novelraw Chapter 191 : Second-Tier Ice Flood Dragon; Qian Xin’s Blood Demon
Chapter 191 : Second-Tier Ice Flood Dragon; Qian Xin’s Blood Demon
Chapter 191: Second-Tier Ice Flood Dragon; Qian Xin’s Blood Demon
The original meaning of dang referred to a water pit or a pond.
In the case of the Ghost-Seeking Pit, it meant that even ghosts entering it would find it difficult to discover a way out… This was something Ji Yuan had heard from an elderly gentleman in Great Love City.
There were three main dangers within the Ghost-Seeking Pit.
The first was “Ghost-Hitting-the-Wall”—this was the most common danger within the Ghost-Seeking Pit. Once caught in it, one’s sense of direction and distance would completely fail. No matter how one walked, they wouldn’t be able to find a way out.
This was also the place where the most Qi Refining cultivators had perished.
Foundation Establishment cultivators fared slightly better. Once they noticed something was off, they could utilize their Divine Sense to detect subtle clues and break through the Ghost-Hitting-the-Wall effect.
The second was the “Yin-Eroding Wind.”
It was a chilling wind that arose unpredictably within the Ghost-Seeking Pit, carrying bone-piercing cold and low, sorrowful wails.
It could directly blow away the protective spiritual light of low-level cultivators, freeze their limbs, and the fragments of resentment carried in the wind would assault the Sea of Consciousness, driving them into madness.
Even Foundation Establishment cultivators found it extremely difficult to resist.
As for Qi Refining cultivators, encountering it was essentially a death sentence.
The third danger was the “Bound Spirit.”
These were resentful spirits born at specific locations within the Ghost-Seeking Pit. It might be an ancient tree, a pool of water, or even a small mound by the roadside.
They couldn’t leave their spots, but could distort the surrounding environment, creating illusions to pull nearby people into their “domain” and torment them to death.
It was said that in the deepest part of the Ghost-Seeking Pit, there was a Bound Spirit powerful enough to kill a Golden Core cultivator.
Whether that was true or not, any ordinary cultivator who encountered one and lacked firm resolve would perish inside.
The defining feature was that their range was highly localized—if detected early, they could be avoided.
In the information Qian Xin provided, several of these Bound Spirit locations were marked.
“With such an ominous place, no wonder it can produce Yin-type items like the Black Coffin.”
On the way to the Ghost-Seeking Pit, Ji Yuan muttered to himself.
Before setting out from the Water Dragon Sect, he had specially asked Bai Piao where he had obtained the Black Coffin, and now, he had received a map of the Ghost-Seeking Pit from Qian Xin.
After comparing both… he couldn’t find that place at all.
From the looks of it, if one wanted to find Yin treasures as heavy as the Black Coffin, it would come down to luck.
Ji Yuan wasn’t insistent either. After all, venturing alone was out of the question. Just like now, though they were heading to the Ghost-Seeking Pit, they were led by a pseudo-core cultivator, with a whole group of Foundation Establishment cultivators accompanying.
“Up ahead is the Ghost-Seeking Pit. Brother Qiu, since it’s your first time here, remember to be careful and don’t fall behind.”
Piloting the Sky-Slicer Boat and shielding the group at the front, Ji Yuan received a Divine Sense transmission from Qian Xin.
Expression unchanged, he glanced at the white-robed cultivator ahead riding a Flying Swallow, and replied through Divine Sense, “Thanks for the warning, Daoist Qian Xin.”
Among those present, only Qian Xin and Ye Zhiqiu weren’t part of the demonic path.
As for Qian Xin, Ji Yuan felt that with his talent, he could have joined any of the Six Immortal Sects of Eastern Shang. It was hard to say why he would fight and risk his life in this Great Love City.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, the group flew over a mountaintop, and Ji Yuan clearly felt the mists ahead grow much thicker. Looking down, his gaze pierced through layers of fog, barely making out a desolate swamp below.
Even the moonlight was blocked. The entire Ghost-Seeking Pit appeared pitch black, occasionally pierced by ghostly cries and wolf-like howls, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
“Stay sharp! Though there are no Ghost-Hitting-the-Wall or Bound Spirits this high up, the Yin-Eroding Wind can still reach us.”
At the very front, the Mourning Taoist spoke to alert everyone.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan immediately activated the Black Demon Armor he wore, causing wisps of black mist to rise from his body.
Then he stuck three Copper Wall Talismans onto himself.
Ye Zhiqiu, who had landed beside him, couldn’t help but glance at him.
Still uneasy, Ji Yuan pulled out the Bone-Melting Yin Claws, holding them in hand, fully prepared to claw anyone who crossed him.
If he weren’t worried about revealing too much, he’d have activated the Mid-Grade Spiritual Artifact armor hidden within the Black Demon Armor as well.
