Chapter 295

Chapter 294

A full moon hung high in the sky, its watery light illuminating the land.

Bone mountains stretched endlessly, as if they had no end.

Under the moonlight, the shadows of four people swept across the bone mountains, like black marks on the white bones, extremely conspicuous.

"We seem to have been here for quite some time," Su Molan said, looking at the moon in the night sky. "It seems this place is only at night."

Not only was it always night, but the full moon in the sky had never left.

An eternal full moonlit night, bones gathered into a city, bones forming bodies—this was the current state of the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones.

It inexplicably stirred a sense of melancholy in one's heart.

"Twenty-eight hours," Pei Qiyu spoke up.

Since they entered the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, twenty-eight hours had passed.

The time spent inside was not short; apart from the few hours spent crossing the river, the rest of the time was spent here. The bone mountains stretched endlessly, and their flight time was not short, but there was nothing around them except for the bone mountains.

The skeletons all rested in the cities within the bone mountains, rarely climbing the bone mountains.

"We should still be within Dugu Mansion," Wen Qiao thought, asking the Su Star perched on her shoulder, "Su Star, do you feel the aura of any divine artifacts?"

Su Star shook his head in confusion, "I don't feel anything."

The rank of divine artifacts was above that of divine weapons. If there were any divine weapons nearby, Su Star, as the spirit of a divine artifact, would certainly have sensed them first. But after so long in Dugu Mansion, Su Star had felt nothing.

"Could it be because its body is in such poor condition that even its sensing ability has declined?" Pei Qiyu was nitpicking, "Little spirit, with your current abilities, if there really were any divine weapons, you probably wouldn't stand a chance against them."

Su Star indeed bounced up and down, his childish voice spitting out, "Don't underestimate me, I'm very powerful!"

"Where are you powerful?" Pei Qiyu asked.

"I can suppress the Thousand Demon Cavern! Without me, the Pleiades Continent would have ceased to exist long ago. Your demonic seed would never have been able to reincarnate on the Pleiades Continent..."

Su Molan's face suddenly turned pale.

Su Star didn't notice, but Pei Qiyu did, and he immediately felt some regret for provoking the little spirit, causing it to speak without restraint.

He had learned from Wen Qiao and Su Molan about the relationship between the Su family of Su Star Valley, the Pleiades Continent, and the Twenty-Eight Constellations Diagram. He knew how much Su Molan cared about the Su family and the Twenty-Eight Constellations Diagram, silently shouldering the responsibility that belonged to her. The survival of the Pleiades Continent should not have been solely her burden, yet this foolish girl silently bore it alone, enduring so much hardship and sorrow, even being betrayed to the point of losing her home and family...

Mentioning these matters was like rubbing salt in her wounds.

Pei Qiyu fell silent, and Su Star, thinking he had won the argument, happily jumped onto Su Molan's shoulder, affectionately greeting her protector.

Su Molan's face lit up again, reaching out to stroke it through the air.

It was clear that she liked Su Star very much and did not resent the spirit because of the fate of the Su family.

Seeing this, a suppressed evil thought arose in Pei Qiyu's heart, making him want to pull the little spirit off her shoulder.

Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao ignored the commotion behind them.

Pei Qiyu was a smart person; even if he bullied Su Star, it was only verbally, and he would never lay a hand on it. With Su Molan mediating, the human and the spirit would not end up fighting, so there was no need to intervene.

At that moment, the two were communicating telepathically because Wen Qiuqiu suddenly wanted to come out of the space.

Ever since leaving the Thousand Islands Secret Realm, Wen Qiuqiu had adapted well to life in the space, never wanting to leave unless absolutely necessary. His favorite pastime was lying in the Zhusian Linghua fields, eating Zhusian Linghua honey, and occasionally trying to lay a few eggs for Wen Qiao. It would be even better if Wen Qiao could enter the space more often to keep him company.

Unlike Wen Guangun and Wen Toutu, who disliked staying in the space, Wen Qiuqiu's sudden desire to come out surprised Wen Qiao.

"What's wrong with Wen Qiuqiu?" Wen Qiao asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, I can't understand what it's saying," Ning Yuzhou replied straightforwardly.

"Husband, let it out, I'll ask it."

Ning Yuzhou released Wen Qiuqiu from the space.

When the other end of his spiritual sword suddenly became heavy, a large furry ball seemed to stick to it.

Under the moonlight, the pure silver-white fur of the large furry ball was very eye-catching, especially as it hung heavily from the back of Ning Yuzhou's spiritual sword, making it hard to ignore.

"Chirp~"

Wen Qiuqiu chirped happily at Wen Qiao, then leaped up like a bouncy ball, landing steadily on Wen Qiao's spiritual sword and sticking there.

