Chapter 62: Survival from Desperate Situation (Part 2) ...
Chapter 62: Survival from Desperate Situation (Part 2)
"It's a spirit!" Zhao Siwen, seeing a glimmer of hope, quickly tossed out a jade bottle. Light, like weary birds returning home, poured into the bottle. Veins bulged on his forehead, and earthworms wriggled beneath his skin as he struggled to maintain the Soul Gathering Technique. A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. Forcing a Jindan-stage cultivator to activate a Yuanying-stage soul-gathering technique was ultimately too much of a stretch, like a pony pulling a large cart.
The elder of the Yinfeng League roared like a wounded beast. The demonic energy emanating from his body whipped up a black storm, shattering the talisman chains piece by piece. Bu Xingjin was unable to dodge and was blown away by the blast, crashing into the charred ancient cypress. A fishy and sweet taste welled up in his throat, and he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood. Looking up, he met the elder's crimson eyes. What surged in them was not murderous intent, but a chilling greed.
"It's actually a bloodline that's been advanced..." Withered Claws grabbed at Bu Xingjin's forehead with a fishy gust of wind, as if trying to snatch the most precious treasure in the world, "What a top-notch incubator for possessing another body!"
The leaves in Qing Yan's phantom's hand suddenly turned into vines, like a nimble green snake, wrapping around the elder's wrist. Emerald spiritual patterns spread along the skin, like a burning green flame: "Are you worthy?" The vines suddenly tightened, like a python strangling its prey, and actually cracked the wrist bones of the Nascent Soul cultivator.
Bu Xingjin seized this fleeting opportunity, pouncing like a cheetah on its prey. His Blood River Knife pierced the elder's Dantian, gliding through the cracks in the vines. The dark patterns on the blade shone like lava, like a beast awakened. It trembled wildly amid the wailing of the collapsing Nascent Soul, as if playing a triumphant song.
“Impossible…” The body of the Yinfeng League elder collapsed like a sand tower. His last gaze was fixed on Bu Xingjin’s brow, as if he wanted to carve his appearance into his soul. “You are clearly…”
The unfinished words were swept away by the mountain wind, as if they had never existed. Bu Xingjin stumbled, using his sword to support himself. Looking up, he found that Qing Yan's shadow had faded to the point of being almost transparent. What was going on? Just as he was wondering, the figure suddenly approached, reaching out and touching his forehead. Warm spiritual energy flowed out like a clear spring, soothing the stinging pain in Bu Xingjin's sea of consciousness.
"The jade leaf can still hold out for half an incense stick." Qing Yan's voice seemed to come from the distant sky, ethereal and unreal. "Go to the center of the formation. Someone is holding the formation base and wants to restart the mountain protection formation."
****
Inside the Golden Light Hall, the situation grew increasingly critical. The leader of Floating Flower Peak, like an invincible god of war, swung his sword with a single blow, like lightning streaking across the night sky, cleaving the dark iron mask of the leader of the Yinfeng Alliance. The mask fell to the ground with a resounding sound, like a death knell.
The moment the leader of the Yinfeng Alliance revealed his true appearance, Yi Bingqi's pupils shrank suddenly, as if he had seen a ghost: "Elder Song?"
The person before them was none other than the Grand Elder of Jinxia Temple, the one they'd heard perished on the ancient battlefield twenty years prior. His left face was covered in purple-black demonic patterns, like the marks of a demon, exuding a strange and sinister air. He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, as if savoring victory. With a wave of his left hand, twelve bronze coffins flew out from his sleeve. Runes flickered on the coffin lids, reminding everyone of the endless evil imprisoned within.