“Didn’t expect you to be so cautious.”
Seeing Ji Yuan take out even an offensive spiritual artifact, Ye Zhiqiu finally couldn’t hold back and transmitted a comment.
“If I hadn’t been cautious, I wouldn’t have survived this long.”
“That’s true.”
Ji Yuan glanced around and noticed Ye Zhiqiu also clutching a few talismans, clearly ready to use them at any moment.
Thus, he followed behind the group, traversing the Ghost-Seeking Pit for over a day.
From midnight to daylight, then from day to dusk.
Finally, under the Mourning Taoist’s reminders, they arrived near Divine Vulture Palace.
The sect of Divine Vulture Palace was located on a cliffside of a high mountain. Despite the lofty terrain, it was still shrouded in the mists of the Ghost-Seeking Pit.
Midway up the cliff stood a massive ancient pine tree, and atop the tree, a giant bird nest.
Enormous in size.
Standing habitually at the back, Ji Yuan squinted and could vaguely see a bald bird head inside the nest.
The Divine Vulture of Divine Vulture Palace—
It was a late-stage second-tier flying demonic beast named Kui Kong Bald Vulture.
This served as the mountain-guarding spiritual beast of Divine Vulture Palace.
According to Qian Xin’s plan, the Mourning Taoist had raised a ghost creature of the same late second-tier level—specifically prepared for this old bald vulture.
“I’ll go break the formation first. You all wait for the signal.”
No unnecessary words. Since they had come, it was time to strike. So the Mourning Taoist gave one sentence before turning into a thick mass of black mist, sweeping through the mountains straight toward Divine Vulture Palace at the summit.
Wherever he passed, ghostly wails echoed.
“Come on, Baldy. It’s time we settled our old grudge.”
The Mourning Taoist cackled loudly.
Ji Yuan then saw a large black shadow burst from the mist and smash heavily into the sect-protecting formation atop the mountain.
“Boom!” A deafening noise.
The black shadow spread across the formation like a black curtain.
The mountain quaked and rocks tumbled.
Just as the old bald vulture at the cliffside was about to take off—
The black shadow that had spread across the formation suddenly retracted, condensing into a single mass again, and lunged straight at the ascending old vulture.
In an instant, the two clashed into a chaotic battle.
Clearly, that black shadow was the late-stage second-tier ghost creature raised by the Mourning Taoist.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but wonder how this creature’s strength compared to that of the Great Toad.
After his initial strike, the Mourning Taoist didn’t continue attacking. Instead, he retreated.
As the thick black smoke withdrew, he glanced at the old bald vulture engaged with the black shadow and suddenly slapped downward.
Instantly, a massive palm imprint emerged from the black smoke, descending slowly with tremendous force.
Where the palm passed, rocks fell and shattered.
As the palm was about to crush the ancient pine and fall upon the old bald vulture—
A flying sword shot out from the summit of Divine Vulture Palace.
With a “shhh”—the sword cleaved the palm apart, dissipating the smoke.
The flying sword returned to the mountaintop.
Outside the formation, a bald old man in a blue robe appeared out of thin air.
The sword hovered behind him as he coldly sneered at the mist in the air:
“Mourning Ghost, what now? Still resentful that I didn’t finish you with a sword back then? Here to throw your life away again?”
“Save the nonsense!”
“Just die already!”
The two held old grudges and weren’t interested in idle chatter.
The Mourning Taoist surged forward with the black mist, and the Palace Master of Divine Vulture Palace met him sword in hand.
In mere breaths, they tumbled from the mountaintop down into the Ghost-Seeking Pit below.
After all, they were only pseudo-core cultivators and couldn’t sustain flight for long.
To truly settle life and death, it had to be done on solid ground.
“What about us?”
Ji Yuan, appearing like a brash but secretly timid rookie, asked the nearby late Foundation Establishment cultivator Ye Zhiqiu.
“Just wait.”
Ye Zhiqiu replied coolly.
At the front, Qian Xin heard this and transmitted to everyone: “Wait for our people to act. Once they do… we move.”
As if in response to Qian Xin’s words—
Right after he finished speaking—
Explosions rang out one after another from atop the cliff at Divine Vulture Palace.
Then, the sect-protecting formation abruptly shattered.
Boom—
Another flash of flame lit the sky, followed by an angry roar echoing across the heavens.
“Damn your mother, you backstabbing bastard!”
Hidden within the forest, Qian Xin’s expression hardened as he commanded, “Attack!”
With that, everyone charged out from the dense forest. In mere breaths, they rode their flying vessels to the skies above Divine Vulture Palace.
At the front, Qian Xin waved his feather fan, stirring up a gust over the mountaintop.
A cold wind swept the land.
The Qi Refining cultivators within Divine Vulture Palace, seeing this, scattered to find places to hide.
