Tian Ji's Horse Racing
In the pitch-black tomb passage, several cries of pain broke the silence.
Wen Zheng propped herself up and sat up. It was pitch black before her eyes, so dark that she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face.
"How are you?"
Her deliberately lowered voice was particularly loud in the empty tomb passage, and a roar came from not far away, which made Wen Zheng shrink back in fright.
When her fingertips touched the cold hilt of the sword, Wen Zheng's hand trembled slightly, and she bumped into an equally cold hand.
"Mu Qing, is that you?"
"Um."
A deep voice sounded beside her, and Wen Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, another female voice sounded from the side: "Light a fire."
A moment later, a flame flew out from Mu Qing's palm, illuminating the surroundings, and everyone finally saw the current situation clearly.
The tomb passage was very clean, without the piles of white bones I had imagined, and without any moss. It was as normal as a well-maintained courtyard path in someone else's house.
Wen Zheng reached out and touched the stone wall behind her. It was very sturdy, so it seemed that she could only move forward.
Just as she was about to speak, Mu Qing got up and walked to the unconscious Qi Sheng, took out some pills and fed them to him. Wen Zheng leaned over and asked, "I want some too."
Mu Qing handed her the medicine bottle, and Wen Zheng took it, poured out a few pills, and handed them to Mu Xinxin who was standing next to her: "Can you take these?"
Mu Xinxin looked down at the suddenly appearing pill, paused for a moment, and then took it, saying, "Thank you."
"It's alright, we're friends after all." Wen Zheng poured out a pill and put it in her mouth. The pain she had been ignoring disappeared under the effect of the pill, and she felt that the spiritual energy in her dantian had been replenished.
Looking at the lost in thought, Wen Zheng handed over the pills: "Eat some. If you collapse, we're all doomed."
Mu Qing was the strongest among them. If he were to fall due to injury, they would have no chance of escaping the Ghost King's Tomb.
Mu Qing glanced at the pills and said, "These are the pills I gave you."
Not content with using the pills he gave her as a favor, she also wanted him to do her a favor in return.
Wen Zheng coughed awkwardly and poured out some medicine for him: "Take the medicine, heal your injuries quickly so you can take us out of here."
Mu Qing gave Wen Zheng a deep look, took the medicine, swallowed it, and closed her eyes to heal her wounds.
The three were busy healing their wounds. After waiting for a while, Wen Zheng suddenly said, "I'll go ahead and scout the way." With that, she walked into the darkness ahead.
She had only taken a few steps when a lotus lantern landed at her feet, and a cool voice said from behind, "Be careful, and run back if you encounter danger."
Wen Zheng nodded and picked up the lotus lantern, walking forward.
As Mu Xinxin listened to the receding figure, she opened her eyes and looked at Mu Qing: "You're that Mu Qing from the human race?"
Because Mu Qing was a guest elder in a mid-level sect like the Zhuxian Sect, many people in the immortal sects thought he was unworthy of the title of Immortal Venerable. However, the demons and ghosts had seen the strength he displayed on the Immortal-Demon Battlefield and knew that his current strength was far beyond the Nascent Soul stage.
Mu Xinxin was puzzled by Mu Qing's deliberate defeat at the hands of the Ghost King: "Why didn't you kill the Ghost King? You could have won."
He could have won, but he deliberately got injured. If she hadn't just seen Mu Qing healing that human male cultivator and realized that Mu Qing's injuries weren't actually serious, he wouldn't have been able to use the pills Wen Zheng gave him.
Mu Qing closed her eyes, but her divine sense focused on the receding footsteps. "The Ghost King is just bait. The most important thing is to find the person who gave the Ghost King the divine box."
Anyone who can produce such a magical artifact that can devour living beings to advance their level is definitely not simple.
"So you just stood by and watched the Ghost King kill so many people?"
Mu Xinxin questioned her, and after she figured everything out, a chill ran down her spine.
Mu Qing is more terrifying than the Ghost King. He watched so many people disappear without showing any sympathy. Does he really have any emotions?
"The Demon Clan has been recuperating in recent years, while the Ghost Clan is still unwilling to accept defeat and wants to cause trouble in the Human Clan. If there is an opportunity to weaken the Ghost Clan, why should I intervene?" Mu Qing replied with his eyes closed.
He is a human, and he puts the interests of the human race first in everything.
Mu Xinxin stared at him for a long time, then said softly, "You are truly terrifying and heartless."
Mu Qing remained silent, her divine sense drifting out and attaching itself to the lotus lantern, as she and Wen Zheng surveyed their surroundings.
After exiting the tomb passage, there is a long bridge connected by iron chains. Below the bridge is a bottomless cliff shrouded in mist.
Wen Zheng kicked a pebble down, but after waiting for a long time without hearing a sound, she muttered something strange. She put down the lotus lantern in her hand, looked around, and saw a stone the size of a millstone. Excitedly, she ran over, picked it up, and threw it down.
