txolops Chapter 113 The Valley Gate Opens, Blood Mist Becomes a Mystery
Chapter 113 The Valley Gate Opens, Blood Mist Becomes a Mystery
That pillar of demonic light, piercing through the heavens and earth, was like an ancient horn, breaking the tense standoff outside the camp.
Greed is the most primal driving force in the world of cultivation, and it has been so throughout history.
The Green Bamboo Sect and the Flowing Cloud Sect, who were fighting to the death just moments before, both stopped at the same time with remarkable tacit understanding.
Zhao Lingfeng glared fiercely at Elder Wang, sheathed his sword, turned around, and shouted sharply to the disciples behind him, "Enter the valley!"
Seizing the initiative is clearly a priority over settling old scores.
The members of the Flowing Cloud Sect transformed into streaks of white light and were the first to rush into the surging dark red miasma.
The Green Bamboo Sect followed closely behind, their green robes fluttering. Elder Wang's old face, as thin as withered tree bark, was taut. He wished he had two more legs, fearing that if he slowed down even half a step, he wouldn't even get a sip of soup.
As for the scattered cultivators around them, their eyes turned red with rage, like a swarm of sharks that had smelled blood, howling as they rushed in.
As for the restless cultivators around them, their eyes turned red with rage. Like a swarm of sharks that had smelled blood, they roared and rushed in, fantasizing that they might be able to snag some divine weapon or magical treasure.
Gu Yan stood in the Prince's mansion's procession, his neck hunched, his gaze sweeping over the crowd to the enormous mouth that seemed capable of devouring everything, his expression meaningful.
"Let's go."
Li Qingge's voice was cold and detached, revealing neither joy nor sorrow.
Unlike the others, she wasn't impatient. Instead, she waited until most people had gone inside before waving her hand.
More than a hundred black-armored guards marched in perfect unison, the clanging of their armor like thunder.
They shielded Li Qingge and Gu Yan in the middle, forming an impenetrable fortress, and slowly advanced towards the valley entrance.
As soon as you step into the valley, the noisy voices disappear.
It was as if we had crossed an invisible soundproof barrier, and the world became completely silent.
The scene before my eyes has undergone a complete transformation.
The sky resembled a congealed scab, surrounded by pink mist. The ground was dark black, the soil soft and damp, and a dark red liquid seeped out when you stepped on it—it was unclear whether it was groundwater or blood accumulated over thousands of years.
"This is Sunset Valley..."
Gu Yan feigned fear, standing behind a black-armored guard, his teeth chattering as he said, "Princess, this place is eerie, it sends chills down my spine."
Li Qingge glanced at him, her eyes full of disdain:
"Hold your breath and circulate your spiritual energy to protect your heart meridian. This mist contains fire poison; inhaling too much will erode your mind. If you also become a monster who only knows how to kill, I will not show any mercy."
Gu Yan nodded with a look of horror.
Within his body, the Divine Demon Tai Chi Diagram slowly rotated, devouring all the fire poison he had absorbed and transforming it into wisps of pure fire-attribute spiritual energy that nourished his meridians.
The group continued onward, the path beneath their feet rugged and uneven, with jagged rocks on both sides, some resembling ferocious ghost faces, others like broken limbs.
Suddenly, one of the black-armored guards at the front stopped in his tracks.
"Click."
A very faint crackling sound was particularly jarring in the deathly silence.
The black-armored guard looked down and saw that he had crushed a skeleton under his feet.
The bones had weathered away, but between those ribs, defying all common sense, grew a bewitching little red flower.
"Watch out!" Li Qingge's pupils contracted sharply as she issued a stern warning.
The moment the black-armored guard crushed the white bones, the previously still black rocks around them suddenly came to life.
"hiss!"
The piercing screeching sounds rose and fell.
Those weren't rocks at all, but a kind of monster called the Ghost-Faced Rock Spider.
They are entirely black, with patterns on their backs that resemble the howling of vengeful ghosts. When they are usually curled up, they are no different from rocks, but when they suddenly erupt, there are hundreds or thousands of them.
The dense spider silk, like a white downpour, enveloped the group from all directions.
This spider silk is highly poisonous and extremely sticky; once it gets on you, even someone with skin of copper and bones of iron cannot escape its effects.
"Form ranks! Defend!"
The commander of the Black Armor Guards was a middle-aged man with a weathered face.
With a roar, a hundred men brandished their spears, their spiritual energy coalescing into a black curtain of light.
"Sizzle!"
Spider silk fell onto the light screen, emitting wisps of blue smoke and a crisp, corrosive sound.
Several large, ghost-faced rock spiders swung over on their white silk, their sharp legs like spears, fiercely stabbing at the weak points of the light barrier.
