Li Qingzhou’s corpse lay before Wu Yan. Sheathing her sword, she crouched down and brushed her hand over Li Qingzhou’s eyes as their focus faded.
“May you find happiness and peace in your next life.”
Li Qingzhou was a good man. During the time Wu Yan had been injured and unconscious, he and Xie Wenyuan had even brought her precious medicinal herbs. But Wu Yan had to kill him. After falling into Demonic Possession in a place like this, there was absolutely no chance of recovery. Leaving him alive would have been a profanity to all those who had died, as well as a threat to those who had survived.
Lin Xiao also approached Li Qingzhou’s side. Looking at the wound that stretched from the heart to the throat, he let out a heavy, heartfelt sigh. “Sigh, what a waste.”
“You did well, Junior Brother Lin.” To be able to block the attacks of the possessed Li Qingzhou for 3 breaths, Lin Xiao had proven himself worthy of his rank within the top thirteen of the Golden Core Group.
“Hehe, it was just luck, just luck.”
“Senior Brother Zhao, did you happen to pick up a Black Stone Tablet like this one?” Yu Qingyao approached Zhao Wuji and pulled out the stone tablet that Xia Lingshuang had given her.
Zhao Wuji, who was being treated by Su Qianqian, looked up at Yu Qingyao’s words. His eyes suddenly lit up. “Yes! That’s it!” He pulled a stone tablet from his robe and handed it to Yu Qingyao. “Everything happened because of this! Our group was already suffering miserably from the Demonic Chi in this Secret Realm, but then I found this at the entrance of the mineral cave.”
The Black Stone Tablet in Zhao Wuji’s hand was made of the same material as the one Yu Qingyao already had, but the patterns on it were different.
“This thing is truly sinister. The moment I picked it up, Fellow Daoist Li suddenly succumbed to Demonic Possession and began draining everyone around him. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I probably would have become one of those bodies on the wooden stakes outside the cave.” This was the Key Li Qingzhou had mentioned.
“Qingyao, let me see.” Xia Lingshuang’s voice sounded from behind Wu Yan. She took the first stone tablet from Yu Qingyao’s hand and carefully compared the runes on both. “These two belong together.”
Wu Yan turned around quickly. However, Xia Lingshuang was standing very close to her. As Wu Yan turned, her pert nose brushed right against Xia Lingshuang’s jaw, startling Wu Yan into taking two steps back.
“Master.”
“Put the two stone tablets together.” Xia Lingshuang’s expression remained indifferent, as if the contact between her and Wu Yan just now had been nothing more than Wu Yan’s imagination.
Click.
The two stone tablets fit together perfectly. A projection of light and shadow appeared once more, and the previously fragmented Image Map was now two-thirds complete. On the map, the dots representing Wu Yan’s party now overlapped with Zhao Wuji’s position.
Wu Yan’s gaze swept across most of the map, settling on the southeast corner. There was one last red dot, but its flickering frequency was highly irregular. Like a candle in the wind, it flickered intermittently, its light extremely dim. According to the map, that area was a plain.
“Can you still walk?” Wu Yan looked away from the map and turned to Zhao Wuji, who was sitting on the ground. “A Sword Cultivator can’t say they can’t handle it.”
Zhao Wuji panted heavily as he took the Spirit Recovery Pill Su Qianqian offered. He swallowed it without a second thought. The pill transformed into a warm current, slightly nourishing his dried-up meridians.
“Oh, right, Eldest Senior Sister, you should have some too!” Zhao Wuji stood up unsteadily and looked toward Li Qingzhou’s body in the distance, giving a final bow. “The fire passes on. I will live on with your share.”
“Then let’s go.” Xia Lingshuang’s voice echoed through the empty, deep mineral cave. Her calm tone gave everyone a sense of security. “We will go get the last one.”
“Everyone, keep these in your mouths.” Su Qianqian’s voice was a bit tight as she pressed blue-purple pills into everyone’s hands.
This was the Southeast Plain on the map, or more accurately, a massive marsh. There was no wind, no monsters, and even the sound of their footsteps was swallowed by the soft, rotten black mud on the ground. Floating green dust drifted toward them as if with a mind of its own, only to be blocked by their protective Spirit Chi.
“This is miasma.” Su Qianqian held the pill under her tongue. The cooling sensation rushed to the top of her head, sweeping away the grogginess in her mind. “The toxicity here is quite potent. Everyone, remember to keep your defenses up.”
Xia Lingshuang remained at the rear. The environment in this swamp was very strange; the dust in the air actually restricted the range of one’s Divine Sense. Just as everyone was cautiously moving forward, a sudden explosion rang out from ahead.
“Damn it, who’s setting off thunder in a swamp!” Even someone as composed as Yu Qingyao cursed aloud after hearing that loud roar. In a swamp environment like this, even Yu Qingyao didn’t dare to use her techniques lightly. If an accidental explosion occurred, everyone would suffer.
In a place Yu Qingyao couldn’t see, Wu Yan was looking at her with a gratified expression.
“Someone is fighting over there!” Lin Xiao’s ears twitched as he looked toward a patch of reeds to the left. “The sound came from there! Let’s go check it out.”
Pushing aside the 2-meter-high reeds, a massive crater appeared before them. Black sludge surged violently as more than ten thick tentacles covered in thorns erupted from within, tightly coiling around a figure in purple.
Wu Yan recognized him at a glance. It was Lei Wei from Zixiao Pavilion, her first opponent in the second round of the Five Sects Tournament. His hair was a mess, his luxurious purple robes were torn into rags hanging off his body, and half of his frame had already been dragged into the quagmire.
“Get off me!” Lei Wei screamed as he struggled, his gauntlets flickering with lightning as he slammed his fists into the tentacles trying to approach him.
“Stop!” Lei Wei’s desperate eyes suddenly lit up upon hearing the familiar voice, and he obediently ceased all movement as commanded.
[ FREEZE ]
A wave of cold air swept out from Xia Lingshuang’s fingertip, instantly freezing the churning mud pit. The flailing tentacles were naturally unable to escape as well.
“Now!” Lin Xiao jumped directly above Lei Wei, grabbing his shoulders with both hands. His muscles buckled with sudden power. “Up!”
The frozen tentacles snapped as the ice shattered. Lei Wei was pulled bodily from the mud pit, dragging a large amount of foul-smelling black sludge with him. After the successful rescue, the group quickly retreated to solid ground.
“Cough, cough, cough—” Lei Wei collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as if he had just escaped death. “Thank you all for saving my life.” He struggled to bow, but collapsed again from exhaustion.
Seeing this, Su Qianqian took a Spirit Recovery Pill and a Heart-Clearing Pill from her Storage Bag and handed them to Lei Wei. “Fellow Daoist Lei, hurry and eat these to recover.”
“Thank you.”
Wu Yan stood to the side, looking down at Lei Wei.
“I got separated from my companions,” Lei Wei said, his voice carrying a hint of terror. “We originally came here to find a way out, but we didn’t expect to encounter a fellow cultivator tied up ahead. We wanted to help him, but we didn’t realize it was an ambush. When we stepped forward to rescue him, we were suddenly attacked by tentacles coming out of the black mud. This black mud is exceptionally fierce. We were outmatched and had no choice but to abandon the rescue and retreat. But it wouldn’t stop chasing us. I panicked for a moment, wandered in here, and got trapped.”
As he spoke, his hand, now free from the gauntlet, unconsciously moved toward his neck. Wu Yan’s gaze happened to fall on his mud-stained hand; there were several deep red marks on his palm.
“If not for your help, I’m afraid I would have died right here.”