178: Chapter 178 Basement

These words fell into Yang Yan's ears, hard to distinguish as true or false.

He was stunned for a moment, then his heart sank.

It was true! When it came down to it, he really was to blame.

That Xiang Tian hadn't killed him outright was already a massive concession.

But the next second, his brows furrowed sharply.

A thought suddenly surged into his mind: What about that village chief who underwent Possession? Could it be...

His eyes widened involuntarily, and he asked in a trembling voice, "You... did you kill that village chief who underwent Possession?"

This shocking conclusion almost blurted out.

He knew better than anyone just how formidable that village chief who underwent Possession was.

A single casual palm strike had beaten him into this immobile state.

Fortunately, his Physique was robust; anyone else would have been dead long ago.

Xiang Tian nodded faintly.

His tone was light and breezy, "That old man was indeed killed by this Young Master."

"Hiss—!" Receiving Xiang Tian's affirmative reply, Yang Yan gasped.

The way he looked at Xiang Tian completely changed.

Xiang Tian looked to be only about twenty years old, yet he was actually this formidable?

Xiang Tian, however, didn't care about his shock.

His attention was entirely focused on Yang Yan's previous words, precisely capturing one keyword: The village chief underwent Possession!

He raised an eyebrow slightly and pressed on, "Could it be that there is an existence even stronger than that old man?"

"Yes..." Yang Yan steadied himself, suppressing the waves in his heart.

He explained everything he knew in detail.

"Oh? The one who underwent Possession on this village chief was actually his Old Ancestor?" Xiang Tian's expression was strange.

He muttered to himself, This cultivation world really is full of strange things everywhere, far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Recalling his recent ordeal, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in Yang Yan's eyes.

He snorted coldly, "The people in that village are all evil cultivators! Once my injuries heal, I will definitely annihilate them all to avenge today's grudge!"

Xiang Tian rubbed his chin, lost in thought: That village chief could produce a demonic blood sword; perhaps there were even more powerful treasures or stronger existences hidden in this village?

But for now, the most important thing was to heal his own injuries.

At this moment, Yang Yan introduced himself solemnly, "I am Yang Yan, the Chief Disciple of the inner Sect of the Tyrant Blade Sect."

"Xiang Tian." Xiang Tian replied with only two words, indifferently.

Yang Yan's gaze swept over Xiang Tian and Xiang Liu. Seeing their intimate manner, his eyes lit up immediately.

He joked with a smile, "You two are truly a loving and harmonious couple. To have such a beautiful woman by one's side in this lifetime, one would have no regrets!"

This was just a sentiment in his heart.

He had stayed in the Tyrant Blade Sect for too long and had seen enough of the deceit and infighting within the Sect.

No one dared to easily entrust their life to another person.

"Then you are mistaken; she is my Sword Servant, not my wife." Xiang Tian shook his head.

Since there was nothing to do right now, chatting with him could help pass the time.

"Ah?" Yang Yan was stunned.

He scanned the two of them again carefully, his face full of confusion.

With this kind of manner, how could it be just a relationship between a Sword Servant and her master?

But he was tactful and didn't press the matter.

For the next few hours, the two chatted idly.

From cultivation insights to interesting anecdotes about the Sect, it wasn't boring.

Unknowingly, most of Yang Yan's injuries had healed.

He struggled to stand up and cupped his hands to Xiang Tian, "Brother Xiang, thank you for saving my life! Great kindness need not be spoken of; I will surely repay you heavily in the future!"

"It was just a casual effort." Xiang Tian waved his hand, looking indifferent.

"Besides, didn't I take your Spirit Stone? We are even."

Yang Yan smiled and didn't take it to heart.

Wealth was merely an external Possession.

Xiang Tian hadn't killed him and had even indirectly saved his life; that was already benevolent enough.

What were mere Spirit Stones compared to that?

"Your injuries should be mostly healed, right?" Xiang Tian stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

"Then let's go to that village and take a look now."

As his voice fell, he spoke no more.

His figure moved, and he flew towards the village first.

Xiang Liu followed closely behind.

