Chapter 356: Spirit Stone (II)

On Soaring Serpent Mountain, a burly woman sped through the forest, her expression anxious.

A distress signal just came from Junior Brother's side. Could he have encountered a yao martial artist as well?

Gu Ye felt uneasy in her heart.

In this beast tide, the massive charge of ferocious beasts was secondary. The demon puppets mixed among them were the true menace. She had not expected them to appear so early, which weighed heavily on her mind. The area under Gu Ye's responsibility faced the brunt of the tide, bearing the greatest pressure. She had just been tied down by two powerful beasts and three demon puppets, unable to disengage. After considerable effort to slay them, she rushed here without delay.

"

Hm?

Junior Brother!"

Suddenly, Gu Ye froze as she spotted Lin Zheyu heading toward the mountainside of Soaring Serpent Mountain. Black smoke continued to rise from his body, and his blood qi was draining rapidly. Had he not consumed five Essence and Qi Pills on the way back, he would not have lasted until now.

"Senior Sister, why have you come here?" Lin Zheyu asked in surprise as he stopped upon seeing Gu Ye.

The area Gu Ye was responsible for had to withstand the frontal assault of the beast tide. Logically, she should not have been able to spare the time to come here.

"I saw the distress signal from your side and came to take a look. Are your injuries serious?" Gu Ye asked with a frown of concern. After examining Lin Zheyu's wounds and noticing the residual demon essence on him, shock appeared on her face.

"You were attacked by a yao? No, that is not right. A half-yao?" Gu Ye said in astonishment.

She stepped forward and placed her right hand on Lin Zheyu's shoulder. Pale blue true strength surged out, spreading from her palm to envelop his body. Under the cleansing force of true strength, the remaining demon essence quickly turned into black smoke and dissipated into the air.

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Lin Zheyu said.

On the way back, he had already cleared most of the residual demon essence. After Gu Ye intervened, the remainder was swiftly eradicated. Lin Zheyu could not help but marvel at the power of true strength.

After finishing the cleansing, Gu Ye asked with concern, "You were attacked by a half-yao?"

She was inwardly astonished that Lin Zheyu had survived an encounter with a half-yao. Even the weakest of them possessed strength comparable to a Force Transformation realm martial artist. Escaping alive from such an opponent clearly demonstrated Lin Zheyu’s formidable abilities.

"Yes. In the area I oversee, a powerful half-yao appeared out of nowhere. With no other choice, I relied on my lightness and movement techniques to plunge into the beast tide, using the mass of beasts as cover to escape. Even so, I sustained serious injuries."

Lin Zheyu recited the explanation he had prepared in advance. Under the impact of the beast tide, even if he had not fully erased the traces earlier, they would soon have been destroyed. There was no need to worry about his fabricated account being exposed.

"Strange... Why would a half-yao target Soaring Serpent Mountain at a time like this?" Gu Ye frowned slightly.

Although Soaring Serpent Mountain cultivated many precious herbs, these held no value for half-yaos or yao martial artists. There was no reason for them to attack here.

"Return first and rest within the grand formation. If your sector cannot be held, abandon it," Gu Ye instructed.

"Understood. Senior Sister, please be careful," Lin Zheyu reminded her before turning away.

With the demon essence erosion gone, his body felt far more comfortable. Golden blood qi circulated, rapidly mending the ghastly wound on his back. To maintain the appearance of having barely survived, he deliberately refrained from using Origin Force to recover.

***

The grand formation of Soaring Serpent Mountain began at the mountainside and extended to the summit. Upon reaching the mid-slope, Lin Zheyu saw Martial Uncle Meng Liuyuan standing on the watchtower with his hands behind his back, gazing at the distant sky.

"It is good that you are safe. Go back and rest well," Meng Liuyuan said with visible relief upon seeing him. He had also seen the distress signal, but he was responsible for controlling the entire grand formation and preparing for potential crises, leaving him unable to intervene.

"Thank you for your concern, Martial Uncle. It is only a minor injury. Some rest will suffice. Has no expert arrived yet to seal that space-time node?" Lin Zheyu asked softly as he stepped onto the watchtower and looked at the sky, dark as if black clouds were pressing down upon it.

What had once resembled a giant black ring of clouds was now expanding, covering the entire sky.

"They have arrived. The moment the space-time node was breached, the Directorate of Celestial Observation detected it," Meng Liuyuan said calmly while gazing at the darkened heavens, his eyes narrowed with solemnity.

"They have arrived?" Lin Zheyu asked in surprise.

He had been preoccupied with the pursuit of the yao martial artist and half-yao and had not paid attention to developments at the space-time node. From here, only a mass of darkness could be seen, offering no clarity as to what was occurring there.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Focus on your cultivation. Without reaching the Martial Innate realm, entering that battlefield would be no different from courting death," Meng Liuyuan said upon noticing Lin Zheyu's curiosity.

"Yes, Martial Uncle," Lin Zheyu replied with a nod.

He remained on the watchtower for more than ten minutes. Aside from the occasional flashes of light erupting from the black clouds, he could see nothing else. Gradually, Lin Zheyu lost interest. He stepped down from the tower and returned to his courtyard. Along the way, there was hardly anyone in sight. Most had gone to join the battle. Some injured disciples were being sent to the clinic for treatment.

After returning to his room and closing the door, Lin Zheyu finally had the leisure to examine the items he had taken from the yao martial artist. In total, he had found three bottles of medicinal pills, two purple stones the size of eggs, and several miscellaneous items of little value.

What kind of stone is this? A spirit stone?

Holding it tightly, he could sense the powerful energy contained within, somewhat similar to the spirit liquid Gu Ye had given him. However, aside from that potent energy, it also carried a dense, sinister aura. Lin Zheyu was very familiar with that aura. It was Baleful Yin force.

"This should be the spirit stone Senior Sister Gu Ye mentioned," Lin Zheyu concluded.

As a yao martial artist, Zhang Mo was not afraid of the Baleful Yin force contained within the spirit stone and could use it directly. Other martial artists, however, could not. Even if they obtained a spirit stone, they would need to extract spirit liquid from it and purify the Baleful Yin force before it could be used.

I wonder which contains more energy, this spirit stone or the bottle of spirit liquid Senior Sister gave me

.

After studying the spirit stone for a while and finding nothing new, Lin Zheyu carefully stored it away, planning to use it later as energy for enhancing his Origin Force once his injuries had healed.

"This bottle contains healing pills. This one seems similar to an Origin Stabilizing Pill.

Hm,

this last bottle carries a dense aura of Baleful Yin force, somewhat like Blazing Flame Blood-Burning Powder. No, the Baleful Yin force in it is even more concentrated."

As he examined the three bottles, he found that the last contained extremely concentrated Baleful Yin force. The herbs used to refine it must have grown in a place rich in Baleful Yin force.

These pills used by yao martial artists are of little use to me. Next time I enhance my Origin Force, I will dissolve them in water and use them as energy

.

He had always handled useless pills taken from enemies in this manner. After extracting any beneficial medicinal properties, he discarded the remaining residue. Once he finished examining everything, Lin Zheyu treated his wounds again, changed into fresh clothes, and went to the summit of Soaring Serpent Mountain. Although he could not see the battle at the space-time node clearly, his curiosity remained strong. The distant sky had grown even darker.

From time to time, terrifying roars echoed from within, followed by lightning-like flashes streaking across the pitch-black clouds.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu shot to his feet, his eyes widening as he stared at the distant sky. A figure was flying across the sky at astonishing speed!