"Your Majesty!"
Rumble—
Countless martial cultivator ancient corpses, wielding sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, smashed down in all directions with mountain-toppling force. The earth shook and split apart, rubble flying as a pit over 3 meters deep was gouged out before them.
Chen Sanshi activated an Earth-Travel Talisman and appeared behind the ancient corpses. But when he looked up, there was already no path left in the sky.
Countless Nascent Soul ancient corpses rode flying swords straight toward the breach in the barrier, long since blocking the retreat.
"Close the barrier. You go first."
While fending off the ancient corpses lunging to kill him, Chen Sanshi urged his subordinates. If they did not withdraw now, the ancient corpses would soon chase beyond the breach.
He braced his long spear against a cleaving broadsword. "This is my imperial command! Just go. Leave the token—I have my own way!"
"Understood!"
Watching the tide of ancient corpses surge in, Dongfang Jingxing could only obey. After leaving the barrier, he used Object-Controlling magic to send the token back into the emperor's hands.
At the same time, the breach in the barrier vanished and closed once more. Under the ravaging sword qi, several ancient corpses were shredded to pieces.
Chen Sanshi caught the Guardian Envoy wooden plaque and crushed the last Earth-Travel Talisman on his person, intending to escape the encirclement first. After shaking off these ancient corpses, he would then find an opportunity to leave the barrier.
But at that very moment, a Nascent Soul ancient corpse flickered and likewise tunneled underground. It was incomparably fast, gripping a flying sword and thrusting straight at him.
The talisman had not been of high grade to begin with.
Under that blow, Chen Sanshi burst out of the soil from the impact, landing in a half-kneeling position. All around him, numerous ancient corpses had already laid ambush—sword cries unceasing, blade light filling the sky!
With no path left to retreat, Chen Sanshi could only draw the Xuanyuan Sword and take out the Immortal Treasure Strange Flame. Firelight blazed in his pupils as he prepared to carve a bloody path at the cost of his life.
These ancient corpses were, after all, merely shells from hundreds of thousands of years ago. The mana stored within them was limited. As long as he could break free briefly, he could rely on the Wind-Splitting Seal to leave this place.
Just as he was about to ignite the Strange Flame, he felt the surrounding temperature plummet abruptly. Frost had unknowingly spread across the surface of the grass beneath his feet.
It was as if deep winter had descended. Even the movements of the many ancient corpses before him seemed to grow stiff and sluggish.
This cold aura—
Came from behind!
Chen Sanshi turned his head.
The blind woman still stood where she had been. In her slender hands—carved like fine jade—there now appeared a pitch-black iron sword.
The iron sword was over 4 feet long. Held in her hand, its tip sank into the soil. Threads of icy aura flowed from within her body into the iron sword, then from the blade into the ground, spreading outward for several hundred paces and enveloping the entire riverbank!
Beneath the frost, even Chen Sanshi, who possessed a Heavenly-grade Fire spiritual root, felt bone-piercing cold and had to circulate his technique to maintain body temperature.
The Nascent Soul ancient corpse that had used Earth-Travel magic was likewise severely affected. Yet it seemed to be the one that had preserved the most strength among all the ancient corpses. Forming seals with both hands, it employed some unknown spell and quickly regained freedom of movement. It then raised its flying sword. As it thrust forward, the mana it released climbed continuously—from Early Stage Foundation Establishment, to middle stage, then to late stage—and it still did not stop.
"Move."
An emotionless female voice sounded beside Chen Sanshi's ear.
The blind woman moved.
In just a few breaths, extreme cold mana had condensed beneath her boots into a layer of ice fully 3 feet thick. Glaciers formed around her body, freezing both her and the iron sword within.
Without any extraneous motion, she simply drew the iron sword from the glacier and executed a clean, decisive upward slash.
In an instant, terrifying sword qi wrapped in surging frost formed a silver crescent arc that swept across the ground, as if it would tear apart the entire thick earth. It cleaved straight toward the densely packed ancient corpses.
Forewarned, Chen Sanshi was already prepared. Before the frost sword qi arrived, he unleashed all his True Force and broke toward the flank, avoiding a head-on clash with the Nascent Soul ancient corpse.
When the sword qi swept past, there was no thunderous explosion of colliding mana as imagined. Instead, it was filled with crackling sounds of freezing, as though even the void were solidifying into ice under the extreme cold.
Chen Sanshi hastily unleashed Myriad Beast Fierce Flame, forming several barriers before himself. Even so, under the aftershock, he felt his body grow markedly stiff.
Boom!
The sword qi collided with the Nascent Soul ancient corpse, sending it flying straight back. Yet the crescent frost sword qi continued to press forward. Countless ancient corpses were split in two from the brow down, severed limbs scattering through the air.
