Chapter 310

Chapter 309

Upon hearing the voice, Wen Qiao's heart sank with disappointment.

Though it wasn't Ning Yuzhou, she still ran over with the Sunlit Bow in hand, drawing a spirit arrow and shooting it toward the gray mist.

As she approached, the surrounding fog dissipated, revealing four people surrounded by a group of ghosts.

They were Baili Chi, Sang Yufei, and the Ge brothers, but Liu Qingyun was not among them.

The spirit arrows, condensed with spiritual power, shot swiftly at the outer circle of ghosts. The ghosts hit by the arrows let out howls; their wounds sizzled as if they had encountered a terrible poison, the flesh corroded into a charred wound, and a pungent stench filled the air.

Although the spirit arrows condensed with spiritual power could not match the specially crafted Sunlit Arrows of Ning Yuzhou, due to the Sunlit Bow, they carried a bit of the power of the sun, which was the nemesis of yin-cold entities, making them very effective against the ghosts of the Evil Spirit Abyss.

However, from Shi Wuming’s perspective, Wen Qiao’s fists were even more useful against the ghosts, smashing through ghost eyes with terrifying force.

Baili Chi and the others were delighted to see Wen Qiao.

Their current state was dire, on the brink of exhaustion. If she had arrived any later, the Ge brothers would have prepared for the worst.

Wen Qiao used the Sunlit Bow to distract the outer circle of ghosts, drawing their attention to herself. Just as the ghosts abandoned Baili Chi and the others and charged towards her, she suddenly put away the Sunlit Bow.

This move made Baili Chi and the others, who had just felt a sudden relief due to her arrival, anxious. Sang Yufei hurriedly shouted, "Miss Wen, be careful! These ghosts are very troublesome. If..."

Before she could finish, Wen Qiao leaped up and punched one of the ghosts' ghost eyes.

Under her delicate fist, the ghost eye burst, and the ghost let out a wailing cry, rolling on the ground.

Everyone: "..."

Then, they saw Wen Qiao charging through the ghosts, her agile figure dodging their sharp and terrifying ghost claws, and delivering a punch to each ghost’s ghost eye.

The most formidable part of these ghosts in the Evil Spirit Abyss was their ghost eyes, which could not only capture souls but also spew out yin-cold gas harmful to cultivators. Their sharp ghost claws, if they managed to scratch someone, would cause the wound to fester with yin-cold energy, making it difficult to heal and even risking the person turning into a ghost.

But they never expected Wen Qiao to be so fierce, directly targeting the ghosts’ weak points with consecutive powerful blows.

With their ghost eyes destroyed, the ghosts were now weakened, making it easy to kill them.

Baili Chi and the others were greatly invigorated, ignoring their fatigue and quickly moved forward to kill the remaining ghosts one by one.

After killing the last ghost, they collapsed to the ground, exhausted, unable to speak, and the air was filled only with their heavy breathing.

Seeing that the ghosts were dealt with, Shi Wuming, who had been hiding behind, ran over and said earnestly to Wen Qiao, "Miss Wen, you're amazing!"

Wen Qiao glanced at him and said, "You hid pretty fast."

Shi Wuming, with a thick skin, replied, "I couldn’t help it; I’m just a liability! To avoid causing you trouble, I had to find a safe place to hide quickly."

That was quite an awareness!

Fortunately, Wen Qiao hadn’t expected him to be much help. As he said, not being a burden was the best he could do. Thus, he wasn’t entirely detestable.

Seeing this unfamiliar face, Baili Chi and the others were somewhat puzzled.

Baili Chi swallowed a spirit pill, rested for a moment, and finally regained some strength. He asked, "Miss Wen, why are you here? Where are Master Ning and the others? Who is this senior?"

Wen Qiao answered one by one, "We were resting at the foot of the bone mountain above when we encountered a monster flying out of the Evil Spirit Abyss. We got dragged down by it. I got separated from them and am looking for them. This is Shi Wuming, an unimportant person."

Beside her, Shi Wuming maintained a smile, trying hard to be an unimportant person.

Hearing this, although Baili Chi and the others were curious, they didn’t pay much attention to Shi Wuming.

Wen Qiao then asked them, "What about you? Why are you here? Where is Miss Liu?"

Sang Yufei and the Ge brothers, who were trying to recover, hesitated, seemingly unsure how to start.

However, even without their words, Wen Qiao understood that their presence in the Evil Spirit Abyss was likely related to their mission to find something in the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones. What they needed might be here.

"We came here to look for something. Earlier, we encountered danger, and Senior Liu told us to run first while she stayed behind..." Baili Chi’s voice choked, on the verge of tears.

He was handsome, and his slightly red-rimmed eyes made him look like a pitiful puppy.

Unfortunately, Wen Qiao was heartless and showed no emotion, watching him cry.

Baili Chi: "..." Couldn’t cry.

After understanding their situation, Wen Qiao waited a while until their bodies had mostly recovered before preparing to leave.

Baili Chi, however, suggested going with her, "We need to find Senior Liu too. Let’s go together." He added, "As you can see, the situation in the Evil Spirit Abyss is very dangerous. More people mean more strength and safety."

