Immortals of the End Times

Chapters 140-145-146: Peak Master's Breakthrough, Dragon Vein Spirit Stealing, Ancient Cultivator of the Song Dynasty (Two chapters combined into one, please subscribe)

Three streaks of light pierced the sky and plunged into the valley as dawn broke.

A swirling mist enveloped the entire valley in a hazy golden glow.

Yan Lan landed on the ground, his bare feet touching the gray-black rocks. Flames rose from the soles of his feet, scorching the rocks with fine cracks: "You brat, you know how to pick a spot. From the surface, there is not a trace of spiritual energy here."

But these rocks... were able to withstand my fiery patterns; there's something strange about that."

Hua Qingshuang lightly flicked her wide sleeves, her fingers brushing across the rock wall, the frost condensing and then dissipating: "If this place is truly where the dragon vein and the spiritual vein meet, it should overflow with spiritual energy, but now it is mediocre, even more barren than ordinary valleys."

She tapped the rock wall lightly with her fingers, her voice muffled. "It seems that not only are there formations underground, but these black rocks are probably some kind of spirit-sealing artifact."

"After all, it is the place where the dragon vein and the spiritual vein meet, which is of utmost importance, and there must be an array set up there."

Zhao Wuji nodded.

What he observed last time at the Penglai Palace using guiding techniques was a massive formation that trapped the dragon vein.

At this moment, he suddenly closed his eyes and focused his mind, his aura suddenly receding, as if he had merged with the surrounding environment and entered the spiritual perception of the unity of heaven and man in martial arts.

A few breaths later, he suddenly opened his eyes. "I found it."

"Oh?" Yan Lan raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You've got some skills."

Hua Qingshuang remained calm, showing no surprise.

She knew that Zhao Wuji's martial arts perception was extremely strong, capable of sensing things that ordinary people could not, and only those with a high level of spiritual concentration could surpass him in this aspect.

"Please come with me, both peak masters."

Zhao Wuji strode forward, leading the two deeper into the valley.

As you venture deeper into the valley, the pebbles beneath your feet gradually take on a reddish-gold hue.

With each step, it felt as if one were stepping on dragon scales, with an ancient and heavy pressure emanating from the ground.

Zhao Wuji paused slightly.

Through his spiritual senses, he sensed a deep, muffled pulsation coming from the depths of the earth, as if some enormous creature was slowly moving beneath the rock strata.

"Dragon energy taking form..."

Hua Qingshuang whispered, her fingers lightly touching the rock wall.

Where the frost spread, winding dark gold dragon patterns faintly appeared, extending into the depths like living creatures.

Following the dragon pattern, the three quickly discovered a cliff deep within the mist.

The surface of the cliff looks ordinary.

However, upon closer inspection, one can discover a stone gate that is almost integrated with the mountain.

If the dragon pattern had not manifested, it would have been difficult to detect.

"It was well hidden."

Yan Lan sneered and was about to step forward when Zhao Wuji raised his hand to stop her: "Uncle-Master, be careful, there are restrictions on the stone gate."

Before he finished speaking, countless ancient runes suddenly appeared on the surface of the stone gate.

"Oh?"

Yan Lan raised an eyebrow, her phoenix eyes sweeping over Zhao Wuji. A playful smile curved her red lips, and her voice held a touch of languid admiration: "Our young doctor Wuji is not only skilled in medicine and swordsmanship, but also so proficient in array formations and forbidden spells."

She suddenly leaned forward and whispered in Zhao Wuji's ear, "I really like her more and more the more I look at her."

He glanced at Hua Qingshuang out of the corner of his eye and said in a flippant tone, "I wish I could snatch it from Junior Sister Hua right now."

Zhao Wuji chuckled upon hearing this, calmly took a half step back, and gave a proper disciple's salute: "Senior Uncle is too kind. If there is any need in the future, this disciple will certainly serve you. There is no need to use such frightening words as 'rob'."

