Chapter 126: Every Step in the Aqueous Manor is Fraught with Danger

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With his right hand clutching the Formless Sword, Qin Haoxuan knew this situation was even more dangerous than his encounter with Yelu Qi. Even if he killed Chu Xiangzi, there was still a Fifteenth-Leaf disciple of the Ancient Cloud Hall behind him. Although Ye Yiming was also at the Fifteenth-Leaf, the spiritual arts of the Nature Hall were surely not as refined as those of the Ancient Cloud Hall. In a fight, the outcome would be a fifty-fifty toss-up. Therefore, he had to deal with Chu Xiangzi and the underling behind him as quickly as possible, and then eliminate the person behind himself.

He had to preserve as much of Ye Yiming’s stamina as possible. Otherwise, even if they didn’t run into Zhang Kuang, another encounter with Nether-Souls would be troublesome.

The spiritual energy in Qin Haoxuan’s body suddenly surged. He poured every last drop of it into the Formless Sword in his right hand, and the invisible blade began to tremble faintly.

The last time he had killed Yelu Qi, preparing the Formless Sword had taken a full ten breaths. This time, it took only eight. Just as the sword locked onto Chu Xiangzi and his follower, ready to strike, Chu Xiangzi finally sensed that something was wrong. He cursed inwardly and tried to dodge.

But Qin Haoxuan gave him no chance. With a flick of his sword-fingers, the Formless Sword shot out with a whisper, opening a small hole in the foreheads of both Chu Xiangzi and the underling standing in a line behind him.

Struck in a vital point, the two of them had no time to even scream. A jet of blood, mixed with white brain matter, sprayed from their brows. The next moment, they fell stiffly to the ground, dead.

As the Formless Sword shot out, Qin Haoxuan once again felt his immortal seedling wither in an instant. Even his immortal root seemed to tremble, and his body was left without a single drop of spiritual energy. He collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.

He had originally thought that after sprouting a leaf, his spiritual energy would be much more abundant than before, enough to use the Formless Sword twice. He never expected that after just one use, his immortal seedling would once again be on the verge of withering, the consequence exactly the same as before his breakthrough.

The sight of Chu Xiangzi and one of his followers dying simultaneously, blood spraying from their foreheads, stunned both Ye Yiming and the remaining underling.

What just happened? Chu Xiangzi was an expert at the Twentieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm! How could he have died in an instant? This Qin Haoxuan is definitely strange; he must have some special offensive technique!

“If he uses that same move on me, won’t I be dead for sure?”

At this thought, a cold sweat broke out on the last follower’s back. Shaking himself from his shock, he realized that if Qin Haoxuan attacked him with that technique, he was a dead man.

Reacting instantly, he had no time for complex spiritual arts. He quickly gathered his spiritual energy in his right hand and unleashed a Heaven-Cleaving Slash at Qin Haoxuan. At that moment, Qin Haoxuan was completely exhausted, without the strength to even lift a finger, let alone fight back or dodge.

Ye Yiming also swiftly prepared his own Heaven-Cleaving Slash, but he was a step too slow. The fierce wind from the attack was already stinging Qin Haoxuan’s face. If he didn’t dodge, he would be severely injured, if not killed. Waiting for Ye Yiming was not an option, and he had no strength to move. Without hesitation, Qin Haoxuan mobilized the spiritual sense in his mind.

Golden rod of spiritual sense! Appear!

A cloud of golden, misty spiritual sense rapidly condensed, forming a huge golden rod in less than an instant. Qin Haoxuan immediately shot it towards his enemy.

The golden rod slammed directly into the man’s mind. He let out a piercing scream, clutching his head. The spiritual energy he had formed into a hand-blade instantly dissipated, and he fell heavily to the ground.

Qin Haoxuan’s spiritual attack had bought Ye Yiming precious time. He rushed forward, his own Heaven-Cleaving Slash striking the enemy’s body. After injuring him and knocking him back, Ye Yiming quickly pulled a spiritual talisman from his robes—one equivalent to the full-power strike of a Twentieth-Leaf expert. Before the man could climb back to his feet, he infused the talisman with energy and activated it. A massive amount of spiritual power exploded from the talisman, slamming violently into the enemy.

The Fifteenth-Leaf disciple was killed.

Against all odds, they had killed three cultivators all above the tenth-leaf level. Looking at the dead disciples, Ye Yiming was secretly amazed. He had long heard that this junior brother won every battle, that defeating stronger opponents was as common as eating for him. Now, it seemed the rumors were true.

After the enemy was dead, Ye Yiming immediately began to clean up the battlefield, while Qin Haoxuan, having recovered a sliver of strength, immediately crawled up and retrieved the Formless Sword.

His immortal seedling was on the verge of dying. Even if he were to sit and meditate, it would take a great deal of time to recover his spiritual energy—time he didn’t have in the treacherous Aqueous Manor.

After finding a hidden spot, Qin Haoxuan said, “Senior Brother Ye, my spiritual energy is completely depleted, and my seedling is about to wither. I must replenish my energy immediately. Please stand guard for me.”

