Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Dangers at the Door

Less than a hundred zhang away from the entrance, Li Hui held his breath. The connection with his substitute had completely severed, indicating that he had died twice just moments ago.

“Fortunately, I have this substitute; otherwise, I would have been certain to die!”

“The four unlucky fools’ trump card just happened to run into trouble, and instead of freezing the giant snake, they turned themselves into ice sculptures.”

“Sigh! Isn’t it true that when you’re down on your luck, even drinking cold water gets stuck in your teeth? It feels like I left the sect just yesterday, and since starting this journey, I’ve had no peace. It’s always fighting or exhausting talisman-making, and as a result, my success rate has plummeted.”

“I, Li Yingjun, enjoy fancy clothes, fine food, exquisite wine, and envy those outstanding sect members who frolic under the flowers. Mu Qianyun is still in Fusu City! What a beautiful girl! If I said I had no thoughts about her, I might as well become a genuine monk. As practitioners, we can’t have a carefree life—what’s the use in cultivating?”

After venting his frustrations in his mind, he blinked and returned to the immediate concern. Losing his substitute felt like losing two lives, so Li Hui slowly crept backward, making sure not to attract the attention of the giant snake, which seemed interested in the bodies of Condensed Essence Stage practitioners. He hoped it would enjoy its meal and feel free to possess whatever it wanted.

Finally gaining some distance, he feigned a shadow and escaped by the skin of his teeth. Once he turned back, he saw the destruction caused by the blue giant snake; many formations and restrictions were beyond recovery. He swiftly returned from the first layer to the secret chamber with hardly any obstacles.

“Boss, that’s great! You’re finally back!” Chef Zhao exclaimed, pacing in anxiety, and let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Li Hui’s familiar figure.

“Let’s get out of here quickly,” Li Hui said, retracting his Yin-Yang Nine Heads. As his form flickered, he entered the secret chamber, where he saw the ground and walls transformed into a dazzling array of colors. Guang Jin had returned to his bead form, floating in the air.

“Master,” the string of beads flew back and wrapped around Li Hui’s neck, speaking rapidly, “That mat can nurture souls. The Remnant Soul of the All-Manifestation Realm lurking inside already had malicious intent, but it hadn’t had anyone enter for so long that it lost awareness. It probably doesn’t even remember who it is anymore. The little eel was knocked out by the Remnant Soul before it could transform, but inadvertently avoided the most dangerous moment of conjuring a monster.”

“Did it succeed?” Li Hui asked, reaching out to pull the sluggish poison dragon eel closer, catching a whiff of fragrance, and quickly waved his hand to disperse it.

“I’m not sure. Two monster-conjuring talismans activated one after the other. I saw nine white-horned spirit rhinos stab at its head, and then its energy suddenly dropped, making me think it was dead. Soon after, another nine white-horned spirit rhinos appeared and stimulated it a second time before it regained vitality,” Guang Jin described. “After it regained vitality, it expelled a large amount of toxic gas from its body. But the Remnant Soul knocked it out, so I don’t know if it has a chance to awaken again.”

“It wouldn’t leave just a shell without any consciousness, would it?” Li Hui placed the poison dragon eel into his bag of treasures, hoping that Ao Chonglin’s electric shock might activate it.

After securing the poison dragon eel, Li Hui looked around and asked, “What about that white mat? Since it can nurture souls, it must be a treasure, right?”

“The Remnant Soul burst out and instantly wrecked the mat. I had no choice but to swallow it, making sure to inherit and carry forward its soul-nurturing abilities.”

“Ha-ha, this master is planning to defeat demons now,” Li Hui said as he exited the secret chamber. With Guang Jin raiding the place, the chamber was cleaner than a dog could lick, aside from the toxins.

Guang Jin was aptly named for his wealth of resources; anything that looked good was guaranteed to be taken into his inventory without question. The white mat must be far rarer than the roots of the Kasyapa Bodhi tree.