He spoke gently, but skillfully changed the subject.

"enough."

Hua Qingshuang's cold voice suddenly broke in, her frosty eyes sweeping over the two of them: "The dangers here are still unknown, this is not the time for idle chatter."

"Yes."

Zhao Wuji's expression turned solemn as he turned to face the stone gate.

His slender fingers suddenly formed a strange hand seal.

Spiritual energy gathered in his eyes, golden light flowing, as if he were deducing the trajectory of the formation's operation.

If someone skilled in formations were here, they would surely see that this seemingly casual hand gesture is nothing more than a disguise.

The fingers that seemed to be making calculations were actually completely still; the real technique for breaking the seal was all in Zhao Wuji's sharp, eagle-like eyes.

The mental calculation method for breaking the seal of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Formation Technique was transforming into countless golden runes, rapidly flowing deep within his pupils.

After a moment, Zhao Wuji smiled and said, "This formation uses dragon energy as a guide and borrows the power of the earth veins to circulate repeatedly. If you try to break it by brute force, it will only trigger a backlash from the entire spiritual vein."

He thought to himself that this array formation was somewhat similar to the Wine God Array set up by the ancient Yelang Kingdom, only it was more rudimentary, but it could be used to practice.

He turned to Hua Qingshuang beside him, bowed and said, "Peak Master, I am preparing to break the formation with a sword formation, and I need to borrow your frost."

"it is good!"

Hua Qingshuang understood, and with a light wave of her wide sleeves, the crystal-clear Frost Flying Sword floated out.

The sword is as thin as a cicada's wing, and amidst the swirling cold air, faint snowflake patterns flow.

She parted her lips slightly and said, "I won't control the frost; you control it yourself, and it shouldn't resist you."

"Hmm." Zhao Wuji made a sword incantation, using the Profound Ice Sword Technique to control the frost, and then summoned the Cold Soul.

The icy frost and ice trembled slightly, and the sword's cry sounded like a dragon and phoenix singing in harmony. The two ice swords intertwined and swirled in the air, and the cold air wove together into a net.

"Form ranks!"

Zhao Wuji formed hand seals, and the Frosty Soul Sword Formation split into sword energy, which condensed into threads and precisely pierced the nine acupoints of the Stone Gate Formation.

In an instant, the sword energy threads moved as if they were alive, weaving a miniature star map among the ancient runes.

"Congeal!"

The two frost swords suddenly merged, transforming into a streak of azure light that pierced the center of the star map.

In an instant, the runes on the stone gate faded away layer by layer, like ice and snow melting away.

The dragon energy that attempted to retaliate was frozen by the cold air, and under the guidance of the sword formation, it disintegrated on its own.

Yan Lan raised an eyebrow: "Using an array to break another array? That's quite a feat of using minimal force to achieve maximum effect."

Zhao Wuji finished his hand seals, put his hands behind his back, and returned the flying sword. "This formation was originally meant to prevent outsiders from investigating. We merely helped it fulfill that mission, allowing this place to return to seclusion."

Before the words were even finished, the stone door slid open silently, revealing a deep passage.

The dragon energy surged out of the cave like a tide, but it naturally dispersed when it touched the hem of the three people's clothes.

"The dragon energy is so rich! I can finally absorb it freely without having to sneak around anymore."

Zhao Wuji felt the Yang Pearl in his sea of ​​consciousness stirring violently, and with an excited expression, he stepped inside.

Yan Lan stomped barefoot on a protruding dragon scale stone, and fire patterns spread from the sole of her foot, scorching the stone into dust: "Playing tricks, I still haven't detected a single trace of spiritual energy."

The words stopped abruptly.

A dragon's roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the grotto, the sound waves causing dust to fall from the rock ceiling.

"It's living dragon marrow!"

Zhao Wuji immediately recalled the scene of Zhang Zhaoming cultivating that day, and lowered his voice, saying, "Peak Master, if we break through here, the dragon energy fluctuations might alert Zhang Zhaoming..."