"It also attracts more ghosts," Shi Wuming interjected.

This guy really knew how to ruin the mood.

Sang Yufei glanced at him. Although she thought this person named Shi Wuming deserved a beating, he was a companion brought by Wen Qiao, so she didn’t say anything.

Wen Qiao noticed that neither Sang Yufei nor the Ge brothers objected, finding it quite rare. Previously, at Corpse Lake, they had been eager to drag Baili Chi away.

However, unlike Shi Wuming, she didn’t say anything annoying and asked, "Do you know where Miss Liu is?"

"No idea," Baili Chi looked troubled, "The Evil Spirit Abyss is larger than we imagined. It’s full of gray mist, making it easy to get lost. We’ve been wandering around for a long time, but we don’t know where Senior Liu is."

Understanding their meaning, Wen Qiao agreed to travel with them.

Wen Qiao was eager to find Ning Yuzhou and didn’t linger on the way, dragging Shi Wuming toward the area where Ning Yuzhou was supposed to be.

Upon reaching the destination, she searched around but found no sign of Ning Yuzhou.

"Didn’t you say he was around here?" Wen Qiao asked Shi Wuming suspiciously, doubting his reliability and whether he had miscalculated.

Shi Wuming could not miss her suspicion and hurriedly said, "Miss Wen, you must believe me. I really calculated that he landed in this area. Perhaps he has already left to find you?"

There is that possibility.

Wen Qiao pondered inwardly; although there were many ghosts here, with Wen Guangun around, they could hide in his earth eggshell when necessary, making it impossible for the ghosts to do anything to them. Even if the cold aura created by the ghosts was indeed powerful, Ning Yu Zhou had the protection of the Red Sun Pill, so he had nothing to fear.

Another possibility was that they might have hidden in a space.

If Ning Yu Zhou had hidden in a space, it would indeed be impossible to find them unless they came out of the space on their own.

Seeing her standing there in thought, Shi Wuming looked at her cautiously, worried that she might punch him in anger.

This girl's iron fist was too formidable. She looked beautiful and cute, yet she became a physical cultivator, which was truly heartbreaking. Physical cultivators were known for their combat prowess.

Fortunately, Wen Qiao was reasonable and did not take out her anger on him. She said to him, "Forget it, let's go find Miss Su first."

Shi Wuming breathed a sigh of relief and said earnestly, "The place where Miss Su and the others are is not far from here. I'll take you there."

With Wen Qiao's agreement, Shi Wuming took the lead, showing no fear of the danger posed by the ghosts as he ran ahead to guide the way. His fawning manner made Sang Yufei and the others speechless, leading them to doubt the relationship between Shi Wuming and Wen Qiao.

It didn't look like they were friends; rather, he seemed more like a lackey, and a highly skilled one at that, being at the Yuanzong realm.

Baili Chi whispered, "Miss Wen, is this Master Shi quite familiar with the Evil Spirit Abyss?"

"No," Wen Qiao replied, "He just has a fairly quick mind and can deduce our location based on where we fell."

So that's how it is!

Sang Yufei and the others were instantly disappointed. They had hoped that if Shi Wuming knew the terrain of the Evil Spirit Abyss well, they could ask him for directions to help them find Liu Qingyun.

Perhaps Shi Wuming's luck was indeed good. As they approached the location where Su Molan and the others were, they heard the excited howls of the ghosts.

What could excite the ghosts was naturally encountering human cultivators.

Wen Qiao's spirits lifted, and she ran over with the Blazing Sun Bow. Sure enough, she saw a group of ghosts surrounding a crevice in the mountain, where the aura of a human cultivator could be sensed.

With a whoosh, a spirit arrow pierced through the back of a ghost's head.

The ghost, whose head was pierced by the spirit arrow, fell straight down. Everyone looked over and saw that the spirit arrow, condensed with spiritual energy, had penetrated the ghost's brain and precisely hit the ghost eye on its forehead, blasting it apart.

Such accuracy and strength were not something ordinary cultivators could achieve.

Sang Yufei and Ge Rusong were secretly alarmed. They had been in the Evil Spirit Abyss for some time and knew how difficult these ghosts were to deal with—tough as steel and iron. Piercing through their heads was no easy feat.

But with Wen Qiao, everything seemed effortless. Following her, they ran along, finding it so easy that they began to wonder if the ghosts they encountered were fake.

Several consecutive arrows struck the ghosts' heads, piercing them through like pumpkins.

The other ghosts reacted and roared as they charged over.

Seeing this, everyone drew their weapons, ready to engage in battle. However, Wen Qiao took out a stack of talismans and slapped them towards the charging ghosts.

When the talismans were activated by spiritual energy, they emitted a blinding golden light.

In this golden light, the ghosts seemed to encounter a terrifying nemesis, screaming as they fled, their skin turning black and charred wherever the light touched.

"Vajra Talisman?" Baili Chi exclaimed excitedly.

"Exactly," Shi Wuming said proudly, "The Vajra Talisman is a great tool, perfect for dealing with these evil entities, and it's not hard to make..."

