Chapter 297

Chapter 296

A skeleton taller than any they had seen before appeared on the Bone Mountain.

Though the Bone Mountain was vast, the presence of this skeleton gave an illusion of extraordinary height.

Wen Qiuqiu and the others noticed that the blood-red light in this skeleton’s eye sockets was not only more intense than that of other skeletons but also faintly tinged with golden red.

Although they still did not know what species these skeletons belonged to or how they could survive in such a manner, they could deduce from their behavior that the blood-red light in the skeletons' eyes represented their vitality. As long as this light did not extinguish, the skeletons would not die.

Moreover, their strength was directly linked to this blood-red light; the brighter the light, the stronger the skeleton.

This particular skeleton not only had bright blood-red light in its eyes but also a hint of golden red, and the aura it emitted made them feel pressured.

"It’s at the Emperor Yuan realm!" Liu Qingyun said with a grave expression.

Pei Qiyu, who had been standing behind, suddenly stepped forward, silently protecting Ning Yuzhou and the others, then said to Liu Qingyun, "I will try to control it for a few breaths. After that, it’s up to you. Is that acceptable?"

Liu Qingyun's eyes flickered, and she coldly replied, "It is."

The others understood that these two had chosen to cooperate.

Both Liu Qingyun and Pei Qiyu were at the Yuanzong realm, but from their cultivation levels, it was clear that Liu Qingyun, in the late stage of the Yuanzong realm, was more advanced than Pei Qiyu, who was in the middle stage, and thus had greater combat power.

However, controlling a skeleton at the Emperor Yuan realm was no easy task, and Pei Qiyu's performance gave Liu Qingyun and her group a new appreciation of their strength.

At this moment, Pei Qiyu took out a black magic bell, which rang with a ting.

The sound of the magic bell spread over the area.

Liu Qingyun's expression turned slightly stern as she glanced at the magic bell in Pei Qiyu's hand. A spirit cultivator using a magic bell?

Sang Yufei and Ge Rusong were also somewhat surprised, but now was not the time to question; they needed to get through the current crisis first.

The skeletons on the Bone Mountain had already pounced down, targeting Liu Qingyun, who had the highest cultivation level.

As the skeleton approached, Pei Qiyu shook the magic bell again, using its sound to mask his true action—aiming the Heavenly Mirror at the skeleton and pulling it into the Illusory Reflection.

Although these skeletons were not made of flesh and blood, they were clearly another form of life, even possessing souls and minds. Any being with a soul and mind was susceptible to illusions. Pei Qiyu had already learned how to use illusions against them after killing many skeletons.

The skeleton's speed gradually slowed down.

Seizing the opportunity, Liu Qingyun moved forward, sweeping her Snow Silk across and entangling it around the skeleton's bones, pulling it closer. Her fingers formed a claw, gripping the skull and aiming to extinguish the red light in its eye sockets.

The golden-red blood light flickered for a moment, weakening slightly.

At this point, the skeleton broke free from Pei Qiyu's illusion, realizing it had been controlled by two lesser beings. It went berserk, grabbing the Snow Silk wrapped around its bones and lunging at Liu Qingyun, striking her.

Liu Qingyun was sent flying back, spitting out a mouthful of blood, but the Snow Silk remained tightly bound to the skeleton.

The silver bells on the Snow Silk emitted a chilling aura, lightly trembling as a layer of frost covered the skeleton's body.

Ting—

The magic bell rang again, and Pei Qiyu once more used the Illusory Reflection.

His face was pale, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his lips, indicating the immense strain of using the Illusory Reflection twice against a skeleton at the Emperor Yuan realm.

Liu Qingyun's condition was also dire; the skeleton's attack when it regained consciousness had severely injured her. Fortunately, Pei Qiyu promptly regained control, giving her a chance to catch her breath.

The skeleton's struggles slowly ceased, and a glint of light flashed in Liu Qingyun's eyes. She gripped the skeleton's head again, and the golden-red light in its eye sockets quickly faded.