“Master, you really have a way with jokes! I’m just your protective spirit,” Guang Jin poked his head out with a cheeky grin. Upon seeing Li Hui’s serious face, his expression fell, and he said, “It’s nothing much, really just a tattered mat. The Remnant Soul likely took the storage treasure with it. The ice phoenix tree just has accompanying vines, which possess some characteristics of the ice phoenix tree. Besides nurturing souls, it can also enhance resistance to cold powers.”

Li Hui said earnestly, “You can help warm people’s spirits and regulate their vitality. After eating the roots of the Kasyapa Bodhi tree, you can resist and prevent inner demons. Now, with the ice phoenix tree’s vines, you can nurture souls and enhance cold resistance. I need to keep track of everything, so you don’t slack off.”

Guang Jin realized that Li Hui wasn’t asking him to regurgitate what he had eaten; he let out a sigh of relief. His philosophy of becoming a demon meant only taking in and not expelling; making him spit it out would be more painful than killing him.

Unbeknownst to Li Hui, a fierce battle raged at the entrance of the Purple Fortress. Qian Qiu Yue and Hongmo Zhengfang charged in with explosive force, unexpectedly running into danger.

“Devilish sound?” Qian Qiu Yue snorted coldly.

“Not just devilish sound, but also illusions,” Hongmo Zhengfang replied after glancing around. “Be cautious; something seems off. It looks like there’s just been a battle inside, and people have died.”

Qian Qiu Yue raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, “The substitute I crafted for Li Hui is just inside, not even a hundred zhang away, and it has already exhausted all its vitality.”

“Be careful. Let’s force a Condensed Essence Stage practitioner to enter and scout the way,” Hongmo Zhengfang said as he summoned a Magical Storm Statue, instantly causing purple energy to descend, drastically boosting his aura to levels nearing the Bosa Realm.

“Not good; he activated the Magical Storm Statue again,” the surrounding cultivators quickly dodged.

Suddenly, a blood-colored hand emerged and howled toward the two Condensed Essence Stage practitioners. As they prepared to use their Slave Seals to escape, Qian Qiu Yue launched several immobilization talismans to slightly interfere and vigorously wielded a silver knife, tearing deep rifts in the air, making it impossible for the two to retreat.

Thanks to the Magical Storm Statue, Hongmo Zhengfang had managed to hold on until now. Otherwise, he would have already fallen into the encirclement.

The Li Family cultivators were quite formidable. They were not fighting alone; they collaborated effectively, demonstrating exceptional synergy in their combat spells. When they saw their comrades being captured, they rushed to act and released their magical tools for rescue.

“Get in there!”

With a wild toss, the bloody hand hurled two figures into the entrance.

“Ah!”

“Not good!”

After two short, muffled cries, silence fell once more at the door.

Hongmo Zhengfang and Qian Qiu Yue felt a wave of dread wash over them. Though they anticipated danger inside, they never imagined it would be so fatal. Those were two Condensed Essence Stage practitioners, and in an instant, they were both gone, which could only be done by someone at the Bosa Realm.

“Did your old man face this kind of danger when entering the Purple Fortress?” Qian Qiu Yue asked Hongmo Zhengfang.

“Absolutely not! However, all the formations in the outer and surrounding areas of Wan Nest Island have retracted; who knows what kind of dangers have evolved? When the old man went in, there were no devilish sounds or illusions at the door.”

“Let’s look for another opportunity to grab someone and throw stones to test the waters…”

While the front of the Purple Fortress was in a deadlock, Li Hui boldly advanced within, successfully exploring the sixth and eighth-layer hubs before avoiding danger and arriving at the southernmost Underground Cavern of the Twelfth Layer. To his surprise, this cavern was vast, revealing mountains and rivers with fiery red spiritual energy floating high above, resembling burning clouds and flowing rivers, crisscrossing north and south, with golden stars faintly visible among the clouds.