novelraw Chapter 220 : Son of a Nascent Soul Cultivator?
Chapter 220 : Son of a Nascent Soul Cultivator?
Chapter 220: Son of a Nascent Soul Cultivator?
Ji Yuan remained calm on the surface, still entangled in combat with the Wei Family cultivator.
While activating the Bone-Melting Yin Claws in his hand, conjuring countless ghost claws, he also flung out two Thousand Sword Talismans, forcing the opponent to retreat step by step.
But in reality…
Waves were surging violently in Ji Yuan’s heart.
Why?
Because just now, that female cultivator had transmitted a message to him.
He had always been curious about her identity, but he never imagined that she would turn out to be someone he knew!
How familiar?
Let’s put it this way—familiar enough to have hugged each other. Among all the female cultivators Ji Yuan had known, the only one who was that close with him was Dong Qian.
Even with Du Wanyi and Feng Zhi Tao, Ji Yuan had never embraced them.
But why would Dong Qian be here?
Though she had left a few months ago—no, to be accurate, it should be more than half a year ago now—indeed, she left back then.
Without saying where she was going.
Still, Ji Yuan never imagined she would come here, even taking on a disguise and raising a Tier Three fox demon.
...Even that could be overlooked, but what truly shocked Ji Yuan was that Dong Qian could see through his disguise at a glance!
Ji Yuan’s Shapeshifting Talisman was something even Golden Core Real Persons couldn’t see through.
But now, Dong Qian had seen through it.
Combined with the secrets she harbored, and the endless stream of Spirit Stones she once possessed, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but form a bold suspicion.
“Could it be that Dong Qian is also the reincarnation of some Nascent Soul Patriarch?”
And the reason he said ‘also’ was because Ji Yuan already knew of several cultivators who were reincarnations, including Hua Yaoyue.
With that bold thought formed, Ji Yuan immediately had an even bolder one.
Because he recalled what Hu Li had said—there was a tomb here.
Could it be… that the person buried here was Dong Qian’s former self?
Is that why she was resisting so desperately?
If that were the case, she must have left behind some means here. Otherwise, there’s no way she would risk her current life just to accompany her past self to the grave… That would make her rebirth meaningless.
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Ji Yuan’s mind, but his hands never stopped moving.
And now that he knew Dong Qian was here, he instinctively exerted a bit more force. The grey-robed cultivator who had been locked in fierce battle with him was immediately overpowered.
Perhaps sensing his imminent death, the grey-robed cultivator could no longer endure and decided to unleash a killing move.
Spiritual energy surged violently toward his body from all directions.
As a typical demonic cultivator, he naturally needed to be interrupted at this moment. But just as Ji Yuan was about to take action, the grey-robed man, seemingly prepared for this, released a black shadow from his sleeve, which shot toward Ji Yuan’s throat.
As a result, Ji Yuan was forced to retreat under the sneak attack, temporarily dodging the brunt of the assault.
This also gave him a chance to use Divine Sense to probe the situation of the others.
Naturally, his first focus was the battle between Dong Qian and Jiang Hong.
Back when they were still in the Water Dragon Sect, Ji Yuan had known that Dong Qian was at the early Foundation Establishment Stage, and in the years since then, she hadn’t made any breakthroughs.
Now, judging from the cultivation level exposed during her fight, she was still at the early Foundation Establishment Stage.
She wasn’t concealing her cultivation?
So, as someone at the early Foundation Establishment Stage fighting Jiang Hong, who was in the late Foundation Establishment Stage, she was understandably being pushed back relentlessly.
Not to mention that Jiang Hong was the son of a Nascent Soul cultivator, with a wide array of techniques at his disposal.
Dong Qian was only barely holding her ground using a white silk that resembled a fox tail.
Then there was Feng Xiuxiu versus Wei Kun—Feng Xiuxiu… was extremely strong. Though both were in the late Foundation Establishment Stage, she clearly had the absolute upper hand.
Wei Kun’s death was only a matter of time.
As for Hu Li… Ji Yuan wasn’t sure if he was intentionally guarding against him or if it was just a coincidence.
He remained at the very center of the battlefield.
No matter which direction Ji Yuan approached from, he couldn’t get close.
There were always others fighting around Hu Li. To cut through and kill him would be far too obvious.
‘Definitely a survivor, that bastard. Even now, he’s still on guard against me!’
