69: Soul Stealing Reverse

A fiery red figure stood suspended high in the distant sky. It was the Core Formation Elder of the Chiyan Sect who had not shown his face for a long time.

Above the stone hall of the camp, a figure of natural authority had also appeared. It was Immortal Master Xuan Jue, the Core Formation Junior Martial Uncle of the Tianxuan Sect, who was stationed at the Luoyun Valley outpost.

His body pulsed with abundant Spiritual Qi, and his aura was steady, as he faced off against Old Ghost Chi from a distance. Although the two had not yet moved, the other Disciples of the Tianxuan Sect couldn't help but hold their breath.

"Old Ghost Chi! How dare you trespass on the territory of my Tianxuan Sect."

"Yan Jue! Cut the nonsense. Hand over the ice fire lotus, or today I will make sure not even a chicken or a dog is left alive in your Luoyun Valley," Old Ghost Chi said impatiently.

Lin Feng flew among the crowd, watching the two figures facing off, his heart pounding uncontrollably. The might of a Core Formation Cultivator far exceeded his imagination.

In the direction of the valley entrance, the pent-up emotions of the Chiyan Sect Disciples were completely ignited, and amid a deafening roar, they launched a frantic assault toward the Tianxuan Sect's position.

Lin Feng swung the Spiritual Sword in his hand to parry a scorching fire arrow, the sword edge sweeping past to draw a spray of blood. His expression was solemn, yet his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the true confrontation high in the sky.

Immortal Master Yan Jue and Old Ghost Chi had already engaged in battle. Immortal Master Yan Jue's palm seals flew, drawing upon the Qi of the earth veins, transforming into layers of mountain phantoms that suppressed downwards. Old Ghost Chi, meanwhile, was surrounded by blazing flames, summoning monstrous fire waves capable of burning the sky and boiling the sea with a wave of his hand.

Every collision caused the Void Realm to tremble, and the scattered shockwaves forced the Disciples fighting below to divert their attention to defend. Those with weaker cultivation were even directly shaken, causing them to spit blood and fly backward.

Lin Feng blocked a residual shockwave, and the Qi and blood within his body surged. He looked at the power that seemed capable of changing heaven and earth, and the slight complacency he had gained from winning several consecutive battles was instantly crushed.

'This is the might of Core Formation...'

Just as his mind was reeling, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a glimpse of something unusual.

On the edge of the chaotic battle, several Chiyan Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivators did not follow the main force in their desperate charge. Instead, led by a middle-aged Cultivator with a cold expression, they fought while retreating.

Immediately afterward, the middle-aged Cultivator seemed to exchange glances with his companions. The few of them suddenly exerted force, pushing back the Tianxuan Sect Disciples in front of them, then turned around, transforming into several streaks of Evasion Light, heading straight for the nearby Black Abyss Forest.

In a flash of lightning, Lin Feng made his decision. One more or one less of him wouldn't make a difference on the main battlefield; it would be better to follow these people and see what they were plotting.

He pretended to be forced back by a bursting fireball, stumbling and crashing behind a pile of rubble. Taking advantage of the distraction, he quickly formed a hand seal and concealed his aura.

The next moment, his figure silently slid out from the other side of the stone pile, avoiding the chaotic battle, and quickly chased in the direction where the small team had disappeared.

His movements were light and swift, leaving almost no trace with the aid of the Shadow Evasion Technique.

Lin Feng dared not get too close, maintaining a distance of over a hundred zhang, relying on the heaven-stealing vine's perception to remotely lock onto the faint Evasion Lights ahead.

The Evasion Lights ahead were not moving fast; they seemed to be cautiously identifying the direction, sometimes pausing, sometimes changing their route.

The further he followed, the more alarmed he became. He had been to the Black Abyss Forest ahead twice before and had a general impression of the terrain and features of the area.

But following the route of those Evasion Lights now, he gradually realized that these people were not blindly rushing about; they had a clear path, occasionally stopping to consult a faintly glowing map, and sometimes forming a hand seal to sense something.

'This group has a clear objective. Could there be some secret hidden deep within the Black Abyss Forest that I failed to discover during my previous two visits?'

