Chapter 116 - 115: Guiyi Army (Thanks to Alliance Leader Yin Liuxiao!)

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Guiyi Army (Thanks to Alliance Leader Yin Liuxiao!)"Both of these individuals are at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement, nurturing their spirit and cultivating their essence to the final step, awaiting the emergence of ’Divine Sense’ before they can prepare for Foundation Establishment," The Sword Spirit, sharing vision with An Jing, commented, "But this martial cultivator hasn’t mastered the orthodox Cultivate Nature and Nourish Life Skills, relying on elixirs to force their progress, resulting in unstable Blood Qi and an unreliable foundation." "The other one... is a ghost cultivator. They utilize a Netherworld Weapon to house their soul and nourish it with Blood Fiend Qi, concealing their energy—indeed, a standard Demon Dao technique from the Youli tradition." "Yet, when it comes down to it, such minor skills of the Artifact Spirit are not clever, and this ghost cultivator is nothing more than a tool." "Can you tell which side they are from?" As An Jing maneuvered the drone to hide in a concealed crevice in the wall, avoiding the fallout from the two cultivators’ battle, the Sword Spirit observed the two fighters, who were once again entangled in combat, and denied, "They are all rudimentary skills; none is a fundamental cultivation method." "What a pity," An Jing sighed. He had hoped to at least understand which side had stolen the strange artifact from Luofu, but it seemed not so straightforward. However, he quickly turned his attention to another significant matter, "That case the martial cultivator threw behind just now..." "It’s not the strange artifact." The Sword Spirit knew what An Jing was thinking, so it quickly replied, "It might have once contained the strange artifact, but that’s just a ruse to distract us. The real artifact is still on that man... Wait!" Suddenly, the Sword Spirit raised its voice, "Tranquil Sword Manual, cease all breath and quiet the spirit!" "?!" An Jing was slightly startled too, but he did not hesitate to do as instructed, immediately entering a state of visualization, suppressing his presence. Two seconds later. Thud. A footsteps sound, neither heavy nor indeed ’gentle,’ but enough to make the entire corridor tremble slightly. The dark shadows, like the behemoths beneath the deep sea, caused some slight noises amidst the shaking, agitating An Jing’s tense nerves. Having entered the state of visualization of the Tranquil Sword Manual, An Jing suppressed the anger welling up in his heart and understood with crystal-clear clarity what had suddenly approached the small Mount Xiao Zhe, prompting the Sword Spirit to issue a warning. —It was none other than the Fengdu Guards who were pursuing the tall man! Covered in black armor, the Fengdu Guard walked among a corridor strewn with rubble and remains; as his foot touched the ground, the first thing that emerged was a patch of dark mist. This enigmatic mist, flowing like black water, seeped through every gap, entering the shadows and causing ripples. These ripples, the source of the shaking, swept over An Jing. Normally there would be some reaction, but the profound mystery of the Tranquil Sword Manual made him appear just like a Rusty Sword, allowing the ripples to pass through without incident. Instead, it was the nearby shop’s female cultivator’s corpse that was engulfed in the shadow for a moment, then silently retracted again, causing the forward steps of the Fengdu Guard to pause slightly before continuing towards the vent from where the sounds of fighting were emanating. The sound of steps and the shaking dissipated. After several seconds, the Sword Spirit’s voice emerged again, "It’s okay, he’s left." "This Fengdu Guard can actually perform Tong You steps; it’s the most orthodox method from the Youli tradition, a genuine ’Northern Yin Fengdu’ lineage." "But..." At this moment, the Sword Spirit spoke with perplexity, "What does this have to do with Luofu? As far as I know ... the inheritance of Luofu should be based on the Yang Palace Yin Chamber, the Cave Heaven Skills, right?" It could not clarify this question either and could only attribute it to the passage of time, "Perhaps it is a fusion developed in later generations." "Phew..." An Jing let out a deep breath, thankful that he hadn’t rashly scrambled about but had stayed in this seemingly dangerous place. Otherwise, running across a Fengdu Guard who could appear and vanish without a trace in the middle of the road would have definitely been squeezed to death by the other party, probably without any time to use his Sword of the Great Void to retreat back into Embracing the Void. It was also fortunate that in this area of the black market, Divine Sense was difficult to deploy, and the Fengdu Guard could only use this indirect method to scan. Otherwise, with his Divine Sense sweeping over, An Jing would have had no way to avoid detection. Still, why did he come here? Was it specifically for that female cultivator from Mount Xiao Zhe? Shaking his head slightly, An Jing felt that was unlikely; the Fengdu Guard seemed to be patrolling for any anomalies in the surrounding shops, and the reason the female cultivator from Mount Xiao Zhe was detected was probably because she was an employee of the Shouyang Group. In the distance, the sounds of the martial cultivator and the ghost cultivator’s battle fluctuated, while An Jing immediately put on the drone glasses again. Then, he just happened to witness the Fengdu Guard’s surprise assault on the two of them. The grey-haired martial cultivator was entangled with the ghost cultivator with a divinatory face. Even though the Sword Spirit had deemed one "unstable at the foundation" and the other "practitioner of minor ghost path skills," their combat was still staggeringly terrifying. The martial cultivator must be using some Stone Body Refining Skills, as he was now clad in Blood Rock Solid Armor, formidable and majestic like a warlord on the battlefield, wielding a Rock Spear, conjuring up nine layered illusions that overshaded his front, impervious to water and untainted by raindrops. As the spear flashed, waves of white mist surged, slamming against the corridor walls, causing rocks to shatter and debris to fall, the passageway incessantly trembling. However, the Ghost Cultivator was as unpredictable as a spirit or demon, with a fleeting form that avoided the Martial Cultivator’s attacks through a variety of strange and arcane angles. He would also occasionally swing the ghost sword in his hand, shooting out streaks of pale blue chill that aimed straight for the enemy’s body. Even though the cold aura could not get close before being shattered by the spear shadows, it still wore down the Martial Cultivator’s stamina. Although it seemed that the Martial Cultivator had the upper hand, his goal was to escape the Black Market through the ’pipes,’ not to defeat the Ghost Cultivator, especially since he knew all too well that a Fengdu Guard might very well be on his heels, relentless and urgent in his heart. "Ignite!" He roared, driving his spear with all his might, as a crimson flame lit up at his chest. A smog of heavy ash erupted, coiling around the Rock Spear and causing red-hot cracks to cover the spearhead as it struck at the unsuspecting Ghost Cultivator. This was clearly his trump card—the heavy ash flame, its erosive and lethal power more than doubling. But the strike did not hit its mark. Because before the Martial Cultivator could hit the enemy, he was struck by another enemy! Thud! A piercing Spiritual Light from behind went through and broke his left arm, instantly causing the Martial Cultivator’s stone armor to crumble, forcing him to his knees, and the formerly ferocious Rock Flame Spear to fall weakly to the ground. Then, a pitch-black shadow stepped forward, and the ambushing Fengdu Guard, with a fierce momentum, seized the Ghost Cultivator attempting to flee. —He should have dodged, but An Jing saw black tendrils like tree roots sprouting from the Fengdu Guard’s palm, vigorous and lively, forcibly dragging the escaped Ghost Cultivator back into his grasp. Ghost Flames boiled like a tumult of shadows from the Fengdu Guard’s hands, scorching the always silent Ghost Cultivator into a painful cry, a large swath of grey-white cold ghost aura billowing up, thinning his Spirit Body slightly. "Speak, who sent you? Beishan Alliance? Or the Guiyi Army?" This Fengdu Guard gravely wounded the Martial Cultivator with a large Spiritual Light gun in his right hand, while suppressing the Ghost Cultivator with Soul Refining Ghost Flames in his left, defeating two Qi Refinement Nine Layers in an instant—truly justifying the strength of the Spiritual Artifact armor he bore. His voice cold and pressing, he asked, "Daring to intercept our goods... it looks like we’ll have to take you back for a thorough Soul Refining and soul searching, so you’ll know just what it feels like to have your soul fly apart bit by bit!" As the Ghost Flames burned, the Ghost Cultivator couldn’t resist, and a torrent of information flowed from his soul, causing the red light in the Fengdu Guard’s helmet to flicker. He turned to the side where a Martial Cultivator seemed to be unconscious, "Loose Cultivator, Rebel Army... Guiyi Army, as expected, only those rebels would dare to steal the Group’s property, and they have aid from other Groups and insiders." "Capturing you is indeed a great achievement." Then, he turned his head to the Ghost Cultivator and demanded harshly, "And for all of you intercepting us, who is behind this?" "Hm?" During the interrogation, the red light in the helmet flashed, and the Fengdu Guard suddenly turned his head, looking in the direction of the Six Qi Lotus Platform Device, "Is there a bug spying as well?" Bang! As the Ghost Flames burned, the Sub-drone exploded instantly, and even a strange and inexplicable aura surged backward, trying to detect the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle operator behind it. "We’ve been discovered!" And behind the camera, An Jing immediately cut the Sub-drone’s connection with a grave look on his face, "They can trace the signal to capture people? Tianyuan Realm is too hostile!" An Jing knew only the path to the Black Market outside Mount Xiao Zhe, guarded firstly by the Ghost Cultivator and now by the Fengdu Guard, with even more Fengdu Guards presumably inspecting deeper levels. To act rashly would be like walking into a trap. An Jing immediately maneuvered another Sub-drone located at the main entrance to observe, but the torrential surge of Spirit Qi in an instant blew the Sub-drone away. Clearly, the Purple Mansion outside was still in battle, its oppressive force covering everything, making it impossible for anyone to leave through the front entrance! No escape! —So, retreat back to Embracing the Void? "What a joke, that would just be a later death. Going up against the Fengdu Guards now means facing only one, but being trapped in the Black Market means that the next time, it will likely be several Fengdu Guards or even a Purple Mansion." His situation in Embracing the Void realm would be even more perilous, not only tracked by the Demon Sect but also obstructed by Heavenly Demons! He absolutely could not lose the Safe Zone of Tianyuan Realm. Realizing this, An Jing suddenly laughed, feeling as if lava were boiling in his veins, "Exactly, that’s how it should be." "It’s time to fight!"