"Master Yi has a good memory, but unfortunately..." Elder Song hadn't finished his words when the coffin lid exploded with a roar like spring thunder. Twelve cultivators, their eyes bloodshot, appeared like they had walked out of hell, emanating a thick, sinister aura that sent chills down their spines. The Amaterasu clan gasped upon seeing this—these faces were remarkably familiar: they were all the Spirit-Separating Elders from the nearby sects who had successively announced their retreats! Normally, they were supreme cultivators, but now they were reduced to puppets of the Yinfeng Alliance, like manipulated puppets.
"boom--!"
The entire mountain suddenly trembled violently, as if the world had come to an end. The golden lines of the mountain protection formation flickered among the clouds, like twinkling stars in the night sky, yet revealing a sense of unease and turmoil. Clearly, someone was preventing the mountain protection formation from reactivating, like an invisible hand attempting to snuff out the Amaterasu sect's last hope.
The head of Fuhua Peak's head tensed, his heart gripping him. He was anxious, worried that Xin'er was in danger. Earlier, when he had obtained the array base, he had immediately sent Xin'er to a secret location to restart the mountain protection array. Besides the publicly visible key point that could be used to restart the mountain protection array, there was another hidden key point, supposedly hidden from all but a few. Now the mountain protection array was flickering, clearly something was amiss with the restart. Could there be another culprit?
Yi Bingqi also realized the situation was dire, and his expression changed for the first time, rippling the usually calm surface of the lake. He quickly sent a message, asking the leader of Fuhua Peak to rush to the formation base, his voice piercing with anxiety and concern.
"Leaving won't be that easy!" Elder Song seemed to know everything. Although the two Amaterasu sect members hadn't said a word, he could already tell from their expressions that something was up. Although the people disrupting the formation weren't his foresight, he suspected someone might have stumbled upon something and helped.
The leader of Floating Flower Peak, like a reckless warrior, radiated a surge of sword light, like the sun exploding. However, upon reaching the bronze coffin, he was entangled in a crimson mist and instantly sank into the mire, unable to move. Twelve Spirit Severing Stage puppets, with eerie steps, danced a dance of death, unexpectedly laying a net within the hall, a vast, invisible net that trapped everyone.
Seeing this, Yi Bingqi didn't dare to slack off. Nine small jade swords flew out from his sleeves, transforming into nine nimble jade dragons. Amidst the whirring of the swords, a dragon's roar could be heard, like the roar of a divine dragon, resounding through the sky: "Nine Heavens Thunder Attraction Technique!"
In an instant, the wind and clouds shifted, the sky and earth changed color. The sky above the Amaterasu sect was instantly covered with dark clouds, like a black curtain covering the sky. As the clouds collided, they spitted out thunder, like a wrathful god. Lines of purple lightning followed the sword formation and poured into the hall.
Elder Song—no, the leader of the Yinfeng Alliance—looked like a crazed demon, grinning and making hand gestures. Twelve puppets simultaneously formed seals, creating a blood-red barrier like a crimson city wall, deflecting the heavenly thunder towards the temple pillars. The beams and pillars, forged from millennia of black iron, collapsed with a thud, like paper. The entire Zhaixing Peak was teetering on the brink of collapse, like a candle in the wind, poised to go out at any moment.
****
Bu Xingjin followed Qing Yan's shadow's guidance, like a traveler seeking light in the darkness, and rushed into the belly of an unnamed hill not far from Fuhua Peak. Here, a corridor paved with dark blue ice crystals, like a passage leading to a mysterious world, but now the passage was covered with charred palm prints, like claw marks left by a demon, exuding a gloomy and dangerous atmosphere.
Zhao Siwen followed Bu Xingjin closely with a vigilant look. Suddenly, he was quick-witted and grabbed Bu Xingjin's sleeve: "Wait! There is a soul-eating insect here!" There was a bit of panic in his voice.
Before he could finish his words, a dark purple swarm of insects gushed out from the cracks in the ice crystals like a flood bursting through a dam. The Soul-Eating Gu were like starving wolves, baring their fangs and claws. Bu Xingjin swung his sword, slashing with flames, only to be devoured by the insects like delicious food. A heart-pounding gnawing sound emanated from the blade, like the bite of millions of ants.