On the other side, Wen Qiuqiu and the others engaged the other skeletons.

Though these skeletons were powerful, they were not fatal to them. When Liu Qingyun and Pei Qiyu cooperated to kill the tall skeleton at the Emperor Yuan realm, they had also managed to slay nearly half of the remaining skeletons.

Wen Qiuqiu's long whip lashed out, sending the skeletons flying, dazed and disoriented. Su Molan stepped forward, slashing with her Burst Spirit Sword, and the burst of spiritual light pierced through the skulls, extinguishing the blood-red light in their eyes.

The most surprising was Wen Qiuqiu.

When the battle began, Wen Qiuqiu and Baili Chi stayed together. One was a young man at the Primordial Pulse realm, and the other was a furry, seemingly harmless beast. They looked like easy targets.

No one had thought to involve them in the fight, and everyone had instinctively kept them away from the action.

Baili Chi, holding Wen Qiuqiu, said worriedly, "There are so many skeletons this time. What should we do?"

Wen Qiuqiu chirped at him, as if comforting his new companion.

Baili Chi sighed, petting it gently, and said happily, "Thank you, Wen Qiuqiu! I’m fine, but if these skeletons take Senior Sister Sang, I have to help her."

Sang Yufei, fighting nearby and injured, heard this and said sarcastically, "Thank you, Junior Brother Baili, but you should take care of yourself first."

The skeletons also targeted Sang Yufei, as their leader had specifically ordered them to bring her back as retribution for their deceased young master. They surged toward her.

Seeing Sang Yufei struggling, Baili Chi drew his sword to assist her.

Clang! The spirit sword struck the skeleton, but it flew out of his hand.

Everyone: "…………"

Indeed, these skeletons were at least at the Void Yuan realm, and Baili Chi, at the Primordial Pulse realm, was clearly just offering himself as prey.

The skeleton, unharmed by his strike, turned to look at Baili Chi, making a clattering sound.

Baili Chi firmly stated, "No, my senior sister cannot go with you. So I’m sorry, but I can’t let you take her."

After negotiations failed, the skeletons raised their bone swords and swung at Baili Chi, who quickly pushed his furry companion and ran.

Wen Qiuqiu, pushed along for a while, suddenly shoved Baili Chi aside, its beautiful silver-white fur bristling into a large, spiky ball, rolling over the pursuing skeletons.

The sharp spines mercilessly crushed over, piercing through the bones of the skeletons, and their skulls were no exception.

Wherever Wen Qiuqiu passed, the ground was littered with skeleton corpses. Each skeleton remained intact, except for the numerous tiny holes in their bones, including their skulls, where the bloody red light in their eye sockets had dimmed.

Baili Chi and Sang Yufei watched in amazement.

This spiky ball was formidable.

With Wen Qiuqiu wreaking havoc, along with Wen Qiao, Su Molan, and Ning Yuzhou, who disguised himself as an array master to drop array disks and trap the skeletons, the pursuing skeletons were quickly dealt with.

After the skeletons lay on the ground, Wen Qiuqiu transformed back into a cute and fluffy ball of fur.

However, this time Sang Yufei and the others did not dare to underestimate its fur. They were all worried that if Baili Chi carelessly stroked it, the fur might turn into spikes again and pierce through this reckless junior brother.

"Senior Sister, are you alright?"

"Master Pei, are you alright?"

Sang Yufei and Su Molan hurried over to help Liu Qingyun and Pei Qiyu up. Su Molan casually slipped a top-grade spirit pill into Pei Qiyu's mouth, followed by a piece of honey fat.

The honey fat was given to her by Wen Qiao, and Su Molan had been too reluctant to eat it. This time, seeing Pei Qiyu injured again, she gave it to him.

Pei Qiyu felt his internal injuries gradually healing, which surprised him. He couldn't help but glance at Wen Qiuqiu, wondering if the honey fat he just tasted was the same as the one Wen Qiuqiu had given Baili Chi as a gift?