Wen Qiao stroked its fur, listening to its chirping, a look of surprise on her face.

Behind them, Su Molan and Pei Qiyu were drawn to Wen Qiuqiu, flying closer to ask, "Why did Wen Qiuqiu come out?"

They thought the large furry ball preferred to stay in the beast bag, unlike Wen Guangun, who often occupied Wen Qiao's shoulder, refusing to leave.

"Just to get some fresh air," Ning Yuzhou answered calmly.

Regardless of whether the two believed him, they didn't say anything more.

After hearing Wen Qiuqiu's words, Wen Qiao telepathically told Ning Yuzhou, "Husband, Wen Qiuqiu says there are divine bones here."

"Divine bones?"

"Yes, it can feel them."

Wen Qiuqiu was a beast born for Zhusian Linghua, which was a type of divine grass. Although in the eyes of the immortals of the upper realm, Zhusian Linghua's value was limited to its beauty and delicious Zhusian Linghua honey, in the lower realm, it was an invaluable treasure.

Wen Qiuqiu could sense conditions outside the space from within, indicating a strong interest in the divine bones.

At this moment, Ning Yuzhou asked again, "Did Wen Qiuqiu say what the Immortal Bone is for?"

"No."

Ning Yuzhou pondered for a moment and said to Wen Qiuqiu, "Wen Qiuqiu, lead the way for us."

This mountain of bones seemed endless; walking aimlessly would only waste time. It was better to let Wen Qiuqiu guide them.

Pei Qiyu and the others were somewhat surprised that they would let a beast guide them, but wisely did not ask any questions.

Though they were not well-versed in the world, they could not identify what type of beast this big ball of fur was. However, Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao had left such a deep impression on them that they knew these two would not do anything without purpose. They believed this big ball of fur must have an extraordinary origin, and it was best to trust them.

On the way, Wen Qiao suddenly thought of something and asked, "Husband, how could Wen Qiuqiu sense the Immortal Bone?"

It was clear that it stayed in the space controlled by Ning Yuzhou, which was isolated from the outside world. There was no reason for Wen Qiuqiu to be able to ignore Ning Yuzhou and sense the outside world.

Ning Yuzhou replied, "Wen Qiuqiu's strength surpasses my current cultivation. Besides, the Immortal Bone is not a thing of this lower realm. It's normal for Wen Qiuqiu to sense it."

With Wen Qiuqiu's strength, if it did not consent, Ning Yuzhou would not have been able to bring it into the space at all.

This was also a limitation of the space. For those stronger than Ning Yuzhou, whether human or beast, he could not force them into the space without their consent. This was why he never relied on the space as an offensive tool.

If he encountered a difficult opponent, it would be so convenient to ambush and transfer them into the space to kill them. Unfortunately, the space had its limits. At the same level, it was fine, but if someone was stronger than the space's owner, the space's suppression over them would weaken.

One could imagine the risk Ning Yuzhou took when he agreed to put Wen Qiuqiu into the space.

But he never mentioned a word of it to Wen Qiao.

After understanding this, Wen Qiao made a decision instantly.

In the future, she would definitely not put anyone stronger than her husband into the space!

Fortunately, Wen Qiuqiu was harmless, so it could coexist peacefully with Ning Yuzhou.

Seeing her expression suddenly become serious, Ning Yuzhou quickly understood what she was thinking and couldn't help but find it amusing.

If they weren't at a distance, he would have pinched her tense cheek.

With Wen Qiuqiu leading the way, they no longer had to wander aimlessly through the bone mountain.

Sure enough, within less than an hour, there were subtle changes ahead, and the endless bone mountain began to fade away.

"Chirp chirp!" Wen Qiuqiu called out happily.

Only Wen Qiao could tell from its joyful chirping that the Immortal Bone was nearby, so she urged them, "Let's hurry!"

The spiritual swords streaked through the air, leaving trails of light under the moonlight.

When they climbed over a tall bone mountain, they heard the sounds of battle and a female cultivator's cries for help.

"Junior Brother Baili, come and help! Third Senior Brother..."

Baili Chi?

The four of them quickly flew forward, diving down from the high bone mountain, and soon saw the situation ahead.

They saw Liu Qingyun and her group fighting a large group of skeletons. Liu Qingyun was almost holding off all the attacks alone, but Ge Rusong, Ge Ruping, and Sang Yufei were in a dire situation.

Ge Ruping was injured, and Ge Rusong had to deal with the skeletons while protecting his injured brother, leaving him stretched thin. Soon, he was wounded himself. Sang Yufei, both angry and anxious, fought with red eyes, shouting at Baili Chi on the side.

Only Baili Chi stood there like nothing was wrong, looking foolish.

Strangely, the skeletons did not attack him; all their attacks were directed at Liu Qingyun and the others.