"Don't use your spiritual power!"
Qing Yan's shadow flew forward, like a ray of protective light, tearing a gap in the insect swarm and opening up a way out in the darkness: "Gather the spiritual power around you and follow me!" The voice was firm and powerful, giving people infinite hope.
The two of them, a shadowy figure, instantly reached the end of the corridor. From a simple stone platform, a young girl's muffled groans could be heard faintly, like the low cry of a wounded deer. Zhong Wenxin half-knelt before the formation, like a guardian of hope, refusing to retreat. If she hadn't mistakenly trusted these people, how could she have ended up like this?
A poisoned arrow quivered in her shoulder, its feathers trembling. Black blood oozed from the wound, her face pale as paper. The jade-like formation base in her hand was cracked with tiny spiderwebs, like a spider web shattered in the wind, and the faint light of spiritual energy flickered.
Three monks dressed as disciples of the Amaterasu sect were like three greedy wolves, surrounding the center of the formation and trying to break the last protective ban guarding the center of the formation. The leader had the pattern of the Amaterasu sect's spirit beast peak embroidered on his sleeves. When he saw them coming, he signaled the two people behind him to intercept them and not to hinder him from breaking the ban.
"Elder Yan's direct disciple..." Zhao Siwen's pupils suddenly shrank. He actually saw the scene he was most unwilling to believe. "Could it be that everyone in Lingshou Peak has rebelled!" His voice was full of shock and anger.
Bu Xingjin had no time to think. Like a blazing flame, he charged forward, Blood River Knife raised high, as if to sever all evil. He fought two opponents at once, holding his own. Zhao Siwen hurried to catch up. The two, also at the Jindan stage, were clearly no match for Zhao Siwen, and quickly retreated to Wu Libei, the direct disciple of the Spirit Beast Peak master, whose figure was embroidered with the Spirit Beast Peak pattern.
"Waste!" Wu Libei cursed the two and looked up at Bu Xingjin and the other two. "Then I'll deal with you first."
Two men and a shadow faced three men, and the battle broke out instantly. Wu Libei, despite his boasts, wasn't as formidable as he claimed. In the cramped cave, he couldn't summon his oversized spirit beast, and could only struggle to hold off, losing ground.
Seizing this opportunity, Zhong Wenxin endured the pain, his eyes gleaming with determination as he quickly placed the array base into the array center in the correct order. Then, with a wave of his hand, the storage bracelet on his right hand seemed to open a treasure trove, continuously dropping top-grade spirit stones. The top-grade spirit stones shimmered like sparkling stars.
These top-grade spirit stones quickly covered the base of the array's center, including the inner base, like a layer of armor covering a precious treasure. As these top-grade spirit stones approached the array base, the spiritual energy within seemed to find a home, instantly absorbing it. Soon, the covering top-grade spirit stones turned into a small amount of white powder, indicating that the spiritual energy had been completely absorbed. As an unknown number of top-grade spirit stones disappeared, the cracks in the array base gradually healed, like a wound healing, and a new vitality emerged.
"No!" Wu Libei rushed forward desperately, but was completely unable to stop what happened next.
The mountain protection formation began to restart! Golden light, like the rising sun, slowly overflowed from the center of the formation, gradually illuminating the entire mountain belly, like the dawn that dispelled the darkness.
****
Elsewhere, the leader of the Yinfeng Alliance, currently clashing with Yi Bingqi, suddenly erupted like a stricken beast, gushing black blood like a black fountain. Twelve spirit-distracted puppets howled in unison, like wounded beasts, the blood-red spells fading beneath their skin. Like a hunter seizing an opportunity, the leader of Fuhua Peak shattered three puppets, his sword tip like lightning, aimed directly at the Yinfeng Alliance leader's brow. "The formation has been reactivated!"
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