With this single sword, a path was carved open!
Chen Sanshi stepped onto his flying sword, plucked a purple flower from the surface of one ancient corpse, and seized the chance to escape the encirclement. He continuously activated the Wind-Splitting Seal and fled into the distance.
More ancient corpses appeared farther away, converging toward the riverbank..
The blind woman did not linger to fight. After that single sword, she likewise stepped on ice spikes and flew through the air, quickly catching up to the white-robed figure ahead.
The two fled one after the other for tens of kilometers. Only after confirming they had shaken off the ancient corpses did they stop near a barren mountain.
"Many thanks, miss, for your help."
Chen Sanshi clasped his hands in gratitude.
If not for this mysterious woman, even if he burned through a large amount of Immortal Treasure Strange Flame, he would likely still have needed to expend considerable effort to withdraw safely.
The blind woman stood 7 steps away, just as before—like a statue, motionless, silent.
…
Using the Qi Observation Technique at close range, Chen Sanshi could tell her realm was late-stage Foundation Establishment, perhaps even perfection stage, not exceeding the forbidden land's laws. Only, during their escape, for an instant he had seen a mass of blood qi hidden within her lower energy palace; now it had vanished completely, and he did not know why.
She had helped him—so what was the reason? Did she have an ulterior motive, or was it simply a whim?
"Miss?"
Chen Sanshi felt the atmosphere congeal. She had clearly not cast any spell, yet he still felt as though he stood amid ice and snow. He could not help asking, "May I ask your honored name?"
"Qingxu Sect."
The blind woman answered with extreme brevity. "Jiang Xiyue."
"Qingxu Sect?"
Chen Sanshi's heart stirred.
So—
She was from Qingxu Sect.
That made sense. Not long ago, Bai Liangbi, the Bai clan head, had mentioned they had already established correspondence with Qingxu Sect, and that they would send someone over soon.
He simply had not expected the person to appear first inside the Nine Nether Forbidden Land.
Wait.
Her surname was Jiang?
Could she be the Fairy Jiang mentioned in Fourth Senior Brother's dying wish?
"Help me with something."
Before Chen Sanshi could ask further, the blind woman spoke again.
"Help?"
Chen Sanshi agreed. "Fairy Jiang just helped me. I was already feeling I had no way to repay you. Whatever you need, just say it—this Chen will certainly do his utmost."
What was free was often the most expensive.
If she stated her purpose outright, it actually put him more at ease.
Only, this sword cultivator from Qingxu Sect was far above him in realm—what could he possibly help with?
"Come with me."
Jiang Xiyue was sparing with words. After those 3 more words, she continued flying forward, heading straight for her destination.
Chen Sanshi summoned Qianxun and stayed close behind.
Her speed in Aerial Control was also first-rate. Even riding Qianxun and adding the Wind-Splitting Seal, he could only barely keep from falling too far behind and losing her—and that was with her not even using full strength to control her sword.
"Miss Jiang!"
Chen Sanshi called out loudly. "You still haven't said what you need me to do!"
"Take something."
Jiang Xiyue replied calmly.
Chen Sanshi understood.
It seemed this Fairy Jiang had come to the Nine Nether Forbidden Land to seek treasure as well.
But it was still the same question: his realm was inferior to hers, so why insist on having him help?
The two weaved back and forth above the barrier. After a full half day, Jiang Xiyue finally lowered her flying sword and slipped into a narrow fissure between two mountain peaks.
On the cliff wall to their left, a stairway appeared, winding upward. Its end led to a pitch-black cave.
After entering the cramped gorge, Chen Sanshi gradually began to feel unwell. An indescribable power pressed in from all directions, as if runic marks were being branded onto his body, weakening his mana and True Force.
Huangshi Mountain!
This place was just like Huangshi Mountain, which could suppress all cultivators' realms down to Qi Refining—it had laws that suppressed cultivation.
Chen Sanshi could feel that if he took just a few more steps forward, his realm would be forced down to Qi Refining and Mortal Shedding, perhaps even lower.
"Miss Jiang?"
He began to hesitate.
The blind woman did not speak. She merely alighted lightly on the steps and began walking forward one step at a time. Her realm was soon suppressed to the Qi Refining stage.
…
Chen Sanshi silently calculated in his heart.
The other party was stronger than him to begin with. If she had other intentions, she could have attacked directly—there was no need to lure him here.
If both of them were suppressed to the Qi Refining stage, then he, as a dual cultivator of immortality and martial arts, would be the stronger one.
With that thought, Chen Sanshi did not hesitate any longer. He chose to recall Qianxun and followed closely behind, entering the area under the suppression laws.
"Hiss…"
That feeling of having strength but being unable to use it made him extremely uncomfortable.
"Miss Jiang."
