Chapter 358 - 180: Qianming Chengtian (Part 2)
"As long as I can get out, I’ll help you hold off this dead head first. Then you can seize the opportunity to grab that Qianming Celestial Bottle. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?"
"At that time, you and your senior sister can escape first, don’t worry about me. Once you let me out, we’re even."
"Alright!" Chu Xuan seemed to finally make up his mind, "Get ready."
The Master of the Ghost Market was ecstatic, having waited so many years, finally seeing the opportunity to escape and live.
Yet, before it grasped what "get ready" meant, it saw Chu Xuan fly in front of the Jade Pure Bottle, point the Six Souls Banner at the bottle’s mouth, and kick the old ghost hard, saying, "In you go!"
After this action, Chu Xuan poured the entire bottle of Replenishing Essence Pill into his mouth, while exerting all his strength to drive the Six Souls Banner.
The dark green light around him suddenly became intense, akin to a green sun suspended in the air, forcefully knocking its owner backward, away from the Jade Pure Bottle’s gathering range.
As for the old ghost kicked out from the Six Souls Banner, it wasn’t so lucky. It turned into black smoke, attempting to escape, but was too close to the Jade Pure Bottle. Despite struggling desperately, it couldn’t get away and was absorbed into the bottle in a flash, disappearing without a trace.
The beautiful head frowned slightly upon seeing this, spewing a white sword light from its mouth, striking towards Chu Xuan!
Subsequently, it intended to chase after him, but the broken Jade Pure Bottle suddenly started wobbling violently, seeming somewhat uncontrollable, with loud noises emanating from inside, and black smoke and ghost fire continuously emerging from the bottle’s mouth.
Though the bottle’s body emitted bright immortal light, trying to bind and refine its contents, it was ultimately too severely damaged.
The Master of the Ghost Market was an old ghost of the seventh realm, even though all its treasures were detained by Chu Xuan in the Six Souls Banner. Still, a rotten ship has three pounds of nails. If the beautiful head ignored it, this Jade Pure Bottle might indeed be smashed by it.
Thus, this evil being hesitated a moment but chose not to bother with the two escaping humans, focusing all its attention on the Jade Pure Bottle, concentrating on suppressing and refining...
As for Chu Xuan, the white sword light was incredibly fast and powerful, stabbing into the glow, almost piercing him through.
Fortunately, he was prepared and "Shift the Stars and Change the Dipper" allowed him to teleport away, narrowly escaping death.
Right after, the flying sword pursued him as if possessing its own mind, but since no one was wielding it, Chu Xuan retrieved the Six Souls Banner and released the Celestial Demon Slaying Immortal Sword to contend with it, fighting while retreating.
Once he was far enough from the beautiful head, Chu Xuan extended his hands and clapped, and the ice attribute flying sword buzzed, as if it had been slapped from afar, a move known as "Heaven and Earth Manipulation."
Taking advantage of its brief stagnation, Chu Xuan employed "Take the Sun and Moon," forcibly capturing it in his hands.
The sword attempted to struggle and resist, but Chu Xuan spared no magical power and once again activated the Six Souls Banner. The dark green glow enveloped it like flowing water, and the flying sword finally quieted down, getting tossed back into the banner.
"Boom~!" another loud noise erupted.
This time, Qin Mengyao, in sword-human unity, fiercely slashed into this endless, shapeless, and shadowless blood-colored world, forcefully tearing open a gap leading outwards.
Previously, she made several attempts, repeatedly cutting into empty spaces; this strike actually connected, breaking through the void’s boundary.
The senior brother and sister immediately converged on one point, escaping from this world.
...
"Are you still making a noise?" Ji Mingyu glanced at Qingqing and Gu Haitang, who had been shouting earlier, urging her to save them.
Blocking these two tightly in front to prevent them from overestimating their abilities and rushing to their deaths, little Xu also breathed a sigh of relief.
Qingqing’s expression was slightly awkward, "What do we do now? Should we hurry to meet up with Chu Xuan?"
Gu Haitang, casually holding the little girl in front, likewise looked at Primordial Monarch Taixu.