Yang Yan did not hesitate either, circulating his Cultivation Technique to keep up with them.

But the moment the three of them stepped into the village area, the scene before them almost made their jaws drop.

Looking around, all the houses had collapsed, and broken walls and ruins were everywhere.

Scattered corpses lay on the ground, and the air was filled with a thick smell of blood and black Qi, which was shocking to the eyes.

"This... it's already been wiped out?" Xiang Tian raised an eyebrow.

He had originally thought he could have a satisfying, hearty battle here.

"Brother Xiang, look at these corpses!" Yang Yan pointed to a corpse on the ground, his brows furrowed tightly.

"They look like mummified corpses, but they aren't as shriveled and withered as mummified corpses; their appearance is very strange."

Xiang Liu also frowned, observing the appearance of the corpse carefully.

She slowly began to analyze, "Based on the state of these people, it can be determined that their cultivation and energy have all been drained by someone."

Yang Yan nodded, agreeing with her judgment.

"That's right, it should be so."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Tian's brows instantly knitted together.

"Then where did this drained energy go?"

Energy is conserved; it cannot be created out of thin air.

And it is even more impossible for it to disappear without a trace!

Yang Yan pondered for a moment and spoke again, "I think we should first find the main body of that Old Ancestor. Perhaps, once we find him, all the answers will be revealed."

Xiang Tian nodded, feeling that what he said made some sense, "Alright, let's do as you say."

He immediately contacted the System in his mind, "System, hurry up and scan, find where that Old Ancestor's main body is!"

[Scanning...]

[Scan complete!]

[Detected an extremely powerful energy fluctuation, located 1000 meters deep underground, suspected to be the location of the target's main body.]

"Damn, 1000 meters? This old guy is really good at hiding!" Xiang Tian couldn't help but complain.

Complaining was one thing, but he immediately took action.

He shouted loudly, "Hah!" "Bang!"

He channeled force into his feet and stomped hard on the ground, and with a loud noise, the ground was instantly stomped into a pit over a hundred meters deep.

Following that, he stomped heavily several more times.

With every stomp, the ground shook violently.

"Boom—!" Finally, deep underground, a huge, empty basement was suddenly revealed.

"Xiang Tian, this aura... it's so eerie; I feel heart palpitations all over." Xiang Liu, who was following behind Xiang Tian, suddenly turned pale.

She grabbed Xiang Tian's sleeve tightly.

"Yes, such thick black Qi!" Yang Yan's expression was also heavy.

Just at this moment, an extremely powerful, nauseating black Qi swept towards them, instantly enveloping the entire basement.

"Damn! Is this the energy that disappeared from the villagers?" Xiang Tian's heart tightened.

He hurriedly brandished the demonic blood sword in his hand, blocking the invasion of the black Qi.

Fortunately, with the System's support, he could temporarily stabilize his figure and had room to counterattack.

But Yang Yan and Xiang Liu were not so lucky.

In just a moment, both of their eyes turned blood-red, and black Qi surged from their bodies.

They radiated thick killing intent and had already lost their sanity.

Especially Xiang Liu; the black Qi on her body was even more terrifying than Yang Yan's.

Her eyes were hollow, leaving only cold killing intent.

"Xiang Liu, wake up! I am Xiang Tian; you are my Sword Servant!" Xiang Tian panicked.

He immediately circulated his Cultivation Technique and put some distance between himself and the two.

"This is screwed!" Xiang Tian complained to himself.

The reason he wasn't affected by the black Qi was entirely due to the System's protection.

But Yang Yan and Xiang Liu were now completely controlled by the black Qi.

He hadn't run far when his gaze was drawn to a figure ahead.

A withered, skinny skeleton of an old man was lying quietly in the center of the basement.

By the looks of it, it was the so-called Old Ancestor of this village.

Xiang Tian breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, the Divine Soul of this remains had already been destroyed.

But an accident happened without warning.

The sky-filling black Qi suddenly poured frantically into that withered skeleton.

The previously lifeless remains actually opened its eyes slowly.

Its eyes flashed with scarlet light, and the aura emitted from its body was several times more formidable than the previous village chief!