Gu Yan hid behind a tall, black-armored guard, seemingly terrified, but in reality, he cleverly concealed himself in everyone's blind spot.
His eyes subtly transformed into a black and gold hue, and with a shift in his gaze, the paper world descended.
Before long, the spider silk that filled the sky turned into white lines in his eyes.
The ferocious ghost-faced rock spiders are like moving ink dots on the drawing paper.
The one on the left has its abdomen as a weak point.
The one on the right has the most fragile joint.
Gu Yan silently recited the mantra, his fingers hidden inside the wide sleeves of his robe, gently stroking the fabric.
Several tiny paper talismans, which had been prepared beforehand, floated out silently along with the chaotic airflow.
A giant, millstone-sized demon-faced rock spider broke through the outer defenses, its gaping maw lunging at a young, black-armored guard.
The guard was busy fending off the spider silk above and had no time to defend himself.
The sharp hooves were about to pierce the guard's throat.
Suddenly, the rock spider paused strangely in mid-air, as if it had tripped over something unseen, losing its balance. Instead of striking anyone, it exposed its vulnerable abdomen to the guard's spear.
"Pfft!"
The black-armored guard instinctively thrust forward, his long spear piercing through the rock spider's body, green sap splattering everywhere.
"What happened?"
The black-armored guard looked bewildered, wondering when he had become so powerful.
The instigator, Gu Yan, was trembling with fear, clutching his head and muttering, "You can't see me, you can't see me..."
After Li Qingge finished her investigation and confirmed that there were no third-tier demonic beasts, she snorted coldly and finally made her move.
She drew her Autumn Water Sword from its sheath, without moving her body, and simply made a light slash in the air.
In an instant, an extremely cold current swept out.
The ghost-faced rock spiders that were still flailing their claws in mid-air suddenly became incredibly stiff, and a thick layer of white frost formed on their bodies.
"broken."
Li Qingge parted her red lips slightly and uttered a single word.
"Bang bang bang!"
Dozens of frozen rock spiders exploded simultaneously, turning into countless ice crystal fragments scattered all over the ground.
This is the strength of a Golden Core prodigy. Even when dealing with a large number of second-tier demonic beasts, they can handle them with ease, like cutting melons and vegetables.
"Keep moving forward, don't waste your time on these bastards."
Li Qingge sheathed her sword and stood still, her aura undisturbed, like a celestial maiden descending to earth.
The team regrouped, and although they were somewhat disheveled after the battle, fortunately there were no casualties.
Gu Yan got up from the ground, patted the dirt off his bottom, and looked at Li Qingge with admiration:
"The princess is incredibly powerful! If it weren't for the princess's intervention..."
We're probably all going to turn into spider dung!
"Shut up."
Li Qingge interrupted him impatiently, but the look of satisfaction in her eyes did not escape Gu Yan's notice.
The further in you go, the thicker the fog becomes.
The feeling of being watched grew stronger and stronger.
After going about ten miles deeper, a wide open forest of scattered rocks appeared ahead.
The stones here are no longer black, but have an eerie dark gold color, and are mostly made of metal.
The number of corpses on the ground also increased.
There were rogue cultivators, as well as several corpses of disciples dressed in the robes of the Flowing Cloud Sect and the Emerald Bamboo Sect.
Their deaths were extremely gruesome, as if they had been cut in half at the waist by some sharp blade, with the cuts as smooth as a mirror.
Gu Yan squatted down to examine the body, touching the smooth cut with his fingertips.
Fast. Extremely fast.
He was killed before he could even activate his protective aura.
This wound...
Gu Yan's heart stirred, recalling a ferocious beast unique to Sunset Valley recorded in ancient texts.
"Buzz!"
A sound of flapping wings suddenly rang out above everyone's heads.
The sound drifted from left to right, unpredictable, and its location was impossible to discern in the thick fog.
"On alert! Above!"
The commander of the Black Armor Guards roared.
However, the attack did not come from above.
It came from the side, not the side.
A nearly transparent afterimage slashed into the black-armored guards' battle formation like lightning.
"Whoosh!"
The two black-armored guards on the edge didn't even have time to scream before their upper bodies slowly slid down, blood gushing out like a fountain.
The afterimage struck successfully but did not linger. Using the recoil, it instantly bounced back into the mist, leaving only a pair of huge, metallic scythe-like forelimbs flashing through the air.
"Iron-Winged Mantis!"
Li Qingge's expression changed drastically, and for the first time, she showed a solemn look.
This is an extremely rare demonic beast that can reach the peak of the third tier once it reaches adulthood.
