Embracing an ancient qin, walking cautiously yet steadily at the center of the group, Ruan Yushu advanced with careful steps.
As she walked, her delicate nose slightly wrinkled and her brows faintly furrowed, sensing she had lost the presence of her companions.
Her spiritual awareness spread outward, and the figures ahead, behind, left, and right shattered like ripples on water. The heavens and earth transformed, trees turning into piles of giant stones, forming pathways.
A maze formation… As a noble daughter of a prestigious family, she was no stranger to formation techniques. Closing her eyes, she calmly stepped forward, relying solely on her spiritual senses to detect the shifting energies of heaven and earth. Then, Fengqi drifted into the air, her hands gliding over the qin, producing a series of broken melodies—sometimes soaring, sometimes whispering—stirring the energies of heaven and earth and the forces of nature, seeking the pivot of the formation amid the constant change.
Flames surged, undercurrents stirred, and the cold moon remained silent. Images of elemental principles unfolding appeared in Ruan Yushu’s mind. At the same time, she divided her focus to recall the normal state, comparing the two.
The images changed; movement left traces. Following these traces, Ruan Yushu discerned the path and advanced steadily.
Suddenly, ripples stirred in her heart, a sense of disharmony—like an uninvited guest had forced its way into the beautiful world she had created with her qin music.
She abruptly opened her eyes, her spiritual awareness sweeping toward the source of unease. It was a demon clad in silver fish-scale armor, flicking its tongue as it approached. Like most snakes, even though its power surpassed Ruan Yushu’s, it chose to stealthily draw near before suddenly attacking.
The psychic resonance alerted the Silver Serpent King to its exposure. It shook its body and transformed into a colossal snake, as thick as a water barrel, ten zhang long, with a phantom behind it—a sky-devouring serpent, feathered and winged!
Its massive mouth opened, bringing a foul wind, darkening heaven and earth, attempting to swallow Ruan Yushu whole.
As a seasoned and cautious demon, in an environment like this maze, the Silver Serpent King did not rely on brute force but instead revealed its true form for a decisive strike, to avoid unnecessary complications!
Moreover, serpents are known for their lust—faced with such a beauty, naturally it wished to capture her alive!
Instinctively, Ruan Yushu thought of the Demon-Revealing Mirror in her bosom, but she soon lightly furrowed her brow and instead moved her hands across the qin strings. Behind her, an ancient and mysterious bronze bell suddenly appeared.
Dong!
At the sound of the bell, the Three Realms trembled!
Waves of illusory ripples spread outward, causing the silver serpent to briefly slow, the foul wind seeming to freeze.
Seizing the moment, Ruan Yushu summoned the Four Symbols Pipa. Its four strings were of red, green, black, and white. Without wind, the strings vibrated on their own!
The sound filled the sky, stirring the elements—earth, fire, wind, and water. Some bound the Silver Serpent King, others became mountain-sized wind blades, or dark water that eroded soul and spirit, or red flames that burned flesh and scorched the body.
The Silver Serpent King was startled. It coiled itself into a mound and spat a thick crimson mist. The tangible shadow of the Celestial Serpent, refined from its own blood essence, suddenly inhaled, drawing in the floodwaters and heavenly fire, converging them into its mouth.
Ping! Pang! The wind blades struck the Silver Serpent King but were blocked by a sudden emergence of glazed light. The rest were absorbed by the Celestial Serpent’s shadow, vanishing without a trace.
Crack! The massive serpent twisted its body, tearing through the bindings, but within its vision, Ruan Yushu had already vanished.
Long before summoning the Four Symbols Pipa, Ruan Yushu had already turned into a side path, escaping into the maze with its help!
Within the maze, possessing secret treasures, if she couldn’t win, couldn’t she still escape?
Enraged, the Silver Serpent King wanted to give chase but then thought of the immortal pill outside the maze. In the end, it chose a path leading toward a palace.
…
Zhao Heng encountered a mountain goat spirit, with long beard, gaunt cheeks, and eyes like lanterns.