"That junior in the dragon robe?" Yan Lan sneered, flames shooting from her fingers. "If he dares to show up and obstruct me, I'll burn this bird emperor to ashes."

Hua Qingshuang nodded. "Go down and take a look."

Continue down.

The cave ahead suddenly opened up, with hundreds of red-gold dragon marrow strands hanging upside down from the dome, slowly writhing like living things.

The underground spiritual veins intertwine with the dragon veins here, forming an underground river.

What flows in the river is not water, but dragon energy that is almost condensed into liquid, like golden water rippling!
"Dragon Draining Marrow... Is this the mysterious formation I saw during my guidance at the Penglai Palace that day?!"

Zhao Wuji's pupils suddenly contracted.

But the riverbed was dark and deep, with eighteen bronze pillars standing tall, their surfaces engraved with ancient forbidden patterns.

The thick, black iron chains rattled, binding the nine illusory dragon shadows tightly.

Two of the dragon veins had already dried up, corroded by dark evil energy. The dragon's body was constantly oozing scarlet blood light, shriveled like a stone, its scales peeling off, its head drooping, and all the spiritual light in its eyes gone.

Only one black dragon was still twisting its body wildly, its malevolent aura coiling around its body like a living thing, yet it could not conceal the faint golden light flowing beneath its scales.

It would sometimes raise its head and roar angrily, opening its mouth to devour the dragon energy overflowing from the other six dragon veins.

With each swallow, the malevolent aura on his body faded a little, and the golden radiance between the scales became even brighter.

However, every time it struggles, the chains tighten suddenly.

The wisps of golden mist within the dragon marrow were forcibly extracted and flowed into the underground currents of the riverbed, like fine silk threads.

The golden mist surged along the water veins, eventually flowing towards the direction of the Linglang Cave.

There, a dazzling beam of light pierced through the water curtain, like a giant beast opening its mouth to greedily devour the essence of the dragon vein.

At the entrance of the spiritual vein, golden mist and spiritual energy intertwine, forming a vortex-like spiritual tide.

The illusory images of mountains and rivers within the cave could be vaguely seen rising and falling in the spiritual light. With each breath, the dragon shadow howled in pain, and the chains clanged.

"Nurture the spiritual vein with the dragon vein..."

Hua Qingshuang's eyes turned slightly cold. "This is the secret behind the enduring spiritual energy of numerous grotto-heavens. These nine dragons, used as firewood, will perish, marking the collapse of the grotto-heaven's spiritual veins."

Yan Lan stepped barefoot onto the river stones, the fiery patterns beneath her feet sizzling as the water flowed. "This black dragon is quite stubborn. It must be Emperor Zhaoming, what a pity..."

She squinted at the direction of the spiritual vein, "The Zhang family's imperial power has already determined the outcome. No matter how much they struggle, they cannot escape the fate of having their marrow extracted and their spirit refined."

"Peak Master, I will try to pry open this formation to create an opening in the spiritual vein to release spiritual energy, which will help you break through!"

Zhao Wuji then turned to Hua Qingshuang and said.

He also wanted to take this opportunity to try and extract the Yang Marrow from the underground formation.

However, we'll have to wait until the two peak masters break through first.

Be careful! Don't force it.

Hua Qingshuang whispered, handing out the Frost Flying Sword once more.

"Ok!"

Zhao Wuji wielded the Frost Soul Twin Swords, lowered his body, and plunged into the dark river churning with dragon energy.

boom! ! ——

This river water is no ordinary water flow, but rather the condensed liquid dragon vein energy, each drop weighing as much as a thousand pounds.

The pressure immediately caused the sword light protecting Zhao Wuji's body to distort, and his bones to crack and pop.

However, his martial arts cultivation had given him a strong physique, and he could withstand this pressure.

"The core of the Dragon's Marrow Absorption Formation..."

