Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 160 Obtaining the Key
Liu Sijun stepped out from behind Gu Changzhou, his expression calm: "Senior, everything we have said is true. The Xuanji Hall has colluded with the Blood Spirit Sect, causing numerous troubles in the Fallen Soul Mountain Range. We have fought against them many times and are well aware of their sinister intentions. If they obtain the Blood Spirit Source, the consequences will be unimaginable. We hope that you can be lenient."

The old man frowned slightly, his gaze lingering on Liu Sijun for a moment, as if pondering the credibility of her words.

But soon, his eyes hardened again: "No, I can't break the rules based on just your word. If you want the key, you have to pass my test."

Gu Changzhou and Liu Sijun exchanged a glance, nodded, and said in unison, "Please enlighten us, senior."

The old man raised his hand and waved it, and instantly the scene inside the hall changed.

The once empty hall was now submerged in a sea of ​​blood, the waves of blood churning and emitting a nauseating stench.

One after another, ferocious blood beasts surged out of the sea of ​​blood. They were of different shapes, some resembling wolves and others like pythons. Each one exuded spiritual energy fluctuations of the Nascent Soul stage or even higher.

“These blood beasts are the souls of those who died in battle on ancient battlefields. If you can eliminate them all within half an hour, I will give you the key.”

The old man said coldly.

Gao Kuo's expression was solemn. He changed his hand seals, and a powerful surge of late-stage Nascent Soul spiritual energy erupted from him. He shouted, "Everyone be careful, listen to my command!"

The other six Nascent Soul stage experts nodded in agreement and each unleashed their unique skills.

A middle-aged man dressed in a light blue robe, who looked to be around forty years old, not very tall, with a well-proportioned figure and above-average looks, formed hand seals and summoned a huge earthen wall to block the crowd and resist the blood beast's attack.

The other two controlled wind blades and lightning, blasting them into the horde of blood beasts. In an instant, waves of blood splattered and screams echoed.

Gu Changzhou channeled the power of the stars, causing his sword to shine brightly as it plunged into the horde of blood beasts like a shooting star.

He unleashed "Starry Dance," countless star-shaped sword energies crisscrossing and turning blood beasts to dust wherever they passed.

Liu Sijun then activated the Taixu Mirror with all his might, and beams of runic light containing powerful spiritual energy shot out from the mirror. These beams of light pierced through the bodies of the blood beasts like sharp arrows, destroying them one by one.

However, blood beasts continued to emerge from the sea of ​​blood, seemingly endless.

Time flew by in the tense battle. Half an hour was about to pass. Although the group had eliminated a large number of blood beasts, many more were still rushing towards them.

"Time is running out, everyone give it your all!"

Gao Kuo shouted as he struggled to fend off the attacks of a blood beast that resembled a giant dragon.

Liu Sijun was extremely anxious and had to think of another way, otherwise he would not be able to pass the test.

Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration and thought of a powerful spell in the Mirror of Emptiness—"Purifying the World from Emptiness".

This spell is incredibly powerful, but it also consumes an enormous amount of spiritual energy.

She gritted her teeth and decided to give it a try. Liu Sijun raised the Taixu Mirror high, channeled her spiritual power to the fullest, and chanted incantations.

The Mirror of Emptiness shone brightly, and a dazzling white beam of light shot into the sky, containing the power to purify everything, sweeping towards the horde of blood beasts.

Under the immense power of "Purifying the World from the Void," the blood beasts let out mournful screams and were instantly purified into nothingness.

The blood wave quickly receded, and the hall returned to its original state.

The old man looked at the crowd, a hint of surprise and admiration flashing in his eyes: "I didn't expect you to have such methods. Alright, you can take this key."

Gu Changzhou, Liu Sijun, and the others breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to pick up the key from the stone platform.

After keeping the key, they thanked the old man and hurriedly left the ruins, heading towards the entrance of the Burial Valley. They hoped to meet up with Min Rui and Tong Lei to open the passage to the Blood Spirit Source and stop the Xuanji Hall's conspiracy. The group rushed towards the entrance of the Burial Valley without stopping.

Along the way, Liu Sijun had consumed a lot of spiritual energy by using "Tai Xu Jing Shi", and his face was slightly pale. However, time was of the essence, and even after taking the recovery pills, he was still not fully recovered and forced his tired body to keep going.

Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the Valley of Burial Spirits.

A thick layer of black mist hung over the valley entrance, emanating a sinister aura that inspired fear.

Min Rui and Tong Lei were already waiting there. When they saw Gu Changzhou, Liu Sijun, and the others arrive, they smiled with relief.

"We've been waiting for you! We've also found the key without any problems."

Tong Lei waved the antique-looking key in his hand and said. Min Rui looked at Liu Sijun's pale face and asked with concern, "Miss Liu, what's wrong? You look so pale."

Gu Changzhou briefly recounted the trials he encountered while searching for the key and the powerful magic Liu Sijun used.

Tong Lei: "Should we rest for a while and recover our strength?"

Liu Sijun had only recently broken through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

Such a large consumption of spiritual energy might cause instability in one's foundation.

Liu Sijun shook his head: "Thank you, Senior Tong. I have already taken the medicine on the way, so it's nothing."

Although her cultivation level was weaker, she was an alchemist, which gave her a significant advantage.

Gu Changzhou withdrew his concerned gaze: "Alright, now that we have all three keys, let's hurry into the Burial Valley and stop the Xuanji Hall's conspiracy."

Gu Changzhou said with a solemn expression.

Everyone nodded and stepped into the Burial Valley, which was filled with black mist.

As soon as they entered the valley, a powerful pressure rushed towards them, as if countless invisible hands were pulling at their bodies.

The spiritual energy in the valley was chaotic, sometimes raging like a whirlwind, and sometimes eerily still, giving people an extremely oppressive feeling.

They proceeded cautiously along a winding path, with eerie wails and howls echoing around them from time to time, as if countless wronged souls were wandering in the valley.

Suddenly, a group of bat-like monsters appeared ahead. They were huge, with wingspans that were more than a person's height. Their sharp fangs dripped green venom and emitted a foul stench.

"Everyone be careful, these monsters are tough to deal with!"

Min Rui shouted a reminder.

The swarm of bat monsters let out a piercing scream and pounced on the group like a black whirlwind.

Gao Kuo swung his longsword, unleashing a sharp sword aura that slashed towards the swarm of bat monsters, instantly felling several of them.

The other six Nascent Soul stage experts also unleashed their spells, and in an instant, light flashed and spiritual energy overflowed.

Gu Changzhou channeled the power of the stars and unleashed the "Starry Sky-Splitting Slash," a massive star-shaped sword aura slicing through the sky and splitting the swarm of bat monsters in front of him in two.

(End of this chapter)