Upon first sight, Zhao Heng, whose experience in reincarnation even surpassed Meng Qi and others, directly took out a pearl with inward-radiating light and flicked it forward.
The Piercing Eye Pearl flew toward the mountain goat spirit and suddenly burst into countless blinding rays. The goat screamed in pain, covering its eyes and rolling on the ground, crying out:
“My eyes! My eyes!”
Not only its physical eyes were affected, but even its soul felt blinded, unable to extend its spiritual awareness!
Being an old demon, it knew how to respond. It immediately crushed its protective treasure, and golden lotus flowers of Buddhist light rose into the air, circling around its body. Behind it emerged a dark mountain goat phantom, creating an area of chaotic confusion.
Zhao Heng, intending to press the advantage, observed the situation, slightly pondered, and quietly retreated into another side path.
Before the mountain goat spirit recovered its senses, he feared he couldn’t break through its defenses, especially since his secret treasure was the Heaven-Earth Black-Yellow Jade Pagoda!
…
When General Yin suddenly encountered Jiang Zhiwei, both reacted instantly.
He smirked with a sinister grin, lifting his twin blades as a chilling gale erupted, freezing the surroundings and numbing flesh and blood. Around him, countless specters materialized—some human, some demonic, some Open-Aperture cultivators, some Outer Scenery adepts, some lesser fiends, and even Demon Monarchs. Each bore a distinct expression, yet all seemed fiercely loyal, acting as the tiger’s ruthless enforcers.
“Little lady, your tender skin and beauty are unmatched. Why not submit to our Great King?”
“Centuries ago, many Demon Kings cherished beauty and were tender-hearted. Our Great King is no different. Why not compose a tale of romance together?”
“Little beauty, if you don’t know your place, beware the steaming pot—your tender flesh will taste delicious!”
Ghostly voices filled the air, disturbing the mind. The stronger ones surged forward, each employing their techniques. In an instant, Jiang Zhiwei seemed to face an Outer Scenery squad!
Combined with the bone-piercing cold wind, what ordinary peak expert could resist?
Jiang Zhiwei was also affected. Before even engaging, she already sensed the terrifying might of a Grandmaster-level Demon King.
Yet her expression remained calm, her gaze focused, as if her entire essence was concentrated on her sword, the White-Haired Sword Piercing the Sun.
Suddenly, the sword light flared, beautiful like a meteor from the heavens, like a startled swan skimming across water—pure, refined, dazzling, sharp, selfless and relentless, advancing without hesitation!
The sword’s speed made the surrounding ghosts, even the Outer Scenery ones attempting to interfere, appear sluggish. Their emitted ghostly claws, ink-green swords, and summoned natural forces seemed to slow, unwilling to defile the beauty of the sword light.
His eyes reflecting the sword light, General Yin himself seemed lost in memory, his movements sluggish, his thoughts chaotic, even the sword light itself.
Specializing in sword techniques, step by step reaching this point, with guidance from her master, Jiang Zhiwei, like Meng Qi, had begun to integrate her knowledge, slowly creating her own techniques.
This was a sword move centered on “Sword of Selfless Advance,” blending the essence of “Sword Twenty-Three,” “Six Annihilation Sword Twenty-Three,” and the “Severing the Path to Self” aspect of the Martial Heaven Sect’s evil intent. It had a beautiful name:
“Once, the Swallowing Light Reflected Like a Swallow!”
The surroundings seemed to freeze, memories rapidly flipping through, the sword light creating a world of distorted time, making the body, energy, and blood essence seem stagnant, while only the soul remained active!
The sword light, like a startled swan, flew into memory!
A sharp pain pierced his forehead. General Yin abruptly awoke, finding the sword already near his face. He quickly leaned back, performing the Iron Plank Bridge technique with his waist, while his Baihu phantom appeared, its tiger tail like a whip, striking toward the “White-Haired Sword.”
This was one of General Yin’s deadly techniques—fast, accurate, ruthless. At the critical moment, just as the sword was about to pierce his forehead and release its sword qi, he dragged a residual image, tore through the void, and struck the side of the White-Haired Sword.
Dang!