After being shouted at by Sang Yufei, Baili Chi finally snapped out of it and hurried over to help, but his cultivation was the lowest among them, and he was of little help, even becoming a burden for Ge Rusong to protect.

"Can't you order them to stop?" Sang Yufei shouted again.

Baili Chi remained silent.

When Wen Qiao and the others arrived, Liu Qingyun and her group immediately noticed. Upon recognizing them, Sang Yufei and the Ge brothers were relieved.

Though they were not close friends, in the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, they were all human cultivators, and they felt a sense of kinship compared to the skeletons. In such a situation, they naturally helped their own kind first.

"A few fellow Daoists, be careful, these skeletons can harm you," Ge Rusong warned.

Sure enough, some of the skeletons attacking them turned to charge at Wen Qiao and the others, making a constant clattering sound.

Wen Qiao and Su Molan simultaneously summoned their weapons and charged forward.

Ning Yuzhou and Pei Qiyu lagged behind slightly.

However, they did not hide behind the female cultivators. Ning Yuzhou took out an array disk, trapping the charging skeletons inside and dealing with them slowly.

Pei Qiyu, on the other hand, remained still, holding a spiritual sword and decapitating the skeletons that came close. As the skulls flew up, he struck them with a palm, and when they hit the ground, the blood-red glow in their eye sockets disappeared, marking their "death."

Then, the skeletons started to foolishly offer themselves to Pei Qiyu for decapitation, as if they were deliberately seeking death, giving Sang Yufei and the others a surreal feeling.

Looking at the others, Wen Qiao's whip technique was fierce, shattering skeletons wherever it went;

Su Molan's explosive spirit sword technique was brutal, chopping the skeletons into pieces;

Ning Yuzhou, on the other hand, was the most gentle, using arrays to trap and kill them...

Where did these four killers come from?

Baili Chi watched them with bright eyes, calling out happily, "Master Ning, Miss Wen, Master Pei, Miss Su, you're here too!"

Wen Qiao and the others found a moment to respond.

The skeletons had already noticed the considerable strength of these four newcomers and sent another group to confront them, brandishing weapons made of bone, intent on subduing them.

After the skeletons split into two groups, the pressure on Liu Qingyun and her companions sharply decreased, allowing Ge Rusong and Sang Yufei to breathe a sigh of relief.

Once Liu Qingyun cleared the surrounding skeletons, she finally faced a skeleton that was taller than the others.

This skeleton's eyes glowed with a blood-red light brighter than the others, clearly indicating it was the strongest among them. The other skeletons seemed to follow its lead. When it attacked, Liu Qingyun did not dare to be careless.

Liu Qingyun held a long, snow-white silk ribbon adorned with silver bells, but the bells remained silent, instead emitting a frosty coldness that enveloped the skeleton in icy tendrils.

The skeleton's bones quickly turned to ice.

After a fierce struggle, Liu Qingyun found an opportunity to shatter the skeleton, destroying the blood-red light in its eyes.

With the addition of the four new arrivals, the group of skeletons was quickly dispatched.

Baili Chi ran over happily, smiling as he greeted them, saying regretfully, "I originally wanted to enter the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones with you, but Senior Sister Liu and the others moved too fast, taking me away before I could find you..."

Ge Rusong and the others walked over just in time to hear this. Even the usually aloof Liu Qingyun's expression stiffened.

None of them had ever seen a teammate betray their comrades so casually.

Sang Yufei's face, already pale from her injuries, flushed with anger, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

However, Ge Rusong and his brother remained calm, as if they were used to Baili Chi's behavior, and calmly thanked them for their assistance earlier.

"What happened just now?" Ning Yuzhou asked, "How did you provoke them?"

Wen Qiao and the others were also puzzled. Since entering the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, apart from the skeletons in the river, the land-based skeletons had been quite friendly, mostly ignoring them and not attacking. They had assumed the land-based skeletons would not attack them.

Baili Chi explained, "It was because Senior Sister Sang killed the young leader of the Giant Bone Clan who wanted to marry her, which led to the Giant Bone Clan's pursuit."

This answer was so unexpected that all eyes immediately turned to Sang Yufei, making her feel both ashamed and furious. She glared at Baili Chi, feeling that he couldn't keep his mouth shut and revealed everything to outsiders, wondering who his true fellow disciples were.

"Do skeletons actually take a liking to human cultivators?" Wen Qiao asked in surprise.

Baili Chi replied, "To skeletons, there's no difference between us and them."

"How do you know that?" Pei Qiyu asked without showing any emotion.

Sang Yufei and the others' expressions changed slightly, about to intervene, but Baili Chi had already answered, "I heard them say it."

Upon hearing this, Wen Qiao and the others' faces also changed.