But the Foundation Establishment cultivators had nowhere to hide.
When the sky collapses, the tallest one has already stepped away—naturally, it’s their turn to hold up the banner.
Ji Yuan glanced around. There were already two locations within Divine Vulture Palace where battles had broken out.
Most likely, those were the other spies from the Great Love Sect.
Weren’t there supposed to be three though? Why were only two fighting? Where was the third?
“Careful.”
Ye Zhiqiu beside Ji Yuan gave a reminder, activating her flying vessel. Flames flickered around her as she flew directly at a Foundation Establishment cultivator rising from the ground.
The others also rushed forward to engage their own opponents.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan turned and ran.
But it wasn’t really fleeing—rather, a Divine Vulture Palace cultivator had set their sights on him.
With everything in chaos here, Ji Yuan couldn’t afford to expose his myriad techniques.
“Heehee, a mere early Foundation Establishment dares to come here—you really aren’t afraid to die, huh?”
Coincidentally, the one targeting Ji Yuan turned out to be the very Yin Child arranged by Qian Xin.
Though his cultivation was at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, he looked no older than four or five.
Even the hair on his crown hadn’t shed.
His whole body was unnaturally pale, as if he were... a stillborn infant!
And the vivid crimson mark between his brows made him appear all the more eerie.
Ji Yuan fled aboard the Sky-Slicer Boat, while the Yin Child stood atop a skull that emitted black smoke.
No idea what kind of spiritual artifact it was—but its speed was unbelievably fast.
In just moments, he had already caught up.
Ji Yuan, now some distance from the others, finally slowed down.
“Take your grandpa’s claw!”
The moment Ji Yuan landed, he swung the Bone-Melting Yin Claws in his hand fiercely behind him.
Infused with spiritual energy, a massive bone claw phantom appeared and lunged violently toward the Yin Child.
The latter gave a bizarre laugh and stomped. The skull beneath him dove into the dense forest below, vanishing from sight.
The claw struck nothing. Ji Yuan instantly released his Divine Sense in a sweeping arc.
In a flash, he locked onto the Yin Child’s location.
The boy had crouched in the shadows upon landing, not only concealing all his aura, but even his figure had grown faint and indistinct.
If not for Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense far surpassing that of an average mid Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would’ve been difficult to detect him so quickly.
So this was an ambush?
Good—hiding meant time bought. If he hides and Ji Yuan doesn’t attack, that’s a fine delay tactic... Ji Yuan was inwardly pleased but maintained a look of panic on his face.
“Come out, you motherless brat! Hiding like a rat—what kind of skill is that?!”
The Yin Child had landed north of Ji Yuan, but now had shifted to the west.
So Ji Yuan swung his claws fiercely toward the north, smashing countless ancient trees.
Seeing the Yin Child sneak a little closer, Ji Yuan casually retreated again.
“You dogspawn, still not coming out?!”
Ji Yuan swiped randomly. Each time the Yin Child drew near, he would back away.
Though it looked like they had been fighting for quite a while, the two had never actually clashed.
Caution on Ji Yuan’s part was one thing—but what he didn’t expect was how cautious the Yin Child was too.
A mid Foundation Establishment cultivator being so wary of an early Foundation Establishment opponent.
He ran, the boy chased.
After nearly half a stick of incense's time, the Yin Child finally sensed something was off.
Not only had their distance remained curiously constant, but despite seemingly covering much ground, they’d just been circling the same area.
“Courting death!”
Unable to endure anymore, the Yin Child leapt out of the forest shadows, holding a rattle made from an infant’s skull. Infusing it with spiritual energy, he gently shook it.
Instantly, a piercing infant's wail echoed out.
Already nearby, Ji Yuan felt a sharp pain explode in his mind. His hand movements stalled.
“Not good!” he muttered inwardly, then activated the Fivefold Protection Talisman Array stuck to his chest.
Along with the Black Demon Armor he already wore.
Even with both layers of protection, he was struck in the chest by the sudden attack of the Yin Child.
The Fivefold Protection Talisman Array shattered on impact.
He crashed through several ancient trees before barely coming to a halt.
Even the Black Demon Armor showed slight damage.
Fortunately, Ji Yuan himself wasn’t harmed. Seeing the Yin Child charge at him again with terrifying speed—
Ji Yuan slammed a palm into the ground and used the force to propel himself away.
Once again, they created distance.
Looking at the relentless Yin Child, Ji Yuan thought, “Nice move,” and flipped his hand to produce a banner.
A Yin Ghost Flag exuding pure Yin energy.
But Ji Yuan didn’t release the Yin Ghost Formation—he didn’t even summon multiple ghosts.
Only one.
A second-tier early-stage Yin Ghost emerged and immediately charged at the Yin Child.
A heavy Yin aura spilled out.
Even the demonic Yin Child was somewhat shaken by the sight.
