According to the images, Gu Jian was indeed trapped here. Lei Wei’s explanation was perfectly reasonable.
“In that case, let’s go together. The trapped cultivator you saw earlier should be a disciple of our sect. I hope you can lead the way,” Xia Lingshuang said, nodding to Lei Wei.
“Yes! I will follow your every command, Elder Xia!” Lei Wei’s previous experience had clearly left a significant psychological shadow on him. His originally unruly nature had vanished, and he now acted completely submissive.
As Wu Yan watched Lei Wei walk to the front of the group, she withdrew her gaze from his back, which was caked in black mud. Her index finger subconsciously rubbed the hilt of her sword. ‘Too coincidental.’
Although there was one more person in the group, the atmosphere did not lighten. On the contrary, it became even more tense. Lei Wei seemed terrified; every small rustle along the way caused him to immediately crouch and cover his head, bringing his steps to a halt. With Lei Wei as a foil, even Su Qianqian appeared brave.
Wu Yan walked in the middle of the group. Every time Lei Wei stopped, she would carefully inspect the surroundings and the ground, only stopping her observation when he continued forward.
They proceeded in this stop-and-go fashion. One hour later, the dense green miasma began to thin, and a circular clearing appeared ahead. A green stone platform, roughly 10 feet tall, stood in the center, with four massive stone pillars distributed at the four cardinal directions around it. Upon the platform, Gu Jian was kneeling on both knees, his arms pinned behind him by thick iron chains fixed to the tops of the pillars. At this moment, Gu Jian’s brow was furrowed, his lips trembled, and his face was flushed with a sickly, feverish red. Above his head, an ancient Black Stone Tablet wrapped in a cloud of black chi rotated silently.
“Junior Brother Gu!” Lin Xiao cried out in joy, leaning forward as if to rush over.
“Wait!” An arm shot out in front of Lin Xiao, blocking his path. Wu Yan drew Wu Nian, the tip of the blade pointing toward the platform. “Did you forget what Fellow Daoist Lei said earlier?”
Lin Xiao looked toward where Wu Yan was pointing. The texture of that green stone platform was extremely strange, and the green moss on its surface was swaying rhythmically. As Gu Jian breathed, the platform itself rose and fell slightly.
“It’s alive.”
The moment the words left her mouth, a sudden change occurred. The ground began to tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck. The platform binding Gu Jian suddenly let out a muffled, low roar. Its surface exploded instantly, and moss flew everywhere, revealing the writhing black mud hidden beneath. The four pillars also uprooted themselves from the ground, lifting Gu Jian high above as they swayed back and forth.
Those were not pillars; they were its four tentacles. Gu Jian was nothing more than bait, specifically designed to catch well-meaning people coming to his rescue.
*Roar!* A deafening howl erupted from the black mud. Dozens of tentacles, several times thicker than the ones seen before, burst from the ground. Carrying a nauseating, fishy stench and dripping with black mud, they lashed out indiscriminately at everyone.
“Junior Sister Su, watch out!” Zhao Wuji reacted with lightning speed. He swept his long sword in a circle, creating a brilliant blue sword screen to protect himself and Su Qianqian.
“Lei Wei, get out of the way!” Lin Xiao stepped forward, throwing a punch the size of a sandbag at an incoming tentacle. The blow blasted the tentacle into a mass of black mud, but the shattered mud recovered at an incredible speed and attacked Lin Xiao once more. By this time, Lei Wei was already scrambling away in terror, crawling and rolling to hide off to the side.
The long silk ribbon shot out from Xia Lingshuang’s waist, but the previously invincible ribbon finally met its match. Before it could even reach the Black Mud Monster, it was batted away by the four thick tentacles. No matter the angle or how much force she used, the ribbon was struck down every time it moved toward the creature. Even when the ribbon managed to slice a wound into the Black Mud Monster’s body, new black mud would quickly cover the injury, allowing it to recover instantly.