Chen Sanshi quickened his pace. "May I ask—do you know True Person Yu Ling of Qingxu Sect?"
"My master."
Jiang Xiyue answered concisely.
"True Person Yu Ling is your master?"
Chen Sanshi pondered.
If so, then they could be considered "acquaintances" in a certain sense.
Should he take the opportunity to bring out the jade pendant token and explain the matter of the follow-up cultivation method and requesting aid?
After thinking it over carefully, he decided it was better to focus on dealing with what was in front of him first.
After climbing the long stairway, the two arrived at the cave entrance.
On the stone stele beside it were carved the words "Guardian Envoy's Cave Abode."
"Guardian Envoy again. The barrier was also set up with the Guardian Envoy token as the formation's core. What exactly is involved behind the token my master passed down to me back then?"
Chen Sanshi kept turning it over in his mind as he followed the blind woman into the cave.
With the instant they crossed the threshold, torches along both sides of the passage walls lit up one after another, illuminating the interior.
In truth, even in darkness Chen Sanshi could see everything clearly. He saw corpses everywhere on both sides, and eerie purple flowers were attached to their surfaces.
It seemed a battle had taken place here as well.
After walking a dozen or so steps forward, a tightly shut stone door appeared ahead.
"Wait for me."
The blind woman took out a compass-like magical implement from her waist and began breaking the restrictions on the stone door.
Chen Sanshi waited quietly to the side.
In the meantime, he bent down to pick up some scattered jade slips. Many contained ancient-era inheritances of cultivation methods, but unfortunately all had suffered damage to varying degrees and could not be used for cultivation.
[Skill: Reading (Major Achievement)]
[Progress: 125/2000]
These ancient characters were quite similar to the writing Chen Sanshi encountered when cultivating arts like "talisman drawing" and "formation" techniques. They looked awkward and unfamiliar, but he could still barely make them out.
From the fragmented records in the jade slips, he finally figured out what those purple flowers that could control ancient corpses actually were.
"An archetypal demonic-path seed cultivated by the ancient demonic cult 'Undying Sect'—the 'Corpse-Kui Demon Vine.'"
Chen Sanshi skimmed the contents. "If used properly, it can be refined into pills that are greatly beneficial to corpse cultivators. But if it is simply allowed to parasitize, it will completely erode the host, causing them to lose consciousness.
"Usually it can only be used to create corpse puppets.
"The demon vine flowers of low-tier corpse puppets appear purple; they awaken when they encounter blood. High-tier corpse puppets appear red; as soon as they sense the aura of the living, they immediately awaken and carry out indiscriminate attacks.
"Moreover, cultivating the 'Corpse-Kui Demon Vine' requires corresponding secret arts, otherwise it will wither very quickly."
He took out the flower he had plucked earlier from his storage bag and found it had indeed already withered completely.
"Forget it. If these crooked demonic tricks aren't handled properly, something will go wrong."
Chen Sanshi simply tossed it away.
Following the direction the flower drifted as it fell, he noticed a corpse.
This corpse had died a horrific death—half its spine had been yanked out. The spine looked pure white like jade, and dense golden runes flowed across its surface.
"A Spirit Transformation cultivator!"
Chen Sanshi was startled.
From the records in the texts he had read before, only after a Spirit Transformation cultivator comprehended part of the laws of heaven and earth would "golden" runes appear on the surface of their bones.
In other words, the corpse before him had been a Spirit Transformation cultivator in life!
Spirit Transformation was above Nascent Soul; it was said such a cultivator could ascend to the upper realm!
And in the upper realm, there were real "immortals."
The Nascent Soul ancient corpses from before had already been so troublesome. If a Spirit Transformation cultivator awakened, he did not know just how devastating it would be.
Chen Sanshi subconsciously took several steps back.
A low rumble came from the other side as the blind woman successfully opened the stone door.
The moment the door swung open, several wandering souls surged out. Trapped inside for hundreds of thousands of years, they were like maddened beasts—baring fangs and claws, faces twisted with ferocity!
"Careful!"
As Chen Sanshi called out, he already had the Purple Thunder Bow in hand. Four golden-scaled flying blades tore through the air, striking with flawless precision and shattering several wandering souls, dispersing them completely.
"Demon—"
"Run!"
From deep within the stone door came miserable screams. Not long after, a vast swarm of wandering souls flew out like a beast tide. They seemed to have encountered something utterly terrifying, scrambling madly toward the exit.
At the front was a familiar face.
It was none other than the Spirit Transformation cultivator at Chen Sanshi's feet!
And behind him, many of the wandering souls' faces corresponded to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul corpses within the cave.
"Run, run!"
The Spirit Transformation cultivator roared himself hoarse. "All arts are forbidden—all arts are forbidden!"