This thought tightened his heart, prompting him to hold his breath and concentrate even more, carefully continuing his tail.

Finally, the few Cultivators stopped completely in front of an inconspicuous stone wall. The Cultivator leading the group took out a compass-shaped Magical Artifact that glowed with a faint red light and shot several Magical Seals toward the stone wall.

A pattern of moss on the stone wall, which had seemed naturally formed, suddenly lit up slightly, then silently slid away, revealing a deep, downward-sloping cave entrance that was just wide enough for one person to pass through. A bone-chillingly cold spiritual mist wafted out from it.

"This is it. The entrance marked on the Sect's Secret Map is correct," the middle-aged Cultivator said in a low voice, unable to hide his excitement.

"Senior Brother, the Yin Sha Qi here is so dense and pure, far exceeding the outside world. Could the 'earth core spirit quenching milk' really be here?" a young Disciple beside him asked excitedly.

The leading Disciple sneered, "It's more than just spirit quenching milk. Haven't you noticed that the flow of Yin Sha Qi around here is extremely strange? It seems to have been forcibly gathered and guided here by some power."

He pointed at the abnormally colored soil and the seemingly random rocks on the ground. "And these traces... this is definitely not naturally formed."

He lowered his voice: "Three years ago, the Sect sent a team of Qi Refining Disciples, carrying some Magical Artifacts capable of sensing the Yin Sha of the earth veins, to investigate this place. Their last message reported the discovery of an abnormally dense flow of Yin Sha here, suspecting that some Rare Treasure was being nurtured, but they completely lost contact afterward."

Another slightly older Cultivator interjected: "Later, the Sect made extensive inquiries and inferred from some clues that they had likely stumbled upon the 'Spirit-Stealing Reverse Formation' set up here by the Tianxuan Sect.

This Formation can secretly steal the Yin Sha Qi of the earth veins over a wider area, gathering and nurturing it in one place to forcibly cultivate certain Heaven And Earth Treasures that require an extremely Yin environment.

The 'earth core spirit quenching milk' is one such item, which has a marvelous effect on Core Formation Cultivators refining their Nascent Soul. The Tianxuan Sect secretly carrying out this Heaven-Defying act must have feared the news leaking out, and that team of Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters... likely met a terrible end."

The young Disciple gasped, "Spirit-Stealing Reverse Formation? A Formation that violates the harmony of nature... How dare they..."

"Hmph, what wouldn't they dare to do for the earth core spirit quenching milk?" A fierce look flashed in the leading Disciple's eyes,

"This item is enough to drive Core Formation Cultivators mad. The Tianxuan Sect has secretly managed this place for many years; it's likely that many of their own Disciples don't even know the secret deep within the Black Abyss Forest.

This time, Master sent us here to find the spirit quenching milk while their main force is tied up at the front. We absolutely cannot let them succeed."

These few scattered sentences of conversation secretly astonished Lin Feng, who was hiding nearby.

earth core spirit quenching milk? Spirit-Stealing Reverse Formation? Forcibly gathering Yin Sha? Chiyan Sect Disciples who disappeared three years ago?

The Chiyan Sect Disciples who disappeared three years ago... could they be the same team he fought against, the one that was completely wiped out?

Spirit-Stealing Reverse Formation... that name... Martial Uncle Zhao Ming seemed to vaguely mention 'Reverse Formation' before he died... Was this what he desperately tried to warn about?

In an instant, more previously overlooked details flooded his mind.

The last time he came to the Black Abyss Forest to look for qing shen bamboo, he vaguely felt that the Spiritual Qi on the west side of the forest was much denser and purer than the first time he visited. At the time, he only thought it was due to his enhanced perception after his cultivation improved, or an accidental change in the earth veins, and didn't think much of it... And Ghost Soul Valley, when he went there to gather materials, the Spiritual Qi felt unusually sparse, vastly different from the Sect's records. He had assumed at the time that the earth veins had dried up... Could it be... could it be that the Spiritual Qi there didn't dissipate naturally, but was forcibly extracted by this damned 'Spirit-Stealing Reverse Formation' and gathered here?