"I refuse to believe that such a large rock hasn't sent any signals back."
After throwing the stone, she glanced down the cliff and saw a pale, bluish-white humanoid monster climbing up. The broken shackles on its limbs rattled, and a fist-sized gash on its forehead told Wen Zheng that the stone she had just thrown had hit it on the head.
Wen Zheng took two steps back and nervously swallowed.
The monster had poor eyesight; its grayish pupils were unfocused, and it was instead listening to the sounds around it.
Wen Zheng noticed this and slowly backed away, bending down to pick up the lotus lantern.
She moved extremely slowly and quietly, without disturbing the monsters. Just as she turned to leave, several more monsters appeared at the edge of the cliff, their faces also pale and bluish, and they could only hear what was happening.
Wen Zheng's eyes widened suddenly, she tightened her grip on the lotus lantern, and slowly retreated from the long bridge area, successfully returning to the tomb passage.
Inside the tomb passage, Wen Zheng continued her slow journey towards the place where the three of them were resting.
The divine sense within the lotus lantern returned before her. Mu Qing opened her eyes and pondered what those monsters were.
While he was lost in thought, Wen Zheng returned. Her face was pale as she sat down next to Mu Xinxin and asked, "Do you know what a humanoid monster that's pale to bluish and invisible is?"
For professional matters, one should consult professionals. Wen Zheng was too lazy to waste time, so she directly asked Mu Xinxin.
After she finished speaking, Mu Xinxin looked up at her and said, "You saw it?"
"Hmm, quite a lot." Wen Zheng returned the lotus lantern to Mu Qing and sat down next to Mu Xinxin.
"Those are corpses used to fill the pit. There is an ancient ferocious beast sealed under the Ghost King's tomb. The previous Ghost King used human corpses to create a demonic array to suppress it. The corpses were affected by the demonic energy and turned into monsters that could only attack."
"However, those monsters don't usually attack people on their own, so we can just walk past them quietly."
After Mu Xinxin finished speaking, she stood up, dusted herself off, and said, "Let's go. The Ghost King's sacrifice is over, and he'll catch up soon."
Wen Zheng remained seated, then suddenly asked, "What would happen if we accidentally woke up those monsters?"
Mu Xinxin: "They will wander around after they wake up, and will only return to the bottom of the pit after the evil formation is activated once."
How long does it take for the evil formation to activate once?
"Why are you asking this?" Mu Xinxin squinted at Wen Zheng with suspicion.
Wen Zheng looked away and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I think I accidentally woke them up."
Mu Xinxin's face was pale, and she stood there, not knowing what to say.
Mu Qing listened to their conversation and remained silent for a while.
Beside him, Qi Sheng had already woken up. Most of his wounds had healed, and he was much more energetic. When he saw Mu Qing, he was so surprised that he stood up and bowed, saying, "Immortal, Immortal Venerable."
Mu Qing interrupted him, saying, "Don't talk, keep your voice down."
Qi Sheng nodded and looked around.
As the four remained silent, a black hole suddenly appeared in the stone wall, strikingly similar to the black hole they had entered the Ghost King's Tomb.
Mu Qing swiftly stood up, picked up her sword, and said to the others, "The Ghost King is coming."
Wen Zheng and Mu Xinxin exchanged a glance, then, with Qi Sheng out of sorts, they ran towards the long bridge.
The four ran incredibly fast. After they had run far away, one foot stepped into the tomb passage. Blood tears flowed from the Ghost King's crimson eyes. The forced increase in cultivation level had overwhelmed his body, causing blood to flow from his seven orifices.
He held the divine box in his hand, his eyes fixed intently on the direction of the long bridge. As long as he saw the coffin of the previous Ghost King and used the ghost energy to irrigate the Netherworld Flowers, he would surely be able to ascend to immortality.
The Ghost King, corrupted by the divine box, lost his mind and became completely disoriented. His only thought was to find the coffin. He then took a step and walked in the direction the four had fled.
The four quickly ran out of the tomb passage and saw a humanoid monster lingering by the long bridge, so they all stopped in their tracks.
The monster's eyes were locked on them, but it didn't move. The two sides were locked in a stalemate, neither daring to make the first move.
Wen Zheng was extremely anxious behind the group. As the one with the lowest cultivation level, she was the first to feel the terrifying pressure coming from the depths of the tomb passage.
She guessed that the Ghost King should be catching up soon.
With her eyes sweeping over the monster, Wen Zheng took out the Azure Spirit Brocade Brush and quickly drew three talismans, then threw the first talisman to the right.
The yellow paper fluttered down onto the stone wall, making an explosion. The monster was attracted by the sound and ran towards the stone wall.