Before Ji Yuan could investigate further, the grey-robed cultivator’s killing move finally struck.
A giant earthen-colored talisman seal condensed above Ji Yuan’s head, locking onto him completely. At the same time, countless earthen spikes rose from the ground, forming a pincer attack from above and below.
Even though it was just a Foundation Establishment Stage technique, Ji Yuan, at the mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, still had to give it full attention.
First, he activated the Black Demon Armor on his body, then reluctantly took out a Fivefold Protection Talisman from his Storage Pouch and activated it to shield himself.
He didn’t dare to use any righteous methods.
But honestly… against this mid-level spell from an early Foundation Establishment Stage, Ji Yuan could have taken it unarmored, with his bare body, and still emerged unscathed thanks to his physique.
“Die!”
The grey-robed cultivator roared. Hands forming a seal, he suddenly slammed his right hand downward.
The seal above Ji Yuan followed suit and smashed down.
With no room to dodge, Ji Yuan could only endure it head-on. As it was about to slam him into the ground and into the spikes, he barely deflected it using the protective talisman array.
His figure was knocked flying, blood spurting from his mouth midair.
But before he landed, he seized the chance to transmit a message to Dong Qian:
“How is it? Can you beat him?”
“No.”
Dong Qian, while fending off blade auras from Jiang Hong’s strikes, replied via transmission:
“Junior Brother Ji, you must leave at once. There’s great danger here. Jiang Hong intends to kill everyone present—you’re also one of his targets. Hurry and go!”
“What about you?”
Naturally, Ji Yuan trusted her words. So, though he had been maintaining his disguise, he immediately became alert.
“Don’t worry about me. I have a way to get out!”
“Alright. Be careful, Senior Sister.”
Ji Yuan had no intention of helping Dong Qian. Since she said to leave, then he would.
It was just a pity that plans couldn’t keep up with changes—he would need to find another place to condense his sword embryo... Ji Yuan thought to himself as he suddenly flashed in front of the grey-robed cultivator.
“Ah—”
The grey-robed man never expected that the demonic cultivator he had just heavily wounded could recover so quickly.
“I want to survive too.”
Ji Yuan’s voice suddenly rang in the grey-robed man’s mind.
As confusion filled him, Ji Yuan reached out and pressed down on his head.
Having just used a killer move, the grey-robed cultivator was too spent to dodge.
In the next moment, the Liushuang Flying Sword shot out from Ji Yuan’s sleeve, piercing through the man’s temple and exiting from the other side.
Instant death.
As Ji Yuan withdrew the sword, he also stored the corpse away.
Nothing wasted.
He had no plans to escape through the exit. Instead, he activated the Talisman Treasure: Sky-Escape Shuttle stored in his pouch.
But… the shuttle didn’t budge.
There wasn’t even the slightest reaction.
‘What’s going on? Why won’t the Sky-Escape Shuttle activate?!’
This wasn’t a pocket world—it was still within the Cangluo Continent. By all rights, the Sky-Escape Shuttle should work here.
Just as Ji Yuan was growing anxious, Dong Qian’s transmission came again in his mind.
“Why haven’t you left yet?!”
“This place has long been sealed. The Sky-Escape Shuttle doesn’t work. I have to leave through the exit. Hurry!”
This time, Dong Qian’s transmission was even laced with gasps.
Clearly, she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.
“Alright.”
Ji Yuan didn’t ask how Dong Qian knew he had the Sky-Escape Shuttle. He simply looked back one last time before summoning his supreme-grade spiritual artifact—the Sky-Slicer Boat.
The moment the boat appeared, it drew the attention of many Foundation Establishment cultivators on the battlefield.
First, because the aura of a supreme-grade spiritual artifact was just too conspicuous.
Second, the appearance and material of the boat were simply too eye-catching.
Even without sensing its aura, one could tell at a glance that it wasn’t ordinary.
The flying boat appeared beneath Ji Yuan’s feet. With a thought, the Sky-Slicer transformed into a streak of black light, as if splitting space, disappearing in an instant.
"This..."
Hu Li stared at the scene, momentarily unable to react.
While Ji Yuan had been watching him, hadn’t he also been keeping an eye on Ji Yuan?
Earlier, Ji Yuan’s act was clearly seen by him. Then, revealing a bit of his strength, he instantly killed that Wei Family cultivator—also seen by him.
But just when he thought this “Senior Qiu” was about to unleash his true strength and slaughter everyone…
He ran away?
