I flew on a sword at the magic academy

As soon as Jiang Yue approached, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted over, accompanied by a peaceful aura and an incomparably holy power flowing through it. Furthermore, it was filled with a pressure that reached the depths of one's soul, clearly indicating that an unimaginable peerless powerhouse was guarding this place with a powerful weapon.

On the left and right sides of the underground palace, a group of elderly men with white hair but extraordinary demeanor sat cross-legged with their eyes closed, resting.

They were several of the strongest members of the Northern Imperial Guard, as well as several highly respected elders from the Nangong family clan.

Behind them stood a three-meter-tall purple-gold medicine cauldron, its rich medicinal fragrance permeating the entire underground palace.

A body, resembling a withered branch, was submerged in the water, motionless, in a terrible state; even at such close range, there was no sign of life.

Jiang Yue's heart skipped a beat. Back in Wuji Mountain, all she had seen was a blurry shadowy outline. She never expected that the true form of City Lord Nangong would be in such a terrible state.

It is said that when Lord Nangong was young, he was handsome and had unparalleled fighting prowess. Wherever he went, he was the most eye-catching and dazzling star.

People at the time believed that he was the most likely candidate to attain sainthood, but after suffering for tens of millions of years in Wuji Mountain, he has now been reborn as a withered old man, no longer possessing the invincible spirit that once dominated the world, but only the desolation of a hero in his twilight years.

Seeing Lord Nangong in this state, Jiang Yue felt very uncomfortable.

"The current condition of City Lord Nangong..."

Jiang Yue frowned. The City Lord Nangong's physical condition was far worse than she had expected. With his current weak body and soul, he would probably have difficulty withstanding the potent and strong medicinal properties of the Kunpeng Immortal Medicine.

"During this time, even with the help of the Medicine Saint Cauldron and various precious spiritual medicines, we were unable to improve the ancestor's physical condition. We could only barely maintain his faint life essence, which was in danger of disappearing at any moment." Mu Yangchun sighed deeply.

"The Kunpeng Immortal Medicine is too potent. City Lord Nangong's current body simply cannot withstand it." Jiang Yue glanced around and asked suspiciously, "Why didn't you set up a magic array to gather the vital energy of heaven and earth in this area?"

Mu Yangchun sighed softly and said, "If His Highness Prince Xiang can think of this, how could we, who are halfway to the grave, not think of it? It's not that we can't, but the life force around Tai'an City has been suppressed and imprisoned, so it's impossible to gather it together."

"These people are always hateful! It's a pity that the Holy Spirit Stone containing more than thirty colorful spirit insects was stolen, otherwise it could be used to improve Lord Nangong's physical condition right now." Jiang Yue frowned.

The Kunpeng Immortal Medicine can indeed save Lord Nangong, allowing him to be reborn and live a second life, but only if his body can withstand the potency of the medicine; otherwise, it will harm him rather than save him.

"If you really want to save this person, I can show you a clear path."

Just then, the little Taotie hiding in the Purple Mansion Secret Realm secretly transmitted a message to Jiang Yue using its divine sense.

"You have a way?!" Jiang Yue was overjoyed and quickly asked Xiao Taotie what method he could use to help City Lord Nangong overcome the crisis.

"At the southern end of the desolate state, there is a place called the Valley of the Dead. There are nine immortal springs and nine immortal herbs there. As long as you can obtain the water from the immortal springs, all the problems you are facing now will be solved." Little Taotie slowly said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Take me there quickly!" Jiang Yue immediately set off for the Valley of the Dead to retrieve the medicine.

"I must remind you, the Valley of the Dead is also a deadly place, no less dangerous than the Immortal Spirit Ancient Domain. You should think carefully," said Little Taotie.

"Lord Nangong has done me a great favor. Even if it means facing certain death, I must give it a shot!" Jiang Yue said without hesitation.

"Alright, I will construct a teleportation array for you right away."

"What do you mean? Aren't you coming with me?"

"What a joke! You're going to your death yourself, why should I follow you?"

"Can't you say something auspicious?" Jiang Yue almost dragged this brat out of the Purple Mansion Secret Realm and gave him a good beating, as if she would never come back after her trip to the Valley of the Dead.