Ming Yu glanced at the state of the immortal corpse and evil entity, pondering, "Let’s wait a bit longer."
...
After Chu Xuan and Qin Mengyao escaped, they didn’t communicate immediately but continued flying a considerable distance. Once sure that the beautiful head wasn’t chasing after them, they slightly paused.
Qin Mengyao promptly asked her junior brother about the details of earlier events. Upon hearing that he had kicked out a seventh realm old ghost locked in the banner to use as a sacrifice, she couldn’t help but say, "It’s a bit of a waste."
Chu Xuan didn’t see any waste, "An ingrate wolf, gone is gone."
He didn’t rush to leave but turned to observe from afar the region covered in blood.
The beautiful head lingered, hesitant to pursue even after a treasured flying sword had been snatched. Chu Xuan suspected the old ghost had caused it significant trouble that couldn’t be resolved any time soon.
During the confrontation with the Jade Pure Bottle, Chu Xuan noticed that once this evil being fully controlled the bottle, it seemed incapable of further action. Was it unable to multitask?
Clearly not, the immortal artifact was not easy to manipulate. The beautiful head lacked the proper Gathering Technique and couldn’t even remotely refine it, only barely managing to use it through long-term mental connection.
Actually, with its power, if it abandoned this treasure and attacked Chu Xuan and company with full might, it would’ve been simpler. Now, it was dragged into a tug-of-war by the Jade Pure Bottle, occupying substantial energy.
Chu Xuan, while watching, wondered: could he wait for an opportunity where both sides are weakened?
Just a bit challenging, given the old ghost became a prisoner, merely moving from one prison to another.
Unless...this new prison is unstable, shattered from within, then an interesting show would unfold.
Chu Xuan shared this thought with his senior sister, "Do you think we should wait and see or hurry out of the Ancient Battlefield first?"
"No rush," Qin Mengyao confidently replied, "Earlier, I wasn’t in a life-or-death stance; if I put my all into it, while not guaranteed to destroy that head, escaping is definitely feasible."
Chu Xuan frowned, looking at her, "Don’t be cruel to yourself."
Qin Mengyao paused for a moment, then revealed a gentle gaze, "My junior brother cares about me~"
As the two chatted, the blood-colored area suddenly retracted.
Chu Xuan and company immediately became alert, and soon they saw, from afar, the beautiful head holding the bottle heading back to its lair?
Not only that, the Jade Pure Bottle seemed in poor condition. Chu Xuan clearly remembered that its body originally had seven or eight cracks, but now there were several more.
Moreover, black smoke continued to emanate from the bottle’s mouth, even traces of blood flames emerged, showing no sign of calming down, indicating that the old ghost was exerting all its effort.
"This evil being appears quite obsessive, desperate to preserve that bottle. If there’s a chance..."
Chu Xuan firmly decided, taking his senior sister’s hand, "Follow me."
Then he executed the original plan, enveloping them with the Six Souls Banner, earth-burrowing deep beneath, gradually approaching the center island in the lake.
...
Shortly afterward, Chu Xuan and company arrived directly beneath the island, separated by several hundred meters. Even if the beautiful head discovered them, it couldn’t immediately envelop them with the blood-colored world.
Chu Xuan then activated "Know the Terrain," allowing him to see through everything underground, including the scene above.
The beautiful head was anxiously circling the bottle, its mouth faintly glowing white-gold, appearing it wanted to spray it but dared not, fearing it might destroy its lifeline-like Jade Pure Bottle.
It was trying its best to suppress and refine the ghost inside the bottle but lacking the proper method was progressing slowly. If things dragged on, it’s only a matter of time before the Jade Pure Bottle gets smashed.
Finally, the beautiful head showed a vicious expression, surprisingly shrinking its body and diving into the bottle, personally dealing with the old ghost.
Chu Xuan was shocked seeing this, but upon reconsideration, the beautiful head had a mental connection with the Jade Pure Bottle, barely counting as half a master. Entering the bottle wouldn’t lead to refinement.
Even borrowing the suppressive and refining power to beat the old ghost to death inside would prevent it from escaping out.