Liu Qingyun also took the spirit pill. Her pale face flushed slightly, and she waved off Sang Yufei's hand, saying, "I'm fine. Let's leave here first."

"Alright."

Everyone agreed and quickly flew away on their swords.

As they passed, Ning Yuzhou couldn't help but look at Liu Qingyun.

"Husband?" Wen Qiao looked at him curiously.

Ning Yuzhou smiled at her, squeezed her palm, and then let go.

Knowing there were many people around, it wasn't the right place to talk, Wen Qiao didn't ask further.

The group left the area and flew toward Corpse Lake.

Soon, the bone mountain disappeared, replaced by a desolate land covered in grayish-brown soil, with occasional buried bones visible.

After flying for several hours, a withered tree appeared ahead.

This withered tree was very tall, with dense branches but no leaves, looking bare and lifeless from afar, like a monstrous creature with outstretched claws.

"Let's rest here for a moment," Baili Chi suddenly said, "on the tree."

Though puzzled, everyone knew he could understand the skeletons' language and might have some concerns, so they didn't try to tempt fate and all stopped on the withered tree.

The branches of the withered tree were densely packed, like a fine net, strong enough to support their weight.

Liu Qingyun, Pei Qiyu, and Sang Yufei continued to meditate and heal their injuries.

"Corpse Lake should be ahead," Baili Chi pointed in a direction and said to them, "the skeletons said this withered tree is a Withered Ghost Tree, which grows while withering and withers while growing. Once you see the Withered Ghost Tree, Corpse Lake is not far away."

Ning Yuzhou asked him, "What is Corpse Lake like?"

"I didn't ask; they only said it's very dangerous," Baili Chi took a small bite of the honey fat Wen Qiuqiu had given him, enjoying the sweet taste, and said vaguely, "I heard there are boats near Corpse Lake that can ferry us across. We can go look for them."

After hearing this, Wen Qiao thought Baili Chi was truly a great guide. With him around, they didn't need to worry about finding their destination.

"Also, the skeletons said that if you see the Withered Ghost Tree, you must not get off the tree."

"Why?" Su Molan asked, puzzled.

Baili Chi shook his head, "They didn't say, only that we'll know when the time comes."

Just as he spoke, they felt a disturbance from the ground.

Everyone looked down and saw bone worms emerging from the ground. These bone worms were made of haphazardly assembled bones, with a mouth-like structure on their heads. Although they didn't look menacing due to being made of bones, the mouth-like structures gave a sense of disgust.

These bone worms crawled out of the ground, searching for food, devouring anything in their path. Their mouths were so sharp that they could even crush stones.

Baili Chi took a bone and threw it to the ground.

Instantly, hundreds of bone worms pounced on it, chewing it to pieces in a few moments.

"Amazing!" Baili Chi exclaimed, finally understanding the skeletons' warning.

Around the Withered Ghost Tree lived many bone worms. They were omnivorous and could chew through even the bones of skeletons, making them difficult to deal with and nearly impossible to kill.

Observing the bone worms for a day, they found these creatures had almost no weaknesses.

They couldn't find the blood-red light that seemed to be the source of the bone worms' vitality. When they tried cutting the worms in half, the segments continued to move and even evolved new mouth-like structures.

It was quite disgusting.

Fortunately, these bone worms seemed to dislike the Withered Ghost Tree and circled around it. As long as they stayed on the tree, they wouldn't have to confront the bone worms.

Once the bone worms returned underground, they left the Withered Ghost Tree and continued toward Corpse Lake.

After another day of flying, they began to feel the dampness in the dry air, indicating that Corpse Lake was nearby.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they sped up.

However, before they reached Corpse Lake, they encountered a bone mountain.

At the waist of the bone mountain was a cave, with lazy skeletons patrolling in front of it, looking like irresponsible and lax soldiers.