"Senior, I need to go somewhere to get some things. Before I return, I hope you can do your best to keep Lord Nangong alive." Jiang Yue didn't delay and left the city lord's mansion after giving a few simple instructions.

Dead Man's Valley is located in the southernmost part of the desolate state. It covers a vast area, equivalent to two Tai'an Cities. It is covered by dense primeval forests, with ancient trees soaring into the clouds like dragons and old vines like snakes and pythons, their roots intertwined.

This is a death trap in the eyes of the world, shrouded in deathly aura all year round. Even those peerless masters dare not set foot here, and they always go around it from a distance whenever they pass by.

As soon as Jiang Yue emerged from the teleportation array, she felt her life essence draining away, as if some unseen, eerie force was trying to refine her.

"No wonder it's a death trap, it's really strange." Jiang Yue was horrified and hurriedly released a protective divine light to protect herself, but even so, she could not stop her life essence from being lost little by little.

Jiang Yue frowned. This was not good news. If things continued like this, she would probably turn into a skeleton and die here before she even found the nine immortal springs.

She dared not delay and acted quickly. The terrain ahead was flat, with towering ancient trees casting large shadows, making it cool because there was no sunlight.

After speeding for about seven or eight hundred meters, Jiang Yue's expression changed drastically.

Not far ahead, under a huge banyan tree, a corpse stood upright, exuding an extremely eerie aura that sent chills down one's spine even from a distance of fifty or sixty meters.

Without a second thought, Jiang Yue quickly retreated, and at the same time, a four-foot-long green sword appeared in her hand, ready to deal with any unexpected events.

But the corpse remained motionless for a long time and did not attack her.

"I can't sense any life force, so there shouldn't be any danger." Jiang Yue breathed a sigh of relief. She unleashed a sword beam, and the skeleton in front of her exploded into fragments.

She deduced that the nine immortal springs were located at the deepest part of the Valley of the Dead. She initially wanted to fly there directly on her sword, but quickly dismissed the idea because she found that circulating her magic power here would cause her life essence to be lost even faster.

"No wonder they say even peerless experts never return. Their life essence is constantly being lost and cannot be stopped. In the long run, they will surely turn into a pile of bones." Jiang Yue thought with a chill.

Sometimes, death isn't so scary; a head falls off in an instant. What's truly unbearable is the agony of watching your life slowly slip away while you're powerless to stop it.

The cold moon and warm sun bring unbearable torment, a torment that can drive a person mad.

As they ventured deeper into the area, Jiang Yue discovered many rare and precious medicinal herbs along the way.

Many of the herbs here are considered extinct elsewhere, yet they are found everywhere, having grown for countless years, their fragrance rich and pervasive.

One of the medicinal plants resembled a sapling, with straight, upright branches that shimmered with light. It looked as if it were carved from jade, reaching a height of over two meters. Its leaves were as red as blood, and its fruits were granular, as clear and translucent as morning dewdrops.

Jiang Yue flew over and pulled it up by the roots, then put it directly into her mouth to replenish her lost life essence.

"I used to hear older people say that if you get bitten by a snake outside, you should search the surrounding area carefully first, because there is a high probability that the antidote will be nearby. The ancients were right."

Jiang Yue was pleasantly surprised to discover that most of the medicinal herbs growing here had the effect of nourishing life essence and prolonging life.

She swiftly looted all the various medicinal herbs she saw, eating as she went. After venturing into the primeval forest for over a hundred miles, nine majestic and towering sacred mountains came into view.

From a distance, the nine sacred mountains are not actually that tall, but they are imposing and give people a sense of psychological pressure and awe.

At first glance, it looks as if nine ancient and eternal deities stand there, stirring one's soul and inspiring awe.

"That is..." Jiang Yue gazed ahead and discovered that the nine divine mountains were arranged in an "n" shape, with a gap in the middle that was a bottomless abyss from which billowing black smoke rose and surged upwards.

Below the abyss should be the so-called Valley of the Dead.

At this moment, a chilling scene was unfolding: skeletons crawled out of the abyss, a dense mass of them, which terrified Jiang Yue so much that she staggered back dozens of steps and almost fell to the ground.