"Holy crap! Is it a zombie?" Xiang Tian was so scared his scalp went numb.

Daring not to stay, he immediately took off running.

"Kill!" Yang Yan, controlled by the black Qi, let out a violent roar.

He was the first to chase after Xiang Tian.

Xiang Tian looked helpless, wanting to cry but having no tears.

He never expected that he would be hunted by the person he saved and his own Sword Servant.

And the strength of each of these three people was not something he could provoke right now.

While running wildly, he looked back from time to time.

He shouted at Xiang Liu, "Xiang Liu, wake up! I am Xiang Tian; you can't kill me! You are my Sword Servant!"

"Kill!" But the only response he got was Xiang Liu's cold roar and increasingly fierce attacks.

The killing intent in her eyes did not weaken in the slightest.

"Damn! What kind of Sword Servant are you! You actually turn against me at a critical moment?" Xiang Tian couldn't help but curse.

He complained about Xiang Liu a thousand times in his heart.

The space in the basement was narrow, making it difficult to dodge.

In less than half a cup of tea's time, Xiang Tian was cornered by the three.

"Roar—!" The withered skeleton let out a deafening roar.

Its figure moved, lunging towards Xiang Tian, with black Qi churning, unstoppable.

Xiang Tian's brows furrowed tightly, his brain working at high speed, and he suddenly thought of something.

He called out urgently in his heart, "Xiao Hei! Xiao Hei, are you there? Can you suck away the black Qi on them?"

At this point, regardless of whether it would work, he had to gamble.

"Xiao Hei, it's up to you!"

With a thought, he immediately released Xiao Hei.

As soon as Xiao Hei appeared and saw the sky-filling black Qi, its eyes instantly lit up.

It was full of excitement, "Boss! This black Qi is a great tonic!"

Xiao Hei opened its small mouth and shouted sharply, "Suck it all up for me!"

The next second, a shocking scene occurred.

The black Qi enveloping Yang Yan, Xiang Liu, and the skeleton, as if receiving a huge suction force, poured frantically into Xiao Hei's mouth.

"It actually worked?" Xiang Tian's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

Fortunately, he had gambled correctly!

This way, he wouldn't need to trade with the System, saving a sum of points.

Xiao Hei kept sucking like this, for a full hour.

The sky-filling black Qi was finally sucked clean by it.

Its belly was swollen and round, like a ball, and it couldn't even walk.

It said to Xiang Tian with a satisfied face, "Boss... I'm full; I need to go into seclusion to digest this!"

Xiang Tian nodded with a smile.

With a casual wave, he took Xiao Hei back.

As the black Qi was sucked away, Yang Yan, Xiang Liu, and the withered skeleton instantly lost their strength.

They fell straight to the ground and stopped moving.

Xiang Tian breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly to Xiang Liu's side.

He crouched down and examined her carefully.

He muttered to himself, "Fortunately, she is just exhausted; there's nothing serious."

He looked at Xiang Liu's sleeping face.

Recalling the disheveled state he was in while being hunted by her earlier, he couldn't help but reach out.

He pinched her cheek gently.

It was just a small punishment for her.

But just as he finished pinching, Xiang Liu's cheeks actually flushed slightly, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Holy crap!" Xiang Tian was so scared that his whole body stiffened.

He jumped up from the ground instantly, his heart pounding.

This was too awkward!

He didn't want to get caught by Xiang Liu and have her misunderstand that he was taking advantage of her.

Just at this extremely awkward moment, Yang Yan, who was on the side, slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.

Xiang Tian hurriedly changed the subject and joked to Yang Yan, "Yang Yan, you are really something! You actually wanted to kill your savior; doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Yang Yan came to his senses and was immediately full of guilt, smiling awkwardly.

He said to Xiang Tian, "Brother Xiang, I am truly sorry! What happened just now was not my intention; I was controlled by the black Qi and was completely unable to help myself!"

Xiang Tian waved his hand.

He looked indifferent, "Forget it, forget it; I know you didn't mean it. Let's turn the page on this matter."