His eyes, sharp as lightning, locked onto the eighteen bronze pillars at the bottom of the river.

Nine dragon shadows were bound by chains on the pillar, seven of which were struggling, and a small sun-like cluster of dragon essence shone brightly from their reverse scales.

Within the Dragon Essence, two points of Yang Marrow shimmered like gilded gold.

"Yang marrow."

Zhao Wuji's heart fluttered, but he quickly regained his composure.

He suddenly drew his sword technique, and the Frost and Cold Soul swords abruptly separated, transforming into seventy-two azure sword threads that darted into the forbidden patterns between the bronze dragon pillars like swimming fish.

The sword energy and dragon energy collided, stirring up countless golden and blue light fragments.

The undercurrents at the bottom of the river were stirred up, forming a vortex-like channel of spiritual energy.

Zhao Wuji used a guiding technique to draw in the abundant spiritual energy from the opposite cave.

With this guide as a lead, the boundless spiritual energy immediately found an outlet and surged forth.

"The spiritual vein has opened!" Yan Lan's eyes narrowed as she saw a surge of powerful spiritual energy erupting from the bottom of the river, like an inverted celestial river.

Hua Qingshuang's wide sleeves fluttered as she swiftly flew out, the frost forming an ice lotus to support her figure and receive the abundant spiritual energy flowing into her body.

She glanced at Zhao Wuji, who was busy at the bottom of the river, and her heart trembled slightly. Then she consciously took off half of her robe, revealing her smooth back.

To facilitate the outbreak of the cold poison when she breaks through later, Zhao Wuji will administer acupuncture to her.

The next moment, she began to circulate her internal energy, and an ice crystal pattern suddenly appeared between her brows, her aura rising steadily.

At the bottom of the river, Zhao Wuji quietly lurked beneath the stone dragon's reverse scale, observing the yang essence within the dragon's essence. His eyes flashed, and he then withdrew.

"I'll help the Peak Master break through first; this Yang Marrow is mine."

Outside, Hua Qingshuang's breakthrough had reached a critical moment. She sat cross-legged on an ice lotus, and the dragon vein's spiritual energy swirled into her crown chakra.

Zhao Wuji came to Hua Qingshuang's side, took out his needle case, and was ready to administer acupuncture at any time.

Soon, half an hour passed.

A glint of ice light suddenly appeared between Hua Qingshuang's brows, and the frost flowers around her burst open and then collapsed into tiny specks of light.

This is a sign of the "manifestation of divine consciousness" in the Concentration Realm; divine consciousness is condensing.

"Uh!"

At this critical moment, Hua Qingshuang suddenly trembled violently, a suppressed groan escaped her throat, and the eerie purple mark on her back, which had been as fair as jade, suddenly split open.

The icy poison, like countless black venomous snakes, surged wildly out along the meridians!

In an instant, the temperature in the entire cave plummeted, thick ice crystals formed on the rock walls, and even the spiritual energy drifting in the air was frozen into tiny ice particles that fell down in a rustling sound.

The icy poison spread along the path of the ice lotus, leaving the ground covered in spiderweb-like frost patterns.

"Wuji, her cold poison has flared up!" Yan Lan shouted.

She could tell at a glance that the cold poison in Hua Qingshuang's body was backfiring wildly as her spiritual energy rose, not only eroding her spiritual power but also freezing her internal organs!
"Peak Master! Stabilize your mind and break through! Don't worry, I've got you covered!"

With a low shout, Zhao Wuji flicked his wrists, and eighteen golden streaks shot out.

The Nine-Turned Phoenix Feather Needle in the needle box soared into the air, transforming into a stream of light, and precisely pierced the major acupoint on Hua Qingshuang's back.

The phoenix pattern carved on the needle's tail seemed to come alive, its clear chirping resonating, creating a unique resonance with the surging dragon vein energy within the cave!

"laugh!!"

