!"
"Such a strong resentment!" As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Rong's face also darkened. He pointed downwards and said, "There is a very strong resentment hidden inside, but it is covered by this layer of black mud and cannot come out! Moreover..." He looked at it carefully again with his divine sense and was immediately shocked, "There is Qiu Zhang's aura inside."
Youyou's eyes widened, and she immediately said, "Quick, break through this layer of black mud!"
Yuan Qi had already begun forming hand seals, and the next moment he summoned a bolt of lightning, which struck down into the swamp below. With a deafening crash, a large hole was torn open in the entire swamp, and the thick layer of black mud that had covered it began to shatter like a broken mirror.
A black aura surged forth from the ground, instantly plunging the entire area into winter. The humidity plummeted, and a sharp, chilling cold swept over everything.
Resentment, a soaring resentment mixed with dense yin energy, continuously rose from the ground. Its sheer quantity turned the already somewhat gloomy sky completely black.
"Qiu Zhang is right in the middle!" Yuan Qi pointed to the center of the soaring resentment from the ground.
Sure enough, a somewhat blurry figure was shrouded in heavy resentment, its form flickering between light and shadow, making it difficult to see clearly.
"Feng Rong, dispel these resentful spirits!" You You turned to look at Feng Rong.
"I understand." Feng Rong nodded, raised her hand and summoned her natal fire, which rushed towards the resentment. After burning for a while, the resentment, which was so dense that it was almost solidified, slowly dissipated under the fire.
Only then did the three of them get a clear look at Qiu Zhang's situation.
Indeed, Qiu Zhang before them had split into five or six, each almost transparent, somewhat resembling the form they first encountered in the ruins. And that wasn't all; these five or six shadows seemed poised to continue splitting.
"Its soul is being eroded by resentment and is about to dissipate!" Yuan Qi frowned and immediately formed a soul-stabilizing spell, quickly setting up an array. Only then did Qiu Zhang's scattered wisps of soul converge and merge back into one, slowly transforming back into a single entity.
However, his current condition is obviously very bad. He had already cultivated a physical body and was just one step away from attaining the Dao Fruit, but now he has reverted to a semi-transparent soul form. Although it is much better than his previous remnant soul, his soul form still looks extremely weak.
"Qiu Zhang!" You You called out after seeing that Qiu Zhang's soul had stabilized.
Qiu Zhang's previously vacant eyes slowly regained their clarity. He blinked and stared blankly at the three of them, "Sect Master... Venerable One?"
"What happened? How did you get trapped in all this resentment?" Youyou continued to ask.
"Resentment?" Qiu Zhang was stunned for a moment, then seemed to remember something, and his expression changed drastically. "Yes! Resentment, there's so much resentment outside the city! I have to go tell the soul beasts that this place... wait, where is this?"
He seemed to only then realize what was happening, looked around, and looked completely bewildered.
"Your communication talisman with the soul beast suddenly stopped working, and there was no news for three days, so we came looking for you," You You explained. Luckily, they arrived quickly, otherwise the soul body he had painstakingly nurtured would have been completely shattered by the resentment.
"What exactly happened?" Yuan Qi asked in a deep voice. "Where are the soul beasts?"
"I don't know..." Qiu Zhang scratched his head, his face full of confusion. After composing himself, he continued to explain, "Before, we were near the Western Border when we accidentally entered a city. The soul beast said... it sensed something strange in the city and said it would stay for a few days to see what was going on. But when I woke up the next day, it had suddenly disappeared. I searched the entire city but couldn't find it!"
"Then how did you end up here?" Youyou continued to ask.
“I was worried that something had happened to the soul beast. I couldn’t find him in the city, and I couldn’t find the communication talisman either, so I decided to go out of the city to look for him,” Qiu Zhang continued. “Who knew that as soon as I left the city, I encountered countless resentful spirits. Those resentful spirits were very strange, as if they were endless. I would dispel one batch, and then another batch would be reborn. Later, I exhausted my Yin power… and when I woke up, I saw you all.”
Youyou was silent for a while, then turned to look at Yuan Qi, "Father Yuan, what do you think?"
“It’s really strange that even ghost cultivators can’t deal with this resentment!” Yuan Qi said in a deep voice. “Besides… Qiu Zhang said he encountered resentment as soon as he left the city, but there are no towns around this swamp. The nearest small town is hundreds of miles away. Either someone moved him, or there might be something wrong with this resentment.”
“More than that!” Feng Rong also spoke up, “I think the most problematic one is the city that Lao Qiu mentioned. Didn’t the soul beast say that it felt there was something wrong with that city? It’s from the Underworld, so its feeling shouldn’t be wrong. Maybe it’s still in that city right now.”
You You nodded, agreeing with the assessment. She then looked directly at Qiu Zhang and asked, "Qiu Zhang, do you know the exact location of that city? Could you take us there?"
“We should be able to go…” Qiu Zhang nodded. “We encountered that city on our way back from the Western Frontier. I remember it was deep in a dense forest, and behind it was a large swamp.”
"Alright! Let's set off quickly and find the soul beast first!" You You stood up, thought for a moment, and took out a Divine Summoning Token that the old man with divine sense had hidden there. "Qiu Zhang, your soul is damaged. This Divine Summoning Token is a divine artifact after all, with the function of nourishing the soul and gathering energy. You can come in and rest first, and also show us the way. When we get back to the sect, we'll find a way to repair your soul."
"Yes, Sect Master!" Qiu Zhang knew the matter was urgent, so he didn't hesitate and immediately transformed into a beam of white light, entering the Divine Decree.
The three of them took to the air once more on their swords and flew towards the western border!
Hopefully, we can make it in time, and that nothing bad will happen to the soul beasts.
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