This demonic beast is cunning by nature, with its two forelimbs being incomparably sharp, specializing in breaking through the qi of cultivators. If an ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivator were to encounter it, they would only have the option of fleeing for their life.
Worse still, these monsters usually appear in pairs, one male and one female, working together seamlessly.
"what!"
Just as everyone was still on guard ahead, another scream came from the back of the group.
Another, slightly smaller, demonic mantis emerged from the ground, snatched up a black-armored guard, flapped its wings, and flew away, disappearing into the blood mist, leaving only a chilling chewing sound.
"Damn it!"
Enraged, Li Qingge unleashed a burst of light from her Autumn Water Sword and transformed into a streak of light as she chased after the pursuer.
"You beast! Where do you think you're going!"
Her sword energy surged, forcefully cleaving open a vacuum in the mist and forcing out the hiding female mantis.
However, just as she was fully focused on dealing with the female mantis and had almost beaten it half to death.
The larger and more cunning male mantis appeared silently directly above her head.
It concealed its tracks and approached silently. Its forelimbs, like the scythe of death, carried a terrifying aura that seemed to tear through space, and slashed fiercely at Li Qingge's skull.
"Princess, be careful!"
The Black-Armored Guards wanted to come to their rescue, but it was too late.
Although Li Qingge sensed the danger, her old strength had been exhausted and new strength had not yet emerged, making it impossible for her to defend.
At this critical moment.
Gu Yan, who had been hiding in the corner trembling, suddenly slipped and cried out, crashing into a boulder like a spinning top that had gone out of control.
From his sleeve, a paper swallow that had already been folded was launched like an arrow as he fell.
This is no ordinary paper swallow, but a self-destructing swallow that Gu Yan created with a single thought, compressing the ultimate wind attribute spiritual power.
The paper swallow did not attack the demonic mantis directly, but instead struck the mantis's left compound eye with extreme precision.
"Bang!"
A soft sound was heard.
The paper swallow exploded, causing little damage, but the strong wind pressure and paper scraps it generated obscured the view of the demon mantis on that side.
As a result, the Ironwing Mantis hesitated for a moment.
When masters clash, the line between life and death can be drawn in an instant.
Li Qingge seized this opportunity, her body inexplicably leaning backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
A few strands of hair were severed by the blade's energy and scattered in the air.
"Glacier burial!"
Having escaped death, Li Qingge unleashed her full potential.
The longsword in her hand was thrust upwards, piercing directly into the mantis's weakest point—its lower jaw.
The icy spiritual energy surged wildly along the sword, freezing the enormous creature's internal organs into ice shards.
"squeak!"
The male mantis let out a desperate cry, and its massive body crashed to the ground, splashing up a cloud of black mud.
On the other side, the female mantis, having lost her mate, went berserk and tried to rush over, but was torn to pieces by the black-armored guards who had reacted quickly.
The battle is over, and the dust has settled.
Li Qingge gasped for breath, her forehead covered in cold sweat. When she looked at the giant mantis corpse on the ground, a wave of fear washed over her.
If that beast hadn't paused for a moment...
She turned her head and looked into the distance.
Gu Yan was climbing out of the mud pit, his face covered in mud, clutching the wounds from the battle, wincing in pain.
"Ouch... my back... why is this road so slippery..."
He rubbed his lower back and said with a mournful face, "Princess, I was injured on duty this time. Please reimburse my medical expenses when I get back."
Seeing his pathetic state, Li Qingge's doubts were largely dispelled. How could such a disgrace to a cultivator be the mastermind behind the scenes?
It's likely that the sound of this guy hitting the rock when he fell earlier disturbed the monster, which is why the monster paused for a moment.
This fool is actually quite lucky.
"Dig out the demon core and continue on your way."
Li Qingge coldly gave the order, swallowing one pill after another to restore her spiritual power.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Gu Yan immediately ran over excitedly, pulled out a dagger, and began to dissect the demon mantis.
No one noticed that as his hand reached into the mantis's skull, a barely noticeable golden light flashed from his fingertips.
Besides the conspicuous demon core, he also casually stole a wisp of demon soul that was invisible to the naked eye and sealed it into a blank spiritual paper hidden in his palm.
The demon soul of a peak third-tier demon beast is a top-grade material for making high-level paper puppets.
Gu Yan respectfully handed the demon core to Li Qingge, then wiped his blood-stained hands on his clothes, a simple and honest smile appearing on his face.
The team set off again, heading deeper into Sunset Valley.
In Gu Yan's perception, the clone of the Blood Swordsman wearing a human skin mask was also taking advantage of the chaos to quietly approach the rear of the Flowing Cloud Sect's group.