"What's going on? They're all just skeletons and corpses, devoid of any life, so why can they move like humans?" Jiang Yue shuddered involuntarily; the scene was truly terrifying.

She rummaged through her storage ring and finally found a talisman sword, over a foot long, made of dozens of folded talisman papers.

This was given to her by Little Taotie before she entered the Valley of the Dead. He said that this talisman sword could help her escape danger when she encountered life-or-death crises, but it could only be used three times.

"Three uses means I have three extra lives, I'll risk it all!" Jiang Yue gripped the talisman sword tightly in her hand and ran towards the nearest sacred mountain.

This sacred mountain is lush with vegetation and filled with strange rocks, making it exceptionally beautiful. However, Jiang Yue had no time to appreciate these rare sights at the moment, as she was running at top speed with her talisman sword in hand.

Upon arriving here, the rate at which her vital essence was lost accelerated, and wrinkles and freckles began to appear on her skin.

After walking about three or four hundred meters, she could see the summit of the sacred mountain through the lush vegetation and rocks, and the army of corpses that had climbed up from the abyss surged toward her like a flood.

The surrounding area was a terrifying, surging expanse of white, with tens of thousands of corpses crawling about, their joints creaking and making a sickeningly loud "crackling" sound.

"call"

A sinister mountain wind blew by, and Jiang Yue felt as if half of her life force had been drained away in an instant, turning her once black hair white.

"Buzz"

Just then, the talisman sword in her hand suddenly emitted a dazzling light, stirring up gusts of wind that pulverized the surrounding trees and rocks.

The corpses that were almost at our feet were instantly obliterated.

After doing all this, the talisman sword dimmed, and the once densely packed runes were now mostly blank, leaving only two more uses.

Jiang Yue didn't stop. She ran forward and picked up one spiritual herb after another, stuffing them into her mouth.

The closer she got to the summit, the faster her life essence was drained. Although the talisman sword had just annihilated a large army of corpses, countless more corpses soon crawled out of the abyss and surged toward her, quickly surrounding her again.

"kill!"

With a soft shout, Jiang Yue charged forward, wielding her Qingfeng sword. She dared not use any secret techniques or supernatural abilities, nor did she dare to easily mobilize her magical power, for that would cause the life essence to dissipate even faster.

Two or three hundred meters from the summit, her hair was already as white as snow, and her once firm and smooth skin had completely lost its luster, like a crumpled piece of waste paper that had been unfolded again. She looked as old as a hundred-year-old woman, no longer the sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl she once was.

However, she was completely unaware of this and continued to advance with her sword. During this process, she almost always had a spiritual medicine in her mouth, but after arriving here, the life essence nourished by the spiritual medicine could not keep up with the rate of loss.

"That is..."

Suddenly, her expression froze, and she stopped in her tracks.

Just ahead, a woman of unparalleled beauty stood there, quietly watching her.

This woman had bright eyes and white teeth, and was exceptionally beautiful. Her skin was as smooth as ice and jade, like a lotus emerging from the water. Her pure white silver moon robe made her look like a fairy about to ride the wind away.

"What a nice view……"

Jiang Yue blurted out that among all the women she knew, only Princess Qingyan of the demon race could rival the woman before her.

"Who are you?!"

Jiang Yue became alert and quickly took a few steps back, but she couldn't sense any human aura from this beautiful woman.

Moreover, since entering the Valley of the Dead, her life essence has been visibly draining away, and she is about to die. However, the beautiful woman in front of her is completely unaffected and remains stunningly beautiful. This alone is enough to show that this person is extraordinary.

Jiang Yue was suddenly startled, and the words "[Forbidden Creatures]" flashed through her mind!

If there are forbidden creatures in the Immortal Spirit Ancient Domain, how could there not be such forbidden creatures in the Valley of the Dead, which is also a forbidden land of life?

Just as she was lost in thought, an extremely sinister aura rushed towards her, and the stunningly beautiful woman gracefully approached Jiang Yue.

"What are you doing?! Don't come any closer!" Jiang Yue screamed, staggering back dozens of steps in a panic, holding the Qingfeng Sword horizontally in front of her, her chest heaving violently.

It's no wonder she reacted so strongly; after all, she was facing beings that didn't belong to the Six Realms, so it would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid.