Chapter 604 - 481: Fragrant Tea, Gentle Warmth
During his escape, Wey Chengyuan realized that not only had he failed to shake off his pursuers, but the Yin Souls had also gathered in greater numbers, with a few extremely powerful Yin Soul Beasts hidden among them.
This made it so he didn’t dare to pause for a moment, not even when encountering a Protective Array.
He knew that with the gathered army of Yin Souls and powerful Yin Soul Beasts, the Defense Array could not withstand a strong attack for long.
They didn’t even need a strong attack; merely gathering together, these Yin Souls could create an extremely powerful Illusion Realm, potentially making him walk out of the array into a trap.
Wey Chengyuan was panting heavily and felt a bit of despair. To break through, he had used up almost all his trump cards and had to frequently change routes, exhausting his Magical Power severely.
He took out the Jade Bottle containing the Thousand-Year-old Stalactite, tilted his head back, and only two drops fell out.
His Magical Power could no longer sustain his Flying Escape to the exit. Without Spiritual Objects for a quick Magical Power replenishment, he had to find a safe area to restore his Magical Power.
Stopping might lead to eternal doom, but not stopping would soon result in the same.
Wey Chengyuan looked sorrowful, cursing the heavens for playing such a cruel joke; he once had a bright future, now seemingly ruined.
"I cannot give up!"
He encouraged himself, recalling his clan’s ancestral teachings: from despair seek hope, after hardship comes glory.
While maintaining his Flying Escape, he pressed the Map Jade Slip to his forehead. Just then, the Jade Slip suddenly shattered into several pieces.
This was due to the high moisture in the air and prolonged exposure of the Jade Slip.
It’s said that the mist of the Nether River contains unknown mysterious substances that can corrode items like Jade Slips used for storing information.
The more humid the air, the greater the corrosiveness, which is why it’s necessary to prepare multiple Map Jade Slips.
Without the map, finding the exit was nearly impossible.
Wey Chengyuan fiercely smashed the fragments against the rock wall, breaking them into even smaller pieces.
He retrieved a spare Jade Slip from the Grotto Void Stone, quickly confirmed his current position, and then exerted all his strength to fly towards the nearest Defense Array location.
This was his last chance. If the array had not been breached and he could restore his Magical Power unhindered, there was a slim chance of escaping alive.
Meanwhile, he harbored a slender hope of being saved by passing cultivators.
Since he encountered a situation being pursued by numerous Yin Souls, others could too. With some luck, passing cultivators might band together for mutual aid.
While searching for the Five Elements Mutual Generation Spirit Realm, he didn’t wish to encounter other cultivators, but at this moment, he desperately wanted to see his kind.
What he didn’t know was that at this moment, the surviving cultivators in the Secret Land had the same thought.
...
Ji An had just finished his cultivation, brewing Spirit Tea with the Wind Furnace, with Golden Fur lying at his feet.
This time, he was brewing Yun Ding Silver Needle Tea. To seize this rare cultivation opportunity, he had finished the last of his Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea.
Just then, the Spirit Stones maintaining the array exhausted their last Spiritual Qi, the light screen flickered, and the Spirit Light shattered into small pieces and quickly dissipated.
Ji An replaced the Spirit Stones but didn’t rush to activate the array. Having been in this cramped environment for a long time, he wanted to stretch his arms and legs.
The Spirit Tea finished brewing, and he drank two cups. As the hot tea went down, a slight coolness spread through his Sea of Consciousness.
"Delightful!"
Ji An got up, twisted his body left and right, his bones crackling.
A Golden-winged Bird flew back like a flash of lightning, hovering in front of him.
’Something’s wrong!’
The flying speed during its usual patrols was not this fast. Ji An was about to extend his Divine Sense to check the puppet’s Memory Stone when Golden Fur suddenly stood upright on its hind legs, emitting a fierce but timid growl.
Seeing the behavior of the beasts, Ji An immediately performed the Spell, releasing the Mixed Gold Profound Armor Spell and the Pan Mountain Technique one after the other.
In the Nine Netherworld, these two Magic Techniques were of little use because most of the attacks encountered were Spirit Soul Attacks; it was just a reflex action on his part.
He had just cast the spells when he saw a ragged figure burst out from the bend ahead not far away.
Upon seeing the cultivator ahead, what was once despair in Wey Chengyuan’s heart suddenly welled up with a flicker of hope, and he shouted:
"Activate the Defense Array, quickly!"
Ji An’s eyes snapped wide open as he saw countless Yin Souls trailing behind the newcomer.
He didn’t activate the Defense Array; with so many Yin Souls united, whether the array could withstand them was unknown!
He wasn’t willing to gamble on the strength of the array; that wasn’t his style.
Strike first to gain an advantage; as he decided to fight, getting the upper hand was necessary, at least reducing the number of Yin Souls.
Otherwise, survival would be bleak.
Ji An straightened up, secretly pinching a Bing Fire Divine Thunder Talisman with his left hand, while his right hand moved through a series of Dharma Seal motions to unleash the Geng Metal Spirit-Slaying Sword, tiny silver Flying Swords gathering around him like countless small silver fish.
This was his strongest attack method, even when dealing with the immaterial Yin Souls.
The killing and annihilation aura of Metal Elemental Qi was as effective against Yin Souls as the Fire Dragon Heaven-Burning Technique, and even faster.