And if he was going to flee, why didn’t he use Golden Core escape light? Why use a spiritual artifact instead?
Was he still hiding something at a time like this?
Or… was he in fact just a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
"Interesting, interesting... finally something novel."
Jiang Hong, seeing that this newly recruited “Qiu Qianhai” had used a supreme-grade spiritual artifact to escape, was instantly intrigued.
He casually slashed out a blood-colored blade aura to force Dong Qian back, then took a step forward. His golden boots sprouted wind patterns beneath them, carrying him far away.
In terms of speed, he was not the least bit inferior to Ji Yuan’s supreme-grade flying boat!
What did that imply?
It meant the boots under his feet were also supreme-grade spiritual artifacts!
This sudden change only caused the rest of the cultivators to pause for a moment before the battle grew even fiercer. Everyone wanted to end their opponent quickly and resolve the fight.
Dong Qian, having just caught her breath, did not hesitate. She chased after them again.
Hu Li shrank into his Thirty-Six Smoke Formation, silently contemplating... maybe he should also run?
‘Even that old fox Qiu Qianhai wants to flee. He’s probably uncovered something terrible and didn’t tell me. If it’s dangerous for him, it’ll definitely be fatal for me.’
‘Whatever the danger is, escaping is the right move.’
‘Only by running often can one live long.’
The moment the thought arose, Hu Li was already looking for an opportunity.
Following the son of a Nascent Soul cultivator had its perks, but even the greatest fortune meant nothing without a life to enjoy it.
Moreover, Hu Li now felt that the deadliest threat was Jiang Hong himself.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuan had only flown the Sky-Slicer Boat for a few breaths of time before he reached the exit from the Wei Family’s stone mountain.
But to his surprise—
The original exit… had vanished.
They had entered earlier through a narrow path between two mountains, and even after entering, they could still see a dim yellow arched gate from the inside.
But now, everything was gone.
The towering cliffs were no more, and the arched gate at the entrance of the ancient battlefield had disappeared too. In their place was a vast yellow light screen, without even a single gap.
Unwilling to give up, Ji Yuan summoned the Liushuang Flying Sword.
Catalyzed by the 《Sword Manual》, the water-blue sword light struck the barrier.
In an instant, blue and yellow light splashed outward—but the barrier didn’t budge... it couldn’t be broken.
Just as Ji Yuan was considering alternative methods of escape, his Divine Sense suddenly detected an aura approaching from behind. In a blink, it had crossed several li and arrived behind him.
"Your methods aren’t bad. If your cultivation were at late Golden Core, perhaps this place couldn’t hold you."
Ji Yuan shifted his thoughts. The Sky-Slicer Boat beneath him turned slightly, bringing him to face the newcomer.
Jiang Hong stood slightly above him, forcing Ji Yuan to look up to speak with him.
Ji Yuan didn’t see anything worth looking up to, so he urged the boat upward until they were level before speaking:
"One question. Can I leave or not?"
Standing in mid-air, as if riding escape light, Jiang Hong smiled and paced slowly through the air, hands behind his back.
"Was it that human-fox who told you? That I was going to kill you, so you fled?"
Human-fox?
That term referred to offspring born of humans and fox demons.
So Jiang Hong was referring to Dong Qian.
Meaning... she wasn’t a pure human?!
But half-human, half-demon?!
Was this her greatest secret?
Ji Yuan sneered but said nothing.
Jiang Hong, seeing his reaction, didn’t get angry. Instead, he spoke to himself:
"Can’t be helped. Only blood can open the tomb here, so I hope you understand."
"How about you give me your life, and you ‘understand’ that?"
Ji Yuan mocked.
"No can do. My life is more valuable than yours."
Jiang Hong shook his head as if it were only natural. "But if you really want to live, it’s not impossible. I’ve always cherished talent. You were able to hide under my nose without me or even Heaven Silkworm noticing. That proves you’ve got talent."
"Here’s the deal—just hand over a wisp of your Divine Soul to me, and I’ll let you live. How about it?"
Ji Yuan said nothing, only looked at him like he was an idiot.
Jiang Hong’s smile faded, his face turning cold.
"Qiu Qianhai, don’t you dare reject my kindness!"
Just then, another flying boat arrived behind him.
Dong Qian had arrived.
She had changed her face and aura, but not her figure. Ji Yuan recognized her at once.