The sword light scattered, the blade bent. After the tiger tail passed, a piercing sound finally followed. Using this force, Jiang Zhiwei, along with her sword, “flew” sideways.
Suddenly, the sword light split—two became four, instantly multiplying into countless radiant beams, shooting toward the piles of rocks and every side path. Without any distinction in strength or thickness, it left General Yin, already on the defensive and not yet turning to offense, unable to determine Jiang Zhiwei’s exact location, unable to pursue!
This was a sword technique combining the Supreme Emotionless State and the “Dao Spreading Across the Universe,” used for escape, confusing the opponent’s perception!
Without a direct attack or brief suppression of General Yin, how could she simply run away under the pull of spiritual pressure?
General Yin’s tiger eyes flared, but glancing at the exit of the maze he was about to reach, he ultimately chose to pursue the “Immortal Pill.”
…
“A weakling…”
Xiong Shanjun roared with laughter, charging forward, his body growing larger as he ran, seemingly gathering the power of heaven and earth outside his body, forming a magical body.
Combined with the shadow of a giant bear, it seemed he could smash mountains and flatten the earth. No need for flowing light, no need for lightning-like sword qi—just this straightforward collision would reduce all enemies to blood pulp.
Pa!
Five-colored rays burst forth, and a stone struck its face directly, causing blossoms of peach-like bruises, its skull caved in, the gathered heavenly power shattered, and its body rapidly shrinking back to its original size.
“Ahh!” Xiong Shanjun screamed in pain, but with the bear’s savage nature, even gravely wounded, it still lunged forward relentlessly.
Qi Zhengyan remained expressionless, his sword unfurled, emitting waves of sword light—some as white as mist, some as red as fire, some black-brown like mud, some emerald green like ice, some purple like star rivers, some dark like chaos, interconnected like a formation, rendering the surroundings dreamlike and dazzling.
Chaos blocked the path, ice froze the feet, mud light bound, white mist confused the eyes, slowing Xiong Shanjun’s steps. The purple star river cascaded downward, washing over the bear’s body.
After briefly delaying him, Qi Zhengyan calmly activated a talisman, which transformed into golden light and shot into the distance.
Earth-Traveling Golden Light Talisman!
…
Meng Qi completely hid behind a pile of rocks, not sensing the outside, relying solely on the Eight-Nine Technique’s danger perception to stay alert.
The Dangshan Lord, cloaked in black robes, passed by, suddenly glancing at the pile of rocks but continuing forward without stopping, turning into a side path.
Unaware of any danger, Meng Qi relaxed and waited. After a while, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings and discovered that the black-robed figure had already vanished.
“How could there be such a terrifying demon? The difficulty of this mission shouldn’t be like this…” Meng Qi muttered, wondering if something had changed the mission’s difficulty.
Awakening the Heavenly Soldiers?
Suddenly, he had a premonition and glanced sideways, seeing golden light approach, revealing Qi Zhengyan’s figure.
“Met a demon?” Meng Qi immediately relaxed. The others either had enough strength or strong treasures. He had been most worried about Qi Zhengyan, but luckily, they had met.
Qi Zhengyan nodded: “Met a bear demon.”
As the words fell, a scream suddenly erupted from afar, like a bear’s roar, but it abruptly stopped.
“The bear demon is dead…” Meng Qi raised his eyebrows, sensing an ominous presence.
Had the bear demon encountered another companion, or someone else?
As Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan exchanged glances, another scream rang out, this time seemingly from a goat.
Soon after, distant cries of a giant serpent echoed, as if from another world.
“Who killed them?” Meng Qi suddenly wondered. There seemed to be an undercurrent within the maze.
At that moment, General Yin emerged from the maze, and with spiritual resonance, the entire formation abruptly ceased.
The rocks vanished, the trees disappeared, revealing a wide open path. Meng Qi and the others saw each other again, also seeing General Yin and the black-robed figure. The distance between them hadn’t even exceeded a hundred zhang!
General Yin looked back, finding that Xiong Shanjun and Te Chushi were gone. His eyes flashed with ferocity as he glared at Meng Qi and the others!
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