Seeing this, Wen Zheng took off running towards the long bridge, using her flying snow-treading agility to its fullest extent. She quickly reached a third of the way across the bridge, glanced at the few people who hadn't reacted yet, and shouted, "Hurry up and run!"
Mu Xinxin and Qi Sheng reacted and leaped onto the iron chain bridge. With two more people on the bridge, the iron chains began to sway, and the clanging of the chains awakened the monsters below. Countless monsters crawled out along the cliff walls.
Wen Zheng's scalp tingled at the sight, and she said to Mu Qing, who was standing still, "Don't just stand there, run!"
The shouts were loud, and the monsters that had been attracted by the explosions quickly climbed onto the suspension bridge.
Wen Zheng gritted her teeth and threw out the second talisman, aiming directly at Mu Qing's feet.
The monster that had climbed the iron chain turned around and climbed back. Wen Zheng looked at Mu Qing, who was still motionless, gritted her teeth and said to the two of them, "Let's run first."
Mu Xinxin nodded and ran towards the other side of the bridge, while Qi Sheng hesitated, wondering whether to turn back to save Mu Xianzun, but Wen Zheng stopped him.
"Since he's standing still, he must have a plan."
Qi Sheng thought about it and agreed, so he followed along and ran across the long bridge.
Wen Zheng turned and glanced at Mu Qing. He stood there, the long sword beside him gleaming coldly, unmoving as if waiting for something.
Too lazy to think about it anymore, Wen Zheng ran quickly across the long bridge.
Mu Qing watched as the three of them successfully ran past, then lightly touched the iron chain with his toes. He turned to look at the location of the tomb passage, where the Ghost King walked out.
"You're not dead yet." The Ghost King crushed the head of the monster that lunged at him and tossed it aside with disdain.
"I'm waiting for you," Mu Qing said, as the Taiqing Sword slowly became covered in white frost.
"Wait for me? You're just waiting to die." The Ghost King chuckled, his five fingers forming claws as he charged towards Mu Qing.
Wen Zheng watched from the other side of the bridge, muttered "What a show-off!" and continued walking forward.
She was certain that Mu Qing knew what was going on and wouldn't waste time waiting for someone, so she continued forward and tried to find a way out.
Mu Qing glanced back and saw that the three figures had disappeared. He no longer concealed his strength. His cultivation level, which was at the Nascent Soul stage, suddenly surged, surpassing the Void Refinement stage and heading straight for the Body Integration stage. He drew his sword to block the Ghost King's attacking claws.
Then, to the Ghost King's astonishment, he shattered the stone pillar above his head.
Countless stone pillars fell amidst the sword light, burying the Ghost King within them. The monsters, attracted by the sound, piled up into a small mountain on the stones.
Having successfully halted the Ghost King's advance, Mu Qing flew across the iron chain bridge. Upon landing, she severed the chains and walked away without looking back.
Not long after he left, from the pile of stones, the Ghost King reached out and slapped away the monster that lunged at him. After a roar, the monster fell to the ground and did not get up.
He stared in the direction Mu Qing had left, his bloodshot eyes now stained deep red with blood.
"Mu Qing, you wait, I will never let you go."
On the other side.
When Qi Sheng came in, the ghostly energy in his body suddenly erupted for some unknown reason, and he fell into a coma. Wen Zheng and Mu Xinxin could only drag him to rest.
The two were dumbfounded when they saw the three ghost generals suddenly appear on the stage.
The three ghost generals have become puppets and are blocking the entrance to the tomb. There is no other way out except for the entrance. The only way is to defeat the ghost generals and leave the tomb.
Looking at the three ghost generals, Wen Zheng asked Mu Xinxin, "Can you tell their cultivation levels?"
"Refining Emptiness, Transforming into Spirit, Nascent Soul."
"This is troublesome," Wen Zheng said.
"Take a look at that first." Mu Xinxin gently turned her head to look at the stone tablet next to her. The tablet said that defeating two of the three ghost generals would be considered a victory, and the only requirement was that the challenges be conducted in order.
Despite the simple best-of-three series, Wen Zheng's furrowed brows remained furrowed.
Of the four of them, one was at the Nascent Soul stage, two at the Golden Core stage, and one was still unconscious. Add to that her, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and it seemed like they were unlikely to win.
Before she could come up with a solution, Mu Xinxin suddenly said, "I have a secret method that can quickly raise one's cultivation level to the Nascent Soul stage, but who will fight the one in the Void Refinement stage?"
Mu Xinxin knew that Mu Qing's cultivation level was more than enough to deal with a Void Refinement stage ghost general, but since the other party was unwilling to reveal his true cultivation level, she didn't want to cause trouble.
When Wen Zheng heard her say that she could raise her cultivation level to the Nascent Soul stage, she immediately thought of a way.
"Tian Ji's horse racing strategy: send me, the inferior horse, to fight in the Void Refinement stage."
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