Xia Lingshuang’s expression turned solemn. “Be careful. This monster likely has the cultivation of the early Soul Transformation Stage.”
The early Soul Transformation Stage! The hearts of those struggling to block the monster’s attacks skipped a beat. They hadn’t expected the creature holding Gu Jian captive to possess such a high level of power.
Seeing that her ribbon’s attacks were ineffective, Xia Lingshuang finally drew her Bound Spirit Sword, Shuang Hua. As the sword left its scabbard, the oppressive pressure of the Soul Transformation Stage was quietly released.
“Shuang Tian!”
Snow suddenly began to fall from the sky. Every falling snowflake contained a Sword Intent unique to Xia Lingshuang. The tentacles that had been attacking frantically a moment ago were instantly coated in a layer of white frost the moment they touched the snow. Their movements slowed until they stopped completely in their tracks. The Black Mud Monster, despite its early Soul Transformation Stage cultivation, was frozen in place, unable to move.
Seizing the opportunity, Xia Lingshuang soared into the air. A massive ice spike condensed upon Shuang Hua.
“Extreme Cold: Break!”
The ice spike shot through the air. Under the power of the extreme cold Spirit Chi, the black sludge froze into gray-white powder and crumbled away. A massive hole was blasted into the monster’s body, and within that hole, a black core was particularly conspicuous.
“That’s the monster’s core. Break it!”
At Xia Lingshuang’s command, Zhao Wuji’s figure blurred as his silver-white sword pointed straight toward the core. “Haha, it’s finally my turn to shine!” Lin Xiao laughed loudly. The muscles in his legs surged with power as he shot forward like an arrow.
Xia Lingshuang slowly descended from the air. After unleashing the ice spike, her entire focus was locked onto the core of the Soul Transformation Stage monster.
However, Lei Wei—who had been shrinking behind Xia Lingshuang, clutching his head and shivering—suddenly stopped trembling. He slowly raised his head. His eyes, which had been filled with fear and humility, were now cold and dead. There was no sound, nor was there any sign of spiritual power fluctuation.
“Die!”
In the palm of his hand, a ball of dark purple lightning condensed silently. He slammed it toward Xia Lingshuang’s heart. His voice was venomous, like a maggot on a rotting bone.
Lin Xiao and Zhao Wuji, who were attacking the core up ahead, didn’t even have time to turn around before they felt a heart-palpitating surge of Demonic Chi from behind them.
“Master!” Yu Qingyao noticed Lei Wei’s movements. She swung Chixiao, and the Nirvana Fire erupted in an attempt to stop his attack. But it was useless; his backstab was simply too fast. Even though Yu Qingyao had noticed it, she couldn’t reach them in time.
Xia Lingshuang also felt the bone-chilling killing intent behind her, but she was currently in a period of recovery after casting her spell and couldn’t pull back to defend. Just as Lei Wei’s lightning-clad palm was about to strike her, a green sword blade interposed itself between them at the critical moment.
Wu Yan’s ghostly figure forcibly cut in. She tilted the blade of Wu Nian, blocking Lei Wei’s fist at an incredibly tricky angle.
“You’re looking for death!” Lei Wei sneered, putting even more force into his arm.
*Bang!*
Wu Nian was bent out of shape by the impact. Purple-black lightning exploded across the blade. Wu Yan felt a massive force, amplified by Demonic Chi, surge through Wu Nian’s blade and into her arm. In an instant, the web of her thumb split open and blood splattered. Her right arm, which held the sword, lost all sensation in a split second.
“Ugh—” Wu Yan let out a muffled groan. Although Wu Nian did not leave her hand, Lei Wei’s attack still sent her flying several meters away. That was absolutely not a level of power a Golden Core Stage cultivator could possess. Such a violent attack and massive surge of Demonic Chi could only be achieved by someone at the Soul Transformation Stage, just like Xia Lingshuang.
Lei Wei had actually revealed a cultivation level at the Soul Transformation Stage!