Sang Yufei and the others, unaware of the truth, assumed the Vajra Talismans were his and began to speculate about his background.

However, they then heard him change the subject, "I have some Vajra Talismans here, which Miss Wen gave me for protection! If not for the Vajra Talismans, I would have been torn apart by the ghosts when I fell into the Evil Spirit Abyss."

Since they weren't his, why was he so proud?

Sang Yufei and the others couldn't understand how Shi Wuming could be so shameless, so they ignored him and joined the battle.

Under the bombardment of the Vajra Talismans, the ghosts quickly turned into corpses.

Without the ghosts blocking their way, they could clearly see what was behind the crevice. There stood Su Molan, holding the Explosive Spirit Sword, protecting someone lying on the ground, unconscious.

Seeing Wen Qiao, Su Molan was pleasantly surprised and said excitedly, "Miss Wen, are you all right...?"

Wen Qiao walked over and, seeing the person she was protecting, found it wasn't Ning Yu Zhou, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Shi Wuming also squeezed in and, seeing Pei Qiyu on the ground, asked, "What happened to Master Pei?"

Perhaps finally safe, Su Molan's tense nerves relaxed, and her suppressed nature resurfaced. She sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitiful as she explained, "When we fell, our bodies were paralyzed, and Master Pei was injured by the ghosts while saving me..."

Later, as more ghosts appeared, Pei Qiyu didn't have time to heal himself and had to continue fighting despite his injuries.

Fortunately, they found this crevice to use as cover, allowing them to hold out until Wen Qiao arrived. If Wen Qiao had come any later, it was uncertain whether Pei Qiyu, this demon reincarnate, would have to reincarnate again.

Wen Qiao examined Pei Qiyu's condition. The dark blue color of his face resembled the appearance of Cheng Yeshan, a disciple of the Fantasy Sea Palace, when he was injured by ghosts in Tianzhiyuan. This indicated that although the ghosts in the Evil Spirit Abyss were different from those in the Netherworld, the effects of being injured by ghosts on cultivators were similar.

She took out a Red Sun Pill and placed it in Pei Qiyu's mouth.

Perhaps due to the robustness of Pei Qiyu's demon-reincarnated body, he regained consciousness shortly after taking the Red Sun Pill. Although the cold aura still lingered heavily, as long as he spent some time expelling it, he would be fine.

Seeing him awake, the tears that had gathered in Su Molan's eyes finally fell, making her look incredibly touching, which moved Ge Rusong, his brother, and Shi Wuming, causing them to feel pity.

Except for those with a specific love interest or a heart of stone, few male cultivators could resist such a delicate and vulnerable flower.

Only Sang Yufei, expressionless, thought, crying over such a small matter, this woman is really pretentious.

Then she realized something even more pretentious was to follow.

Seeing her tears, Pei Qiyu's face stiffened, and he clumsily wiped away her tears, flustered, saying, "D-don't cry, your tears make me uncomfortable..."

Su Molan's expression faltered for a moment before she continued to cry.

Pei Qiyu could only hold her and offer comfort, seeing her cry even harder, as if she was about to rip out her heart and give it to him.

The onlookers immediately felt an unbearable discomfort, wishing they could separate this despicable couple and throw them to the monsters.

Before they could act, Wen Qiao walked over and pushed them aside, "It’s not like you’re parting for life or death, why cry so pitifully? Cry any more and I’ll send you to fight the monsters!"

Su Molan's tears vanished instantly from her face, her expression now serious, with no trace of the previous delicate and sentimental appearance.

Wen Qiao handed a Crimson Sun Pill to Pei Qiyu and said, "Let’s go, to find my husband!"

Only then did the two realize that Ning Yuzhou was not there.

Pei Qiyu frowned and asked, "Where did you come from?"

His intuition told him something was wrong. When they fell, Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou were not far apart; logically, they should have found Ning Yuzhou first. Moreover, how did Baili Chi and the others end up here?

Wen Qiao didn’t want to speak, so she let Shi Wuming explain.

***

Ning Yuzhou walked through the cold, damp canyon, surrounded by gray mist, with occasional howls of ghosts echoing through the valley.

A sharp whistle sounded, transforming into an invisible sound wave that struck directly at his mind.

Ning Yuzhou paused for a moment but continued walking, seemingly indifferent to the attack in the whistle.

At some point, his warm and clear eyes had turned completely black, as if shrouded in endless darkness, or as if they contained all the darkness in the world.

As he reached the depths of the canyon, he stopped.

The cold air frosted his robes, and his gaze fixed on the ghost that appeared in the depths of the canyon.

This ghost was massive, standing seven or eight zhang tall, with a pair of blood-red eyes. The ghost eye on its forehead opened, looking down at the human cultivator who dared to appear here. The pure flesh and blood aura of the spirit cultivator attracted all the ghosts in the canyon.

However, when the ghosts met the human cultivator’s purely black eyes, none dared to attack rashly.

Ning Yuzhou looked at the ghost expressionlessly, suddenly letting out a disdainful chuckle, finding it utterly boring. He muttered to himself, "The Qilin’s bones, to fall to such a state."