The Wuji Xinghuang Banner flew out of his body and quickly expanded, its fluttering banner sinking its pole into the ground, now in its strongest defensive state.
Along with it flew two Five Elements Banners, the Cyan Lotus Treasure Banner unfurling, casting a layer of cyan treasure light in the passage, with the vigorous Wood Element Spiritual Qi momentarily suppressing the Earth Element Spirit Qi.
The red small banner spewed out Fire Element Spiritual Energy, forming a fire phoenix with blazing radiance, its red, yellow, blue, and white tail feathers shining brilliantly, emitting astonishingly high temperatures outward.
Wey Chengyuan, initially seeing that the other party hadn’t activated the magic array within the array area, felt a chill in his heart, but upon seeing three Treasure Banners emanating a strong aura of top-grade spiritual artifacts, he was even more dumbfounded.
Ji An, observing the Yin Soul Beasts getting closer and closer to Wey Chengyuan, realizing the opponent might not have time to run into the defensive area he had set up, shouted:
"Run straight over here, don’t move left or right!"
Without waiting for a response, he activated the thousands of silver flying swords hovering around his body.
Wey Chengyuan’s eyes were illuminated by the silver torrent, feeling as if the brilliance was like a waterfall from the nine heavens rushing towards him, passing over him in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, he only felt a chill throughout his body, and his cloud dodging speed involuntarily slowed for a moment, then he felt the metal Qi raving on his back, as if the season had suddenly shifted from midsummer to winter.
The piercing aura spread, and once again, he felt a chill down his spine.
Fortunately, his combat skills were not bad, quickly urging his exhausted body to squeeze out the last bit of magical power, rushing towards his ally nearby.
Ji An activated the Wuji Xinghuang Banner, enveloping Wey Chengyuan in a layer of yellow spirit light.
Immediately, a phoenix cry echoed, and the phoenix bird condensed by Fire Element Spiritual Energy suddenly expanded, almost filling the passage.
Its tail feathers swung, like a cannonball rushing forward.
Flames danced across the sky, turning the black rock walls fiery red.
Wey Chengyuan turned his head, surprisingly finding numerous Yin Souls, who had been chasing him, turning to fly away in panic, turning to ash in the air.
Several Yin Soul Beasts that weren’t instantly killed turned around and fled wildly, their bodies momentarily becoming incorporeal.
"Is it over just like that?"
He felt extremely surreal, wondering why others were so outstanding, even though they were all in the cultivation world.
Ji An scratched his head, "The Yin Souls aren’t strong individually."
He hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly; the silver flying sword torrent and the blossoming Fire Element Spirit Light were both beautiful and deadly.
Wey Chengyuan was speechless; he knew the strength in his heart. Without using his trump card, he couldn’t achieve a one-hit kill.
But the other party did it; he had never thought that cultivators of the same rank could be so strong, even the most talented disciple of the Wey clan, his cousin Wey Chengqian, could not do it.
With a full smile, Ji An walked forward several meters but still stayed within the coverage of the Wuji Xinghuang Banner. He cast the Object Control Technique to grab the gleaming blue crystals on the ground.
Group sweeping is satisfying! Another two soybean-sized and one pigeon egg-sized soul crystals in hand.
He sighed, the few Yin Soul Beasts too cunning; only one was killed, while three got away.
The two that escaped hadn’t suffered from the Geng Metal Spirit-Slaying Sword’s blow. If hit by both a magic attack and a spiritual artifact attack, it would probably "drop gold coins".
He had only killed four Yin Soul Beasts in total, with two contributing gains, indicating that this kind of monster had a "high drop rate," suitable for farming.
Seeing the loot the other party picked up, Wey Chengyuan’s heart was filled with envy, as those were soul crystals, invaluable for enhancing the power of the spirit soul.
He solemnly cupped his hands, saying in a deep voice:
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Ji, for lending a hand; your lifesaving grace is unforgettable.
A great favor doesn’t require thanks in words; once I return to my family, I will surely reward you generously."
A powerful cultivator is respected everywhere, and he felt that befriending such an adept cultivator through this opportunity was indeed a blessing.
Ji An naturally put the soul stone into the Grotto Void Stone, smiling, "Fellow Daoist Wey, no need to be so polite."
He originally thought the other party had forgotten his name, but surprisingly, he still remembered, at least his last name.
Without further ado, Wey Chengyuan understood it wasn’t the time; time was very precious:
"Fellow Daoist, we must leave quickly; the water level of the Nether River connected to the depths of the secret land is rising rapidly, releasing too many Yin Souls and Yin Soul Beasts from the river’s bondage.
We must return to the surface as soon as possible to report this to the Immortal City and the family."
Ji An raised an eyebrow, asking:
"Is the situation already so dire?"
"Yes, I’ve been chased all the way out, encountering several corpses along the way.
Reporting what’s happening here as early as possible will enable the higher-ups to dispatch Golden Core cultivators to investigate sooner, which might save some trapped cultivators."
Wey Chengyuan said with lingering fear, if it weren’t for the rescue, he would have been a corpse by now.
Ji An lightly nodded, retracting the spiritual artifacts into his body, then collecting the puppet and the Golden Fur.
He entered the array to retrieve the spirit stones, took out a teacup, poured a cup of tea, and handed it out.
"Drink it before we go; don’t waste it."
Wey Chengyuan took the teacup, sipped, and drank it all in one go, the tea fragrance elegant, the water still warm, making his weary spirit feel a bit better.