The cold poison, like a bone-deep carbuncle, frantically eroded Hua Qingshuang's meridians, and even counterattacked Zhao Wuji through the golden needles.

His expression darkened, and his hand gestures changed. The golden needles moved like dragons, and the needle energy formed a vortex of spiritual power circulating throughout Hua Qingshuang's body, forcibly stripping the cold poison from her body!

"Dragon Swings Its Tail!"

He took it upon himself, his ten fingers like wheels, and suddenly flicked!
Eighteen golden needles simultaneously drew a semicircle, their tails trembling like a dragon's roar.

Hua Qingshuang's body suddenly stiffened, her back arched, and she spat out a mouthful of frost blood tinged with chilling coldness!

"boom!!"

The cold poison was forcibly pulled out of Zhao Wuji's body by the golden needles, turning into a jet-black icy mist that flowed down the needles and was about to be poured into Zhao Wuji's meridians!

The biting cold instantly turned his lips blue, frosted his eyebrows and eyelashes, and covered his hands holding the needles with a thin layer of ice.

However, at this moment, the blood-fiend spiritual energy within his body rapidly circulated, causing his blood and qi to surge and the cold air to dissipate instantly.

"I'll go!" Yan Lan shouted, and the Flaming Sun Wheel flew out from his sleeve with a whoosh. Crimson fire patterns drew a blazing arc in the air as it fiercely blocked Zhao Wuji's path!
"Om!!"

The Fiery Sun Wheel spun rapidly, unleashing billowing flames that blocked the oncoming chilling poison and spiritual energy.

In an instant, ice and fire collided, causing a burst of white mist to fill the cave, the rock walls to crack, and rubble to fly everywhere!

With the cold poison blocked, Zhao Wuji's pressure decreased significantly.

He gritted his teeth and channeled his spiritual power, causing the phoenix pattern on the needle's tail to shine brightly, and the purple marks on Hua Qingshuang's back were fading away at a visible speed.

"boom--!"

The ice lotus suddenly exploded at that moment, transforming into a towering ice waterfall that shot into the sky.

The moment Hua Qingshuang opened her eyes, all the drifting snowflakes in the cave suddenly stopped, as if time had frozen.

Her gaze shifted slightly, and a crystal snowflake trembled silently before transforming into a streak of cold light that shot out.

"laugh!"

The rock wall ten zhang away was suddenly pierced through, and the edge of the bowl-sized hole was as smooth as a mirror, without a single crack spreading!
Divine senses control objects; the realm of spiritual concentration is achieved!
"It's done? You've broken through!?"

Yan Lan's pupils contracted sharply, and she subconsciously took a half step back.

She felt the chill contained within the still snowflakes around her, which made even this fire cultivator feel a faint stinging pain in her meridians.

What's even more terrifying is that the spiritual energy of the entire cave seems to pulsate with Hua Qingshuang's breath, as if she has merged with this world and can be manipulated at will!

"Is this... the pressure of the Concentration Realm?"

Yan Lan muttered to herself, her fingers unconsciously stroking the Flaming Sun Wheel, a rare look of daze appearing on her usually arrogant face.

As the icy mist dissipated, Hua Qingshuang slowly rose to her feet. With a gentle flick of her jade fingers, her robe was draped softly over her shoulders.

Melted ice water cascaded down her flowing black hair, forming a clear spring at her feet, reflecting her increasingly aloof and stunning beauty.

As she turned around, she looked at Zhao Wuji.

His face was slightly pale, and there was a hint of fatigue between his brows, but his eyes were still as bright as stars.

"Wuji, thank you."

Hua Qingshuang spoke softly, her voice much gentler than usual.

She lightly raised her fingertips, and a wisp of pure spiritual energy from the Concentration Realm flowed into Zhao Wuji's body, dispelling the lingering chill. "Without your help, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to break through this time. Thank you for your hard work."