With that, he took out a pack of Qi-Circulating Powder and poured the entire contents into his mouth. A wave of spiritual energy pulsed around him, and a washbasin-sized vortex of energy formed above his head, rapidly drawing in the surrounding spiritual power.

The powder’s effects would last for three hours, which meant Ye Yiming had to stand guard for that entire time. He suddenly felt the weight of the task. This year’s manor was different from the past. Not only did he have to watch out for Qin Haoxuan’s enemy, Zhang Kuang, but he also had to be wary of spatial rifts that could appear anywhere. A few more Nether-Souls would be bad enough, let alone a more powerful Nether-Creature.

He had already sold most of his valuables to help Master Xuanji, and he had just used his last powerful talisman. If trouble arose, he would have a hard time dealing with it alone.

“That’s right! Chu Xiangzi and the others must have life-saving talismans and other valuables on them! How could I have forgotten!” Ye Yiming slapped his forehead, a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Almost every cultivator carried some valuables. Most importantly, they would have a spiritual talisman for emergencies. Chu Xiangzi and his men had died too quickly to use theirs.

After carefully checking the surroundings and confirming it was safe, Ye Yiming quickly went to the bodies. He found several low-grade spirit stones on Chu Xiangzi, along with a talisman equivalent to a full-power strike from a Thirtieth-Leaf cultivator. On the other two, he found talismans equivalent to a Twentieth-Leaf cultivator’s strike. It was a bountiful harvest.

For Qin Haoxuan, the three hours of absorbing spiritual energy were wonderful. His seedling recovered its vitality, and the feeling of weakness was swept away. For Ye Yiming, however, every minute of those three hours was an ordeal. Thankfully, they passed without incident.

Qin Haoxuan opened his eyes. Dusk had fallen; the Aqueous Manor mimicked the cycle of day and night perfectly.

“Have you recovered?” Ye Yiming asked with concern.

Qin Haoxuan nodded and stood up. “Senior Brother Ye, let’s go. We’ve wasted too much time.”

Ye Yiming handed him a Twentieth-Leaf spiritual talisman. “Take this. We might run into danger. It’s better to be cautious.” With that, he began to lead the way.

Just as they were about to leave, the space where Qin Haoxuan had been meditating began to ripple. It quickly tore open into a black hole nearly the height of a man.

A powerful nether-spring aura washed over them, and the temperature dropped sharply. Wisps of black energy seeped from the rift. “Be careful!” Ye Yiming shouted. “A rift this large, what comes out might not be Nether-Souls, but a higher-level Nether-Creature!”

A monster that resembled a large ape, but much bigger, crawled out. Its entire body was covered in black fur, except for its eyes and mouth. Without a moment’s pause, it let out a roar and threw a punch at Ye Yiming.

This Nether-Creature was equivalent in power to a Thirteenth-Leaf cultivator, but the Nether-race cultivated their bodies, making them many times stronger physically than an ordinary cultivator. When fighting them, it was crucial to keep one’s distance.

If that punch landed, Ye Yiming would be severely injured, if not killed. He was cornered, with no room to dodge.

Gritting his teeth, Qin Haoxuan quickly shielded himself with spiritual energy and charged forward recklessly, pulling Ye Yiming out of the way and taking the punch himself. In terms of physical strength, his own body was far superior.

The Nether-Creature’s fist slammed into Qin Haoxuan’s chest. He let out a grunt as he was sent flying, crashing through two tree trunks before he stopped. His protective energy was shattered, but fortunately, he was uninjured, save for a slight bruise on his chest.

Seeing Qin Haoxuan sent flying, Ye Yiming, thinking his junior brother was crippled or dead, was filled with a mixture of grief and rage. Forgetting all caution, he took advantage of the creature’s momentary imbalance and, with his eyes burning red, unleashed a Heaven-Cleaving Slash, hacking at its arm. “Anyone who harms my junior brother dies!” he roared.

His full-power strike sliced off half of the creature’s arm. It shrieked in pain as viscous, dark-green blood sprayed from the wound.

Burning with fury, Ye Yiming gave it no time to recover. He pressed his attack, landing another hand-blade strike on the creature’s chest, leaving a gruesome wound.

The injured creature went berserk. Instead of retreating, it charged head-on, planning to use its superior physical strength to its advantage.

Seeing this, Qin Haoxuan, who had just climbed to his feet, immediately focused his spiritual sense and slammed it into the creature’s mind.

While its body was strong, its soul was exceptionally weak. Qin Haoxuan’s spiritual sense crushed its consciousness with ease. The creature instantly froze, its ugly eyes turning vacant and blank. It had become a mindless husk.

Ye Yiming rushed forward and, with a single strike, lopped off its head.

After the creature was dead, Qin Haoxuan let out a long breath. Seeing that the spatial rift had not yet closed, he said urgently, “Senior Brother Ye, we have to get out of here!”

Ye Yiming wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. “The faster, the better.”