He glanced at her, then back at Jiang Hong.
As for the battle between Real Person Heaven Silkworm and the Six-Tailed Demon Fox—he could no longer sense it.
Jiang Hong turned to look at the heavily injured Dong Qian, then at Ji Yuan again, before saying:
"Is she your lover?"
"You’re quite lucky, huh? Even got to enjoy the taste of a human-fox, tsk tsk..."
Ji Yuan remained calm. He transmitted a message to Dong Qian using Divine Sense:
"How long can your Six-Tailed Demon Fox stall Real Person Heaven Silkworm?"
"At least another hour… Why, are you planning to strike at Jiang Hong?"
Ji Yuan didn’t answer. Instead, he asked a second question, "The danger you spoke of—does it refer to the two of them? As long as they don’t act, there’s no danger?"
"Yes."
Dong Qian answered without hesitation, "To open my ancestor’s tomb, blood must be used. And the Wei Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators alone aren’t enough. Once they’re dead, Real Person Heaven Silkworm will turn on the rest of the demonic cultivators."
"That’s enough!"
Ji Yuan took a deep breath... then let’s do this!
With Real Person Heaven Silkworm stalled and only Jiang Hong left here, there was a full hour of opportunity—more than enough to beat the crap out of Jiang Hong!
Of course, the main reason was that he couldn’t escape.
If the Sky-Escape Shuttle worked, Ji Yuan would have fled long ago. But now… this was a golden opportunity from the heavens.
To reject it would be to invite disaster!
As for any consequences from killing Jiang Hong… those could wait until after he was dead.
"Senior Sister, back away."
Ji Yuan sent a transmission to warn her. The Liushuang Flying Sword, which had been trying to breach the wall, flew back and landed on his shoulder.
Just this one move let Jiang Hong see his intentions.
"Bold, but that’s your limit."
"Since you both want to die, I’ll oblige."
As he spoke, a blood-colored scroll unfurled behind him. It didn’t seem to move fast, but the entire sky appeared to respond to his command.
Heaven and Earth gave rise to a Blood Prison.
A formation!
And not just any formation—one of the stronger ones among Second-Tier formations.
Because Ji Yuan noticed that once this blood-colored formation appeared, the entire environment changed. The yellow sands and red cliffs transformed into a hellish purgatory of blood.
The pits in the ground became pools of blood, filled with floating and sinking severed limbs.
Elsewhere, cold winds blew over revealed skeletal remains.
The formation covered Ji Yuan.
But whether intentionally or not, Dong Qian was not caught within.
Clearly, Jiang Hong knew Dong Qian might have some deadly trump card. Taking both of them on wasn’t a risk he could afford.
Unnoticed, Ji Yuan had already swapped the Sky-Slicer Boat beneath him for the mid-grade spiritual artifact Wind Locust.
The Sky-Slicer was excellent, but it consumed too much energy. With a full fight ahead, he couldn’t afford to worry about managing spiritual artifacts. The Wind Locust was more suitable.
"Quite a few spiritual artifacts, eh? Seems your background isn’t simple."
"But no matter how good your background is, it’s still not as good as mine!"
Jiang Hong continued to scorn others from a reproductive standpoint. But despite his words, his hands never stopped moving.
Holding the blood-colored Wenlong Saber in one hand, his left hand formed a seal in front of him. A six-armed demonic phantom emerged behind him.
Meanwhile, ghost hands rose from the ground, clawing and pulling, as if trying to drag Ji Yuan’s soul downward.
"You talk too much!"
Ji Yuan sneered, and the Liushuang Flying Sword on his shoulder shot out, bringing streaks of sword light toward Jiang Hong.
But he himself didn’t advance—instead, he retreated.
Behind him, the Thousand Souls Banner appeared out of thin air, and countless ghostly figures screamed and howled as they flew out from it.
Some ghost shadows lingered around Ji Yuan, while more descended onto the ground, charging toward the ghost hands.
Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t hover long, and relying solely on flying spiritual artifacts wasn’t sustainable.
Ultimately, this final battle would be fought on the ground.
So Ji Yuan naturally had to prepare in advance—clear the ground.
"Thousand Souls Banner?"
Jiang Hong was slightly surprised at the sight.
"Didn’t expect it. Young as you are, you’re already an old devil. To have refined such an evil artifact as the Thousand Souls Banner… you must’ve harmed countless people over the years."