Zhao Wuji chuckled, "It's good that the Peak Master has broken through; my hard work is nothing."

"Ah."

Hua Qingshuang looked at Yan Lan with a cool gaze.

Yan Lan's heart tightened; what if Hua Qingshuang changed her mind now?
She really had no ability to resist.

"Next, Senior Sister has broken through." Hua Qingshuang's voice remained cool, but with a touch more warmth. "I will protect you. However, Wuji seems a little tired."

"Peak Master, I am unharmed."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Wuji cupped his hands and said, "The current commotion is too great. It would be best to help Uncle Yan break through as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications."

Yan Lan was taken aback upon hearing this, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

She glanced at Zhao Wuji and saw that although he looked tired, his eyes were still firm. Her heart warmed, and she thought to herself that this little rascal still knew how to care for his master. It was worth the effort and true fire she had spent to refine the magic weapon for him.

"it is good."

Hua Qingshuang said no more, and with a light lift of her jade finger, she set up a frost-patterned barrier around Yan Lan's body.

She knew that with Yan Lan's personality, saying more would only cause misunderstandings.

Yan Lan took a deep breath and sat cross-legged.

Zhao Wuji entered the riverbed again, his figure appearing and disappearing in the dark water. He formed hand seals and precisely guided the spiritual energy tides in the spiritual veins.

at the same time.

Within the Linglang Cave, the spiritual energy, which was originally as dense as mist, had been churning violently for more than half an hour, and had rapidly thinned out as if it had been swallowed by an invisible giant mouth.

The spiritual springs suspended on the peaks also dimmed, and the spiritual mist gushing from the springs spewed intermittently, eventually fading away.

Many disciples who were cultivating were suddenly awakened, their internal circulation of spiritual energy stagnate due to the interruption of spiritual energy, and their expressions were shocked.

"Why did the spiritual energy within the cave suddenly weaken?!"

In the Hall of Merit, Elder Li rushed out of the hall, his expression one of astonishment. "Where is the Hall of Spirit Monitoring? Investigate the source of the abnormal spiritual vein movement at once!"

Inside the Spirit Monitoring Hall, the phantom images of the spiritual vein nodes on the Spirit Monitoring Compass extinguished one after another.

The cultivators on duty and the elders who rushed to check were all pale-faced.

The elder looked surprised and fearful. He had made such a big mistake, and he would surely be severely punished when the cave master returned.

Such a large loss of spiritual energy in a short period of time could not possibly bypass the blockade of the cave heaven formation without the cave master's permission and the authority granted by the Spirit Monitoring Hall; it would have been immediately stopped by the formation.

However, the observed locations of spiritual energy loss were precisely the areas that the Spirit Monitoring Hall could only monitor but could not seal or control with the Spirit Monitoring Array.

He immediately picked up the communication jade talisman and sent a message to the cave master: "Cave master! An anomaly has occurred at the dragon vein node; the spiritual vein is being forcibly drained away by someone!"

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Could it be those scoundrels from Yunfeng Cave Heaven who were able to bypass the Spirit Monitoring Array?"

Before anyone could reply, the elder turned around abruptly and flicked out three crimson command arrows from his sleeve.

"Clang—" The piercing alarm bell rang throughout the cave.

The Elder of the Spirit Guard roared, "All disciples on duty, assemble immediately! Elders of all halls, quickly bring your magical artifacts! Follow me out of the cave to punish the traitor who has dared to disturb the spiritual veins!"

At this very moment, Zhong Kui of Linlang Cave Heaven is still standing in front of the collapsed main peak of Yunfeng Cave Heaven, observing the abyss below that is bursting with towering blood light.

A river of blood seemed to flow in that abyss, and the faint sound of water could be heard, accompanied by drifting mist.

Beneath the mist, fine golden runes floated on the surface of the viscous, dark red liquid, as if some ancient seal was slowly dissolving.