“Damn... how many people has this guy killed to refine such a Yin-heavy ghost?!”
The Yin Child was shocked but no longer chased.
Instead, he clasped his hands together. As spiritual energy surged, he clapped and opened his hands again—
A human-skin puppet crawled out from his sleeve.
Its appearance was identical to his own—even its aura matched a second-tier early-stage level.
“You’re not the only one who raises ghosts!”
With a cold sneer, the Yin Child hurled the puppet forward.
Thus, the Yin Ghost fought the Human-Skin Puppet.
And the Yin Child still sought to kill Ji Yuan.
“Excellent technique, Daoist.”
Ji Yuan formed a hand seal, and his figure suddenly dissolved into black mist.
A technique from Great Love Sect—Black Mist Dispersing Body.
“Trying to flee? Dream on!”
The Yin Child sneered and turned into a streak of bloodlight in pursuit.
But Ji Yuan hadn’t gone far—he had risen from the forest and stood atop the canopy, spreading his Divine Sense in all directions.
Earlier on the ground, his view was blocked by trees, and he couldn’t see clearly or grasp the situation.
But now, with his Divine Sense fully extended, the battlefield instantly became clear.
Nearly half an hour had passed since the initial skirmish.
Overall, the Great Love Sect held the upper hand.
The only one struggling was the loudmouth Lu Ping—currently being hunted across the forest by Chen Mo and a second-tier demonic dog.
Under Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense, he noticed Lu Ping’s right arm hung limply—it seemed the dog had bitten it clean through, not even giving him time to recover.
Fleeing desperately, Lu Ping saw Ji Yuan rise from the forest and assumed he had already dealt with his opponent, so he shouted loudly:
“Brother Qiu, save me!!!”
Save you?!
You’re late Foundation Establishment, asking an early Foundation Establishment like me to save you? That’s a death sentence for me!
Ji Yuan hesitated slightly—and was immediately caught by the chasing Yin Child, dragged back to the ground.
Lu Ping, who had been rushing toward him for help, saw this and quickly changed directions.
If he went that way, he’d be facing not only a late-stage Foundation Establishment but also a mid-stage one!
Now that would be a death sentence!
So Lu Ping changed course and ran again.
The moment Ji Yuan hit the ground, he activated the Shadow-Following technique—vanishing instantly.
The Yin Child tried to give chase, but ghostly claws suddenly appeared around him, as if to snatch all his limbs.
“Damn it!”
The Yin Child thought he’d picked an easy target, but this supposedly weak early Foundation Establishment cultivator turned out to be ridiculously hard to kill.
He activated the Seven-Slaughter Infant Cry Bell in his hand, shattering the five ghostly claws.
But this time, he didn’t rush to chase Ji Yuan again.
He turned to the puppet battling the Yin Ghost and shook the bell.
The piercing sound stunned the Yin Ghost. Taking the chance, he lashed out and shattered the ghost into pieces.
Just when he thought he had countered Ji Yuan’s move—
Another Yin Ghost sprang out from the forest and lunged at him.
“AAARGH!!!”
The Yin Child screamed in frustration.
Deep in the forest, though Ji Yuan had completely played the Yin Child in circles, his expression wasn’t relaxed.
Because under his Divine Sense, he sensed a shift in the battle atop Divine Vulture Palace.
A late Foundation Establishment cultivator had suddenly appeared and ambushed one of the traitors, killing them instantly.
Then, he and another joined forces and killed the second traitor.
In an instant, Divine Vulture Palace had three free Foundation Establishment cultivators—one late stage and two mid stage!
With this, the outcome was nearly sealed!
Ye Zhiqiu and Qian Xin, who had originally been locked in battle on the mountaintop, quickly disengaged and regrouped.
Now… how could they turn the tables?
Just as Ji Yuan was wondering, he saw Qian Xin smiling as he placed both hands atop his head, then violently tore downwards—his human skin split in two.
And from within emerged… a monster.
One glance was enough for Ji Yuan to understand how Qian Xin had earned his name.
The creature was composed entirely of hearts—densely packed from head to toe, even its fifth limb was made of miniature hearts.
The moment it appeared, a monstrous wave of blood energy engulfed the mountaintop.
“I originally wanted to live among you as a normal person. But since you insist on killing me…”
“Then I’ll just have to… eat you all!”
Qian Xin’s voice chilled the soul.
Not only was Ji Yuan horrified, even the pseudo-core powerhouse—the Palace Master of Divine Vulture Palace—cried out in alarm.
“Qian Xin Blood Demon!”
“Mourning Ghost, you’re really courting death, teaming up with that thing!”
Just hearing that voice, Ji Yuan knew something was wrong. As he prepared to flee, he suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation.
It came from one of his Spiritual Beast Pouches.
Could it be… the Ice Flood Dragon has advanced to second tier?!