I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 268 The Power of Clear Thoughts (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Yellow sand, like fog, obscured the view.

On the seventh day, the sky over the Golden Zheng Plain Secret Realm suddenly darkened, with lead-gray clouds hanging low, making it hard to breathe.

Xiao Qinghuang dragged the unconscious Yan Kongqing, staggering through a forest of wind-eroded rocks.

In the distance, the quicksand vortex at the exit of the secret realm still slowly rotated, but it seemed to be imprisoned by an invisible force, with a layer of eerie gray-white flame floating on its surface.

"what happened?!"

Xiao Qinghuang's pupils contracted sharply. Trembling, he took out his pass and infused it with spiritual power. The jade token hummed for a moment, then cracked open.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao?!"

A weak female voice came from behind the stone pillar. A female cultivator from Bai Cang Valley, her hair disheveled and half her body stained with blood, said, "The exit... the exit is blocked! You weren't attacked by Jiang Heying either, were you?"

Before he could finish speaking, another streak of light came from afar. After landing, Xiao Qinghuang discovered that it was a pharmacist from the Yuqing Sect. He had lost an arm and was on the verge of death.

“It’s Jiang Heying…” The pharmacist coughed up blood and trembled as he took out a pill from his medicine pouch and swallowed it. “She’s with a three-tailed red fire fox… she kills anyone she sees…”

Two more seriously injured disciples of the Insect Valley stumbled and ran from between the western rock pillars. The male cultivator in the lead had just shouted the name "Jiang Heying" when he collapsed to the ground, with golden-red flames remaining on the claw marks torn on his back.

More and more survivors gathered at the exit.

They were all attacked by the "demoness Jiang Heying". Some of them had doubts, but apart from Xiao Qinghuang and the others who were attacked first, everyone else saw the three-tailed red fire fox that Jiang Heying had used on the arena.

All the passes cracked when activated, and no one could leave the secret realm.

The sandstorm howled as it swept over everyone's heads, the sky suddenly darkened, and the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.

……

In this hidden northern oasis, a pool of emerald-green water is nestled deep in the Gobi Desert, reflecting the azure sky. Reeds sway in the wind, rustling softly.

The black dragon and jade snake were coiled in the center of the lake, their jet-black scales gleaming in the sunlight. Their huge heads rested lazily on the pebbles on the shore, and two streams of steam were coming out of their nostrils as they slept soundly.

Zhao Cangyun practiced his sword by the lake, his long sword slicing through the heat waves, the blade kicking up fine dust, each move as steady as a mountain.

He has been waiting here for seven days, but his senior sister still hasn't come to join him.

Before the blade's momentum ceased, Zhao Cangyun's nostrils suddenly twitched. A gust of wind blew in from the northwest, carrying sand and a faint, almost imperceptible, acrid smell of burning.

He abruptly sheathed his sword, his pupils shrinking sharply.

It smells like the senior sister... but it's not the current senior sister.

Many years ago, when he was still the Crimson Smoke Steed, he smelled that fiery scent on his senior sister, which was also the strongest scent on her.

When they reunited at Cangling Sect, the scent on the senior sister disappeared.

"Something's wrong..."

Zhao Cangyun grabbed the short horn on the head of the jade snake, turned it into a small snake and stuffed it into his clothes. He then crouched down and leaped up the sand dune like a cheetah, squinting as he gazed into the distance.

In the distance, sandstorms churned, and a fiery red shadow sped past.

"Hongli?!"

The crimson ribbon around Hongli's neck was gone, replaced by a ring of shackles formed from grayish-white flames.

The person riding on Hongli's back had a fluttering cloak, and a wisp of red hair escaped from under the hood. Behind them, a girl sat sideways, her iron mask reflecting a cold light.

The girl had a demonic stench mixed with the intense, fiery scent that her senior sister used to have.

Zhao Cangyun's throat tightened, and his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.

He stared intently at that strand of red hair, recalling how the Heavenly Heart Ancestor had possessed Ji Honglian. Upon seeing Hong Li again, it was obvious what had happened: his senior sister had been attacked by them.

Zhao Cangyun held his breath and focused his mind, his demonic blood boiling silently within him. He concealed his aura in the sand and followed without hesitation.

If something happens to Senior Sister, he will avenge her. If Senior Sister is alright, she will definitely catch up and take back Hong Li. He will keep an eye on this bastard for Senior Sister!

……

Beneath the shifting sands.

Jiang Yi asked Hua Gu and Zhen Shan Duan Jin to investigate together.

Judging from the appearance, the place where she is now is also part of the ruins city, but it has been buried under the sea of ​​quicksand after years of weathering and sandstorms.

With sandworm nests overhead, they couldn't easily break out from above. Fortunately, Hua Gu could pass through walls, and Zhen Shan and Duan Jin had the power to sense the earth's veins. They found an underground passage.

The deep underground passageway meanders and twists, with dark green moss climbing the damp rock walls. Occasionally, water droplets fall from the stalactites, making a crisp 'drip-drip' sound in the silence.

Hua Gu floated ahead, scouting the way like a silent ghost. Whenever she encountered a fork in the road, she would split in two, drifting into different passages to investigate, and then return with a whoosh to guide Jiang Yi.

Luo Qingsi followed behind Jiang Yi, clutching a thigh bone she had picked up from somewhere, waving it around every now and then.

"Senior Sister, this bone is so big and white. Can we take it back to Master to make soup?"

Jiang Yi's lips twitched. "These are human bones, we can't make soup for people." Luo Qingsi tilted her head, then broke the bones in two and stuffed them into her storage bag. "Then we'll use them to heat the kang (heated brick bed) for Master."

"........."

Zhenshan and Duanjin brought up the rear, their heavy footsteps echoing dully on the stone path. Whenever a collapsed rock face or a boulder blocked their way appeared, Zhenshan would stride forward and smash the boulder with a single punch.

Duan Jin is responsible for guarding the surroundings. The Thousand-Pound Blade spins at his fingertips, its cold light flashing, ready to deal with any unexpected situation at any time.

On both sides of the passageway, the exposed ore shimmered with a faint spiritual light, but Jiang Yi had no time to pay attention to it, as the cool breeze in the passageway sent chills down her spine.

There were snakes and insects where they were just now, but there's nothing here. Something's not right.

Luo Qingsi didn't think about these things, but she was incredibly fast at picking things up. She dug and shoveled around, and soon came back carrying a pile of random ore.

"Senior Sister, are these sparkly things very valuable?"

"Yes, keep it safe, um... give me half."

After walking for half an hour, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a naturally formed underground cave.

A damp, cold wind carrying the stench of decay swept over us, and corpses littered the ground!
The skeletons of animals were broken into pieces, while the human remains were either curled up or lying face up, their empty eye sockets staring straight at the ceiling, as if silently accusing the despair before death.

Some of the corpses had long since turned to skeletal form, their surfaces covered in moss, while others still retained flesh that had not completely decomposed. Their clothes, soaked in blood, had dried to a dark brown color, and their storage bags lay scattered to the side, clearly indicating that they had only recently died.

Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes and scanned the depths of the cave with his divine sense. Several fresh corpses were particularly striking; they were Foundation Establishment cultivators who had participated in the treasure hunt.

There were no signs of a fierce struggle around these bodies; it was more like... a one-sided massacre!

Luo Qingsi squatted down and used her sword sheath to nudge a newly deceased corpse. "Senior Sister, this person's clothes are nice. Can I take them off?"

Jiang Yi ignored her and looked down to examine the bones of several corpses closely. She found fine gnaw marks on the bones, as if they had been torn apart by some small group of creatures.

A rustling sound came from deep within the cave, as if thousands of insect legs were rubbing against the rocks.

Jiang Yi suddenly looked up and saw several points of green light flickering in the darkness, floating like will-o'-the-wisps.

“It’s a carrion-eating sand ant! These monstrous creatures feed on the flesh and blood of cultivators. One is not scary, but a swarm is. However, the essence produced by these sand ants is an excellent material for tempering swords.”

Before the words were even finished, a black tide suddenly surged out from the crevice in the rock wall!

The densely packed sand ants, each as large as a thumb, had carapaces that gleamed with a metallic sheen. Their mouthparts made a sickening clicking sound as they opened and closed, and they flooded the pile of corpses like a burst dam.

Hua Gu took the lead, while Zhen Shan and Duan Jin also flashed from both sides to stand in front of Jiang Yi, ready to fight to the death.

"You've come back, Qing Si..."

Before Jiang Yi could finish speaking, Luo Qingsi's figure shot out like a white lightning bolt!

Suddenly, the longsword in her hand burst forth with dazzling lightning, and in the instant the blade swept across, the cave was illuminated as if it were daytime.

"You! Hand over all your refined essence!"

Wherever the sword passed, violent arcs of lightning surged like a raging tide, instantly blasting a blinding electric net across the ant colony, causing the carnivorous sand ants' metallic carapaces to shatter into a sky full of black ash.

Without pausing, Luo Qingsi turned her sword and, like a ghost, rushed to the center of the ant swarm.

A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck vertically like a sword of divine punishment, blasting a charred crater in the ground. The aftershocks of the thunderstorm spread in a ring, turning sand ants into dust wherever they passed, and even blasting spiderweb-like cracks into the rock walls.

Hua Gu was thrown backward by the shockwave. Zhen Shan and Duan Jin stared wide-eyed at the stunned girl, who now seemed like a thunder god descending to earth.

"Are all Golden Core sword cultivators this terrifying?" Duan Jin's eyes burned with fervor.

"It's probably her."

Suddenly, the ground shook violently!
The pile of corpses deep in the cave suddenly exploded, and a huge, dark golden queen ant burst out of the ground. As it opened and closed its mouthparts, it dripped corrosive mucus, scorching the ground and sending up plumes of white smoke.

The pressure from the early stage of the Golden Core realm was like a mountain collapsing, forcing Jiang Yi and the others to retreat and avoid it.

Luo Qingsi tilted her head. "You must have more and better refined essence, right? Give it to me!"

After speaking, the lightning on Luo Qingsi's sword suddenly turned from blue to purple, and her whole body transformed into a purple lightning bolt that shot into the sky.

The queen ant hissed and sprayed corrosive venom, but it was evaporated into mist the moment it touched the lightning.

The sword clashed with the queen ant's sickle-like forelimbs. Amidst the ear-piercing metallic clang, the queen ant's forelimbs, as hard as a magical weapon, were severed!
Using the momentum, Luo Qingsi flipped over and leaped onto the queen ant's head, gripping her sword with both hands and thrusting it down fiercely.

boom! ! !
A bolt of lightning, over ten feet in diameter, pierced through the queen ant's body, and the aftershocks blew away and crushed all the corpses within a ten-foot radius.

The queen ant's body, struggling frantically, gradually charred black in the lightning, and finally collapsed to the ground with a thud, with electric snakes still crawling between the cracks in her carapace.

Luo Qingsi landed lightly, and the lightning flashed back into her sword sheath.

She turned to look at Jiang Yi, "Senior Sister, where is the Essence Refining area?"

Looking at the still convulsing corpse of the queen ant, Jiang Yi suddenly felt that perhaps the Heavenly Heart Ancestor... wasn't so difficult to deal with after all?
　Too much to do during the holiday, see you tomorrow~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)