At the bottom of the river, one can vaguely see piles of white bones, some of which are dressed in rusted iron armor, the patterns on the armor plates still faintly revealing the style of Song Dynasty military armor.

Some were wrapped in tattered Taoist robes, and the jade pendants at their waists were so eroded by blood that only the three characters "Celestial Master's Mansion" remained as blurry outlines.

Deep in the riverbed, the collapsed palace stone pillars leaned among the corpses, the dragon patterns on the pillars blurred and faintly revealing an ominous sign.

Ancestor Yanling's eyes shone with spiritual light as he used a technique to observe the scene in the abyss.

With a solemn and wary expression, he said, "There is actually this abyss of blood beneath Yunfeng Cave Heaven. It seems to be a relic from the Song Dynasty, sealed beneath the spiritual veins. Now that Yunfeng Cave Heaven destroyed the spiritual veins, it has come to light."

The Supreme Cave Master's pupils suddenly contracted, and he unconsciously took a half step back, his wide sleeves fluttering even without wind.

His voice was somewhat hoarse: "This spiritual pressure is wrong."

Linglang Cave Master Zhong Kui frowned: "Brother Dao, what makes you say that?"

"Take a closer look at the patterns on this seal,"

The Supreme Cave Master pointed to the ancient runes faintly visible deep within the crack, his voice strained, "This is clearly a variant of the Song Dynasty's 'Mysterious Yin Sealing Spirit Technique.' Back when spiritual energy was depleted, many powerful beings chose to seal themselves in this way."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Zhong Kui's eyes.

This possibility is not impossible.

When the Xiang Yu Treasury was opened, an ancient cultivator who had sealed himself away appeared.

However, even if an ancient cultivator who has sealed himself away for many years was once powerful, his cultivation has been washed away and declined by the years. His physical body is decaying, his lifespan is exhausted, and his magical artifacts are malfunctioning. He can be easily surrounded and killed immediately.

But there are exceptions.

A few extremely powerful ancient sword cultivators and martial arts practitioners either possessed sharp flying swords or had bodies that had not decayed, making them exceptionally strong.

When the powerful figures from the four great grotto heavens participated in the encirclement and suppression, many were also killed or wounded.

If he weren't seriously injured right now, he would be willing to gather the two beside him and go down to investigate, perhaps even kill the ancient cultivator and obtain some opportunity.

But right now.
"Blood River Nourishing Body... Bronze Town Transport..."

Zhong Kui took a half step back without making a sound, and the jade talisman in his sleeve suddenly trembled violently.

Upon reading the urgent message from the Linglang Cave Heaven, the shock in his eyes suddenly turned into a fierce look, and the color drained from his face instantly.

He suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with a cold light like knives, as he swept over the Supreme Cave Master and the Flame Spirit Ancestor: "Good! Very good! You two really put on a good show!"

Before he finished speaking, a golden light suddenly burst forth from his sleeve, but it did not attack the two of them. Instead, it transformed into a protective beam of light, and his figure shot into the sky like lightning, leaving only a furious roar echoing in the valley: "I will remember today's favor!"

"Disciples and elders of Linlang, return to your grotto-heaven immediately!!"

The Supreme Cave Master snapped his folding fan shut, his astonishment gradually turning into a playful smile: "Interesting. It seems the backyard of the Linglang Cave Heaven is on fire?"

He turned to look at Ancestor Yanling, and seeing the other's gloomy face, he suddenly chuckled: "Brother Yanling, why bother? Zhong Kui's departure has saved us a lot of trouble."

As he spoke, he flicked his fingertips, "Why don't we move to my Supreme Grotto-Heaven? We can discuss the allocation of resources thereafter."

He spoke the last four words very softly, yet they carried a seductive undertone.

Ancestor Yanling narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that this supreme old fox was clearly trying to redivide his sphere of influence while Zhong Kui was away.

However, this person is cunning and treacherous; cooperating with him is tantamount to seeking a tiger's skin.
(End of this chapter)